The Pen is Mightier! (penismightier) wrote in chaotic_library, @ 2015-02-02 13:45:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | bruce banner, bucky barnes, clint barton, maria hill, marvel, natasha romanov, pepper potts, r-rated, sharon carter, short story, steve rogers, thor, tony stark, yuuo, yuuo: marvel |
[Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Tony Stark; R] From Yesterday, From Today (Part 1)
Character/Series: Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Tony Stark, Cast; Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: R
Notes: I might be bullshitting about the burial flags- families and next of kins can petition the VA for burial flags, but I don't know how likely they'd be to get them on a couple of MIA soldiers. Marvel kinda goofed when they left Steve and Bucky as MIA, rather than changing them to KIA in the sixties like they did every other WWII MIA soldier. If Marvel had done what they should've, Peter would've also had their medals to give them. Also, Marvel fudged things with the enlistment thing- voluntary enlistment was closed by the time Bucky was drafted, meaning Steve couldn't have been enlisting. So yes, I'm going with their goof up and saying that Bucky had the chance at the time to enlist and just didn't.
Dedicating this to Monty Oum of Rooster Teeth, who passed away yesterday. Godspeed to you, Monty. You'll be missed.
Title: From Yesterday, From Today
Author: yuuo
Word Count: 13126
Summary: Steve sighed.
Steve sighed. "Tony, I don't know about this. Bucky doesn't like being reminded of his age any more than I do."
"Yeah, but he's ninety-nine," Tony protested, sipping his vodka, kicked back on one of the couches in the Avengers penthouse.
Steve looked out the window, at the darkened sky. Bucky was at the shelter, volunteering that night, and good timing; Tony wanted to plan a last minute birthday party for Bucky. Easier to do when the birthday boy wasn't around to overhear the plans and cut them off at the pass.
"It's a good idea," Sharon said from her perch on the edge of the table. "It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, just a cake and enough candles to make it collapse under their weight." She gave him a perky grin that almost made him want to do horrible things to her, and not of the fun variety.
"Just remember, you're dating someone only a year younger than that," he said.
"You age well," she said, wrinkling her nose at him.
Bruce cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the other Avengers. "I hate to join Cap in the party pooper corner, but maybe we should respect Bucky's wishes."
"I already have Thor on his way to La Guardia," Tony protested. "I can't have dragged him away from his girl and his country across the Atlantic for no party." When Steve gave him an aggravated look, Tony sat forward, raising his glass in protest. "It doesn't have to be big! We won't even make issue of his age. No candle jokes, no 'over the hill' stickers or cards or balloons, just a regular old party with his new family. We'll save all that for when he hits the century mark next year."
Steve almost told Tony 'no' for the third time that evening when something Tony said sank in. 'Family.' "Actually, Tony, I think Bucky would rather spend the day with the last of his old family."
"Peter? I can have him brought up with a bow on his head," Tony said. "I know Bucky said he didn't really want to mix Peter with the Avengers, but that was Christmas. There's two days to Christmas, twelve if you believe the song. But there's only one birthday. It's not like he has to balance coming up here with celebrating with all the other generations that the Barnes family spawned."
Steve looked at Bruce for support.
Bruce held up his hands. "I think Tony may actually have a point on this one. Bucky's brother might appreciate getting to see that Bucky will be well taken care of once old age claims him and Bucky's left with just us. And we'll be nice."
Steve looked at Maria briefly, but knew he'd get no help from her. She tended to stay out of these things, and now that she was tentatively dating Bucky- very tentatively -she might actually be onboard with the idea of a party for him. Natasha and Clint were being of absolutely no help, and no input, probably on purpose to watch Steve try to argue in circles with Tony. So, seeing no way out of calling defeat, he sighed deeply. "All right. I'll call Peter. It's not like I was going to win anyway, you have Thor in the air already."
"Glad you see things my way," Tony said. "So what kind of party theme should we have? I promise, no 'over the hill' jokes."
Steve had to squash the sudden dirty joke that just popped into his head. Bucky might have found it funny, but it involved Maria's name, and Steve wasn't so sure she might not have done something to get back at him. He had a feeling that her kind of revenge would not be very enjoyable.
