Steve stood in the hallway outside of your room for the longest time, trying to shake off his own reaction to seeing Robert in person, as well as trying to decide if he would be strong enough to do this. If he was questioning himself, how could he expect it of you? "That's ridiculous," he mumbled under his breath, "she's stronger than you any day." It led him to replay the years together, broken up, back together, broken up again, back together again, as new parents and now grandparents, fighting at each other's side, and all of the fears that came with every bit of it. There were maybe a few moments in there that he'd trade away just to spare the pain of them, but overall, his life was what he wanted in every way. Steve just wasn't sure if he could or even wanted to have it all play out for an audience any more than it had been at the time. The Avengers weren't immune to the press, and only the last few years did they find some sense of peace from it all. The new team would have to adjust to that on their own now, after taking up the mantle. He had hoped this part of his life would be quiet and restful, and this offer put a halt to that idea. But, even with all of that, no matter how he felt, this wasn't a decision for him alone. Finally deciding to slowly push the door open, he peeked inside, making sure for himself that he wasn't interrupting time that you might want to yourself, knowing that you'd be as lost in your own mind as he was in his. "(Y/N)? Can I come in?"

"Of course you can, Steve."

He gave you a small smile and entered the room, gently closing the door behind him. He stood there rather than joining you on your bed, as if he still wasn't convinced that you were okay with him being there. "If you don't want to do this, I'll go back down there and tell them no right now. There's nothing holding us to this. Besides, this is going to add a new level of busy to our lives if we do it. Busy that we just got to slow down after so long."

"I don't want to say no just because of this freaking me out. I think I can work through that, and it actually sounds like it could be fun," you shrugged, "for sure for the kids if anything. I'm just not sure if I'm ready to go through it all again and bring up old memories. It's heavy stuff, you know that." You looked up to see Steve watching you intently, still standing firm at the door. He was waiting for you to pull the trigger, either for or against it, but you were giving him nothing concrete to hold on to. "I think I need to get them all on a call so we can talk this over together. Brooke and Grant are here, but Anthony and Esihle are flying in with T'Challa."

"I feel like it's been forever since we've seen those two," Steve nodded, taking a step closer to join you, only to be interrupted again by another unexpected guest. "FRIDAY, who is it?"

"It's Mr. Downey, sir."

"Wow, okay," you looked to Steve with a hint of concern, "he's getting pretty familiar fairly quickly, but go ahead."

"Hello again," Steve offered, opening the door, but holding his place to keep the man in the hallway. "Mr. Downey, can we help you?"

"Um, hi...yeah," he started shakily. "Evans told me to get my ass up here and be a man, so here I am, doing my manly best." When the two of you simply stared back at him with expectation of more and an explanation as to what that actually meant, Robert felt that much more nervous and figured the best way out would be to clear the room of one of you. "Captain...Steve...America...Rogers...if you wouldn't mind, and obviously you too (Y/N), could I...maybe... talk to her alone? I'll be quick, I promise. Don't let my sudden inability to form a coherent thought deter you."

Steve had to admit to himself, the guy had a charm to him. "Doll?"

"Yeah, sure," you agreed. "Steve, can you just let Ant know that we're gonna try to get the trio on the phone when I'm done?"

"You got it," he smiled gently, giving you a thumbs up when Robert was turned away just as he closed the door.

Robert spun himself slowly, looking around the room and realizing that he maybe should've asked you to meet him in a conference room, or the kitchen, or anywhere other than your bedroom. He suddenly felt completely uncomfortable and you picked up on it right away. "Where should I sit?"

"You can come over here, I don't bite."

"Hmm, that's not what Ive read."

"I only bite when provoked."

"Noted."

You tapped your hand on the mattress next to you, pushing yourself to one side of it so that he could at least sit on the other side to not feel too close to each other. You didn't know the guy at all, and you were trying to not fall into the trap your mind was setting up just because he looked so much like Tony. This isn't Tony. "Listen, I'm sorry that I took off so fast back there-"

"No, that's totally on me, (Y/N)," he rushed to interrupt. "They told me that our resemblance is ridiculous and that I need to be prepared, and I...I was. I just didn't consider that maybe you weren't and I'm really sorry for that."

"Thank you."

He still moved very cautiously and slowly, taking the place to sit that you had led him to. His posture was uncomfortable but still strangely relaxed as he turned towards you. "Do you think you're gonna be okay with all of it? You can say no, you know? This is completely in your hands."

"I think I will be, but I can't decide right now. I need a few days to think it over, and we need to talk to the kids together. Once we get their input then we still have to talk to everyone else and our meetings never go to plan, historically. We tend to get sidetracked, usually by immaturity or hunger more than anything."

