#so after im2 but before the avengers

[gunsandspaceships]

Tony Stark’s achievements

Childhood:

“Brilliant and unique mind”

At age 4 built his first circuit board

At age 6 built his first engine

Cracked the Pentagon’s firewall in high school on a dare

Went to college at 14

Built cool smart robots (Dum-E and U) when he was a teen

At 17 graduated summa cum laude from MIT

Polyglot

Before Afghanistan:

“Da Vinci of our time”

Became an owner and CEO of Stark Industries at 21

Successfully ran the company for decades

Advanced the world of technology, not only in weaponry and robotics but also:

created advanced AI J.A.R.V.I.S.

created holographic interface technology

created repulsor technology

Participated in charity

In and after Afghanistan:

“I’m sorry, I’m not Tony Stark”

Survived an open-heart surgery in a cave, without general anesthesia

Lived with, in fact, a debilitating wound, shrapnel, and a huge and dangerous technological device in his body for years and was willing and capable of doing not only his usual work but also being a superhero and doing all these next things...

Did not give up under torture and fought with his captors

Invented and built a miniaturized Arc Reactor, in a cave, with a box of scraps

Invented and built Iron Man armor, in the same cave, with the same box of scraps

Escaped from captivity by himself (with help from Yinsen, but without any armed assistance)

Became an expert in piloting and driving

Saved people in Gulmira

Saved a USAF pilot

Probably the best hacker in the world, was able to easily hack networks of the Pentagon, US government, AIM, and SHIELD

Fought with Iron Monger after nearly died. Defeated him and saved many lives. Was ready to die for that

Built many more different Iron Man armors

Fought terrorists between IM and IM2 (IM2 tie-in comics)

Saved a submarine crew (IM2 - newspapers in Vanko’s home)

Saved a woman from a fire (IM2 - newspapers in Vanko’s home)

“Stabilized East-West relations” (IM2 - newspapers in Vanko’s home), so the world was “enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years”

Organized Stark Expo

Was able to keep Iron Man armor in his safe hands despite the government’s and HYDRA’s attempts to take it for themselves

Defeated Ivan Vanko in Monaco

(Re)Discovered a new element

 Synthesized it, by building a particle accelerator, at home

Revolutionized energy industry and science. Gave clean energy to the world

Defeated Vanko in New York with Rhodey, Natasha, and Pepper and saved many lives again

Saved Peter Parker (IM2)

Made it so that the Abomination would not leave prison and join the Avengers

Built Stark/Avengers Tower powered by Arc Reactor technology

Saved Steve Rogers and many civilians in Germany from Loki

Was able to fight with Thor on equal terms

Biggest brain on Earth, arguably - in the Universe:

best scientist on the team, in SHIELD, on Earth, in the Universe

expert in nuclear, particle, and quantum physics

was able to learn very quickly – became an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics in one night

Successfully tracked Tesseract by its gamma radiation with Bruce

Saved Helicarrier with the Avengers and SHIELD agents on board, almost died

Saved Rogers from a merc right after that

Fought with Chitauri, killed many of them, saved a lot of people

Was able to blow up a Leviathan by himself

Saved New York City by redirecting a nuke to the wormhole

Saved the world by destroying Thanos’ Chitauri army, almost died again

Founded The United States Department of Damage Control to clean up after battles

Rebuilt Stark Tower into Avengers Tower and gave each team member their own quarters

One of the best biologists and biomedical engineers on Earth, even if it’s not his main area of expertise:

helped Maya with Extremis back in 1999, because knew more in her own field, and even didn’t remember that

was head hunted by Aldrich Killian to work on Extremis with/instead of Maya, who was the leading expert in tissue regeneration

improved and stabilized Extremis, so it became safe regenerative technology, and with it…

cured Pepper

healed extensive injuries in his chest

invented and implanted devices for remote control of his suits (into his forearm in IM3, and most probably into his brain for Mark L armor in Infinity War)

invented build-in diagnostic system in his suits

Invented many devices for protection purposes (ex. bomb disposal)

A capable detective. Figured out the cause of explosions in IM3 on his own

Saved Pepper instead of himself by putting Mark 42 on her during the attack on his Malibu mansion

Survived the attack with a barely working prototype suit. Shot down a helicopter with a piano

Was able to fight with enhanced fire-breathing regenerating terrorists without armor and weapons in Rose Hill. In handcuffs

Knowledgeable and skilled in medicine:

saved a kid with his arc reactor in a deleted scene from IM3, selflessly pulling it out of his chest and performing defibrillation under electric shocks

knew how to recognize hyperglycemia when Harley was eating 3rd bawl of candies

closed his wound in Infinity War with nanoparticles

performed first-aid on Bruce after his snap

Built a lot of stuff from random things he bought in a store for the assault on the Mandarin's mansion. In a motel

Successfully stormed the Mandarin's mansion full of armed and huge security guys with dogs. Alone. Without his armor

Successfully escaped captivity in the Mandarin's mansion with just a few pieces of armor on

Saved all the people who fell from the Air Force One

Stormed Roxxon Norco ship with Rhodey, without a suit. With one handgun

Saved the US president

Defeated Killian and his Extremis-enhanced terrorists, saved many lives

Built quinjets

Created Iron Legion

Became the benefactor of the Avengers, provided them with everything, was a combatant, and also the team’s pilot, hacker, engineer, medic, and scientist

As an Avenger saved many lives on missions, including destroying the rest of HYDRA in AoU

With Bruce’s help created Veronica and Hulkbuster suit

Defeated a rogue Iron Legionnaire with a fork

In contrast to other team members was able to function after Wanda played with his mind

Defeated mad Hulk. Saved a lot of lives in Johannesburg

Easily hacked nuclear codes in Nexus and found J.A.R.V.I.S. “in the world’s biggest haystack”

Created advanced AI F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Many advanced AIs

Created Vision

With the Avengers defeated Ultron and his army

Evacuated people who were left in Sokovia

Saved a falling evacuation shuttle with people on it

Together with Thor saved Earth by destroying the falling Sokovia

Rebuilt Stark Compound into Avengers Compound for the team in Upstate New York

Invented several medical devices, including leg braces, blood toxicity detector

Sponsored the development of technology for psychotherapy (B.A.R.F.). Prevented it from being used for harm

Funded all the students’ projects at MIT

Did everything possible to legally, politically, and physically protect the team before, during, and after the Civil War

Was able to disarm Winter Soldier without a suit, with only one armored glove

Figured out Spider-Man’s identity

Created Spider-Man’s suits

Mentored, sponsored, and looked after Peter Parker

Saved Peter Parker (SMH). Twice

Saved the ferry from sinking

Invented nanoparticles

 “Earth’s best defender”

Went to space to save Peter, Strange and bring back Time Stone

Saved Peter Parker (IW)

Saved Strange on the Donut spaceship. Killed Ebony Maw

Cloak of Levitation chose him as his second favorite (deleted scene with Tony wearing Levi and Strange in Mark L)

Was respected by Thanos himself

Withstood when Thanos hit him with a moon

Fought Thanos, made him bleed, kept fighting even without armor

Survived a severe injury thanks to his own invention

Was able to function, tried to fix Benatar, and return home while injured and ill with an infected wound

Built a lab for Bruce and helped him to become one with Hulk (combine the best of both worlds)

Became an amazing dad

Became an expert in time travel physics

Discovered/invented (controlled) Time travel

Built a time machine

Went on Time Heist and stole Tesseract from a guarded military base

Created his own Infinity Gauntlet

Thus brought half of the universe back to existence (Bruce snapped and partially sacrificed his health, but nothing would be possible without Tony)

Saved Bruce’s arm by providing emergency medical care

Fought with Thanos again and…

Saved the whole Universe

[romanoffsbish]

Through the Eras

Natasha Romanoff x Fem(Stylist)!Reader

Natasha was a master of disguise, she didn’t need any help in that department, but Fury had a different plan, and she didn’t feel a need to push back when she saw it unfolding. Aka, Natasha is a simp for R, and this is them falling in love over a decades time.

2011-IM2, 2012-OG Avengers, 2014-Winter Soldier, 2016-Civil War, 2018-IW, 2023-EG

All Canon besides EG.

Warnings: Violence, Death, Grief, but like mostly happy/fluffy.

Smut: Bottom!Nat, Oral/Strap(N), Praising.

2002

Natasha was hesitant about being in America, the land where a donut could be bigger than the size of someone's head, and where majority of experiences were rooted in fake niceties. Nothing about the foreign country felt like home to her, not that she knew much about such a feeling, but she knew it was best to get acclimated seeing as how she hadn't been given much of a choice. Either she give her life away to this organization, or she die at their hands.

Upon entering the SHIELD base her green eyes were tracking any and all movements as she trailed behind Agent Barton, the man she swears fealty to for sparing a wretch such as herself from a perceivably deserved death.

The agency is like nothing Natasha had ever seen before, majority of the agents here wore basic black suits with ties like you'd see on an individual working a 9-5, not so much at a government agency full of professional spies and assassins as she knew it to be.

Back in the Red Room the men employed by General Dreykov were almost always sporting full tactical suits like the cowards that they were to keep the little girls in line, and to surround the man for safety purposes. Here though, as Clint escorts her to the man in charge she doesn't see him with a team, no, it's simply a man in a trench coat, wearing an eye patch with a raven haired woman to his right.

"Romanoff.," the odd man with the eye patch nods at her stoically., "Barton here has decided to take a chance on you, don't make us here at Shield regret honoring that choice.," his hand reached for hers, she observed the gesture with hesitation, but eventually she met his attempt.

"Welcome to Shield Agent Romanoff, Hill here will escort you to your quarters, good luck."

—

2011

After nine years Natasha had yet to find the people of New York bearable, but she's learned to make due, and has acclimated very well as a good spy is trained to do, but moreover she had found she began to crave the perceived American dream. Over time she proved her expressed loyalty to the Director, as well as her mission partner turned family, and successfully crawled up ranks until she reached a Level 6.

With climbing ranks came more respect and then with that came new responsibilities. For years now she'd listened to Nick drone on about his determination to build a group of remarkable people to fight the battles that the bulk of your everyday people never could.

"Seriously Fury?," she scoffed while looking over the many files., "This guy is remarkable?"

"Stark is many things: a billionaire, arrogant, even a pompous asshole, but if you can look beyond the overly jelled back hair, and childish antics you'll see he's untouchably intelligent."

"Is that why he's letting himself die then?"

"Listen, Romanoff, I did not assign you this case for you to question my judgment.," he groaned, and ran his hand over his face., "You're here because I need eyes on the inside, and someone who can break him down until he accepts our help, and joins the good fight."

"So I'm your eye candy?," she scoffs, arms now folded across her chest as she glares at him., "Look, it's not ideal, but in part, yes you are."

"I don't appreciate such a deduction, I'm a skilled agent.," he nods., "Yeah, which is why you'll be gathering me intel, and helping the pitiful man who's too weak to help himself."

Natasha continued to glare, but Nick just moved passed it as he's grown used to her pushback over the years., "You're on your own in the field, but Coulson's on standby, and I've assigned Y/L/N to assist you when need be."

"The agency's hairdresser?"

"Now who's deducing?," you snarked from the door as you strolled into the room., "I also do your makeup, pick out your clothing, and keep your mind stimulated when you're bored."

Natasha glared at you for your interruption, but it was in vain, she always found your presence rather pleasant, even if she's only ever been able to experience you in passing thus far.

"I take it the two of you got it from here then?"

After you both nodded at the director he left the room smiling, and Maria smiled back., "Playing matchmaker now, are we Nick?"

—

Natasha's face never wavered when you made decisions for her, she was not one to push back outwardly if she didn't know you well, but you could detect the faux indifference in her eyes.

"Well, you seem to not be down for the bob, or the fringe look.," you called her bluff., "What about if I were to make you bald, super sexy.," she unexpectedly smirked at your teasing.

"Not sure Stark's into the bald type, have you even thought about that?," you grimaced., "Now Natasha, why would I ever care about a mans opinion? I don't usually think of men, let alone their opinions on a clients appearance."

Natasha's stoic expression returned as you spoke of her so professionally, she wanted to frown, but she knew it wasn't right since you were also here for a job. Now she's starting to understand the whole eye candy trope, as she's essentially procured you here as her very own.

"How about we darken your natural shade a little bit, and add extensions?" you held up the desired shade, and the glint in her eyes had you sold, even if all she did was shrug indifferently.

—

Natasha's body stiffened when your hands fell on her hips to turn her., "Something is off.," she frowned., "Gee, thanks Y/L/N.," you smirked, then made a 'aha' noise, spinning her back around before dropping your hold on her.

"Well?"

"Oh, sorry.," you smiled sheepishly., "Tuck the shirt into the pants, it'll be more form fitting."

"That was your big save?," she chuckled while doing exactly what you said, a smile on her face as she silently agreed with your judgment call.

"Don't mock me Romanoff, or I'll make sure to give your nose extra attention with my blush."

Natasha smirked cockily, a snide joke on the tip of her tongue, but instead of speaking, her breath was hitching when you straddled her lap, and nonchalantly began her makeup.

"Uh, Y/L/N.," you hummed, makeup sponge in hand as you prepared to apply her concealer., "Is there a reason you're sat in my lap?"

"There are no other places to sit in this tiny bathroom work space Romanoff, and there's no way I'm standing on my feet for over an hour.," your answer was playfully spoken, but serious.

"An hour?," you stifled a laugh at the sight of her scrunched features., "It's just make up."

"Do I question your fighting process?"

"I guess not.," she softly replied, her mind was a bit too focused on how you were so close she could feel your breaths to really push back, plus, she didn't really mind the proximity.

She became so distracted by you that she failed to hear the way your breath hitched after her arms unconsciously moved from dangling by her uncomfortably to wrapped around you.

"Done.," you swiped the stick over her lips, and stood up, much to Natasha's disappointment.

"How do I look?," she asked, and you turned to her with a playful smile., "Like a million bucks, you can say thank you now like a civilized person, or later after you wow the billionaire."

Natasha smirked, it excited her a bit to hear a tinge of jealousy in your tone, it told her this whole connection wasn't exactly one sided.

"Thank you krasivaya.," she left a soft kiss to your cheek, your knees nearly buckled, and you were praying for your sake she didn't see that., "Natasha, your lips weren't dry yet.," you chose to scold her to take the heat off of your bodies previous betrayal just before catching her off guard as you gripped her chin, and reapplied.

"Good luck."

