This is a Notebook AU that I discovered while watching the actual movie The Notebook. From the get go a light bulb turned on above my head and I couldn't resist.
I don't own anything by Marvel or Nicholas Sparks.
CHAPTER ONE: THE BEGINNING
New York Present
"Sir?" A voice called out to him and he turned to see the nurse standing behind the counter. She had her arm extended and a small plastic cup in her hand. "Your daily special." She said with a smile.
The older man accepted the cup and tossed back its contents before tossing it in the trash. "Thank you. LeeAnn." He shuffled down the white hallway towards the recreation room where he knew he would find him, the love of his life. In the inside pocket of his sweater, a black journal was tucked away safely, he would occasionally pat it to ensure that it was indeed there and it wasn't his imagination.
Two orderlies pushed open the doors for him and his eyes immediately set out to search for the one who stole his heart. In the corner there were a couple of old men playing chess, a game he was sure had been going on for several weeks now. A group of women were sitting at the table nearest the windows playing bridge while another group sat in a circle towards the front of the room knitting and crocheting articles of clothing for their grandchildren. The TV to the left was on and a game was playing with a few men sitting in the overstuffed couches and armchairs with the occasional cheer and shout of disdain. Finally, his eyes rested on the one person he swore he could never live without. Age had gotten the better of him, his hair was greyer than it used to be and there were wrinkles on the once flawless face. He was standing at the window, staring at something far beyond any person could imagine, lost in his thoughts.
The old man sighed and walked back towards the other man before he tapped him lightly on the shoulder, drawing him out of his mind.
"Hello," he said with a smile.
"Do I know you?" was the response.
"Everyone here calls me, Captain." The old man said, his hand extended.
"Oh." The other man said with a shaky smile. "Hi, I'm…" He paused and his face fell blank. "I don't remember my name."
"That's alright." Captain said. "We have met before."
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I don't remember you."
"Oh, don't fret about that. Would you like me to read to you?"
The other man watched the Captain warily. "Do you read to me often?"
"Oh yes. You love the store and constantly ask me to read it to you."
The other man gave the Captain a shy smile and nodded. The Captain guided him to a soft armchair and sat in the neighboring couch. He reached into his sweater pocket and pulled out the small journal. He flipped through a couple of pages before he came upon the first entry and he began to read.
New York 1939
It was May, summer had just begun. The sun was an hour or so away from setting and Steve grabbed his lunch pail as he headed off the dock towards the streets. An arm suddenly enveloped his shoulders and his friend Bucky fell in step beside him. Steve was proud to note that he stood a little taller than his childhood pal and was able to see the top of his head, he was a little stockier, too. Since Bucky hooked him up with moving shipping boxes from the containers ships' shipping containers and into trucks, Steve had grown a foot and a half and put on a hundred pounds of muscle. His friend whined and complained about not being the hot one in the friendship but he settled when Steve would brush off women and let him be the rebound. It worked for them.
It didn't take Bucky long to figure out that his friend wasn't like other guys their age. It's not like it's taboo or anything like it would be in the 1800's, but this is the 20th century and people were becoming more accepting. Instead of going out on the town with a rowdy group of men, Steve preferred to stay at home and read to his mother. He didn't join in the wolf whistles and cat calls when a beautiful woman walked by, he barely ever spoke to a lady besides absolutely necessary. It didn't take a genius to figure out Steve's orientation wasn't all about finding a wife, it was something much greater than that. Steve had finally confessed to him late one night when they were fourteen, saying how he notices men like he should be noticing women and how he didn't say anything because he didn't want Bucky to get the wrong idea and lose him as a friend. Bucky had hugged him and promised that no matter what, they'd always be brothers.
It took him a couple of months, but eventually Steve was comfortable enough to talk about guys with Bucky, nothing more than "I saw this guy, he was pretty cute" and Bucky encouraging careful make-out sessions in dark alleyways like a good friend would do.
"Are you coming to the Island tonight?" Bucky asked as they headed down the sidewalk. "I'm meeting Natasha and some of her crowd there and I could really use someone normal."
Natasha was Bucky's new flame. They had met several times to hang out and try and set Steve up with someone. Steve and Natasha grew a close friendship and sometimes they would get lunch together and comment on the different guys that walked by, much to Bucky's whining and resistance. But it felt good to have someone to joke around about that stuff with, he didn't want to push Bucky too far even though he said they'd always have each other as family.
