Unpacking
Till the End of the Line
The sign looked decent, Steve decided. While a bit crooked, if you squinted, it almost looked perfect. Then again, he was just fine with it being a little odd.
He remember Bucky and himself saving coins and dollars for years, until they saved up enough to get this cafe.
And now it was opening day, three years later. A pat on the shoulder had him turning around, till he was face to face with his best friend, Bucky. "Stevie, Clint needs help with the boxes, and I gotta go check the kitchen." He said, rolling his eyes as he mentions Clint. Why they ever agreed to let their bird-brain friend work with them was beyond him, though Steve insisted Clint could memorize orders and make espressos like no one else.
"I got it." Steve grinned, walking away to go find the, without a doubt, struggling Clint, and a pile of shattered plates everywhere.
Bucky walked into the small cafe. They could always use the excuse that small meant cozy , if anyone decided to criticize their building too hard. The again, Steve would most likely start up a fight with anyone who got too riled up or rude in their place. Steve's lack of tolerance for stupidity was only rivaled to Bucky's. He walked over to the corner of the room, leaning over to look through one of the few opened boxes. A few minutes later, he pulled out a small radio.
It wasn't anything new or fancy. Him and Steve could never afford things like that, but it worked and that was all that really mattered. He lightly tugged up the antenna, and began flipping through stations as he walked over to the counter.
All at once, music started blasting from the small radio. I need another story, something to get off my chest. My life gets kind of boring...need something that I can confess . The lyrics blasted
through the speakers and Bucky grinned to himself as he quickly recognized the voice. Heavy footsteps could be heard as Steve walked in, arms full of large boxes. Clint followed close behind, a single box in his own hands.
"Is that Stark?" Clint asked as he listened to the music. He'd heard the song on the radio a few times before, but never really took the time to memorize artists.
"Sure is," Steve pipped in, "He wrote this one after his dad died, and some reporters started making rumors about how they never got on well."
Bucky grimaced at the fact. One of the many things Steve and him had in common, was their love (obsession) with the lead singer of The Avengers , Tony Stark.
The band, started by Tony and his close friends, Rhodey and Pepper, had skyrocketed to fame after the release of their first album, I Am An Iron Man . Ever since, Bucky and Steve
had began to obsess over the band, and learned nearly everything the media had to offer on them. Rhodey used to be in the military, a commanding officer nonetheless. Pepper used to work in the buisness life, then left when she realized her talent in the music industry.
Steve grinned at the lyrics, deciding now was as good a time as any. He reached into his back pocket after setting the boxes down, pulling out four tickets. "About that...I managed to land us some tickets for his concert tonight."
He grinned meekly at his best friend. They never had any money to spare, and when they did the money always went up towards the cafe savings, so he wasn't surprised Bucky had a look on his face similar to that of a man who just watched a meteor fall from the sky. He doesn't think his reaction would have been any better.
Bucky's eyes widened at the words, as he locked sight with the tickets, never looking away as he spoke,
"How the hell did you manage that?" He tried to keep his voice calm as he finally broke gaze with the tickets to glance up at Steve.
Chuckling, Steve rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Well, Sam got them a while back, but he had to cancel plans and fly out to Florida.
There are 4, I figured we could bring Clint and Nat?"
He tried to keep the excitement from raising in his voice, but this would be their first Avengers concert, and they'd get to see Tony Stark in person.
"Fuck yeah!" Clint whooped, walking out as he took his phone out to call Natasha, telling her the news. Natasha, while a great friend, wasn't a very hyper one, but even she would have a small satisfaction laced in her features at the news. Bucky grinned, suddenly in a better mood.
"Stevie, that's great. Let's hurry up and finish unpackin' so we can head on over a bit early, maybe see them all up close."
He said as he turned the radio up a little louder, before setting back to unpacking, already much more motivated than he had been in a while.
Steve nodded and smiled to himself, listening as Tony's voice flowed into the room, making it a little brighter. This cafe... it seemed even better than when they first bought it. Yeah, they would be just fine.
Now he just had to keep himself from freaking out too hard when he saw the band later that night.
I Am An Iron Man
Tony let out a loud groan, his head tilting back. He was currently spread out on a couch, his legs laying over Rhodey, his head resting in Pepper's lap. "Another concert tonight? I'm gonna drop dead," he whined.
"A man needs his beauty sleep!"
Obie stood across from them, rolling his eyes. Dealing with musicians turned diva was above his pay grade at the moment. Though dealing with Tony somehow seemed so much worse. "We've already sold out,
you're preforming. You've got 2 hours till you're up." He said, tsking quietly with his tongue as he did so.
Pepper played with Tony's hair, as Rhodey rolled his drumsticks between his fingers. They both had their concerns for their vocalist, who seemed to be unable to take care of himself.
"You should take a nap before we start." Pepper suggested as she watched the sleep deprived man stand up, wavering a little before looking around for his microphone. Tony seemed to stay awake everyday on sheer will power and coffee alone. She raised an eyebrow at the thought.
"Nah, I'm fine Pep. I'm ready to rock," He moved his gaze to his other friend and band member as he spoke, smirking, " Besides, Rhodey invited a little date tonight."
Pepper's eyes lit up at the gentle teasing flowing between the two men. She moved her attention to Rhodey and grinned. "You invited Sam?" The smile stayed splayed on her face as Rhodey smiled slightly, looking between his two friends. Rhodey was never one for gossip, so her and Tony had been sneakily trying to nudge more information out of him about his mysterious love interest.
"Yeah, but he couldn't make it. Ended up giving his tickets out to some other friends." Rhodey smiled and stood up, shrugging. He had already rescheduled plans to see Sam
later that week, so he wasn't too concerned. The three nodded to each other and walked towards the stage.
They began rehearsing. 10 minutes in, Tony paused, missing his line. 'What an idiot' he thought to himself. He knew how important this band was to the others, they had all given up their jobs to follow the music industry. The concert tonight may be a small one, not the stadium full they usually expected, but he couldn't let them down. He wouldn't let them down.
Besides, whats one show gonna change?