"Why would I need luck when I apparently look like a million bucks?" she mused., "The money hungry fool will be under my spell in seconds." a playful wink was thrown your way as she left, but you were smart enough to know she was telling the truth, she had the kind of effortless beauty that could be used to topple regimes, and to your misfortune, your sensitive heart.

—

"What's your name lady?," Tony Stark, her op, immediately shouted at her as she entered, and she turned to him with a neutral expression., "Rushman. Natalie Rushman."

You giggled., "James Bond, really? You're such a cliche Romanoff," you could just feel the eye roll she was likely being forced to internalize all the while wondering why she agreed to your unhelpful proposal of wearing ear pieces.

Natasha wanted to smirk at your comment, because she was very much a cliche in this moment, but she had to remain in character as the "hot woman" from legal, and to get in Tony's good graces she agreed to a sparring match with his security guard, Happy Gilmore.

"You ever boxed before?"

"I have, yes."

"Oh boy, is he in for a treat.," you giggle, and Natasha smiled at the sound, and fortunately for her it seemed to fit in the moment anyways.

"What, like the Tae Bo? Booty Boot Camp? Crunch? Something like that?"

"Oh, no the fuck he didn't.," you verbalized aloud what her very expression did, you heard her clear her throat, and frowned, the woman you knew would've given him what for, but you knew she was forced to remain cordial here.

Tony called out to her, causing her to deviate her attention momentarily, and for Happy to believe that this was a teaching moment.

"Rule number one, never take your eye off your opponent."

"Rule number one, don't be a misogynistic douche.," you grumbled, and to your extreme delight you could hear Natasha grunt, and all other parties either shrieking or groaning.

"Atta girl."

Natasha rushed out shortly after the incident, and after dropping off the paperwork in her hand she made her way back to your hotel.

"I took the liberty of ordering room service.," you said as soon as she plopped beside you on the bed in her casual clothes., "I also used the company card to rent Moonraker for you."

Natasha slapped your arm lightly., "You're going to hold this against me for life, huh?"

"Ooh, I'm a for lifer?," she smiled softly at your tease, it was too soon to know really, but her heart fluttered at the idea of a forever with you.

"Who else will do my hair and makeup? Me?" she scoffs playfully. "I'm too high ranked to be expected to do such mundane, easy things."

"For that cruel dig I am eating the bonus chocolate covered strawberry!" you grumbled, she cackled as she swiped it from the tray and was met with your glare. "No, I don't think so."

Instead of chasing her down you laid out like a starfish on the mattress. "I heard the couch is comfortable, I hope you find that true," she gasped at your insinuation, then if only to show off she lifted you effortlessly, laid down beside you, and pressed play. "I'm sorry Y/L/N."

"I won't hold it against you Rushman," you rolled to your side, then faced the screen just the same. "Good, I kinda need you on my side."

——

The following day you were expected to make her look fancy, so you set her up in a red dress, and did a simple makeup look. "Have fun."

"Oh my, did I forget to tell you that you're coming with me," she looked at you innocently, but the glint in her eye screamed of mischief.

Your voice expectedly cracked, "What?"

"Pepper said I could bring a plus one, and Fury said I could bring you, so go get ready toots."

Natasha waited patiently on the edge of your shared bed on her phone, hardly listening as you grumbled from behind the closed bathroom door. "This is so uncool, I didn't bring anything fancy to wear," you peaked your sopping wet head out to pout at her in the hopes that you'd be spared going, but she held up a garment bag while smirking tauntingly, "Hurry up now malysh, we can't be late."

—

Natasha's hand settled over your hip as the two of you entered the venue together, you were in a black suit with a red dress shirt to match her dress, you looked like a couple, and the thought of the possibility made your skin burn, and it had your heart skipping with a doomed hope.

"Oh, who's this beauty?" Tony grasped your hand without asking, pulling it to his lips, and you grimaced as he pressed them to your hand. Natasha saw the disgusted look on your face, and instantly spoke. "This is Zoe Rushman."

"So beauty runs in the family then?" she shook her head, and pulled you even closer to her side. "No, it's a bit premature on the name, but she's my fiancé, and if the laws pass in our favor we'll be tying the knot next Spring."

Tony nodded, then took his leave to God knows where, and to be clear you surely didn't care.

"We're engaged?" Natasha spun you in front of her and leaned into your ear. "Yes, I will not subject you to Tony's flirting if I can avoid it."

"I thought you were meant to entice him."

"Not anymore, I already secured my spot, so really this is mutually beneficial." she mused, and you chuckled. "So I'm your arm candy?"

"Precisely," she kissed the corner of your lips, it felt real, but you reasoned it was for the sake of your story, so you shoved the feelings down.

"Natalie?!" you both turned to see a distraught blonde, you peered up at the small screen she was gawking at, you saw Tony racing in a car, then you saw a man with electricity tentacles also on the track. "Well that can't be good."

Natasha tended to a frantic Pepper, then she escorted you out of the venue. "Take her to the hotel," she instructed a shield agent, and you realized he must've already been on standby.

"Be careful Nat." She smirked. "I always am."

—

After working tirelessly to save Tony's image, she returned to the hotel at ten at night in desperate need of a shower, and some sleep. When she entered your shared space it was dark, and she made quiet work of tending to her needs before slipping in bed besides you.

"You're back.," you slurred, one eye flying open to confirm it was indeed the redhead., "I am."

"Did you get your dinner?"

Natasha smiled appreciatively, "I ate already, Pepper ordered us takeout, but thank you honey, I put it in the fridge for tomorrow."

You hummed, too tired to really respond, and Natasha watched you slowly fall back to sleep with a smile of pure adoration. A gasp left her lips only moments later though, her smile never dissipated, it morphed into a shocked one as you'd unconsciously scooted across the mattress and threw an arm around her waist.

"Good grief, you're going to kill me," she slid her arm underneath your neck, and allowed her other to lay over your body protectively., "And I'd die happy if you did," she whispered before allowing the unfamiliar comfort you brought her to help her fall asleep with ease.

A full nights rest was something incredibly foreign to her, but it consumed her tonight.

——

Natasha just left you downstairs, even with the last event ending in chaos she wanted you at this party with her, but first she had to assist Stark as was her job, "Do you know which watch you'd like to wear tonight Mr. Stark?"

"I'll give them a look," he sighed while fixing his shirt. "I should cancel the party, huh?"

"Probably," she turned to look at him, and brought him over a martini she'd prepared.

"Yeah, because it's uh—," he paused, and she promptly finished his thought, "Ill timed."

"Sends the wrong message."

"Inappropriate," Nat confirms with a sly smirk., "Is that dirty enough for you?"

He sipped it, then immediately deflected back to the watches, and you grimaced at the way she flirted so easily, a little reminder that this was all a ruse, and she wasn't yours to have.

Natasha sat besides him, not because she was interested in the man, but because she wanted to have a closer look at his declining state as collecting intel was part of her overall mission.

"It's hard to get a read on you, where are you from?" Tony asked while she applied some concealer to his marred up face. "Legal."

You snorted, and the redhead heard it, and could picture your eyes rolling right now.

"Can I ask you a question, hypothetically?" Natasha only stared at him, but he went for it anyways. "It's a bit odd, but if this was your last birthday party you were ever gonna have, how would you celebrate it?"

"I'd do whatever I wanted to do, with whoever I wanted to do it with," she followed her answer up with the clicking of her heels, but stopped as he asked a follow up question. "Like Zoe?"

"Precisely," she hoped you could hear the truth in her tone, but if you didn't she'd find a way to make it clear to you after this whole mission.

Before you could wipe away the hopeful smile Natasha was at your side, slipping your near empty glass from your hand to down it all. "Drinking on the job Natalie?" she smirked over your glass, "Have you met my boss?"

Natasha beamed as you giggled, because not only does the sound illicit a warmth within her, but she knew you understood that she meant Director Fury just as much as she did Tony.

With an elegance in her movements the redhead settled your glass down, and brought you onto the dance floor as a slow song played. There was a comfortability that you were shocked to find yourself feeling with her in such a short time frame. Natasha was always an enigma back at Shield headquarters, but now, out in the field she was easier to read.

Just like you she craved exhilaration, you found it out in the wilderness on off days, and in the salon mixing up products to transform people into whatever they wanted to become. Natasha found it on stealthy missions, where she was able to kick peoples asses, and make the world a safer place for all that inhabit it.

There was still an air of mystery to her, which you expect being so new to this undefined dynamic with her. You didn't expect all her walls to drop at once, but the fact that any have dropped tells you that she trusts you enough.

Before you could make an honest move, like kissing her as you dreamed, an actual wall fell.

Natasha quickly pulled your face to her chest, shielding you from the glass, and as soon as Rhodey said to get out, she was pulling you both to another room, and softly cupping your cheeks, "We need to get you out of here."

"I don't break that easily Nata-."

"Natalie!" you grimaced at the shrill voice of the angry blonde, and Nat softly groaned before turning to her cordially, "Miss Potts."

Before she could say much to Nat about her speculations, she was dragged away by Happy, and you were much the same by Natasha.

"I think I'm your bad luck charm," you mused from the passenger seat, and Natasha softly sighed as she parked the car, "No, I actually think you're much to the opposite Y/N."

The both of you entered the hotel, taking turns slipping out of your dresses, and when you sat down on the bed Natasha's eyes widened., "You're hurt?" you shrugged. "Occupational hazard," you turned to face her, heart melting at the show of genuine concern on her face, but the happy faded fast when her eyes hardened.

"No, you're the all around stylist, not an agent."

"I'm more than that," your voice was small, and she immediately regretted her choice of words. "I-I know, but you still had no business being out in the field, and it's my fault you were."

"I'm okay Nat, it's only a scratch, and if it were to have been more I have combat training."

The redhead left the room, and your shoulders deflated, but then she came back with a couple wine coolers, a soft smile and a first aid kit.

"Let's get you all patched up soldier."

—

Natasha frowned as you entered the Stark expo hand in hand, "I don't have a good feeling about this," she groaned, and you squeezed her hand. "Nat, we already committed to this whole fiancés facade, so until we're through with the mission here I'm coming along."

"I could've told Pepper you're sick."

"Who's sick?"

"I thought I had a cold, but turns out it's just allergies," you answered, and held your hand out for her to shake as you'd yet to introduce yourself yet even after seeing each other.

"Zoe right?," you nodded convincingly, "It's lovely to finally meet you, Natalie here speaks of you so fondly, I'm almost kinda jealous."

"Aww, baby, you talk to your boss about me?" Natasha's face tinted a light shade of pink at the painful, exposing moment, and you did all that you could to stifle your teasing laughter. "You're just a total sweetheart," you mused and followed your teasing words with a gentle kiss to the already blushing woman's cheek.

"Well, shall we get seated?" Natasha managed to pull it together enough to brush right passed the moment, and escort Pepper to her seat.

It doesn't take long after the exchange for shit to hit the fan, and after Natasha roughed up Tony's business rival the two of you were in a car with Happy on the way to save the day.

"When we arrive I need you to watch the perimeter, I'm gonna enter the facility and take down the target," Natasha instructs, and you go to glare at her but are shockingly met with her undressing, and then you felt the car swerving.

"Watch the road," you growled at the man in the drivers seat, then you lifted your suit jacket up to shield Natasha as she changed out of the black dress and into her body defining catsuit.

Natasha softly smiled, an intense wave of emotion filled her as you remained respectful, and didn't intentionally ogle her like she's used to, but a secret part of her wished for you to. However, she has no time to dwell on it as the car comes to a stop outside Hammer's base.

"Stay in the car," Nat barked at both of you.

"I'm not staying in the car."

"Dude. You should really listen to her," you mused, but in direct contrast you followed her into the building, and Happy trailed behind.

"Y/N what are you doing?" she asks in a huff while knocking two guys out at once. "You can't be in here, I don't want you getting hurt."

You rush passed her with an eye roll, taking out a man who was fast approaching with a punch to his throat, then another with your lipstick that she now knows is a high voltage taser.

"I was going to retouch my lips with that," she gasps with a lopsided smile directed at you.

"Good thing you didn't you little thief.," you tease back as you both pass the last remaining guy, and she just uses her pepper spray on him.

Natasha is quick to help Tony with the drones, then while they fight she shifts her attention over to you, "You trained with who exactly?"

"Hill."

Natasha nodded, "Makes sense then."

Her arms that were folded over her chest move to around your waist., "Thanks for the help," you hug her back, and she basically melts into you., "Anytime Nat, I'll do your hair, makeup, I'll dress you up, whatever you want, really."

"How about you undress me?” she teased, using a deep sultry tone on you, you shoved her away playfully, and she cackled while following you out of the room. "Y/L/N, come back!"

"Thank God you girls are okay," Happy shouts as the both of you approach unscathed, he himself in a state of disarray, and you scoff. “It's not us you should be worried about."

He glares at you, then shifts his attention to the redhead approaching from behind you. "Hey, Natalie, what you did here was impressive,” he gestures to the pile of bodies with a shy smile.

"Would you be interested in getting dinner?"

Natasha watched as your jaw and fists clenched in unison, and it inspired her to make a move. Her callous hand was gentle as it found yours, she unfurled your fingers, then slipped hers between yours. "No thanks, I'm spoken for."

A wide smile befell your face as she spoke, and in a swift switch of events it was you making a move, your hand dropped hers to grab her by the waist, and as you spun her to face you the other slid behind her neck. "Yeah, she is."

Happy cleared his throat before scurrying off, the tension in the room thick at the glare you sent his way right before you pulled Natasha into you for a heady kiss. A soft hmph left you when she spun you around and into a wall.

Natasha pulled away from you at the sound of another's pained groan, she smirked at the sight of you so flustered; blissfully unaware, and as beautiful as the first time she saw you.

"We should get out of here krasivaya," Nat grabbed your hand again, squeezing it softly to better get your attention. "Lead the way Nat.," you smiled dreamily, she pulled you along, and guided you into the back of an awaiting car.

—

Fury shook your hand, then sent you off with a wink that you failed to understand as you were finally moving to leave Shields headquarters.

"Wait!” Natasha took off after you, and her hand settled on your shoulder. "Would you like to get coffee with me sometime?” you smiled at the redhead as you turned to face her properly, she was uncharacteristically nervous, and that made you feel extra confident. "I just made out with you over many unconscious men, and now you're nervous to talk to me—how adorable."

Natasha's mouth opened, but then it closed as she tried to remember how to formulate actual words. "I-I'm not adorable Y/N/N, you are."

"You're even more adorable now that you've said that," you snickered, then reached out to softly move a stray hair behind her ear. "I'd love to get coffee with you Natasha, feel free to pick me up tomorrow morning before work."

