Summary: Tony sees Steve listening to one of his old vinyls and catches on to the nostalgia the soldier is drowning himself into.
Tony being Tony calls in a meeting with the Avengers and the extended family to tell the amazing idea he had: create Steve a playlist of their favorite songs to help with his adaptation.
Characters: Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov, Maria Hill, Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Bruce Banner, Thor, Pepper Potts, Jane Foster, Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Darcy Lewis, James "Bucky" Barnes, Jarvis.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Pepper Potts, Maria Hill/Pietro Maximoff.
Tags of the chapter: Tony Stark has a heart, Steve needs a hug, team as family, BAMF Pepper Potts, Sam Wilson is a gift, Rhodey is a good bro, Bucky Barnes remembers, Jarvis' organizational skills, domestic Avengers.
A/N: So, the idea I had one day was to make a playlist that the Avengers could probably do to show Steve what he had missed from the music world during the 70 years he spent on ice. In the beginning, it was supposed to contain a little bit of every genre, but I quickly diverted from this with the thought that the team would probably show Steve the songs that they liked – not necessarily showing all genres then.
This is set after Ultron but Pietro is very much alive, thank you! No Vision, though… but he should be getting the playlist later to listen as well. Bucky is there and the world is good. Civil War has no intention of happening because NO. Also, Clint is not married, because he lives at the tower and that would not be a cool thing to do to Laura. And time is a weird thing in this series of drabbles.
All is well and they are one fucking big family who love each other and sometimes have urges to kill one another, normal stuff.
Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! Link available on my profile.
Something to Hold Onto
Chapter One, Cheek to Cheek, 1935
Tony was walking towards the kitchen, intent on grabbing coffee before going to his workshop when he heard a soft song coming from the library. He frowned as he grabbed his steaming cup, trying to figure who would be up at the late hour. He quickly figured out who when he heard who was singing.
"Steve." Tony walked inside the room and briefly looked at the vinyl playing Fred Astaire but his attention diverted to the soldier on the couch. He was looking intently at one of his sketchbooks.
He did not acknowledge the genius directly, but moved over so that Tony could sit next to him – which the other did. Steve continue to slowly turn the pages of the sketchbook he drew on when he was in the army.
"Heaven, I'm in Heaven and my heart beats to that I can hardly speak and I seem to find the happiness I seek when we're out together dancing, cheek to cheek."
Steve sharply inhaled the air when the song started and with shaky fingers, he turned another page. Tony was quiet the whole time, waiting patiently until the other man was ready to talk and taking in every reaction, however small.
"Heaven, I'm in Heaven and the care that hang around me thro' the week seem to vanish like a gambler's lucky streak when we're out together dancing, cheek to cheek."
"Aunt Peggy." Tony's voice was barely a whisper as he saw the drawing Steve had made during one of the many days he had been in Europe.
Steve finally lifted his eyes and let out a quiet breath, steading himself in reality.
"I didn't know that you knew her." He let Tony take the sketchbook to inspection the drawing closer. "But it makes sense that you do, she and Howard were very good friends. They liked to fondue together." He added the last part as an afterthought.
Tony's face of disgust was comical. "You make it sound like sex."
His confusion only made Steve finally laugh at the memory.
"Dance with me, I want my arm about you. The charm about you will carry me thro' to Heaven. I'm in Heaven and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak and I seem to find the happiness I seek when we're out together dancing, cheek to cheek."
Tony lost Steve for a few seconds as the memories brought him back to the past along with the song playing. When he saw a tear roll down his friend's face, he lost it and hugged the man. He let out a breath when Steve hugged him back, clearly back to reality.
After a while, when the album stopped playing and Steve pushed away the sketchbook, Tony spoke again.
"I'm calling for an assemble."
"Tony, it's four-thirty in the morning." Steve scoffed, knowing that nothing would stop the genius. He just hoped no one tried to kill him for waking them up at such an ungodly hour.
Tony made Jarvis sound the group assemble alarm – which was different from the one they heard when there was an attack somewhere – and Steve followed him into the living room to wait for the others.
It took five minutes for everybody to arrive, since the tower was completely full that day. Natasha, Clint and Bucky were the first to arrive, as usual. Later came Sam, Rhodey and Pepper and they were quickly followed by Thor, Jane, Darcy and Wanda. Maria Hill and Pietro arrived together – which no one found strange at the time.
"Go on, Stark. You called us for this and I would like to go back to sleep." Natasha waved her hand for Tony to begin.
"We need to create Steve a playlist with the songs that he missed from when he was on ice." Tony felt the soldier shudder next to him and place a steadying hand on his shoulder, to keep him in the present. "I'm not talking about telling him to listen to a bunch of albums, that's not doable considering the large amount we would be presenting him."
Rhodey cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say something but quickly gave up when he noticed how haunted Steve looked. Tony had not woken the whole team up to talk about collaborating on a playlist; he did that to show Steve that he was not alone. The colonel ended up smiling at his best friend.
"We can do that." Sam nodded in approval and the group nodded along.
Bucky got up from the couch and pulled Steve from his sitting place, throwing an arm around his shoulders and pulling his friend to the bedroom. "Come on, punk, let's sleep."
Just when they were getting out of reach, they heard Bucky say that 'he had his back until the end of the line' and heard Steve calling him a jerk amidst laughter.
Pepper got on her toes and kissed Tony's forehead, later she hooked her arms with him and pulled him to the bedroom with her as well.
The rest of the group quickly moved to their own chambers to fall back asleep, and since they were all feeling so sleep deprived, no one noticed that Pietro had grabbed Hill's hand and intertwined their fingers.
A/N: Song: Cheek to Cheek, by Fred Astaire - 1935.