Freezer Burn: chapter 25 (of 27)
by Domenika Marzione (miss_porcupine)
Genfic; PG-13-ish
Avengers/Captain America ensemble; a mashup between the movies and the 616-verse.
LJ tag | ao3

Summary: The adventures of Steve Rogers, defrosted soldier, who is missing time but not really all that lost. He's got a surprisingly broad knowledge of lettuces, a working grasp of modern technology, and may or may not be using both to mess with his teammates and save the world.

"You look surprisingly hale and hearty for someone two bottles from liver failure."

Tony took the greeting from Maya Hansen - and it was a greeting, accompanied by an outstretched hand to shake - without blinking. Steve, on the other hand, had to work to keep his jaw from dropping because she'd met him and Bruce with professionalism and a charming smile and praise for Bruce's last published article.

Tony waved away her words airily as he shook her hand. "Rumors of my death have always been greatly exaggerated."

Doctor Hansen - "Maya, please" - gave Tony a look that clearly stated that she expected a better comeback. "Rumors that you're putting away a gallon of Balvenie a week have historically not been that much of an exaggeration. But you don't look nearly as bad as the National Enquirer covers make you appear, so there's that. I lost the death pool anyway - I had you carking by St. Patty's."

Next to Steve, Bruce was fighting back a smile and, recovered, Steve could admit that seeing someone talk to Tony without any varnish whatsoever was actually pretty entertaining.

Notes: this story is updated in segments on LJ and those segments are bundled into chapters for AO3:
On LJ: part forty-five | part forty-six
On AO3: Chapter Twenty-Five