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hathycolSo I have seen Age of Ultron! And I have seen all of Daredevil! And I have lots of complicated feelings on them both, mostly focussed around Clint Barton, Natasha Romanov and Wilson Fisk NOT LIKE THAT and not in that order. So I ignored all of that and wrote this.
Title: Coda
Author:hathy_col
Summary: Not all of the MCU were involved in fighting Ultron. Doesn't mean they weren't paying attention. (or: five post credit scenes we will never see. probably.)
Rating: Gen
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
1.
“Really makes you remember how big the world is, huh?” sighed Foggy. Matt heard the tell-tale crackle of him pushing his hair back from is face, as though to fight off exhaustion through showing his face to the world.
The day had started with a hesitant Wakandan coming in to enquire if men claiming to raise funds for 'back home' were strictly above the law – they weren't – and had continued through panicked relatives and distraught Sokovians who wanted to know what their legal rights were, now that their cherished homes back in the capital had been unceremoniously destroyed.
“Funny how the problems of the world still manage to descend on Hell's Kitchen, though,” called Karen from the kitchen. The coffee pot had been brewing continuously throughout the day but she was emptying it out now, washing it in preparation for what would no doubt be a long day again tomorrow. “How long before we hear on the news about Daredevil breaking up a trafficking ring of displaced Sokovians, huh?”
Matt coughed once, delicately, aware that Foggy was staring at him. “I think he'll probably be out tonight,” he offered. He had overheard two of the Sokovians already talking about missing girls; he was already working out a patrol route. Sometimes the world could be depressingly predictable.
The smell of soap spread through the air, and the empty coffee pot made a delicate click on the work surface. “Good thing that he stayed out of that whole fight, then,” Karen said decisively, coming back through to the main office. “We need him here.”
“How do you get to a part of the Avengers, anyway?” asked Foggy, gathering together his things. Matt started to pack away his Braille reader before becoming aware that Foggy was staring at him. “Actually, really. Did they have auditions? How do you find other people with superpowers?”
“I remember reading they were something to do with SHIELD, before all that went down in Washington and those files were released,” Matt offered. “SHIELD used to collect people with. Uh. Powers. If they found them.” The trick was never letting the government find them in the first place. Stick had been firm on that and it was a lesson that had stuck.
“Shame there's not a club, though,” Foggy mused. “You know, 'My name's Captain America and I've got superpowers,' type of deal. They could pick up tips from each other on how to not destroy innocent cities, how not get horribly killed, that sort of thing.”
“I don't think Daredevil should be in a club,” Matt said thoughtfully, standing up and unfurling his stick. “The Avengers have heroes and gods. They don't need a devil.”
“Well,” said Karen darkly, turning out the lights in the office, “seems to me like they might have some devils amongst them anyway.”
“They did save the world, Karen,” Foggy reminded her as they locked the office door.
“At what cost, Foggy? What they did the first time gave us Fisk. God knows what'll come out of the woodwork this time.”
2.
“Peter, what have you been buying from the internet?”
“Just some stuff for a science experiment, Aunt May!” Peter shouted back down the stairs. Well, it was true. He was, in a way, the ultimate science experiment and seeing if he would be able to protect Queens like Daredevil protected Hell's Kitchen? That was worth spending all of his meagre savings on a garish blue and red bodysuit from the darker reaches of the internet.
“Well, make sure it doesn't blow up this time!”
“I'll try, Aunt May!” Well, he would. He nearly had the chemical mix for webbing right, and it didn't seem too volatile. This time.
3.
“That is a terrible catchphrase and you need to stop using it. Like, now.” Peter threw himself down on to a seat in the shared area next to Rocket, who had been polishing what may or may not have been a heavy grade weapon. It might have been a decorative vase. It was occasionally difficult to tell.
Rocket sighed over-dramatically. “You said we needed a catchphrase that summed up our many, many victories.”
“Yes, but it needs to be something cool.”
“What does the temperature have to do with our speech?” interjected Drax. The last mission had gone well, and more importantly paid well, so Drax was preparing an evening meal with fresh vegetables. Peter wasn't sure when Drax had learnt to cook and was never sure what it was he served up, but it tended to taste good.
