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zenaidamacrouras1 · 1 year

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Writing Modern Steve Roger's Health Issues: A compendium

AKA How do Steve Rogers' MCU canon illnesses hold up in a modern setting?

I am writing something that is SO NICHE and so NERDY I feel absolutely, positively deviant about it. Who knew you could have this much fun while eating a burrito and sitting in the sun on your back porch?

OKAY! This one goes out to all of you writing modern AU's with a modern Steve Rogers. (There are literally dozens of us!). Let's go.

So, I find it somewhat problematic when people write disabled or otherwise medically complicated characters and are wishy-washy about the diagnosis they have. In real life, everyone I know with ongoing medical issues is a fucking expert on their exact shit. A great tumblr reference for disabled characters is Cripple Characters, but I also use reddit threads to read about people’s day to day experiences with different issues in their own words. If nothing else, just decide what your character has and take ten minutes and read through a basic website article about it.

So let's walk through what modern Steve's medical history and diagnoses might be. If you feel like I missed any details or got things wrong, happy to have comments to that end.

We'll start with the list of “ailments,” going with the MCU canon and combining the images from the museum exhibit and screen shots of Steve’s enlistment forms:

Asthma

Scoliosis

Fallen arches

Partial deafness

Scarlet Fever, Rheumatic Fever

Heart arrhythmia

High blood pressure

Palpitation or pounding in heart

Easy fatigability

Stomach ulcers

Pernicious anemia

Nervous trouble of any sort

Sinusitis

Chronic or frequent colds

Caveat: I am not a doctor, but I am a person who enjoys reading medical journal articles about illnesses I do and don’t have. The human body is a fascinating and terrible place to live. Talk to me about your medical complications - I will always find them interesting. I love small talk about Crohn’s disease and/or extremely graphic details about the time you had surgery because one of your wrist bones was the wrong length.

Sucks To Your Assmar: Asthma! How has asthma changed?

Kids who have their asthma well managed at a young age are going to have less scarring and lung damage (this is called airway remodeling). Thus a modern kid will likely have less severe asthma than a kid born in Steve’s time. Further, allergy medicines got way better from the 1990s, so kids with allergy induced asthma would have had fewer attacks. Fewer attacks as kids = less severe asthma as they age.

I would also note that asthma is highly connected to environmental issues. If Steve grew up in a house with cigarette smoke, cockroaches, rats, or mold present, as is fairly easy to imagine, especially without dehumidifiers in a swampy Brooklyn summer, those are environmental factors that would have made his asthma much worse.

They are also all factors that kids today certainly face, depending on how you write your modern Steve’s childhood. While people today certainly can have very severe asthma, it’s also entirely possible that modern Steve’s relationship to his asthma is pretty chill and easy to manage. (My partner has relatively severe asthma with a lot of environmental triggers; modern allergy medicine was a big game changer.)

Let’s talk about scoliosis ~~

There are a lot of variations to how scoliosis impacts people. I have very minor scoliosis and it's barely a thing in my life. I’m not trying to speak for everyone, but for what it’s worth, there are professional athletes with spinal fusion. I used Kyra Condie as my justification for writing climbing coach post-spinal fusion small Steve Rogers in one fic. My younger brother and best friend in high school both had spinal fusions.

In reality the athletic and physical abilities of people with spinal fusion vary pretty much exactly as much as people without spinal fusion, so you have a lot of leeway for how you decide to write a character with scoliosis. I recommend reddit threads to read about people talking about how their bodies felt before and after spinal fusion, or why they decided not to have the surgery, if you want to get a sense of how it might affect your character’s day to day life.

Wait, so how tall is modern small Steve Rogers?

You can see in this article that gains in height post scoliosis corrective surgery/spinal fusion varies, but the mean was 27 mm (1 inch) and the maximum was 66 mm (2.5 inches).

The more severe the curve in the spine, the more height gained with surgery.

