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#Post#: 34--------------------------------------------------
Re: 1x1 || TinyGoliath & MagicNightStar
By: TinyGoliath Date: February 6, 2013, 8:45 pm
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{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony grinned at that, following Steve to the car and, maybe a
bit faster than before. He climbed in, waiting for Steve to do
the same before he took off, happy as can be.
Apparently, though, his phone was determined to stop him from
paying attention to nothing but Steve, because almost as soon as
they peeled out on the road, Tony's phone rang. He glanced at
the caller ID before, grudgingly, he picked it up.
"Pepper, or Rhodey?"
"Take a guess."
"Hi there, Pepper."
"Do you know what I'm going to do to you, Tony?"
"I assume you're going to yell at me and break into my house to
cut off my--
"I'm going to go to the adoption center tonight, then I'm going
to break into your house, cut you up into tiny little bits, and
feed you to my fifty-seven cats."
"That's... a little scary, actually."
"This is not a joke, Tony. You just disappeared, and left me to
deal with the chaos."
"In my defense, you knew what I was going to--"
"No, I knew you were going to address what I'd asked you and
then tell everyone about Steve, but I had no idea--"
"You should've expected--
"I can't read minds--"
"I could probably create--"
"Goodbye, Tony."
Tony frowned at his phone as the line went dead, giving Steve a
weird look. "I wonder why she bothers," he says, shrugging to
himself, and shoves his phone back in his pocket. The only
question left in his mind was why 57?
* * *
Tony finally pulled up to his house -- Steve's house -- their
house, he guess. Wow. That felt a little weird to think. He was
actually living with somebody now -- somebody he was serious
with. And he knew that he wouldn't be if Steve had a house, that
Steve probably would've never asked for fear of imposing if
Dreadknight hadn't blown his house up, but it had still been
Tony's choice to say yes and for some reason the enormity of it
really hit Tony right then. Not that it was bad -- Tony just
didn't know what to say to it.
"Home sweet home," he said, pushing all those thoughts to the
back of his mind. He'd deal with them later. Maybe.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve smiled up at the house and nodded. It was home sweet home.
Just like his old home if not more. Now he had someone to live
with. Steve pushed those thoughts away because the question of
marriage returned into his mind, and he knew Tony wasn't ready
for something like that.
Steve turned to Tony with his mischievous look on his face
including a smirk and lust in his eyes. He got out of the car
and walked around to open Tony's door again, but this time he
grabbed Tony by the front of his shirt to pull him up and
slammed the door shut behind him. The hand that had Tony's shirt
moved down to take his boyfriend's hand instead, leading him to
the front door which made a click sound, telling him JARVIS had
just unlocked it. He quickly threw the door open, pulling Tony
in after him and shutting the door before attacking the man's
lips with kisses. Now was his chance to somewhat get back at him
for the theater.
Steve pinned Tony against the wall, smiling as he began to kiss
his lover's jaw and down to his neck.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony made a very surprised kind of noise as Steve yanked him
suddenly out of the car, dragging him into the house and
pressing him against the wall. Tony, of course, could do nothing
to protest, just grab the front of Steve's shirt, and pull him
closer, wanting every inch of the man.
"Steve," Tony muttered, dragging the other man's head up for a
kiss, jumping up and wrapping his legs around Steve's waist.
"Steve, bed, now." He wondered if this was how Bruce felt when
he turned into the Hulk, so overcome with emotion he couldn't
even form a coherent sentence and stop thinking about Bruce,
Tony, seriously.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve was very surprised when Tony jumped up and wrapped his
legs around Steve's waist, only making him want Tony more. He
wrapped one arm around Tony's back and wrapped his other arm
underneath Tony, pulling his as close as he could so this time
he would not drop him. He carefully began to make his way
upstairs while carrying and kissing Tony. Finally, they made it
to the bedroom.
Steve lied Tony on the bed, coming down on top of Tony since his
legs were still wrapped around him. He let the kiss heat up as
he snaked his hands underneath the back of Tony's shirt, wanting
to feel some of Tony's bare skin. Quickly, he removed Tony's
shirt and began to slowly move down his boyfriend's body,
leaving a trail of kisses all the way down to Tony's exposed
arch reactor. He had grown quiet fond of the glowing circle that
kept Tony alive considering he had replaced it twice. It was
also warm and was basically kind of like a heart to Steve.
Steve made sure to avoid kissing Tony's sides as he explored his
boyfriend's body, not wanting Tony to burst into giggles and
push Steve away again. "I love you," he breathed against Tony's
skin, making a habit to tell Tony that every time they did this
because after all, this was because of love. It was always
suppose to be about love.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony downright moaned at the feeling of Steve's lips against his
skin, hands knotting in the other man's hair. Suddenly, he felt
an odd vibrating at his hip, and looked down, confused, but saw
nothing. That's when he realized -- his phone. Again.
Tony didn't bother to look at the number, he was a bit too
distracted -- he only hoped that it would be quick. "Um...
h-hello?" Tony said awkwardly, trying not to sound like he had
another man kissing down his body.
"Hi, Tony."
"Um... uh... hi... hello... who's this?"
"Aw, you don't recognize my voice? That hurts."
"I..." Tony was at a loss for words, trying to focus, although
Steve was making that awfully difficult, though. Finally,
though, it came to him, and his head dropped back on the
pillows, still lost. "Why are you calling my phone, Clint?"
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve wasn't upset when Tony picked up his phone. If fact, he
was quite happy because now was his chance to get revenge on
Tony for what happened in the theater.
He continued to plant kisses all over Tony's chest as he began
to speak to Clint, enjoying what it was doing to Tony. Steve
slowly kissed his way up Tony chest and began to nibble on
Tony's earlobe again, whispering in his ear, "Hurry up babe, I'm
waiting." He looked up to give Tony a small wink before removing
his own shirt and kissing the man along his jawbone and running
a hand up Tony's chest while the other made faint scratch marks
on Tony's back.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
"Oh, uh, Natasha wanted me to -- wait, why, are you busy?"
Clint's tone changed from aloof to absolutely gleeful.
"Clint," Tony said sternly, "If you don't hurry up and tell me
what you were going to say, I will hang up on you. This had
better be--" he stopped, suddenly, biting down on his lip as he
tried to keeping from moaning, Steve's hands roaming across his
body almost proving too much. "--important," he finished
shakily, gripping onto Steve's shoulder, arching into his touch.
"Alright, alright... uh, so, Natasha just wanted to make sure
you and Steve were doing fine and all, you know, after that
nasty fall..."
"Yeah, yeah, we're fine, it doesn't even hurt now, is that all,
can I go now?"
"Uh, no wait! There's onnne more thing, it's really
important..."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve smiled as Tony arched his back and grabbed his shoulder.
He looked up to see Tony biting his lips. Steve quickly kissed
his lips to relax them so he wouldn't hurt himself too much
before going back to kissing the man's jaw. Slowly, he made his
way down to Tony''s collarbone and before an evil idea popped
into his head.
He began to make his way back to Tony's neck and kissed over to
the crook where he knew Tony had a sensitive spot. Smirking, he
kissed the spot repeatedly, making the kisses open-mouthed
before finally just sucking on the spot. Steve got another
thought in his head as he sucked on Tony's sensitive spot. Very
slowly, he moved the hand that was making faint marks on Tony's
back to go down and rest on his... well... ass.
Steve realized he became some sort of scheming monster when he
wanted Tony really badly. It was almost like he was a different
person. However, he had to admit he was enjoying it and wasn't
going to stop as his other hand slid down to rest firmly on
Tony's hip.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
"Yes?" Tony hissed through gritted teeth, waiting for Clint's
prolonged reply. He could almost hear the ridiculous grin on
Clint's face.
"Just... uh... Thor wanted to say... hi...?" He sounded on the
verge of giggles.
Tony was about to hang up, but it was at that moment that Steve
hit that spot on his neck, and Tony came undone, a loud, gasping
moan tumbling out of his lips.
"I knew it, totally knew it, hey guys, Steve and Tony are--"
Screw you, Clint," Tony snarled.
"Wait! I was just gonna ask if Steve was--
Tony flung the phone away from him, effectively ending the call,
and finally let himself unravel, breaking Steve's contact with
his neck to drag him into a possessive, harsh kiss. "You're
mine," Tony breathed in Steve's ear, pushing Steve firmly in the
mattress and rolling on top of him. No more phone calls, no more
texts, no more surprise visits or getting kicked out of places,
Steve was here and now and Tony definitely was not going to wait
any longer.
asdfghjkl... while Clint laughs his ass off at the SHIELD base,
Natasha blushes, Thor has no idea what Clint means by all the
innuendos, and Bruce reads quietly in a corner, very
determinedly not being involved.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve sighed happily, pulling the bed's blanket over his and
Tony's naked bodies. He turned on his side so he could face Tony
and wrap his arms around his waist and back like he usually did
at night, looking into Tony's dazzling eyes.
"What came over you?" he asked, breathlessly, referring to the
way Tony had ended his phone call and turned his full attention
to him, possessively. Steve began to trace small circles on
Tony's back, absentmindedly before shaking his head slightly.
"Who cares, that was... amazing," Steve said with a smile,
kissing his boyfriend quickly on the lips.
Steve never thought things would be this way... especially with
Tony Stark. After all, they had been kind of like rivals when
they first met on the first Avengers mission. Steve had been
such a jerk to Tony back then. He brought the hand that was on
Tony's waist up to rest on the side of Tony's face. "Tony.... I
really sorry about all those things I said to you when we first
met.... About how you should stop pretending to be a hero, how
you only cared about yourself, and even calling your Stark
Towers ugly... I know you don't like it when I say it, but I'm
just really sorry, Tony," he said, rubbing Tony's cheek with his
thumb.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony frowned as Steve brought the past back up, back when the
Avengers had first formed and Tony had been oh-so-shrewd. He
found that he didn't really like to think about that, or any
other times when he had very nearly lost his life. But he didn't
seem quite so annoyed that Steve was apologizing about it,
eventually giving a smile and a deep glance, looking as if he
were about to say something truly romantic, and profound--
"You're stupid," Tony said.
He grinned, propping himself up on one elbow and giving Steve a
fond kind of look. "Seriously, though, Steve, I don't care. It's
gone from my mind. Poof." He leaned down, giving Steve a chaste
kiss. "I was the one that instigated it all, anyways -- you
were... amusing, to poke fun at. Still kinda are."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve chuckled a little giving Tony another small kiss.
"Thanks?" he said, making it more of a question before something
else popped into his mind.
"Also Tony... When you had returned to the atmosphere after
saving the word and everyone thought you were dead... I... I was
so... broken," said Steve, deciding that broken seemed to be an
almost fitting word. "Like... like a piece of me had been torn
away.... I was a it confused about it, but now I realize that...
that was when I started to think I had feelings for you... that
was when I did develop feelings for you... I guess I just didn't
really understand then," he said, thoughtfully before realizing
that this conversation probably wasn't the best one to have with
Tony. "I'm sorry, you probably don't want to think about that."
Steve said, kissing Tony's cheek.
"You've been through a lot, haven't you?" Steve whispered,
feeling very sympathetic toward the man in front of him. "More
than I can imagine..." he said, answering himself as he wrapped
his arm back around Tony's waist.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
No, Tony really did not want to talking about that.
He didn't think the way Steve had thought back then. He'd woke
up on the ground, dazed, confused, hungry, and had suggested
shawarma as a way to cope with the fact that woah, I almost
died. He'd been in love with Pepper then and was a little bit
different and Cap didn't even cross his mind a whole lot. What
was he supposed to say?
What could he say, really, when Steve continued. Oh, yeah, I've
been through a ton, lots more than the average person could,
pity me, pity me. Tony didn't want anybody to pity him. Pity did
nothing to help, and you couldn't exactly help the past, either,
so Tony chose not to focus on it. He purses his lips together,
not smiling anymore. "Um..." he started quietly, unsure of
himself. He wasn't looking at Steve. "We should go to bed, yeah?
I mean, we're already in bed, I guess, but we should go to...
um, sleep..."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve nodded, forcing a small smile on his face. "Yes... yes we
should," whispered Steve, giving Tony one last kiss on the
cheek. "I love you, Tony," he said, pulling his boyfriend closer
to him. Steve knew it was never a happy thing when you think
about a time you almost die. I mean, Steve basically did die
that time he was in a coma before Natalia rescued him. It was
never and enjoyable conversation, so Steve was going to do his
best to never bring it up again. He gently lied his head in the
crook of Tony's neck to let him know he was there for him.
Forever and for always.
He sighed quietly and sadly when he remembered he had tango
lessons the next morning. Steve was going to hate leaving Tony
again after tonight. It's worth it, he had to remind himself.
Steve kissed Tony's shoulder before closing his eyes, ready to
go to sleep.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony sighed quietly, one hand resting on Steve's head, fingers
threading rhythmically through his hair. He planted his own kiss
on Steve's temple and rested his head down, feeling completely
un-peaceful. The past still shook him, no matter how long and
hard he told himself it shouldn't, no matter how much he thought
about it and tried to accept it happened.
The worst part was that he wanted to talk to Steve about it,
about the Revengers and just, well, everything, because it
anybody deserved to know it was him, but Tony couldn't find the
right words. He had a feeling that even if he could, they'd get
stuck in his throat, anyways -- do you know how frustrating it
is to, literally, not be able to talk about something?
"You're too good for me," Tony murmured into Steve's ear, not
really knowing or caring whether the other man was awake or not.
And Steve really was -- too kind, too patient, too devoted. Tony
certainly didn't deserve someone like this, not after all he'd
done, all he'd caused. He hated to think that about himself, but
every now and then it crept up on Tony, that question that he
could never answer: In what way do you deserve this?
Tony couldn't answer this -- he'd tried and he'd failed and he'd
failed some more, so he just let it linger in his mind, the
words sounding more and more bitter until he had to close his
eyes and push them away.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve furrowed his brow as Tony spoke, cutting himself down
again. "Stop," he said against the skin of Tony's shoulder.
"Please stop," he said again, looking up at Tony. "Don't cut
yourself down anymore. Everyone makes mistakes, Tony, but it's
not our mistakes that make us who we are."
He ran a hand through his wonderful boyfriend's hair, kissing
him softly and sweetly. "I'm just so lucky to have you, and when
you cut yourself down it really breaks my heart," said Steve
quietly before kissing Tony again.
Steve knew they had both made some mistakes in their lives. They
were still human after all, but they did deserve each other.
Like Tony once said, they met for a reason. This is the way
their lives were suppose to be... shared with each other.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony held his breath, trying to find words again, just to tell
Steve something, anything, everything... his mind remained
blank, mocking him, almost. He pulled away from the seconds
kiss, but kept his face close, staring apologetically into the
other man's eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said, his voice no more than a whisper. "I
just... you know, you're so... I just... I have more to offer,
y'know? I want to tell you... tell you everything, Steve, but I
just can't and that makes me..." He sighs again, words stuck in
his throat, his mind scolding him, saying, look what you've
done, you can't fix it now, you can't apologize enough.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve slid his hand down the side of Tony's face, resting his
forehead on Tony's and closing his eyes. "Shh..." he whispered,
giving Tony a chaste kiss. "It's alright, I understand. I don't
need you to tell me everything right now. Just tell me when you
want to and can."
Steve opened his eyes and gave a small, tired smile to Tony.
"Don't think about it anymore..." Steve whispered, running his
hand slowly and soothingly through Tony's hair. "Just go to
sleep," he continued to whisper, massaging Tony's back with his
free hand very gently, trying to help him fall asleep.
He wanted to know everything Tony wanted to say, but he was
willing to wait. He was willing to wait for anything with Tony.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony opened his mouth, trying to find something to say, but
nothing seemed right, and he eventually closed it again, letting
himself sink in Steve's light touched. His eyelids drooped
slightly, and he gave a small smile.
"Too good," Tony repeated, but didn't seem so trouble anymore,
wrapping his arm loosely around Steve's waist. Finally, sleep
seemed to beckon, and Tony let it come, finding it much more
preferable over thought. His eyes drifted closed, his breathing
slowed, and the lines set into his face relaxed slightly. He
would only wake up once that night, not because of nightmares,
but of habit, just to make sure that Steve was still there, and
that this was still real.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve waited until Tony had drifted off to sleep before he
stopping massaging his back and running a hand through his hair.
He looked so peaceful for a man who had been troubled only
moments ago. Steve smiled and kissed Tony's temple before lying
his head back on the pillow.
"I love you," he whispered to Tony even though he knew he was
already asleep. It was going to be sad leaving him again in the
morning for tango lessons, but he had to keep reminding himself
that it was for Tony, for a good cause.
Steve sighed quieting, watching Tony peacefully sleep before he
too drifted off.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony wasn't hungover, right?
No. No, he was not.
Then what the hell was he leaning over the toilet for?
All Tony knew was that whatever good felt like, he was feeling
the exact opposite of that. He had barely even gotten
half-dressed before his stomach had given a sickening lurch,
and, knowing all well what was about to happen, Tony had
practically flown to the bathroom and promptly gotten rid of any
remaining food in his belly. Oh, nothing like sickness in the
morning.
"My life," Tony groaned, "Officially sucks."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve rolled over, feeling a bit tired and chillier than usual.
He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to see Tony was
missing. 'It can't be that late, can it?' Steve thought, sitting
up to look at the alarm clock on the night stand on Tony's side
of the bed. Ten o' clock. "Darn," he muttered, realizing he was
late for tango lessons. Two hours late, actually. He was
surprised Barbra hadn't called or anything, wondering where he
was at.
Steve hoped out of bed, quickly rushing into the closet to get
dressed. He heard Tony say something, sounding like his voice
was coming from the bathroom. He walked out of the closet, fully
dressed and ready to go. Steve noticed that the bathroom's light
was indeed on and the door was open, signifying that Tony was
inside.
Steve began to make his way over to the bathroom as he said,
"Honey, I have to go again. Is there anything you want while I'm
ou- Tony!" Steve entered the bathroom to see Tony, shirtless and
leaning over the toilet, looking like a mess. "Honey, what's
wrong?" Steve asked, worried as he rushed over to Tony, placing
a hand on his shoulder.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
The feeling of nausea sweeps over Tony again as Steve comes into
the room and puts a hold on him, but there's really nothing left
to come up, so he gives a very sickening, wet kind of cough and
gives a tortured moan. "I feel like s---, Steve, that's what's
the matter," he snaps, and then immediately regrets it, putting
a clammy hand on Steve's arm as an apology.
"Sorry, babe, just uh... yeah, what I said before, that pretty
much... sums it up..." With all the vomiting, headaches, stomach
aches, fever and god knows what else Tony wonders if he's dieing
and no he is not being dramatic, okay.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve quickly got on his knees and placed a hand on Tony's
forehead. "Tony... you're burning up," he said, getting more
worried. Steve could tell that Tony had been vomiting and he
could also feel Tony's head throbbing slightly. "It looks
like.... food poisoning." Steve knew a lot about diseases and
sicknesses from before he was Captain America and had a ton of
health problems.
"Hold on, I'll be right back," said Steve, kissing Tony on the
forehead before rushing downstairs to the kitchen. Tony needed
to drink plenty of clear liquids so Steve decided to make some
tea with lemon and ginger. He managed to find all the necessary
ingredients pretty quickly as he searched the kitchen. After
awhile, the tea was finally ready. Steve hurried back upstairs
to the bathroom, placing the cup of tea next to Tony since he
didn't like to be handed things.
"I made you some tea you need to drink. It should help," he
whispered to his boyfriend, giving him another kiss on the
forehead. Food poisoning was a very serious thing, and Steve was
going to make sure to take the best care of Tony he possibly
could.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony turned his head slightly as Steve left, watching after him
until he felt sick again, and gave another meek cough. Ug,
seriously, he was so done with this already. Mouth feeling (and
tasting) gross, Tony stumbled up, grabbing hold of the
countertop and hunching over the sink, splashing his face with
cold water and washing out his mouth. That done, he slumped
against the wall and slid until he was sitting back on the
floor.
Tony's smile turned into more of a scowl as Steve appeared
again, head pounding and stomach reminding him that nope, you
can't be happy, not even when you see your boyfriend. He glanced
at the tea Steve offered him, raising an eyebrow. "Do I look
like a tea and crumpets kind of guy to you?" he asked, though
already had the cup in his hands, sipping it experimentally. It
made him feel fractionally better.
"Question," Tony says tiredly, "Not gonna die, am I? Because
that's just... I don't think that's gonna work very well,
Pepper'll probably not be very happy with me, she has a very
specific agenda... No, dying's not really gonna work out..."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve clucked a little at Tony's questions as he sipped the tea.
"Darling, do you really think I would be this calm if you were
going to die?" he asked, rubbing Tony's back.
Slowly, he wrapped his arms around Tony so he could carefully
carry him to the bed and letting him lie down. Steve asked
JARVIS to turn on the fan to help Tony cool down. He went back
to the bathroom to grab a rag and dampen it with cold water
before coming back and folding it up to place it on Tony's
forehead to help with his temperature and headache. "It's
alright, I'm going to take care of you," he told Tony, lying
down next to him and taking his hand. "Also, my super soldier
blood might help you feel better soon..."
It was at that moment that the house phone began to ring. Steve
figured it was Barbra since everyone else called Tony on his
portable phone. "I'll get it, honey," he said quickly, getting
up and grabbing the phone on Tony's night stand. He quickly
walked back into the bathroom and shut the door, hoping the room
was somewhat sound-proof.
"Hello?" said Steve, picking up the phone.
"Um, hi Steve. It's Barbra. I was just wondering if everything
was alright. Your appointment was at eight."
Steve sighed, nodding even though Barbra couldn't see him.
"Yeah, I know. Listen, I won't be able to come over today. Tony
is sick and it would be wrong to leave him like this."
"Oh, I see. No problem, I can just reschedule your appointment.
Maybe just add an extra day or something..." said Barbra,
quietly. "Tony doesn't suspect anything, does he?" she suddenly
asked, sounding a bit worried.
"I don't know... I hope Tony doesn't suspect anything. If he
ever found out what I was doing... Well, I don't know what he'd
do." Steve chuckled slightly at the thought of Tony finding out
that he was taking tango lessons.
"I'm sure he wouldn't do anything bad," said Barbra, laughing.
"Well, I better get going before Tony does get suspicious. No
one really knows that I'm living here, and the people that do
would probably just call Tony's portable phone," he explained.
"Yeah, okay. I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye Steve!"
"Okay, see you tomorrow. Bye Barbra."
Steve quickly hung up the phone before opening the door and
walking back into the bedroom.
#Post#: 35--------------------------------------------------
Re: 1x1 || TinyGoliath & MagicNightStar
By: TinyGoliath Date: February 6, 2013, 8:45 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony grumbled as Steve took up the phone and left -- he hated
being treated a baby, even if he did feel like he was dying and
the thought of moving sent shivers down his spine. Who, Tony
thought, called his home phone anyways? They knew he never
picked it up, right? And why had Steve snuck into another room
to answer it?
Throwing the rag on his head off him, Tony sat up, ignoring the
rolling in his stomach, and hobbled silently over to the
bathroom, where he caught the quiet end of one sentence.
"--it would be wrong to leave him like this."
Okay, okay, that wasn't so bad. That could be explained. One of
the Avengers called them to base and Cap had to politely refuse
because--
"I don't know... I hope Tony doesn't suspect anything. If he
ever found out what I was doing... Well, I don't know what he'd
do."
Tony's throat went a little dry at that, because that-- that--
didn't sound... that sounded suspicious. That sounded the exact
opposite of what it would sound like if Steve were innocent.
That sounded like Steve was cheating on him.
"Well, I better get going before Tony does get suspicious..."
Tony was stumbling away from the bathroom now, head pounding,
heart throbbing, fingers clutched again the cup of tea Steve had
made him, his mind a whirl of confusion and questions and anger
and guilt and everything else. He sat down on the bed, put the
cup down and put his head between his hands, shutting his eyes
tight and thinking why, why, why?
You know why, a voice chided him, Peggy was a girl. Steve never
showed any interest in guys until you came along, you think he'd
ever love you as much as he could love a woman? And, okay, that
sounded like he was grasping for straws, but Tony was, he was
trying anything to make sense of it all, and this, this could
not be happening to him, this was too much.
The door to the bathroom suddenly open, and Tony sat up
straight, trying to remain as still as possible.
"Steve," he said, letting his voice betray nothing. He even
managed a little smile. "Who called?"
His hands were shaking.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve smiled when Tony did, placing the phone where it belonged.
He couldn't lie to Tony, but he also couldn't tell him the
truth. "A friend of mine," Steve replied, not going into anymore
detail that that.
He noticed Tony's hands were shaking so he gently placed his own
hands over them, making the shaking stop. "Is there anything I
can get or do for you?" he asked Tony, running a hand through
his boyfriend's hair.
Hopefully Barbra wouldn't call again anytime soon. The last
thing Steve wanted was Tony suspecting something.... Something
horrible.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony bit his lip as Steve explained, trying not to think to
himself that friend was an under-exaggeration, but it slipped
into his mind and shook him to the roots. He closed his eyes as
Steve took his hands, thinking how could a man like this do
something like that? His mind, his body, even, simply refused to
believe it. Tony felt sick again, though he had a feeling it
wasn't because of food poisoning.
He shook his head numbly at Steve's question. "No," he murmured,
"No, I'm, uh, I'm fine..." His eyes suddenly opened, and he
lifted his hanging head to look at Steve. "Steve... you... you
know I love you, right?" he asked, voice quiet and wary and
scared, almost, though Tony wasn't sure what of. "You know that
I'm trying really hard to make you happy, trying to be... good
for you, trying to create a... a future, with you, don't you?"
He brought one of his hands up, fingers brushing softly across
Steve's cheek, and then let it drop back down, his lips pursed.
"You know that?" he repeated again, teetering on the edge of
something bigger, like a glass vase on a coffee table,
threatening to fall and break and shatter into a million little
pieces, with that single word, why, lingering in his head.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve couldn't understand the sudden change of Tony's voice and
attitude as he asked Steve if he knew he loved him. He continued
to listen to Tony as he went on about saying that he was trying
really hard to make him happy and about trying to create a....
future? Steve knew that probably didn't mean the same thing as
he thought it would mean. Marriage was not something that Tony
would be thinking about, right? However, Steve had to admit that
if Tony just planed to be Steve's boyfriend forever... well...
Steve wouldn't be very happy. He shook his head to clear that
thought. If he was with Tony, he could be happy. Married or not.
Steve turned his attention back to the questions that Tony
asked. His expression was soft and caring as he gently took
Tony's tea out of his hands and placed it on the nightstand. He
took Tony's hands fully in his own, kissing them before looking
up at Tony's big brown eyes, his own eyes filled with love as he
got on his knees. "Of course I know you love me," he whispered,
kissing Tony's hands again. "And you have been making me happy.
Tony, I never really knew what happy was until I fell in love
with you. And you have been good to me... so, so good to me..."
Steve placed one of his hands on the side of Tony's face. "If
there's any kind of future I want, it's one with you," said
Steve quietly as he leaned over to give Tony a quick kiss on the
lips, not knowing if Tony still felt very sick or not.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony's eyes shone -- he was holding back tears, not sure what to
say or do or think anymore. Steve sound so sincere, but
everything was so shrouded in mystery and Tony knew it would be
better to ask but he couldn't. How could he ask something like
that, to Steve?
"Right, right, I just... um..." He closed his eyes, hiding the
raw emotion than shone in them, locking his arms loosely around
Steve's waist, leaning his forehead against the other man's,
noses brushing. "Just... I mean, god forbid, but if you ever...
ever change your mind... can you just... just tell me? Don't
make me figure it out myself, okay? Can you, uh... can you
promise me that?"
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve could tell Tony was trying to hold back tears because
Steve was too. He just loved Tony so much and he just wished
there was away to put how he felt about Tony into words, but
there wasn't. There was away to do it with touch and feel, but
Tony was sick so he couldn't really do that.
Steve's eyes widened with shock slightly as Tony spoke. Oh
god.... He did suspect something. Guilt swelled up inside Steve
like there was no end. The fact that Tony thought that Steve
might change his mind made the guilt seem to burn up inside of
him. "Anthony... I'm never going to change my mind... never." He
wrapped his arms around Tony's waist, pulling him a little
closer. "But I promise," he whispered, knowing that he needed to
make the promise for Tony's own good. However, he had promised
Tony things before.... like not letting anything hurt him....
"You... you said you wouldn't let anything hurt me, and look
where we're at, Steve! You're the one who hurt me!" Steve
squeezed his eyes shut at the remembrance of Tony's words. "I
came running up the stairs for you and you're the one who made
that choice, Steve, you're the one who left when you said you
wouldn't!" Steve felt a tear run down his cheek as the words
repeated themselves in his head.
"I'm so sorry, Tony," he gasped out as tears started to fall. He
was apologizing for his past broken promises again, but he just
couldn't seem to tell Tony that right now with his cracking
voice.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony didn't let himself wonder too deep into what Steve was
apologizing for -- h told himself he knew, and he did (in his
mind). But he wasn't angry at Steve, innocent, perfect,
flustered, beautiful Steve, who could barely say the word no
without blushing a million times over.
"Don't apologize," Tony said quietly, voice wavering, but
determined to get through. "It's alright, I forgive you,
just..." he couldn't finish that sentence, couldn't ask any
more. It was ridiculous, really -- two men, curled up over each
other and crying and apologizing and Tony still asking himself
why, but it didn't haunt him quite so much any more now. Steve
had apologized -- that was good enough, right? That meant
something. "I love you, Steve," Tony said finally, taking
Steve's face in his hands and tilting it upward for a soft kiss.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve's hands began to tremble a little as he slowly lifted them
to cup Tony's face as he kissed him. "I love you too, Tony.... I
love you so much..." he said shakily as he broke away from
Tony's lips.
