Work Text
⎊⍟✪Tony Stark woke up knowing he had the usual amount of shit to do, but he added resisting the urge to drown himself in alcohol to the list. He may have promoted Pepper to CEO of stark industries and although happy with the decision, it meant he could not ignore his ex longer than he already had. Every time he blinks he sees her face on the back of his eyelids and how it lit up when she saw Happy, he had to remember that Happy had her first, and just because they were divorced did not mean that their feelings for each other died. It just gave Pepper space to be with Tony for as long as she could before they both realized that it was a failed relationship. It seemed it was not only evident to Tony but to Pepper as well that Happy and she were destined to re-marry and this time permanently. It was evident when they were in the car together while he fought Ivan at the race track - Happy was more concerned about Pepper's emotions and all Tony could think about was why she was taking so long to drop the suitcase. He realized that his feelings for her were not as romantic as he had thought but it was still a relationship that was significant and one that ended. Pepper was someone that he didn't know how to live without. Happy was just as important but he had faith he will always have Happy, especially after he dated his ex-wife without a single fluctuation in Happy's loyalty to him. He loved them both as family, but Pepper was so powerful emotionally that she could easily walk away from something that makes her feel hurt. Apparently, emotionally stable people have the ability to do that. He took a deep breath when he got out of the shower and walked to his coffee pot with just his towel on."J get Pepper to meet me here" Tony commanded while putting on his trousers."Is that wise sir, I see it makes you nervous" The AI warned."If I have learned anything from Happy its that you don't cut out family, no matter what! So if this relationship is to end and not change - it will not be me to dig the grave""As you wish sir!" Sounding as apprehensive as any human being.⍟⎊✪Steve was beating the life of an already inanimate punching bag and reminiscing about how he made it to the 21st century, how he made it here without Bucky - breaking the one promise he made over and over in his life "Till the end of the line". He almost missed Fury coming in to break him out of his pity party. At least there was someone who could give him direction, someone he could trust that would make sure his 'gifts' would not be wasted in wallowing. Despite Fury's suggestion of breaking out of the funk to discover this new world, Steve knew he wasn't going to enjoy it without Bucky. Fury informed him he was here to get him involved in a mission that would save the world."Hydra's secret weapon" Steve said recognizing it instantly.Steve knew before Fury told him that it was Howard Stark that found it in the ocean, what learnt was that Howard was looking for him. It made him feel so many things at once that yet another friend he had was no longer around for him to be with. Steve felt like everything in his new reality was only making him miss his past, which was strange as there were such few similarities between his two lives."He thought what we think, the tesseract could be the source to unlimited sustainable energy. That is something the world sorely needs." Fury finished, Steve could not agree more. Even the air was different now, far more polluted.Steve got back into soldier mode easily, it was a welcomed distraction. He found out as much as he could from Fury about the enemy, Loki, who was an alien. Steve made it clear before leaving Fury that they should have left the tesseract in the ocean realizing that despite the world's need for it, the threats it would bring, along with its potential for destruction is far too big a risk. He was looking forward to the information the debriefing package that was waiting for him would carry. What he didn't expect was to learn about Howard Stark's son, who was a world of problems and character defects - clearly, looks do not reflect character. He shared some physical traits as Howard but he was much more handsome, his eyes seemed to shine more. it made Steve think about Bucky's eyes and then realized the comparison was an insult to Bucky's memory. Tony stark did not possess the virtues in his whole body that Bucky had in his little toe. Yet he found himself looking up more facts about Tony, more than any other individual that he was given information about, it was likely because he had some sort of connection to his own past. The past he wishes more than anything he could return to.⎊⍟✪Tony Stark just completed rounds to ensure that Stark tower was successfully running on self-sustaining clean energy using the arc reactor. It made him so happy, he knew Pepper was waiting for him at Stark tower but this took away some of the nervous energy surrounding the encounter. He was still giddy from the achievement when he landed as the suit disassembled around him."Sir, Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D is on the line" Jarvis tried to stall as much as he could, knowing Tony would only dismiss the request for communication, which he did."Tony!! This is amazing, we need to organize press for public awareness" Pepper said in her CEO voice as he walked towards her, then paused and hugged him "I have missed you so much Tony!""Pepper...I... I have missed you too! I thought..." Tony trailed off sheepishly, still worried she was here to cut him off."What? That I would stop loving you just because we realized we didn't love each other romantically? Tony