bakerstreet | (no subject)

(no subject)

[ WOKE UP IN JAIL ]

Where are you? Why is your bed so hard? Why is someone peeing right by your head?
Oh right. Because you got pinched last night. Welcome to the slammer, baby.

• Post with your character name/fandom/options preferences.
• Use RNG to pick your possible scenario - or just go with what you'd like most.
• Reply to other people's tags. Use RNG or decide what your part in the whole kerfuffle is.
• Enjoy the confusion.

Reason(s) you're in jail:

1. Indecent Exposure
Nobody wanted to watch you strut around with everything hanging out, and someone called you on it. Hope they gave you a jumpsuit or you're going to be prison eye candy.

2. Drunk and disorderly conduct
"Wassat, occifer? No... I'm not dru-*hic* drunk. I'm unner the legal limit. Wooo!" No, no you're not. You're way over. Sleep it off, buddy.

3. Vandalism
Oh, you naughty thing. You got busted stealing that 'Chickens X-ing' sign. Or was it drawing boobs on the drive-thru clown? Either way, tsk tsk.

4. B&E
Apparently your friend didn't think you kicking in his window to sneak in and leave him a 'present' was as good of an idea as you thought it was. Well, no love for HIM. *hmph*

5. Grand Theft Auto
The car was BEGGING to go for a ride. It called to you with its sireny car-call. And you just had to answer. If it hadn't been for the damn spike belt...

6. Kidnapping
Trust me, there are better ways to get money to pay for your Bieber concert tickets.

7. Murder
Talk about being caught red handed. You got caught red armed. And faced. And front. You're messy.

8. Any/all of the above
Ooooh... You've been REALLY naughty, haven't you? Actually, you kind of scare me.

Relationship of the person tagging:

1. Cohort in Crime.

2. Person coming to bail you out. (or not)

3. Jailer/Warden.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

"I crashed the plane because I couldn't reroute it. But there was more too it than that. Bucky was gone, Ma was gone. I didn't see the point in keeping up the pretense that anyone would actually care about me. I was selfish..I wanted to be with them again so I figured well, I do this I save lots of people and I'll get to be with those I wanna be with again. But that wasn't the case. Apparently I can hold my breath for a long time....it took a long time for me to pass out...I was so cold I couldn't feel it anymore but I couldn't move. Eventually I guess I just blacked out. I have no idea how long it took but it felt like forever. Then I had moments where I could hear the ice creaking. I could feel the pressure around me, in me." Steve shivers and his hands rub his arms absentmindedly.

"I promise to listen, if you do." Steve agrees. "I took you for granted Tony and I don't want to do it again."

That's- well. Probably why he's hiding in a country with such a warm climate after the fiasco in Sibera. No wonder he and Barnes were on edge; contents of the facility aside. There's not much he can say to that. It's visceral and staggering- the hopeful guy from Brooklyn that fought so damn hard gave up and maybe that's why him tossing it out so casually months ago is what prompted actual conversation.

Trying to not, this time around.

"Well that sounds. Horrible." An understatement that boarders on flippant but they're both rubbed raw here. "I heard what you were saying, Steve. I just thought my way was the right one."

Still does- but not with this price tag attached. Not with Rhodey's spine or the broken circle tagged on as the cost for accountability and oversight.

Steve nods at Tony's words. He too thought he was right in his decision. "I think we need to work on compromise. I think that's the right word. We've learned...we should have learned before this...that when we go in opposite directions there is a lot of collateral damage. I also think I might have misunderstood what you were trying to say...and before you could explain well..you were there." Steve sighed bringing his hands up and scrubbing at his eyes. Thinking about what happened to Bucky was painful for him.

"Communication. Trust." God, it is like hammering out a romantic relationship isn't it? He's never been the best at those- the people that have been with him the longest, that knew him best- Happy, Rhodey, Pepper- put up with him despite his inability to handle any of that well and when he finally thought he was getting his legs under him he still managed to fuck it up over the accords.

Dwelling isn't gonna help. Tony's exhaustion catches up with him and maybe, maybe this time when he lies down he won't get a face full of desert sands and blood. Maybe. "Falcon's gonna have a field day with this."

