stardustly | au scenarios open post

Tony almost made a sound of disappointment as Steve's hand fell away, but then he was unbuttoning his shirt, and that was much more interesting. Except right there in the center of his chest was an unmistakably familiar shape, and Tony's eyes went wide.

"I. Yeah," he said, sounding just a little dazed, and reached up to undo his own shirt. Light spilled out before he'd gotten them all the way undone, and then there was the reactor, all metal and glass and set in the middle of Tony's chest. Tony barely even remembered to worry about the scattered scars surrounding it.

"I've always known," he admitted quietly, and blindly reached to strip off his watch to show the shield design marked into the skin inside of his wrist. Oddly that, more than his half-open shirt even, made him feel exposed. He'd been keeping that mark covered since he'd been a teenager, after all.

Seeing the thing on Tony's chest reflective of the tattoo on his own made his thoughts swim more. A murky sort and without thinking twice about it, he reached out a hand to brush along the outer edges of the thing. What did it do? Something with his heart judging by the location of it. His fingertips brushed carefully, the warm sparks like fireworks working up and down his spine from the simple touches. How much stronger would it be if they were closer?

Thoughts for another time, honestly.

Pulled out of his thoughts, Steve's eyes fell onto Tony's wrist when he revealed the tattoo of a very familiar shield. That really confirmed the whole soulmate thing and he couldn't resist reaching out and brushing his fingertips over that mark too. The moment he did everything else whited out and he could only hear Tony's heartbeat as the rest of the world faded away. For that moment, he felt completely consumed by Tony and he almost stumbled back as his hand dropped.

"Wow." Would it happen like that every time he touched the soulmate mark?

Trying to calm down his breathing and steady his own heartbeat, he waved a hand at the reactor. "What is that thing?"

The urge to tense as Steve's hand moved towards the reactor was completely instinctive, but Tony found himself taking a sharp breath as the fingers hit his skin. Instead of the half-expected panic, it was just heat and something that felt almost like comfort. And then Steve was touching the mark on his wrist and Tony was just gone, swept into a feedback loop that obliterated every thought he might have had.

When the contact broke and the world came back, Tony found himself breathing hard and a quick glance over proved that Steve didn't look much better. There was something comforting about that, that after all this time it wasn't just him anymore.

"It's. Uh." He licked his lips as he tried to pull his thoughts back together. "Like a very fancy pacemaker? It's keeping my heart beating." Too scrambled to deflect. That probably said everything.

He couldn't bring himself to regret it, though. If anyone should know, it was probably his soulmate.

"I have. Shrapnel. In my chest. This," he waved a hand at the reactor, "powers an electromagnet that keeps it all from moving."

As he came back to himself, Steve's eyes were resolutely focused on the reactor in Tony's chest. His soulmate's chest. Since they found each other, they were only longer alone, now finally a 'we'. It would be an adjustment for Steve, along with everything else since they unfroze him. But they all promised he would acclimate in time and the constant chill would leave him. The fact Fury wanted to give him a mission already spoke volumes of his 'adjustment time'. Would he be able to bring along Tony? Apparently, it would be an undercover mission and would take him to a cabin. On paper it looked like a rather simple mission but he knew better than to trust that.

It worked as a pacemaker? Shrapnel in his chest? A frown tugged at his lips as he considered it all, his fingertips tracing along the edging again. "If something happens to this reactor -" He trailed off, the thought making his stomach sink. Of course life decided to give him a soulmate he could lose at any moment. No need at all to be on constant edge.

"Did you make it? Design it I mean?" It seemed like something Howard would have developed and Tony being his son and all.

Touching Tony made him feel better he realized and far less cold.

"I. Yeah." He found himself leaning into Steve's touched, still feeling a little dazed by it. Normally he could barely stand having his chest touched, let alone the reactor, but he kind of wanted to just set there with Steve's hands on him forever.

Not that it stopped him from quirking a slight smile up at him. "Nothing will happen to it. It's pretty much unbreakable. And anything that would do that much damage would probably have killed me anyway." Good job being reassuring, Tony. That was probably exactly what Steve wanted to hear.

Like he was trying to make up for it, he shifted in closer until he was practically pressed up against Steve's side. The contact felt good, felt instinctive, and it seemed like they could both use it at the moment. "There's more. With the reactor, I mean. But it can wait." He didn't want to overwhelm the poor guy any more than he already had.

The universe decided to pair him with a futuristic technological genius, it sure had a sense of humor. They were already complete opposites from what he could tell and the way the Fury guy reacted to Tony also spoke volumes. Later, they wanted him to meet the rest of the team but he felt really nervous about it. What if they all disliked him and wanted nothing to do with his 'leadership?' Actually - speaking of. "The - uh - Avengers - who is the leader right now?" Was the group already active or had they just created it now? Steve really should have listened more but how could they give him a debriefing so soon after waking him up?

