A long overdue prompt fill for @susieeslei
“... alright I'll show then around but you'll have to do your part. You're not getting out of this one, Tony.” Steve ignored the grimace that was thrown his way and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “And nothing dangerous - I know you were thinking about it. Just tell them something sciency. They're kids, they'll be impressed with whatever you can come up with.”
And so, after much muttering and eye-rolling, Tony agreed to prepare something for the kids to keep them busy after Steve had shown them around the perimeters. Once his protests had died down, the planning went over quickly. They decided to briefly introduce the team, put together a few souvenirs and provide the kids with healthy snacks. To Steve's surprise, Tony even volunteered to organise the latter part. While he wasn't exactly known for his healthy eating habits, Steve figured he would know better than to serve a bunch of third-graders anything sugary.
It was after the grand tour that the group of children was pooling into the conference room behind Steve, who was dressed up in his uniform to impress the kids. There was a large bowl of bananas waiting on the conference table, and while the children settled into their seats, Steve grabbed one of the fruits to lead by example. Tony watched him expectantly as he took a theatrically enthusiastic bite - and then frowned.
“We can't give these to the kids, Tony, something's wrong with these bananas,” Steve said quietly, awkwardly holding his snack out as though he expected Tony to try it and confirm his suspicions.
“They're perfectly fine bananas, Cap.”
Steve took another bite and shook his head. Something was definitely off about these.
“Don't worry,” Tony said with a wink and turned to face the children. “Go ahead, kids, let's all have a snack and teach Captain America something about the Bananapocalypse.” At his ominous proclamation, the lights in the room dimmed and foreboding music started playing. An overhead projector buzzed to life, throwing a picture of two bananas in front of a badly photoshopped nuclear explosion up against the wall.
“A long, long time ago, back when our beloved hero was still enjoying the ice age, something terrible happened,” Tony started. “It was in the ancient times of the nineteen-fifties when America’s favourite fruit was overcome by terrible tragedy.” The projection behind Tony supplied ample imagery to his graphic and hopelessly exaggerated description of the fungus that had killed off the banana monoculture. The children followed his gestures with wide eyes, enraptured by the retelling of what Tony essentially framed to be a biological war. Even Steve, who wasn't quite sure how much of what Tony was saying was true, was listening intently.
“... and that's how the banana as Cap here knew it died and was replaced by the yellow hero you see in front of you, the banana as you all know it. Now, if you've ever tried Banana Laffy Taffy, or any other kind of banana flavoured candy, that's what bananas used to taste like back when Cap was a kid.” There were sounds of displeasure spreading among the kids, and some even had the decency to look at their idol with pity. “Now, be grateful for your bananas, because just like Cap, every single one of them is a real hero.”