He looked at Tony's cup to see that the tea was mostly gone.
"I'll... get you something else to drink.... You need to drink a
lot before you eat again," he mumbled as he stopped himself from
crying anymore. "Also, taking a nice shower might help you feel
better... and cleaner." He stood up and quickly made his way
downstairs to get Tony just a cup of water as he wiped the tears
off his face.
Steve looked over at the downstairs phone, thinking to himself.
He had to stop the lessons. He just had to. Tony thought that
Steve was cheating on him, and that was.... that was just too...
terrible. Steve snatched the phone and dialed the number to the
studio.
"Hello?" said Barbra.
"Barbra... I can't do this anymore. Tony thought that I was
cheating on him... I-I can't be doing this anymore..." he said,
leaning over the sink.
There was silence on the other end for awhile until Barbra
finally spoke up. "Steve, you have to remember you're doing this
for Tony. To make things up to him. It's a great idea, Steve,
really it is. You shouldn't stop... We just need to be a little
more careful, that's all," she said, trying to sound comforting.
Steve sighed and nodded. "Okay, but if he suspects I'm cheating
again I'm quitting," he said, hanging up the phone and hurrying
back upstairs with the glass of water.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony watched Steve leave, swallowing the lump in his throat
before grabbing clothes and hobbling toward the bathroom,
because, yes, a shower sounded nice, something to wash off all
the doubt, help him relax for a while.
And it did help -- you felt different when you were sick, or, at
least, Tony did, and it gave him the alone time he needed to
think. After a while, though, he realized that if he stayed in
much longer Steve might think he hit his head and passed out or
something, so he turned the water off, got dressed, and stepped
out of the bathroom, using a towel to dry his disheveled hair.
He both looked and felt better by the time he emerged, though he
still seemed a bit feverish, a little more tired than normal.
"Hi," he said to Steve softly, his stomach suddenly giving
another another sickening roll. He groaned, sitting down on the
bed, letting the towel dangle around his neck. "Ugh, not even
doughnuts sound appealing right now," he growled, "You know how
sad that is? It's... it's very sad... very sad..."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve would have chuckled if Tony wasn't so sick. He sat down
next to Tony on the bed and put the glass of water in his hands.
"Drink," he told him before burring his head where Tony's neck
and shoulder met. "Mm... You smell much better," he said with a
very small chuckle, trying to brighten the atmosphere. He
wrapped his arms around Tony's waist and closed his eyes.
"You sure you don't need anything?" Steve whispered against
Tony's skin. "Cause you know I'll do anything to make you feel
better, right?" he said, slowly pushing the towel off the side
of Tony's neck so he could kiss it softly.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony hummed contemplatively, giving a tiny smile as he took a
sip of water, and then set the glass down on the table. "What
are you suggesting, Steve?" he asked, tilting his head to give
Steve more access. He knew that, okay, it was not smart to do
this when he was sick, but it wasn't as if he was actually doing
anything. Yet.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve opened his eyes. Okay, he wasn't implying that he wanted
to... um... do that right now, but I guess it had sounded and
seemed like that. However, Tony was giving Steve more access to
his neck, and Steve would normally not be able to resist, but
this time he did. He pulled away from Tony's neck, somewhat
effortlessly.
Tony was sick and Steve knew he had just been suspicious of him
cheating, but he didn't care if they... went there? "I was...
suggesting that you tell me if you needed anything," he replied
quietly. "because you're sick, and doing something like that
might hurt you. Not that I don't want to... um... do that, It's
just that I wouldn't want you to get sick or hurt.... I mean, I
wouldn't get sick if we did, but... uh... yeah..." he babbled,
clearing his throat. He was trying to not become wanting right
now because Tony had food poisoning and he probably wasn't
feeling up to that right now, right?
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony smirked as Steve babbled, shutting him up with a very light
kiss. "No, you're right," he smiled, "I'm sick; that would be
stupid." Suddenly, another bout of nausea rolled over him, and
he winced. Geez, this was really making it hard to be sweet or
romantic or anything that Tony really wasn't, anyways, but it
frustrated him anyways.
He gripped Steve's shoulder to steady himself, his world
twisting and turning, and scowled to himself. "Hate being sick,"
he managed, shaking his head. "Please tell me this doesn't last
as long as it feels like it's going to."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve quickly placed a hand on Tony's back as he gripped his
shoulder. "I think the longest it will last is the rest of the
day..." he said, sadly. He hated Tony being sick because he knew
he was in pain.
"Come on, drink some more water and get some rest," he told
Tony, putting the glass of water back in his hands. "Maybe when
you wake up you'll feel better."
He stood up and gave Tony a kiss on the forehead and whispering
that he would be right back before he went downstairs again. He
went into the living room to grab the sketch pad he had used to
draw a picture of Tony once and went back upstairs to the
bedroom. He resumed his position, sitting next to Tony on the
bed. "I'll stay here with you encase you need anything," he
assured him, giving him another chaste kiss before telling
JARVIS to please dim the lights so Tony could rest.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony grumbled to himself as Steve left the room, taking a few
sips of what before he decided that he didn't trust himself to
drink any more of it. Like the tea, though, it made him feel
just a bit better.
It was uncomfortably stuffy in the room-- though, that was
probably just Tony being sick, but, in any case, it was too hot.
He pulled his shirt off over his head, letting the air cool his
feverish skin, and slumped onto the bed, lying on his back and
staring up at the ceiling. Steve came in, then, and Tony gave
him a half-smile as the lights turned down.
"Thanks, Cap," Tony said tiredly, eyelids already drooping.
"Think I'm gonna take a nap... you're not allowed to sit on me
again, alright?" He teased, putting his hands behind his head
and closing his eyes.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve smiled softly at Tony's use of his old nickname and
teasing, surprised to see that he was once again shirtless.
Steve asked JARVIS quietly to turn the fan up a little before
thanking him and lying on the bed next to Tony.
Steve opened the sketch pad and realized that the room was too
dark to be drawing in. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he
saw Tony's reactor glowing brilliantly in the dark. Steve often
fell asleep looking at the arc reactor that kept Tony alive when
his boyfriend didn't have a shirt on. It was just... so
beautiful. Most people might call Steve strange for thinking
that a giant reactor in the middle of someone's chest was not
beautiful but unpleasant, but Steve didn't care. He loved the
life supporter that he had placed in Tony's chest himself.
Steve scooted a bit closer to Tony so the reactor's light could
shine down on the sketch pad. He smiled and began to draw. He
started drawing things like Dummy and Iron Man (which looked
pretty realistic), feeling just a tad bit silly as he did so,
but then he began to draw the arc reactor. He made it as
detailed as he possibly could and it was turning out to look
very good.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony gave a content little sigh as he felt himself drifting off,
cool and relaxed next to Steve. Eventually, the scratch of
Steve's pencil against paper lulled him into sleep.
Tony wasn't sure, exactly, how long he slept, but he was woken
up by the same thing that had put him to sleep. He opened one
eye just a crack, to peek in on what Steve was drawing -- his
arc reactor, which was also the thing lighting up the room.
"Are you... using me as a book-light?" Tony asked, looking up at
Steve through lidded eyes. He smirked, slightly, still not fully
awake, but amused. He had no idea he was so multi-functional.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve jumped slightly, being pulled out of his fantasy land at
the sound of Tony's voice. "I... um... well, uh.... yes." Steve
could feel a blush rising up in his cheeks. He swore he was the
only person in the world that could use their boyfriend as a
light.
"It was dark, and your reactor was glowing... and... Has anyone
told you that's it's quiet beautiful?" Steve suddenly asked,
looking back down at the arc reactor. "I know I might sound a
little crazy, but I've just grown really attached it ever since
I replaced it that second time," he said, turning himself on his
side and propping himself up with his elbow to run a hand over
the reactor and Tony's chest.
"Are you feeling better?" Steve asked, taking Tony's hand and
bringing it up to his lips.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
"Beautiful?" tony repeated, surprised. Honestly, life would be a
lot easier with it -- it's basically an enormous
glow-in-the-dark target in the center of chest, a big weak spot.
Not to mention, you know, he's only ever gotten weird looks and
awed expressions for it. But, beautiful. Huh.
"Um, I... yeah, I guess," Tony says, breaking out of his
thoughts. He looks up at Steve again, their faces illuminated in
the electric blue glow of the reactors, and his smile grows a
bit. "A little bit, at least. Are you? Um, feeling okay?" Of
course, that's a kind of stupid question, but Tony can never
really stop himself from worrying.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve thought about Tony's question for a minuter. Yeah, are you
feeling okay? he asked himself in his head. Steve was never
really asked how he felt usually. Everyone just suspected he
felt fine and dandy and moved on with their lives. He felt...
happy to be with Tony and that he was feeling better, but then
again he still felt guilty for everything really. The promise
breaking, the secrecy, everything. He knew he would never be
able to stop feeling guilty for all those mistakes he made with
Tony. Leaving him after their first kiss together had to
probably be his biggest regret. Then again, Steve didn't really
have any regrets... just guilt.
"I love you," Steve whispered, not being able to really answer
Tony's question. "I love everything about you, really I do. And
no matter what happens, that's the way it's going to stay.... I
will love always love you and everything about you." He kissed
Tony slowly and gently, afraid that if he was too rough this
might all just fade away and be a dream. He had never loved
anything like he loved Tony.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony let Steve kiss him, sensing something bigger in his words
that Tony was hesitant to delve into. He put a soft hand on the
side of Steve's face and pulled away from the kiss, giving a
tiny smile and a fond look. "Yeah," he said, joking again,
"You're pretty cool, too."
He gazed into Steve's eyes, trying to see into their depths, see
what Steve was feeling, but something caught his eye, and he
looked away suddenly. It was his arm, skin reflecting harsh and
white from the light of his reactor. It was the arm that Phoenix
had burned a long while ago, and it was healed now, but that the
skin had been too burned to resurrect completely normally. The
skin always had an odd kind of sheen to it, remained a little
morphed. Tony's past... his past had scarred him, deformed him.
He really hated thinking about the past.
"I want you to do something for me," Tony said suddenly, a
thought popping into his head, and turned a bit, opening the
drawer of his end table, hand reaching for what he only assumed
was there. And it was -- Tony supposed Dummy had put it there
some time after he'd cleaned up, replaced it, assuming Tony
still wanted it. He didn't. He figured Steve didn't want him
with it, either. "Get rid of this," Tony said, turning back and
pressing the gun into one of Steve's hands, very pointedly
looking at Steve instead of the dreaded object. Tony would have
himself, but last time he had touched it had nearly resulted in
his death -- he didn't trust himself with it. "I don't care
where you put it, throw it in the ocean, or something, but don't
let me get to it again." He had nearly killed himself, that one
time -- and Steve hadn't even been dead. Tony didn't want the
gun around for that reason, for fear he'd make another deadly
mistake like that again, and a crazy bird-lady wouldn't be there
to kick the weapon out of his hand.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve stared at the gun in his hands, remembering the night he
had came home to a destroyed living room where Tony said he had
tried to kill himself. Steve had bent the mussel to that gun,
making sure it was useless so no one could use it.
"Tony..." was all Steve could seem to say before another tear
rolled down his cheek at the thought of Tony ever trying
something like that again. He nodded, standing up and asking
JARVIS to open the window. He stuck the gun out the window
before using every it of his super soldier strength to literally
crush the gun in his hand and throwing it as far away as he
could. It landed straight into the ocean that was behind Tony's
house.
Steve stood, staring out at the ocean, feeling as though he
couldn't move as he thought about Tony. "Promise me that you
would never do anything like that again..." he whispered. "If I
do die, Tony, my last wish would be for you to live... Live and
try to be as happy as you can even if it meant you finding
someone else... I just care too much about you for you to-"
Steve cut himself off as his voice cracked and he squeezed his
eyes shut again. He could feel himself shaking as he forced
himself to hold back the rest of his tears.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony stared at Steve as he threw the now demolished gun out in
the ocean, listening to the quiet, whispered words that broke
the peaceful silence. Damn, why was Tony always the one that
made people cry?
"C'mere, Steve," Tony said, standing up and making his way over
to Steve, where he wrapped his arms around the other man, trying
to comfort him. "I won't try it again," he promised quietly,
leaning his head against Steve's chest. "Listen, that day that
Night Owl saved me, and told me you were alive, I was so angry
at first that I didn't believe it. I couldn't accept that I had
almost done something so... so stupid, almost left you alone
because I was selfish enough to die, just to see you again."
Tony lifted his head back up to look at Steve, eyes resolute in
their decision. "I won't," he repeated quietly, "I promise."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve sighed, his breath finally becoming steady and even at
Tony's touch. "Thank you..." Steve said, releasing a breath he
didn't even know he was holding. "Thank you for everything,
Tony," he said, putting a finger under Tony's chin to bring it
up so he could kiss him slowly and with as much love as
possible.
He broke the kiss after a few minutes, breathless. "There's so
much I want to do for you.... So much I owe you for..." He
leaned down to start kissing Tony on the neck like he had done
earlier, soft and gentle. He wrapped his arms around Tony's
waist as he continued to kiss him, only stopping once to tell
him he loved him.
Steve began to kiss Tony up his neck, over his jaw line, and to
his lips once again before he pulled away, remembering Tony
wasn't feeling good. "I'm sorry.... You're sick, I shouldn't be
doing this..." he said, walking back to sit down on the bed and
smiling up at Tony sheepishly, patting the spot on the bed next
to him.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony hummed appreciatively as Steve kissed him, smiling up until
he pulled away and went to sit back down. Tony was, actually,
feeling a lot better -- fluids and bed rest had apparently done
the trick, especially because, well, he did have some of the
Super soldier Serum in his blood now.
"If you think so," Tony shrugged, going over to sit down beside
Steve, leaning against him. "I told you, though, I'm feeling
better." He tilted his face up to look at Steve, smirking, his
eyebrows raised in suggestion, because he would never actually
flat-out say it.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve smiled and looked down at Tony who had his eyebrows
raised. He chuckled and kissed him again. "Well... if you truly
feel better.... then I guess it's alright," he said between
kisses, lying Tony back on the bed and rolling on top of him.
He kissed Tony, slowly letting things heat up before he pulled
away again. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?" he asked,
reminding himself of his first time when Tony wouldn't stop
asking if he was sure. "Because like I said before, I don't want
to do this if you're not feeling well.... You sure you want to
do this?" he asked again, concern in his eyes. He also wanted to
know if Tony wanted to do this right now when only a few hours
ago he suspected Steve of cheating.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony smiles slightly, hands trailing lightly down Steve's sides
before they wrap around his waist. He nods curtly. "Steve," Tony
scolds fondly, "It's nice that you're concerned and all, but I
would've told you if I wasn't feeling good enough." Lie, he
would've gone along with anything Steve wanted. "I can take care
of myself, y'know." Another lie, he was like a giant
five-year-old, in case you hadn't noticed, any time he was alone
he kind of got drunk and unhappy. But he was feeling better, at
least, he wasn't lying about that.
And maybe he should've been more... I don't, hesitant?
Especially after Steve had practically admitted to cheating on
him, but Tony didn't blame him, couldn't blame him, especially
after he'd apologized. Steve was nice and good and Tony trusted
him, inexplicably, probably unhealthily. "Listen, Steve,
we're... this is ours, alright? Nobody can take us away from
each other." Tony leaned up to kiss Steve slowly again, leaving
a trail of kisses down his neck, as well, unaware that what he's
said probably sounded a little odd to a man who was, and
definitely had not been, cheating on him.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve closed his eyes, letting Tony kiss his neck. I know,
Tony... I know..." he said, pulling Tony up so he could kiss him
passionately.
He broke apart after a minute, looking into Tony's eyes as if he
was searching for something. "You know I would never do anything
to hurt you, right?" he asked, placing a hand on the side of his
boyfriend's face.
He slowly looked down at Tony's arm with the faint burn marks on
it that would probably never heal. Steve slowly reached out with
the hand that had been on Tony's face and lightly touched the
arm. He wished that Tony would tell him what happened those
three days he was tortured while Steve ran through the woods,
bleeding like mad to look for him-- but if Tony wasn't ready to
tell him, he could wait. Steve looked back at Tony's face before
turning back to the arm and leaning down to give it a small
kiss.
"You've already been hurt so badly... Tell me that you know I
wouldn't hurt you..." Steve once again looked back at Tony,
wanting to hear Tony say the words himself. He didn't want Steve
to think he was cheating anymore. He needed something to tell
him that Tony trusted him.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony looked at Steve's face, kind of happy and a depressed at
the same time that they seemed to be on the same page. But then,
of course, Steve paid his attentions to Tony's arm, disfigured
from Phoenix's burning hands, and Tony frowned, unsure that they
were really thinking about the same thing. Was Steve talking
about Tony's hallucinations, or himself?
"I--" Tony started, completely sure of himself, but his mind
still asking why. He trusted Steve, totally, completely, knew
that he'd never meant to hurt Tony, but some kind of deep-rooted
doubt still remained in place. It would be so easy just to ask,
but how could Tony accuse Steve of... of that? "Yeah, Steve, I
know," he breathed, and pulled Steve down to kiss him again, to
drown out the thoughts that wouldn't stop tormenting him. "I
know you'd never, wouldn't mean to... god, can we just-- can we
just not talk about this anymore?" Tony asks, and kisses Steve
again, harder, more needy than before, because Tony needs this,
because he needs to stop thinking before he finds himself saying
things he does not want to say.
#Post#: 36--------------------------------------------------
Re: 1x1 || TinyGoliath & MagicNightStar
By: TinyGoliath Date: February 6, 2013, 8:46 pm
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✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve frowned at Tony's hesitation. He had to stop before this
got any further. "No, Tony," he said, pushing Tony down on the
mattress and away from his lips. This felt wrong. Why did it
feel wrong? 'Because he couldn't fully answer your question...
He doesn't fully trust you like he needs to,' he thought,
rolling off of Tony and sitting up.
"We can't do this. Not tonight. I'm sorry," he looked away from
Tony and stared out the window instead. He needed to be alone
for awhile to think things through. He slowly stood up and began
to walk out of the room, grabbing the sketchbook and pencil as
he left.
"I'll be downstairs if you need me," he mumbled, not mad at Tony
or anything, just a little self-conflicted.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony watched with broken eyes as Steve left the room, unsure
what to do or what to say or how to make him stop. He didn't
know what Steve expected of him -- did he want him to just
totally forget about the fact that Steve had... had done what
he'd done? Tony couldn't do that, at least not yet, at he hated
himself for it, thinking that, yes, that was why Steve had gone.
He gripped his head in his hands, shaking it, shutting his eyes
against his thoughts -- his terrible, terrible thoughts. He
could just go downstairs -- because Steve had made a point to
say if you need me, and Tony did, he needed Steve like a desert
needed rain. He bloomed to life in Steve's hands, but without
him, died all over again, and it killed Tony to know that there
was nobody to blame but himself for this, that if he could just
kick the doubt out of his mind everything would be so much
easier. But he could only do so much, that was not one of them.
Tony wasn't sure how long he sat there, lost in thought, but it
was certainly too long. Eventually, he let life flow back into
his limbs as he moved about, pulled a shirt on (because now that
he wasn't feeling feverish, he was a bit chilly), and very
quietly made his way downstairs. He hesitated as he neared the
bottom of the steps, eyes searching for Steve. He found him on
the sofa, drawing, silent. Tony was a bit afraid to speak -- but
he did so anyways, forcing words out of his mouth.
"Made any masterpieces yet?" he asked, breaking the silence with
his quiet, hesitant voice, arms crossed over his chest.
Apologies were written on his face, apologies that he couldn't
quite voice yet.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve sat on the sofa and opened the sketchbook again, turning
to a blank page. At first he tried drawing things that would
make him happy like happy memories of him and Tony. He drew a
picture of them slow dancing that time Tony had set the gym up
into a nice, romantic place, he drew the time Clint had rescued
a cat from a tree and Tony held it and didn't want to let it go.
He didn't really know what thing in his mind triggered this, but
he suddenly began drawing other things... things that weren't so
happy for him to think about. He drew Bucky, falling from an
incredible height after falling off the train, he drew Dr.
Erskine, lying on the white-tiled that was turning red from his
blood, dying because of his three bullet wounds, he drew Nick
Fury, a knife in his heart, dead. Finally, he drew Dreadknight
and the Stalker. Dreadknight was lying on the ground, dead with
Steve holding the electric whip while Stalker lied on the
ground, his eyes open with a look of terror as he held the knife
in his heart that Steve had put there, also dead.
Steve squeezed his pencil hard as he stared at his pictures,
causing the pencil to snap. That's when he heard Tony's voice
asking him if he had made any masterpieces yet. No. He hadn't.
All he had drawn was people who were dead because of him. All
these people had died because of Steve.... Even Fury.... That
should have been Steve that jumped in the way of that knife
aimed for Tony. He saw it coming, but didn't do anything about
it. All these peoples lives could have been spared if it weren't
for him. He even felt bad for killing Dreadknight and Stalker
because he had once said he didn't want to hurt anyone because
he didn't like bullies. But look at all the people he has hurt.
Steve took his hand and placed it on the pictures he had drawn,
closing his fist and crinkling the pages. "No... I haven't," he
hissed, still not angry at Tony but himself instead. He didn't
deserve to represent America.... He didn't even deserve to live.
"I shouldn't be here..." he said, suddenly and quietly. "I
shouldn't be called a hero because I'm not. All I do is get
people hurt..." Steve refused to look at Tony. "I shouldn't be
alive," he spat, crushing the pictures in his hand. "I should
have just died in that da-- plane crash... I shouldn't have even
been born..." Steve could feel the anger swell up in him,
white-hot and strong. He didn't deserve any of the happiness he
had been given in his life, especially wonderful, perfect Tony.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony dropped his gaze, worrying his lip as Steve talked,
recognizing the look in his eyes, that look of inadequacy, that
looked that Tony had seen in the mirror a million times over. He
knew Steve's words weren't directed at him, but they stung all
the same, to know that Steve blamed himself to that point. Tony
was quiet for a long while. He still hadn't moved when the
steps.
"When Pepper left me..." he started quietly -- and, oh, he
didn't want to make this about him, but he wanted Steve to know
that he got it, that he got relate. He looked down, still
chewing on his lip. "It was because of... of what I didn't do,
you know? I didn't save her, I didn't get there in time to stop
her from hurting, I wasn't prepared... and then... then, you
know, I started thinking about all things I did do, all the
monsters I made, all the people I let die, all the people I
killed myself..." Yinsen. The Afghanistan soldiers. How many
families had he ruined? He was walking slowly now, toward Steve,
still not looking at him, but, you know, that couldn't be
helped.
"And I was thinking... thinking, you know, how could someone
like that be a hero? Why would somebody look up to that guy? Why
hadn't I just died in the HumVee? That... would have made the
most sense." He was at the couch now, and sat down on an arm, a
respectable distance away from Steve. Finally, he looked at him.
"You remember that time I told you, I think we met for a
reason?" He shook his head slightly. "I was wrong," he said, "We
stayed alive for a reason. And I have a lot to thank that plane
for, you know, if it had crashed anywhere other than the Artic
you probably wouldn't be alive... and, you know, seventy years
later, neither would I have been."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve listened to Tony, not looking at him at all until he was
done. Slowly, he turned his head to look at his marvelous
boyfriend. He didn't deserve Tony's kind words or comfort, but
he accepted them. Because there was something no one in the
world could understand about Steve; he had a lot of anger, rage,
and hate inside of him waiting to erupt like a volcano.... he
had a lot of troubles and worries that he just kept bottled up.
However, there was one person who seemed to understand this...
Tony. It was like they were created to understand each other,
like all these bad things that happened to them happened so they
could relate and help the other. He knew Tony didn't really
believe in things like that, but Steve did. After all, why not
believe that bad things happen for good reasons?
"Come here... please..." Steve begged, shaking slightly from his
wave of emotion. He had never felt like he was worth so little
before... but there Tony went again, fishing him out of the dark
side of his mind and bringing him back into the light. He still
had guilt, but it wasn't like those were going to go away
anytime soon.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony, quiet, obediently scooted closer to Steve, close enough
for their arms to brush, and laced his fingers in between
Steve's, letting simply this be all he needed, for now. "I'm...
not saying to be happy all the time, because even though that's
how I'd like it to be, that's not going to happen," he added,
not quite an after-thought, nor a fully-grown idea, either. "But
if you feel that way... feel like there's just no way to escape
that feeling, that wish that you'd been dead all along, just
know that I love you, that I am so glad you're alive, and if for
nothing else, be glad of that."
Tony sighed quietly, giving Steve's hand a light squeeze. "I'm
done now," he promised, "With all the, uh... all the sappy
stuff, now."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve let out a shaky chuckle as Tony squeezed his hand and said
he was done being sappy. "The feeling is mutual... about loving
you... and being glad you're alive and all that," he said,
needing more than just a hand for contact. He slowly and still
very shakily reached out and wrapped his arms around Tony's
waist, grabbing the back of his shirt as he hugged him tightly.
"Thank you..." he whispered, wishing he could stop shaking.
"Don't leave me like they did..." he said in a hushed voice,
referring to Peggy, Howard... everyone that had left. He didn't
want to just wake up one day and find Tony missing. He wanted
Tony to stay with him for as long as he possibly could.
"I love you.... I love you, I love you, I love you," he repeated
over and over again, letting a single tear fall from his face
but no more. "Kiss me?" said Steve, asking more than telling
fore he felt like he couldn't move or touch Tony's perfect lips
unless Tony touched Steve's. He felt like he was too dirty... to
unworthy to be able to kiss him himself. He felt like if he did,
Tony would just crumble and vanish like a crushed statue.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony put his hand on the side of Steve's face, thumb rubbing
across the other man's cheek. He nodded as Steve's request for a
kiss, giving a tiny, sad kind of smile. "Sure thing, Cap," he
whispered, capturing Steve's lips in his, careful and slow and a
bit hesitant, like he was testing their boundaries. It was like
their first kiss, or, you know, how their first kiss should've
been, like two kids all over again.
He pulled away after a bit, resting his head beside Steve's
head. "I came down here to apologize," he murmured, and a
breathy little chuckle fell past his lips. "Don't know if that
counted or not, so, uh... I'm sorry."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve was left breathless after Tony pulled away from probably
the most perfect kiss they had shared in Steve's opinion.
"It counted... You didn't need to apologize..." said Steve
quietly in Tony's ear. "I should e the one who's sorry," he
murmured, giving Tony a small kiss on the neck.
He held Tony close for a few minutes before pulling away a bit.
"Will you take me?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. He
sounded almost like a small child, unsure of himself and feeling
like if he made one wrong move, it'd all be over. "Will you take
me and not regret it?" he continued, his voice still quiet and
soft. He wanted this to be a moment where they could love each
other after all that's happened today and still wake up in the
morning, loving each other like they use to and still hopefully
do. He felt like he was redoing everything... their first
kiss... their first time (not that he really wanted to redo
them, it just felt like it).
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony paused at that, surprised. "Um-- you-- you want-- ?" He
didn't really finish his sentence, couldn't at the moment. Of
course, Tony, but then, what if he did regret it? Steve just
seemed so... so broken right now, Tony didn't want to... to hurt
him, somehow. Okay, that... that sounded a little ridiculous,
even to his own ears. Finally, he nodded.
"Yeah," he said, "Yeah, I can, uh, I can do that-- but let's--
let's go upstairs, it'll be more... more romantic or some sh**,
more, uh, comfortable, okay?" He shifted a bit, as if to get up,
but would only move when Steve did, determined not to leave him
for a second, because Steve had asked him not to, and of course,
if Steve asked, Tony had to give.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve managed a small chuckle at Tony's attempt to be romantic.
This was one of the many little reasons he loved Tony. "It's
okay, Tony," he said, taking one of Tony's hand in his own as he
slowly stood up. He knew that Tony was a little surprised. I
mean, one minute Steve is saying how he shouldn't be alive and
now he's asking Tony to make love to him. Those things just
didn't fit together at all, but Steve wanted Tony because he
loved him... a lot. Steve wouldn't regret anything in the
morning as long as Tony didn't.
He gave Tony a light squeeze as if to say, I'm ready. Things had
been rough today, but things would be better now. Steve would
make sure that right when he got back from tango lessons,
everything would be as normal as it possibly could.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony smiled a bit, standing up with Steve and giving him another
steady kiss. "Alright," he said as he pulled away, "C'mon." He
led Steve carefully, slowly up the stairs, looking back at him
every few seconds as if to make sure okay, he's here, he's not
sobbing, he's still happy, you're good to go.
"I love you, Steve," Tony said as they reached his room, pulling
the man in for yet another kiss, smiling slightly despite
himself. "Just, uh, don't forget that, okay? I forbid it. You're
expressly forbidden -- and if you do forget you will be forced
to prove your devotion. I don't know, I'll probably must you...
dust, or something, or... uh, you know, I think I talk to much,
people keep telling me that but I always ignore them..."
Somehow, Tony managed to babble all this as he simultaneously
pushed them toward the bed, kissed down Steve's neck, and peeled
off his shirt, because, yeah, he was talented like that.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve made sure to smile all the way to the bedroom, even if the
smile was small, because he had to look happy for Tony. Not that
it was hard to, because Steve was happy.
