"Sir? Captain Rogers has returned. He's on his way down," Jarvis informed Tony, who was busy digging through a pile of rusty metal shards.
"Lock the door," Tony mumbled quietly. He didn't want to see anyone, especially not Steve, not after what he'd done.
"Sir, it would be unwise. May I also remind you that Mr. Rogers has an access code?" the Al announced.
Tony gave an exasperated sigh. It was too late to change the codes on all the doors now. So he put on his most bored, unmoved expression and stared blankly at a piece of metal in his hand as a way to feign preoccupation. Just as Tony was struggling to remember why exactly he needed this old garbage for in the first place, Steve burst through the door with a wide grin.
"Tony!" He exclaimed rushing to give the smaller man a hug but receiving only a cold stare in return. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt? I just got back from the mission, and my God, I haven't seen you in so long, I missed you so much," he babbled on.
"I'm busy," Tony cut him off flatly and returned to his metal. Finally noticing his dark mood, Steve took a step back and watched Tony quietly for a few minutes.
"Is something wrong?" he inquired softly.
"Yes. No," Tony muttered turning his back to Steve. "Don't you have something to do? I don't want to hear the tales of your victorious pursuits. I have better things to do."
"Tony…" Steve started, taken aback. "I just wanted to see you…I'm sorry. I haven't seen you in months…I just wanted to spend some time with you."
"Go spend time with your dearly beloved, why don't you?" Tony suddenly snapped. "Pose for some more heroic couple pictures for the newspapers. What did they call you again…"He grabbed a stack of NY Times from the table. "Ah, yes. The Super Lovers! How adorable," he mused with venom in his voice.
So that's what it was about.
"Tony, you don't believe everything the papers tell you, do you? You know better than all of us how they love to exaggerate…"
"I don't care to hear your excuses, thank you," Tony cut him off again. "Take your shit and go. I'm sure Romanov has a nice apartment somewhere."
"Tony, please don't. We aren't together. God! I can't believe I even have to tell you this. Tony, the press likes the drama. It was just a mission. Please," Steve laid his hand on Tony's shoulders only to be shoved back.
"Just a mission, huh?" Tony hissed punching a few buttons on the keyboard. A photo appeared on the screen – it was Steve and Natasha, kissing.
"Tony, just listen to me, please," Steve pleaded again.
"LEAVE! GET THE FUCK OUT!" Tony bellowed giving Steve another shove. "OUT!"
"Sir, Agent Romanov is at the door," Jarvis informed politely. Tony groaned and reached for the bottle only to realize he was in his bedroom, not the lab. How the hell did he get here? It didn't even matter. He had a splitting headache and he only received visitors every other Tuesday.
It took Tony a few seconds to process just who the visitor was.
Fuck.
"Jarvis, whatever you do, don't let her in," Tony ordered.
"Sir, I'm afraid she's alrea-" the computer was silenced when Natasha stormed into the bedroom with a look of pure fury on her face.
"What the hell?" Tony exclaimed as she yanked him off the bed and shoved his body into the wall. Tony unsuccessfully attempted to block the blow as she sent her free hand flying across his face.
"Tony Stark!" she hissed. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Tony struggled under her grip and tried to protest weakly but the effects of his hangover combined with the force of the blow knocked all the strength out of his body, so he just shook his head vigorously.
"Steve comes to me looking like a fucking corpse and tells me you kicked him out of the house because YOU THOUGHT WE WERE DATING? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
"The papers…" Tony managed. "The fucking papers. And the photo from Fury's files." He was angry now, too. How dare she break into his house and accuse him of whatever the hell she was accusing him off? She was the one who stole the only person he cared about.
"Fury's files?" Natasha raised her eyebrow. "Never mind. We were undercover, Stark. Under-cover. Do I need to spell it out for you? An undercover mission. We were PRETENDING to be lovers because we couldn't attract ATTENTION. And after we completed the mission, the journalists decided to use it as their front page story because it sells!"
"But I thought…" Tony responded as the realization of what he had done slowly dawned on him.
"You didn't think, Stark. That's your fucking problem. Now, get yourself together – you smell like shit – get dressed and go talk to him. I've never seen him so upset, you jealous dickhead." With that, she released her grip on Tony's shirt and allowed him to slide to the ground.
"What a fucking idiot," Tony thought.
"Steve! Please open the door! Steve!" Tony pleaded for the thousandth time. OK, he had anticipated some difficulties, but they were supposed to come after he actually met with Steve face-to-face, not before.
Finally, the door creaked open to reveal Steve with his arms across his chest. He looked so pale and worn out and so…sad. Tony felt like the last shit all over again.
"Tony, I don't want to talk right- oh my god what have you done to your face?" Steve gaped when he noticed large letters across Tony's forehead that read I AM A FUCKING IDIOT in a black sharpie.
"Yeah. I'm a fucking idiot. No, really, I am. I'm sorry. That photo was in Fury's files, I really thought…they keep tabs on things like that, you know? Shit, I messed up. It's just…you're the only person I really care about, and realizing that you didn't feel the same way, it really hurt. So I wanted to hurt you back. Fuck. I don't know what to say. I'm really just stupid and jealous and-" Steve cut him off with a heated kiss on the lips. It was the last reaction Tony expected, but he went along with it just fine.
"Check your sources next time, ok?" Steve whispered against his lips. Tony just nodded lightly and allowed his hands to wander through Steve's hair – for the first time in three long months.
