#except tony is a snarky billionaire avenger

[overtlyonyx]

literally irondad/stephen and spiderson ⁉️⁉️

[ao3feed-irondadspiderson]

in media res

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57367708 by webss312 “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Steve said, mildly. “Pete and I got hot dogs. That’s it.” “Pete?” Tony emphasized, jaw dropping at the sheer audacity. “Since when do you use nicknames for people?” “I call Bucky by nicknames.” Steve pointed out. “I called the kid ‘Pete’ first,” Tony said, narrowing his eyes. “Stop trying to steal my shtick. Get your own.” “You don’t own the nickname, Tony.” Steve looked amused as he said it. “I can own whatever I want, I’m a billionaire,” Tony replied, already running through the legal process in his mind of how he could possibly patent a nickname. He’d have to ask Pepper. These were dire circumstances. He refused to have his own personal intern usurped by someone wearing the carbon polymer equivalent of Uncle Sam’s tighty-whities. —- OR: The media gets one image of Steve and Peter getting hot dogs together and runs with it, assuming that Peter is Steve’s secret son. Tony takes great insult to this fact. Tony Stark does not like being one-upped by people stealing his personal intern. Least of all by Captain America. He has a reputation to uphold, after all. Words: 4548, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Friday (Marvel), Michelle Jones (Marvel) Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Additional Tags: Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Teen Peter Parker, Sassy Peter Parker, Steve Rogers Being a Little Shit, Oblivious Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Jealous Tony Stark, not really he's mostly just salty, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, Social Media, the internet ships stony, and peter is doing absolutely nothing except fueling it on purpose, Misunderstandings, Michelle Jones is a Little Shit (Marvel), James "Rhodey" Rhodes is So Done, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, FRIDAY is a little shit, Snarky Friday (Marvel), BAMF Peter Parker, Snarky Tony Stark, Steve Rogers Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Peter Parker & Steve Rogers Friendship, Not Canon Compliant, Humor, Fluff and Humor, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff and Crack, Happy Ending, Avengers Family, Domestic Avengers read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/57367708

[homosexuality-at-its-finest]

3+1 (Avengers x Male!reader)

Plot: 3 times you saved the avengers and the 1 time they saved you

Avengers x Male!reader

Warnings: cussing, slight angst?, readers a selfless idiot

Y/N: your name

H/C: hair color

E/C: eye color

Word count: 1396

 1.

The mission was supposed to be a simple one, infiltrate a HYDRA base and get information on their current plans. The team had gotten word from and informant that HYDRA was planning something big, something that could endanger the world at large. The plan was rather simple, most of the team would distract the agents while Natasha snuck inside and hacked into their systems and got the information they needed.

It started off well, with everyone but Natasha distracting the agents as she creeped into the building, making her way towards the main server room. The trip to the server room was surprisingly easy, the red head only having to take down a few of the HYDRA goons. She had taken them down with ease and was now in the server room, eyes scanning over the words that ran past the screen in front of her. She plugged the flash drive in, hacking through the needed files so she could upload the documents onto the flash drive. She could hear the playful banter mixed with orders from Steve over the comm, a small smirk spreading across her lips when she heard Tony make a snarky comment towards their team leader.

In her moment of distraction an agent had snuck up on her, but before he could lay a hand on the assassin a cry of pain left his lips as someone hit him over the head. Natasha’s head whipped around, eyes landing on Y/N who was giving her a little grin.

“Next time watch your six Tasha.” The man teased, causing the red head to roll her eyes with a sigh. “I’m never going to live this down.”

 2.

It was a normal day at the tower, Thor was off in some distant place, Clint went back home to his family, and Natasha was off god knows where. Bruce was having a rather bad day emotionally, the feeling of hulk clawing at his brain was excruciating. He wanted to slam his head against the wall until the pain went away and hulk just shut up. He sat in the ‘Zen room’ as the team called it, it was where he could go to calm down and relax when he was having a bad day. Usually no one else other than him would come into the room, it was really his room, and no one wanted to overstep an unsaid boundary.

He was curled on the fluffy sofa, a cup of tea in his shaking hands. He could see the green creeping into his skin and it absolutely terrified him. He let out a shaky sigh, closing his eyes for a moment as his heart began to race. He felt like he was about to go over the edge, but a gentle and steady hand tore him from those thoughts. His eyes snapped open, his head turning to the side to see the gentle gaze of Y/N. The H/C gave Bruce a gentle and understanding smile, not one ounce of judgement on his face. “Bad day?” He questioned, his voice calming the unforgiving monster inside of him.

The scientist let out a shaky sigh, giving his friend a little nod. Y/N simply hummed and sat beside Bruce, squeezing his shoulder. “How about we watch a movie, I can make you some tea and make whatever you want for lunch?” He offered, wanting to do anything he could to relax his teammate. Y/N helped Bruce more than he had realized, calming the raging storm inside of the scientist, the big guy lulling into a calmer state. Bruce couldn’t be more thankful for it.

 3.

Tony wasn’t sure how he got in this situation, one second they’re fighting an alien threat and next thing he knew he was being thrown against the side of a building. His ears were ringing, and his vision was blurry, he could feel himself hit the ground with a ‘thud’. He could hear his teammates voices in the comms, the worry for him was clear. He tried to lift himself up, but his entire body felt like lead and he just fell back down into a heap of metal. The billionaire let out a groan of pain, his eyes falling shut.

He heard rapid footsteps but couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes. His head was pounding and every inch of him hurt, god he fucking hated aliens. He could hear what sounded like a fight, flesh hitting flesh and grunts of pain or horrifying screeches from the aliens. He forced his eyes open, seeing a blurry figure in front of him fighting off a small hoard of the creatures, but he couldn’t discern who it was. He gave up on trying to stay awake, slowly sinking into the abyss.

When he woke back up, he was in the med bay, pepper by his side and his fellow avengers scattered about. The only person he couldn’t spot was Y/N, which caused concern to swell in his chest. “Where’s Y/N?” His sudden words caused a few people to jump, but Pepper let out a sound of relief, her head resting against his arm. “Never do that again.” Her voice held steady and strict, but her red eyes spoke volumes of her worry. “Where’s Y/N?” Tony repeated once more, causing Steve to let out a low sigh.

“He’s being treated by Hellen right now; He sustained some injuries during the fight.” He explained to the brunette. Tony’s eyebrows furrowed a bit. “How? Is he okay?” You were the youngest avenger; he was going to worry about you till his hair went gray. (Even though he pretended to be annoyed by your presence.)  Steve rubbed the back of his neck with a wince, knowing Tony would blame himself. “He got hurt defending you after you were thrown, he saved you.”

 4.

Y/N was objectively the most important member of the team, always quick to think of a solution or putting himself at risk to save his team members. So, to put it lightly the team was protective of him, because he was stupid and selfless and so entirely Y/N. It was one of those moments of him being stupid and selfless, there was a bomb in a building to close to civilians and no one was close enough to be backup; so, he went alone. He knew the chances of actually disarming the bomb, he wasn’t as experienced as Tony or Bruce, so all he could do was hope to give the team some time to clear out civilians.

He knew he was fucked the moment he walked into the building, yet he still did it, and it baffled the team. He could hear Steve screaming at him to get out of there, yet he persisted and kept himself steady as he walked towards the explosive. He began working as fast as he could, he felt his heart pounding and could see how shaky his hands were, yet he pushed past his fears, for the greater good he told himself. The bomb itself wasn’t to complicated and with some work he was able to bump the timer up another minute, but he knew damn well there was no way he could get out of the building in time.

So he sat there, waiting for the time to run out, simply listening to his teammates speak, trying to engrave their voices in his head. They were his family, he could die happily knowing he did so protecting the people and his team. When the bomb did blow he could feel himself being thrown through a window, everything became a blur and nothing felt real except one thing, the feeling of cool metal catching him and then it was darkness.

He woke up to the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor and his entire body felt like hulk beat the shit out of him, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care when he realized his team, his family was in the room, all strewn about. He could see all of them were sleeping, and he wouldn’t dare wake them up. He simply went back to sleep with a smile on his lips, because they had saved him.

[cosmicangst]

I looove Peter Parker too but I find myself kinda bored by mcu’s version of him like of course there are funny and good moments but it all feels a bit empty, he doesn’t feel like himself, just iron man’s shadow and iron man is not even that interesting imo lmaoo. And zendaya as mj is soo underused, I want to learn about her more at the very least like we did with Gwen in tasm

feel this soooo immensely

i really liked homecoming when it first came out and i saw it for its own thing bc it lacked the usual threads (uncle ben’s influence, peter not having to struggle w tech bc he had tony at his disposal, the lack of working class relatability) and it was a fun, lighthearted addition that i found necessary in the growing juggernaut of the mcu. the fact that the high schoolers acted their age was also appealing and i was a big fan of michael keaton as the vulture. plus i think tom holland is easily likable and talented and lol yes his run as billy elliot gave him points

as time passed and i became more critical of the mcu as a whole and particularly bc i got into miles morales after this that i started resenting mcu peter for basically feeling like a lesser (and white) miles origin retread which wasn’t helped w his lore basically being so entwined w tony’s to the point that the guy feels like the spiritual uncle ben of peter’s movies. and the fact that they had the necessary elements to say something interesting about class w a billionaire mentor and a blue collar villain but nope lol did nothing w it past some empty lip service what did i expect from a disney product. also i hated that the thematic conclusion of homecoming where peter decides to strike out on his own and fight for the little guy in his community was basically erased due to the demands that a cinematic universe has especially on a big name like spider-man.

from a business side of things (putting on my feige hat here) you can’t just have peter not be part of the big space fight or not to go globally to deal w higher stakes even if it comes at the expense of forcing him out of his city (and i argue that nyc is basically its own character in the spider-man mythos that it doesn’t feel as right when the setting takes place elsewhere in a spider-man story) peter always works best as a freelancer in his own contained stories where he’ll occasionally collaborate w the avengers but all his key character development and benchmark moments happen within his own independent runs.

and yes also completely agree, mj (and ned) are tragically underutilized (which isn’t helped on a media ethics level as they’re poc servicing a white lead’s arc). as supporting characters they’re meant to serve peter’s story but i don’t think it does the characters justice when the audience only cares for them as extensions of peter. if either of them dies maybe we’ll feel sad but only because peter feels sad not bc of the loss of the characters themselves. i have felt more urgency and potential grief of the times aunt may and mj were threatened in the raimi movies than the times any other supporting character in mcu pete’s movies has been threatened (w perhaps the slight exception of happy and that’s only because we’ve known him for a considerable time outside of peter’s movies.) in the raimi movies we know that aunt may struggles financially and we see her go through the grieving process after the loss of her husband. we know that mj struggles w a dysfunctional family life and aspires to be a successful actress and to be loved for who she is.

what do we know about ned and mj outside of their functional relation to peter in these movies??? what do we know about their inner world and their motivations? absolutely nothing except for surface level stuff (eg that they’re in the decathlon team, ned likes nerdy things, mj has snarky humor w a morbid edge etc). that’s why i was so detached from peter and mj’s romance in ffh because all the essential development happened off screen! we’re just told that pete now likes mj and we’re never shown how she came to develop feelings for him in the first place. what do they like about each other? why did mj feel so compelled to confirm peter’s identity past her own baby crush? is it possibly bc she’s just a curious person or she just needs to know the truth which stems from a possible interest/aspiration in journalism or research work (we know that she has an interest in activism)? any answer goes bc we don’t know anything about her besides her role as the offbeat minor character in the first movie and peter’s love interest in the second.

and i think that’s why spider-man suffers in a cinematic universe. the reason why spider-man 2 remains one of (if not) the best spider-man and superhero movies is that it’s interested solely in the world of peter and his cast. we have the time to explore aunt may, mj, harry, and peter’s rogues gallery in meaningful depth because the runtime isn’t also being bogged down by the contractual and logistical obligations that come w being part of a cinematic universe. we don’t have to worry about a spider-man movie acting as a plot vehicle to serve the larger storyline that’s supposed to lead to the next crossover endgame-like team up. we can focus on the small character moments which is why sm2 is so impactful. it’s not the bombastic theatrics of seeing all of our fan favorite characters team up. it’s seeing these characters as their own and relating to their struggles not as fantastical superhumans but as actual grounded people

and i understand why creative changes had to be made (like how many times do we need to see uncle ben die) but i think as mcu pete’s stakes get bigger the appeal of him and his stories for me, his literal epithet as the “friendly neighborhood spider-man” takes more and more of a backseat. he might as well be some other indistinguishable superhero’d avenger who just happens to have spider-man’s branding without the things that make him spider-man

i really mourn for andrew garfield whose movies aren’t my fave but it seems outside of his studio and his script’s constrictions, even just based on his comments alone, he rly got to the core of who peter was. all this to say that i try as best as i can to appreciate mcu pete (and again i rly like tom holland as an actor i think he plays his script well) as his own entity and besides what is comics canon at the end of the day. but personally he and his mythos are not the peter that i think of when someone asks me if spider-man is my favorite superhero

[dancing-withthedoctor]

the nightmares that keep you awake - tony stark x fem!reader

SUMMARY: y/n is trying to adjust to life as an avenger, tony is dealing with the weight of future possibilities. y/n winds up in tony's workspace at 3am, and together they take a collective effort to open up.

