#there’s this panel in coates’ black panther that i need to make a whole post about sometime but

[voltrons]

you definitely already knew how the pre-crisis todd’s were going to end up but trina accidentally discovering bruce is batman being the thing to really seal her fate is sending me into a spiral. later on bruce asks dick if she can be trusted and it further drives a wedge between the two of them.

dick is routinely optimistic about others and bruce is the unconscious executioner over and over and over. each time he tries to push back against someone- he’s uncovered against his will, he benches an ally to force, he deliberately leaves someone in the dark- they pay the price in the name of seeing his grief and furthering of his cause onscreen. auGH

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #246: GATHERINGS

August, 1984

Family feud! Guest-starring SERSI of the Eternals!

She comes!

A portent of times to come! I hear a faint rumbling of leather jackets from distant years...

Also, hey! She-Hulk! I missed you!

The Avengers have been through the Secret Wars and participated in the Wraith War! What’s next for our band of heroes?

Maybe parties? The cover makes it look like a party is going on before some Kirby-looking guys crashed.

But also? Vision’s vague scheming to raise the Avengers’ profile continues as he and Scarlet Witch take a trip to visit President Reagan and First Lady Reagan at the White House.

Weird thing is that we don’t get an unobscructed view of Reagan’s face. He’s either back to the ‘camera’ or cropped on the panel border. Weird, since this wasn’t a problem last time he appeared in this book. Y’know, the time some plant people tried to hold him for ransom? That time?

President Didn’t-Pay-for-the-Likeness-Rights thanks Vision for taking time to personally brief him on all the biz the Avengers have been up to.

President Reagan: “I wish we could talk like this more often! The National Security Council keeps me posted on your missions, but there’s nothing like getting the news firsthand.”

Vision: “I quite agree, Mr. President. In fact, I have a few suggestions for making the lines of communication between Avengers Mansion and the White House more... shall we say... direct?”

He suggests they speak in private which Reagan gladly agrees to, shooing Scarlet Witch and Mrs. Reagan out. To Scarlet Witch’s surprise because he sprang the trip on Washington on her and now he’s sprung this on her.

Also, every time Vision meets someone in private and the conversation takes place off-panel, they suddenly come around to his point of view so.... uh...

Well, I’m sure it’s fine.

Meanwhile, we get back to Captain Monica Marvel Rambeau’s subplot. Remember how she worried after getting back from Secret Wars that she had no explanation to give her family for being missing for several days? And was thinking of telling them about her secret superhero thing?

Well, she calls home to New Orleans and her presumably firefighter dad answers. I presume he’s a firefighter because there’s a firefighter hat and coat hanging up prominently in the background. We call that environmental storytelling.

Monica’s mom isn’t home so Monica asks for her parents to call her back when they’re both available.

Monica: “In a way, I’m glad momma wasn’t home. That gives me more time to figure out how I’m going to tell them that their ‘little girl’ is leading a double life... as an Avenger called Captain Marvel!”

... Geez, her costume looks so weird when there’s nobody in it.

Monica ponders just bringing it up casually by RECAPPING HER ENTIRE BACKSTORY! Which, in fairness, would be an appropriate way to handle it. But she decides that just going ‘yeah I was helping old family friend Professor LeClare investigate a secret lab on an oil platform, punched a machine, got powers, and then joined the Avengers’ would sound crazy and that there must be a better way to tell them.

I say, take it slow and ramp up. Start from ‘I have superpowers’, do a little pew pew flashlight beam and let their questions guide your explanation.

Meanwhile again but elsewhere, Wasp van Dyne is just chilling at Avengers Mansion, bumming herself out rereading the World According to Garp, and receiving a phone call from West Avengers Chairman Hawkeye.

He tells her that he found a great HQ for the new West Coast Avengers, some old silent film star’s home, and he’s overseeing renovations now.

This ongoing Hawkeye real estate subplot is to get you excited for the upcoming West Coast Avengers series. Are you?

I dread it.

Anyway, Starfox comes in after the phone call and recognizes that Janet is in a Mood. A very bored mood. A post-chairperson funk.

Wasp: “It’s just that Wanda and the Vision are in Washington... Hawkeye and his new wife are setting up a new team in California... Cap and Thor are away on missions of their own... Everybody’s doing something! Everybody but me! It’s funny, after all we’ve been through lately, especially with that horrible Magneto, you’d think I’d appreciate a little leisure time. But instead, I’m bored out of my mind!”

