InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'll just... wait here, then."

Janet Van Dyne aka Wasp (tiny_queenbee) wrote in snapthread,
@ 2019-03-21 23:32:00

Entry tags:

!complete, janet van dyne (avac), tony stark (avac)

Who: Tony & Jan
What: Lamentations
When: After this
Where: Jan's room
Rating: Low
Status: Complete!

Jan was fiddling with her phone, trying to see if she could get a different signal that could go around the weird firewall that seemed to surround this place. If she could find a way to connect back to a bigger network, she could check on her friends. Make sure they were ok, then send the SOS for them to come and get them. Easy peasy!

Except, it was missing the 'easy' part of that. No matter what she did, she couldn't find a way to re-route the signal. Every time she thought she almost had it, it would come back with a 'no connectivity'. She almost sent her phone flying across the room, but then Tony would have to make her another one and he was already working on so much as it was. She took a deep breath in, pointing at her phone and biting her bottom lip. She'd make this work.

Her phone did go cluttering to the floor as her door burst open, hitting the wall. She jumped, shrinking down, her blasters trained on the door. She grew back to regular height as Tony shuffled in, a sort of dazed look on his face. "Tony?" She got out of the way as he flopped down on the bed, her face buried in the blanket. Jan bent down to pick her phone back up.

"You made me crack my phone!" She looked down at the broken screen, a small pout forming. "I was trying so hard not to break this one so you wouldn't have to fix it." She made to sit down next to him, but he was taking up the majority of the bed. "Scoot over." She pushed him with her foot, crowding herself into the corner. "What's wrong with you?

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

tiny_queenbee
2019-03-22 06:45 pm UTC (link)

Jan was trying to piece everything together, wondering what could have been the worst, when Tony said he saw Steve. "Wait, our Steve?" No, that wouldn't have been possible. Jan had been scanning the network over and over for new arrivals, hoping others from the Academy might show up, she would have known. Unless he had just arrived and Tony had seen him?

"Or do you mean the other Steve?" The older, somehow buffer Steve that seemed to know her other Tony and come from the same universe. "The one with the beard?" She mimicked having a beard, still surprised that there would be a Steve that wasn't clean shaven. That other Steve must have seen some things to allow himself to go so lumberjack.

"Did you find out why he has one? A beard that is." Jan had wanted to ask the story of what had happened to her other friends, but it still seemed too fresh a wound to bring up. She wasn't in the market of making people feel bad, so she'd focus on other things, like getting the technology up and running in this place.

She glanced down at her phone again, sighing and reaching over to stick it in Tony's pocket. "So whaddya do to embarrass yourself in front of him?" That was the only conclusion she could come up with for his current demeanor. It was said in jest, a playful barb at knowing her friend so well.

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

campusking
2019-03-23 12:54 am UTC (link)

"No, not our Steve." That would have been a whole other can of worms, and Tony couldn't help but be relieved that Steve hadn't been there to see him acting like such an idiot. That would have been just about the only thing that could have made that worse.

"Yeah the bearded Steve." The beard was maybe a little weird and at the same time only served to make him that much more.... Steve. Whatever that meant, it made sense in Tony's mind and that was all that mattered. "I didn't get the chance to ask him." But he had a feeling it was a story they probably didn't want to know. Their Steve had a moment with a beard and well - that had been dramatic enough for Tony's taste, he didn't want to know what would cause this older version to do something so similar.

Jan knew though, she always knew which was why he'd come to hide here instead of alone, she'd find out eventually and he would feel better about it once they talked about it, that was the way most things worked after all. Tony groaned as he tried to think of how to even begin.

"He was just being Steve, you know?" Out there being friendly and helpful and just unassuming. It was ridiculous. "Kate was there, they were in the river."

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

tiny_queenbee
2019-03-24 05:37 am UTC (link)

It must have been bad as Tony issued another groan when she asked what he had done. She tried to suppress a smile, knowing that it was going to be a good story. But, she was first and foremost his best friend, so she would do her darnest to be supportive while not teasing him too harshly.

Jan could think of all sorts of things that could be implied by Tony's statement, but she went with the safest route. "Playing hero?" she asked, although she found it hard to believe that Kate Bishop would need any sort of assistance. She seemed like the kind of girl who could get things done. Jan just didn't understand her interest of friends. She was still a little steamed from her interaction with America. How could you possibly not love and understand the greatness that was Tony Stark? Alright, so maybe it would be hard to see it in this moment right now, especially if you didn't know him, but it still didn't make sense. How could someone pout so much and STILL look adorable?

