Oh
I'll go get a ring
Let the choir bell sing like ooh
So what you wanna do
Lets just run girl
If we wake up and you want to break up
That's cool
No I won't blame you
It was fun girl
Don't say no no no no no
Just say yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
And we'll go go go go go
If you're ready, like I'm ready
'Cause it's a beautiful night, we're looking for something dumb to do
Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you
Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice
Who cares baby, I think I wanna marry you
Marry You, by Bruno Mars, from the album Doo-Wops & Hooligans, released in 2010
Honestly, of all things Peter was expecting when he was woken by Sparrow dipping his hand in ice, it wasn't that Tony was wanting to propose to Pepper. It was a good thing, don't misunderstand him, but he wasn't expecting it to happen.. so soon. There was a bunch of other news that Peter was anticipating, news about May, about Sparrow's past.. the court case.
Of course, Tony had told them that he'd been proven innocent, and that was great, but the other news had blown it out of the water. Honestly, Peter had been expecting it to take a long time for one of them to propose because it was common knowledge to those who knew Tony that he was self-critical and constantly worried about being rejected in some way or form.
To know that he's wanting to propose to Pepper, and asked for their opinions on it? Well, Peter was happy. Hence the hug. Even though he knew full well that the man wasn't the biggest advocate of touch.
"That's great!"
He hummed happily, still holding onto the man. Of course, there were no cracked or broken ribs, because he managed his strength, thank you very much. The fact that it was 7 AM meant nothing to any of them, especially Peter, because not only was he used to waking up at stupid o'clock and staying up late for projects, but the news eradicated any sleepiness he had previously.
Sparrow seemed to be similar, in the sense that Peter wouldn't have been able to tell that she had been asleep at all, had he not known beforehand.
"How are you planning to do it?"
Sparrow quietly asked as Peter stepped away from Tony, brimming with excitement. Any pain he had from his patrol had disappeared quickly due to his healing factor taking care of it while he was asleep, and Peter stretched, cracking his neck. He definitely needed both a shower and a change of clothes.
"I mean, I would take her somewhere in the Iron Man suit... but I think we all know Pep wouldn't appreciate that too much. But I'd like to take her somewhere remote for a picnic or something- blasphemy, I know, but I don't want anything too fancy. And neither does she. If I proposed during a conference she'd hate me for it.. well, not hate, because who could hate me, but she wouldn't be happy."
Sparrow seemed to be in thought for a brief second, as the conversation lapsed slightly before her eyes seemed to lighten up with something, before darkening ever so slightly. She looked at the two of them for a brief second, as she said whatever was on her mind. Peter never knew what she was thinking half the time- most of the time- and he highly doubted it would be an ability he would obtain.
"I think I know a place."
Sparrow had settled into her suit, which was much more comfortable to fly in then her standard clothing. Or at least, that was why Peter had assumed she had changed. She had forewarned them that they would have to fly a fair distance, and so Tony had suited up in the Mark 33, one of his older suits.
Well, not old old but still old. Shut up Parker. He thought to himself. At this rate, he would be calling Tony old and he would much rather not, thank you. That left Peter in an awkward position because he couldn't just web to somewhere that was in the air- and that was out of the city.
"Pete-"
Turning to face Tony, Peter was surprised when a suit stood next to Tony, looking oddly familiar. Its main body was Iron Man red, a defining colour that pretty much ensured it had been made by Tony. Small lines, looking like webs, crisscrossed all over the armour, cleverly hiding where the plates folded over to provide resistance to the armour.
Similarly to the Iron Spider, there was a thick golden shoulder pad on each shoulder, bulging out every so often. The design was to protect his shoulders when he was web-slinging. Across the chest of the armour, there was a golden spider, arms wrapping around the shoulders, ribs, and waist respectively. The legs that wrapped around his waist formed a subtle belt, and little lights were visible throughout the armour.
Except they weren't lights- no, they were small, miniaturised arc reactors. Golden crowns that were the web-shooters nestled at the bases of the wrists, their slight angled point only slightly sticking out. Several twists of golden metal wrapped around the arms of the armour, providing extra protection against any potential injuries:
Tony did think of everything.. even to an extent of overprotectiveness. Peter marvelled at how it looked, internally fanboying, ignoring them it's childish to fanboy, and focusing on the oh my god it's so cool just as Tony gestured to it with an armoured hand.
"Go ahead Spiderling, it's just for you."
Peter most definitely didn't sprint towards the armour, no, not at all. He turned to face away from the grasps of the suit, before stepping back into it. With no noise at all, the suit carefully wrapped itself around his body, with the helmet reforming over his head, as both his hud and Karen lit up with minimal processing time. Looking down at his wrists, he flexed them, before seeing two large glowing gold circles, glowing vibrantly.
"Meet the first of its kind: the Iron Spider Aeronautical Armor or ISAA for short."
"Aeronautical?"