Magneto kissing her really teed her off if that’s what she’s focusing on from the whole Secret Wars thing and not having died.

Starfox has just the answer for Wasp’s post-Magneto-kissing blues though.

PARTY.

He was on his way to a great party and Wasp can be his plus one!

Meanwhile, on the Washington to New York plane, Vision and Scarlet Witch.

She’s confused why they didn’t just take the Quinjets that they have instead of flying on a commercial airline but Vision says that getting out among the people is just good public relations.

I mean, he’s not wrong. But also flying in public, in your costumes, seems like it runs the risk of aggroing a supervillain attack.

It doesn’t happen but I wouldn’t have been surprised if it did.

The flight attendant asks Vision if he drinks before course correcting into asking him if he wants a drink.

I don’t know what’s more amazing here. Wanda going ‘he never has coffee at home’ like that coffee ad that Airplane spoofed.

Or Vision patting himself on the back for connecting to the common man with his drink order.

Simply superb.

Back at the casa Rambeau, Maria Rambeau returns and then returns Monica’s call. Monica says she’s going to come over for dinner and then a panel later, she’s knocking on the door.

Her parents are confused because it’s a twenty-minute drive between Monica’s house and theirs but that’s just part of what Monica wants to explain to them.

I see Monica decided to just jump into her explanation.

Back in New York, Janet frets over whether she’s dressed right for the party but Starfox just dismisses that as one of Earth’s weird mores. Why, he only wears the one outfit and that’s just gonna have to be good enough.

They arrive at the party and it seems to be a hobnobbin’ sort of event, with people discussing court settlements and acting. Also, She-Hulk is there. Hi, She-Hulk!

Glad Stern found another excuse to include you after Byrne stole you away to the land of the Fantastic.

She-Hulk says she met the host at an exotic bakery shop just last week and that’s how she scored the invite.

I wonder what made these baked goods so exotic. And I’m wondering if it wasn’t actually erotic. Do I think that She-Hulk would purchase a butt cake? Yes, yes I do.

She asks Starfox how he knows the host and, well, he doesn’t. He heard about the party and decided to invite himself (and Wasp) along. I.e. crash.

But the host...

ITS SHE!

SERSI!

SHE COMES!

But the host, Sylvia Sersi, isn’t too bothered by the pair of party-crashing Avengers and has She-Hulk introduce them.

Starfox is enchanted to meet Sersi and she likewise but they’d best not be too enchanted to meet each other because I’m pretty sure they’re not too distant relations.

Mentor founded the Titan colony of the Eternals and the Eternals have all been around a while so there’s not that many branches between Starfox and Sersi, I don’t think.

Anyyyyyway.

A drunk man pauses before a mirror to tidy up his tie and gets a startle when a Watcher-looking guy that isn’t the Watcher because he has hair appears in the mirror instead of his own face.

When Sersi comes over to investigate she tells him he must have imagined it and sends the guy away for some air but then interrogates the mirror face man and calls him Domo.

Domo, in the mirror: “We need you here in Olympia! Everyone is needed for the final decision!”

Sersi: “I told you before, I don’t care! Go ahead and make your big decision! It won’t affect me, because I intend to go right on doing as I please!”

Then she turns the mirror into a picture of penguins??

Her powers are great indeed.

Although her investment in the community is less so.

Whatever this mysterious decision everyone is voting on, it is clearly less important than this rockin’ party. This party has a She-Hulk!

Back over at the Rambeaus, Monica decides to just rip off the band-aid and tell her parents that she’s Captain Marvel. They find it hard to believe so she just pulls out her costume and lightspeeds into it.

Harder to hold doubts when your daughter glows with an awesome power.

Frank Rambeau: “It’s true... my little girl’s an Avenger. Hey, that means... you’ve met Captain America!”

Frank jumping right to the important points.

Thankfully, Monica’s parents are very supportive. And actually like the Avengers. You have cool parents, Monica.

Frank Rambeau: “Monica, I don’t know what to say! The Avengers are heroes... like Cap and the Black Panther and Thor... They’re like a legend! To think that you’re one of them -- !”

Maria Rambeau: “We’re very, very proud of you, dear... Prouder than we ever thought possible!”

