Ficlet: 2022 SteveTony Games Fill (Team Kill) -- A Momentary Re-Spite

[stargraven]

[FICLET] A Momentary Re-Spite
Team Kill fill for the 2022 SteveTony Games ( stevetonygames )
Work Type: Fic (150 words)
Universe: 616
Bingo Square: Truth
Challenge: Time Runs Out
Content Warning: (implied) canon MCD

Work time: 10:19-11:19pm (because I just kept tweaking till the hour counted down)

There was nothing, followed by 75 words in 6 minutes, then swirling burning snippets of phrases that circled the final form of the fill, racing to the end of the hour.

(A rewrite of Steve and Tony's final conversation in Hickmanvengers #44.)

(It seems inevitable and only fitting to have done a Time Runs Out fill for the Time Runs Out challenge.)

(Alternate title: "And Then We Raced To the Spite")

---

 

A momentary deadlock, a seeming standstill, before the end.

"Give me this and only this, Tony. Would you ever have told me the truth?"

Tony laughed; he cackled and whooped, joy and madness in cacophony.

"Sure, Steve. Sure. Some day when we were both old and grey, or when I was, and you were cured and your eternal golden-shining self, and we'd had a few good decades together because I'd found another fucking way."

He snarled, twisted lips and bloody bared teeth.

"And it was finally the right time to say 'I told you so,' when you would have had to at least think about everything you'd be saying you wished you never had if you said we shouldn't have done it."

Steve roared, bursting with the all the fury of those never-lived decades of spite.

Time started up again, and a shadow fell, and then their time ran out.

Comments

[loran_arameri]

Holy fuck! This is so good. The question what if it worked.
And Steve would have had to weigh that. But of course they never made it and in that way, Steve didn't have to give up on anything that wasn't already taken from him.

Ouch.

[stargraven]

Yeah, exactly. It's such a cruel answer from Tony. "I'd have been truthful with you, but only when it would hurt you the absolute most." Clearly the answer of here-and-now Tony who is deranged/SIM, and engaged in a battle to the death with Steve who hates him, and is putting forth this picture of a future where they won and things seemed wonderful and yet he still had a killing blow to strike against Steve, held in reserve.

But yeah, all he can do is hurt him more in the last few minutes/seconds, because that future was never a thing that was going to come about, even if one or both had not been killed during that immediate fight.

Thank you very much, Loran!

[cathalinaheart]

Omg this is amazing! I love how much you can fit into short works. And I think this might be one of my favourite author notes ever

[stargraven]

Thank you, Cat. I'm glad you like it. I will also still do my best to grant you some Hickmanvengers wishes this week. Or at least one. Or something. As much as I can manage to cram in amongst work responsibilities!

The Games have helped me a ton with writing tiny things, skipping all the extra setup and transitional parts, which has been interesting and cool.

And, hahah, the author's note... you know, exhausted brain going loopy and making everything into atrocious humor!

Yes, yes, must revisit some other moments and lines from this run for short and painful Kill Fills! :D :D