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This snippet does have a home. I just haven't written the rest of it yet.
This is kind of what happens when a scene takes over your brain.
--
It seemed fairly clear that an argument was in progress. Fury had that tense-shouldered stance that he usually got when dealing with Tony, and Bruce looked troubled. Thor was keeping his counsel, arms folded, expression carefully neutral, but Steve felt the other male's disquiet.
"Like him or not," Fury was saying in the tone that expected to be heard and obeyed as the Steward of the Court, "he belongs to Maria and we have to accept him."
"Have to?" Tony inquired, feigning astonishment. "Was that in our contractual service to her? And if we automatically include anyone who belongs to her, then do we exclude those who don't – like, say, Rogers?"
It stung – an unexpected scrape across raw nerves, a reminder Steve didn't want at this moment. "I don't need you to fight my battles, Stark."
Tony barely glanced at him, saving his focus for Fury. "Of course, that would explain a lot. You've never been happy about Rogers' in this court—"
Bruce interrupted, still the Prince rather than the Warlord Prince, but with an edge to his words. "This isn't about acceptance into Maria's service, Tony."
"Fury's never been happy about you in Maria's service, either," came Tony's retort. "But he can't get rid of you since both you and your Warlord Prince belong to her..."
"Are you trying to tear this court apart, Stark?" Fury demanded, his eyes glittering with dark fire. "Because I can't think of a faster way to do it than bringing all this up again. Yes, I've had issues with a great many of the males in Maria's service – of which you, Rogers, and Banner are the least part. But she's our Queen, and Prince Grey belongs to her as much as Banner or I or you do. Wherever he's been all these years, he's hers, she's accepted him, and there's an end to it."
"It's about more than just his acceptance," Bruce said. "There's the court dynamics to consider."
"I agree." Thor shifted, effortlessly drawing gazes towards him. "Prince Grey will not slip meekly into the court."
"And I don't think he should be allowed to," Tony added. "It's one thing to accept that he serves her; it's another to let him just walk in here and upset everything. We should hold our positions and let him work out where he's going to fit in."
Steve thought of the glitter of blue eyes across the park, of the way Grey had stepped in close to Maria without asking permission, pushing back her hair and dropping a kiss at the join of her neck. So easy and casual a gesture, but made with all the possessive arrogance of a Warlord Prince who knew his worth and would never discount it. And Maria had looked up at him, surprised, but unafraid of his proximity.
A knot formed in his stomach. "He's not going to just fit in, Tony."
"Why not? You did. He's got the same Jewels – you're the same caste..."
"The difference is that Rogers doesn't belong to Maria." And as Nick looked across the table at Steve, Steve saw something like regret in the older man's eyes, and knew Nick understood the problem better than Tony.
Tony only saw an unknown Warlord Prince with a sexual bond to his Queen. With that aspect of his own relationship with Maria challenged, he fought back. Nick's relationship with Maria was different – the sexual spark of a Warlord Prince to Queen was there, but it was muted by age and relationship, by the more familial bond between them - and he could look at Grey and see without the jealousy that grated against Tony.
The jealousy that grated against Steve.
"It is more than that." Thor rested his hands on the workbench before looking up at the men around him. "Nate Grey is a Warlord Prince with a claim on Maria that predates any of us. That is an old and powerful bond, and Maria has affirmed that claim – perhaps without thinking through the consequences of her acceptance."
He grew up with her, knowing he'd serve her, knowing the kind of Queen she'd be. Phil's words echoed in Steve's head. That's something that the rest of us didn't have at the start – even when we knew we belonged to her.
Steve had known.
Standing in the midnight garden, looking at Maria, he'd known the Queen she'd be – fiercely protective, loyal, spirited, strong.
He hadn't belonged to her then and he didn't belong to her now – not the way a Warlord Prince could belong to a Queen, not the way he'd belonged to Peggy. And losing Peggy had broken something inside, leaving him with nothing to cling to but revenge - until Steve looked into clear grey eyes in a frost-rimed garden and felt the desire to serve again.
He'd offered his service, thinking that was all he had left to give.
