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tonystarktogo · 3 years

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Last part of the time travel crack ‘verse for now (and sorry for making you all worry about the scepter, I didn’t mean it that way, it just seemed like a good cut-off point tbh):

"The scepter! Did anyone keep an eye on the scepter?"

"I assure you," Agent Agent, who looks a little singed and has a bandage wrapped around one ear, yet continues to rock the personality-free drawl that tricks people into thinking he’s not worth paying attention to, speaks up, "that the scepter is still safely in SHIELD custody, Dr. Banner."

Banner scoffs.

Rogers grimaces.

Barton winces.

And oh, all other issues aside, the vindication of this moment is glorious. Tony feels fully justified in the doubtful look he aims at the screen. You know your show sucks balls when even your own operative doesn’t buy what you’re selling.

"That’s great," Banner says in a painfully droll voice. "But I’ll feel a lot better when we hand it over to our resident Asgardian prince for safekeeping rather than put it into a secret high-security facility and hope for the best. Like the one you stored the Tesseract in took Loki what, five minutes to take over?"

Woah, talk about burn. Tony doesn’t bother muffling his snicker. Who’d have thought Banner has it in him?

[continues under the cut]

"Hang on, wouldn’t it be better—" Rogers interrupts before Fury or Coulson can come up with an excuse, which judging by their sour-slash-carefully-blank expressions isn’t as easy as they’d like it to be.

Banner raises one hand. It shouldn’t be a power move on part with his green counterpart squashing a car in his fist, isn’t even particularly aggressive but for some reason Rogers shuts up. Immediately. The bright, eerily green eyes might have something to do with it.

"If you’re going where I think you’re going, I advise you to reconsider," Banner growls, the vocals deep enough that Romanoff reaches for the nearest weapon. "Even setting my personal issues aside, it’s not worth the risk."

Barton sighs with what sounds less like exhaustion and more like sad resignation. "Hate to say it, Cap, but he’s right. Sending the scepter off-Earth with the Tesseract is probably the safest course of action we can take right now. We can’t count on being that lucky again."

"Agent Barton," Agent Agent’s words drip with such a pointedly polite friendliness, it’s a wonder he doesn’t spear his own tongue on it. "Please desist in trying to hand off objects that pose an immediate threat to global security to an unvetted alien who, while a valued ally, is in line for the throne of a foreign world."

And wow. Tony’s not gonna win a prize for his sensitivity any time soon, but there’s some things you just don’t say to a guy who got brainwashed into doing an alien’s bidding less than forty-eight hours ago. Going by the way Romanoff has gone rigid, she agrees.

Luckily for everyone present, Barton doesn’t bat an eye at the dig. He leans forward instead, elbows placed on his tights, the picture of relaxation. As long as you ignore the expression on his face that could possibly pass for a smile. If you catch sight of it out of the corner of your eye. Through a dirty mirror.

"Not that I’m not glad to see you alive and well, Phil, because I am. But getting my head rolled once was already one time too many and if the Tesseract is powerful enough to draw fucking aliens to it then it’s too fucking powerful for us to protect." Barton’s voice becomes progressively lower as he continues his little not-having-any-of-your-shit rant. "More people are gonna get killed over that thing. Good people. Because we don’t have the damn resources to keep it safe. So if we gotta bet on Asgard for this, then that’s what we’re gonna fucking do because to be frank with you sir I’d rather lead the hostile aliens to a world ready for interstellar warfare than my own."

Thor straightens from where he’s been fixated on Loki for the past hour or so, trying to crawl into his brother’s skull through willpower alone by the looks of it, and dips his head in Barton’s direction. "Thank you for your faith," he says gravely, as though Barton hasn’t straight up told everyone in this room he wants to use Asgard as a shield-slash-sacrificial-offering. "I hope my people will prove worthy of it."

"Should be fine." Banner shrugs with a nonchalance Tony envies. "’s long as we take care of your murderous sibling first."

Thor winces. Loki’s face loses whatever expressiveness it had left and it already was at state zero: emotions not welcome here to begin with.

But. Tony tilts his head. Why not just call Loki by his name? Unless, of course, Banner isn’t referring to him. But how would the infamous Hulk-slash-brilliant-scientist have gotten himself wrapped up in alien family drama? And is there a form Tony can sign? Because he hates being kept out of the loop.

"Avengers!" Fury snaps before things can get any more awkward. Which, good for him, but in Tony’s fine opinion he should have taken the win and be done with it. There’s just no winning against whatever type of madness — not to mention feelings — these people are so inconsiderately spreading inside his walls. "You’re not bartering off our best chance to defend ourselves against alien invaders, have I made myself clear? That’s an order."

Rogers scoffs at the screen and damn it, Tony’s determined not to like the guy but the way he just smirks humorlessly as he stares Fury down, all aww shucks did you want the pretty, glowy thing too and well too damn bad for you makes it hard. Especially when Rogers goes that little extra mile and asks with a plain as day air of who fucking cares: "Whatever gave you the impression that this is a negotiation, Director Fury?"

It’s just too great a line to resist and Tony is only human. He makes a sharp gesture with his hand and JARVIS disconnects the call before they witness Fury pop a blood vessel. Let that be Agent’s problem for the time being.

"So," Tony states after a moment. "Besides all but declaring war on SHIELD, the organization two people in this room are officially employed by, for the record, and dealing with Reindeer Games over there, what’s the plan?"

Nervous shuffling. Awkward grins. Badly-hidden glances going back and forth.

Perhaps most notably, nobody protests the declaring-war-on-SHIELD part. Tony would ask but frankly he’s still on his first glass of scotch — meaning way too fucking sober for whatever madness the answer to that question will undoubtedly raise. It’s a sad, sad day in the history of mankind when Tony is the voice of reason in a room filled with one-person-armies.

"What about Shawarma?" Rogers, apparently the most uncomfortable with the pressing silence, blurts out.

Tony gives that pitiful attempt to change the subject the nice try, have to admit I didn’t see that coming but you’re gonna have to give me more than that look it deserves. As it turns out though, he may have been overestimating his present company’s average ability to read a room.

"I could go for a bite," Barton pipes up, earning himself a soul-shriveling, dead-eyed, where the fuck did I go wrong with you and how have I not killed you yet stare, courtesy of Romanoff that he brushes off with admirable ease. Still not moving an inch away from her either and if Tony’s noticed the way her hand’s been edging ever closer to the knife strapped to her calf, there’s no way Barton hasn’t.

"Sounds good," Banner chimes in with a twisted amusement that makes Tony want to scratch his eyes out. "I know just to the place."

They do eat Shawarma together. [All of them, even Loki, because Thor insists his brother is far too thin. Considering Barton doesn’t protest and the only person Loki tries to stab with his salad fork is Thor himself, nobody comments on it.]

As if to add insult to a very long list of injuries that Tony is dying to poke and prod at, the food tastes delicious.

Okay so the whole antagonizing SHIELD thing wasn’t planned, but I figured in this AU there was no drawn out battle and no bomb and so there was no ‘thank fuck we’re even alive right now’ relief to take the edge of. Instead everyone is pissed off and frustrated (if for very different reasons) and not outright attacking the helicarrier right now is about all the diplomacy Steve has the patience for at this point.

#ReRe writes #if you know the future why are you such an idiot 'verse #subtlety thee name is Steve #Tony Stark #Steve Rogers #Natasha Romanoff #Clint Barton #Thor Odinson #Loki #Bruce Banner #did Steve bring up Shawarma in a panicked attempt to give the team some time to come up with an explanation for Tony and Nat?#you bet he did #is he gonna fail? you bet he will #Tony's got a list of question he wants answered alphabetically or chronologically the choice is your #Natasha's got her widow bites and some serious motivation to get her answers #Coulson and Fury are not pleased #they'll be even less pleased when the Avengers get their hands on the scepter they're trying to secure #which they will #fic #Tony's just done #meaning he's lying in wait for the first sign of weakness and then he's gonna jump onthat shit with all his observations and evidence #because he and Natasha are a lot more alike than either wants to admit

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simsadventures · 5 years

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Better Like This- Chapter 1: The Squad

Chapter Summary: Reader is on her way to her new department, the SVU, or as people like to call them, the Avengers. She thinks back to her previous department and is introduced to the squad. Nothing can happen, right?

Warnings: I used one swear word, sue me, other than that: none, it is a police AU, beware

Pairing (in this chapter): Alpha!Tony x Omega!Bruce, Alpha!Bucky x Omega!Reader,

Word Count: 2121

A/N: This is really just an introductory chapter to get this thing going. Bear with me please, it will get better, I promise. More action coming soon! x

Series Masterlist __ Masterlist

Your feet carried you along the hallway. This was it, you were finally here. The one place you’ve dreamed about, the ones towards which all of your hopes were inclining. The special victims unit of New York’s police. Most people, however, called them the Avengers for the dedication to avenging the unfortunate victims’ souls and lives. You knew you couldn’t work for this team unless someone put a good word for you and your well-done job.

So you kept your head down, and after the police academy went to work for the missing persons unit to prove you were a more than capable of handling the job. One thing that stood in your way, and not only in the police work was your presentation. Ever since you presented as Omega when you were 17, your life changed dramatically. You were used to the stereotypes and aggressive and touchy Alphas by now, and with your training, you could take on most of them.

You could, however, see that most Alphas in the police academy and then later in your previous unit weren’t trusting your skills and they were undermining your every step of the way. But you came back stronger, more determined and definitely more than ready to show all those assholes that you were more than a womb for their seed or a pretty face. You were tough! And you were about to prove it!

The team of the SVU was a big one, the whole police department knowing that these were the crimes most common in NY and in this case, the more, the merrier. The unit was run by an Alpha, naturally, but from what you heard, he was one of the good ones.

His name was Captain Rogers, and from the photos you’ve seen from the numerous arrests you saw, he was really handsome, with that big bulky arms and enchanting eyes. Not really your type if you were honest with yourself, he looked like too much of a goody-goody, but, who knows, right? But looks aside, all departments knew that this Captain was fair, doing his job so well some people wanted to see him in a chair of a Commissioner, even though he was only 30-35, who could tell, right? You were actually really excited to work for/with him and most importantly, to learn from him. Hopefully, you’d get the chance.

Other than him, however, you didn’t really know anyone from the team. You could maybe tell one or two names, but that was it. You really hoped these people, even though most probably mostly Alphas, were not as horrible as your previous team. You didn’t mean to offend anybody, but they really were just bunch of knot-headed idiots…

All except the only Beta on the team, and your rock for the past two years. His name is Vision or short Vis, and he really was one of the main reasons why you stayed on the team and didn’t give up on your dream. It was him telling you almost every day that you were good enough and that you could do big things, if only you wanted and were determined enough to actually start doing them. Soon after you guys met, he introduced you to his fiancé, Wanda, also a Beta, who is an artist- she does everything from oil painting to creating sculptures from old washing machines (yup, she’s done that!).

Sure, you did have some friends from college, but you mostly lost touch with them, never really feeling as if you fitted between them. The Alphas really only saw you as a piece of meat, and the Omegas… well, they were friendly, and all but you could see that their only aspiration in life was to get mated, give their Alphas as many pups as they could and.. that was it.

However, there still was one exception (there always was, right?) and you were thanking whatever God was sitting upstairs for bringing her into your life. Her name was Gamora and, just like you, she wanted to prove to everyone that Omegas were as valuable in the society as any Alpha. She was now part of the fire department in NY, the only Omega in the whole unit, and you couldn’t have been more proud of her.

You stopped before the door to the office. You shouldn’t be thinking about your whole life right before you’re starting a new job. You cleared your throat, took three calming breaths and opened the door.

What you could already tell from just the one step you took into the open-office, was the lighter air that surrounded you. You could smell all three presentations mingling in the air, and the atmosphere could only be described as calm. Which is definitely not the word you would use to describe your previous job. Sure, stressful, constricted, too-much-testosterone, those words you could use, but calm? Friendly? Never.

Few people looked up from their works, slightly nodded their heads and smiled, but nothing really more than that as you continued on your way to the Captain’s personal office.

Knock, knock. “Come in,” you heard from the inside of the room. “Ah, detective Y/L/N. You are a little early, I like that!” He smiled, warmly at you as you shook his hand. “Captain Rogers, I’m really thankful for this opportunity and-“you couldn’t finish your sentence as he raised his hand and smiled again. “Don’t thank me, detective. It was your hard work and so many successful arrests and finding of the missing people that got you this job. We are thrilled to have you here.”

You released a breath you didn’t know you were holding. When he raised the hand, you really expected him to shut you up by saying that he had to employ you, or that he doesn’t expect you to last so you shouldn’t really be thankful. But the warmth which radiated from him, his friendly smile, those were not the things you were prepared for.

“So, to get to the work, I’ll pair you up with one of our senior detectives, Scott Lang. Give me a sec.” He went around you, opened the door and yelled: “Hey, Lang, your new partner’s here.”

Which was followed by a loud laughing howl by what you thought was Scott. “Excuse him, he is just a big child sometimes, but somehow, he is really good at his job.” Steve looked at you, half amused. “’s ok. I’m really used to pretty much anything, sir.” You smiled at him as you smelt an Alpha coming to the office.

“You must be Y/L/N! I’m so excited to meet you! I mean, sheesh, your stats? Unbelievable, you gotta show me all your secrets, dude!” He then grabbed you and pulled you into a bear hug. What the fuck is happening?