"C'mon, I bet it wasn't so bad." She nudged him with her foot. "What happened? Why were they in the river? Gimme the deets man!"

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

campusking
2019-03-24 08:23 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, yeah she was in the water - I think she was washing her clothes - she slipped and Steve jumped in to grab her." And being honest Kate probably would have been fine. But Steve being Steve, it would have been impossible for him not to try and help, the Steve he'd known, and this one was not so very different that the urge to help others had disappeared, even with the addition of the beard.

If only Jan knew, it might not have been so bad if that had been all it was, just watching Steve be a hero and no one else had seen it. But things were never quite so simple. "Ugh Jan," He wanted to squirm just thinking about it, he didn't think he'd ever be able to face old Tony without going red in the face again.

"He took his shirt off," He said finally, cause you know of course he did. "Before he got in the water to help Kate." He explained, because Steve wasn't out there taking off his clothes just for the fun of it, Tony felt fairly certain of that much. Old Tony had said he didn't even realize what he'd been doing, just being Steve after all. "God Jan, you should have seen him - he's just..." He trailed off, the image of Steve's abs playing in his mind again, yeah he'd stare again if he got the chance, even if it meant he had to dig a hole and bury himself in it after.

He cleared his throat after a moment because this wasn't really about Steve's abs, they were a thing of beauty and Tony would hang on to that image for longer than he cared to admit. "Anyway I was... look you'd have stopped to watch him too if you'd been there, so I mean, I was. And he was just, and I was watching and then," He turned his face into the sheets and groaned, "Tony came up beside me and caught me staring." He mumbled the words into the blankets.

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

tiny_queenbee
2019-03-27 01:19 am UTC (link)

Jan pushed herself off the wall and sat cross-legged on the bed, resting her chin in her hand as he went on with his story. NOW it was getting juicy! "OMIGOD TONY!" She grabbed his arm, wanting to know every detail. "Was it as glorious as I've always imagined?" In truth, she couldn't really figure why Steve would take his shirt off; if he was going in to save him, wouldn't that slow down the save time? And he was such a modest man, she just couldn't picture him wanting to take it off.

Whatever the reason, she realized she shouldn't question and that Tony had seen such a miraculous sight. And she could also understand why Tony was so embarrassed. She had known about his little crush for awhile now and to be caught by your older self oogling over someone...

"Well...maybe he understands!" She grinned, trying to turn the table. "Maybe he was staring too!" She rubbed his back, giving it a pat. "But you met him? Yay!" She leaned down to see if he would unbury his head in shame. "Focus on the positive, right? Did you guys talk at all?"

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

campusking
2019-03-27 04:06 am UTC (link)

"It was even better than anything you could have imagined," He said with absolutely certainty. Because maybe he was going to have to dig a hole and bury himself in it but Tony knew that what he'd seen was truly majestic and Jan probably would have been right there with him staring if she'd been there too. "He was all wet and the sun was shining just...." He trailed off shaking his head.

Well she was right, old Tony watched too - though Tony wasn't sure it qualified as staring in the same way that his staring had. "I don't think he was staring." He sighed turning his face just a little to look up at Jan in the midst of his slow and very painful death. "It sounded like it was the sort of thing that he's seen before."

"I just - my god Jan. You'd understand if you'd seen me. I just..." Look Tony was only human, and you know a regular human for the most part, he wasn't some super soldier, he didn't have abs like that, he wouldn't have looked anything like that if he'd jumped into the water to save anyone. "I made this noise." He had done his best since it came out of him to try and forget that it had ever happened, but whenever he looked back at the entire situation it was right there. "And Tony heard and - I will never be able to look him in the eye." Technically he'd never looked him in the eye, but he was absolutely not going to be able to now.

"He's gonna think that I - that I feel something... that I want-" He started and stopped again and again each possible finish worse than the last and he hid his face again. "I can't leave this spot again, I'm sorry, you're going to have to get used to me living with you now."