I am the CEO of your company!" Pepper said, visibly hurt."Pep! I would never take that back, nor would I find it impossible to work around any boundaries you might want to have.""You have got to kidding me! I don't care if fire me right now Tony! All I care is about is YOU! I love you and I will always protect you and with you, that is a full time job!" Se said laughing tearfully, then a little more unsurely... "Do you want any boundaries Tony? I will respect them too, if you do.""Never from you Pep!" He hugged her, not really lifting her off the ground because she was taller but he was so giddy."We are family and Happy is worried about you so you better meet him soon!" Pepper said before diving into his list of press events and requirements.He had so many products to review and improve before he could launch them. He knew Jarvis was already adding them to his ever growing to do list and prioritizing them for him. When Pepper was done he looked over to her and hugged her and teared up so glad that he didn't have to miss out on this in the future. When they broke apart pepper was nervous - which was concerning because pepper was fierce 80% of the time and confident 19.99% of the time. Nervous was not a good look on her."What's wrong Pep?""Tony... I already know you do. We have been through a lot, and it took you ages to say it the first time and even that time it was platonic! but I need to-""I love you Pep! Unconditionally!" Tony assured her kissing her temple.Jarvis interrupted them as Agent Coulson was overriding his security protocols and Tony replied to him colorfully to a failed attempt of avoiding the Agent as he was at the door being invited in by Pepper the next moment. Pepper took the file Coulson tried to hand as Tony explained he didn't like to be handed things and gave it to tony knowing the trust was as solid as ever when he took it while sarcastically telling Coulson that S.H.I.E.L.D couldn't possibly need him to help with any mission because they had decided during an evaluation that he was volatile, self-obsessed and didn't play well with others. Pepper convinced him to consider what was being presented to him and he did despite consulting with her on whether he should involve himself in this or not. As he looked at the information Coulson provided him, the fact that the Hulk and Captain America were involved caught his attention. Still weighing if he should be involved or not he was swayed into participating when Pepper assured him that he would end up being a part of this no matter what. She told him to postpone anything else he was doing and focus solely on this. He hugged Pepper, waved goodbye to Coulson as she left with him, and focused solely on the information in Infront of him. As soon as he saw the tesseract he knew he couldn't trust Fury! He needed a plan B, C, D, and E and he needed them yesterday!⍟⎊✪Steve felt his stomach in knots being in the air again, it was a good thing there was a lot going on or he would have hyper-focused on everything he lost last time he was in the air. Coulson clarified some questions he had about the Hulk. Steve could not understand half of the references people made these days but Coulson was kind enough to clarify without judgment and he was actually honored to be there with Steve. Coulson was easy to talk to but Steve could not take his faith that Steve could get the job done seriously as it seemed that Coulson could barely suppress his poorly concealed excitement to be with Steve. He was obviously a fan of Captain America and although in some ways it was flattering, Steve needed honesty and not simpering. Finally, Coulson made Steve comfortable enough to put the suit back on when he reasoned that the suit would bring comfort to civilians. Steve breathed a sigh of relief when they landed. He met Natasha Romanoff who he now knew was Black Widow, who had the same confidence as Peggy, but that was the only resemblance and Steve could not get a read on her for the life of him."Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet? I am sure he would piss himself from repressed glee if you did" poking fun at Coulson but revealing a hint of fondness for him.He then met Dr. Banner and respectfully let him know that the he accepted him. Steve and Dr. Banner were both shocked to realize that the S.H.I.E.L.D base was an aircraft which he agreed with Banner was a bad idea. He thought of Ironman and presumed the insane technology was at his mercy. Including the cloaking ability which was insanely impressive. Steve was in awe of the facility and surveillance that was within S.H.I.E.L.D's capabilities. They were using civilian assets and information to increase the information available to them too. Coulson seemed to have undersold how smart Banner was as he was allocated his own working space and talked about what he was going to do with Fury, a lot of that conversation went over Steve's head. He overheard another agent and realized the aircraft he was on was called a hellicarrier, which was something he now knew.Steve wanted to roll his eyes but his mama would have whacked him with a spoon if he did - but he had already agreed to sign Coulson's card, he didn't understand why he had to hear so much about them. He then realized that he wished he had someone to talk to about the material things he missed and valued. He listened more actively after that thought, these cards seemed to be very precious to Coulson. They were immediately informed that the enemy had been located - Steve was still unclear about the technicality of the find but he knew he could trust his ability to fight. He was preparing himself mentally