“I mean when I heard I was gonna be paired up with you? Man, I almost fainted! You are like a fracking legend thanks to that Rumlow arrest!” He was literally beaming. You couldn’t help your own smile as you watched the Alpha ramble on and on.

You giggled when Captain stopped Scott from going on with his outburst. “Alright, you can fangirl over your partner later, Lang,” he turned to you with an apologetic shrug, to which you just smiled and rolled your eyes playfully. “Let me introduce you to the rest of the squad, and after that, we got a job to do. Come on.”

“Listen up, squad. This is detective Y/N Y/L/N. Detective, this is your new squad, your new family. Detective Tony Stark,” he showed you a smaller Alpha, with a smirk on his face, obviously full of himself but he didn’t look at you like you were a piece of meat. Just amused look seeing a newbie, really.

“He is also like our IT genius, so whenever you have a problem, he is your person.” The Captain continued. You both just nodded at each other, and the introduction continued. “This is his Omega, doctor Bruce Banner, he is our forensic guy and pretty much anything science-going on, it goes through him.” Bruce hugged you, “It is so nice to meet you, it must be overwhelming to come to such big new squad, but these idiots are really fine.” He smirked at you, and you laughed. “Hey, who you calling an idiot, huh? We’ll talk about it at home, LOVE!” Tony’s voice beamed behind Bruce. He just rolled his eyes and shrugged, “Yeah, whatever you say, my big bad Alpha.”

You really laughed out loud and even snorted a little, which caused little laughs all around the squad. “With a laugh like that? You’ll be just fine here, sweetheart.” Said the only female voice on the team, a Beta who introduced herself as Natasha. You liked her immediately. “I haven’t heard such teasing between Alphas and Omegas in a long time, that’s all.” “Well, sweetie, get used to it because the teasing here? That’s a daily tea!” She smiled and winked. “Oh I can’t wait, bring it!” You all laughed when suddenly, the front door opened.

Before you could actually notice who was coming in, you could smell them. Two Alphas. One’s smell was very regular, and due to your suppressants (which you were really taking as a precaution in your line of work), all Alphas smell more or less the same to you. You can smell the testosterone and the “strength” if you could call it that.

But the other Alpha was different. You took another whiff of air, and it suddenly hit you like a tidal wave. This Alpha (you couldn’t yet see if it was a man or a woman, due to the squad surrounding you) smelled like heaven to you. It was a combination of sandalwood, the smell of forest shortly after rain and something else, like a spice which you weren’t able to identify. But you didn’t really care.

The only thing running through your mind was one word: MATE! MATE! MATE! Was it possible?

Not that you didn’t believe in true mates, your heart was romantic enough to keep that hope alive. But as you were growing older, and none of the Alphas you met ignited any fire in you, you started to slowly give up.

But now you were sure. He or she was here and though you would never say it out loud, the Omega in you started purring contently. You could remotely hear the team talking about something, a joke maybe? You weren’t sure as you went on your tip-toes to try and see who walked through that door. You could see 4 eyes looking your way, one pair brown and you felt that those weren’t those eyes you were looking for.

The second pair was icy blue and when you looked into them, you felt as if the Alpha could see right into your soul. You wanted to look away, tried not to be the stereotypical Omega, but you just couldn’t make yourself let go.

There was a scenario in your head, for when you’d meet your Alpha. You tried not to think of it, but it was there, in the back of your mind. You would look at each other, walk towards each other, touch each other’s cheek and smile and just be happy. You didn’t need a fairytale, just this little act of future love and affection.

Your feet, therefore, carried you towards this Adonis of an Alpha, still looking into his eyes. What you didn’t expect, however, was the Alphas loud growl. It stopped you in your tracks. You wanted to whine but stopped yourself. You were an adult with some self-control. Even if you could feel this control slipping away each second you were in the Alpha’s presence.

He snarled, shook his head and turned around to run out of the open-office and, probably, outside of the building too.

The whine escaped your lips however hard you tried to suppress it. What was this Alpha’s problem? You immediately started to blame yourself, for probably not being his type, or not being pretty enough, but you stopped yourself. You used to blame yourself for every little misstep, for every bad mood of your father’s, Christ, even for the rain pouring down too hard when you had to do something outside. But the longer you spent with good friends like Gamora or Vis you realised, other people’s issues had mostly nothing to do with you.

So you knew that this wasn’t your fault! He just left without even getting to know you, touching you… What was this Alpha’s problem?

Next chapter>

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#alpha bucky barnes #alpha bucky #alpha bucky omega reader #bucky #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #avengers #avengers a/b/o #avengers fanfiction #bucky fanfic #new fic alert #new fic #better like this #first chapter #policeau #a/b/o

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whumpitywhumpwhump · 4 years

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Hey y’all! I’m doing @amonthofwhump‘s Mafia Week list of prompts, so here’s day 1, Russain roulette.

“What do I keep you around for, Beck?”

“To deliver messages and packages inside the Town Hall.” Beck swallowed nervously. Getting called in to speak with Pat in the back of the deli was never a good sign—they called him Pat the Butcher for a reason, after all.

“These messages, are they secret?”

“They are.”

Pat was a heavyset older man, thick black mustache bristling over thicker lips. His face boasted more hair than his head, which he had taken to shaving completely once it had gone from slightly balding to patchy at best. He nodded, and Beck could see the glint behind his dark and wily gaze. He was toying with a revolver as he talked, polishing it with a handkerchief.

“So you’re a secret messenger.”

Beck nodded.

“Tell me, Beck, what’s the point of a secret messenger who can’t keep a secret?”

The temperature in the room must have plummeted, as a shiver ran down Beck’s spine.

“Tony, James, all of you come in.”

A crowd of large men, each one taller and thicker than the previous, filed into the back of the store. Beck spotted Simon among them—his wiry frame and wavy black hair draped around his face set him apart from the crowd. He looked like he’d be right at home with a group of hippies out west, not in the middle of a crowd of the city’s most dangerous mobsters. And yet, this was almost more Simon’s world than Beck’s.

They avoided each other’s gazes.

“Well, Beck? Why keep you if you can’t keep secrets? That short angry lady who works for the DA, Clarisse, she knew some things she shouldn’t about Mad Dog.” The very same Mad Dog, otherwise known as State Representative Stewart Atlas, crossed his muscled arms in the throng.

“Boss, you know I’d never spill to Clarisse, or anyone. I’m as loyal to you as anyone, you know that.” Beck tried to keep his voice even—he ignored the sweat beading at the edge of his hairline.

“I want to think so, son, but Mad Dog coulda been in hot water because a secret I entrusted to you got out. I can’t ignore that.”

He hung his head, unable to meet the boss’s heavy stare.

“I’ll make it as fair as I can, since you’ve been so loyal before.”

Pat lifted the revolver he’d been holding. He opened it, showing the bullet settled in the chamber—only one. Slamming it shut, he spun, dizzyingly fast. Beck had no chance of knowing which chamber it was in, none at all. The older man held it, grip out, towards him. As Beck took it, Pat turned to address the other men.

“Young Beck here has always done good work for us, but a leak happened, and it can only be traced to him. To prove his loyalty, he’s going to do a task for me right now,” he announced. Turning back to Beck, he continued, “Son, you know the rules for Russian Roulette. One bullet, six chambers, gun to the temple. You squeeze five times, and if you live through all five, consider your record clean. If not, well, you know what that means.”

Over Pat’s shoulder, he could see Simon’s eyes flashing with anger. The tiniest shake of the head was all the rebuke he could give, all he could do to keep Simon quiet. Then he locked eyes with his boss, raised then gun to his temple, nodded once, and pulled the trigger.

Click.

Beck flinched involuntarily. Despite the casual way he started, his heart thudded a little too heavily in his chest. That bead of sweat slid slowly down past his eyebrow, and a new one gathered in its place.

He closed his eyes for this one, sucked in a breath, and squeezed again.

Click.

Two down, he counted to himself. He was still alive, still feeling his legs start to go cold as the panic well and truly set in. Lying, espionage, sneaking around, that he could do. That he was good at. Gun to the head with confidence? That was more for the people watching him, people who did the dirty work for Pat.

His boss raised a brow—he needed to get on with it. Beck raised the weapon to his temple once again, resting the cold metal against his head. A lump gathered in his throat, and he pulled.

Click.

He sighed, silently, when he heard the sound. He took a second to steady himself—his knees were locked, whole body tense. Halfway, he was halfway through. Only two more chambers. He could make it.

His fingers were shaking as he lifted the gun to his head again. He screwed his eyes shut, stiffened his hand as much as possible, and squeezed.

Click.

His shoulders sagged. Breath coming in short gasps, sweat making slithering trails down the slopes of his face, it was obvious that Beck was scared.

He gulped, searching for the courage to lift the gun one more time. Instead, he met Simon’s sharp and worried eyes, trained on him, tracing him up and down. The black-haired man set his jaw, muscle jumping, and Beck frowned. Simon wanted to intercede—Beck needed him to hold back.

He raised the gun, fast, but not faster than Simon.

“Stop.”

Beck’s knees almost gave out in relief, but his furrowed brows never betrayed that secret.

Pat turned, eyes rolling beneath his fleshy lids, and faced his nephew.

“Simon, we’re in the middle of something.”

“Uncle, he’s already pulled four times, and you know he’s the most loyal messenger you’ve got. Just be done with it.” Simon’s voice was confident and smooth, the words of a man who grew up with this, who could talk his way out of a paper bag without touching the sides. Bending men like his uncle to his will was his specialty, and he was laying it on pretty thick. “Come on, how are you gonna get another in at the Mayor’s office? We were lucky Beck was so willing to sign on. Like that Bertinessi gig? That would’ve gone to hell if he hadn’t been involved. Or the Walker sting? If you kill him, it’s your loss. Think about the big picture.”

Unless you knew Simon really well (which Beck did), you’d never know he was nervous. Ending too many sentences as questions, that little flick of the chin he made at the end—he was just as scared, even if the gun wasn’t chilly in his palm or hard against his skull.

“You think I should just end it.”

“Yeah, if you care about the future of our business, you should.” No one else could talk to Pat like that, but coming from Simon, it was just within the limits of allowance.

“Fine.” He swung back around to Beck, frowning. “You’d better not let anything else slip or it’ll be six full chambers, son. Gimme the gun.”

Pat held out a meaty fist, and Beck deposited it carefully. He also nodded, calmly, with lots of eye contact, going the extra mile to show how grateful he was, how much he appreciated having his life spared.

He stepped back and watched Pat stand. The large man turned and left the room, the crowd parting for him like some criminal Moses’ Red Sea. The assembled men filed out, one after another, and one of them clapped a hand on Simon’s shoulder, guiding him out.

Beck turned instead to the back door, preferring to have a moment alone over a walk down the block with the guys. The hinges screeched as he forced them open, and again as they swung closed, but he still heard the snick of the door locking automatically behind him.

He leaned against the brick wall of the alley and sighed, tipping his head back. His breath billowed up in the crisply cool air and the sweat that had slithered across his body chilled on his skin. His cheeks, by contrast, felt feverish, blood rushing up to his face.

He almost died tonight.

He could have died right there.

And he didn’t.

Had the bullet been in chamber five or chamber six? Would Pat regret it all if he had died? Did the stunt Simon pulled put him in bad graces that would get him killed later?

Beck ran a hand through his limp curls, then grabbed one blonde lock at the back of his head. He tugged on it, hard enough to sting, then relaxed, then tugged. The rhythmic pulling was a tempo to breathe to, to think to, and after a minute, his hand slid away and he wasn’t shaking quite as hard and he could take hold of a thought in his brain to properly consider it.

Simon should have kept his mouth shut, because now Pat would have a close eye on them both. He put both of them in more danger.

The saying goes that if you speak of the devil, he appears. The same is often said of Simon Alexander. As soon as he crossed Beck’s mind, he turned the corner into the alley.

“Beck. Thought you’d be here.”

Simon’s voice came out as casual as always, and he walked with easy confidence, but his eyes gave him away. He looked Beck up and down, scanning, trying to read him—was Beck alright, or did Simon need to do something more?

Beck worked his tongue between his teeth, avoiding Simon gaze and question. His face was once more getting hot, though not with fear this time.

“Beck?”

“That was stupid.”

“Beck, that’s not fair. You could have—”

“The spilled secret was on me. Someone leaked it after I passed it along, that’s on me, and I needed to take the punishment due me. You interrupted, and now everyone will lose respect for me, and Pat will be keeping a much closer eye on us, so that means we’re totally fucked.”

“You could have died, Beck. Did you think I’d just stand and watch?”

“I had hoped you’d respect my wishes.”

“How was I supposed to know what—”

“You knew exactly what I wanted. Don’t play dumb, Simon, it really doesn’t suit you.”

Beck was facing Simon now, arms crossed over his chest, brows drawn together. The black-haired man was glaring right back, indignant, arms swung wide—Simon always talked with his hands when he got upset.

“I’m not apologizing for saving your life, Beck.”

“You don’t even know you did. What if it the bullet was in—”

“It was in the fifth. There’s a scratch on Uncle Pat’s revolver on the side of one of the chambers, which is the one he slotted the bullet into. After he spun it, the scratched chamber was number five.” Simon paused, letting the words hang between them. “If you had pulled the trigger again, you’d be dead.”

Beck felt the tips of his ears get hot, and tears prick against his eyelashes. He blinked them back and instead regarded Simon. Was he telling the truth or just covering his tracks?

The slight frown, head tilt, finger playing with a heavy gold ring on his finger—Simon’s body betrayed the honesty you could never quite trust his mouth for. That fifth chamber really held the end of Beck’s life, and Simon saved him.