"Buck, that's on the other side of Brooklyn." Steve blanched. "I'd have to leave now to get there on time."
"Don't worry about that." Bucky hopped ahead and faced Steve, walking backwards. "My old man let me have the keys to the car so I'll swing by and pick your punk ass up."
Steve smiled and shook his head. "Alright. Fine. I'll go." Steve chuckled as Bucky did a victory fist pump. "But you're buying my ticket."
"Deal!"
"This damn thing is rigged." Bucky muttered as he snatched the small plush toy from the attendant's hand. "You saw that I crushed that game, right?"
"Yeah, Buck, whatever you say." Steve casted his eyes around as he took in the crowds at Luna Park. He remembered coming here as a kid and he remembered being so excited that he ate an entire funnel cake that his parents bought him and then threw it back up on the Cyclone. He stopped at the Tilt-A-Whirl and recognized Natasha smiling broadly as squeals of laughter came from the man riding with her.
He was beautiful. His dark hair whipped around with the spinning car, his eyes were slammed shut. Steve's eyes lingered on his smile, wide and bright and nearly showing every milky white tooth. His pale pink lips were stretched as laughter tumbled from them. The mystery man was wearing a soft looking dark button up shirt tucked into grey trousers. Steve was completely frozen as he watched the man laugh and smile. He didn't notice that Bucky had stepped beside him until he threw an elbow into the blonde's gut.
"Earth to Steve, come in Steve!" Bucky laughed as his friend glared at him. "What's got you in a fix?"
"Who's that with Natasha?" Steve nodded toward where the ride had stopped and Natasha and the man were descending the ramp.
"That's Tony," Bucky responded. "He's been hanging around Natasha for the past week since apparently they're childhood friends for life." Bucky rolled his eyes. "His daddy is some big tycoon on the west coast, Natasha said something about them being in town for the summer."
Steve watched as the man, known now as Tony, and Natasha be absorbed by a couple of men and were herded toward them. In a sudden act of bravery that Steve had no idea where it originated, he leapt out and landed directly in front of Tony. He recoiled slightly in surprise and the man standing next to the brunette wrapped an arm around Tony's shoulders.
"Go out with me." Steve blurted.
"Um, what?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow, his lips pulled into a frown.
"Go out with me."
"No." Tony responded as he stepped to the side to walk around the blonde. Steve, however, stepped with him.
"Why not?"
"Hey!" The man next to Tony called. Steve's eyes flickered over. He was dark skinned and he was also wearing too nice of clothes for Coney Island. "Can't you see he's with us? Back off."
Steve watched as the group moved toward the Ferris Wheel.
"Uh oh, I know that look." Bucky stated with his arm wrapped around Natasha's waist. He looked at her as he explained, "That is the look he gets just before he has a hairbrained idea that will most likely get him killed." He turned back to Steve and sighed. "Come on, man, just let it go. He's not interested, move on like the rest of us."
Steve didn't say anything, he just watched as Tony and his friends waited in line for the Ferris Wheel.
"Come on, let's hit the wheel." Natasha grinned and pulled Bucky to wait in line with Tony. Steve sighed and watched as each couple loaded into a cart before ascending into the air. An idea struck him, he checked to see who was operator tonight before he decided to make his move. Sam Wilson was loading couples and running the ride so he decided to move forward with his plan. He jogged towards the front of the line.
"Sorry, Sam," he said as he launched onto the side of the wheel.
"Steve, what the hell are you doing?!" Sam shouted as the wheel came to a stop.
The blonde ignored the shouts of indignation and complaint as he climbed to the cart at the top of the wheel. He dangled in front of Tony and the guy from earlier before launching himself between the two.
"The hell?" the other guy said as he leaned away from Steve.
"I'm Steve Rogers," Steve said as he extended a hand to Tony.
"Hi?" Tony responded.
"Tony, who the hell is this?" the man asked Tony, offended.
"I don't know," Tony responded, "Steve Rogers?"
"Steve! What the hell do you think you're doing?" A voice shouted from the next car below, Natasha. "Get down from there! Are you crazy?"
"Yo! Steve, no more than two in a car!" Sam yelled from the ground.
He stood and reached out to grab onto the bar attached to the wheel and hung there facing the couple. Tony was watching him with wide eyes and a raised eyebrow. Several gasps and shouts were heard from down below but he ignored them as he focused on Tony.
"Will you go out with me?" he asked sincerely. "Please?"