So he shoved that aside and turned his mind back to Tony's question. "I really don't know. Nothing related to work, that much I can tell you."
"I didn't plan on having a Winter Soldier themed party, Cap," Tony said. "What about a nostalgia theme? I've seen them done for the older folk in the business world, people decorate in stuff that was big when the birthday person was born, or around the time they grew up. You guys grew up during the Prohibition, right? We could set up a speakeasy, get the girls in flapper dresses."
"We were pretty young in the twenties," Steve said. "Too young for speakeasies to be a thing that were terribly important to us."
"How much do we wanna avoid the thirties?" Tony asked. "I know the Depression was pretty rough, probably not the best memories there."
"High school graduation was '35, then he went to MIT." Steve tilted his head back, thinking. "Late thirties, early forties were good times for us. Spent a lot of that time separated because of college, but it was before he got drafted and I enslited."
"I thought he said he enlisted," Tony said.
"His records say otherwise," Natasha said, finally speaking up.
Maria propped her chin on her fist, studying Steve hard enough that he was forced to look at her. "He said he had told you that he had enlisted."
Steve eyed her. "He actually admitted he was drafted to you? You stand a good chance with him." He shook his head. "I don't know why he lied, but I knew he did after I heard him reciting his serial number in Zola's lab. If he'd enlisted in New York, it would've started with a twelve. It didn't. Bucky was drafted."
"He didn't want to disappoint you," Maria said. "He thought you'd think less of him for not enlisting while you were trying to get in."
Steve didn't know if he wanted to whack Bucky upside the head, or hug the dumb jerk. "He's an idiot. I knew he never wanted to go to war. He didn't like the idea of having to look someone in the eye and pull the trigger on them."
"And he ended up a sniper," Bruce said, sounding rather sad. "War does awful things to people."
Steve walked away from the window to join his friends on the couches. "He became a sniper to protect me. He'd been just a regular soldier before that."
Tony took a drink of his vodka. "And now you see why everyone here is jealous of you two. None of us grew up with someone who'd completely rewrite their moral code to protect us."
"I know," Steve said, sitting next to the corner of the table Sharon was sitting on. "Believe me, we're both pretty aware of how lucky we are." He eyed Tony's vodka, wishing a glass would do anything to chase away the past for him. "But we're getting way off track. If you want to do a themed party, the early forties are the way to go. Although, personally, I think I'd save the trip back into the past for next year. A century mark is a bigger thing than just shy."
Tony made a thoughtful noise. "You're probably right on that. Give me more time to research that time period, get some good stuff in. If we weren't doing this last minute, I'd be inclined to just jump the gun a year early. It's a good idea. Okay." He set his empty glass down on the table. "So it's got to be something we can pull together in a day and a half. You know, it's too bad he's the one that cooks, otherwise I'd suggest a feast and the best cake ever made. But I'm not going to make him cook his own birthday dinner and cake."
"And you can't possibly find some place that can cater to appetites as big as the Avengers on such short notice," Pepper said, patting his arm. "I know you want an excuse to eat his cooking again, but you might have to wait for your birthday."
"Bah," Tony said. "I'll just make him invite us over again."
"I would give him advanced notice," Maria said. "He's teaching me to cook, you don't want to chance your dinner date being lesson night. I don't have his knack for it yet."
Pepper smiled at her. "I'm sure you're doing fine," she said. "But we wouldn't interrupt your routine just to invite ourselves to his apartment for dinner. If we had that many people around, I would suggest another dinner party for the Avengers as a group."
"Bucky would probably like to do that for his birthday, actually," Steve said. "He'd feel happier giving you guys something."
"He doesn't cook his own birthday meal," Tony said firmly. He looked at Pepper. "I will leave finding a good catering service for the day after tomorrow to you. You're good at that kind of stuff."
"That's because that's the kind of work you always shoved off onto me when you were CEO," she said, sounding like this was an old routine of picking on each other for them. "But all right. What kind of food does he like, Steve?" She looked at Steve.
"Italian," Steve said. "I'm not a fan, so he doesn't make it often."
