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[usavatar]

Steve is on the floor in the far-too-large garage that juts off one side of the mansion. It's one of the few places he's almost guaranteed privacy, since Tony usually doesn't want to talk when he comes in to work on his own vehicles and no one else has much reason to come in here at all.

For his part, Steve is working on the vintage Harley Knucklehead he still can't believe he owns. Even the one he had way-back-when ("way-back-when") technically belonged to the US government. This one, though, is his. A gift from the Avengers, Tony had said, for the Captain's first twenty-first-century birthday. Or his ninety-fourth. Whichever way he felt like looking at it.

The older man had made it seem like nothing. Steve couldn't possibly have disagreed more.

So there he is, checking every bolt and rod, humming quietly to himself as he does so.

It's The Star Spangled Man, for the curious.


Jane Foster is stuffing a piece of toast in her mouth and trying to read one set of notes around another armload of notes as she makes her way from the SHIELD offices in Times Square to the subway. She could take a company car, but she still hasn't quite accustomed herself to reliance on SHIELD, and given her recent track record, she'd as soon let someone else do the driving.


Coulson is being Coulson. In other words, he's early to a meeting with Tony Stark, expects Stark to be late, and so is watching Project Runway on one of the mansion's several big screen TVs in one of its several lounges.

Supernanny reruns are on next.


Tony Stark watches the clock and carefully makes himself late to his meeting with Agent Coulson, who is currently - according to JARVIS - sitting three floors up and five rooms over watching reality TV. Tony is on his third martini, has decided that martini glasses are for squares, and is now drinking out of a mug as he works one of JARVIS's projected simulations of a new suit design while sitting on a couch in one of the small libraries. This suit is tailored for high-altitude subsonic flight and work in other cold, low-oxygen environments. He's been thinking a lot lately about what happened to Rogers. This is his way of getting it out of his system.

"JARVIS. How much longer until Coulson's show is over."

"Twenty-three minutes, sir."

"Let me know when he's two minutes from the good parts."

"Of course."

Comments

TONY

[starkheadache.livejournal.com]

"You do know he'll make the meeting run long in revenge." Pepper's job will always include making sure Tony gets to where he needs to be, even as a founding member of the Avengers; plotting to irritate Agent Coulson isn't a productive use of anyone's time.

She moves from the doorway, quickly crossing the room in long strides before snatching the mug of, a quick sniff - martini, of course - out of his hands and setting it far away from him. "It isn't even five o'clock, Tony."

Re: TONY

[cardialloyed.livejournal.com]

Tony makes an annoyed sound as she claims the mug. "Our Tokyo offices closed five minutes ago, Pepper. JARVIS, log our progress on this thing?"

He swings his feet off the couch and onto the floor, brushing a hand through the 3D model. It flickers and vanishes. "And he always makes the meetings run long. He loves making the meetings run long. He would make them run long if I was early."

[starkheadache.livejournal.com]

He can make all the sounds he wants, he's still not getting it back. "Manhattan isn't Tokyo." She eyes the spot where the projection was a second ago, shoving the worry at whatever he's planning to do next down. It's old hat, and he's not dying. Yet.

"You'd never know considering you've never been early before." Because Pepper would definitely remember that day, might even put it in her top five most memorable days. "Do you know what you're talking about?"

[cardialloyed.livejournal.com]

"More's the pity." He sighs expansively, patting a little tattoo on the couch before climbing to his feet. "I always know what I'm talking about. Or I'm very, very good at pretending. Why, what are you talking about?"

[starkheadache.livejournal.com]

"The subject of your meeting with Coulson regarding the UN's desire to have the Avengers be officially sanctioned as a world defense team. Your position on the matter is that it already serves that function, however you are not against lessening the reliance upon SHIELD." A pause as she double checks her notes for what she's missing. "Coulson may fight you on that point."

[Coulson and/or Tony]

[nolimitation]

Olivia was certain she had the layout of the mansion memorized, but one wrong turn and suddenly she seems to be wandering through an endless loop of hallways and almost obnoxiously impressive rooms. She's well aware that she could ask JARVIS for directions, but she's sure she can find her way by herself with just a bit more persistence.

She tries opening a door that looks like it might be familiar, and... no. And also, there's someone inside already. She stops, one hand on the door, and smiles apologetically. "Sorry." A pause, and then she admits, "I think I might be lost."

[glockenspieled.livejournal.com]

Coulson twists around in his chair to give Olivia a mild look. 'Mild' being that carefully bland expression that indicates he doesn't think much of your presence one way or the other. "Miss Dunham," he says.

He'll refuse to call her 'agent' until either a) the end of time or b) she gets issued credentials that actually mean something on this version of earth. "It's easy to do."

[nolimitation]

Olivia gives him a polite smile in return, closer to vaguely irritated than bland. "Agent Coulson." There might be the slightest hint of emphasis on the word agent. She knows what he's doing, and she's not impressed.

Her eyes flicker past him to the TV for just a second, and she raises her eyebrows a little as she glances back to him. "Here on business?" she asks mildly.

[cardialloyed.livejournal.com]

Tony sits up slightly on the couch, where he's gotten bored and is now twirling the model around like a transparent top in midair. "Agent Dunham! What a happy accident. Get bored with your military boy-toy or just too proud to ask the AI for domestic directions?"