Peter sighed deeply and glared at two members of his strange crew. “Rocket, you need to stop using 'BLAM! MURDERED YOU!' as a catchphrase. It makes us sound like dicks.”
“It is also dishonourable to gloat over the corpse,” added Drax. “It is better to gloat before you kill them that they may know what glorious warrior is to defeat them.”
“No, Drax, that isn't what I-”
“Rocket, it's a terrible catchphrase,” interrupted Gamora, coming through from the cockpit, a three-foot tall Groot following her. He was only just out of the pot and still preferred to watch the stars from the cockpit, unsteady on anything but the most stable surface. “And Drax, warning people means they know you're there. You're both idiots.”
“I am Groot!”
“See, Groot agrees with me.” Gamora nodded once, looking satisfied, before her face settled back in to a more serious expression. “I came through for something important, Quill. I've heard from one of my sources that Thanos is on the move.”
“He's on the move? I thought he'd stayed in the same base for aeons, or whatever.”
Gamora shook her head. “He moves around periodically but only privately and quietly; he likes to gaze upon that which he has destroys. For pleasure.”
“Well, that's just creepy,” said Rocket, jumping down from his chair. “What's he destroyed this time?”
“That's the problem,” said Gamora with a frown. “Nothing. And he is moving openly, with an army at his heels.”
“Christ,” muttered Peter. “So I assume the Guardians need to ride in and save the day, am I right?”
“Maybe,” said Gamora quietly, and then looked up directly at Peter. “Quill, he's possibly headed in the direction of Earth.”
Silence fell for a moment.
“Well now,” said Peter, swallowing deeply. “This sounds like a three drink problem. Is there a bar on this rock we're orbiting?”
4.
Occasionally, Loki was worried he would forget what he was supposed to look like. In theory the body should snap back to the original appearance under any kind of duress, but then Loki wasn't sure what his original appearance was in any case. The magic Odin had placed on him ensured that he had always returned to Asgardian appearance, but now... well.
So he would travel to the places where even Heimdall could not see. “The King is mourning and needs solitude,” the court would say. Or: “Now that Prince Thor is gone travelling, the King must move around and be seen.” Or: “Why must we question him when Asgard is at peace?”
(Loki was particularly proud of the last one. It had taken time to change into a guard and make sure these words were said in earshot of the gossips. Now they were said without any action on his behalf. Loki was indeed proving to be the excellent leader Asgard needed.)
In these places he would look in a mirror and see himself as he remembered himself, no trace of Odin. No trace of Laufrey, either. One day he would show this face to the world again but for now it was relieving to sit in the silence of the forgotten places and think of how to face the future whilst facing... well, his face.
He knew from Heimdall that the sceptre had been destroyed. Thor had his uses, after all. The chaos that had followed had not come as a surprise, but 'Odin' refused to stir, despite the urging of his court. Let Earth fall to chaos, Loki had thought darkly. The breaking of the sceptre, though, had shook the Bifrost and the realms. Thanos must surely have known where it – and what it contained - had fallen by now.
The creature – the abomination – that Thor had helped to create looked strong, Heimdall reported. Loki knew, though, that it could not stand up to Thanos. The misfits and monsters that made up the mightiest heroes of Earth would crumple under the attentions of the lover of death. Loki knew, too, that the Collector had failed to keep the other Gems safe. Loki was the sovereign of Asgard now, and it was his duty to keep the realms safe.
Earth could look after itself or fall to Hel as far as Loki was concerned. He needed to find a plan that would ensure the safety of the rest of his realm and yet keep hidden from the attention of Thanos until there was no alternative but to stand against him.
Loki breathed deeply once, twice. There was much to do before Thor came back. Then he raised his voice and began to cast.
5.
There were times when Pepper deeply regretted the stabilisation of Extremis. They were very small moments, certainly. She was, overall, extremely glad to no longer be a walking bomb. But oh, there were days when she wanted to be able to set someone on fire and still claim it was an accident.
“Ms Potts, I don't think you understand the seriousness of what's happened here for our logistics division.”