CATEGORY: fluff, lil angst 

WARNINGS: stress, anxiety, nightmares 

WORD COUNT: 1.6k

《 ive never written for tony and ive never written angst, so this might suck, but I love this all the same, enjoy (this fic is post battle of new york, idk the timeline is wonky anyway who cares) 》

○●○●○●○●○●○

Y/n had gotten used to the sound of metal creaking in the Avengers compound. With all the suits and the tech, what can you expect? However, on this particular night, it wasn't the sound of metal lulling her to sleep; it was swearing. 

Specifically, Tony Stark's grumbling voice in a room a little farther away from hers. To her reluctance, since she was a new addition to the team, she got the worst room: the extra spare room right next to Tony's workspace. 

Y/n had been an official Avenger for nearly a month, taking a quick liking to the team and an even quicker liking to a certain billionaire. The very billionaire who never sleeps, just like tonight. However, one thing she still wasn't adjusting to, was the constant awareness that her every move is being monitored by the media as a "hero" and the aching in her chest about being so far away from family.

Y/n rises out of her almost slumber, walking barefoot on the cold floor to Tony's studio, hoping to just ask him to keep it down long enough for her to go back to sleep. But what she wasn't prepared for was to see the well articulated Tony Stark huddled on the ground, his face in his hands next to a pile of ripped wires and broken metal. 

She didn't know what to say or if he even noticed she was there. What do you say to someone you want to get to know? How do you ask them to be vulnerable with you? 

"Sorry I woke you up," His voice is softer due to the late hours of the night, exhaustion creates a heavy wave over him. 

"You didn't wake me, I wasn't asleep," a quick lie, a slip of the tongue, just hoping to ease his burden. "I.. uh heard the noise," Y/n briefly gestures to the mess on the floor beside him. Tony looks up finally at her, and smirks in the way he always does when he thinks of something snarky. 

"How is it that you light up a room even at 3 in the morning?" Even with his bloodshot eyes and droopy gaze, he still manages to make her blush.

"Oh, haven't you heard? The fluorescent light does wonders for the skin," Y/n jokes back, smiling. She hasn't been out of the compound since moving in permanently, she is no longer just a normal citizen; she's an Avenger now. But being an Avenger still takes some getting used to. 

She moved closer little by little in hopes of not scaring him off. She sits criss-cross next to him, "So what's the story here?" 

He sighs and rubs his eyes,"I'm trying to build a new upgraded AI system like Jarvis. In case something ever happens to him, I need to have a backup, except the technology I need hasn't been invented yet,"

"Well, aren't we lucky to have you here to invented it?"

"Or maybe we should just cut our losses while we're ahead," 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

All of a sudden he is silent, staring at the floor in front of him, dazed and dissociated. 

"Tony," Y/n asks like a question. "What do you mean by 'we'?" His eyes flicker to her, confusion drawn all over his face. In a heartbeat, he's up on his feet and returning to the tools on his messy desk. 

"Exactly what it sounds like, sorry about the noise, I'll keep it down," He cuts the conversation short there, with no explanation about the far off look he had, Y/n stands up at this.

"Look, I know I may not be that close with all of you just yet, and you may not trust me enough to tell me what's going on, but I know when something isn't right, so you could just let m- "

"First of all you couldn't be further from the truth," he interrupts "-and secondly, whether or not anyone on this team can admit it, I'm the one holding this team together, keeping it afloat. I always have been, its my job," 

"I'm apart of this team now. What did you mean by 'we'?" The stern and stoic look on her face was the one thing that made Tony Stark cave and talk about his emotions.

"I've been having dreams… of the future, nightmares actually," He fiddles with the tools on his desk, avoiding her eye contact, "we lost, Y/n"

"Lost what? A fight? Tony, we can always come back from-" 

"No we can't. Not with what I saw- the whole team was down with no fight left in them and you-," he chokes up at the thought. Before he let himself say more, he cut himself off, "With what I dreamt, there's no way out and we have to be prepared," he says in a low voice.

"Teams can't function without communication, Tony. Maybe you should let the team know,"

"We've done pretty well for ourselves so far," he says defensively.

"Have you?" It was a simple question, not meant to cause an argument or doubt in his abilities to lead the team. It was a question she asked herself often about the true nature of the team. Yes, they get the job done at the end of the day, but it seemed to her like the stress and anxiety of the job goes unnoticed and unresolved. The weight of the world on all their shoulders and no one utters a word; the biggest elephant in the room and they all pretend it isn't there.

He turns to look at her now, no longer droopy or tired, but a face full of questions, confusion, worry, and a little bit of surprise. 

"Ah, now she speaks," he raises his arms in the air like he's speaking to an audience, "I was waiting to see how long you would ask, I thought you would bring it up sooner," he states, sarcastically. 

"Clearly, your intuition is defective when it comes to me," it was meant to be a joke to lighten the mood, the air was getting too heavy too quickly. Y/n cringes slightly, that came out more depressing than she'd hoped it to.

He frowns at that, "I'm hardly ever wrong," his face hardens again, and Y/n realizes he isn't just talking about her. Silence fell over them, and suddenly they weren't superheroes. Y/n was just a recent recruit trying to make the best of a complicated situation and Tony was a tired man with too much on his plate. 

"You really think you can carry all of this?" Y/n looks around the large room, "- the wellbeing of everyone in the world, the team; isn't it hard enough to just take care of yourself?" 

Tony rubs the back of his neck, "If you haven't noticed," he gestures to the mess of scrap metal and computer parts, "I don't do the best at self-management,"

"You think you're the only one?" 

Tony simply lifts his eyebrow, a silent 'go on'. Y/n sighs, "I'm homesick," she looks away from him, playing with the loose string on her pajama top. "It's not easy for anyone to move so far away from their family in general, let alone to be a hero that saves the world. What if I'm not even cut out for all of this?"

"You are," his face is full of determination, he's never said something with complete absolute certainty before. 

"And if I'm not?" it was a whisper, annoyed at herself for almost tearing up, she tries to gulp them down; to push them away.

"Fury doesn't make mistakes. You've proven you're a valuable asset to every member on this team and you continue to do so every single day. If you weren't fit for this job, you wouldn't be here right now. You know that the good outways the bad. Don't let yourself forget it," 

"Then you shouldn't forget it either," Y/n eyes are glossy from the tears she's holding back. She hasn't had a proper cry since she got here, and she certainly wasn't going to start now. Tony takes a small step forward, closing the distance between them. He lifts his hand slowly to move the loose hair out of her face. 

"All I know for certain is," he places his hands over her arms, "You're meant to be here," 

Tony pulls her in and embraces her, he feels her sink into his body, wrapping her arms around his back. Y/n leans her head against his shoulder and she takes in the feeling of being held by someone who understands. The mood has calmed down immensely, sometimes the only cure is to hold onto and be held by someone.

"And if you're here, I don't think I'll ever forget what I'm fighting for," Tony didn't mean for it to slip from his lips, but he is tipsy over no sleep and too many cups of caffeine to even process his words. Y/n couldn't say anything, confused on whether or not she heard right, she quickly changes the subject to something more positive and slips out of his grasp. 

"Can I ask you something?" Getting more comfortable in his space, she leans against his work bench.

"Shoot, sunshine," he replies.

"I'm sorry, sunshine??"

"The fluorescent lights have to get their inspiration from somewhere," he winks.

The blush warms y/n's cheeks once again, but she composes herself and asks: "Whenever you have another nightmare, will you come tell me?"

A question. A suggestion. An invitation. A concern for a friend. Tony is silent, running the options and thoughts over in his head.

"As long as you come to me to let me know whenever you miss home. I'll have a flight booked and your bags packed before you can even say anything," 

"I really hope this isn't a secret attempt to get rid of me," Y/n questions with a genuine smile. 

"I would never dream of it,"

○●○●○●○●○●○

A/N: some plot holes were kind of left out, I don't usually have an outline for my fics, I just write what comes to me. with that being said, maybe I'll write a part 2! asks and dms are open ❤

[lozzypoz321]

Explaining to Steve or any character of your choosing what a tumblr is.

Word count: 942

A/N: @donutloverxo thank you so much for requesting! kinda went in a different direction for this one but 🤷‍♀️

Warnings: mentions of hate messages, if there’s anymore let me know!

Steve Rogers| Tumblr

Steve Rogers x reader {ONESHOT}

A grin quickly spread across your face as you came across an ask in your notifications ‘hi! I love your posts, I just wanted to know who’s your favourite Avenger?’

Before you could answer the question a voice sounded from the sofa across the room, looking up you saw Steve, alone with a book in his hand and a confused expression “what’re you happy about?”

Your grin just got wider

“It’s an ask on Tumblr” you simply explained while maneuvering your body to lay down on the other sofa. Judging by the questioning expression that lay on his face it was obvious he had absolutely no idea what Tumblr was which made you shocked and offended. “You don’t know what Tumblr is?”

Steve just shook his head with a sheepish expression. You quickly jumped up off where you were laid and threw yourself on the spot next to the super soldier who’s eyebrows were now raised. “What is it then?”

You pushed your phone into his hand so he could see “so basically, it’s kind of like a blog and you… reblog things that you like so your followers can see”

None of his questions seemed to be answered, “but, why would people follow you if they can just see the posts on their own?” You took a deep breath, having an argument inside of your head about whether you should tell him what fanfiction was. “People create things, and some people don’t want to miss what they do so they drop a follow”

“...drop a follow?”

I mentally punched myself for using that phrase as it just made him more confused, “um yeah, it’s just a thing” He pushed his book to the side and held up your phone to his face “why are people asking you questions? You don’t own it do you?”

You laughed “no Steve, I don’t own Tumblr, I have followers because I live with you guys and sometimes they want to know my opinion” He instantly became concerned “is it safe?”

“Mmmm, yes, I think so anyway, unless people get hacked or something but that’s highly unlikely. I have a safe password”

“But if people can ask questions does that mean that people can also send mean things?” The question came off very worried but before you could answer he continued “have you been sent anything rude?” You just half shrugged “well, people know me, of course I get sent hate, I just ignore it”

The overprotectiveness from him instantly kicked in as soon as the sentence left your mouth “people do that?! Why?! I think you should delete that app. Maybe Tony can ban them from the app? He could buy it off of the owner! I’ll ask him!”

But you stopped him before he could move, “wait- that’s actually quite a good idea” He smiled proudly before becoming once again confused

“which one?”

“Tony could buy it, and then take off all the haters and then sell it back!” Without missing a beat you grabbed the soldier's hand, your other holding your phone which had Tumblr opened and then you started dragging him down to the billionaires lab. But it was mostly you struggling to pull Steve along and him walking behind you.

“Hey Tony!” You exclaimed once you’d both reached your destination making him look up from the current project he had physically locked himself inside to work on. “What’s up short stuff?“ he asked, using the nickname he gave you even though you hated but he didn’t look up from the metal. You gave Steve a side nudge to get him to do the talking, the soldier took the hint and opened his mouth to ask him but closed it again as if he didn’t know what to say. He did it another couple of times, more and more looking like a fish.

But finally he managed to form words “look we were thinking that maybe, you could consider buying an app called Tumblr,” he paused before saying quickly “just to get all the hateful people off of it you know”

Tony finally looked up, his face visibly confused and surprised that Steve would want that. “Is this the blogging app that you go on?” He asked and I nodded, he seemed unconvinced but you knew he would probably but it anyway just because I ‘want it’ but just incase Steve added in “she’s getting hate messages”

“What?!”

I just rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything, Steve gently side kicked me with his foot as to say ‘carry on’

“Yeah, what he said, so can’t you please get it and ban all the people who’ve sent a hate message please?” You asked and the added on “you can sell it right after!” just to make sure he was convinced

The clogs turned in his head as he considered it before shrugging and turning back to the project “sure kid, I’ll get Jarvis to buy it”

You stared at the billionaire with wide eyes. You weren’t complaining though, if he just wanted to throw away a million dollars then it wasn’t your place to say anything, his money after all.

So before he could change his mind, you once again took hold of the other man's hand to go back to the lounge area. You both kept quiet the whole walk there except for the quiet laughing that left your mouth at how easy that was when it shouldn’t be at how much the app costs.

When you reached the room Steve turned to you, a sheepish smile plastered on his lips when he admitted “I still don’t understand what Tumblr is”

Written by me. Wattpad; @lozzypoz321 Tumblr side acc; @padfootbuckster Pinterest; @lozzypoz321

PLEASE DO NOT COPY MY WORK 💖

@marvel-ous-hobbit @snarky--starky @rae-is-typing @stargazingfangirl18 @canadianhufflepuffavenger @js3639 (if you would like to be added to the tag list, don’t be afraid to ask!)

[iixbella]

𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫

 where tony stark sends peter and his daughter off for college

character name: alaya stark

masterlist

TONY STARK COULD STILL REMEMBER THE VERY MOMENT HIS DAUGHTER WAS BORN. The billionaire had arrived home from a mission with the Avengers just in time, rushing into the hospital ward as Pepper Potts had started to push. He was speechless, not being able to do much except hold his wife's hand, and whisper words of encouragement while wishing that it would all be over shortly — and it was.

Alaya Maria Stark was born just before the clock struck midnight, coming into the world with a head of soft curls and strong lungs. The little girl was a ball of happiness, lighting up their world like the sun that they revolved around. And despite how close Pepper was with her daughter, nothing could match the bond of Tony and Alaya. It was them against the world.

