gotup | open post 3.0

[Okay, so jumping into an interdimensional portal wasn't the smartest idea he's had, but it's fine. He took care of everything, Red Skull is gone, and he's sure everyone back home can wipe up what's left with no problem. What matters is that Steve saved the world.

That's what he tells himself, anyway. And he almost believes it till he ends up on a weird planet with an even weirder gladiatorial arena. Steve, of course, is immediately recruited as a fighter. He hates it, but he's also damned good at it, thanks to the serum. As he fights, he studies the way things work on Sakaar, talks to as many of the other fighters as he can. He's punished more than once - thrown into a solitary cell and fed as little as possible - but every time, he comes back and beats something bigger and meaner than him, and he keeps going and going because he doesn't know how to stop.

And then, one day, instead of the electric prod or the lash, they give him a reward after the fight - which Steve also thinks is ridiculous, because the prizes are people too, but maybe they're both equally inhuman here. Steve just stares at the mostly naked man waiting on his bed - he's moved up from a tiny cot to a small room of his own - and blinks owlishly (though with no sign of recognition).]

Did they at least have you bring food?

[He doesn't need sex after a fight, he needs food. And probably a bath, to be honest.]

[ of all the things to welcome him when the door opens that he was expecting, and from all the people, an unphased steve rogers was not on tony's list of possibilities. sure, he should probably have accounted for the possibility of it happening but, forgive him for not calculating all of the possibilities between waking up at the end of the universe sans his usual array of tools and materials and being carted around, tazed, and then oiled up like some kind of paperback romance heroine.

it wasn't even nice oil, it was-- well it was something. tony thinks that it has some kind of warming properties because it makes his skin tingle, but not uncomfortably at least. which is an improvement from the previous bullshit he experienced.

and the sheets are clean, that's nice.

but. steve. right.

tony snorts and sits up a little, gesturing to the array of silks and gold draping his person.]

I think I was supposed to be the meal, thank you. Though not sure how they expect you to keep up after a fight like that. [ he squints, takes in what he can, wanting to have all the fact, or at least most of them, before he plays too many cards.] How long have you been here.

[ memory modification? alternate timelines? trauma? who knows.]

It's a nice thought, but I really need calories. [Steve sits down on the edge of the bed and starts stripping off his collection of mismatched armor. All of it's seen better days, and most of it was, well, collected from people who couldn't use it anymore.] I have an enhanced metabolism, so I burn through calories at a faster rate than most folks.

[So he really doesn't need to exert himself more having sex, thank you very much.]

Huh? [Steve pulls his hair tie free, letting his hair fall loose around his head. If it wasn't so dirty, he'd fit in on the cover of a romance novel, not that he's aware of that particular phenomenon.] I...I don't know. [For just a moment, he looks shockingly young under the hair and beard, and more than a little lost.] I just keep fighting. Not so different from back home, I guess, just on a smaller scale.

[of course, tony snorts and watches as steve strips the armour off. it is more a clinical assessment on his part, trying to see if there was anything to give him a sense of the other. though steve mentioning his metabolism at least tells him that he has no idea who tony is.

he is going to pretend that doesn't feel like pressing on an old bruise.]

Mmhmm, super soldier serum. [ he tips his head to the side, eyes knowing.] I suppose with you the better question is when was it when you got here. For you, that is, not here. Not sure these guys keep to the same calendar as us on Earth, though I haven't been here long enough to really know.

[ but he has been here long enough to know that steve probably feels like shit and he didn't really want to push the guy. well, much.

he sits himself and shifts, sliding across the bed, tony moves to beside steve, the smile on his face softer than anything in this place has any right to be, but-- well, he can't help it.]

C'mon Steve, let's get you cleaned up a little, yeah?

[The soft tone lulls Steve into a false sense of security, and he lets him get closer until-]

How do you know my name?

[Steve jerks back quickly, scooting into the far corner of the bed. He'd almost forgotten that you can't trust anyone or anything here. He definitely hasn't mentioned the serum to anyone, and that makes him extra suspicious. The shield is out of reach across the floor - goddamn rookie move - but the chain he uses is close enough to grab.]

Who are you?

[ oh. wow. okay then that-- huh.

tony stays where he is, one eyebrow raised and hands out, like he would be if he was trying to calm a wild animal. granted, with how steve looks about now, perhaps that isn't the worst possible comparison.]

So you have absolutely no idea who I am?

[ yeah, that smarts. though that does make him wonder from when steve might have come, he wasn't sure that was possible but--]

Well fuck. I'm Tony Stark, Iron Man. We--work together. Well, most of the time we work together, with the Avengers. [ a pause because wow, tony isn't sure any of that is actually ringing any bells.] Hell, when did they pull you from?

