"I don't trust someone without a dark side." Tony Stark spat out at his 'friend' Steve Rogers, Captain America. The man was infuriating, and rubbed at Tony the wrong way. Ever since he'd met him, Capsicle had been the perfect (almost at least) soldier. He obeyed orders and was a super human. He'd said it before and would say it again, everything special about Captain America came from a bottle.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when Steve answered, "Let's just say you haven't seen it yet." Then he went back to splitting wood. His words transported Tony back to a memory he had of his father. It wasn't a good one, but it wasn't bad either.
"I knew Captain America. Made him some of what he was." Howard Stark said to his son.
Tony glared, "Yeah, I know. You helped him become the perfect man without any dark side or anything. Because your inventions are perfect." he said.
He started to say more, but the look on his father's face stopped him. His father looked... amused, and terrified. "Without a dark side huh?" he mumbled a bit. Howard flashed his son a smile, "Cap had a dark side. It was terrifying when you saw it. Very little could spark it. Only one thing actually." He said.
Tony found himself intrigued despite himself. He usually hated it when his dad talked about the Captain. It made him feel as though his dad was disappointed that he wasn't like the dead hero. "One thing?" he asked.
Howard looked up, lost in memory as he talked. "Yes. Only one thing brought out Cap's dark side, his best friend Sgt. James Buchannan "Bucky" Barnes." he said as he brought a hand up to stroke his chin.
"How did his best friend incite his dark side?" Tony asked, wouldn't that be counter productive to having a best friend?
Howard laughed completely understanding where his son was coming from, "Remember when I told you about how Cap rescued the 107th from that Hydra Base?" he asked.
Tony nodded, "You said it was 30 miles behind enemy lines and you and Agent Carter had to fly him over it." he recited. He'd heard that story so much it was burned in his brain.
"History says that he went to rescue the men." Howard said, and his son nodded. "History is wrong." he said simply. Tony looked at him in shock. Howard smiled wryly. "He stormed that base alone, killed everyone of the Hydra soldiers that got in his way, all for one man. He released the other prisoners on the way so that he could ask for information about Bucky. He found him, of course, but after he found him, Cap stopped looking for other survivors. His focus switched to getting Bucky out of the exploding base.
"When they got back to the base I asked about the journey back. They said that he had been kind to them, but the only one who really held his kindness was Sgt. Barnes. It didn't surprise me because Bucky had been on Cap's left when they arrived, and had been the first to propose a cheer for Cap. I'd never seen Cap smile so brightly as that. It looked like the sun. Like no darkness could touch that man, but I knew that was a lie, because I'd seen the darkness. It was a darkness that even Peggy hadn't been able to break through, and she had been the closest to him." he fell silent and Tony didn't say anything.
Tony looked at Steve split wood and wondered about his memory, about what his father had said. His father had been afraid of Steve's dark side. Tony felt an overwhelming need to see it.
He opened his mouth to speak, the heavy feeling that he was about to do something really stupid fell on him, but he shook it off, "So, I hear that when we capture the Winter Solder that he is to be immediately executed for his crimes." he said nonchalantly.
Steve froze with his ax raised over a stump, and he slowly straightened up before looking at Tony. A smile was on his face, but it was twisted, and blood thirsty. His eyes were cold like twin chips of ice. Every muscle in his body was tense, but when he took a step towards Tony it was fluid. Tony felt his heart pound with terror. It was like watching a predator stalk toward him.
The Captain's normally sunny face held no light, no warmth, and when he spoke it was cold as the Arctic, "Who told you this?" he asked. His voice was soft, and unyielding, like it could leech all the warmth out of the world. Tony shivered, and swore he could see his breath. "We're friends Tony. You can tell me." Steve said as he lay a hand on Tony's shoulder, and slid it up to the back of Tony's neck, lightly gripping him. His thumb brushed against Tony's rapid pulse.
"N-no one." he stuttered, "It w-was a j-j-joke." Tony struggled to speak, and to keep still, afraid that any sudden movement would cause the Cap to attack.
Suddenly Steve was a few steps away from him, a frown on his face, "Your jokes aren't very funny Tony." he said.
"Hah, hah, S-sorry." Tony said and tried a smile.
Steve smiled back, "I forgive you." he said, and Tony was relieved to see the light back. It wasn't the sun his dad had spoken of, but it was normal. "Yes, I forgive you. However, " his face was serious, "Let me know if that order ever becomes reality." he said, and for a second that darkness was back, choking Tony. He nodded.
He hoped that that order never happened, because Steve would burn the entire world down to protect Bucky.