Simon weighed the consequences, chose careful words, put himself right in the path of his uncle’s frustration, and that was the only reason Beck still had brains inside his skull and air in his lungs.

He couldn’t blink away the tears anymore.

They slid, one and another, down the curve of his cheek, as he chewed his lip and looked anywhere but at Simon. He wouldn’t let himself make sounds—the crying was bad enough, no need to escalate it any further than that.

He didn’t need to, as it turns out, because a warm hand settled on his shoulder, and he melted into the touch. Simon’s arms slid around him, pulling him close against a cologne-scented chest. Fingers rubbed up and down on his back, grounding him, holding him together. Beck was so grateful for the opportunity to cry over Simon’s shoulder, unseen, that he made no comment about how hard Simon was trembling.

“I wouldn’t let him kill you, Beck. I wouldn’t let him hurt you, not now and not ever. You’re mine, and you’re safe with me.”

“I know, babe.”

Beck pulled back, looked up at Simon’s somber face, and kissed him. Their bodies were tense, alert. If anyone saw them kissing—

But no one saw them. Not tonight.

#mafiaweek2020 #mw-no.1 #russian roulette #whump #my OCs #these are some new boys I have made specifically for this week #and it's pride month #so obv they're gay #listen mafia boyfriends is the romance plots everyone is too afraid to give you #but pls enjoy

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pepperonyfic · 4 years

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the seeds of absolution

Author: closingdoors Rating: teen Word Count: 5-10k Genre(s): angst, romance Film-specific: post iron man Tropes: canon divergence, ptsd, guilty!tony, supportive!pepper, starting relationship, first kiss

Summary: "She remembers his words from months ago: I shouldn't be alive unless it was for a reason. She wonders, if now that Obadiah's gone, he ends that sentence at I shouldn't be alive." Or: Pepper teaches Tony forgiveness.

READ HERE: AO3

#r: teen #w: 5to10k #a: closingdoors #g: angst #g: romance #t: oneshot #f: post iron man #canon divergence #ptsd #guilty!tony #supportive!pepper #starting relationship #first kiss

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unfortunatelysirius · 5 years

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! DEAR BROTHER, HOW I HATE THEE /// BUCKY BARNES x READER

╰❂╮ prompt ╰❂╮ You’re Tony Stark’s secretary, and also his sister, but there’s this one thing you can’t let him find out: your crush on the newest addition to the Avengers team, James Buchanan Barnes. ╰❂╮ author’s note ╰❂╮ I’m finally getting around to trying out new fandoms. Hope you guys like this; if you do, pls tell me, because I feel like it’s garbage and I’m sorry if it sucks D: Love you guys btw! Send some positivity my way pls, I’m going through some shitty times with rlly toxic people and it’s a struggle to get out of friendships with people you’ve known since childhood. AS ANOTHER SIDE NOTE, if you want tagged in future Avengers imagines, shoot me a message or just comment bc yoooo, I’ll totally do it. And rememberrrr, my inbox is open! And I’m always looking for fresh ideas for my imagines :))) ╰❂╮ warnings ╰❂╮ Swearing, Fluff ╰❂╮ word count ╰❂╮ 3869

If there was one thing you absolutely hated about your brother—not counting his oversized ego—it’d be his habit of meddling in your affairs. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t hide secrets from Anthony Stark. It just didn’t work that way, especially with all the security cameras and the blabber-mouthed Avengers that littered the Tower.

But there was this one secret that, if gotten out, and if exposed to the male members of the team, you’d probably move to Alaska.

You had the biggest, fattest, most obviously obvious crush on the Avengers’ new recruit, Bucky Barnes.

Truth be told, if it were up to you, you wouldn’t be enduring the phases of a crush. You didn’t want to be infatuated with someone who probably cared more for succulents than they did for you. The butterflies, the stomach cramps, the anxiety, the sweaty palms; you were certain Bucky noticed your behavior around him, and he probably found it uncomfortable, and it most certainly made him avoid you, but what were you supposed to do? Stay rooted in your office all day? That was not a plan you felt obligated to disclose—especially not to your crazy-ass brother. If it was up to Tony, he would have locked you in your office by now; if he ever caught you, his puny little sister, attempting to join in on field combat again, he’d probably have a heart attack. And Pepper would have your head.

Well, maybe not. Pepper liked you. But that was liable to change if you killed her boyfriend. And Tony would turn you into Rapunzel if you kept trying to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent when you were a freakin’ secretary.

That’s one reason why you couldn’t share your latest fancy with your brother. With all the history of Bucky being the Winter Soldier, and you always getting into trouble that’d always wind up with you sustaining some sort of injury, he’d worry himself into early sickness. You told Tony everything, only starting with the trend of raw honesty after Tony revealed that he had cameras out in the hall from your room and basically knew everything you’d ever done wrong, but this was just something he’d try and sabotage in any possible way he could.

However, that didn’t mean you couldn’t tell other people. It just had to be outside of hearing range for the Tower. That’s what had you and Wanda Maximoff at a café around the corner from Stark Tower. A populated place that was nowhere near Tony and his rampant, exaggerative mind.

“Oh my gosh, Wanda,” you groaned into the table, barely managing to thank the waitress as she deposited your and Wanda’s coffees and blueberry muffins in between the two of you. You peeked up, giving Wanda your best I’m-dying eyes, fit with half-slanted eyelids and creased corners. “He’s just so handsome… I can’t be normal around him. Like, how do you be normal around cute boys?”

Wanda pursed her lips. She had taken a dainty sip of her mocha latte through your rant, and was only just putting it down when you turned your pleading gaze to her. “Well,” she said slowly, “I do not think I am the best person to approach with this information. Neither Natasha. Do you have any secretary friends you can talk to about this?”

Your eyes turned withering. You regarded your coffee and muffin as irrelevant, pausing only for a moment to take in the delectable blueberries bursting out of the muffin-skin, before you raised your head to its full height. “You and Natasha are the only people I talk to,” you said. You sounded whiney, but you were freaking out about this, so honestly, you didn’t care. You jutted out your bottom lip, thinking a pout could win her over, and evoke from her advice. “Please?”

A pause. Then Wanda finally sighed. “If you really want a relationship out of this, then you should approach him with your feelings,” she told you. “Feelings are no good when they stay just that: feelings.”

“That’s true,” you said. You took a bite out of your muffin, nearly turning into goo at the scrumptious taste. “He’s just so… stoic. And he hardly smiles, or laughs. Sometimes I don’t know if he wants to kill me, feels nothing for me, or finds me likable. I mean, I hope it’s the latter, but let’s face it; the only person he truly likes in that tower is Steve, and on rare occasions, he even enjoys Natasha’s company. I’m just… a background nuisance.”

“No, you are not.” Wanda shook her head at you. She took her hands from her coffee cup, moving them out so she could place them on your own hands. She gave you a stern, motherly look. “You must get to know him better. Try your hand at being his friend, and then, see where the road takes you. You will do nothing for yourself if you continue to mope.”

You nodded frantically. “Yeah, yeah—that’s a great idea—but, wait…” You sighed. “What do I do about Tony?”

Wanda rolled her eyes. “Pay him no mind,” she said, pulling away a hand to wave it dismissively in the air. “You’re a grown woman. He does not own you. Unless you are a product of Stark Industries, and you are no human, but a robot in disguise. Are you?”

“No…”

“There you have it, then. Talk to Bucky, and see where he stands.” She leaned back in the booth seat, taking a long sip of her coffee. You proceeded to do the same.

Maybe she was right… You did need to start getting to know Bucky better. And you needed to stop letting Tony influence and dictate your life. After all, Bucky was only a man, and if he was as truly stoic as you thought he was, then your feelings would be one-sided and Tony would get his wish: you, single forever, an eternal bachelorette.

You were making breakfast in the kitchen Tony had on the Avengers floor (as well as the floor you stayed in, when you weren’t at your apartment in the city), clad in Hello Kitty pajamas, when you had your first encounter of the week with Bucky. You were humming to an old 80’s song, stirring pasta, and there came a deep, throaty chuckle, then his husky voice as he said, “Is that Billie Jean?”

You jumped, a sharp squeak leaving you. A flush lit you up from head to toe, and if it wasn’t Bucky—if it was another Avenger, someone you were comfortable enough around to be yourself—you might have broken into a fit of, “Oh my god, oh my god”’s. However, just your luck, it was Bucky who graced you with his presence, seeing you in your pajamas, watching you as you jammed out to imaginary Michael Jackson records. This was downright embarrassing.

You slowly turned to look at him. You fought back the even redder shade of blush that was struggling its way up your throat, choosing (from a multitude of other embarrassing ways to act around Bucky) to smile nervously and teeter-tot on your heels. If the symptoms of your crush were going to burn you alive, you might as well smile through the death and destruction. Bucky began to look expectant when you merely stood there and smiled at him, which made you remember you hadn’t yet replied to him. “Oh, u-um, yeah!” you said, through such a high pitch, that you internally face-palmed. Way to give yourself away, dumbass. “I was just…”

“Dancing?” Bucky raised an eyebrow. A smirk was beginning to twitch at his lips, fighting to make its debut appearance. “That’s a bit of a safety hazard when cooking, doll.”

Doll? Did he just call me doll? That deep-red shade you were trying to fight off your face… You were now a goner to your body’s dysfunctions. You flushed deeply, and your smile turned into a clumsy line that revealed just how much strength you had in the face of a handsome, well-mannered man, meaning zero. “There’s a reason why Tony keeps me locked up in the office all day,” you said, with an unsure laugh. “He says I make a habit of hurting myself when I’m alone. Apparently, I’m a trouble magnet!”

Bucky’s eyebrows raised, and he no longer tried hiding his smirk. He looked amused. “Clearly,” he murmured.

“Well, uh—” You stopped talking. You really didn’t know where you were heading with that. The curious look on his face, though, made you take a deep breath and say, “Shouldn’t you be at training?”

Bucky’s eyes turned wide, and his smirk disappeared. He put a nervous hand on his neck, scratching at it—like this was a question he really didn’t want to answer. “Well, uh—” he parroted, looking just as jumpy as you had felt when you, too, had uttered the words. “I just wanted—I, well… I thought you might want some company.”

You blinked. You hadn’t expected that. “Well… I could always use someone to talk to while I cook.” Your expression considerably brighter, you turned back to your pasta—which had almost burned while you were busy talking to Bucky.

A loud scrapping sound told you Bucky had sat down, and the prickling sensation on your neck told you that he was staring. After about three minutes of you moving the pasta off the burner and putting together a marinara sauce, you decided to say something. You said over your shoulder, “So, you like Michael Jackson?”

Bucky said, “Yes.” A simple answer.

“I do too,” you replied, a smile on your face as you put the marinara sauce in a pan to heat. You turned to him. “Would you want to eat with me?” At the startled expression on his face, you backtracked, a sense of panic welling up in you— “Wait, uh—only if you want to—”

“Sure,” said Bucky, reverting you back to your normal, albeit fidgety, state. “Pasta’s nice.”

“Oh.” You blinked. You weren’t expecting that answer. “Okay, cool!” The raised eyebrow he shot you at the amount of pent-up excitement in your tone made you feel a tad bit abashed, but what did that matter—you were having dinner with James Buchanan Barnes.

You couldn’t stop smiling all throughout dinner, so distracted by your conversations with Bucky (and the astonishing fact that he was smiling and laughing with you, two elements of a human’s behavioral personality, which he apparently lacked, that caused you to think he disliked you) that you forgot one teeny, tiny detail about Stark Tower…

Tony cornered you the next morning, nearly sloshing your coffee all down your shirt in his haste to get to you. “You couldn’t have picked a worse person to deflower you, huh?”

You stopped walking. What the hell? “Did you really just say ‘deflower’? What are you—fifty?”

“Better than being in my 90s,” Tony said snidely, an obvious reference you weren’t automatically getting, before grabbing your arm. He ignored your look of annoyance and pulled you to in front of him. “That tin-armed hand-me-down is still in the works about becoming normal, Y/N/N. One little snap, and you could be killed. You understand that?”

“What—are you talking about Bucky?” At Tony’s deadpan expression, you had to let out a sigh; of course he saw. Of course! He had cameras in every stinkin’ crevice of this damned Tower. “Tony… there’s nothing going on between us.” Well, you wished there was, but he didn’t need to know that. “And besides, Bucky is a person. Stop talking about him like he isn’t.”

Tony rubbed a hand over his face in exasperation. “Bucky is a person… He’s got you brainwashed, or infatuated, because all I see is a man who murdered our damn parents, Y/N.”

You pushed him off of you. “That wasn’t him,” you snapped. “He wasn’t in control of himself. If you want to blame anyone, blame Hydra. Stop being a dickhead about it.”

Tony’s eyes darkened. He went to say something, but he must have thought better of it because he merely shook his head, then briskly walked back down the hallway. When you got to your office, you couldn’t help the long, angry screech that left you in the safety of your personal four walls; if there was anyone who could frustrate you most in this world, it was your brother.

Taking long and well-thought measures to avoid someone usually resulted in you avoiding other people, too. Which included all of the Avengers. It wasn’t that much of a surprise when a knock on your office door sounded before Natasha was waltzing right in, a look of pure anger on her face.

“Why are you avoiding us?” she said brusquely, barely paying your deer-in-headlights expression any attention as she plopped down on the meeting chair placed in front of your desk.

“I’m avoiding Tony.”

