Tags
completed stories, fanfiction, iris, irisbloom5, marvel, short stories, the avengers, writing dares and prompts
Confetti and balloons! Floating lanterns! (oops, I think that was a spoiler… đ Ehh, even superheroes aren’t perfect.)
This is the first post of 2015 on this blog! Wooo!!!!
Second year I’ve been blogging, can you believe it? I am so haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaapppyyyy right now… đ
Anyway, in celebration of the new year, let’s hear from Mr. Stark in New York on the post SHIELD expose fallout and on the Avengers front.
Auld Lang Syne
When Steve got up to the roof, fully wrapped in sweaters, scarf, hat and blanket, he was frankly surprised to find it deserted. He had been expecting to find at least Hawkeye up here. The sniper came up for the sake of the height.
Then Steve mentally kicked himself. Hawkeye was in hiding; Steve didnât even know where. Officially, he himself was in hiding. It wasnât safe for him, any more. He wasnât used to living, being hunted. Hydra wasnât all gone, and it would be hard to burn it out of the civilized world, but he was going to do it.
Grabbing the notebook from under his arm, he picked up the pencil he usually used for drawing. He flipped the book open and began to write. Hey Peggy, itâs me. I just wanted to say that the world didnât end, and weâre still fighting. I wonât stop until all of Hydra is dead or captured. I promised you and Bucky that a long time ago. Some things have changed, but Iâm still on the mission, Peg.
               It seems like so much has changed, but it really hasnât. Itâs the same war still. Funny how that works. When they brought me back, I thought there wasnât really much of a use for me any more, but there are still people who need to be protected. And Iâm still working with a team. Itâs just a team of⌠well, superheroes now.
               I feel almost like two people sometimes. Like I had left part of me with you. As if Iâve lived two entirely separate lives. Itâs funny how dreams can become memories, almost as if they actually happened.
               Tomorrow itâll be 2015. Wasnât there a movie set in 2015? Oh well. I donât care much, anyway.
               Good night, Peggy. Iâll see you in Heaven.
He tore the page from the book, folding it neatly, and picked up the strange construction beside him. He could remember making one of these out of a paper bag when he was twelve and then getting in trouble for sending it up on a Boy Scout campoutâhe had nearly set a tree on fire and had scared his senior patrol leader and the Scoutmaster badly. This time, it was a safer version of the same thingâa sort of hot-air balloon, miniaturized. He tore open the plastic that covered the tissue paper and balsa wood construction, then gently waved the balloon in midair to fill it out, flipping the frame open. Setting the note on the fuel cell, he took the cigarette lighter and lit it. Slowly, the lantern rose, joining many others floating over the cityscape. Steve drew in a slow, deep breath and leaned back, looking up at the lanterns. It was almost like the scene in the one Disney movie that heâd been ordered to watch once and hadnât seen since.
âKind of surprised that youâre up here, not in bed getting some sleep,â Tony commented from behind him. Steve didnât startle. Heâd known Tony was there; he had heard the door from the interior open and close, the crunching of gravel on the roof as Tony and Pepper joined him.
âI donât have anywhere to be tomorrow,â Steve said, turning. âIt isnât as if SHIELD is going to send me to some remote place at 3 a.m. this morning.â Pepper looked him up and down, probably able to tell that the smile was the one he reserved for awkward situations and that never matched his actual feelings.
âHow are you coping?â she asked.
âIâll be fine. Iâve survived this sort of thing before,â Steve replied. He turned to Tony. âThanks for letting me crash here. Iâm not exactly the safest person to have under your roof at the moment.â
âIs that why youâre on it and not under it?â Tony snarked. Pepper gave him âthe look,â but Steve actually laughed.
âPart of the reason,â he joked back.
âWhatâs the other twelve percent?â Pepper asked, joining in the fun.
âIâm not scared of heights.â
âWhen are you going to let that die?â
âProbably never,â Pepper told Tony. She frowned at Steve. âReally? Werenât you ever afraid of them?â
âNo. Bucky wanted me to get my head examined. He did not like heights at all.â Steve replied and then winced. Pepper crossed the space and put a hand on his shoulder.