"I don't have your address.," she called out as you already started walking off again, and you didn't even turn around as you shouted., "We both know that's not true Agent Romanoff."

2012

You weren't a super spy yourself, but you didn't need to be to know the loud ding of your locked doors opening was because of a certain beauty.

"Natasha, I can get my own breakfast you know," you set the broom stick against the counter, and met her at the desk in your office. "Yeah, you can, but you shouldn't have to."

You shook your head with a fond smile, then accepted the warm beverage and croissant. "Thank you baby," you murmured over a bite of the buttery goodness, then you approached the pouting redhead as she reached for you.

"Are you excited to open the shop tomorrow detka?" she quickly pulled you into her warm embrace, and you nuzzled into her, knowing that she craved these reassuring affections. "Mostly," you admitted. "I'm kinda nervous."

"Why would you be nervous?"

"What if I open my doors and the sky falls?"

"Y/N, what's really going on, hm?" she softly swayed you, and placed a kiss to your forehead.

"What if I am not good enough to succeed?"

"Detka, now that's just ridiculous," your lover sighs softly as she works to pull you closer.

"You're plenty good enough, there's nobody else I'd ever let touch my hair," she confessed, "Nick knew that by the way, when he played matchmaker, and I went along of course because you were the woman of my dreams, and how else would I have gotten that close."

"Nat," she cut you off with a dizzying kiss, it was so intense that she was able to walk you back into your chair. "I'm dead serious detka."

"You're being honest?" she nodded, and you smiled widely. "I can't believe I was your first."

Natasha smirked, her dimple prominent as she absorbed your words, there were areas of truth to them, yes, you were her first hair stylist, but moreover, you were her first, and only love.

"Up until that mission I'd handled all of my own disguises, and yes, even as a level 6 agent I was able to work my own makeup brushes."

Your belly laughter filled the room, and your lover smiled as soon as it left you, if she were to only be made to hear your joy for the rest of her life she knows she'd die a happy woman.

"Hey, I have an idea," Natasha nudged your shoulder, then her hand gripped yours to pull you up to your feet without any explanation. Natasha settled herself down in one of your leather chairs with a lopsided grin as she met your gaze through the mirror and ran a hand through her unruly maine, "Have a ball."

It honestly surprised you how willing she was to be your guinea pig, her appearance really did mean a lot to her, but she seemingly trusted you enough to give you free reign with it.

Her current hair was a little passed shoulder length, and quite frankly overdue for a trim, but what you had in mind went beyond that.

Natasha followed your every instruction, and she did so happily, her sighs of gratitude proof that the way you scratched at her scalp as you washed and conditioned her hair was pleasing.

After you settled her down in the salon chair you practiced your customer service on her, "Ma'am, would you," she cut you off with a hand to the face. "Ma'am? Detka please..."

"Oh, my apologies, Miss picture perfect image of youth, would you care for a refreshment?"

Natasha smirked, "Much better, yes please."

Natasha graciously accepted the can of soda by pulling you in for an appreciative kiss, "Now don't you be letting the customers do that too."

You gasped, "Shit baby, do you think I should take off my 'Please kiss your stylist' apron?" She looked up at you unamused, her eyes were briefly casted down at your apron to ensure you were joking, and when she discovered you were she settled into the chair. "Chop, chop."

A roll of your eyes followed her play on words, you complied of course, but to make it more fun you spun her to face away from the mirror.

After you did the sizable chop you began to add layers to give it more volume, then you used your specialty scissors to give the ends texture. It took you about an hour to get her hair where you wanted, and from the back it looked great.

A long breath still left you when your hands no longer had something to manipulate, you were honestly nervous because it was far shorter than when she had walked in. Natasha had the fortune of being so beautiful that nothing could change that, but an outward opinion on her appearance didn't matter here, only hers did.

"Detka, you're making me nervous," she joked, and after a tense moment of silence she sighed, "I'm going to love it, I already feel tons lighter."

When you still refrained from spinning her around she stood from her seat, leaving you unable to face her reaction as she turned around. You still managed to do it though as you shut your eyes tightly to avoid the potential of a disappointed, and likely frowning Nat.

"It's perfect," she gasped, her hands were gentle as they moved you over a smidge so that she could see better. "Honey, open your eyes, and look at the smoke show that is on display," she shook your body like it was a limp noodle by her grip on your shoulders to emphasize the joy you should feel, and it actually paid off.

"Wow," you were genuinely elated as you opened your eyes, what you envisioned was so beautifully brought to life right before you. You didn't hesitate to run your hand through the much shorter red locks, appreciating the way that her natural wave showed through more prominently at this length. "You're beautiful."

Natasha surged forward, capturing your lips with hers, something she always did when she felt overwhelmed by you complimenting her. There was just something different about the way you said beautiful, your tone was always soft, and your eyes were even softer, as if you were seeing her for more than her physicality.

Which you were...

Just as you moved to deepen the affection, your tongue slowly sliding over hers, you were rudely interrupted by Natasha's obnoxious pager, and corresponding ringing of her cell. When combined that always meant she had to go, because Fury needed her for a mission.

"Absolutely not," she groaned, "What is it?"

"Agent Romanoff, always such a pleasure."

"Nick, I am unavailable, Y/N's opening day is tomorrow, can't you send someone else?"

"Unfortunately not Romanoff, it's connected to your mission in limbo, and if you don't seize the moment now you'll likely miss it entirely."

Natasha hung up on the director, it was her angered way of relenting on her stance, even if it was actually breaking her heart to say it.

"It's okay Natasha, it's just a salon opening."

"No, don't do that," she turned to face you, cupping your cheeks in her calloused hands. "You're so special Y/N/N, and the way you transform looks is amazing, it's life changing."

"Yeah, and the way you save the world is too," you leaned in to kiss her again, and the both of you made sure to savor the fleeting moment.

"I'll be back in time for a celebratory dinner."

"I'll be looking forward to it," you pressed your lips to hers for a chaste kiss. "Give them hell."

Natasha smirked against you, "I always do."

——

The world was a crazy place really, the general populous moves around in a state of blissful ignorance while atrocities happen under their noses. Rumors fly, but without any evidence they act as if the evil only exists in the stories. It's only in moments like now that they are able to get a glimpse through the cracks, and see that fables of other worlds are based in reality. 

Natasha stared up at the gigantic black hole in the sky in a disgusted sort of awe, it was a sight to marvel at—sure, but she wonders more how she got here in a matter of twenty four hours.

Yesterday morning she was being pampered by you, and by that evening she was tied to a chair with men who actually thought they had the upper hand on her, the notorious Black Widow.

Then after a panicked call from Coulson over Clint's well being she was exchanging her idiot Russian henchmen out for a ship full of equally as idiotic American men, with an aloof God in tow who couldn't set their egos aside long enough to see the bigger picture until it had to be blown up in front of their once smug faces.

After fighting her best friend, being chased by the monstrosity that is The Hulk, and losing Coulson, a dear friend of the redheads, she was already beyond exhausted, but rest was nary an option with aliens flying through a portal.

If they didn't pull it together soon the entire state of New York would likely meet the same fate as many other peculiar cities in the past.

Natasha wouldn't be letting that happen though, no matter what she would never let anything happen to you. Which is why she was first to offer finding out how to close the portal, effectively neutralizing the core threat here.

"Natasha, you seem distracted," the captain observed, and Natasha sighed in frustration. "My girlfriend," she paused as the man out of time dropped his shield out of shock. "Go on."

"Today was the day her shop was supposed to open, and I'm fucking terrified that she was in it as the fight broke out," she struggled to hold back her tears, "She didn't answer her phone, and I had no time to check on her." At the odd show of emotions from the reclusive spy Steve realized he needed to offer his support here.

"Listen, you make it to the top as planned, and I promise to go collect," he paused, and she smiled at just the thought of you. "Y/N."

"Please, don't let anything happen to her." he nodded, and with that she was off in the sky, chasing down the alien scum while the super soldier sprinted towards your quaint shop.

The bell rung out, and you jumped onto the intruder's back in an instant, ready to fight, but then you saw the patriotic get up, and knew he was not the enemy in this current predicament.

"Y/N?"

You slowly fell from his back, then rounded the man to face him. "Depends, what's it to you?"

"Natasha sent me after you," he relayed, and you rolled your eyes. "That woman, I swear, it's like she forgets I'm trained for this shit."

"You're an agent?" you shrugged. "Something more in between trained agent and stylist."

"I saw her tough resolve crumbling only a few minutes ago," he admits. "I honestly haven't known her more than a few hours, but she doesn't strike me as the type to break easily."

"She isn't," you whisper, then meet the man with a frown. "Take me to safety I guess."

He escorts you out, and it's when an alien runs by with its razor sharp talons ready to strike that he realizes you were safer indoors. "Uh," he turns you back around, then puts you in your office, using your bookshelf he blocks the window, then from outside your door he moves another shelf full of products in front of it.

"We'll come collect you shortly, Natasha is currently working on closing the blackhole."

"Okay!" you shout back amusedly, then you pull up Scandal on your laptop, and hope Nat forgives you for watching the next episode without her on account of emotional distress.

——

Natasha took the elevator down Stark's ginormous tower, then she ran to your shop without taking a moment to catch her breath after she had successfully closed the portal. Once she arrived she barged through the doors only to groan at her newfound obstacle.

"Are you watching Scandal without me?" she grunted through the blocked door as she heard the familiar start up tune while she was trying to use her remaining strength to move the hefty, fully stocked set of shelves. Once she's successful she barges in with a deep scowl.

"The sky was falling..." you shut your laptop guiltily, then slowly made your away around your desk to pull the dirtied woman into you.

"Yeah, it certainly was," she melted into you, honestly she was too tired to further scold you over something so mundane, especially after she already spent the entire day bickering with egotistical men, then as if it was a cherry atop of a shit sundae, she had to fight ugly aliens.

"Sit down love, I'm gonna clean you up."

"Detka," you hummed while maneuvering around the shop to collect your hair products and first aid kit. "Would you like to meet the team today? We're going to get Shawarma."

"Who's really left to meet?" you teased, and she lowered her voice to imitate the men, "Bruce, the Hulk, and Thor, the God of Thunder."

"I'd love to go with you Nat, thank you," you lightly kissed her split lips. "Just maybe after I rinse your hair and disinfect these cuts."

"Fair enough."

—

Natasha was fatigued beyond recognition, so you had her hop onto your back, she protested softly, but the second her feet left the ground you felt her sigh against your back. "Comfy?"

The redhead nodded, then to further prove your suspicions she yawned, "It's just up the street detka, they're probably already eating."

Natasha rested as best she could on your trek to the family owned restaurant that managed to remain unscathed unlike the neighboring stores surrounding it that laid in ruins. Once you got to the door though she dropped from your back, then like the gentlewoman she was she opened the door for you, and escorted you to the table where she took her rightful seat.

There wasn't another open for you since they weren't expecting a plus one, but that didn't matter much, because to make the message clear to the unknowing men gawking at the both of you, Nat pulled you into her lap and kissed you oh so tenderly. Steve blushed at the unfamiliar sight, Tony smirked, and Clint was expectedly unbothered as he stuffed his face.

Thor too seemed unbothered as he asked for someone to pass him the 'sauce that burns his tongue in ways he enjoys.' Bruce, the reserved one looked a bit taken aback, and almost hurt if you cared to look at him, but he shook off his unfair jealousy, then politely shook your hand.

"Lovely to see you again Zoe."

"Zoe?" Steve looked between the three of you, and you and your lover knowingly chuckled. "Tony, and everyone else I guess, this is Y/N, my girlfriend of a years time, and that's all I will be disclosing, so avert your eyes and eat."

Tony didn't care about her disinterest, he was too busy having an epiphany, and so he gasped obnoxiously loudly, "You two got together because of me? Wow! You're both welcome."

—

"Your little team of superheroes seemed," you paused to mull it over while ripping the sheet back, slipping under the cool fabric, and opening your arms wide for the cuddle fiend that was your girlfriend to crawl right on into.

"Insufferable? Pig headed? Inept besides Clint, and even then I might be being too nice?"

Natasha smiled against your neck as you tried to temper your exhausted cackle. "I was going to say potentially incorrigible, but for the sake of mankind's survival I hope they're not."

"Yeah, me too, because as of right now it's an overload on testosterone, and I think if history has taught us anything, it's that that's usually the greatest indicator for eventual disaster"

You snorted at your lovers tired grumbling, "Yeah, but with you there to lead, it'll be fine."

"I sure hope so," she yawned, "Goodnight Y/N, I love you." Your body tensed, but when you looked into her murky eyes you could see that the exhaustion brought it on, but it was the truth nonetheless. "I love you too Natasha."

A smile wider than the state of Texas spread against your skin, followed by a smattering of tired, soft kisses as she nuzzled further into you., "YA sobirayus' khranit' tebya vechno."

(I'm going to keep you forever.)

"What was that?"

"You're a dead woman walking for watching Scandal without me, you better sleep with one eye open," she nipped your skin teasingly and you slapped her butt warningly. "Mhm, sure..."

As you both slipped away into a state of bliss Natasha couldn't fathom how she got so lucky to have found you, and you pondered learning Russian, because you loved her enough to.

2014

"Natasha, sit still," you commanded, the ability to straighten her hair as she asked of you was almost nonexistent with the way she moved.

"I'm sorry detka, I-I," she paused, her thoughts were jumbled with all the anxiety she's been feeling since her mission with Steve yesterday.

"What is it?" you settled the straightener down, then spun her around to face you, and in the cutest way possible she reached for you then pulled you into her lap so she could bury her face in your chest. "My favorite stress balls."

"Natasha," you warned, but the bite in your tone was nonexistent, and you found yourself laughing lightly along with her. "What? The world is an absolute garbage fire, but when I'm here, with my face in your breasts it's alright."

"I can't stand you," you groaned, and she shifted to look at you with a quirked brow., "Good thing you're sitting down then, huh?"

"Natasha, I swear to God!" her face smushed back into your breasts, but this time she was blowing raspberries, and you were aghast, “You’re a fucking pervert,” she laughed wildly as the words left you in a near shriek.

“I’m a pervert for only you,“ she pecked your lips, a sigh of relief brushing across your face as she feels her anxieties melting away so easily when she’s touching you—you’re her peace.

The sound of her pager going off like crazy ruined the whole vibe, “What now? Was me commandeering an entire ship not enough?”

Natasha’s face fell though as she read the tiny script: ‘Fury’s been compromised—hurry.’