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

tiny_queenbee
2019-03-27 07:34 am UTC (link)

She had figured Steve without a shirt would have been glorious, but she hadn't realized how wonderful it might have been. The way Tony described it seemed like a scene from a movie, with the light spilling out and his hair ruffling in the breeze. She wanted to ask if there was an American flag flapping in the wind behind him but didn't want to make light of his situation. When he confessed his feelings about what older Tony might think of it, she gave him a pitying, but caring look.

"Aw Tony, don't worry about it! I mean, anyone would have been stunned with a vision like that!" She was sure it wasn't as bad as Tony was making it out to be, but she could understand the embarrassment. Kinda. There wasn't a lot that could embarrass her let alone staring at a beautiful person. But she was a little more vocal about her interests and crushes; Tony not so much. He loved to flirt with the other girls on campus, sure, but she figured that was just fun and games. When it came to Steve, that was a more serious subject. And Jan could do serious. Not all the time, but for Tony? She'd make the effort.

"What did older Tony say? Did he say something that made you think that he thought that?" She doubted it. She'd seen the interactions between older Tony and Steve. She vaguely remembered something about the two of them claiming a house together and figured that was a sign! If things were in motion that she thought were heading down a certain path, she was sure old!Tony wouldn't be offended or think anything worse for her Tony.

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

campusking
2019-03-28 04:35 am UTC (link)

Well... she was probably right about that. Tony wasn't sure there was a person on Earth who could have stood where he did and see what he had and not been affected by it. But he wasn't ready to be rational about this, he was still caught up in the height of his embarrassment. But that was why he'd come to Jan, she'd let him be dramatic when he needed to but she could talk him down from the edge too. She could be dramatic in her own right, but Jan was probably one of the best people he'd ever known and he trusted her with all the ridiculous things that came to his head and even these embarrassing moments that he'd die before he told anyone else.

"I mean... well nothing specifically?" Because he hadn't, he hadn't called Tony out exactly. "Just that Steve probably wasn't even aware of what he was doing after he'd taken his shirt off." It sounded like Steve to be honest, their Steve - who was far too good for this world just like the older Steve seemed to be. "He definitely heard me say I was gonna die though." He admitted. Because sure it was one thing to say anything that came to mind when he was alone or with Jan, but it was something else entirely to have said it in front of an older version of himself that was already probably not totally sold on the idea of having him around.

Tony sighed turning toward her again, it was just a strange place they found themselves in. The Academy had been fine he knew everyone there, they all knew him too - he didn't feel like he was trying to live up to some ideal that he didn't entirely know or understand. And now here he was in a place filled with people he should probably know but didn't and it left him feeling out of sorts in a way that he didn't entirely know how to deal with. At least not well. Making a fool of himself certainly seemed to be the path he had chosen for now.

"They're just gonna think that I'm... I don't know, not cut out for this." He said with a sigh. That he was just a kid, that he couldn't possibly be Iron Man, Tony had said he'd been up past Fourty for his suits and Tony was still just working on Three. How was he supposed to compete with that?

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

tiny_queenbee
2019-03-28 08:23 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, see? He gets it!" At least that's what it sounded like to Jan. Older Tony just had a more...mature way of reacting to it. Enjoying the view and knowing exactly why Steve was doing that to them. Not on purpose, of course, but completely unintentional with only the best of intentions meant to help someone else. Although, if Jan had REALLY thought about it, the whole taking a shirt off to dive into the water didn't really make sense, she wasn't one to complain about a sight like that.

She sighed. "I still wish I could have been there to witness," she said, a bit dreamily. "You always get all the luck." She gave him another push, hoping his mood was lifting just a bit.

But he seemed to be really upset at the notion that these other, older versions of themselves could judge him so harshly. "Hey, they were our age once! They have to remember what it's like to just be starting out!" Jan gave him a silly pout face, then jumped off the bed, pulling at his arm. "C'mon! I have a surprise for you! I was hoping you'd discover it on your own, but I think you need it now!" She gave him another pull, trying to get him up off the bed.

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

campusking
2019-03-29 03:12 am UTC (link)

Maybe she was right about Tony, it was still hard to look back on it and not cringe so hard that he wanted to just curl in on himself until there was nothing left of him. But that was seeming less and less like an option, both because Jan would never stand for it, and well maybe he could get over this, he just had to avoid both Tony and Steve for the rest of his life, it'd be fine - once they got back to their own dimension then he'd never have to worry about it again.