Tony stared at him. "You don't like Italian? Who doesn't like Italian? Italian makes the world go 'round."
"I don't," Steve said. "I just said that. But it's Bucky's birthday, we're not going to worry about my dietary preferences. As long as nobody here has food allergies that would prevent us from having it, that's what matters."
"I think I'm the only one allergic to any food," Pepper said. "And I'm pretty sure that Italian food doesn't make extensive use of strawberries."
"Done," Tony said. He looked out the window, then at his watch. "Pepper, why don't you get on finding a catering service? Cap, put in a call to Bucky's brother, tell him to clear his schedule."
While Pepper stepped away from the group to make her calls in some modicum of quiet, Steve pulled his phone out of his pocket. "What time should we have him up here? It's a bit of a drive."
"Here by five," Tony said. "I'll have him picked up so he's not looking for parking around here."
Steve made an acknowledging noise, hitting dial on Peter's number. He got up and walked back over to the windows. The ground outside was slushy from a snow the day before. The temperature had gotten up into the forties that day, melting much of it, but temps had gone down again as the sun set. Steve hoped all that melted slush wouldn't turn to ice overnight. It'd be hell on Bucky and the other guys out there if it did.
"Hello, Bucky," Peter's voice said in his ear.
"It's me, Peter," Steve said. "Your brother's at the shelter right now."
"Hi, Steve. You're up to something," Peter said. "You're calling me when he's not there, and it's almost his birthday. I take it I'm involved in something?"
Steve smiled, glancing back at the others. "How would you like to come up to the Tower on your brother's birthday and meet the Avengers?"
Peter sounded like his brain was somewhere between a fan's excitement and an old man who was too tired for that shit. "I thought it was Bucky's birthday, not mine. But whatever you're planning, I'm there."
"Tony's planning a dinner with cake, nothing fancy. I don't think God himself could keep Tony from going all out next year, but the last minute thing kept him in check this year."
"That's just as well," Peter said. "I don't think my brother likes to be reminded of his age at this point." Before Steve could confirm that, Peter sighed, his tone going from joy to something odd, something quieter. "I have something that belongs to him that I'd like to get to him, anyway. And something of yours while I'm at it."
The tone of voice that sounded like Bucky's when he started taking an unhappy trip into the past made Steve frown and turn away from the others again. "What is it?"
"You'll see on Thursday," Peter said. "What time should I get there?"
"Party's at five. Tony's going to send someone to pick you up so you're not fighting for long-term parking in Manhattan on a Thurday evening. So you can expect someone around one thirty or so."
"Make it one," Tony said. "Account for traffic."
Steve glanced back over at him, then turned back to the phone. "Did you hear that, by any chance?"
"Mister Stark has a loud voice," Peter said. "I heard it. I'll be ready. I'm retired, I have nothing to cancel anyway."
"You need a job," Steve said. "You sound bored, and you're a Barnes man. Barnes men get into trouble when they get bored."
Peter laughed. "We Barnes men find trouble whether we're bored or not. It's more a matter of if we go looking for that trouble, or that trouble finds us. I'll be ready by one. I'd have you say hi to my brother for me in the meantime, but I suspect we don't want him knowing about this, I'm not about to be the one to give it away. And you can't lie for beans, I'm not going to ask you to come up with a reason as to why you were talking to me."
Steve breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he said. "We'll see you on Thursday."
"Thursday," Peter confirmed, and once they'd said their good byes, he hung up.
Steve turned and pointed at Tony with his phone. "Peter says you have a loud voice."
Before Tony could act indignant, Bruce cut in with a chuckle. "He does. He's done a lot of presentations and shows, you learn to project your voice."
Tony nodded in Bruce's direction. "Thank you, Doctor Banner. And you have no room to talk on that one, Cap."
"Either way, he heard you," Steve said. "He'll be expecting your driver at one."
Sharon stood up and walked over to him. "What was it that he said that had you sounding concerened?"
Steve looked at her, then at the phone, then put the phone away in his pocket and put an arm around her shoulders. "He just said he has something for us. He had a weird tone about it. Dunno what it is, but he says it was ours to begin with, so probably something from before the war."