—

The drive to the hospital was fast, you held on to the handle tightly as she swerved between lanes. Even in her frenzied state she settled a hand over your thigh to offer comfort, and in the moment when she had nothing but time to think she curses herself for letting you come.

If someone is after Fury, and they see her in the hospital she’s going to be a follow up target, and by bringing you she’s made you one too.

With your hand in hers you both entered the hospital, Maria and Steve were there to greet you both, and as they brought you to a window you saw the elder man in a state of disarray. Then before any words could be muttered his heart monitor went haywire, then he flatlined.

Natasha cried into your shoulder for all of two seconds before she was pulling it together. Her jaw clenched at the thought of leaving you, but she had no choice, so she kissed the corner of your lips, “I have to go,” Natasha held her hand up when you tried to follow her, “I’m okay,” she tossed Maria the keys, then soon disappeared.

You went to chase your girlfriend down but Maria stopped you, “Come with me, Nat’s not going to stop until she has answers, and you’re not safe if you go home since you came here.”

“Oh,” you nodded, then followed her instead.

—

Natasha entered the facility you were being held at with a deep scowl on her face, it didn’t exactly melt away at the sight of you, but it definitely lessened when you embraced her. Maria’s hold on her was nonexistent now as you took over escorting her to a chair for the doctor. Her subtle wince caused you to let go, and you made quick work of her jacket so you could see what happened, and you gasped.

The doctors rushed you aside, then fixed her up remarkably fast, and once they moved you tried to lean in for a kiss, but Natasha evaded your affection with ease, it was so subtle the way she leaned her forehead to yours, but you still felt the sting of her rejecting affection. It terrified you to think that after everything you have overcome together that she’d retreat now.

“I’m okay detka, I’ve experienced worse,” she tried to play down the wound, her voice wasn’t much above a whisper as she tried to keep the moment specifically between the two of you, but she didn’t succeed because you were on your feet, and slamming a fist into Steve.

“How could you let this happen to her?” You glared at the man, but you could see the guilt on his face ran deeper than her being wounded, “Why do you look so guilty Steve? What is it?”

Natasha glared at the super soldier, she told him that what happened on the escalator was self preservation, and that she’d tell you, but he was about to blurt it out, and humiliate you.

“Natasha kissed me,” he squeaked, blue eyes widening as he saw the murderous redhead jump to her feet, “I-It was only—,” you shook your head, a sign that the man took as your disinterest in his blubbering explanations.

Instead you turned to look at Natasha, who was quick to soften her gaze as your eyes locked, a tense silence befell the room because no one knew what was about to happen. Natasha did though, she knew you were silently assessing, and when you smiled softly at her she relaxed.

“I’m sorry you had to do that my beloved,” you coo, then entered into her good arms embrace, “It must’ve been a hardship for you to kiss a man seeing as how you’re not into them.”

Maria smirked, but then upon seeing Fury’s expression she cleared her throat, and began to debrief the room about Hydra’s infiltration. You sat in Nat’s lap while they discussed the miracle of Fury’s survival, and you hardly paid attention, your eyes transfixed on Nat instead.

Which is why when Fury muttered, “Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust.” You watched as Natasha’s eyes glazed over, and that had you seeing red.

“She took a bullet trying to avenge you, and you don’t know who you can trust?” You made your way over to the man, and slapped him across the face, and Nat tried to pull you away, “Detka, calm down.” But it was of no use.

“No? Absolutely not,” you brushed her off, then turned to point a finger at everyone present, “You all disgust me with how you treat her. Like Natasha is just an expendable asset, but she isn’t, she has a family to come home to and I’d appreciate it if she came back to us alive.”

The room was silent besides everyone’s varying breaths, yours being the loudest as you were feeling rather irate by the audacity in the room. Natasha took tentative steps, her hand turning you by your shoulder so she could look at you.

“I promise I’ll return to you tonight, and I’ll have Maria here take you back home so you’re comfy. She’ll stay with you until I get there,” you pouted, and she desperately wanted to kiss it away, but she simply refused to until her mouth was cleaned of Steve’s existence.

“What do you want for dinner?” Natasha laughed at your sweet question, “You pick.”

You nodded, then placed a kiss to her cheek before shifting to face the others, “Keep her safe, or I swear to God you will all regret it.”

—

Natasha entered your house in a stagger, her heart was nervous for a whole great deal of things, most importantly being you leaving.

“Welcome home Romanoff, I’ll be going.”

“Thanks Maria,” she squeezed the redhead’s shoulder, then yelled her goodbye to you.

This prompted you to race into the living room to see Natasha stood there in one piece, but her eyes spoke of a separate form of shattering. When she fell to her knees a second later you were right by her with no regard to your knees.

“Natasha, what is it?”

“Please don’t leave me,” she sobbed, “I can’t do this without you, I won’t survive—I won’t!”

“Hey, hey,” you settled on your butt then yanked her trembling form into you, “I’m not going anywhere, where is this coming from?”

“I had to air out all of Shield’s dirty laundry,” she started, her hand shaking as you clasped yours over it and you sent her a reassuring smile, “That included all the darkest parts about my past, once you see it you’ll leave.”

“Natasha, your past doesn’t define you, no one is free of skeletons in their closet, and yours were never yours to bare the reprimand for,” you cupped her cheek, and brought her gaze back to yours, “I know your heart Natasha, and whatever those files say doesn’t change that.”

“Matter of fact, they don’t matter, and I won’t even be reading them,” you announced, and her tears finally spilled over, “Thank you…”

“Don’t thank me Nat, you deserve to tell me whatever you want, when you’re ready, not when the world forces you to.”

“I love you Y/N,” she jolted up and caught your lips in a kiss, her mouth tasted of mint, and you smiled at the thought of her probably having brushed her teeth in some drug store just so she could kiss you when she got home.

“I love you too Natasha, you’re stuck with me.”

She smiled against your lips, “Really?” and when you nodded she smiled even wider.

“Marry me then,” she blurted the hopeful words against your lips, then she pulled back with pinched brows as she awaited an answer.

“Seriously?” she nodded, and watched how your eyes now filed with tears, “Of course.”

Natasha kissed you even harder this time, a symbolic sealing of the deal she reasoned.

“Is that borscht I smell?” you nodded with a breathless sigh to follow, and she smiled in pure adoration, “Might as well marry you now, my pretty little housewife in the making.”

“Do it,” you challenged, and she met that with a bruising kiss to which she instantly deepened, her silent promise that she’d be keeping you here until the ready borscht likely went cold.

2016

Natasha woke up next to you this morning, and for a few moments everything just felt right. Then she was called into work only to be met with a scraggly old man in a suit, who laid out a packet thicker than her arms all in the name of containing the Avengers. Tony's argument felt right, it seemed the only option that kept the team safe, but more importantly all together.

Steve didn't agree though, and in a few short hours he became a wanted man, alongside his old pal Bucky, his new pal Sam, her best friend Clint, a shrinking man she'd never met named Scott, and the rightfully terrified witch, Wanda.

Nothing felt right anymore, and as the lot of them fought against one another she knew it wasn't going to end well. Her plans to marry you this Fall would have to wait as she attacked TChalla, and allowed Steve and Bucky to flee.

In less than an hour she was back at the compound collecting her arsenal of weapons, and ignoring Tony's venomous words only spat to hurt her as she rushed off to be on the run.

This life wasn't new to her, being on the run was second nature for the reformed assassin, but now, at this stage of her life it was cruel. There was no easy way to tell you, the love of her life, that she had to leave, but as she raced up the stairs to your shared bedroom she found you sat on the edge of the bed in a fit of tears.

You knew...

"Malysh." you lunged into her open arms, sending the both of you tumbling into the carpeted floor where she held you very tightly. "It'll be okay, I promise, I'll find my way back."

"Back?," you croaked, head shaking rapidly as you refused to accept this., "I'm coming with."

"Not this time Agent.," you sobbed even harder as she cupped the back of your head while sitting you both back up so she could look into your eyes, even if the sight broke her in two., "Liho, and Tabby need you moya lyubov'."

"I need you," your voice cracked, and the tears she managed to keep at bay began to stain her cheeks at the dire situation at hand., "I know detka, I need you just as much as I do oxygen."

"Please, let me come with," you pleaded, hands clinging to her jacket in desperation, and you pulled her in for an equally as desperate kiss.

"This is going to test us," she panted after she managed to pull away from the liplock, her usual sparkling green eyes were dull as she looked into yours now. "But please, don't tell me that if I leave that you won't be here when I get back, because I promise you I'll be back."

"Be careful," you relent, and lean in to kiss her far more gently now, her hands that were sat on your hips gripped you tighter, she needed to feel you, because there was no telling when she would have an opportunity to do so again.

"I always am," she whispered, a soft smile pulling her at lips as she looked into your eyes. "My love for you is all the inspiration I need to make it back to you in one piece," she pecked your lips, then lifted both of you to stand.

"I love you Natasha Romanoff," she brought your entwined hands up to her lips where she pecked each knuckle until she reached your pitifully bare ring finger, where her soft lips lingered., "And I you, Y/N Romanoff."

The sound of sirens in the distance put a rush on your goodbye. "Until we meet again," you smiled sadly as she hopped onto her bike with two ill prepared duffles. "Until then my love."

2018

"Natasha, where are you going?" she peered over to Steve with a sad smile. "I'll be back, I just need to see someone first," and before anyone could protest she was leaving the room.

She was still on the run, so she had to be cautious about how she went about her route. Ross wouldn't have trouble getting her if she walked right into your establishment, and she would never put you in such a position. So she texted you from a burner phone instead, and that's how you found yourself in a quaint diner.

"Natasha, please tell me you didn't," your eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as the now blonde approached you with a mischievous grin. "What, you don't like the new hair?"

"I-I," you were thrown, because of course you did, she could pull anything off, but you also knew her resources were limited, so this was likely a very cheap dye job and it made you sad for all the progress you made keeping her hair healthy over the years. "You're beautiful Nat."

"It'll grow back out my love, and then I'll leave it for only you to handle, I promise."

"So I can go with you on the run this time?"

Natasha shook her head, and pulled you in for a hug that nearly crippled her after so long without your body flush to hers. "I'd never let you do that, you're undeserving of such a life."

"All I want is you Natasha, I don't care." she smiled sadly, "I know, but it doesn't matter, because there's no more being on the run."

"Really?" she nodded with a bright smile. "After we win, I'll be back for good malysh."

"Good, I can't stand another two years Nat."

"You won't have to," she smiled as you leaned into her, and she unexpectedly sobbed as you pressed your lips to hers, "I missed you Y/N."

"I missed you too Natty.," you reached up to wipe away her tears, then pecked her lips once more knowing she had to go, "I'll be waiting."

—

They lost, half of everyone turned to dust, and you weren't answering your fucking phone.

You always answered your phone.

No matter what.

Natasha felt waves of pure panic, the contents of her stomach were emptied on the jet, and even though her limbs ached she ran to you.

She had to get to you, there was nothing else she needed more right now than your love.

The doors of your shop flew open, causing her to cough as clouds of dust swirled at the action.

"No...," She fell to her knees besides the chair, your phone laid shattered on the floor in a pile of dust and various hair clippings with an unsent message: "I don't feel good Natasha."

Natasha didn't feel good either, and she would never again if she had to live without you..

2023

“Hey Nat,” Steve greeted as he stepped into the meeting room to find her quietly sulking over a halved peanut butter sandwich. “You okay?”

“Your friend is fine,” she answered almost too quickly for the words to be true, and the older man sighed with the truth weighing on his mind. “Don’t you think it’s time to move on?”

“If I move on, who does this?”

“Maybe nobody, threats have been almost nonexistent Natasha, the oceans are more clear, the grass is real, and the sky is bluer.”

“If you think there’s a bright side to half of the population being dusted you’re honestly not the righteous man I thought you to be Steve.”

“I’ve become a realist in my old age Nat, you deserve to be happy, Y/N wouldn’t want this.”

“Don’t you ever bring her up to push your agenda Rogers,” she growls through gritted teeth, and the man yields upon seeing her eyes of fury paired with a clenched jaw and fists.

“There’s no moving on without her Steve. I’ll search until I’m old and grey for a way to get her back because she’s worth fighting for.”

Steve sighs, “I understand, I was just trying to help is all, I hate seeing you so down.”

“You can’t help me Steve, it seems no one can.”

Natasha slumped back in her chair, and just as her eyes went to close she got a notification from Friday that someone was at the gate.

“Hello?”

Natasha immediately turned to see that the man she knows as ‘Antman’ was stood outside, which made her jolt up because he was presumed dusted, and upon letting him in she realizes that she was l wrong, someone can help her, she just has to l pay the arrogant billionaire a visit and hope he’s down to help.

—

Tony was reluctant to help, but at the thought of Peter, his prodigy, he was in, and Natasha was elated at the promise of undoing the mess. Having you back in her arms was all she needs, and after a few days it’s looking promising.

Clint returned with a baseball glove, showing the mission would succeed as long as all parties did their part. For the most part that was true, but someone had to pay the ultimate price, and then some cosmic fluke, one that Tony himself predicted, occurred as a past Thanos emerged.

It was a gruesome battle, it seemed like the loss of Steve on Vormir was all for not, but then the fruits of their labors came to light as loads of portals opened and all those dusted emerged.

“Avengers Assemble!” Natasha aired out the war cry, a new wave of adrenaline fueling her aching body as she charged at the enemies with the knowledge that you were back to fight for.

—

Natasha sprinted from the battle field as soon as Thanos's army became nothing but dust, her legs were nearly out of commission, weighing as heavy as her heart did with the losses of the unforeseen battle, but she refused to stop until she had you, this time she knew she would.

All her friends were back, so you would be too.

Five years she'd been deprived of you, and she refused to go another minute, she promised you it wouldn't be two like before, but she never realized in doing so she sealed herself to a far more daunting, and lengthier fate.

Much like before the doors to your shop fly open, but this time you're there to look up at the sound of the familiar ding, and you don't have time to ask questions before the love of your life is sobbing loudly against your chest.

"You're here," you hear the pain in her words, to you it had only been an hour since you last felt her touch, but the sight of her changed look told you that it had to have been longer for her.

"I'm here," she gripped your shirt as you went to move, her inability to let you go actually broke your heart in two. "I'm not going anywhere love, just going to sit us down."

Natasha let you go rather briefly, allowing you to settle into the reclining lounge chair in your office, and she straddled you just as soon as your butt made contact with the plush fabric.