"I'll try and call you the next time I happen to come across Steve with his shirt off." He said rolling his eyes, but huffing a little with laughter as she teased at him.

And then she told him she had a surprise and well if there was anything that could get Tony out of his funk it was the possibility of a surprise awaiting him. "You have something for me?" He asked letting himself be pulled up as she tugged at him, both trying to maintain his dispair and at the same time his excitement was piqued over the very idea of a surprise whatever it might be.

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

tiny_queenbee
2019-03-29 04:27 am UTC (link)

"Good, you better!" She glanced back at him with one of her faces when she tried to look serious, but ended up laughing in the end. Tony brought that out in her a lot and she wondered if that was just her usual face with him; instead of resting bitch face, she had resting I'm-trying-to-be-serious-but-I-love-you-too-much-to-try-and-stay-upset-at-you-for-too-much-longer.

Or something like that.

"Yeah, I have something for you!" They were out of her room and making the short trip next door to his own. "I got it during one of my portal tours and went 'This is perfect!'" She reached up to cover his eyes. "Wait, keep 'em closed!" She waited until he had before she opened the door to his room and tried to walk in behind him to keep his eyes covered.

"Ta-Da!" She pulled her hands back so he could see his prize. She had set up a full sized fridge in his room, already hooked up to the power source older Tony had installed for all the inhabitants. "So, it's not full now," she explained, walking over to open the door. "But I was able to find one block of cheese!" It actually looked kinda sad sitting on the shelf by itself, but she was sure it would have a lot of friends soon enough.

"I figured it would work until we can get your original back!"

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

campusking
2019-03-29 05:39 am UTC (link)

Tony did his best to maintain his pouting but he hardly could with the look that Jan was giving him and in the end she beat him because of course she did, she always did. But it was why he'd come to Jan in the first place, because if there had been anyone in the world to keep him from getting too lost in his embarrassment it would be Jan.

He let Jan lead the way from her room and then next door as she explained where she'd found the surprise that she had for him and he allowed her to cover his eyes. "They're closed!" He promised, as she lead the way trusting her completely.

And then he could open them and there was a fridge there, and he didn't dare to hope before she told him that she had found a block of cheese for him and it was just the most amazing thing he had ever seen. "Oh my god," He could hardly believe what he saw, maybe it was emptier than the cheese fridge he had back at home, they were lacking in variety but it was still one of the most beautiful things he'd seen since he arrived - not counting Steve's abs of course.

"Jan!" He hugged her tightly, swinging her around and right up off her feet, "Jan it's amazing! I didn't think this was something we'd be able to pull off, but you did it!"

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

tiny_queenbee
2019-03-29 07:22 am UTC (link)

Jan squealed with delight as she hugged him back and he twirled her around. "You like it? Really?" Well, of course he would like it! She was just worried it was a bit underwhelming that it only had one piece of cheese in it. But it had done exactly what she had hoped it would, which was make Tony happy. Even if she hadn't known that he would have such a moment with older Steve and Tony, she knew he had been a bit bummed about being here. Now that she knew it was possible for her friends to find them here, she wasn't really worried anymore; the more that arrived, the more certain she was that they would be able to find a way out. But until they were able to figure it, she was content to try and make this the best home they could possibly have.

Cheese fridge and all.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to look for more every time I go out." She landed on her feet, beaming up at him. "Just...don't eat it all in one go, yeah?" Jan had her chocolate when she was down, she knew Tony would always have his cheese. At least now he would always have his cheese.

If he didn't eat it all today.

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Tony | Jan :: Everyone loves a good embarrassing story

campusking
2019-03-29 10:11 pm UTC (link)

"Of course I like it, are you kidding? Jan this is perfect!" Sure they had to start over from scratch, he'd have to spend time finding new cheeses again and the variety he'd had back at home, but this was such a great thing - it was a small piece of home that they could have right here in this place that was at times simply overwhelming and at others insanely crazy and cool and interesting.

It was just a reminder though that even when things felt like they were at their worst, Jan was always here for him. And that counted for so much and Tony could never forget that.

"I'll try not to," He agreed, they'd both have to keep looking for more cheese now, there was a lot about this place that was crazy, and there were a lot of uncertainties at this point, but what there was right now was cheese and Jan and with those two things Tony could do anything.

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