Natasha breathed out a scoff, then began to laugh. “He lives here, Y/N. How exactly did you think you were going to avoid him? Avoid us?”

She had got you there. Your expression fell into a thin line teetering on the edge of shame, barely concealing your embarrassment. “I know… but he—”

Natasha threw up a dismissive hand. “Whatever he did to you, it can’t be bad enough a reason for you to avoid everyone and lock yourself up in this tiny little prison you call an ‘office.’” She snorted. “Barnes is worried.”

You were beginning to look away, not able to meet Natasha’s eyes while she was busy chastising you, but her final words caught your attention. You immediately turned to look at her. “Wait—what?”

There was that meddling look that Tony was always giving you. Befit with a raised brow and hollowed-out cheeks, Natasha smirked. “Barnes. He’s worried about you. He’s the one who asked me to come check on you. He said Tony probably locked you up to keep you out of trouble.”

Wow. I didn’t think Bucky cared enough to do that. Maybe there was a lot of things you didn’t know about Bucky. You pursed your lips, then said—“You can tell him I’m fine.”

Natasha got this look on her face, before she was tilting her face towards the door leading to your office. “Why don’t you tell him yourself?”

Before you could ask what she meant by that, the door to your office was pushing open, and Bucky stuck his head out from between the frame. His frown seemed bashful, and he didn’t meet your gaze head-on. “Hey, doll. Can I come in?”

Doll. Again. You ignored Natasha’s knowing stare when you replied, “Oh, y-yeah—of course.”

“Guess I’ll be off,” Natasha said loudly, rising from the office chair. She sent you a wink. “I’ll get Tony to lay off with the brotherly love.” She smirked.

You waved her off awkwardly, biting hard on your lip as she passed Bucky and shot him a wicked, cheeky grin. Bucky mumbled a few choice words, shoving at her shoulder; he certainly seemed embarrassed by whatever implications were in her expression.

When Bucky was out of the door’s range, and Natasha’s clacking heels were no longer heard above the ventilation, the two of you sat in a still, awkward silence. You were twiddling with your fingers, and Bucky was staring at his feet, both of you too introverted and shy to really speak the first words. However, in the midst of your frantic thoughts (Oh God, what do I say, what do I do, is he mad at me? Did I do something wrong?) you didn’t notice Bucky look up from his boots, or see him sink into the same chair that Natasha had only been occupying moments before. He looked at you for a long moment, and only when the hair-raising feeling that accompanied people’s centered gazes intensified did you finally look up.

“Oh,” you said dumbly. “Hi.”

Bucky’s lips twitched. The barest hint of a smile crawled onto his lips. “Hi.”

You didn’t know what to say. Neither did Bucky, it seemed. This was extremely awkward, and you wondered why Natasha had to leave when she knew the two of you were the quietest members of the Tower; conversations were difficult to uphold when Bucky was silent most of the time and simplistic in his rare answers, and you always stopped before you could begin when it came to speaking.

However, you must have misjudged Bucky for being defiant in his silence. He slowly crossed his arms, continuing to stare into your eyes, before saying, “Did Tony do something?”

Your mouth fell agape before you were gathering your senses. Don’t be such an open book, idiot. “He said some things I didn’t like,” you said finally. “So we’re not on speaking terms, at the moment.”

Bucky’s face brightened, then dulled. Like he was wanting a different answer. Like he knew exactly what you were talking about. “Ah,” he said. “Does the word ‘deflower’ really bother you that much?”

Oh, shit. Did he—? “Wait.” Your reply was slow, calculated. “Did you overhear our conversation?”

Bucky nodded.

You sighed. Well, he must think I’m obsessed with him or something, defending him like I’m his girlfriend. “Tony’s… an asshole. I’m sorry he said the things he did.” There, that sounded friendly enough. You didn’t want to come off as a fangirl.

Bucky just shook his head, looking determined. And like he didn’t really care about Tony, and his wonderful way with words. Bucky leaned forward, propping his crossed arms on your desk. He was close enough for you to smell his cologne, and close enough that your gaze immediately flickered towards his lips. “You said there’s nothing going on between us… What if I said there is something?”

This conversation was heading in a direction you were not anticipating. Your jaw fell open again, eyes going wide with shock. “W-What?”

Bucky stared at you. He seemed less confident now, with your expression of bewilderment so blatant. He started leaning back into his chair. “I’m sorry—was that too forward?”

Now, you were dubious. Why wasn’t he referencing all the fangirl moments you’d have around him? Was he just oblivious? Since it appeared like he was embarrassed, for lack of a better word, you began to push forward in your seat; you latched a hand around his flesh arm. “N-No!” you shouted, before quieting, a blush on your face. “No… I just didn’t expect you to think that way about me, is all.”

Bucky was the one to look dubious now. “I thought I was obvious about it.”

“No, if anyone was obvious, it was me.” You laughed and shook your head. “Always giggling around you, and stuttering. And don’t get me started on the blushing. It’s like you’ve turned me into a schoolgirl again.”

Bucky’s handsome face lit up with a smile. Not a smirk—a smile. It made your stomach do flips. “I guess I just didn’t think someone like you would like someone like me. I’m surprised… I even came up here. I was actually going to your office to ask you out on a date when… you and your brother talked, but when you said there was nothing going on, I just thought… And then you were avoiding Stark, which made me think maybe, you were lying, and maybe his words made you more angry than I thought.”

That was the most Bucky had ever said to you. Maybe even around anyone in this Tower, including Steve—which made you feel smug inside. You smiled at him, and reached out a hand to lay gently on his jaw. “Well, you’re here now,” you told him softly.

He smiled back at you. “Yeah. I am.” He cupped the back of your neck with his human hand and pulled you into a swooping kiss.

You were shocked—completely shocked—by the amount of butterflies that lit up in your belly at the sensation of Bucky’s lips on yours. You thought the movies and books were lying when they said kissing was like a Fourth of July show. He tasted like coffee—black, no creamer and no sugar, the same way you liked your own coffee—and he smelled even more heavenly, making you nestle closer as the grip tightened on the hair at your nape. His lips grew harder against your own, moving passionately (as though both were pieces to the same puzzle) and it made you feel light, like you were airborne, the way he tasted and felt.

So caught in this amazing feeling, you didn’t hear the door open. But you did hear the outraged noises that left whoever it was that barged in.

“What the hell, Y/N?! Does this look like nothing to you?” your brother yelped, seeming completely bewildered by the sight of you and Bucky locked in a kiss.

You pulled away, wracked with a sense of smugness at the deprived sound that left Bucky’s throat. You gave him a soft smile before moving your chair sideways to take a peek at the door. Tony was there, mouth fully popped open, pointing a finger between you and Bucky, like he was in utter disbelief; you were sure in that empty brain of his, he was praying for this to be nothing but a vicious nightmare, his greatest worries coming true.

How sad it’d be when he woke up tomorrow morning to find that this was a reality, a reality not going anywhere anytime soon.

You left your hand on top of Bucky’s as you said, “You know, Tony, it’s kind of rude to barge into a room without knocking first.”

Tony spluttered, and gaped, raising an angry finger. Similar to how he acted when you called him a dickhead. “I’ll have you know—”

“You own this place, you can do anything you want, you’re the great Tony Stark—blah, blah, blah.” You caught the amused smirk on Bucky’s face. And a startled look. He was probably confused about your banter with Tony; you could be talkative to people you really cared about, but the shyness came out in front of strangers and groups. You threw Tony a frown. “Listen, Tony—I get that you think you have some sort of sibling protection rules you live religiously by, but let’s be a little bit more lenient about my dating life… Okay? Okay. Now please—get out and go gossip to the Avengers about me. I know you really want to.”

An outraged look appeared on Tony’s face. “Don’t think this is over!” he said angrily, before he was sweeping out of your office; there wasn’t a doubt in your mind that he was heading to the Avengers to mope and ask for advice on how to sabotage your relationship.

You sighed, looking back at Bucky. He was already looking at you, and he was smirking. “Dating, huh?” he said, sounding pleased.

You swatted at him playfully; now that you knew he didn’t hate you, it was much easier to be comfortable with him. “Oh, shut up and kiss me.”

And he did.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes drabble #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes #avengers x reader #avengers #marvel #mcu #wanda maximoff #natasha romanoff #black widow #winter soldier #tony stark #tony stark x reader #buckybarnes #james buchanan barnes #mcu fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky x reader

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explodingcrenelation · 5 years

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Tony Stark and the Messianic Archetype in Avengers: Endgame

* * * * * S P O I L E R S ahead for Avengers: Endgame * * * * *

From a purely analytical standpoint, I don’t have anything against Tony’s character arc in Endgame culminating with his death. His last moments in the heat of battle weren’t rushed, poorly written, or unearned. If Tony Stark was going to die on screen, of course he’d do it like a goddamn badass—and he did.

At this point Marvel is telling a single story to millions upon millions of people and there’s no way they can craft a narrative to suit every single person. When I say Tony's death didn’t work for me, I do so knowing that Marvel wasn’t writing the story for me anyway. And I'm not trying to disparage the creative team's efforts and storytelling choices. They made a call. I don’t agree it was the right one.

For me, Tony’s death traps him inside a Messianic Archetype that doesn’t elevate his character in a wholly satisfying way and doesn’t fit the themes of the established, team-centric universe. In this essay I will…

…actually write a fucking 4000-word essay, so buckle up and read on if you’re in for the ride.

What Is the Messianic Archetype?

The Messianic Archetype is a messiah trope. It’s exactly what it sounds like—one person (usually (but not always) white, usually (but not always) male) who sacrifices themselves for the greater good.

Here’s how TV Tropes puts it:

In media, the Messianic Archetype is a character whose role in the story (but not necessarily personality) echoes that of Christ. They are portrayed as a savior, whether the thing they are saving is a person, a lot of people or the whole of humanity. They endure a sizable sacrifice as the means of bringing that salvation about for others, a fate they do not deserve up to and including death or a Fate Worse than Death. Other elements may be mixed and matched as required but the Messianic Archetype will include one or more of the following:

- The Chosen One. - True Companions who follow him. - Betrayal by one of those followers. - Persecution by nonbelievers. - Crucified Hero Shot (or other parallels to the Passion Play). - Figurative or literal resurrection. - A Second Coming. - The initials JC.

Some examples of Messianic Archetypes in popular narratives are: Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (or Kirk in Star Trek: Into Darkness), Harry Potter in The Deathly Hallows, Superman in Batman vs Superman, or Neo in the Matrix trilogy. The Doctor in Doctor Who is frequently and repeatedly presented as a messiah figure. Multiple incarnations of Sherlock also follow suit in multiple imaginings of the the Reichenbach Falls scenario. (I won’t go into details with any of these characters. I trust the Messianic Archetypes here are obvious to anyone familiar with these stories.)

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself, we see Messianic Archetypes popping up all over the place—like daisies! Steve plays this part when he sacrifices himself in The First Avenger to stop Red Skull's plan to bomb several major American cities. His time in the ice is a kind of death from which he is subsequently “resurrected” in modern day New York. To a lesser extent, he also offers himself up as a sacrifice to save Bucky in The Winter Soldier.

T’Challa follows this pattern in Black Panther when he’s betrayed by W’Kabi, defeated by Killmonger, and subsequently resurrected within the safety of M’Baku’s tribe.

In the first Thor movie, Thor is betrayed by Loki, sacrifices himself to the Destroyer to protect his human friends, and he comes back from near-death with the return of Mjölnir, having proven himself worthy of the hammer.

Carol Danvers destroys Mar-Vell’s engine in Captain Marvel to keep enemies from getting their hands on tech that could harm millions of innocent people. Her human life symbolically ends in the subsequent explosion, and she’s effectively reborn with superpowers.

Pepper Potts is betrayed by her former colleague Killian in Iron Man 3, selected as his “chosen one” for the Extremis injection, and she dies and is reborn from fire.

Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2—

Well, I could go on for a long time, but... you get the idea.

The Messianic Archetype isn’t particularly new to popular media, let alone the MCU.

This trope is deeply, almost subconsciously, woven into the fabric of popular western storytelling. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. Tropes are tropes for a reason—they speak to us on a cultural and instinctual level. We want to hear these stories over and over, replay them in new ways and look at them from different angles precisely because there is something meaningful in the narrative.

And Tony Stark's narrative is no exception. His repeated acts of self-sacrifice fit into the Messianic Archetype very, very well.

Proof That Tony Stark Has a Heart

The MCU kicked off in 2008 with the first Iron Man movie and Tony Stark has ostensibly been the main character of the franchise from the beginning.

The Iron Man movies establish early on that Tony has a savior complex to match the size of his ego. Our genius playboy billionaire philanthropist is a deeply flawed hero who started out his career as a maker of WMDs. He was widely known as “The Merchant of Death” before he saw the error of his ways. Tony understands he has done many Bad Things and he must atone for those Bad Things—with his life, if necessary.

“I shouldn’t be alive, unless it was for a reason. ... I finally know what I have to do and I know in my heart that it’s right.” —Tony Stark, Iron Man

The first Iron Man movie climaxes with Tony ordering Pepper to blow the Arc Reactor to stop Stane’s rampage, even though Tony might perish in the process. In Iron Man 2, Tony is actively dying from palladium poisoning, but he faces down Vanko (sans Iron Man suit) on the speedway of the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. In the first Avengers movie, we see Tony put his life on the line to get a nuclear weapon out of New York.