Tony got up, heading to the bar to refill his glass. Or maybe put it in the sink. He quickly proved it was to get a refill. "So we have the lot of us, that's-" he paused, setting aside the bottle of vodka and counting the people in the room, "-nine, once Thor gets here. Then ten with Peter. Hey, think we should invite the flying man?"
"Who, Sam?" Steve asked. At Tony's nod of confirmation, Steve tilted his head, considering that. "It'd probably be nice. He and Bucky haven't had much of a chance beyond some phone conversations to really get to know each other. A visit might help that. And I'd like to see him, it's been awhile since we darkened each other's doorsteps." He glanced at Natasha. "What about you? It's been awhile since you've seen him."
Natasha shrugged, hiding a smile behind her glass. "Might be fun to heckle him for being slower than you for awhile."
Clint looked at her, then at Steve. "Okay, I missed a story while I was out in the sands. Who's Sam?"
"He's one of the guys that helped us take out Hydra's helicarriers," Natasha said. "Code name Falcon. I've mentioned him."
Clint stared at her a moment. "Oh, Wilson? Okay, following now. What's with the slow joke? That one I know I missed."
Steve fought back a laugh, but couldn't hide the amused grin on his face. "I run faster than him during morning runs. He wasn't impressed with being lapped so many times."
Pepper rejoined them, taking her previous spot on one of the couches, next to where Tony had been sitting. "I have a caterer. Unfortunately, it's too late to get a cake completely customized, but there's a bakery down on east 138th that can do something a bit personalized without looking like we got it from a grocery store bakery. I'll stop there tomorrow."
"Excellent," Tony said, rejoining her. "You're a goddess among women." He pointed at Cap. "Call Sam, let's make sure everyone's going to be here."
Once again, Steve was forced to rescue his phone from his pocket. He knew Bucky wasn't going to be entirely happy with a party, but as Tony had inadvertently pointed out, it was only a dozen of them, if Sam showed up, and that wasn't that many. Bucky's family had been half that, counting Steve, and he'd had more friends as a kid. He'd had bigger parties.
"Hey man, what's up?" Sam asked upon answering.
"The sky," Steve said. "You always ask that."
Sam made a noise that said he wanted to reach through the phone and strangle him while laughing the whole time. "One of these days, I'll learn. But no, seriously, it's about dinner time, you don't call until later."
"Bucky's birthday is on Thursday, Tony's throwing a little party. You got an invitation."
Sam was silent a moment. "So, a chance to party with my friends, and meet the Avengers, all at once? You know I'm there. I'm off that day anyway."
"Good," Steve said, then glanced briefly at Tony. "Tony's sending someone to pick up Peter so he can avoid looking for long-term parking in Manhattan in the evening. Party starts at five. Want me to have him make his driver stop earlier to pick you up, too?"
"If parking weren't a thing, I'd say I could drive myself, but you make a point. Yeah, if he can spare the extra hour or so of driving. That'd put me leaving around what, noon?"
Steve looked at Tony one more time for confirmation that the driver would be there; Tony nodded, waving him off with one hand before taking a drink of his vodka. "Yeah, noon. The driver's picking Peter up at one, that gives you both a little time to account for traffic."
"Which can be hell," Sam said. "I'll be ready and waiting. You guys still working on planning?"
"We're done for the most part," Steve said. "Pepper hired a catering company a little bit ago. We're having Italian."
"By Italian, you don't mean pizza, right?" Sam asked. "And I thought you didn't like Italian."
"No, no pizza, and no, I don't," Steve said. "But Bucky does, and it's his birthday, not mine. It's nothing big, just dinner and a cake. But all the Avengers are here for the moment. Thor will be in tonight sometime. So you can expect there to be a lot of food."
"My favorite," Sam said. "I'll be ready and waiting for that driver. Hate to get an invite and run, but my oven timer just told me that my meatloaf is ready."
Steve couldn't help a grin. "Go get your food, Sam. We'll see you on Thursday." They said good bye and hung up. "He's coming," Steve confirmed. Before putting his phone away, he looked at Tony. "I'm not calling anyone else, am I?"
