"Well, Steve called it a 'big, ugly building' when I barely knew him." Tony commented.
"I did." Steve admitted. "But I didn't really mean it personally. I thought all of the modern buildings weren't appealing when I was first defrosted. They've grown on me though, especially the Avengers tower."
"You're just saying that because you live here now Capsicle." Tony jokingly punched him in the arm. "But the point is, what did you guys honestly think when you first saw the tower? Since Doom destroyed the top floors of my baby, it's a chance to redo everything. It's your tower to now. I want your input."
Natasha just shrugged. "I didn't really pay attention to forming a personal opinion. I don't have an eye for building aesthetics. More of a functionality person. As long as we still have the gym and large kitchen, I'm fine."
Clint nodded. "Beats my old apartment near SHIELD. Fancy bed."
Bruce just shrugged. "I was still getting used to skyscrapers and steel buildings. Everything was so different from India. I was trying to adapt again and keep everything under control. I don't really remember a specific first impression of the tower."
"You guys are the worst." Tony threw his hands into an exasperated gesture. "Peter? You weren't there in the beginning, but any thoughts on what the tower used to or should look like?"
"Everything you do looks impressive Mr. Stark." Peter answered sincerely.
Tony shook his head. The kid was too starstruck to give a helpful answer. Everyone else didn't live in the tower permanently so he didn't really care. Plus, he knew he'd probably get the same indifferent commentary or something over the top and stupid, looking at you, Thor.
"You guys must've had some opinions. JARVIS, can you pull up a video of when Clint first moved in?"
"I need Mr. Barton's permission to access footage from his private quarters."
Tony looked at Clint, who seemed nonplussed. "Go ahead JARVIS. Don't expect anything interesting though."
——Clint 2017——
"And here is your room." Tony opened the door and made a sweeping gesture with his hand. "The bedroom is that door, the bathroom is over there, and here is your kitchen. We're standing in the living room. I had J pick out furniture you might like, but if you want something else. Let me know."
"Thanks. Cameras?"
"It helps JARVIS monitor the tower."
"Okay."
"You can unpack now. If you need any help bring your stuff up, tell the doormen downstairs. I'm going to be working in the lab. Feel free to wander around and check out the rest of the building in more depth."
"Got it."
Tony left.
Clint did a quick sweep of the room, instinctually looking for any signs of danger. He looked at the air duct and lightly pushed on it. A tiny smirk appeared on his face. He grabbed his small bag and dumped it on the kitchen table.
"Unpacked." He announced to no-one in particular. He then locked the door, went to the bed, and promptly fell asleep.
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"That was it?" Tony gaped.
"It wasn't exactly like I was carrying my new wife across the threshold of our new house or getting the keys to my first house with my best friend. What were you expecting? Joyful squealing? Complaints? Swearing?" Clint sounded a tiny bit offended.
"No. It's just - all you had was a backpack. There's like one pair of clothes."
"I was wearing one."
"Not an excuse."
"I bought more."
"Why didn't you have any?"
Clint twisted a pen around his fingers. "I went on missions 5-6 times a week. SHEILD provided the uniform or the undercover outfit. Slept naked, or if I was tired enough, in my clothes. Didn't need any."
Tony was in shock. How could Clint not own any personal effects? Knowing about his past in the circus, it made Tony feel a little sick to see how Clint was used by SHIELD. How he'd never really had or needed a home. "Aren't the rest of you surprised?"
"That Clint wasn't into clothes? Not really." Bruce joked and Natasha snorted. Tony looked at them with surprise. Why weren't they rattled at all seeing their friend's meager conditions.
"Can I see Bruce?"
Bruce nodded and JARVIS pulled up a video of Bruce's room.
——Bruce 2017——
"This is your stop." Tony was grinning at Bruce as they entered the room.
"Great! I really appreciate it Tony. The lab is amazing."
"Don't mention it. Get settled before you start working. If you're anything like me, and I think you are, it'll be hours or before you'll take a break once you start."
Bruce laughed in agreement.