Pepper tried to remind herself that even when she was at her most unstable she wasn't able to remotely set anyone on fire, no matter how much Bob Jefferson, the Stark Industries logistics division leader, was getting close to deserving it. “Bob,” she said calmly, smiling across the video link. “I know exactly how serious this is, and I also know that the fail safes Mr Stark built in to the system are working. We're having this conversation, aren't we?”
“It's taking my division extra time for every task!” Bob protested, the top of his bald head getting shinier. “The JARVIS system was too heavily built in to everything we do and every process is running more slowly as a result. We're losing man hours and-”
“Bob, the FRIDAY system is running just fine. Every other division is coping, even if we've had to get involved and try things a... different way, here and there.” Pepper had spent a frustrating half hour working with her own personal assistant to get most of the systems up and running again and at the end of it they'd split a bottle of Chardonnay and Pepper tried not to worry too much about Tony. (He had phoned when he could and that was all she could ask for, these days.) Bob, on the other hand, didn't look like he had lifted a hand to help the admittedly overworked logistics division. His suit wasn't crumpled and his office was a haven of peace. Pepper was suspicious.
“Bob, have you even tried to use the new systems?”
Jefferson spluttered. “I… what… why should I…”
“Bob,” Pepper interjected, and tried not to think longingly about fire. “You are a good logistics director. You used to work on the floor, and both Mr Stark and I appreciate employees who know their area with your depth of experience. Go and try the FRIDAY system, inspire your staff, and I’m confident you’ll be running at full efficiency by the end of the week. Now, I have to take another call. Don’t let me detain you.”
Pepper cut off the call, unashamed of the lie, and sighed deeply. Her PA buzzed through from outside the office. “Ms Potts?”
“Yes, Marcy?” Pepper called out.
“I know you asked for a break after that teleconference, but you have a personal call."
"Is it my mother?"
"No, Ms Potts, I would have brought you a coffee first if it was."
"This, Marcy, is why you're my favourite. I'll take it."
"I'll bring you in a latte anyway," said Marcy decisively. "Transferring the call to your screen now."
Pepper only had a moment to try and perk up before genuinely smiling at the screen. "Jane!"
"Hi, Pepper," the scientist said shyly. "I must be interrupting, I know."
"No, I'm glad to hear from you. Is the FRIDAY system working out?"
"We didn't have JARVIS running too many systems here, so we've settled in fine," said Jane. "I just wanted to see if you were... er..."
"I'm very er," said Pepper with a sigh. "But Tony is back and the company is still standing, so that's all I can ask for."
"Thor's going back to Asgard," said Jane, sounding resigned. "Entire realm to run. I get that. You're lucky to have Tony so near."
"Tony?" Pepper snorted. "I'd much prefer Thor, at least you know he won't accidentally blow something up trying to make a smoothie."
"Hm," said Jane, but was interrupted before she could say anything else.
"Yo! Bosslady! Come and eat, if you get cranky you too might accidentally invent some murderbots whoa hey there Ms Potts." At the corner of the screen, slightly over Jane's shoulder, Pepper saw Darcy attempt to throw herself back out of shot. "You could have told me who you were calling, Jane!"
"Darcy," called out Pepper warmly. "It's fine. I've said before that Tony could use you to remind him to eat and not accidentally invent world-destroying technologies. Sure I can't tempt you away?"
"Where Jane goes, so goes my nation," Darcy said with a smile. "You can have Ian though, he just gets underfoot."
"He'll hear you again, Darcy," said Jane with a sigh.
"Maybe I want him to hear me, damn Brits make weird food. Anyway, Jane, dinner really is ready. Apparently cauliflower cheese is exactly what it sounds like. Can I take her away, Ms Potts?"
"Call me Pepper, and yes," said Pepper. "It's lunchtime here anyway. Tony said he might swing by." She didn't think he would, but that wasn't the point.
"See?" said Jane with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, leaning forward to terminate the call. "You're the lucky one."
"You date an actual god," said Pepper with a smile, and was pleased to see Jane smile a little brighter before the call cut off.
+1.
