Title: Gotye
Summary: Twenty-three short drabble/snippets based from listening to Gotye's music.
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.
Warnings: Yaoi, slash, blood, gore, swearing, angst, etc. etc.
Side Note: This was just a little challenge that I set up for myself. I could only write while the song was playing and had to use every song. If there's any particular one that you would like made into a full-length story, just let me know.
Like Drawing Blood
Silence filled the room as Steve sighed and held out his arm, wondering just why the team found it important that even though he had the serum pumping through his veins he would still need a flu shot. He winced and looked away when the needle sunk into his arm.
"Want a lollipop?" Natasha offered.
"He can lick my-" Clint offered, just to be smacked in the back of his head by Tony.
"As Fury said; no sleeping with the country's greatest hero!"
"Damn..."
Only Way
There was never one way out, Steve thought as he stared blankly at the ruins of the city of Manhattan, wondering if Tony had made the right decision with his heroic act. He turned his eyes away from the dirty window to focus on his plate of shawarma and sighed as he began to eat. If there was another way, he was certain that he would find it in time but knowing Loki as little as he did, he was certain that the brunette had made the right call and he was left wondering where or not he was the right one to lead the Avengers.
Hearts A Mess
Steve only wanted to know what was wrong with Tony, the man was acting skittish and snapped at everyone lately. It was getting on the blonde's nerves and he was certain that such an attitude was going to be the downfall for the team if he could not help the brunette through it. Steeling his nerves and mustering up his courage, the leader of the Avengers walked into the lab and looked around, pausing at the sight of some of his paintings and drawings hung up on the walls. He had been wondering for days where his sketchbook had disappeared to and was shocked to see some of his drawings in frames. "Tony?" he called out tentatively.
"Cap?" Tony cried out, suddenly springing into the room with wild hair and grease streaked across his body. "Wh-what are you doing here? Oh, never mind the pictures. I needed decorations and didn't feel like buying wallpaper," the genius rambled. "I like it and Pepper thinks that the place looks more homely."
"Homely," Steve repeated, his voice flat as he looked around the room, all of his works had been hung up in various stages of completion. He knew that the brunette was hiding something and could only hope that-
"-so I took a few. Okay, I took all of them. Can you blame me? I mean, come on, Rogers. Is there anything that you are unable to do without having being so goddamn perfect at it? Ever fail at sports? Math? Physics? Sex?"
"You like me," the blonde cut in, leaving the genius to stammer and stutter as he deflected, bringing up everything that he could to distract the soldier. "Oh, Tony..." Steve murmured as he pulled the other man into a hug, smiling at the way he stilled before slumping against him. "You're such a mess."
"I like you, too, Cap," Tony teased as he smiled and wrapped his arms around the soldier.
Coming Back
Dark eyes looked over at the clock as a grin spread across the brunette's features. It was almost time for Steve to get sick and tired of waiting in his bedroom all alone. He knew he was supposed to be working on his latest project but he had JARVIS ready to alert him if the good Captain left the bedroom so he could pretend to be working when the blonde would storm into the lab and steal him away from whatever he was working on. It was a game that he had devised once he had noticed the pattern.
Steve would wait in the bedroom for exactly one hour past the time that Tony said that he would go to bed. He never left earlier than one hour so the brunette had taken the liberties of timing him just to make sure. The first few times that the super soldier had stormed into workspace, grabbed the engineer forcefully, draped his struggling body over his shoulder, and carried him up to bed, the brunette pitched a fit that left the soldier with flushed ears and an unapologetic smile.
Recently though, Tony found himself enjoying the routine and all of the struggles that he put up was purely for show.
"Sir, Captain Rogers has left your room," JARVIS cut in, making the brunette grin.
"It's show time, baby," Tony muttered as he turned his attention back to the designs in front of his eyes.
Thanks For Your Time
Steve groaned as he held the phone to his ear, tapping his foot impatiently while Tony grinned proudly at him. Honestly, all he wanted to do was speak to a living human about the products that the company sold. He never thought that after pressing at the right buttons; at least, he hoped that they were correct; would leave him speaking to three different people, all of which did not know what he was talking about. The soldier was sorely tempted to give up by Tony was determined that this was something that he had to do if he wanted to adjust to modern times.
After listening to silence for quite some time, the blonde found himself back in voice-prompt hell and was stuck wondering exactly what he was supposed to do once more. He answered the questions again the same way that he did last time and he was certain that Tony was laughing at him. Three more operators told him that they were unable to help him and would patch him through to the supervisor, leaving the Captain frustrated beyond all means. He listened to the soft music that played for about twenty seconds before hurling the phone at the wall.
"I'm going to the store," Steve glared at Tony, who just continued to laugh. "If you want to know how many different kinds of Orioles they have, you call them!"
As the soldier stormed out of the room, he could hear the brunette laughing even harder, "Oreos, Cap! OREOS!"
