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Tony Stark: Earth's Best Defender (allaboutego) wrote in snapthread,
@ 2019-08-27 12:13:00

Entry tags:

gwen stacy, tony stark (mcu)

Who: Tony Stark, Gwen Stacy
What: Family bonding, talking, legos
Where: House Stark
When: August 27th

It’d been an eventful week. Vegas tended to do that to people, Tony supposed. It’d started out so well with some pool time and a trip or two to a tailors, a proper date with Steve and hell, the day had ended in a wedding. Not his, mind, but it wasn’t like he’d been about to let Steve go be a witness without him.

He hadn’t even really been bothered by having to bail a few folks out of jail — while he didn’t one hundred percent condone the goings on there, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t done worse when he was younger. It was like a day off that went a little too far. That was fine. Even if Gwen had been involved.

Tony had not so much liked the next day — alien invasions in general were sort of a sore spot for him and while he’d suited up and helped deal with the problem, god he really wished it hadn’t been a problem in the first place.

At least it’d been easy to deal with. But it left Tony feeling a little twitchy and raw, thinking about how this was something that apparently happened more often than it should have.

So obviously the best way to alleviate some of that twitchiness was by drinking an entire pot of coffee whilst sitting at the kitchen table and doing nothing else. Obviously.

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itsybitsyspidey
2019-08-27 07:13 pm UTC (link)

Las Vegas had been memorable. She could definitely say that much about it. Unfortunately she hadn't gotten to see or do as much as she would've liked because well, after getting arrested she figured she probably shouldn't do much else. She did help with the alien battle, which had been a little difficult without her webbing but she'd managed on foot with Alpha Peter and helped put a dent into eliminating the bad guys.

And she was pretty sure she'd be hearing that ack ack ack sound they made in her sleep for weeks though.

The jail part, man, that was a bummer. She and Miles really should've quit while they were ahead and they probably would've gotten away with it. Win a hundred dollars? Not that big of a deal. Winning ten thousand dollars? That turned the heads and got them put in a cell. Thankfully they didn't have proper ID so they didn't know to put Gwen in the grown up jail and even more thankfully? Tony bailed them out.

Yeah, she was a little bummed. More so that she hadn't been quick enough to take the money voucher back before it got confiscated and she felt a little bad that her resident dads had to pick them up from jail. Her father back home being the captain of police had made her always know where to draw the line so she wouldn't end up in jail. But that kinda failed this time around. Oh well. She could endure another I'm not mad, just disappointed face from Mr. Rogers and the pretending-to-be-disappointed-but-hey-good-try-kiddo look she got from Mr. Stark.

All in all, it'd been a good and bad week. The unrelenting heat definitely hadn't helped, but things seemed to be settling back down now and Gwen thought that meant it was a great time to spend the day with her favorite person in town.

While in Vegas, prior to being arrested, she managed to snag some fluffy white robes from one of the resorts she went into to try to get a free drink by hanging out at the pool. She thought they'd come in handy on a self-care day so she brought them back with her (sans free drink, alas). She had one on, and had another folded under arm as she walked into the kitchen. Under her other arm was a box.

"I come bearing gifts. Well. One's a gift. The other was supposed to be a gift but I kind of lost the instructions on how to make it and well -- hang on. First thing's first." Gwen held out the robe and smiled. "It's a self-care day and I'm not taking no for an answer. Put it on and it's like getting a hug from a cloud. Promise."

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allaboutego
2019-08-28 02:18 am UTC (link)

The pretending to be disappointed look that she'd gotten from Tony was the absolute best that he could have given at the time. Or at all ever, maybe. In the grand scheme of things, a couple of teens being too good at slot machines wasn't really on his list of things he'd ever feel angry or betrayed over. Anyway, he'd done way worse at Gwen's age, and he had to give her some credit for fessing up and calling him in the first place.