Letting out a breath as they settled in against each other, Steve idly continued with running his hand up and down Tony's chest. Peace swept over him and for the first time since he realized what happened. Actually, much longer, the first time since before the war. "You can tell me. I want to hear everything. All about you. There's a lot for us to find out about each other." It should have felt overwhelming but it excited him more than anything else. "But you probably know plenty about me huh? Apparently, I'm history book worthy or something."

He gave a slight shrug of his shoulder. "I didn't really do anything. Nothing that all the other soldiers didn't do." Painfully modest until the very end.

"Less history books, more dad," Tony muttered, and it said something about his current state of lassitude that he couldn't even bring himself to sound slightly bitter about it. Probably had something to do with the fact that Steve was right here, touching him. He felt more relaxed than he could even remember, and all they'd managed so far was some vague cuddling. Go figure.

"But nobody does, really. Lead the Avengers. It's been kind of a background project. Hasn't really been needed." And Tony Stark not recommended still stung a little, but he wasn't intending to share that part. "I can give you the full rundown if you really want it--" more information that Tony was supposed to know, probably, "--but I guess if they told you about it, they already know who they want in charge."

He paused for a moment, tilting his head to peer up at him. "I'm a consultant for it, technically. Iron Man. I've git a suit of armor."

Right, yes, Howard. It would take him a little time to wrap his head around Howard having a son. Though, to be fair, the man must have matured a lot after he crashed the plane. But while he hoped for a happy life image for all of them, it seemed a little far fetched with the guarded look in Tony's eyes. The look intensified each time he mentioned Howard too. It didn't take much to put two and two together. Could the soulmate bond help there? He really needed to find out more about soulmates.

"Oh, they didn't tell you who they are putting in charge," Steve responded with, frowning for a moment. Did they expect him to not say anything? "Consultant with a suit of armor," he repeated. Sure, made plenty of sense. "Why aren't you a member if you have a suit of armor I am guessing you made yourself?" Of course, Steve would ask about it, Tony. Steve asked and commented on plenty he probably shouldn't.

Tony grumbled something irritated sounding under his breath and almost absently let his head fall against Steve's shoulder. Well, better he find all this out now. And from him, instead of SHIELD.

"Because I'm an immature, unreliable narcissist." It was completely matter-of-fact, the way he said it. And not entirely untrue, for all that he really hadn't been at his best when they'd done that little assessment. "And also I have issues with authority and issues with secretive government agencies and Fury and I don't particularly get along." That much had probably been clear.

"It's not a big deal. They'll probably call me in when they need the big guns, and I don't need to hang around for the inevitable team building exercises anyway."

A sort of harsh assessment and not overly constructive at all. What sort of establishment had SHIELD morphed itself into? People met constructive criticism far better than just outright negativity. A way to adapt and learn, rather than just feel badly and dwell. He would need to change more than a few things when he assumed the leadership position.

The easy closeness made him momentarily forget being upset on Tony's behalf, though. He resumed running his hand up and down Tony's side to 'help'.

"Well, what if I told you that - they picked a leader and - it's me," Steve responded with a slightly nervous look running over his face. "I haven't really thought of team building exercises but I should probably get on that." He paused for a second. "They want me to meet the team later - if you want to come with me? Maybe they can see you're not unreliable at all."

"Yeah, no kidding." Obviously, Steve was going to be in charge. Who else? The rest of it just made him give an amused little snort, though.

"I kind of am. You haven't known me that long." How long would it take for Steve to get a crash course in Stark? SHIELD would probably give him their assessment as soon as he officially signed on. Even if he was critical about some of it, he'd have to catch on to the majority. Or SHIELD could just show him half the tabloids he'd been in. One or the other would probably do it.

It was kind of hard to think about all that while Steve was still petting him, though.

"I'll go if you really want me to, but somehow I doubt you're going to change anyone's mind."

"I kinda have instincts about people," Steve explained with a slight shrug of his shoulder. "I'm not usually wrong." At least, in his own time period he managed to make the right calls by giving the correct people a chance and flourish in what he instructed of them. He tended to read people rather well but he spent most of his life on the outside looking in. Being so sick in his youth gave him plenty of time to just watch and take in the smallest of details. Who knew how things would play out now with how out of sorts he felt, though.

