rekindleme | tony stark not allowed to be happy, news at 11

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tony stark not allowed to be happy, news at 11

Who: Tony Stark & Steve Rogers; Later, Tony Stark & YOU! (Special guest appearance by sadness)
Where: The dumb superhero apartment + first and second districts
When: first part September 16th, second part September 16 to present
Summary: Tony Stark's life gets more complicated and terrible, and then he goes on an angst walk.
Warnings: Talking about death and sad stuff. Also probably swearing and/or alcohol because Tony.

Repairing the suit's going to take a long time. The physical damage alone is pretty extensive, thanks in part to Barnes. But the coding is the bigger issue, and the one that's going to occupy the larger part of Tony's time. And admittedly, not having an available armor for the first time in years--plus inevitably needing to continue not having one for so long--is a little unnerving. (... Okay, a lot unnerving. But that's the idea of the Clean Slate Protocol, and he's already cheated for long enough. Sure would make it easier if Pepper was here, though.) But even geniuses ~~shouldn't~~ can't work all the time, so Tony is taking a ~~mandatory, insomnia-preventing~~ break.

... By experimenting with snack combinations. Because he's taking a break from the suit, not science, okay? Grapes and pretzels? Surprisingly good. Potato chips and olives? Awful, procedure never to be repeated. Next up: blueberries and peanut butter.

Surely he won't get any terrible news on such a fine day as this!

---OPEN---
As it turns out, Tony's luck isn't that good.

The last time Rogers returned he brought Tony a headache--he kinda liked the little shit, after all. This time, he brought... Tony doesn't even know what to call this.

Bucky killed his parents.

Yep. Bucky Barnes, war hero turned scary ninja assassin, murdered Howard and Maria Stark.

Forgive Tony if he needs a minute to process that.

It's not even that he's angry. He's not, not really. Barnes was brainwashed, he knows that. Tony's read the file. And it's not like he had the best of relationships with his parents anyway. Not to mention it was twenty years ago and even Tony doesn't hold that a grudge for that long. Especially not against a guy who doesn't even remember doing the grudge-worthy thing.

Tony's been wandering the city a lot since he found out, not because the outdoors gives him any particular peace of mind--it doesn't, sorry, roots and trees aren't his thing--but to avoid... something. Rogers. Barnes. Thinking about the whole screwed up situation. Unfortunately, thinking is one of the things Tony Stark does best, so the end result is an unsettled-looking engineer walking slowly through the city with an iced coffee. Occasionally he stares into the cup like it contains all of life's answers.

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[Bucky initially isn't sure of the purpose behind Steve telling him that the engineer needs space and about of one of his own long-forgotten missions. He killed Howard Stark, a former ally, along with his wife Maria. It's unfortunate, but not something he would normally consider a problem; Steve clearly doesn't hold it against him, and he can't remember anything of the man he was supposed to have known.

But he was Tony's father. Would it have a bigger effect on him?

Bucky doesn't know enough about this sort of thing to know that "space" means more than half an hour of leaving the poor man alone before he searches him out and approaches from behind. He's curious and slightly anxious to know about the effect the information might have had on him and on the fairly new truce between them. He at least has the courtesy to get the man's attention by calling to him from several feet away first.]

Stark.

[The sound of his name makes Tony stop in his tracks. Of course Barnes would find him. And of course the bastard can't take a god damn hint that Tony wants to be left alone.

Tony considers his options. He could tell Barnes to get lost... but the guy really isn't known for his grasp of basic logic, so there's no telling for how long he'd "get lost." He could explain that he doesn't feel like being bothered--because that's definitely a thing Tony Stark would do.

Screw it. Tony decides to just act like he didn't hear and keeps walking.]

[Even if Stark hadn't stopped where he stood and made it obvious that he'd heard him, Bucky would still have not considered it likely that the engineer didn't hear him. So he's being purposefully ignored. He doesn't know if that's a good sign or not.