for the confrontation and mapping out possible outcomes. His approach to everything was always calculated and even in this situation, he knew he had to remember his main function was to defend civilians and not to destroy Loki. That distinction was cemented in him bone deep but Steve had always been one to initiate confrontation when he thought he saw something unjust. He saw Loki threatening an elder man who refused to kneel to him and immediately put his shield up and leaped in front of the man, saving him and stunning Loki. Steve warned Loki to stand down while walking towards him as civilians slowly stood up cautiously."The soldier" Loki said indifferently as if he knew everything about Captain America. "The man out of time""I'm not the one out of time" Steve said hearing Natasha pull up in the jet above him warning Loki to stand down again.Loki and Steve were engaged in a fight after Loki tried to shoot Natasha with his staff. As Steve fought Loki he realized that Loki was stronger than he looked. Both Steve and Loki refused to yield and in the middle of the fight, Steve heard obnoxious music and knew it meant Ironman was behind him. One repulsor beam from Ironman's gauntlet and Loki fell over. Not only that but he seemed a little too stunned to see Tony, almost as surprised as Steve. Although Loki should have known who Fury would involve in this because he had agent Barton under mind control. Tony was egging him on so Steve got on the defensive only to realize that Loki yielded to them."Mr. Stark" Steve greeted reluctantly."Captain" Tony replied acknowledging Steve.⎊⍟✪For someone that he heard about non-stop growing up, both from his father and from his aunt Peggy. Captain America seemed very one-dimensional to Tony. They were both wary of Loki giving up so fast and they both knew Loki was strong and could have put up much more of a fight. Tony tried to lighten the mood by making a joke that he should have known would go over Steve's head but the second Tony called him "Capsicle" he noticed Steve turn on the judgment. Tony should have known better than to assume he could be on good terms with anyone that was friends with his dear abusive dad."Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in." Steve said clearly unhappy with Tony's presence."Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you" Tony warned accepting that Steve would only ever be an acquaintance but warning him all the same."What's the matter? Scared of a little lightening?" Cap asked Loki noticing his discomfort."I am not overly fond of what follows" Loki replied just before the felt something land on the quinjet.Tony put his helmet back to investigate the interception and Cap stopped him from jumping out the jet to ask him what he was doing, like it was not the most obvious thing in the world. The interceptor attacked Tony, grabbed Loki and flew out of the jet using what looked like a hammer as a helicopter propellor. Romanoff assumed that it might be another Asgardian. Tony assumed the same, and was ready to jump in after them explaining to Cap that it didn't matter if he was friendly because they needed Loki to get the Tesseract back."Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Steve stopped Tony again."I have a plan... Attack!" Tony replied diving out of the jet to follow the Asgardians.Tony had his comms still connected to the quinjet and he heard Cap come after him. He also heard him tell Romanoff that there was only one God and that he was sure he didn't dress like that. Aside from the mild intolerance of other religions and the fact that he called her ma'am, Tony appreciated the wit - then realized it didn't matter as Cap probably could not wait to get away from him, taking his wit with him. Tony shrugged it off and blasted towards the Asgardians. Trying to listen for them.He heard Loki tell the blonde one that he missed him too, almost as sarcastically as Tony is when he speaks to Senator Stern. Then the blonde replied to Loki asking him to get serious in the most old Englishy way Tony had heard in a long time. If he were not so worried he would have laughed. Loki then revealed that the blonde should be grateful that he got to be conjured to earth because of him - Tony contemplated the reasons why earth would be important to the blonde, and realized he officially hated magic!"I thought you dead" The blonde said with so much emotion poorly masked as disappointment."Did you mourn?" Loki asked viciously."We all did! Our father-""Your father. He did tell you my true parentage did he not?" Loki asked interrupting the other. Tony felt a quick pang of sympathy to Loki that he shut down right away.He could approach them faster but it seemed like a conversation he would want to listen in on. He listened to how the blonde was fiercely adamant that they were brother and that blood did not matter, Tony thought about Pepper, Happy and especially the Rhodes family who were his family by choice and was inclined to agree. Then Loki expressed that he was always living under the blonde's shadow and that was something Tony could relate to... Howard never failed to crush Tony under the shadow of his rosy retrospection of Captain America. That was where the relatability ended though, he then remembered Loki was a psychopath and over heard the blonde accuse Loki of taking the world he loved as recompence. Which made him angry, how dare these two gods decide earth was theirs to trade for anything. He sped towards them not bothering to hear anymore and flew into the blonde taking him with him into the trees"Do not touch me again!" Warned the blonde after he got back up from where