Cap/Ironman Reverse Bang Fic: Flight 2/3
Title: Flight
Artist: made_of_tin
Author: sunryder
Rating (both art/fic): PG
Universe: Comic-esque
Word Count: ~16,000
Warnings: Abuse of Canon
Link to Art: Stunning, stunning artwork HERE Really, you need to go see it, it made my brain explode!
Fic Summary:
Back to Part 1 | On to Part 3
Thor spent the next week on a ride with Fury, and Clint took it upon himself to be Steve's defense. With Clint's approval came Natasha and Phil, and since they were the most talented riders in the Aerie, everyone else either warmed up to Steve, or at the very least, got far more tolerant. Apparently, the good will of those three was enough to counteract Hill's obvious disdain, which grew more and more pointed with each passing day.
With Clint's help, Steve spent most of his days shifting from one griffin to another, trying to teach them all some of the skills he'd picked up from his Pride during the war. He helped the griffin's through trick moves, which Widow, Natasha's griffin, excelled at, and moves to make a griffin float, which Clint and Hawk took to immediately. Phil though, Phil and his griffin, Cole, were the biggest surprises of all. Phil was was Hill's right hand, and Steve had been prepared for the same sort of disdain from him as she had shown, but Phil was the complete opposite. He quietly made a teaching rotation for Steve, and pulled in riders from each all over for lessons. By the end of Thor's week away, Phil had Steve so well integrated into the rest of the Aerie that the riders had started approaching Steve all on their own for battle plans and formation techniques.
But still, Steve wasn't allowed out of the Aerie again.
Steve tried to tell himself that he wasn't secretly looking for a chance to sneak out to see Tony, but he should have guessed that Tony wouldn't let silly things like orders, or Steve living in the atmosphere, keep him from what he wanted. Three nights in to his reimposed isolation, Steve looked out his sliver of a window only to see a small mechanical bird hovering outside. Steve pushed open the window and the machine, a large hummingbird, zipped in and hovered impatiently in front of Steve, who just stared at it in confusion. "Um, hello? May I help you?" He tried, but the bird still hovered, and if anything, buzzed its wings a little harder in irritation. Steve tried to think of a password, or a magic phrase that might satisfy the little creature, but when nothing came to mind he simply stuck out his hands as a perch for it to wait on.
Apparently, that was the right move, because the creature hovered gently down to Steve's upturned palm, and tucked away its wings. The odd hummingbird opened its beak, and with a slight whirring, pushed out a rolled up letter before it clicked off. Steve set the machine down on his bedside table, assuming it would stay off until Steve had a letter of his own ready to send back. Steve unrolled the thin, but sturdy piece of parchment and read.
Steve,
I'm guessing that since Loki has never once in his life followed orders, and that Thor would tell the whole Aerie to screw themselves if he thought it would make a friend happy, there's a reason none of you have been back down. I expect Loki at least will lose his temper before long, and I'll be seeing you, but never let it be said that I'm a patient man. The kids have all been demanding you come back down to see them as I've been told that that was apparently the best game of tag they've ever played.
I figure Hill is upset that Thor brought you down to see me, so I thought it would better for you if I sent my letters incognito rather than through the usual service. This hummingbird is designed to go straight from you to me, and if someone else should catch it, it has instructions to destroy the letter. Write back to me, roll the letter up, and hold it in front of the hummingbird's beak and he'll bring it straight back like a good bird.
I'd like to write something racy that will leave you aching and plotting to steal someone else's griffin so you could come to me (or for me, either way), but Pepper is standing over my shoulder, tapping her foot in a rhythm completely contrary to my own writing, and insists that I finish the letter so that I can get some sleep. Apparently she finds something wrong with me staying up three days straight to make this contraption.
Let's see, the kids miss you. Write me back. I plan on kissing you until you're too addicted to me to ever return to Aerie. I'm pretty sure that covers everything.
-T.S.
XXXXX
Loki should have been exhausted. He'd been riding with Thor for a week straight, doing ridiculously inefficient patrols and trapped with griffins who couldn't carry on an intelligent conversation if their wings had depended on it. Terrible was the day when Loki anticipated having conversations with humans over his own kind. There were interesting Griffins back in Asgard, with their own griffin culture and magic. Service to a rider was expected among every young griffin, a way to give service back to your homeland and continue the symbiotic circle between griffins and humans. Each term of service to the Asgardian rider was two years, and Loki hadn't anticipated staying with a rider for a moment longer than he had to, until Thor, infuriating Thor, had bonded with him. Thor would be his rider until his dying breath, and once Thor had passed, Loki would bond with no other. Such a tragedy then, that Thor seemed determined to venture far beyond the bounds of their homeland and deal with such wretchedly annoying riders.
The groundlings in this land were the best, which is why Loki pulled back from landing while the rest of their temporary Pride went straight for the nests. Loki let out a sharp burst of impatience-the best, though slightly vague, way a griffin could communicate with any rider that wasn't their own-as a call to Steve. Steve was interesting, not for any of his magical skills or mental capacity, but because he talked to Loki like he was an equal, a trait severely lacking in this part of the world. Steve stuck his head out the window and waved hello. Steve looked ready to dart back inside and come down to the nests to meet them, but Loki put on a burst of speed to gather him from the window instead. Another thing Loki liked about Steve was his apparent inability to realize when anything was impossible or ridiculous, which is why Steve smiled while he launched himself up and out the window, aiming straight for Loki's waiting talons.
Thor shouted down a hello to Steve, "My friend! Tonight is the night for the midsummer celebration! It is a perfect night to come home to!"
Steve just smiled at Thor and spread his arms wide, flying along with Loki, not bothering to try and tell Thor that he already knew all about the party from Tony's letters.
Loki dropped down with a screech on a field outside town where the villagers were gathering, and the people called up with a cheer that made Loki preen. Steve went up on his toes, twisting around and trying to catch a glimpse of Tony when a bundle of children from the other day came darting up to Steve to drag him off into their games. Halfway through the first game of tag, Steve caught sight of Tony moving seamlessly through the crowd and grinning at Steve like a fiend.
The main attraction for the afternoon was a maypole, where all the children held a ribbon and with a lot of bounding (and more than a little adult interference) danced around weaving the ribbon. Because Steve was apparently the best adult ever, the swarm of children dragged him into the circle with them. So Steve spun in around, dropping low to weave under their outstretched arms, and then popping up far higher than he had to go to make them laugh. All while diligently ignoring how Tony's eyes tracked him around the field, glowing with a thought entirely inappropriate for a man surrounded by children.
