Apartment Above Stark Industries, Friday Afternoon

[imafuturist]

Tony shot up, one hand immediately going to his now perfectly normal chest before registering where he was.

"Time'z'it?" he mumbled, pressing the heel of his hand against the bridge of his nose stabilize the pounding in his head as he quickly silenced all the data feeds surging in at once. Again, no clue how natural telepaths lived like this all the time.

"It is currently 1:26 P.M. Eastern standard time," JARVIS supplied helpfully.

He untangled himself from the throw blanket and sat up on the couch to glare at where Fox News was still quietly playing on the TV. Because Tony was a masochist.

Ugh, naps were simultaneously the best and worst things in the world.

[for the housemate!]

Comments

[heroic_jawline]

With a randomly appearing family of very short agents!

"I'll ask when he gets back from his honeymoon," Steve said.

[imafuturist]

Tony groaned and flopped back against the couch. "That's tomorrow. I knew I forgot something."

It was just too weird that any version of Clint was getting married.

[heroic_jawline]

"Yep," Steve said. "I have absolutely no idea about presents or anything."

[imafuturist]

"A toaster,"Tony suggested. "Or whatever is the most expensive thing on the registry is. That's what I tell JARVIS to order when I get invited to these things."

He liked to think it made up for him rarely having time to attend any of them.

[heroic_jawline]

"I've never once bought the most expensive thing," Steve mused. "Could be fun."

He paused. "If Clint's really from the circus, it could be a trapeze set."

[imafuturist]

Which made Tony really concerned that Steve would accidentally end up buying a sex swing. He was going to have to have JARVIS weed out search options to be safe.

"Whoa, big spender."

[heroic_jawline]

Steve blushed. "Well, I'm still getting used to how much everything costs, but the US Army came through with a few years of back pay."

[imafuturist]

"They used your image for years after, they better be paying you."

Let's be real, Captain America posters were still used at recruitment offices. Probably even more so now that he was back.

[heroic_jawline]

"That's still strange to think about," Steve admitted.

[imafuturist]

"I, for one, was thoroughly inspired by those old posters," Tony teased.

And he was really only half joking.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve snorted self-deprecatingly. "Yeah, I'll bet."

[imafuturist]

"I was," Tony said with a laugh. "I loved Captain America when I was a kid. Man, if kid me met my Steve first, he would have just died."

They always said never meet your heroes, but that was one case where it didn't end in crushing disappointment.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve sat up a little straighter, looking cautiously shy. "Yeah?"

[imafuturist]

"Captain America was," Tony began, watching the TV as he gathered his thoughts before huffing out a little laugh at himself. "Who I wanted to be."

Occasionally wanted Cap to be his real father, but that was beyond strange once he met Steve and best forgotten.

"Kid stuff," he muttered, embarrassed by all that now that he as talking to at least one version of the man in question.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve gave him a bashful smile. "Still kinda nice to hear."

[imafuturist]

Tony rolled his eyes because he refused to blush about this. Straight up refused. So ignore whatever you might see, Steve.

"But I was glad to actually meet Steve--and you," he added. "Trying to live up to that glorified idea is impossible. Better to know the man behind it."

[heroic_jawline]

Now Steve was the one definitely not blushing, no really.

"And wearing that suit all the time would just be ridiculous," he murmured.

[imafuturist]

They would just ignore all things emotionally honest. As was only right for their fragile little egos.

"Constantly finding Nazis to punch," Tony added, trying to lighten the mood back up. "Giving inspiring speeches."

He said with love. He dearly loved everyone on his team.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve laughed. "I'm branching out. I can also punch aliens now."

[imafuturist]

"Man of the future," Tony replied with a grin. "Next you'll be punching robots."

That... was pretty accurate.

[heroic_jawline]

And guys in an elevator who really deserve it!

"I like to branch out."

[imafuturist]

Well, HYDRA. That was totally a given, Steve. Everyone liked punching HYDRA.

"If your world is anything like mine, you will have ample opportunity to branch out in who you punch. Mutants. Well, the evil ones."

Which could be a grey area considering how much certain people hated mutants for reasons having mostly to do with fear of the unknown. And less than subtle racism. Speciesism?

"Atlanteans. Doombots. God, I really hope you guys have a Doom."

[heroic_jawline]

"Tell me about Doom," Steve said with a tiny smile.

[imafuturist]

"The egotistical dictator slash king of Latveria, which gives him some kind of diplomatic immunity." WHICH SUCKED WHEN FIGHTING HIM. "Talks in the third person sometimes. Oh, and likes to mix magic and science. I hate that guy."

And not just because Doom figured out how to detect the Skrulls first and then mic dropped the device on Tony's lap all 'Fix your shit. DOOM OUT' before teleporting away.

But mostly because of that.

[heroic_jawline]

"He talks in the third person?"

Because that would be the part Steve latched onto. "That sounds obnoxious. Is his name really Doom, or did he just decide to call himself that?"