This is a repeated pattern for Tony, and like an addict, it’s one he struggles to break. Over and over Tony flings himself into the fray, believing he’s the one who makes the difference—he’s the willing sacrifice whose blood saves the world.

Tony selects himself to be “the chosen one” because he sees himself as the one at fault for bringing evil into the world.

“We create our own demons. Who said that? What does that even mean? Doesn’t matter, I said it cause he said it. ...So why am I telling you this? Because I had just created demons, and I didn’t even know it.” —Tony Stark, Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 shows us just how deeply responsible Tony feels for the wrongs of the world. Because he made naive (and selfish) mistakes when he was young, Tony blames himself for creating villains that plague the earth now.

We see this best in the aftermath of the destruction of Tony’s mansion in Malibu.

“Pepper, it’s me. I’ve got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time. So first off, I’m so sorry I put you in harm��s way. That was selfish and stupid and it won’t happen again. ...And I’m sorry in advance because I can’t come home yet. I need to find this guy. You got to stay safe. That’s all I know.” —Tony Stark, Iron Man 3

Yes, Tony absolutely provoked the Mandarin, a known terrorist, and the result is the complete annihilation of Tony’s home. Tony accepts responsibility for the destruction as though he was the one who shot the missiles himself. He goes so far as to volunteer himself for a solo mission to find the Mandarin without even bothering to contact SHIELD or the Avengers for help. He made this mess, he’s going to clean it up. All the while he suffers through crippling anxiety and panic attacks, demonstrating that the burden he’s put on his own shoulders is, in fact, too much for him to handle by himself. Still, Tony denies himself the comforts of home and family until he can atone for his wrongdoings.

Miraculously, Iron Man 3 gives Tony a respite when the tables are turned and, for once, Tony is the one ultimately saved by Pepper. After her rescue (pun intended), Tony gives up the armor, commits to having the shrapnel taken out of his chest, and he starts rebuilding the literal ruins of his life—both physical and metaphorical.

The respite doesn’t last, of course, because recovery doesn’t go in a straight line—oh, and also the franchise isn’t over and the MCU kinda needs Iron Man. And so Tony slides back into familiar, self-destructive patterns.

"Few years ago, I almost lost [Pepper], so I trashed all my suits. Then, we had to muck up Hydra. And then Ultron. My fault. And then, and then, and then. I never stopped. 'Cause the truth is, I don't wanna stop.” —Tony Stark, Civil War

Tony taking on the mantle of the Messianic Archetype once more in Endgame falls perfectly in line with his established need to compulsively and perpetually atone for his sins. As a perfectionist who needs to assuage his guilt for his ongoing (and perceived) failures, Tony simply can’t stop himself from offering up his life in penance. Statistically it was bound to catch up with him, and in Endgame it does.

And not only does Tony give his life in true Messianic fashion, we are “treated” to a hyper-realistic and painfully extended sequence where his life drains out of him as his loved ones gather to witness him gasping out his last breath. (Thanks for that, by the way, Marvel. I’ll put this scene with the dead baby bunnies my childhood cat used to bring home as gifts. How thoughtful.)

Maybe the reason for the intensity of Tony’s death scene is to make the audience believe his death is the Real Thing, not some comic-book-superhero-movie trickery that he’ll be back from in a few minutes’ time. Perhaps it’s the only way to ensure we commit to the emotional depth of the moment. Perhaps the filmmakers see it as an homage to RDJ’s acting talent and commitment to the role. Regardless of the rationale behind the camera’s unflinching gaze, Tony’s excruciating death hammers home the brutal and lonely reality of the Messianic Archetype: it’s cruel to put the fate of the world on one person’s shoulders.

But Tony embraces that end. He throws himself into the machinery of fate, convinced he’s the cog that will make it all work.

And he does make it work.

So why is that a problem?

The Team-Oriented Universe

The problem with Tony doubling (tripling? quadrupling?) down on the Messianic Archetype at the apex of the franchise is that the MCU is an ensemble, team-oriented universe.

“You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe, you just don't know it yet." —Nick Fury, Iron Man

Fury tells us from the get-go that Tony isn’t the be-all-end-all of the MCU. It’s possible for Tony—for them all—to become something greater than the sum of their parts.

“There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more.” —Nick Fury, Avengers

The entire first Avengers movie is dedicated to establishing this premise, to getting these knuckleheads to work together because, alone, they’re too wrapped up in their own bullshit to adequately deal with the forces that threaten the planet. Things don’t start to go right for them until they set aside their personal issues and act as a unit.

As we all know, our team passes the test and they establish an important principle of the MCU: teamwork is powerful and it’s more effective than working solo.

True, Tony’s self-sacrifice in the context of the Battle of New York helps save the day; but it’s only one part of a coordinated effort. Tony chucking the nuke into space would have been pointless without the added efforts of Steve to coordinate civilian safety, Hawkeye to relay enemy movements, Thor to separate Loki from the scepter, Natasha to close the portal, and Hulk to subdue Loki and ultimately catch Tony as he fell from the wormhole. The team achieved a better outcome together than they each could have achieved separately.

But even in the shared afterglow of winning the Battle of New York, the individual members of the team struggle to perfect their dynamic. New challenges present themselves. There’s always room for the team to grow and become stronger together as the franchise progresses. That’s the whole point.

Tony, for his part, waffles back and forth between his desire to be the savior mechanic (to fix everything by himself) and his desire to work cooperatively with his found-family of superheroes for the common good. This internal conflict plays out over the course of the franchise as Tony takes on the Mandarin by himself in Iron Man 3. The issue then escalates in Age of Ultron when Tony convinces Bruce to help him create Ultron, unbeknownst to the rest of the team. Murder-bot problems and team drama ensue. Tony’s cycle of guilt perpetuates itself in the wake of the disaster in Sokovia, which prompts Tony to adopt the Sokovia Accords. He submits himself and the team to UN governance in Civil War. More team drama ensues.

The logical progression of this escalating team conflict should have involved Tony confronting his deep-seated compulsion to destroy himself for the sake of others. This is exactly the problem Pepper keeps trying to point out to him—his Messianic tendencies have started to cause more problems than they solve.

“There is nothing except this. ... There's the next mission, and nothing else.” —Tony Stark, Iron Man

Tony has struggled from the beginning to find the right balance between personal sacrifice and sharing team effort.

Pepper frequently tries to remind Tony that he doesn’t live alone in the world, he can’t do it all by himself. And there are people who want him to live.

“You’re all I have, too, you know.” —Pepper Potts, Iron Man

Imagine how emotionally satisfying it would have been to see Tony outgrow his need for sacrificial penance and internalize a better lesson: that the savior can be saved, the burden can be shared, and life can go on.

A Better Ending for Tony

The MCU had the perfect opportunity to give us an ending that would be happier for Tony and a better fit for a team-centric universe.

In Guardians of the Galaxy we see Peter Quill and his team survive the power of an Infinity Stone by working together to share the burden of its energy.

Peter Quill is the son of a Celestial—he’s basically immortal up until the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. That’s why he and his team could hold the stone without any ill effects.

Also, they only had to channel the power of one stone. Not six.

That’s a fair point.

But by the time Tony had all of the Infinity Stones in Endgame, the battlefield was chock full of all kinds of superheroes. Wanda and Carol by themselves are embodiments of two of the Infinity Stones. Hulk had managed to bear all of the stones by himself earlier in the movie. Steve, T’challa, and Bucky are enhanced super soldiers. Thor, Valkyrie, and the other Asgardians might not be Celestials, but they are gods—and there were a lot of them on that field.

And we’re supposed to believe none of these characters could offer any help to Tony whatsoever? None of them could hold Tony’s hand for a single minute to save his life?

There are plenty of arguments that could be made: Tony was too fast, no one knew what was happening, or everyone else was occupied in battle. But at the end of the day, it’s a choice the creative team made. Tony died because they wanted him to die.

And not much would have to change to save his life.

Imagine this: Tony gets the stones from Thanos and, in true Messianic Archetype fashion, he commits to making the snap, fully expecting it means his death—but then Pepper is there and Pepper has always been the one asking Tony to stop offering up his life to pay for some imaginary debt he thinks he owes. He hesitates, and it’s just long enough for Carol and Wanda swoop in, putting their hands on him and taking the brunt of the energy. Thor and Steve and Bruce and Clint pile on. Peter Parker links up, too, and on and on until the entire rest of the team, all across the battlefield, are in contact with each other and alight with power, channeling the energy of the six stones, keeping Thanos and his monsters at bay.

Tony can still have his ultra-badass “I am Iron Man” moment as he stands at the center of this surging and fluxing cosmic energy—but this time he does it with support. There are people who care about him (and each other) on all sides. And there are so many of them. Tony isn’t the only one who matters, he’s just the lynch pin that holds it all together.

Tony is Iron Man.

More importantly? Together they’re all the Avengers.

*SNAP*

The universe is set right.

Maybe Tony doesn’t escape entirely unscathed. Maybe he loses his arm as suggested by this post. Maybe the others all leave with their own scars, too. But Tony’s alive and he’s finally, deeply aware of what it means to transcend the limits of personal sacrifice and share the hero’s burden with others.

He knows now exactly what the Avengers are capable of. Oh, and by the way? That protective shield he wanted around the world in Age of Ultron? Here they all are. All these wonderful, powerful people are going to protect the Earth. And you know what? They don’t need Tony Stark’s myopic self-sacrifice to do it.

Tony finally feels like he’s done enough—and maybe now he believes there are other heroes out there who can do better than he can. Anyway, he gets to go home to Morgan and Pepper and he finds that it’s not so hard for him to let the new kids do the tough jobs now. He happily goes back to his role as “consultant” for the Avengers, he’s a mad inventor helping change the world for the better, and he also gets to have the long adventure of being a husband and a dad. He doesn’t have to choose one identity over the other—he’s Iron Man. He can redefine what the job means whenever he wants to.

(Also, he finds a way to rescue Nat because she didn’t deserve to be fridged like that. Just saying.)

This ending, or any number of variations like it, would have allowed Tony to finally show real growth at the end of his character arc, instead of succumbing to the same old self-destructive pattern we've seen from him time and time again. And it would have reinforced the theme of teamwork and its power to elevate all those who participate.

Maybe it’s cheesy, but you know what? It’s the ending I wanted. I know I’m not alone.

Tony’s Not Really Dead, You Say?

“There’s no need to be upset about Tony’s death,” some might say. “Tony’s gonna come back!”

Resurrection is a huge part of the Messianic Archetype—and it might be that the filmmakers do intend to bring Tony back in some later movie. It might be they simply want Tony’s death in Endgame to sit a little while longer so it has a greater impact. (Gotta push for that best picture Oscar, right? The Oscars hate superhero movies, but they do love a sad ending.)

While I’m wishing for things, maybe Marvel will also release the multiple alternate endings they filmed for Endgame, essentially creating a “choose your own adventure.” Maybe we’ll all be able to pick the ending we like best and forget the rest exist.

But I can’t make a judgement based on what might be, I can only say how I feel based on what we were given in the theater—for all intents and purposes, that’s the official story Marvel wants to share.

The Endgame narrative insists there’s only one possible path to victory against Thanos. The “one possible path” is basically the equivalent of the creative team saying, “Don’t @ me.” There certainly must have been an impossible number of endings they could have put on film. Tony’s death is the one they picked.

So, sorry for @ing you, Marvel, I guess, but there’s just one more point I want to make...

A Personal Note

RDJ acted the hell out of Tony's final scene. He acted the hell out of the whole franchise. Tony's death was powerful and intensely moving. I wanted to ugly cry in the lobby after the movie was over, and I was upset for days after.

So. Good job, Marvel. You got in some surprises and you wrung out some feelings from viewers like me. Now that the movie’s taken the world by storm, the surprises will play themselves out. So, I guess the big question is: Will audiences want to revisit this adventure and the feelings you ultimately left them with?

For me? My reluctant answer is: no. I don’t want to see Infinity War or Endgame again. Not really. Not in their entirety. I didn’t mind the slog through Infinity War in 2018 because I thought, Hey, maybe this is leading to an ultimately happy and satisfying conclusion for these characters I care about so much. And, to be fair—right up until the last 15 minutes of Endgame, I was ready to say, “All’s forgiven.”

There’s this thing in storytelling called “payoff.” It’s when you deliver a satisfying resolution or fulfillment to your audience after they commit to your narrative journey. Payoff can be extraordinarily subjective, so, again, I acknowledge that there’s no way to please everyone.

For me, there’s no reward in the resolution of Endgame that makes the slog to its conclusion worth it. Tony’s ending is so needlessly sacrificial, so unnecessarily brutal, that it erases much of the enjoyment I otherwise had in watching the entire rest of the film.

Don’t get me wrong. I like sad movies and scary movies in their own context. I like them when I can choose them and know that’s what I'm getting myself into. Sometimes I want the catharsis of being utterly terrified or brought to tears. Sometimes we need stories to give us the chance to feel deep and scary emotions in a safe environment. That’s an important function of creative work.

And, I mean, truly, Endgame gave us some great acting, great effects. Amazing talent. Really fun and creative moments. I’m not trying to disparage all the work that went into its making.

But I feel like someone took me in a limo to a high-class restaurant to eat caviar and watch sad arthouse theater when all I really wanted was to go into town with my friends for some ice cream and a fun movie.

I didn’t need rainbow-colored sprinkles on my ending, but something a bit sweeter would have been nice. So, well done, Marvel. But also—no, thank you.

As it stands, Endgame was too bitter for my taste.