Eventually, the children roamed back to the village proper, some back to their own beds, and others to a pile of blankets and pillows for a sleepover in the town hall. The moment the final child was clear of the party, Tony came out of nowhere and pressed himself against Steve's side. Tony leaned in even closer, his hot breath against the tender skin of Steve's neck and murmured, "A week. You left for a week only to come back and spend the whole night on the opposite side of the party."
"You could have come over to me." Steve teased.
"You were surrounded by children not even I'm that terrible."
Steve smiled, "You would have stolen me from the children."
"I admit, if I wasn't afraid of some of their parents, I would've."
Steve twisted his head slightly, forehead to forehead with Tony and breathed back, "So what happens now?"
Jane came out of nowhere and grabbed Steve by the wrist, pulling him away from Tony and into the circle of dancers already forming around the unlit bonfire. "Now, we dance!"
Steve looked back at Tony in confusion, and the man gave him a smirk with no sympathy once so ever. Steve sputtered at Jane, trying to protest, but before he could form a coherent argument, the woman jumped with him into a circle of people spinning around the fire to the steady rhythm of drums.
Steve had vague memories of a party like this back when he was boy, long before he'd joined the Aerie or met Sorcerer Erskine. The people on his tightly packed little street would have a celebration of their own, musicians crowded under one of the overhangs of the shopfronts, and small barrel fires lit up and down the street. He would dart through the people with the other children, playing games, and bobbing along to the music while the old women told tales about midsummer and the street's only magician would give them warpaint for the games they played.
Spending the holiday with adults felt pretty much the same. There was just the one fire, billowing high and hot like the noonday sun with a circle of adults dancing around to steps that Steve couldn't quite master, and so he gave up and just tried to make Jane laugh. Outside of the circle there were more people, some chatting in little clusters, others pulling food out of nowhere, and a few sprawled back on the grass just watching the show. (Of course, Tony was in that last category, surrounded by a circle of young magic-doers who seemed frantically interested in him.)
Jane grabbed Steve's hand and whipped him around in a circle, pressing close as she said, "Keep your attention on me, Cap. Nothing makes Tony interested quite so much as being ignored."
"But I don't want to ignore him." Steve replied innocently.
"Just when I thought you couldn't get any more adorable." Steve furrowed in confusion and with a laugh Jane explained, "With Tony, people either bend over and hope the sex is good enough that he'll keep them around, or they play games with him and hope the thrill of the chance will be enough."
"But, if they don't know Tony then why are they trying to…"Steve let his blush fill in the end of that sentence.
Jane laughed. "Steve, you know who Tony is, don't you? I mean, you're the Captain, so I think out of anyone alive you might win that competition, but to everyone else, he's kind of a big deal."
"Because he's a Stark, or…"
Jane paused for a moment, staring at Steve like she wasn't sure whether or not he was teasing her before she replied, "He's supposed to be Sorcerer Supreme."
Steve stumbled to a halt, one person behind him in the circle lobbing into him before grinning and changing the flow of the circle so he and Jane could stand there uninterrupted. "What?"
"He was trained to become the next Sorcerer Supreme. The second he entered school to become a wizard the magical hierarchy told everyone that the second he was properly trained, Tony would be the one to take control. They knew from the time he was young that he was the most powerful magic wielder we have. Didn't he tell you?"
"He told me that he dropped out of school because he didn't like the way they did things."
"Well, that is the truth. He walked out on them and declared that this town, Tony's hometown, was going to be a sanctuary for people like him. The leaders of the magical society don't like what we're doing here, combining science and magic, but Tony's too powerful for them to make a fuss. He really didn't tell you?"
"We've talked about your town, and that he hated school, but none of this." Something flickered across Jane's face and Steve asked, "What? What's wrong?"
Jane bit her lip and just stared at him hesitantly before she said, "Tony usually likes to show off."
Steve paused for a moment, "No, he doesn't. It's not about showing off, it's about doing what people expect of him. And I don't expect that." Jane just smiled at him, finding some sort of subtext that had never crossed Steve's mind. Steve grinned and tugged Jan off her feet, spinning around to join the rest of the dancers. Steve went on like that for longer than he could count, spinning from one partner to another as the evening wore on into night. Sometimes he would lean back, gulping in a fresh breath of air, and there he would see Tony, sometimes dancing, sometimes rambling, but always just out of reach.
The fire was roaring high, and by the time Steve finally stopped moving, he was covered in sweat from the heat of it and the warm press of moving bodies beside him. Steve's latest partner spun out of his arms, swinging off to another companion and he turned around to finally, finally find himself chest to chest with Tony. "You look like you've been enjoying yourself." Tony grinned.
"We never did this on the Aerie." Steve breathed.
"I think bonfires aren't meant for a mostly wooden structure."
"I mean, we never danced, never really sang, I'd forgotten how much I used to enjoy it."
"I know the riders are no fun, but they really don't celebrate Midsummer?"
"Some prides do, but never the whole Aerie. My pride, they were like my brothers, and we'd celebrate quietly, but we'd all be together and that's what made it good." Steve looked off into the distance for a moment, "They would've loved this."
Tony wrapped an arm around Steve's waist and pulled him closer, "Who wouldn't?" Steve smiled, caught up in Tony's energy, practically humming with life. Tony pressed closer and tilted his head back the few degrees that would align his mouth with Steve's and breathed out, "Dance with me."
Whoever was in charge of the music must have been on Tony's team, because the music slowed then, a meandering steady pace that let Tony pull Steve close to him and just sway, somehow managing to come closer with every movement.
After several minutes of the quiet motion, Tony pressed a kiss to Steve's jaw and whispered,"Stay with me tonight." Steve paused, unsure of himself. "Just here. Half the town is sleeping out here tonight, stay with me."
Steve ran a hand through Tony's dark hair, the light of the fire making it glow with hints of crimson and he desperately wanted to say, “Always,” but it was too soon. Steve gave Tony a bright smile and restrained himself to, “Of course.”
XXXXX
Steve woke the next morning with his head cradled on Tony's chest and refused to open his eyes. He could feel the gentle warmth of the barely risen sun spreading over the field, and the beating of Tony's heart under his cheek. Steve tilted his head and burrowed into Tony's chest, smiling softly to himself, remembering why a lifetime ago mornings had been his favorite time of day, all soaked in potential for beauty. Steve stretched and finally opened his eye to see Hill staring down at the two of them. "Hill!" Steve shouted, shifting to put his bulk in between Hill and Tony, and startling the other from his slumber.
"You didn't come home last night," She sneered.
Something in Steve snapped and decided he was done quietly taking this. "No, I didn't go back to the Aerie last night. There's a difference."
Hill actually reeled back at that, shocked at Steve's blunt response. "You mean to tell me you've decided being with land dwellers is your home now?"
"It's closer to home than what you've got up there."