Tony made a show of thinking, sniffing once and moving his jaw slightly like he was trying to say something without opening his mouth. "No, you're good," he said after Steve had counted off five seconds.
"So it's a little last minute for gifts," Natasha said, "but any ideas?"
"Show up and don't make fun of his age," Steve said. "Bucky doesn't really like getting presents. I don't even know what to get him."
Natasha looked thoughtful. "In the spirit of our time in Nebraska, how about the newest Game Of Thrones book?"
Steve raised an eyebrow. "What, Winds Of Winter? He bought that on his tablet already."
Clint got up and headed to the bar. "Hasn't anyone ever told him he's not supposed to get himself shit until after gift-giving occasions are over?" He looked at Natasha, holding up a beer. "Nat, you want one?"
She held out her hand. "Gimme."
"Please," Clint said, grabbing a second one and heading back over to his spot by her. "Your manners leave something to be desired."
Natasha gave him a sweet smile that didn't belong on her face. "Everything about me is to be desired. Although, hey, Hill-"
Maria shook her head, giving Natasha a side-long look. "Whatever you're about to suggest, don't. We've had two dates, he doesn't get that yet."
Well, at least it wasn't Steve that brought it up.
"Who says even one date is a prerequisite?" Clint said, taking a sip of his beer.
Maria grabbed her glass of orange juice. "If I want something that will last, I do. Casual sex and long-term relationships don't tend to work together in my world."
"They can be difficult to manage," Tony agreed. "Try for the long term." He looked at Pepper. "Sometimes it's worth it."
The smile Pepper gave him was warm, reminded Steve of the smiles Sharon would give him, the smiles Peggy used to, like a sunrise meant only for one person. "You're a suck up."
"I am also honest," Tony said. "But, all right, back on topic. No presents? He's no fun. Although!" He took one last drink of his vodka and set the empty glass down. "Speaking of presents, has he told you anything about how those tools you got him are working? The guys up on the third R&D floor are jealous of them."
Steve didn't bother hiding the smile that gave him. "He's mentioned it a time or two that they're helpful, but that's it. Glad to hear they're working for him."
"The man's a genius," Tony said. "Not on par with me, of course, but he knows his way around chemistry and engineering. Bruce is corrupting him into biochemistry a bit. He doesn't give you these updates, does he?"
Steve shrugged. "To some extent. He doesn't brag. I think he knows the science is kind of lost on me. I'm good at using technology, the inner workings of it is a mystery to me."
"I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit," Tony said. "You catch on quick. But it's not your area. It's not for everyone. I can't tell sea green from mint green to save my life. You can." He shrugged, and eyed his empty glass. "Okay, time for something without alcohol. I'm giving out compliments at my detriment."
Sharon ducked out of Steve's arm grip, heading for the bar. "Speaking of something to drink, I want something," she said. She looked at Steve. "A Coke for you?"
Before Steve could answer, Tony looked over his shoulder at her. "Me too?" He held up his empty glass. "I'll give you two the honeymoon suite at Four Seasons if you do."
Sharon stopped halfway to the bar, and then shook her head, walking over to Tony with a smile on her face. "We'll take a rain check on that, but since you asked so nice, I'll take your glass for you." He handed her his glass, and she took it over to the bar, dumping it in the sink and pulling two cans of Coke out of the mini-fridge. She grabbed a third can, a Mountain Dew, squished it between her forearm and her chest, and walked back into the main area. She handed Tony his Coke with a "one for you," and then gave Steve his with a "and one for you." She freed her soda from under her arm. "These are cold."
"Would you rather they be warm?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I would prefer to not freeze my tit carrying one," Sharon said and Steve almost spit out his drink, choking on it instead. She looked up at him at the distressed sounds he was making. "Swallow, dear. Then laugh."
Natasha burst into laughter. "I think Sharon just got you back for me for making me choke on those dumplings."
Steve shot her a dirty look, still coughing. "That wasn't my fault," he croaked out, then cleared his throat. "I was keeping you from making that joke with the nicest thing I could possibly say on the subject."
"I think that's most people's opinion on it," Natasha said, downing a swallow of beer. "It's either make a joke, or rage incoherently."
Clint looked between Steve and Natasha. "Okay, another reference I missed."