Somewhere along the way – somewhere between snowball wars and Territory-changing decisions, among the bright chaos of the Winsol season and the quiet warmth of studious summer afternoons, amidst the still and closed face of the witch and the tender almost-smile of the Queen – Steve had given her his heart.
Now, service was all he would have - because Maria didn't want him as a lover.
Thor was still speaking. "I have grown up knowing the Queen who I belonged to, and I tell you now that if I loved Sif as Prince Grey loves Maria, I would not allow myself to be pushed aside by any males - whether they belonged to her or not."
The sharp snap of cold pulsed through the room as Bruce's psychic scent changed and darkened from Prince to Warlord Prince, an instinctive transition in the face of danger to his Queen. "You think he's a threat?"
"To the Lady Maria and the court? No."
"To us?" Tony asked, more softly than Steve liked - Tony was sliding towards the killing edge, too. "We could bury him."
Steve's vision pulsed, sharp heartbeats stabbing into his chest. The tugging lure of knife-edge rage beckoned - but he had to stay calm. Someone had to be the voice of reason, and he was Maria's Master of the Guard, responsible for her safety. The males of the court would take their cue from him, and how he felt about Grey personally should not be allowed to get in the way of his duty to Maria.
Thankfully, Nick got there first. "We're not going to bury a male who belongs to our Queen."
"He's not a threat to us," Steve added, focusing on the facts. "But we are going to have to learn to work with him."
"And why, exactly, isn't it that he is going to have to learn to work with us?" Tony's eyes still glittered with the edge that had earned him his reputation for being dangerous.
"Because," said Bruce, still the Warlord Prince, "If Grey had stayed with her, he'd be the dominant male in her court."
"See that? That's my problem, right there." Tony looked around at them all, unfazed, undaunted, unrepentant. "'If'. He didn't stay with her – he's not a part of her established court, and I'd rather shatter my Jewels than step back so he can waltz in."
"No-one is saying we have to step back," Nick said. "But we're going to tread carefully."
Tony made a noise like a snarl in the back of his throat – a noise that Steve echoed in his soul. "Screw that."
--
This is kind of what happens when a scene takes over your brain.
--
It seemed fairly clear that an argument was in progress. Fury had that tense-shouldered stance that he usually got when dealing with Tony, and Bruce looked troubled. Thor was keeping his counsel, arms folded, expression carefully neutral, but Steve felt the other male's disquiet.
"Like him or not," Fury was saying in the tone that expected to be heard and obeyed as the Steward of the Court, "he belongs to Maria and we have to accept him."
"Have to?" Tony inquired, feigning astonishment. "Was that in our contractual service to her? And if we automatically include anyone who belongs to her, then do we exclude those who don't – like, say, Rogers?"
It stung – an unexpected scrape across raw nerves, a reminder Steve didn't want at this moment. "I don't need you to fight my battles, Stark."
Tony barely glanced at him, saving his focus for Fury. "Of course, that would explain a lot. You've never been happy about Rogers' in this court—"
Bruce interrupted, still the Prince rather than the Warlord Prince, but with an edge to his words. "This isn't about acceptance into Maria's service, Tony."
"Fury's never been happy about you in Maria's service, either," came Tony's retort. "But he can't get rid of you since both you and your Warlord Prince belong to her..."
"Are you trying to tear this court apart, Stark?" Fury demanded, his eyes glittering with dark fire. "Because I can't think of a faster way to do it than bringing all this up again. Yes, I've had issues with a great many of the males in Maria's service – of which you, Rogers, and Banner are the least part. But she's our Queen, and Prince Grey belongs to her as much as Banner or I or you do. Wherever he's been all these years, he's hers, she's accepted him, and there's an end to it."
"It's about more than just his acceptance," Bruce said. "There's the court dynamics to consider."
"I agree." Thor shifted, effortlessly drawing gazes towards him. "Prince Grey will not slip meekly into the court."
"And I don't think he should be allowed to," Tony added. "It's one thing to accept that he serves her; it's another to let him just walk in here and upset everything. We should hold our positions and let him work out where he's going to fit in."