We know Steve had scoliosis, we don’t know how severe it was (do we?). But if he was 5’4” without spinal fusion, and with all of his childhood fevers, and possible poor nutrition due to the Great Depression and untreated stomach ulcers, then it’s very reasonable that a modern Steve raised with proper nutrition and his gastrointestinal issues (see below!) properly treated and a spinal fusion could be easily 1-10 inches taller.

I think it’s great if you want to write modern Small Steve as 5’4” - but I tend to write him as 5’7” or so.

I think it is entirely likely that a modern Steve Rogers could end up being 6 feet tall given modern medical intervention and a healthy digestive system and adequate nutrition. As an example of how people with more or less the same genetics having different heights due to environmental factors, I know of one family of four brothers that immigrated from Italy in the 40s. Their height was 100% correlated to their age when they moved to the US/started having access to food: the oldest brother was around 5’4” and the youngest around 6 feet. The oldest was also a chain smoker and worked full time from around age 8, so you know, he was a fucking badass 5'4" Italian guy, if that's not clear.

What about fallen arches?

Fun story, but I have fallen arches/flat feet and had a lot of foot pain as a kid, but I thought it was normal. I wear custom orthotics and/or birkenstocks and do exercises to strengthen my feet muscles and it's fine now as long as I remember to do the things I just mentioned. My dad had to have multiple surgeries on his feet, so I think it helped that they caught it earlier in me.

Should I write modern non-serum Steve as deaf?

Maybe! I think it’s lovely when people write characters with hearing issues. There are great blogs that cover ways to do that well (a good link, another one, and another one and I think this one on hearing aids is particularly good if you are trying to bring in subtle day to day routine differences a character that wears hearing aids may have. Another great option is, again, reddit, especially for questions around how sexual intimacy might vary in small ways that can be nice to bring in. (I am working on a fic with a seeing character whose ex is blind and also read a lot of couples first hand experience with sexual intimacy around that dynamic on reddit).

But how likely is it that modern Steve would be deaf?

I think that it’s reasonably likely that Steve’s hearing issues were a result of Scarlet Fever, which is a bacterial infection that can result in rheumatic fever, an inflammatory condition that develops in more severe cases of scarlet fever.

Scarlet fever caused deafness - in fact, both Helen Keller and Thomas Edison had hearing loss due to scarlet fever infections. Further, sustained fevers of over 104 degrees can also cause hearing loss, so there is a reasonable chance that some other fever caused Steve’s hearing issues.

Today, the kind of hearing loss caused by fevers and infections can usually be surgically repaired or never occur because we have better antibiotics and better medicines to treat fevers. However, I have a friend who has partial hearing loss and lots of other life long nervous system and fatigue issues due to complications from childhood chicken pox in the 80s (this vaccine came around in 1995).

I don’t know if it’s canon or fanfiction, but I often see Steve as having one bad ear. For what it’s worth, hearing loss in one ear is much less common than hearing loss in both ears.

However, potential causes of hearing loss in one ear are infections that result in a high fever and some kind of head trauma, both of which are easy to imagine would have affected a Steve born in 1918, and while possible in a modern Steve, also easier to avoid.

Heart Stuff: Heart arrhythmia, High blood pressure, Palpitation of pounding in heart, Easy fatigability

The aforementioned fevers that can cause hearing loss can also cause heart issues. I think it’s reasonably likely that Steve’s heart issues were from his fevers as a young kid, but I often write him with a congenital heart defect, because why not?

These days, most of the time, such issues are detected at or before birth and fixed when the person is a baby, but there are plenty of heart issues that can require multiple heart surgeries at various points. Regardless, a modern Steve would most likely either have had access to corrective surgery or medication to manage these heart conditions. Which is not to say that he wouldn’t suffer mental and physical trauma from this medical complication.

There are plenty of professional athletes you can find who have all of the above heart issues. And plenty of people with heart issues who have no interest in being professional athletes, so like, follow your bliss.

Digestive System Stuff: Easy fatigability, Stomach ulcers, Pernicious anemia

I have easy fatigability under heart stuff too, because lots of shit can make you tired.

