A/N: Helllllooo everyone! I know, I know, I pulled a Sherlock and died for like 7 months, but it's all cool now, cause' *drum roll* I'm starting a whole new fic hahah…. Ha… um anyway, I'm actually trying my hnd at something that isn't LoK (so ignore my awkwardness-I swear its all just beginners nerves) and I'm actually writing slash ((since it's become my life in these 7 months. For future reference, this will be a STONY fanfiction, and while it may not be so obvious in the beginning, I just wanted to be clear. Other pairings haven't been chosen yet, yadayadayada
Anyway on to the important stuff.
**NOTICE**
This is very very VERY AU. It's also very OOC (for Tony) who is an absolute Avengers-fanboy. He's also 19. And not iron man. Yet. (that WILL come later). Obadiah never happened, so neither has the Ten Rings incident. (so basically he's just his regular old Genius, Billionaire, Philanthropist self) He has a baaaadddd past, just like the real Tony Stark (at least I think so) but I dramatized it and made it a little bit worse ((because we all love us some Tony WHUMP)) Every body else should be pretty much in the same character as cannon, just more protective of our little Tony. I haven't decided on any other pairing other than stony, so I'm open to suggestions. This will be a multi-chapter fic, and I'm not sure how long it will be yet. I think that's all that I have to explain about the AU, but if you have questions, feel free to PM me or comment anything.
Please, Don't Believe Me
"You're nothing."
"Tony. You're everything to me."
"You ungreatful little shi-"
"You amazing, beautiful, sm-"
"Nobody will ever love you."
"Tony, I love you."
"Expendable."
"Unwanted."
"Idiotic."
Tony fell to the ground in agony. "She knows. She knows. She knows everything." He heard people screaming his name. His friends. His family. His… Steve. But no matter how hard he tried He couldn't answer. He could only dig his nails into the cement ground and listen and watch the horrific life that he lived. Howard was right. Howard was always right.
"Expendable."
"Unwanted."
"Idiotic."
Tony was nervous. He bounced on his toes skittishly and twiddled his thumbs. Agent Phil Coulson, the official handler for the Avengers Initiative, gave him a judgmental glance before sending him a sympathetic nod. That wasn't helping Tony's nervousness.
Tony sent Agent Coulson another look, pleading. When Phil didn't respond, Tony finally broke, "How are you not freaking out, man?! We're about to meet The Bruce Banner, the Black Widow, the Hawkeye, and holy moley, Phil, we're going to meet THE Captain America!" Tony was basically screaming by then, finally succumbing to his excitement and nerves that had been eating away at him all day.
Phil coughed awkwardly and nodded his head behind Tony. Tony blanched. No. No way, there is no way that the cliché "they're-right-behind-you-and-oh-that's-embarrassing" thing is happening when he meets his idols. He slowly turns and comes face to face- well, face to chest because goddamn it, Tony's short- with Captain America.
Captain.
Freaking.
America.
Tony's eyes widened and he backed up, so far that he would've run into Phil if he hadn't pushed Tony away. "Oh- I- uh… geez, sorry- I um, well... Hey, Mr.- um, Sir?" Tony stuttered awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. He stuck out his hand, "I'm Tony Stark."
Now, Steve had heard a lot about this Tony Stark. He was Howard's kid, after all. Apparently, he was a genius, even at his young age of nineteen. He owned Howard's company, SI, now that Howard was… dead. A pang went through his heart. Learning that all of his friends were dead and that the world still needed him to be strong and help save the world was a lot to take in, and his head was still spinning. Bucky, Peggy, Howard, everyone. All gone.
Steve blinks and remembers the nervous kid in front of him, staring at him like he's a dream come true. Steve smiles, he had been back in… well, back in the land of the living, for about 2 months now, and this kid that he had never met was the first one to smile at him so genuinely. Not to mention all the blushing and stuttering, which wasn't anything less than flattering. "It's so nice to meet you, Tony. No need for formalities, you can just call me Steve." He said, returning Tony's handshake.
Tony looked like he was going to pass out. Hell, Tony felt like he was going to pass out. Did Captain America just tell him that he could call him Steve? Is that what happened? Is Tony still alive? Tony was about to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming when another face entered the large conference room.
"Sorry, sorry, I got a little held up at the airport." Bruce Banner said, placing some papers in front of Coulson.