Tony had flung him off to."Then don't take my stuff." Tony replied."You have no idea what you're dealing with" speaking with that old English tone again."Shakespeare in the park?" Tony snarked "Doth mother know you wear-eth her drapes?"After a little witty back and forth on where Loki will face the music Tony called the blonde a tourist and turned around only to be hit in the back with a mixture of a hammer and magic. Then it was a fight worthy of Ironman between them. The blonde attacked Tony with lightening that charged his suit tipping the odds in his favor. That was until he used up the charge and they were equal again - until Cap intervened, ruining the fun. Tony tried to warn Cap not to ask the alien to put the hammer down but he was knocked out of the way and Cap was attacked with said hammer. Only he put the shield Tony's dad built him up and there was a collision that knocked everyone back, including the trees. All three of them took a step back after that and decided to be more civil. They retrieved Loki and escorted him back to the helicarier with the quinjet. The whole way there they did not speak, aside from learning that the blonde was Thor... thunder now made sense. At the helicarrier they quietly listened in to Loki remain confident as Fury caged him, it gave Tony time to plant as many bugs as he could. He then left with Coulson but had ears on the rest. Banner remarked that Loki was interesting to say the least and Cap remaining all business asked Thor what Loki was planning."He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard, nor any known world" Thor, the freaking god of thunder informed Cap. "He means to lead them against your people, they'll win him the earth in return I suspect for the tessaract""An army... from outer space" Cap's brain was probably struggling to figure out how the chair he was sitting on was more comfortable than any bed he had slept on and now he had to deal with this."So he's building another portal... That's what he needs Erik Selvig for." Banner said, actually understanding the situation.Thor knew Selvig. Tony had gathered as much data as he could about Thor's last visit as he could from Jarvis and Jane seemed like she was truly out of Thor's league. Then again he could not fault her as he himself had a soft spot for tall blondes. Thor was defensive of Loki when Banner called him crazy and although Tony agreed with Banner, he respected Thor a little more."He killed 80 people in 2 days" Romanoff told Thor in Banner's defense."He is adopted" Thor replied resigning, which annoyed Tony - adopted was not synonymous with abandoned.Tony walked in on adding to Banners musings on why Loki had rounded up some ingredients and immediately jumped into the conversation explaining that it was a stabilizing agent needed to keep the portal open pausing mid way to let Coulson know that he could organize transport to Portland for him to pursue his lady. Just because Tony was single didn't mean everyone had to be. and then continued to explain what the ingredients Loki needed would be for. He also made nice with Thor giving him props for this strength, was he the next mother Theresa? Tony... Theresa same thing! Synonymous really. Then continued to explain why Loki would need to keep the portal open for longer and why it needed to be wider for the army to come through."That man is playing Galaga. He thought we wouldn't notice but we did!" Tony said finishing his rant, then covering one eye and mocking Fury "How does Fury even see these?""He turns" Agent Hill replied, a formidable woman."Sounds exhausting" Tony stated.He then explained that Barton could get the other ingredients but they still needed a massive power source all while adding more bugs to make sure he had as much information as he could - despite Fury's affliction to sharing said info."When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics" Hill asked with a skeptic tone."Last night" Tony replied confidently referencing Sevig's notes, various papers and the debriefing packet that S.H.I.E.L.D provided. "Am I the only one who did the reading?""Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Cap asked making a valiant effort to keep up."He’s have to heat the Cube to a hundred and twenty million kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Banner thought out loud."Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the Quantum Tunneling effect." Bouncing off Banner."Well, if he could do that he could achieve heavy-ion fusion at any reactor on the planet" Banner concluded."Finally. Someone who speaks English" Tony said excited."Is that what just happened?" Cap said looking around at the rest to make sure he was not the only one missing most of the conversation.Tony leaned in to shake hands with Banner "It’s good to meet you, Doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electronic collisions is unparalleled. And I’m a huge fan of the way you- lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.""