#avengers #endgame #spoilers #negativity #long post #meta #my rambling #tony stark #iron man

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jcashe · 5 years

Text

ENDGAME SPOILERS SO DON’T READ BEYOND THIS POINT UNLESS YOU’VE SEEN IT.

__________________________________________________

MULTIPLE AVENGERS TIMELINE/ TIME TRAVEL

Guys, I know many of you hate the ending but the MCU now has 3 confirmed different timelines & many unconfirmed ones. So, technically your fav characters still got a happy ending in some way. Both Bruce, Nebula, & the Ancient One explains that MCU time travel doesn’t work like other movies timeline. It’s not butterfly effect time travel. It’s why they couldn’t go back to Thanos as a baby & kill him. Because now there’s an MAIN timeline where everyone in the snap is still dead & a timeline where Thanos dies as a baby. That’s why it may not be the ending you wanted but different timelines could help with the pain of certain deaths.

Bruce never said once you return the Stone it would reverse all the timelines because that’s not how things work. Plus, with an example ( past Gamora, Thanos, & Nebula) there has to be different timelines. All Bruce & the Ancient One said was that if the stones aren’t returned to the exact moments the Avengers took it from that their MAIN timeline would be fucked up. Then there would be fucked up branches of other timelines that were affected by the fact that the main timeline is fucked.

CONFIRMED TIMELINES

2014/Battle of New York Timeline. It’s the timeline where past Gamora, Thanos, & Nebula go into the future. So, this means that in this timeline Thanos is never a threat. Since he died in the MAIN timeline along with MAIN timeline’s Thanos five years prior. This timeline also doesn’t have the Guardians the Galaxy. Thanos isn’t a threat so the entire GOTG never happened. Gamora isn’t there. They vanished. So, hypothetically Yondu could have found Quill. Peter never would have been known as the guy who held an Infinity Stone in his hand. So, Ego maybe wouldn’t have found him or could have. Lastly, this timeline Tony & Natasha are alive since they never died because of Thanos. This timeline Loki is alive & would have had the Tesseract. Also, because of the effects this timeline Steve would know Bucky is alive in 2014 vs. years later which allows Steve to find him then. Also, since Hydra now thinks Steve is apart of their group they’ll slip up. So, Steve could take down Hydra way earlier. This would also be the timeline where Thor & the Asgard citizens would’ve safely made it to Earth w/o Thanos stopping them. Who knows but it’s interesting to think about. Also, sadly this timeline Morgan Stark couldn’t have existed but Tony would have a different child maybe a son or another daughter. It’s the reason Tony didn’t want to change the MAIN timeline & the last 5 Years bc it would affect them.

Steve’s timeline. He returned all the stones & then used the Quantum Realm to go back to the 40s. So, there is a separate Steve timeline where he gets his happy ending. Steve is not Peggy’s MAIN timeline Husband. It has to be a separate timeline because Sharon knows Steve in the MAIN timeline. In this timeline he was back so Steve could’ve stop SHIELD from waking him up from the ice or even searching for the ship at all. In this timeline he could’ve went to find Bucky & saved him years later. It was obvious Steve told Bucky ahead of time that’s why he didn’t return back to the 40s with Steve. Bucky knew that Steve was still his best friend & a good man because he would go back and save a different Bucky from a different timeline. This means that this timeline could’ve never had Iron Man, War Machine since the creation of Iron Man would’ve been halted by the fact that the Starks were still alive. However, the Starks could also still be dead since they could’ve gotten another assassin besides Bucky to kill the Starks. It could go either way. Who knows what Steve changed or if he changed anything that major. This entire timeline could be different. But he knows the technology & somehow made his way back. He could’ve told young Hank Pym.He already said his goodbye before with MAIN timeline Bucky (although it was never shown) & possibly got to be best friends for decades with other different Bucky. It’s why Steve didn’t tell Sam who it was that he married. Sam could probably guess but it’s not like Steve could tell him what all happened. It’s not confirmed that Peggy is dead in his timeline or maybe she is. Who knows. But we do know that Steve travelled back into the MAIN timeline to give Sam the shield & say his goodbye. Reason he didn’t say anything before is because Bruce might not have let him go back. Then when Steve is ready he will go back to his own timeline.

Main Timeline (Phase 4 MCU Timeline)-It’s the timeline we are currently in. Sadly, Tony Stark is dead in this one, Thor joins the Guardians, Natasha is dead. Everyone from the snap is back. 2014 Gamora is somewhere in the galaxy. Since Steve got all the stones back at the right moments & not late it doesn’t affect their timeline whatsoever.

POSSIBLE TIMELINES

Thor Dark World timeline- Since Rocket took the Stone out of Jane & Thor pretty much warned his Mom about her death. There could be a timeline where Jane doesn’t have the stone anymore, Thor’s mom is alive, etc. However, there’s not a lot of evidence so it’s only a possibility. There could be a whole timeline where things change from there. Especially, since Thor’s mom would have to know everything that has happened since her death in MAIN timeline. That means the elves would come but there isn’t a Stone in Jane (similar to how there is timeline where Loki stole the Tesseract & affected that timeline). So, there’s a possible chance that a timeline where they know Hela is coming & is more prepared. Who knows. Time travel is complicated. In this timeline Thor wouldn’t have his Hammer. Steve returned Thor’s Hammer for their MAIN timeline not the new one.

X-Men/Fantastic Four Timeline- These could be the same or 2 different timelines. But, I doubt this is the last of the MCU going into the Quantum Realm Hank Pym would probably want to mess around with the time travel aspect a bit more just to see. So, they could make different timelines by accident or just by exploring. I can see Scott messing around while time traveling & creating different timelines. Timelines that could include the X-Men & Fantastic Four. They could be sitting in a different timelines & somehow make it into the MAIN timeline. It’s the simplest way to explain why none of the F4 or X-Men were in our MCU before. Who knows if their timeline is Steve’s, the 2014, or any other timeline.

Black Widow Timeline- If the Black Widow movie isn’t a prequel than the Natasha still alive timeline could be from either Steve’s changed timeline or 2014’s changed timeline. I understand if they don’t do that since time travel is confusing & it could be hard for people to understand that the Black Widow movie Natasha isn’t the MAIN timeline Natasha that died. I think this movie is most likely just a prequel from the MAIN timeline. But it’s possible.

Scarlet Witch/Vision Timeline- Same thing as the Black Widow movie, because there will be a Disney+ TV series with them it could be from another timeline. So, this Scarlet Witch & Vision could be from Steve’s timeline, 2014’s changed timeline, or another all together. I could see this since it’s a show & you could go into depth with the timelines more. Since it would be weird if it was a prequel but again it’s only a possibility.

Loki’s Timeline- This could be the changed 2014 timeline where Loki escapes. Since he has his own TV show it could happen vs. a prequel.

What If Timeline-Since there is a Disney+ TV show coming out about What If different scenarios happened in the MCU. All of these could be different timelines as well.

I think knowing that Bucky probably gave Steve his blessing to leave the MAIN timeline & make his own says a lot. It’s not guaranteed what Steve changed or if he changed anything. But, no one should go after Steve about being ‘selfish’ or leaving Bucky since it doesn’t affect the MCU’s timeline going forward & doesn’t change the MCU’s past anyone’s. Even if Steve saved Bucky it wouldn’t change the MAIN Bucky but only make a different timeline. People shouldn’t get angry with Steve then since there is no way around it. He didn’t mess up the MAIN timeline so no he didn’t steal Peggy from her husband and junk like that. Agent Carter Series Peggy is MAIN timeline Peggy not Steve’s timeline Peggy that’s a completely different woman. We don’t know how much he changed. Also, if you feel bad about the deaths of Tony & Natasha at least know that in the changed 2014 they are alive & happy. Yes, I know that it sucks that in our MAIN timeline our beloved characters are gone. But, to me it gives me more ease to know that out in different MCU timelines the Avengers are happy & together again without Thanos to bother them.

#avengers endgame spoilers #endgame spoilers #spoilers

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akozuheiwa · 5 years

Text

Based on @scassidy2′s post

The thing is, when Tony feels the fever and infection start to set in, his first thought is, good. Good, because for some reason, out of everyone that was on Titan, out of the supposed galactic heroes and the wizard who could see the future and Peter, the universe let Tony live and it shouldn’t have.

But he lets the girl – Nebula? Was that her name? Like a baby star or like a dead one, it could go either way but he was leaning towards the latter because wow, that stare could murder, and he’s way off topic. He lets Nebula try to help him, because he doesn’t want to leave her alone, that wouldn’t be fair to her. The problem is, Nebula knows very little about humans.

“Didn’t you have a human on your little team?” he asks, wincing as she prods at the red skin around the stab wound.

“Quill was half planet,” she replies, then jabs him.

“Ow!” he yelps. “Gentle, I’m not half – did you just say planet? Please tell me you didn’t just say planet.”

“His father was a planet that wanted to take over the universe.”

Tony opens his mouth to respond to that, but he can’t even think of something sarcastic because it’s that weird, so he shuts it and shakes head. Instead, he says, “Okay, well, do you have anything to clean the wound? We should’ve done this earlier, but, oh, well.”

“No,” she says.

“Great, okay, how are you all not–” he stops abruptly. Nebula flinches imperceptibly. “Okay. Well, this might get… bad, then. You don’t have any alcohol?”

Her eyes narrow. “You want to pour alcohol on your wound?”

“You have some?”

“Maybe. Quill enjoys – enjoyed it. It’s hard to come by, since on many planets it is a deadly poison,” she says.

“Poison, yes, deadly, no,” says Tony. “God knows I’ve drunk enough to kill me twenty times over. Alcohol! Good, if you find some, bring it here. To clean the wound. Also because I need a drink.”

She nods and walks off. In the back of his head, a voice that sounds like Bruce tells him this is a bad idea, but, hey, if alcohol can disinfect stuff why not a stab wound?

Once he’s alone, he cranes his head to examine the wound himself. It’s gory. He’s had worse, but that doesn’t make this look any less bad and gross, and even with whatever space vodka Nebula can find, the infection might just kill him. It’s a shame. Pepper’s probably waiting for him, unless she – nope, no, not going down that path. He sighs and leans back again, resting his head against cold metal. It’s all his nightmares rolled into one horrifying reality.

He’s in space.

His kid is gone.

And he could have done space if Peter were here. Peter thought space was cool. If he were here, he’d be rambling about who-knows-what and Tony could listen to him and zone out and appreciate that at least the universe offered him this kindness. Except Peter’s gone, shattered into dust in his arms, whispering apologies and leaving Tony alone.

Nebula strides back into the room and shoves a bottle at him.

“There’s not much, but use as much as you want,” she says. “Quill’s not around to care, anyway.”

That feels callous, but she’s right, if blunt. Tony unscrews the lid and pours the alcohol on the wound, which was a bad idea because it burns and Tony grits his teeth and lets out a strangled cry of pain. Nebula steadies his hands.

“I should have listened to the Bruce in my head,” he grits out. Nebula gives him a weird look – the most emotion he’s seen out of her so far. He waves her off, then tries to take a swig of the bottle.

It’s empty.

Figures.

He hands the bottle back to Nebula. His wound is still burning. He wishes Bruce were here. Or a real doctor. Or Peter. He really wishes Peter were here.

“I’m gonna take a nap,” he says.

Nebula nods. She leaves, and Tony is alone again.

At least in his dreams, Peter is alive.

When Tony next wakes, he knows he’s sick. He can feel the fever burning hot and the weakness trembling under his skin. He hovers a shaky hand over the bandages and feels the heat radiating through them, not a good sign, a very bad sign, actually.

As he goes back to sleep, he thinks first of Peter, Peter who’s gone. Then of Pepper, back on Earth.

It’s always Pepper.

Pepper is sitting beside him, lips downturned and eyes dark. Tony blinks groggily at her. Part of him is sure he’s dreaming. Part of him doesn’t care; he’s too relieved to see her.

“You left us,” she says.

Tony’s breath leaves him in a sharp gasp. He swallows. “Pep, I–”

“You left us,” she says, and she rests a hand on his midsection and Tony feels like all the air has been pulled from his body. He reaches out, arm shaking, but he can’t reach her.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

I dreamt we had a kid. It was so real.

“You left us,” she says again. Then, before his eyes, she crumbles. It starts with her legs, then her torso – the baby, the dream, it was so real – then the rest of her, dissolved into dust and leaving her accusation echoing in the ship. Tony’s eyes burn. Not Pepper too, not Pepper.

“I’m sorry,” he sobs, arm dropping because he’s lost all energy to move it. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

No apology will ever be enough.

“Mr. Stark.”

Tony blinks awake again. His vision is blurred, wet, confused, and it takes him a second to make out the figure beside him.

“Peter,” he dares to breathe. “Peter, kid.”

“Hey, Mr. Stark,” says Peter. He sounds tired and sad. Peter shouldn’t ever be sad.

“You’re okay,” Tony says. For a second, he forgets. Peter is there. Peter is safe. Peter is alive.

“No, Mr. Stark, I’m not,” says Peter.

Tony shakes his head. “You’re okay, kid, I’m – I’m gonna protect you.”

“You didn’t.”

Peter might as well have punched him in the gut. Tony chokes and stammers useless, horrified syllables. Peter’s face is emotionless and cold. His eyes look dead. Tony tries to start breathing again, but it isn’t working right, not with Peter staring at him like that.

“I’m just a kid, Mr. Stark,” Peter continues, as if Tony doesn’t know that, doesn’t know that he fucked up bringing a kid into all of this. “I was just a kid.”