“Tony, have you seen Alaya? She isn't in her crib—"

Pepper paused as she stepped into the lab, her frantic facial expression instantly softening. Tony Stark was gently swaying in the middle of his work room, eyes closed as he planted a kiss to the head of his bundle of joy. Little Alaya rested comfortably, snoring away without a care in the world — and when she was in her fathers arms, she didn't have one.

"Tony?" the new mother asked, trying to stay as quiet as possible to not startle the youngest one. He turned around at the sound, and smiled at his wife who'd just woken from her much needed nap.

Pepper made her way over to the pair, and lovingly pressed a kiss to the head of their new baby girl. She then glanced up at Tony, only to find his eyes watering, "Honey, what's wrong?"

"I just love her," Tony muttered, tearful eyes not wavering from his little girl. Alaya sighed in her sleep, pink cheeks puffing up in the cutest possible way, "I love her so much."

And his love from there only grew. Alaya got older, no matter how much Tony wanted to freeze time and capture every possible moment, and before he'd realized, it was time to drop his daughter off for college. His little girl was going off into the world, and he just had to let her go.

Tony still wasn't sure if it was the best or worst idea to allow Peter to stay in the campus apartment with Alaya. He'd pulled some strings to avoid having the teens living in a dorm for their freshman year, not feeling too comfortable knowing that someone could have so much access to the two Avengers. And Tony knew that Peter would take care of his daughter — but that's what scared him the most.

It was blatantly obvious that Peter has a crush on the youngest Stark, and vice versa. They were both shy, never seemed to act on it, but Tony knew they had a strong connection and was fearful as to what them being in apartment together for a long period of time would do. Pepper, however, had been the one to reassure him by saying 'she's growing up Tony, and Alaya is smart enough to make her own decisions; so we need to be there so support her.'

Well it was easier said than done.

Tony stood in the middle of their modest campus apartment, setting the last box onto the wood floor. It had been a long day for everyone, Alaya insisting that they move their belongings into their new place by hand instead of hiring people to do it for them. She wanted to hold onto every last moment she had with her family. Tony sighed at the thought.

“That’s the last it,” Peter announced, as he stepped into the apartment, Alaya only a step behind. The two teens eyed Tony, watching as he stood silently, staring at the view over the city. Peter could sense that the father and daughter needed to have a moment, so he came up with an excuse, “I’m gonna go say goodbye to Aunt May.”

Alaya nodded in his direction with a small smile, and waited until the boy left the room before heading over to her dad. She nudged his arm lightly, pulling the man out of his thoughts, “What’s on your mind, dad? You’ve been uncharacteristically quiet all day.”

Tony sighed, shoving both hands into his pants pockets to resist hugging Alaya — because he knew he’d never want to let go, “I’m just thinking, honey. About how proud me and your mother are of all that you have accomplished and everything you will accomplish. We really are going to miss having you around the tower.”

The teenager pursed her lips, feeling a smile tug on her lips. She knew that her father wasn’t one for emotional talks, but she always appreciated hearing what he had to say. Underneath the snarky, sarcastic exterior, he had plenty of wisdom to share with his daughter. “You’re acting like I’m moving away forever, dad. It’s only four years—”

Alaya paused, her heart skipping a beat as the meaning of her words began to settle in. Everything had been so rushed the past few months that it never truly dawned on her that she was moving away from her family. Pepper, Tony, The Avengers? She felt like her heart was going to burst. No more early morning trainings with Aunt Nat, or perfectly round pancakes for breakfast from Steve. No more late night talks with Bucky, sarcastic comments from Sam, or teasing from Thor. No more spending hours in the lab with her father, both Stark minds coming together to create things truly beyond the human imagination. No more nothing. Just classes, and studying, and Peter.

At least the Peter part didn’t sound so bad.

Tony frowned, resting a hand on the teenagers’ shoulder while wondering why she’d abruptly stopped speaking. “Alaya, honey?“

The Stark didn’t speak, but instead launched herself into the arms of her father. The arms that have carried her since the moment she was born, protecting her from the horrors of reality. Alaya let out a quite sob into Tony’s chest, causing the man to tighten his grip, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to miss you so much, dad,” she cries, her words muffled by the fabric of his expensive button up top but Tony understood perfectly. He felt tears begin to grow in his own eyes, despite trying to blink them away.

Tony raked his mind for the right words. He rested his wrinkly cheek along the top of his daughters curls, taking a deep breath to calm himself, “I’m going to miss you too, baby. And just remember that me, your mother and everyone else will always be one phone call away. I mean it. But I always want you to have fun, Laya. You’ve always been such a good kid, and I want you to enjoy the next few years of your life — but not too much. I’m not ready to be a grandpa yet.”

Alaya couldn’t help but let out a laugh. She tried to stop her bottom lip from quivering as the tears were absorbed into Tony’s shirt, willing herself to calm down as well. “Are you going to try and invent anything that was deemed scientifically impossible without me?”

“Of course not. I’ll put it on hold until you come home for break,” he assured, knowing how important their projects were to her. Tony pulled away from the hug, enough to plant a gently kiss on her forehead. He let his lips linger a bit longer than usual, “I need to get going, sweetheart. I don’t think your neighbors are to happy with me since I landed a quinjet on the roof.”

Alaya laughed, pulling her dad in for another tight hug. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, old man.”

“Well that won’t be difficult, considering you’re a splitting image of myself.”

“Touché,” Alaya grinned as Tony playfully ruffled her hair, something he used to always do when she was a little girl, “I’ll see you soon, dad.”

“You better, or else I’m coming back here and kicking some ass,” Tony insisted, walking over to the door as Alaya trailer behind. He stopped in the doorway, casting a glance over the bare apartment once more before landing on his daughter, who stood before him with red, puffy eyes. “I love you 3000, kid.”

“I love you too.”

okay i kinda liked this lol

i might turn this into a mini series 🤪

[tonystarkissist]

How about... tony is jealous of happys role in peters life?

Thank you very much for the prompt! I actually had a lot of fun with this one :D It’s been a while since I’ve written something so simple and short and it was actually pretty nice!

Word Count: 1879

It didn’t really bother Tony all that much at first. He saw it as more of a blessing than anything else that the kid had decided to subject Happy to his ramblings and elaborate voice messages instead of him. It kept his phone message free and his mind sane. 

Though, as time passed by, the lack of direct communication just seemed to piss him off more and more.

It was like the kid deliberately took every possible alternative just to avoid speaking with him directly. Heck, the kid had his phone number… his phone number. He never even gave Steve his personal phone number. So, there was no valid excuse for the kid not to call him. Yet, the brat felt the need to make it difficult and relay all his messages to Tony through Happy. And, yeah, okay, Tony might be a bit more understanding if Happy didn’t have the forgetfulness of an elderly man suffering of Alzheimer’s, but he did, and it was quite literally like pulling teeth when he needed to pry information from the man. 

“Hap, where’s Peter? You were supposed to drop him off here an hour ago.”

“Oh yeah… the kid’s real sick. He called me this morning and told me to tell you he couldn’t make it. Sorry, I forgot. The kid’s Aunt had me runnin’ all around town trying to find this special Tylenol medicine for him. Oh, by the way, the kid was wondering if you had any super meds leftover from Steve. He kept burning through that over the counter stuff in like 5-minutes.”

It even got to the point where Happy would simply just forward any voice messages he received from Peter straight to Tony because it was such a hassle for him to remember important things. Tony even told the kid that too, suggesting that just maybe he might consider calling his phone to give his after-patrol reports just to make things a little easier, but the kid grinned sheepishly at him and shrugged his shoulders with a simple “I don’t want to inconvenience you Mr. Stark.”

Tony, of course, had rolled his eyes and insisted there was no inconvenience at all. Still… the kid never called and he never texted. The only communication he received directly from the kid was their twice a week meetings in the lab after school got out.

Even then, Tony got the vibe that the kid wasn’t all that comfortable being around him. He refused anything Tony offered him and he wasn’t at all the rambling motormouth Happy made him out to be.

“Kid, you want something to eat?”

“No thank you Mr. Stark. Happy took me to Burger King after school. He even let me get a shake too!”

Tony wasn’t jealous. He wasn’t. Jealous was a very strong word. And he wasn’t jealous.

And besides, there was no reason to feel jealous. He was Iron Man. An Avenger. A billionaire. The owner of a multibillion dollar company ran by his stunning fiance. He had no reason to be jealous of his hot-headed, grumpy, slightly delusional head of security who was oh-so desperately in need of a girlfriend. No reason.

Except, maybe he did feel a little prickle of green against his skin when he was reminded of the developing relationship between his mentee and good friend. It was inevitable, really. It should be expected they grow at least a little close. Happy picked him up from school twice a week. Drove him to the Tower and back. More often than not, the man stopped to grab food, per Tony’s instruction, so the boy could eat his fill. Heck, all the things Tony really knew about the kid were via the channel Happy Hogan. 

“Y’know, the kid had braces a year ago. Has the retainer glued to the back of his teeth. The kid hates popcorn, ‘cause the kernels always get stuck.” The man had told him while Tony was trying to brainstorm bonding activities for him and the kid and got the idea for movies and popcorn…

“Yeah, the kid hates peppermint. He says it’s ‘cause of the Spider bite. Spiders hate peppermint.” Happy had told him when Tony started freaking out after the kid dashed out the penthouse, hacking and gagging all the way. It was near Christmas… and Pepper loved her Christmas candles.

“You sure about that Tony? The kid’s kinda paranoid when it comes to creepy crawlies.” Tony had learned when his resolve to bond led him to an idea involving spiders, behavior studies, and perhaps a little learning of Peter’s spider-like idiosyncrasies.

Tony liked the kid. He liked the kid a lot. One of best he’d ever met… and the kid obviously worshiped the ground he walked on. And every so often the kid’s shy, tentative exterior would break away and he’d be able to catch a glimpse of the snarky, fun-loving teen beneath it. But sometimes he wished he had more time to spend with him. Maybe then a level of trust and comfort could develop because at this point he felt very out of the loop when it came to important matters.

He was a busy man, he understood that. He understood that he couldn’t always be the one to run to his aid when he got into some trouble. That’s why he had Happy keeping an eye on him… He just wished the kid was more inclined to confide in him rather than the body-guard working under his payroll. Many times, he’d get a call from Happy in the middle of the night, half asleep and exhausted, to tell Tony the kid had found his way into some trouble again and he was requesting back up. It wasn’t that Tony minded the 2am wake up call… he just would have preferred listening to Peter’s voice instead of a grumpy old man’s with sleep apnea.

“Uh, Tony… the kid got hurt again. Just wanted to let you know… I’m bringing him to the med bay and he should be fixed up and back to business before you and Pepper get back from your trip.” Tony had listened to the message and immediately raced the suit back to New York, leaving a confused Pepper alone in their hotel room with a promise to return. And sure enough, as soon as he touched down on the landing pad and made it to the medical wing, Cho was already pulling out the IV from his arm and Happy was helping the kid stand. Tony remembered the exact moment the kid spotted him in the doorway. He was hoping for maybe a little surprise or excitement at his sudden appearance, but all he received was dread. “Mr. Stark,” he had said, “you didn’t have to come. I told Happy not to call you. It wasn’t a big deal.”

But the thing was that it was a big deal! A very big deal because the kid had been hurt and the kid hadn’t wanted him to know about it. 

Tony eventually just waved it off with an excuse claiming the kid just hadn’t wanted to inconvenience him again. It didn’t mean anything. Happy was the most logical person to call since Tony was out of the country. It didn’t mean anything. The kid wasn’t picking favorites… so that meant he couldn’t be jealous since there was no reason to be jealous.

Then, one evening while Happy was driving him and Pepper back to the Tower after their date night, a realization hit him. He was tired. Pepper was tired. And they were both drunk off their asses from the champagne and whiskey. Tony doesn’t remember what he said, but he does remember the sharp laugh that emitted from the front of the car. Happy had laughed… he had never heard Happy laugh before. That sound alone broke his drunken, giggly trance with Pepper and he was staring at Happy suspiciously, suddenly concerned that his driver had been guzzling some drinks of his own while he wasn’t watching, but Happy had waved him off. “It’s nothing Boss. I just remembered some silly joke the kid had texted me the other day.” The kid had texted Happy a joke… not because he was hurt, or needed to be picked up…. He hadn’t told Happy a joke simply to fill the silence in the car as they rode together to the Tower, or ate burgers and drank shakes at a lousy table in Burger King. Nope… the kid had gone out of his way to share something with Happy. “He calls ‘em Memes. They’re actually pretty funny.”

Pepper wasn’t so happy with him that night. His feathers had officially been ruffled and he brooded the rest of the night. Pepper had called it pouting, but so what?! Peter had picked a favorite and it wasn’t him… 

Despite his growing aversion to the sprouting relationship between Happy and the kid, he didn’t do anything to stop it. That is… until the last straw had been pulled when Happy tried taking a couple hours off. 

“The kid’s got a science fair today. He asked me to come and watch since his Aunt had to work.”

Long story short, Happy wasn’t the only one that went to watch Peter win first place.

“Mr. Stark,” Peter squeaked in surprise when Tony approached him, wearing a proud grin and eyeing the trophy in the kid’s hands. “What are- what are- what are you doin’ here?”

“Well, a little birdie told me about your science fair being today. I couldn’t miss out on that, could I? And really kid… really? You didn’t invite me? That one hurt. A stab to the back that was.”