Steve wasn't really sure how Tony could babble on about things
as he kissed him and removed his shirt, but he guessed it was
because he was Tony Stark. "Yeah... I know you do, Tony. I won't
forget it," he said a little breathlessly, and how could he
forget something so precious as Tony's love?
He pulled Tony's head up so he could kiss him a bit before
pulling back and saying, "I love you too, and you better not
forget that," he chuckled slightly before removing Tony's shirt
and wrapping his arms around his neck, kissing him again.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony genuinely grinned, because damn was he happy, even if that
was a little weird, because a moment ago he'd been talking about
death and life and all that stuff he was really bad at thinking
about and -- okay, yeah, he thought about everything a little
too much. Keeping his mind as completely blank as he could, he
let himself get lost in the feeling, moved forward until the
back of Steve's knees hit the bed, and only then did Tony stop
kissing him, to push him back on the bed.
"Hey," Tony breathed as he climbed on top of Steve, just
needing, really quickly, to get these things off his chest,
because he really couldn't stop thinking about them. "Um, okay,
so, hate to spoil the mood, this'll be quick, I promise... I,
just, I think you're a great artist, and your eyes are really
blue, and love your laugh and your smile and, well, I guess
that's the point of love, but, you know, that encompasses a lot
of stuff in that little word, and, uh, this seemed like a lot
better idea like five seconds ago, I swear... um, okay, I'm
done. Now. I think."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve made a little umph noise as he hit the bed, his mind
getting a bit foggy. He loved it when Tony took control of
things because he was really more experienced than Steve was...
by a long shot. The only thing was, Tony liked to babble on and
on as he went along which Steve found quiet amusing. Of course,
he would have found it more amusing if he wasn't so wanting.
He listened to Tony compliment him, and he would have told Tony
to shut up (in a loving way) but after feeling really down, you
like to hear compliments like that. "Thank you, Tony..." he
breathed, trying to get his brain to function right so he could
compliment Tony a little. "I too love your laugh and your smile
and your eyes. I also think you are a huge genius and the
most... incredible man in the world," he told him, placing a
head behind his neck to pull him down for a kiss while his other
hand ran up and down Tony's back.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony smiled into the kiss, Steve's hand kind of making it
difficult to talk and stuff, you know, with the fire he was
trailing down Tony's spine. But he still, somehow, managed,
pulling away once more. "Okay-- Alright; good," he said, giving
a breathless little chuckle. "I'm glad, you know, that the
feeling's mutual -- I mean, not that I didn't think it would be,
I'm just saying, you know, and, uh, okay, I'm gonna shut up now.
Promise. I'm done. Right now." It sounded like Tony was trying
really, really hard to shut up, but he silenced himself with
another kiss, kept his lips on Steve's because god forbid if he
talked anymore. He really had to stop doing that so much.
ASDFGHJKL.
Seriously, are they rabbits? They don't look like rabbits.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve woke up the next morning to see Tony still peacefully
sleeping. He carefully unwrapped his arms from around Tony's
bare waist and slowly slid out of the other man's embrace as he
looked over Tony's shoulder to see what time it is. Six o'
clock. Perfect.
He gave Tony a small and soft kiss on the temple whispering I
love you before he got up and got dressed. He quickly brushed
his hair and such, having to hurry to get to tango lessons on
time. Steve quietly made his way downstairs and headed over to
the sketchbook he had been drawing in last night. He took the
crumpled up pictures and handed them to Dummy, telling him to
throw them away for him as he ripped a blank sheet of paper out
to leave Tony a note.
Tony,
I love you, I really do, but I have to go out again. I'll bring
you something to eat when I come back, okay?
I love you so much. ~Steve
He then handed the note to Dummy, telling him to give this one
to Tony.
Steve quickly made his way out the door, carefully shutting it
behind him to not wake Tony up.
•••
Steve made it to the studio just in time, smiling as he walked
in and saw Barbra. She smiled, stood up, and walked over to him,
giving him a friendly hug.
"Is Tony feeling better? Did you work everything out with him?"
she asked, concerned.
"Yeah, Tony's feeling much better and I worked everything out
with him. I'm not exactly sure if he fully trusts me or not,
but...." Steve looked away from her, and turned his attention to
the back room. "Could we... uh... go ahead back there? I don't
mean to sound rude, but I want to leave as quickly as I can to
get back to Tony."
Barbra laughed and nodded, taking Steve's arm and leading him
back to the dance floor.
•••
After Steve was done with his tango lessons, he quickly began to
make his way back home to Tony. However, something caught his
eye as he got closer to home. He remembered saying that he would
bring something for Tony to eat, and what better food to bring
him than doughnuts? He recalled Tony saying something about him
being so sick doughnuts didn't sound good to him yesterday, so
why not celebrate feeling better with some doughnuts?
Steve walked into the doughnut house, getting at least one of
each kind of doughnut, not knowing which one was his boyfriend's
favorite.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
"Nng... JARVIS, what time is it?"
"There is a clock, right on your left, sir."
"I'm gonna reprogram you someday, without the snark."
"Seven fifteen, Mr. Stark."
"Uggghh-- MOTHER-- WHAT-- DUMMY. I AM GOING TO KILL YOU.
Tony had attempted to roll out of bed, halted only by Dummy, who
was right there at his bedside, waving papers around in his big
metal claw, looking very please at himself.
"No, Dummy, for the thirteenth time the trash goes in the can,
alright, just-- okay, okay, jeez." Dummy waves the papers again,
very aggressively, and Tony snatches them grudgingly, knowing
the robot won't leave him alone until he takes them. "Wait, what
are--" Tony flips through the drawings, brow furrowed. It's
just... just dead people, blood and bullets and knives in a
style that is very distinctively Steve. Tony looks at the other
side of the bed and notices for the first time that it is,
disappointingly, empty. "Steve drew these?" Tony asks blankly.
He catches Dummy nodding beside him.
This was... what Steve was drawing yesterday, supposes Tony. He
recognizes Stalker and Dreadknight in some of the drawings, but
there's a dark-haired young man and an older, bearded one that
Tony can't quite put a finger on. They seemed to hold some kind
of significance to Steve, though. Did Steve want Dummy to give
him these?
"Ow, Dummy, stop, f***, that hurts--" Dummy is prodding him
forcefully, a piece of paper he had apparently dropped or
something. Tony takes it, glaring at his robot, but it glad that
this paper was words on it, instead of another disturbing image.
Tony, however, was not feeling too well by the time he had
finished reading the short explanation. He frowned.
"Is Steve still here, JARVIS?" asked Tony quietly.
"I'm afraid not, sir."
"And are you under orders, or something, not to tell me where
he's gone?"
"I would say that your guess is better than mine."
"Right," Tony grumbles, swerving around Dummy as he gets up,
gets dressed, and promptly throws the stack of papers he had
been handed away.
* * *
But Tony managed to function that day, managed to move around
and not be totally consumed with where Steve had gone. He even
got a call from Agent Hill, arranging a get-together of the
Avengers, as well as a particular crazy-bird lady and her tall,
dark, mysterious friend. Tony had told Maria to slap Bruce for
suggesting it, but, of course, she'd already hung up by then.
* * *
It's an exhausting early 9:30 by the time Tony gets to sit down,
because his phone had suddenly decided to ring off the hook --
along with Agent Hill, he'd gotten a death-threat from Pepper,
an apology call from Rhodey, a call from Clint to ask-- okay,
well, Tony had hung up, then-- calls from several big, important
companies that he was sure Pepper had directed to him out of
revenge, even a call from a freaking funeral home, inviting him
to Nicky Fury's... funeral. Wow. That's right. He was dead.
Even sitting down was too good to be true, though, because at
that moment, the doorbell rang. Tony groaned, grumbling to
himself about telemarketers, but when he got up and slouched
over to the door he was surprised to find a very stern-looking
Pepper, with, surprise, Rhodey, an arm around Pepper's
shoulders. Holding her back, most likely, if her glare was to
say anything.
"Rhodey!" Tony said excitedly, grinning from ear to ear. Rhodey
smiled back, and pulled Tony in for a one-armed hug. It'd been
quite a while since Tony had seen his friend. "Work finally
gettin' to you, buddy, I can see the wrinkles..."
"Shut it, Tony. They're from labors of love."
"The trick is to not do any labor at all-- oh, hi, Pepper," Tony
added as an afterthought.
"So glad you remembered me."
"Wow, okay, you're... holding a grudge. Okay. You were kidding
about the cats, right?"
"It's okay, Tony, I wouldn't even let her bring Missy."
"Okay, wow, um, alright, that's scary. More scary though, it
that name, really, Pepper?"
After the normal formalities, Tony could finally sit down with
his friends, share laughs and stories (and glares from Pepper).
He even found a leftover bottle of mead that Thor had left
behind -- there was much inside, but Rhodey had taken a rather
large sip, gotten rid of most of it, much, of course, made
Pepper laugh and Tony laugh harder, because the other man went a
little cross-eyed for a moment. The time flew by, thankfully,
kept Tony occupied. Steve was still on his mind, but he didn't
really have the capacity to feel concerned when Rhodey started
complaining about dizziness and Pepper started reciting 57 names
just to prove her seriousness in her threats.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve sighed happily as he made it to the front door of his and
Tony's house, listening as he heard the clicking of the door
unlocking.
"Honey, I'm home!" said Steve, shutting the door behind him as
he made his way to the living room to be met with a surprising
sight. There was a man with dark skin who looked a little dizzy
and Pepper seemed to be calling what sounded like names with
Tony caught right in the middle of it. He seemed really happy,
which was always a good thing.
"Hey honey, I didn't know we were having guests!" he said with a
fond smile at Pepper and the other man. "I hope I wasn't
interrupting anything." Steve sat the doughnuts on the table
before turning to Pepper. "Hello, Miss Potts. I've been wanting
to talk to you for awhile," he said with a polite bow before
turning to the man with darker skin. "I'm afraid I don't know
who you are, but I'm Steve Rogers." Steve extended a hand to the
man who looked like he was about to pass out or something.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Somehow, Tony ended up the only one who hadn't drunk anything,
and grinned sheepishly as Steve entered, apologizing silently
for the state of his friends.
"Aww, you got us doughnuts?" That was Pepper, grinning, already
taking her picky from the box and taking a bite. "They're Tony's
favorite, you know, he loves him, he'll eat a whole box if you
don't stop him... but I like 'em, too, so thanks." She plants a
sticky kiss on the Captain's cheek.
"Um, Pepper," Tony cuts in, "That was only forty-eight. Trying
and remember which ones you forgot, just, uh, silently, because
you talk too much when you're tipsy." Pepper opens her mouth to
protest, and Tony points to the doughnut it her hand. She
glances at it as well before she shrugs, face set into one of
concentration.
"Uh, hi, Steve... sorry, I would've... I would've kept that away
from them if I had known... what time you were gonna be back..."
Tony motioned to the empty bottle of mead on the table before
clapping his hand over Rhodey's shoulder. "This is, uh, Rhodey,
and I promise, he looks a lot smarter when he's not drunk.
Rhodey, this is Steve."
"Yer boyfriend?" Rhodey clarifies, looking up at Steve. "You're
Captain America, right? It's an honor." He shakes Steve's hand
briefly, and then turns to glare at Tony. "Tony, seriously, I
can't believe you made me drunk, I wouldn't have even come over
if I had known that you had... had that stuff in your house."
Tony frowned. "Hey," he said, "I made you do nothing. You've
only got yourself to blame."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve's eyes widened when Pepper gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Sure, he was use to girls giving him kisses on the cheek, but
not your boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. Steve shrugged, it was a
kind gesture none the less. "You're welcome," Steve said to her,
giving her a friendly smile. Even if she was a bit tipsy, he
knew he probably wouldn't have trouble getting along with her.
Steve then turned his attention back to Rhodey. "It's an honor
to meet you too, sir," he said, taking a seat on the other side
of Tony.
He gave Tony a loving kiss on the cheek. "Sorry I left again,
honey. Tomorrow is the last day I have to do that," he promised,
holding one of Tony's hands in his own.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony gave a very small, short lived smile at Steve kissed him on
the cheek. What did Steve mean, last day? What kind of premium
membership was he on? Oh, jeez, Tony just wanted to stop trying
to figure this out. "It's... uh, it's fine," Tony said, giving
Steve's hand an unconvincing squeeze before turning back to
Rhodey, who was now well on the road to figuring out a
philosophical explanation for the term fish out of water. Tony
nodded along sympathetically.
"...So, anyways, it stands to reason that by removing the w
variable, you eliminate the equality of variable h and e--"
"Oh, hey, I just remembered, I think Happy's waiting in the
car."
Tony gives Pepper a blank look. "You left Happy in the car?"
"Well, yeah, you're kind of bad at having company -- oh, you
know what, it wasn't Happy, it was Fred. You don't think he
minds, right?"
"Is... um, is Fred driving?"
"Why else would he be in there?"
"You left an eighty-year-old man alone inside a car, Pepper."
"He's been through worse."
"Just because he survived World War II does not mean--"
"Okay, listen, you two, I was being all philosophical and sh**
and totally ripped my groove." Right. tony had forgotten, Rhodey
does that, sometimes. The other man stands up, brushing himself
off. "We'll leave, anyways, though, I have to be... somewhere...
it'll come to me later. Tony, if it's important, I'm gonna kill
you."
"Um..." Tony is briefly confused by the sudden abruptness of the
way his guests are leaving, but catches Rhodey glancing at
Steve, and oh. Right. Rhodey may be drunk, but he's not stupid.
"Yeah, okay, drive safe, um, you're not driving, okay, well,
please, Pepper, text me and tell me Fred is alive and didn't die
of heatstroke or anything."
"You worry too much, Tony," Pepper says fondly, patting him on
the cheek before following Rhodey out the door. Tony stares
after that, a bit unsure what to think. Why do his gusts always
leave in a completely un-normal way?
Slowly, Tony turns back to Steve, giving another sheepish smile.
"Wish you could've met them when they weren't so... uh, loose,"
he said, rubbing the back of his neck, glancing at the box of
doughnuts. "Thank you, by the way."
#Post#: 37--------------------------------------------------
Re: 1x1 || TinyGoliath & MagicNightStar
By: TinyGoliath Date: February 6, 2013, 8:47 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve chuckled lightly. "I wish so too. So far, I haven't been
able to have a normal conversation with any of your friends."
Steve looked down at the doughnuts and nodded. "You're welcome.
I didn't know what flavor was your favorite so I sort of got one
of each kind. I have no idea what kind Pepper ate," he said,
kissing Tony on the lips repeatedly "I missed you again," he
whispered in his ear before giving him another kiss.
"So I guess Dummy gave you the note alright?" Steve asked,
looking around for the little robot, needing to thank him. "He
really is a nice little bot." Steve turned back to Tony a
smiled.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
"Well they're... they're doughnuts, you know, they're like
children, can't really choose a favorite... hm, missed you
too..." Tony said between kisses, letting himself give a tiny
little smile, despite his awkwardness.
"Um... the note... yeah, I got it..." He coughed dryly as the
subject changed, not looking at Steve. "About that... uh, the
drawings? Did you mean to give me those? Because they were kind
of crinkled and, uh, I couldn't think of any reason that you
would and they were... um... they were... different." His eyes
finally flickered to Steve's, unsure, worried, and, hey, maybe
Pepper was right when she said he worried too much. "You're
okay, aren't you, Steve?
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve slowly turned away from Tony, frowning as he brought up
the pictures. No... he defiantly didn't mean to give him those.
"You weren't suppose... to see those," said Steve, letting go of
Tony's hand. What did Tony think of him now? Did he think he was
some monster who enjoyed drawing dead people.... The people he
basically killed?
Steve considered Tony's last question, playing it over and over
in his head. Was he alright? Deep down he knew he was't alright.
He felt responsible for so many bad things that had happened.
Then again, he was happy to be with Tony even though Tony seemed
a bit uncomfortable....
Steve quickly stood up, wanting to change the subject. He didn't
want Tony to see the darker side of his mind more than he
already had. He didn't want to be the shaky man he was last
night. "What would you like for lunch? It is close to lunch,
right JARVIS?" he asked, making his way to the kitchen.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
"It's 10:32, Mr. Rogers."
Tony frowned as Steve suddenly changed the subject, unable to
remember whether or not Steve had ignored this type of question
before as well. "Steve," Tony said quietly, standing up as well.
When it was clear that Steve had no intention of turning back
around, sitting down and talking about it, Tony suddenly grasped
for Steve's arm, fingers closing tightly around his wrist.
"Steve," Tony said again, insistent -- he wasn't going too let
Steve walk away from this, because he knew, knew what happened
when you held things in for too long -- you ended up breaking
down in a car after a boring press conference, and it wasn't
enjoyable or fun and Tony definitely did not want that for
Steve. "Let's talk about this," he said, hand retaining it's
iron grip.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve looked down at his wrist that Tony was grasping. He could
easily do a little move that would cause Tony to have to let go
of his hand, but chose not to. He didn't really know why, but he
started to feel a little angry... or maybe he was just feeling
defensive.... Steve wasn't really sure.
"Why should I talk about this so quickly when I've been asking
you for months about what happened to you those three days with
the Revengers?" he asked, quietly. "You said there were so many
things you wanted to tell me, but just couldn't. Did you ever
think that that's how I feel?" He turned around to face Tony, a
sadder look forming in his eyes.
"Listen, I'm not okay. I haven't been okay since the day I
became Captain America. I especially haven't been okay since the
day I woke up from being frozen for about seventy years!" Steve
wanted to tell Tony about his conflicting emotions, about how he
was afraid he was becoming some sort of monster, how he still
blamed himself for so many things... but he couldn't seem to
bring himself to tell Tony in fear of... well... frightening him
or something.
"I love you, but I'm sorry..." he said, giving Tony a kiss-- and
why didn't their kisses feel like they use to? It was like there
was something missing.... Trust. Trust was one thing that was
missing it seemed. Tony was still suspicious about Steve going
out each morning... and Steve, well... he just didn't really
know why some trust was missing on his part. Maybe it was the
fact that Tony didn't trust him enough or something.
"Tony... Whats happened to us?" he asked, sadly. He remembered
coming back from the theater and thinking that he didn't want to
become like one of those couples who always seemed to have
problems with each other. Is that what was happening with them?
I mean, Steve had to ask Tony last night if he was going to
regret making love to him.... He had to stop Tony before that
because something didn't feel right about making love at that
moment... Steve was scared. Scared that their love for each
other was fading instead of growing.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony's mouth stood slightly agape as Steve talked, fingers
loosening until they slipped off Steve's wrist completely, and
he stood, defenseless, lost. "What's happened?" Tony repeated,
voice wrought with emotion. He shook his head. "Steve, we've
both nearly f***ing died three times over, that's what happened,
okay, it's not... it's nothing to do with us Steve..." There's
something, an edge of Tony's voice that's not quite right --
panic. He's seeing long letters and lonely nights all over
again, and more than anything, he doesn't want that.
"It not us," he repeats meekly, and why does his voice have to
sound like he's bargaining? He shies away from the talk,
suddenly, regrets bringing it up, looking away and not speaking,
because the best way to keep something intact it to not touch it
at all, and now Tony's trying to do exactly that.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve listened to Tony, his expression sad and broken. He could
here the panic in Tony's voice and he knew what he was
thinking... He was thinking that Steve might leave him just like
Pepper did. They had both promised each other they wouldn't
leave the other, and Steve knew he wasn't going to break his
side of the promise again. "I'm not going to leave you, Tony...
I'm not going anywhere," Steve repeated the words he told Tony
that he told Steve about Afghanistan.
Steve thought about when he was in a coma. He could recall
hearing Tony's voice, telling him basically his whole life
story. What did Tony know about Steve's? He knew that he was the
one to lose the Tesseract in the ocean, crashing his plane in
the Arctic in order to save New York, that he knew Howard, that
he loved a girl named Peggy, and the he was frozen in ice for
about seventy years. Other than that, Tony didn't really know
anything.
Steve slowly took both of Tony's hands in his own. "You're
right... Let's talk about this. Let's talk about everything."
Steve lightly squeezed Tony's hand as he led him back to sofa
and sat them down. "We need to get everything out there, Tony,
even if we don't feel comfortable."
Steve stared into Tony's eyes before beginning to tell Tony his
life story from when his parents died all the way to when he
crashed the plane. He told him about getting beat up everyday,
trying various times to get into the military, how Bucky was
always there for him but never quiet understood him, about
meeting Dr. Erkine, about becoming Captain America, fighting the
Red Skull, everything. (And I mean everything.)
Steve looked away from Tony for the next thing he was going to
talk about. "And I feel responsible... for all their deaths.
Bucky's, Dr. Erkine's, Fury's... I am responsible for
Deadknight's and Stalker's.... Tony..." Steve could feel his
body shaking again as the wave of emotion returned. "I know I've
said this before, but I'm afraid I won't be able to stop
killing.... I didn't want to kill anyone, Tony... I really
didn't, and now look at all the people I have killed... It's all
my fault," Steve paused a moment before continuing. "And I still
blame myself... for all the bad things that have happened to you
since the night I found you alone and broken.... for whatever
the Revengers put you through... everything..." Steve looked
back up at Tony, tears stinging his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Tony,"
he said in a hushed voice as he squeezed Tony's hands tightly,
but not tight enough to hurt him.
He had told Tony everything... everything except about the tango
lessons, of course. It felt like a large weight had been lifted
off his shoulders, but another heavy weight still remained.
There was one other thing he had to talk to Tony about. "And
Tony... I feel like you don't trust me anymore... Tony, I feel
like we're falling apart, and I don't want that to happen. Just
please tell me what I need to do to fix this... to fix
everything and I'll do it." His hands were shaking big time now
and his body was also doing so, but less violently. If him and
Tony fell apart, Steve knew he would lose himself completely. He
would go insane if he didn't have Tony. He needed him like he
needed air, and it was a little scary.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony sat obediently on the couch, listening as Steve began his
story... and, wow, it was... a big story. A kind of
heart-shattering story that you thought was way too sad to
exist, but at the same time, Tony had known what it was like,
in... different circumstances. He made sure, as he listened,
that his eyes never left Steve's, just to let the other man know
that he was here, he was listening, he understood-- or, at
least, he was trying.
As Steve apologized, Tony brought a hand up to rest on the side
of his face, careful, soft. Of course, Tony thought Steve was
done, then, was gonna pull him close and tell him that it's not
his fault and that Tony loved him, so much. But Steve didn't
stop there -- he added something that made Tony's blood run
cold, made him look away for the first time and made his hand
drop from Steve's face. How could he react to that? What could
he say to that?
But Steve was right there, shaking and tearing up and trembling
and Tony had to say something. "Just... just tell me where
you're going? Please?" he requested quietly, as careful as he
would be tip-toeing across glass. He put a hand up before Steve
could speak, to halt him. Tony had to finish what he was going
to say, right now. "Okay, wait, wait, stop, listen, Steve. I,
just... you know how it looks, it looks... bad, and even Pepper
agrees that... Look, Steve, I trust you. I trust you more
than... than anyone. Which is why I need you to tell me that I'm
wrong." He looks back at Steve, eyes revealing some raw, intense
emotion in their depths that Tony probably didn't mean to show.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve watched Tony's hand fall from his face, the little comfort
and warmth that had been there vanishing. He knew what was
coming... and he knew he still couldn't answer. Sure enough,
Tony asked Steve where he was going again. Steve opened his
mouth to tell him he couldn't say, but Tony raised his hand to
tell him to wait. Steve obeyed, closing his mouth and listening
to the rest of what Tony had to say. Thankfully, the answer was
easy. He knew Tony had been suspicious and he knew that Tony
probably did think he was cheating on him. He was right, but
Tony was not.
"You're wrong," Steve said simply, scooting closer to Tony and
cupping his face in his hands. "You're very, very wrong," he
continued, looking Tony dead in the eye. "I'm not like that. I
would never do anything like that to hurt you. I can't so
anything like that to hurt you because I love you."
Steve lowered one of his hands to reveal the cheek that once
contained a terrible scar in the shape of a star. He slowly
lifted a finger and traced the shape of his cheek, sadly and
slowly. "I've already hurt you enough..." he whispered, kissing
the cheek. "I don't even know why you still want me here or want
me at all really.... I don't deserve it... I don't deserve
you..." Steve closed his eyes, fighting back tears once again as
his hands began to shake again. "You deserve someone who will
never hurt you.... Someone who isn't a complete idiot and make
promises he can't keep... Someone who isn't afraid of becoming a
monster who can't stop killing..."
Steve opened his eyes to look back at Tony. He was just
beautiful and wonderful.... "I shouldn't be here. You should be
with someone else and I should be living in a small apartment
somewhere... alone.... I shouldn't be with anyone... I'm no
good..." He didn't want to leave Tony and he promised he
wouldn't, but if Tony told him to leave.... he would because
that would be what Tony wants. Of course, like he said the night
he found Tony, he could kick him out but he'd just come right
back. He would always come back for Tony because Tony was the
part of him that he had been looking for. He needed him, so he
would come back. However, he wouldn't ask for his forgiveness of
love... he would just come back to see him again. Because even
just seeing Tony would be enough for Steve.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony hated it-- even as Steve assured him he was wrong (that was
a relief), even as he told Tony he loved him, Steve was still
blaming himself. Tony hated how Steve ogled at his scars, even
the ones that weren't there any more, how there was always
regret and guilt on his face when he did, how he so obviously
blamed himself, how he talked down to himself, Tony just--
Tony couldn't take it.
He tilted upwards, crushing his lip's against Steve's almost
aggressively, fingers knotting in the other man's hair, and
pulled back, eyes dark. "Don't," he said, his voice gravelly. He
couldn't stand this, how Steve was so convinced that he was
worth nothing, and his arguments were so damn ridiculous. "You
wanna know why I want you, Steve? Why I love you?" There was
something of a snarl in his voice, just to drill this into
Steve's head. "Because you broke into my house, you saved my
life when anybody else would've been too exasperated to deal
with me, and then you did it again when Dreadknight nearly
killed me, and again when I was too insane to even see where I
was -- I would have figured it was obvious, Steve. I, literally,
can't live without you. You're the one keeping me alive, Steve,
sometimes I wonder if this thing in my chest has anything to do
with it at all."
He gave a harsh, short bark of a laugh, his hands sliding from
Steve's hair to his shoulders, looking at him intensely. "You
think if I wanted to be with somebody else, somebody safer, that
I'd still be doing this? No, Steve-- this is it. This is what I
want. I told you, I'm trying to make a future with you. I love
you."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve made a strange, small sound at the back of his throat as
Tony kissed him, aggressive-like. Steve listened to every word
Tony said, replaying them in his head a couple of times before
the words glued into his head forever. Tony was scaring him a
bit, but at the same time his words were so kind... so caring
even with all the snarls and such.
Steve wrapped his arms around Tony's waist, pulling him in for a
much sweeter and passionate kiss. "I can't live... without you
either.... I need you, Tony.... I need you like I need air..."
he breathed between kisses. And then the words about making a
future with him replayed in his mind again. He would love
nothing more than to be guaranteed a future with the wonderful
man before him. Steve loved Tony so much and wanted to spend
every waking hour with him.
"Marry me." The words were out before Steve could stop them or
even really processing what he said. However, he didn't take
them back. He pulled away from Tony and looked into his eyes,
big, brown, and beautiful. He wanted to marry Tony... he knew he
did, but he wasn't sure what was going through Tony's mind. Here
was a man who use to be the biggest playboy and town... the one
who slept with just about every pretty girl around. What did he
think of marriage? Did Steve just do something very, very wrong?
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony felt his grip reflex on Steve's shoulders as he kissed him,
finding it hard to focus on words but trying, anyways, because
if Steve was saying something it was probably important.
Suddenly, though, Steve said something that caught Tony's
attention -- the gravity of it only really really caught Tony
when Steve pulled away.
"Did... um... sorry, did you just... propose?" Tony asks, eyes
wide and surprise. He seems to draw in on himself a little, legs
curling up slightly, shoulders hunching just a tad. And it's not
that he doesn't want to marry Steve, it's just that marriage is
kind of... huge. Tony's dad didn't get married until much later
in life, he knew that much, and, you know, that didn't sound too
awful to Tony, because it was marriage. It was... kind of
frightening.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve studied Tony's reaction... surprise and... fear? His grip
around Tony's waist tightened a little, realizing that he just
asked Tony Stark to marry him.
"I... um... I think so..." said Steve, feeling like slapping
himself in the face. Of course Tony wasn't going to say yes to
marrying him now.... Now wasn't the time. He needed to wait.
"Just... forget I ever said that... I know you aren't ready for
something like marriage, and I understand... it's just... I love
you." Steve pulled Tony closer, catching his lips for a quick
kiss.
"I mean, yes, I want to marry you, but I understand it's a
pretty big thing and it requires a lot of commitment, and then
we'd have so many things we would have to work out and we
already have so much to worry about and the Avengers... oh,
they'd go nuts, and then I'd feel even more drawn to you and
probably wouldn't even let you go out and fight and then there's
the question about starting a family because I always really
wanted a famil-" Steve stopped, letting go of Tony and scooting
about an inch away from him. Did he just admit that he wanted to
start a family with Tony? Crap, he did.
"Forget it. Forget I ever said any of that.... um... Are you
hungry? I'm a little hungry.... It should be closer to lunch....
What would you like to eat? I'm up for making anything..." Steve
looked away from Tony in fear of seeing rejection or fear again.
