I managed to get a breakthrough with this piece so I finished off for all of you to read! It's a little longer, but I figured no one would mind :) It was weird because when I started, I was struggling for ideas and then they just started coming until I had all of this written down. I'm not sure where I'm going with this story after this, but I did say I would try to do a Fury chapter. I also got a request to do Coulson (still love him. Soooo much) and to do Tony himself, so it'll probably be one of those three!
Also, I just wanted to take this moment to seriously and sincerely thank all of you who have reviewed. You bring a smile to my face every time I read a review. I love knowing that my work is appreciated and I love making all of you happy!
Like always, read, review, and enjoy :D
Steve returns from his road trip after the fight with Loki to his apartment that S.H.I.E.L.D has provided for him in Brooklyn, but finds out that this is the last place he wants to be. He thought he was done with attachments, but as he sat in his quiet apartment he realized that he was actually missing the team. So he did the most insane thing he can think of—he moved in with them. For the first couple weeks, he spends the majority of his time observing the catastrophe that is the Avengers' tower; more specifically, the son of his long ago friend. And he starts to notice some things.
Tony is a man of the future. He's not just referring to the fact that Tony is constantly creating new and developing technology. He means Tony doesn't talk about his past, and he doesn't limit it to a certain time in his past. He doesn't talk about his childhood, his time at college, his early days at Stark Industries, or his time before Iron Man. The only exceptions Tony makes are for past experiments and his many (public) scandals. Whenever someone raises a question about Tony's past, he skillfully deflects it or skims around the issue. Tony is constantly moving forward, and he threatens to leave everyone else behind. So instead, the rest of the team races to catch up with him, learning quickly that it's not even worth looking back.
(Fury had warned him not to go looking for answers about Howard from Tony. Pepper had explained it to him: Howard wasn't around a lot when Tony was growing up and when he was, well…he and Tony didn't really see eye-to-eye. Tony just wanted to make him happy and Howard wanted him to be…well, I would find your answers elsewhere. But Steve wanted to know what had happened to his old friend that made everyone give him such severe warnings. So when he found Tony drinking one night, he decided to risk it. Tony had been putting the drink to his lips when Steve asked and it was the first time he had ever seen the other man spill a drink. He set the glass down on the table, staring at it long enough that Steve began to wonder if he was going to answer. He was a good man, Tony said suddenly, but never a father. With that, he drained the rest of his drink, grabbed the bottle, and disappeared into his workshop. Steve never asked again—the pain in Tony's eyes didn't belong there.)
At the same time, Tony is a lot like his father. Steve, of course, has never said this to Tony, but he recognizes a lot in him that he saw in Howard. They have the same intelligence and, on a more specific level, they display their genius in the same manner. Howard was always messing with new things, learning what worked and what didn't by doing the actual experiment rather than doing calculations. Steve has never seen Tony sit down and write out calculations when he can just build the thing and try it out. They both share similar eccentrics, complete with not really knowing how to act around other people. And they have the same charisma, the same thing that draws people to them, the same ability to talk people around in circles until they've forgotten what they originally asked.
(Duck! Steve hears when he walks in the lab. Bruce had warned him Tony was working on something new. The wall behind him crumbles slightly as the laser from the suit powers down. When Steve asks him just what in the hell he's doing, Tony answers him from the depths of the suit's glove. I was working on the thrusters when I realized that I could create a system that shuts down parts of the suit so that more power can be diverted to the lasers. Steve questions if he did any calculations this time before he tested it, and Tony emerges from his work long enough to stare at him like he's crazy. Why would I do calculations when I can just test it? The glove fires again when Tony pushes something he shouldn't be pushing and Steve just barely manages to duck out of the way. He almost yells out Howard! but stops himself just in time. Tony seems to forget he's even there, so he takes a safe seat in the lab and watches Tony create a piece of art.)
Tony is fearless. Steve has watched the playbacks from Tony's "threatening" talk with Loki and the only time he actually shows fear when he's about to get thrown out the window. Even then, though, the sense of thrill is stronger in his eyes than the fear. Since then, Steve has seen Tony face down rival company heads, villains, and Fury, never backing down the tiniest bit, even when they attack him personally. Steve isn't sure whether this is a good thing or not. His fearlessness is what allows him to make so many advances in his field, but it's also the reason why he frequently walks out of his lab with cuts, bruises, and burns. It's what leads him to leap without looking and damn all the consequences.
(They're stuck in a building that's collapsed on them, him, Tony, and Clint. Clint is passed out, he has a broken arm and his leg is stuck under a rock, and Tony is suffering a brutal concussion. He can barely form two words in one breath. The only light is coming from Tony's arc reactor. Steve has never liked being trapped (being useless) and he's close to panicking. Yet the few words Tony does manage to string together are all designed to put Steve at ease. Later, when they're recovering in the medical ward, Steve asks how he does it; how he manages to not feel fear. Tony shrugged. I still fear, he admits, and Steve wonders if he's still suffering the intense headaches the doctors warned him would be part of his everyday life for the next week. I just learned to bury it so far down that not even I can find it until it's too late. It doesn't really make sense to Steve, but Tony's asleep when he goes to ask what he means.)
