Title: Too Late To Apologise

Summary:

The one where Steve is not a goody goody person who does no wrong, Tony is an awesome guy who won't break down, Pepper and Rhodey are the best besties anyone can possibly ask for, with other characters showing a good side.

Or

The one in which Stony happened before, and it WON'T happen again.

Title from Apologise by One Republic

Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers

This work has been cross-posted in Wattpad and Ao3. Please check my profile for links.


Tony Stark was a genius.

His mind was always so fast, so quick to analyse, deduce and understand, while creating things beyond an average man's imagination. He was a scientist, who played with possibilities and probabilities on a regular basis. He reveled in unravelling mysteries and finding the answers to questions that no one can even comprehend.

So, he should have known what was going to happen. He should have seen the signs, should have known.

Maybe he did know, in a deep corner of his mind that echoed with the voices of his past, chanting, 'you'll never be enough, never, never, never'. But, it was buried under layers of wishful thinking that, 'maybe, just maybe, this time it'll be different.'

Needless to say, Tony was shocked when Steve came to him with a small smile, as he always did, (which was, in hindsight, more like a grimace, and atleast that should have clued him in) when Tony was geeking out in the lab and said, "I'm so sorry but, I can't do this anymore, Tony."

Though he didn't show any outward reaction indicating his surprise, he was running through all the things he had done that might have driven Steve Rogers away.

'What stupid thing did I do this time? Must've been serious, for such a drastic action. Oh god, Pepper is gonna kill me.'

Though, he never once considered the possibility that it might not have been his fault at all. That thought didn't even cross his mind, because the voices from the deep corner of his mind had grown louder (his father screaming at him that he was a disappointment, always breaking everything; Obie laughingly telling him, with a mocking glint in his eyes, that he never could make anything good in his life to stay; the silence of Pepper and Rhodey that screamed of disappointment, even though they never said a word to that effect).

Therefore, Tony was left gaping (in his mind, obviously, because he was Tony fucking Stark, and he doesn't gape like a brainless oaf), when Steve revealed the reason for the breakup to be Steve himself, or rather his inability to let go of his past.

"I'm not over Peggy yet, Tony, and also, you remind me too much of Howard that I can't - I'm so sorry."

Tony didn't trust himself to speak since he wasn't sure that if he opened his mouth, he wouldn't, either, verbally flay Steve or plead with him to reconsider.

'It's not my fault,' he reminded himself.

Tony nodded stiffy, his eyes blank.

Steve shifted on his feet and looked as though he wanted to say something more. But then he closed his mouth, and with another painful grimace, left the lab.

Tony didn't know how long he stood there, lost in thought.

When he finally became aware of his surroundings, he realised that DUM-E was whirring soothingly near him, and all the holograms he was working on were shut down.

"JARVIS?" he asked, clearing his throat.

"I've called Miss Potts and Colonel Rhodey, sir," the AI answered promptly. "They'll be here shortly."

Tony nodded, absent-minded. He felt disconnected.

He moved towards his stash of scotch.

"Well, I think I deserve a drink or ten after that," Tony said, gesturing vaguely towards the lab entrance.

DUM-E whined sadly.

"Sir, please," said JARVIS, soft but firm. "You have only now started to leave behind the habit of drinking. Please don't let that man be the reason for your relapse."

Tony stopped on hearing the tone of distress in his AI's voice. Taking a deep breath, he changed directions and shuffled towards the worn couch instead.

"Alright, J," he said, reassuringly. "Whatever you say."

As he laid down, the lights were dimmed and the silence wad broken only by the chirps of his bots. He felt tired and wrung out.

He knew that Pepper and Rhodey would come as soon as they could- they always did. It was a tradition, almost, that whenever one of them faced an upheaval, the other two would drop everything to be with each other.

Tony knew that he would have to tell them what had happened. He would have to analyse and catalogue it properly when he was ready to think clearly; though, he's pretty sure that Pepper and Rhodey would be very vocal in unashamedly placing all the blame on Steve bloody Rogers. They were his best friends after all and it's kind of in the job description to always side with him.

But that was later.

For now, all he wanted was to sleep for a long while, hoping that when he woke up that the metaphorical heavy weight over his chest would have, at the very least, lessened.


TBC...


A/N: I've always wanted to write an Avengers fic.

DON'T READ THE BELOW NOTE IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY SHAMELESS HONESTY

And I gotta ask, am I really the only one who doesn't like Stony? I don't understand it's appeal, to be honest. I don't like Captain America either, though I am sure he has some qualities that might redeem him of his self-righteous assh*le like behaviour.

Let me know what you guys think.