Now was defiantly not the time to be talking about marriage and
starting a family. Besides, Steve had a very good feeling that
Tony most likely wouldn't want a kid even if they did get
married.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony's eyes, if possible, got even wider as Steve spoke, until
he feared they may very well pop out of his head. Shoot, shoot,
crap, dammit, Steve wanted a kid? Around him? Okay, so, Tony
could not safely admit that he hadn't thought about it, but
marriage was one thing, family was something entirely different,
and something that Tony had found he was very bad at. He was
irrational and irresponsible and almost always unprepared and he
was afraid to even stand near a child, much less take care of
one...
Okay, Tony. Breath. Relax. Okay.
Steve was talking again now, and Tony was giving him a very
blank, indecisive look. He... couldn't really. Think. About
food. Right now. "Um, hang on, Steve..." Tony said tentatively,
taking one of Steve's hands very hesitantly in his. "Uh, okay,
so, here's the thing, about, all that, um--" He wasn't looking
at Steve, just as Steve wasn't looking at him. "It's not that I
don't wanna... uh, marry you. I mean, I do, I wasn't lying when
I said I'm trying to make a future with you, but uh, I think I
should emphasize the word future. I'm not... really... ready for
that. Not right now. And, you're right, you know, with the
worrying and everything, and the fact that we went public like,
two days ago, I'm not really sure if either of us are. Ready,
that is."
He swallows, looks down and then back at Steve, unsure where to
rest his eyes, but gives Steve's hand a light squeeze just to
show that, hey, no hard feelings. "Um, so, that's that and...
um... is that okay?" he adds, because he really doesn't want
Steve's feelings to be hurt.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve slowly turned his head to look at Tony, a small smile on
his face. He scooted back over to him, lifting his chin up with
a finger. "Tony, that's fine," he said, giving him a chaste
kiss. "And you're right, we aren't ready. I can't think of a
worse time to get married than right now," said Steve, laughing
slightly. "You'll just have to ignore me when I blurt out things
like that..." Steve squeezed Tony's hand back lightly, glad
things finally felt normal between them again. Hopefully, he
won't blurt out things about marriage again unless it feels like
the right moment.
"I love you," Steve murmured. "I adore you." Steve re-wrapped
his arms around Tony's waist and began to kiss him again,
passionately. "And I was serious about lunch," he added with a
wink before continuing to kiss Tony, holding him tight.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony hmmed as Steve kissed him, relieved and worried all at the
same time because, okay, he was thinking Steve may hold a grudge
against him or something later. Oh, but Steve wouldn't do that,
Tony decided, and wrapped his arms around Steve's neck, sighing
happily and pressing himself against the other man.
"Mm, how serious, exactly?" Tony mumbled against Steve's lips.
"Would there be any way to get you to put it off, per se?"
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve smiled at Tony's question, raising an eyebrow. "Well...
there is... one way..." he said before he started kissing Tony's
neck, open-mouthed and nipping a little here and there.
Everything just felt right now, and Steve knew that this time he
wouldn't have to ask Tony if he was going to regret this.
He slowly snaked a hand under Tony's shirt, making quickly
fading scratches on his back while his other hand gripped Tony's
waist. "Bedroom?" he breathed against Tony's neck, knowing that
that was probably what Tony was going to suggest next. Without
waiting to receive an answer, Steve pulled Tony as close as
possible, wrapping Tony's legs around him before picking him up.
He kissed the man's neck all the way up the stairs and to the
bedroom, lying Tony on the bed and coming down on top of him to
continue the necking.
"I love you," he said, looking up at Tony. I really, really,
really love you." Steve started to kiss Tony on the lips again,
running a hand up and down Tony's thigh as he did so.
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia sighed as she stared out her open window, letting the
cool air in. It was a beautiful morning.
Ever since Dante and her had arrived at home from their
adventure in Malibu, she was able to relax and think about her
feelings. She didn't love James. She actually didn't love anyone
but Dante (in a fatherly way, of course) and was pretty sure
things were going to stay like that. She had also learned to
somewhat like her "freak side" again fore she had sneaked out of
their apartment more than once to save a life or help someone
out. She was like a silent hero right now, and she was enjoying
it. Of course, that didn't mean that she still didn't want to
join the Avengers.
She stretched, in her normal form which she had been using more
around Dante and such before standing up. Natalia opened the
door to her room and walked across the hall to quietly knock on
Dante's door. She felt like now was a good time to go back to
Stark's and ask again about joining the Avengers. Also, she kind
of had to admit that she missed Steve, Bruce, and even Tony if
that didn't sound to crazy. When you only have one person to
talk to, you get a little lonely. Not that Dante wasn't fun to
talk to, she just liked being able to talk to other people too.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony's breath caught in his throat as Steve picked him up,
because, yes, bedroom. His hands knotted in Steve's hair, breath
heavy as Steve carried him upstairs and laid him on the bed.
"Yeah, love you, love you too..." Tony says breathlessly,
returning Steve's kiss energetically, nipping at his lips,
breath hitching suddenly as Steve's hand moves across his leg.
"You're so perfect," he says against Steve's ear, trailing
kisses down his neck. "Just one thing, though, that would make
you more, uh, better, this, this needs to comes off right now."
He tugs at the hem of Steve's shirt, pulls it up over his head
and manages a little chuckle before he's kissing Steve again.
- - -
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante's head snapped up as a knock sounded on the door. His
enormous coat had been folded neatly on the bed, so that Dante
was left in slacks and a dark, long-sleeved shirt. He was
sitting criss-cross on the window sill, meditating in a very
precarious position -- it was a mystery how he could even fit
inside the window frame. He turned around and stepped back onto
the floor, with more energy than he usually expended on such
things, walking over to open the door.
"Hello," he said pleasantly as the door opened to reveal a
blonde-haired Natalia.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve smiled into the kiss, breaking it after a few minutes.
"Same thing goes for you," he chuckled, removing Tony's shirt
and tossing it to the side before he began to kiss his
collarbone. He slowly began making a trail of kisses down Tony's
chest before quickly coming back up and meeting his lips.
"I love you," he repeated, feeling like he just couldn't stop
saying it. His free hand slid down Tony's arm so he could grab
his hand, squeezing it lightly and hoping that Tony got the
message that he was still saying I love you as he allowed the
kiss to heat up. He didn't really understand how he could be
romantic and... well... sexy at the same time, but maybe he had
managed to pull it off.
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia smiled up at Dante. "Hi," she said, chuckling. "I was
wondering if you wanted to visit our friends, Rogers and Stark?"
she asked, smiling that true smile she only reserved for Dante.
"We can ask about the Avengers if you're still up for it."
She hadn't told Dante about already helping people and sneaking
out each night, but she figured it was really important for him
to know anyway. Nor did she think he would really care. He'd
probably just say something like, I'm happy for you or
something.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony smiled into the kiss, free hand on the back of Steve's neck
so Tony could pull himself up, press himself against Steve.
After a moment, he broke away from the kiss, leaned back just a
little, his eyes roaming Steve's body. "Hang on," he said
quietly, eyes moving back up to Steve's face. He broke into a
fabulous grin, the hand around Steve's neck sliding to glide
across Steve's face. "Just uh, wait a minute, I wanna, uh, catch
my breath or something, just... lemme look at you."
Tony never wanted to forget it all, the way Steve held himself,
the way he smiled in ways that Tony liked to think was only for
him, the way he laughed, the way that he just looked at Tony,
his face and his body and god Tony just kind of wanted to stay
like this, just until he memorized every single little detail.
His fingers traced across Steve's cheekbone, his jaw, the bridge
of his nose, and then, suddenly, he stopped, looking sheepish.
"Sorry," he laughed, no more than a whisper and a breathy
chuckle, looking down. He should really stop that, switching
modes every second. It was probably very confusing. "I got
distracted. You're good at that-- distracting people. Me,
specifically, I guess. It's not very helpful when I'm trying to
get your clothes off, you should, uh... probably try and stop
doing that..."
- - -
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante gave a soft smile, estimating the time of day -- It looked
to be about... 11:12:47, if his head told him anything. He may
have, possibly, been off by the millisecond, but that didn't
irritate him so much as it used to. "Yes," he nodded, "A visit
might be beneficial... however, I don't think Stark would react
kindly to me asking to take his place. I will have to consult
with a high authority, I believe. Or, at least, one that was
more familiar with Fury."
Dante turned, walking back into his room to grab his jacket from
the bed, shrugging it over his broad shoulders. The jacket...
well, Dante didn't take it off much. It was very thick, and very
heavy, but he never seemed to notice this even on hot days. It
had several more pockets than was strictly necessary, as well as
thin chains, loops and even a bit of ribbon wrapped around the
right sleeve. Dante had never exactly revealed what all the
aesthetics were for, or why he liked the coat so much, but he
wore it everywhere and took it as a personal offense to
criticize his fashion choices. "A SHIELD agent contacted me, by
the way, when you were out. We are cordially invited to attend
an Avenger's meeting by suggestion of Bruce Banner."
Dante held his arm out to Natalia, which was basically his way
of saying come along. "I'm not exactly sure who that is, but I
will have to thank him."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve smiled a small toothy smile as Tony began to look at him
and touch him. The whole time he just looked at Tony's face and
his eyes. He was so beautiful.... Most people were mesmerized by
his biceps, his muscles. In other words, the things his Super
Soldier Serum gave him. Steve had never seen anyone, not even
Peggy, be equally mesmerized by the only thing that remained the
same after the serum, his face. However, there Tony was, looking
and touching only his face like he was under some sort of spell.
Steve chuckled as Tony started to babble again, and lifted the
hand that was on Tony's leg to take the hand his boyfriend had
been touching his face and bring it to his lips. "You're the
only one that has been able to see me... truly see me," he
whispered, referring to the fact that Tony always seemed to know
how Steve felt one way or another, and saw him for him.
Steve took Tony's hand that he had just kissed and moved it to
where it was touching his chest, right over his heart. "You're
going to stay here forever..." he said, leaning down to kiss
Tony again, slowly and lovingly. It was true, Tony would always
stay in Steve's heart... forever.
#Post#: 38--------------------------------------------------
Re: 1x1 || TinyGoliath & MagicNightStar
By: TinyGoliath Date: February 6, 2013, 8:48 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia nodded, her smile growing. "I think you will like Bruce.
I do," she said, taking Dante's arm. She was surprised that
Bruce had suggested that they come to a meeting. None the less,
it was very kind and thoughtful of him and she was going to be
sure to thank him as well.
"Before we go... Are you sure you want to take Tony's place? I
mean, you're not just doing it for me?" Natalia looked up at
Dante slowly. She had to be sure that Dante wasn't just doing
this for her benefit or just because she asked him... After all,
it was going to be a huge responsibility to be the head of
SHIELD.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
It was... weird. Tony never went for the sappy stuff. It was too
intimate and too romantic and Tony didn't ever really think that
would change, but, you know, he met Steve (or, rather, started
seeing him), and when the man talked like an emo teenager
meeting a vampire it kind of grows on you.
"Of course I'm gonna," Tony said against Steve's lips, fingers
curling against Steve's chest. "Best thing is I can afford the
rent, too, even if it is a little pricey... Guess it's 'cause
you're such high maintenance..." Tony smirked to himself,
because, okay, maybe he was trying to irritate Steve, just a
little. It was easy for him to keep talking-- he could probably
talk a wall to death. "I think we've been doing this every day,"
he mused, "I'll tell ya, Captain, it's gonna ruin your
reputation as do-gooder if it ever gets out."
- - -
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante frowns at Natalia's question, unsure how to answer. Okay,
he'd done a little peeking in the future, and had figured out
that if Tony remained leader, the Avengers would dissolve into
something much more chaotic than it was now. Dante wasn't sure
if he could prevent this, exactly, but he was sure he could hold
it off for a bit longer, at least. He was being a hero.
Dante was reminded why he hated being a hero.
"Who else would I be doing it for, Natalia?" he asked, solemn.
"I do nothing for myself. I only avoid things for other's
benefit. I... believe that I have to think about it, more, but
for now, yes, I am sure."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve was very amused about how Tony seemed to really like to
talk a lot before making love. So amused in fact, that by the
time Tony was done talking, Steve just started laughing. He
couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so much, or even
if he had ever laughed so much. It felt good.
"Anthony Edward Stark, you're crazy," he said, his laughter
dying down. "But if you really think this is going to affect my
reputation, then I guess I should just stop." Of course Steve
was just joking as he collapsed on the bed next to Tony, acting
as if he was completely uninterested in finishing what they had
started.
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia sighed, rolling her eyes but still smiling. "You do too
much for me," he said, giving Dante's arm a light squeeze. "I
mean really, too much."
She tucked her hair behind her ear as she walked over to Dante
so she could stand next to him, knowing that was the best way to
be for going through the vortex. "I'm ready," she told Dante,
still thinking about all the things hes done for her. He even
agreed to rescue Steve and Tony because of her. Natalia just
couldn't help but think that she really hand't done much for
Dante. She would have to find a way to change that somehow from
now on.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony frowned -- okay, that had backfired. He deserved that, he
supposed. He gave a little whine of protest as Steve rolled on
him, glaring. "I hate you," he said, still managing to sound
affable while pouting. But he rolled over on top of Steve,
anyways, because he wasn't about to let the other man gets the
best of him. "You're insufferable," he said again, pressing his
lips to Steve's neck.
- - -
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante smirks at Natalia, giving a little nod of his head. "I
know I do," he says, and in an instant, they are gone.
Unfortunately, though, space is just as imprecise at time, and
Dante is only very good at the latter, so when he pushes past
the veil that hides the two from each other, Dante isn't however
how close to Stark's house he's going to get. He actually,
luckily, ends up very close. As in, inside. As in, on the top
floor. As in the hallway. As in, the door is open to Stark's
bedroom and Dante's eyebrows raise, seeing just a bit too much
into the personal lives of the two half-naked superheros on the
bed.
"Oh," Dante says.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve hmmed happily as Tony began to kiss his neck. "I know I
am," he said, smiling. He knotted his hands in Tony's hair so he
could bring his head up for a passionate kiss.
Suddenly, he hears a voice at the door... one that wasn't very
familiar. Reflexes kicking in, he took his arm and pushed Tony
off of him, keeping his arm on Tony's chest as he sat up in
front of him, protecting him encase whoever it was was here to
hurt them. He let out a sigh of relief to see it was only Dante
and Natalia. Steve removed his arm from Tony's chest, allowing
him to be able to sit up before grabbing his shirt and quickly
putting it back on.
"Um... sorry about that..." said Steve, clearing his throat and
standing up. This would be the second time Natalia has caught
them having a moment, and once again, Steve was very
embarrassed. "Really sorry..."
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
When they arrived at Stark's, Natalia was not expecting to
arrive right in front of Tony's door... which was open... which
revealed Tony and Steve getting a little too intimate...
Natalia watched Steve push Tony off of him and get into a
protective stance over him before seeing who it was.
"Seriously? Again?" she asked herself hopelessly. For once she
would like to walk into this house without Rogers and Stark
being all... romantic.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony barely has time to react when he hears that deep, unnerving
voice behind him, can only jump and then gasp as Steve pushes
him back. Of course, as soon as he sees the startled-looking
pair, he starts cursing, yelling about privacy and trespassing
and calling the police, keeps on mumbling gibberish even when
he's done yelling, and it seems like he's expended his sailor's
vocabulary because he's really just mumbling the same things
over and over again.
Tony would, later, if anyone asked, Tony deny that he had been
so startled that it was on the verge of scared. He would say
that he started to yell because he was angry, not because he was
surprised. He might, even, possibly, deny any proof of the
events even happening.
Why was it always during... these times?
- - -
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante merely chuckles, his brief surprise over with. Honestly,
he is not surprised by much any more. He's seen people die in
many ways. Too many ways. It's one of the only times he regrets
the visions.
"I believe I should be the one apologizing," Dante says, tuning
out Tony's extravagant language as background noise. "I,
unfortunately, do not have as good a grip on space as I would
like."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve turned to Tony whose language was getting a bit out of
hand. He picked up Tony's shirt and threw it at his face.
"Honey, we have guests," he said, trying to make Tony calm down
and stop cursing.
Steve turned back to Dante, smiling in a friendly manner, still
slightly embarrassed. "Really, you don't have to apologize. You
couldn't help it." Steve took a few steps closer to them,
holding a hand out to Dante. "It's very nice to see you two
again," he said politely.
Him and Tony really needed to start shutting the door before
they engaged in any loving activities like that from now on.
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia rolled her eyes as Tony started swearing but smiled a
little when Steve threw a shirt at him. She still didn't like
Stark's attitude.
She watched Steve extend a hand to Dante, being kind as always.
"Um... Sorry, he doesn't really do handshakes..." said Natalia,
remembering the night James extended his hand for Dante to
shake.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve lowered his hand after Natalia told him that Dante didn't
do handshakes. "Oh, sorry," he apologized quickly.
He cleared his throat again, glancing at Tony before turning
back to Dante and Natalia. "So... uh... What can we do for you?"
he asked them, really starting to wonder why they were here.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony gave Steve a baffled, slightly offended look as his shirt
hit his face, grumbling about how he could honestly care less
about the guests. He glared at Dante and Natalia, but pulled the
shirt over his head to cover himself, listening stone-faced to
the conversation.
"Oh, yes, what can we do for you?" Tony said grumpily as Steve
spoke again. "Because, uh, not sure if you noticed, but me and
Steve were gonna do the horizontal--" he was cut off by his
phone ringing. Frowning, he glanced at the screen. Oh, look,
unknown number. Joy.
"One moment," Tony threw over his shoulder and he turned,
holding the phone to his ear and speaking quietly into it. "What
do you want?"
"TONY, MY FRIEND."
"...Thor."
"TONY!"
"Seriously, you uh, you don't have to talk so loud, I can hear
you fine."
"Ah, my apologies. Clint wanted to speak to you, but Natasha
refused to let him. I would like to apologize for him
interrupting your--"
"Okay, woah, stop right there buddy, it's fine, seriously, he's
been forgiven... kind of. I wouldn't mind if you hit him with
your hammer a couple of times, though."
"I believe that would kill such a tiny fellow."
"...Right."
"...."
"...."
"...."
"...Anything else?"
"No, that is all."
"Okay... goodbye, Thor."
"GOODBYE, MY FR--"
Tony cut the line before he heard the word friend one more time.
- - -
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante chuckled, once again choosing to ignore Tony because,
really, he was just being insolent. "Handshakes are fine," Dante
said, glancing at Natalia. "James, however, is not."
He turns back to Steve. "I believe Natalia has a few things to
discuss with your... erm... partner..." Dante looks behind
Steve, to the man who has his back turned and speaking in hushed
tones to his phone. "I hope you don't mind my saying so," Dante
adds, "But he is rather crude."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve chuckled, looking at Tony along with Dante. "He's not so
bad once you get to know him," Steve said, smiling as he walked
over behind Tony and leaned down to give him a kiss on the neck.
"We'll finish later," he whispered in Tony's ear, promising. "I
believe our friends would like to have a word with you," he
continued, taking Tony's hand in his own.
He looked back at Dante and Natalia, a smile still planted on
his face. "Is it private?" he asked them, wanting to know if he
needed to leave the room or not. He really wanted to stay with
Tony since he seemed a little pouty, and he didn't want him
being anymore rude to their guests as much as he already has
been.
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia couldn't help but grin when Dante called Tony, who was
now talking on his phone, crude.
She quickly shook her head at Steve question of privacy. "Oh,
no, it's not private. You can stay," she replied, not really
wanting to talk to Tony unless Steve was in the room to help
keep him in line. She was glad Dante was in the room as well to
keep her in line as well. Natalia could imagine what things
would be like without Dante and Steve; Natalia and Tony would be
shooting insults at each other like there was no end.
"It's actually about The Avengers," she told them, her grin
fading to form a more serious look.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Okay, Tony couldn't really help it. He kind of, a little bit,
smiled when Steve came up behind him, whispering promises, just
because... well, Steve just had that effect on him. He
grudgingly turns around, not quite smiling anymore when he looks
back as Dante and Natalia, but he doesn't seem quite so angry at
them. Or maybe he's just happier at Steve. Either way, he isn't
bristling quite so much anymore.
"Avengers?" Tony repeats, raising his eyebrows. "This isn't
about the same thing that you asked about last time you came at
a completely inappropriate time, is it?"
- - -
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante frowned at Tony, thinking to himself that he'd already
gotten to know the billionaire a lot better than he would have
liked. But he didn't say anything further on the matter, simply
listened as Natalia spoke, and fixed everyone with his usual
unfeeling, intimidating-without-meaning-it-to-be glare.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve squeezed Tony's had lightly and happily, noticing Tony's
mood change a bit. It was marvelous to see what they could do to
each other-- how the most simple little touch or whisper could
brighten their moods. I guess that's just love for you.
Steve turned his attention back to their two guests, listening
intently to what Natalia had to say. He thought she would be
nice for the Avengers, if that was what she was talking about.
After all, she had saved Tony's life and his ow, meaning he owed
her big time. He owed her his life and more because if she
hadn't been there, Steve and Tony would both be dead. Tony,
lying on the floor bleeding from the bullet wound in his head
that he put there himself, Steve, lying dead from his coma and
also from heartbreak.
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia turned to look at Tony, trying her best to still appear
somewhat happy. "Sort of..." she began, keeping herself from
saying some snappy remark. "Well, I would still like to join the
Avengers, but Dante... He would like to ask a bigger favor..."
Natalia looked at Dante, giving him the smile she saved only for
him.
She knew Steve probably didn't have a problem with her joining,
but it was sadly up to Stark. Why did he have to be the one that
Fury picked? He could have picked Bruce or at least Steve...
someone who seemed to have their head on straight and wasn't
so... narcissistic. Then again, perhaps Fury knew saw something
in Stark that she didn't. She knew Steve saw a lot of things she
didn't, so she guessed it was possible.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony gives a sharp laugh, something slightly mocking, judgmental
and even a bit surprised. "That still shocks me," he says to
Natalia, shaking his head. His hand slides out of Steve's and he
takes a step forward, crossing his arms over his chest. "That
you actually want to join the Avengers, when, you know, everyone
in it now had to be dragged in, fighting tooth and nail to get
out of it. There's also the fact that nobody knows you, you have
nothing when it comes to SHIELD files, how am I supposed to know
whether or not to let you in when I don't even know the
slightest thing about you?"
Alright, so, that came out mean. Meaner than Tony had meant. And
it wasn't like he was going to apologize or anything, hell no,
but he was a little surprised by his lack of compassion. He
motions to Dante, expectant. "What about you, big guy? What kind
of ridiculous request to you have?"
- - -
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante glares at Tony, completely avoiding his question, opting
to become enraged at the other man's blatant disrespect. "You
would do well to learn a little humility, Stark, if you truly
think that you can take the lead of the Avengers." He steps
forward as well, eye cold, looming so far above Tony it's hardly
even funny.
"Yeah? Is that a threat?"
"You underestimate my abilities," Dante growls, with Tony
glaring resolutely up at him. The air in filled with tension --
the two look like they're on the verge of ripping each other's
heads off.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve placed a hand over his own face, slightly embarrassed by
Tony's behavior. Things were already getting too out of hand.
How could Tony say such things to the girl that saved their
lives? Really, Tony should give Natalia a chance.
Then, Tony started being rude to Dante, who looked like one of
those guys you shouldn't mess with. Dante stepped closer to Tony
and the looks they were exchanging told Steve he probably needed
to do something quick before a battle unfolded in their own
bedroom.
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia frowned as Tony spoke to her, but downright growled when
he spoke to Dante. She knew Dante could handle himself, but that
didn't mean she wasn't going to still defend him along with
herself.
Her hair quickly turned jet black as her wings appeared,
expanded and taking up a lot of space. "I don't know how you can
think so little of us when without your suit, your defenseless
unlike us. Natalia took a step forward. "How about I show you
what I can do, huh? Would you like that? I could kill you by
going into your mind. I won't, of course, because then my
efforts of saving your life would be wasted. I didn't have to
save you, you know. I could have acted like I normally did when
Dante tells me someones life is at risk, do nothing and walk
away. But no, I actually felt like I needed to save you. If it
wasn't for me you and Steve would be dead. Same goes for Dante,
so be a man and show some da** respect!"
Natalia gritted her teeth, glaring at Tony ad clenching her
fists. This man had no right to judge them.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony should be scared -- no, he should be terrified. He's
nothing to the people in front of him, nothing but a speck among
infinite knowledge time and the darkness of feathers that cast
shadows across the whole room. But he's been in worse situation
-- he's been among the entirety of space and has very nearly
been swallowed up by it. So the frightening, dark hugeness of
Dante and Natalia combined is nothing but a challenge, something
that faces Tony's stubbornness, his refusal to give in.
"You want respect?" Tony spits out, eyes flashing indignantly.
"I'm sorry, you'll have the talk to the goody-two-shoes over
there." He jabs his thumb behind him, toward Steve, and that's
mean but Tony will apologize for it later, after he's done being
snappy and rude. "But he's not in charge -- I'm the one Fury
chose, for some stupid reason, and I might not have any idea
what I'm doing but I'm still the one doing it. You wanna kill
me?" Tony moves forward once more, encroaching on Natalia's
space, nose to nose with her. "Go ahead," he dares, "Find out if
I'm worth the effort."
- - -
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante gives a snarl that doesn't sound quite so entirely human,
enraged, and before he truly grasps what he doing, his fist is
flying forward, hooking up and lodging in Tony's stomach. Tony
sees it coming, looks up at Dante, but the shock barely
registers on his face before the blow knocks him backward. He
hits the side of the bed and drops like a stone, curling in on
himself, a pained groan falling past his lips.
"She may think twice before killing you," Dante says, his voice
merciless, full of disdain. "But I certainly won't."
Tony manages to sit up, and lifts a hand to his forehead,
wincing. "F*** you," he coughs, lifting his head to glare at
Dante. One eye is swollen partially closed, and his forehead has
a terrible, bloodied gash on it from hitting the bed frame.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Goody-two-shoes? Ouch. It wasn't the first time Steve had heard
those words, but he wasn't really expecting something like that
from Tony. Oh well, he guessed it was a heat of the moment sort
of deal.
He didn't like what was going on... The fighting with words sort
of deal. However, he sort of just wanted to stay out of it, but
knew he couldn't. Dante and Natalia were right even though he
didn't appreciate the things they were saying to Tony.
Suddenly, Dante's fist swung up and met Tony's stomach, sending
Tony to the ground and hitting the bed on the way down. Steve
froze and watched in horror as his boyfriend sat up to reveal
his badly beaten face. "Tony!" Steve yelled, reacting quickly by
taking his fist and using just about all the strength he had to
hit Dante square in the chest, sending him flying back and
hitting the wall behind him out in the hall, no doubt causing
damage to the wall as well.
Steve dropped to his knees next to Tony and turned his face
toward him to examine his eye and cut. As much as he wanted to
apologize to Dante, he didn't. He promised to protect his
boyfriend, and that's what he was going to do. "Get out," he
said to Natalia quietly as he looked at Tony's face. "I'm sorry,
but get out. Take your friend with you."
He didn't blame anyone for the events that just unfolded because
once you thought about it, everyone was to blame. Dante and
Natalia just showed up unannounced into their house, Tony gets
an attitude, and hell breaks lose.
#Post#: 39--------------------------------------------------
Re: 1x1 || TinyGoliath & MagicNightStar
By: TinyGoliath Date: February 6, 2013, 8:50 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia gasped as Dante punched Tony in the chest and Tony
sitting up to show his bloody, swollen face. She could't say
that he didn't deserve it. However, in the blink of an eye, she
saw Dante fly back and hit the wall behind them. She quickly
turned back around to see Steve with his fist extended. Did he
just... punch Dante? Apparently so... If there was one thing
Natalia knew, it was that you didn't touch Dante..... You
especially didn't hit Dante, or she would be after you.
Natalia's fist sprung open as the claws on her finger nails
extended to form owl claws. She leaped at Steve, bringing her
claws down to make three long, bloody marks on Steve's back,
ripping through his shirt. Her hand formed a fist again as she
drew it back, ready to strike Steve in the back of the head.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve squeezed his eyes shut tight as he felt sharp claws
penetrate his back, making three large gashes. He quickly spun
around, stopping Natalia's fist right before she made contact
with his head.
"Get out now," he hissed. "Get out before I have to hurt you
too." Steve's eyes were burning with anger before he let go of
Natalia's fist and turned back to Tony. "You'll soon learn that
you can do whatever you want to me, but you can't touch my
boyfriend." He cupped the good side of Tony's face gently.
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia's eyes widened with surprise as Steve stopped her fist.
This man had some good reflexes...
She lowered her fist as soon as Steve let go, figuring it would
be useless to try to hit him again. "Your boyfriend got what was
coming for him. He was asking for it. He even called you a
goody-two-shoes and yet you still help him out when you know
he's wrong?" Natalia couldn't understand it.... love. Love is
what made Steve defend Tony even though he knew he was wrong.
"Whatever.... I'm leaving..." she said, defeated. Natalia turned
her head to Tony, frowning. "That was just a preview of some of
the things I can do," she said, her voice unfeeling as her owl
claws turned back into nails.
Natalia turned around and rushed over to Dante. "Are you
alright? I'm going to get us out of here," she told him, her
voice going to one of concern as she wrapped one of his arms
around her neck to help him up. She doubted she was going to get
into the Avengers now.... but she didn't really care.
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante made a surprised, gasping kind of sound as Steve punched
him, having the odd sensation of flying before he hit the wall.
The back of his head collided first, sending stars swimming
across his vision, then his back followed, driving into the wall
with surprising force. He felt it give halfway, leaving a large
indent, and then Dante fell, landing heavily on his side.