"I heard they took your bags before you entered. They'll be up soon."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." Tony smiled again before he left.
"Hi neighbor!"
Bruce jumped and spun around. "What the hell Hawkeye?"
"Just being friendly and introducing myself to my new neighbor. Hi, I'm Clint." Clint waved from the hole in the ceiling. "I'm ordering pizza in an hour if you want to join. I'll be down in the media room." He popped the air duct back into place and disappeared.
Bruce had his hand over his heart, but relaxed as soon as Clint left. Knocking at the door alerted him that his stuff was ready.
Bruce opened the door and took one carry-on suitcase from the man. He tipped him as well, which surprised the employee a bit, and then closed the door.
He rubbed his fingers alongside the bridge of his nose. "Okay. Okay. Okay." After a minute or two, he wheeled the bag to his room. He put it on the bed and unzipped it.
The suitcase was revealed to be only half full. As Bruce started pulling stuff out, he seemed to realize something.
"Jeez. I need more clothes." Ninety percent of what he pulled out were medical supplies that he traveled with and monitors to make sure he didn't get too excited and wake the other guy. The clothes he did have weren't exactly right for New York. They were made for much warmer weather and it was almost fall.
As he finished up, his stomach rumbled. He laughed and then went down to meet up with Clint.
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"Well that wasn't exactly..." Tony couldn't believe how little Bruce had brought with him. His musings were interrupted by the sound of snickering.
"Your face." Clint had his knees drawn up and was curled on himself. "JARVIS, can I get a screen grab of Bruce's expression."
"I don't give consent for that." Bruce spoke up, blushing a bit. "I can't believe you did that."
"What about Nat?" Tony hoped that Natasha at least had all of her undercover clothes with her when she moved in.
She quirked an eyebrow up and thought for a moment before ordered out "Pull it up JARVIS."
——Natasha 2018——
"Hey..." A breathless Tony ran through the door to the living room where Natasha was standing with a concentrated look.
Her brows were furrowed as she studied every aspect of the room closely.
"What if this wasn't your room? How long had you been in here?"
"Since you turned into the gym. It is my room."
Tony opened and closed his mouth like he was trying to find something to say, but couldn't come up with the words.
"Why are you filming me?" Her eyebrows furrowed further and her lips formed a thin line. Her eyes were piercing.
"It's just for JARVIS and security reasons." Tony hurriedly exclaimed. "I can't even see the videos without you allowing it anyway."
"JARVIS?"
"I can confirm. Sir will not be able to access any footage from private areas unless the parties involved give consent."
Natasha nodded and then relaxed a bit, satisfied with the answer.
"No creepy stuff. Promise." Tony held out his hand to shake Natasha's hand.
"Mmhm." She quickly complied and completed the handshake.
"Okay...Bruce and I are leaving for a conference in about ten minutes and Clint's out on a mission so the tower's all yours." Tony let himself out.
Natasha grabbed a small duffel that had been stashed behind a chair. She looked around the room one more time before unzipping the bag. She pulled out some papers from the side and placed them on the table.
She opened the main compartment to reveal several outfits, which she hung in her closet. There was also a book and a bag of something concealed from view.
She crunched the duffel bag and placed it in a closet. She sat down on the edge of the bed for a moment, looking deep in though, before there was a ringing from the other room.
"Goliath" flashed across the TV screen and Nat grabbed a remote and answered the call. The screen showed an empty room.
"Tasha?"
"All me."
Clint moved on screen and grinned. "When'd you get there?"
"About an hour ago."
"Excited to be neighbors?"
"Thrilled." Her tone was mocking but there was an undercurrent of happiness. "How's it going?"
"It's going." Clint answered. They both clearly knew not to give away any information about their mission, but Clint let his expressions show so Nat would know he was doing alright.
"All yours." Steve stepped into frame. He was damp and had a towel wrapped around his waist. "Hey Natasha!"
"Hello." She smiled.
"Where are you?"
"In Tony's tower."
"Oh, you moved in."
