InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Won't you be my neighbor?"

alwaysactive (alwaysactive) wrote in snapthread,
@ 2019-09-27 22:46:00

Entry tags:

natasha romanoff (mcu), tony stark (mcu)

Who: Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark
What: A new arrival
Where: Around town
When: Immediately after this

Seven months. It didn't make sense, even after Tony mentioned the timeline, Natasha found herself hyper-focused on that bit, on the part that said seven months had passed since she'd seen Tony and not just the few hours it had been since they'd jumped through time. But it was easier thinking about that instead of the rush of cold air on her face, the look on Clint's face as he realized there was no stopping her, and the small quiet part of her mind that had whispered as she fell - let this be enough.

The seven months was safer and Natasha paced as she waited for Tony, who said he was coming for her. Who shouldn't be here in this place unless something had gone wrong, if the plan hadn't gone off the way they'd wanted it to. Her sacrifice should have been enough, it hadn't been planned either, but she had hoped that maybe it would be enough.

Whatever it takes, it's what they'd said before they'd gone through. And after so many years of trying to make up for a life that had far more in one column than the other Natasha had finally found the one thing that only she could do.

But now she was here and she didn't know how it had all turned out and she wasn't sure she wanted to. It was too much, thinking about how it all could have gone wrong, how it might not have worked out, how Tony had ended up here. "Tony," She breathed out, a well of emotion that she'd been holding on to since she'd realized it was him she'd been talking to on the local network threatened to break her self control at the sight of him.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

allaboutego
2019-09-30 12:53 am UTC (link)

This place was full of things that could and would be stressful; there were days what Tony was at the end of his rope. But even then, at the end of every bad day, there were good things. He had Steve, Gwen, Nebula. All those things mattered and made all the difference.

"Hey," he repeated, his smile a little lopsided and maybe a little sad because he knew where she'd come from, knew what happened after. Knowledge was a weighty sort of thing.

But that didn't mean he didn't let out a little laugh, something genuine, when she moved into hug him. And fuck if he didn't hug back, tight and nearly possessive because he was genuinely delighted to see her. Their little family always felt a little off when Natasha wasn't around. "You okay?" He asked, even though that wasn't the right question and she probably had real ones but there it was out there anyway.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alwaysactive
2019-09-30 04:33 am UTC (link)

She closed her eyes tight when Tony squeezed her back, it was exactly what she'd needed after - after so much, not just the fall, but those five years and their loses and everything else. She needed something like this and for the first time in all of that time she didn't have to maintain some sort of wall around herself, she didn't have to be strong here. She could let a little of it down, not fully perhaps. She wasn't about to fall to pieces on Tony's shoulder, but she did let herself fully enjoy his embrace before he was asking her if she was okay.

"All things considered?" She countered with a small smile, taking just a moment to collect herself and put back at least a semblance of self control once more. "I guess I am." After all she'd just thought she'd finished everything, come to the end of the line, and she'd accepted it as she fell, it was for the good of everyone she cared about. But finding that maybe her end was not quite as imminent as it had seemed was not something she was against.

"So, Starklandia?" She asked him, crossing her arms as she tried to start on a plan - not sure what the ultimate goal was just yet, apart from intel gathering. "Is everyone here? Or just you and Steve?" And if it was just them what did it mean for the rest of the Avengers?

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

allaboutego
2019-10-01 08:22 pm UTC (link)

"All things considered," he agreed easily enough because he got it. Sometimes that had to be enough, they had to work with what they had, and sometimes keeping the picture smaller and a little blurrier made it easier to process.

Tony couldn't help but be curious about what made people come here from when they did though -- why Natasha always seemed to be from nearly the same time, and everyone else too, and Tony himself was lagging behind by years. Even Steve had remembered things that he hadn't lived yet, but not Tony.

Maybe that was for the best though. He wasn't so sure he wanted to get to where they all were.

"Starklandia," he repeated a little wryly. "I didn't name it. I swear." But he did keep it, and uphold it plenty. "And we've got -- a few more people than that. Me and Steve, yeah. But also Thor. Barnes. Pete and Nebula." He paused, considering. "And then some more, but not from the same place as us. Clint."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alwaysactive
2019-10-02 03:43 am UTC (link)

Life had never really been something that Natasha had the opportunity to take at more than just how well she was doing in a given moment. And usually that was fine, she could compartmentalize with the best of them, but this was something else. She didn't usually start her days with jumping to what ought to have been her own death. But yeah, all things considered, she supposed she was fine.

But she had a lot of questions.

She smiled when he promised that he wasn't responsible for the name. "I guess I've heard worse names." And as far as problems went, the name of a town she'd just arrived in with no explanation was at the very bottom of that list. "We didn't -" She paused not sure she wanted to know what it meant that they were all here. If she'd jumped to her death and then wound up here, what did that mean for the rest of them. She didn't even want to say it, they'd said whatever it takes, but had it really cost them all?

"Clint?" From some other place. "Okay explain it to me. Is this the after life? Heaven? Hell? Something else?" It made the most sense, but at this point none of it really made any sense.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

allaboutego
2019-10-03 12:19 am UTC (link)

Of course she had questions. She wouldn't have been Natasha if she didn't. Tony expected it, really. And he was -- well. They'd all done a lot of rehashing about their future and pasts, but that didn't mean it was ever going to get easier.

"It's grown on me," Tony admitted. "Maybe out of spite, since so many people don't like it. But I didn't say that." He had to pretend to maintain some professionality, after all.