[Yeah, that's a big nope from Steve, and he doesn't appear to be letting his guard down any. On the bright side, he's also not attacking, so...yay?]

Are you related to Howard?

[That's one point of familiarity, at least, and he glances down at his shield briefly. It's battered and could use a new coat of paint, but it's definitely recognizable.]

The Red Skull had a portal he was going to use to bring more troops - Nazis from other dimensions. I jumped through to stop him, and when I tried to use his device to go back home, it brought me here instead. And then it broke.

[There may have been some smashing involved in the process. And...just don't ask what happened to Red Skull, because let's be real, no one cares what happened to him.]

[ he does not wince, nope. trick of the light there.]

My father.[ the 'unfortunately' might linger in the corner of his mouth. oops. he isn't going to bore you with family histories right now.] You and he worked together, yeah.

[ okay, red skull and nazis that-- honestly doesn't narrow anything down for him at all. but also kind of does because this steve seems... young. still raw around the edges instead of honed and sharp.]

It hasn't been that long for you then. [ a tilt of his head before:] As Cap, that is.

[ look he is trying here okay. ] But when, like, dates and such. Since I am sure you couldn't tell me the numerical designation of your universe.

[ yeah becuse that isn't weird to say there at all.]

[There is a what sort of look at the nonsense about universes - time travel, okay, sure, he's read H. G. Wells - but Steve just sort of mentally shoves that with all the other things he doesn't understand and doesn't think about.]

April '45.

[And to avoid thinking about Bucky, he looks at Tony and does some mental math.] You're from, what, the 1990s? [God, that's weird to think about. It's weird to think about Howard having kids at all, to be fair - well, okay, not that weird, given his favorite hobby.

Steve lets the chain drop back to the floor with a clank, and his shoulders sag.]

[ don't ask questions about it, okay, becuase tony will tell you and that will be a whole new headache that you don't need here. a headache that tony can feel brewing between his eyes when steve says fucking 1945.

fuck.]

...well fuck.[ succinct, telling. followed by a snort and a flippant wave of his hand.] Yeah, something like that, give or take a few decades.

[ but that isn't the point, not right now at least.]

So you're right from the war, shit. [ he's sorry, though he doesn't say those words exactly. the look on his face probably says. great deal and the way that he doesn't push forward despite wanting to.] What a way to make the real awkward, fuck. Okay, right, first things first, you need a fucking bath, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. I know you have no reason to trust me but-- maybe suspend some disbelief for a while with me, alright? Think you can handle that much, Cap?

Yeah, well, it's not exactly a goddamn picnic for me, either.

[Steve growls the words, a little irritated with Tony. He doesn't want him here in the first place - doesn't want anyone here - and he's not crazy about someone from the future thinking he can just come in and push him around and just...comment on his life like he thinks he knows everything about him, and maybe he does, and Steve doesn't like that either.]

Great. Fine. Why don't you leave so I can fucking take a bath?

...never thought it would be.

[ tony raises a brow at the sass though, and there might be a small smile on his face because of it. just a tiny one. it's familiar in a way.

so when steve says that he can't help the laughter that bubbles up, a little rough around the edges.]

Cute that you think they would let me leave just yet, you're stuck with me for a while yet, Steve. And honestly, I'd rather be here if you don't know me, at least I know you're a good person.

Am I a good person, or am I just someone who won't pin you down and fuck you?

[Steve snorts and shakes his head. He's been questioning how good he really is since- well, for awhile now. War is not something that brings out the best in people, even when that person is Steve Rogers. It's hard to be a good man and a soldier. It's even harder in a place like this, and Steve isn't proud of everything he's done here. He doesn't think he deserves Tony's blind trust, the way he looks at him like- well, like people look at Captain America. He stands up and pushes the shield under the bed with one foot.]

Fine.

[He really doesn't want Tony here to keep talking at him, but apparently he doesn't have any choice in the matter. Steve turns the taps on the tub, then begins stripping while he waits for it to fill.]

You said you're Iron Man. What's that mean?

[If he's a Stark, he can probably talk about himself all day.]

[ that noise that you hear? that is the sound of tony choking on a startled laugh. on the one hand, steve isn't wrong, he knows that steve won't do anything that isn't consensual, on the other hand he really wasn't expecting to be called out like that. or for the thought of steve pinning him down to be something that makes a shiver ripple through him.

well fuck.]

I mean, you could. Not like I could stop you. [ or want to. ] But I don't really see the connection between that and you being a good person. But sure, okay, why not .

[ he is going to get comfy, well as comfy as he can, and try really hard not to stare as you strip there, steve.]

