They had been living together in the Avengers' Tower for over six months. To say those months had been interesting would be a severe understatement. Tony Stark still wasn't completely used to sharing a home with others who were not AIs or bots let alone having them actively interact with him on an almost daily basis. There were days when he was running on too much coffee and no sleep that he actually didn't realize they were in the same room or even talking to him until one physically interacted with him. However, when JARVIS mentioned there was something occurring in the movie room that was worrying Tony's innate curiosity was piqued, slightly. He paused in the repairs to the chest plate of his armor as Dummy whirred at him uncertainly.
The pause was momentary as Tony muttered, "I'm sure they have a handle on it." He rapidly became immersed once more in his work and the music continued to blare in his workshop until JARVIS responded.
"Sir, I believe-" Tony held up his free hand before turning off the blow torch and standing up. He shoved his mask up. "Fine. I needed more coffee anyway." The last bit was muttered almost petulantly since JARVIS had been subtly nagging him periodically since he had come down to the lab almost two days ago. Clearly it was Steve's influence. Dummy held up a slightly clean cloth, though it was mostly covered in various oils, that Tony grabbed from him on his way toward the stairs. "Thanks Dummy." The bot whirred happily when Tony's hand absently brushed him before speeding across the workshop toward Butterfingers who was at his charging station near You.
A quick stop in the kitchen, negotiations with the coffee pot which was acting up once more, a mental note to fix the damn thing and Tony was heading toward the movie room with a fresh cup of coffee. There didn't appear to be anything unusual at first glance; the TV was playing a movie, there were pizza boxes everywhere, a few beer bottles, a few empty glasses and his fellow teammates scattered across all the various pieces of furniture. Only two people were missing. No, there was nothing out of the ordinary until Tony noticed that there were five glowing circles that looked suspiciously like his arc reactor on their chests.
There was a moment of blind panic and the crazy thought that Loki had managed to do somethingto his teammates, which was far too common to be healthy, before Clint turned his head in Tony's direction. The smirk and amused glint in his eyes was the first clue, but it was Thor who solidified that no magic had been involved.
"Tony! Man of Iron! Clint found these shirts that honor you and we wanted to show our appreciation. Jane informs me that imitation is the highest form of flattery." He beamed at Tony as he stood up giving Tony a better look at the shirt. All of them appeared to be the same basic shirt design with reproductions of the glow of the arc reactor in the same spot that Tony's rested in his chest.
"Yeah Stark. We thought it was a great idea to honoryou." the smirk was even more noticeable in Clint's voice.
Tony's eyes narrowed as he lifted his coffee cup to his mouth and downed the contents in one go. If he was dealing with this shit it wouldn't be without caffeine because his sleep deprived mind could not handle this on its own. "Why?" the question was aimed at Steve who had the grace to blush and advert his eyes. No answer appeared to be forthcoming from Captain America despite the fact that Tony was attempting to stare him down.
Natasha grinned at him and it was all teeth, "I think the arc reactor looks much better on me." Amusement was dancing in her eyes and it was so rare to see that much emotion that Tony blinked before turning to the last member of his team; his fellow Sciencebro who was supposedto be completely on his side.
"They bought me the shirt. It's rude to turn down a gift." There was the guilt Tony was expecting as he tapped his foot on the floor; Bruce smiled at him almost sheepishly as he tugged on the hem of the shirt.
Tony gave them all an assessing stare before spinning on his heel and leaving the room. Once Tony's footsteps had faded Clint started laughing. The expression on his face entirely too pleased. "Did you see his expression? JARVIS did you record that?" Thor sat back down as Natasha leaned back in her chair and turned her attention to the TV.
"I'm sorry. Mr. Stark has given specific orders that any incriminating footage of him be destroyed or locked down until further notice." Clint pouted and the following muttered Damnwas mostly ignored by all.
Steve looked down at his own glowing arc reactor, a finger tracing over it idly as he wondered about the original that rested in Tony's chest. He wondered if it would hum underneath his hand and pushed down the thought. When Clint had come to them with a box full of arc reactor shirts and stories about even more types of merchandise he had discovered when browsing through the store with Thor, who was still trying to understand Earth culture, Steve had been stunned, horrified and flattered all at once. He had only agreed to wear the shirt because he had always been fascinated with the changes in technology and Tony' arc reactor coupled with the Iron Man suit was his favorite bit of tech in the future. Feeling the other occupant on the huge couch shift he glanced over at Thor who was still staring at the spot where Tony had been standing.
Thor frowned slightly, "Is there something wrong with Tony?" it was spoken innocently enough as the others looked around at each other. The room was surprising silent for several minutes, but before anyone could answer footsteps sounded in the hallway coming toward them. The sight that greeted them caused Bruce to choke on the drink he had been in the middle of taking and Steve to flush an even darker shade of red than before.
Tony Stark stood in the doorway to the movie room wearing a Captain America shirt with a replica of Thor's hammer hanging from his belt, Hulk slippers adorned his feet, a BlackWidow plushie held on to the handle of Mjölnir and the mug in Tony's hand was Hawkeye themed. The room was filled with stunned silence as he stood there smirking at them and the varying expressions on all of their faces. Upon looking back at this moment in the future Tony would be filled with a sense of pride and tremendous amusement. Thor was staring at the replica of Mjölnir with a bit of excitement as he had not seen it in a while; he cocked his head to the side when he finally noticed the little plushie. Amusement was the prevalent emotion on his face. Natasha was filled with a vague sense of horror at her little stuffed miniature while Clint looked insulted and disturbed at the mug in Stark's hand, but captivated by the entire outfit. Part of him wondered if Stark would share where he had hidden all of these items and if he'd kept or found more of them. Another part of him wondered if it was lack of sleep and too much coffee that possessed Stark respond in such a way.
Steve's eyes were mostly focused on the shirt and if it filled him with certain thoughts…well he was going to keep those close to the chest at this point. Tony had only broken up with Pepper several months ago. Bruce eyed the Hulk feet that Tony was wearing and idly was relieved that he had not coupled them with the huge Hulk hands that he knewClint had hidden in his room along with a collection of stuffed Avengers Clint had acquired during their stint as children. He was almost certain Clint was keeping them for some nefarious reason that made him want to hole up in his lab.
The silence that had filled the room was interrupted by Coulson, "Director Fury wanted me to inform you—" he stopped speaking. Sharp eyes scanned Tony's wardrobe and accessories before assessing the glowing arc reactors that the rest of the team was wearing. "Stark, there are not words for the—I hesitate to call it an outfit, but I'm actually at a loss—collection of things you are wearing. As for the rest of you, I've had nightmares about this…so many nightmares." Coulson continued to stare at them; the arc reactors all glowing at him ominously as he actually had to suppress a shiver due to the fact that they made him think of Stark being cloned.
At this point Tony reached into his pocket and slowly withdrew a pair of sunglasses that looked suspiciously like the pair Coulson always wore and had custom made. He carefully placed them on his own face and proceeded to flash a charming smile while holding up the peace sign. To say it completed the weird outfit he was wearing would be an understatement and at this point the only thing missing was background music. Menacing and ominous background music.
Coulson's eye twitched.
I just wanted to thank everyone for the reviews I've received and the favorites. It's great to know that my writing is enjoyed. Hope you like these two updates!