"Nomad! You will not speak to me like that! Magic made you what you are, and I am magic's representative in the Aerie."
Tony snorted, not at all concerned by the fact that he was warm and rumpled, latching on to Steve's hand to pull himself to his feet. "If you're the best the Aerie's got then I'm surprised it hasn't fallen out of the sky yet."
Hill blistered, "I am a sorceress!"
Tony actually laughed at that one. "No you're not."
Hill all but had a stroke at that, and pressed forward into Tony's space, her hands starting to glow. Steve tried to dart in between them and protect Tony, but before Steve could even move, Hill was sent flying backward head over feet. Tony spared a moment to straighten his shirt a little, but otherwise looked completely unfazed. There was a slight shimmer to his skin where Hill had tried to touch him, and when Steve reached out to touch Tony's shoulder the air just above his skin rippled and repelled Steve's hand.
"What...?"
Tony looked at Steve with a smirk. "Just because I didn't train as a sorcerer doesn't mean I'm not brilliant. That, and Hill has no sense of subtlety." Tony didn't even bother looking at the woman charging him as he flicked his wrist and stopped her in her tracks.
"You're backing the wrong horse, Stark. He's a nomad with no authority in the Aerie. He won't be able to get you want you want.”
Tony harked a laugh at that, and gestured towards Steve, "He's The Captain!”
Hill tried to argue back, but Tony was already bored. He clenched his hand into a fist and Hill's words died on her lips. Steve tried not to laugh at the way her eyes enlarged in a panic all the while she scrambled to free her voice, but she wasn't successful. Loki was far less subtle than Steve, and cawed out a laugh while he nudged the frantic Hill up onto her embarrassed griffin's back.
Tony huffed, "Well that was a terrible way to start-" but Steve's hug cut him off.
"That was amazing."
Tony preened slightly, "If that impresses you, I can't imagine what you're going to do when I start pulling out the big magic."
Steve pulled back to look him in the eye, and fixed his most brilliant smile on Tony, "I think right now you could make me a sandwich and I'd be happy." Steve pressed his forehead to Tony's. "Thank you."
Tony ran grateful but slightly confused hands up and down Steve's back, "Hill's full of shit."
"Still, people listen to her."
"So long as you don't, I don't care."
"It's still difficult to hear them talk."
"They've got nothing to do with us."
"Tony," Steve paused, "what are you talking about?"
"I was talking about, wait, what are you talking about?"
"That she calls me a nomad."
Tony snorted. "That's just nonsense. Thor told me how you've been teaching everyone at the Aerie. By this point, you're more in charge up there than she is."
Steve blushed. "Then what were you talking about?"
"How I might be using you to get a foothold in the Aerie."
"But that doesn't make sense. Why would you care about them?"
"There are specific spells that are passed down from one Aerie sorcerer to another."
Steve cocked an eyebrow. "Would that really stop you if you wanted them?"
"Of course not." Tony paused for a moment before he looked at Steve like something brilliant had just struck him. "You don't like being called a nomad."
Steve grinned, humoring Tony. "No."
"Well then, lets go find you a Griffin." Tony strode off for his lab, like he hadn't just said something earth shattering.
Steve just good there, rooted to the spot as he stammered out. "Wait, what?"
"We're going to go see the griffins." Tony called out.
"But… we can't." Steve stumbled after him.
Tony snorted. "I thought we covered how I feel about 'can't', Steven."
"It doesn't matter how you feel about it, Tony. It's disrespectful to just turn up at the Den." The double-doors to Tony's ground-level lab swung open at his approach, and Tony went straight for one of his machines, ignoring all of Steve's objections. "Tony!"
"Steve." Tony consoled, "Rider-griffin relations may be tense, but they actually like the rest of us."
Steve stubbornly stayed away from the transportation machine that Tony had mounted. "Why wouldn't they like the riders?"
Tony huffed and climbed back off of the machine and crowded into Steve's personal space, bracketing his face between his palms. "You don't get it do you? You're unique." Steve tried to shrug Tony off. "No, Steve. You're special. You treat griffins like they're your equals, like your friends."
"That's what all riders do!"
"No, it's what they're supposed to do. Haven't you noticed that Loki shuns everyone else in your Aerie?"
"But Clint is best friends with Hawk, and Phil-"
"They're the exceptions, not the rule. You, in the infinite luck that seems to follow you around, managed to find the only riders in your Aerie with any real sense. The young riders get taught that their griffins are nothing but a tool made out of inferior magic, something little better than a horse. Then the kids go on peaceful patrols and never come to understand what their griffin is actually capable of. Clint and Natasha, they've been in battle with their griffins, and they've learned better."
"But-"
"No buts. Get in the CAR and let the griffins tell you themselves."
Steve grumbled about it, but settled in to the spot behind Tony. He'd seen this machine on his tour of the lab, thinking it looked like a long sort of saddle held up by two oddly shaped wheels, but seeing the shiny silver machine didn't quite prepare Steve for what it did. Steve sat straight and uncomfortable until Tony reached back and grabbed him by the hips, pulling Steve forward until the whole front of him was pressed to the back of Tony. Steve blushed and Tony just grinned. "Hold on tight."
"What-" was all Steve got out before Tony twisted a nob and the machine took off. They soared through the air, halfway outside the town limits before they even had a chance to breath. Steve plastered himself against Tony's back and wrapped his arms around Tony's waist, burying his face in between Tony's shoulder blades. Steve could feel Tony's laughter rumble through him, and Tony shifted his arm, trying to nudge Steve so that he would look up. Steve refused, it was one thing to go this fast on a griffin he knew, and entirely different to trust this scrap of metal.
Suddenly, the wind tunnel around them cut out and Steve looked up, foolishly thinking Tony had stopped for him to adjust, but instead, the world was still whirling by, but with no wind. Over his shoulder Tony said, "When I'm not in the mood for the wind I put up a bubble." Steve couldn't really see the bubble, but he could hear the faintest humming sound from the wind rushing across its surface. He stretched out his hand, and just a few inches off the surface of his skin there was something resilient. It moved with his fingers when he pressed in, and vibrated with the pressure of the wind. Steve laid his head down on Tony's shoulder and watched as the world went by.
Their trip was over in less than half an hour thanks to the obscene speeds of Tony's machine, bringing them to a stop on the far side of a long and winding lake with crags framing the sides that grew in height as the lake went on. Tony dismounted, and grabbed Steve by his elbow to pull him onto the soft sand that lined the head of the lake. "Are you just gonna leave your machine here?" Steve asked, trying to conceal his nervousness.
"The griffin watching the entrance will keep track of it for us."
Steve twisted around, trying to locate where said griffin was. Tony smirked. "You didn't think the griffins would leave the entrance to their den undefended did you?"