"I already told you," Tony started shaking his head.
"Alright, you leave me no choice." Steve interrupted as he released the bar with his left hand as he dangled thirty feet in the air.
Tony shouted in surprise as he lifted an arm like he was getting ready to catch Steve if he should fall. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Say you'll go out with me." Steve said staring Tony straight into his chocolate brown eyes.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Steve!" Natasha shouted. "You moron! Get down before you get yourself killed!"
"Say you'll go out with me."
"What if I say no?" Tony asked.
"Then I fall thirty feet." Steve said unwavering. Tony just stared at him. A couple of moments pass and Steve decided to up the ante. "Oh, man. I'm slipping. Could you please hurry it up a bit? I'm about to fall."
"FINE!"
Steve smiled widely at Tony.
"Fine!" Tony said as he threw his hands up in frustration.
"You'll go out with me?" Steve asked with a smile.
"Yes."
"Say it."
"What?"
"Say it."
"Say what?"
"You know what."
"I really don't."
"Say you'll go out with me."
"Alright, I'll go out with you."
"Louder." Steve's smile turned into a smirk.
"I'll go out with you!" Tony shouted, a irritated smile creeping on his lips. "God, you're fucking stubborn!"
"Promise?" Steve asked.
"Yes," Tony eyed Steve warily as the blonde pulled his other hand back up to grip the steel bar. His brown eyes lit up in mischief as he crossed his arms over his chest. "On one condition."
"What's that?" Steve asked. Tony leaned forward and quickly undid Steve's belt, the smile the blonde had on his face fell into shock and worry. "Please, don't do that." Tony grinned wide as the moved on to the snap and zipper on Steve's trousers. "Seriously, I wouldn't do that." The brunette ignored him as he tugged Steve's pants down to his knees. Tony laughed and Steve smiled in embarrassment. More laughs joined the beautiful brunette from the ground and the other carts on the Ferris Wheel and Steve felt the blush explode over his face. He gave a nod to Tony as he inched his way to the edge to pull up his pants before his long climb back down. "That's real nice, I'm gonna get you back for that."
It was another week before Steve saw Tony again, he was headed home from the docks alone since Bucky had the day off when he caught sight of a familiar head of brown hair. Excitedly, Steve jogged to catch up and grinned when he recognized Tony. He was hearing a white shirt and a pair black trousers this time with shiny black shoes. Steve took a moment to appreciate the way the clothes hung off of Tony's body and he felt the same bravery from the night before return as he ran in front of Tony and stopped.
"Hey!" Steve said with a bright smile.
"Hi." Tony greeted with an unsure smile.
"Remember me?" Steve asked, dumbly.
Tony smiled grudgingly. "Yes, I think the last time I saw you, you were dangling in mid-air with your pants around your ankles."
Steve huffed a laugh. "You would remember that."
"Alright, well I have placed I need to be." Tony dismissed the blonde as he continued on his way down the sidewalk.
"Now, hold on." Steve reached out to pull the other man to a stop. Tony slowly turned around and stared at him impatiently. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Like what?"
"Our date." Steve answered, looking at Tony expectantly. The brunette just stared right back at him. "You know, the one you promised to go on with me?"
"Hmmm, I don't remember that." Tony gave him a polite smile and began to walk away again. Instead of stopping him. Steve followed behind.
"You said you'd go on a date with me." The blonde admonished.
"What? A guy can't change his mind?" Tony tossed over his shoulder. Steve heaved a deep breath as he jumped in front of the smaller man once again. "Alright, you need to stop that or one of us is gonna get hurt. Most likely me, since you're carved out of stone, but still. Knock that crap off."
"Just go on one date with me." Steve insisted, ignoring Tony's rambles.
"I don't even know you."
Steve stared at Tony and sighed. "True. But I know me. And I won't stop until I get that date."
Tony stared at him for a long time, as he was trying to figure out if he was serious or if it was just another bluff. Steve's blue eyes were wide and had a slight crazy look to them as the taller man waited for his answer. Tony blinked at him a few times before he said, "I'll think about it," before he stepped around Steve and hurried down the sidewalk.
Steve stood there, in shock, and turned around to watch too late as Tony darted around the corner.
Steve stepped out of the car and looked around, they were at one of a few movie theaters in Brooklyn parked in the lot across the street. He scanned over the other vehicles and the pedestrians on the street before his located his favorite brunette. He shot a look at Bucky who grinned.
