4160/Fear or Anger

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Fear or Anger
Date of Scene: 28 March 2018
Location: Avengers Mansion
Synopsis: Steve and Tony bond. Yuck.
Cast of Characters: Captain America, Iron Man




Captain America has posed:
    When the wind shifts in the back yard of Avengers mansion, the fountain seems to fill the sky with droplets. At night, when the static spotlights that illuminate the statues and the works of art hit that cascade of water it causes a hint of a rainbow to shine in the air just enough to make one wonder if the artist might well have made that effect intentionally. It was a thing that was ephemeral, lost depending on the time of year and the shine of the moon in the sky. But it was just such a thing that Steve Rogers intended to capture.
    The fountain had been off for the Winter. Only the last few days of warm weather had brought it to life again, now that most of the snow had melted. There were still hints of it, little masses of white and grey piled up where the groundskeepers had shoveled. But now, even at this time late at night there were just small hints of green to offer the hint that Spring was on its way. This too, Steve Rogers was intent on capturing.
    It was from a place on the terrace that he was set. A box of colored pencils partially open with a few having rolled free of their prison upon the small glass and steel table, just there right next to a few crumpled up wads of paper. He was eased back in the seat of the chair, one leg crossed over his knee with a sketchpad in his lap. This current attempt had a few marks of color and some attempt at the light and shadow so prominent below. But for the moment his pencil is held in check, silent as he thoughtfully chews on the end with a quirked eyebrow given as he eyes his own work with something akin to incredulity.

Iron Man has posed:
There's a crack of light and sound, and then something breaking. Glass. It's harsh compared to the spray from the fountain, this sudden shock of glass, blown outwards from the upper floor of the mansion. The glass picks up lighting in a sort of neon light splatter of color before it lands and shatters into smaller pieces on the cement and brick patio, sharp crackles invading the peaceful outdoors.

"Heads up. -- That's my fault!" Calls Tony's voice from the upper floor (not window, as there is a distinct lack of window now), with zero actual apology in the voice. More of a cocky brazen quality, if anything.

A little drone immediately buzzes out, veering around the bushes, with a too-small dust-pan. It chitters and grinds a little bit, stooping, to attempt to slowly ease some of the shards into the dust-pan. It then observes Steve there, and trundles over. And attempts to scooch-scooch some of the colored pencils into its dustpan.

Captain America has posed:
    Steve had reacted fairly quickly, looking up and then to the side, his grip on his pencil shifting to holding it in his grip fully even as he hunkers a little bit as if taking cover. But the quirk to his eyebrow might signal the wariness there as he catches sight of the falling glass that spatters on the patio. He sort of leans back slooowly into his chair, as if expecting something giant and scaly and monstrous to emerge from that window shortly after... but as nothing menaces him further he seems to slowly relax.
    "Hey Tony," Cap's voice lifts, offering a greeting at the least even as the drone floats downwards. He eyes the thing and gets a slight smile, but then as it starts to take his pencils he'll lean forwards and liberate them from its dust-pan.
    "Hey, hey. I'm still using those." He says, but then he'll put the crushed paper into its pan and says, "You can take these." But then he'll turn his head and lift his voice again. "Your robot toy thing is bugging me, Tony."

Iron Man has posed:
"Hey Rogers," Tony calls back, casually as ever. Surely if there was something wrong, he'd not sound so easygoing. ...Except that it's Tony, so there really could be a rampaging Hulk-clone up there and everything would still sound perfectly fine.

"Just tell it not to," Tony calls back down from the window above. There's some mechanical clank noises or maybe the sound of a desk being moved away from the window. Or both.

The robot observes the pencils being removed from the dust pan. And seems to process that. And begins to dump the glass out onto Steve's colored pencil area. All the things go there, right?

Captain America has posed:
    "No, that's..." Steve leans forwards and starts to perhaps admonish the poor drone, but he shakes his head and says, "Actually it's alright, just leave it." He does, however, give the thing a once-over fairly quickly, perhaps checking for an off switch.
    But then he lifts his head and calls out again, "Everything alright up there?" He starts to tuck the pencils into their case and once they're settled in place nicely he'll slip the pack into the chest pocket of his brown leather bomber jacket. He flips the sketchbook closed and slips it under his arm.
    "Didn't we agree at the last house meeting no fiddling with matters beyond the ken of gods and men?" His lip twitches, since well no there wasn't any such agreement. Perhaps some strong implying though.

Iron Man has posed:
The little drone pauses when Steve speaks, as if waiting to hear the rest of the order, but when no clear instruction follows, the drone moves back to where the glass fell, and continues to brush at it. And brings it over. And delivers the glass into the pile that clearly was notated as the dump spot.