Very cool parents.

Meanwhile, back at the party, mirror spooked guy (apparently Harry) goes out for air like Sersi suggested and then sees something else which spooks him even harder!

He runs from the party babbling about seeing things or not seeing things and not sticking around to sort out which.

Then a bunch of goons crash the party by flying through the terrace doors.

Look at these total goons.

Starfox steps forward and tries to defuse the situation both by words

Starfox: “Easy, my friends! I’m sure you don’t want to hurt anyone!”

And by shooting pleasure beams from his mind.

Predictably, his pleasure beam, besides being creepy, can’t be allowed to be too effective.

If it actually worked we wouldn’t have conflict and plot.

So like the Hulk in Incredible Hulk #300, these dudes called Delphans just slap Starfox out of the way.

Then superhero number two steps up.

One of the Delphans say that they need to get “that witch” before she can cause them any grief and She-Hulk was in proximity and assumes they meant her and takes exception to that.

She-Hulk: “‘Witch’, huh? You wouldn’t mean me, would you? That’s a bad choice of words, but you’re right about one thing... I can give plenty of grief!”

The Delphan just immediately hits her with an energy pole which just pisses off She-Hulk and ruins her party dress. Thankfully she had the unstable molecules FF costume on underneath.

She dresses in layers.

Delphan: “You’re still standing? But that photon-burst would have stunned the mighty Karkas!”

She-Hulk: “You stupid jerk! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find nice things in my size?!”

She-Hulk and Starfox start beating on the Delphans but its Sersi’s party and she can shoot eye beams if she wants to, eye beams if she wants to.

Sersi: “I should have known Domo would send you Delphans after me! Well, it won’t work! You’re not taking me away without a fight!”

Not just eyebeams but apparently a piggifying beam!

A singing piggifying beam!

Oh, sure, the Delphan says that its a transmutive ability but I know whats what.

Her name is Sersi, which is like Cerci, and she can shoot pig beams at people, especially Greek soldiers.

Unfortunately, like other witches before her, she needs some wrist range of movement to do her business and grabbing her by the arms will just nullify her.

Sigh.

If only he didn’t have armored outpanties, she could kick him in the business.

But fortunately, Wasp “can blow up a small house” van Dyne won’t be stopped by armored outerwear and shoots the Delphan grabbing Sersi right in the butt.

That is, Wasp shoots him in the butt, not that he’s grabbing Sersi in the butt.

Meanwhile, over in the Vision and Scarlet Witch subplot, their plane lands at LaGuardia and they’re instantly accosted by journalists who wants Vision’s take on rumors that the president is going to make chairmanship of the Avengers a cabinet-level post.

Vision coyly tells them that he and the president discussed many things but he’s not at liberty to confirm anything.

Hmm.

Then Vision excuses himself, saying that he and Wanda have to get back to Avengers Mansion.

Scarlet Witch: “We certainly do!” And when we get there, we are going to have a little talk!

Seems Wanda is annoyed at all this being left out of the loop.

Back at the A-plot, where A stands for Avengers go to a party and then get into a fight, Sersi gets fed up with these shenanigans and threatens to turn the Delphans into worms but she gets grabbed by the wrists again, this time by power-dampening chonky handcuffs, and dragged away by the Delphans to their spaceship that was hovering right outside the party.

Starfox and Wasp fly out in pursuit, with non-flying She-Hulk complaining about being left behind.

Wasp: “After them, Starfox! We mustn’t let them get away!”

Starfox: “I quite agree! Hostesses such as Ms. Sersi are all too rare!”

Wasp: “No kidding! Once we rescue her, I want to find out how she does that trick with her eyes!”

... Really.

The eyes specifically? Not the singing pig beam?

Huh. To each their own.

The ship takes off shortly after Wasp and Starfox stow aboard and the two heroes resume beating Delphan ass to try to save Sersi.

Lead Delphan: “We have the advantage in number, but they’re still making us look like idiots! We can’t let them beat us now! Have to initiate transport... while there’s still a chance!”

The ship then disappears with a FWOF!

And reappears above the mountains of Northern Greece.

Apparently, Eternal transportation is like the kind in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy because Starfox and Wasp are discombobulated and nauseated by the transport.

The Lead Delphan seizes the opportunity while the bull is hot and pulls the lever to make the ship just completely disassemble.