...Thanks" Banner replied apprehensively, yet he looked pleased that Tony was not walking on eggshells around him.Fury entered the room asking Tony to join Banner in his efforts to find the Tesseract, leading to Cap suggesting to start with the stick as it worked like a Hydra weapon, Tony could see the ghost of the man's past in his eyes. Fury admitted that it was powered by the cube."And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." Fury said flummoxed."Monkeys? I do not understand" Thor said, confused by the Wizard of Oz reference."I do!" Steve exclaimed inappropriately excited for the situation they were currently in, Tony rolled his eyes "I...I understood that reference."The way he finished that made Tony feel so bad for the man who was just shoved into a new timeline without a map or a guidebook. At that time Tony decided he would do as much as he could to help Cap acclimate to his new reality. Thrive in it even. But first he and Banner had work to do. Speaking of Banner, he was also going to make sure Banner knew he was trusted and so he invited him to Stark tower. Only to have Bruce humbly reject him, Tony realized he didn't trust himself not to Hulk out. Tony trusted him though and promised him a stress free environment - then zapped him in the torso."Ow!" Bruce exclaimed."Hey!" Cap yelled."Nothing?" Tony asked looking into Bruce's eyes pretending to look signs of the Hulk."Are you nuts?" Cap asked Tony walking into the lab."Jury's out" Tony dismissed Cap and turned to Bruce "You really have got a lid on it, haven’t you? What’s your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?""Is everything a joke to you?" Steve growled at Tony."Funny things are." Tony replied hiding his surprise at Cap's hostility."Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn’t funny. No offense, Doc." Cap said sounding just like Howard."No it’s alright. I wouldn’t have come aboard if I couldn’t handle pointy things." Bruce said subtly defending Tony."You’re tip-toeing, big man. You need to strut." Tony joked to relieve some of the tension"And you need to focus on the problem, Mister Stark." Cap said sternly."You think I’m not? Why did Fury call us in? Why now, why not before? What isn’t he telling us? I can’t do the equation unless I have all the variables." Tony justified, hating how defensive he sounded."You think Fury’s hiding something?" Cap said disbelievingly."He’s a spy. Captain, he’s the spy. His secrets have secrets." Tony tried convincing him, going as far as involving Bruce "It’s bugging him to, isn’t it?""Uh, Aah, I just wanna finish my work here and-" Bruce said clearly agreeing with Tony."Doctor?" Cap probed Bruce."A warm light for all mankind, Loki’s jab at Fury about the Cube.""I heard it." Steve said listening to Bruce"Well, I think that was meant for you." Bruce said talking to Tony as he took a blueberry he offered "Even if Barton didn’t tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news.""The Stark Tower? That big ugly-" Cap took a beat, but finished unapologetically :-building in New York?""It’s powered by an arc reactor, self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for, what, a year?" Bruce said clearly impressed, making Tony feel much less defensive."It’s just the prototype." Tony said before turning to Cap to clarify "I’m kind of the only name in clean energy right now, that’s what he’s getting at."It was downhill from there, Bruce raised concern that Tony should have been the first person Fury should have consulted and that it was strange S.H.I.E.L.D were interested in the renewable energy anyway. Tony made the mistake of revealing that he was waiting for the bugs he planted to provide decrypted information - which was clearly a mistake because Cap just used that to blame Tony for being difficult to work with, justifying Fury's reluctance to bring him in. Tony should have known that Cap would trust literally anyone over him. He had seen his file and Fury and Agent Romanoff had painted a very clear picture for Captain America on what to expect from Tony Stark. It was every bad or mildly problematic thing he had ever done, and Tony already knew how unforgivable his actions were - he didn't need Cap to be a constant reminder. But for now they had to be on the same side to be against Loki."An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome." Tony justified."I think Loki’s trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war and if we don’t stay focused he’ll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them." Obviously unable to trust Tony."Following’s not really my style." Tony said, back on the defensive."And you’re all about style, aren’t you?" Cap spat disgusted."Out of the people in this room, which one is "A" wearing a spangly outfit and "B" not of use?" Tony said giving up on convincing him.Lucky for Tony, when Bruce told Cap to evaluate and judge the situation again, he seemed to listen but still told them to focus on finding the cube and left them alone. Bruce looked at Tony with sympathy as he told him about how he spent his childhood listening to Captain America stories, Bruce put a hand on Tony's shoulder but changing the subject back to Loki. They agreed they had a clear enemy but Bruce was so reluctant to accept what Tony could clearly see."You may not see it, but the Jolly Green Giant is just not letting you get killed. I honestly am grateful to him for protecting you Bruce and if I wasn't constantly close to death myself maybe I would see it differently but I just think you need better control" Tony said kindly."Tony I know about the shrapnel close to your heart, let me study it and if there is anything you think of that I can help with - you let me know okay?" Bruce said eyes wide."Thanks Brucie, ditto with the other guy!""Tony I thought you poking me proved to you I was in control""You proved you were in charge, the authority for the moment Bruce. Control is different - you might have to trust your other half a little" Tony said going back to his screen, feeling like he made a real connection.⍟⎊✪Steve was sure that Stark was just being disruptive but as he left the lab he considered Banner's words and decided to investigate a little on his own. What he found was appalling, maybe Banner and Stark had the right idea.