Peter stammered out a long string of apologies and Tony clapped his shoulder with a lighthearted laugh, dusting off the trophy in Peter’s hands with the side of his index finger. “Don’t sweat it, kid. Now how about I take you out for some ice cream? I’ll break you outta this joint and we’ll have some fun.”

“Uh,” the kid’s eyes flickered over to Happy and Tony felt a small wave of jealousy rake over him. There he said it. He was jealous! He wanted the damn kid all to himself. He wanted to be the favorite. Was that so much to ask? 

“Nope. Don’t look at him. Just you and me. It’s my turn.”

Peter’s face breaks out into a shy smile and Tony can barely hear his answer over the loud chattering of kids surrounding them. “Uh, yeah… that would… I think that would be kinda nice.”

“Great,” Tony grins, throwing an arm around the boy’s shoulders to pull him closer. “I got the feeling that this is the start of something wonderful kid. Let’s go all out, huh? Ice cream, then back to the Tower for pizza, movies, and some more ice cream. We can watch Star Wars.” 

Tony didn’t think it was possible, but the kid’s smile grows even wider. “That sounds awesome Mr. Stark.”

“Sure does,” Tony smirked in triumph and shot Happy a patronizing wink over his shoulder. The man just rolled his eyes and Tony lead the kid out of the gym.

***

Tony’ would also like to happily report that after a month of his incessant demands for Peter’s attention and love, the kid felt it necessary to text him his very first 4 in the morning meme… 

… and Happy didn’t get one.

[chronicowboy]

Are We the Strongest? -

To Better Circumstances

masterlist

Their first encounter was less than ideal. There were no introductions, no handshakes, no greetings. It was life or death. Hero or villain. Relief or grief. And despite Carol's decades of singlehandedly saving galaxies and entire civilisations this short rescue mission felt like her most important one to date. A pressure like no other settled on her shoulders and she would come to wonder if that was what Tony Stark felt like on a daily basis. Ignoring the sense of make or break the fate of the entire universe that she was experiencing, Carol acted without hesitation. She strutted out of the compound and shot off into the void of space with one thing on her mind: find Tony Stark. This time, however, it felt different when she broke through earth's atmosphere. It felt as unknowingly important as the man himself was. Carol couldn't decide whether it was that knowledge or the lost group of heroes below that meant she could find the ship in under an hour.

When she encountered the gently drifting leaf on the ripples of a blue supernova, Carol swore she felt the weight fall from her sore muscles for a grand total of a second. Her heart froze with terrified agony as her eyes landed on the man with closed eyes, sunken cheeks and a chest that didn't seem to move. She willed herself to glow brighter, pushed the energy to every extremity of herself until even she had to squint if she wanted to catch the billionaire open his eyes with as much effort as it took her to lift the ship and steer it towards his home planet.

As he stumbled down the ramp a suffocating joyful relief thickened the air so much so that Carol found it hard to breathe until he embraced his fiancee, Pepper he had whispered into her neck.

Tony's arrival was chaotic to say the least. He refused to rest once his friend had connected him to a drip and pushed him into a wheelchair. Everybody fussed over him until he snapped at them and directed their attention to the other being that was starving and dying on that ship with him. He caught everyone up, they caught him up. And, although he refused to break, Carol saw the toll the battle had taken on him. Even when no one else did. It was insane, she thought, how everyone but his real friends could see his struggle. It was only when the man did a 360 on the captain who was anything but a captain that his broken insides were painfully visible for all to see. And, even though Carol had no idea what happened between them, she found herself smirking as the mortal man confronted the super soldier with no weaponry whatsoever but his words and cracks as if they were the deadliest bombs the man had encountered. The corner of her mouth sunk when he collapsed. She barely knew him and yet she reacted immediately, going to catch him before she realised it probably wasn't her place. Even so, Carol got the feeling that Steve would have done nothing if hed hadn't have been so close and it was tragic.

She didn't want to intrude. This wasn't her place to be. Her place was a comfortable bungalow in Louisiana, but it didn't feel like home anymore. However, there was a tug that told her she had to see Tony. Like it was calling her home. And it was strange. Incredibly strange. But real. So real. After he had woken up, he tired his soon-to-be wife and best friend out whilst proving to them that he was still him old self. Thinner and older and impossibly more traumatised. But still him. The pair had fallen asleep in their bedside seats, leaving Tony alone. But there was some nagging feeling that he didn't want to be, so Carol decided to go and check on him. One simple choice that would change a life or two.

She peeked around the door, waving a hand that no longer glowed.

"Hey, Carol, is it?" He tilted his head, fighting the smile that tried to make an appearance at the new captain. She nodded, closing the door softly behind her. "Thanks for saving me and all. Big fan of that whole photon glow thing you have going on-"

"You don't have to do that." Her tone was firm yet sincere at his obvious deflection. Sympathy washed over her as she wondered how many of his so-called friends overlooked it as plain and simple apathy. Even if he didn't want her, she'd make him feel understood. "Look, I'm not gonna ask how you are because I know you'll just say you're fine in the form of some snarky comment-"

"So you're me, if I was blonde, female and an alien?" Her voice was far too genuine for the fragile billionaire.

"I'm of the human disposition, unfortunately. Survived a blast from the tesseract, absorbed its energy and here we are." The corner of his mouth ticked up and Carol fought off her own smile. "I don't know what went on with you guys," she gestured to Steve who was examining a hologram outside with Natasha, "but I want you to know that I don't give a shit. That rant was the most satisfying and entertaining thing I've seen since 90's tv. And I know he deserved it." She dropped into the chair next to Rhodey as he chuckled. "I've seen the tapes. Of you fighting," and Tony was struck with the horrifying sense of deja vu. He wasn't ready for a new prospect in the friendship area to drag up his deepest insecurity and lay it all on the line. The line that he wouldn't lay down on and let someone else crawl over him, according to Rogers. "You're a good man. You fight for what's right, anyway you can, but you still take more precautions than the rest of them to preserve civilian lives." There was a beat of awkward silence as Tony mulled over her words and Carol let him before she clapped her hands. She winced, checking to see if Pepper or Rhodey had woken up. "Okay, well, that's the most emotion I've done for years." Tony laughed, it was loud — as loud as could be so his family wouldn't wake up — and glorious and it made Carol feel inexplicably proud.

"So besides turning into a glow worm because of the tesseract, what's your story?" He asked, shifting to get comfortable. She jumped up and held his arm as she rearranged his pillows. His gaze was intense as he examined her and she felt it burning through her so she cleared her throat.

"You know, not many people get to see that side of me." She admitted, running a hand over the back of her neck.

"I'm honoured?" He smirked.

"I was a pilot in the 90's. Couldn't fly for the army because I was a woman, so I tested planes. One day, I crash. Straight into some kind of alien mission. The Krees wanted the tesseract so I blew it up. Woke up and they turned me into their pawn. I didn't know what I was." Carol shifted, kicking her feet up onto the end of his bed. "My first proper mission goes wrong and I crash on earth. Fury meets me, you know Fury?"

"We've met." Tony cocked his head to the side. Did Fury really get himself everywhere?

"He told me a lot about you. Bitched about everyone in his confidential boy band." So she is a blonde, female version of him. "Anyway, he gives me a nice, warm greeting before I convince him of the Skrulls' existence. A shapeshifting alien race. Then, I find out I had a family. A best friend and her little girl. Maria and Monica." She looked at him and saw the realisation dawn on him. But it wasn't pity, it was understanding. She nodded and he interrupted for the first time.

"The kid," and Carol remembered his first words, "Spiderman. Queens' local vigilante. Teenager. Batshit crazy teenager, Peter. I tried to keep him safe. I did. I did everything, but it didn't work. I was ready to die for him, but that choice was taken from me by that stupid wizard." He stopped himself and looked to her, tears glistening. She could see the pleading in his eyes and she knew she should continue.

"They helped me find my old self. The Skrulls, they were just trying to find a home. So I knew I had to help them. I got to break free from the Krees' control. And I did. Destroyed some missiles from a dick called Ronan. Then, just helped the universe. And listened to Fury complain about his superhero children." Tony laughed, wiping his tears away. "You know, the Avengers are named after me." She bragged.

"Is that right?" He removed his glasses and placed them on the bedside table.

"Captain Carol 'Avenger' Danvers." She clarified. "Except, I'm a real captain. Unlike America over there." She jabbed a thumb at the stern-looking man. "Before I got promoted to colonel." Tony chuckled again.

"Oh my god. Please pull rank. Please. I beg you." Carol joined in, shaking her head.

"Couldn't do that to his ego. Its bigger than your's." She joked, rolling her eyes. "I'll do it if he pulls any shit with you."

"Carol Danvers, are you my guardian angel?"

"Maybe." She shrugged. "But if I was, I would have protected you from them."

"So Maria," he began, "just your best friend, right?" Tony swore looks could kill as his breathing slowed down and his heart sped up. It couldn't be a good combination.

"You're a bit like me, right? Kidnapped, turned into something bigger than you should be. Lied to. Betrayed. All of the hero origins combined into one very fragile human. Apart from, your brain gave birth to Ironman and my stupid nobility gave birth to Captain Marvel." If an AI had eyes, Tony was sure that it would roll its eyes at the amount of eye rolling that had taken place in the small hospital room.

"Yeah, I'm a genius."

"Hey, me too." She cheered, hushing her voice as James' head lolled to his shoulder.

"Well, maybe, but-"

"You're smarter, I'm stronger." Her voice dripped with humour, but Tony thought it was a good compromise.

"I'm not gonna argue with you there, firefly." He held his hands up in defeat. "You're the strongest of us all." Carol didn't normally like compliments, but it felt special from him. "Because you're me if I had the physical strength."

The rest of the night was filled with laughter until Carol's wrist lit up with a red alert.

"Duty calls, but it was nice meeting ya, Tony." She announced, standing. "Tell me if the big boy gives you any trouble." Her childish voice and condescending tone made the man smile. She was one foot out of the door when,

"Hey, Carol? If you ever need a place to crash, I'll send you the coordinates of the place I wanna build my house." He winked at her as she left. Perhaps he'd just made a new friend.

@marvelficwriter @galaxy-parker @bi-marvel @theamazingschneiderman @underoosstark @delmars @confettidogs @dixiehellcat @lucious-has-heard @phoenixinferno1023 @grilledkatniss @marvelrose

[arashikitten]

The Glass Scientists Avengers au

Ok but seriously, imagine.

Henry Jekyll as Iron man/Tony Stark. Both are very rich scientific geniuses, who went through a very emotionaly troubling period where many bad decisions were made, only to come out of it as a better person. Both have intense daddy issues, both act very confident but are actually really insecure, both accidentally really fuck up in an attempt to make the world a better place, both have a secret soft spot for a smol soft boi who just wants to help, both are very charismatic. Oh and both have some serious PTSD + anxiety from having the world on their shoulders.

Hastie Lanyon as War Machine/Colonel Rhodes. Both are best friends with a genius-billionaire-philanthropist with unhealthy coping mechanisms, both call out their buddy on their bullshit, both can be very snarky and sarcastic, both are also really smart but tend to be overshadowed, both can hold their own in a fight, and both of them helped snap their smart rich friends out of bad coping habits.

Dr. Frankenstein as Captain America because they’re both idealistic, have little to no regard for consequences, are at odds with the nervous genius billionaire who thinks way too far ahead, are unwilling to stray from their ideals even when it causes problems, both were thought to be dead in the arctic for many decades, everyone they know except for one is dead, both did a highly dangerous experiment that no one had ever done because of their ideals.

Jasper Kaylock as Spider-Man/Peter Parker. Both are smol precious bois who can actually lift a truck, both were bitten by an unusual creature and got changed on a genetic level because of it, both are nerds, very passionate nerds, both are actually super shy but will fight if they have to, both were taken in by genius billionaire because said billionaire saw how much potential they have, they just need the money, both are awkward in social situations, they don’t know how to be fancy, they get very excited about science, super sweet, have a crush on a witty blunt girl who could totally kick their ass, both are very nervous.

I love this au, will post more!