The Delphans take advantage of the heroes startlement to beat the shit out of Starfox in midair.

Clever. But rude.

Sometime later, Starfox comes to in Olympia to discover that he and Wasp are completely surrounded and in the shit.

Domo: “Citizens of Olympia!! At last, we all stand together... reunited with our Polar and Pacific cousins! Our destiny beckons! But before the ritual may begin, we must first deal with these two... who have intruded into the affairs of the Eternals!”

Hey, dick! They don’t come to a party you’re crashing and slap the host!

But I guess we’re going to meet all the Eternals next time.

What a fun coincidence that I’m hitting this point of the story when the Eternals movie is just a few months away.

Follow @essential-avengers​ because one day I’ll read comics about Sersi wearing a leather jacket. Like and reblog for the same reason or for different reasons.

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of Marvel: Week of March 25th, 2020

Best of this Week: Black Panther #22 (Legacy #194) - Ta-Nehisi Coates, Daniel Acuna, Ryan Bodenheim, Chris O’Halloran and Joe Sabino

Can T’Challa ever be redeemed?

Most people might not know, but I have something of a distaste for the King of Wakanda for various reasons over his long, illustrious, heroic career and, over time, it has all spun into a neverending flood of anti-T’Challa bias as time has gone on. From his time as part of the Illuminati to his failed relationship with Storm, I have hated this character and the fact that his misdeeds have gone mostly unpunished...until now.

The Black Panther has never been an apologetic hero and he shouldn’t have to be because he is a king and needs to be strong for his people. Though with his nation on Earth and in Outer Space under siege by the resurrected Erik Killmonger with a symbiote of the former Emperor N’Jadaka, T’Challa has trials to face before he’s able to command his people and see his defeat. His biggest question is, what is his name and will he be able to overcome his own transgressions and become the leader his people truly need?

The main theme of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther story is redemption. This issue begins with Zenzi, one of the first new villains introduced by Coates in his initial Black Panther series back in 2016, and gives us a little bit of her backstory with some history involving the original Killmonger. Through Ryan Bodenheim’s pencils, we see the simmering anger and power that she’s been capable of since her introduction and why she’s so eager to see the end of men like T’Challa who use their people and then discard them like Killmonger did for her, giving her superpowers and then trying to have her executed.

Bodenheim and Chris O’Halloran on colors gives this scene and her subsequent conversation with Bast in the body of a child a sense of weight as we now are able to understand why she’s on a mission to rid Wakanda of false rulers, Gods and Kings as Killmonger killed her entire village for his own ends and she likely feared T’Challa was doing the same to Wakanda. O’Halloran uses soft and hazy colors for the flashback, employing slight green and purple hues and switches it up to vibrant greens for Bast’s astral projection and Zenzi’s clothes as the Goddess convinces her to support Wakanda against Emperor N’Jadaka.

At the same time, T’Challa finds himself within the Djalia, the Plane of Wakandan Memory, facing off against his many ancestors to gain their help and fealty so that he may finally put this battle to rest. The main problem he faces, however, are both their numbers himself as a King. Daniel Acuna takes over the art for this portion of the issue and absolutely stuns throughout with impressively smooth linework and coloring which gives distinct borders to characters and their clothing and backgrounds while being absolutely beautiful at the same time. 

Joe Sabino’s lettering also shines here as he makes the distinction between T’Challa and the many other Black Panthers by giving him black letters and word bubbles while the rest have purple letters because of their nature as ethereal beings. Not only that, but his sound effects accentuate the panels perfectly as the “TWOK” from a headbutt is given a yellow hue while being transparent to show impact and a “THUD” from  T’Challa being swept at the feet is colored in a bright blue that accentuates the yellow background.

One of his female ancestors mocks his so-called “preparation” as he summons a white, luminescent spear to fight them all before she summons the Ebony Blade of the Black Knight (see Black Panther 22 - 23, 2005) and slashes him across the back, revealing his own recent past to him. This is meant to serve as a way to show how T’Challa is not as infallible as he makes himself out to be, considering how many times he’s been on the wrong side of history in regards to the world, his people, his lovers and his friends.