"Stevie, you've been going on and on about Tony so Nat and I decided to intervene." Bucky shoved his friend across the street towards Natasha who was standing there with Tony. Once the brown eyes landed on the blonde he directed a glare at his friend.
"Seriously?" Tony asked as Nat tried to shush him. The brunette lowered his voice to a whisper and hissed in Nat's ear. "You set me up with loser stalker deviant?"
"Tony, he's not a bad person." Nat rolled her eyes. "Give him a chance, okay?"
"Fine," Tony said, he pointed at both Natasha and Bucky, "but you two are paying and I want popcorn."
Steve smiled and followed the group inside the movie theatre. As promised, Tony did get his popcorn after they purchased tickets to the corniest cheeseball movie that was playing. They sat on either side of the happy couple and settled in to the previews and the updates about what had been going on overseas. Not five minutes after the movie started, Bucky and Natasha focused more on each other than the film. Steve wasn't a prude or anything and this was hardly the first time he had witnessed his best friend put the moves on a dame, but he was starting to feel like a third wheel. He chanced a look over at Tony on the other side of Nat and was proud to notice that he was glancing at Steve every now and then. Encouraged, Steve climbed over the chairs and plopped down next to Tony and gave him a smile. Tony returned it and offered him his popcorn before they returned their focus to the film.
Once the credits were rolling, the group of four left the theater and crossed the road back to Bucky's car, Steve had his hands shoved in his pockets and Tony kept bumping into him as he animatedly talked with Natasha, he'd throw a coy smile at Steve that told the blonde that Tony knew exactly what he was doing.
"No, but in all honesty, it wasn't that bad of a movie." Bucky stated as he unlocked the car.
"That bad of a movie? Are you kidding me, Barnes? How the hell would you know? You spent the entire movie sucking face with Nat!" Tony countered with a grin.
"Touché." Bucky smiled at Natasha and gave her a swift kiss to the cheek. He opened the doors. "Alright, where to next?"
Steve ignored his best friend and looked down at Tony. "You wanna take a walk?" he asked quietly. Tony nodded and his face broke out into a wide grin. Steve looked up at Bucky and said, "You know, we're just gonna walk."
"You sure?" Bucky asked, his arms raised.
"Yeah, we're just gonna head that way." Steve gestured down the street.
"Okay, have fun. Be safe!" Bucky called as Steve and Tony headed down the sidewalk. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
Steve rolled his eyes and then refocused on Tony. He had a wide smile and he had a little pep to his walk, he looked genuinely happy and Steve couldn't not look at him. He couldn't believe that this amazing man is right there next to him, so close and not close enough. Deciding to push it a little further, the blonde reached out and gently grabbed the smaller man's hand, Tony looked up at him as his smile developed into a calmer upturn of those pink lips and Steve's heart skipped. What he wouldn't do to keep that look on Tony's face forever?
"Barnes is full of shit, you know?" Tony said interrupting Steve's admiration. "That movie was terrible. Completely and utterly awful. I can't believe people spend money to actually watch that disaster. I distinctly remember movies being far more entertaining. But that was…huh, that was like ten years ago."
"Ten years?" Steve repeated. "You haven't seen a movie in ten years?"
Tony just blinked up at him. "You have no clue who I am, do you?" Steve just stared at him waiting for him to continue. The brunette sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, at least now I can say you're not after me for my money." Tony chuckled. "I'm Tony Stark, y'know the one and only heir to the fame and fortune of Stark Industries?"
Steve gaped at him. "You're that Tony?"
"That's not exactly the reaction I normally get. Usually, people ask a million and one questions about the company and about Howard and how great it is to be his son." Tony frowned and casted his eyes down to the sidewalk. "What they don't know is that I want absolutely nothing to do with a company that makes and sells weapons. There's a war going on in Europe and who knows how long it'll be before we're shipping out our bravest and strongest to fight for this country. Those men are going to need the best, but I want to do more than weapon technology. That's the biggest thing that dear ol' dad and I disagree on, he wants to groom me into the perfect successor for the company." Tony scoffed as he kicked a rock down an alley. Steve gently squeezed the younger's hand in comfort. "But that's okay, once I get out from under his thumb I'm going to change the world!"
"How's that?" Steve smiled encouragingly.