[oflgtfol]

yknow its so funny how i started watching the marvel movies abt 2 years ago and like, Everyone i knew was neck deep into this shit. everybody told me that i would love tony like, oh he starts off bad but he gets better i promise you, he is amazing he is the best character, etc. and i was like okayy i like a good redemption arc AND THATS HOW THEY LITERALLY SPUN IT TO ME so i was expecting like. redemption . and so i saw iron man 1 and i was like okay i dont like him really at all but i can perhaps see where a redemption arc is going . and then as time went on he just got worse.... literally the moment he became irredeemable to me was in avengers 1 when they were all meeting up and he called steve capsicle or whatever. like ok haha thats his sense of humor, belittling others with quick snarky comments haha so hilarious 🤪, but like. BRO . steve crashed that plane to save millions of people, fully expecting to die. only to wake up 70 years later out of the ice and find himself in a completley unfamiliar world in which he has nothing left for him, because everything and everyone he knew was gone or changed beyond recognition. it is an extremely fucked up situation he’s put in, and considering this is avengers 1, also something very recent and something fresh that he is definitely struggling with. it is fucked up to mock him for that in such a dismissive and belittling was as “capsicle.” yes haha funny quip sure but it is an ASSHOLE move. and then he kept trying to provoke bruce to become the hulk (which is fucked for two reasons, 1. you shouldnt be purposefully provoking people anyway and 2. does he not realize the consequences? he literally just wants hulk to rampage and destroy shit and potentially kill people? and 3. he does this literally just for his own entertainment. he doesnt care about bruce nor does he care about anyone else who may be harmed)

like avengers 1 i was pissed at tony the entire fucking time that when he saved ny at the end it was just like.. okay . whatever i guess. you’re still an asshole (and lets not forget that steve did that same thing before, except he actually did sacrifice his life for it, it just didnt result in him dying - BUT SURE lets ONLY praise tony for what he did)

iron man 3 got my hopes up that tony would get better. we finally saw that ptsd he apparently has that everyone irl talked about. and it was very interesting seeing him like.... vulnerable. everybody trashes iron man 3 but honestly out of the iron man movies, its my favorite jsut because tony is actually fucking tolerable LMFAO

then after iron man 3 it goes out the window. and then thats when i really started like witnessing the mcu fandom and the over the top tony stans are so fucking annoying. theyre so fucking annoying. and then in real life if i dared to utter the words “i dont like tony stark” i literally would get an entire room of people yelling at me. like what the fuck is going on? god forbid i dont like some asshole billionaire white guy who constantly mocks over people’s trauma and insecurities, has no regard for other peoples lives or feelings, constantly makes mistakes but always shifts the blame to other people somehow .. etc. god forbid i like the character who was a disabled kid in brooklyn fighting for whats right, who jumped on a grenade to protect the other soldiers who didnt even like him in order to save their lives, who underwent the supersoldier project thing so he could fight nazis, who crashed a plane into the arctic to save millions of lives because if he didnt crash it himself it would destroy new york city, who woke up 70 years in the future and still fought for whats right and never stops, whose motto is “i can do this all day” LIKE SORRY . LOL!

[ao3feed-irondadspiderson]

in media res

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57367708 by webss312 “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Steve said, mildly. “Pete and I got hot dogs. That’s it.” “Pete?” Tony emphasized, jaw dropping at the sheer audacity. “Since when do you use nicknames for people?” “I call Bucky by nicknames.” Steve pointed out. “I called the kid ‘Pete’ first,” Tony said, narrowing his eyes. “Stop trying to steal my shtick. Get your own.” “You don’t own the nickname, Tony.” Steve looked amused as he said it. “I can own whatever I want, I’m a billionaire,” Tony replied, already running through the legal process in his mind of how he could possibly patent a nickname. He’d have to ask Pepper. These were dire circumstances. He refused to have his own personal intern usurped by someone wearing the carbon polymer equivalent of Uncle Sam’s tighty-whities. —- OR: The media gets one image of Steve and Peter getting hot dogs together and runs with it, assuming that Peter is Steve’s secret son. Tony takes great insult to this fact. Tony Stark does not like being one-upped by people stealing his personal intern. Least of all by Captain America. He has a reputation to uphold, after all. Words: 4548, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Friday (Marvel), Michelle Jones (Marvel) Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker Additional Tags: Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Teen Peter Parker, Sassy Peter Parker, Steve Rogers Being a Little Shit, Oblivious Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Jealous Tony Stark, not really he's mostly just salty, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, Social Media, the internet ships stony, and peter is doing absolutely nothing except fueling it on purpose, Misunderstandings, Michelle Jones is a Little Shit (Marvel), James "Rhodey" Rhodes is So Done, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, FRIDAY is a little shit, Snarky Friday (Marvel), BAMF Peter Parker, Snarky Tony Stark, Steve Rogers Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Peter Parker & Steve Rogers Friendship, Not Canon Compliant, Humor, Fluff and Humor, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff and Crack, Happy Ending, Avengers Family, Domestic Avengers read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/57367708

[thorongil82]

Silver Rings for a Web of Love - Chapter 1

Summary: After having to deal with every little thing that could have gone wrong; the breaking of the Avengers in the Civil War, Rhodey's injuries, the coming of Thanos, The Infinity War, The Decimation, returning the fallen to the land of the living, and battling Secretary Ross and the United Nations over amending the Sokovia Accords, finally Tony Stark has earned time for a break. Finally the world seems to be peaceful enough for a wedding that he knows is long overdue. Finally, he can marry Pepper Potts and all the Avengers are invited. Though a certain Spiderling's life may not be quite the way he would like it to be. 

Yes, he may still be the masked hero of Queens that the majority of the public adores. Yes, he may be studying in NYU in engineering and chemistry. Yes, he may be sharing an apartment with his best friend, Ned Leeds. But, when it comes to a certain snarky, frizzy haired girl who'd been observing him since high school, things haven't gone quite as smoothly as his heart so desperately hopes it had. Maybe a couple of weeks away can change that …

Chapter: 1/?

Words: 3601

A/N: So, I kinda ended up having this idea while writing the next chapter for Every Waking Nightmare. And, because I was a little stagnant in working on that, I moved onto this to help keep some creative juices flowing. Just, some quick information: 

First, this is set both after Endgame and after Far From Home, though admittedly I don't know when FFH will be. But, as they still seem to be in high school there, this should definitely be afterwards. Secondly, even though it will have a lot of other characters and it is a Stark Wedding AU, this is much more a Spideychelle fic than anything else. Thirdly, this'll run in an AU where everyone returns after Endgame, regardless of if they were taken out by The Decimation or killed in the lead up to it. Characters that died before Infinity War, I'm still tossing up on. Fourthly, there may be some stuff later on that may require trigger warnings. If there are, I'll let you know beforehand. 

Finally, and I apologise for the long note to begin, I'm going to try something a bit new with this. My thought was to open each chapter with a quote relating to the theme, and a song/video that I listened to whilst writing the chapter out. Would be good to here your thoughts on it. Anyway, that's enough from me. Onwards!

As a quick note for the Tumblr readers, I’m posting this on both AO3 and Tumblr. Trying something new. As such, there may be slight edits to accompany the change, but otherwise things should stay the same. There’s a link on my blog to the AO3 version if you prefer that, because I still don’t know if the linking issue has been fixed yet or not. 

Chapter 1 - An Invitation Plus One

Song of the Chapter: Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots

"Immature love says: 'I love you because I need you.' Mature Love says: 'I need you because I love you."

~ Erich Fromm

It wasn't every day that Peter got to travel to the Avengers compound. Sure, Mr. Stark had been trying to get more in contact with him, to make him a much more integral part of the team, but his classes at NYU would, at times, get in the way. Plus he could never abandon his duties to the people of New York. When he had first turned down joining the Avengers, he had wanted to keep close to the ground. Build up his experience. Look out for the little guy. Still try to live the life a kid like he was should have been able to.

Of course, a big purple alien decided to throw a big wrench in that plan. Or, rather, a giant spaceship. And a large golden gauntlet.

He knew he didn't have to go and help. But he had to. What else was he supposed to do? There was a giant spaceship shaped like a spinning donut in the sky. He had to make sure that his classmates didn't get hurt. And, obviously, the best thing his mind could come up with was to leap out of a moving bus with just his mask on and swing away after a distraction from Ned – he'll thank whatever deity he needs to for the fact that Ned was as surprised as he was – to go and stop the invaders. So, he got to reunite with and fight alongside Iron Man, meet a couple of wizards and a levitating cloak, and fight against and with a group of aliens. It could have been a power team. Maybe it should have been. Dr. Strange had looked into the future. He saw the one way that we could win. The plan was set. They had Thanos beaten. Mr. Stark was so close to taking off the gauntlet. He himself was so close. But the other human, Starlord, he had to go and lose control. It didn't make sense at the time. Everyone nearly died. Thanos nearly killed Mr. Stark. Strange gave up his stone. And then half the universe just disappeared. One by one they faded away. And, damn his senses, he felt it coming before it happened. It had felt horrible. Every fibre of his being screaming and tearing away, with nothing that he could do. Actually fading away caused no pain. Maybe it was because of how panicky he had been once he figured out what his instincts were howling at him. However, he still felt a lot of pain when it took hold. The fading, that wasn't it. The others that were dusted said that it just didn't feel like anything. They deduced that it was his healing factor working overtime to try and keep himself together. It had been so much that it nearly killed him a second time when the remaining Avengers succeeded in defeating Thanos and bringing everyone back to life. Mr. Strange magically transported The Guardians and them both back to Earth from Titan. Everything was finally over. The Avengers were, for the most part, back together again, with some new recruits; aliens, wizards, two humans that have travelled through the stars, and a high school student.

After the conflict, the public had, for the most part, rallied behind the Rouge Avengers, and the long fight to rectify the Accords fairly could carefully begin. The Rouge Avengers were pardoned, against the urges of Secretary Ross, and the others were invited to officially join the group. Everyone except Spider-Man, because everyone; the Avengers, the Rouges, the new recruits, and the few outside the superhero cohort still intricately involved, agreed that it would be a very bad idea for the world to find out his secret identity while he was still just a kid. So it was that Peter unofficially became an Avenger, and still is. The world still doesn't know who lies underneath the red-and-blue spandex, or whatever other suit is required for the job. And as far as everyone else knows, Peter Parker goes to the Avengers compound as Tony Stark's part-time assistant. Which isn't exactly a lie – he does do a fair amount of inventing and engineering for Stark Industries, alongside helping with some upgrades for Avengers gear. And, as far as he's aware, that is why he is being driven through the gates and up the driveway of the compound right now.

“You good, kid?” comes the voice of Happy Hogan from the driver's seat. Despite the years, he hasn't changed a lot from what Peter has seen. He still travels everywhere in a suit and hasn't observably aged. However, from his conversations and reports, Peter has noticed how he seems to have softened a little.

“Yeah. Why do you ask?”

“You're just … oddly quiet,” he answers as the car pulls up to the front of the complex.

“I'm just thinking about stuff. Things I can do during spring break,” Peter explains, lying through his teeth for the second part.

“Ah huh ...” Happy nods. For what it's worth to Peter, it doesn't seem like he's noticed the lie he told. Though, Happy was never one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, unless it was either stress or anger.

“I'm not carrying your bag, kid,” Happy says as he turns around, breaking Peter out of his train of thought. Looking around, he could see the car had stopped a while ago.

“Oh, uh … yeah, right,” Peter stammers, his hand quickly snaking to rub the back of his neck. “Thanks, Happy.”

Happy gives him a nod as the spiderling grabs the backpack beside him and slings it over his shoulder before dashing out of the vehicle. Striding out and climbing up the stairway, Peter arrives inside the sparkling clean foyer.

“Hello, Peter,” greeted the soothing feminine voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y. from above.

“Hey, Friday.”

“You're here early.”

“Yeah, Mr. Stark asked me to come in today instead of tomorrow,” Peter replied as he began walking through the complex.

“The boss has been alerted of your arrival. He's on his way down.”

“Thanks, Fri.”

Peter Parker continued his walk through the complex, passing multiple suits and artefacts from previous battles that were no longer in use; such as the dilapidated remains of several Iron Man suits including the battered and scarred mask of the first nanotech suit, a few pieces of weaponry out of War Machine's arsenal, Captain America's strike suit, sketches and designs of suits for several of the Avengers, and a jet-black hooded outfit and mask with blood orange and golden outlines, metallic gauntlets and a sleek katana that no one had bothered to tell the young Parker who it belonged to. It was while his gaze lingered on the more menacing outfit that the nearby elevator opened up, from within which Tony Stark strode out.

“Ah, there you are, kid,” the playboy billionaire says with a smile as he walks out of the elevator, snapping Peter out of his trance.

“Hey, Mr. Stark.”

“You know you can call me Tony, right?” he questions as he puts an arm round the young Parker and leads him into the elevator.

“Yeah,” Peter admits, shifting his weight from side to side as the elevator doors slide shut in front of them. “Force of habit.”

“Well, at least you were raised polite. School going alright? I've still got pull at MIT if you want to change-”

“It's fine, Mr. Sta- I mean, Tony,” the young adult catches himself, shaking his head slightly at his mistake. “No problems.”

“You sure?” Tony asks as he shifts his gaze down to his assistant.

“Yep. Work's all finished. Had an exam today. I'm pretty sure it went alright. Just got one more tomorrow and then-”

“Spring break, right?”

Peter nods.

“Ah, spring break, such fond memories … Lots of parties, plenty of girls …”

“Really?”

“Well I assume so,” Tony says with a shrug. “I was rich and a ladies man, but I also drank like a sailor. My memory isn't what it once was.”

“But you're one of the smartest people in the world!”

“Nah, everyone's starting to catch up,” Tony says, waving his hand as if to dismiss Peter's previous statement. “And a couple seem to be passing me by already – yourself included.”

“I wouldn't say that,” Peter chuckles embarrassingly, his hand snaking round his neck once again.

“So, you got any plans?”

“Uh, no … not really,” Peter replies as the elevator doors open, the billionaire and the spiderling walking through the shiny corridor towards Mr. Stark's personal laboratory.

“Really? Nothing? A good guy like you?”

Peter shakes his head.

“No parties? No girls? No heavy drinking?”

“No sir,” Peter answers, getting a grimace from the cocky philanthropist.

“That formality probably has something to do with it,” Tony mutters as they enter his lab.

Peter's face lights up as the room bursts into light, illuminating all the equipment, prototypes, particles, shiny metal and machinery thrown all over the place. He dashes over to the large pearl-white workbench in the centre of the room, his feet sliding along the polished floor as he comes to a stop. As soon as his hands press down on the work surface, the top dilutes to a dark cobalt-blue before sparking to life, an electric-blue hologram projecting upwards from the surface and shifting to form a large intricate design that appeared to be blueprints for a new type of Iron Man suit.