Yeah, Tony was positive this was a dream now.
"Not a problem Dr. Banner." Phil reassured him, shaking his hand. "Dr. Banner, this is Tony Stark, our-"
"Fundamental supervisor, and our own personal genius, I've heard." Bruce gave the blushing kid a smile.
Tony's jaw dropped, "Wh- me? But- I, what? No, no. You're the genius, I mean, dude, your work on gamma radiation?! And- not to mention the whole green rage monster thing, which is totally aweso-"
"Tony. Calm." Phil chastised.
"Too late" Tony said, sitting down slowly.
Bruce, on the other hand was astonished. No one had ever complimented the Hulk, before. Not that Bruce though he deserved any, but still, the compliment was more than gratifying. "Thank you, Mr. Stark."
Tony looked a Bruce for a second before smiling widely, looking like he was trying not to laugh. "You, sir, can call me Tony."
"Tony, then, call me Bruce."
The arrival of Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov went more smoothly, at least in Tony's case. Well, yes, he gushed over how cool it was that Natasha took down a base of 250 Middle Eastern terrorists all by herself, and yes, he nearly died when Clint told him that he'd teach him how to shoot arrows, but he didn't ramble or stutter. At least not that much.
Nick Fury had never particularly hated Tony Stark. Of course, the kid was hyper and kind of annoying, but knowing him since he was 6, Nick knew that this Tony was a lot better than the Tony he knew 3 years ago. Sure, Tony was still a little shy, shouting made him uneasy, and authority figures were something a little less than terrifying for him, but at least now he smiled and laughed often.
Barton was shamelessly bragging to Tony (and Natasha was rolling her eyes), but even she had to admit that the kid was kind of adorable in the way that he was hanging off of Clint's every word like he was the greatest person in the world.
When Fury cleared his throat, the entire room snapped to attention, even Tony, which surprised the group of superheroes, seeing as Tony seemed like a hyper child with no off-button.
"Each of you should know why you're here now. The Avengers Initiative. Started by Howard Stark, continued by us, S.H.E.I.L.D., is now being put into action. Ever since the incident in New Mexico, America has realized the need for protection. So, we've brought in you, the world's mightiest heroes. This is the entire team, minus Thor, a demigod from Asgard, who will be joining us once everything with his… brother," Fury said the simple word with distain "-Loki, is settled."
"Alright… so, what? We just sit around until the world needs us? What do we do till then?" Clint asked, obviously skeptical.
Nick responded immediately, "Yes, you wait until you need to save the world. And until then, you train. Here. At Stark's house, which is where the Avengers Initiative base will be held."
Tony looked taken aback for a second before recovering, "Yeah, um right that's chill- or um cool? With me…" He said, backing his chair away. "Let me just go… get that done." He said, already dialing numbers and walking out the door."
"All of your things have been transported to the tower." Phil added.
"And that won't be a problem for him and his family?" Clint asked, gesturing towards the door Tony left through, with an eyebrow raised.
Natasha rolled her eyes and sighed, "He didn't read the files." She explained to everyone else, who all had incredulous looks on their faces. "Tony doesn't have a family, Clint, you should know that even without reading the files."
Clint looked guilty before muttering a simple, sad, "oh, and how old is he?"
There was a sigh at the door before tony strode in the room, "I've been nineteen for about 2 weeks. Now, I have a business meeting in, like, 10 minutes, may I go now, or…?"
The room was awkwardly silent for a moment. "Yes, Tony, you can go." Nick sighed, waving his hand towards the door.
"Thanks." He said pleasantly, smiling at the room's occupants genuinely, "It was cool meeting you guys, see y'all at home, yeah?" And with that, he waved at them and walked out.
"Wow." Natasha and Steve said at the same time. Bruce was sighing disbelievingly and Clint was just staring after the kid. "That's some kid, huh?" Steve asked. "I though you told me children nowadays were vain and snobby? Especially the rich ones?"
"They're supposed to be." Clint responded.
Phil smiled sadly at the group, "He's been through a lot, and he's changed a lot. For the better." He adds. "But Tony can be pretty nasty when he wants to be." Phil says quickly, "Just keep in mind that he basically worships the ground you guys walk on. You don't want to ruin his view of you, though it may not matter much. Tony has a way of finding good things in bad people."