Tony smirked, as both Sparrow and Tony looked at Peter, Sparrow in curiosity and Tony in amusement. Peter wasn't exactly paying attention to what he was saying, instead of focusing on the new options and admiring the suit. Tony cleared his throat, and within a few seconds of that, Peter shot into the air, hovering and flailing wildly. His entire form was shaking within the air, reminding Peter of Tony's first flight test. Tumbling through the air, yet not rising or falling ungracefully to the ground.
"Karen, stabilise him will you?"
"Peter, lay your hands flat out like you are bracing them on a table. Keep your feet flat like you are walking, and your flight should balance out."
Heeding Karen's advice, he fought his reflex to flail or web onto something or try and stick to something, and instead flattened his hands out, with his feet following suit. The suit balanced it out, the distribution of forces becoming simple physics as he was no longer cartwheeling in the air. Tony was laughing openly, making Peter's cheeks flame, as even Sparrow, Sparrow smiled a little.
"It's not as easy as it looks, does it Spider-Kid?"
As if on cue, Tony rose up in the air with all the gracefulness Peter didn't have, and did a small somersault in the air, just barely missing the roof. He folded his suit helmet back, after thoroughly making sure that his cheeks were no longer redder than Rudolph's nose.
"Yeah yeah, Mr Cocky."
Tony, in a very childlike move, stuck his tongue out, before folding the helmet back over, with his voice coming out ever so slightly tinny.
"Time for a crash course in flying then, Boy Wonder."
Rolling his eyes, and with the helmet folding back over, the three of them took to the air- with Karen controlling his movements for the current moment- and they went out onto the roof of the Tower, with both Tony and Sparrow floating higher then he was currently.
"So you need to carefully control what angle your repulsors go at..."
Sparrow had actually been a large help with learning how to fly. Since her flight ability was generated by her and involved manipulating the air around her, she had to quickly adjust how strong the air was pushing or pulling in different areas. And since she had to manipulate how she moved using her hands and feet, she was particularly helpful in that area.
Between the two of them, while Peter wasn't the most graceful of fliers, nor was he the best in the field, he passed Tony's test and was a capable pilot, which was more than enough to get him to the destination and back. Which was where they were headed now.
They were flying high in the air above New York, practically invisible to the naked eye down below. They hurtled through the air, at a fast velocity as they headed north, out of the main city of New York, and into luscious forests, rocky roads, and natural rivers. Tony had asked Sparrow where they were going, and she had responded, ever so quietly like she was afraid of upsetting them.
"I don't know what it's called.. only where it is.."
Tony had shrugged it off, instead of asking Sparrow various questions in the form of casual conversation. Peter could tell that the man wasn't nervous at all at heading into the wilderness with a girl formerly with HYDRA, and he wasn't either. HYDRA didn't control her.. if anything,Bucky or Tony did.That sounded bad out of context, and in the way, it could possibly be taken, but let him explain.
There were a lot of things that Sparrow had overcome with her therapist, despite it being a slow process as Peter himself knew very well. But for every issue, every accomplishment, every trigger understood and everything consolidated, there was always one more thing. One more mountain to climb. One more fear to conquer. And while Sparrow still had many more of these, there was one that was more pressing and was the one Peter was referring to.
If Tony or Bucky, who she had all but sworn allegiance to, told her to jump off a cliff, then it was highly likely- no, it was definitely- an action she would do. Without question. That kind of.. devotion? Was that the right word? Either that or dedication. Anyway, that could be dangerous. As far as Peter had witnessed, she had never directly disobeyed what Tony or Peter had said before. Never.
The only known instance was back during the Ultron fiasco, where she had disobeyed Tony's order to stay on the boat in order to save more innocent lives, and even then she had been more wary and timid for days after. Like she was expecting something. A punishment. Other then that one explicit example, she had obeyed all orders since. Wait. There had been another instance- when she had refused to stand down when Bucky had ordered her to when they were creating Vision.
She had resisted then, but had looked to be in immense pain. Of course, neither Tony nor Bucky took advantage of this- wait, the Ultron incident by Bucky could possibly classify as that, both of whom feeling quite empathetic towards the girl. Tony, being Tony, played some music over the comms, with The Rolling Stones 'Paint it Black' being screamed out over it.
Well, it was probably a normal volume for none-enhanced people, such as Tony, but it was pretty loud for him, and likely Sparrow as well. They flew for another half hour, taking them up to forty-five minutes before a large mountain sprung up in front of them. Well, not literally, but it sounded more dramatic when phrased like that, didn't it?
"FRIDAY, what am I looking at?"
Karen, without being prompted, initialised what information FRIDAY was springing up, with a small map icon along with a long chain of information, which picked out keywords and information. They all halted in mid-air, Peter being a bit jumpy with the repulsors, but managing not to tumble uncontrollably. He still preferred his webs.. which were a lot easier to control. And of course, were easier to use, physics why.
"That is Morgan Mountain, Boss. It has an elevation of 6814 feet, and takes its name from a family called the Morgan family, who settled there in the 1850s."