Learnaligivinanlovin'
"Dance with me," Tony breathed as he held out his hand, smiling brightly at Steve as he wiggled his hips in tune with the music.
"I can't dance," Steve muttered as he smiled softly, his face turning a soft shade of pink while his heart sunk slightly; he was supposed to have Peggy show him how to dance...
"No time like the present, Cap," the genius countered before grabbing the soldier's biceps and winking. "Promise I'll keep it clean." The soldier nodded before rising to his feet, wondering briefly how the man had managed to convince him with just one smile when the beautiful Miss Romanoff and Miss Potts were unable to manage such a thing. "Now...put your hands right...here. There you go, Cap. Ready?"
"No time like the present, right?" the blonde said, earning himself a bright grin from the brunette.
"Right! Now follow my lead."
Puzzle With A Piece Missing
The music in the elevator was unlike anything he had ever heard and when he asked Tony exactly what it was, the man just smirked his infuriating little smirk at him and told him to shush up and listen to the soothing sounds or else he would play AC/DC as loud as he could. Knowing that the brunette would be good on his word, Steve listened to the gently music as he leaned back against the wall, letting his eyes slip shut. He could have fallen asleep if it was not for his sudden attention to the words. He found himself empathizing with the words, knowing that the music did not fit in the household and neither did he. All he could do was bed and stretch and hope to fill the space that he knew he would never be able to.
"You still awake, Captain Crunch?" Tony called out, shaking the blonde's shoulder.
"I'm okay," Steve muttered as he turned his head to look at the brunette with conflicted eyes before he nodded to the door. "This is my floor." The blonde nodded to himself before stepping out of the elevator, leaving a confused genius in his wake.
He would never fit into the space and while he knew that, he also knew that it did not mean that he needed to stop trying.
Seven Hours With A Backseat Driver
Bruce was pointing out where to go and Tony was snapping back at the scientist that he knew where he was going to the rage machine could kindly go fuck himself. Steve peered out his window at the endless fields that stared back at him, wondering if it would be a good idea to smash his face through the glass just to stop their bickering for a short while. The inane and unrelenting squabbling droned on and on and the soldier found himself thinking that this was exactly how people who took their lives felt right before they did the deed. There seemed to be no end in sight and the blonde could not help but groan as he looked at the time, tossing his head back in despair.
Seven more hours to go.
Why exactly had Tony insisted that they drive to California again?
Oh yeah, doughnuts.
It was one thing if he was wearing the suit and flying there and back. It was quite another when three people were in a luxury car and the one that was not bickering was wondering what would be the best way to shut them up.
"You see how I'm sitting up front? That means I'm in charge, Brucie!" Tony called out.
"That doesn't mean that you're doing things right!"
"Oh, fuck off," the genius laughed, crossing his arms stubbornly in front of his chest.
"Hands on the steering wheel!" Steve shrieked in a completely unmanly way, making Bruce and Tony jump, the engineer grabbing the wheel tightly.
"Jeez, Cap! Don't get your girdle in a bunch!"
...Only six hours and fifty minutes to go...
He was going to die.
Only Thing I Know
Sometimes, when Natasha smiled her quirky little smile at him, all tight lips and a hint of smugness, Steve could feel like he was back in his rightful time. He could almost see Peggy's thick dark hair and smoldering eyes staring back at him, peering into his soul and looking at him like she had no idea what to do with a simple boy from Brooklyn. It was in those moments that being around the Black Widow wrenched his heart and left him aching for a time that had passed. He could hear her soft chuckle in his ear and could practically smell her in the room with him, and the soldier wanted nothing more than to sob in heartache. Cry for all of those that he left behind and weep for the death of his loved ones.
"Hey, are you all right, Steve?" Natasha asked, her voice just as crisp and cool as Peggy's was. But different all the while. It shattered the illusion that his mind had conjured up, the dark hair and dark eyes vanishing and leaving the redheaded assassin in her place. Steve wanted nothing more than to curl up in his old apartment and break into a million pieces.
"I'm fine," the soldier replied, trying to sound strong while his mind grasped for the shattered remains of Peggy that stayed in his mind. He knew that all he was doing was hurting himself and that she was long gone even if he could remember their last conversation like it happened moments ago.
But it was all that he had left of her and Steve refused to let that go.
Night Drive
Tony looked over at the blonde man that was seated in the passenger's seat as he drove through the city. Lights twinkled in the sky while brighter lights shone brightly across the dark streets, illuminating the lax face of his Captain, making the blonde look much younger and softer in the soft glow of the lights as he weaved through traffic. The soldier was completely asleep and had been beyond exhausted when the brunette had managed to talk him into going for a drive. It worked out in his favor when the blonde had fallen asleep, leaving him to muse on the fact that Steve was much more relaxed as he slept. Completely unguarded and innocent. He was everything that America needed and the playboy was more than willing to drive around the block a few times if it meant that the blonde would have a more peaceful night's sleep.