My personal head canon is that Steve Rogers has celiac disease and/or lactose intolerance, it would cause all of the above. Both can also lead to poor growth - in fact falling off growth charts is one of the most common symptoms of celiac disease in children.

While people have been aware of celiac disease since there were people, gluten wasn’t identified as the clear cause till the 50s.

I typically write modern Steve with some kind of food allergy, and I think that addresses quite a few of his canon medical complications.

Because so many causes of this category of symptoms are relatively easily solved with modern medical intervention/avoiding the problem, I would point folks towards Crohn’s disease if you are looking to write a modern character with medical issue that is more likely to be an ongoing source of similar medical complications today.

(Also, kids with Crohn’s are likely to have reduced height. I have a friend who has Crohn's whose 3 siblings are well over 6 feet and he is around 5'8" (so 4-6 inches aka 11+ cm shorter due to his severe childhood illness).)

Nervous trouble of any sort

Kids with medical complications and food allergies are much more likely to have anxiety. I’m so proud of all the kids making it through the day with anxiety. Luff you anxiety kids, I see you working twice as hard to be present as the non-anxious kids. Tough as hell. Give yourself a high five. I’m so damn proud of you.

Sinusitis and Frequent colds

I mean, god bless modern decongestants and allergy meds. Celiac disease and lactose intolerance can both cause sinus issues, so here is another one of Steve's ailments that can be "cured" through that diagnosis.

Other stuff

When you look at the above, you can see a lot of scenarios where modern era Steve, like many children/adults today, had multiple surgeries and serious and scary health complications as a child, but as an adult would appear as a relatively healthy able bodied person, with the possibility of even becoming a top athlete if he was so inclined. It’s also likely that some issues like chronic fatigue etc, might linger into adulthood as relatively invisible illnesses that nonetheless affect his everyday.

In some ways his character arc given the advances of modern medicine could mimic his arc due to the serum.

Being medically complicated as a kid sucks. Even if you have surgeries to treat and/or learn how to live with things like Crohn’s and celiac and reduce flare ups, lingering mental health trauma can have an impact.

Lastly and most importantly, I have a personal headcanon that young Steve Rogers of any era spent a lot of time sick in bed and staring into a mirror learning how to raise one eyebrow and perform other eyebrow gymnastics so he could more effectively sass his nurses.

IN CONCLUSION:

I think it's actually reasonable for an author to say, "My modern Steve never had any fevers, and got his severe lactose intolerance diagnosed as a baby, and had good nutrition, had medications/clean environment that prevented his asthma."

So this Steve is 6 feet tall and healthy as long as he doesn't eat dairy and takes his daily zyrtec (cetirizine - it's an allergy med). The only medical issue he has from canon left is scoliosis, flat feet, and an astigmatism.

You can also choose to write a Steve with more complex medical issues, and there are lots of things that can be good and interesting and value about that. I think the main thing is to pick a diagnosis and write it realistically, hopefully this helps some with that!

#stucky fanfiction #smol steve #writing disability #steve roger #pre serum steve rogers #modern steve rogers #honestly whats wrong with me #I don't even know but I feel like I'm dealing with my mental illnesses well enough and I had fun writing this #meta #headcanon #stony fanfiction

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robertdowneyjjr · 8 months

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consider:

an au where tony has been a vampire for hundreds of years and has resigned himself to the idea of immortality. it’s lonely, and just the thought of it is exhausting, but it is what it is, and he doesn’t particularly have a death wish despite the endless centuries of finding and losing people he cares about.

sometime in his fourth century of being undead, he becomes an avenger. he meets captain america. he and steve become friends. eventually they become more than friends.

after they start dating, tony exclusively feeds on steve instead of relying on blood bags. steve heals quick, after all. he has plenty of blood to spare for his lover.

slowly, gradually, the serum running through steve’s veins cures tony’s vampirism.

tony finds a new wrinkle on his face one morning. he feels drowsy at night instead of during the day. he develops a bit of a tan.

his heart starts to beat again.

he and steve grow old together.