"Frankly, I'm surprised there's not more than one."
Tony snorted and pointed up to the highest point of the first turn down the lake where a griffin was taking off and coming towards them, a griffin so large it looked like it could blot out the sun. "The general belief is that Panther can guard the entrance himself."
Panther landed before them with only a few beats of his massive wings. This griffin was black, not the glossy black of Loki that drew everyone's attention, but a matte black that would make him all but invisible at night. A human dressed in black slipped off the griffin's back, just as lethal as his charge, but instead of bulk the man was warrior lean, and every movement smooth and sleek. Steve was reminded of Natasha's stealth, and Steve stepped in front of Tony out of pure instinct.
The man pulled off his hood and gave Steve a quiet smile. "You need have no fear in this place, Captain. No harm will come to you or yours while you are in the protection of the Den."
"You know who I am?" Steve asked, not quite believing.
“You are The Captain. There is no child among us, human or griffin, who does not know your story.” He dipped into a bow. “It is my honor to welcome you to the Den. I am T'Challa, keeper of the way and chief of the guards, and this is my companion, Panther.”
Steve blushed, but dipped into a bow of his own. "It's an honor to be welcomed. I assume you already know Tony Stark."
Tony grinned tauntingly. "Yes, yes, everyone knows everyone else. Now, T'Challa, take us to the hatchlings."
Steve placed a hand over the back of his neck, rubbing slightly as T'Challa quirked a brow, obviously accustomed to Tony's antics. "Tony," Steve stressed, "You can't just demand to see the hatchlings."
"Why not? T'Challa, Steve needs to see the hatchlings because it's finally time the Aerie step aside so that Steve can find a griffin of his own."
"Tony!"
T'Challa chuckled. "I see nothing wrong with his statement, Captain. Come, one of our couriers is on the way, and he shall take you to the hatchlings." A young griffin landed and allowed Steve and Tony to climb on his back, carrying them off over the lake while T'Challa stayed behind on duty. The young griffin was very nearly shaking at having one of this childhood heroes as a rider, which caused Tony to tease Steve mercilessly.
Though the ride was slightly turbulent, it was still beautiful. They rode low over the clear water, the occasional griffin soaring passed and screeching a “hello” before they dove for something in the water to eat. The deeper in they got, the higher the red and gray crag walls rose around them until finally, they reached a deep valley in the crag, with small green islands scattered around and a waterfall at the far end feeding the entire system. The young griffin took them up, passed the valley walls that housed dozens of griffins' nests in their outcroppings, past the series of connected pools that spilled over into a staggered waterfall, and up to the very top. The fall's highest point had been built up, massive rocks heaped so that there was a large landing pad and a deep but mellow pool on the far end.
Beyond the pool was, for lack of a better word and despite it's odd placement, a meadow. The valley walls stretched ever higher there, safely bottling in the warm place full of grass at the deepest part of the Den. The river that lead to the fall cut across the edge of the meadow, slow and peaceful before it reached the pool and then its drop, and there was where the griffins kept their precious hatchlings, as safe from the outside as they could make them.
The young griffin landed, and Steve offered his thanks while they dismounted, trying to pay adequate attention to the obviously excited griffin instead of the frolicking hatchlings he was aching to see. The youngling looked like it was planning to stay, but he stiffened at a call from someone else and took off immediately.
“You're late.” Steve whirled around to see a lean female griffin, fur and feathers silver from a long life, and gifted with the ability to speak to all humans on behalf of her people. But it was the softening of her brown eyes that caught Steve's attention.
"Peggy," he breathed. "In my defense, I didn't mean to be."
"No, you never did meant for any of the interesting things that happened to you."
Steve darted forward, and wrapped strong arms around her neck while the griffin nuzzled him back. "They told me he didn't kill you, but I still can't believe it."
"You're the one who spent 70 years on ice. I'm positive I'm the one who gets to be shocked."
"Uh, care to explain?" Tony interrupted.
Peggy nuzzled closer. "He's my rider."
“What? Steve, I thought you didn't have a griffin."
"Peggy was the griffin I was paired with most often. She was with me at the final battle."
"Oh."
Steve twisted a little, taking in Tony's expression and knew he was trying to respect their moment but didn't want to be left out. "We never bonded," Steve explained. "Even when Peggy and I tried with all the spells that are supposed to be impossible to fight. But I… couldn't."
Peggy nudged him gently. "We weren't meant to Steve. There's nothing wrong with you, we just weren't meant to be." Steve buried his face in Peggy's fur and she accepted the affection offered for a moment before nudging him back and declaring, "That's enough of that. Come along, we've got hatchlings to meet.”
XXXXX
As seemed to be Steve's gift, he went down to run amok with the hatchlings, leaving Tony to sit in the sunshine with Peggy. Tony maintained silence for a whole 30 seconds before he demanded, "What's up with Steve?"
"He's alive."
“Leader Peggy, he freaked when I said we should come look for a griffin. Why would he do that?"
"Perhaps, sorcerer, you should be asking him."
"You honestly think Steve has changed all that much since you last saw him?"
"If he won't tell you-"
"He won't tell me because deep inside, he's still that skinny little kid who would rather let himself get beat up if he thinks it will help someone else."
"And you think he avoids griffins for the greater good?"
"I think someone told him it was for the greater good."
Peggy turned her attention back to Steve who was busy helping untangle one of the smaller griffins, running a soothing hand over the boy's feathers, straightening them out. Tony waited, impatiently, but he waited for her to speak. "They told him he would never have a griffin of his own."
Tony paused for a moment, and Peggy could almost feel the hum of Tony's mind whirring away, tossing aside unlikely interpretations and landing on, "The spells they did to make him different. They said that would keep him from bonding with a griffin?"
"A point he takes as proven fact after all our failed attempts."
"But that's credibly stupid." Peggy glared at Tony, and rather than be abashed, Tony launched back. "Hey, it is stupid! Whatever magic Erskine ended up using on him wasn't the kind that would corrupt a person's soul to the point where they couldn't make connections. If Steve had been messed up like that, then he would've destroyed himself by now."
"How?" Peggy demanded.
"If he was really unable to bond with a griffin, it would mean he'd be unable to bond with people, too. And if he couldn't bond, couldn't feel love for anyone, then he wouldn't have been able to risk his life for all of us, he wouldn't be able to care."
"So, why didn't we bond?"
"If you didn't bond when both of you wanted it, it's because magic knew better."
"What does that mean, Anthony?"
"It could mean the two of you would've ended up driving one another crazy, or that when he was trapped in the ice your bond would have broken, and then you would have wasted away without him, and would have never been in charge of your people. And who knows what would've happened then."
"Or, his griffin could still be out there. The one he was meant to bond with."
