No-One But You (The Mystic Consultant) - Part 2
Chapter 6: The Tiger Striped Cat (Part 6)
The Stark family only communicated under certain circumstances.
Talking on the telephone was a no-brainer, and that happened often. But when it came down to Tony, Maria and Howard meeting in person, there was a ton of protocol involved.
The small family had to meet in an enclosed space, with security watching. That's just how it went with the Stark family, because even in that moment Howard refused to take any chances.
Bucky Barnes was helping with all the arrangements. Natasha was there with him of course, and interacting with Tony's parents was actually refreshing. Howard was hilarious. Old as hell, but just as sassy as ever.
It amused Bucky to see Howard interact with his son.
The not-so-winter soldier was witnessing an interesting conversation between them. Howard started it off with a couple jokes about what Tony was doing, but the remarks were countered because Howard officially lived on a farm.
Tony told him to go back to Farm-ville and Howard laughed. Maria seemed a bit more focused on what her son was wearing.
She asked him to explain it, but Tony just shrugged it off. She asked him how Steve was doing, of course. Maria Stark adored Steve Rogers. She was surprised he wasn't there in that moment, but Tony said he'd be there in a few.
That's when Tony looked over at Bucky. He gave a sharp shift in Bucky's direction, and of course Tony had a gigantic grin on his face. Tony told his parents that Steve was assembling a "dream team".
Correction.
Tony said "they" were assembling a dream team for their defense. Howard wanted some additional details. Bucky cleared his throat.
"Steve and I have been trying to put together a team. We've got other shit to do, so, we're testing out the first draft pick."
Tony seemed amused when he spoke. Everyone else in the room was unaware of all the work both Tony and Steve put into formulating that "dream team". Howard asked him if they planed to retire.
"Do you plan to retire, or some shit?" Howard's tone switched up. The idea of his son retiring at his age bothered him.
Tony had to laugh. Retirement wasn't in the plan at all. In fact, Tony said, as it was, he barely even worked. Bucky listened to the son explain that they planned to take a much needed joyride.
It seemed like he was talking about something specific.
"Remember when we tried to drive the vet to Manhattan?" Tony tried to jog his old dad's memory. Steve and Tony once had this bright idea of driving away together. They gave it a shot, but there were too many things getting in the way.
Their epic cruise in Howard's Corvette was a bust. Tony never let that go, so...
They didn't wreck the car, but the two of them weren't able to get where they needed to go. Something happened right at the start of the drive, and in some ways the car never managed to get going.
Bucky was curious about what he was hearing, but at the same time he just thought Tony was bizarre. He drew in a deep breath as the conversation continued. Natasha gave Bucky a small smile once he glanced in her direction.
She seemed amused with all the chatter as well. Bucky wondered about that too, because she could have also known what Tony was actually talking about with all that car bullshit. Natasha just seemed to know and understand shit like that.
He thought about asking her when he could. Maybe.
Chapter: END
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