And you could have it all - My empire of dirt.

[letmetakeaselfie]

Rhodey is distracting the government types long enough for Tony to hack into the airspace and make sure none of this is being recorded. He loops the moments before the Milano pierces the atmosphere and plays them back, knowing by the time he's out of the system and they figure it out they won't be able to prove it was anything but a technical malfunction. He does all of this from his phone as he stands near the landing pad with Steve flanking his side. He's trying to do things right this time -- no more lone gunslinger act, as Pepper had phrased it.

He looks over his sunglasses at the spaceship as it decompresses, wondering who he's just invited over for dinner. Hopefully they're friendly... When the platform descends it really is just like Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He can't help but geek out a little. He'd technically met space aliens before, and Asgardians, etc. but somehow this is way cooler. "Welcome to Earth and please watch your step, we don't have liability insurance yet."

Comments

[valuedstrength]

It'd be a lie to say he isn't nervous. Sure, Steve's good friends with an alien prince, but his brother also tried to kill them all. His dad is kind of a tool too. This is a long way of saying their luck with aliens is generally bad. He'd really like not to fight for his life today.

Steve tries to put that aside when they greet the group. Tony's liability joke certainly helps since Steve can't resist shooting him a look to take this seriously!!! He takes a step forward and gives a hesitant, but honest smile as he prays they're not here to murder them like literally everyone who isn't Thor.

"Thank you for meeting us."

[aromantically]

Peter runs into Steve in the kitchen, going for a Coke since Tony told them to help themselves to... whatever. Still super strange for a kid who's had to scrap for everything he's ever had, but hey. It's better than the alternative. "I haven't had one of these in twenty years," he points out unnecessarily, taking a swig and going a little light-headed from the bubbles.

[aromantically]

Peter goes to find Gamora after all the hullabaloo has died down, sitting at the empty table next to her with a slice of pie on his plate with a dollop of whipped cream naturally. He brought two forks with him and he passes one over to her and lifts his eyebrow. "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?"

[relicta]

Steve is never that hard to find, especially for her. She leans on the doorway into the gym and waits for him to wind down his workout, not minding the view one bit either. She knows he's superhuman and all, but doesn't he know after partying with space aliens you aren't supposed to spend several hours fighting with a heavy bag? Not that her form of escapism is any better, so she wouldn't call him out on it. She just wishes he'd give himself permission to relax now and again. "Hey," she calls softly when he doesn't turn around for minutes after she first stood there. She knows he heard her come in, unless he was really that lost in thought. She can be quieter than she means to be sometimes. The struggles of the ex-spy life.