“So, what are we working on today, Mr- uh … Tony?” the young Parker inquires as his eyes dance with the light of the projection, remembering to catch himself on the name.

“First things first,” Tony interjects, sauntering slowly to the bench and waving a hand through the air, swiping the design back down into the table. He then reaches into his suit pocket and pulls out an envelope, handing it to Peter. “This is for you.”

Peter takes the envelope with an inquisitive look and opens it, pulling out a small folded page with a flowery pattern adorning the border. Unfolding it, he begins to read the words:

Mr. Peter Parker

You are cordially invited by

Tony Stark and Pepper Potts

to celebrate their union in holy matrimony. 

“W-Wait,” Peter exclaims, his eyes going wide. “This is for your wedding!”

“That's right,” Tony bluntly answers, shrugging his suit jacket off his shoulders before tossing it through the air, a coat hanger descending from the ceiling and catching it somewhat roughly before elevating back up into the roof.

“Bu- Wha- Why am I-” Peter stammers, his mind and mouth both currently being completely unable to form a simple sentence. His disbelieving laugh dies as he looks up at the smirking face of his mentor. “Th-This can't be right.”

“And why's that?”

“Well, I mean, why would I be invited?”

“Hmm, let's see here … Uh, you're part of the team, you help me out in here plenty of times, I have a certain amount of care for you that goes well beyond what most people could even dream of ...” Mr. Stark lists off, counting off each point on his fingers.

“That can't be … Is that true?”

“Don't interrupt me, I wasn't finished,” Tony says, holding up a hand. “Now, where was I?”

“The Care Bear Protocol,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. answers from above.

“Wait, Care Bear Protocol?!” Peter exclaims, eyes shooting towards Tony Stark.

“Unimportant details,” he responds, waving away the young Parker's many unspoken questions both figuratively and literally as one of his hands sails through the air in front of him.

“Oh god,” Peter groans, a hand flying up to hide his shame as his face quickly heats up in embarrassment.

“You're smart, respectable, polite,” Tony continues listing, as if the previous interruption hadn't happened, “Everyone on the team loves having you around, you brighten everyone's day, you're a hero to the people and you're probably the best out of all of us. So, yes, you're invited.”

Peter hesitantly looks back at the invitation, taking in the information.

“So, this is why you wanted me here today?”

“Yep. Pepper and I are leaving tomorrow after we finish up with some meetings.”

“The wedding's in a fortnight, though,” Peter observes, reading from the invitation and looking up with a puzzled expression.

“We could do with a break beforehand,” Tony explains, crossing his arms over the reactor in his chest. “Won't really have too much time for a honeymoon afterwards, so might as well get it over with beforehand with the team.”

Peter goes to open his mouth, but is cut off as Mr. Stark adds, “And yes, that includes you.”

“Cool! But … I've got an exam tomorrow. I can't just leave tomorrow.”

“Check the envelope.”

Peter takes another look inside the envelope and pulls out two plane tickets, boarding passes and small cards similar to the ID scanners that everyone uses in the newly re-bought and re-furnished Stark Tower. Looking at the plane tickets, Peter noted the departure time for 0800 hours on Saturday; the day after tomorrow.

“You're not the only one who can't get there straight away,” Tony explains. “Some are still getting there mid-week. I'd already checked in with NYU about when your exams were and planned around it.”

“Um … Mr. Stark?” Peter says, looking back up at his mentor.

“That name's not going to go away, is it?” Tony sighs, causing Peter's eyes to widen at his comment.

“Uh … probably not,” Peter answers guiltily.

“Don't worry, kid,” Tony says with a smile, bringing a smile to his student. “What is it?”

“Why are there two of all these?”

“Oh, well that's because everyone can bring someone along, and you've been put down for a 'plus one',” Mr. Stark clarifies.

“But I don't think I'll be able to bring anyone.”

“Really? No one?”

“Well, May's going to be away in Hawaii for another wedding, and Ned's going on a holiday with his family and his girlfriend.”

“What about that girl you hang around?”

“Michelle? No! Nonononono!” Peter frantically utters, vehemently shaking his head. “That would not be a good idea.”

“Why not?” Tony asks, eyebrows raising up in surprise. “I thought you guys were pretty close.”

“We are- were. It's … uh … It's not great …”

“What happened? You always use to spew your guts about every little thing about her. It got pretty annoying.”

“Um … you remember what happened in Europe?” Tony nods. “Well … we were kinda supposed to go on a date …”

“Wait, you were supposed to go on a date, or you were kinda going on a date?”

“We were going on a date … kinda.”

Tony sighs and shakes his head, but motions for the kid to continue.

“Well … we were going to be going to a carnival, but I was running a little late. On the way, one of Beck's goons tricked me and I ended up fighting Beck. By the time I had him webbed up, I was super late and she was so frustrated at me. She just screamed and shouted at me at the hotel and then didn't speak to me for the next three months.”

“Did you tell her why you missed it?” Tony asks. Peter drops his gaze to the floor and shakes his head, sinking into a nearby chair. Tony sighs and goes up to the youth, clapping a hand down on his fallen shoulder. “Well, that would have been a start. It could've helped her understand-”

“No! No, I … I can't tell her,” Peter states, his hands fumbling in the air in front of him. “I-I … I just can't.”

“Kid, all relationships are built on trust-”

“You don't understand: I can't tell her because she doesn't know I'm Spider-Man!” Peter declares, looking up at Tony Stark. “I … I never told her.”

“Why wouldn't you tell her?”

“I didn't want her to be hurt. I-If more people keep finding out who I am, then they'll be in danger. Vulture threatened to hurt everyone and Mysterio used his knowledge to distract me and lure me away.”

“We can take care of-”

“It's not the same. The Avengers can take care of each other. May, Ned, MJ … I-If someone like that comes after them …”

“It's alright, kid. Nothing's going to happen to them,” Tony assures as he crouches down in front of Peter, rubbing the younger man's legs as his eyes seem to stare off into space. His breathing quickens and becomes shorter as the panic starts to set in. “Hey, look at me. Peter.”

Peter slowly lifts his head to look at his mentor's eyes.

“Follow my breathing, okay?”

The young adult nods and follows as Tony starts with a normal paced breath, waiting for Peter's to drop down and meet it before carefully slowing it down until the young Parker had calmed down.

“All good, kid?”

Peter swallows and nods in response.

“Do you want my advice?”

Peter nods again.

“Okay. If you want to fix things between the two of you, my suggestion is that you tell her.”

“But I-”

“Don't interrupt,” Mr. Stark says abruptly, causing Peter to shut his mouth. “Do you still like her?”

“It's … It's complicated.”

“Kid, it's a yes or no question.”

“Well … Yes,” Peter admits, running a hand through his short curls. “But, it's not that easy.”

“Sure it is,” Stark responds with a shrug. “Three simple words: I am Spider-Man. Nice and short. Just like when I announced myself.”

“No, it's not,” Peter disputes. “I can't. I can't bring her into this world. If … If someone finds out, and she gets hurt … I just can't loose her again. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she's hurt because of me.”

“You realise you're saying this to a guy who's about to get married, right?”

“I-I didn't mean-”

“Look, kid,” Tony interjects, clearing his throat, “I know how you feel. It took me years to work up the courage to ask Pepper to marry me. And even then, it kept getting put off because of all these people that think they're powerful enough to rule the world. Or the galaxy. Or … whatever. Point is, in that time I realised something. It wouldn't matter how she felt about me, or whether we were together or not. So long as I cared about her, she would be in danger. People kept targeting her to get to me. Didn't matter what stage our relationship was in. So, if I was the one that was keeping her in danger, then I would do whatever it takes to make sure she's safe.”

“Also,” he continues as Peter opens his mouth, “if you want to be happy in life, then your better off being with the people you love. It'll hurt you to keep them at a distance, and it can hurt them too if they don't know why you're pushing them away.”

“So, what should I do?”

“Try to patch things up. I'm assuming you guys are at least in a civil acquaintanceship?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Peter answers glumly. “There are times were it seems friendly, and times where it still seems like she hates my guts. Then again, she is pretty dry and standoff-ish to everyone anyway, so that might just be her being who she is.”

“Then ask her to come. Tell her you're Spider-Man and bring her along.”

“Just like that? Hi, just thought I'd let you know I'm Spider-Man. Do you want to come to a wedding? I can't do that!”

“Fine, pick your moment. But I still want you to invite her.”

“And how do I explain that we'll be staying with The Avengers?”

“Why wouldn't The Avengers be there?”

“It's not that. It's just … what perfectly normal reason would there be for me to be there?”

“Well, if she-”

“One that doesn't involve me telling her I'm Spider-Man,” Peter cuts off Tony Stark, resulting in a glare from his mentor.

“Eh, we'll get there when we get there.”

“That's not really the kind of answer I was looking for.”

“Well, you keep wanting to make it difficult.”

“This is not going to go well,” Peter groans and drops his head into his hands before running them through his hair.

Tony sighs and stands up, walking over to the bench. He taps a couple of times on the surface, causing the bench-top to flash blue, before pinching the air and dragging upwards, springing up the holographic blueprints from earlier.

“How about we have a look at this?” Tony suggests as he folds his arms over his chest, getting Peter to look back up at him. “It'll help get your mind off your troubles, and get your head in gear for your exams tomorrow.”

Peter pushes himself out of his chair and stands next to Mr. Stark.

“Sure, but … um … I already planned to go to May's afterwards for dinner. I said I'd be there by 7.”

“What time is it now, Fri?” Tony asks, his eyes focusing on the designs.

“2:13,” the AI answers from above.

“Ah, we've got plenty of time,” Mr. Stark says, unfolding one of his arms and resting it on Peter's shoulder. “Hell, we'll probably have this all finished well before then.”

His arms shoot out to the holograms and brush a couple of designs aside before focusing in on the reactor and energy couplets and bringing his hands out wide, zooming into the design.

“How about we focus here first?”

A/N: So, there we go. First one out of the way. A shorter chapter than what I typically write, but probably about right for an introduction. Things may get longer. 

I'd like to hear your thoughts on the chapter. Suggestions, criticisms, ideas, all of that is welcome. In particular, I don't necessarily have a complete idea for events that they will all do before the wedding, so if there's anything in particular you want to see, whether it be an event, a face-off, or a particular relationship development event, please feel free to let me know and I'll see what I can do.

The next chapter will be uploaded as it's written. So, until then, adios.

[andonemorething]

Beach Days (Loki/Reader)

Word Count: 1,378

Summary: After a particularly taxing mission, Tony decides that the Avengers are in need of some R&R. That means everyone is going to the beach; even “Reindeer Games”, albeit reluctantly. Reader and Thor are determined to make sure that he loosens up before the day is over. 

A/N: Reader is a shapeshifter whose powers allow her to take the form of any animal she chooses. (Canon Divergence) Set after the events of AOU, where Loki is forced to atone for his crimes by aiding the Avengers while on Midguard. More fluff!

---

Naturally, he deemed it necessary to rent out an entire private beach. Not that you’re surprised, this is Tony Stark after all. The self proclaimed “billionaire-genius-playboy-philanthropist” has no concept of “low-key”. Regardless, with your feet buried in the warm sand and nose in a good book, you are not arguing that this was a good idea. Plus, you work with quite possibly the most attractive people on the planet; lack of eye-candy is certainly not a problem.

...With the exception of Loki of course. After being forcibly dragged along, he had stubbornly refused to even change into a swimsuit. He’d simply laid out his towel between you and Thor, sat down, conjured a book, and proceeded to ignore everyone. 

An hour later, he still hasn’t moved. Only when a shadow passes over the two of you does he bother to glance up from his novel. You as well look to see who is blocking your sun. It proves to be Thor, standing over you with a wide grin on his tanned face. 

“Lady (Y/N)! Would you like to play the game they call “volley-ball” with us? The man of iron says that you are proficient at this “sport!” 

You giggle at his adorable way of speaking before rising to join him. “Of course, Point Break, I’d love to.” Patting him on the shoulder, you turn back to Loki. “Loki, want to come? I can teach you how to play, it’ll be fun!” 

He seems to consider your offer, but only for a second before responding with an “I don’t have time for your silly Midgardian games”; subsequently returning to his book with a scowl. “Party pooper.” You scoff under your breath before walking off with the God of Thunder.

“I GOT IT!” You bark, leaping into the air. Swiftly, and with practiced ease, you spike; sending the ball careening into the sand.

 “Alright!!” You cheer, “Thats game, losers!” 

With high-fives being passed amongst you, Thor, Steve, Clint, and Wanda, your celebrations are only met with groans from the other side of the net. 

“See Stark? I told you we didn’t stand a chance with (Y/N) on their team.” Bucky grumbles.

 “You know (Y/N), we would have won if I was at the top of my game.” Sam smirks from beside the Winter Soldier. 

“Is that so bird brain? Because I distinctly remember you-- woah!” 

Before you can finish your snarky retort, you are suddenly hoisted onto Thor’s broad shoulders. “Are you embarrassed that you were beaten by Lady (Y/N) bird man?” He inquires proudly. 

You laugh at the actions of your Asgardian “brother” and take in the view. A quick scan of the shrore finds Loki in the same spot you had left him 40 minutes before. 

“He’s never going to move from there today, is he?” You affirm, voicing your concerns to Thor. The god only hums in agreement from underneath you.

