[ Tony's sprawled upside down on the couch, his foot hanging off the edge of it, a tablet balanced on his stomach. He's wearing Steve's hoodie, the sleeves a little too long over his fingers as he lifts his hand to put something from a schematic into the bin at the side of his hologram.
When Steve calls, he shifts, sitting up, head coming into view. ] Woah, slow down there. Where's the fire? Is there a sale going down somewhere?
[ Steve's mind being what it is in the enhanced state, he manages to keep his mind on the task at hand and take a moment to smile at how relaxed Tony appears on the sofa, the too-big hoodie that belongs to himself hanging loosely from him oddly attractive.
He walks around the front of the sofa and holds out the scrunched up leather jacket to him, lowering it to his lap. ] Here, take this, and be careful with it. We need towels and food.
[ He scrubs a hand over the back of his neck as he backs up, heads out of the room and kitchen, banging around in the cupboards to get two bowl, filling one with water and the other with cut up pieces of ham from the packet in the fridge. He throws a towel over his shoulder and heads back. ]
[ Steve's jacket is - well, it's wriggling. Tony's not sure what to make of that. The tablet goes to the desk, and he places the bundle in his lap, unfolding the leather to discover two big, black eyes staring up at him. ]
There is? [ He sounds playful rather than sarcastic, a goofy smile lifting up one side of his mouth, and he perches on the cushion beside him, puts down the bowls on the table and takes the towel. ] Wonder how that happened.
[ He shifts the flaps of the jacket aside and opens out the towel, wrapping it around the tiny ball of fur and snuggling it up. ] Poor thing's shivering.
Do you regularly keep animals in your jacket? [ Tony sounds the way he usually does when Steve preforms an unexpected action. ] Is this - do you save kittens from trees and stuff? Because that's too all American.
[ A pause. ] Why is it wet? It's not raining, is it?
Not always. [ He rubs the puppy's back with the towel, gaining a little yelp, and he flinches, tries again with an even gentler hand. ] 'Course I do. I could never just walk on by while a poor, defenseless kitten's stuck up in a big old tree.
[ Frowning, Steve shuffles closer, their thighs touching. ] A thief I chased down threw her into the river. I almost didn't notice her, tied up in an old bag. Her family couldn't afford to keep her, so I kinda - [ He looks at Tony somewhat sheepishly. ] - well, I kinda hoped, maybe, if you wanted - and as an early Christmas present - we could keep her?
[ Tony frowns at the yelping and shifts upwards so that his back is firmly against the arm of the chair. Then he reaches forward, plucking the towel from Steve.
Fondly. ] Well, we can't if you crush her with your big hands, can we? [ Scrubbing gently over the dog's fur, something gentle about his approach, and of course Tony could do gentle, he's an engineer, has to fine tune a lot of things in his time.
With a conversational tone. ] Steve, are you trying to give me a dog for Christmas?
[ Steve allows Tony to take control over towelling the puppy dry, smiles as he squeezes onto the other end of the sofa and perches on the edge of the cushion, watching with soft glint of something in his eyes. ]
D'you want a dog for Christmas? [ Pleasesayyes, pleasesayyes, pleasesayyes ] 'Cause it's gonna be hard to find a home for the little thing, but if you're not fond of the idea.
[ He can't find it in him to look away, to stop watching this side to Tony that he's never really seen before. Sure, he's gentle with him at times, but Steve's a big guy. The puppy, on the other hand, is weak and fragile, and the way he holds her, pets at her makes something in his chest swell and his stomach do flip-flops. ]
If she doesn't have anywhere else to go? [ Tony scrubs at her ears, lip twitching when the dog lifts her head from beneath the towel to peer at him. ] Besides, you adopt kids all the time anyway, what's a dog to that, huh?
What do you think? [ Addressing the puppy now. ] You've clearly got in under his skin already, scamp. Especially with those big ol' puppy eyes. I can't break his heart by saying no, can I?
There's no where else, and even a tiny puppy needs a home for Christmas. [ He tries not to look too pleased at the idea of keeping her, but he can't help it, grin wide and crooked, eyes glistening with joy.
Steve watches Tony with the dog, heart beating out of control and stomach doing somersaults. It suits him, this softer side, and if having a puppy around the place helps to keep it showing then he's every bit for it. ] She's gonna be needing a name, though. Got any ideas?
[ Tony's response is automatic, not even pausing to consider it. He'd heard Steve humming an old Ella Fitzgerald song this morning in the kitchen, and it had made Tony smile, caught the song in his head. ]
JARVIS?
Yes sir?
Puppy proof the systems in here, okay? Make sure all the equipment knows what she is, I know we have the motion sensors still.
