fillers or aus i would love to play running list; if you're interested in any of this, throw up a starter and i am there
steve + peggy
Peggy and Steve's reunion when he returns to the past.
That dance scene. /sobs
Anything about their life afterward.
steve + tony
Conversations about Peggy or Howard, or anything else they'd talk about during their 2-man mission to the past
First time Steve and Tony interact after Tony calls Steve out on how failing together sucks.
Did Steve and Tony ever talk during those 5 years? If so, what did that look like?
[au] Tony survives, but Steve doesn't know that when he goes back in time. So now Steve is really old and Tony is not.
[au] Tony survives and Steve comes back from returning the stones and they rebuild their relationship
steve + natasha
Awful life at Avengers compound before Ant-Man, basically lots of hurt/comfort with each other
[au] When Steve tells Natasha that maybe they should both move on, he asks her out on a date — it becomes a very sad attempt at moving on, but it's also a sad kind of solace.
steve + bucky
Honestly, they barely got any time back together. Steve and Buck MUST have talked before Steve just decided to go back in the past. Possible convo where he admits he's not coming back, and asking Bucky if he wants to return back to their time with him?
steve + anyone
So ... you can so Mjolnir now?
Conversations with various characters when he returns the stones to their rightful place in the past
Someone insisting on going back in time with Steve, and they return all the stones together and this person convinces Steve to come back (or, is convinced that he really doesn't want to)
shuri + anyone
Rebuilding the world from Wakanda
Meeting the other avengers
One-uping our science bros during reconstruction :D
tony stark (AI) + morgan/anyone
I imagine this will be mostly sass.
And with everyone who is not Morgan, this will basically be him joking about how he's going to live forever.
There were rumours. Rumours that were hushed whispers. It was after SHIELD had been started. Howard had brought Peggy to California and helped found SHIELD with her. She basically ran the show and Howard was in charge of the tech, when he wasn't wooing the ladies. Still, as aloof as he appeared, he kept his eyes and ears open.
When there were whispers of Peggy dating again, long after the good Captain had died and never came home, Howard became worried. Some mystery man. Peggy never brought him to work, never talked about him. No pictures. No nothing. Still, she was smiling more. There was a skip in her step that had been sorely lacking.
Howard felt protective. He wasn't going to let his best pal get hurt. That's what caused him to show up at her house. The workday was over. He should have called first. He should have done a lot of things. Howard prepped for the inevitable brush off and perhaps slap of showing up unannounced. Peg and Jarvis were both very British when it came to that.
His fist banged on the door hard. "Peg, I know you're in there and I know you're not alone. I can hear the music. Open that door right now," he growled.
It's soft, dancing music — maybe swaying music is a better way to put it, probably from the radio. But when Howard's fist bangs on the door, even if the music is still playing, it feels like the rest of the houses freezes.
The sound of footsteps follows, but when the front door opens, it's only Peggy that's in view.
"What is this about Howard?" she asks, with a single hand on her hip.
In the background, the radio keeps playing from the other room.
"Don't give me that, Peg." Howard shook a finger at her. "You know that I care about you. And I respect your privacy, well, more than most. We've been through a lot and I keep a few secrets for you, but this..." He took a step closer, but did not try to force his way inside.
His voice lowered, just enough that he wasn't shouting, but that anyone in the house could hear him. "You are a good woman. You have a good heart and you are one of my best pal's, Peg. You start dating someone new and I'm not going to let it go amiss. Gotta make sure that they pass the Stark test. Be worthy of you." His arms crossed over his chest and his lips formed a little pout.
"Come on... I don't want to see you hurt again. I was there, after he went into the ice. You deserve better than that." Howard had tried. He'd tried so hard to find Steve, searching even when others told him not to. That's how he'd found the Tesseract. In his heart, not finding Steve had been his biggest failure.
There's a stern look on Peggy's face, one that's only curbed by the slight smirk on her lips. Howard had become one of her best friends. She just had no idea he'd come over to her house, demanding to see whoever it was she's dating.
"Howard."
But then he starts talking about how he doesn't want to see her hurt again, and Peggy just stands here, still holding onto the door, unsure of what to do next. Steve had asked her not to tell anyone, at least not yet, and—
"It's alright, Peg." The voice comes from somewhere behind the door. To Howard, it's so very, very familiar. "I don't mind being vetted." It's said with a warmth to his voice, like Steve knows he's about to reunite with a very old friend.
Peggy nods then, and without opening the door further, she steps aside and motions for Howard to come inside.
