#stonyheadcanons

Natasha had given him a set of Russian history books, along with an intimidating-looking gun that Steve held cautiously, unsure when guns had become so sophisticated.

Bruce gave him a book on the scientific accomplishments made in the twentieth century.

Clint handed him a stack of movies, putting an arm around his shoulder and insisting he watch them in private. Natasha took them away and swatted Clint upside his head, replacing them with a stack of different movies, mostly action and adventure.

Thor, who knew less than Steve about what had happened on Earth in the last seventy years, gave him an inhumanly strong pat on the shoulder and a box of pop tarts.

Tony threw him a box of condoms and told him to get busy.

Steve took in very little.

When he returned to his room after a day spent watching the entire series of Star Wars films Clint had insisted he see, Steve found a small brown box laying on his bed. Sitting on the edge of his bed, Steve examined it, finding no note or tag attached telling him who had put it there. When he opened it, he found what he knew was one of those iPod things. Bruce had showed Steve his one day, showed him how it played music and videos, and Steve had marveled at how something so small could do so much. This one was white, like Bruce’s and, slipping the attached headphones into his ears, Steve pressed buttons blindly until the thing turned on, soft music immediately beginning to play. Laying back on his bed, Steve listened carefully, the first song immediately taking him back to Peggy, to the 40‘s. He lay there, completely focused on all the music he’d known back then, and some new songs he supposed had come out after...after he was gone.

Don’t know why... there’s no sun up in the sky... Stormy weather... Since my man and I ain’t together... keeps raining all of the time...

The playlist was short, and by the time Steve had finished it he was feeling both sad and relieved. After days of being pushed to experience absolutely everything about this time, it was nice to have a break and just reminisce. It was a small comfort, but Steve appreciated it. He only wished he knew who to thank.

The next day, after a long day of training with Thor, Steve went back to his room for some much needed sleep. He was surprised to find another small box on his bed. He contemplated the box for a moment before opening it to find another iPod, this one a nauseatingly bright shade of yellow. Curiosity peaked, he slipped in the headphones and started the music.

The first song that played was beautiful. Steve didn't know it, but then...there were a lot of things Steve didn't know.

I'll be so alone without you... Maybe you'll be lonesome too, and blue. Fly the ocean in a silver plane, see the jungle when its wet with rain... Just remember 'til you're home again... you belong to me.

The music was great, but it eventually changed from something Steve knew he could handle to something entirely different. The music got louder, faster and it was like nothing Steve had ever heard. Still, it wasn't unpleasant and before long, Steve actually found himself trying to move to the music, his hips swaying almost of their own volition. And maybe Steve caught himself questioning why this man was singing about a dog, but that didn't stop him from smiling and dancing in the comfort of his own room.

You ain't nothing but a hound dog, crying all the time. Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit... you ain't no friend of mine.

It took Steve nearly three days, but eventually he got through all the songs. When he returned to his room that night, he found another small brown box. Smiling, he took out a second iPod, this one decorated with bright swirls of pink and green. He started the music right away and found himself enjoying it right away as the first notes of "Good Vibrations" played. A lot of the songs were a little too odd for him to appreciate fully, but he enjoyed it nonetheless, letting his head bounce along to the music.

Hey Jude, don't be afraid. You were made to go out and get her. The minute you let her under your skin, then you begin to make it better.

Steve listened to the music whenever he could; as he cooked his meals, as he worked out, even before bed. He finished all the songs in only two days. Feeling like he should be thanking someone for the gifts and assuming it was Bruce who was putting them there, Steve sought the other man out. When Bruce looked at him like he didn't know what Steve was talking about, Steve wound up muttering an apology and walked away. He practically ran to his room that night, fully expecting a third box. It was there waiting for him, this iPod fitted with a shiny gold finish.

When Steve began this particular list of songs, he wasn't immediately attracted to the music like he had the two previous times. The men sang in voices high enough that Steve had to wonder if they were men. A few songs stood out, and Steve was humiliated to find that no, he did not think twice about jumping off his bed and dancing around to "I Will Survive". It's not like anyone could see him anyway, he told himself. Little did he know. "Freebird" had him actually attempting 'air guitar', something he'd seen but never found a reason for until just then, but when the music turned soft, Steve sat down again.

He cried helplessly, the music dragging out feelings he'd not felt for some time.

Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us and the world will be as one. Imagine no possessions. I wonder if you can. No need for greed or hunger; a brotherhood of man...The next day, Steve realized that he owed a thank you to whoever was doing this for him. He cornered Clint one day and tried to drag it out of him without saying anything directly, and failed. Clint didn't know. Confused, Steve spent the next day listening to the music and trying to figure out who could have been doing all this, and why they weren't taking credit for it. The morning after he'd finished the third list, Steve went to Fury, who assured him that he had better things to do than leave little secret admirer presents on his bed. Steve blushed and left immediately, only to find a fourth box on his bed. This iPod was black, little intricate designs all over and Steve sighed. How long would this even continue? He started right away, yanking the headphones out as the music blasted in his ear. Adjusting the volume, he tried again, and for the first time got angry.

Born in the U.S.A. Come back home to the refinery, Hiring man says "Son, if it was up to me". Went down to see my V.A. man. He said "Son, don't you understand now".

Was this how people saw their duty to serve now? His lip curling in disgust, he hesitantly kept listening, hoping the entire playlist would not be like that. It wasn’t, and Steve let himself dance to “You Shook Me All Night Long” before sobering once again as he listened carefully to the lyrics of “One”, or what he could make out of them.