Letting out a breath, he pressed a little closer to Tony's warmth. "You'd be surprised but I do want you to come. I'm not - always great with first impressions." The others would probably not like him at all or doubt SHIELD'S insistence on giving him the leadership position. He just needed to find his footing, though, and slip back into the mask of Captain America. Playing the confident, take charge Captain became second nature during the Tour. A direct contrast from his actual personality.

He nearly jumped a few seconds later when they were informed the pizzas were there.

Tony might have been about to answer, but instead he found himself letting out an amused huff at Steve's startled twitch. "I'll explain in a moment," he said, absently patting the man's thigh as he levered himself up and went to go deal with the delivery. There were benefits to being known as a good tipper.

When he came back loaded with boxes, Tony just moved to set them all right down on the coffee table. They weren't exactly standing on ceremony, and he had a feeling Steve could probably use the calorie boost in a hurry. "Dig in," he said with a distracted wave as he detoured over to the bar to get himself a drink.

"So that's JARVIS," he called as he poured out a fairly healthy portion of whiskey out for himself. Didn't always go with pizza, but screw it he needed a drink. "He runs the house. You can think of him as a particularly helpful robot without the body."

The moment Tony moved he felt the absence nearly bone deep and it rattled him to have such a strong connection to someone he didn't even know. Usually, it took him awhile to become attached to anyone else and even longer to drop any of his walls. He knew how to play a part well and seemed very simple an approachable but all for show. Beyond the mask, there were so many parts of himself he kept hidden and never really allowed himself to explore the possibilities.

When did he ever really have the chance to?

Eyeing the pizza boxes, he flipped one open and took in the wonderful aroma of pepperoni. Yes. Something not even time seemed to change. Wonderful. Less wonderful, the guarded way Tony appeared now with some distance between them.

"What's a robot?" he asked after he picked up a slice of pizza. He gave a tilt of his head before he took a bite and chewed it thoughtfully. "He does things for your house?" Sure, made perfect sense to someone from the 30s.

"Really?" Tony's eyebrows went up as he put the cap back on the bottle and carried his glass over to the couch. He didn't press himself back against Steve's side, but only because it would probably make eating awkward. Instead, he settled in to face him, entire body pointing in Steve's direction. "You never saw Metropolis or anything?" Now that one he definitely knew predated Steve's deep freeze.

Tony slipped slowly at his drink as he thought about how to explain it. "It's an automaton," he said finally, watching Steve over the rim of the glass. "Something mechanical that moves independently. JARVIS is an artificial intelligence, though. Programming meant to mimic how a person thinks. Or manage it better than people do." He saluted his glass at the nearest wall. "He runs security around here and things."

Eating more of the pizza, he only offered a shrug until he managed to finish a slice. "I was never really into science fiction when I was younger. That was always Bucky's scene. I preferred historical things and fantasy." On one end of things, he enjoyed things based around true life events but on the other end he had a great fondness for dragons, elves and other types of fairy tales. His ma read fairy tales to him in his youth and the love for it all just grew from there. She told him all kinds of mythological stories as well.

"He helps you, then," Steve summarized with a nod, grabbing for another slice of pizza. "Is he the only one you created?" It seemed a little out there to him but he heard the JARVIS speak just moments ago. "Is he - always around?" But something artificial couldn't really see him, could it? At least, not similar to the way a person would?

Tony opened his mouth and then immediately closed it again. This whole actually thinking about what he was going to say instead of just blurting out the first thing that came to mind thing was proving to be actually kind of difficult. Who knew.

"He's the only AI I've made, yeah," he said finally. "I've got other robots, though. You'll probably meet them if you're going to be hanging around here." There was the slightest hesitation over that before Tony moved smoothly over it. He wasn't going to make assumptions. Couldn't.

"And he's always around in terms of the fact that he's a program. He doesn't exactly turn off. But if that...bothers you, we can see about putting in blackout protocols. If you want."

After a fourth slice, he decided not to grab anymore because it seemed a little rude to eat so much, especially around someone new. The whole super soldier metabolism thing could be a bit of a nightmare and he still wondered how he made it through the war on such stingy rations. At least, the current time period from what he had seen seemed to have a lot more food options. It might be a whole new food world possibility.

"Do you want me to stay here?" Steve asked, already picking up on the leave me alone vibes Tony practically radiated with. Tony might not want a soulmate at all and then one so confused and lost about everything.

"No. I mean. It's okay. It'll just take some getting used to. He'll - always answer if I say something to him?"

"That's up to you. God knows I've got the space, but you might want to see more of the modern world than an almost literal ivory tower." Or he might want space from Tony himself. He wouldn't be the first. Tony had been told repeatedly and in no uncertain terms that he could be a bit much. How much more would his soulmate have to deal with?

