#had a friend that worked in tsa that said he saw them steal stuff from passengers by saying they couldn't take it on the flight i'm so tire

[simplyghosting]

Looking into the history of the 3-1-1 TSA rule (because I'm annoyed) and while the event that started it (2006 UK) could have been bad, it gets summed up with just...pay attention. That's it.

Like if the security/TSA guys just look there's no reason you shouldn't be able to carry larger liquids. There are x-ray machines now. You can't hide batteries in a soda bottle. Gosh just sniff the container. "But what if the liquid actually is dangerous. That's not safe." Security is not meant to be a safe job and should not be so tyrannical it punishes innocents. "It will make the lines longer." Hire more people and open more lanes then. "That requires more funding." Take it out of the NSA spending.

My feelings on when they tell me I can't bring a tub peanut butter on a plane because it's a "liquid."

[lovelyirony]

Hhhhhhnggggg I thought of something and I think you can make it beautiful. "Being your father is more important to me than being their friend."

thank you! 

If you had told Tony Stark that he would be a father figure some day, he would’ve laughed in your face. Because Tony Stark is not a figure for anything besides perhaps business or alcoholism. 

But then Iron Man. 

But then Avengers. 

But then...everything. 

The first time he really considers himself a father figure is when he gets emailed from Harley who starts it off with “why is your email embarrassingly easy to hack? Anyway I want to ask you about this robot thing. I’m not saying I’m building it but if I would be doing so what would I need.” 

Tony emails back: 

“When you hack into my email all of my employees who work in the encryption networks get an alert and put you on the ‘watch-for-this’ list. Basically all about employment. Anyway, suppose you are building this (and you are, because you’re a punk)...you need some copper wiring and I’ll send you the other stuff.” 

Harley and Tony pull up a sort of correspondence over email. And then Harley demands to have his number because “no one uses email anymore except for clothing companies, and you are not supplying me with any good deals on shirts.” 

(Tony absolutely does deny that he loves this kid when Rhodey catches them talking on the phone.) 

He also says he’s just providing a learning opportunity when Harley and his sister get to come to New York for a summer. 

“It’s because you like kids,” Rhodey says. “And you like Harley because he’s as much of a little shit as you are.” 

“False, he’s even more so. He built a potato gun and aimed it at me the first time we met.” 

“And you probably made some wise-ass remark about him or what have you. I wanna meet him.” 

Harley is an asshole. 

(Tony’s glad to have him.) 

His sister is sweet. Lily likes to learn about the world and the different connections between countries. Tony has no doubt that she has a career with the UN and makes sure to subtly get her books about political science and cool historical events. 

They don’t mention the distinct lack of the Avengers, at least until they’re at the dinner table and Tony’s picking at broccoli. 

“So, when are you going to recruit new members?” Harley asks, looking directly at him. He’s one of the few people in Tony’s life that can look at him directly now. He’s never shied away from that, and he can appreciate it. 

“Why would I recruit new members?” 

“We still need the Avengers. Besides, maybe you can find someone who doesn’t have as lame a costume as Captain America.” 

Tony snorts, taking his plate to the sink. 

“I’ll think about it.” 

He thinks long and he thinks hard that night. Tony’s not an idiot when it comes to the team’s whereabouts. They need somewhere where they are untouchable by anyone. 

And where better than a country with a long reputation of being a total recluse? 

He’ll have to ask King T’Challa if they also put coffee grounds down the sink. 

But they do need a team. And he remembers in the letter that Steve sent that he said that the Avengers were perhaps more of a family for Tony than for Steve. 

Yeah. It shows. Shows by the way Natasha, Clint, and Wanda all left with him. Shows how they’re family because no one’s there for Tony when he’s gasping for air from Steve’s shield crashing down on his chest, cracking. 

(He said that the shield didn’t belong to Steve. He wasn’t wrong. That shield doesn’t belong to Steve, because it’s not a belonging. It’s simply...Steve.) 

So. Family. Tony needs to find a new one. Or just new teammates. 

He talks to Rhodey, who agrees to be an overseer or who shows up. 

-

Rhodey asks about Spider-Man. 

“He’s on reserves only,” Tony says. “I can’t have him get hurt.” 

Peter’s a great kid. One of the best there is, most likely. (Just don’t ever ask Tony to say that out loud.) 