"You weren't waiting," she sobbed, fists now clutching your shirts collar while her hazy eyes met your soft pair. "We lost, so you were gone."

The words were enough for you to understand something magically mysterious took place, and that was good because the redhead wasn't able to elaborate, her body racking with more sobs as she reflects on her forced solitude.

With a gentle hand on the back of her head you guided her face into the crook of you neck, you felt as she took in a sharp, deep breath, and how her lip subsequently quivered right after. Her arms then forced their way between your back and the soft material of the recliner so that she could hold you impossibly closer, in direct response you copied her embracement.

After a half hour her sobs faded into hiccups, but your hand rubbing random shapes over her suit continued, even if she could barely feel it. The motion still brought her comfort, and that's all you could try to do here, there was no relating to her pain, you understood the forced solitude, but you can tell hers was far crueler.

"How long?" You started simple, but she still struggled to answer you, it hurt too much to verbalize her former reality. "F-five years."

"Oh my love," you brought her face out to look in her eyes, hands cupping her cheeks so softly as if she were made of glass. The red rimming of her eyes, and tinting of her nose broke your heart, knowing that she was likely in a state of perpetual disarray while you were gone hurt. "I'm so sorry I wasn't waiting," you kissed away the new tears as they fell. "I'm here now baby."

"I need to feel you, please, show me it's real," she pleaded, her hands already tugging at the hem of your shirt, so you sat forward to help her remove it, then you moved a hand to the front zipper of her suit, "Take it off, please!"

It'd been seven years since Natasha felt you like this, with your skin on hers it felt like a dream, like one she frequently had while on the run, but couldn’t bring herself to with you gone.

Natasha whimpered when she felt you shifting so you could set her on the chair, but she was quick to settle when she realized you were going to undress completely for her, her eyes were trained on you without ever wavering. When you slid your pants off, along with your underwear she was gasping in pure shock.

“Fuck, detka,” you smirked in amusement when catching her eyes curiously staring at the strap, “I told you baby, I’d be waiting for you.”

It clicked, and as it did she was pleading with you to give her all of you with lust burning behind her eyes, pupils darkened to the point that they seemed like a black hole ready to consume you whole, and that had you on her in no time at all, soft lips exploring her bareness.

"My sweet Natasha, you've been through so much," you acknowledge, lips pressing to scars you'd never seen before, and your heart ached. "I'm sorry you were alone for so long, but I'm here, and I'm going to take good care of you."

Natasha's entire body shivered as you ran the hard silicone through her folds, collecting her arousal so that you could enter her with ease.

“I know you want my cock baby, but please, can I taste you first?” she nodded vigorously, her hands quick to push you lower, and you snorted, “Thank you angel,” you took a deep breath in, feeling yourself salivating as you smelled her arousal, “Oh fuck, you smell heavenly, you’re still my sweet girl, right?”

“Mhm,” Natasha hummed softly, need too heavily clouding her mind to answer properly. Then she was too busy moaning as your tongue expertly swirled around her clit before it was prodding at her entrance in a teasing manner.

Mewls of pornographic proportions tumbled passed her lips as you worked her up to the edge, she hadn’t been turned on in actual years, so this was not going to be a long fuck.

You were just too good with that tongue of yours for her to hold back much of anything; her hips were frantic as they fucked her cunt into your mouth to help her get off faster; her walls fluttering around your thick pink muscle, leaving it without much wiggle room but you sure made it move; and those screams of hers were uncontainable as you sent her crashing head first into the most intense orgasm ever.

“Fuck, oh my god, please don’t ever stop!”

“I never plan to,” you murmured against her bundle of nerves causing her body to writhe as the pleasure only further coursed through her.

Natasha was panting like she’d just run a marathon, and quite honestly she’d done just about that to get to you from the intense battle. Regardless of her inability to breathe though she yanked you up and into her for a kiss that was nothing short of messy, and thrilling.

While your tongue explored her pliant mouth you reached down to line yourself up with her needy entrance, “Going to fuck you so good,” you pulled away from her lips to catch sight of her face as you thrusted completely into her.

Natasha didn’t disappoint you either, her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she was so overwhelmed by your intrusion that she was choking on the air she’s gasped in, her mouth was agape but she was too dumbed to breathe.

“Breath for me baby,” you pulled out, just to shallowly thrust back in, teasing her back down to earth, “Please, I-I need you inside so bad.”

“I know you do baby,” you smiled down at her, then watched as she involuntarily bit back a moan when you refilled her to the brim, “None of that now, I want to hear how good you feel.”

With your arms now hooked underneath her thighs as your hands reached up to fondle her breasts your thrusts were hitting even deeper. Natasha was cursing lowly in Russian, a sure way to let you know she was going to cum any second now, and you knew just what to do.

Natasha loved the idea of being yours, and she loved it even more when it came with marks.

It was an earth shattering occurrence really, you kept your pace pleasurably slow, as you began to nibble over the skin of her jaw, one of your hands continued tweaking her nipples in dizzying oscillations, as the other ventured down to rub tentative circles against her enlarged clit, “You’re close, aren’t you baby?”

Natasha whimpered with her head thrown back into the pillow, her ability to answer was lost on her as your mouth suctioned against the sensitive expanse of her throat, leaving behind marks she would never dream of covering up.

“Let go baby, drench my cock,” you bit into her pulse point, and Natasha couldn’t refrain from screaming your name in a sequence of praises.

Everything about you made her lose every ounce of composure she’s ever been trained to keep. Your smiles melt her stoney heart, and yours giggles basically annihilated her chance at ever wanting to be an Avenger ever again.

All she wants now is to retire with you, and start a family, because you’re her endgame. Nothing else will ever matter more than you.

While buried deep inside her, here you hover over her with a warm smile, you just recked her but still you manage to lean down to whisper sweet nothings in her ear as she comes down.

“How are you feeling my love?”

Natasha smiled up at you with glistening eyes, “Like I can finally breathe again, I missed you tremendously detka,” her lip wobbled slightly as you whispered against her, “Let’s go home.”

—

Natasha happily took you home on her bike as soon as she calmed down from her high, the trek was short, but meaningful as she felt you clinging to her the entire way home, the tight embrace was healing her tattered soul with every second she was able to experience it.

The two of you shared a sweet kiss as soon as you got off the bike, your lover was reluctant to let up, but she had no choice as you swept her off her feet. Natasha squealed with laughter as she settled into your arms, she admired you fondly, heart fluttering with hope as you carry her over the threshold as if you’d finally wed.

“Welcome home my beloved,” you kissed her lovingly, then let her legs drop softly, while swiftly wrapping your arms around her waist.

“I should be saying that to you,” she whispers, and you can hear the sadness in her tone, so you just pull her even closer, and kiss her deeper. “We both deserved to say it Natty.”

“I love the hair Natty,” you twirled the end of her braid in your hand, admiring the growth and dual tone, while your other ran up and down her back in soothing strokes. “Yeah?”

“Mhm,” you continued to play with her hair, slowly but surely you unraveled the braid, and admired the way her hair fell around her face, framing it beautifully and making you smile.

“You’re very beautiful,” you smiled wider as she blushed deeply, even in the darkness of your house you could see the red tinge of her cheeks, and how it steadily rose from her neck.

More than a decade of loving one another, and she still felt nervous whenever you spoke so tenderly to her. Treating her like a dainty flower instead of the venomous spider that hides in the petals, the one she herself feels a kinship with. You saw her for more than the world ever would. To you, she was just Natty.

“I was thinking of cutting it, but I made a promise to my favorite person, so I didn’t.”

“Oh Natty, my precious angel,” you pulled her face to yours, nuzzling your noses before you closed the minuscule gap, “You waited for me?”

The truth was right there for you to see, her eyes having returned to their natural green shone through with so much love, it was the purist kind, and you knew she meant it wholly. Nobody else would ever interest the redhead again, not when she has you as the blueprint.

“Of course I did, I’d have waited a lifetime.”

You smirked, “Yeah? I can just picture it now, grey roots, with a rich red that ombre’s to the blonde tips,” she slapped your arm, then played with you, “I’ll never go grey detka.”

“Maybe not with me here to dye your hair,” you teased while escorting your fiancée up to your bedroom so the both of you could shower.

Loud meows reverberated off the walls, and your heart cracked when you saw your not so little babies stretching on the mattress, “Oh my have you two grown,” you dropped to your knees and nuzzled your face with theirs.

Natasha stood in the bathroom doorway with a sad smile, she’d started the water already, and now she’s taken to watching you reacquainting with your felines. “They missed you just as much as I did detka, they meowed at the front door for a whole year before they gave up.”

“You never gave up,” you whispered, overcome with so many emotions as you stroke over a new to you patch of grey fur on Liho’s back.

“I never would’ve detka, you’re my world.”

“Time is so precious,” you choked out before rising to your feet, and meeting Natasha with a wobbling lip and tight embrace, “I don’t want to wait anymore Nat, I want to be your wife, move to Norway and start the rest of our lives.”

“Can Norway become Ohio?”

You quirked a brow, but nodded without any hesitation, “Wherever with you works for me.”

Natasha beamed at your words, “Perfect, we’ll leave tomorrow then, I have a house in our name, and someone special I want you to meet, and after you meet Yelena we’ll get married at the local courthouse with her as our witness.”

“Yelena?!”

“Yeah, I found her when I was on the run,” she smiled while pulling you under the hot stream, “But enough about all that, how about you give me a sneak preview of our wedding night?”

Natasha moaned when you pushed her against the marbled wall, “You’re going to regret that.”

——

13,049 Words

❤️ Kaitlyn 🥰

[meidui]

So I'm actually very glad you came back, among many others I'm sure :D Esepecially because I recently saw a post by Sineala stating the difference between 616 vs MCU Steve and Tony, and she said people should ask someone else if they wanted to know about the MCU. So, I really wanted to ask you from your perspective what you think the difference is, because you seem to like MCU the most! This is the post.

sineala(.)tumblr(.)com/post/172540509139/whats-the-difference-between-tony-and-steve-from

Thank you and welcome back :DDD

oohh i know that post and i love that post 🤗 i learn so much about 616 from sineala, her fic and meta are more sacred to me than comic canon i'm so serious about that

i feel like i read the comics very chaotically and so most of my limited firsthand knowledge is very.. incidental. but if you're looking for someone who has spent too much of her time obsessing about every stevetony related detail in the mcu i am your girl <3

mcu steve makes me go *heart eyes* because even though he's very fighty and very stubborn (the core steve rogers traits across the multiverse), i think as a generalisation mcu steve is sadder and 616 steve tends to be angrier?? in my opinion he's gentler, quieter, more reserved and measured and forgiving than his 616 counterpart and that's one of the reasons he's so attractive to me because i think he's actually so soft!!

also- mcu steve did the best with the hand he was dealt but he did not at all have the support system that 616 steve when he came out of the ice :'( in the comics the avengers are the ones who find steve, but in the movies it's a group of shield agents who get a call from an oil team. the first thing that happens to mcu steve when he wakes up is that he gets lied to (shield puts him in that fake hospital room and tries to convince him it's still the 1940s to ""ease him in""), and then between waking up in 2011 and meeting the avengers in 2012, he's completely alone. there's an amazing deleted scene from a1 that shows steve wandering around new york by himself and his loneliness is palpable

i think this also relates to their ideas of home in the 21st century. 616 steve seems very sure about the fact that tony gave him a home, his home is with tony and the avengers, but mcu steve spends a long time searching for a place to call home. even in catws, when he's been in the 21st century for 3 years, he still has books stacked on the floor of his apartment and paintings he hasn't hung up yet. a year later in aou, sam asks if he's found a place in brooklyn yet, and steve says he doesn't think he could afford a place in brooklyn, and sam says "home is home" and steve sort of just stops smiling and goes quiet and looks away. the only place he calls home in the movies is avengers compound, once in aou when tony asks if he's alright and steve says "i'm home" and once in infinity war when sam asks where they're going and steve says "home" (referring again to the compound). and when the compound gets blown to bits in endgame, even that's gone

on the other hand mcu tony seems more well adjusted than 616 tony and that felt like a deliberate choice based on the scenes that didn't make it into the movie. for example ,there's a deleted scene from im1 where pepper finds tony on the floor the morning after a party, drinking in his iron man suit and he's bleeding and there's a wisp of smoke coming from his armour and he is clearly not doing well, and an alternative opening scene for im2 that they didn't use where tony is vomiting and altogether freaking out a little bit before the stark expo

tony's alcoholism and sobriety is an important part of his 616 character, and there's the birthday party scene in im2 where tony gets drunk to cope with the fact that he's dying, but other than that and mysterio casually calling tony a "boozy man-child" in spiderman ffh, it's not really part of his mcu character

there's also the childhood trauma he has from howard, 616 howard was horribly abusive!!!!! a lot of people dislike mcu howard for not showing tony affection growing up etc, but the mcu portrays that father-son relationship in a more complicated light so you do see people split over tony forgiving him in the end. for example tony invents the new element in im2 with the help of howard's old tapes and notes and goes "dead for almost 20 years and still taking me to school," tony tells steve "my father made that shield" "he made it for you," and there's the full on reconciliation scene tony has with howard in endgame (also we get to see young howard stark in catfa and agent carter and he is honestly so likeable there, which still confuses me to this day but anyway)

and in the comics tony sees himself as more separate from iron man, hence the secret identity, and it feels like he sees iron man as his repentance and as having only his good qualities, someone he wishes he could be? but they tossed that right out at the end of im1 when tony literally says "i am iron man," which was a very clear rejection of the identity-crisis component of his 616 character, and they drive it home again when it's his last line in endgame. i think mcu tony sees iron man as an almost inextricable part of himself which i really love about him, and it makes sense because 616 tony hates himself so much more than mcu tony does ;_;

in terms of steve and tony's relationship, they have such a long history of friendship in the comics which makes the civil war arc hurt more but i feel like they always have that friendship as a bedrock to keep building and rebuilding their relationship on, whereas in the mcu they get off on the wrong foot and tiptoe around a very fragile relationship/disproportionately deep feelings for a few years but don't trust each other enough for a long time and that's the reason their civil war happens, and it's only at the end of their canon that they resolve it and really come together

there's also the romantic relationships- they both have several significant love interests in the comics but just one true love in the movies, it's always been peggy for steve and pepper for tony, but i think that's more due to the nature of the mcu being one movie canon and 616 spanning so many more years and going through so many more writers

now i'm just rambling but they shifted a lot of the characters around in steve's life as well, like the role sharon plays in the comics is diluted in the movies and peggy and natasha are the two most important women in his life instead because they're the ones who give him that support and guidance. also mcu stevebucky doesn't really exist in the same way in the comics because they didn't grow up childhood friends with bucky being protective over steve, they met in the military and bucky is a few years younger than steve in the comics, so steve was a mentor to him

[bedlamsbard]

For the ask game, 1 and 24.

the character everyone gets wrong

I said Steve the last time I did this (and I do think he gets it the worst) and while Loki is the obvious runner-up, I find that the Thor films (+ A1, IW, Loki) are so inconsistent that tbh, that's more understandable. So -- Natasha. There's a huge tendency throughout the fandom to flatten Natasha out in ways that are wildly inconsistent with her actual portrayal in canon, some of which is spillover from comics, some of which is just taking her at face value, some of which is just being unwilling to pay attention to what's onscreen. Like, the number of times I see people being unwilling to acknowledge that Natasha is Clint's best friend? A lot! Or that Natasha is (minus five minutes in CACW) consistently on Steve's side, not even in a shippy way? Also a lot! Or -- this might be a more cosplay-specific one, but I've seen it in fic and edits and art as well, the idea that Natasha is very...I'm probably going to use the wrong word here, but that Natasha is very, very femme, in a "always wears bold makeup, paints her nails, red lip, has her tits out" kind of way. The only time we see Natasha do that kind of, mm, performative femininity is IM2 and the beginning of The Avengers when she's literally not being herself and I'd also make a strong argument for AoU here, though with AoU I do think she's deliberately presenting herself in that specific for PR purposes. (Besides, you know, Joss Whedon being terrible about her.) Obviously there is a certain amount that's there because this is a movie and everything is a little more exaggerated. Like, even though in all movies but one Natasha is in heels or wedges in her tactical gear it's at least partially because they have to get 5'3" ScarJo into the same frame as all their six-foot tall boys as well as being ~sexy; Natasha is probably not wearing 3-inch wedges into a fight, and we know that because none of her shoes in BW have a heel/wedge on them. (I also strongly suspect BW may be the only film where she's wearing a sports bra in the suits.) Some of it is probably spillover from comics, because comics Natasha is more femme fatale-ish than MCU Natasha.

