THE STAR SPANGLED MAN WITH A MANPAIN [open]

[usavatar]

who ; Steve Rogers
what ; Steve set up an obstacle course for himself in the junkyard to try and get away from people for a bit and get out of his own head.
where ; THE JUNKYARD \o/
when ; Right. Now.
warning(s) ; FEELINGS.... This happened sooner than expected, but he's starting to wrestle with his own uncertainty re: his political position in

Comments

[ironhowdoesit]

Running's an easy task- keep one foot in front of another, and sooner or later you wind up some place better, or at least you hope. Running solves plenty of things, but there's plenty of other things a run can't solve: being marooned on a space station, things you should have apologized for, pent up vitriol, and dying. Dying was a big one, but luckily Tony was done with dying.

For now at least. Anyways, enough random introspection.

An early morning run's a good way to loosen up pent up frustration, and the past few weeks have given him plenty of things to feel angry about. Poor Tony Stark. Never alone, yet always alone (thank you Sue Richards). If people weren't harping on about his father, they were harping on about war crimes or something similar. Even Pepper, with all her patience and understanding couldn't fully comprehend what was going through Tony's mind- not with the missing six months, something he should tell her about but couldn't

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Steve smudges at the cut on his forehead, glaring at the blood on his hand instead of at Tony. "The kids I grew up with learned it was too much trouble to try. What do you want?"

He's not feeling hospitable, or patient, or any of the things that usually characterize a conversation with someone he finds aggravating. Some part of him knows that being temperamental where Tony is concerned will only backfire, spectacularly, but still. He's not a saint.

[ironhowdoesit]

Watch out guys, we're dealing with a badass. Tony raises his eyebrows, slightly bemused by the fact Cap seems angry for once. It's good to know the other man is capable of emotions beyond the spectrum of 'happy' and 'judgemental', but still. Tony hasn't even said anything yet.

"Besides world peace and a new car? Not much. I figured I'd be a friendly neighbour and stop by to say hi."

[usavatar]

Oh yes. Complete badass.

He pulls the shield off of his arm and flips it around to check for new scars, buying himself a moment to get his temper under control. "Really. You were looking for me." Skepticism: he has it in spades. "Or were you just as frustrated as I am and happened to have the same idea I did?"

Okay, that was not his temper under control. Steve rests the edge of the shield against his forehead and counts to ten, wincing a little as something in his arm pulls. "Sorry."

[ironhowdoesit]

"Same idea, no. I usually consult my friend Jack Daniels when I'm angry, but it's before ten and I don't want to give people the impression I'm an alcoholic."

His tone is glib as usual- he's doesn't always resort to alcohol when upset, sometimes he drives. Tony finds a nice, sturdy box to sit his ass on, wrinkling his nose slightly as the other man apologies.

"Seriously? If you're angry, don't apologize. I don't." And Tony Stark is obviously an example everyone should follow.

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"Doesn't work for me." He picks his own seat, a chunk of concrete, and twirls the shield between his hands. "And I never really liked Jack."

It's nice to be tired. He doesn't get this way much. He glances at Tony, a mix of surprise and embarrassment derailing the remains of his temper, at least for the time being. "You know, you do a really good impression of being someone who doesn't care."

[ironhowdoesit]

"Not exactly an impression. If I spent all my time caring what other people thought, I wouldn't have time to sleep between kissing ass and apologizing."

Tony shrugs lightly from his make-believe stool. When Pepper or Rhodey aren't around to call out his bullshit, bullshiting is far easier. Wow, that was an unnecessary statement.

[usavatar]

Tiny huff of amusement, get. "That wasn't what I meant."

He sighs and slips the shield back onto his arm, checks the fastenings on the straps, makes a mental note to clean and oil it when he gets back to the hostel. "What are you doing out here?"

[ironhowdoesit]

"Running; I thought that was pretty obvious."

Why else would he be wearing a ridiculous hoodie and sweat pants? Gosh. But it's the first thing Steve says that causes him to pause. If this had been any other situation or any other location, Tony would have shrugged it off. But it's the goddamn morning, in the fucking junkyard, and he's curious. It's also a better question than 'can I borrow your shield for testing and to possibly nick some vibranium off it?'

"Then you meant..."

Tony trails off.

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"I meant you're a much better person than you like others to think. Why?"

He brushes a bit of dirt off of his leg, wondering if the clothes he's in are even salvageable. Yes, they're the ones he's worn to climb around the junkyard for the past few weeks, but there's a difference between climbing around the junkyard and... challenging it to smash you.

[ironhowdoesit]

That was certainly unexpected. If this were a sappy movie about friendship and trust, a song would begin to play in the background (in my head it's this song). He has a witty retort as always, but he refrains and does what he does best- redirect.

"Vibranium, right? I could strip it down, rework it and make it five times better, but you probably have some parable about sentimentality or nostalgia."

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"Actually, I'm just used to the weight and balance as it is. I'd have to almost relearn how to work with it, if you did that." Tiny, tiny smile. "Sometimes a shield is... Well, not just a shield, but you know what I mean."

[ironhowdoesit]

"God. You're going all sentimental on me, and its- I mean, I'm a little bothered by this weird connection you have going here. I think I liked you better when you were a flat nationalist caricature."

It was easier to make fun of a cartoon character, and far more annoying to deal with the actual guy who undermined half of what Tony had to say. Sure the satisfaction was a little greater, but god, it was like dealing with an kinetic optimism machine.

"Actually, better question. What actually makes Captain Feel-Good feel angry?"

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Welp, that successfully flattened his returning calm. Steve looks away, studying his disaster zone to see if anything from the avalanche looks useful. "Plenty of things. But most of them aren't worth staying upset about."

[ironhowdoesit]

Anger is like herpes, you're not meant to keep it to yourself is a good line, if somewhat inappropriate. Fortunately for Steve, Tony really isn't the type to pry into a completely (male) strangers feelings and go all Freud on them.

Instead, he makes an awkward face and finds interest in the junkyard pile.

"Oh hey, Longine." Jaegar may be a far more expensive brand, but there's an elegance in the simplicity of timelessness.

[usavatar]

It's just as well. Steve is a private person at the best of times, which these most definitely aren't.

"What?" Derailed from brooding again. One thing's for sure, Stark doesn't have a hard time keeping him off-balance.