And he’s been itching to test out some new micro-fabric that has to do with defensive techniques that Tony’s been toying with, and this is the perfect time to introduce Peter to Harley. 

Harley’s soft, worn t-shirts contrast with the bright, punny shirts that Peter almost always wears. Peter talks a mile a minute while Harley really only says what he has to. 

At first, Tony isn’t sure if they’re going to get along. Harley’s not one for enthusiastic, jumpy people and hates going into New York City for literally anything. 

(“You’re supposed to come for dinner! We’re only eating with Pepper!” 

“I literally do not care. I saw a rat and I saw a person who was wearing neon orange. I am not dealing with this.”) 

But Peter is surprisingly savage when he wants to be, and they bond over roasting Tony within an inch of his life. 

“I literally cannot believe you,” Tony says. “You go from stuttering to roasting me over my shoe choice.” 

“Mr. Stark, those are quite possibly the ugliest shoes you could wear to this event,” Peter stresses. “You’re wearing a suit and bright orange shoes.” 

“Yes! It’s called being unique.” 

“It’s called ‘you’re about to get roasted by every magazine and social media account’,” Harley answers, not even looking up from his project. “Change your shoes.” 

“I’m Iron Man. I can handle a little fashion roasting.” 

“Yeah but you should have better taste,” Harley deadpans. “Go with the silver shoes. They’re not terrible.” Tony pouts but changes into the shoes. 

Harley and Peter send him both an article about “the unique, amazingly quirky style of one Tony Stark,” with captions that mean the same thing: told you so. 

It’s sad when Harley has to go back home with Lily. Tony promises them that they can spend every summer upstate if their mother is okay with it. Lily gives him a friendship bracelet before they fly and no, Tony does not Cry Actual Buckets. 

Peter’s summer is about to end, and Tony’s getting on him about last minute AP homework. 

“What do you mean you didn’t have time to finish up your AP History diorama? You spent all of last weekend googling military conspiracy theories! You have had time!” 

“Okay, that’s fair, but still--” 

Tony sends Harley and Lily care packages and letters. They send him back letters about the school day, what’s going on in the community, and Lily tends to “tell on” her brother about his own projects. 

“She didn’t have to tell you I was building a flying motorbike,” Harley whines. “Or that I couldn’t modulate it.” 

“Yeah, but she knows that you need someone to bounce ideas off of. So you could’ve easily talked to Peter or myself.” 

(The motorbike works and Tony has to plead with Harley not to use it to get to New York. 

“Feasibly if I could up the speed, Lily and I could be there in six hours so--” 

“Don’t you dare!”) 

Peter drops by all the time to check in on the progress of the new Avengers. They’ve contacted one of Rhodey’s “friends,” Carol Danvers. 

“A woman that cool? Simply could not have been ‘just’ a friend,” Tony says, smiling. “We’ll ask her about it later.” 

“Nope, you and your freaky Spider-Son are not asking Danvers shit,” Rhodey says. 

“He’s not my son.” 

“He might as well be, sweetheart. He’s already copying your penchant for graphic shirts and being horrible at lying.” 

“I’m not horrible at it.” 

“Yes you are,” Rhodey answers. “For example. Tell me a lie. Tell me that you hate Peter.” 

“Why would I ever tell that lie?” 

“Because you can’t. Next question. When are you going to lecture him about not stealing leftovers?” 

Tony laughs. 

- 

In all honesty, life has been going great. In Tony’s personal life, he and Pepper are going back to better terms friendship-wise. Harley is coming up for Christmas and Peter’s been planning Secret Santa with everyone who lives at the base. 

And then they hear word of a return. 

Rhodey wants to take...drastic measures. 

“We are not sending them to the moon,” Pepper says, rolling her eyes. 

“Why not?” 

“A waste of money, Jim. Honestly.” 

“True point.” 

Tony freezes when he realizes that he won’t be there in time to see them because he’s picking Harley and Lily up. 

“You take Peter with you, we’ll meet them, Rhodey says, smiling. “Nothing like a classic New York welcome, right?” 

“You are not yelling ‘fuck you’ with a bullhorn,” Tony responds, trying to hide a laugh. “I better not hear that you made international news.” 

“Then don’t turn on your TV.” 

Harley and Lily have already heard the news. Harley’s digging through his suitcase in the middle of the airport, and Tony has to flash a smile and a guilty look to a security guard in order for the TSA to lay off. 