"But yeah, he's always available. And you can ask him pretty much anything, I guarantee you he's too polite to judge," Tony continued with a fond little smile that he clearly didn't notice he was wearing. Not to mention that there was almost nothing Steve could do or say that would be anywhere near as dumb as anything Tony had already inflicted on the poor AI. JARVIS' patience really was impressive.

He lifted the glass again only to pause when he realized Steve was hovering a little awkwardly over the pizza. "Go ahead and finish it," he said, gesturing with his free hand. "That one's just for you. There's a second in the kitchen."

Eyes drifting around for a moment, he nodded to himself. There were plenty of things he needed to decide with being in the new era. It would be such a big change and no one seemed to want to give him too much time to adjust and try to come to terms with it. SHIELD already wanted to throw him into the deep end and everyone else acted as if he should be fine with everything. Didn't they realize he had lost everything? Absolutely everything, even himself in a way.

"If I stay here - in the tower - would you want me here or another room?" It felt so awkward to have to ask but he didn't want to get something wrong. The way Fury described Tony, well, it painted a certain kind of picture and one without the joy of soulmates in it.

Nodding his head, he grabbed for another slice, giving Tony a small smile. "Thank you. You've been really nice." Manners meant plenty even if he felt out of sorts at the moment.

"You'd probably be one of the few to think so," Tony said with a snort that was mostly amused. Most people just assumed it was self-interest of some stripe. And being nice to his soulmate was pretty much the ultimate in self-interest, wasn't it? His soulmate. Jesus. It still hadn't properly sunk in.

"But probably not a bad idea to give us both space while we adjust, yeah?" Nevermind that the entire building was technically Tony's space. But that was good, giving them the option to be close but not in each other's pockets. The need to keep Steve close and the desperate attempts not to seem to clingy were at constant odds in his head, and it was almost giving him a headache. Last thing he needed would be to immediately scare the poor man off.

"But honestly, if you let me know anything you want or think you might need, let me know and I can probably get it for you." He shrugged, as unconcerned as he could make the the gesture look. Like it was nothing.

Doesn't interact well with others.

One of many offhand comments the Director had about Tony but Steve didn't really know what to think about any of it because wouldn't he have a different experience with the whole soulmate aspect to everything? Then again the space comment hurt a little bit but he made sure to keep the look off his face, keeping most of his focus on pizza eating instead. It gave him something to do with his hands and not look as awkward as he would have otherwise. After he finished another slice, he nodded his head. "That sounds like a good idea. How many floors does this place have?" Plenty of space if they were on separate floors.

No need for him to be the only one reaching out and putting himself out there.

Giving a faint smile, he shook his head this time. "I don't need much. Just some clothes and if you could show me where a gym is." Why work on his problems when he could just punch his way through things? A perfect solution really.

"I don't know, seventy? Eighty? Most of them are for the company, but the top bunch are all residential." Like he didn't know every spec of the building. But he was trying to play it cool, trying hard enough that he didn't register the new tension in Steve at all.

"Clothes, I can do. And there's a gym in the building, it's a couple floors down." He paused, actually glancing over at Steve long enough to flick his eyes over him. "I'll trick out a couple bags for you, set them up for your weight class." He made it sound so easy. As if it wouldn't take sourcing all new materials. But that, at least, he could do. Make him things, give him things. That, Tony understood.

Listening carefully, he gave a little nod of his head since he did need a place to stay. The. Director mentioned a few areas and government aspects to them but Steve would prefer elsewhere. Being so tightly underneath the governments thumb didn't appeal to him at all. He had enough of it during the war and how strict guidelines were had probably worsened over the years. "Is there a floor not being used or barely used?" The question probably put a shine on his reflex to distancing himself but he couldn't help it.

The mention of a gym in the building seeped a little of the tension from his muscles. It'd help with his need for avoidance and bottling everything up. "Isn't it difficult to make something uh for my weight class? Nothing really exists. You'd have to--" With a pause, he gave a tiny smile. "Do you promise to invent things for all the guys you find?" Could that be a small hint of jealousy?

Tony just laughed and let his head fall back against the couch cushions. "Just the ones who need it," he said, a small smile still playing over his mouth. Now that they were here and fed and the knot in his chest that he was pretty sure was Steve was feeling much more relaxed, it was like Tony suddenly remembered how tired he was. It was a good feeling, warm and comfortable, and he tucked himself into the corner of the couch.

"I'm sure I can find a place for you," he added. "I'll start setting things up tomorrow. You have preferences on furniture? And, I don't know, curtains?" What else were you supposed to put in? Tony had barely done it for his own areas, but something in him wanted to make sure he took care of it for Steve. That it was him that put everything together.

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