(Obviously for cosplay purposes do whatever the hell you want, these are just trends I've noticed; I am in this community too, which is why I see it come up over and over again in the first place. This is the only time I've gone "wow, I do not have the tits for this," which is actually quite disconcerting if it's never come up as ~something to be self-conscious about before.)

Some of it is also fandom's general propensity to flatten female characters in general -- the team mom thing, the only one with the braincell thing, the femme fatale thing, etc. Like, yes, it's funny the first ten times, and then it's "...we're really not watching the same movies, huh?"

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

this is more like a "top five" topics than a single one SO in no particular order

was baby Loki kidnapped or rescued (child abandonment was and is a real thing, but in ancient/medieval cultures it is both (a) real and legal and (b) a common mythological trope, have you never heard of Oedipus)

Sokovia Accords and everything surrounding them (even canon regretted this one, which is kind of a shame because I would have liked to see the MCU treat it seriously after CACW -- only Ant-Man and the Wasp and Black Widow actually started to deal with it, and it got resolved offscreen years later in She-Hulk)

did the Asgardians deserve to be genocided (what the hell is wrong with you people, why have I been in real fandoms where this is a real question)

Loki/Sylvie (not my ship, I don't care, but hoo boy)

is Endgame good or bad (woof)

[ad1thi]

four weddings and a funeral

this is very very fluffy, and then very angsty you have been forewarned 

--

@theavengays Stars, this is for you

--

1.

The first place they get married is Amsterdam.

Tony shows up in a three piece suit to Edwards, and finagles with Rhodey's superiors until he gets extremely annoyed and simply says "If you don't give Private Rhodes leave, I won't give you anything"

Things go pretty smoothly after that, and Rhodey is on the jet within the hour. Tony crowds him into the sofa, straddling his waist and whispers, "Lighten up sour patch we're getting married," before nipping at his neck

Rhodey's so surprised that he forgets to be mad about Tony using his considerable leverage and tugs on Tony's chin until he's facing Rhodey completely

"Say that again," he says softly; not letting up his hold until Tony sighs and starts talking

"Netherlands legalised same sex marriage yesterday. We're getting married sour patch"

Rhodey moves his hands until they're intertwined in Tony's hair; tugging softly and leaning up to capture his lips once, twice, a thousand times because they're getting married

Tony's still laughing as he spreads him out against the couch, to keyed up to shift them to the bed, but he looks up at Rhodey with such unabashed fondness that Rhodey doesn't even try to shut up- just focuses on turning his laughs into gasps and moans

Later, when they're curled up in each other- limbs entangled; Rhodey moves his chin from where its resting on Tony's head and says "that's a horrible way to propose, I want a re-do"

Tony turns to him, eyes bright and replies, "What makes you think this is your first wedding?"

and Rhodey laughs until he gets a stitch; and spends the rest of the journey showing Tony just how much he loves him

--

2.

When news reaches Iraq that Massachusetts is the first state to legalise gay marriage, Rhodey cashes in all his pending leave and gets 10 days off.

When he touches down in Logan, Tony is already there- and the jet is covered in heart shaped decoratives.

"You realise that we aren't flying anywhere right? We can't fly around Boston and rappel down in MIT, we're going to normal way; by bus"

Predictably, Tony shudders against him; and turns to Rhodey with his lip jutting out "Please don't subject my derriere to public transport, I'm too rich for this"

He nips at the offending lip and whispers, "Don't worry- you can sit on my lap"

They pull it off splendidly, a bit of slurring and swaying and everyone is convinced that Tony is just drunk and overly physical- instead of sober and just affectionate with his husband

They get married at the chapel just outside MIT, and the pastor knows them well enough that Tony doesn't even have to buy his silence

Rhodey allows himself 10 minutes of close contact with his husband before they keep careful distance; just because Massachusetts has legalised it doesn't mean DADT isn't still in effect

The distance lasts until they make it to the penthouse suite, and Rhodey slams Tony up against the door; latching onto his neck immediately and rubbing the back of his palm against his hardening dick

"Happy honeymoon husband," he breathes against his skin before dropping to his knees, and Tony just moans in response

--

3.

The day DADT gets repealed, Rhodey goes up to General Macweather and says, “I’m gay.”

To his credit, General Macweather just blinks and says, “so you’ve been fucking that Stark boy?”

Rhodey bites down all cutting responses and nods once, “Sir as I understand it, its pretty normal to fuck your husband”

General Macweather just raises a single eyebrow, and Rhodey is genuinely terrified that the general can hear his heart pounding

“I assume you’re here to ask for leave,”he says finally; and Rhodey just about holds in a sigh of relief

“Sir yes sir,” he says and spreads his legs slightly so he’s standing in parade rest

“You get 7 days off at the end of the month,” General Macweather says, “but if, and only if you hold off telling your squadron for another week.”

“Sir?” this time Rhodey doesn’t keep the bite out of his voice

“Pipe down Lt, there’s been a poll going around the base ever since Washington started making noise about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and I stand to lose a good 3k if you come out this week”

“You’ve,” Rhodey’s throat is dry, “you’ve been betting on my sexuality Sir?”

“The whole damn world knows you’re gay Lt Rhodes, you only got to spend 5 minutes around you and that Stark boy to know he’s got you wrapped around his pinky finger”

“Now keep your trap shut and don’t cost me three thousand, and you can leave at the end of the month to go marry him all over again”

There’s a brief second before he’s dismissed, but Rhodey can feel the weight of their secret pulling him down every second he’s not near Tony. There’s this newfound urgency now that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has been repealed, this newfound desperation to let the world know that Tony is his

He touches down in New York, where Tony has temporarily relocated so that he can fulfill his desire to build a massive Tower and fuck up the Manhattan skyline forever, and he doesn’t even think; he gathers Tony in his arms- wrapping Tony’s legs around his waist and slants his head up to kiss him

He’s barely aware of the cameras and the media and the insane amount of coverage this must be getting; too caught up in the feeling of Tony against him, pressing smiles on his lips

“Lets get married,” he whispers, setting Tony down and pressing their foreheads together, “lets have a huge crazy society wedding; marry me again Tony Stark”

and Tony kisses him and says, “Always”

--

4.

After Carol brings him back from Space, Rhodey can’t seem to leave Tony’s side. He’s been through the routine of losing Tony so many times that its almost an old trick, but Rhodey couldn’t stop thinking of all the nights he’d had to wake Tony up because of this very nightmare and there was some finality to it that terrified him

He uses any excuse to touch Tony, to hold his hand, to balance him by placing his palm on the small of his back, to curl his arms around him on the couch; until one day Tony snaps

“I’m not a fragile doll!” he yells and Rhodey’s arms are stretched out in an aborted motion to hold him that Tony’s slipped out of, “so you need to stop treating me like one”

They stay like that for several seconds, Rhodey on the couch with his arms outstretched, and Tony, standing, with his arms crossed against his chest in defiance

“I can’t - ” Rhodey wets his lips, “The six months you were in Space were the most terrifying six months of my life. I need to touch you, to remind myself that you’re still here”

Tony’s gaze softens, and he comes closer to press a delicate kiss on the corner of Rhodey’s mouth

“You know,” Tony murmers, “its been about 20 years since our first wedding? What do you say we go full camp and have a vows renewal ceremony?”

**

Its a small affair, and Tony debates whether or not to call who’s left of the Avengers; but he’s not seen Steve since he collapsed in front of him in a fit of rage; and his wedding didn’t really seem like the time to rehash all that

They call Happy and Pepper, and Pepper’s eccentric uncle Morgan because Tony absolutely adores him; and the whole thing is over in 30 minutes

They kiss and everybody throws flowers, and if Rhodey turns away to hide his tears in the crook of Tony’s neck; nobody says a thing

They’re lounging in the backyard, neck-ties pulled off and sleeves rolled up- lazily exchanging kisses when a black sedan pulls up

Steve and Natasha step out, and Tony tenses against Rhodey

They’re with Scott Lang, who everybody assumed had died in the Snap, but somehow survived and now has this crazy time travel idea

“Wait wait wait,” Rhodey says, looking up at Scott from where he’s sitting, “Are you telling me that your idea of time travel is based on Back to the Future?”

Scott nods, and Tony doesn’t even try to suppress an eye roll

“The answer’s no Cap, I’m sorry”

Steve sighs, “Tony I get it, and I’m happy for you, I really am. But this is a second chance?”

Tony looks up from where he’s curled against Rhodey’s chest, “I got my second chance right here Cap, can’t roll the dice on it”

Later, after they’ve left, Rhodey turns slightly and says, “It would be nice if your spiderkid were here for the next one”

“The next what sugarplum?”

“The next wedding. We’ve had about 4 now and we’ve never really had everyone attend. It’d be nice, get the whole family together; really celebrate us”

Tony just hums, “maybe for our 25th anniversary. We’ll get Pepper go wild”

--

+1

They never have a fifth wedding

They never reach their 25th anniversary

There’s a thrum of power that surges through the battlefield, and the aliens froth and blend into the sky, dispersed into the wind; and even before he turns Rhodey knows what’s happened

He knows as he pushes the boots off the ground, soaring across the battlefield, looking; until he sees Tony- sagged against a boulder

He’s bleeding from his temple, half his body is charred, and there, clasped in his right hand; is the infinity gauntlet- frozen in a snap

He sets down lightly, flipping up the faceplate and bending down so he’s at eye-level

Tony’s eyes flail for a couple of seconds, glassy and unfocused until they zero in on him

General Macweather had once told him, Son, the battlefield is no place for tears, so Rhodey just smiles, cups Tony’s face as best he can and says “Its okay, you did good Tones”

Tony’s lips move ever so slightly, and his voice is barely a whisper, “love you,” 

and Rhodey watches as the lights fade out of his eyes, and his chest rises and falls for the last time, and his head lols back

Rhodey watches, as his husband dies; and only once Tony’s body collapses within itself- falling against Rhodey; does Rhodey let himself cry

All around him, the men and women Rhodey has fought alongside, kneel

They kneel for their saviour, for the man who sacrificed everything

but Rhodey just cries, clutching onto his limp husband’s body like it will somehow bring him back to life

Fin

[the-darklings]

okay but what if V was her assassin self in the Marvel Universe??? i lowkey ship her w/ bucky...👀

So this concept is fascinating because I can actually see it?

Because imagine if V’s life went exactly the same but instead of the mob picking her up because her parents messed up it was Hydra instead? She not quite so useful as a ballerina but she is smart so the whole symbolism of them being Hydra and her being the Vipress works quite nicely here? (the fist & the head??) She transforms and betters herself over the years before she’s challenged with researching and helping with the super-soldier serum. That’s how she runs into Bucky because he’s their most successful weapon and she has to analyse his blood. 

So she’s faced with this empty shell of a man she’s told she can do whatever to in order to get results but she’s gentle. She’s considerate. She asks permission to touch him even if he doesn’t react/respond. She doesn’t hurt him. She takes a bit of blood maybe and lets him to just sit with her. Sometimes she blabbers about how he’s amazing and his abilities to heal and fight are extraordinary. She knows what he is but she’s killed, too. There is no disgust there. No judgment. She knows they’re both tools only alive to be useful to Hydra. Something starts scratching back to life little by little. He finds himself hoping that he can go to her for med checks instead. She asks his name and tells him her own—the real one, not the one Hydra gave her—but he can’t remember. She tells him that one day when he does, she hopes he’ll tell her. He wants to. It’s an odd thing. To want something. She starts mattering. He clings to brief moments of her. She makes things clearer. She smells like earth and plants she works with. Not cold and chemical like others. His eyes follow her when she’s in the room. He stalks her steps, hovering, hoping, clinging to clarity she brings. There are little pieces with her. She jokes with him, calling him a “handsome brood” and it reminds him of a skinny boy from Brooklyn who used to tease him like this, too. He thinks that he misses that boy. He thinks that the boy would like her as well. She has that fire in her—a good heart he could follow to the ends of the earth.

He gets wiped. The boy disappears. So does her voice and laugh and touch and the gleam in her eyes and—

He thinks he can hear her screaming somewhere far away to stop hurting him—a painful symphony of JAMES, JAMES, JAMES—before it fades as well. He tries to cling onto for her. 

He disappears, too. 

Her smile is the last thing to go.   

