imaginatus | endgame open post

[ There's a time limit of sorts on the holographic recordings that Tony made for everyone. Some of the others have more, and others less. There are some for people who have been dead for years, like Yinsen. Others left for Natasha, who never got a chance to listen to hers.

Still more for those that were lost during the first battle to Thanos. Apologies he needed to make. Errors in judgement to try and make right. Who knows if it worked? He's not really here to see it, after all. Not all of them are just recordings, though.

Some of them are based off of the BARF technology, and more or less interactive. Which is why the first of many that were left for Steve turns on one day, beeping softly with a blinking blue light. After a few seconds, it turns on, projecting a hologram of Tony into the room. ]

I'd be upset about being ignored for so long, but given the circumstances this is probably a little bit of a shock. So, ---sorry, for what it's worth.

[ Steve hardly sleeps nowadays. Not that he ever actually had a healthy sleep schedule, but ever since the original snap, something always manages to keep him up. Initially it had been the guilt. The helplessness at being unable to fix or do anything to really, truly help others. He helped with the clean up as much as he could, and he tried to restore order wherever he could manage, but ultimately it was never enough. How could it, when so many people had just been wiped out?

Even after everyone is back, though, the sleeplessness continues. The serum makes it easy for him to go without sleep for long stretches of time before he has to at least nap for a few hours, but that's as far as he can get. There's guilt again that lingers, but it's for different reasons. He thinks of Natasha. He thinks of Tony. He thinks of their deaths, at how unfair it is that they're gone while everyone else is back. He knows they would do it again in a heartbeat - whatever it takes, they had all promised - but the unfairness of it all is sometimes too much to bear.

So, he busies himself. He helps in clearing up the debris at the compound, he works with Bucky, Sam, and Wanda as they try to help the world re-adjust. It helps him keep busy, and it helps in feeling like he's at least doing something so that the sacrifice that had been done hadn't been in vain.

Tonight he's in his room, though, failing yet again at attempting to sleep. Bucky had threatened to find a way to knock him out so that he could get some rest, so he had figured he'd give sleep a try even if he had already known that it wouldn't work. For a moment he thinks he's dreaming, though, when he hears the faint beeping and when he sits up to try to find the source, his heart feels like it stops when he sees the blue light.

No, he thinks. This isn't possible. He's dreaming. He's--

Here. Tony is in his room. A hologram version of him, but it's him and Steve breathes out a chuckle under his breath that seems to get caught in his throat. ]

...yeah. It's a little bit of a shock.

[ Understatement of the year. His throat feels unnaturally dry, but he tries to ignore it as he moves to sit at the foot of the bed. He knows this isn't real, but he looks so damn real that for a moment he's tempted to reach out for him. ]

You really prepared for everything, didn't you.

Course I did. Who do you take me for?

[ The hologram is programmed with a fairly extensive memory, databank of movements to gather off of. What it can't actually "remember" it can access via FRIDAY's scans, etc. Not that the hologram is going to go into all the details about that.

Tony heads over to the edge of the bed, swiping gently at Steve's shoulder so that he can have enough room to sit next to him. ]

But, uh, seriously. Sorry about the surprise. Even though we both know it's good to see me.

[ Tony's not wrong, he really should have known better. He lets out a quiet, dry chuckle under his breath as he looks down for a moment. ]

Yeah, guess I should've seen it coming.

[ Even without the swipe, Steve moves over to give him some room to sit, and he positions himself so that he can see him. He can't help the way his heart feels as if it beats harder once he has him this close, and again, he has to actively remind himself that he can't actually reach out for him. ]

No, it's... Don't be sorry. It is good to see you. I've missed you.

[ He's a few years out of practice. It can easily be forgiven. ]

Probably, yeah.

[ There's a swift inhale, and a slow exhale, all a part of the programming, but real enough to have been as if Tony were actually sitting there. He tilts his head, mouth turning up on one side. ]

We didn't get enough of this before the mission. I think part of that was definitely on me. I couldn't quite figure out how to bridge the rest of that gap.

So, I took the easy way out with this. [ He waves his hand a little at his holographic self. ]

[ It definitely looks real enough, it makes his heart ache even if he has gotten very good at hiding those kind of details. ]

No, it... I don't think it was just you. It's like we forgot how to really do this in all those years that passed. I hate that we couldn't fix it.

[ Steve shakes his head slightly. ]

I'm glad you did. It's something. It's more than I could ever ask.

Part of it was, though. And yeah, maybe we did forget and we couldn't fix it then. Fixing---fixing what we can here and now, even if it's like this, will have to be enough.

[ The real Tony might've reached out to pat Steve's shoulder, even if it was a little awkwardly. The AI running the hologram knows that's something that would've happened, but it isn't something he's capable of doing. ]

So, catch me up already, come on. Did Morgan find the shield when you weren't looking yet and take it sledding? I think you'd have a few more gray hairs if that happened, honestly.

[ Steve nods. It's not a whole hell of a lot, but it's the only option he has left. It feels wrong, considering Tony - the real Tony - and he had never gotten to have this conversation. But, he obviously had left this recording in preparation for it, so he has to hope that some way he'll know that things did get better.

He chuckles quietly under his breath. ]

Not yet. I know it's coming, though. I tried to show her how to fish, but she ended up not being too impressed with it. Instead she somehow managed to convince me to have a tea party with her.

[ Not that it had been that hard, really. All Morgan had done was turn those big brown eyes at him, and he had caved within a second. Pepper had found it entirely too amusing when she found them on the porch, two hours later, surrounded by a good portion of her stuffed animals and sharing imaginary tea. ]

We've all been visiting, helping Pepper with Morgan. And Morgan letting us hang out with her. She's a great kid, Tony.

[ It's got to be enough, then. This small, stolen moment. Tony would hope that it would be enough, if he couldn't be here. ]

Fishing? Yeah, I'm not surprised that didn't work out. She's too energetic for that. [ He chuckles though, at the mention of the tea party, and the corner of his mouth tucks into the side of his cheek. ] Please tell me she made you wear the hat and someone got a picture, cause I need that.

Glad to hear it. I can't imagine it's been ---easy for everyone. But it worked, right? Future saved for another generation? Worth it.

endgame open post

you hurt me, i hurt you it's a vicious cycle.

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