Coates has obviously done his research into Black Panther’s best and worst moments as the first flashback we get is from Jonathan Hickman's New Avengers (#21, 2013) after the Illuminati defeated the heroes of another Earth to save their own, the caveat being that they would have to destroy the other Earth. This was one of the lowest moments for the hero as he couldn’t do what needed to be done and King Namor had to, knowing that sacrifices had to be made in order to save the Earth. He shrank away from his duties of protecting the Earth - of protecting Wakanda after The Black Order had attacked it merely ten issues prior.

Daniel Acuna portrays T’Challas fear and reticence to commit such an atrocious act by having his face mostly shadowed and showing him cry as King T’Chaka lambasts him from the spirit world for his cowardice. Coates and Acuna then cut back to the hooded Panther and she asks what his ancestors should call the boy who scorned his legacy and T’Challa, still reeling from pain, says his own name before being slashed again.

Acuna begins the next flashback with a beautiful wide show of T’Challa looking upon a vibrant purple and almost 3D looking silhouette of the secret meeting location of the Illuminati before they wiped the memory of Steve Rogers. This was because they decided to destroy planets when the honorable soldier would not and T’Challa is framed in the background of these shots, just watching it happen. Coates makes it a point to stress that “No friendship [was] too precious to be spurned.” Then he is attacked by the Spirit of his grandfather, Azzuri.

Thematically, this makes sense as Azzuri and Steve Rogers first met when the Red Skull and Hydra Nazis tried to invade Wakanda for Vibranium and the two heroes had to fight them off, becoming friends and allies over the course of their battles together (see Marvel Knights’ Flag of our Fathers, 2010). Acuna gives the T’Challa/Azzuri fight a sense of speed by using a lot of blur lines as well as struggle squiggles as T’Challa is placed in a chokehold. As he breaks free, Azzuri disappears into a cloud of hazy, purple smoke.

We are then given a flashback of what I consider to be his greatest failure, his broken vow and fight against Storm during the events of Avengers vs. X-Men where he stood against Mutantkind after the first mutant child was born post Scarlet Witch’s Decimation of them. The child, Hope Summers, was prophesied to be either the savior of mutants or the destroyer of everything and Black Panther cast his marriage aside during the conflict (AvX #5, 2012), though it was continued in Coates' series years later.

Of course, while ancestors are supposed to tear you down, it was his mother that proceeded to build him back up. The final flashback given is T’Challa’s birth mother, Nyami, showing T’Challa how King T’Chaka also grieved after his wife's death, but because he was not just one man, but a nation, he had to move past it and that’s what this whole story has been about. T’Challa’s actions have all been about him and his decisions and not about Wakanda as a whole. He forgets that he is the crown and therefore the Nation itself.

Coates has become a master of longform storytelling as he’s managed to craft a saga of almost fifty issues of T’Challa taking responsibility for his crown and Coates has framed that excellently by the name he keeps giving when his ancestors ask him who he is: T’Challa. The wrong answer. Acuna show’s the various ancestors surrounding the man, waiting for him to give the correct answer as his mother encourages him and he stands for a moment before speaking. What should he be called?

King. King of Wakanda.

In that very instant, Acuna draws all of the ancestors giving King T’Challa the, now iconic, Wakanda salute as he demands their allegiance. He feels so strong, so complete as a character now that he accepts and acknowledges his many faults as part of who he is. He doesn’t need to apologize for them because they are a part of who he is as a man, but when he is a King, he must be better. He must protect his people and that is why he will be able to stop N’Jadaka in the coming battle, just like he stopped Killmonger all those years ago as well.

This issue of Black Panther was phenomenal and really shows how much Ta-Nehisi Coates has grown from his initial few books which were mostly full of world building. He’s shown that he can create an amazing and expansive story that utilizes not only T’Challa’s extensive history, but also that of the Marvel Universe at large to make this story seem grand and far reaching as something on this scale should. 

Ryan Bodenheim does have amazing skills as a penciller, but I found myself far more engaged with Daniel Acuna’s style throughout this issue as he manages to make the fight seem so ethereal while also focusing on some of my favorite moments of Marvel History - not to mention his colors are always so vibrant and loud, popping off the pages with the intensity that readers have come to expect from him.

I hope that the rest of this series continues this upward slope because this was fantastic and it gets a high recommend from me!

Also, support me on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/join/TyTalksComics

[theflasshh]

Talented (Tony x Reader) Part 5

I REALLY REALLY REALLY LIKE HOW THIS CHAPTER CAME OUT.