Cool. You really did learn something new every day. Peter, getting more bored the longer they stayed still, braced himself before shooting ahead in a blur of red and gold. He laughed as Sparrow and Tony shot off after him, as they listened to his teasing remarks of,
"Last one to the Mountain is a rotten egg!"
Tony had beaten the two of them in the race, the streamlined Iron Man suit having no competition against the ISAA nor against Sparrow's expert manipulation of the wind. They had touched down in a relatively sheltered area, the cliffs of the mountain forming almost a bowl. The grass was long, and green, full of life despite the lack of any shrubbery or plant life.
Tony nodded in approval, crossing his arms as the faceplate flipped up, scanning the environment. It was remote enough that there would be no worrying about the press but close enough that it didn't involve much flight time- assuming they would fly. Driving, it would probably take a little longer.
"What's Pepper's favourite flower?"
"Snapdragons. Either that or red chrysanthemums."
Nodding, Sparrow crouched down, placing her bare hands on the grass. Before she moved to do anything, she looked up at the two of them, who was looking at her with curiosity.
"Could you please show me an image of them?"
The arc reactor in the middle of Tony's suit surged with energy, producing an image of what were assumed to be snapdragons and chrysanthemums. Peter was, by no means, a botanist, so he'd just take Tony at his word. Well that, and he'd trust FRIDAY's ability to pull up an accurate representation from the internet.
Still watching them, she placed her hands into the green grass again, tensing her hands into the soil, leaving claw marks. Almost instantly, the grass became even greener, shining as Sparrow seemed to pulse her powers through it. Almost immediately, two little saplings sprouted, to the top of the field, their leaves broadening out as they lapped up sunlight.
As they grew to a comical size so that they were a couple of metres above his own height. The green stems thickened considerably, rounding out so it left two large, brown thickened trunks. Several offshoots formed from the top, branching out towards one another, so the trees interlocked with one another, forming also two curved arcs, side by side.
Both began to become dusted in pink flowers, blooming and spreading out with golden centres. Cherry blossoms? I think? They look nice. Peter had been so absorbed in the growing of the cherry blossoms that he hadn't noticed other flowers in the field grow to life. Snapdragons curled up out of the ground, swaying in time to some song that only Sparrow could hear, and chrysanthemums, in various shades of red popped out, intertwining with some other miscellaneous plants.
The whole scene, in Peter's honest opinion, looked like something out of a fairytale. Two more trees, upon turning to face them, grew, but they were a darker shade, a more whimsical lilac colour rather than a dark cherry pink. Bushes, the neat kind, linked them together, forming an incredibly neat circle.
"Wow..."
Peter exhaled. He had never been particularly keen on plants, but even Peter could appreciate this kind of beauty. Tony seemed in a similar kind of shock, mouth hanging ever so slightly open- which was very much unlike him- and eyes opened, not narrowed in any way.
"Is this acceptable?"
Just like that, Tony snapped back to attention, his stare unwaveringly meeting Sparrow's emerald eyes. She didn't seem exhausted at all from the use of her powers, further cementing Peter's belief that much like his own, it didn't consume energy for her to use. Of course, he had no way of knowing that apart from experimenting, which he would never do to her. Never ever. It was a boundary that, despite his love for science, he would never cross.
"This?… of course it is, but you didn't have to do that Boo."
Peter blinked. That was a nickname he most definitely didn't understand, and it was likely to be something long before his time.
"One good turn deserves another, I believe the phrase is?"
Sparrow seemed so confident and persuasive in what she was saying, that had he been ignorant, he would've believed that she was being completely honest in what she was saying. But for Sparrow, the phrase was much more like 'One good turn deserves another multiple for Sparrow'. Still, Tony shrugged it off, knowing there was no particular point in bringing up the obvious, and instead looked at the two of them like he was personally affronted.
"The Boo Radleys?"
"Uh… who?"
Tony looked like he wanted to facepalm right there and then. Instead, he sighed, shaking his head in mock frustration, and muttering what sounded oddly like 'kids these days..' under his breath.
"They sang the song Sparrow? Released in '92?"
They still gave him blank looks. Tony sighed loudly, as he carefully rose into the air, the beginnings of a song building up in the suit's speakers.
"Geez, you kids.. and you Parker. I expected better from you."
He wagged his finger at Pete, who smiled and feigned being afraid. The two of them were serious jokers sometimes, and Peter couldn't help a sense of humour.
"Anyway, this place fits the bill exactly- but let's head back before Pep thinks I've run off to do something particularly newsworthy. And I will educate you on 90's pop."
"Ew."
Peter commented, practically flinching at the mere suggestion of nineties pop. Tony waggled his eyebrows as they set off into the sky again, with Peter's take-off being a little more ungraceful then the other two's.
"Right answer."
Author's Note
Hi everyone! I'm actually on time this week!
I'm looking forward to Christmas this week! How about everyone else?
I'm going to keep this short since I feel like I'm going to sleep.
QOTW: What is your favourite thing about Christmas?
My favourite thing, as cliche as it may sound, is spending time with my family, and getting together with them.
Have a very good Christmas and I'll see you next time!
~Cait