Now that the war is through with me, I’m waking up I cannot see... that there’s not much left in me. Nothing is real but pain now. Hold my breath as I wish for death. Oh please God, wake me..

Trying not to be as disturbed by that song as he wanted to be, Steve kept listening, determined to finish the whole thing by the next night. In the morning, it came to him that of course this had to be Natasha’s doing. She was always mothering over all of them. Maybe this was just an extension of that.

But when Steve went to her, she assured him that she was not doing anything of the sort. Fixing him with a knowing smile that made him more nervous than he would care to admit, she asked him if she could see the iPods. He brought her to his room and laid them out for her, making sure they stayed in order. He sat on the bed as she examined them, slipping the headphones into her ears for each one to scroll through the playlist for a moment before moving onto the next one. When she’d finished, she sat next to him and asked him if he realized what this mystery person was doing exactly. When he shook his head, telling her he assumed they just wanted him to listen to some music he’d missed, Natasha fixed him with another one of her knowing smiles and told him that it looked like every iPod was representative of a different decade, starting with the 1940’s. Feeling honestly humiliated that he was so foolish as to not notice that, Steve asked her if she was sure and when she nodded, his face flushed. Whoever was doing this for him was trying to let him live the seventy years he’d been frozen through music. It was very sweet.

Steve felt like Natasha knew more than he did, but she wouldn’t own to it and blew him a kiss as she left his room, leaving him to put the first three iPods away and lay on his bed listening to the remainder of the fourth. When it finished, Steve left the room to get some food. When he reached the hallway outside the kitchen, he met Tony going in the opposite direction. Steve nodded in greeting, his mouth set in a grim line, and grimaced as Tony saluted him with a slick smile. Maybe they’d worked together and made peace, but Tony stayed away from Steve for the most part and Steve did the same. He just didn’t see eye to eye with that man.

That wasn't to say that Steve didn't find Tony...interesting, at the very least, but he pushed those thoughts aside as soon as they popped up, forcing himself to concentrate on literally anything else. He had far too many other things to worry about to be thinking inappropriate thoughts about a man who basically insulted him every time he opened that mouth of his. When he returned to his room that night, Steve found the fifth iPod, decorated in a green plaid pattern, already waiting for him. This time, when the music started up, it was soft, but strong. Steve relaxed immediately, glad there didn’t seem to be as many songs about war or pain or suffering.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road. Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go. So make the best of the test, and don’t ask why. It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time. It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.

Steve calculated it after a few songs and figured out that he liked the nineties, even if some of the more risqué songs made him blush. Of course, the minute he made that decision, his ears were nearly assaulted by what the display screen deemed the Spice Girls and what sounded to Steve like a bunch of random sounds thrown together around a few catchy sentences. He would deny it forever, but he may have danced.

Two days later, when Steve had finally finished the astonishingly long playlist, admittedly stopping a few times when songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” rendered him speechless (whether from appreciation or confusion he didn’t quite know), he decided to find out once and for all who was doing all this. Hiding around a corner, he watched his bedroom door for almost four hours to no avail. Another two hours passed and Steve gave up, stomping down the hall dejectedly to find some food. He was not gone fifteen minutes, but when he came back to his room, sandwich in hand, there was another box on his bed. Setting his sandwich on the desk, he considered the box for a moment before opening it. If he was calculating correctly, this would be the last one. Opening it, Steve laid his eyes on an iPod decked out in red, white and blue, little silver stars decorating the back. He nearly rolled his eyes at his signature colors, but smiled fondly anyway and put the headphones in. Thinking he was ready for just about anything, Steve picked up his sandwich as the first notes played, only to put it back down and stare at the wall while listening. Well, this was new. I’ll get him hot, show him what I got... Can’t read my, can’t read my... No he can’t read my poker face.

Strangely drawn to whatever kind of music was playing, Steve continued. His brain hurt when a song called “Without Me” came on, the words flying by far too quickly for him to really hear all of them. Then, he got angry again, but liked the music anyway and for yet another absolutely amazing three minutes, danced around his room like a crazy person, air guitar and all, much to the amusement of his nearly constant (these days) onlooker.

Don’t want to be an American idiot... One nation controlled by the media... Information age of hysteria... It’s going out to idiot America.

Another three days passed and Steve had finally finished it all. He placed all seven iPods into the little box he'd bought for them and stored them securely under his bed. It felt odd to Steve, but he was disappointed that no more would show up. He'd caught up, as it were. Idly, he wondered if he would ever find out who did it for him, and briefly suspected that perhaps Natasha or Bruce had actually done it and just didn't want to take credit. Well, it had been nice while it lasted.

Several days later, Steve is told by Fury to find Tony in his workshop and discuss alterations being made to his uniform and shield. Sighing, Steve makes his way down to the workshop and enters to the guitar riff of yet another song he doesn---knows! Steve knows it! He doesn't remember the artist or the decade, but Steve definitely knows the song.

'Cause the walls start shaking, the Earth was quaking, my mind was aching and we were making it and you-- shook me all night long. Yeah, you shook me all night long.

Just as it clicked in Steve's head and a bright smile spread over his lips, he caught sight of Tony, leaned over his shield, dancing very much how Steve had been dancing to this song himself. He stood and watched for a few moments, his head cocked to the side. So, it was Tony who'd done it. Steve was sure.

Finally, he cleared his throat loudly and laughed as Tony's head popped up and he grinned, only a little embarrassed and fully aware that Steve had figured it out at last. Steve smiled back at him and wondered exactly how much Tony could teach him. Maybe that box of condoms would be useful after all.