Warnings: CIVIL WAR SPOILERS, Slight Cursing, Flirting, ANGST ALL OOVER THE PLACE, SLOW BURN

Description: Tony Stark recognizes your talent, but that’s not all he recognizes. Set in post Civil War. Tony Stark x Reader.

(Y/L/N) = Your Last Name

(Y/N) = Your (First) Name

______________________________________________________________________

Waking up in the morning, you reached over to grab your phone and look to see what time it was.

12:30 PM

“Oh shit!” You quickly threw on a skirt and button up, trying to remain professional though you were over two hours late from when you told Tony you would begin working in the lab. Running down the hall, you passed by a very calm Vision, who was reading another cooking book.

“Good morning, Ms. (Y/L/N)” he smiled at you while continuing down the hallway.

“Morning Vis!” You sprinted down the hall, not even making eye contact Vision because you were not only late, but also semi-embarrassed that he had seen you in your bra last night.

You stumbled into the kitchen, where King T’Challa and Tony were having a conversation. You had never met the Black Panther, but were watching news coverage of the Sokovia Accords when the explosion had killed his father. You had previously met King T’Chaka while studying abroad in Wakanda on a six week field studies trip in the jungles. They both stopped their conversation and looked over to you with confused looks on their face.

“I’m so sorry for interrupting; I was just…I’m just going to go to the lab Tony.” You turned to leave the kitchen.

“(Y/N)! Come come, meet King T’Challa.” Tony motioned his hand over to the stunning man sitting besides him. Damn, is it just a requirement to be insanely attractive to be an Avenger?

“(Y/N) is working with me on nanotechnology that not only can be used for prevention and infiltration, but also as a first response for any medical emergency.” You approach T’Challa as he extends his hand. He then grabs it and raises it, kissing the back side of your hand.

“You never told me how beautiful she was, Mr. Stark.”

You glanced over at Tony to see his eyes glaring at your hand as it dropped from T’Challa’s grasp. You could feel a pang of jealousy coming from Tony, but you were smart and didn’t think too much of it.

“Nice to meet you, your highness. I had the pleasure of meeting your father in a local village during my studies in Wakanda. I am so sorry for your loss; he was a great man and will be remembered for centuries to come.” You bowed your head respectfully and looked up at Tony.

“I was actually going to apologize for being so late; do you need me to do anything specific before we begin working or do you want me to just continue what I was doing yesterday?” When you locked eyes with Tony you felt a flood of emotion; both uncertainty and excitement. His eyes looked dark, but not the same as when they were dark with lust. He hitched his breath before breaking contact with you and his gaze turned towards the counter.

“What you were working on yesterday was just fine. I’ll be down in the lab soon, okay?” Tony smiled at you and winked, making your stress level decrease. You exhaled and nodded, excusing yourself from the room and telling T’Challa it was nice to meet him. You worked your way downstairs with a sigh of relief, knowing thing couldn’t be as bad as you had imagined with how Tony’s attitude was this morning.

Tony watched as you left the kitchen; every step you took hurt a little bit more, as he only wished to pull you close and kiss you a million times.

“So, Mr. Stark; when were you going to tell me that you were off the market?” T’Challa smirked as Tony eyes shot from your ass to the King.

“(Y/N)? No…she’s…she’s just my partner.”

“Well we all know that isn’t true.” Rhoedy came out from behind one of the walls and joined the two men on the kitchen island.

“Mr. Stark, I have seen many things in my days. The look in your eyes when she came into the room; that was not lust. Whether you deny it or not, you seem to care for her.” T’Challa sipped his water while gazing out the window overlooking the city.

“Aaannnd Vision has a nasty habit of not keeping his mouth shut, so we all know you two had a steamy rendezvous in the elevator last night.” Rhodey chuckled as he turned to grab some coffee.

“Okay enough you two. Yes, I do think she is smart and beautiful. I don’t want to hurt her, though. I don’t know; after Pepper I’ve been so afraid to commit to someone. It’s hard being with someone who is always gone to go protect the Earth, much alone hard to be with someone like me in general.”

“At least he finally admits his faults.” T’Challa nudges Rhodey; both laugh at the comments just made.

