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As Tony walked out of the elevator into the tower’s common floor, the first thing he heard was music, a bit tinny and obviously from a small speaker, followed quickly by a round of laughter from several familiar sources.
“Whose playing Black Sabbath?” Tony asked.
“Steve apparently learned how to set different ring tones for his contacts,” Clint said through his laughter.
“No need to guess who that’s for,” Tony said as he walked toward the others, which also included Natasha and Bruce.
“Correct,” Natasha said. “Next one, Steve.”
Steve looked somewhat uncomfortable but started fiddling with his phone as requested.
Soon, the phone was spouting a folksy tune.
Natasha and Bruce were laughing immediately, joined by Tony. Clint was trying his best to look annoyed but couldn’t keep the smile off his face either.
“Seriously?” he asked Steve. “Me and My Arrow?”
“Perfect,” Natasha said.
“How the hell did you even hear of that?” Tony asked.
Instead of answering, Steve stopped the song, tapped the phone a few times, and another song began playing.
This time the music was more rock ‘n roll than folk, and the lyrics gave away the answer right away.
“Spider Woman?” Tony asked. “Interesting choice. Interesting lyrics.” Glancing over to Natasha, he asked, “Anything I should know?”
“Nope,” Natasha said.
The next song was considerably different, with a thick voice singing showtunes.
As soon as the others realized what it was, the laughter returned.
“You better make sure Fury never hears that,” Natasha said.
“Yeah, man,” Clint said. “You like to live dangerously. ‘Pirate King’ from ‘The Pirates of Penzance?’ Wow, even I wouldn’t go that far.”
“It wasn’t--,” Steve began, but stopped. “It seemed to fit…” he added, almost turning it into a question at the end.
“Gotta give you credit, that’s something I would have done,” Tony said. “Actually, I’m almost annoyed I didn’t think of it first. Good play.”
“I guess I know who’s next,” Bruce said. “Hit me with it.”
The song stopped, and a moment later, a gentle guitar piece began.
“I knew it had to be that,” Tony said. “A bit on the nose, but still perfect.”
From the phone, Kermit the Frog’s voice sang, “It isn’t easy being green.”
“Fair,” Bruce said. “That’s fair.”
Steve stopped the song, looking more embarrassed than pleased by the attention given his song choices.
“Well, you asked, and I answered,” Steve said.
He started to get up off the couch, but Tony held up his hand.
“Hold up,” he said. “I have questions. “I can understand Black Sabbath’s ‘Iron Man’ and even Kermit, but how the hell did you come up with Harry Nilsson and Uriah Heep?”
“Lucky, I guess,” Steve answered unconvincingly.
“Nope, you had help,” Tony said. “It makes sense now. No way you go with ‘Pirate King’ on your own. Who’s your accomplice?”
“Nobody,” Steve said. “It was me and me alone.”
Just then, Steve’s phone began playing music, and it was clear by his expression he hadn’t done anything.
The music this time was much older than the other songs, a haunting female voice, singing, “You go to my head,” which Tony recognized as Billie Holiday.
Steve looked down at his phone like it had betrayed him as Holiday sang, “You linger like a haunting refrain, and I find you spinning round in my brain.”
Sighing, Steve answered his phone and brought it to his ear.
“Hey Darcy, what’s up?”