“Not on my watch. He’s going to have fun today, whether he likes it or not.” You declare. 

“And how exactly do you propose we do that?” The blonde looks up at you, curiosity shining in his blue eyes. 

“I’ll tell you on the way.” You give him a light kick in the ribs and a mischievous wink. “Onwards my steed!” You point dramatically towards the God of Mischief. “To glory!” 

You saunter up to Loki, hoping you can distract him well enough for this to work. Thor had told you about all of the previous failures he had trying to get the jump on his younger brother. 

“Hey Loki, are you sure that you don’t want to play? I’m sure that you’ll have fun!” You plaster on a hopeful smile just to be met with an exasperated sigh. 

“Darling, I really am quite happy here with my literature. You and my brother can have all the “fun” that you want playing that game.” 

Batting your eyelashes, you put on your best pouty-face. “Please Loki, for me?”

 After a few moments he finally relents. “Fine, but only one “game”. He moves to stand when Thor appears out of nowhere to throw him over his shoulder. 

“Let me down this instant you enormous and insufferable oaf!” Loki shouts in protest, his face red with anger. 

“Come now, brother! It is time that you did something other than sit and sulk today!” 

Soon, the God of Thunder reaches the edge of the sea and promptly flings Loki in. Seeing your master plan unfold has you doubling over in laughter; as you are soon joined by the rest of the Avengers. 

“See Liesmith! Swimming is fun!” You call in-between fits of giggles. 

Loki soon emerges from the salty waves, drenched, and with murder gleaming in his eyes. Immediately, Thor’s expression pales and the laughter dies. 

“Brother...you see we were trying to get you to have a more... lively day! See, Lady (Y/N) came up with the idea and...” With the mention of your name however, Loki abruptly turns his attention towards you. 

“THOR!!” You squeal at his unwitting betrayal. 

This can only end well.

Suddenly though, an idea springs to mind. Flashing a wicked grin, you taunt the enraged god,

“Catch me if you can!” Flourishing with a cheeky wink, you shift to take the form of a bay mare and take off down the shoreline. 

A second set of hoofbeats soon joins your own, and a quick glance over your shoulder revels their owner. Loki. In the form of a jet black stallion, he tears after you. Kicking up more of the wet sand, you force your legs to pump faster in an effort to lose your pursuer. Salty air sears in your lungs, but you brush it away. The thrill of galloping is unparalleled, and the hoots of encouragement coming from Thor and Sam only make you feel more alive. 

When the drum of trailing hoofbeats begins to fade, you crane your neck to look back in confusion. Nothing. No Loki. Bewildered, you refocus your attention forwards only to find the god standing directly in your path. With a startled neigh, you slam on the breaks, skidding to a stop. Though not before sending clouds of sand billowing into the air and, onto a very unamused Loki. 

Stifling a laugh, you shift back into your human form. 

“See Loki? That’s what happens to cheaters who try and teleport!” 

Unfazed, and still covered in sand, the Asguardian closes the remaining distance between the two of you. He only stops when your faces are merely inches apart; the newfound proximity causing your breathing to hitch. With a smirk, he leans in further and purrs into your ear, 

“Oh darling, since when have I ever played fair?”  

Taking advantage of your flustered state, Loki stoops down and sweeps you into his arms. In long, swift strides, he starts towards the sea. Quickly catching onto his plan, you begin to squirm in his grasp. 

“Loki...I know what you're thinking! Don’t do it! Loki! Loki no!”

 Your pleas fall on deaf ears as the trickster effortlessly tosses you into the ocean’s salty embrace. The cold hits you instantly, and goosebumps run up your arms at the sudden temperature shift. 

As you rise to your feet you can hear Loki snickering in satisfaction.

“Oh so that’s how you want to play it?” You grumble, beginning to splash towards shore.

 Loki remains where he stands, watching with amusement as your lithe form stalks towards him. 

Padding onto the wet sand, your sullen expression suddenly morphs into a wide grin as you spread your arms. 

“Come here. I want to hug you.” 

Hands raised in mock surrender, he begins to back away slowly. 

“Perhaps you want a towel first love?” Loki suggests, realizing your ploy. 

Dropping your hands in defeat, you move closer to plant a salt-covered kiss to his cheek. The smooth skin flushes at your touch, and with his guard effectively lowered; you seize your opportunity. Wrapping your arms around the unsuspecting male, you crush him in a wet hug and murmur into his chest.

“I win.” 

With no choice but to return your embrace, his smile is one of mirth as he fondly shakes his head. 

“Yes love, you win.”

[peterparkerscurls]

Tears On the Concrete

The elevator was packed. Who knew that all the Avengers could fit in such a small space? Peter was currently smushed behind Steve and Thor, which normally he wouldn’t mind in the slightest, but they had all just finished rounding up some evil professor’s manic alien dogs that were wreaking havoc in downtown Manhattan. Peter’s arms were on fire, mostly his left shoulder, which had been flaring up lately. His whole body ached and he couldn’t wait to sit down with Tony for some one on one time. Some time after Peter first started working with Tony, the billionaire had offered Pete a safe space in him. The rules were that whenever Peter needed someone to talk to, to vent to, or just sit down and blabber about anything with, he could go to Tony. And Tony would always listen. Always.

The battle had left Peter kind of down. He hadn’t helped much, he was more of a distraction to the others. Especially when he messed up, which he did. See, while Thor and Cint finally got hold of the evil professor himself, Peter got caught up in his own celebration, that one of the space mutts had knocked the wind out of him, and if not for Steve, Peter’s face would probably be in the thing’s small intestine. If it had intestines…

That wasn’t the only instance during the battle that Peter had derived attention from the task at hand. It seemed like he always distracted Tony the most, for what reasons he could never guess. When the whole crew had originally dropped down onto the so called battlefield, Peter was swinging around, trapping the aliens in makeshift web-netting, He came pretty close to having his whole leg ripped off. He was in total control, he really was, but as soon as he was pulling himself away from the weird jaws of the space mutt, Tony’s angry voice was in his ears, yelling something about being careful. Peter looked up at Tony at that moment, and instead of having his whole leg eaten, the mutt settled for clamping down on his calf instead. Tony then beamed the dog basically to ash, and rushed over to Peter instead of helping the rest of the team.

So, once he limped out of the elevator, worried eyes staring at him as he did, he ignored Bruce’s suggestion to follow him to the med bay, and went straight to Tony who was currently on the couch, his face glued to a tablet displaying news coverage. Bruce again strongly advised getting his leg looked at, but since Tony wasn’t making that big a deal out of it, he told Dr. Bannere he would join him after he spoke to Tony. Peter was about to round the couch, currently standing behind it, when he started talking.

“Hey Mr. Stark? Do you think we co-” Peter’s tired voice was cut off abruptly by Tony’s.

“Do you even pay attention? Like at all? Or am I just pretty to look at?” Tony shifted, turning around. His eyes did not look like he was joking this time, and Peter’s whole chest tightened.

“I-I’m sorry I know I was -”

“No, you don't “know”. You really thought that throwing your hands into the air and screaming “Heck yeah” after Thor grabbed the man who was the whole reason we were sent down there in the first place was the best idea?”

Peter began fidgeting with his mask in his hands. Mr. Stark never spoke for that long without a snarky comment or sarcastic joke unless things were super serious, or he was really mad. The realization that Tony was mad at him made Peter’s whole heart ache.

“I just- I was- I just got excited you know because we completed the mission you know.” Peter rambled and couldn’t make eye contact with Tony anymore, so he settled for staring at his feet instead. He heard Tony huff, and knew he was in for it now.

“You can’t be a distraction for everyone, you can’t just look up at me when you have a vicious space animal three inches away from eating your whole leg off! Do you even think? I thought you were cut out for this, but it seems that my original assumption may be off.”

Peter’s head shot up and before he could start justifying himself to his mentor, Steve, who had been there the whole time (which was news to Peter), stepped forward and tried to calm the situation.

“Tony, he’s new to this, everyone -”

“No, he isn’t just new to this!” Tony’s voice was growing, and so was Peter’s anxiety level.

“He’s a liability, Steve!”

Peter’s eyes widened when he heard this, and it felt like he got stabbed right through his stomach. A liability? He was a liability to Mr. Stark? To the team? He never thought of his relationship with everyone in that way. Tears welled in Peter’s eyes, and he took a step back. Tony was too busy arguing with Steve to notice when Peter pulled his mask on and ran out towards the balcony and swung away.

He couldn’t stop the tears from soaking into his mask, smearing under his eyes as he got as far away from the tower as possible. He swung off buildings, turning and flying until his shoulder screamed at him to stop. He landed on a rooftop somewhere on E 28th Street near a Turkish restaurant. He stumbled when he landed, his punctured calf giving out on him which sent him into a somersault. Peter groaned when he stopped rolling, and crawled over to the AC unit, leaning his back against it. He pulled off his mask, baby hairs sticking to his forehead with sweat and tears smeared down his cheeks.

Peter couldn’t believe this was happening. His heart was racing and his head was pounding, his leg hurt so much, but not nearly as bad as he did on the inside. He loved Mr. Stark, he thought out of all people, except May of course, that he was the one who believed in Peter. Now, he saw that in Tony’s eyes, Peter was just an issue. He didn’t know what to do. Give back the suit and forget the whole Spider-Man thing altogether? Quit the Avengers and just stick to his own city with his homemade suit? Instead, Peter just settled for curling up and crying, his tears staining the concrete beneath him.

He ran his fingers through his hair and pulled at his soft brown locks. He cursed at himself for becoming a bother, a nuisance in Mr. Stark’s eyes. He knew being close to Tony was just a reoccuring dream, but Cinderella’s dream became a reality, right? Maybe it all was just fantasy. Peter managed to catch his breath and wipe his nose and face with his hands. He should find his way home and just sleep until next month, just as soon as his head stopped pounding and his shoulder stopped burning, and wow his leg was really starting to hurt now. Maybe he would wait just a few more minutes to gather himself before he started the hours he had ahead of him towards Queens. His mind wouldn’t leave the situation at hand alone, not even for a minute, and all Peter wanted to do was forget the last year or two of his life as a whole, so instead of submitting to his crippling anxiety and sadness, he looked up at the sky, rogue tears streaming down his cheeks. It was pretty, all the stars. One of them was moving. Peter contemplated making a wish on it, but then he realized it was coming straight towards him. Shit. He had forgotten about the tracker in his suit.

An Iron Man suit descended towards the rooftop, and Peter couldn’t decide whether he wanted to swing away as fast and far as possible, or to just sit and cover his ears. Neither was a possibility as the minute he tried to move, his leg erupted in sharp, burning pain. All he could do was watch as the huge metal suit thumped as it landed in front of him. Pete sniffed and hurriedly wiped away his tears, turning his head to look away from Iron Man. Tony probably wasn’t even actually here.

His previous assumption was debunked as Mr. Stark stepped out of the suit and walked towards Peter. The kid pulled his legs closer into him, not wanting to be anywhere near Tony, mostly so the man wouldn’t see him struggling not to break down again.

“You can save your stupid lecture or - or talk or whatever you’re going to do because I don’t want to hear it.” Peter tried to sound angry, but his voice just came out broken and tremly. He still refused to look at Tony. Suddenly, his torso was lifted forward, away from the AC unit and he felt arms wrap around his back. He turned his head, only to have Tony’s be right next to his, blocking him. Mr. Stark was … hugging him? Peter had dreamed of this day, but never like this.

“I’m so sorry, Pete.” To Peter’s surprise, Tony’s voice sounded equally as broken and trembly as his did. He soon felt a warm wetness dripping onto his aching shoulder, and he realized that Mr. Stark was crying. Peter slowly wrapped his arms around Tony’s back weakly, he really was sore.

“I didn’t mean it, any of it. I just-” Tony took a shaky breath. “I get so scared. Scared that I’ll lose you, or that you’ll get too hurt. I should’ve never said those things, I was just so freaked out and mad at myself for not being able to stop you from getting hurt.” His grip on Peter tightened.

Peter slowly grasped that Tony was just trying to look out for him, he was scared for him, he cared for him.

“It’s ok Mr. Stark. I’m sorry I-”

“No.” Tony cut him off and pulled back, gripping Peter’s shoulders. “You shouldn’t be sorry for anything. Steve was right, you are new at this and everyone messes up. I mess up all the time. I just can’t lose you, kid. I can’t.”

Peter nodded and watched as Tony wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand. Peter hurridly copied him, which gained a breathy laugh from Tony.

“I’m not going anywhere Mr. Stark.” Peter smiled softly.

“That’s not true. You’re coming back to the med bay before you get gang green, you nasty.” Tony stood up and began walking back towards his open suit. He turned back as he walked and waved his hand, gesturing towards Peter’s legs. “Can you walk?”

Peter braced himself, hands on either side of his hips and tried to get up, which was not working so well.

“Uh” Was all Peter said, and Tony nodded after getting into his Iron Man getup. In a few seconds, Peter was being scooped up and flown very fast back to Stark Tower. He let himself relax, resting his annoyingly pounding head on Tony’s metal chest, and before he knew it he was asleep. Or passed out. Nobody ever told him anything.

Peter woke up what he guessed was a few hours later with his whole calf wrapped and numb. His left arm was also in a sling and rested against his chest, clearly a remedy to his shoulder, which felt amazing by the way. He yawed and shifted in his bed, turning to see the whole entire team by his bed. Peter blinked and gave a shy smile, still groggy and not totally unconvinced this was a dream.