"You know, it feels really uncomfortable to keep lying to Captain America," said Sam to what a regular outside observer would assume to be a normal, definitely not a super-powered ex-assassin, patron of a Washington branch of Starbucks. "Unpatriotic, even" he continued. "Plus, Steve is my friend and my sort-of boss now, so also a total dick move."
"You outrank him, Major Wilson," said the other man in a soft voice.
"Don't think that counts in the Avengers," said Sam with a grin.
"That's still a stupid name."
"You're still deflecting," countered Sam.
The other man was silent for a moment. "Look, Barnes," said Sam, more gently this time. ("I don't know who Bucky is," he had admitted early on, not long after Sam had persuaded him to stop breaking into his house when he wanted to catch up. "I'm not him. But I do know that James is my father's name, not mine. Barnes is... fine.") "I'm taking a sabbatical from the VA work, moving into upstate New York to some fancy facility. I won't be able to wait for you and I don't like leaving you by yourself. Besides, I could do with someone else on the team who doesn't scare me half to death."
Barnes looked at him, a faintly astonished expression across his face. "I don't scare you? Seriously?"
"Man, I've seen you eat pizza, there is no fear left after that," said Sam with a grin. "Vision, on the other hand..."
"I wouldn't be a good fit on the team," said Barnes. "I help better this way. Outside."
"You can keep on doing that," Sam prodded gently, pushing a plate over to Barnes with a scone on it on it. Barnes looked at it mulishly, as though the blueberry scone had offended him personally. "You don't even have to see him if you're not ready. You could just let me tell him where I found some of those leads for HYDRA bases. He misses you."
"He misses Bucky," Barnes corrected him.
"Well, maybe that's true," conceded Sam. "But I think Barnes is a pretty okay guy too, and I think Steve would like him as well. Although if you don't eat that scone I might change my mind, the blueberry is the best flavour."
Barnes finally grinned, fleetingly, before starting to eat, using only his flesh and blood hand. Even behind the curtain of hair he insisted on keeping ("hides me from the cameras," he explained, even if Sam didn't think this was all true) Sam thought he could maybe see the guy who Steve missed so much. Barnes swallowed and put the scone down again. "Let me know how it goes in your high-faluting new place," he said. "Let me know how it all settles down. Then... maybe."
That would do for now, Sam thought.
AO3 link here
Title: Coda
Author:
hathy_colSummary: Not all of the MCU were involved in fighting Ultron. Doesn't mean they weren't paying attention. (or: five post credit scenes we will never see. probably.)
Rating: Gen
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
1.
“Really makes you remember how big the world is, huh?” sighed Foggy. Matt heard the tell-tale crackle of him pushing his hair back from is face, as though to fight off exhaustion through showing his face to the world.
The day had started with a hesitant Wakandan coming in to enquire if men claiming to raise funds for 'back home' were strictly above the law – they weren't – and had continued through panicked relatives and distraught Sokovians who wanted to know what their legal rights were, now that their cherished homes back in the capital had been unceremoniously destroyed.
“Funny how the problems of the world still manage to descend on Hell's Kitchen, though,” called Karen from the kitchen. The coffee pot had been brewing continuously throughout the day but she was emptying it out now, washing it in preparation for what would no doubt be a long day again tomorrow. “How long before we hear on the news about Daredevil breaking up a trafficking ring of displaced Sokovians, huh?”
Matt coughed once, delicately, aware that Foggy was staring at him. “I think he'll probably be out tonight,” he offered. He had overheard two of the Sokovians already talking about missing girls; he was already working out a patrol route. Sometimes the world could be depressingly predictable.
The smell of soap spread through the air, and the empty coffee pot made a delicate click on the work surface. “Good thing that he stayed out of that whole fight, then,” Karen said decisively, coming back through to the main office. “We need him here.”
“How do you get to a part of the Avengers, anyway?” asked Foggy, gathering together his things. Matt started to pack away his Braille reader before becoming aware that Foggy was staring at him. “Actually, really. Did they have auditions? How do you find other people with superpowers?”
“I remember reading they were something to do with SHIELD, before all that went down in Washington and those files were released,” Matt offered. “SHIELD used to collect people with. Uh. Powers. If they found them.” The trick was never letting the government find them in the first place. Stick had been firm on that and it was a lesson that had stuck.