Steve thought of the glitter of blue eyes across the park, of the way Grey had stepped in close to Maria without asking permission, pushing back her hair and dropping a kiss at the join of her neck. So easy and casual a gesture, but made with all the possessive arrogance of a Warlord Prince who knew his worth and would never discount it. And Maria had looked up at him, surprised, but unafraid of his proximity.
A knot formed in his stomach. "He's not going to just fit in, Tony."
"Why not? You did. He's got the same Jewels – you're the same caste..."
"The difference is that Rogers doesn't belong to Maria." And as Nick looked across the table at Steve, Steve saw something like regret in the older man's eyes, and knew Nick understood the problem better than Tony.
Tony only saw an unknown Warlord Prince with a sexual bond to his Queen. With that aspect of his own relationship with Maria challenged, he fought back. Nick's relationship with Maria was different – the sexual spark of a Warlord Prince to Queen was there, but it was muted by age and relationship, by the more familial bond between them - and he could look at Grey and see without the jealousy that grated against Tony.
The jealousy that grated against Steve.
"It is more than that." Thor rested his hands on the workbench before looking up at the men around him. "Nate Grey is a Warlord Prince with a claim on Maria that predates any of us. That is an old and powerful bond, and Maria has affirmed that claim – perhaps without thinking through the consequences of her acceptance."
He grew up with her, knowing he'd serve her, knowing the kind of Queen she'd be. Phil's words echoed in Steve's head. That's something that the rest of us didn't have at the start – even when we knew we belonged to her.
Steve had known.
Standing in the midnight garden, looking at Maria, he'd known the Queen she'd be – fiercely protective, loyal, spirited, strong.
He hadn't belonged to her then and he didn't belong to her now – not the way a Warlord Prince could belong to a Queen, not the way he'd belonged to Peggy. And losing Peggy had broken something inside, leaving him with nothing to cling to but revenge - until Steve looked into clear grey eyes in a frost-rimed garden and felt the desire to serve again.
He'd offered his service, thinking that was all he had left to give.
Somewhere along the way – somewhere between snowball wars and Territory-changing decisions, among the bright chaos of the Winsol season and the quiet warmth of studious summer afternoons, amidst the still and closed face of the witch and the tender almost-smile of the Queen – Steve had given her his heart.
Now, service was all he would have - because Maria didn't want him as a lover.
Thor was still speaking. "I have grown up knowing the Queen who I belonged to, and I tell you now that if I loved Sif as Prince Grey loves Maria, I would not allow myself to be pushed aside by any males - whether they belonged to her or not."
The sharp snap of cold pulsed through the room as Bruce's psychic scent changed and darkened from Prince to Warlord Prince, an instinctive transition in the face of danger to his Queen. "You think he's a threat?"
"To the Lady Maria and the court? No."
"To us?" Tony asked, more softly than Steve liked - Tony was sliding towards the killing edge, too. "We could bury him."
Steve's vision pulsed, sharp heartbeats stabbing into his chest. The tugging lure of knife-edge rage beckoned - but he had to stay calm. Someone had to be the voice of reason, and he was Maria's Master of the Guard, responsible for her safety. The males of the court would take their cue from him, and how he felt about Grey personally should not be allowed to get in the way of his duty to Maria.
Thankfully, Nick got there first. "We're not going to bury a male who belongs to our Queen."
"He's not a threat to us," Steve added, focusing on the facts. "But we are going to have to learn to work with him."
"And why, exactly, isn't it that he is going to have to learn to work with us?" Tony's eyes still glittered with the edge that had earned him his reputation for being dangerous.
"Because," said Bruce, still the Warlord Prince, "If Grey had stayed with her, he'd be the dominant male in her court."
"See that? That's my problem, right there." Tony looked around at them all, unfazed, undaunted, unrepentant. "'If'. He didn't stay with her – he's not a part of her established court, and I'd rather shatter my Jewels than step back so he can waltz in."
"No-one is saying we have to step back," Nick said. "But we're going to tread carefully."
Tony made a noise like a snarl in the back of his throat – a noise that Steve echoed in his soul. "Screw that."
--
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(Huh, I don't think I left a comment on the original story yet - loved it, btw. I'll have to reread it, looking forward to it.)