"Self-care day?" He asked, clearly bemused even as he raised his eyebrows up in questioning. But he did set his coffee down on the counter and take the obviously stolen fluffy robe in hand. It did have a lot of fluff going for it, and even though it was technically still pretty warm outside, he could see the merits in bunking down in something that felt like clouds. So yeah. He slipped it on over his t-shirt and jeans. "What brought this on?" Gwen was pretty good at showing up with no warning and knowing exactly when Tony could use some company though, so he'd go with it. And appreciate it.

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itsybitsyspidey
2019-08-28 05:07 pm UTC (link)

Yeah, stolen was probably the most accurate way to describe it but she was considering it more like extended borrowing. Or maybe she would just think of herself as Robin Hood. Only that didn't work, because Mr. Stark wasn't poor. Details. Not important. All that mattered right now was that they were going to spend time together and Gwen was going to make sure he was able to stop thinking about a million things and just have even half an hour of mindless entertainment. Tony was her favorite person and who she most admired. Of course she'd seen the changes in him that came along with the arc reactor being back. It wasn't like.. a thing that got talked about but she'd been around long enough and hung around him long enough to know that it could take a toll on his physical well being. Adding that to the billion other things he had going on pretty much all the time, well, it wasn't something she'd neglected to notice.

"Mr. Stark, you gotta just accept the fact that you're cool and I like to hang out with you," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing ever. To her, it was. She grinned as he put the robe on, because yeah, that was exactly how she pictured it and it was perfect. "Now, for the other part. So, like I said, it was supposed to be something I was gonna make for you, but I think I lost the instructions or there just weren't any. But there's a picture on the box? So I tried to start making it but there are seriously a thousand pieces, and --" She paused to take a breath. "Well, it's this." She turned the box and set it on the table. It was a lego set of what was supposed to look like an Avengers Compound. "I got it at the convention and wanted to make it for you. But I thought we could make it together." Her grin turned just a little shy. "And then we can put these guys in it." She reached into the pocket of her robe and set out four little lego figures. Tony, Steve, Peter, and herself.

Gwen set the little figures on the table next to the box. "Think we can do it without the instructions?" Of course they could. Mr. Stark could do anything.

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allaboutego
2019-08-29 01:38 am UTC (link)

Gwen's complete and total confidence in just how cool and hang-out worthy Tony was was -- well. It wasn't daunting. Because he very much liked hanging out with her, too. Beside Steve (which was a very different situation and therefore not comparable), she was probably his very favorite person. Not that it was a competition. But his kid was winning it regardless. But he did, at times, wonder what he'd possibly done to deserve it. Because he was pretty sure it hadn't been enough.

The robe was, admittedly, very comfortable and maybe exactly what he hadn't known he'd needed. Just a minute to sit down and to feel like there was nothing pressing to do. The fuzzy on the collar tickled at his neck and he probably looked a little silly, but Gwen looked adorable so. It was good. "Hey, I know I'm cool," he said with a smile. "Who wouldn't wanna hang out with me?"

But god, when she revealed that second gift, the Compound in Lego format, with little tiny Lego Tony's Family, he nearly about lost it. His eyebrows dipped down for a moment, mouth thinning into a line that said he was clearly holding back about fifty emotions before he let out a little laugh. God. Who even was this kid? So perfect.

"Why are my drawn on cheekbones so perfect?" He asked, instead of saying anything that might -- he wasn't sure. Give him away completely or make it awkward. Look, he knew what she was saying. She knew what she was saying and the gesture wasn't being dismissed.

"Yeah. We can definitely do this without instructions." And he wouldn't even try making a 3D blueprint from the picture. It'd be more fun to flounder with the pieces and learn as they went. "Well. What're we waiting for? Unbox that bad boy. You wanna coffee?"