"I think we all missed this one," Bruce said, joining Clint in his study of the two people speaking what was probably moonspeak to the others.
Natasha motioned to Steve. "He was a Catholic choir boy growing up. He made the 'I wasn't left alone around a priest' joke for me. Made me choke on my chicken and noodles."
It was Tony's turn to choke on his soda, hacking like he'd inhaled the entire can into his lungs. He coughed a few times, red-faced, and then clearly started trying to laugh without making himself die in the process. "Okay, had not known you were in the choir. Maybe you should lead us in 'Happy Birthday' on Thursday."
In the name of not getting named Entertainer Of The Avengers, Steve decided to head that one off at the pass. "Tony, my voice has dropped an octave or so since I was in choir," he said. "I'm not sure what I learned then will apply now."
"What, you don't think you could hit the high notes anymore?" Tony said. He looked like he wanted to say more, but was debating if he'd get away with it or not.
"Tony? Whatever you're wanting to add, keep it to yourself," Steve said. "I'll even ask nicely. Please."
"Well-" Tony said, not immediately committing to not being a jackass, then shrugged. "Okay. You asked politely. I'll refrain."
"So how are we going to keep the birthday boy from finding out what's going on until Thursday?" Natasha asked. "I've seen you lie, Steve, you're terrible at it."
Steve resisted the urge to look over at Tony and Pepper, knowing he was probably getting a cold look from both and not wanting to see it, lest he react to it, and the mess come out where the others would have to get involved. "I'll just not mention it, I guess," he said. "If he asks about it, we're screwed, but as long as he doesen't think to ask, I won't bring it up."
That probably didn't help the chilliness he was picking up from Tony and Pepper, but at least he was being honest this time.
"And with his birthday right around the corner, he's not going to think to ask what you might have planned?" Maria asked, sounding and looking incredulous. "That seems a stretch, with as well as he knows you. I think he'd be surprised if you weren't at least planning to get him a cake and a card."
Damn. She made a good point. Steve frowned, trying to think of a way out of that mess before it became a mess to get out of.
Sharon saved the day for him. "He's working overnight tonight, which means he'll sleep most of tomorrow. I can just drag Steve out for a date around the time Bucky would get up, minimize how much time they're around each other for the beans to be spilled."
"Perfect," Tony said. "Now, the food and cake and our two guests of honor won't get here until five on Thursday, so we've got all day to keep things quiet."
"Uh, Tony? You have Thor showing up at midnight," Bruce pointed out. "It's going to be hard to keep things quiet even tomorrow, if he finds out Thor's here. It's a big building, yes, but we Avengers tend to congregate in one area, they're bound to run into each other, unless you wanna tell Thor he's not allowed to leave his room."
Tony looked stumped. "Okay, you have a point. He doesn't happen to work tomorrow night too, does he?" He looked at Steve.
Steve shook his head. "No. Jennie wouldn't schedule him in a way that had him sleeping through most of his birthday. I don't know if he tried to argue with her on the subject or not, but she flat out told him he was to enjoy his day and not worry about watching a bunch of guys sleep all night."
"That job sounds so glamorous," Tony said, practically drooling sarcasm.
"I've had worse," Natasha said. "Anyone in the business has. At least it's a potentially quiet job."
"Medical work isn't exactly pretty, either," Bruce said. "Especially not in a third world country where proper hygiene isn't practiced, and sanitation is minimal."
Tony looked at Natasha, then at Bruce, then over at Steve. "You all are so noble. You make me look bad."
Natasha shook her head. "I'm not," she said. "I just said I've had less pleasant jobs, not that they were charitable."
"Feeling better," Tony said. He emptied his can- Steve wondered just how much Tony could drink before he had to slosh his way to the bathroom -and set it down with a clang. "Okay, it's past dinner time, who wants take out? My treat."
"As long as you don't order pizza," Steve said. "If you do, I'll just go treat myself to something I can cook."
"No pizza," Tony said. "There's a great Korean BBQ place that delivers. Sound good?" When nobody protested and there was a general noise of agreement, Tony stood. "That settles it. JARVIS, get us menus for BarKogi."