Tony suffered from PTSD. He had never been diagnosed with it, though there was a warning in Tony's file that he was…twitchy sometimes. Besides that though, Steve had seen enough soldiers suffering from it to recognize it. Sometimes he would walk into the lab and see Tony staring off into space with Jarvis trying to catch his attention again. Sometimes loud noises made him jump and put him on edge. He seemed to be able to control it for the most part, because it never seemed to affect him during a battle. Steve wondered if it had to do with the fact that Tony was active in battle, that he could fight and defend, instead of being submissive, like he had been forced to in Afghanistan.
(Steve knows Tony doesn't really like sleeping in the first place. Pepper has assured him this was a habit even before he came back from captivity. However, he wasn't surprised when he walked into the living room at 5 in the morning to see Tony passed out on the couch. After all, Tony was still human and even humans couldn't go four days with only a few hours of sleep. From his twitching and muttering, Steve guessed it wasn't a good dream, so he decided to wake him up. He had barely set a hand on Tony's shoulder before the man is up and stumbling away from him, his hands raised in defenselessness. The blind panic on Tony's face nearly kills Steve. As Tony tries to blink away whatever memory he was stuck in, Steve takes a step back, raising his own hands in response. Tony, he says, talking softly and calmly like they had taught him in the army, take a deep breath. You need to remember you're not over there anymore. You're safe, in New York. It takes another five minutes for Steve to talk Tony out of his flashback completely. Steve is a little disappointed when Tony pulls himself to his feet, his hands still shaking, and makes his way to his lab. I just…just need to…to work, Tony says, disappearing into his lab. Really though, Steve can't say he's surprised.)
Tony isn't useless without his suit. He remembers what he says to Tony (big man in a suit—take that away and what are you?) and he learns shockingly quick how wrong he is. Tony is just a different kind of dangerous without the suit—a mental type of dangerous. Tony can outthink his opponent nine times out of ten, predicting their end game and, along the way, how they plan on getting there. When he escaped captivity, he proved that he was smart enough to form a weapon to defend himself. Besides that, Tony is manipulative and knows how to read people. He's never admitted it to the man, but Steve always feels better with Tony beside them when they go into battle.
(They're out at a fundraiser that S.H.I.E.L.D. has required them to go to when someone screams out the word bomb! All of the civilians panic and start running every which way. Steve gets Bruce out of there before the stress drives him into a change. When he comes back, Clint and Natasha are trying to direct traffic. Happy runs up to him, briefcase cuffed to his wrist. Where's Mr. Stark? he pants. Steve looks around frantically, trying to find the billionaire. Usually, it's easy to pick out the man, but now he can't find him anywhere. Anyone have eyes on Stark? he asks as he runs to where the bomb is supposed to be located. Natasha and Clint give him a negative answer but it doesn't matter, he's already found the man. He's kneeling beside the bomb, wires pulled out all over the place. Sh! Tony says as he picks through the wires. The time on the bomb flashes 1:00. I'm concentrating. Got something sharp on you? He holds out his hands expectantly. Natasha appears beside him and places a sharp knife in Tony's hand. Everyone's out. N.Y.P.D is evacuating the area. Are we sure he knows what he's doing? Tony doesn't look back, but he provides his smart ass attitude anyway. So little trust. Now is it the green wire to diffuse the bomb or the yellow? Or maybe the blue one…Natasha shoots a glare at him and Steve can't blame her. Still, as S.H.I.E.L.D removes the now-diffused bomb, Tony approaches them with a big smile, throwing an arm over Steve's shoulder. I don't know if anyone ever told you, but I'm kinda a weapons expert.)
Tony is paranoid. Before the team arrived, the majority of his company was electronic, so it doesn't take someone born in this century to realize that he doesn't trust people. But if that wasn't enough, there's always the fact that he doesn't fall in with authority, doesn't take commands, doesn't allow anyone any kind of power over him. He's never met anyone who doesn't care what people's intentions are, but only the results. Even though they've been welcomed into the newly fitted Avengers' tower, sometimes he senses that Tony is struggling with their constant presence. At first, he shies away from their group gatherings, disappearing into the lab or to Stark Industries. Slowly, though, his sarcastic comments become something that draws a smile out of even Steve while they're gathered around the kitchen table.
(Tony, we're making dinner together, Steve says as he enters the lab. Tony must be in a good mood because he allows Jarvis to let him in. You should come up and join us. I know for a fact you haven't eaten in a while. Tony's deep in his work, his body surrounded by the hologram of the suit. He gives an absent minded uh-huh but made no obvious of sign that he had actually heard him. Tony, he repeats with just a little more authority in his voice. Tony automatically reacts to it, despite his hatred on hearing it. No one's seen you for a week. Come up for some air. Suddenly Tony's throwing out excuses about how he's been busy, about how he's got a really good idea and he'll lose it if he leaves (though no one ever takes him seriously when he says that. He just has impulse control issues), but Steve has always been good at reading nervousness because he's always been so prone to it. He sees it now in Tony. He's nervous to join the entire group, people who are getting too close. Steve gives him a smile. Just this once. After that, Tony is always at the table when they have group dinners.)
