EMBER, FIRE & FLAME.

Matilda. Seriously ? 

She narrowed her eyes at Tony and swiped the bag of frozen vegetables out from under his grasp, “ Morgan, thank you. My name is Morgan. The least you could do is call me by my proper name seeing as how I just practically saved your arse out there.” With a grunt, she placed the peas back onto his eye with a little more force behind it than was probably necessary, but he damn well deserved it for that last comment.

“ I’m assuming you mean Captain America? Pft, what a dorky pseudonym,” She shook her head, “ I swear, the public only gets to see him once in a blue moon whenever there’s some great big disaster or bad guy that’s just come along to aimlessly destroy half of Upper East Side Manhattan. And I’m pretty sure that Captain America     Steve, as well as the other so called superheros have a hand in the destruction as well. People like to see what’s been but out there on the pedestal, but neglect to take notice of just who they’re cheering for under the masks and the capes and the…spandex. Er, I’m going to the bathroom to see if we can get you some Tylenol. Sorry for the rant, I just,” 

Morgan stood from the sofa and let Tony support the pack of frozen peas himself once more, “ I can’t stand the hypocritical of all this mutant and human crap. When it all comes down to it…some may have super strength, some may turn blue, hell, some people may even be magic incarnate themselves,” She gave Tony a knowing smile, “ But at the end of the day…we all bleed the same color. I don’t see how having action figures, posters, and magazine spreads makes one any different than the heroes of our own neighborhoods. Their the ones who work the hardest. Anyways…Tylenol, you have some in the bathroom, yes? ” 

“Jesus — Ok! Fine, whatever.” Tony makes grabby hands at the package of frozen peas with a soft “Gimme it back.” when they’re snatched from his grasp. The temptation to point out that less than an hour ago he was getting pummeled out in some ditch. Remembering names isn’t at the top of his agenda at the moment but given Morgan’s temper at the moment he decides to keep his mouth shut for once. “God. What the hell— It’s fine. It’s fine.” Tony says to himself under his breath when she shoves the pack back on his eye. Might make a comment about her being a sadist later when he’s feeling a little more bold. 

Now she’s ranting about God only knows what. Tony blinks up at her, brows furrowed against his will. Some of what she says he’s able to follow. As much as he’d like to rag on Steve, most of what she says goes in one ear and out the other as his eyes start to glaze over. “Advil. Left drawer in the kitchen. It’s not a —” Tony starts when she asks about Tylenol but then she starts up again and he throws a hand up in defeat. 

Tony’s willing to admit that the overall message is good but the delivery leaves much to be desired. If he was feeling an inch from death he’d point it out to her. And he’s considering crawling to the damn kitchen himself on all fours when she finally addresses him again and he blinks again. “Oh, made it back to earth have we?” He dares a bit of snark but points lazily with his free hand toward the bedroom door. “The kitchen.” He repeats, slow, enunciating each word. “Drawer that’s nearest to the fridge. Advil. Can’t miss it.”

𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄

One part of you dreams of giving yourself up – perhaps just for a while – to a hero or mentor. In the right circumstances you can flourish by letting go of your ego. In your inner life, reverence plays out as a willing submission to your own conscience. In the outside world, you might get frustrated searching for something worth believing in – a country, a person, a company – but you will always be open to feeling respect, admiration and wonder.

𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 

You are good at seeing what’s funny, at relaxing and finding the pleasure of the moment. Play is random, whimsical, fantasy-driven behaviour which releases internal tension. Because it is detached from some pressures it allows you to act on weirder, perhaps neglected, parts of yourself. The downside is that it is no help in sticking with things that are not much fun but which need to be addressed. So it is well complemented by its opposite, Stoicism.

𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒

One tendency in you – which is of course normal to the human race – is to bristle when criticised, and to defend yourself when you feel under threat from aggression or blame. Defensiveness can make you conceal your less honourable motives, from others, and from yourself. The habits once made sense: they all derive from past efforts to protect yourself. And most of the time – because we don’t get much help in loving ourselves – you still need them to feel secure.

Tony turns a page of the catalog he’s idly browsing through. Currently, he’s laid stretched out on the sofa. It’s comfortable. He’ll give the Aaerestad’s that but he’s too busy sulking, still recovering from earlier when Beau caught him red-handed. Tony had one hand on the top of the upright piano and a crowbar in the other as observed the instrument for weak points to figure out how the best way to pry it open so he can strip it of its strings— an act which Beau, much to his surprise, did not take kindly to and let him know by snatching the crowbar from him and said things he does not care to repeat. 

Beau attempts to show him the amazon link pulled up on his phone which Tony does cast a brief glance at then he’s rolling over, turning his back to Beau and his attention is back to sports cars. There’s no matched enthusiasm, no oh good job, no gold star for effort. It earns Beau absolutely nothing. A rare occurrence given the fact Tony’s usually got a comment to add. 

“ Here, let me.” Morgan lowered herself down beside Tony on his bed, his room smelled fresh, clean like a band new car. The modern fixtures almost made it look more like private laboratory rather than a common millennial bedroom. With a small bag of ice in her hand, she tilted his head back and gently placed the frozen pack just over his right cheek, under his left eye. The area was nearly swollen to the size of a golf ball, blacked all around his brow and near the center of the room while the outer area turned from red to pink the farther out it spread. It looked painful as all hell. Morgan winced as she tried to maneuver Tony’s head to better work for her, “ What a shiner, ” She sighed, almost nodding approvingly, “ At least you’ll have a wild story to tell your lady friends at the next Stark penthouse party.” She quipped, “ Although, you might wanna leave out the part where your ass was saved by a girl with mutant abilities.” 

@starkvo​

Tony brings a hand to touch his face “Shit.” He murmurs under his breath. The touch causes his entire body to wince as the tips of his fingers grace the swollen skin. Tony lets his head lull back while Morgan tends to him and sucks in air sharply through his teeth when she applies ice. She’s kind enough to apply it gingerly at first to allow him time to grow used to the cold sensation and waits until he visibly relaxes before she presses the bag fully against his skin. 

Those guys back in the alley really did a number on him. Lured him in with the sound of a woman screaming as he was leaving a restaurant after a dinner meeting. Then cornered and ambushed him in the dark —— he didn’t stand a chance with nine to one. He’ll admit it. 

“Not every woman is like you, Matilda.” Tony remarks. Now that he’s able to he holds the bag up to his eye on his own, tilts his head back down. “Are these... peas?” Tony lowers the pack to take a glance at the label. Funny, he can’t remember the last time he ate a green thing but one peek at the expiration date tells him all that he needs to know. 

BEST IF USED BY:1/11/2018

“Better you than all high and mighty Steve Rogers.” Tony replaces the pack after he waves his hands to emphasize high and mighty.