“Shame there's not a club, though,” Foggy mused. “You know, 'My name's Captain America and I've got superpowers,' type of deal. They could pick up tips from each other on how to not destroy innocent cities, how not get horribly killed, that sort of thing.”
“I don't think Daredevil should be in a club,” Matt said thoughtfully, standing up and unfurling his stick. “The Avengers have heroes and gods. They don't need a devil.”
“Well,” said Karen darkly, turning out the lights in the office, “seems to me like they might have some devils amongst them anyway.”
“They did save the world, Karen,” Foggy reminded her as they locked the office door.
“At what cost, Foggy? What they did the first time gave us Fisk. God knows what'll come out of the woodwork this time.”
2.
“Peter, what have you been buying from the internet?”
“Just some stuff for a science experiment, Aunt May!” Peter shouted back down the stairs. Well, it was true. He was, in a way, the ultimate science experiment and seeing if he would be able to protect Queens like Daredevil protected Hell's Kitchen? That was worth spending all of his meagre savings on a garish blue and red bodysuit from the darker reaches of the internet.
“Well, make sure it doesn't blow up this time!”
“I'll try, Aunt May!” Well, he would. He nearly had the chemical mix for webbing right, and it didn't seem too volatile. This time.
3.
“That is a terrible catchphrase and you need to stop using it. Like, now.” Peter threw himself down on to a seat in the shared area next to Rocket, who had been polishing what may or may not have been a heavy grade weapon. It might have been a decorative vase. It was occasionally difficult to tell.
Rocket sighed over-dramatically. “You said we needed a catchphrase that summed up our many, many victories.”
“Yes, but it needs to be something cool.”
“What does the temperature have to do with our speech?” interjected Drax. The last mission had gone well, and more importantly paid well, so Drax was preparing an evening meal with fresh vegetables. Peter wasn't sure when Drax had learnt to cook and was never sure what it was he served up, but it tended to taste good.
Peter sighed deeply and glared at two members of his strange crew. “Rocket, you need to stop using 'BLAM! MURDERED YOU!' as a catchphrase. It makes us sound like dicks.”
“It is also dishonourable to gloat over the corpse,” added Drax. “It is better to gloat before you kill them that they may know what glorious warrior is to defeat them.”
“No, Drax, that isn't what I-”
“Rocket, it's a terrible catchphrase,” interrupted Gamora, coming through from the cockpit, a three-foot tall Groot following her. He was only just out of the pot and still preferred to watch the stars from the cockpit, unsteady on anything but the most stable surface. “And Drax, warning people means they know you're there. You're both idiots.”
“I am Groot!”
“See, Groot agrees with me.” Gamora nodded once, looking satisfied, before her face settled back in to a more serious expression. “I came through for something important, Quill. I've heard from one of my sources that Thanos is on the move.”
“He's on the move? I thought he'd stayed in the same base for aeons, or whatever.”
Gamora shook her head. “He moves around periodically but only privately and quietly; he likes to gaze upon that which he has destroys. For pleasure.”
“Well, that's just creepy,” said Rocket, jumping down from his chair. “What's he destroyed this time?”
“That's the problem,” said Gamora with a frown. “Nothing. And he is moving openly, with an army at his heels.”
“Christ,” muttered Peter. “So I assume the Guardians need to ride in and save the day, am I right?”
“Maybe,” said Gamora quietly, and then looked up directly at Peter. “Quill, he's possibly headed in the direction of Earth.”
Silence fell for a moment.
“Well now,” said Peter, swallowing deeply. “This sounds like a three drink problem. Is there a bar on this rock we're orbiting?”
4.
Occasionally, Loki was worried he would forget what he was supposed to look like. In theory the body should snap back to the original appearance under any kind of duress, but then Loki wasn't sure what his original appearance was in any case. The magic Odin had placed on him ensured that he had always returned to Asgardian appearance, but now... well.
So he would travel to the places where even Heimdall could not see. “The King is mourning and needs solitude,” the court would say. Or: “Now that Prince Thor is gone travelling, the King must move around and be seen.” Or: “Why must we question him when Asgard is at peace?”