He sees that smirk. He never knows what to do with her, smile or be very afraid. Both have their pros and cons. He watches her, seeing her not open the door. Well, she hasn’t slammed it in his face yet. It’s progress.
Howard’s eyes narrow. Whoever she was dating, they sounded familiar. Hell, they sounded like Rogers. What did she do, find a doppelganger? The thought amused him but he doubted she would do that. She wasn’t as vain as he was. “What the hell, Peg...”
Gently, he made his way inside and froze. He just could not believe what he was seeing. ”Steve...” His voice was low as he breathed out the Cap’s name. It was like he was seeing a ghost. A living, breathing miracle.
“Huh.”
Stepping closer, Howard was tempted to reach out and poke him to make sure he was real. “I... I looked for you,” he whispered. “I searched and searched. We never found any wreckage at all. I thought...” Howard almost looked like he might tear up. “Is it really you?”
As soon as Howard's inside and Peggy sees the shocked look on his face, it's her cue to gently close the door and step aside. Let the boys have their reunion. She has already had hers.
"Hi Howard," Steve says, grinning as his eyebrows furrow and his chest starts to swell. It really has been a very long time.
"The plane went down hard. Sunk right to the bottom of the ocean. Don't blame yourself for finding it. Your-" Better not to mention Tony's existence quite yet. "It's gonna take half a century for someone to invent tech that can find me."
The more Howard pokes and prods, the more details he'll start to notice. While Steve Rogers doesn't necessarily look 10 years older, he does look older, and different, than the man he lost.
Howard doesn't even realize Peggy had stepped out. He's too busy staring at the man he made. Well, helped make. He swallows, thinking it has to be a dream, especially with the way Steve is grinning at him. Steve never smiled like that.
"Half a century..." Howard finally does smile. He looks up at Steve, shaking his head. "Now, that's silly. You... You're talking like..." He froze. His eyes narrow and he glances up and down at Steve. "You sound like you've seen the future," he murmured.
Some people could say something scientific and mean it. Like Howard. Some could say it and not know what they're talking about at all. Steve, he's a different breed. He may not be a scientist like Howard, but he picks up things quick. And Steve didn't look like he remembered him. Not exactly, at least.
"You're older," he blurts out. He didn't meant to say it that way, he just, well, did.
As he watches Howard piece it together, Steve's brow knits together into nostalgia and wonders what his life would've been like, if Howard had been able to find him.
"Howard—" he says, with emotion seeping into his voice. "I'm 39."
Seeing the future. Or being from the future. Howard's guessed it.
Howard blinked, staring at Steve. The things he must have seen. And done? Howard wants to ask so many questions, but he doesn't. Suddenly, Howard really wished he'd had a drink in his hand. Backing up, he moved over to a sofa and sat down, not trusting his legs to hold him up in that moment.
One hand reached up, rubbing his face with his palm. "So, you... You were in the future. You weren't found right away, so, maybe someone finds you years later," he murmurs. He's not sure if he's talking to Steve or himself.
"You probably wake up. You... You try to fit in, but you miss Peg. You miss... How the hell did you get back here, Steve? Time travel is only possible in dime store novels. The technology to pull it off is impossible, even for me."
Shaking his head, he stares up at Steve. "Son of a bitch, are you really back then? To stay?" A small part of him won't lie about the fact that he'd missed him. A lot. He didn't really make friends as a general rule.
As Howard works the possibilities out for himself, Steve stays silent, even if there's a persistent smile on his lips as he watches. He follows, too, over to the living room, and grabs Howard a glass of water in case he needs it.
"I get the feeling ... you maybe don't want me to answer those questions."
Except for the last one. The last one was about him, in the here and now.
"I'm back. Really. A lot happens in the future, Howard. But they ... they don't need me anymore. And the people I need? They're all here." He looks right at Howard when he says that — so yeah, Steve's missed you too buddy.
"Well, yeah, Peg... She's a ball bustin' trooper. She won't tell any man that she needs em or that anything is wrong, but... It's hard without you. Has been. Even Jarvis can't help her. I thought another Brit might make her feel better," he murmured. "I try, ya know. I try to be there for her, but she won't go out with me. Something about leavin' her for a dame. I'd never..."
He sighed, staring up at Steve. "It's good to have you back. I need a proper man at my side. I... I need..." He didn't say what he was really thinking. I need a friend. After everything he'd been through with Peggy and Jarvis, he wasn't easily trusting people so much. "Dum Dum, he'll be glad to see you. He's been filling in with me, so to speak."
As much as he wanted the answers, he didn't want them either. Playing with the future, knowing too much, that could be tricky stuff. Not only would it give him a migraine, but he didn't want to mess anything up.