Instead of leaving it at that and not exacerbating the situation further, he of course decides to pursue the issue and push his luck. He speeds up so that he can walk alongside Tony and simply glances at him wordlessly when he knows he's visible.]

[Damn it, Barnes.

When it becomes obvious Barnes isn't going to leave, Tony spares him a glance for the shortest time physically possible. After that, he looks pointedly forward. Barnes might have a literal cold shoulder, but Tony's pretty good at a metaphorical one when he wants to be.]

You ever hear the phrase "like a bad penny."

[Stark is clearly in a bad mood, and Bucky can't judge him for that, even if he's unfamiliar with the feeling of loss. Exactly how bad of a mood he's in is up for debate. He has to know.

The pseudo-question, however, earns Tony the Winter Soldier version of a quizzical look, which is, surprisingly, a stare with his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

At least his voice sounds unsure.]

No.

[Christ, Barnes, learn rhetorical questions.

He rolls his eyes and turns a sharp look on Bucky.]

It means that something I don't like keeps showing up. [hint, hint.]

[The hint is received, as is obvious by the way Bucky's eyes leave Stark's face and focus on the ground in front of them, but the way he continues to walk alongside the man shows that it isn't taken.

Then, in a terrible lapse of judgment (if he even had any), he says this.]

It was just a mission.

[Like it'll somehow get across that it wasn't personal, or that it explains everything the soldier means to say.]

Edited (get out of there comma) 2014-10-06 16:14 (UTC)

[When Bucky's eyes drop, for a very brief moment Tony thinks he actually, finally, miraculously, got the point. Then Bucky has to go and say that, because clearly he hasn't made enough awful life choices. Tony stops suddenly. He points lazily at Bucky, body language intentionally casual as usual, but there's some definite tension in his body and a look in his eyes like he's trying really hard not to punch the super soldier in the face. Which he is.]

Okay. I'm gonna go ahead and stop you. Right there. Because I can tell you're about to go somewhere you or I don't want you to go, and you really don't want to piss me off today.

[He stops when Stark does, turning to face him properly. When the other man speaks, clearly angry, Bucky closes his mouth for several moments, looking scolded as he meets the engineer's gaze.

When it appears he's done talking, the soldier blinks and looks down, his gaze searching the path under them like it'll give him some idea of what to do. He wonders if remembering--if telling Stark exactly what happened--might help at all.

He looks up and decides to try saying something again. He really has no idea what he's doing.]

What did they look like.

[Tony doesn't have it in him to care that Barnes is clearly chastised. Bastard deserves it. He does, however, make the mistake of thinking the guy couldn't say anything worse. He's wrong.

What the hell.

He stares straight back at Barnes, free hand clenching and jaw tight, silent for a moment before forcing out a shaky breath and pushing past the assassin to hopefully be on his way in peace.]

Just leave me alone.

[He can't just let Stark go, not without clarifying what he meant. He has to resolve this somehow. If he can just get the man to listen to him until he can come up with the right words...

His metal hand reaches out to grab the engineer by the shoulder and he speaks hesitantly.]

Wait.

[Tony feels the metal hand on his shoulder and violently jerks away, hand coming up reflexively to smack it away. Unfortunately, the blow knocks the back of his wrist hard against solid metal.

Did you know there's a "funny bone" in your wrist? Tony knows now. And he grabs his wrist with a loud hiss.]

Damn it, Barnes!

[He half-turns to look at Bucky, fury evident in his face.]

Listen. I just found out my parents were murdered. Oh, yeah, by Nazis. And I can't do a damn thing to the guy who did it, because hey, he was brainwashed and didn't remember, yada yada yada. So you'll excuse me if I don't want to talk to you. Hell, I don't want to look at you. Just go away and leave me alone.

[The smack doesn't hurt--and it wouldn't have even if it had been his normal arm--but he jerks his hand away all the same at the sight of Stark clearly in pain. He hadn't meant to hurt the man, and even if it wasn't directly his fault, he still feels pretty responsible. Especially given the circumstances...