(Loki was particularly proud of the last one. It had taken time to change into a guard and make sure these words were said in earshot of the gossips. Now they were said without any action on his behalf. Loki was indeed proving to be the excellent leader Asgard needed.)
In these places he would look in a mirror and see himself as he remembered himself, no trace of Odin. No trace of Laufrey, either. One day he would show this face to the world again but for now it was relieving to sit in the silence of the forgotten places and think of how to face the future whilst facing... well, his face.
He knew from Heimdall that the sceptre had been destroyed. Thor had his uses, after all. The chaos that had followed had not come as a surprise, but 'Odin' refused to stir, despite the urging of his court. Let Earth fall to chaos, Loki had thought darkly. The breaking of the sceptre, though, had shook the Bifrost and the realms. Thanos must surely have known where it – and what it contained - had fallen by now.
The creature – the abomination – that Thor had helped to create looked strong, Heimdall reported. Loki knew, though, that it could not stand up to Thanos. The misfits and monsters that made up the mightiest heroes of Earth would crumple under the attentions of the lover of death. Loki knew, too, that the Collector had failed to keep the other Gems safe. Loki was the sovereign of Asgard now, and it was his duty to keep the realms safe.
Earth could look after itself or fall to Hel as far as Loki was concerned. He needed to find a plan that would ensure the safety of the rest of his realm and yet keep hidden from the attention of Thanos until there was no alternative but to stand against him.
Loki breathed deeply once, twice. There was much to do before Thor came back. Then he raised his voice and began to cast.
5.
There were times when Pepper deeply regretted the stabilisation of Extremis. They were very small moments, certainly. She was, overall, extremely glad to no longer be a walking bomb. But oh, there were days when she wanted to be able to set someone on fire and still claim it was an accident.
“Ms Potts, I don't think you understand the seriousness of what's happened here for our logistics division.”
Pepper tried to remind herself that even when she was at her most unstable she wasn't able to remotely set anyone on fire, no matter how much Bob Jefferson, the Stark Industries logistics division leader, was getting close to deserving it. “Bob,” she said calmly, smiling across the video link. “I know exactly how serious this is, and I also know that the fail safes Mr Stark built in to the system are working. We're having this conversation, aren't we?”
“It's taking my division extra time for every task!” Bob protested, the top of his bald head getting shinier. “The JARVIS system was too heavily built in to everything we do and every process is running more slowly as a result. We're losing man hours and-”
“Bob, the FRIDAY system is running just fine. Every other division is coping, even if we've had to get involved and try things a... different way, here and there.” Pepper had spent a frustrating half hour working with her own personal assistant to get most of the systems up and running again and at the end of it they'd split a bottle of Chardonnay and Pepper tried not to worry too much about Tony. (He had phoned when he could and that was all she could ask for, these days.) Bob, on the other hand, didn't look like he had lifted a hand to help the admittedly overworked logistics division. His suit wasn't crumpled and his office was a haven of peace. Pepper was suspicious.
“Bob, have you even tried to use the new systems?”
Jefferson spluttered. “I… what… why should I…”
“Bob,” Pepper interjected, and tried not to think longingly about fire. “You are a good logistics director. You used to work on the floor, and both Mr Stark and I appreciate employees who know their area with your depth of experience. Go and try the FRIDAY system, inspire your staff, and I’m confident you’ll be running at full efficiency by the end of the week. Now, I have to take another call. Don’t let me detain you.”
Pepper cut off the call, unashamed of the lie, and sighed deeply. Her PA buzzed through from outside the office. “Ms Potts?”
“Yes, Marcy?” Pepper called out.
“I know you asked for a break after that teleconference, but you have a personal call."
"Is it my mother?"
"No, Ms Potts, I would have brought you a coffee first if it was."
"This, Marcy, is why you're my favourite. I'll take it."
"I'll bring you in a latte anyway," said Marcy decisively. "Transferring the call to your screen now."
Pepper only had a moment to try and perk up before genuinely smiling at the screen. "Jane!"
"Hi, Pepper," the scientist said shyly. "I must be interrupting, I know."