Dante thinks he can see a flash of claws, thinks he hears words,
but everything's muddled together in a blurry mosh-posh of
things and his ears are ringing too loudly to make out much.
Concussion, he decides blearily, not daring to move because his
back aches and his vision looks like it's been blurred and
Instagrammed.
Next thing Dante knows, there are hands touching him, wrapping
around his neck, and Dante tells himself up, struggling to his
feet. His arm finds its way around Natalia's shoulders to steady
himself. "I can make it back," he says heavily, glaring at what
he thinks is Tony's face. Dante's got it left in him for a
return trip, but he's not sure that he's got much more than
that. He knows, however, when they've overstayed their welcome,
so within a moment, they've disappeared as quickly as they
showed up.
Dante suddenly feels like he's getting tugged upward, but within
a second, realizes that this is only because he is falling. It
takes him another second to get his bearings, but when he sees
the windows rushing past him, he realizes he is in the air,
outside their apartment and heading quickly toward the ground.
"That's not right," he grumbles, and they disappear again, right
before they hit the ground.
This time, they end up actually inside the apartment, and Dante,
exhausted, slumps to his knees, head pounding.
- - -
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
The pain is extraordinary.
Tony honestly thinks the wound isn't as deep as it is, that it's
just bleeding so much because it's a head wound, that it's more
like a paper cut than anything -- it stings, but it's anything
but deadly. He's, kinda of, just a little bit of a lot, wrong.
Tony turns his head, watching Dante and Natalia disappear like
they were never there, leaving only a giant dent in the wall and
the pain pounding against Tony's skull. "I don't think we should
have any more guests. Ever," Tony says, head tilting into the
touch of Steve's hand just a little. He looks back up at him --
his face is a little blurry. "You okay?" he asks lamely. "The
uh... the claw, talon things... looked like that hurt... here,
I'll get a cloth or something, this is nothing but a flesh
wound..."
Tony quickly proves that it is not just a flesh wound as he
staggers to feet, and then stumbles back to the floor in a heap,
head spinning, dizzy from blood loss. "Tabloids might have
something to say about our habits in bed," he muses to the
ceiling, and then, promptly, passes out.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve put both of his hands on Tony's shoulder, shaking him
slightly. "Tony? Tony!" he called before finally sighing. He was
passed out and need medical attention quick.
Steve carefully lifted Tony up off the floor and lied him on the
bed before rushing down to the basement where the needles and
stitches were. He quickly grabbed them and some ointment stuff
he found that was suppose to help stop the bleeding. He rushed
back upstairs, taking a rag from the bathroom and wetting it so
he could clean Tony's wound. Steve worked as quickly and as
carefully as he could, cleaning the cut, applying the ointment,
and putting a few stitches in the gash. The whole time he worked
he ignored his own pain, his own blood loss, and only focused on
helping Tony. Steve knew he would be fine... he could handle the
pain. Finally, Steve was done.
Steve sat on his knees, leaning over the bed in fear of getting
the bed bloodstained if he lied down. He looked at Tony's
swollen eye and rushed back downstairs to get one of the cold
pieces of steak that Tony refused to eat and ran back up the
stairs to place it on the eye. He slowly reached out and took
Tony's hand.
Natalia and Dante where no longer welcome in their house.
However, Steve would apologize to them next time they met. It
was the right thing to do.
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia gasped as Dante teleported them outside their apartment,
falling who knows how many feet. She was about to spread her
wings and fly, but Dante managed to get them into the right
place.
Natalia quickly went to Dante's side as he fell to his knees.
"Dante, how many fingers am I holding up?" she asked, holding up
three fingers. "Dante, what's your full name? What's mine? What
country are we in? How did we first meet?" Natalia asked these
questions slowly, testing to see if Dante had a concussion of
some sorts.
After what had happened back at Stark's, she was the only one
that remained unharmed. She knew Steve wouldn't hurt her unless
she hurt Tony because he was a gentlemen... She had to admit she
felt a little bad for what she had done. Steve had been nothing
but kind to her and Dante until Dante punched Tony. She guessed
she would apologize to him later... but only if he apologizes to
Dante.
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante groaned, sitting down fully on the ground before he
attempted to answer any questions. He glanced up at Natalia's
hand, going slightly cross-eyed for a moment. "Three," he said,
resigning himself to answering all of her questions. He closed
his eyes, brow furrowing as he tried to concentrate, and heaved
a sigh. "My name is Dante Greye-- you are Natalia Rebecca
diStone-- we are currently in Cali, Colombia, and we met when...
you saved my life from a petty villain."
- - -
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony woke some forty-five minutes after Steve had stitched him
up, eyelashes fluttering slightly as his good eye opened. He
seemed vaguely confused as to why he couldn't see out of the
other one, trying to touch the bad side of his face, but, of
course, it was covered by a giant slab of meat. He peeled it
off, wincing, and stared at the raw steak in his head.
"...You put steak on my face?" Tony asked blankly, glancing at
Steve, who was kneeling at his bedside. He seemed only mildly
disturbed, eventually shrugging and saying, "Not the weirdest
thing anyone's done to me while I was asleep."
A flash of red suddenly catches Tony's eye, and he glances
toward the carpet, which is stained with blood. Lots of blood.
The painful prick on Tony's forehead suddenly seems a lot more
noticeable. "Sh**, is... is that all mine, or..." he seems to
remember, suddenly, that Steve was wounded too, and sits up
suddenly. The blood rushed from his head and he sways a bit, but
seems mostly steady. "Are you okay?" he asks earnestly, not
really sure whether he wants to know the answer to that
question.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve could feel the blood flow from his cut, down his back, and
to the carpet. It wasn't like he could stitch himself up since
the cuts were on his back... Why did all of his serious wounds
have to be on his back?
He could feel himself getting dizzy so he lied his head on the
side of the bed, squeezing Tony's hand a little tighter. He
would be okay... he just needed to worry about Tony...
Finally, Tony spoke, talking about the steak on his face. The
shaking of the bed indicated that Tony was sitting up and was
saying a little. Steve slowly lifted his head and gave Tony a
weak smile. "I'm fine... Just worry about yourself, okay? Don't
make... any sudden movements..." Steve's words were slurred and
getting slower the more he spoke. The dizziness was growing, but
he refused to pass out. Instead, he just continued to hold
Tony's hand while his other hand gripped the side of the bed. He
was okay, right?
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia sighed in relief as Dante answered all of the questions
correctly. "Good..." she murmured, using her enhanced strength
to pick Dante up.
"You need rest... About a one hour rest, though. No longer than
that," she told him, still afraid he might have a concussion.
Natalia walked into Dante's bedroom and placed him on the bed.
"You are okay, aren't you?" she asked, sitting on the side of
his bed. She hoped Dante was alright... if something happened to
him, she would never forgive herself. He was all Natalia had
left.
"Sorry, no more questions," she promised, standing up and moving
to go sit on Dante's window ledge, not wanting to leave him
alone.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony's breath caught in his throat, and he could tell that he
was panicking, definitely panicking, because Steve didn't look
or sound good and that was extremely terrifying, because somehow
Steve's wounds never seemed this bad before. And maybe that was
just because every time Tony had seen Steve wounded, he was on
drugs or it wasn't serious enough to effect the super-soldier
much, but this was different and Tony was worried.
"Okay, Steve, just uh, just hang on a minute, okay, and don't--
don't pass out, because you need to get on the bed so I can fix
you, and I-I'm not strong enough to just lift you up or
anything, so, just..." He trails off, mind a whir, and throws
his legs over the side of the bed so he can stand up and examine
Steve's state. It makes him dizzy again, but it's nothing he
can't handle, and he gets shakily to his feet.
The sight of Steve's back gets him scared all over again --
Steve is bleeding way too much to be healthy, the wounds look
deep and look like they hurt and Tony wonders how long he's been
out, how long Steve's been like this. His heart is pounding
rapidly, and it distracts him, until he can't hear anything else
or see anything but meaningless numbers. Panicking, he's
panicking big time.
Okay. Breathe.
He closes his eyes, holds his breath and then lets it out in one
big sigh, making his heart slow and his mind clear. It's still
scary, and Tony still definitely doesn't trust himself, but he
can focus, now, at least. He's not sure, exactly, whether that's
a good or bad thing.
- - -
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante makes a noise of protest as Natalia picks him up, because
he's kind of a big guy and this is a little humiliating even if
he and Natalia are the only ones here. But they're already in
he's room and he's already on his bed so there's no use saying
anything anymore, he supposes.
He sits up, giving Natalia a slightly amused look that falls
flat after a few seconds, because he can't focus on keeping the
expression. "I'm going to be fine," he assures Natalia, "If
there were any long term effects, I am sure I would've noticed
something different by now."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve managed a chuckle for Tony, shaking just a tiny bit.
"Relax, Tony... I'm going to be okay. Please don't hurt
yourself.... I just need some stitches..." he said as calmly as
he could.
He slowly and shakily stood up so he could turn to give Tony a
very small kiss before collapsing onto the bed, back up. "I love
you..." he said quietly, closing his eyes. He knew that Natalia
probably didn't mean to make the wounds as deep as she had. It
was probably just another spur of the moment type of thing. He
forgave her, but found it a little bit harder to forgive Dante
for what he did to Tony... but he forgave him in his head anyway
and hoped he didn't cause him too much pain or damage.
Steve carefully propped himself up so he could remove the bloody
ripped shirt that was irritatingly sticking to his skin. He lied
it on the bed, swearing that he would wash the sheets once this
was over. The pain wasn't that bed, he learned, if he thought
about Tony. He had to make sure to look happy and strong for his
sake. Like he had said to himself before, even if he knew it was
impossible to live he would prove the odds wrong just to be with
Tony. Of course, he knew he wasn't going to die.
✣Natalia Stone✣
"You shouldn't give up on life.
If you're still here,
You still have purpose."
Natalia shook her head and pointed to the bed. "Rest," she
repeated, giving Dante a sad smile. She was going to take care
of him just like she did with her mother only better. She wasn't
going to let Dante die. Natalia was going to protect him because
she had always tried her best to protect her family.
She turned her attention to the world outside the window, trying
to find peace in this worrying moment. Natalia couldn't help but
wonder if Rogers and Stark were alright. She had went pretty
deep into Steve's skin... deeper than she had planned, and she
knew Stark's head wound was probably bad.... What if they were
both passed out bleeding to death? No, she told herself. Steve
was a super soldier... he could handle it....
"I'm going to check on Rogers tomorrow. Maybe I can catch him
alone," she told Dante, wanting to avoid Tony as much as she
could. "Now rest," she said again before leaning her head
against the window.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony swallowed, nodding nervously. He didn't know what he was
supposed to do -- he Tony Stark, not a nurse. How was he
supposed to patch Steve up in this state? What if his hand
slipped and he made things worse? What if, what if, what if,
Tony couldn't stop the scenarios playing through his head, but
he, somehow, managed to gather everything he needed (of course,
he probably wouldn't have if it wasn't already in the room).
He cleaned Steve's wounds, or tried, at least, taking longer
than he really needed to because he really didn't want to pick
up a needle -- but, eventually, that was in his hand as well. He
wanted to make Steve better, but there was something telling him
not to do this, and it might've been fear but it told Tony to
take Steve to a hospital or something, to somebody more
qualified, who knew what they were doing. But Tony was also
worried that there wasn't time, that he needed to do this now
because Steve shouldn't lose any more blood.
He went to work, hands shaking just ever-so-slightly, had to
stop more than once so he could breath and think and steady his
fingers. "I don't trust myself," Tony said, voice wavering.
"With this-- with you." He was working on sewing up the second
gash now, found that talking calmed him, so he talked some more.
"God, babe, this is my fault, I didn't mean... I mean, I
could've just said oh, sure, Steve, let's have lunch, and then
we wouldn't be in this mess and... and do you even know what
Pepper's going to do? She's gonna have to call the contractors
and I don't even know where we're gonna stay while the carpet
gets replaced, and the wall, and..." He prattles on and on about
relatively pointless things, things that keep his hands moving
and stop them from trembling so much.
- - -
{:: D A N T E ↭ G R E Y E ::}
"Time does not go.
Time stays; People go"
Dante sighed, leaning back obediently against the pillows. "I
don't suppose refusing is an option," he chuckled, and sighed
again. He glanced at Natalia, briefly, wanting to thank her, but
the words were heavy and awkward on his tongue, so he swallowed
them back, closing his eyes.
He didn't actually sleep -- it looked like it, but Dante found
that he often needn't do much more than rest his eyes.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve kept his eyes closed as Tony cleaned his wounds and began
to sew him up, only opening them when Tony started to blame
himself for everything. Steve reached back and stopped Tony's
hand from sewing for a minute. "Honey, I trust you. I trust you
with my life," he began, squeezing Tony's hand very lightly.
"This isn't your fault... it's everyone's fault," he told him
sincerely, somehow pulling Tony's hand up to meet his lips
before releasing it. "As for finding a place to stay, we'll
figure something out. We'll get through all of this together,
okay?" Steve sighed into the sheets of the bed, feeling a bit
better.
Steve turned his head to where he could see Tony, his face still
badly beaten but looking much better than it did before. "Are
you okay?" he asked, knowing that it might sound a little silly
since it was himself who had lost a ton of blood and had three
giant gashes on his back. He just cared about Tony so much, he
had to be sure Tony was alright before he worried about himself.
"That was quite a hit you took to the bed..." he continued,
concern flowing from his mouth.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony let a breathy, nervous kind of chuckle escape him, unable
to believe that Steve still managed to worry about him. Tony bit
his lip, shaking his head. "No, Steve, I'm not okay, you look
like you got mauled by a bear and I have no idea what I'm
doing." Third gash now, Tony was relieved he was almost done
because he wasn't sure how much longer he could do this, keep
pulling Steve's skin together and threading through it -- it was
nerve-wracking.
"Okay; I'm done," Tony breathed finally, needle dropping onto
the bed. "Never doing that again." He leaned down, relieved that
Steve didn't seem so much like he was gonna pass out anymore,
and pressed his lips softly to the other man's shoulder. "Sorry
again," he said quietly, mouth against Steve's ear. He gave a
final kiss to Steve's temple and sat up, still looking obscenely
worried.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve closed his eyes again, smiling as Tony kissed his shoulder
and temple. Slowly and carefully, Steve rolled over to where he
could finally freely move his arms and prop himself up to Tony
in for a kiss, which he did, being soft and gentle. He could
feel how the stitches were sewn into him and knew that Tony was
no professional, but he did a good job fore none of the stitches
had broke yet.
Steve pulled away to run a hand down the good side of Tony's
face, looking at him sadly. "Please don't apologize. This wasn't
your fault, Tony," he said in a hushed voice as he leaned up to
give Tony's swollen eye a light kiss.
Steve pushed himself up to where he was now sitting up, the pain
seeming to vanish but he still felt a little dizzy and
exhausted. He turned his head to look at Tony's clock which read
two o' clock."You haven't eaten anything all day," Steve said,
holding Tony's hand again. "I'm going to fix you something to
eat, okay? How about some soup? You really need to eat
something," he somewhat babbled, standing up shakily again but
quickly forced his legs to stop shaking so Tony wouldn't worry.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony frowns, more than smart enough to know that Steve shouldn't
be moving around. Of course, neither is Tony, but of the two of
them he'd probably be the best nanny. Look what you've done to
him, said his head. He pushed the words back.
"No, Steve," Tony says, shaking his head. He puts his hands on
Steve's shoulders, pushing him back down to sit on the bed.
"I'll make the food. You-- you sit here, and rest, because if I
let you walk around and you get hurt again or something I'm
gonna beat myself up about it and, honestly, that's not a risk
I'm willing to take, so just-- just sit here. Let me do it.
Please."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve sighed as Tony sat him back down on the bed. He looked up
at his boyfriend, his expression still somewhat sad as he cupped
Tony's face with one hand and rubbed his thumb over Tony's
cheek. "Don't blame yourself, Tony, please."
Steve slowly lied down on the bed, feeling pretty tired. He
could feel himself quickly regaining blood thanks to his super
soldier serum. Judging from how deep the wounds were, Steve
guessed it would probably be about four or so days until he was
fully healed. There were lots of advantages to being a super
soldier, and he was glad that a few of those advantages where
passed on to Tony so perhaps he too will heal faster.
"I love you, and don't move around too much," he warned him
before all his muscles stared to relax for a nice nap.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony gave Steve an entirely too sad look, swallowing back the
endless apologies that waited in his mouth. He still blamed
himself -- I mean, of course he did. Wouldn't you? He felt so
heart-breakingly guilty that nothing else really had the space
to occupy his brain, which was why, some twenty minutes later,
when he came back upstairs with an (only lightly burnt) meal, he
had completely forgotten to eat anything himself. Not that he
was hungry, really, but he realized this as he set the plate
down on the end table next to Steve. Okay, he'd... he'd just lie
or something. He couldn't really stomach food a the moment
anyways.
"Grubs up," Tony said, going for somewhere in the cheerful range
and ending up sounding just a bit too aloof. He sat down on the
side of the bed, watching Steve carefully, nervous to even touch
him.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve opened his eyes and blinked a few times, awaking from his
nap at the sound of Tony's voice. He looked next to him on the
table to see a meal that was just a tad bit burnt. Steve smiled,
it was very sweet and thoughtful of Tony. "Thank you, Tony," he
said generously.
Then Steve's face turned to one of pure seriousness, his smile
fading. "Did you eat?" His voice was deep as he looked back up
at Tony, concerned for his boyfriend's health and safety. "Don't
lie," he added, eyes burrowing into Tony's for any sign of lies.
He reached out to take Tony's hand, pulling him a bit closer.
"Let me fix you something... please, I want to." Steve sat up
again as carefully as he could. "I'll be alright," he insisted.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony, once again, shook his head, asking -- no, pleading -- with
his eyes for Steve to stay where he was. Mostly, Tony was
worried, but maybe there was some part of him that was trying to
prove he wasn't completely dependent on another human being,
that he could take care of someone and take care of himself,
too, because Steve's mention of family was still lingering in
his head, and maybe he was just seeing if he could--
"No," Tony said again, though the word didn't seem aimed
entirely at Steve. "No, I-I want..." He trailed off -- what did
he want? "I'll be fine, okay?" he said, finally. "Don't worry, I
can... I can do this."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve smiled slightly, squeezing Tony's hand lightly. "I know
you can, Tony. Just eat something... for me, okay?" Steve
brought Tony's hand up to his lips. "It would just make me feel
better," he added before taking the plate of food next to him
and sitting it on his lap.
He could have still gotten up and fixed Tony something to eat.
He was a soldier and a superhero, he could handle a few wounds.
However, he stayed where he was and began to eat the slightly
blackened food. He had peak human senses, meaning his taste buds
were just a bit stronger that the average person, making the
burnt parts of the food stand out more. Steve kept a smile on
his face though, appearing to be very happy for Tony (the food
actually wasn't that bad once you got past the burnt places).
When Steve was done with his meal, he sat it aside and looked
back up at Tony. "I love you, and I swore I'd protect you," he
said as he adjusted back against the headboard, finding a more
comfortable position for his wounds. "I guess this means we
can't finish what we started, huh?" he joked, feeling tired
again as he lied his head back. "Come here," Steve whispered,
wanting to feel Tony near him, against him.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony gave a tiny, halfhearted kind of smile at Steve's joke,
moving obediently closer, leaning against Steve's side. "Sorry
for being such a... a downer, or something," he said quietly,
and then suddenly remembered that Steve had asked him not to
apologize, so he grinned... apologetically. He wasn't very good
at this at all.
"Were you serious?" Tony asks suddenly, out of the blue. He's
very pointedly not looking at Steve. "About... um... wanting a
family, and all that. After... marriage." He clears his throat
after he says this, awkward and surprised at his own question.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve closed his eyes, smiling as he brought a hand up to knot
in Tony's hair. The world just seemed a bit brighter when Tony
was around and near him.
Steve's eyes suddenly opened at Tony's question and explanation,
catching him a little off guard. "Yeah... I was serious..." he
said quietly, not wanting to really go into details in fear of
scaring Tony away. He knew that Tony felt uncomfortable when it
came to the thought of getting married and starting a family,
but Steve knew he would be a good father... and husband. Just
the thought of being married to Tony shot shivers down his
spine.
Even before Steve had met Tony, or Peggy for that matter, he had
always dreamed about settling down with a wife (which has
changed a bit now) and kids (which Steve would settle for one if
married to Tony). He had always been a sort of "family man"
without really having much of a family. His parents died when he
was still basically a young man and he lived by himself for many
years. He had always felt alone... even when he was surrounded
by others because no one seemed to get him. Things were
different now, of course. He had Tony... he was living with Tony
and Tony understood him. Steve wasn't alone anymore... and he
never wanted to be alone ever again. Also, he knew Tony didn't
like to be "babied" or taken care of really, but the truth was
Tony needed someone. He needed someone to take care of him
whether he like it or not, and that's what Steve was going to
do.
#Post#: 40--------------------------------------------------
Re: 1x1 || TinyGoliath & MagicNightStar
By: TinyGoliath Date: February 6, 2013, 8:51 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony had kind of been expecting Steve's answer -- the man didn't
say much without truly meaning it. Of course, he still felt his
stomach drop at the thought of a kid. Tony felt nervous even
just thinking about having to deal with a crying toddler who'd
scraped his knee. He could barely even think about marriage
without getting the heebie-jeebies.
"...Oh." he said, after a long moment's silence. It had been a
stupid question -- one he shouldn't have asked. It only made
things more awkward. He looked up at Steve, giving a brief smile
that said I'm not saying no. Because he wasn't -- he just wasn't
really saying yes, either. Frankly, he didn't want to think
about it any more than necessary.
Deciding that there were really only a few ways to force himself
to focus on something else, he stretched up and planted his lips
on Steve's for a few moments, not really caring whether or not
it seemed completely and totally random. "I love you," he said
as he pulled away and rested his head on Steve's shoulder.
Unfortunately, that was all he could offer right now, but it was
a lot more than he'd ever given anybody.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve smiled into the kiss and leaned his head against Tony's
when he put his head on Steve's shoulder. There was so much he
wanted to sat to Tony but knew he probably didn't want to talk
about it. "I love you too," he whispered, deciding that that was
enough to say for now.
They stayed like that for awhile, Steve closing his eyes and
breathing slowly. He sighed happily as he opened his eyes,
looking at his boyfriend through them corner of them. "Thanks
again for the stitches," he said, feeling more drowsy. "I truly
feel a lot better now... I just wish you would eat," he added
with a chuckle, tilting Tony's head up and kissing him slowly
and continuously for awhile before pulling away to look back at
Tony face. "You still look absolutely gorgeous..." he breathed,
gently touching Tony's swollen eye. "I just wish it had been
me." He leaned down to give Tony another short kiss.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
"I'll eat," Tony promised against Steve's lips, kissed
breathless in an entirely different kind of way. He smiled a bit
as Steve pulled away, blushing slightly as Steve complimented
him -- for some weird, sappy reason. Of course, he was pretty
sure the term gorgeous only applied to those who didn't have
huge, disfiguring cuts on their foreheads, and could actually
open both eyes (it was getting better, but slowly), but didn't
really bother to question it.
Tony gave a little laugh as Steve kissed him again, pulling away
to give a small smile, halfway between amused and disapproving.
"It was you, Steve," he said, shaking his head, "Not sure if you
noticed, but you've got the mark of a crazy bird-lady on your
back." Tony could actually see Steve's wounds at the moment, but
his eyes lingered on Steve's shoulder, knowing what laid a few
inches behind it. "We're a mess, huh," he smirked, chuckling a
bit despite himself. It was all really ridiculous -- they'd
gotten terribly wounded in an attack that didn't seem to last
more than a minute.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve's smile grew at Tony's blushing and laughing and
chuckling. He loved it when Tony laughed.
He chuckled at Tony's last question, nodding his head. "Yeah, we
are," he replied, scooting over on the bed to make more room for
Tony. "Here, lay down." They both seemed to be feeling better
and he did promise Tony something earlier.
Steve leaned across the bed to where he could kiss Tony
passionately. "Oh wait," he said, breaking the kiss. He slowly
stood up at walked over to the door, closing it and locking it.
"No interruptions..." he mumbled, walking back over to Tony. He
got back on the bed where he resumed his position and started
kissing Tony again. Very slowly as he kissed his boyfriend, he
snaked his hand down Tony's chest, stopping at one on his pant's
pockets and reaching in. Of course, this move could be taken the
wrong way, but Steve quickly made his intentions clear as he
pulled out Tony's phone. He had watched Tony turn his phone off
before, so he successfully did so himself, breaking the kiss
again. "None at all," he breathed in Tony's ear before attacking
his lips again heatedly. "I love you," Steve added before
continuing the kiss.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony's eyebrows raised as Steve asked him to lie down, not
really sure if where this was going was a smart idea. Okay,
sure, he was feeling better a bit, but... Steve was still hurt,
right? What if he tore his stitches and started bleeding all
over again and-- Tony had to stop his train of thought there,
because it made him entirely too nervous.
But Steve started kissing him then, and Tony went from nervous
to okay, I can work with this. He couldn't really say anything
at all as Steve went to the door, didn't really realize what
Steve was doing as he took Tony's phone because Steve was just a
bit too much of a good kisser and he made it really hard to
argue with. He kept trying to tell himself to stop Steve instead
of pull him closer, but his traitorous hands moved to the back
of Steve's neck, the other to his hip, dragging him closer.
"I was gonna say something important, I think," Tony mused as he
pulled away for a quick breath. It didn't seem important enough,
though, because a second later Tony was kissing Steve again,
lips hungry and urgent. He kind of wanted to pause for a minute,
think of what he was gonna say, but there are times when you
should take time with these things and times when you should
not.
This was not one of those times.
asdfghjkl.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve sighed happily, his head resting right below Tony's
collarbone. Things went pretty well as far as stitches went.
Steve turned his head to give Tony's arc reactor a small kiss as
he wrapped his arms around Tony's waist, closing his eyes and
letting Tony's warmth surround him.
"I love you," Steve repeated cheerfully after a few minutes of
silence. He opened his eyes and tilted his head to where he
could look at Tony's face and run a gentle hand next to Tony's
swollen eye. "It's getting better quickly," he said, smiling.
"It think you should let them join," Steve said somewhat
randomly, tracing small circles on Tony's chest. "I mean, look
at the stuff they did to us. Just imagine what they can do the
Revengers!" Steve had been considering the fact of them joining
ever since Natalia had first asked. Now that he could she some
of what she could do, along with Dante, they would be a nice
addition. "I don't, however, think Dante should take your place
as leader. Fury's dying wish had been for you to take his place.
Fury believed you could do it and so did I, and you can do it."
Steve pulled Tony a little closer, hoping he didn't sound
insensitive or anything by saying they should join.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony frowned, unsure whether or not to take Steve's advice.
Thing was, Tony held grudges -- rather large one, especially if
the people he held them against had ripped his boyfriend's back
open (he became heavily unsettled after thinking that -- it
reminded him too much of the Torture). "I'll think about it,"
Tony said softly, arm trapped under Steve brushing light fingers
between the claw marks in Steve's back. "The problem is, though,
if they're so powerful, who's to say they won't try and take
control?" And it was true, he couldn't really see that craving
for power in Natalia -- he wasn't so sure about Dante, though.
The guy was intimidating, over-powered, and obviously kind of
hated Tony. It seemed like he may try to overpower Tony just out
of spite. Look what he'd done to Tony already, and that was
before Tony had laid a hand on anyone.
"Not that I would be opposed to someone else taking control," he
added thoughtfully, "I wasn't kidding when I said I had no idea
what I was doing -- and, you know, if I take Fury's job, they're
gonna have to tell me all of SHIELD's dirty little secrets. Not
even I would trust me with those." He chuckled at himself, hand
sliding up to Steve's shoulder, giving a light squeeze there as
he kissed the top of Steve's head.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve considered Tony's words, the circles he was tracing on
Tony's chest getting smaller. He knew Tony probably didn't trust
them very much after what they had done. As for the taking
control part, Steve knew Natalia wouldn't do anything like that
and believed if Dante tried something like that, she would stop
him. "I'm not upset at Natalia for what she did to me. Actually,
she reminded me of myself when she attacked me like that. She
was protecting someone she really, really cared about. As for
Dante... well... you were kind of asking for it, honey." Steve
stopped, cursing himself under his breath. He placed a hand next
to Tony's neck and propped himself up with his elbow, his face
now hovering above Tony's. "I'm sorry darling, I didn't mean it
like that," he said apologetically, brushing his lips against
Tony's.
Then Steve gave Tony a lopsided grin before saying, "And when do
you ever know what you're doing?" He leaned down and gave Tony a
quick kiss on his sensitive spot before winking playfully.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony gave a tiny, snide kind of smile, and damn him if Steve's
crooked little grin wasn't one of the most beautiful things he's
ever seen. "I don't around you," Tony protested weakly, propping
himself up on his elbows so he could kiss Steve briefly, nipping
at Steve's bottom lip as he pulled away.
"I still don't know why Fury chose me," he admitted, drawing
back a bit so he could see Steve's face. "I think you would've
done a much better job; SHIELD could trust you with all the
information, at least. And you're better at... you know, the
Fury kind of stuff." He shrugged, not really knowing how to
explain it. Maybe Tony would've done a good job before the
Revengers captured him, before he flinched every time he saw a
knife or a flame or a hook -- but even that was unlikely.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve suppressed a moan when Tony nipped his bottom lip. Why was
this man so perfect?