AH, right, means I'm an Avenger. We... you and I, have a team. Of superheroes, and we work together to help keep assholes like the Red Skull and Doctor Doom, in check. I have a suit of armour back home. Okay, no I have it here, it's stored in my bones, but they have managed to null the nanites that activate it so I'm stuck with just my brain, but that's besides the point. We're partners.

So you're a literal knight in shining armor.

[Does Steve give Tony a skeptical look at that? Maybe. But it's only for a moment. When he's done stripping, he perches on the side of the tub and waits for it to fill with water. Maybe it'll even be reasonably hot for once.]

An entire team? [Another one of those looks that's somewhere between dubious and confused.] Of super-soldiers, or...?

[Clearly this is a Steve who doesn't even come from a world with Invaders, which, on the bright side, means he's never had to deal with Namor.]

[ and that gets a burst of honest laughter out of tony.]

Not even close, but I'll take it.

[ there are worse things that he could be called after all. besides, he isn't about to get really into the details of things with steve right now, not when, and where, they are at the present moment. besides, there are more important things to deal with right now.

like not staring too hard.]

No, well I mean, you're a super soldier, pretty sure Natasha has something similar. [ he almost says Barnes, almost. but he isn't that stupid. ] Thor's a god, Sam and Rhodes are ... well there's a lot of people involved. It's been an interesting ride, that's for sure.

[Thankfully for both Tony's sanity and that practically transparent silk, the bathtub is full enough (by Steve's standards, although he would take a bath in a puddle if necessary), and he slips into the water.]

Is there another war? [Because Steve actually doesn't know what he'd do without a war, and he can't imagine needing more people like him unless they're also soldiers. Oh boy, Steve, you have no idea how fun the future is.]

Another war? [ give him a second okay, you're distracting. ] Not-- not like that, not really.

[ how does he put it. war gets worse? better? more efficient which means it gets worse. tony moves himself around until he is sitting cross-legged on the bed, chin in hands.]

You really wanna talk about fighting though? I mean I know it's you're forte and all but-- the future has a little more than that to it.

[ look at him trying to be positive.]

[Ohhhh boy that position is a little inappropriate. Steve slides down deeper into the water, trying to hide his blush, and feels around for the shampoo so he has something to do besides look at Tony.]

Haven't done much of anything else for-

[Hell, he doesn't even know how long he's been here. Long enough.]

I don't know. What do you want to talk about?

[Steve Rogers, a great conversationalist.]

[ is it? tony hasn't noticed at all. no, really, he has kind of forgotten about the weird fucking attire that they have him in, speaks to the quality of the fabric and the chains really.

there is a hum, and a raised brow, before:] Fair enough, it is what you know at the present.

[ and tony really wishes that it wasn't. because he knows very well the toll that takes on steve.]

What about a game, if you will. Twenty questions or something, so you can get your head on straight about me.

[Steve would love nothing more than to be able to talk about art or baseball or something normal. He's worried that the ability is slipping away from him, that being a normal person is going to be impossible soon. He doesn't want to be Captain America forever - doesn't want to be a soldier or the face of his country or anything other than Steve Rogers, whoever that is.]

I'm not sure I have my head on straight about anything right now. [Steve snorts as he starts rubbing shampoo into his hair.] Or that I have since 1941.

[ well, tony can't really speak to the art bit, except that the knows the prices of a few things. though that isn't really art, is it. still, tony looks something like fond as he shrugs.]

I wanna say it gets better, but it doesn't. Not really. But it gets easier to handle with a good team, I can tell you that much. [ sorry, he probably... shouldn't say that. it is difficult to remember why though when steve starts moving around and there is a wet steve rogers before him and--

well shit.

tony makes a short strangled noise, pulling himself into a small ball. he does not need this right now. nope.]

So I'll let you... pick the topics?

[Steve pauses to peer over at Tony. Thankfully, he doesn't get out of the tub to check on him, but he's definitely concerned.]

Are you all right?

[Yes, he really is that oblivious to everything.]

Mmm, fine. Great really, aside from the whole interdimensional kidnapping bit, but yeah. Okay.

[ maybe a little pink in the cheeks, but like maybe steve can't tell from how far away he is?]

Ahem, topics? Can't promise I have infinite knowledge of all topics, but I have been told I'm a hit at dinner parties.

[See, there's a key problem here, which is that their knowledge bases are somewhere around fifty years apart. (There are a lot of problems here, but that one is the most relevant.)]

I think what they mean is that your bank account is a hit at dinner parties.

-uh, no offense. I'm just saying, even if you were boring to talk to, they'd still say the opposite. Like how ladies would tell me I'm a great dancer just because of my looks.

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