“Or that.”
Artist: made_of_tin
Author: sunryder
Rating (both art/fic): PG
Universe: Comic-esque
Word Count: ~16,000
Warnings: Abuse of Canon
Link to Art: Stunning, stunning artwork HERE Really, you need to go see it, it made my brain explode!
Fic Summary:
Back to Part 1 | On to Part 3
Thor spent the next week on a ride with Fury, and Clint took it upon himself to be Steve's defense. With Clint's approval came Natasha and Phil, and since they were the most talented riders in the Aerie, everyone else either warmed up to Steve, or at the very least, got far more tolerant. Apparently, the good will of those three was enough to counteract Hill's obvious disdain, which grew more and more pointed with each passing day.
With Clint's help, Steve spent most of his days shifting from one griffin to another, trying to teach them all some of the skills he'd picked up from his Pride during the war. He helped the griffin's through trick moves, which Widow, Natasha's griffin, excelled at, and moves to make a griffin float, which Clint and Hawk took to immediately. Phil though, Phil and his griffin, Cole, were the biggest surprises of all. Phil was was Hill's right hand, and Steve had been prepared for the same sort of disdain from him as she had shown, but Phil was the complete opposite. He quietly made a teaching rotation for Steve, and pulled in riders from each all over for lessons. By the end of Thor's week away, Phil had Steve so well integrated into the rest of the Aerie that the riders had started approaching Steve all on their own for battle plans and formation techniques.
But still, Steve wasn't allowed out of the Aerie again.
Steve tried to tell himself that he wasn't secretly looking for a chance to sneak out to see Tony, but he should have guessed that Tony wouldn't let silly things like orders, or Steve living in the atmosphere, keep him from what he wanted. Three nights in to his reimposed isolation, Steve looked out his sliver of a window only to see a small mechanical bird hovering outside. Steve pushed open the window and the machine, a large hummingbird, zipped in and hovered impatiently in front of Steve, who just stared at it in confusion. "Um, hello? May I help you?" He tried, but the bird still hovered, and if anything, buzzed its wings a little harder in irritation. Steve tried to think of a password, or a magic phrase that might satisfy the little creature, but when nothing came to mind he simply stuck out his hands as a perch for it to wait on.
Apparently, that was the right move, because the creature hovered gently down to Steve's upturned palm, and tucked away its wings. The odd hummingbird opened its beak, and with a slight whirring, pushed out a rolled up letter before it clicked off. Steve set the machine down on his bedside table, assuming it would stay off until Steve had a letter of his own ready to send back. Steve unrolled the thin, but sturdy piece of parchment and read.
Steve,
I'm guessing that since Loki has never once in his life followed orders, and that Thor would tell the whole Aerie to screw themselves if he thought it would make a friend happy, there's a reason none of you have been back down. I expect Loki at least will lose his temper before long, and I'll be seeing you, but never let it be said that I'm a patient man. The kids have all been demanding you come back down to see them as I've been told that that was apparently the best game of tag they've ever played.
I figure Hill is upset that Thor brought you down to see me, so I thought it would better for you if I sent my letters incognito rather than through the usual service. This hummingbird is designed to go straight from you to me, and if someone else should catch it, it has instructions to destroy the letter. Write back to me, roll the letter up, and hold it in front of the hummingbird's beak and he'll bring it straight back like a good bird.
I'd like to write something racy that will leave you aching and plotting to steal someone else's griffin so you could come to me (or for me, either way), but Pepper is standing over my shoulder, tapping her foot in a rhythm completely contrary to my own writing, and insists that I finish the letter so that I can get some sleep. Apparently she finds something wrong with me staying up three days straight to make this contraption.
Let's see, the kids miss you. Write me back. I plan on kissing you until you're too addicted to me to ever return to Aerie. I'm pretty sure that covers everything.
-T.S.
XXXXX
Loki should have been exhausted. He'd been riding with Thor for a week straight, doing ridiculously inefficient patrols and trapped with griffins who couldn't carry on an intelligent conversation if their wings had depended on it. Terrible was the day when Loki anticipated having conversations with humans over his own kind. There were interesting Griffins back in Asgard, with their own griffin culture and magic. Service to a rider was expected among every young griffin, a way to give service back to your homeland and continue the symbiotic circle between griffins and humans. Each term of service to the Asgardian rider was two years, and Loki hadn't anticipated staying with a rider for a moment longer than he had to, until Thor, infuriating Thor, had bonded with him. Thor would be his rider until his dying breath, and once Thor had passed, Loki would bond with no other. Such a tragedy then, that Thor seemed determined to venture far beyond the bounds of their homeland and deal with such wretchedly annoying riders.
The groundlings in this land were the best, which is why Loki pulled back from landing while the rest of their temporary Pride went straight for the nests. Loki let out a sharp burst of impatience-the best, though slightly vague, way a griffin could communicate with any rider that wasn't their own-as a call to Steve. Steve was interesting, not for any of his magical skills or mental capacity, but because he talked to Loki like he was an equal, a trait severely lacking in this part of the world. Steve stuck his head out the window and waved hello. Steve looked ready to dart back inside and come down to the nests to meet them, but Loki put on a burst of speed to gather him from the window instead. Another thing Loki liked about Steve was his apparent inability to realize when anything was impossible or ridiculous, which is why Steve smiled while he launched himself up and out the window, aiming straight for Loki's waiting talons.
Thor shouted down a hello to Steve, "My friend! Tonight is the night for the midsummer celebration! It is a perfect night to come home to!"
Steve just smiled at Thor and spread his arms wide, flying along with Loki, not bothering to try and tell Thor that he already knew all about the party from Tony's letters.
Loki dropped down with a screech on a field outside town where the villagers were gathering, and the people called up with a cheer that made Loki preen. Steve went up on his toes, twisting around and trying to catch a glimpse of Tony when a bundle of children from the other day came darting up to Steve to drag him off into their games. Halfway through the first game of tag, Steve caught sight of Tony moving seamlessly through the crowd and grinning at Steve like a fiend.
The main attraction for the afternoon was a maypole, where all the children held a ribbon and with a lot of bounding (and more than a little adult interference) danced around weaving the ribbon. Because Steve was apparently the best adult ever, the swarm of children dragged him into the circle with them. So Steve spun in around, dropping low to weave under their outstretched arms, and then popping up far higher than he had to go to make them laugh. All while diligently ignoring how Tony's eyes tracked him around the field, glowing with a thought entirely inappropriate for a man surrounded by children.
Eventually, the children roamed back to the village proper, some back to their own beds, and others to a pile of blankets and pillows for a sleepover in the town hall. The moment the final child was clear of the party, Tony came out of nowhere and pressed himself against Steve's side. Tony leaned in even closer, his hot breath against the tender skin of Steve's neck and murmured, "A week. You left for a week only to come back and spend the whole night on the opposite side of the party."