He knew what she was going to ask, but only shook his head, because no. This wasn't a place where the dead just gathered after everything. Even though a few of them, he supposed, were dead. Still, Tony didn't think that was the most common theme here.

"Yeah. He's from -- some other reality. He's pretty cool though. Runs the coffee shop, which he really creatively named COFFEE." Which, really, was so Clint it was painful. "And something else. It's a ... ah. The best way to describe it is a pocket universe that exists somewhere outside of proper time and reality." Which probably wasn't all that helpful, but it was what it was.

"C'mon, let's not stand in the courtyard. My place is just over there," he thumbed in the direction of his house.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alwaysactive
2019-10-03 04:03 am UTC (link)

"Of course you didn't," She let one corner of her mouth quirk up gently as he admitted that he liked the town name out of spite. But that was a secret she was okay to keep, just one more out of the many she kept close to her chest. And for Tony? She'd keep real secrets for him in a heartbeat, his throw away comment about the ridiculous name of this place was hardly a hardship for her.

Some small tight part of her heart unclenched when he shook his head to her unasked question, it was all she needed to know in the immediate. The other answers she wanted could take a bit longer, but as long as Tony wasn't here to tell her they'd all died in the end - she could handle the rest.

"Sounds like Clint." Because she trusted Clint with her life time and time again, but creativity was not really in his wheelhouse. That'd take a little getting used to, to look at a man who was Clint and yet wasn't after what had just happened. She wasn't sure that was something she was ready for just yet, as much as she ached to see him again. She needed a little bit longer to process all of this before she moved on to something like that.

"Please tell me you have something to drink there." It had been a while and after everything? She was owed.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

allaboutego
2019-10-03 07:28 pm UTC (link)

Tony'd missed Natasha's smile - she was just. She was kind of a fucking nerd about it, honestly. Like she'd never let anyone know she had a great, easy sense of humor but it was pretty obvious once you got to know her. Not that many people got that privilege. Tony was pretty lucky, in that regard.

"Yeah," he agreed. "It's very Clint. He's easy to find though. No rush there." Tony wouldn't push her off in the direction of someone else, someone he knew she'd made a big sacrifice for, except someone different all-together. It'd be like if someone told him some other Pepper was here, or some other Steve. It just wouldn't -- it'd be really overwhelming. He'd want to see those people on his own time.

"Do you even need to ask?" He asked, giving her a dry look and then turning on his heel to head to his place. "It's -- ah. I dunno if everyone's at home or not at all," he admitted. "It's kind of a full house with the kids and all but we've got an extra room if you need. Don't worry about that, though. Drinks are in order either way."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alwaysactive
2019-10-03 09:44 pm UTC (link)

She nodded, relieved that Tony knew her well enough to know that Clint - this Clint, wasn't going to be her first stop. She was grateful that he was here, of all the people who might have greeted her here Tony probably was the best for it. After everything they'd been through together, she couldn't think of any of them she'd have trusted more in this moment. "Right, no rush." If this was where they were now she had a feeling she'd have time for it later, when she was ready.

For now though, she followed Tony toward his home while he started telling her a little bit more about his living situation. She raised an eyebrow at him, a full house and Tony wasn't something she'd have immediately guessed. Sure he'd settled down back home, but not in the full house kind of way. "I want to hear more about the kids." He'd already told her enough that she understood things weren't quite the same here, so she wouldn't guess at it, but she'd certainly ask.

"And that drink." Because if they were going to get into all of this, well she had a feeling they both were going to need that drink.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

allaboutego
2019-10-06 01:21 am UTC (link)

And the drink. Tony wasn't going to forget about that because they'd both well need it after the night was through. Because Natasha wasn't someone you skimped on details with. By the end of the night, they'd (or just Tony) would be sloshed, and she'd have all the facts she could think to ask about and probably more.

"Not Morgan," Tony said, because he felt like that was probably important. Well, it was to him. And Natasha would know her, the little girl who he thought was perfection without having ever actually met her. "She's not here. I'm not from then. But Pete's here. And Gwen. Who -- she's not from the same place as us. But she's..." He didn't really have to say. Natasha would know. She was one of the kids, Tony's kids, and she lived in his house. Obviously he thought the absolute world of her.

He pushed into the house, lead the way toward the kitchen -- well used, well organized and had proper up-to-date appliances that Tony very much fixed or built, but didn't tend to be the person to use. "And Steve'll show up sooner or later, once he hears you're around." Tony should have said something, but he wanted this time alone, first.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alwaysactive
2019-10-06 04:22 am UTC (link)

Tony was right, she had a lot of questions, and she might be going about it slowly for now, letting him introduce her to things little by little, but before the night was up she was going to have asked plenty and probably have a couple more that she'd think of in the morning. But for now Tony was telling him about the kids, not Morgan. Which - Natasha wasn't certain what to do with it, but she'd take a little time and then ask about that later. "She's yours," She finished of Gwen, she hadn't met her yet, but she didn't need to in order to see that Tony had practically adopted her.

"I hope he's ready for some questions too." She'd have plenty for him as well, both with Tony there, but also when it was just the two of them. The kinds of questions she might not ask in front of Tony, if what he said was true - he wasn't from the time when he had Morgan. But Steve, well that was another question waiting to be answered.

At least she had these people, the only people in all of the universe that she trusted and they'd found her first, like it was meant to be or something like that. A small deeply hidden sentimental part of herself thought maybe that meant something, and maybe it did, she wasn't ready to say so just yet. Instead she'd let Tony lead the way and find out as much as she could before she started thinking about things like that.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -