This is a short drabble that just popped into my head last night. It turned out slightly different that I had envisioned but I am happy with the results. I may expand on this later and turn it into a fully fledged fic but for now it will remain a One Shot.
CACW
"If you need me, I'll be there".
Seven words. Twenty-one letters. They played on a loop, a repeated staccato in his head.
"If you need me, I'll be there".
"I needed you then," he slurred with a voice made of whiskey and broken glass, "so much for your word."
Tony set the empty tumbler back on the desk in Steve's office, former office Tony thought belatedly, next to the plain black burner phone; a finger of amber liquid still remained in his glass. He leaned back in the leather chair slightly, ignoring the groan of metal as he adjusted his position. The chair prefered it's previous owner, he thought caustically, but Rogers was gone. Fucking good, good riddance.
"If you need me, I'll be there".
Tony fiddled with the gold band on his left hand; he hadn't removed the ring once since their fight, it's absence more painful than his denial. Tony tried to picture the last time he had seen Steve without his gloves… if he had been wearing his own ring...the images were unfocused; he couldn't remember...
The phone sat near his half empty glass, in the corner of his eye. It glared sardonically at him, the blank screen challenged him wordlessly from the desktop. 'Call him.'
"If you need me, I'll be there".
"Go fuck yourself Rogers," he spit, venom curdling in his mouth.
"Now that's a fine way to greet your Captain."
A molten wave of disbelief rose through Tony's gut, frothing and churning as it climbed into his ears and neck which flushed a blotchy red. His pulse was rapid, pounding throughout his trembling limbs, straining his breath that had lodged in his throat.
Tony slowly turned to face the voice.
The void beyond the empty doorway peered back.
For a moment the engineer sat in the empty grey office, it's sparse and simple furnishings suddenly obnoxiously loud and overwhelming for his short circuiting brain. His racing heart began to slow leaving him hollow and despondent. Fucking hell.
Tony pressed his fingers into his burning eyes, "I guess that's my last glass for the night," his voice wavered but remained solid. A hand reached for the tumbler blindly, but nimble, treacherous, and calloused fingers, instead, grasped the smooth edge of the phone.
He stared at the cheap device, rubbing his thumb over the battery case.
'Call him."
Tony ripped open the top left drawer of the desk and flung the phone away from him as though burned. He slammed it with a muted wooden thunk, trapping the disembodied voice, his hands itched to slam it again and again until he was satisfied; Tony doubted that could happen.
"If you need me, I'll be there."
"Liar."
CACW
Please read and review! Let me know if I should continue this!