“What are you doing, nerd?” Tony asks. 

“Trying to make a slingshot that has a bit more bite to it. You think we can pick up loose concrete rocks on the way to the base?” Harley asks. 

“No, we are not doing that. What I am doing is dropping you off at Peter’s house until I can get them somewhere to stay.” 

“You don’t owe them anything,” Lily remarks. “They broke international border rules and technically should be under government jurisdiction. You don’t have to give them a space.” 

“And yet I’m the only one good at containing,” Tony sighs. “Look, I’m sorry that this won’t be the ideal--” 

“Peter’s not at his house,” Harley answers, frowning at his phone. “Something about barricades?” 

“Oh my god,” Tony groans. “Rhodey got him. Well, in the car. How good are both of you at immediately ducking and rolling out of a car?” 

“We can still be there for you,” Harley says, annoyed. “I have a stun gun that could take down a tyrannosaurus rex.” 

“You can’t substantiate that with concrete evidence,” Lily argues. 

“I theorize that Rogers has to be weaker than a T-Rex, so I think it’s gonna be effective,” Harley responds. “Let me try it out, Tony? Please?” 

“No,” Tony says, but adds, “maybe in a week.” 

Peter is waiting inside and lights up when he sees Harley and Lily.

“Good, the holidays can really begin,” Peter jokes. “We even have the questionable side of the family in for a visit.” 

“For now,” Rhodey says, scowling. “Tony, please tell me they won’t be here for the holidays. We were supposed to pull out the decorations today.” 

“I’ll figure something out,” Tony says wearily. “Have the delegates been contacted?” 

“Marya and Joseph are on their way to deal with re-homing issues and family connections. They should be tied up with legal and personal aspects all day.” 

“Good,” Tony says. “But I do need to go greet them.” 

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Rhodey says, serious expression. “I can deal with them.” 

“You shouldn’t have to. And besides, it’ll be better coming from me. Being here for you all is more important than trying to be their friend.” 

Harley, Peter, and Lily give him a hug. 

“Don’t stay too long,” Peter says. “I made a Christmas Roulette Playlist.” 

“Why is it roulette?” 

“One Halloween song and at least one opera song. Whoever can name the song first wins the privilege of opening the first ornament for the tree.” 

“Wait up for me,” Tony says, grinning. 

It’s hard to face people you used to know. 

But Tony has a family to get back to. 

[raakxhyr]

GaLty||Home

(I’ll still be calling it GaLty for a while)

For the Anon that wanted a fluffy fluff fic 

Enjoy!

---

GaLm sighed as he sat up from his spot on the shared bed with John. He looked over at the still sleeping figure snoring in bed and smiled softly before pushing himself to his feet. Usually, he’d be the one that’s still in bed, but some immediate work called to him from his computer. The time that he was staying at John’s was just to look for a new place to live, and Texas seemed like a nice area to call home. The pricing wasn’t too bad, the internet would suffice, and he’d be closer to a lot of friends.

He turned his face down a little, knowing that he’d be leaving one of his greater friends behind, but he couldn’t live off of him for so long, even if he did pitch in for rent and electricity.

GaLm went to another room down the hall, sitting in his desk and stretching back on the chair. He groaned, feeling relief at the relaxation of his muscles. He felt a bit chilly after leaving the bed sheets, only covered by his boxers and a t-shirt, but the warmth of the sunlight coming through the half open blinds made him forget the cold draft from the vent system above.

He opened the computer and stared at the several open tabs he’d left from last night, skimming through each option he’d narrowed it down to. They were all one-story and varied in amount of rooms. Some had full kitchens, some had halves. Others came with giant yards, others not so much. He looked at the prices, and they were all acceptable to a point, he just had to choose which one he could last in longest and still have enough for all his belongings. Really, he didn’t need too much: his own room, preferably a separate gaming room, a place to eat, a living room if he had friends, and a bathroom of course.

He’d been at this for weeks now, maybe a month or so, but he felt like he was finally coming up with an answer.

A soft knock on the door had him turning his head to see a groggy John in the doorway, mentioning something about breakfast and he nodded in reply, checking back on his computer screen before putting it to sleep again.

Joining John in the kitchen, GaLm quietly ate his eggs and bacon while nodding along to whatever John was going on about.

“By the way,” John asked, “you pick a place, yet?”

“Yeah, I think I have one that I really want, now. It has enough for me to accommodate myself and I think I’ll be able to pay it off.”