âIt wonât ever be like it was before. Donât delude yourself into thinking that. But you will get him back, Steve.â
âItâll be hard,â Steve murmured. Tony slapped the former soldier on the back.
âAnd thatâs why superheroes have girlfriends, Cap,â the billionaire said. âBecause otherwise weâre just a bunch of temperamental basket cases.â Steve groaned good-naturedly.
âOh no, not you too,â he said. Pepper cocked her head.
âWhat?â
âNatasha has been trying to set me up on blind dates. She even had me go out with Peggyâs grandniece. That was weird.â Pepper blinked. Tony frowned.
âWhoâs Peggy?â Steve looked down.
âSheâs dead.â
Pepper gave a quiet âoh.â Tony was silent for a while. Then, quietly, âYouâre stronger than I could ever be, Cap. I canât imagine losing Pepper.â
âYou would go on without me,â Pepper said.
âYou would go on because you had to,â Steve said, quietly. âBecause the world out thereâthey still need heroes. The world is flawed. Theyâll always need heroes.â
âIâm not sure if I deserve to be called that.â
âSo am I.â Steve leaned back against the railing, absently. âIâve never seen the city from this high up before.â
âI thought you said you werenât scared of heights?â Pepper asked.
âI never got up to the observation decks. Back then, everyone moved too fast for me. That actually⌠hasnât changed that much.â
âI feel weird now.â Tony muttered. âLike Iâm getting motion sick.â
âDo you ever get motion sick in the suit?â Steve wondered, then bit his tongue.
âI refrain to answer that.â
âSorry,â Steve said, blushing.
- It divided evenly by five, thirteen, and thirty-one. All of them prime numbers. Absently, Steve scraped the toe of one boot in the gravel.
âAre you up here to watch the fireworks?â Pepper asked.
âActually, the stars. Though theyâre a bit hard to pick out with all the lights down there,â Steve said. âIt helps put things in perspective.â He didnât say it aloud that he came up here to be alone, much of the time, but he was glad of the company tonight.
âSorry to ask this now, but I havenât exactly had time before,â Tony said. âWhat do you think will happen to the Avengers, minus the backing from SHIELD?â
âWeâll keep operating, as a separate entity.â Steve said, quietly. âWeâll probably not have an easy time of the PR part, or dealing with the government, but weâll still be here.â He turned, slowly. âYou told me once that we werenât soldiers, Tony, but⌠we all have duties to carry, still. And I know itâs not easy to balance duty with conscience, especially when youâve sworn your allegiance to something. We slip. We fail. But we get back up again.â He stared out at the skyline. âSome people called Captain America the perfect soldier, the ultimate soldier. But we all know thatâs not true. I disobeyed orders when I thought they were wrong. Iâve made poor decisions. Iâve failed missions, and people died on my watch. We arenât perfect soldiers. What matters is that we try to do the right thing. I guess thatâs what makes us the heroes.â
In Tonyâs pocket, his phone began to play âAuld Lang Syne.â Tony smiled and took a few glasses from the side table that had been sitting up there all evening, utterly ignored. He handed one to Pepper and another to Steve. âTo the future.â
âTo new friends,â Steve added, ringing glasses with the other two.
âThe future where we fix our mistakes,â Pepper said. She took a sip. âHappy new year.â
So, that’s my New Years’ story. Based around a dare from Iris. (Like her, I didn’t particularly want to write fanfic, but okay, here we go. đ ) Hopefully you enjoyed it… It’s also for Liam’s New Year’s short story challenge… I apologize for the lack of plot; I focused more on wrapping up loose ends than anything else. There will probably be another New Years’ story based around the ever popular Connor Rawleigh, of Colorblind fame, so don’t forget to check back in for that, Colorblind fans!
Happy New Year! May it be full of joy, new friends, and whatever brand of awepicness you prefer. As always, thanks for reading, and God bless you.