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itsybitsyspidey
2019-08-29 01:07 pm UTC (link)

He'd done plenty to deserve it. Enough that a whole town ought to be lining up to shake his hand and say thank you. Gwen didn't doubt that there were people who were grateful, but she also didn't doubt that there were people who didn't think much past the thank you and consider what all Tony was doing for this place. That said, most of them all lived thankless lives for the things they did for others, so it wasn't like she thought people should be groveling. Mr. Stark was just really cool, okay? And it even went beyond that. Running the town aside, he was just a fun person to talk to and sit with to shoot the shit. Not many people could keep up with the banterings and witty one-liners that came with being a Spider-Person. But she was finding herself racing to keep up with Tony Stark.

It was fun.

"Man, my eyelashes are on point," she said in agreement. "It's easy to get one eye, but the other one always looks a bit off. But Lego me has it down to a fine art." Yeah, she knew what she was saying, and she knew what he was saying by not exactly avoiding the addressing of it but by acknowledging it without actually having to. Gwen just wanted time, and she thought he probably did too.

"Coffee would be perfection," she said. And yeah, she'd started drinking it black more often. A habit she'd picked up. Much as she liked foam, she reserved that for when she actually went to COFFEE. At home she drank it like her dad. Gwen opened the box and kinda.. dumped most of the thousand pieces out on the table. She'd already made the bottom of one side, but that was as far as she got.

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allaboutego
2019-08-29 03:56 pm UTC (link)

It was absolutely fine that no one was lining up to say thank you or get a handshake. Frankly, Tony was pretty bad at taking praise in that sort of measure and he wouldn't know what to do with it if it was given to him. It was best like this -- him doing his thing, and just being able to see how it was helping rather than having to hear about it.

Tales of his ego were rather exaggerated, even if he'd forever say otherwise.

"It's true," he agreed. "Lego mascara is winning this round. I don't know how anyone gets it right. Pepper would know. She's great with makeup." Both on herself and with Tony, although mascara wasn't really a thing he dealt with. Mostly just concealer because deep cuts and bruises at press conferences and charity events never looked great.

He poured a second coffee for Gwen -- who took it black when she wasn't getting it specially made, he knew, because he'd seen her do both well enough. Maybe he ought to be on the search for some of that sweet creamer though, to keep in the house. It'd probably make her happy. Tony liked finding little things to make Gwen happy. But for now, it was hot and fresh and good enough. He set it on the table aside from the tumbling pieces of Lego.

"Okay," he said, scooting his chair a little closer to hers. "A billion pieces and you've got a --side. That's fine, we can work on that. Prop the box up we can go by that. Hell, I built the original building so--" He trailed off as he picked up a few pieces, inspecting them thoughtfully and setting them to a separate side. He could build anything and this was a far cry from a suit of armor in a cave with a box of scraps.

And Gwen showed some pretty damn good promise too, the little AI that they'd built a few months ago was a good, solid example.

"You good?" He asked, after a few moments of sorting and silence. "After -- you know. Vegas."

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itsybitsyspidey
2019-08-29 08:31 pm UTC (link)

"I'm not the best at it," she said. "But I had to get passable with it for the look of the band when we'd play or get our picture taken." Gwen didn't talk a whole lot about her life back home voluntarily; usually only if asked or it was pretty situational. Even now it kind of was situational because she was responding to something he said, but she was still kind of going there. She didn't mind Tony knowing more about her life other than the Spider-Woman business. If anything, she'd rather talk about the normal parts. "I always started with the right eye, would get it right, then the left eye looked like I was on a turbulent plane. Em Jay usually had to redo it for me."

She took the coffee that he poured for her and took a sip. Yeah, it was still kinda gross without anything in it but she didn't even notice that anymore now that she was used to it.

Her little AI had actually turned out pretty great and was quite the helper in the clothing shop. Since she'd been running it by herself it was nice having the little robot to fold things for her.

When he asked her about how she was, Gwen's eyebrows raised a little. "Hm? Oh, yeah," she said. "Hope you don't mind I told them my last name was Stark." Gwen hadn't known the perimeters of the world they were in. Yeah, they were in Las Vegas but what if there was a Gwen Stacy in New York City? She hadn't had an ID on her so she'd told them her name was Maxine Stark when they booked her. Whoops.