[irondad-defensesquad]

(mcu) tony stark is canonically:

an alcoholic

abused and emotionally neglected by his also alcoholic father in his entire childhood (*the mcu does confirm this even if it tries to paint howard in a "good" light, check the comics related to im2)

also visibly groomed and almost egregiously killed by his mentor who took him in when tony was young, essentially taking advantage of that to take over stark industries and the belic industry

traumatized with clear (complex?) ptsd and panic attacks

responsible of his weapons being illegally sold to terrorize ppl (ofc i agree the portrayal in the movie is flawed, but he doesn't even mean to expose it to the media for status. well he said iron man to the journalists which is my next point:)

heavily punished for the consequences of his actions - revealing his identity to the world, especially for trying to mess with a known terrorist in live TV. iron man 2 and 3 are all about the direct and indirect consequences of his actions, and also his father's legacy, remember howard is the one that created stark industries in the first place. and tony ultimately decides no i'm not my father, i don't need to be him, i'm not gonna continue this cycle of war and violence neither at myself or other ppl

uninterested to work with the military from the very beginning, perfectly knew the government would take his suits and transform them in military weapons. this is the whole fucking plot of iron man 2? it's presented as a bad thing?? stane wanted to create an armor of iron men, in im2 it does happen and it's a fucking disaster!!! tony didn't want the iron men used in war! they would 100% kill innocent ppl with his suits just like they did his weapons before. why would tony want that???

manipulated by wanda with the vision of all his allies dead

still perfectly willing to take up responsibility for ultron

the creator of vision, consequently taking away jarvis the only remaining connection he had to his beloved father figure

the most dedicated to keep the avengers together

the first one to want to listen to steve without immediately trusting the government. he actually changes his mind after team cap is arrested! he talks to sam! he tries to understand where steve comes from and doesn't actually fight bucky until the news of his parents. which he has every goddamn reason not to be "rational" about btw

even after losing his team, still a caring mentor/father figure to peter parker. ofc he was unreachable at first, but after homecoming he made sure he and peter were on the same page! they regularly began to communicate!

a good friend to harley keener, gave him all the good tech! and avenged his dora watch

nebula's first friend and the first person who tells nebula she's a winner, not comparing her to gamora or anyone else knowing exactly how it is to have a father that doesn't love them

the group's dad friend. really. he takes care of everyone. he's the first to reach out. he doesn't judge thor at all iirc!

the best dad in the entire mcu (ofc right there with scott lang but scott is actually canonically best grandma, so tony is best dad, it's canon)

the entire back of the franchise. whether you like this or not

feel free to add to the list i certainly forgot something but here you go

[the-faultofdaedalus]

ALRIGHT IT IS TOMORROW I AM AWAKE AND CAFFEINATED AND AT MY COMPUTER

so. tony and nat should’ve been the closest pair of avengers come a1 (aside from clint and nat but its not like there’s really any indication that they even know eachother pre-a1 and its not like they like, actually really have any moments of connection even post-a1, really, but talking about how mcu is just so fucking lonely is a DIFFERENT TOPIC--) because like. listen. there’s FOUR YEARS in between im2 and a1

(im1 is set in 2007. im2 is 2008. a1 is 2012. do not argue with me abt this i am correct)

four years in which, like, the two of them should’ve talked at least once. because, sure, i did watch the same movie as all of you and i did also watch the end credit scene but listen. listen. i dont think thats all that’s going on. because that report? that’s what any random person would be expecting it to be, and... i don’t think fury would waste as much time and resources on someone who he thought of like that as he did. if that’s really what natasha (and therefor fury) thought of tony, then like.... so much of their interactions just do not make sense. why have natasha reveal herself? why even show up at the donut place? why throw two of his most trusted agents into dealing with tony? why get what must’ve been like, a genuinely decent ammount of shield into digging up all of howard’s old junk and researching the lithium thing for someone who was not reccomended? especially since if they just wanted an iron man, sans tony stark, rhodey at that point did have a suit. so.

in my head and in my heart the report was to stop anyone else from pushing for tony’s offical inclusion and the rejection was to keep him a seperate entity for shield. the use of the two people fury has the most faith in (nat and coulson) and the fact that he shows up personally says... a lot about the fact that fury is actually deeply invested in tony’s continued well-being. because, like, maybe fury had no idea about what was going on, or even the extent of it, but i think he was definitely smart and paranoid enough to know that something was up with shield. maybe he thought it was just the wsc, maybe he had other suspicions. maybe he even was just preparing for a future where shield collapsed naturally.

so. i think fury wanted tony separate from shield as a safety net. so even if shield fell, or something went wrong, his dream-team would still be able to do their work. because for all he was a paranoid and ruthless man, he did also believe in heros.

and like! that did work! after TWS, we see that tony does in fact catch the team, for aou! it doesn’t exactly work long-term but like. if that was fury’s intention (which i do believe it was) then like. a+ it went great.

(also like the way natasha shows up in im2. like she could not have been more clearly bait. everything about her cover SCREAMS “HELLO YES I AM A HONEYPOT I AM A CORPRATE SPY HELLO HELLO PICK ME” and it’s so funny to me. subtle as a brick to the face 10/10. also there’s no way that tony would not have realized this. you think he hasn’t been honeypotted before? absolutely he has. he knows bait when he sees it and this is such obvious bait. (also like,,,, low-key i do believe that christine did honeypot herself in im1. 100% at least half of her motivation for fucking tony WAS so she could snoop and i love her))

anyways. we’ve got four years where natasha -- who is offically on the roster -- and tony -- who is offically not involved with shield at all but unoficically is definitely gonna be involved with the team -- can like. hang out. get to know eachother. bond. in my head this happens mostly via tony just hacking shield and showing up to natasha’s missions whenever stealth stops being a requirement to bother her. fury DOES lay breadcrumbs specifically as blaring red flag like “you should go here” 

because like! we don’t see tony doing any of the weapon-collecting/destroying stuff that was his whole entire goal in im1 but like he’s gotta be doing it, and any group that’s powerful enough to have their hands on stark weapons is prob gonna be a shield interest as well. i think that they should go to underground weapons confrences together and wreck shop. i think that if nat’s mission goes bad tony should just show up like “hey u miss me” and then fly them both out where they chill at a shitty hotel for the night and bicker and laugh abt how mad the WSC is that tony keeps breaching their security.

it’s a test run for the team disguised as... not that. disguised as either tony being a nuisance and showing up where he isn’t wanted (but where, actually, his presence is useful) or as fury not trusting tony to work on his own and sending natasha to supervise. and if they end up in shitty hotels, tired but exhilirated and bloody and a little bit grubby, waiting till nat’s pick-up comes in the morning, whatever happens there is up to them.

(also re: pepper: either that just did not happen at the end of im2, or it did but they decided nah, or pepper and tony are still a thing but everyone’s fully aware of the tonynat fwb thing, OR nat and pepper are also fuckin because why not. why should pepperony not also get to have fwb with nat as a side. i think they all deserve it. either way no cheating here because i am not for that (unless it’s an extremely messy stevetony comics fic. i can get into that. i can get into the mess when it’s stevetony.) also pepperonynat is EXTREMELY good. in all configurations.)

i also think that tony and nat should fuck post-im2 because a) listen their interactions in im2,,,,,, the fuckin scene where natasha is putting makeup on him,,,, the VENERABILITY (from BOTH of them!!!) the TENDERNESS the fact that they’re both, in a way, being honest with eachother despite all that they’re hiding,,,,, chef’s kiss truly. and also b) i do think that both of them have issues with sex and like,,,, both of them often having sex not just for the sake of it, and having their partners doing it for some sort of gain. it’s not the same! but it’s similar, and i think it would be nice for them to both sleep with someone just... for the sake of sex. because it’s with a person they like, and mostly trust, just for the sake of feeling good and making the other person feel good. i think that both of them are prob very used to sex being more a performance than an actual intimacy and i think they deserve to learn how to drop the performance w/ eachother.

(also this is largely fanon but i think we all know it in our hearts to be true: tony is the king of oral and nat deserves that so hard. also listen. i was friends with ballerinas and scarjo is... scarjo but she does NOT have the thighs for a ballet dancer. ballerinas have the thickest fucking thighs ever. they are STRONG their legs are BEEFY and i think that tony deserves to get right up inbetween there. so.)

and like! this isn’t even neccecarily... romantic, at all, unless you want it to be. tonynat romance is also very good. but like,,,, i am very into them just... being friends. trusting eachother. and also fucking eachother.

i think they should be brunch buddies. bitch abt their jobs over mohitos at 7am when they’re in the same area. natasha makes a game out of breaking into tony’s house as a skill test and tony doesn’t even pretend to be pissed off about it. they deserve to have SHENANIGIANS together i think it would be good

No no no talk about Tonynat I'm listening

ALAS I ALSO HAVE TO GO TO BED BUT TOMORROW ™

[queeenpersephone]

Thank you so much for the headcanons!!! first of all YES I would love to hear your thoughts on the im2/cw parallels. Second, I'm really interested in any hcs/metas you might have regarding how and why Nat falls for Tony? Most fics tend to be from Tony's POV while Nat's perspective is left so secretive

ofc, i'm so happy you enjoyed them! okay, i'll do the parallels in a separate post (if you can make gifs hmu), but i love that you picked up on how much nat's perspective is underrated in ironwidow fic. here are a few reasons i think nat falls for tony (i'm going to have a separate them out into concrete vs. cerebral - might be an arbitrary distinction, but another way to think about it is initial attraction/everyday compatibility vs. deep love/moral and emotional alignment)

concrete reasons

tony's confidence. nat needs someone who has no qualms

physical experience. nat is experienced. she likes that tony is unapologetic about his sexuality.

he's a great conversationist. nat is witty as hell, and there's really no one else in the mcu that's as clever and quick with words as tony (maybe clint, but that's bff energy only). we have plenty of evidence that nat likes humor, likes tony's sense of humor (see: 'miss me, agent romanoff?') and i really don't think she would end up with someone who's not willing just to engage in some teasing. i really think tony would actively try to draw it out of her as well, which would further endear her.

cerebral reasons

tony's relentless hope. this is tony's best trait imo and it's one that pairs really nicely with nat’s suspicion and doubt of other people’s motives and abilities. 

tony has red in his ledger, and he wants to wipe it out. remember brucenat? the goal there was to draw a parallel between bruce and nat's mistakes, ignoring that tony and nat's pasts are actually more similar. they hurt people, they were able to realize that their lives were not truly their own and break free of it, they consider themselves at fault when they were at the machinations of powerful people, and now they want to spent their lives repenting. relationships happen between people who might be ostensibly different, but deeply share the same values. i think tony manifests it as a futurist, an idealist, where nat is more concrete and detailed, but they can also appreciate the opposite perspective. i just think nat recognizes a similar mindset in tony, likely before he did in her. she understands him, and she likes that he understands her. 

tony, i think, is very thoughtful in gift-giving and spending quality time. i just think he’d make an effort to appreciate nat’s russian heritage and love of the ballet. he 100% made her a ballet studio and she was instantly a little in love.

he appreciates her abilities and i hc him as the only one to note her genius in closing the portal in avengers 1, so much that i put it in a fic. more than that, though, he actively tries to improve her abilities - gadgets, etc. she definitely love when he excitedly bursts into her room to show her a widow bite update

finally: i think my usual hc about ironwidow getting together is post-cacw. here, nat falls for him because he doesn’t run away from the world. he sticks it out, he fights, he forgives, he tries his best to fix whatever he breaks. seeing tony’s hope (that she’s appreciated for years) turned onto her? onto the idea that they can be friends, be more? it’s irresistible. by hoping, by depending on her, tony makes nat better. who wouldn’t fall in love after that? 

[kahuna-burger]

So I was reading comments from an old CACW thread (don't ask me why) and I found the constant references to Steve as a soldier or military officer compared to Tony as "a civilian" were bugging me.

First of all, Steve was never a true military officer. He escaped Basic before it killed him, went against orders and got lucky and then led* a chaotic mixed group in special missions with mixed military and civilian oversight dedicated just to handling him. He was in a war zone, but he wasn't ever held to the standards of a soldier, or the responsibilities of an officer.

Now Tony. He obviously also isn't a soldier, but he isn't any less experienced in combat or war zones by the time he and Cap meet. The whole issue in IM2 with the congressional hearing was because he was continually running missions to retrieve or destroy his weapons, from the hands of active combatants many in actual war zones. I actually saw a claim that as of CW, Tony had only been in 5 life threatening situations (which went from bizarrely funny to insanely hilarious when they added "6 if you count the kidnapping.") No, just no. He ran multiple missions on his own, and is implied to have worked with War Machine after IM2, as in IM3, Rhodes specifically says the military doesn't want his help with the Mandarin issue for ego reasons from the New York invasion.

In fact, if you check the timelines, when they met in The Avengers, Tony had been running active combat missions as Iron Man longer than Steve had as Captain America. Neither having passed Basic Training or worked as part of a standard military unit.

*pretty sure at least two Howlies outranked Steve even if he was actually a Captain, but then they put a Sergeant in charge after Steve was gone, so rank is for suckers, apparently. Maybe they established leadership by arm wrestling?

Tl:dr, Steve and Tony both have experience running combat missions in war zones and neither experienced normal military service, stop calling Steve a soldier and Tony a civilian.

[boomthemoon]

Tfatws season finale is coming and we all know that Sambucky won't really kiss and say they love each other and be all canon, but before you all start crying over that let me remind y'll of something

Tony and Pepper were Marvel first couple, everyone saw them as a couple since the first movie, still they didn't kissed until the very ending of IM2, and were only actually portrayed as a couple in IM3 which are 3 (4 if you wanna count The Avengers) movies after they first appeared. Everyone only counted them as a couple from the beginning because there was an unspoken romance between them.

Peter and MJ were also treated as a couple since Homecoming when they barely had any interaction and the only thing that showed some possible romantic feelings between them was MJ knowing a little too much about Peter, and we could've just read it as she suspecting he was Spider-Man but that's not what happened.

Quill and Gamora literally only kissed and told each other how they felt in Infinity War. They've gone two GOTG movies only with that "pretending to hate while flirting and with a little sexual tension on top" kinda of relationship, and we saw them as a couple all along.

What I mean by those examples is that mcu has this slow way of putting couples out there when they only give us reasons to believe they are going to be a couple. So basically by mcu standards, Sambucky has a pretty good chance.

I don't know if the writers wanted us to see a potential romance between Sam and Bucky or not, but I feel like they did, and if they didn't, is never late to pretend they did and go for it.

Also sometimes I wonder if tfatws wasn't a way to test the response to Sambucky to see if it is worth going for it as a couple or should they stick to friendship.