An objection comes to his brain, but only after the man's already stated he doesn't want to speak to him or see him, so the most he gets to expressing it is opening his mouth halfway. Stark can still do something to him without the soldier fighting back, as long as it wasn't permanent, but it's clear enough that nothing he can say now will make things any better.

He closes his mouth and looks down before he turns to leave, obeying the command without any further argument.]

[czes has been wandering around, getting the lay of the land and scoping things out. naturally this involves acting extremely childish at intervals so as not to attract the attention of anyone who might be paying too much attention to him.

that's why he's running down the street. because he's a little hooligan. totally a kid. of course, the bumping into the guy holding a coffee, that is an accident. czes stumbles but doesn't fall after the impact and spins to look properly at tony, a sheepish grin on his face.]

Sorry, mister!

[he bobs in place, suit looking as dapper as ever, waiting for tony to tell him to scram.]

[wow rude.

Tony manages to not spill his coffee primarily because it has a lid, but he could've spilled it. And that's not okay.

He turns to direct a mildly scathing look at the culprit, just enough to hopefully make the kid guilty, when he gets a good look and frowns quizzically. Damn, that's a fancy-dressed kid.]

Whatever. [accepting apologies 101 with Tony Stark] What's with the suit, Churchill.

[cue the adorable pout face.]

It makes me look respectable.

[he says it with all the smarm a twelve year old can muster. unspoken: unlike you, you giant slob.]

[now listen here u little shit]

Kids don't care about looking respectable. That's why they're kids.

Get a life, kiddo. You'll grow up to be a square. [Sage advice from a responsible adult.]

You mean instead of an upstanding citizen like you?

[sick burn yo!! you can't just diss the suit and get away with it.]

[excuse you he wears suits like all the time.

except when he dresses like a lazy high school kid. like he is now.]

Instead of a fun adult like me. Kid, you're like, ah, five. Go play in the sandbox.

I'm--[wait how old is he supposed to be again]--ten! I'm way beyond boring stuff like sandboxes.

This is the right thing to do.

That's the only thought Steve's been chanting to himself as he walks into the same room as Tony. For about a week now, he's been holding a certain important piece of information to himself: the death of Howard and Maria Stark. And the fact that Bucky was the cause of it. It's not his fault, not entirely, with HYDRA pulling the strings and his friend being constantly brainwashed by them.

Steve can't hold a grudge against Bucky, not for something that's out of his control. However, he knows that the situation is a little different for Tony. He's certain that the engineer will be upset or angry at Bucky, probably him as well. But... he can't keep this as a secret for any longer.

"Stark." If Steve seems a little more tense and serious than normal, that's because he is.

Tony's just settling down on the sofa with a paper plate loaded up with the ingredients of his current experiment when Steve approaches. He notices, of course, the good captain's excess seriousness and acknowledges it with a few quizzical eyebrow movements. That's... a little weird.

"Rogers," he replies, tone casual until he's given a good reason for it to be otherwise. He glances at the plate in his hand, mouth twitching a little like he's having some brief inner debate, and holds it out to Steve to offer its contents. Why not?

"I'm, ah. Experimenting."

Steve noticed the quizzical look, but he didn't change his expression as he walked closer to him. He's glad that he caught the engineer at a time when he wasn't working on technology and just on... weird combinations of food. At least he was eating? But he just shook his head at the offer, even if he tried to become a little less tense.

It didn't work out so well.

"Blueberries and peanut butter." Steve sounded distracted, although not by the food that was offered in front of him. He had to go through this, tell the painful truth of Howard and Maria Stark. Better now than later. "...Stark, I. Need to tell you something."

Edited 2014-10-07 02:32 (UTC)

The offer of food obviously does nothing to soothe whatever is bothering Rogers. Not particularly a good sign, but Tony also knows it's a fair amount harder to bother Rogers than it is himself. Probably Bucky again or something--

Oh. Something he needs to tell Tony about. Okay...?