#somebody write it because i simply do not have the time or energy #stevetony #stony #vampire tony au #fic ideas #headcanon things #kay writes things

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hainethehero · 2 months

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Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you- *intense drumroll*- BABY BOY ON A BIKE! ⬇️

I always forget the fact that Steve canonically rides his bike around a lot. It's a part of him, like his shield. But I have a headcanon that his Daddies are the ones that fix/service it for him. (He's obviously capable of doing it himself but he likes when they insist they fix it for him bc he's spoiled like that). So, when he's not painting or drawing, he goes to Tony's garage, sits back in a pair of denim shorts and a crop top, sipping on a strawberry smoothie while his Daddies fight over who gets to fix Steve's bike this time.

#steve rogers #steve rogers bike #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes #tony stark #stucky #stony #sugar sweet steven universe #stucky headcanon #stucky drabble #baby boy steve rogers #baby boy #pretty boy #bottom steve rogers #steve rogers is a bottom #sss universe #captain america #winter soldier #iron man

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sarcasstic-jpmvr · 10 months

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Ok headcanon time:

Bucky Barnes didn‘t go to cryo in Wakanda

Instead, he spent it at home, in New York, at Tony‘s Tower (I refuse to call the the Avengers’ Tower, deal with it)

He has Steve close by, and a special reinforced room Tony built for him specifically

He‘s exactly where he belongs

One minor issue, though:

He is known to go to sleep and wake up as the Winter Soldier, going on little killing-sprees (nothing ever truly happened, given that we‘re talking about him living with the Avengers)

Anyways, we‘re talking about Bucky having to be physically restrained and put in his room, locked behind a vibranium door with a lock only two people can open from the outside: Tony and Steve

One night, Tony is up late, clearly on one of his project-binges, bless his hyperfocused soul

He goes to the kitchen to get more coffee (mind you, it‘s like, 3 a.m.)

He passes Bucky‘s room, and heres him shouting stuff in Russian and slamming his whole weight against the walls of his room

Being the idiot kind-hearted person that he is, he pauses his midnight-coffee-run and goes to Bucky‘s door

„F.R.I.D.A.Y, gimme the video feed of the room“

He sees what‘s going on inside the room, Bucky‘s clearly not Bucky, and he decides to gently knock on the door while still looking at the video feed

„Hey Buckaroo, are you alright in there?“

The Winter Soldier pauses, and looks straight in the camera

„Mission incomplete, request immediate assistance.“

Tony‘s mildly upset by the ice-cold tone of voice and the sharp blue eyes, but he decides to just roll with it

„Alright. Soldat, I am giving you a new mission.“

„Listening.“

„Your new mission is to go lay down on the bed to your right, and sleep.“

The Winter Soldier is obviously confused

Like, honestly, how could Sir even say that??????

„Sir?“

„You heard me right. Go to sleep.“

So that‘s exactly what he does

Obviously Tony tells Steve what happened

And it sort of becomes this little ritual

Every single time Bucky falls asleep, either Tony or Steve go to his door, and when the Winter Soldier wakes up, they give him the mission to go to sleep

Tony programmed F.R.I.D.A.Y to do it, and it didn‘t work

So they continue their nightly ritual

Bucky doesn’t know they do it, he just notices that he wakes up in the morning and he isn‘t sore for once

One night, Steve and Tony go to Bucky‘s door at the same time, and Tony, being the sleep-deprived little munchkin he is, confesses having feelings for Bucky and Steve

He doesn‘t realise he did it, Steve just stands there flabbergasted while Tony is barely able to stay awake, eventually falling asleep and toppling over into Steve‘s arms

Steve just brings him to bed and contemplates a whole lot about his own new feelings for Tony and his own old feelings for Bucky

Tony wakes up the next day with no recollection of what happened thaz night and just goes on about his day, confused when he doesn‘t see Steve in his lab sketching

Meanwhile, Steve is having the talk with Bucky, where Bucky realises that he, too, feels something for the mechanic

They decide the best course of action is to just straight up go to Tony and tell him they want to be with him