Ella? [ He asks it rhetorically, looking down at the small wriggling bundle, and smiles. ] Ella. It's got a nice ring to it. What made you go for that?
[ He giggles as the puppy licks at his hand when he goes to give it a gentle pet, and then watches as she starts to chew on one of Tony's fingers. ] Looks like I'm gonna have to try harder than ever to gain your attention from now on.
You know how JARVIS plays you songs in the morning? You were singing along to Manhattan today.
[ Focusing on the puppy instead of accepting just how ridiculous and fond that sounded, watching as she tries to chew on him. ] Hey, hey. Careful there sweetheart, I need those.
I was? [ He colours at being caught out, an old habit that picked up from listening to the radio when cooking, and not something that he's always aware of. ] Sorry, I'll keep it down next time.
[ He can't stop giggling, but it falters occasionally when the worry takes him, still not convinced she's warm enough. ] JARVIS, turn up the heat.
Nah, don't worry. You seem happy whenever you're singing along to stuff. It's not like you've got an awful voice or anything. And the old songs aren't all that - well, I still prefer the good ol' classics of AC/DC. But I don't mind it.
It sure beats you walking in on my attempts at dancing. [ He bumps their shoulders together, keeping contact between them simple and easy. ] You invented any robot ears yet in that lab of yours? 'Cause the way you play that stuff, you're gonna need 'em.
When Steve calls, he shifts, sitting up, head coming into view. ] Woah, slow down there. Where's the fire? Is there a sale going down somewhere?
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He walks around the front of the sofa and holds out the scrunched up leather jacket to him, lowering it to his lap. ] Here, take this, and be careful with it. We need towels and food.
[ He scrubs a hand over the back of his neck as he backs up, heads out of the room and kitchen, banging around in the cupboards to get two bowl, filling one with water and the other with cut up pieces of ham from the packet in the fridge. He throws a towel over his shoulder and heads back. ]
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Uh - Steve? There's an animal in your jacket.
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[ He shifts the flaps of the jacket aside and opens out the towel, wrapping it around the tiny ball of fur and snuggling it up. ] Poor thing's shivering.
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[ A pause. ] Why is it wet? It's not raining, is it?
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[ Frowning, Steve shuffles closer, their thighs touching. ] A thief I chased down threw her into the river. I almost didn't notice her, tied up in an old bag. Her family couldn't afford to keep her, so I kinda - [ He looks at Tony somewhat sheepishly. ] - well, I kinda hoped, maybe, if you wanted - and as an early Christmas present - we could keep her?
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Fondly. ] Well, we can't if you crush her with your big hands, can we? [ Scrubbing gently over the dog's fur, something gentle about his approach, and of course Tony could do gentle, he's an engineer, has to fine tune a lot of things in his time.
With a conversational tone. ] Steve, are you trying to give me a dog for Christmas?
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D'you want a dog for Christmas? [ Pleasesayyes, pleasesayyes, pleasesayyes ] 'Cause it's gonna be hard to find a home for the little thing, but if you're not fond of the idea.
[ He can't find it in him to look away, to stop watching this side to Tony that he's never really seen before. Sure, he's gentle with him at times, but Steve's a big guy. The puppy, on the other hand, is weak and fragile, and the way he holds her, pets at her makes something in his chest swell and his stomach do flip-flops. ]
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What do you think? [ Addressing the puppy now. ] You've clearly got in under his skin already, scamp. Especially with those big ol' puppy eyes. I can't break his heart by saying no, can I?
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Steve watches Tony with the dog, heart beating out of control and stomach doing somersaults. It suits him, this softer side, and if having a puppy around the place helps to keep it showing then he's every bit for it. ] She's gonna be needing a name, though. Got any ideas?
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[ Tony's response is automatic, not even pausing to consider it. He'd heard Steve humming an old Ella Fitzgerald song this morning in the kitchen, and it had made Tony smile, caught the song in his head. ]
JARVIS?
Yes sir?
Puppy proof the systems in here, okay? Make sure all the equipment knows what she is, I know we have the motion sensors still.
Right away, sir.
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[ He giggles as the puppy licks at his hand when he goes to give it a gentle pet, and then watches as she starts to chew on one of Tony's fingers. ] Looks like I'm gonna have to try harder than ever to gain your attention from now on.
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[ Focusing on the puppy instead of accepting just how ridiculous and fond that sounded, watching as she tries to chew on him. ] Hey, hey. Careful there sweetheart, I need those.
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[ He can't stop giggling, but it falters occasionally when the worry takes him, still not convinced she's warm enough. ] JARVIS, turn up the heat.
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