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allaboutego
2019-08-30 04:41 am UTC (link)

Sometimes Tony felt like he should know more about her other life -- but he didn't like pressing, didn't want to ask unless she volunteered. It was -- well, it was probably a touchy subject for everyone and the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel homesick. But if she was talking about it, he'd go with it absolutely. "At least you could pass it off as a punk aesthetic?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She had drums. No matter how sound proofed the house was (very), there was no avoiding hearing jam sessions now and again. Not that Tony wanted to avoid that. "You could just do the raccoon thing. Seems to work well for some people."

He sipped his own coffee for a minute, passing over a lego or two -- they were making a pike for the darker ones, because obviously those were the windows. Stark. She'd given her last name as his and god, if that wasn't just ... well, he didn't had a word for it. Cute didn't quite fit. But it was close. Maybe something more fond? Sometimes when she just outed with stuff like that, his heart ached a little. "No," he said, "It's a great last name. I could see why you'd want it." That hadn't really been what he'd meant when he'd asked, but if that's what she was offering to tell him he wasn't complaining.

He wondered if Miles had been clever enough to lie about his name.

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itsybitsyspidey
2019-08-30 07:40 pm UTC (link)

Not many people seemed to be open books when it came to their lives prior to coming to town. Basic groundwork was laid, and those who came from the same place tended to know more, and you could probably fill in some gaps with educated guesses if there were versions of you other people knew. She'd been forthcoming a few times, but not really about the minor things. Not the everyday stuff that while seemingly trivial actually meant a whole lot.

"It is a great one," she said. "Almost as good as Stacy, because you know, that's also a first name so. I guess that makes it cool." She was sorting out legos that were the same color and looked like they were probably the outside walls. "It figures. I evaded police capture for months and then get busted in an alternate world for nothing even Spider related." She laughed a little and shook her head. "Do you think Mr. Rogers was more not mad, just disappointed about the jail thing or the dicks?" Though she was making light of it, it did kinda.. well, the whole getting arrested thing did affect her more than she let on, but she was pretty good at deflecting. About as good as Tony, maybe.

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allaboutego
2019-08-31 02:42 am UTC (link)

The thing was, even if all these people were from the same place -- well. Most of them were either superheroes or vigilante superheroes. That didn't lend well to talking much about yourself, generally. Tony was -- well, his little stuff was an open book in most cases. Because his entire life had been for just about as long as he could remember. Sure, he kept some little details and inner angsts to himself but the every day stuff? Well in his own world that could have been found with the quickest google search ever. Hell, the Tony Stark in Gwen's world was probably just the same in that regard.

"It's cool because it's yours," Tony corrected smartly, snapping a few pieces of lego together so that they could start with a basic exoskeleton of a building. Gotta do them Legos right, after all.

He eyed her curiously for a moment and then nodded. "The irony is always the worst, isn't it," he said, and it wasn't really a question. She was almost as good as deflecting as Tony. Almost. But that also meant he could spot it out pretty easily. He was, after all, a master, and there was no bullshitting a bullshitter. "It's hard to say with Steve. Which do you think he should be more disappointed in?"

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itsybitsyspidey
2019-08-31 01:50 pm UTC (link)

Gwen imagined it was different for everyone. Some people were chatty, engaged in talk about themselves and others in light conversation. She'd kind of let the bare bones be known. She was a teenager, a drummer in a rock band that'd been steadily growing more popular, her dad was the captain of the police, and she was falsely being held responsible for the murder of her best friend. In a nutshell, that was it. What was missing was all the little details that tied it all together. How did it feel to be in a rock band? How was she coping with being hunted down by her own dad until she was forced to show him her face in her spider-suit? What was it like going over to Aunt May and Uncle Ben's house knowing exactly what happened to their nephew? These were the little things she kept to herself because no one really wanted to know that. Not really. Not in the light, passing sort of conversations she had with most people.