Tony pulls the plate back and tries out his experimental snack. Huh, not bad.

"Gonna tell me I'm adopted or something?"

Steve almost seemed to cringe a little at the comment, even though it wasn't true in the slightest. How to tell your teammate that your best friend murdered your parents because of some evil Nazi organization? There definitely wasn't a guide or book about this. Although, nothing could really prepare him for this if he was honest.

"It has to do with Howard- your dad. Both your parents, actually." Steve finally managed to say, still looking a bit uncomfortable. But he was going to go through with this, even if he ended up with a fist in his face or something worse.

Tony stiffened instinctively at the mention of Howard. It was a sore spot still and probably always would be, and it had become something of an unspoken rule not to talk about the past. Things were better without Howard and without the helicarrier. Just the scrappy little squirt Steve Rogers with a serious growth spurt.

He forced his shoulders to relax when Rogers proceeded to "both your parents", free hand coming up to tap idly where the arc reactor used to be and almost immediately flinching away. Right, not a great idea on still pretty new scar tissue. Habit.

"Right. Wow, 'cause that's, ah, that's not ominous at all." And he took another bite. Nothing to see here, no budding sense of dread at all.

It was now or never. Just gotta press on, get this out. He would deal with the consequences of his actions, whatever they may be. He knew that Stark would be mad at Bucky too and that Bucky would be upset with him, but Steve still thought it was better to get this out now. He was partially responsible for this, even if he wasn't the one ordering Bucky or hurting him.

"...HYDRA. They survived the war." And wasn't that a bitter realization when it happened? Steve preferred to know who he had to punch, but at the same time, he had hoped that HYDRA was gone when he pulled the plane into the ice. "Grew from within SHIELD. Long story short, they were responsible for the car crash your parents were in."

... Okay, whatever Tony was half-expecting from this conversation, it definitely wasn't that.

"Um. Okay. What?"

Tony grimaced because obviously he'd heard Rogers wrong. Had to. No way he heard right. Because otherwise it sounded an awful lot like Nazis killed his parents fifty years after the World War II. Which sounded like the plot to a really bad Indian Jones sequel.

"Hey. No, no, no," Tony said with a dismissive gesture and firm shake of his head. "You don't get to 'long story short' me on this one, you're gonna have to go back. Rewind. More information."

Okay, the full story. He deserved to hear the whole thing anyway. Steve braced himself for a moment, thinking about where to really begin. Guess the very start would help.

"Red Skull's death wasn't the end of HYDRA. They survived, including Zola. The SSR hired him because of his knowledge, but he brought HYDRA into the organization, growing like a parasite." He remembered everything that computer told him and how his sacrifice meant nothing. Maybe some of it was true, but they stopped Project Insight in the end. That was something. He just needed to take down the rest of that organization.

"Some people found out, like your father. So, they couldn't leave that be. Hired... an assassin to kill him." He figured that Tony would get the hint now, but if not, guess he would have to go the fully direct route.

An assassin.

Tony could practically feel his blood going cold, and for a moment nothing before those two words mattered. Shit. He looked away from Rogers almost immediately, gaze dropping to the plate in his hand without actually seeing it. Why couldn't he stop finding out new and terrible things about his dad 20 years after the old bastard died? Why couldn't the old man just leave Tony alone? He certainly did when he was alive.

Except... Tony didn't have to struggle to remember the last conversation they had--he'd replayed it in his head enough. Howard had said he had something important to tell Tony. Maybe it was HYDRA. Maybe that was why he had to die on that specific day.

Tony didn't even have to think too hard about what his last sight might have been, too, and wasn't that a kick in the teeth? Damn it, he thought he was out of reasons to be pissed at Barnes.

"How'd you find out," Tony muttered tonelessly.

Steve remained quiet as Tony looked away, not really sure what he could really say to him. It was obvious that the engineer figured out what he meant, but he didn't know where to go from here. Say sorry? Would Stark even want to hear an apology from him? He just didn't know.