Worn Out Blues
Thinking back about Peggy hurt; hurt him more than he wanted to admit. Steve had promised himself that he would give her everything and he had let her down. That was what had hurt him the most when he woke up in the future.
Making Mirrors
He could hear nothing over the faint sound of the hum the lights gave off as he looked at his reflection in the mirror of SHIELD's bathroom, wondering just it was that he was doing.
Easy Way Out
If there was one thing that Steve had picked up about Tony, it was the fact that while Tony made things difficult for those around him by joking and playing around, his mind was always working faster than it should. He would claim that he was thinking about something lewd or just plain ridiculous but the soldier knew better. He could tell that the genius was doing the same thing that he was; determining what would be the best way to get out of a particular situation with the least amount of damages. They would both come up with different solutions, but he could count that Stark would at least be bold enough to give him a glimpse of whatever stunt he was going to pull just seconds before going through with the dangerous stunt.
Somebody That I Used To Know
The similarities behind them were so stunning that it often left Steve winded. Sometimes he could see Howard standing right in front of him when in fact it was Tony. The first time that he had smiled and called the brunette by his father's name, a wrench had swiftly cracked him upside the head, leaving the soldier to clutch his head in pain while the brunette engineer ranted about how he had the balls to call him by that name.
It was not that he meant to call him Howard, he had tried to explain this to the other man that it was not as bad as he was making it out to be, that Howard was a good man, that Howard was a friend, that he did not mean to slip up the names. Tony was having none of it, though, and the blonde soon found him kicked out of the lab and ordered to never return. He blinked slowly as he stared at the door, wondering what had happened to Howard to make his own son hate him so severely. He also wondered if the man was ever going to forgive him. But if he was anything like his father, and he really was, then he had no chance at all. The soldier sighed softly as he walked away from the lab dejectedly, knowing that he had managed to ruin everything with one word.
Eyes Wide Open
Blue eyes met brown eyes as the blonde reached out, his torn and bloody gloves scrambling for purchase along the dusty concrete as he coughed. "Sorry, son," Steve rasped, noting the blood that trickled down the genius's temple. "I don't think-"
"Shut up," Tony wheezed as he reached out and took Steve's hand in his own, not feeling the warm fingers in his metal-encased hand as he grinned toothily at the blonde while the metal groaned overhead, dust raining down on them. "If anyone needs to apologize, it should be Fury for fucking up so horribly. Hey, if we're lucky he'll be reamed out by Widow for not having the full picture before sending us out like idiots."
"Stark-"
"Seriously, Steve, shut up. I don't want my last moment alive to be filled with your apologies. Just tell me something..."
"Hm?"
"...Was my dad really a good guy back then?"
"Yeah," Steve whispered breathlessly as he smiled, his teeth coated with his own blood as he ran his fingers over the back of the playboy's hand. "And he would have been proud to see all that you've accomplished. I'm proud of you, too."
"Thanks," Tony replied, a slight hitch in his breath that could have simply been from inhaling the dust rather than from his emotions. His eyes watered as he smiled sadly, "I love you." Steve could hear Thor's booming voice in the distance as the rest of the precariously balanced rubble broke free from its supports and barreled towards them.
"I love you, too."
Smoke and Mirrors
After living with his team for a while, Clint was able to pick out the telltale signs that there was something hidden in their leader. He was trained by SHIELD to observe his enemies to pick them apart and take them down. While Natasha was more adept at the espionage portion, the marksman was always good at reading people and finding their weak sports, the chinks in the armor that everyone tried to hide. It made him good at fighting and even better at discovering how to take someone down from a distance. He always tried to keep his distance but Steve was different.
He could see the despair in his eyes when he thought no one else was paying attention to him.
The longing.
The heartache.
The helplessness.
The utter, soul-crushing despair.
And the very second he knew someone was watching him, his guard was back up and that stern, commanding mask slid back into place.
Clint had taken to reading up on Steve after he picked out the little clues. He perused through Tony's personal belongings and eventually came across the notes that were left behind by his father. Stories and videos about a sickly man from Brooklyn who wanted nothing more that to defend his country and innocent people from harm. A man that underwent a dangerous procedure to help others. A man who was made into what he was by scientists.
He began to watch the Captain much more closely once he found out that new information; the signs suddenly making much more sense.
Steve was much more than a simple soldier that was taken out of his time. He was a kid that was taken out of his body and given far more responsibility than someone his age should ever have. He was thrust into a situation no one else should and was doing his best to make sure not to let anyone down. A boy struggling to be a man and he was fooling everyone into thinking that he had everything under control at all times.
Clint was worried about whether or not the man was fooling himself along with everyone else.
