Echo

"Hello New York! Oh man, is everyone ready to have the time of their lives? Well, welcome to the Stark Expo! Tomorrow is today!"

Tony couldn't pin-point the time when he started re-watching his public announcements, but somehow he found it comforting. Now, lounging in his private suite, he was finally away from prying eyes. Wherever he went he was bombarded with people wanting a piece of him and he could never be alone... yet somehow he was always alone. Tony shook his head, trying to rid his head off such thoughts and turned his attention back to his own grinning face on the screen in front of him. Maybe he did this because he knew how these stories ended, a couple more peace signs and manic waves and he would be done, the illusion of Tony Stark, the most successful man in the world was reinforced into everyone's minds.

Tony leaned forward and put his head in his hands, "TV off". His head was always teeming with ideas, but he felt different at the moment, his thoughts unconnected and moods sporadic. He probably just needed another drink. He pushed himself to his feet and moved to his drinks cabinet, mindlessly filling another glass with whatever he found within.

"Sir, Ms Potts wishing to speak with you," Jarvis' curt British voice cut through Tony's brain like a bullet. He sighed, putting the bottle down and returning to his seat,

"Alright, put her through," Tony dreaded this conversation like he dreaded all conversations nowadays but it seemed inevitable so he let it pass through him like the alcohol he was unable to stop consuming,

"Tony, what the hell is going on?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Cut the crap Tony, you haven't left the house in a week."

"Been monitoring my house now have we?"

"You know as well as I do that the media has a fucking frenzy whenever you do anything so there's a godamn reason why I know you've not been doing anything."

"And what's it to you? You don't work for me anymore."

"Yes but I'm supposedly your friend so I want to know what the hell is wrong with formally the busiest, most attention-seeking man in the entire world!"

"He had a break, is that a crime?"

"It is when he's Tony fucking Stark! Look either I come over and sort this out with you or you go out there and do your job."

"Alright alright, I'm going!" He hung up on her, barely glancing up from the drink in his hand, it was going to be a long week.

"Hello New York! Oh man, is everyone ready to have the time of their lives? Well, welcome to the Stark Expo! Tomorrow is today!"

Steve missed Tony, he didn't know when this had happened or why but he could no longer ignore the feeling of wanting to talk to Tony. This was why he had resorted to watching old videos of him, when he was happy, or at least he seemed happy. He knew a lot had gone downhill for Tony since The Avengers Initiative disbanded and Pepper left him and he wished more than anything that he could fix it. At the same time though he knew it was his fault and he knew how unlikely it was that Tony would forgive him.

Any days Steve didn't spend being Captain America, he spent in his Brooklyn flat, an original build from the 1940's. But there was only so long Steve could go padding around and eating cereal before he thought of how active his life had been before, how much more fun, Steve now realised. He had of course initially kept contact with the other Avengers, even completed a couple of missions with Clint and Natasha but it wasn't the same. Steve regretted the choice he made to make the team part ways every day because now, he didn't even have a group of dysfunctional teammates, now he had no one.