Being the ”40 gentlemen they are they want to court him the proper way

So they go on and do that, Tony obviously being very happy about the fact that not one but two of his crushes like him back

However, as the night falls, they forget one teensy tiny thing

Murder-kitten Winter Soldier who awakens as the night falls

Tony and Steve wake up to their third tossing and turning and grunting in his sleep, obviously fighting an inner battle with himself

They look at each other, unsure what to do, and then just decide to envelop Bucky in their arms

Steve is plastered against Bucky‘s back, spooning-style, while Tony just straight up octopus-latches himself to Bucky‘s front, squashing his face in Bucky’s chest (at this point Steve is carrying the weight of a super-soldier and a 5ft9 human)

Bucky twitches a few more times, before his pinched expression smoothens and his tense muscles relax

They all fall asleep peacefully

And that‘s the first time since the return of James Buchanan Barnes that he goes to sleep and wakes up as himself

#winter soldier #captain america #iron man #stevebucky #stevetony #winteriron #stucky #stuckony #stony #james bucky buchanan barnes #steve rogers #tony stark #bucky barnes headcanon

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soliloquent-stark · 7 months

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Do u think when stevetony first get together there’s a fight for who gets which side of the bed? Because I think so 🤔

dear anon, i am SO glad you asked this. you have no idea what monster you've created with this question.

my short answer: yes.

my long answer:

stony ficlet: the left side of the bed

steve noticed it from the moment he started spending the night in tony's room, when their supposedly casual sex slowly started turning into more — tony always went for the left side of the bed, much to steve's dismay. as a result, he'd have restless nights full of tosses and turns, every single time. if only he could sleep on that same side...

the thing is, steve didn't have a preference just for the sake of it. between sharing a tiny bed with his mom as a child and being in a literal war, he could fall asleep anywhere. hell, tony's bed is too soft for him anyway, and sometimes the floor seemed more inviting.

so, this wasn't about him being fastidious. this was about safety: steve always had to be the closest person to the door, so he could be the first one in the line of fire, so he could protect the other person. and it just so happens that, the way the room is set up, the side near the exit was the left one.

he didn't want to bring it up and make it into a thing, so one day, a few weeks into their new and fragile relationship, he simply settled in that spot while tony was in the bathroom. he figured it was a minor enough gesture; surely he didn't need to ask?

to say it pissed tony off was an understatement.

he didn't even give a reason why this was so important to him — and steve had witnessed him sleeping diagonally on his workbench, and in a chair while slouched on the table during meetings, and even standing against a goddamn doorframe once.

"if i remember correctly, and i always do, you were leaning on the right side of it", steve had said. "but i dunno, maybe it was more comfortable than this perfectly fine right side of your bed?"

tony only got more upset.

"i dunno," he parroted, "was the ice more comfortable than this perfectly fine right side of the bed?"

it was a low blow, but steve didn't take the bait. he found no other option but to admit to tony the truth about his hang-up, which somehow escalated the situation further.

"for fuck's sake steve, you don't need to be a fucking human shield! you're off duty, and i'm no damsel in distress."

it's not that steve thought iron man needed his safeguarding. but that's how his brain was wired. he needed to protect — he'd already let down so many people in his life. he hadn't been able to get his mom medical help, he hadn't stopped bucky from falling, and he already had witnessed tony fly to his near-death once, as part of a team steve was the leader of. guarding became his default mode. but tony was so stubborn and he simply didn't get it.

steve just sighed, but tony must have sensed his discomfort, because the fight seemed to leave his body.

then, with a soft and tentative voice, tony admitted to steve that he preferred that side because it had always been how he slept, since childhood. he always left the other part of the bed empty, and his mother would often sit there as she tucked him in, with a kiss on his forehead and a caress on his cheek.