"You could have come over to me." Steve teased.
"You were surrounded by children not even I'm that terrible."
Steve smiled, "You would have stolen me from the children."
"I admit, if I wasn't afraid of some of their parents, I would've."
Steve twisted his head slightly, forehead to forehead with Tony and breathed back, "So what happens now?"
Jane came out of nowhere and grabbed Steve by the wrist, pulling him away from Tony and into the circle of dancers already forming around the unlit bonfire. "Now, we dance!"
Steve looked back at Tony in confusion, and the man gave him a smirk with no sympathy once so ever. Steve sputtered at Jane, trying to protest, but before he could form a coherent argument, the woman jumped with him into a circle of people spinning around the fire to the steady rhythm of drums.
Steve had vague memories of a party like this back when he was boy, long before he'd joined the Aerie or met Sorcerer Erskine. The people on his tightly packed little street would have a celebration of their own, musicians crowded under one of the overhangs of the shopfronts, and small barrel fires lit up and down the street. He would dart through the people with the other children, playing games, and bobbing along to the music while the old women told tales about midsummer and the street's only magician would give them warpaint for the games they played.
Spending the holiday with adults felt pretty much the same. There was just the one fire, billowing high and hot like the noonday sun with a circle of adults dancing around to steps that Steve couldn't quite master, and so he gave up and just tried to make Jane laugh. Outside of the circle there were more people, some chatting in little clusters, others pulling food out of nowhere, and a few sprawled back on the grass just watching the show. (Of course, Tony was in that last category, surrounded by a circle of young magic-doers who seemed frantically interested in him.)
Jane grabbed Steve's hand and whipped him around in a circle, pressing close as she said, "Keep your attention on me, Cap. Nothing makes Tony interested quite so much as being ignored."
"But I don't want to ignore him." Steve replied innocently.
"Just when I thought you couldn't get any more adorable." Steve furrowed in confusion and with a laugh Jane explained, "With Tony, people either bend over and hope the sex is good enough that he'll keep them around, or they play games with him and hope the thrill of the chance will be enough."
"But, if they don't know Tony then why are they trying to…"Steve let his blush fill in the end of that sentence.
Jane laughed. "Steve, you know who Tony is, don't you? I mean, you're the Captain, so I think out of anyone alive you might win that competition, but to everyone else, he's kind of a big deal."
"Because he's a Stark, or…"
Jane paused for a moment, staring at Steve like she wasn't sure whether or not he was teasing her before she replied, "He's supposed to be Sorcerer Supreme."
Steve stumbled to a halt, one person behind him in the circle lobbing into him before grinning and changing the flow of the circle so he and Jane could stand there uninterrupted. "What?"
"He was trained to become the next Sorcerer Supreme. The second he entered school to become a wizard the magical hierarchy told everyone that the second he was properly trained, Tony would be the one to take control. They knew from the time he was young that he was the most powerful magic wielder we have. Didn't he tell you?"
"He told me that he dropped out of school because he didn't like the way they did things."
"Well, that is the truth. He walked out on them and declared that this town, Tony's hometown, was going to be a sanctuary for people like him. The leaders of the magical society don't like what we're doing here, combining science and magic, but Tony's too powerful for them to make a fuss. He really didn't tell you?"
"We've talked about your town, and that he hated school, but none of this." Something flickered across Jane's face and Steve asked, "What? What's wrong?"
Jane bit her lip and just stared at him hesitantly before she said, "Tony usually likes to show off."
Steve paused for a moment, "No, he doesn't. It's not about showing off, it's about doing what people expect of him. And I don't expect that." Jane just smiled at him, finding some sort of subtext that had never crossed Steve's mind. Steve grinned and tugged Jan off her feet, spinning around to join the rest of the dancers. Steve went on like that for longer than he could count, spinning from one partner to another as the evening wore on into night. Sometimes he would lean back, gulping in a fresh breath of air, and there he would see Tony, sometimes dancing, sometimes rambling, but always just out of reach.
The fire was roaring high, and by the time Steve finally stopped moving, he was covered in sweat from the heat of it and the warm press of moving bodies beside him. Steve's latest partner spun out of his arms, swinging off to another companion and he turned around to finally, finally find himself chest to chest with Tony. "You look like you've been enjoying yourself." Tony grinned.
"We never did this on the Aerie." Steve breathed.
"I think bonfires aren't meant for a mostly wooden structure."
"I mean, we never danced, never really sang, I'd forgotten how much I used to enjoy it."
"I know the riders are no fun, but they really don't celebrate Midsummer?"
"Some prides do, but never the whole Aerie. My pride, they were like my brothers, and we'd celebrate quietly, but we'd all be together and that's what made it good." Steve looked off into the distance for a moment, "They would've loved this."
Tony wrapped an arm around Steve's waist and pulled him closer, "Who wouldn't?" Steve smiled, caught up in Tony's energy, practically humming with life. Tony pressed closer and tilted his head back the few degrees that would align his mouth with Steve's and breathed out, "Dance with me."
Whoever was in charge of the music must have been on Tony's team, because the music slowed then, a meandering steady pace that let Tony pull Steve close to him and just sway, somehow managing to come closer with every movement.
After several minutes of the quiet motion, Tony pressed a kiss to Steve's jaw and whispered,"Stay with me tonight." Steve paused, unsure of himself. "Just here. Half the town is sleeping out here tonight, stay with me."
Steve ran a hand through Tony's dark hair, the light of the fire making it glow with hints of crimson and he desperately wanted to say, “Always,” but it was too soon. Steve gave Tony a bright smile and restrained himself to, “Of course.”
XXXXX
Steve woke the next morning with his head cradled on Tony's chest and refused to open his eyes. He could feel the gentle warmth of the barely risen sun spreading over the field, and the beating of Tony's heart under his cheek. Steve tilted his head and burrowed into Tony's chest, smiling softly to himself, remembering why a lifetime ago mornings had been his favorite time of day, all soaked in potential for beauty. Steve stretched and finally opened his eye to see Hill staring down at the two of them. "Hill!" Steve shouted, shifting to put his bulk in between Hill and Tony, and startling the other from his slumber.
"You didn't come home last night," She sneered.
Something in Steve snapped and decided he was done quietly taking this. "No, I didn't go back to the Aerie last night. There's a difference."
Hill actually reeled back at that, shocked at Steve's blunt response. "You mean to tell me you've decided being with land dwellers is your home now?"
"It's closer to home than what you've got up there."
"Nomad! You will not speak to me like that! Magic made you what you are, and I am magic's representative in the Aerie."