"Zola." Well, he could answer that question at least. It was going to be a bit weird to explain, but not difficult to talk about. "He... stored his brain into a computer. Survived to this day because of it. That was when he told me everything, the truth about HYDRA and SHIELD."

He looked at Tony, gathering himself to say the next few words. "Tony, I'm sorry. About your parents. HYDRA should've ended back in the 40s."

"Why are you apologizing, because your childhood buddy murdered my family."

It was barely a question, muted and dull, and Tony didn't even look up to see the effect of his words. What was the point? The kicked puppy face Rogers no doubt was wearing would only make the dull empty feeling in his chest worse. He didn't even have the heart to say anything about Zola, just filed the information away for a later time. For a brief moment Tony's jaw tightened before his face smoothed back into inscrutable numbness.

"Fury?" He glanced up at Rogers, leaving the question unspoken. Was Nick Fury working for HYDRA?

"Forced to." Steve said in a quiet tone, unable to argue against anything else Tony said. It was true, Bucky was the one that killed Maria and Howard Stark, even if it wasn't his fault. Even if he didn't want it, the fact remained that it happened. HYDRA was the one responsible in the end, but it was impossible to deny that Bucky played a role in it, even if it was unwilling. "I'm just as responsible for that incident as he is. Maybe more."

Because he couldn't save Bucky. Couldn't get rid of HYDRA completely. That laid on his shoulders and his alone.

"Clean." Steve winced for a moment at his wording. Fury wasn't clean, not by a long shot, but he wasn't HYDRA. "He noticed HYDRA growing in SHIELD, tried to take them down."

Clean. Tony harbored a healthy distrust for Nick Fury and hardly considered him clean, but he got what Rogers meant. It was... a relief, weirdly, to hear that Fury wasn't HYDRA.

"Great," he replied flatly, heaving a sigh. "I guess I should ask what tried means, but to be perfectly honest I don't really care."

He looked away, brow furrowing as tension came back to his jaw.

"So when you say forced, is that forced the way he was forced to try to kill me, too?"

That last comment stung and Steve found himself rising to defend Bucky against what he said. He didn't feel like it was fair, even though none of this was really fair to begin with. The assassinations, Tony being attacked, just... all this.

"Bucky shouldn't have attacked you. That's his responsibility." He probably already said that, at least long time ago. But this mission with Howard and Maria... it was something completely different. Bucky had no will during that time. "HYDRA was still pulling his strings when your parents died."

Tony wasn't sure how he ended up on his feet. It had just happened somehow, but Tony didn't care enough to think about it. He glared at Rogers, and having to look up to do so only fed his sudden anger.

"If he's so innocent why can't you say he killed them," Tony spat out.

First it was HYDRA was responsible, then an assassin, but when your parents died was the one that pissed him off. Died and killed were two very different things, and Rogers damn well knew it. Died was being abandoned, discovering a new level of alone after an absent father made a stupid mistake. Tony was fine with died. He'd made his peace with died. Killed cut out the mistake part, changed "abandoned" to "ripped away." And it jammed a big fat knife in a wound that had long since healed.

That was clearly the wrong thing to say. Steve watched as Tony got up to his feet, only to glare at him in a way that was reminiscent of their time in the helicarrier. Not something he wanted to experience again, but he was going to deal with it.

"He may be the one that pulled the trigger, but someone else forced him in that direction in the first place."

Not that it made the news any less painful, knowing that his best friend killed Howard and his wife like that. Steve always considered Howard to be a great ally, a friend of sorts even if they weren't on the battlefield together. His inventions helped them stay alive in the battle against HYDRA.

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tony stark not allowed to be happy, news at 11

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sliiiides in here

:|

don't you give me that look

:|||||

i'm so happy the first time i use this icon is on this tag

what a good time to use it

i thought so too

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how did this wall of text happen

because tony