"that's an example of the gentle side of her parenting that howard wasn't allowed to see because he'd disapprove of coddling me," tony had said. "her affection happened mostly behind the closed doors of my room, and we weren't caught once, because he never came to say goodnight."

steve felt his heart ache as he wordlessly rolled to the other side of the bed, making space for tony in his designated spot, and opening his arms for a hug.

he should have realized that tony was just like him, and that the reasons behind his neuroses were often tied to the same worries and trepidations that also drove steve mad.

it's not going to be easy to sleep like this, he had thought as he was holding his boyfriend close to his chest, but it's okay. it's for tony.

however, the following evening, when he entered the bedroom and saw that tony had moved everything around so that the right side of the bed was facing the door, he laughed with relief.

"i find solutions for everything, don't i," tony joked. "not like it wasn't the obvious thing to do, anyways."

but steve was aware that by doing what he did, he had totally messed up his carefully designed layout; even steve could admit that the room looked a bit silly now. somehow, tony genuinely seemed unbothered by it, and was just pleased that this way, nobody had to compromise on the quality of their sleep.

steve fell a little bit in love, just then.

gif sources: due date (2010) and before we go (2014)

find longer fics on my ao3

#yes i downloaded those movies and made those gifs only for this one post #SO WHAT #also yes i have a side of the bed too and it's the left one 🤭#ficlets by soliloquent #stony #stevetony #stony ficlet #stony drabble #steve rogers #stevie baby #tony stark #tony my beloved #character insight #my headcanons #answered

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mojiitoos · 8 months

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Sam : “you wanna tell me about her?”

Steve : “No, no i don't think i will.”

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aurumacadicus · 1 year

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Steve/Tony Dragonriders AU

Waffled back and forth on where to go with this so much lmao. Anyway! Dragons with feathers <3

Steve rides a blue. He's used to the frosts they blow, how he has to bat icicles down from around the pen before he can get to the stall door. He's used to having to bundle up in wool and furs to guard against the chill from his dragon's scales. He's used to flying through clouds full of snow ready to fall. It's peaceful, even. He does his best thinking up there. The blues are big, built for power. Broad shouldered, broad winged. Claws as big as Steve's torso. Wings with thick feathers along the membranes to guard against the cold. They're not aggressive, really, which is probably for the best--their favorite prey are moose, and elk, and orcas. Polar bears, sometimes, if they find one that's sickly or old. Steve feels like they're the only ones that understand him, some days. After the war... well, there aren't a lot of blue war birds left. They were some of the most dangerous, for sheer size and power, and the ice they brought with them. They'd been targeted to the point that the other armies had banded together to be cannon fodder simply so the last battle blues wouldn't be shot down. The riders of the fallen dragons... he didn't like to think about how many he'd lost.

It's not often that his people venture down into the valley from the mountains, but something about the summer solstice makes even the dragons energetic, feathers spreading, heads going back to trumpet pure joy. Besides, the valley folk know how to party--good food, good wine, and incredible wares for sale at the markets and fairs. Steve isn't really looking for anything, flying down more for tradition than to actually participate. His dragon likes to show off, at least during solstice, and there are absolutely crowds that come specifically to see the blues parade down the lane to the mating grounds. Steve supposes he can understand; the blues are bigger than the reds common in the valley at least by half, sometimes double. He likes to see the awe on the little kids' faces as a dragon with feet bigger than they are plodding by, pudgy little fingers pointing up at the crests on their wide heads; the way even adults tip their heads back, eyes wide, marveling at the sheer size of them. Still, there's something about the smaller dragons, built for speed and maneuverability over power, darting in between the blues' long, slow steps and letting out little trumpets (or, for the even smaller ones, comical little toots). There's always a red one that tries and display for Steve's blue, and if it wasn't so earnest, it would be funny, a third of the blue's size but still desperately trying to show off its feathers in a mating display it might find suitable. Steve sort of wishes the other dragon's rider would put a stop to it, if only to temper its disappointment when Steve's blue returns to the mountains with him, mateless as always.