Tony snorted, not at all concerned by the fact that he was warm and rumpled, latching on to Steve's hand to pull himself to his feet. "If you're the best the Aerie's got then I'm surprised it hasn't fallen out of the sky yet."
Hill blistered, "I am a sorceress!"
Tony actually laughed at that one. "No you're not."
Hill all but had a stroke at that, and pressed forward into Tony's space, her hands starting to glow. Steve tried to dart in between them and protect Tony, but before Steve could even move, Hill was sent flying backward head over feet. Tony spared a moment to straighten his shirt a little, but otherwise looked completely unfazed. There was a slight shimmer to his skin where Hill had tried to touch him, and when Steve reached out to touch Tony's shoulder the air just above his skin rippled and repelled Steve's hand.
"What...?"
Tony looked at Steve with a smirk. "Just because I didn't train as a sorcerer doesn't mean I'm not brilliant. That, and Hill has no sense of subtlety." Tony didn't even bother looking at the woman charging him as he flicked his wrist and stopped her in her tracks.
"You're backing the wrong horse, Stark. He's a nomad with no authority in the Aerie. He won't be able to get you want you want.”
Tony harked a laugh at that, and gestured towards Steve, "He's The Captain!”
Hill tried to argue back, but Tony was already bored. He clenched his hand into a fist and Hill's words died on her lips. Steve tried not to laugh at the way her eyes enlarged in a panic all the while she scrambled to free her voice, but she wasn't successful. Loki was far less subtle than Steve, and cawed out a laugh while he nudged the frantic Hill up onto her embarrassed griffin's back.
Tony huffed, "Well that was a terrible way to start-" but Steve's hug cut him off.
"That was amazing."
Tony preened slightly, "If that impresses you, I can't imagine what you're going to do when I start pulling out the big magic."
Steve pulled back to look him in the eye, and fixed his most brilliant smile on Tony, "I think right now you could make me a sandwich and I'd be happy." Steve pressed his forehead to Tony's. "Thank you."
Tony ran grateful but slightly confused hands up and down Steve's back, "Hill's full of shit."
"Still, people listen to her."
"So long as you don't, I don't care."
"It's still difficult to hear them talk."
"They've got nothing to do with us."
"Tony," Steve paused, "what are you talking about?"
"I was talking about, wait, what are you talking about?"
"That she calls me a nomad."
Tony snorted. "That's just nonsense. Thor told me how you've been teaching everyone at the Aerie. By this point, you're more in charge up there than she is."
Steve blushed. "Then what were you talking about?"
"How I might be using you to get a foothold in the Aerie."
"But that doesn't make sense. Why would you care about them?"
"There are specific spells that are passed down from one Aerie sorcerer to another."
Steve cocked an eyebrow. "Would that really stop you if you wanted them?"
"Of course not." Tony paused for a moment before he looked at Steve like something brilliant had just struck him. "You don't like being called a nomad."
Steve grinned, humoring Tony. "No."
"Well then, lets go find you a Griffin." Tony strode off for his lab, like he hadn't just said something earth shattering.
Steve just good there, rooted to the spot as he stammered out. "Wait, what?"
"We're going to go see the griffins." Tony called out.
"But… we can't." Steve stumbled after him.
Tony snorted. "I thought we covered how I feel about 'can't', Steven."
"It doesn't matter how you feel about it, Tony. It's disrespectful to just turn up at the Den." The double-doors to Tony's ground-level lab swung open at his approach, and Tony went straight for one of his machines, ignoring all of Steve's objections. "Tony!"
"Steve." Tony consoled, "Rider-griffin relations may be tense, but they actually like the rest of us."
Steve stubbornly stayed away from the transportation machine that Tony had mounted. "Why wouldn't they like the riders?"
Tony huffed and climbed back off of the machine and crowded into Steve's personal space, bracketing his face between his palms. "You don't get it do you? You're unique." Steve tried to shrug Tony off. "No, Steve. You're special. You treat griffins like they're your equals, like your friends."
"That's what all riders do!"
"No, it's what they're supposed to do. Haven't you noticed that Loki shuns everyone else in your Aerie?"
"But Clint is best friends with Hawk, and Phil-"
"They're the exceptions, not the rule. You, in the infinite luck that seems to follow you around, managed to find the only riders in your Aerie with any real sense. The young riders get taught that their griffins are nothing but a tool made out of inferior magic, something little better than a horse. Then the kids go on peaceful patrols and never come to understand what their griffin is actually capable of. Clint and Natasha, they've been in battle with their griffins, and they've learned better."
"But-"
"No buts. Get in the CAR and let the griffins tell you themselves."
Steve grumbled about it, but settled in to the spot behind Tony. He'd seen this machine on his tour of the lab, thinking it looked like a long sort of saddle held up by two oddly shaped wheels, but seeing the shiny silver machine didn't quite prepare Steve for what it did. Steve sat straight and uncomfortable until Tony reached back and grabbed him by the hips, pulling Steve forward until the whole front of him was pressed to the back of Tony. Steve blushed and Tony just grinned. "Hold on tight."
"What-" was all Steve got out before Tony twisted a nob and the machine took off. They soared through the air, halfway outside the town limits before they even had a chance to breath. Steve plastered himself against Tony's back and wrapped his arms around Tony's waist, burying his face in between Tony's shoulder blades. Steve could feel Tony's laughter rumble through him, and Tony shifted his arm, trying to nudge Steve so that he would look up. Steve refused, it was one thing to go this fast on a griffin he knew, and entirely different to trust this scrap of metal.
Suddenly, the wind tunnel around them cut out and Steve looked up, foolishly thinking Tony had stopped for him to adjust, but instead, the world was still whirling by, but with no wind. Over his shoulder Tony said, "When I'm not in the mood for the wind I put up a bubble." Steve couldn't really see the bubble, but he could hear the faintest humming sound from the wind rushing across its surface. He stretched out his hand, and just a few inches off the surface of his skin there was something resilient. It moved with his fingers when he pressed in, and vibrated with the pressure of the wind. Steve laid his head down on Tony's shoulder and watched as the world went by.
Their trip was over in less than half an hour thanks to the obscene speeds of Tony's machine, bringing them to a stop on the far side of a long and winding lake with crags framing the sides that grew in height as the lake went on. Tony dismounted, and grabbed Steve by his elbow to pull him onto the soft sand that lined the head of the lake. "Are you just gonna leave your machine here?" Steve asked, trying to conceal his nervousness.
"The griffin watching the entrance will keep track of it for us."
Steve twisted around, trying to locate where said griffin was. Tony smirked. "You didn't think the griffins would leave the entrance to their den undefended did you?"