"Always!" Tony calls to the question about things being all right. "This was more of a /ricochet/ of a matter beyond the ken. Hardly the same." Tony reappears at the window. He has an Iron Man gaunlet on his left hand. And also a mixed drink in that same hand. Which probably makes the entire situation make a lot of sense. That combination always creates a mess.

Captain America has posed:
    With an exasperated sigh that sounds like it might be something to come from the most put upon man in the world, Steve looks up just moments before Tony reappears. But he shakes his head in any case despite the answer, instead tucking in his sketchpad a little tighter and then looking upwards...
    He takes a quick short leap, snaring the window sill just below Tony's, then using it to swing his legs up onto the sconce that gives one of those spotlights a place to shine down upon the fountain. But it's enough of a foothold that he's able to launch himself up the last distance to Tony's window and then he pulls himself up with one foot on the lower window sill and his hand on the top of it. Sure it's a little more strenuous than taking the stairs, but at least now... he can see what Tony might or might not have been working on.
    "Do I want to know?" He asks the billionaire as if hoping that really it's not that big of a deal, though in that tone there might be just a /smidge/ of admonishment about Tony's... proclivities.

Iron Man has posed:
When Steve decides to come so directly, Tony doesn't actually back away, he just sidesteps once, turning some. But not actually retreating.

"Sure, just come on in," Tony welcomes him as he arrives, dryly. Pauses. And offers the drink he had in his hand. "You earned it. Nice jump." Somehow it's not entirely a compliment. "I'll just make a replacement," he says, waggling the drink somewhat unsteadily.

The room is a big, airy open-floor room, that's not currently in use for any of the Avenger purposes. It looks like it may have been a music room of some type: there is still a covered piano to one side. The legs of the thing suggest it is a beautiful, older one. There's art on the walls in here, and some mild dust.

There is also what is clearly one of the mini-bars wheeled in from elsewhere in the mansion, a table littered with a dismantled robot, and some scorch marks along a bookcase and the wall near the window. No detective is really needed here. "Depends. What is it that is confusing?"

Captain America has posed:
    "Why is your room bigger than mine?" The blonde man smile asks as he looks sidelong towards the man.
    Stark can likely imagine the chain of thoughts that drift through Steve's mind as he gives the place the once over. He hops on into the eclectic work area, letting the sketchbook fall back into his hand as he looks the place over. He turns his head to the side, steps forwards a bit, then looks back to Tony. "Just tell me if you need a hand you'll ask." He says sidelong.
    But that triggers likely another train of thought as he turns back to face the Steel Sentinel and shifts topics slightly if perhaps not entirely subtly. "How are you feeling?" He extends a hand to Tony's shoulder, "Holding up alright?"

Iron Man has posed:
"If I need some legs, are you still up for it?" Tony asks without even a pause, and angles his head to follow the sketch pad, curious. And flicks his eyes up to Steve's face from his still angled head. Brow quirk. He gestures at the sketch pad with the gauntleted hand: which still has the drink in it, by the way. "Bring me somethin'?" Tony wonders of the pad.

But agh, then Steve doubles back on him with those /nice/ questions. He straightens up. Clears his throat. Has some of the rejected drink. Side-eyes Steve. "Right as rain. Until now. I feel like I've escaped the medical bay when you ask me like that."

Captain America has posed:
    "I don't know, I'm kind of using mine?" Steve answers back as he's still looking at the man, but he does (at the mention of it) perhaps tuck his sketchpad back under his arm a little tighter, though he doesn't answer as to it being a present or not.
    "I figured I'd ask you first," Cap says as he watches Tony's reaction and can't help but smile a little. "Give you the chance before I ask Pepper." He steps away and starts to move around the room, pausing near the piano to lightly tap a key and cause the note to trill to life in the room. "I figure I'll wait til you're busy somewhere else and then she and I will talk about you at length." He looks up a bit from the piano, across the way at Tony with head still tilted down, still smiling.

Iron Man has posed:
    "I got a clean bill of health from my doctor and everything: he was even disappointed," Tony says. "I think he wanted to be right about that I'd go downhill if I didn't sleep more," Tony adds, offhandedly, and downs the rest of the drink with ease, setting the glass back down onto the top of the mini-bar with a clack of sound. "He forgot the golden 'Tony is right' rule." Hard to know how it was forgotten, what with Tony so good at reminding.

"Going behind a man's back to his girlfriend? Dirty. But smart." Tony did just say that.

    Tony's well oiled with the drinks, and more open, obviously, he just moves on. "THIS ... is my thinking -- well, ONE of my many thinking spaces," Tony announces. "It's going to aid in an ephiphany about what to do about Rhodey demanding some //really// big guns from me." Tony drops his palm flat onto the mini-bar. "I mean. In addition to saying 'no.'"