"Yeah, today. You should join us. It's the Avengers tower now."
"Maybe eventually. I've still got some business in DC."
She looked thoughtful and than hummed in acknowledgment. "At least it beats that room in SHIELD."
Steve groaned and laughed. "At least here I have windows in my room."
Then there was a loud noise and Steve and Clint stiffened. "Gotta go. See you later." Clint said and the screen turned dark.
Natasha was pretty much unaffected. The noise didn't sound too big and she was confident in her teammates' abilities. She stood up and tilted her head.
Then she grabbed keys from the counter and left the room.
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"You didn't have windows?!" Tony's inflection was a tough higher than normal.
Steve just shrugged. "They keep it very military."
"That's not..." Tony couldn't even think of an argument. He couldn't even fathom why everyone was so unphased by this. Natasha didn't even have much stuff either.
"Should I show Steve now?" JARVIS preemptively inquired.
Tony glanced at Steve for an answer. He was hoping he'd agree because he wanted to see a reaction. If Steve had only lived in a small apartment during Depression and a SHIELD room with no window, he must have some reaction to his room in the tower? And he went on that tour of America, he must have normal clothes and personal effects, right?
"Go ahead." Steve called to the ceiling, a habit he hadn't broken yet.
——Steve 2018——
"Thank you for the room." Steve had a stoic expression and was standing in an uptight, tense way. It took a few months after he moved in for him to become comfortable around Tony.
"Don't mention it. Room's always empty anyway. Let me know if you need anything. I'll leave you to it." Tony shut the door behind him, leaving Steve alone in the room.
He immediately walked to his kitchenette and opened a cabinet, pulling out a glass and filling it with water from the tap. He took a sip and sighed, looking around the room.
"Guess this is home for a while." He mumbled under his breath. He finished the rest of the water with one swig and then immediately washed the glass and placed it in the drying rack.
He pulled out a piece of paper from his backpack and wrote "Needed" across the top. He worked his way through the other spaces in the kitchen. He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the Captain America themed utensils mixed in with normal ones but only added food to his list.
After combing through the kitchen, the bathroom, and the closets, he was satisfied with his list which was now only a grocery list that included cleaning products.
He looked directly at the camera and scowled with his arms crossed. His hand twitched, but he didn't do anything. He just looked up at the ceiling suspiciously. "Tony's tower..." his voice was barely audible as he visibly resigned himself to living with cameras and an AI.
Then he grabbed the backpack again. He went to the bedroom and started pulling stuff out. He gingerly placed a compass and some pictures on a night stand. He took a stack of neatly folded clothes and placed them in the drawers of his dresser. Finally, he pulled out a folder labelled important, presumably containing all his paperwork, and put it in a drawer.
There was a knock at his door. He crossed through his small living room and listened carefully for a second before opening the door.
"I heard Tony started collecting fossils." Natasha grinned a bit.
"One isn't much of a collection." Steve retorted.
"All moved in?"
Steve nodded.
"Like it?"
He hesitated. "Much better than I've ever had. Nice place to stay for now."
She patted his shoulder in understanding. "Up for something to eat?"
"Always"
She snorted and then pulled him off into the hallway."
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Tony was done. How had all of his teammates lived like this? They didn't have anything with them.
He looked at his teammates incredulously. They looked happy. They were all sitting together on the couch laughing and sharing stories.
He thought back to all the luxury items he owned. That's when he decided to spoil them, not because he felt like he needed to so his team would like him, but because he wanted them to have more.
That night, Steve, Clint, Natasha, and Bruce all walked into a room with wrapped gifts in them. Tony selected clothing that would suit each of the individuals. Peter helped Tony pick out high-end art supplies for Steve, a new video game system that hadn't been released to the public yet for Clint, a set of antique knives and new ballet slippers for Natasha, and a set of rare spices and cookbooks for Bruce.
Tony ended up designing the tower himself, but he realized that the Avengers really weren't materialistic. They preferred the people to the place, and he loved that more than he could articulate.