“No, no, Peter,” Tony begs. “Please, Peter, please.”

When he blinks, Peter is gone. There’s someone placing a wet rag over his forehead. Nebula’s face filters into view. She looks as stony as usual, but there’s something in her eyes that might be sympathy.

“Your son isn’t here,” she murmurs, “but he wouldn’t blame you. You seem like a good father.”

“Peter,” he whimpers pitifully. A good father doesn’t let his kid turn to dust in his arms. A good father would have prevented this. If Tony was a good father, Peter would be alive on Earth.

“I’m sorry,” Nebula says.

The world fades back out of focus and all Tony can think about is how he failed his kid.

Peter’s there.

He stands there, fiddling awkwardly with his hands. He’s wearing the first t-shirt Tony ever got him, the one that’s too big and says, “I survived my trip to NYC”. He’s smiling but his eyes are sad. Tony can’t stand to see his kid sad.

“Pete,” he whispers. “What’s wrong?”

“Mr. Stark,” Peter says. “Dad.”

Tony sucks in a sharp breath. His heart warms, like it does every time Peter slips up and calls him Dad, except this time it wasn’t a slip-up, it was purposeful. He smiles.

“Hey, kiddo,” he says.

“Dad, I’m sorry,” Peter says.

“No, no, why are you sorry?” asks Tony. “Come here – come on, we’re there, kid, we’re there.”

He tries to shift to make room, to give Peter that hug he’s always wanted, but his body ignores him. He frowns; he feels weak and feverish. He manages to lift a hand to cup Peter’s cheek, but Peter doesn’t come any closer.

“You did good, kid,” he says. “You always do.”

“I don’t feel so good,” Peter says.

Tony’s felt his heart stop a lot in his life time. It’s almost comical. But this – he’s heard this before – and he remembers and his heart stutters and stops and he can’t do this again.

“No,” he says.

“I don’t wanna go.”

“No, no.” Tony manages to raise another hand and grip Peter’s. “You’re not going anywhere. I won’t let you. You hear? You’re not going anywhere.”

“I’m sorry,” Peter whispers, eyes bright. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

“No, kid, Peter, please,” Tony pleads, even as Peter’s feet vanish beneath him and Peter stumbles and falls, and Tony’s trying to support him even as the rest of the boy shatters with Tony’s heart.

“I’m sorry,” Peter chokes out one last time.

“No,” Tony sobs. He’s all dust. He’s gone. Tony should have protected him. He failed. When his hands don’t start turning to dust next – when he realises he’s cursed with life – Tony chokes and makes a weak, hoarse sound of sorrow. His lips form Peter’s name, but no sound follows besides gasping sobs.

Fine. If the universe won’t do it, then fine. Let Death come to collect her Merchant. It’s about time.

Tony lets out a rough breath and refuses to take another.

Tony wakes up. He wasn’t supposed to, but he does. He shifts weakly to look at Nebula, hovering beside him.

“Your fever’s broken,” she says. “You cut it close, Stark. You weren’t breathing.”

“You revived me,” he says numbly. He wants to be angry, but something vulnerable shifts in her expression for a microsecond and he can’t find the energy or heart to be mad at her. She lost everything too.

“It might be for nothing,” she admits. “We’re… running out of supplies.”

He nods and waits until she leaves to break. He leans back and tries to ignore the dry, shaking sobs that wrack his frame, jolting the still painful stab wound from what feels like a lifetime ago. He’s out of water to cry, and he can’t waste any. Nebula will need it more than him. If that means he doesn’t make it home, that he gets to join Peter–

Good.

#tony stark #iron dad #peter parker #endgame spoilers #iron man #spider-man #mcu #fic #my fic #scassidy2's idea #whump #angst #endgame #infinity war #fanfic

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bombshellsandbluebells · 5 years

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Top 5 Tony Stark moments!!!!!! (This is mean i know, but your thoughts are always super good 🙌)

i’m already agonizing over top five tony stark quotes this is so mean how could you do this to me. (and thanks!)

I’m going to choose one moment per movie because otherwise this would end up being my top five favorite scenes from Iron Man 1.

1. Iron Man 1

The scene where he asks Pepper to help him break into Obie’s computer to get information on where he’s been selling weapons, and Pepper says she won’t help him and he goes: “You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction, and now that I’m trying to protect the people I put in harm’s way, you’re going to walk out on me?” and then also: “I shouldn’t be alive unless it was for a reason. I’m not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it’s right.”

I have that speech memorized. It’s such a perfect encapsulation of Tony’s entire arc, but I also love how serious and vulnerable Tony is in that scene - he’s even angry that Pepper can’t understand the importance of what he’s doing. He’s so desperate to make amends for what he’s done.

(Also I’m kind of cheating, but the moment where Tony is watching the news report about Gullmera and then shoots his reflection in the glass?? Also incredible. It just shows how much anger and hatred Tony feels towards himself for being complicit in a system that endangered people.)

2. Spider-Man: Homecoming

THE ROOFTOP SCENE OKAY. I already mentioned how I love it from Peter’s perspective, but there’s so much to love about it in terms of Tony. First, the fact that he’s actually there. I think he had been trying to distance himself from Peter at first because a) still probably dealing with some self healing post-Civil War and b) I’m not really sure he trusts himself to know what to do with Peter considering his own father wasn’t a great role model. I think Tony goes on an unseen arc in that movie of staying distant from Peter to finally stepping up and being a mentor, and the pivotal moment of that is him actually being there physically in that moment.

His entire speech to Peter is just so good. Tony’s WHOLE THING is about taking responsibility and he’s teaching that to Peter. He’s mad and upset because Peter tried to do the right thing but put people in danger and that’s something that Tony has lived. He doesn’t want Peter to follow in his footsteps and end up having to deal with the guilt of accidentally hurting people.

Also!! “If you’re nothing without this suit, you shouldn’t have it” is so damn good!! I could rant for ages about how much Tony himself puts Iron Man on a pedestal above himself. He might say that he and the suit are one (and he’s not wrong), but he really doesn’t like himself without Iron Man. Iron Man represents the best of him AND post-New York he becomes unhealthy dependent on Iron Man because of his anxiety. So him finally reaching a point where he knows that the suit does not make the hero is such a sign of Tony growing over the course of the series. That line is the answer to Iron Man 3, where he panicked at the idea of not having the suit.

3. Age of Ultron

As much as I despise AoU, I love the vision that Wanda shows him. It really shows just how much the Avengers DO matter to him and how much he wants to protect them. I also love the follow-up scene in the barn with Fury when he talks about the dream - specifically the line “I wasn’t ready. I didn’t do enough.” Because Tony is SO SCARED of losing the people he cares about and constantly puts the weight of the world on his shoulders. (Also, I love the Fury/Tony relationship so Fury listening to Tony be vulnerable and scared and reassure him KILL S ME.)

My only beef with it is that Rhodey and Pepper and Happy 100% should have been in that vision. (Actually, the fact that Rhodey is in the movie and NOT in that vision is just, insulting, and such an obvious sign that Whedon really doesn’t care about staying true to other movies in the MCU.)

4. Avengers

When Tony doesn’t think twice about flying the missile into space and sacrificing himself. I’ve talked before about how true the “I think I’d just cut the wire” line is, because Tony has a habit of finding a third option when the two options presented to him suck, but at the same time, if the only option he has left is to sacrifice himself to save others, he WILL without hesitation. I also really love that that “Stark, you know that’s a one-way trip” moment gets paralleled so strongly in Infinity War, when he goes up into the ship and into space to help save Earth again. He even tells Peter “This is a one trip.”

TWICE Tony has willingly flung himself into space to save the people of Earth and sacrificed himself in the process - and the second time, he had the added bonus of buckets of space-related PTSD and trauma from the FIRST time.

I also really love that this moment sets up so much of the later series, especially for Tony. This really is the turning point - not joining the Avengers, but flinging himself into space and realizing just how small and weak Earth is. When Steve said it was a one way trip, he wasn’t really wrong. Tony might have come back (ALSO!! ALSO!! THERE’S A LOT OF ICARUS SYMBOLISM WITH TONY RIGHT?? HOW ABOUT LITERALLY FLYING SO HIGH HIS SUIT MALFUNCTIONS AND PLUMMETING TO EARTH?) but, in his own words, nothing has been the same since.

Which is why he needs a happy ending after Thanos - the very thing he’s unknowingly been fearing all these years - is defeated!!!

5. Iron Man (Again. Because I lied and couldn’t resist.)

The moment when Yinsen sacrifices his life for Tony. I truly don’t think he’s ever fully gotten over that moment - the first person he couldn’t save as Iron Man, but also the hero who led by example and showed him just how to be a hero.

He heard Yinsen say “don’t waste your life” and he has never forgotten it. He has placed the weight of the world on his shoulders and has continuously sacrificed his own happiness to keep being Iron Man and save others.

(Side note: I really wish The Avengers had gone there, but they were juggling a lot of characters and Whedon doesn’t really like referencing other movies outside of what he’s done apparently, but I feel like losing Coulson felt so much like losing Yinsen to Tony.)

OKAY THAT WAS REALLY HARD and I wrote like a novel in response because it’s TONY and I couldn’t help myself.

Thanks for asking :)

#tony stark #iron man #avengers #c: tony stark #ask #ask game

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xironxmanx · 5 years

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► GENERAL INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Anthony Edward Stark NICKNAME(S): Iron Man, Tony, Mr. Stank, Earth’s Best Defender AGE: 48 ( at the time of The Cleanse - presumed dead, lost in space after the fight on Titan ) DATE OF BIRTH: May 29th, 1970 GENDER IDENTITY: Cisgender Male SEXUALITY: Pansexual NATIONALITY: American ETHNICITY: Caucasian SPOKEN LANGUAGE(S): English, French, basics of a few others PAST OCCUPATION: CEO of Stark Industries CURRENT OCCUPATION: trying to breathe on board the Milano ( ? ) RELIGION: Agnostic

► APPEARANCE

FACE CLAIM: RDJ HEIGHT: 5′11″ WEIGHT: 165 pounds BODY TYPE: Rectangle MUSCLE TONE: Slightly bulky HAIR COLOR: Black EYE COLOR: Brown ACCENT: American SCARS: ring of ragged scars where his arc reactor used to sit in his chest, six inch long almost-scar on his abdomen + back from where Thanos stabbed him TATTOOS: None, but he almost made a few bad decisions in college

► BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: Long Island, NY FINANCIAL STATUS: net worth of about $12 billion EDUCATION LEVEL: Boarding school, then college starting at the age of 17 where he received multiple PhDs in physics, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering CONVICTION(S): A few benders from college, but none stuck because of his family name FATHER: Howard Stark ( deceased ) / Edwin Jarvis ( father figure - deceased ) MOTHER: Maria Stark ( deceased ) SIBLING(S): None PARTNER(S): Lots of flings up until Pepper Potts, who he was/is engaged to CHILDREN: None ( yet ) / Peter Parker ( mentee )

► EXTRA INFORMATION

HOROSCOPE: Gemini JUNG TYPE: ESTP ( The Entrepreneur ) ENNEAGRAM: Type 7 - The Enthusiast ( Spontaneous, Versatile, Acquisitive, Scattered ) MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good/Neutral Good SIN: Pride / Wrath VIRTUE: Charity MOTTO: I shouldn’t be alive - unless it was for a reason THEME SONG: Flaws by Take That

► PERSONALITY

POSITIVE TRAITS: selfless, inventive, witty NEGATIVE TRAITS: argumentative, self-sacrificial, self-critical, guilt-complex

► HEADCANONS/FUN FACTS

- Howard Stark was a horrible father. Among other things, Howard handed Tony his first alcoholic drink when he was only 14. As a result, when Tony entered college at 17 he had unhealthy habits of coping and eventually became an alcoholic. - Growing up, Tony never believed he was good enough for his father. At every chance he got, Howard was overlooking his son, ignoring his attempts to get attention, and striking out at him in an alcohol-induced fit. His father glorified Captain America and boasted about his time serving with him during the war, installing into Tony a love-hate relationship with the star spangled hero. He would never be as good, as courageous, as heroic and rememberable as Captain America-- not even to his own dad. Little Tony wanted to be him, carried around toy shields as a kid and pretended to be the hero his dad loved so much. But it never made a difference. - Meeting Steve Rogers in person as an adult change the way Tony thought about him, but it was hard to shake the distaste he had for him. But Steve was the real thing-- a hero, a good man. They definitely didn’t see eye to eye on certain things but after the Avengers were formed, Tony came to really respect the man behind the shield. They were friends. And their split during the superhero Civil War hurt him more than he ever let on. - Tony loved his mom. Maria and Jarvis, a friend of the family who was around more than his own dad, were two people he trusted to treat him right. He also grew up around Peggy Carter-- or Aunt Peggy as he came to call her. - Even though his own dad was shit, Tony always wanted to be a dad. He was petrified of it as well, and for a long time he never thought he would settle down enough for it to become reality. Then he finally connected with Pepper. Then Peter came along. He thought that maybe he could do it. And then Thanos happened. - Tony has suffered from PTSD that manifested after the Battle of New York. He’s never seen a professional about it. And the closest thing to therapy he’s ever had was tinkering away, alone, in his labs. - Tony tried to see a therapist once in his twenties, not long after his parents were killed. He lasted two weeks. Never went back. - He understands now that Bucky Barnes wasn’t in control when he murdered his parents. But Tony isn’t ready to cozy up to the guy. - Peter Parker is/was the closest thing he had to a son. - Steve was right: The Avengers were more of a family to Tony than they were to anyone else. - He sometimes panics when he feels that the arc reactor from his chest is gone. - He knows he doesn’t deserve Rhodey’s friendship. Everyone else left or Tony got scared and left first. But not Rhodey. Same with Pepper. - Tony always talked about the point of all that the Avengers do-- so that the fight could eventually and finally end, and they could all go home and live normal, happy lives. But deep down he never believed that was possible. No matter how many times he trashes his suits, he could never get rid of them for good. Because what if something else were to happen, and they were unprepared?