"I... I didn't mean to intrude on you and Peg. I didn't know it was you, honest." Reaching out, he took the glass of water and chugged the whole thing down. "I mean, come on, who would believe you're back? Well... Erskine would have." Looking up at Steve, he tried to smile. "So, what can I do? To help you? You need a job? I can always use a good man at my company. Or, ya gonna go back into the hero work. Which, honestly, I wouldn't blame you."
Leaning over, Howard nudged Steve's shoulder with his own. "We need ya too. We just don't know how to admit it."
Steve grins when Howard says that Peggy won't go out with him — mostly because yes, despite how good of friends they've become, Steve's seen guys try to get Peggy's attention and fail. Hell, even when he did get her attention, she still shot a full round of bullets toward him.
Steve smiles even wider though when Howard can't quite finish his sentence about what he needs. When he gets to the part about Dum Dum, Steve has to say something. It comes out short and sweet: "I missed you too, Howard." He really did, in so many ways, and even if Steve won't tell Howard about the future, there's no way in hell that years from now, he won't be there to protect him on that fateful Christmas morning. No one — including Bucky — is going to hurt his friend. Not if he's around.
But as for the rest, he just shakes his head when Howard says he didn't mean to intrude. "It's alright. I think I may have overdone it a little, asking Peggy to keep it a secret for so long."
The rest is just heartwarming, especially that nudge on the shoulder. In response, Steve rests his hands on Howard's shoulders. "I won't tell you much, but I will tell you this. From what I saw in the 21st century, you and Peggy left a real legacy." He takes a big breath. "As for me ... I think I might just take a break for now. When I'm ready, I wanna help with SHIELD, but I'm not sure if I can do it as ... well, me. Maybe you can help me think that through."
Decades from now, a version of Steve will be found by SHIELD at the bottom of the ocean. He wants that man to be able to live his life too.
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noble_sentiments) wrote2019-04-28 12:02 pm
post endgame
When there were whispers of Peggy dating again, long after the good Captain had died and never came home, Howard became worried. Some mystery man. Peggy never brought him to work, never talked about him. No pictures. No nothing. Still, she was smiling more. There was a skip in her step that had been sorely lacking.
Howard felt protective. He wasn't going to let his best pal get hurt. That's what caused him to show up at her house. The workday was over. He should have called first. He should have done a lot of things. Howard prepped for the inevitable brush off and perhaps slap of showing up unannounced. Peg and Jarvis were both very British when it came to that.
His fist banged on the door hard. "Peg, I know you're in there and I know you're not alone. I can hear the music. Open that door right now," he growled.
no subject
The sound of footsteps follows, but when the front door opens, it's only Peggy that's in view.
"What is this about Howard?" she asks, with a single hand on her hip.
In the background, the radio keeps playing from the other room.
no subject
His voice lowered, just enough that he wasn't shouting, but that anyone in the house could hear him. "You are a good woman. You have a good heart and you are one of my best pal's, Peg. You start dating someone new and I'm not going to let it go amiss. Gotta make sure that they pass the Stark test. Be worthy of you." His arms crossed over his chest and his lips formed a little pout.
"Come on... I don't want to see you hurt again. I was there, after he went into the ice. You deserve better than that." Howard had tried. He'd tried so hard to find Steve, searching even when others told him not to. That's how he'd found the Tesseract. In his heart, not finding Steve had been his biggest failure.
no subject
"Howard."
But then he starts talking about how he doesn't want to see her hurt again, and Peggy just stands here, still holding onto the door, unsure of what to do next. Steve had asked her not to tell anyone, at least not yet, and—
"It's alright, Peg." The voice comes from somewhere behind the door. To Howard, it's so very, very familiar. "I don't mind being vetted." It's said with a warmth to his voice, like Steve knows he's about to reunite with a very old friend.
Peggy nods then, and without opening the door further, she steps aside and motions for Howard to come inside.
no subject
Howard’s eyes narrow. Whoever she was dating, they sounded familiar. Hell, they sounded like Rogers. What did she do, find a doppelganger? The thought amused him but he doubted she would do that. She wasn’t as vain as he was. “What the hell, Peg...”
Gently, he made his way inside and froze. He just could not believe what he was seeing. ”Steve...” His voice was low as he breathed out the Cap’s name. It was like he was seeing a ghost. A living, breathing miracle.
“Huh.”