And with that, the mysterious Phil Coulson left.
"I suggest that you all get to the car outside, it'll take you to the tower." Fury advised, sauntering out of the room just behind Phil.
Steve exhaled loudly, "Well, I guess that settles things." He stands and walks to the door, "Shall we?"
Arriving at the tower, Tony sighed. No, he didn't exactly want to lie to Nick, Phil, and the Avengers, but he didn't want to sit around and listen to them talk about his sob story. He was fine. It got better. Tony wished that everyone who knew would just forget about it.
He thanked Happy and got into the elevator, which quickly made its assent up to the main floor. He dully responded to Jarvis as he was greeted upon walking in the door. He took minimal notice to the heaps of bags near the rooms specifically made for each Avenger and made his way down to his workshop.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice the man standing in the middle of the workshop, dressed in gold and green.
Almost.
"Er… hello?" Tony said, trying to sound nonchalant, when in reality he was a little more than freaked out. Sure, he had been in situations like this before- some business owner wanting revenge, some thief wanting money, or even crazy fans who just want to meet him- but each time was worse than the one before.
The black haired man looked at Tony slowly. "Tony Stark, I presume?" He asked, his voice not sounding nearly as sinister as he looked.
"Oh, um, yeah. Hi. That's me. And you are…?" Tony inquired, backing up slowly, trying to find the panic button that was next to the light switch in every room.
"I am Loki, Son of- well, just Loki… for now…" The man, Loki, said. Tony could feel the confusion and uncertainty in his words. Suddenly, Tony remembered something Nick had mentioned in the de-briefing.
"You're Thor's brother, right? The guy who attacked New Mexico?" Tony said, his hand behind him failing to find the button. A look of anger overtook Loki's face, and he stepped forward, coming dangerously close to Tony.
"He is not my brother. He never will be my brother again. I am a frost-giant, a monster, to his people." Loki said bitterly. Tony backs up further and finally finds the button, pressing it discreetly.
"Well, yeah, Rock of Ages, we all have family issues." Tony replied, trying to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible.
Loki raised his eyebrow disbelievingly, "I'm no- wait, Rock of Ages?" He asks.
"Yeah, you know, like the Broadway musical? "We built this city"? "Twisted Sister"?" Tony sighed in exasperation, "whatever, it's just a nickname… Loki."
Loki gave the 19 year old a quick smile, "I like you, Tony Stark. You're… interesting."
Tony reared back at that. "Interesting? Like the good kind? Or the bad? Is this you throwing shade right now? Because honestly, people say that to me al-" Tony was cut off by the sounds of the doors in the tower slamming open and shouts echoing through the halls. He winced.
The frost giant smirked lightly at him, "You're smart as well, I see. Don't you worry, Tony Stark, we'll be seeing a lot more of each-other." And with that, Loki patted Tony on the head and disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of gold dust. Tony would've been worried about the dust, but his brain was still contemplating whether seeing Loki again would be a good thing of a bad thing.
Tony stared after him. It was like everything was in slow motion. The dust dissipating, The footsteps growing closer, and most prominently, People saying his name.
He vaguely noticed the shouting coming from outside.
Tony doesn't like shouting.
It wasn't until he felt someone's hand on his shoulder that he realized he was staring at nothing but a wall. He jumped slightly. The person behind him was suddenly in front of him, and once more, Tony was face-to-chest with Steve Rogers. "Tony, Tony, are you alright?" His voice was muffled, almost like Tony was underwater.
Tony doesn't like being underwater.
He narrowed his eyes at the Captains worried face. "Tony, can you hear me?" Cap asked, the stifled noises coming back into Tony's brain.
"I… I don't like being underwater." Tony said tiredly, before the 19 year old collapsed entirely into Captain America's arms.
*hides behind the covers*
I TRIED, OKAY?! I really did… *dies*
Anyway, I hope it was OK for everyone. I just want to put it out there that I LOVE constructive criticism and anything that y'all have to say that will make ME a better writer (for you, for me, for my school work whatever)
ART:!:#$:!#: !# LOOK: okay I have NO clue who drew this picture, so if anyone knows who drew it PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me because I really want to give credit to the gorgeous amount of stony. I also want to ask because that's polite and all, so if anyone knows, please PM me!