Steve gives a laugh and nods. "Yeah, I would guess so. He's definitely got some sass in him as my Ma would say." Steve yawns again and from the clock near his stove he can see it's 4:45am. They've been talking for almost two hours. He can see the exhaustion and tiredness around Tony's face and once more brings up sleep.

"Breakfast isn't until 9:30. It's a weekend and the palace is much more lax. We should try and get a bit more sleep. If you don't wanna go back to your room this couch is pretty damn cozy, feel free to sleep here if you want. I think I might go get back in my bed for a bit."

"I'll head back to my room, actually but-" He stands, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to blink away the weight that seems to have settled on him the longer he let himself just. Stop. Doesn't happen often but without any real projects his mind's winding down. "Thanks. For this."

Listening being present, talking- he waves a hand vaguely between them indicating the lot as he heads back to the door. This makes two conversations face to face where things went well. How's that for unexpected and pleasant? The pattern won't hold, once they're both rested up something will set one of them off but-

Probably not so bad as to keep this broken. They're fixing it by inches. "It helped."

Steve nods at Tony when he's thanked and smiles, walking him to the door. "I'm glad." He says honestly and once Tony's gone he lets himself just sag against the door for a moment, drained.

He knows their truce is unsteady, he knows he has to be very careful or everything they've laid in the foundation will burn into cinders. "I won't let you down Tony. We're going to fix this. We're going to rebuild our world." He promises to himself before eventually pulling himself up and shuffling back to his bed to try and get some more sleep before the inevitable.

This time there aren't nightmares- or at least none that he can remember. Uncomfortable memories, half finished projects, promises, playing piano for his mother; fragments that don't form anything in particular and leave him feeling a little better rested than the day before. FRIDAY flickers to life on the tablet Rhodey gave him; offering date, time, weather- the usual scroll of data that helps him drift awake and face the day.

It's nice to have it back, even if the surroundings aren't familiar. It's better than the Raft, better than the empty halls of the compound, the weight of Ross hanging over him all hours of the day. Suit (because Vision was kind enough to insist and Tony really needs the figurative armor), tie, phone, tablet, hard drive, sunglasses (Rhodey's, borrowed, might keep them) and he almost feels like himself before the accords. Almost.

Closer than he's been in awhile and that'll have to be enough. Not used to being aimless he steps out in the hall, peering for- well. Signs of life. Directions to breakfast since he might as well get this shit over with.

It was Sam who woke Steve up at 9am. Steve showers, dresses, and spends several minutes talking to his friend before they get ready to head down to breakfast. Steve's ready to go knock on Tony's door to offer to show him where to go when Rhodey rounds the corner at the other end.

"I'll bring him Steve. He's gonna be antsy enough." He offers Steve a small smile and nods his head in greeting at Sam. "Morning." He says.

"Thanks Rhodes, see you in a bit then." Steve says as he and Sam round the corner to the left heading towards the communal dining hall T'Challa had set up for them. Most of the team was there when he and Sam arrived.

Rhodey greets Tony when the man exits his room. "Well, you look much better. Ready to get this over with?"

"Not even a little." Revisiting Siberia isn't going to be enjoyable, explaining how they fought, why they fought, going through all of that again? Admitting to being played by a glorified security drone? Wounds his manly pride.

And his appetite, but that's been waxing and waning for weeks now and nothing new. "But that's a moot point. Come on, honeybear, let's face the music."

There probably won't be any fists thrown. Probably.

Rhodey leads Tony down to the dining hall pointing out other communal rooms as he goes. He's only been there a few days himself but it was long enough to learn where he could go so he wasn't stuck in his room all the time.

Steve is sitting beside Wanda and across from Sam. There are plenty of empty spots for Tony and Rhodes to choose from so he doesn't have to sit on Steve's other side unless he wants too. Clint and Scott are already starting to fill their plates when T'Challa joins them. It's nice to see the King. It's nice that most of his family is now all together. Beside him Wanda is all smiles as she talks softly with Vision.

The food was piled high in platters and people were beginning to pour drinks and dig in when Tony and Rhodey enter the room. He smiles up at them and motions towards the empty chairs. "Morning, have a seat and join us?"