Stepping closer, Howard was tempted to reach out and poke him to make sure he was real. “I... I looked for you,” he whispered. “I searched and searched. We never found any wreckage at all. I thought...” Howard almost looked like he might tear up. “Is it really you?”
no subject
"Hi Howard," Steve says, grinning as his eyebrows furrow and his chest starts to swell. It really has been a very long time.
"The plane went down hard. Sunk right to the bottom of the ocean. Don't blame yourself for finding it. Your-" Better not to mention Tony's existence quite yet. "It's gonna take half a century for someone to invent tech that can find me."
The more Howard pokes and prods, the more details he'll start to notice. While Steve Rogers doesn't necessarily look 10 years older, he does look older, and different, than the man he lost.
no subject
"Half a century..." Howard finally does smile. He looks up at Steve, shaking his head. "Now, that's silly. You... You're talking like..." He froze. His eyes narrow and he glances up and down at Steve. "You sound like you've seen the future," he murmured.
Some people could say something scientific and mean it. Like Howard. Some could say it and not know what they're talking about at all. Steve, he's a different breed. He may not be a scientist like Howard, but he picks up things quick. And Steve didn't look like he remembered him. Not exactly, at least.
"You're older," he blurts out. He didn't meant to say it that way, he just, well, did.
no subject
"Howard—" he says, with emotion seeping into his voice. "I'm 39."
Seeing the future. Or being from the future. Howard's guessed it.
no subject
Howard blinked, staring at Steve. The things he must have seen. And done? Howard wants to ask so many questions, but he doesn't. Suddenly, Howard really wished he'd had a drink in his hand. Backing up, he moved over to a sofa and sat down, not trusting his legs to hold him up in that moment.
One hand reached up, rubbing his face with his palm. "So, you... You were in the future. You weren't found right away, so, maybe someone finds you years later," he murmurs. He's not sure if he's talking to Steve or himself.
"You probably wake up. You... You try to fit in, but you miss Peg. You miss... How the hell did you get back here, Steve? Time travel is only possible in dime store novels. The technology to pull it off is impossible, even for me."
Shaking his head, he stares up at Steve. "Son of a bitch, are you really back then? To stay?" A small part of him won't lie about the fact that he'd missed him. A lot. He didn't really make friends as a general rule.
no subject
"I get the feeling ... you maybe don't want me to answer those questions."
Except for the last one. The last one was about him, in the here and now.
"I'm back. Really. A lot happens in the future, Howard. But they ... they don't need me anymore. And the people I need? They're all here." He looks right at Howard when he says that — so yeah, Steve's missed you too buddy.
no subject
He sighed, staring up at Steve. "It's good to have you back. I need a proper man at my side. I... I need..." He didn't say what he was really thinking. I need a friend. After everything he'd been through with Peggy and Jarvis, he wasn't easily trusting people so much. "Dum Dum, he'll be glad to see you. He's been filling in with me, so to speak."
As much as he wanted the answers, he didn't want them either. Playing with the future, knowing too much, that could be tricky stuff. Not only would it give him a migraine, but he didn't want to mess anything up.
"I... I didn't mean to intrude on you and Peg. I didn't know it was you, honest." Reaching out, he took the glass of water and chugged the whole thing down. "I mean, come on, who would believe you're back? Well... Erskine would have." Looking up at Steve, he tried to smile. "So, what can I do? To help you? You need a job? I can always use a good man at my company. Or, ya gonna go back into the hero work. Which, honestly, I wouldn't blame you."
Leaning over, Howard nudged Steve's shoulder with his own. "We need ya too. We just don't know how to admit it."
no subject
Steve smiles even wider though when Howard can't quite finish his sentence about what he needs. When he gets to the part about Dum Dum, Steve has to say something. It comes out short and sweet: "I missed you too, Howard." He really did, in so many ways, and even if Steve won't tell Howard about the future, there's no way in hell that years from now, he won't be there to protect him on that fateful Christmas morning. No one — including Bucky — is going to hurt his friend. Not if he's around.
But as for the rest, he just shakes his head when Howard says he didn't mean to intrude. "It's alright. I think I may have overdone it a little, asking Peggy to keep it a secret for so long."
The rest is just heartwarming, especially that nudge on the shoulder. In response, Steve rests his hands on Howard's shoulders. "I won't tell you much, but I will tell you this. From what I saw in the 21st century, you and Peggy left a real legacy." He takes a big breath. "As for me ... I think I might just take a break for now. When I'm ready, I wanna help with SHIELD, but I'm not sure if I can do it as ... well, me. Maybe you can help me think that through."
Decades from now, a version of Steve will be found by SHIELD at the bottom of the ocean. He wants that man to be able to live his life too.