► WANTED CONNECTIONS

- Pepper Potts - James Rhodes - Happy Hogan

#tdocm: day 4 #ic questionnaire

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spootiliousrps · 6 years

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You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!

You both like stanner, and science bros.

You: [TW: Torture/experimentation] Tony stood in his lab absolutely horrified by the sight before him. He had never been one for boundaries (unless they were his own) but perhaps he had taken a step too far. The room was filled with the sound of a whirling machine, the sound as bone chilling as the sight of it cutting into the flesh of the man strapped to the table in the video before him. There were no screams which only made it more horrific. Why didn’t he scream? Tony should shut if off… Protect his sanity… but he had already made it through two of them… He needed to know. He needed to know how much Bruce went through during those trials. He hadn’t meant to find the videos, not entirely. He had allowed his curiosity to guide him into the sealed SHIELD files that contained backgrounds on each Avenger. Natasha’s was the most interesting; Steve’s was pretty bland; Clint’s even more so; and Thor’s was practically empty; His own held nothing he didn’t know. Bruce’s though… his was… unexpected. The experiments conducted by General Ross was gut wrenching. Tony had already had to empty his stomach once. How could such a selfless, caring man, have gone through all that? He watched as green flashed in his friend’s eyes but he never allowed the Hulk out… Why? He could have escaped… Could have destroyed everything and gotten out of there… made it all stop. The feed cut off and another immediately began. “January 14th, 1998. The subject has shown an astounding regeneration ability. Trial 7 will begin shortly in which the subject’s vital organ’s will be removed and regrowth documented.” The woman doctor stated in a monotone voice, filling Tony with such hatred that he wished he had a Hullk of his own.

Stranger: (reading, won't show typing)

You: [No worries! Thank you for reading! :3]

Stranger: "You shouldn't be watching that," Bruce said after having stepped into the lab quietly. He turned the lights on, and looked exhausted himself, but Tony looked even worse. "Those files are confidential. And though I've got nothing left to hide, it was secured for a reason." He came closer to Tony and offered a mug of tea. "Do you realize how late it is?"

You: "Bruce." Tony practically started in surprise, scrambling to close out the screen. How long had he been there? For the first time in quite a while Tony felt ashamed of himself. He shouldn't have pried into Bruce's past. To be far... he'd done it to everyone but still... He accepted the cup of tea and didn't look the other man in the eye as he stirred it, trying to focus on anything but the guilt he felt. "Thanks." He mumbled softly before taking a small sip. "Like two a.m.?" He guessed, not having the faintest idea. "Three... maybe." He shrugged. Since when had he bothered to keep track of the time?

Stranger: Bruce sighed and shook his head. "You need to rest. And I can't imagine you'd sleep too well after watching that," he said, watching Tony carefully. "I'm okay, you know. Here and now. You're keeping me safe," he said, gently putting a hand on Tony's shoulder. "Don't go trying to dig up the past, okay? Nothing good is there." He gave Tony's shoulder a light squeeze. "Come on, let's watch a movie or something to clear your head."

You: Tony's frown deepened at the comforting gesture. "How can you do that?" He asked seriously a hand lifting to rest on the outstretched elbow as if holding him there. "How can you be concerned for someone else after everything you went through? How can you just ignore it?" He had been trying to do the same... Trying to forget everything that had happened with New York and the aliens and he just... couldn't. It haunted his every waking moment. It was one of the many reasons he found himself buried in the lab night after night.

Stranger: Bruce took a deep breath and shook his head. "Like I said, that was a long time ago. I'm more interested in helping other people when I've got the chance," he said. "I can't afford to let myself get trapped in those moments. And honestly, I can't remember much of it. Only comes back in nightmares. But it doesn't matter, because I'm here, in this moment with you. Safe." He tried to put on a smile for Tony. "Don't worry about me, okay?"

You: "No. It's not okay." Tony replied, perhaps a bit more harshly than he had meant to. "How could any of that be okay?" He demanded, with a wave of his hand. He paused if considering something. "We should let Cap know... We Nat could track them down... We could destroy them. I know Clint would jump at the idea... Even Thor would offer some form of help." He mumbled more to himself than to the other men.

Stranger: "Tony, this was years ago. I doubt all of them are still alive, and the program's been shut down for a decade," Bruce said, trying to keep his tone even. "If I was driven by revenge, I'd be no better than them. Don't tell the others. I don't need more pity." He took a step back and adjusted his glasses out of nervous habit. "I'm tired of running, Tony. Please. Just let me take a break without staring new trouble."

You: That had Tony hesitating, considering the other man's words. "Pity..." He mumbled softly taking a step forward. "No one here pities you, Bruce." He reassured softly, reaching out again as if /he/ was the one in need of reassurance. "Why would we ever pity you? What you faced back then was... terrifying. You were nothing but brave and determined... Now you're nothing but selfless and kind. What's there to pity? You're the best of us Bruce. The fact that you don't want to go after these bastards is proof of that."

Stranger: Bruce shook his head, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. "I'm not a hero like the rest of you. You keep me around to make sure I don't run and to have a monster on your side in battle," he said flatly, like it was common knowledge. "I just try to help people when I can because I've killed and hurt so many innocent people. People I cared about..." He shut his eyes for a moment before he shrugged Tony's hand away. "Go get some rest, Tony."

You: "Bruce." Tony whispered almost as if in prayer. "You know that's not true." He tried to reassure, turning to block his retreat. "The Hulk is not a monster and neither are you. You've both saved countless lives. You helped me create a new enzyme that stops arterial bleeding in less than a second. The Hulk managed to catch me when I was falling to my death in the fight against Loki. Cap is just a wanna be politician in spandex, and Nat and Clint are assassins. Thor is an alien! And I... Well... I'm an arms dealer... If anyone knows what its like to try and erase the mistakes of the past its me... But you... you're not like us... You're better. You have more heart in your pinky than Capsicle could conjure up in the countless years he's been alive. You value a life more than Nat and Clint ever could combined; and you're far better than I could ever be in ever aspect..." He paused before a small smile played on his lips that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Except maybe financially." He shrugged. "But my point is you're right about one thing: You're not a hero like the rest of us... You're so much more. We're the sidekicks compared to you."

Stranger: "Don't," Bruce muttered, shaking his head. "You can't compare me to them. I'm not special or good. I'm guilty, and a coward. All of you have changed, you've become something people idolize. And I become the physical manifestation of every mistake I've ever made. Sure, it's useful sometimes. But you can't pretend I'm better than everyone because of it." He tried to push past Tony to get to the doorway.

You: Tony side stepped to cut him off once more, for once thankful of his boxing sessions with Happy. "No, you're right Bruce." He agreed. "You're not better because of it. You have always been better. With or without the Hulk you're the greatest person I've ever met. Myself included." He offered, hands going to the man's shoulders. "I just wish you could see what I do."

Stranger: "Stop that!" Bruce demanded, flinching away from Tony, shaking his head and starting to wrap his arms around himself like he wished he could be smaller. "Stop lying to me! Why are you doing this? You saw the videos. You saw what I am. What I /always/ will be. Why do you keep pretending?" He was getting more upset, but there wasn't any hint of green.

You: Tony's heart broke at that and for a moment he looked surprised at the outburst. But as quickly as it came it was gone and he was stepping forward to wrap his arms around the other man. "Have you ever known me to pretend?" He asked softly. "I have always been transparent, Bruce. Especially when it comes to you. Why would I need to start lying now." He sighed softly. "I mean every word."

Stranger: Bruce was shaking, especially in Tony's arms. He was tired of trying to argue though, and didn't fight it. Instead, he just let Tony told him and leaned into him for support. "... You're stupid," he mumbled, not having the energy to give more resistance than that. He his his face against Tony's shoulder when the tears stated to fall.

You: "Yeah... I get that a lot actually." Tony mumbled softly, holding him a bit tighter when the tears began. He buried his face in the other man's neck breathing him in as if to comfort himself. He was content to just stand there, soaking in Bruce's warmth, for the rest of eternity. The fact that the two of them had never actually been this close was not lost on him as he stood there lost in his countless emotions. They were both so cautious about anything that came to emotion that they kept their distance, contenting themselves with witty banter and science experiments, at least thats what Tony told himself. To be honest, he had no idea how Bruce felt about him and at the moment it didn't really matter... All that matter was Bruce seeing the way he felt about the other man. "Even more when it comes to you, it seems." He admitted softly, squeezing him gently.

Stranger: Bruce stayed in Tony's arms for far longer than he intended. Eventually he pulled back, wiping his eyes and sniffling. "... I'm sorry," he whispered, his face still a little red as he looked away. He didn't want Tony to see him so broken, but he was grateful for the company. "I don't know what got into me. I'll... I'll leave you to do whatever project you need to work on," he mumbled, but didn't exactly want to leave the warm embrace.

You: Tony couldn't help but give a soft have smile at the words. Only Bruce would apologize after his privacy was invaded and an argument ensued. "You don't have to." Tony offered. "I always enjoy your company, Dr. Banner." He offered face heating just slightly as he forced himself to continue. "Perhaps more than I should admit." He didn't make a move to step closer or to kiss him like he wanted to... had wanted to for a long while now. But instead kept his place. He wouldn't endanger their friendship like that... Not when Bruce was so distraught to begin with.

Stranger: Bruce took a shaky breath and hugged Tony a little tighter. "Thank you," he whispered. "... Could we maybe go somewhere more comfortable though?" He didn't quite realize what Tony was trying to say, but he was still feeling pretty raw and upset from the argument. Even if he said that the videos and experiments we in the past, they still haunted him.

You: "Whatever you want, big guy." Tony agreed, turning, arm still wrapped around the smaller man. "I wouldn't mind taking you up on that offer of a movie." He teased lightly. "I'll even let you break into my secret stash of Disney movies." He offered. "JARVIS. Popcorn." Tony ordered as he lead them forward. "Extra butter."

Stranger: Bruce managed a small smile when Tony offered the movies and he leaned into Tony's side with a sigh. "Sound great. Which one is your favorite?" He asked, glad to have a light hearted distraction. Tony was always good at spoiling him, and though he wouldn't admit it, Bruce was starting to get used to it.

You: "I don't think I should tell you. If Nat finds out then I'll never live it down." He chuckled as the door slid open. "But I suppose turn about is fair play..." He sighed over dramatically. "I personally have a soft spot for Beauty and the Best. There's nothing more attractive than a big brain." He admitted wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "That Belle is one smart cookie... Her dad is pretty awesome too. Oh... Speaking of cookies... JARV" "Of Course, Sir." The AI returned, already preparing the popcorn and drinks, and now on to the sweets.

Stranger: Bruce rolled his eyes with a small smile. "And here I was worried you had a thing for big hairy beasts," he teased. It was nice to relax again with Tony. "It's a classic though. I always liked Peter Pan. Maybe I just have a thing for running away," he tried to joke, but he knew it fell flat. "Anyway. Thanks for letting me in on your secret."

You: Tony chuckled regardless. "Well, it's not exactly the pentagon papers of secrets; but I do have a reputation to uphold." He teased as they entered the theater room. "Peter Pan isn't bad. Got a thing for tights or something?" He teased lightly, finally letting him go to move over to the wall. He pressed a button and the panel lifted revealing his massive collection of DVDs. He could have uploaded them all to a cloud but there was something about the actual presences of the movie that softened him. He had the same quirk about books.

Stranger: Bruce actually laughed a little as he settled down on the couch after grabbing some snacks. He didn't have much of an appetite, but the popcorn smelled too good to resist. "What are we watching?" He hummed, pulling a blanket closer over his lap as well. He was making himself at home already.

You: "I was thinking... Hook. Unless you have another preference?" He offered, fingers dancing over the titles. The twist on Peter Pan had all you'd ever want or need. Action, Adventure, Romance, Comedy, Drama. Plus, you couldn't go wrong with a younger Robin Williams. "You /did/ say you liked Peter Pan." He pointed out playfully.

Stranger: "Sure. I don't think I ever got to see that one anyway," Bruce said with a bit of a shrug. He ate a mouthful of popcorn while he waited for Tony to start the movie and join him.

You: Tony put in the movie before moving over to sit next to the man, perhaps a bit closer than he should have. He rest an arm on the back of the couch just as the title scene began, the trumpets filling the room. He reached over to steal some of Bruce's popcorn, doing his best not to focus on what he had witnessed in the lab. If he were being honest he knew he was going finish the video files when he got another chance. He needed to know, though he didn't know why.

Stranger: Bruce wasn't used to much physical contact, but he was able to let his guard down with Tony. He stretched a little before settling in against Tony's side, letting his head rest on the engineer's shoulder. He shared the popcorn and just let himself enjoy the movie and the comfort.

Stranger: (hey I've gotta run for an appointment soon, but would you like to continue in email?)

You: [Sure! What's your email. I'll send the log and my reply.]

#stanner #sciencebros #science boyfriends #tony/bruce #bruce/tony #omegle #rp

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