House of TM: Downtime (RP for Steve and Sally)
Takes place in House-of-TM AU, after the interview.
After the Time reporter left, the sense of relief in the room was palpable. Tony didn't have any doubt that granting the interview was the right thing, although he wasn't not sure that Steve agreed. But privacy wasn't an all-or-nothing proposition, and in this media age, trying to keep their personal lives entirely out of the public eye would only have made things worse. Still, Tony had a feeling that playing the model couple for the sake of a magazine cover bugged his partner -- while simply pretending that he, Steve Rogers, was an American institution instead of a man was par for the course. Steve truly didn't see the contradiction, and Tony had given up trying to point it out to him. Honestly, he found it endearing, though he'd never say as much.
Anyway, Tony was thankful when Wanda and Jean ushered the boys out, and Sally happily scampered away when Tony hinted the two men could use some private time. Probably, she was running off to IM one of her friends -- or all of them at once. Tony remembered when kids used to spend all their time on the phone, which immediately made him feel like both an old man and a hypocrite. It's the future, Stark, it's what you're supposed to believe in.
Instead of voicing his thoughts, he smiled at Steve, who looked beat and, without waiting to be asked, Tony went to the refrigerator and poured a Coke over ice. After a moment's hesitation, Tony poured another for himself. He really hated the stuff -- or he hated the stuff by itself, and after ten years he still wasn't used to it. But it seemed like a show of solidarity, however trivial. He walked back to Steve, who sat on the sofa looking out the window, and handed him a glass.
Raising his own, as if to toast, Tony said, "I think that went well."
After the Time reporter left, the sense of relief in the room was palpable. Tony didn't have any doubt that granting the interview was the right thing, although he wasn't not sure that Steve agreed. But privacy wasn't an all-or-nothing proposition, and in this media age, trying to keep their personal lives entirely out of the public eye would only have made things worse. Still, Tony had a feeling that playing the model couple for the sake of a magazine cover bugged his partner -- while simply pretending that he, Steve Rogers, was an American institution instead of a man was par for the course. Steve truly didn't see the contradiction, and Tony had given up trying to point it out to him. Honestly, he found it endearing, though he'd never say as much.
Anyway, Tony was thankful when Wanda and Jean ushered the boys out, and Sally happily scampered away when Tony hinted the two men could use some private time. Probably, she was running off to IM one of her friends -- or all of them at once. Tony remembered when kids used to spend all their time on the phone, which immediately made him feel like both an old man and a hypocrite. It's the future, Stark, it's what you're supposed to believe in.
Instead of voicing his thoughts, he smiled at Steve, who looked beat and, without waiting to be asked, Tony went to the refrigerator and poured a Coke over ice. After a moment's hesitation, Tony poured another for himself. He really hated the stuff -- or he hated the stuff by itself, and after ten years he still wasn't used to it. But it seemed like a show of solidarity, however trivial. He walked back to Steve, who sat on the sofa looking out the window, and handed him a glass.
Raising his own, as if to toast, Tony said, "I think that went well."