“16 stitches, kid.” Tony said, walking through the crowd and towards the bed, which evidently was a signal for everyone else to circle around his bed as well.

“Huh?” Was all Peter said.

“The space dog bite, you needed 16 stitches total plus a tetanus shot.”

That explained why his arm muscle was sore when Thor patted Peter’s good shoulder.

“You are a brave one, Spider Child.” Peter’s face grew warm and he was sure he was blushing because holt shit Thor just touched him and said he was a ‘brave spider child’.

“I’m never washing this arm.” He whispered, but he was sure he only said it in his head.

Steve smiled at Tony, and Peter watched as Tony winked towards the older man. He felt loved again, more than before, with all these smiling faces making sure he was ok. He felt at home, and safe, and not at all a liability. He was an asset. He was family.

[lazywriter7]

Blind date part 3

for @mega-mathi​ who inspired me to finally finish this, and @ishipallthings​ whose prompt it was originally based on:  “you’re supposed to be on a blind date with someone but you sat down at the wrong table and i haven’t been able to get a word in edgewise to tell you that and it’s been thirty minutes” au

Read part one here

Read part two here

He caught her in an elevator.

Well, not quite. He was waiting on the ground floor, trying to remember how to whistle without his hands. It seemed like a whistling kind of moment. Or a whistling kind of day.

Tongue to the back of the throat, loosen the jaw… The elevator dinged quietly, steel doors opening with a swish. Steve did his best to straighten up whatever odd face he’d been pulling.

Judging from Natasha’s almost-expression, he didn’t quite succeed. She was in a dark green sweater that hung loosely on her frame, hair scooped on her neck in a side-bun. She was the loveliest, most generous angel to ever walk the face of this planet.

Oh Stevie.

They moved in synchrony, switching places smoothly as Steve stepped in and Natasha moved out. Steve turned around and shot what was probably the soppiest smile he’d ever sported in her direction. “Thanks. He was great.”

A tiny pause. “He.” Natasha repeated, with absolutely no inflection whatsoever.

The elevator doors closed.

(read more link below)

Any other person would have scrambled for the ‘open door’ button immediately. Steve had faster reflexes than most people.

He stood, motionless, staring at his discoloured reflection in the elevator doors as it began to rise.

Steady jazz started tinkling somewhere in the background – he remembered being…if not soothed, then touched by the thought the first time he’d taken the elevator in Avengers Tower.

“JARVIS, could you turn off the music please.”

The music subsided.

He watched it happen over seventy-one floors. Watched his expression waver, smile crumpling inwards, before his jaw took over and set itself – firm and brittle. Watched the thoughts and realisations track through his eyes, overcast blues turning leaden. It was a remarkable parallel of his thought processes down in the café, actually…before he’d sat down. Three minutes of mounting hope and epiphany, in exact reverse.

Tony Stark was in the café. Tony Stark owned the Tower the café was at, and even if he didn’t, was perfectly within his rights to be there. There was no logical explanation for Tony Stark to be hanging around at a sub-par café the afternoon of Steve’s date. Tony Stark had access to the common area feeds, and probably spied on Natasha persuading Steve into a blind date.

The data was all the same – Steve had just come to the utterly wrong conclusion. Because he was biased and blind. And stupid and lonely.

Tony Stark likes me and wants to date me.

– versus Tony Stark took an hour out of his extremely busy schedule to spy on Steve making a complete fool out of himself on a date with another woman.

Yeah. The winner was pretty clear on that one.

It was…funny, probably. That’s why Tony did it. It was funny, and Steve didn’t get it, because he didn’t get most jokes these days. Like those videos of men proposing to their da – girlfriends, and getting awkwardly rejected and people taping the whole thing and livestreaming and tweeting and whatever else they did these days, snarky commentary that got a thousand likes. He could hear it even now: here we can observe the dinosaur far removed from its natural habitat; a clumsy old drip tryna be smooth and thinking he’s got something to offer to a billionaire – except he couldn’t even fucking make fun of himself right because people in this century didn’t even say drip anymore.

The elevator dinged. The steel doors slid open, Steve staring beyond into the recesses of his darkened floor.

“Captain?” JARVIS prompted quietly.

Steve exited the elevator, moving on autopilot for a few paces before coming to a standstill. The entire place was ‘open plan’, nothing but shine and glass and a sense of uneasiness that burrowed itself deep into Steve’s spine. It had taken months upon months to get over, an inch of tension unscrewing with every day – until Steve had woken up to a sea of rose and gold one morning, a startlingly bright sunrise that seemed to bleach all the shadows away.

Now the sun had already dipped below the horizon, everything he could see tinted dusk-grey. Not that there was much to see – the whole point of this kind of design was to ‘declutter the space’, never mind that it just felt empty. He could…he could move towards the kitchenette, make himself a pot of tea; steam winding idly up, crockery clinking loudly in the silence. Or flip through channels on his television, or climb into bed and pull the covers over his head, staring at absolutely nothing.

His head was silent.

“Captain. Sir is requesting your presence in his workshop, if you would please.”

Fuck him, Steve thought, with absolutely no emotion left to muster. Except that didn’t…that wasn’t…

That wasn’t quite right.

Only to those who deserve it. And he’d been so sure about it too, felt it settle deep in his heart of cemented convictions. Yet it didn’t quite…line up with what Steve was feeling now: resentment broken apart, all raw and tender inside. It’s probably funny didn’t align with the phantom warmth of Tony’s hand for three hours straight, with his tiny, indrawn breath every time Steve called him by name.

It was hard. Hard to remember all the verbal blunders, the stammering, and not feel the sense of doomed certainty creeping on – it all just made so much sense, if it were a joke. If Steve was the butt of it all, the dope who got told ‘you just won a million dollars!’ and believed it while people snickered behind hidden cameras. If this was another rejection in a long line of rejections, for something Steve hadn’t even known he wanted until three hours ago.

Except…and this was the part he kept butting up against. The part where Steve was feeling absolutely miserable, and the idea that that had been Tony’s intention.

“Cap, I think there’s been a-”

“My fault entirely, shouldn’t have come here in the first place. You should probably look for the person you actually–”

“I vote both. Can we do both?”

“It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”

When he breathed next, it came a little lighter – anxiety loosening its hold on his chest. Maybe he was wrong and it was all just an elaborate construction of ridicule; but damn if Steve was going to be cowardly enough not to find out for sure.

“Tell him I’ll be there.”

~

He hadn’t realised until now, how different Tony had looked in the café.

It was probably the lighting. Everything about Tony’s face was sharp, deeply angular: the lines of his beard and the jut of his chin, and the penetrating, fluorescent light that Steve always saw him under only enhanced this effect. Iron Man was the one who flourished under the sun – swooping across blue skies in a swirl of fiery colour, bright enough to blind.

In the café, he’d looked…mellower, the golden rays of afternoon gentling his lines and edges; yet oddly still compelling. It was the difference, perhaps, between felt tip and oil paint – less polish, more intensity. Now, he was Tony Stark again – industrial-white bulbs overhead lighting his cheekbones in straight, unbroken lines. He was in the same t-shirt, hoodie out of sight, and his eyes appeared black enough to match.

(And yet, out of the corner of his eye, Steve could glimpse maroon wool – the scarf looped round and round what appeared to be a robotic arm.)

“I’m glad you came.” Tony started, words falling quick and efficient. His gaze was fixed just slightly off of Steve’s face, at some point beside his right ear. “There is something that I should’ve…something I need to tell you before you–”

“I spoke to Natasha.”

Tony fell silent. He blinked, thrice in rapid succession; nothing like the languid movements that had captivated Steve so only a couple of hours ago. He looked like he was trying to re-centre himself.

“I didn’t deserve it.” Steve said. “Not this time.”

Studied stillness, like the kind that came only by actively holding back a flinch. Steve watched Tony very carefully not react. Not argue, only dip his head after a second and quietly voice, “I’m sorry.”

Defend yourself you idiot.

But that was okay. That was okay, because Steve was here and he might be the actual worst at first date conversation, but this. This he knew how to do.

There were no rules to bravery, no ways to judge, no way to fuck it up. Just to take the leap.

“Peggy always used to say that nuance was lost on me.” He didn’t stutter over her name, linger on its ending consonants with bitterness at the back of his throat. He just sounded fond. “She and Colonel Phillips used to have these long-drawn discussions about the changing state of international politics – countries and diplomacies and agendas. I listened in, and I appreciated it but…sometimes it just seemed a step removed from relevance.”

“In the field, I have to keep every possible factor in mind before making a call. But at some point, that means to stop thinking and start doing.” Despite his words, he was fidgeting with the base of his thumb. Steve stilled his hands, straightened his shoulders. His heartbeat was kicking up in his ears. “Sometimes it’s easier to…let the overwhelming complexity of it slide away, and simply make a choice.”

“I know that this isn’t that simple.” Except for how it also is. Steve lifted his chin, felt the pulse leap and skitter in his throat like something terrified and utterly free. “But to me, today was one of two things.”

“Either Tony Stark liked me,” Tony stared back at him, dark eyes and trembling mouth and absolutely no doubt whatsoever, “or he was an asshole. And we both know how I feel about the second option.”

Moments trailed away, ears ringing and veins flushed with adrenaline. No matter what happened next, Steve would never forget how this felt. Breathing and speaking and being, without the weight of anxiety bending his head.

Tony stalked across the workshop floor, movements so decisive that Steve almost took a step back. For a second he expected to be gripped around the collar, jerked down to Tony’s level – but Tony stopped scant inches away, breaths controlled and eyes on fire. When he spoke, it was as direct and non-tangential as Steve had ever heard him.  

“I knew you were on a blind date and when I heard you were planning to meet at the Tower itself, I couldn’t help myself. I never intended to take over the date. Or to hurt you in any way.”

“I know–”

“You still need to hear it.” Tony cut through, bluntly succinct. He’d never sounded sincerer. “Also you’re goddamn incredible.”

It wasn’t a joke. And Steve had already known – but it was the difference between closing your eyes and leaping without a parachute, and the moment you were caught. It was staring into Tony’s eyes, breaths ramping up together; like they were seventy feet in the air and still flying, and never wanting to come down.

Tony leaned up.

Steve’s hands spasmed by his side – oh god oh god oh god oh look my anxiety’s back – fingers flexing in imagined, desperate sense-memory: the worn cotton of Tony’s t-shirt, the stubbled underside of his jaw, the thin skin of his eyelids, the spiky softness of his hair. So many places to reach out towards, to touch and stroke and hold, and Steve couldn’t seem to bring himself to–

And then it didn’t matter, because Tony’s lips were right there and Steve closed his eyes. A feather-light touch, a single point of contact. Dry heat and absolute stillness – like they were balanced, perfectly, on the edge and neither wanted to move and break the spell. God, Tony could probably feel Steve’s cheeks blazing with heat from this distance – and it didn’t matter because Steve could feel Tony’s and this was–

Perfect.

Tony pulled away slowly, settling down on the balls of his feet. He seemed a little out of it, tone faintly starstruck. “I feel like I just got kissed by Prince Charming.”

“Oh. Um.” This was far from Steve’s first kiss since the forties, though some people might call this barely a kiss. It didn’t matter. It was perfect. “Sorry?”

“No no, it’s fine.” Tony batted his hands distractedly, still a little wondrous. “I like Disney movies better than pornos anyway.”

“We don’t have to choose.” Steve replied on autopilot – and Tony froze in place for a second, before swaying forward until his forehead hit Steve’s shoulder, hiding his snickers in Steve’s plaid shirt. Because somehow Steve had found a man who appreciated both his deeply visceral awkwardness, as well as his out-of-body sass.

Tony breathed warm and damp against Steve’s chest before tilting his head sideways, bristly beard hairs scraping distractingly over thin cloth. His resting cheek rose and fell with Steve’s breaths, and he glanced up in a smile that could wreck millions. “Blue.”

Steve, who was expecting some kind of devastating comeback/come-on, wrinkled his brows in confusion. Tony’s small, answering laugh vibrated against his chest. “My favourite colour.”

Right, right. First date conversation. Steve wracked his, admittedly slow-functioning brain for an appropriate follow up. Sue him, he had a Tony Stark in his arms. “What shade?”

Tony’s lips curved into something dreamy, taffy-sweet. “Steve-blue.”

Steve stared back, more than a little light in the head. His mouth was moving outside his volition, “That’s not a–”

Tony stretched up on his toes, pecked him again – a soft murmur to punctuate the motion. “Is to me.”

Steve shut his eyes. Waited, for reality to kick back in, for sanity to kick him in the head. Speaking of which –

You’ve been quiet.

You had it handled. Bucky’s voice replied in his head, wry and proud. Now go back to life, hotshot.

When Steve opened his eyes, Tony was still there. He didn’t teach kindergarten by day, or work in puppy shelters by night, though Steve was pretty sure that Tony did more humanitarian work than all the NYC charities combined. He’d probably laugh himself silly at all of Steve’s creased Pocono Mountains brochures, and drag him kicking and screaming to Hawaii in summer. He was an Avenger, and a good man, and…

Always think of the brightest outcome possible before entering a situation.

“I don’t think I could’ve imagined you if I had tried.”

“Well then.” Tony smiled slowly, like the start of a new day and the morning sunrise. “Suppose it’s a good thing you don’t have to.”

~fin