[The thing is, he more or less forgave Howard a long time ago. There's only so many decades you can carry a childhood hurt, and now that he's grown up a bit-- well, it was still shit at the time, but the thing is that he gets it. He gets being so wrapped up in whatever project you're working on that you don't surface for food or sleep let alone human interaction for days at a time. He gets everything else falling by the wayside when you know you're close to some sort of breakthrough. In all honesty that's about half the reason he's damn sure he's never having kids himself. He knows first-hand from the other side exactly how hard he would suck as a father.
And of course by the time he'd reached the point of being over it, of letting go of that old hurt and bitterness, Howard was already long since six feet under. Maybe in another lifetime they might have reconciled, might have ended up with some sort of decent relationship as adults. Maybe they would have. It's a nice thought. But as it is, when the car crash happened, they hadn't spoken a civil word to each other in months.
He makes a strangled sort of noise, and the expression on his face at the idea of Peggy and Howard is one of undisguised horror. Somehow that bit always got left out of the stories] Holy shit. I'm glad she had more sense than that.
[It's weird to think of Steve, the same Steve he gleefully prods at and has about three arguments a week with, as hanging around with his dad and Aunt Peggy back in the day. It's even weirder thinking about what things might have been like if the capsicle never got frozen. But that's not a thought he has much interest in entertaining for too long.
He gives a soft laugh] Yeah, she sure wasn't shy about giving me a smack upside the head when I needed it. Which was, y'know...a lot [Believe it or not, Steve, the Tony you know is the more mature and mellow version. Tony as a kid was infinitely more of a mouthy little shit.
He tilts his head slightly, giving Steve a considering look] So I guess you guys knew each other during the war, huh?
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And of course by the time he'd reached the point of being over it, of letting go of that old hurt and bitterness, Howard was already long since six feet under. Maybe in another lifetime they might have reconciled, might have ended up with some sort of decent relationship as adults. Maybe they would have. It's a nice thought. But as it is, when the car crash happened, they hadn't spoken a civil word to each other in months.
He makes a strangled sort of noise, and the expression on his face at the idea of Peggy and Howard is one of undisguised horror. Somehow that bit always got left out of the stories] Holy shit. I'm glad she had more sense than that.
[It's weird to think of Steve, the same Steve he gleefully prods at and has about three arguments a week with, as hanging around with his dad and Aunt Peggy back in the day. It's even weirder thinking about what things might have been like if the capsicle never got frozen. But that's not a thought he has much interest in entertaining for too long.
He gives a soft laugh] Yeah, she sure wasn't shy about giving me a smack upside the head when I needed it. Which was, y'know...a lot [Believe it or not, Steve, the Tony you know is the more mature and mellow version. Tony as a kid was infinitely more of a mouthy little shit.
He tilts his head slightly, giving Steve a considering look] So I guess you guys knew each other during the war, huh?