“That’s great! When do you plan on going? I mean, you already have most of your stuff packed, anyway.”

“I was thinking maybe...Wednesday?”

“Wednesday? So soon? Well, I guess the sooner you get it, the better, huh? You don’t want anyone stealing your place before you get to live in it.” John laughed and hit his arm gently. “Alright, well I’ll drive you to the airport, then.”

“Well, how else was I going to get there?”

GaLm smiled, gathering his utensils to place in the sink and wash. “Wednesday...hm…” He looked at his friend still eating at the table. “Hey, John? Wanna watch a movie today?”

“Sure!”

---

Time passed quickly. GaLm had already purchased the house, his boxes had been sent over, and he was now sitting in the car with John, music blasting while they made their way to the parking lot.

GaLm exited the car with John at his heels, and they both walked to the terminals to check him in, get the tickets, and then to the TSA booths.

“Well,” John began, and he looked at GaLm with a sad smile. “This is...where you go off and I go home.”

“And a relief, too,” GaLm teased, grinning at his friend. “I’m actually going to miss you, John.”

“You know I never thought I’d say it, but I’ll miss you, too.” John snapped his fingers and grinned back. “But I did tell you, I’m not a horrible roommate.”

“That you are not.” GaLm opened his arms and embraced his friend for a few moments, his heart racing for some odd reason, and for a moment he thought he was actually going to cry.

He cleared his throat and backed up, smiling softly at his friend, nodding. “Alright, well… see ya, John.”

“Safe travels, friend!”

They waved at each other and GaLm disappeared among the crowd, but John never left GaLm’s mind.

---

Now at his new place for about a week, GaLm stared at his desk monitors and turned to look out his doorway, expecting John to call him for dinner. His heart dropped a little, remembering that his friend was across the country in another state.

“John,” GaLm whispered, the name rolling off his tongue nicely, and he smiled, then frowned, and looked at his monitors again. He knew what he had to do.

---

John opened his door to find some boxes sitting outside his house and raised an eyebrow in suspicion, not expecting any packages to come at any time. He saw his address on the boxes and brought them inside, opening them to see a letter from GaLm and he could not help the smile that suddenly appeared on his face. When he looked inside, his eyes widened, staring at the computer sitting inside. Quickly opening the other boxes, he found several monitors inside and some other equipment GaLm usually used for himself.

A gift, the letter read, so it feels like I’ve never left the house. I miss you, buddy.

John’s heart warmed and he was sure it jumped a little in his chest as he stared at the equipment. Another knock came from the front door and he quickly ran to see who it was, shock on his face to see-

“GaLm!” he exclaimed, unsure of whether he should welcome him in or hug him, and waved his arms a little. “Uh, I didn’t expect- I didn’t expect to see you come in! I mean, do you want to come in! I mean, I didn’t expect to see you here, do you want to come in?” He stammered over his words and laughed, scratching his head.

“Thanks,” GaLm replied, rolling his eyes, smile plastered wide on his face. He stepped in and immediately pulled John into a hug. His arms wrapped tight around his friend, squeezing him tight, and the force was reciprocated.

“What are you doing here?” John asked, the surprise still in his voice as he pulled away from the hug. “Shouldn’t you be at your other place?”

“Well, yeah, but it’s really not that important.”

“What? Your new place is super important! I mean, you literally spent so much time looking for it and it’s your personal home, something that’s all yours, you know? Isn’t that imp-”

“You’re right, it is important. But, John, finding a new home is easy. Finding someone you truly love isn’t.”

John’s eyes were wide in shock and he stared wordless at his friend in front of him. GaLm laughed, his cheeks turning flush with color, adjusting the hood around his neck from how hot it was getting. After a few awkward moments of silence, GaLm grabbed John’s arms.

“John, I love you. I really do, and I don’t know why I haven’t said it before but once I sat down alone in my house, I realized that you were an important part of my daily routine. You are a part of my days and that means- god, this is so cheesy, I don’t want to keep going- I can’t live with - fuck it, I can’t keep going with that line, it is way too cheesy.” GaLm laughed, feeling some tears well up in his eyes.

John, still unsure how to reply, just pulled GaLm in fast and smashed their lips together. It was sloppy and rushed, but after a few moments of correction, they finally had their first (almost perfect) kiss.

And that’s when GaLm knew he was really home.