<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'"><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">Tony had been truthful when he said Steve would be spared any uncomfortable sights. The layout of the master bathroom provided a mostly shielded view from the vanity table. With Pepper gone, the table and drawers we completely empty, save for a half empty box of tissues and a discarded box from a pack of razor blades, both looking a bit dusty. Tony had sent his housekeeper on vacation a long time ago and M22 was not programmed for many domestic duties outside of being a host and the most rudimentary tasks of keeping a household running without explicit commands. Tony rarely gave such commands anymore, so the mansion looked more like an abandoned chic hotel than a home. <br/>
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Tony was stripped and under the water before Steve was fully settled and finished with his awe of the luxurious accommodations that were far beyond the scope of 'necessity'. Showers we sacred to Tony, they were that little bit of time away from everything where he could wash off the exhaustion and the emotional pollution of day to day living as Tony Stark. The bathroom reflected this with it's almost temple feel to it. Pure white with accents of metal and exotic tiles in vibrant colors. The shower itself had a rounded vaulted ceiling and tastefully tucked away nooks to house the necessities of showering like soap and every grade of loofah known to man, and woman, kind, and even water proofed secret compartments, activated by voice command, for towels so one would never find themselves without a fresh fragrant towel after their near god experience of water and steam. <br/>
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Ok, maybe that was a little bit of a stretch, but the seven heads of cascading hot water and ambient steam made Tony feel born again as they washed away what felt like months of stagnation and emotional gunk. Since losing the battle with Thanos, he had denied himself this one simple pleasure like a penance for his failures. He didn't deserve any of it, any of the luxury that surrounded him, any of the relief it provided; he deserved what he had become, a cracked up nothing. That's how he had felt and what his injured mind had convinced him of until Steve came along with something real to hope in. He washed his hair, which he now realized had gotten pretty shabby over six months, but there was no time for that kind of grooming. He scrubbed down good, taking at least a layer off and feeling incredibly refreshed for doing so. <br/>
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When he was finished, he cut the water with a command, grabbed two towels, one to dry off with and another to wrap around himself so that when he exited the shower, he didn't scar Steve forever with images he couldn't un-see. Not that he was unattractive, far from it, even at his age he turned heads and he knew it; but Steve was a rare bird that would still turn a blush at the sight of too much skin. It was kind of endearing really, sometimes, but Tony highly doubted it helped much with dating in the new millennium.<br/>
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He walked to the double sink, started the hot water there, and rummaged impatiently around the drawers until he found where he'd last put his razor. One of the least painful effects of no longer having Pepper there was that he could never remember or find where he put things. He lathered up and began to take off the last couple months of facial hair. "Maybe I should just embrace the Metro-jack trend."<br/>
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Tony doubted Steve would have any clue what that meant because Steve didn't keep up with silly things like trends or fashion, but he chuckled anyway. "So Wong. Strange. The team at Hogwarts found a way to connect? Seriously? Like...we know for sure Strange is alive?" Tony rinse and tapped the razor free of the first few passes' worth of facial overgrowth. "What about anyone else? Did Strange say anything about that? Is everyone assembling? How are they? Have you talked to anyone? Nat tried to call me a couple times. I ignored her. I'm sure she hates me...even more. M22! Bring me Casual Day 5. Thank you," Tony raced through his questions, curious about the answers to all of them as he looked over to Steve with each pass of the razor. <br/>
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M22 was quick to complete his mission and returned to set a neatly folded stack of clean clothes on the vanity table next to Steve and leave. Black jeans, red Kool-Aid Man T-shirt, black and gray, light weight hoodie. <br/>
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Quill could only partially hear the exchange between Parker and Strange, but he could tell it hadn't gone Peter's way and when Peter return to the porch, he was frowning too. For him, the sticky buns hadn't been forgotten and he was shoveling the last of his third into his mouth when Parker sat with a slump on the porch and reiterated Strange's ostracizing command.He sighed heavily and replied with mouth full and words muffled through pastry, "What a jerk."<br/>
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He tooka moment to chew and hard swallow the remainder of the bun before speaking again; standing as he sucked honey from his fingers. "Let's go to the barn. At least we won't be <i>in the way</i> there," he added with a sarcastic tone and roll of his eyes. He tagger Peter on the shoulder to follow him and headed with somber steps and heavy heart to the barn. The news of a way home at first had been exciting, but somewhere between Strange imparting it and Peter returning from being shot down, Quill had gone somber and sad. <i>Home.</i> Sure, he was Terran and Missouri was technically his home, but he had grown up out in space. Everyone he knew was in space...or gone. He was a Guardian, and for as much as he knew, he was the only Guardian left.  The Milano was gone, his friends were gone, he couldn't go back to the Ravagers, or maybe he could. Maybe he could team with Kraglin, but how would he find him? Strange had rocked his entire world with that one little bit of news that should have made him happy.<br/>
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When they reached the barn, he went to his horse, petting his velvety muzzle to help comfort his own insecurity and sadness. If they left this place it would be another friend lost. "Pete, if Strange is right, I'm really glad for you. You'll get to go home. You'll get to see your friends and family again." <i>I don't have a home, or friends anymore, and yours all rightfully hate me for ruining the plan.</i></span></span>