Remember in Captain Cherry when Mizuki mentions a bunch of ish that goes down with the Avengers? This is the ish.


There were whispers darting about the gloomy workshop as she descended the steps and peered through the glass doors at what was going on inside. A soft, calm voice lowered the music that filled the background and announced her presence as the door swung open.

"Sir, you have a visitor."

A brunette head popped up over one work table, weaving a bit before the man it belonged to could find a clear line of sight and see who was standing at his door. "Hey!" He beamed at the girl, pulling the goggles he was wearing down around his neck. "What brings a girl like you to a dump like this?"

She laughed, picking her way across the cluttered workshop floor in order to perch on a stool that was sitting near him. She wondered, as she eyed the immaculate seat of it, if he hadn't known she would be coming.

"Curiosity?" She plopped onto the stool and smiled at him. "Can I just sit, or do you have some weird privacy policy that means I can't see what you're working on? I can cover my eyes!"

He laughed at that, winking. "Me? Private?" He snorted. "You can stay. You can even help, if you want."

The mechanic smiled less rakishly and slid back towards the engine he was currently working on. The car was his way of unwinding, his way of working through a problem to help him think. She looked the car over, curious of all the inner workings of it. It wasn't her area, she didn't know much about mechanics, even though she tinkered with other things, and the idea that this man could take apart a complex machine with only his eyes… "Something wrong with it?"

"Not really." He shrugged, cleaning away some excess oil with a rag. "Just felt like tuning it up."

"Can you show me?" She was hesitant, aware that she wasn't nearly as brilliant as him, although similar in other ways. "Or should I let you two have some alone time."

He laughed at that, beckoning her closer with a crooked finger and scooting over far enough to give her room to see. "Okay, so you know how an engine works, right?" He asked softly, giving her a look that told her it was alright if she didn't.

"There are little wheels in there with hamsters, right? They make the engine go?" She flashed him a smile, then, and earned herself a fond roll of his eyes and a laugh.

"Yes. Some people use hamsters. I prefer squirrels, but, you know. Some people have better taste than others." He chuckled and shook his head. "Okay, from the ground up, then. I can roll with that."

He started talking about a mile a minute, the way he often did, and pointing out certain parts of the engine. He realize, part way through talking about pistons, that he'd lost her, and he slowed down again as he noticed she was staring at the ring of light visible through his thin tank-top.

"Hey, no staring, you gotta pay for a show, you know."

She snapped back to the present, blushing at being caught, and let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry, it's just… I know how it works and I still can't rap my head around it." She reached out a hand tentatively, stopping before her fingers ever found the hard ridge of metal through his shirt. "Sorry, I'll stop staring, it's rude."

"I don't mind you staring." He admitted with a little smile, the sort he reserved for moments like this, without cameras or adoring fans. "You stare for the right reasons, so it's okay." He took the hand she'd started to reach with, and put her palm flush against the mechanism in his chest. "No hamsters in there, though. Pity, that would be a cool excuse— I could say it's those little tiny ones, the pygmies. I'm gonna start doing that, just to freak out little kids. Seriously, imagine their faces if I said I had a pygmy hamster running my suit. Priceless."

She laughed, shaking her head at him, but kept her hand right where it was, barely picking up the thrum of the machine and the hum of his pulse under her hand. "It's really beautiful, actually… If beautiful is the right word…?"

"In reference to me, yes, beautiful does just fine." He supplied without missing a beat, winking at her once more. "But really, you should see it in the dark." She raised an eyebrow at him questioningly and he waggled his eyebrows at her. "I make one damn fine nightlight."


I know I've said it before, but I have to say it again... I love writing for Tony.


Mizuki Sakamoto belongs to: Silver Flame Alchemist (aka Me)

The Avengers and all related characters and locations belong to: Marvel