Steve sighed when Tony started saying that he would have been a
better choice for Fury's replacement. "Honestly, I think
everyone would get tired of me. You know how I always do those
inspirational speeches and such. Also, I'd probably be too
distracted by you to even focus on Avenger's work," he said,
whispering the last part in Tony's ear before planting a few
more kisses on his boyfriends neck. He pulled away and smiled
before slowly lying back down on the bed but moving his head to
rest where Tony's shoulder met his neck.
He couldn't help but think how difficult things were going to be
in tango lessons tomorrow with his stitches. Steve just hoped
that you wouldn't have to go another day after tomorrow. He
looked up at Tony, figuring he might as well tell Tony that he
had to leave again in the morning. "I have to leave again
tomorrow at seven, by the way," he said in a hushed voice.
"Tomorrow should be the last day, I promise," he added,
massaging Tony's back gently.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony felt like he should have been more irritated as Steve
announced his plans to leave yet again, but the hand on Tony's
back was proving to be a lot more distracting than he'd thought
it was going to be. "Should be?" Tony said, only sounding the
tiniest bit grumpy. "You can tell whatever it is, just in case
you feel inclined," he added gently -- he had no idea what Steve
might be up to, but he'd assured Tony it wasn't what it seemed
and Tony believed him.
And not that Tony was doubting anything, but there were only so
many things you could be this secret about while still being
considered perfectly sane. Of course, Tony was kind of being a
hypocrite, wasn't he? It didn't make sense to keep his days in
the cave hidden from Steve, or, at least, it wouldn't to anyone
normal. It was kind of tearing him up, not being able to talk
about it, and if Tony was honest with himself he agreed that it
didn't make sense, either.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve shook his head, changing his mind about what he had said.
"Will be," Steve promised, kissing the crook of Tony's neck. He
was going to make sure tomorrow was his last day even if it
meant staying overtime tomorrow. "And I'll tell you everything
in two days," he swore to Tony, pressing himself closer to his
boyfriend. He absolutely hated keeping secrets from Tony, and he
was going to try to never have to keep another one from him ever
again. He wanted to be completely honest and open with Tony.
Steve's free hand moved down to grasp Tony's, squeezing it
lightly as he remembered the night that Tony had seen those
pictures of all the people that had been killed in his life
basically. He remembered how Tony had said there was so much he
wanted to tell him and wanted to talk things through with
Steve... 'Why should I talk about this so quickly when I've been
asking you for months about what happened to you those three
days with the Revengers?' The words began to haunt him before he
looked up at Tony again. "I never apologized that day when I got
mad because you wouldn't tell me what happened when the
Revengers caught you... I'm sorry," Steve said, leaning up to
kiss Tony's cheek, the same one that had had the star shaped
scar. "It was wrong to try to get you to talk about something
like that."
Steve looked over at the clock next to the bed and saw that it
was getting late. "We should probably go to bed... I want you to
eat some breakfast tomorrow, okay?" he warned before lying his
head back down.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony gave a very half-assed laugh, though when he gave a tiny
smile, it was genuine. "I had no ideas secrets were kept on a
schedule," he murmured, sounding slightly amused as Steve
pressed closer.
He bit his lip as Steve mentioned the Revengers, wondering,
briefly, if Steve was reading his mind. "Bed... right..." he
murmured, choosing to leave it alone for now. He closed his
eyes. He tried to feel sleepy. He really, really did.
It didn't work.
"Do you want to know?" Tony asks, opening his eyes and sitting
up, something like concern written across his face. "Do you want
me to tell you about it?" He didn't know why he was making such
a big deal out of this now, out of all times. Maybe he was
already feeling guilty about Steve's back, so he was looking for
even more things to feel guilty about and this was staring him
right in the face. All Tony knew was that it was bothering him,
especially now that he knew everything important about Steve --
and the one thing Steve didn't know about him was... a pretty
bit thing. It was eating away at Tony.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve closed his eyes, about to go to sleep after his long day
until Tony began to speak and sat up. Was Tony really willing to
tell him about the Revengers now?
Steve sat up along with Tony, wrapping his arms around his
lover's waist. "Of course I want to know, Tony," he said, his
voice quiet and gentle. "But I don't want you to tell me unless
you feel comfortable and ready. Don't do this for me, do it for
yourself." He slowly leaned in for a loving kiss, pulling away
and looking into Tony's beautiful brown eyes before yawning and
giving Tony a sheepish smile. "Sorry... just really tired,"
Steve explained, feeling like he was going to pass out any
minute.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony looks like he's searching for something in Steve's eyes,
swimming, lost in that ocean of blue, something like desperation
in his eyes and then he blinks and it's gone so fast it would
have you questioning whether it was even real. "Right," he says,
quiet. "Right, um, you go ahead and sleep, I'm gonna... I'm
kinda thirsty, so I'm gonna go get a drink of water..."
Sh**, that's not what he meant to say. He doesn't mean to say
that and he doesn't mean to shrug Steve away and tug his clothes
on and get out of bed, but he's doing it anyways. "Goodnight,"
he throws over his shoulder as he leaves the room, his throat
dry, feeling so guilty he can hardly see straight because of it.
He can't talk about it. He wants to, but he can't, and it's the
absolute worst feeling in the world to now that there's at least
one thing he can't do for Steve, because Steve deserves it all,
he deserves everything Tony has to offer.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve falls the rest of the way onto the bed, causing him to
frown as he looks up to Tony putting his clothes on. "Honey
wait," he begs, reaching out, but it was too late... Tony was
gone.
Steve sighed hopelessly, sitting back up and staring at the wall
in front of him. How could he be so stupid? Tony was just about
to tell him everything and Steve had to yawn and tell him that
he was tired. Now he sat there, feeling wide awake and lonely...
the way he use to feel before he started living with Tony. Steve
slid down to where he was now lying in bed. However, the way
Tony had acted told Steve that he needed to be alone. He knew he
wasn't just getting a drink of water. He was good at reading
Tony like that.
Steve turned on his side, looking at where Tony would have been
and inhaled deeply, smelling Tony's sent. It might have sounded
a bit silly to someone else, but Steve lied there for about five
minutes, just smelling Tony's sent and trying to feel what was
left of his warmth before going into a somewhat peaceful but
empty sleep.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony made it to the kitchen too slow and too fast at the same
time, placing his hands flat on the counter, breathing heavier
than he should have been. Blood flashed behind his eyes, pain
and screaming and the smell of burnt flesh and the entire three
days in the cave suddenly came to life in Tony's mind, and it
was just too much. He turned on the sink, watched the cold water
run before he cupped his hands under the flow and splashed it
onto his face, trying to shock himself out of it. It helped a
bit, so he did it again, and once more, and when he finally felt
like his head wasn't going to explode anymore he turned off the
sink, dried his face on his shirt, and breathed even.
He stayed in the kitchen for god-knows-how-long, pacing in the
dark and grinding his teeth and thinking too much to be healthy.
He couldn't talk about it, the words always got caught in his
throat even when he knew what he wanted to say. It wasn't even a
matter or wanting.
Eventually, Tony seemed to remember that Steve was still waiting
for him upstairs, came up without a glass of water because he'd
really been looking for something a lot stronger, to find that
Steve was asleep. Tony leaned against the door-frame, eyes
grazing over the wounds on Steve's back that were half-covered
by sheets, the scar that still remained from Slicer's knife, and
finally Steve's face, which should've looked peaceful in sleep,
but instead seemed troubled. Should that have even been
possible? Tony's jaw clenched, feeling stupid to have ever
brought the Cave up to Steve, to even mention talking about it.
He couldn't talk about.
He couldn't talk about it.
He couldn't talk about it.
It hits Tony like a bag of stones, and suddenly he's turned
around, thudding back down the stairs, going down to the
basement and digging through piles of useless junk until he
finds what he's looking for. Clutching the pencil in his hand,
he makes his way over to the desk in the center of the room,
slides the paper onto the surface, sits in his chair and stares
uselessly at the blank sheet, willing words to appear on the
page.
It takes him a long time to get started. He doesn't know how to
begin, doesn't know how to describe the fear that made his heart
pound when he first opened his eyes, didn't know how to convey
how it felt to see Steve dead on the floor, couldn't list how
many things he felt at once while he was being sliced open by
the man he loved.
Stick to the facts, Tony told himself, and tried to narrow it
down, specify it, already clutching at his hair. Finally, the
pencil dragged itself across the page, shaky and careful, but
swift. Tony had to get this over with quickly.
I woke up in chains...
Quickly was not the way Tony wrote his experiences at all. He
got overwhelmed, had to take deep breaths and focus on something
different every once in a while, started mapping out schematics
for a deep space model for the suit, because there was nothing
quite like the feeling you were about to be torn apart by the
vacuum of space. And right before he'd really start working hard
on the design, Tony would remember his purpose and start writing
again, everything, ever picture-perfect detail recalled to his
mind. Then he'd start reliving and he'd suck in a breath and
start the cycle all over again. He wished desperately that he'd
gone out and bought some whiskey.
It was late by the time Tony finished -- not middle-of-the-night
late, either, more like beginning-of-the-morning,
here-comes-the-sun kind of late. Tony requested the time ("5:56
AM, Mr. Stark."), and then promptly went back to work on
schematics. Sleep was out of the question. He wasn't even tired,
the blood was pounding in his veins and fear was being just
barely concealed by strokes of brilliance. He pretended not the
notice that he saw flashes of red out of the corner of his eye
every so often. He pushed the some three-and-a-half full pages
out writing out of the way, not even able to look at them,
busying himself with long equations and complicated algorithms,
because he was Tony Stark, and that was all he was really good
at.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
"Pop?"
Steve slowly opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times because
of the sudden light before his vision focused. There, standing
next to his bedside was none other than little Nicholas Rogers
Stark, his and Tony's son. He was pretty tall for a
nine-year-old and very muscular as well (no doubt from the serum
that ran through his and Tony's veins), he looked exactly like
Tony... every little detail was the perfect reflection of him
except his eyes which were a light blue. Also, Nick had a kind
personality just like Steve's, but somehow managed to get Tony's
sarcasm as well.
"Yes, Nick?" Steve asked the smiling boy, smiling himself. He
also had Tony's smile which was a blessing to Steve because he
got to see it even more now. They had decided to name Nick
Nicholas after Nick Fury, the man who had brought him and Tony
together and the one who had died for Tony. It was their way of
saying thanks and Steve really liked the name. Tony had thought
about naming him Bucky (Buchanan) after Steve's best friend, and
Steve had thought about naming him Howard after Tony's father or
even Anthony Jr., but neither one of them seemed to feel like
those where the right names. It wasn't until the day of Nick's
birth that Steve had suggested Nicholas and Tony exclaimed how
he thought the name was perfect even if it did mean that Fury
still had to haunt him after his death.
"Dad said breakfast is ready," said Nick, reaching down and
taking Steve's hand to give it a tug. Steve chuckled before
nodding his head and throwing his legs over the bed. "Okay, go
tell Dad I'm coming." Nick gave Steve a simple little nod of the
head before letting go of his hand and rushing off downstairs.
Steve stretched before standing up and getting dressed and ready
for the day.
Steve made his way to the kitchen downstairs to be met with a
beautiful sight. Tony and Nick where both sitting at the kitchen
table, eating their food and sitting across from each other and
eating in companionable silence. Steve walked over behind Tony,
leaning down to give him a kiss on the lips when he wasn't
eating, making Nick put his face in his hands saying, "Pop!
Gross!" Steve chuckled while Tony smirked. "You think it's gross
now, wait till you get older, right babe?" said Tony, leaning up
to give Steve a kiss on the lips, causing Nick to groan. Steve
laughed, getting his breakfast of eggs and muffins and sitting
down between Nick and Tony.
There was no doubt that the breakfast had been prepared by
JARVIS since no burnt marks could be found, signifying that Tony
had made it. Steve began to eat his breakfast, looking up to see
Tony's left hand on the table with his goldish red wedding band.
Steve had gotten it to go with his Iron Man suit and knew Tony
deserved something more flashy than just a gold wedding band
(not too flashy, though). Steve took Tony's hand, his sliver
wedding band brushing against Tony's. Steve had also requested
the words 'I won't judge you. I'm not going anywhere. You got
me.' to be put on the inside of Tony's ring.
Suddenly, there was a honk of a horn coming from outside. Nick
groaned again and lied his head on the table. "School bus..." he
mumbled. Steve smiled and grabbed Nick's school stuff and placed
them on the table. "You better hurry. Peter will be upset if you
miss the bus again," said Steve, pulling Nick's chair back a
bit. Nick sighed before grabbing his backpack and flinging it
over his shoulder. "Bye Pop! Bye Dad!" said Nick, trying to
sound happy as he gave Steve and Tony a hug. "Bye Nick, try to
have fun!" Steve hugged Nick back. "If you don't know the
answers to something on a test, just take a peek at the kid's
paper next to you," whispered Tony, forgetting that Steve had
perfect hearing. "Tony!" he said, frowning. Tony put both his
hands in the air, being caught red-handed. Nick laughed before
walking outside to the school bus.
"Don't be telling him things like that," said Steve, pointing an
accusing finger at Tony. "He knew I was just joking," mumbled
Tony before standing up and walking behind Steve. "We're all
alone now, you know. How about we have a little fun upstairs?"
he whispered suggestively in Steve's ear, causing shivers to go
down his spine. "We have a meeting with the Avengers, remember?"
Steve reminded Tony, turning his head to give Tony a kiss on the
neck before standing up.
Things went great the rest of the day. Steve and Tony went to
their meeting, getting a chance to see their friends and have a
few laughs, they came home and kissed and cuddled a bit on the
sofa (not doing anything else because Nick was coming home
soon), and helped Nick with his homework once he got back from
school. When it was finally time to go back to bed, Steve and
Tony told Nick goodnight and both gave him a kiss on the
forehead before they went into their room. Steve lied down on
his usual spot on the bed while Tony lied on his. Slowly, they
wrapped their arms around each other, exchanging their love for
the other before going to sleep.
Steve was awakened by the feeling on Tony's warmth leaving his
body. Steve's eyes flew open to witness the most horrifying
thing he had probably even seen. Tony was being pulled out of
bed and away from Steve by none other than Slicer. He had his
hand covering Tony's mouth and Tony had a look of true horror of
his face. At the door was Sorceress, doing the same to little
Nick who had tears streaming down his face. "No! Leave them
alone!" yelled Steve, scrambling over to grab Tony. It was then
Slicer pulled out a knife and quickly slit Tony's throat, blood
splattering on Steve's face as he watched Tony go limp and fall
to the floor. "TONY!" Steve shouted as the Revengers laughed.
Tears began to fall from Steve's eyes as he stared at Tony's
bleeding dead form. "DAD!" he heard Nick shout. Steve looked up
to see that Nick had broken free of Sorceress's grasp and was
running toward Tony. Slicer quickly spun around and lodged the
knife he had used to kill Tony straight into Nick's heart. Nick
gasped before he too fell to the floor, dead and lying next to
Tony. "NO!" Tears were now pouring from Steve's face like there
was no end. They were gone. His wonderful son and his perfect
husband were gone.... His family. "F*** YOU!" he screamed at
Slicer and Sorceress, flinging himself at them and tackling
Slicer to the ground.
Then, out of the shadows, came Phoenix. He took the end of his
walking stick and pointed it at Steve's face, releasing a
terrible fire that hurt, but could not compare to the feeling of
losing his family.
Steve's eyes flew open as he cried out, sitting up quickly.
"Tony!" he called, his voice hoarse. "Tony!" he tried again. His
whole body began to quiver and he could have sworn a stitch or
two had popped.
For once, Tony didn't come.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
It couldn't have been more than a few minutes past six when
Tony's fingers finally stopped moving across the screen, his
body demanding coffee. He gave a tremendous yawn, hand lazily
spinning the holographic model of the deep space suit and giving
it a last cursory glance before deciding that he would finish it
once he was caffeinated.
He trudged upstairs, the essence of tired, and set about making
himself a cup of coffee, uncoordinated hands tripping on buttons
and nearly dropping the pot, but eventually he was lifting a
warm mug up to his lips, sighing. He looked around, and then
realized hey, I'm looking around with both eyes. It was a quiet,
peaceful morning.
It was a good thing, too -- if it had not been quiet, Tony
wouldn't have been able to hear Steve.
It was so soft at first, drifting down the stairs as
unnoticeable as a light breeze, that Tony had wondered if he'd
at first imagined Steve's voice. But then he heard it again,
just a bit louder, with a sense of urgency that suggested fear.
Tony frowned, set his mug down, hurrying up the stairs. He
didn't know what to expect. Had Steve just been startled when
Tony wasn't in the bed?
He got there perhaps slower than he meant to, lost in thought
and worries, but when he saw Steve, quaking and scared, his mode
seemed to change immediately. In the blink of an eye he was
there, hands cradling Steve's face as he kneeled on the bed.
"Steve," he said, insistent. "Steve, I'm right here, okay? It's
alright, it's alright, I'm here, I've got you..." He hugged
Steve, wrapping his arms around the other man's shoulders, saw
the blood that was welling in a few places among the other man's
back and sucked in a breath, ignoring the glint of a blade he
saw out of the corner of his eye.
#Post#: 41--------------------------------------------------
Re: 1x1 || TinyGoliath & MagicNightStar
By: TinyGoliath Date: February 6, 2013, 8:52 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Where was Tony? He kept asking himself this as he sat on the
bed, shaking. He needed Tony... He needed to know he was
alright.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Tony was there, comforting him and
holding him. "T-Tony..." he said, wrapping his arms around the
other man. "You're okay..." he said, his voice filled with
relief as his breathing steadied. "I had a dream... th-that we
were... that you... Slicer murdered you.... he took you from my
arms...." Steve squeezed Tony tight but not tight enough to hurt
him. He couldn't tell Tony the whole dream in fear of
frightening him with the whole family thing. "I love you... I
love you..." The same three words kept spilling out of Steve's
mouth as he held Tony tight and close, making sure that if
anyone tried to take him away right now that they'd have to take
Steve with him.
Steve could feel a little bit of blood running down his back
like a tear and seeping through his clothes. Sure enough, some
of his stitches had broke. "I'm sorry, honey.... I know you said
you weren't ever doing that again... Giving me stitches, that
is..."
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony stilled as Steve explained his nightmare, because not only
was it terribly possible, it had also almost been terribly real.
The Cave was creeping up around the edges of his vision,
dragging him back, and it took Tony a while to realize Steve was
saying anything else.
"No, no, it's fine, it's fine..." Tony breathed at Steve's
apology, shaking his head as he relaxed his death-grip that he'd
been keeping on Steve. He looked around for what he needed
again, everything still in the room, and tried not to focus to
much on the images that writing everything down had flooded him
with.
He was quicker than last time, sewing up the wounds quickly,
glad that Steve couldn't see his eyes, which were surely
repulsed, fear-stricken, desperate to just get it over with.
When he's patched up Steve again, Tony shot to his feet,
staggering slightly, and disappeared into the bathroom to wash
the blood off his hands. He'd splashed more water over his face,
just for good measure, and came back to the bedroom looking only
a little bit tentative.
He sat down on the bed again beside Steve, reaching for his hand
and giving it a light squeeze. "It was just a dream," Tony said
gently, kissing Steve's cheek, then the corner of his mouth.
"I'm here now."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
While Tony sew him up again, Steve took that opportunity to calm
down. He was quick getting over terrible dreams. Of course this
one was the hardest and he knew he was never going to forget it.
"I know you are," Steve whispered, cupping Tony's face in his
hands and kissing him over and over gently. "You're always here
for me."
Steve turned his head to see that it was now 7:15. "Shoot,"
Steve muttered under his breath. He was going to be late for his
last day of tango lessons. However, Steve ignored this as he
looked back at Tony. "Your eye is open now! That's good...." he
said, still holding Tony's face in his hand before noticing
something else. "Did you sleep at all last night? I know you
didn't come to bed..." Steve remembered falling asleep smelling
Tony's scent and trying to feel the warmth his body had left
behind.
Steve gave Tony another kiss, standing up after he did so to
start getting ready to go. He quickly put some clothes on, being
careful not to break any stitches again. He walked into the
bathroom and began to brush his hair, looking at Tony's
reflection on the bed in the mirror. "Is there something
troubling you, honey?" he asked, setting the brush down and
looking concerned.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony gave a little sigh as Steve kissed him, pressing closer. He
kind of needed Steve right now, just to hug him, maybe, just to
distract him from the madness that was threatening to creep in
on him. Of course, the odds didn't seem to be in Tony's favor,
because at that moment Steve pulled away, asking if he'd gotten
any sleep. Tony opened up his mouth to answer, but then,
sheepishly, closed it again, thinking the shadows under his eyes
probably spoke for themselves. "Wasn't tired," he lied through
his teeth, so quiet he could barely be heard, looking down at
the bedsheets.
He watched Steve retreat to the bathroom, and his mind played
out a scenario of Phoenix coming out from behind the door and
gleefully burning his boyfriend to a crisp. He dropped his gaze
again. "I'm fine," he said automatically, a knee-jerk reaction,
and then bit his lip, cursing at himself in his head. "No," he
started again, a frustrated sigh escaping his lips. "I need to--
um-- I need--" Tony watches, mouth open slightly, as Slicer
spatters blood across the bathroom mirror. Get out of your head,
Tony, he commands himself, shaking the images away. "Can you
come downstairs with me for a minute?" he asks, not quite
sounding desperate, but not really sounding too calm, either.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve continued to watch Tony in the mirror as he got ready,
seeing Tony bite his lip and give a frustrated sigh. Something
was defiantly troubling Tony. At Tony's request for Steve to go
downstairs with him for a minute, Steve turned around to look
back at the clock which now read 7:30. He should have left the
house thirty minutes ago... but Tony needed him. The slight
panic in Tony's voice told him he needed to stay just for
awhile.
"Sure honey... for a minute," he told him, saying the last part
a bit quietly. Steve grabbed his jacket and threw it over his
shoulder as he walked back over to Tony. "As long as you promise
to get something to eat and get some rest when I'm gone," he
said, his voice deep and his eyes still filled with plenty of
concern as he gave Tony a quick kiss. Steve took Tony's hand in
his and slowly guided him downstairs, turning around once to
make sure Tony was alright. His eyes were a little bloodshot and
he looked very tired, but behind his eyes there was fear... so
much fear that it was beginning to scare Steve. He gave Tony's
hand a light squeeze as they walked down the stairs to hopefully
offer some comfort to his boyfriend.
"What is it?" Steve asked turning around to face Tony once they
were downstairs and running a hand through Tony's hair. He kept
telling himself that whatever it was needed to be quick, and
felt like hitting himself because this wasn't about him... it
was about Tony. Then again, tango lessons were about Tony-- and
if these stupid thoughts didn't get out of his head soon he
might scream because Tony looked vulnerable right now, and not
in a good way.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony looked terribly nervous, eyes flickering side to side,
never quite resting in Steve's face. "Um... sorry, basement," he
clarified, feeling foolish as he dragged Steve down another
floor and punched the acess code to his lab into the keypad.
He let go of Steve's hand to push aside all the holographic
designs for the deep space model. The figures go flying across
the room as if they're real, some of them landing in a
transparent trash bin, the others disappearing into floating
folders. Finally, they get to the main desk, which is covered in
blueprints, no sight of the pages of Tony's letter anywhere.
"Um... hang on," he says, sounding even less sure of himself
than he already did. He rifles through the prints, frowning as
he knocks several to the floor in frustration. Tony's not sure
why this is so significant to him, but he needs Steve to know,
and he's not sure if he can drag Steve down here more than once
to give him Tony's memories.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve watched with worry as Tony began to fling blueprints and
ideas for a suit all over the place and frantically searching
the table for something Steve still didn't know about.
Steve let out a small sigh before gently taking Tony by the
shoulders and turning him around to face him. "Tony, get some
rest. Right now... I'll cook you something to eat when I get
home. I'm already running late and... and something is defiantly
going on with you. Just please get some rest. I love you." Steve
gave Tony a kiss on the forehead and gave him a small, sad, weak
smile before backing away and heading upstairs to go to tango
lessons.
"JARVIS, make sure Tony gets some rest, please," he said to the
ceiling as he walked out the door. He felt bad for leaving Tony
the way he was, but Tony looked like he could really use some
sleep.
•••
Steve arrived to the studio about an hour late and opened the
door to find a worried Barbra.
"There you are! Is everything alright? I was just about to
call... did you run into some trouble on the way here or
something?" she asked rushing over to him.
Steve chuckled a little and shook his head. "No... I just,
uh.... Some problems came up at home. Nothing to worry about,
though," replied Steve. "Look, Barbra, can we make today my last
day? Even if we have to extend it or something, I just don't
want to leave Tony anymore..."
Barbra smiled and nodded. "Yes, today can be your last day. No
need to extend things either because you're almost done." Barbra
led Steve back to the dance floor.
Things went pretty well for the tango lessons except Steve had
to stop once or twice to make sure his stitches were okay. He
also had to explain to Barbra why he had stitches which was an
interesting story. Finally, after two hours his lessons were
over, For good.
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Steve. Truly meet you, that is.
Now I get to tell all my friends I taught Captain America how to
tango!" She smiled and gave Steve a quick and surprising hug in
which he returned. "My boyfriend will think it's cool too! He's
a big fan of yours. His name is Dylan, he's really funny and
sweet."
Steve smiled, "You have a boyfriend? Congratulations! I hope you
two are or will be as happy as Tony and I are"
"You're too sweet," Barbra said with a giggle and a smile. She
quickly stood on her tiptoes to plant a little kiss on Steve's
cheek (leaving a bit of lipstick there without knowing). "I'm
going to miss seeing you just about everyday but hey, at least
I'll see you on the news!"
Steve nodded, even more surprised by the kiss but not really. He
gave one of his small signature salutes before heading back
home.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony tried to protest as Steve haulted him from his search and,
abruptly, left, but he could do nothing more than stare
open-mouthed as his boyfriend disappeared back up the steps.
Stupid, irrational kind of tears were prickling behind Tony's
eyes, and he wiped them absently away, disgusted at himself. It
would be so much easier to just say it, he thought angrily,
brushing past his desk to try and catch Steve, get him to stay
for just a little longer.
His hip bumped against a stack of useless junk, and it all
clattered loudly to the floor. Tony gave a cry of frustration,
cursing and whirling on his heel. His face fell flat, suddenly,
as he watched four pages full of writing flutter down. He
stooped to pick them up, eyes skimming mindlessly over the
words, not really reading anything. Clutching them in his hand
just a bit too tightly, he hurries back up the stairs -- Steve,
of course, is already gone by then.
The paper crumples in Tony's hand, then falls unceremoniously to
the floor as he drops it and stumbles up the stairs. He can't do
it, he can't spend this day alone, not when he sees blood
spattered on every wall and the Revengers laughing at him at
every corner. He gets to his room, takes a look at the blood on
the carpet, on the bed, on Steve, who slumps motionless in the
corner, and he bites his lip, it's all just too much. He's angry
and he's scared and he's just plain overwhelmed, so he finds his
phone on the table while he's ripping off the stained sheets on
the bed.
"Tony...?"
"Hi, Pepper." His voice breaks in a way he knows Pepper can
hear.
"...Hi, Tony. What's up?" She's being gentle.
"Just the... um, unexpected attack, so there's ... there's a big
dent in the wall and the carpet needs to be replaced, and I just
thought, you know, I should call you so--"
"Yeah, Tony," she says softly, "I'll take care of it."
"Thanks," Tony chokes out, looks at the blood on the floor again
and holds his breath. "Thank you, Pepper." He hangs up before he
can hear anything else, and then dials Rhodey.
"It must be bad, if you're calling me."
Tony's laugh comes out a breathless, nervous little chuckle.
"Yeah, well, I... you know. Um, what do you say to coming over,
going a few rounds?"
Rhodey is silent for several moments, evaluating Tony's tone,
the waver in his voice. "Yeah," Rhodey says. "Sounds good. I'll
be there in ten."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve walked up to the front door, opening it before asking
JARVIS if Tony had rested.
"Tony, I'm back!" he called, looking in the kitchen, living
room, and bedroom but seeing no sign of his beloved boyfriend.
"Tony?" he called a bit louder. He could here some noise that
sounded like it was coming from the gym. He walked inside to
find Tony and Rhodey boxing. Steve didn't want to interrupt them
so he grabbed a chair and sat down, watching the two go a few
rounds.
He knew Tony didn't get any rest. He should have never left him
like that. Oh well, at least he had someone here to talk to
while he was gone. Steve could apologize later.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony doesn't even wait for Rhodey to get there, just storms down
to the gym, wraps his hands in white and goes to town on a
punching bag. By the time Rhodey finds him, he's already
breathless.
They don't even bother to get into the ring, juzt put on gloves
and start fighting, Rhodey insulting his technique, trash
talking him, because he knows Tony needs the distraction to keep
his head up. Tony takes all of Rhodey's words and forces them
back out in ruthless punches, because he's fed up with secrets
and fears and thoughts.
By the time Steve gets there, Tony's breathing hard and sweating
buckets, his arc reactor glowing brightly as it keeps up with
Tony's rapid heartbeat. Tony doesn't even acknowledge the
presence of anyone else in the room, but he seems to get even
more aggressive until a punch to Rhodey's shoulder sends his
friend reeling backwards.
That seems to be enough for Rhodey, because he puts his gloved
hands up, gives Tony a stern look. "That's enough, Tony," he
says, "You either take a breather or tell me what's going on."
But Tony can't, he's too worked up and coiled to tight and he
can't think straight, so when his eyes finally flicker to Steve,
sees the red on his cheek that, for once, isn't blood, Tony
completely loses it, draws back and socks Steve hard enough in
the jaw to make his hand sting. "Tony...!" Rhodey says, shocked.