"Frankly, I'm surprised there's not more than one."
Tony snorted and pointed up to the highest point of the first turn down the lake where a griffin was taking off and coming towards them, a griffin so large it looked like it could blot out the sun. "The general belief is that Panther can guard the entrance himself."
Panther landed before them with only a few beats of his massive wings. This griffin was black, not the glossy black of Loki that drew everyone's attention, but a matte black that would make him all but invisible at night. A human dressed in black slipped off the griffin's back, just as lethal as his charge, but instead of bulk the man was warrior lean, and every movement smooth and sleek. Steve was reminded of Natasha's stealth, and Steve stepped in front of Tony out of pure instinct.
The man pulled off his hood and gave Steve a quiet smile. "You need have no fear in this place, Captain. No harm will come to you or yours while you are in the protection of the Den."
"You know who I am?" Steve asked, not quite believing.
“You are The Captain. There is no child among us, human or griffin, who does not know your story.” He dipped into a bow. “It is my honor to welcome you to the Den. I am T'Challa, keeper of the way and chief of the guards, and this is my companion, Panther.”
Steve blushed, but dipped into a bow of his own. "It's an honor to be welcomed. I assume you already know Tony Stark."
Tony grinned tauntingly. "Yes, yes, everyone knows everyone else. Now, T'Challa, take us to the hatchlings."
Steve placed a hand over the back of his neck, rubbing slightly as T'Challa quirked a brow, obviously accustomed to Tony's antics. "Tony," Steve stressed, "You can't just demand to see the hatchlings."
"Why not? T'Challa, Steve needs to see the hatchlings because it's finally time the Aerie step aside so that Steve can find a griffin of his own."
"Tony!"
T'Challa chuckled. "I see nothing wrong with his statement, Captain. Come, one of our couriers is on the way, and he shall take you to the hatchlings." A young griffin landed and allowed Steve and Tony to climb on his back, carrying them off over the lake while T'Challa stayed behind on duty. The young griffin was very nearly shaking at having one of this childhood heroes as a rider, which caused Tony to tease Steve mercilessly.
Though the ride was slightly turbulent, it was still beautiful. They rode low over the clear water, the occasional griffin soaring passed and screeching a “hello” before they dove for something in the water to eat. The deeper in they got, the higher the red and gray crag walls rose around them until finally, they reached a deep valley in the crag, with small green islands scattered around and a waterfall at the far end feeding the entire system. The young griffin took them up, passed the valley walls that housed dozens of griffins' nests in their outcroppings, past the series of connected pools that spilled over into a staggered waterfall, and up to the very top. The fall's highest point had been built up, massive rocks heaped so that there was a large landing pad and a deep but mellow pool on the far end.
Beyond the pool was, for lack of a better word and despite it's odd placement, a meadow. The valley walls stretched ever higher there, safely bottling in the warm place full of grass at the deepest part of the Den. The river that lead to the fall cut across the edge of the meadow, slow and peaceful before it reached the pool and then its drop, and there was where the griffins kept their precious hatchlings, as safe from the outside as they could make them.
The young griffin landed, and Steve offered his thanks while they dismounted, trying to pay adequate attention to the obviously excited griffin instead of the frolicking hatchlings he was aching to see. The youngling looked like it was planning to stay, but he stiffened at a call from someone else and took off immediately.
“You're late.” Steve whirled around to see a lean female griffin, fur and feathers silver from a long life, and gifted with the ability to speak to all humans on behalf of her people. But it was the softening of her brown eyes that caught Steve's attention.
"Peggy," he breathed. "In my defense, I didn't mean to be."
"No, you never did meant for any of the interesting things that happened to you."
Steve darted forward, and wrapped strong arms around her neck while the griffin nuzzled him back. "They told me he didn't kill you, but I still can't believe it."
"You're the one who spent 70 years on ice. I'm positive I'm the one who gets to be shocked."
"Uh, care to explain?" Tony interrupted.
Peggy nuzzled closer. "He's my rider."
“What? Steve, I thought you didn't have a griffin."
"Peggy was the griffin I was paired with most often. She was with me at the final battle."
"Oh."
Steve twisted a little, taking in Tony's expression and knew he was trying to respect their moment but didn't want to be left out. "We never bonded," Steve explained. "Even when Peggy and I tried with all the spells that are supposed to be impossible to fight. But I… couldn't."
Peggy nudged him gently. "We weren't meant to Steve. There's nothing wrong with you, we just weren't meant to be." Steve buried his face in Peggy's fur and she accepted the affection offered for a moment before nudging him back and declaring, "That's enough of that. Come along, we've got hatchlings to meet.”
XXXXX
As seemed to be Steve's gift, he went down to run amok with the hatchlings, leaving Tony to sit in the sunshine with Peggy. Tony maintained silence for a whole 30 seconds before he demanded, "What's up with Steve?"
"He's alive."
“Leader Peggy, he freaked when I said we should come look for a griffin. Why would he do that?"
"Perhaps, sorcerer, you should be asking him."
"You honestly think Steve has changed all that much since you last saw him?"
"If he won't tell you-"
"He won't tell me because deep inside, he's still that skinny little kid who would rather let himself get beat up if he thinks it will help someone else."
"And you think he avoids griffins for the greater good?"
"I think someone told him it was for the greater good."
Peggy turned her attention back to Steve who was busy helping untangle one of the smaller griffins, running a soothing hand over the boy's feathers, straightening them out. Tony waited, impatiently, but he waited for her to speak. "They told him he would never have a griffin of his own."
Tony paused for a moment, and Peggy could almost feel the hum of Tony's mind whirring away, tossing aside unlikely interpretations and landing on, "The spells they did to make him different. They said that would keep him from bonding with a griffin?"
"A point he takes as proven fact after all our failed attempts."
"But that's credibly stupid." Peggy glared at Tony, and rather than be abashed, Tony launched back. "Hey, it is stupid! Whatever magic Erskine ended up using on him wasn't the kind that would corrupt a person's soul to the point where they couldn't make connections. If Steve had been messed up like that, then he would've destroyed himself by now."
"How?" Peggy demanded.
"If he was really unable to bond with a griffin, it would mean he'd be unable to bond with people, too. And if he couldn't bond, couldn't feel love for anyone, then he wouldn't have been able to risk his life for all of us, he wouldn't be able to care."
"So, why didn't we bond?"
"If you didn't bond when both of you wanted it, it's because magic knew better."
"What does that mean, Anthony?"
"It could mean the two of you would've ended up driving one another crazy, or that when he was trapped in the ice your bond would have broken, and then you would have wasted away without him, and would have never been in charge of your people. And who knows what would've happened then."
"Or, his griffin could still be out there. The one he was meant to bond with."
“Or that.”