It's almost sickeningly domestic- more than enough to give him pause. Months with just Vision and Rhodey and inconsistent meals in the workshop as trying to share meals only made all the empty chairs that much more obvious and uncomfortable. To go from that to the Raft to this-

Grateful for the glasses and years of experience schooling his expression, Tony waves a vague hand, pouring himself a mug of coffee. Food'll come later, if at all. "I'm good standing."

Easier to have a running start if he needs a quick exit. Probably won't come to that but- paranoia's healthy when you're the squishiest person in the room and viscerally aware of it.

No one is giving Tony murder eyes, no one is giving him anything more than just general attention. It's awkward...the tension in the room is noticeable but no one mentions it. Steve pours himself another cup of coffee and leans back.

Rhodey claps Tony on the back in a supportive manner and sits down beside Sam pouring his own cup of coffee.

"It's good to see you, Tony." Wanda says smiling over at him hoping to diffuse the tension a bit.

"Why did Ross toss you in the RAFT? I thought you two were buddies now." Clint just comes out and asks point blank. Someone has to rip the bandaid and start the conversation.

"Withholding information." He shrugs, the gesture fluid, familiar, flippant as anything and weighty enough to be honest. "He kept figuring I knew where you were, I didn't, and then he wanted to know where the Shield was and wanted it for whatever poor sap he's planning on shoving in the suit."

America needs a Captain or whatever, that'd been the byline. "I don't like giving Ross anything, let alone something that doesn't belong to him or the United States Government, so."

Slow sip. Long pause? Maybe. Ball's in their court.

Clint gives a slight huff at the comment of Stark not liking to give Ross things but he doesn't comment on it. He just shoots Steve a glance and raises an eyebrow from his chair.

It's Sam who speaks next, he and Steve had spoken earlier, he told him the plan to air the notions about Siberia so he decided he'd be the one to bring it up.

"What happened in Siberia. You promised you'd go in as a friend." He asks, hands folded infront of him on the table as he leans forward to get a better look at Tony.

Right. This.

Fun, okay- how to explain the situation. "...I thought we were going to stop Zemo from releasing- something. Didn't get the whole picture until I was walking through the room with a bunch of cryotubes stuffed with tasty, murderous treats but apparently the fear was he'd set them on the world. But that wasn't his plan."

He almost wishes it had been. That'd be easier to handle. Easier to fix.

Steve stands up and moves to stand beside Tony. Far enough so as to not invade his personal bubble but close enough for everyone to realize this is something they are doing together. It is unfair and wrong for Steve to let Tony handle this mess alone.

"That's what we thought too, that is what the information we gathered from Zemo led us to believe. We had to get to Siberia to stop him from releasing up to 5 more Winter Soldiers. Bucky and I were gradually clearing the compound when Tony arrived. Then....Then we realized that releasing them wasn't his plan. A little too late. He killed all five of them in their cryo tubes, bullet to the brain will stop even something like that.

He was after us. Specifically me and Tony." Steve looks over at his friend silently asking him if he wants Steve to tell the story or if he wants too.

"From behind a wall of steel several inches thick with a little viewport, he said a few words, showed a video clip- and ruined everything." Destroyed whatever chance there might have been of just walking out of there with Steve and Barnes and getting things mended. "Howard and Maria Stark died in a car accident because dear old dad didn't know when to not get behind the wheel. That'd been the story for as long as I can remember. It's also pretty damn false."

Tony goes quiet and still, eyes on the middle distance- again grateful for the shades to give him a little more breathing room, give him less to worry about schooling. It doesn't stop his shoulders from locking up or his breath from going measured and even. But it helps a little.

"The Winter Soldier killed my parents." Excellent test of programming, really, but five kinds of fucked up.

There were several gasps around the table. Of all the scenarios they had thought of or invented behind closed doors, this was not one of them. Wanda looks at Tony in abject horror, as if the knowledge he'd have to SEE something like that terrified her. It did. She'd witnessed the deaths of her own family and would never wish such pain on even her worst enemy.

Sam gives a grave nod and leans forward in his seat as he mulls over what Tony had said.

"Is there more to this story?" Clint asks. He's a spy and he gets the feeling there is still more to mention.

"I...I knew." Steve stutters slightly his own body tensing. "I knew that the Winter Soldier had killed the Starks. It was in the SHIELD data dump as well as in the files Natasha managed to get for me. I knew and I didn't tell Tony. If I had this might not have happened."