He is ignored.
It all happens in half a second or less, Tony throwing off his
gloves, not even bothering, with the wrappings, and takes off
out of the gym, his mind a blur. He steps on the paper he
dropped by the front door, mind a blur, and now he's running
down the street, not daring to stop. He has no idea where he is.
He's seeing red and his heart is pounding and he can't even
breath anymore, but he keeps going until he legs literally give
out under him. He hits the ground on his hands and knees,
protected mostly by the wrappings and his jeans, but it still
stings and rattles his bones.
It all rushes in in him in a terrifying wave, and he curses,
glad the sidewalk is empty because company right now is not an
option. He sits down on the curb, breath coming harsh and heavy,
peels off his wrappings and presses the heel of his hands to his
eyes, trying to block out the entire day.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Before Steve could even register in his mind what was happening,
he was lying on the floor, his jaw hurting slightly. Did Tony
just punch him? He looked up to see Tony leaving the gym. He
did.
Steve turned to Rhodey, a look of shock planted on both their
faces. He shakes his head, his expression to one of deep
seriousness. "Stay here," he ordered Tony's friend, quickly
getting up off the ground. He didn't understand what was going
on, but he knew it was his fault and he deserved more than just
a punch in the jaw from Tony.
Steve ran up the stairs, leaping over the sofa once he reached
the living room. Once outside, Steve continued to run, but had
no idea which way Tony went. He took a lucky guess and kept on
running. This was all his fault. Why did he have to be so
stupid? As these thoughts ran through his head, he failed to
notice a risen part of the concrete, causing him to fall and cry
out. Some of his stitches had popped open once again. "Sh**..."
he said, teeth gritted before getting back up and running again.
Thankfully, his jacket caused covered up his back, meaning that
the blood wasn't visible. It didn't hurt. Nothing could hurt
more than the fact that Tony was gone and alone and... great...
it's raining.
Finally, Steve found Tony on an abandoned sidewalk. Steve
stopped running and paused a few feet away from his boyfriend.
"Tony..." he breathed out, slowly walking over to the other man
and dropping to his knees next to him to catch his breath. "I'm
sorry," he whispered, but loud enough for it to be heard over
the pouring rain.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony isn't sure how long he sits alone -- it could've been a
minute or it could've been an hour. All he really knows is that
by the time Steve finds him, head in his hands, knees curled up
to his chest, he's soaked to the bone and can't think straight
through the blood that pounds in his ears and soaks the ground,
cold like rain. Tony knows he's seeing things, but that, if
anything, only makes it worse -- he gets a front row seat to his
descent into madness.
"Hey, babe," he says, voice shaking as he look up to the sky,
watches the red pour down. "I... I called Pepper about the
house, she's gonna get someone to fix it... and... Rhodey
brought whiskey, the man's probably a god, I just wished I
hadn't punched him so hard... or punched you so hard... I wish I
hadn't punched you at all, really..."
He's not sure what brought on the sudden babbling, and that only
pushes him further, makes him heave a sigh, drop his head back
down and squeeze his eyes shut. "I can't do this anymore," he
says, sounding matter-of-fact, but his voice breaks and it
sounds like he's crying (not that you can see through the rain).
"I, literally, I can't, I'm going f***ing insane, and I can't
get out of my head, and it's-- just--" He shakes his head,
unable to finish, lips pressed together as he draws in a breath
that shakes his whole body.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve slowly removed his jacket brown leather jacket, feeling
relieved to see that the inside wasn't covered with blood or
anything as he placed it over Tony's shoulder's to protect him
from the rain. As for Steve, well, he needed the rain to wash
down his back anyway and he couldn't really get sick or anything
even though the rain was very cold.
"It's okay... I deserved that punch... Actually, I deserved a
much harder one." He wrapped his arms around Tony, needing to
keep him as dry and as warm and as close as possible. "You're
not going insane, alright? You're just frightened, I can tell,
but you've got to understand that I'm here for you... you got me
and you always will." Steve pulled Tony closer, his head now
resting over Tony's. "You're stuck with me," he told him, giving
him a kiss on the top of his head. "Whatever you're going
through right now, I'm hear to listen or to do anything you want
me to because I will literally do anything for you." Steve
closed his eyes, feeling his own body heat slowly warm Tony.
Steve turned his head a bit, seeing a puddle and his own
reflection in it. What was that on his cheek? Lipstick. Steve
quickly took his arm and rubbed it off before putting his arm
back around Tony. Was that why Tony hit him, or was it because
of how he left this morning? Steve cleared his head of these
thoughts because the reason why Tony hit him didn't matter
anymore. The thing that matter is that Tony was being troubled
by something and Steve was going to do everything in his power
to stop it... whatever it was.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony shakes his head again, trying to feel comforted by Steve,
but only succeeding in feeling bitter, even as he presses
himself closer. Words are running through his head, things he
wants to ask but knows the answer to already -- Why do you want
me? I'm so broken, I'm not useful to anybody. And then, of
course, Steve would answer with something simple, like, because
I love you. That should bother Tony, that shouldn't be enough,
because it never has been, but for some reason, coming from
Steve, it suddenly is in a way Tony can't explain.
"I still see them," Tony whispers, not able to remember if he's
written this down or not but needing to say it anyways. "The
Revengers -- they've been following me around all day and
leaving your body in corners and--" he cuts himself off, shakes
his head again as he wraps his arms around Steve. "I know it's
not real," he says, whispering now, "But I'm still stuck with it
and I can't sleep or eat or think without them popping up
everywhere, and it just feels like it's taking over me." He
holds Steve tighter while he watches a man who doesn't exist
burn alive. "I can't control it, you know?" he murmurs, like a
kid asking to sleep with his parents, more innocent and scared
than he's ever let on before.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Rage and sadness fill Steve's mind as he listens to Tony talk
about the Revengers. So they are the cause of all this.... "I
won't let those... bas***** live," Steve whispered as he stared
out into the rain. He could feel warm blood ooze out of his
wounds as Tony held him close, reminding him of having to see
Tony... dead with his throat slit open next to their
non-existent son.
"Look at me," said Steve, his voice suddenly growing strong and
clear as he pulled away from Tony so he could look into his
eyes. "It's not taking over you, okay? These things, they will
go away. They can't hurt you as long as I'm here. Tony, I know
it's hard but you need to let go. We both do. They've hurt us
enough, and they've hurt you in ways I probably can never
understand. I have no pity for these creatures anymore. They
don't deserve my pity after what they've done to you." Steve
kept his eyes on Tony's and his hands cupped his face. "Every
time you see something like you've been seeing, I want you to
know that I'm okay and that none of this stuff will ever happen
or ever happen again as long as I'm here. I want you to think of
me and how much I love you. I want you to think of every happy
moment you've had in your life. Can you do that for me?" Steve
asked before leaning down to give Tony a soft and gentle kiss.
The next time he saw a Revenger, he was going to kill them. The
thing he had been so ashamed of doing before he was going to do
next time because he had to make sure that they never touched
Tony again no matter what.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony stared as Steve talked, unsure where to put his hands, so
he just put them against Steve's chest, as if he were holding
him back, but he was trembling too much to really stop anything.
He got lost in Steve's eyes again (of course, that wasn't
something hard to do at all), awed at their depths, their
conviction that went along with the words. Can you do that for
me? Steve had asked, and Tony wasn't sure, wasn't sure if he
could even remember anything happy when he was lost in his own
thoughts, but Steve leaned down and kissed him them and oh.
Tony melted against Steve, absolutely useless when it came to
rational thought, like he always was when Steve kissed him, his
fingers clutching Steve's shirt, holding him there. He could do
this, he thought, with Steve here. Rain pelted against Tony's
upturned face, mixing with what was probably tears, but Tony
didn't care, much. This was all he needed.
Tony broke the kiss, lips pulling slowly off of Steve's, and he
stared up at Steve, something deeper than trust in his eyes --
some kind of devotion, some kind of promise, something that
hadn't always been there. Tony would, maybe, always have
something new to give, something he wasn't completely sure he'd
always had.
He seemed to remember, suddenly, that Steve had asked him a
question, and gave a tiny little nod in answer. "Okay," he
murmured, quiet and fragile. He laid his forehead against
Steve's, hiking up the jacket draped around his shoulders over
both their heads so they wouldn't get rained on so much, and
gave a tiny smile, one that didn't seem like much but held all
that Tony could convey. "You wanna get out of the rain?" he
suggested, not that they already weren't soaked to the bone,
but, you know.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve smiled softy at Tony, one of those smiles that only his
boyfriend seemed to see. The one that was always meant for him
and nobody else. He could see a mixture of emotions in Tony's
eyes... something... strong.
Steve chuckled and nodded his head as Tony draped the jacket
over their heads and asked if he would like to get out of the
rain. "That would be nice," he replied, slowly standing up and
putting an arm around Tony's waist. "I think your friend is
probably worried and wondering where we are right now." Steve
took the other side of his jacket with his free hand to help
hold it up like an umbrella.
Steve turned his head to give Tony one final kiss, a smile still
on his face. "I love you," he whispered, pulling Tony a little
closer as they began to walk, rain falling all around them.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony smiled slightly as Steve kissed him, wider than before but
still reserved. "Rhodey will be fake-angry at first," he says
fondly, "But he's been around me long enough to get it, kind
of." Tony's thankful for Rhodey -- the man's good for more than
just one-liners, and if truth be told he's probably the best
person to go to if Tony wants to blow off some steam. He's no
Steve, but he's definetly a best friend.
Tony must've run farther than he thought, because it takes him a
while to get his bearings. Eventually, though, he drags Steve
through the front door of his house, dripping wet and expecting
Rhodey.
Of course, he's there, sitting patiently on the couch with an
eyebrow raised at the pair. "I'm gonna have to say this is a new
low, Tony," he says, getting up and chucking two towels at Tony.
Tony catches them, hands one to Steve, and goes to meet Rhodey
in the middle of the room.
"No hard feelings, right Rhodes?" he asks, drying his hair.
"I can't believe you punched your boyfriend in the face."
"He doesn't seem to care much about it."
"He's too good for you."
"That's what I try to tell him; he thinks he deserved it."
"Be careful with him, Tony."
"I'm not really good at that."
"Hey, I'm serious." Rhodey's voice drops to a murmur, and he
turns Tony around, so they're facing away from Steve,
underestimating the hearing of a Super Soldier. "I know how you
are; I know how you get with this. You get freaked out with the
commitment and you run off. You don't like being handed things,
someone gives you their heart and you make an ugly face and drop
it."[b]
"This is different," Tony say automatically, on the defensive.
"Steve's different,"
Rhodey frowns, looking for something in Tony's stone-cold face.
"A blind man can see from a mile away that he loves you," he
says finally, and grabs Tony in a hug as he adds, "Don't go
taking that for granted. Don't wait for it to come to you."
Tony isn't really sure what Rhodey's talking about, and stands
kind of stunned as Rhodey pulls away and goes to shake Steve's
hand. "I figure I'd apologize for him, since he's an idiot; so,
I'm sorry, from yours truly, Tony." Rhodey gives a grin. "Nice
to finally meet you when I'm not drunk, by the way."
#Post#: 42--------------------------------------------------
Re: 1x1 || TinyGoliath & MagicNightStar
By: TinyGoliath Date: February 6, 2013, 8:53 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve chuckled as he listened to Rhodey and Tony talk back and
forth, and started to dry his hair off with a towel as their
voices became almost like whispers. Steve could still probably
listen in if he wanted but didn't out of respect for privacy.
Steve laughed as Rhodey apologized for Tony, shaking his hand.
He liked this man already. "It's fine, really. Like Tony said, I
deserved it. Besides it was quite interesting; I think Tony is
the only man that could have punched me like that and make me
fall out of a chair." Steve gave a friendly smile. "It's nice to
meet you as well when you aren't drunk. I think this is the
first time I've truly met one of Tony's friends without them
being intoxicated," Steve said with a small chuckle. "I also
need to thank you for being there for Tony. You're a good
friend."
Steve placed the towel around his neck and ran a hand through
his hair, parting it as good as he could at the moment. "Thanks
for the towels as well," Steve added before slowly walking over
to Tony and taking his hand. "You sure do know how to pick good
friends, Tony. Especially ones who can put up with you." Steve
gave Tony a small wink before looking back to Tony's friend.
Steve could tell that his back had stopped bleeding and he knew
he was going to defiantly take a warm shower after this.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony watches Steve and Rhodey talk, still thouroughly confused.
Don't wait for it to come to you? What was that supposed to
mean? He didn't really have much longer to think it over,
because at that point Steve was coming back over to him. Tony
grins without really knowing what Steve had said, and watches
Rhodey as he looks at Steve's and Tony's intertwined hands, and
then gives Tony a pointed look. Tony returns it with a blank,
what are you talking about kind of face and a near imperceptible
expression. Rhodey rolls his eyes.
"Alright," Rhodey says, clapping his hands together and backing
away toward the door. "I think I can trust you two to play nice;
or do you want me to stay?"
Tony shrugs more noticeably this time, smiling again. "I think
we're okay alone, unless you're into that kind of stuff..."
Rhodey sneers. "Very funny, Tony," he remarks, sounding snide,
but also fond, amused. "I'm leaving, then." He makes for the
door, throwing back a careless little wave.
"Hey, whiskey's still in the gym, you want that?"
"It's a gift!" Rhodey calls over his shoulder, and then he's
gone. A few seconds later, you can hear his car backiing out.
"Bless his twisted little heart," Tony says, faking a sniffle.
"I finally have booze."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve chuckled, wrapping his arms around Tony's waist and
pulling him close. "You have one bottle. Congratulations," Steve
said sarcastically, kissing Tony quickly on the lips.
"Promise you'll never run away like that again," said Steve
suddenly, looking back into Tony's beautiful brown eyes. "Next
time lets just talk about it."
Steve began to kiss Tony again, softly and gently, slowly moving
down to his jaw then his neck. Bending his back made him feel
like it was bleeding again, reminding him how cold and wet they
both were. "I'm going to take a warm shower..." announced Steve
a little awkwardly. "Um... care to join me?" he asked Tony
quietly, feeling strange for asking. However, he knew Tony was
just as soaked and as cold as Steve if not more. Tony could also
catch a cold if he didn't warm up. Although he felt weird for
asking, he didn't take the question back.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
"One is better than nothing," Tony protested weakly as Steve
gave him a quick kiss, wrapping his arms around the other man's
neck. He got an odd kind of expression as Steve pulled away and
asked him not to run again, looking unsure, as if it were out of
his control, but he gave a silent nod anyways, not really having
the heart to say no.
Tony's letter was still littered in different sections by the
front door, and he didn't forget this, but couldn't really focus
on it, either, because Steve was kissing him again, lips
brushing past that sensitive spot on his neck, and he shivered
-- not from the cold, either. Tony gave a little laugh as Steve
suggested a shower together, raising an eyebrow and looking at
him thoughtfully. "You're cute when you're awkward," Tony
informed Steve genially, knotting a hand in Steve's hair to drag
him back down for another drugging kiss. "Let's go, then."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve sighed happily, sitting on the bed with a pair of grey
sweats on and a solid white t-shirt after taking a shower. He
felt very warm and clean now and decided that since his back had
stopped bleeding that he would just ignore the few broken
stitches right now. Tony had noticed them so it wasn't like they
were a big deal or anything, he would live.
Tony was still getting dressed so Steve figured he'd go get
something to drink real quick while he was waiting. "I'm going
to be downstairs when you're done, honey," Steve informed Tony
before heading downstairs and to the kitchen. However, something
caught Steve's attention. Lying near the front door where four
pieces of paper scattered about. Each one was a bit crinkled and
Steve wondered how he didn't notice them before.
Forgetting about the drink, Steve picked up the papers and
glanced at them to see if they were trash or something.
I woke up in chains...
Steve raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he read the line. Was
Tony writing a book or something? But as Steve continued to read
he realized Tony wasn't writing a book... he was talking about
what had happened to him those three days with the Revengers.
Steve made his way to the couch, sitting down and holding the
papers in his hand. This was what Tony was going to show him
this morning... and Steve just left him... Guilt rose throughout
Steve's body before he continued to read about the horrors that
Tony had experienced. About halfway through page three Steve
couldn't hold his tears back any longer. They had used him to
hurt Tony... Phoenix had cut him up while Slicer had pretended
to be him while he scarred Tony, explaining the reason he had a
scar in the shape of a star on his cheek.
"Love you too, buddy."
Steve had never felt such hatred before in his life toward
anyone, but the Revengers had done such horrible things to
Tony.... Steve continued to read about the burnt steak (that
explained a lot), dangling from the meat hook (no doubt the
thing that caused the gaping hole in Tony's shoulder), and of
course, right before he was mind controlled into fighting Steve.
Steve's hand slowly turned into a fist, crushing the papers as
tears fell from his face. How could they do this to Tony? His
Tony... Sadness and rage flowed through Steve's body, making him
want to go after the Revengers right now on his own and...
wait.... Why shouldn't he go out on his own to kill these
people? He could take them. He had already killed two of them.
'No. You have to stay here with Tony. He wouldn't let you go
after them on your own...' Steve thought, gritting his teeth.
Tony didn't deserve this, what he was going through and what he
did go through. And after reading that, Steve couldn't help but
feel like it was all still his fault.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony pulled on his shirt just as Steve left the room, and he
watched his boyfriend leave with a speculative kind of
expression. He figured Steve would just be coming back up here
anyways, so Tony sat down, cross-legged on the bed, and waited.
Unfortunately, though, Tony was not very patient as well, so by
the time the five-minute mark had passed he was squirming around
quite a bit. He finally gave up after seven minutes, choosing to
go and see what Steve what was up to. He floated quietly down
the stairs, and stopped at the bottom of the steps, eyes
widening slightly at the scene before him. Steve was sitting on
the couch, tears streaming down his face, and by the papers
clutched in his fist, it wasn't hard to guess why.
Tony stood, unsure of himself for a moment, but shook it off and
made his way to the couch, sitting down carefully beside Steve.
"Sorry," he said automatically, "I was gonna tell you what I was
doing last night, but, uh, I never got the chance..." Tony
examined Steve's face, the tears rolling down it, the pain that
was clearly evident, and his heart ached. "You alright?" he asks
softly, his hand brushing Steve's arm, as if he were almost too
fragile to be touched.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve closed his eyes as Tony asked if he was alright and
brushed his arm. Steve should be the one asking Tony that
question. "It should have been me," Steve blurted out. "You
didn't deserve any of this. It was my fault, I should have been
the one who was tortured." Steve was a little surprised at how
easily the words came out with tears falling down his face. "I
should be the one seeing them almost everywhere I go, not you."
Steve opened his eyes and turned to look at Tony, devotion
flaming within his eyes. "I will protect you. I can't let them
lie another finger on you. Next time they choose to hurt you,
I'll stop them."
Steve could have handled the torture better than Tony did, he
just knew it. The cuts and scars would have been nothing and the
chains could have easily been broken as well as the meat hook.
Steve could have stopped them all right then and there if it had
been him. As for the mind control, well, it was out of the
question. You had to e the best at mind control to get Steve to
do what you wanted him to. Those three days would have been cut
down to one if it had been Steve... so why wasn't it? Steve had
been the one who killed Dreadknight, so why didn't they come
after him?
Fear began to form in Steve's eyes. When had they ever really
been after Steve? Sure, Tony had been the one to blow up the
mother ship and stop Loki's plans, but.... Was that all that
really mattered to them? It didn't make since but then again it
did. Was Tony their only true target?
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony swallowed, looking down at the floor. What could he say to
that? Tony knew Steve wouldn't have been affected as badly as
Tony himself was, and, you know, that had been the point, Tony
was almost sure. It was their revenge, for Dreadknight -- break
Iron Man, and you break Captain America. Steve always had been
the target, even if they'd had a bone to pick with Tony as well.
"They couldn't have tortured you, Steve," Tony said quietly, his
fingers lacing through Steve's. "You know that. You would've
gotten out of there in... in hours, probably. I... was the
target... because you were." He still wasn't looking at Steve,
because he wasn't sure exactly how to look at him, how to say I
don't blame you with his eyes. "They knew about us, and they
used it to their advantage."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve stared blankly at the wall in front of him. "You mean they
did exactly what I said they were going to do... use you to get
to me.... It really was all my fault..." Steve pulled his hand
away from Tony's, not harshly though. "All that stuff they did
to you was to get to me.... I was truly the reason they hurt
you... No, that I hurt you." Steve was standing up now, his
hands balled into fists. "They made Slicer look like me to tell
you that I was truly the man who was torturing you because....
it's all my fault." Guilt was an understatement at this point.
Tony had went through all that pain, torture, and misery because
of Steve.
"Even being here with you right now if probably putting you in
danger.... I-I need to leave." Steve turned around to look at
Tony, tears still in his eyes. He knew he promised he would
never leave Tony, but if it was putting Tony in danger he had to
leave. Tony couldn't be hurt by the Revengers anymore because of
him. If they wanted him, they needed to come and get him not
Tony.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony stared up at Steve, wide-eyed, open-mouthed, his mind
refusing to believe what his ears told him. "No," Tony said, his
voice quieter than he thought it would be. He shook his head,
pushed himself to his feet, looking completely at loss. "Don't
leave," he said. It sounded weak, not good enough.
"You can't," he tried again -- that wasn't right, either. He
opened his mouth, looking for the words, and when he couldn't
find them, he cursed, and started babbling. "Steve, this is
stupid -- you can't leave. You can't, okay, I need you here. I'm
absolutely useless by myself. The only thing I can do alone is
get piss drunk and kill myself and-- and you can't say you're
leaving because you love me too much, I can't-- I won't let
you--" Tears are pricking at his eyes now, and he wipes them
away with the back of his hand, fixing Steve with a desperate
look. As if to prove his point, he takes a step forward, grabs
hold of the front of Steve's shirt and drags him down for a kiss
that's surprisingly soft for all the effort it looks like Tony's
making.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve had so many conflicting emotions right now he didn't know
what to think, and Tony kissing him wasn't helping him think. It
was... difficult. He knew Tony needed him and he knew he needed
Tony, but something Tony said made Steve decide what he was
going to do. He had said how Steve loved him too much, which was
true.... Steve loved him too much to allow him to get hurt by
him anymore.
Tears began to stream down Steve's face as he wrapped an arm
around Tony, pulling him closer as the other hand cupped Tony's
face. This was it. This was his goodbye kiss. It was soft,
gentle, and all together full of love... they way it should be.
It lasted for about a minute before Steve pulled away, looking
into Tony's beautiful, beautiful eyes. "I'm sorry, Tony... I
have to go... I have to go to keep you safe... I love you, so,
so much." Steve brushed a few strands of Tony's hair out of his
face before letting him go. "Goodbye, Tony..." he whispered
before walking quickly to the front door, not looking back in
fear that he wouldn't be able to leave. He opened the door and
closed it behind him. Steve Rogers and Tony Stark were no more.
Tears began to pour down Steve's face as he ran as fast as he
could away from the place he had called home, leaving literally
everything behind. He could get his suit and clothes back at the
next Avenger meeting.... Leaving Tony had to be the most
difficult thing he had done in his life... it felt as though he
was being ripped away from the one thing he had always needed in
his life. But it was for Tony's own good... Everything Steve did
was for Tony...
All the streets were abandoned that he ran down, and he had the
strange feeling he was being watched very closely... like there
was something lurking in the dark that was waiting for him to
make a wrong move. Steve turned and ran down a dark alley way,
feeling the presence even more now. Steve looked around and saw
nothing. It had to be just his imagination.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony didn't know why he let Steve go -- he just knew that the
words Steve were saying were not the words he wanted to hear,
and then he had slipped out of Tony's grasp, and was gone. Tony
couldn't breathe for what felt like several minutes, could
hardly even think, and then, suddenly, he snapped out of it,
gasping against the sudden wave of anger, of pain, of sadness.
How could he have been so stupid?
Tony was out the door before he could form another coherent
though, yelling Steve's name. Was that him, running off in the
distance? Tony didn't know, but it was his only lead, so he took
off after it, already breathing hard because he couldn't take
this? Did Steve think leaving was going to help? Of course not,
of course it wouldn't, Tony told himself this, convinced himself
of it.
He lost the figure running in the distance once the buildings
started to thicken -- nobody was out much, and that was probably
due to the stormy gray skies. It wasn't raining anymore, but the
sky threatened, and puddles still splashed up around Tony's
feet.
He had to give in when he got completely, hopelessly lost. Tony
didn't know the city, anyways -- he'd always had someone or
something telling him directions, he's never had to memorize
street names or landmarks, so the green street signs meant
nothing to him. He couldn't see Steve any which way he turned,
even as he weaved, constantly, through the buildings, through
alleyways and around dumpsters until he told himself to be
realistic, that he'd never find Steve like this.
He called Steve's name again, just once, before he gave a
hopeless cry of frustration and turned to punch the wall behind
him. It made his hand bleed, but he didn't care, couldn't care
as he slumped against the wall, defeated.
Tony watches the blood well on his knuckles, sees Slicer out of
the corner of his eye, gasps and turns his head instinctively
even though he knows it can't be real. It's only going to be so
long before his mind starts tormenting him again, he thinks. He
sits down on the ground, feeling dirty, worthless, and it
figures the one time it's truly important, he's left his phone
at home.
He's Tony Stark. And he is nothing.
✖Slicer✖
"Oh I'm sorry... Did that hurt?"
It was the perfect plan and timing. His mission was simple:
Place a burning chemical on one of his knives and attack Tony
Stark and Steve Rogers when they didn't have their suits. Easy.
Slicer had followed Steve and Tony everywhere they went, waiting
for the right moment. Steve had went to a dancing studio (weird,
but alright), Tony had ran off while it was raining and Steve
had came after him (could have been perfect if it wasn't
raining... the chemical would have been washed off the knife),
and now... now Steve was the one who was running away and of
course Tony had followed. The skies where dark and dreary, the
road and sidewalks were covered with puddles, it was getting
late.... Perfect.
Slicer waited until Stark punched a wall (causing it to bleed
and put a smile on Slicer's face) and sit down next to one of
the dumpsters before he revealed himself. Stark had looked at
him, but then looked away as if he were nothing. How could he do
that? Oh well, he had to get on with his mission.
Slicer pulled out the knife he had used to cut Tony last time
before taking a vile of the burning chemical and pouring it all
on the knife. This was a very special chemical that Sorceress
had been working on to make it if Slicer cuts someone with the
knife, it would make the wound burn like hell. Slowly, he
approached Stark, smirking under his emotionless mask. Like he
said before, he wasn't much of a talker like Phoenix... he just
liked to get down to business. However, when it came to Stark he
knew it would be nice to use a few words.
"Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you? Lets
find out... shall we?" Slicer quickly grabbed Tony by his shirt
collar, lifting him up off the ground and giving him to long and
probably pretty deep gashes in his belly, the chemical seeping
into Tony's wounds.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony saw the glint of the knife as Slicer pulled it out -- he
could've reacted. He didn't, though, because he knew it wasn't
real, that it was just in his head, that without Steve there was
no wall to keep the hallucinations away. Tony stiffened as
Slicer spoke -- they never talked, only laughed. Was this
different, somehow? Not real, Tony reminded himself, breathing
labored. Not real, not real, not real... Slicer's foot landed in
a puddle, splashed water onto Tony's clothes, seeped through the
fabric -- it was very, very real.
Tony let out a yell, scrambling backwards, but Slicer was
already dragging him up. "You're not--" Tony tried, gasping, but
cut himself off with a choked kind of noise as the blade dragged
across his belly -- it burned like fire. He groaned, but the
noise quickly turned to a pained whimper. He shook, clawing at
Slicer's very real hand that held him up, and then, suddenly,
came to the realization that this was another person. While that
did make it more terrifying, it also made Slicer more
vulnerable, and Tony, in a desperate act to escape, drew back
his fist and drove it into Slicer's throat. It made his knuckles
sting even worse, but he needed an out, he needed to run away,
because the Cave was coming back now, dark alley walls turning
to cold stone, and Tony couldn't take that, not here, not now.
✖Slicer✖
"Oh I'm sorry... Did that hurt?"
Slicer gasped as Tony hit his throat. There was something
abnormally powerful about his punch... some sort of strength
that a normal human would not posses.
Slicer fell to the ground, his knife cutting Tony down his chest
vertically this time, going down the other two cuts he had
already made and he knew this one was far deeper. In fact, in
missed Tony's reactor by an inch, causing Slicer to frown even
more as he lied on the ground. However, he quickly picked
himself back up after he regained his breath. He wasn't going
down without a fight.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
As Steve continued to run, he heard it. A yell. Tony's yell. It
wasn't a yell for Steve, but instead a yell of pain.
Steve stopped dead in his tracks, unable to ignore a cry for
help or a cry of pain even. He quickly turned back around and
stopped once he reached the alley he had gone down to see a
completely horrifying sight. Slicer was holding a bloody knife
while Tony lied on the ground, bleeding with three large gashes
on his chest.
"Tony!" Steve yelled, running as fast as he could toward Slicer,
fist raised and ready. Slicer swung his knife at Steve, but
using his quick reflexes he manged to doge it and elbow Slicer
as hard as he could in the throat which already looked bruised.
It was almost as everything was in slow motion as he
successfully delivered the blow, causing Slicer to crash to the
ground and gasp for breath.
Steve was down at Tony's side in the blink of an eye. "Tony,
Tony are you alright?" Steve studied Tony's wounds and saw an
almost clear chemical in them mixed with the blood. He stood up
and swung back around to quickly grab Slicer's knife while he
was down. Sure enough, the same clear chemical was on his knife.