Captain America has posed:
    Steve sits down on the bench of that piano and then in turn puts his sketchpad down behind him. He affixes Stark with that sincere gaze and gives a nod as he murmurs, "I'm glad to hear that Tony." The corner of his mouth curls up slightly and he adds a nod, "I know we don't always see eye to eye, but for a time I was worried there." He offers that to the man, perhaps a small reach across the distance.
    But then he gestures to the side, "And hey, sometimes even Captain America has to make the tough call and bring in the big guns like Pepper." He again lightly plinks another key, this one a little higher on the scale, then looks back to Tony with one eyebrow quirked curiously.
    "Usually when a man asks for a bigger gun they're usually very afraid. Or very angry." Another key, then he turns around and folds his arms over his chest to look directly at Tony. "Sometimes both."

Iron Man has posed:
    "I knew you loved me. And hey. Works better if you take the dust cover off, I've heard," Tony says, approaching the piano and using gauntleted hand to snare the cover and dramatically sweep it aside into a heap. He coughs heavily into the awakened dust, though, waving his hand some at it and stepping back quickly. Yuck. The curls of dust warp in tendrils near the floor at the baseboards, showing the small movements of air from the central heating of the mansion as it travels.

    "Scared, Angry. Or both. Did I tell you, I'm working on an unpgrade on a suit modification if Hulk tantrums in public again. And I will openly admit that is on the 'very afraid' end of things, not so much angry." Tony does tend to ramble. And come back around to the real point.

    "Rhodey's both. And I can't say I'd be better in his place. Probably the same. Worse. Just with more easily accessible weapons." Tony glances at his gauntlet... and taps the side and down the edge and retracts it, moving to toss it loosely onto the table of robot parts.

Captain America has posed:
    Cap lifts up a hand as that dust cover is swept off with such flourish, and then he brings thumb and forefinger just a /smidge/ apart as he peeks through that tiny tiny gap between his fingers and he says the words in answer, "Just a bit."
    But then he rounds back towards the piano itself, yet in a way that he can still look towards the man of Iron askance. A few keys are played, not really a first hint of a song, but just a small quick melodic thing. He shakes his head and then lifts up to touch fingertips to the lid above the keyboard and gently lowers it back down into place causing a faint but final thrum of sound from the piano.
    Resting his forearms on the lid he asks, "Do you want me to talk to James?" Rhodey, of course. "He and I have gotten along decently well, but I wouldn't want to step on any toes."

Iron Man has posed:
    "Heartwarming, really," Tony smirks to the tiny admission of loving him, with a laugh. Tony returns to the mini-bar, to loosen up even further, evidently. However, he did remove the gauntlet. It is an instant to put it back on, but there's less immediate danger of another window lost. The little cleaner drone has since returned, and is removing glass from the zone just below the window. Tony entirely ignores it. It's just a normal thing to him.

    Tony watches the piano's keys be covered with an odd expression. An expression of some other time or place. A place inhabited by dead ghosts. Steve may recognize the feeling very well. The piano has a life -- or death -- in that palace of memory.

    A quick glance back up returns Tony to the present. "You're not stepping on mine. I'm a bad guy right now. I got to tell him all of the best of the news. His sister's dead. His neice is fathered by a lunatic. No, he can't go kill people in some of my armor."

    Tony taps a few fingers on the bottle he's using to fill his glass. "My bigger concern is him going around me. And getting himself killed on his own-- and I'm not there."

Captain America has posed:
    Rising back to his feet, Steve looks across the distance towards Tony, and perhaps in another way that might seem to summon some hint of a glimmer from the past... he lets a small look of concern touch his features as he looks on the brilliance of the man even as he refills that glass. But now is perhaps not the day to broach any further words of that ilk, instead he looks away and it's clear his thoughts have drifted after the Colonel that's dealing with his own darkness.
    "Sometimes, Tony, you can't save a man from himself." His voice carries that timbre to it when he speaks of the past, but he gives a nod towards the billionaire. "I'll see what I can do." A glance back from the door towards Stark again, "Can't make any promises."
    He starts to move towards the door, remembering to scoop up that sketchbook off the piano seat, then turns around to walk backwards the last few steps before opening the door. "Chances are he'll tell me to get lost, but I'll let you know how things go."

Iron Man has posed:
    "No, they need to not want to drown, on their own," Tony says, finishing making the drink, and drinking it. He's too drunk to listen to himself. Or maybe he isn't.

    Tony lifts his glass as Steve retreats through the door. An expression of farewell. "No promises required. Not today, anyway. I'll come for those later. And the legs. I might need them." Tony points a little bit at Cap, before the smile fades and Tony looks over at the robot.

    "Why are you making a pile of glass on the carpet?"