“Tony, it’s simple. If you want to be with her, be with her. We’re not invincible. Especially with what we do, one day we might not come home from a mission. But would you rather live in fear and not be with someone who is worth everything and more? Don’t pass her up, Tony.” Rhodey got up from his stool and walked into another room.

Tony stood with his hands extended on the counter and head hanging low.

“He’s right, you know.” T’Challa stood up and exited the room, leaving Tony alone in the kitchen. He sighed and grabbed a cup of coffee for himself, slowly making his way back into the lab, and trying to prepare what he was going to say to you.

You could hear Tony come down the winding steps while you continued to work, pretending not to notice. Tony came close behind you, putting his coffee down and hovering your backside. He reached out his hands to grab your waist, but before he did, he stopped himself. Don’t pass her up, Tony. That rang in his head, constantly. Shaking his head, he returned to his station and began to prep for the day ahead.

“Anything new?” Those were the first words Tony spoke to you after what seemed like an eternity of silence. You didn’t bother looking up at him, since you were slightly annoyed at how he has been acting since he entered the lab. You knew that you should not expect much, but a part deep inside of you actually though that Tony Stark meant everything he said the night before.

“No, not really. I’ve just been messing with the data functions to see if i can improve the movement of the bots so they’re a bit more silent. It’s hard because of their size to really make any significant improvements without creating a whole new bot.”

Tony watched you as you spoke to him; but he wasn’t listening to your words. He was watching your face, and he saw sadness on it. He wanted to run over and hold you in his arms and tell you every single emotion that he felt, but he also didn’t exactly know everything you were feeling. What if she is regretting last night? What if she feels uncomfortable around me now? He was too afraid to ask you for answers. Still watching you, he placed his tablet on the table in front of him and walked over to where he was on the opposite side of your desk. You looked up into his eyes, feeling you heart begin to beat at one thousand beats per minute.

“Have you ever been to the top of the Statue of Liberty?”

You looked at Tony confused; of course you hadn’t. You doubt many people have. You didn’t know what kind of question Tony was asking; if it was a test to see how adventurous you were or if he was just trying to make conversation.

“No, I have not. Have you?” You returned to your work while he still leaned above you.

“Nope, but always wanted to. Want to take a break?”

You looked up at Tony confused. ‘Tony we’ve only been working for an hour?”

“I know; sounds like a perfect time for a break. Go get your coat and meet me back here.”

You were questionable about what was going to happen, but you went along with it anyways; I mean, it’s more time to spend with Tony. You can’t really complain. Shutting off your computer, you ran up the stairs and to your room, where you quickly grabbed a long, heavy coat and sprinted back to the lab. When you got there, you couldn’t see Tony anywhere in the lab. You thought he might have gone to get something.

“Ready?”

You hear metal clink on the ground. Turning around, you saw Tony in front of you, fully suited up in one of his many Iron Man suits. Your mouth went agape as excitement and concern washed across your face. You had never seen any of the suits up close, and damn, did Tony look good in them.

“Are you serious? Are you trying to kill me?” You raised an eyebrow and commented sarcastically, waiting for his snarky response.

“Nah, I’ve done this a million times.”

“Oh thanks Tony; way to make me feel like I’m special.” You rolled your eyes and turned away from the man in the suit. Tony took a few steps toward you before stopping a finger’s length away. He leaned into you, close enough where you could smell his cologne as it consumed your senses.

“What makes you think you’re not special?” He tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow with the same devilish smirk that you’ve seen a million times. Before you could answer, he wrapped his arms around you and blasted off through a open panel in the ceiling. You gripped the suit with all the force you could while you looked down at the cars that looked like ants. You weren’t afraid of heights by any means, but this was truly terrifying and at the same time, also enthralling. You laughed as Tony whisked you through the air across New York. You looked up at the man in the suit; the person you used to dream about hopefully meeting one day; the man you’ve looked up to since you were a little girl; the man who was now holding you; the man who you felt yourself beginning to fall for. His eyes gleamed in the sun, and you couldn’t help but smile. The situation you were in was truly incredible, and at that moment, you knew you trusted Tony.

Your “flight” was short; and before you knew it, you and Tony were both on top of the Statue of Liberty, standing in the crevice of the torch.