That was why when Flash had been here and he asked her about her life, she'd stopped and questioned him; do you want the brief summary or do you really want to know me? because there was a huge difference. It was easier to go with the former. It seemed like most people here did that. It was also just sorta... normal. Most people didn't go unloading their grief and struggles in everyday conversation. But on the other hand, the people that really knew you were supposed to be the people you could talk to when that heavy stuff got to be too much.

She smirked a little when he corrected her reasoning. It made her feel good to know the person she admired most thought she was cool. That actually... was really cool in of itself.

"Ah man, I bet he'd loop them both into a guilt trip about my choices and overall behavior lately," Gwen said, and shook her head. "He's good like that."

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allaboutego
2019-08-31 10:30 pm UTC (link)

Tony would have listened. Tony wanted to know, he really did. He wanted to know anything and everything Gwen wanted to tell him. He did, however, suffer from a distinct lack of communication skills when it came to most people. It was a learning process, for the most part - not the same as Rhodey having known him since he was just an underaged brat at MIT or Pepper having worked with and for him for over a decade.

He was getting better, he thought. He had to be. It was probably Steve's fault; Tony's long awaited outburst at the other man had offered up results he'd never before imagined. And Gwen -- well. They were always on the cusp of something. Saying more by not saying something than the other way around. But they'd get there.

"He is good," Tony agreed mildly. "But he's also less morally black and white than people give him credit for. It's a bad break, getting caught up in Vegas when all you were doing was having a little fun. The odds of hitting that kind of jackpot are pretty wild. You got unluckily lucky." He paused to click together to corners of the building. "I get wanting to do wild and fun stuff just for the sake of doing it, you know? I would have given you money though."

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itsybitsyspidey
2019-09-02 06:00 pm UTC (link)

It was hard, finding that balance, that way to slip into the deeper conversations. They'd fallen into a certain level of comfort with each other that really allowed them to enjoy each other's company. Gwen had never really lost her usual demeanor around him other than those brief moments when he came to get her after Jan disappeared. Gwen had cracked a little and he'd protected her vulnerability without making her feel exposed as a result of showing her sadness. It hadn't lasted long; the length of a hug, really. But for people like them, it was kind of a lot.

It was also likely just.. personality habits. She'd never been an open book even before she shut everyone out. The Tony Stark she knew was kind of a half-celebrity so people knew of him and knew some of his life but it wasn't because he put it out there. She guessed her Mr. Stark was kinda like that too, or at least he probably chose what was put out when he could. There was a difference between an interview and confiding in someone.

"Yeah," she said, while clicking together a couple of pieces that probably fit. "Just.. I dunno. It was a lot of things. We were already there, and I thought we'd just hit the button a couple of times to cover our entrance fee and not think twice about it. It just kinda.. er.. well we just kept seeing dollar signs and didn't quit while we were ahead. But I get what you're saying. I feel pretty shitty about it, honestly. It was like, the one thing I never thought would happen to me. Even beyond getting bitten by a radioactive spider."

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allaboutego
2019-09-04 01:38 am UTC (link)

Any length of time was a lot, really, when it came to showing real emotions, not filtered for whatever audience they had in front of them -- or, more likely even, for themselves. Living life without being able to give things away -- or feeling like you have to keep everything inside because that was simply the way it had always been was very often was tiring. They all needed someone they could drop their shields in front of sometimes.

He nodded thoughtfully, building the sliding doors of the building and wondering vaguely if they couldn't add a little pizzaz to this later and actually make things a little animatronic. "It's never something someone really expects, I think. One minute you're riding high on good feelings, the next you're in a little holding cell. It's -- yeah. It sucks. Don't feel too bad about it. I think it's safe to say in a normal setting you probably wouldn't have felt so inclined to have a wild night of tourism."

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