Sam shakes his head at Steve and gives a snort of disbelief. "You have got to stop deciding what people need and don't need to know about themselves and their affairs."

Scott sits listening to everything. He doesn't know these people well enough to offer comments or questions but it sounds like one huge misunderstanding and a bunch of hurt feelings that stemmed from the best intentions. It sucks.

"And I took it about as well as you can expect." Even if he'd been making strides with trying to give himself closure and moving on it isn't enough when you see what actually happened in its grainy VHS glory. Trying to pare down the fight to a small statement takes a moment, memory flicking back between rage and betrayal and disappointment- they'd been arguing about the accords, fine, but he came to help, he believed Steve, he came as a friend-

So was I-

"We fought. They left." Breaking the beating down into something that's curt and clipped and final. No one walked away a winner, no one slept well afterward and Tony had to lie there in a dead suit until he could get the emergency beacon going and call someone to get him while concussed and half certain his heart was going to give out.

Fun times.

There is silence around the table as everyone digests what has been said. It's hard to believe, but it makes much more sense now with the whole story. This...would take time to mend, they all understood that better now.

"And now? Is there hope here?" Clint asks motioning between Steve and Tony. "Can we get the family back together? All of us?" Because he's including Bucky in this even though he's not here.

Steve just gives a sigh. They aren't mad, he can see it in their faces. They seem, sad really. Maybe disappointed in Steve even. He can handle that. He has to handle that. It was his decision and he has to live with it.

"I distinctly remember retiring." And it's something he's still considering heavily. Stepping back and simplifying the matter by removing himself, the massive variable with it's compounded complications all coiled in and tangled up like an knot worthy of Gideon. Support, PR, financing, equipment R&D maybe on a contractual basis (like he'd been in the beginning before things became so intense) and living his life on the side.

Rhodey would be the armor and the tactical mind they need and he can quit worrying about mending bridges or trust issues.

"I retired too, didn't work out so well." Clint shrugs as he leans back in his chair observing Tony. "But hey, you do you. What's the plan considering the only person in New York now is that Spiderkid and who knows how long it will be before Ross goes after him."

Steve sits back down, he feels slightly nauseous with all the tension in the room, most of it still emanating from Tony. Does the man not want to mend the fences? Does he want to keep himself alienated from the group? He thought they had agreed to try and fix things.

"And the Devil in Hell's kitchen, the kid with a golden hand, an indestructible PI and equally indestructible bartender- and those are just the ones I know about." Laying out what he's learned because he's had to keep an eye out due to the accords- and kept his mouth shut just as much.

You've become a part of a bigger universe.

"We have- had- better PR but that doesn't mean we're the only team on the block or the only ones capable of stepping up when the world goes to shit. The plan right now is long distance support for the kid and anyone else that needs it- he'll keep an ear to the ground, he's good at that- and fix the accords. Or-" And he had plenty of time to mull this over while cooperating, while showing the system that it was so fucking broken he was incarcerated despite being it's strongest defender in the heroing community "Get them revoked. Then we go back to doing what we were doing. Or. You all will and I'll step out of handling field work. I'm getting a little old to be knocked around in a tin can."

It actually calms them all to know there are more people than just Parker around. Of course there were Xavier's kids as well but they were also having their own problems with Ross and the Government. One of Steve's biggest fears was they too would be ousted and that posed an even bigger threat than just the Avengers being tossed out and labeled fugitives.

Steve rubs his temple in order to ease the building headache. He doesn't get them often, hardly ever since the serum, but times like this when his stress levels are through the roof and there is nothing he can do...well.

The rest of the team seems to have all silently agreed this is enough heavy stuff for one morning and surprisingly it's Vision who speaks.

"I appreciate you both giving us all the details of what transpired betwixt you. I believe it is in everyones best interest to end the conversation here and allow time for reflection and assessment before any other decisions be made."

Everyone nods in agreement and gradually those seated around the table turn back to their breakfasts and individual conversations. Rhodey nudges the chair beside him towards Tony in invitation. Steve stays at the table but he makes no move to either eat or drink anything else. He doesn't speak unless asked a direct question and once people begin departing for the day he gets up and leaves the room. He wants to see Bucky.