"What did you put on this?" Steve yelled at Slicer, holding the
knife up to Slicer's throat. "Why do you keep hurting my
boyfriend? I know what you did to him, how you used me! Tell me
why!" Steve's voice was one of true anger and rage as he shouted
at Slicer.
✖Slicer✖
"Oh I'm sorry... Did that hurt?"
Slicer smiled as he saw Steve at the end of the alley. He knew
he would come for Tony because that was one of the many silly
things love did. However, he was not expecting Rogers to doge
his knife, come under him, and deliver a powerful and painful
blow to his throat.
Slicer once again fell to the ground, gasping and thrashing for
breath until Rogers held a knife to his throat, asking him
questions. "Do you think.... just because.... I'm bad.... means
I would..... tell you all our.... plans?" Slicer gasped out,
finding it hard to speak and breathe. Slicer managed to smirk a
bit before quickly lifting the bottom of his mask to spit blood
in Steve's face and covering the bottom of his scarred face back
up.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve growled when Slicer spit up blood in his face and refused
to answer his questions. Steve threw down the knife in his hand,
picking Slicer up by the throat and threw him with all his might
into the brick wall before him, causing him to go straight
through the wall.
He swore he'd protect Tony and that the Revengers wouldn't hurt
him as long as he was there, and he was there now and was going
to make sure Slicer didn't touch Tony again.
"You bas****! Thinking you can hurt Tony and get away with
it.... Thinking you can hurt Tony at all! Leave him alone!"
Steve shouted furiously at Slicer.
✖Slicer✖
"Oh I'm sorry... Did that hurt?"
Slicer collided with the brick wall behind him, crashing through
it and lying limply on the floor. This was it. He knew it was.
This was the moment right before Steve would kill him like
Dreadknight and Stalker.
"A burning chemical.... That was what was.... put on the
knife..... As for the other question...... the answer is....
you." Slicer slowly propped himself against the dented wall
behind him, peering out through the giant hole in the wall
before him that he had crashed through.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve squeezed his eyes shut at Slicer's last answer. He knew it
was because of him. Tony was once again hurt because of him....
Suddenly, Steve's eyes opened and he turned to look at Tony and
the fear in his eyes. He had to make sure that this would never
happen again. "Close your eyes... please..." Steve whispered to
him, picking up the knife that he had dropped. He didn't want
Tony to see this.... He didn't want Tony to see his dark side.
Steve turned back to look at Slicer, lying on the ground inside
the abandoned building. He slowly approached the man, blood
dripping from his face that Slicer had spat at him. He whipped
it off his face, making the blood smear on his arm. Steve now
stood over Slicer, looking down at him with hate burning in his
eyes along with.... regret? Yes, regret. Steve didn't want to
kill anyone really, but he knew he had to do this. Steve bent
down next to Slicer, removing his mask to reveal the most badly
scarred face he had ever seen. "I'm sorry..." Steve murmured as
he brought the knife back to Slicer's throat. He could see the
fear in the man's eyes. Steve closed his eyes once more as he
quickly pulled the knife to the side, slitting Slicer's throat
like he had done to Tony in his dream.
It was over.
Steve stood up and turned around, opening his eyes to look back
at Tony and not looking at the body behind him. Steve rushed
back over to Tony's side, taking his hand and kissing it. "Tony,
are you okay? I'm sorry... I shouldn't have left. This is all my
fault. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. Tony..." Tears were now
streaming down Steve's face as he quietly apologized and talked
to Tony. This was all his fault.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony crumpled to the ground as Slicer let him go, back arching
in pain. He let out a shrill kind of noise, one that sounded
very unlike Tony, the cuts burning fiercely. It didn't feel like
it would subside any time soon. Slicer stood, knife raised, and
Tony stared resolutely back, thinking that if this was how he
was going to die, he wouldn't go out screaming.
But of course, suddenly, Steve was there, like he had always
been, knocking Slicer to the ground, asking if Tony was alright.
Tony looked down at himself, at the gashes that bled through his
ripped shirt, and threw Steve a hopeless kind of look, not
trusting his voice. The burn was racing down his spine while
blood bubbled out of his wounds, and he coughed, spitting out
the blood that rose in his throat.
Tony watched it all unfold, watched the man of many of his
nightmares die by his boyfriend's hand (because, really, he was
afraid that if he closed his eyes, they would stay closed).
Finally, gloriously, Steve was beside him again, just as the
burn tore through him again. Tony gave a pained whine -- was
this it, then? Was he going to die here? He didn't want to, not
like this, when Steve was crying and Tony could barely talk.
"Hey, babe?" Tony said, sounding choked up, like he was trying
to swallow and speak at the same time. The inside of his mouth
was painted red. "I-I know you feel guilty, but I'm-- bleeding
out in an alleyway-- and-- probably-- drowning in my own blood--
it hurts-- so can we-- talk about this later?" He gives Steve's
hand what's probably meant to be a reassuring squeeze, but his
fingers only give a feeble twitch. There's something stiff about
the shallow way Tony's breathing, like he's holding back a
scream every time he rattles in a breath. "And uh-- Steve-- just
in case-- I'm sorry that I-- didn't-- marry you..."
#Post#: 43--------------------------------------------------
Re: 1x1 || TinyGoliath & MagicNightStar
By: TinyGoliath Date: February 6, 2013, 8:54 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve whipped the blood off Tony's face, picking him up as
carefully and as quickly as he could. "Don't talk like that..."
Steve whispered, giving him a quick kiss on the forehead before
he started to run. He had to get Tony to a hospital. Marriage
was one of the last things on his mind, but Tony's words hit him
hard causing more tears to fall from his face. Would that really
be Tony's last regret if he died? Not marrying him?
Steve pushed this thought away as his bare feet began to splash
through many puddles as he ran through the abandoned streets.
"Don't speak, okay? I'm going to get you to a hospital, just...
just stay with me, please..." Steve could finally see the
hospital in the distance as he picked up speed, careful not to
trip or anything.
He burst through the front doors of the hospital, causing a lot
of heads to turn and a few people to gasp and look away at the
sight of blood. "Mr. Stark needs medical attention right now!"
he announced. Two nurses looked at each other before quickly
rushing over with a stretcher. Steve gently lied Tony down of
the stretcher before following the nurses to a room.
"What happened to him?" asked one of the nurses, looking at the
horrible gashes as they looked for an open hospital room. Steve
reached out and held one of Tony's hand before looking up at the
nurse. "We ran into one of the Revengers.... He attacked Tony
with a knife that was covered with some sort of burning
chemical, but... he's been taken care of." Steve looked quickly
away from the nurses, squeezing Tony's hand as he did so.
He wasn't proud of what he had done. He had killed yet another
person. Everywhere Steve seemed to look he could only think
about the terrified expression on Slicer's face before Steve
finished him. However, he had to do it for Tony's protection...
just like running away was done for his protection, but look
where that got him. Why did it seem like everything he did to
try to make Tony happy or safe backfired?
Finally, the nurses found an empty hospital room and quickly
rolled Tony inside. Steve picked him up and placed him on the
hospital bed, still holding his hand. "You're going to be
alright... I'm going to stay here with you..." He looked up at
the nurses to confirm if he could stay (which he was going to
even if they said no), and one of the nurses gave him a sad
smile and a nod.
Steve took a seat in a chair next to Tony's bed, lightly
squeezing his hand. The scene was all too familiar from the
first time the Revengers had attacked and taken Tony and Steve
had rescued him and gotten him to the Helicopter's medical room.
The only difference is that Tony was conscious this time. He
brought Tony's hand up to his lips while his other hand ran
through his boyfriend's hair.
One of the nurses left while the other one got a wet washcloth
to clean Tony's wounds. Steve took off Tony's shirt to allow her
the access she needed before a doctor came through the door,
looking flustered. "We need you to come to room 308, we're
losing her!" he said to the nurse. "I... um..." She turned to
Steve and held out the washcloth. "Do you think you could clean
him up? I'll be back before you know it.... We're very busy
tonight." Steve nodded and took the washcloth. "I've had to do
this many times," he told her before she followed the doctor
out.
Steve turned to look at Tony, a sad smile on his face. "Health
care is great these days," he said sarcastically as he propped
Tony up against the headboard. He knew the cleaning would
probably hurt like hell, but it had to be done. Slowly, Steve
placed the cold, wet washcloth on Tony's longest and deepest
wound, making the wound hiss and sizzle from the burning
chemical. It was literally slowly eating away at Tony's skin
like a real fire.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
The run to the hospital was jostling -- Tony tried not to show
how much pain he was in, tried not to thrash, but every once in
a while he would let out a choked kind of whine. He lost
consciousness between being placed on the gurney and getting to
the room, because in the next blink of an eye he was surrounded
by white walls. He was panicking, gaze flickering to one nurse
to the other, then Steve, but he seemed to be taking Steve's
request to not speak to heart, and his lips only trembled.
He lost focus again -- this time, when he opened his eyes, he
and Steve were alone in the room, Steve propping him up on the
bed. Tony tried to make a grab for Steve's arm, to hold him
there so Tony could look at his eyes, but he was delirious from
pain and his fingers barely lifted off the bed. Suddenly, Tony's
wounds hissed, and without really knowing what was happening he
arched off the bed, fingers gripping at the sheets, and let out
a terrible kind of wail as pain laced through him. Tony was
reminded of snapping circuitry -- but this time, his body was
the suit, overloading, frayed nerves torn apart.
He slumped back against the mattress, lips pressed together as
he held back another pained noise. He looked down at himself, at
burning flesh and blood, and then to Steve, eyes desperate.
"Steve--" he moaned, voice ragged. "I-I can't-- it-- hurts--"
Tony wasn't sure if he was going to die -- judging by the taste
of blood in his mouth, he was bleeding internally, and he'd
already lost quite a lot of blood. But he was half Super
Soldier, something he continuously forgot at each spike of pain.
He just knew that if he did die, he didn't want it to be like
this -- he wanted... he wanted to be able to think. He didn't
want to hurt anymore.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve watched Tony arch off the bed and wail in pain, reminding
him of how he sounded that one night in the forest when he was
looking for Tony. Steve couldn't stand the sound of Tony being
in so much pain, but he had to keep cleaning. "Shhh.... I know
it hurts, Tony, I know... but... I have to help you and get this
chemical out of your wounds..."
Steve began to move the cloth against Tony's wound, hissing and
sizzling echoing throughout the room. It was terrible, but Steve
kept moving. "You're going to be okay..." Steve whispered to
Tony, trying to offer some comfort. Steve sighed and moved Tony
to the edge of the bed so he could sit next to him and wrap and
arm around him. He started to clean Tony again, but the hissing
noises only seemed to grow louder. Steve wished he could cover
his ears and close his eyes but he couldn't... he had to help
Tony the best he could.
Steve tired to remember how Tony comforted him when he was in
his coma.... Singing. Tony had sang to Steve and caused him to
relax. Steve knew he didn't have as good as a singing voice as
Tony, but it was worth a shot. Also, perhaps his singing could
cover up the hissing sounds. Steve then began to rack his brain
of every song he knew. There was a song that he had heard on the
radio a couple of times that he would listen to at home. It
wasn't exactly a happy song for Steve because it reminded him of
how alone he was and how he was never going to be able to see
Peggy's, Howard's, or Bucky's faces ever again.... especially
Peggy's. But things were different now, he had Tony. Slowly,
Steve opened his mouth and began to sing.
"Hello, hello
Anybody out there? Cause I don't hear a sound
Alone, alone
I don't really know where the world is but I miss it now..."
Steve continued to clean Tony's wounds as he sang softly, but
loud enough to cover up the hissing noises. He ran his extra
hand through Tony's hair as he sang, trying to help him relax as
much as he could. As Steve sang, he noticed a few tears roll
down his face. How could he have ran away from Tony and caused
all this pain?
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony groaned and shivered as Steve moved him, but he fought down
another wail, hand gripping the fabric on Steve's back, needing
something to hold on to. He buried his head in Steve's shoulder,
not able to stand the sight of himself -- he was a pale canvas
painted red, and whatever was in his wounds seemed to be
coursing through his bloodstream now, as well. Tony trembled
again, biting his lip and squeezing his eyes shut, his body
stiffening--
Steve started singing then, and Tony stilled somewhat,
listening, curious. Just like everything else he did, Steve was
good -- perhaps that was Tony being biased, but it calmed him,
even if the song was rather sad. There was another spike of
pain, but Tony didn't cry out this time -- tears pricked at his
eyes, and Tony just let them fall, grip tightening on Steve's
shirt.
Tony seemed, as least, a bit calmer when Steve was done. His
breath still came in rattling, shallow gasps, but that couldn't
really be helped. He'd stopped trembling, at least. "You'rve
been holding out on me, Rogers," Tony whispered, tilting his
face up to look at Steve. "Let's do karaoke sometime." He
attempted a smile, which turned quickly into a grimace, and then
a frown as he watched tears roll down Steve's face.
"Hey," Tony said softly, his hand moving up to brush Steve's
face. It was obvious that Tony was having trouble speaking, but
he was determined not to let it undermine. His fingers lightly
took a hold on Steve's chin, tilted his head so that they were
face to face. "Love you, Cap. Don't forgot that." He leaned
upward a bit, just so he could press his lips to Steve's. Even
that tiny movement made him wince, but he didn't pull away until
he was too tired to hold himself up anymore.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve managed a small chuckle at Tony's mention of doing
karaoke. Even at his lowest points Tony still was able to joke.
He closed his eyes as Tony's hand brushed his face and opened
them when Tony tilted his chin. Then, Tony kissed him. Steve
gently cupped Tony's face, afraid that if he wasn't too careful,
Tony would cry out in pain again. "I won't forget, Anthony.
That's one of my curses... I can't forget anything..." Most
people would kill to have a memory like Steve's, not forgetting
a thing, but Steve often found it to be a terrible gift. He
couldn't forget all the deaths hes seen and caused... he can't
forget all the friends and things he left behind when he crashed
that plane... he can't forget the pain that hes been through...
Suddenly, the door to the room opened and the nurse that had
left earlier came rushing in along with a doctor. Steve put on a
strong face and whipped away his tears. "Blood. He needs blood
and stitches," Steve told them, placing the bloody washcloth on
the table now that he was done cleaning Tony off.
The doctor simply nodded and walked over to Tony. "We've already
got nurses bringing the proper blood that matches with Mr.
Stark's blood type up here. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask
you to leave, Mr. Rogers."
Steve stared blankly at the doctor, moving closer to Tony. "I
can't leave him. I have to stay," said Steve almost desperately.
The doctor shook his head as some nurses came in with bags of
blood that Tony would receive. "I'm afraid you can't. Mr. Stark
will need stitches like you said, and you can't st-"
"I've given Tony many stitches myself like the ones on his
forehead. I've even given him some of my blood. I've seen all of
this before and done it all before to Tony. I must stay."
Steve's eyes bored deep into the doctor's trying to get the
message through that he had to stay with Tony. But just like
last time, the doctor shook his head and called for someone to
help Steve out. Two nurses came over and each took one of
Steve's arms, tugging him gently to tell him to get up. Steve
didn't fight them. He was tired of fighting and hurting people.
Instead, he looked Tony in the eyes, love burning up inside of
them. "I love you. You'll be alright. I'll be back soon," he
promised as the nurses guided him out.
Steve stayed outside the door, leaning against the wall until he
slid down it. He sat on the floor outside the door to Tony's
room, looking like a small child who had just lost their puppy.
He just wanted to be with Tony and hold his hand for that seemed
to be like the only thing he could do that was right. Was that
too much to ask?
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony whimpered as Steve started to leave, reaching out for him.
"Wait," he choked out, "I need him-- he-- Steve!" Tony tried to
get up, and then simply collapsed from pain, watching as Steve
was escorted out. The doctor put a hand on his arm.
"If you're not careful, Mr. Stark, we'll have to restrain you."
Tony paled, going still. It seemed to be enough for the doctors,
because he motioned to the nurses and suddenly they were moving
around the room, doing things Tony could only guess out. There
was prick in his arm, and Tony winced, looking away from the IV
that carried blood into his system. He heard a lot of things,
hospital stuff, like losing too much blood and dangerous to
operate, but he was losing consciousness again. He glanced at
his arc reactor -- it was glowing dimly, not with it's usual
strong light.
A nurse came toward him with a needle in her hand, and Tony,
immediately, shook his head. "No crazy painkillers," he rasped.
The nurse raised an eyebrow, as if she had no idea what he was
talking about.
"It's just to help you sleep, Mr. Stark."
"I don't wanna sleep."
"Trust me," she sighs, sliding the needle into his arm, "You
don't wanna be awake for this."
Tony tried to say you suck at bedside manner, but everything was
already becoming fuzzy, and he let out meaningless mumbles
instead of words. Everything was plunged into unnerving
darkness, and then Tony could think no more.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve didn't know how long he sat slumped against the wall
crying, but it felt like ages. Then, he heard the door open and
someone come out. Steve whipped his tears away again before
looking up to see a nurse standing over him.
"Tony... is he alright?" he asked weakly, recovering from his
tears.
The nurse gave a small nod and a sad smile. "Yes, we gave him
something to help him sleep before we started operation. He
should be fine."
Steve nodded slowly, glad that Tony was going to be alright.
"Please... Can I see him? He needs me and I need him... If I
could just hold his hand or be there when he wakes u-"
"I'm afraid not, Mr. Rogers," said the nurse, sadly.
Steve looked away from her to stare at the wall in front of him
as if he were in some sort of trance. He just wanted to be there
for Tony like he said he would be. He felt like Bruce, trying to
hold back all of his anger and frustration so he wouldn't hurt
anyone. Bruce.... "Can I call someone real quick?" Steve asked,
wanting someone to talk to that could comfort him and calm him
down while he waited for Tony to recover, but the nurse shook
her head.
"The doctor wanted me to ask if you have any wounds on your body
that needed to be looked at."
Steve thought for a moment, wondering if he should mention the
three long gashes on his back. "I have these gashes on my back,
but Tony sewed them up for me," he told her somewhat bitterly.
He felt like he was in prison but couldn't even have the
privilege to have his one phone call.
The nurse made Steve lean over a bit so she could lift up the
back of his shirt to see the sewed up wounds. "These appear to
be somewhat badly sew. A few have popped open as well it seems."
"I know, but they're fine. They popped open later this morning
and they stopped bleeding."
The nurse took Steve by the arm, helping him up and leading him
to an empty room across the hall. "They'll need to be taken out
and re-sewn," he told Steve casually.
Steve remained emotionless as the nurse ripped out all his
stitches, cleaned the fresh blood off of him, and sewed him up
tighter than before. The pain meant nothing to him for the
thought of his boyfriend having an operation in the other room
was all he could think about. "Done!" said the nurse proudly.
"Now how about you get some rest while Mr. Stark is finishing
up, hm?" she said, smiling.
The nurse left the room and dimmed the lights, but Steve did not
rest. He had to get to Tony. Quietly, he got out of the bed and
opened the door to his room, checking the hall to make sure it
was clear before walking over to the room that Tony was in and
looking through the window. Sadly, the doctor was blocking his
view of seeing Tony. He sighed before he heard a voice say his
name. He turned around to see the nurse from earlier.
She took Steve's hand and led him back into the room he was in
before and lied him back down on the bed. "Stop it," Steve said,
sounding a bit angry. "Just let me be with him. I can handle the
blood. I was in World War II!" The nurse just shook her head and
started fastening the restraints on the bed. "What are you
doing?!" Steve asked, trying to sit up, but falling back down
because of the restraints. Steve smirked. "You know I could
easily break out of these, right?"
The nurse nodded before getting some restraints made of iron
that reminded him of handcuffs before attaching them to the bed
and fastening them on Steve as well. "Sorry Mr. Rogers, but we
can't take any chances of you trying to get to Mr. Stark." And
with that, the nurse left and locked the door behind her. Steve
knew he could still get out, but chose not to try. It was
useless to try because they'd just find him and take him away
again. He felt like some sort of insane person, being locked up
to the bed like this, and he had to admit he tried for a few
seconds to break through the two layers of restraints, but
failed. Steve sighed before lying his head back and staring at
the ceiling.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony's eyes flutter open, fingers curling automatically, as if
trying to hold an invisible stranger's hand. He turns his head,
bleary eye adjusting to the light -- the doctor and a nurse are
standing in the corner, murmuring about something can't quite
here. He thinks he might here Steve's name once.
"Steve?' Tony asks, glad to find he's not choking on his own
blood anymore. His throat is a little sore, though. "Is he
here?"
The doctor turns his head, looking surprised that Tony is awake
already -- of course, judging by the sun setting out of Tony's
window, it's been quite a while. The doctor gives a last
murmured reply to the nurse, who nods dutifully and exits the
room before the doctor turns, smiles, and approaches Tony.
"Steve's getting better, it might be a while before you can see
him. You'll be happy to know that the operation--"
"No, I want to see him," Tony demands, sitting up. He winces,
lifts up the cotton shirt that reminds him of scrubs, and stares
at the closed-up gashes across his stomach and chest. "Ow," he
says.
The doctor -- Tony glances at his name tag and sees his name is
Dr. Kelly Kendall -- smiles at him, picking up a clipboard from
a side table. "We'll let you see Mr. Rogers tomorrow," he tells
Tony, "It probably wouldn't be a smart idea for you to get up."
Tony takes note of that word -- probably.
"Where's he at, what's he... is he hurt?"
"His back had to be patched up."
"Oh." Tony's hand absentmindedly goes to his forehead -- the
stitches have apparently been removed, but the skin is still
slightly puckered there. "...Kelly, huh?" His gaze flickers to
the doctor's name tag again.
Dr. Kendall sighs, giving Tony a vaguely irritated look.
"Junior," he says, "I was named after my father."
"Is he dead?"
"I-- no, he's--"
"Oh, good, then I can make fun of him-- he must've really liked
the idea of giving you a rough childhood, I mean, Kelly..."
"I'll be back to check your vitals later, Mr. Stark," Dr.
Kendall sighs, like he's heard it all so many times before, and,
promptly, leaves. Tony may or may not have planned this, but he
grins anyways, and hauls himself over the side of the bed. When
he stands up, however, he lets out a shaky, surprised kind of
breath at the feeling of vertigo. Okay, he hadn't been expecting
that. He's not so sure at the prospect of walking any more.
But, one convenient thing after another, Tony finds a wheelchair
leaning against the wall, you know, the kind made out of some
kind of thick fabric and look a little bit like cheap lawn
chairs that you can fold up. Tony manages to fold it out and sit
down on it, and, feeling quite proud of himself, gets accustomed
to rolling it around and wheels out of the room. His room is at
the end of the room, so there's way to go but right, opening
every room just a crack to find who he's looking for.
It's a wonder how he ended up avoiding the doctor or any of the
nurses who had treated him, but he finds Steve in a room seven
doors over, surprisingly restrained to the bed. "Steve?" he says
hopefully, wheeling himself into the room a bit further. He
closes the door behind him, and rolls over. He's about
chest-level with the bed, as if he weren't short enough.
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve sighed, deciding to close his eyes for a bit. Before he
knew it, he opened his eyes and looked out the window to see the
sun setting. Then he heard the door open. Steve didn't turn to
look because he figured it was the nurse again. "Steve?" Nope,
nope, defiantly not the nurse.
Steve quickly turned his head to see Tony in a wheelchair.
"Tony!" he said happily, trying to reach out and touch the man
but couldn't. "Ugh, these stupid things!" Steve growled, closing
his eyes and using all his strength to rip through the first
layer of restraints and bend the iron layer up far enough to
slip his hands out before doing the same with his feet. Steve
turned his head and cupped Tony's face in both of his hands
before pulling him in for a passionate kiss.
"I'm so happy you're alright...You are alright, aren't you?"
asked Steve, breaking the kiss and looking at Tony up and down.
"I mean, you aren't disabled are anything, right?" Steve looked
back up at Tony's face, worried.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony's eyes widened as Steve broke out of his restraints -- he
forgot how strong the man was sometimes, because he was always
so... gentle with Tony. He put a hand to Steve's face as they
kiss, fingers knotting in the other man's hair, smiling to
himself even as they pulled away.
"I'm fine," Tony said, brushing off Steve's questions easily. "I
mean, I ran the danger of tearing open these stitches and
bleeding out on the floor to come and see you, but I got to make
fun of a doctor, and that kiss was pretty worth it." He grinned
at Steve, looking quite proud, and leaned it for another short
kiss before giving a vaguely interested glance at the now-broken
restraints on Steve's bed. "You know..." he said, "As long as
you didn't break them, I could probably figure out a few
interesting things to do with handcuffs."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve raised an eyebrow in confusion at Tony's last comment.
"What kind of things?" Steve asked, truly confused. Why would
Tony suddenly want to do things with handcuffs?
Steve shook this thought away as another thought occurred to
him. Tony had gotten hurt because of Steve. "Tony... I'm sorry.
I'm so, so sorry. I... I shouldn't have left, but I was doing it
to protect you. You understand that right? It was all my fault,
and don't tell me it wasn't because it was.... The Revengers are
after me, just like you said...." Steve stopped because he was
tearing up again, and the thought of him having to leave Tony
for protection was once again feeling like the best option.
Steve shook his head. No. He wasn't going to leave Tony again.
He knew that even though being with Tony put him in danger, at
least Steve would be by his side to protect him instead of miles
away where he wouldn't even know Tony was in trouble. "I'm going
to stay with you, Tony," he said, determination in his eyes.
"I'm going to make it all up to you... I promise."
Steve leaned in for another passionate kiss, letting it last for
a long time til he figured Tony needed to breathe and pulled
away. "You didn't close your eyes or look away... did you?"
Steve asked, referring to when he told Tony to close his eyes
before he killed Slicer. He already felt like he knew what the
answer was going to be.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony shot Steve a look that said he wasn't really sure if Steve
was being serious or not -- he simply shook his head in answer.
Of course, Steve started apologizing then, and Tony's gaze
dropped, refusing to look at Steve. How could he still blame
himself for things like this. Tony wasn't here because of Steve,
he was... here. You know, alive. Tony wouldn't be alive without
Steve -- couldn't he see that?
Tony didn't answer when Steve asked him whether or not he had
closed his eyes, just stared at Steve, looking as if he were
thinking very hard about something.
"Make it up to me?" he repeated, letting his hand drop from
Steve's face. "Steve..." he sighed, running a hand through his
hair in exasperation. Finally, he motioned to himself. "I am
here, Steve, because of you. I am here because you replaced my
arc reactor. I am here because you called the Helicarrier even
though I, literally, stabbed you in the back. I am here because
you pushed me out of a building. I'm here because even though
you hate killing people, you did it for me. I'm here because you
saved my life, like, five times." He wheeled himself an inch or
two away from Steve, because their faces so close made it kind
of hard to focus. "I'll say it once and I'll say it again --
this isn't us. And I just... I want to convince that you're not
as bad as you think you are, okay? You ask, anybody, and they'll
tell you that you're just about the most selfless human being
they've ever met in their life!" He stops, breathes for a
moment, and casts Steve a searching look. "I, honestly, from the
bottom of my heart, do not blame you, and neither does anybody
else."
✩Steve✩
"I won't judge you.
I'm not going anywhere.
You got me."
Steve let Tony's words soak in, repeating them in his head
before looking at Tony. Steve was speechless, utterly
speechless. Captain America, the man who gave war speeches,
inspirational speeches, who always seemed to know exactly what
to say could literally not say a single word. It was like all
the guilt had been washed away by a giant ocean of
understanding. Steve had never felt so happy in his life. Sure,
later he would remember all the people he has killed and a
little bad again, but that was beside the point.
"Everything I do, I do it for you... You know that, right?"
Steve asked, sitting up. "I do it because I want what's best for
you..." Steve didn't really know where he was going with this,
but he decided to end it with, "I love you, Anthony Edward
Stark."
Suddenly, Steve burst out laughing, feeling like nothing could
ruin his happiness. When he was done laughing for about three
minutes straight, he collapsed back on the bed and sighed. "Did
you mean what you said, by the way? About being sorry that you
didn't marry me if you... died." Steve's tone quickly evolved in
to one of true seriousness after that laugh attack. He didn't
really know what had made him ask that question now, but he
guessed it was because Steve wanted to marry Tony right here
right now more than ever. Of course, he would want Tony to feel
the same way as well.
{:: T O N Y ::}
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Tony smirked as he watched Steve dissolve laughter, set off by
his sudden changed in mood, but entrance nonetheless. Steve was,
really, really gorgeous when he laughed, like, really laughed.
Tony just wished he'd do it more often.
Of course, the question Steve asked afterwards was like a punch
in the gut, and Tony's fond expression turned to a shocked one.
"Um..." he started, dropped his gaze, and, promptly, cursed. Had
he said that? Yes, okay, he could remember that now... had he
gotten Steve's hopes up? "Of course, yeah, yes, Steve, I love
you, I want to marry you, I just..." He drew a hand over his
face, trying to clear his mind, and heaved a sigh. He leaned
forward, putting his arms on the bed.
"Okay... Steve... Steven... yeah, let's use that, it's more...
more formal, or something... um, listen, I can't... can't set
myself up for that right now. I... you know, marriage has a
certain... responsibility to it, and, you know, that's hard to
commit yourself to when you can't even be responsible for
yourself, and..." He stopped. God, he was so stupid -- he was
gonna make Steve all sad and... and... He sighed again. "Okay,
no, you're right, you know, you're totally right, let's just...
let's just do it, go to Vegas or something and get it over with,
and I'll get used it and... okay, I'm just gonna ask it, okay?
Marry me. You. Will you marry me?"
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