Tony is pulling his hair out over his stupid dragon. They're a decorated pair, one of the few cannon fodder reds that volunteered for multiple altercations. His dragon could have the pick of any other color it wanted. Except the blues. There was nothing against it, technically. It was just that so few blues had survived the war that there was an active push to have blues breed amongst themselves, to the point that even the blues that paraded during solstice typically didn't do much but watch as the other dragons displayed for each other. And yet. His dragon. His highly decorated, sought-after red. His precious, stupid baby would only display for Steve Rogers' blue. And Steve Rogers' blue is never going to display back, because Steve Rogers hates them. Or. Well. Steve Rogers hates him. He probably doesn't hate Tony's dragon at all. Rogers had always bitched at him about his multiple enlistments for cannon fodder, how it wasn't fair to his dragon to be put on the front lines every single time, how even if Tony had a death wish, it was no reason to put his dragon in constant danger, there was a reason that the volunteers were done in cycles. Tony couldn't really see the difference, since Steve was taking his dragon out every time with the expectation of being shot down, but he'd never said so. It would only give Steve another reason to bitch him out. He just wishes he could drag his red out of the parade to stop bothering Steve's blue sometimes. It's embarrassing at this point. But it's sort of the expectation that the riders of the mated pair stay together as well until the possible eggs are fledged, and while it's obvious that Steve's blue has no interest in Tony's red, he's mortified at the idea of Steve knowing it's his red that keeps trying. He'd probably have nothing nice to say about it.

Miraculously, this year, when the red displays at Steve's blue... Steve's blue displays back. Steve is just glad he's not the only one so stunned his jaw dropped. The cheering crowd has gone silent, gawking, and even the little red seems gobsmacked, if the way it stares at the blue's vibrating silver feathers instead of vibrating its own gold back. It'll be comical, he thinks vaguely, as the red seems to jump in shock before beginning the aggressive dance reds are known for to scare off any potential interlopers. In the future, when the shock wears off, Steve will find it funny. But now, he's mostly just relieved that his blue is apparently still interested in breeding. He'd always wondered. It had spurned even other blues these past years, to the point that people wondered if it was too traumatized from the war to breed. Apparently it just needed time. He looks around to find the red's rider. They're normally close by, just to keep an eye out and stop any fights. He's not surprised to find someone booking it away from the parade lines and goes to follow. It's probably going to be the talk of solstice, that the most reticent blue had finally deigned to mate, and with a red besides. He doesn't blame the rider for not wanting to be around for the ribbing that will no doubt follow, especially since it's been years that his red has been trying to curry favor with Steve's blue. Steve sort of expects that the guy will stop once he gets out of the crowds, but he doesn't, and it turns less into following to him actually chasing him down. He doesn't understand why. It's an honor, to be one of that year's breeding pairs. He finally catches up far enough he can catch the guy's wrist, drag him to a stop. "Hey!" Then the guy turns, staring up at him with wide, frightened eyes, and Steve drops his arm as if it burned him, shocked. "Stark?" Tony looks wounded for a moment, then turns and continues running, disappearing between the stalls without looking back.

Getting a moment with Tony is a struggle. He's as famous among his people as Steve is, and there's always a crowd around him. This time, though, the people clamoring for him aren't asking for war stories or if they can touch the armors from the war; now they're asking if he's moving to the mountains, or staying in the valleys, and which dragon he thinks will bear the clutch. Tony looks harassed and anxious as he mutters 'I don't know.' Steve wants to know the answers, though. Maybe not who bears the clutch, but where they'll stay for the duration of the clutch, the hatching, the fledgling. It's a lot to prepare for. He would rather know what Tony expects now so he can work out how the next few years are going to go. "I don't know," Tony finally bursts out when Steve corners him one night. "I didn't think you wanted me around. Figured you'd just tell me when you guys were leaving." "You're its rider," Steve says, confused. "We should be discussing it." "Your dragon's a blue," Tony argues. "Blues always get their ways. But I can't go to the mountains, so. You'll have to go without me." Steve stares at the scarring on Tony's face, along his arm. It had never occurred to him that Tony couldn't join him in the mountains because of the injuries he'd sustained that had gotten him forcibly retired from service. So he starts setting up to move to the valley.

#aurumacadicus answers #ask meme #5 headcanons meme #stony

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