I Feel Better
Thor laughed loudly as he clapped Steve on the back of his shoulder, making the super soldier stumble forward as he looked up slightly at the demigod. "It is good to see you smiling again, Captain!" the blonde god boomed loudly, making his fellow blonde smile in return. "All is better?"
"Yeah," Steve said as he patted the blonde Asgardian on his shoulder with much less strength than he was given. "I told you that I only had a cold."
"Verily, but it was most distressing when you could not breathe."
"My nose was stuffed," the shorter blonde laughed. "Come on, let's get you some Pop-Tarts."
In Your Light
Steve smiled softly as he curled closer to Tony, reaching up and tapping his fingers along the rim of the arc reactor, the glow soft and gentle as the genius slept peacefully, leaving the blonde soldier to his own thoughts. If the genius were awake, he would have joked about how the Captain had the brightest light out of all of them and that his light was dim in comparison, all the while meaning every word of it. Instead, the man was sleeping soundly for the first time in days and the blonde could not help but lean down and press a soft kiss to the warm metal. He hoped that Tony knew that about how he was making the superhero feel happier than he was in a long time. And if Tony were awake he would tell the blonde the same thing. But he was asleep and Steve was left to relax in the glow of the bright blue light that lit up his face.
State of the Art
Steve understood the allure of spending the night inside of the Tower once he discovered the array of things that Tony had stockpiled into the ugly skyscraper. There was something for all of them to become occupied with. The best thing that the blonde had found was the art room. It was filled with top of the line materials and the Captain had found himself drawn to the art supplies immediately. The others could watch movies and feast until they fell asleep or decided to go out for the evening. It left him with all the time in the world to ponder exactly what it was that he was going to paint. He thought of all of the works of art that he had seen during his travels in the war and found himself lacking any helpful thoughts.
He asked JARVIS and could not help but smile when the images of famous works of art lit up along the walls, leaving the soldier elated and stunned at the same time as he openly stared at the images.
Don't Worry, We'll Be Watching You
If there was one thing about being in Stark's Tower that was setting him on edge, more so than the constant need of people wanting to be able to reach him at all times, it was the fact that there was no privacy even when he was in private. People always expected him to answer his phone at all given hours of the night and while Tony had promised that JARVIS was not a "real boy" and did not even have eyes, the blonde found himself unable to sleep at all during his first stay in the mansion. He felt as if he was being watched and Army training was keeping him from falling into a restful sleep. Every ounce of his body was telling him to stay alert lest the unseen voice appear in the middle of the night and try to do him in.
The following morning, Steve made no mention to the others why he looked like he had not slept at all and neither had JARVIS, furthering the soldier's suspicions that the machine was watching him at all times.
He really hated the future.
Giving Me A Chance
After apologizing to Tony, the blonde realized that while he was not totally forgiven for their spat even though Tony was willing to bite back some of his bitter words and give him the opportunity to make things right. Steve wanted to make sure that he did this right, not wanting to lose whatever faith the older man and son of Howard Stark still had in him. It was a lot of pressure, but the Captain had very few regrets about proving to Stark that he was perfect for their team and was needed. He set his plans into motion but was not prepared by the surprise attack, not ready for the streams of confetti that were dumped over his head. Wild, blue eyes settled one the genius while everyone clapped and cheered.
"Hey," Tony offered up with a grin, "you weren't the only one who made an ass of themselves, Cap. Happy birthday."
Save Me
Steve was a morning person by nature. Even before the Army he was an early riser. So when he woke up one morning and did not feel the need to get out of the bed, he knew that it was going to be a difficult day. The blonde buried his head into the soft pillows as wrapped the blanket tighter around himself, wondering if his age was actually going to catch up with him. The thought was quickly shattered when an ache ran along his spine.
"Going to get up, Captain?" Bruce asked softly, his voice getting the blonde to turn his head to look at him. "Or should I bring you some cold pizza for breakfast before Thor gets to it?"
"...Would you?" Steve asked softly, wanting nothing more than to sleep some more. The brunette nodded before leaving and the next time the soldier awoke, all of the Avengers were eating cold pizza and sitting on his bed, making him smile. "Morning."
"Afternoon!" Tony called out cheerfully as he waved, getting smacked off the bed when Thor waved too widely.
"Good morning, my Captain!" the Asgardian bellowed, his voice drowning out the others' cheerful exclamations and Tony's halfhearted curses as Steve smiled genuinely.
Bronte
Steve swallowed thickly as he looked up, standing beside Thor as he watched the bright color that was Tony streak through the sky. He could not help the hammering in his chest as he thought back to when he first met the brunette. He could recall how harsh his words were and see how wrong he was while the man sacrificed himself for the sake of Manhattan. He was wrong about everything and would not even have the chance to tell Tony that, hoping his voice was steady as he murmured, "Close it."
Review and let me know what you thought.