[gunsandspaceships]

Review of Official MCU Timelines: Phase One Official Timeline

My (unofficial) but logical (correct) detailed timeline of Phase One

Now that we have a timeline with evidence from the movies, we can compare it to the official timelines. Yes, there's more than one, and they contradict each other.

First, I'll look at the official Phase One timeline (the "old timeline"), created by Brad Winderbaum shortly before The Avengers came out.

In this timeline, Marvel used "BIM" (Before "I am Iron Man") and "AIM" (After "I am Iron Man"). So the starting point in both directions is May 25, 2008, although this date is not defined in this timeline, but it is defined in the new official timeline, as well as in my timeline.

Correct dates are highlighted in blue, questionable or too vague - in orange, and incorrect ones - in red.

Odin fought the Frost Giants on Earth and adopted Loki - 1000 years BIM (old timeline)/965 AD ("Thor", new timeline, my timeline):

The old timeline uses a vague "1000 years BIM", which, to be precise, corresponds to 1008 AD, not 965 AD.

Odin hid the Tesseract on Earth - 600 years BIM (old timeline)/ "undetermined time" (movies, new timeline, my timeline):

Then we have a date that only appears in the old timeline - 600 BIM, which corresponds to 1408 AD. The new timeline mentions the event, but also says that it is unknown when it happened.

Hydra stole the Tesseract; Rogers became a super soldier - 67 years BIM (old timeline)/March 1942 and June 1943 (CA:TFA, new timeline, my timeline):

2008 minus 67 is 1941. According to the movie (CA:TFA), Schmidt invaded Norway in March 1942. Steve Rogers became a super soldier in June 1943.

Valkyrie crash, Rogers frozen in Arctic - 64 years BIM (old timeline)/January 1945 (my timeline):

"64 years BIM" in the old timeline is also not quite true. If we were to believe that, we would have Rogers going into suspended animation in the Arctic in 1944. We found out that was early 1945, which also corresponds the new timeline. My timeline narrows it down to January.

Creation of the Hulk - 5 years BIM (old timeline)/March 2004 (my timeline):

According to the old timeline, this would have been 2003. More detailed analysis gave me March 2004.

Tony's kidnapped in Afghanistan - 9 months BIM (old timeline)/4 months BIM (IM1, new timeline, my timeline):

Tony was kidnapped in late January or early February 2008. He spent 3 months in captivity and then almost a month at home before the famous press conference. See IM1 timeline.

Events of "Iron Man 2: Public Identity" tie-in - 3 months AIM (old timeline)/Never (movies, new timeline, my timeline):

The old timeline includes events from the Iron Man 2: Public Identity comics, which are absent from the new official timeline and the movies (it also contradicts them). As such, for now, I will not consider Public Identity canon and will not include the events in the timeline. I will review the comics in the future.

Chase after Bruce Banner in Rio; Tony is attacked by Ivan Vanko in Monaco - 6 months AIM (old timeline)/~September 4, 2009 and May 23, 2010 (my timeline):

Absolutely no way it could be 6 months AIM, just as there was no way it could be 9 months BIM before. See IM2 timeline, part 1.

Those movies even took place in different years. Thanks to Fury's Big Week, we got an abomination in the timeline.

Fury's Big Week will be reviewed in detail in another post.

Review of The MCU Guidebook timeline

[alloftheblackwidowfeelings]

Is there a universally accepted idea of how old Natasha was when Budapest happened?

I haven't found one, and I can't parse one out.

I was hoping an answer might show up on commentary but the blu-ray doesn't have commentary. So I assume that if we get that information, it will be in the Art of the Movie book, which BN.com indicates comes out in August of 2022.

That said, here is some pointless and unfounded math:

Natasha's ID in the openings give her a birthday of December 3, 1983. Accepting that as accurate for now (which means believing SHIELD had the wrong birthday for her, which is... hilarious and great, tbh), and assuming release dates of non-flashback-movies are accurate in-universe, that means she was 26 in Iron Man 2. Budapest was Nat proving her loyalty to SHIELD; by IM2 she's seen as loyal enough that she's in Fury's inner circle.

Coming at it in the other direction, while we don't have a date for her Red Room "graduation," the opening credits do give us more of a sense of Nat aging. We know how she looks at eleven (like Ever Anderson); we see teen Widows who look very clearly younger than Nat did in the Ultron flashbacks, when she was getting her hysterectomy.

(Two things I should note here: I assume the red-haired girl with a gun in the BW credits is Nat, but we don't actually know that; for the sake of argument, it could just be a different Widow. And due to Wanda's magic, it's very possible that Scarlett-As-Nat is how Natasha remembers herself but she actually looks like Ever Anderson or the red-haired girl in the credits.)

From a different angle: Young Antonia was played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who was born in 2010, so when it filmed she was presumably about 9 or 10, so say Toni was that age. But then we'd need to math to get to adult Antonia, who is played by Olga Kurylenko, who was born in 1979, which means she would have been about 40 when it filmed, which is older than Scarlett when we know that Nat was much older than Antonia, so that helps us literally not at all. But for math purposes, it's important to note.

Also, I know nothing about costuming, but I didn't notice anything in the Budapest outfits that help us place it in a specific year.

We also know that the timeline is murky, because- again, if we accept all on-screen film canon as equally accurate canon- Nat says in Avengers she was making a name for herself as a mercenary before Clint was sent to kill her and saved her instead, but in Black Widow she says that killing Dreykov was her final act of separating from the Red Room. Nat's loyalty to SHIELD would be less suspicious the farther out she is from defecting, but we don't know if that's measured from when she first left the Red Room or when she tried to take out Dreykov.

(Full context here is also important because we know that after Nat's defection is when Dreykov started using Melina's techniques on the other Widows; I had been assuming that was right at Budapest, and Toni was the first attempt, but could it possibly have been earlier and Toni only got the implant after Dreykov decided her disfigured body was fundamentally broken? There's no good answer here but there are a LOT of intriguingly bad ones.)

So IF we accept all of those givens, which I am not fully ready to do but for the sake of argument will do anyway, I think Budapest had to happen sometime between 2002 and 2009, and I think I would place it around 2007, but I am not particularly confident in that assessment and am quite happy to be proven wrong.

[salty-ironstrange-shipper]

I think I mentioned a few months back a video I watched that ranked all the mcu iron man suits. Well, I was just irate. They put the IW armor way too low when it is by far one of the most fuckable.

So now, I’m making my own rating and ranking based on how sexy the Iron Man suits are. This will not take into account any “““practical concerns””” because that’s not how we fuck in this house. Not ranking on powers unless they make the suit sexier. Also won’t be counting most of the Iron Legion suits from IM3 because that’s too many and we don’t see all of their asses. Also won’t count War Machine or Rescue armors, or the second Hulkbuster since it was only used by Bruce.

Mark I from Iron Man- Not without a certain appeal I suppose, and it did save our boy, but I can’t help but feel the rust would be ... uncomfortable. Would I fuck: no

Mark II from Iron Man and Iron Man 2 - Too silver. Plain. For some reason, my eyes keep going to the feet, and I don’t like it. Would I fuck: no

Mark III from Iron Man - Now we’re cooking with fire. Marl III is where the suits started getting sexy, as you can obviously tell. The shoulders are a bit off-putting, but much less noticeable in action. Would I fuck: yes

Mark IV from Iron Man 2 - I’m not IN LOVE with this one. Aesthetically, I think it’s a step down from its predecessor III and I don’t love what’s happening with the stomach. Also the ... you know what, I won’t say it. Would I fuck: ... maybe

Mark V from Iron Man 2 - I normally don’t go for the predominantly-silver suits, I’m more of a gold gal (what can I say, I have expensive tastes). But the suit armor is hot as hell. I love the suit-up scenes, arguably one of Tony’s best, and the plating is really hot. Also, when he curls his fingers before looking up at Vanko, they kind of look like claws, and ... well, I’m weak. Would I fuck: yes

Mark VI from Iron Man 2 - An elaboration on Mark 4, this one switched to the triangle-shaped reactor, which I was not a fan of. Still not in love with the stomach plating, either. Would I fuck: maybe

Mark VII from The Avengers - Nothing particularly special about this one on its own that sets it apart from the others, but the way it forms around Tony as he’s free-falling through the sky? *chefs kiss* Nice. Would I fuck: yes

Mark XLII from Iron Man 3 - The next one that wasn’t an Iron Legion suit ... and it kind of disappoints. Too much gold, and I don’t like the whole ... ribbed stomach thing. You’re not an armadillo, Tony. Would I fuck: maybe, if I was REALLY feeling slutty

Mark XLIII from Avengers: Age of Ultron - Honestly? Kind of an underrated suit. Probably because of the shitty movie it’s in. It has the stomach thing, but in terms of color and smoothness, this is pretty nice. Would I fuck: yes

Mark XLIV from Avengers: Age of Ultron - aka the Hulkbuster. ... I know what you’re all thinking. I’d give it a go. Would I fuck: damn I’ll try

Mark XLV from Avengers: Age of Ultron - Another underrated gem from Age of Ultron! It’s very sleek, which I like, and nothing stands out to me that’s bad/odd in terms of design. Overall, pretty hot! Would I fuck: yes

Mark XLVI from Captain America: Civil War - This movie is painful, but I would happily be in plenty of pain after a round with this suit, glory hallelujah! The ony complaint is that it’s a bit bulkier than I like, and the color is kind of ... purplish? But it’s so smooth when it walks ... Would I fuck: yes

Mark XLVII from Homecoming - I don’t fuck with the silver, not gonna lie. If I’m gonna get fucked by an Iron Man suit, I want a proper red-gold-silver ratio, which is like 65% red 30% gold and maybe 5% silver. Ish. Would I fuck: maybe

Mark L from Infinity War - This is what prompted my original response. This was way too low on the video I watched. This armor isn’t just sexy, this armor fucks. The nanotech it’s made with means it maybe could fuck??? And honestly, let the Mark L fuck. Let the Mark L fuck me. Would I fuck: YES

Mark LXXXV from Avengers: Endgame - This is bulkier than the L, which I normally don’t go for, but I kind of like it here??? It looks all  ... muscley. Not quite as extravagant as the previous tho, which is still my fave, although I like the colors better here. Would I fuck: yes

And now, to rank them, less-great to wanna see how fast I can get my bra off:

15. & 14. Mark I and Mark II (tied)

13. Mark VI (IM2 & Avengers) 

12. Mark VI (IM2)

11. Mark XLVII (Homecoming)

10. Mark XLII (IM3)

9. Mark VII (Avengers)

8. Mark XLIV / the Hulkbuster (AoU)

7. Mark III (IM)

6. Mark XLIII (AoU)

5. Mark XLVI (CA:CW)

4. Mark V (IM2)

3. Mark XLV (AoU)

2. Mark LXXXV (Endgame)

1. Mark L (IW)

[irondadfics]

hiii do you perhaps remember a fic where tony is the biological father of peter and he takes him in when he's a toddler. then the story goes on through avengers and the other movies, so like when steve is all "you only care about yourself" tonys like bitch wrong peters my entire world lol. anyway the thing i loved most is that tony teached peter to recite together 'who loves you the most? dad, and how much he loves you? to the moon and back" or something like this. anyway it was super sweet and fluffy. please help me find it?🥺

We reached out to our followers about this story and it seems multiple people remember it, but unfortunately we haven’t been able to locate it. 

One of our followers provided this additional information about the story, in case it helps you in your search:

“I’m pretty sure it’s a bio kid fic, spanning across the arc of MCU. Starting from when peter is still a baby/toddler to at least the Avengers. Because the part where Steve says “I bet there isn’t anyone else you would put before yourself” and Tony went and showed some photos of Peter and going “lol you know nothing about me because here is my first priority” (and I remember Bruce, Natasha and Nick Fury were chuckling too because they already met Peter), it took place in Avengers. I remember “who loves you the most?” “Dad” first appeared in the chapter set in IM2 where Fury talks to Tony about joining the Avengers initiative in the diner. I THINK Tony made a joke/comment about his eye patch and covered Peter’s ears when Fury said something inappropriate. I believe Steve and Tony developed a friendship/relationship after the Avengers scene as well. The story followed canon to a certain extent (Steve gets a motorcycle and travels across the US) but he talks to Tony a lot and finds a lot of excuses of asking questions about the 21st century just to talk to Tony.”

EDIT: the fic has been identified as “My Son, My Sun” by wordsplat, which has been deleted by the author. However if you search the notes of this post, there is an archived link to the story

[themculibrary]

Any recs of very long FrostIron fics? Like at least 100.000+ words

Anthony of Asgard (ao3) - RenneMichaels

Summary: After several years of being housed in Stark Tower as a state prisoner of Asgard, Loki is recalled to Realm Eternal. Devastated Tony is now minus a lab partner, wingman and a snark buddy for movie night. Pepper has moved to the west coast and married, SHIELD is doing some crazy shit and with the exception of occasionally seeing Bruce, Tony doesn’t have much interaction with his former team mates. He wonders how it is possible to feel so lonely in a city so full of people. However he's and engineer and a genius... he can fix this. All he has to do is convince Queen Frigga and Odin All Father to go along with his plan.

Avengers: A Deal with the Devil (ao3) - IBegToDreamAndDiffer

Summary: ... or with the Norse God of Mischief and Lies. Tony has a proposition for Loki. Loki would be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued.

Cold Hearted (ao3) - Xythia

Summary: Sometimes the best defense is indeed a good offense. Which means, if you ask Tony Stark, that you should give the most Machiavellian, twisted and ruthless bastard you've ever met every reason to act in humanity's best interest.

The Underwater Basket-Weaving Society of America (ao3) - thisiswhatthewatergaveme

Summary: Loki's crash landed, which is great. Only what do you do with a powerless, power-hungry ex-god looking for retaliation?

To Burn The Horizon (ao3) - CourtJester01

Summary: Starting at the end of "Iron Man 2" and running slightly AU-ish from there: a (long) look at how things might have been different for Tony if he'd let Pepper walk away at the end of IM2, how the world just seems to hate Tony sometimes, and how Loki figures into the whole picture.

(Or: On beginnings and endings, broken things, missing pieces, and how sometimes it's impossible to patch your life back together in the same shape it was before you started falling apart. On how it's not only what we choose, but also what we don't choose that defines who we are.)

Winterheart (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: For his crimes, Loki’s punishment began in a lonely and endless winter. For Tony’s sacrifice, his imprisonment began with a rescue.

A story of ugliness and beauty, inside and out, and learning what the word ‘monster’ really means.

- Tori