“Oh my god Tony; this is incredible!” You stared down at everything in front of you, seeing the people on the ground and the city in front of you in all its glory. You’ve never seen New York from this angle, and it was quite a sight. You turned to look at Tony, wanting to thank him for this wonderful experience, but when you looked over to him, you remembered not to be too excited about what happened last night. You don’t know how many girls he’s done that too, so you had no right to think you were special. You stared at Tony a bit longer, watching him look out at the city. Calming down, you turned your head back to the spectacular view of the city.

Tony turned to you this time, and he looked as he was going to say something but couldn’t spit it out. You didn’t want to make him uncomfortable and ask him if anything was wrong, so you just continued to stare out ahead of you. After a while of uncomfortable silence, he finally said something.

“Okay what is it? Can you read my mind? Do you have superpowers? Did you put a spell on me or something?”

You stared at Tony with extreme confusion, not having even the slightest idea what he was talking about. Tony sighed and rolled his eyes at you, which you responded to by furrowing your eyebrows, still clueless to what he was referring to.

“Ever since you came….” he trailed off while looking at the ground. “Ever since you came I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. And it’s not just sexual; I think about your feelings. I think about you before I go to bed at night. I think about you when I’m working and it’s distracting….” Tony walked off in the opposite direction from you, quickly turning around and continuing to express himself. Your eyebrows scrunched and you rolled your eyes at the “distracting” comment. You didn’t think you were such a “hinderance” to Tony Stark. Tony looked at you and recognized the annoyance written across your face.

“(Y/N) I didn’t mean it like that…” He walked over and stopped inches away from you. Your gaze out to the city never faulted; tears filling your eyes.

“Really, Tony? Then how did you mean it?” He froze and his mouth opened with no words coming out.

“I’m sorry I’m a ‘distraction’. I’m sorry I ever said yes to working with you; sorry I’m killing your ‘playboy’ vibe, Tony!” you sneered at him, a tear falling down your cheek.

“(Y/N) I’m scared, okay? I’m scared of falling for you. I wasn’t the best boyfriend before and do you know how much that haunts me? How when I was with Pepper….” he trailed off and looked down at the floor before collecting himself and looking back up at you.

“When I was with Pepper, I couldn’t put her before my work. No matter how much I wanted to, I just couldn’t do it. But with you, it’s different. I sit there in the lab for hours and can’t think about anything else but you. Every nerve in my body is telling me to put down what I’m working on and run to you and tell you how wonderful you are. And your eyes…don’t even get me started on your eyes. Every time you look at me, I feel safe. I hate looking at you because every time I do I see everything I want in a person.”

You were the one frozen now. You stared up at Tony with a blank face, still trying to comprehend everything that he just said.

“Say something, (Y/N).” Tony tilted his head waiting for a reaction from you.

You had your heart guarded. You’ve had your heart broken many times before, and you’ve learned to not trust guys just because they said stuff like that.

“I don’t want to be just another one of your girls, Tony.” Your returned your gaze to the city in front of you.

“Then let me prove it to you; let me prove my feelings for you. Be my date to Rhodey’s birthday party tomorrow.”

You were hesitant. Tony has gone to hundreds of parties with “dates” that were no more than girls he met the night before in the clubs and just wanted to use as arm candy. You also thought, though, what right do you have not to give him a chance?

“Fine, Tony. One condition, though.” You smirked, looking at him from the side. He raised his eyebrow in curiosity.

“I want your watch.”

Tony tilted his head in confusion, reminding you of what a puppy would do.

“Which one? I have like, one hundred.” He laughed, still confused at the request.

“Yeah, I know. But I want the one you wear everyday. The silver one with the titanium trim. You have a million watches but you wear that one almost every day, regardless of if it matches with what you’re wearing. People know thats your favorite watch, and I want to wear it.”

He was hesitant; that was his favorite accessory. “But, why?”

“Because it shows that you’re able to give up something that important to you for something else thats more important. I promise Tony, I won’t lose it.”

He looked at you for while before saying anything. “If you lose it, I swear I’m kicking you out of the Avenger’s tower.” he laughed, putting his hands around your waist. The suit wasn’t super bulky, so it wasn’t super awkward for him to hold you. You looked up into his eyes and smiled. You were happy that he was able to give you something important to him, and it also showed people that saw you wearing it that he was yours.

“Hold on, cutie.” He smirked as you both shot up into the air, flying back to the Avengers tower.

Hope you guys liked it! Smut will be coming soon, i promise x)