"No, I'm glad to hear from you. Is the FRIDAY system working out?"
"We didn't have JARVIS running too many systems here, so we've settled in fine," said Jane. "I just wanted to see if you were... er..."
"I'm very er," said Pepper with a sigh. "But Tony is back and the company is still standing, so that's all I can ask for."
"Thor's going back to Asgard," said Jane, sounding resigned. "Entire realm to run. I get that. You're lucky to have Tony so near."
"Tony?" Pepper snorted. "I'd much prefer Thor, at least you know he won't accidentally blow something up trying to make a smoothie."
"Hm," said Jane, but was interrupted before she could say anything else.
"Yo! Bosslady! Come and eat, if you get cranky you too might accidentally invent some murderbots whoa hey there Ms Potts." At the corner of the screen, slightly over Jane's shoulder, Pepper saw Darcy attempt to throw herself back out of shot. "You could have told me who you were calling, Jane!"
"Darcy," called out Pepper warmly. "It's fine. I've said before that Tony could use you to remind him to eat and not accidentally invent world-destroying technologies. Sure I can't tempt you away?"
"Where Jane goes, so goes my nation," Darcy said with a smile. "You can have Ian though, he just gets underfoot."
"He'll hear you again, Darcy," said Jane with a sigh.
"Maybe I want him to hear me, damn Brits make weird food. Anyway, Jane, dinner really is ready. Apparently cauliflower cheese is exactly what it sounds like. Can I take her away, Ms Potts?"
"Call me Pepper, and yes," said Pepper. "It's lunchtime here anyway. Tony said he might swing by." She didn't think he would, but that wasn't the point.
"See?" said Jane with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, leaning forward to terminate the call. "You're the lucky one."
"You date an actual god," said Pepper with a smile, and was pleased to see Jane smile a little brighter before the call cut off.
+1.
"You know, it feels really uncomfortable to keep lying to Captain America," said Sam to what a regular outside observer would assume to be a normal, definitely not a super-powered ex-assassin, patron of a Washington branch of Starbucks. "Unpatriotic, even" he continued. "Plus, Steve is my friend and my sort-of boss now, so also a total dick move."
"You outrank him, Major Wilson," said the other man in a soft voice.
"Don't think that counts in the Avengers," said Sam with a grin.
"That's still a stupid name."
"You're still deflecting," countered Sam.
The other man was silent for a moment. "Look, Barnes," said Sam, more gently this time. ("I don't know who Bucky is," he had admitted early on, not long after Sam had persuaded him to stop breaking into his house when he wanted to catch up. "I'm not him. But I do know that James is my father's name, not mine. Barnes is... fine.") "I'm taking a sabbatical from the VA work, moving into upstate New York to some fancy facility. I won't be able to wait for you and I don't like leaving you by yourself. Besides, I could do with someone else on the team who doesn't scare me half to death."
Barnes looked at him, a faintly astonished expression across his face. "I don't scare you? Seriously?"
"Man, I've seen you eat pizza, there is no fear left after that," said Sam with a grin. "Vision, on the other hand..."
"I wouldn't be a good fit on the team," said Barnes. "I help better this way. Outside."
"You can keep on doing that," Sam prodded gently, pushing a plate over to Barnes with a scone on it on it. Barnes looked at it mulishly, as though the blueberry scone had offended him personally. "You don't even have to see him if you're not ready. You could just let me tell him where I found some of those leads for HYDRA bases. He misses you."
"He misses Bucky," Barnes corrected him.
"Well, maybe that's true," conceded Sam. "But I think Barnes is a pretty okay guy too, and I think Steve would like him as well. Although if you don't eat that scone I might change my mind, the blueberry is the best flavour."
Barnes finally grinned, fleetingly, before starting to eat, using only his flesh and blood hand. Even behind the curtain of hair he insisted on keeping ("hides me from the cameras," he explained, even if Sam didn't think this was all true) Sam thought he could maybe see the guy who Steve missed so much. Barnes swallowed and put the scone down again. "Let me know how it goes in your high-faluting new place," he said. "Let me know how it all settles down. Then... maybe."
That would do for now, Sam thought.
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