"Oh, about that, each one of us is talking to our own Avenger. That's why I've got Chris with me. He's probably taking to Steve right now."

"Wait, then who's playing me? Do I get a visit too?"

"Yeah, well I may have had a little pull and I asked them to let you decide. This is going to likely affect you the most since you'll have to see this handsome face again almost every day. I feel like you might want a little control over that at least. I've heard control is your thing."

"Where do you hear that?"

"Your last name was Stark, right? Feels a bit intuitive. And...I can read."

"You've talked to Fury, haven't you?"

"Actually, Sebastian met with Barnes yesterday and he might have shot a quick text my way after getting a little more insight to the story."

"Of course he did," you shook your head in feigned shock. "Wow, that's good casting though. Marvel really means business, huh?"

"They always do," he agreed with a wide smile. He sat quietly for a moment after that, regarding you and considering his next move. You seemed easy enough to talk to, and it felt almost natural to sitting here when it easily could have been terrifying and uncomfortable. This was a lot of pressure on him, and even after knowing you for only a matter of minutes, he knew that he had to do this right because he was damn sure that he wasn't about to hurt you when you had been through enough. "So, what do you think? Is this too much? I can't change my face, but you can understand why I wouldn't want to, right? This is my money maker."

"I'm sure there's more to it than that, Mr. Downey."

"Nope, that's not how we're doing this, (Y/N). I'm Robert. Or Bob, once we're friends, which I think we'll get to pretty fast. Agree? Casting is done except for yours."

You chewed on your thumbnail as you thought it over, a nervous trait that you had seen your dad do a million times over; it was likely that you didn't even realize you were doing it and why. Looking back at the man in front of you as he waited patiently but with eager eyes watching for a sign from you, it was easy to trust him. He had a natural ease about him, and it was a welcome feeling to be around. You decided in that moment that your life would be even better off to have more of that in your days. You had missed it. He wasn't Tony, but you couldn't deny the similarities were something you had desperately needed.

"Okay, let me talk to Steve tonight and I'll call you tomorrow."

---

"I know that you're indestructible, but you look ridiculous when you're choking and I'm sure no one here wants to see that."

"Fuck off, I'm hungry."

"When are you not hungry, Wade?" you groaned, pushing back in the booth and looking at the patrons around you. There wasn't as much staring as you had expected, but you still offered a silent apology to those within earshot who had caught your glance. "Alright, so tell me," you sighed, "would you do it?"

"Would I?" he scoffed, taking another bite of more pancakes than would barely fit. "Would I?"

"That's what I just asked you."

"No, that's not what I mean. What I mean is, am I going to do it? I'm a pretty big part of your story, sweet cheeks."

"Uh...well, they haven't really given us those details just yet," you sat up straighter, unknowingly eyeing each escape route. "We don't know what the scope of it will be, or where in our timeline they're going to focus. Or...if you're going to come into play."

"Well, if I had to guess, start with your first Cap slap and tickle and end with...well, end with the end." Wade rushed to finish his last few bites, pushing the plate aside to rest his hands out on the table towards you for you to take. You could see his posture relax as you did, and you followed suit. "I'm gonna be real, (Y/N), you lost a bit of your scary when you lost Tony."

"Can you blame me?"

"Not even a little," he agreed immediately. "I just wish that I knew how to get it back for you. I miss it."

"Me too."

"You haven't kicked my ass in years, (Y/N). My ass misses you. I have no one to keep it tight for now."

"Thanks, Wade," you smiled. "It's almost like you know exactly how to make a girl feel better, but you keep missing the target."

"I never miss, what the hell, (Y/N)? Now you're just insulting me." He pulled his hands back and sat quietly for several minutes, which always terrified you. You could almost hear the gears turning in his brain, and that usually meant he was about to spew epic idiocy, a diatribe of curses, or something barely worth listening to. Still, no matter what he would come up with, you were sure it would be entertaining.

"OH MY GOD!" he suddenly hollered out, slamming his hands down so hard that the entire diner jumped in reaction. "(Y/N), you have to get me into this! Do even you know what this means?"

"No?"

"Ryan Reynolds has to play me, can you imagine? We look exactly the same! Well, neck up, at least. This sculpture of a body can't be replicated. They've broken CGI trying."

"I'm sorry, but I'm looking right at you, and all I see is testicle face. You don't realize how much that mask does for your appeal, do you? I'm pretty sure that's the only part of him that you look like."

Wade looked away in a huff, petulantly crossing his arms over his chest in mock offense. He was trying hard to sell that you had hurt his feelings, but he wasn't that good of an actor. That's what he needed Reynolds for. "When I said that you lost your scary, (Y/N), I didn't say your mean. You'll never lose that."

(In process)