[nolimitation]

Olivia freezes for a second, and then shakes her head a little, still hanging in the doorway. "Ah... no. I actually wasn't looking for either of you." She studies him for a moment, and a hint of a smile creeps onto her face. "So do you actually have a fourteen-year-old's sense of humor, or do you just like to get a reaction out of people?"

[cardialloyed.livejournal.com]

"Please. My level of sophistication is at least on par with a seventeen-year-old, no?" He lights up, the way he tends to whenever even slightly amused, waving the hologram away and bouncing to his feet. "Are you actually always so serious, or does that smile mean there's a sense of humor buried under the FBI conditioning? I swear it's like you government people take a class in how to be expressionless."

[nolimitation]

"That part comes naturally to me, actually," she says, without a flicker of her expression. "But I have been known to crack a joke from time to time. Very rarely."

[nolimitation]

For a moment after she walks in, Olivia just stands very still and quiet and watches him, smiling a little at the humming. She hadn't been looking for him, just restless and wandering, but she's not exactly sorry she stumbled across him. It's strange for her, not having anything to do all day - there's no urgent phone calls, no gruesome event she needs to investigate, no one trying to kill her or her friends, nothing. It's driving her a little crazy.

"Am I interrupting?" she asks after a moment. "I realize you probably can't get time alone very often..." She makes a little gesture to the door behind her, a silent offer to leave if he'd like.

[usavatar]

He looks up at her from over the bike's seat, singing, "Who's here to prove that we can? The Star Spangled Man with-"

Steve stops abruptly and gives a little cough. He hauls himself upright and attempts to wipe some of the grease off of his hands and onto a hand towel, two fingers still wrapped around a wrench. "No! No, not at all. I was just..."

He gestures at the bike. "It doesn't really need any work- it's in beautiful condition, but. It's relaxing. Did you need something?"

[nolimitation]

Olivia doesn't quite manage to suppress her smile at his interrupted singing. She shakes her head and starts toward him - at this distance, conversation's just a little uncomfortable, and there's no reason to keep hovering near the door.

"No, I don't. I was just taking a walk around the building - I didn't know you'd be down here." She shrugs a little, grinning. "I guess I've never been very good at not doing anything. I'm not sure I can call this a vacation, but it's definitely a change of pace. This is actually the most time I've had off work in... over two years now, if you don't count time in the hospital."

[usavatar]

"It does take getting used to." Steve inspects the wrench thoughtfully. He's still not used to it, if he's being honest. There's no time off during war, even if he wasn't always on active missions one hundred percent of the time.

"I'm not very good at it either," he admits. "It's part of the reason I do so much volunteer work."

And so many public appearances. And so many personal museum trips, VA hospital visits...

Sometimes the whole villain-fighting thing doesn't fill enough hours in the day.

[nolimitation]

"Anything I can help with?" she asks almost hesitantly, head ducked slightly. "I know I'm not going to be here long, but..."

Olivia spreads her hands, not quite a shrug, and looks at Steve with an expression she doesn't realize is a little pleading. She obviously doesn't have anything to do with all the time on her hands, in the meantime, and it might be bothering her more than she'd admit.

[usavatar]

That face. He is helpless before that face. Steve looks down at the bike, trying to think of something she could do, and the best he can come up with is, "Help me test the balance on her- er, on the bike?"

[nolimitation]

Olivia looks from Steve to the bike and back, a little surprised by the offer. "You mean go for a ride?" she asks with a slowly growing smile. It's not exactly what she expected, but it's better than wandering around the mansion, or sitting in her room worrying about everyone at home, trying to figure out what went wrong.

Steve!

[notyetwinter.livejournal.com]

And let's just pretend that a lot of time has gone by and Bucky was alive and then brainwashed and now suddenly here and this is not suspicious at all. At. All.

Anyhow, he has no consideration for Cap's private time, and sneaks into the garage because he can. He stands, leaning against a wall, for about a minute.

"The way I heard it, there's been more than one song written since 1945."

[usavatar]

No. Not in the least.

Steve makes a small, strangled noise and then gives Bucky a Look over the seat of the bike. "It keeps repeating in in my head. I'm trying to get it out, and nothing I've listened to is helping."

[notyetwinter.livejournal.com]

Bucky just shakes his head, not buying it. "I knew you had an ego in there somewhere. Without me to keep it in check, that is."

[usavatar]

"Good thing there's no room for mine once you walk in." He's grinning when he straightens up, and gives the bike a gentle rap with his knuckles. "So? What d'you think. I know it doesn't hold a candle to Howard's modified design."

COULSON.

[tasering.livejournal.com]

Technically Darcy's a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent - answering to Colonel Fury's beck and call, doing whatever an Agent does. She's got the training and the badge to prove it, yes, but the fact of the matter is that she spends most of her time in the Avengers Mansion rather than on a Helicarrier or in Headquarters. No one seems to mind as long as she gets the required paperwork done and shows up to her briefings on time.

Which is why she's just wandering the Mansion, not really caring where she ends up when there's the tell-tale sounds of... Project Runaway? Quickly finding the offending lounge, Darcy sticks her head in expecting to find Cap or someone who doesn't know better and is instead greeted with Coulson.

"Are you kidding me?"

[glockenspieled.livejournal.com]

He half-turns to give her the mildest possible look. "I don't believe I've said anything."

Yes, he's watching Project Runway. No, he doesn't particularly care what your feelings on the matter are, Agent Lewis.