"I'm a genius, dear Steve. I'll come up with something." Tony laughed when Steve rolled his eyes. "I've been thinking about advanced robotics and energy sources that today's modern age hasn't even contemplated because we don't have the resources at our disposal. And they're half right. It's easy to make history these days because we have an entire future to think up something amazing and have years to accomplish it."
"Robotics, you said?" Steve noticed how Tony's eyes had lit up in excitement and wanted to keep the good mood rolling. "What kind of robotics?"
Tony grinned. "The kind that's way more awe inspiring than a flying car that Howard is working on." Tony rolled his eyes in exasperation and Steve laughed. "Seriously, it may sound farfetched and damn near impossible but I'm thinking Artificial Intelligence. Talking robots and computers to better society. Imagine, if you will, a super computer that is able to multitask and I'm not talking about just doing more than one thing at a time, but is able to pave the way to a better medicinal practice and is able to calculate thousands upon thousands of equations like mapping the trajectory of a missile or plane and that's just the start of AI. What if there were robots to assist in surgeries or to go out in the battlefield to help protect the men overseas?"
"Wow," Steve looked ahead as he mulled over the new information. "I guess I never thought about it before."
"It's all about legacy," Tony continued. "What we leave behind on the world for the generations to come and make the world a little bit better for them." Steve watched Tony, the smaller man had an almost pensive expression and his brown eyes were focused on something far away, probably far in the future, and a smile tugging at his lips. "Which is why it had been so long since I actually went to a movie theatre to watch a movie. I've been busy."
"Do you love doing it?" Steve asked, his thumb rubbed gentle arches on the back of Tony's hand.
"Yeah, I do." The brunette smiled up at him and Steve had to physically hold himself back from kissing him.
"You want to dance with me?" Steve asked as he started to pull Tony toward the middle of the deserted street, it was late and no one was out this far in Brooklyn, but the smaller man let go of Steve's hand and stood on the edge of the sidewalk as the blonde continued into the street.
"Are you serious?"
"Come on, there are no cars it's not like we're gonna get hit or anything. Normal people are in bed by now." Steve extended his hand out to Tony with a smirk.
Tony moved forward hesitatingly. "There's no music." He pointed out as he was enveloped in a pair of strong arms, the brunette's hand moved on its own as it rested on Steve's shoulder while the other was clasped in Steve's against the bigger man's chest.
"We'll make our own music." Steve whispered as he began to lead them into a simple dance that took Bucky years to teach him.
He started to hum the song his mom played constantly around the house and his heart nearly leapt out of his chest when Tony rested his head against his shoulder. Steve turned his face into the mess of dark curls and continued his humming getting lost in the smell and feel of Tony. The warmth of his body pressed against Steve's made his heart leap with anticipation and under the soap was a lingering scent of hot metal and he found he couldn't get enough of it. He pulled Tony's hand up and around his neck and slid his arm around the slender man's waist to pull him closer. The brunette let out a sigh as he settled against Steve's chest. Then something happened that nearly made Steve's heart flat out stop, a pair of soft lips brushed against the skin of his throat in a small kiss. They came to a stop as the song the blonde was humming got caught in his throat. Tony lifted his head and gazed into the blue of Steve's eyes, he felt captive in place and he couldn't think of any other place he would want to be than right here with this beautiful man and his chocolate brown irises. He felt himself began to lean down to get a taste of Tony's mouth when a blaring horn caused him to whip his head around in time to see a pair of head lights coming down the road.
"Go!" Steve shouted as he nudged Tony towards the sidewalk.
Together the couple ran to the side of the road as the car passed, cursing at them before moving on. Steve sighed in disappointment at the moment being ruined and turned to apologize when he saw Tony laughing giddily against the light post. His face was beginning to turn red and his eyes were dancing in happiness.
"What? Why are you laughing?" Steve asked, dumbfounded.
Tony opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by more giggles.
"What is it?"
"That was great!" Tony shouted out between peals of laughter. "You should've seen your face!"
Steve watched as Tony dissolved into more fits and couldn't help but chuckle with him. Tony's laugh was like water to a dehydrated man, he couldn't get enough of it no matter what the cause was. He walked up to the brunette and caught him in his arms in a hug that Tony willingly became a part of. After a minute, the smaller man's laughter faded but a wide grin stayed on his face and Steve found himself leaning in again. He paused, waiting for Tony to make the decision and he wasn't disappointed. The brunette stretched up and brushed his mouth with soft lips in a chaste kiss. Steve tightened his arms around the man and deepened it, taking it from a slight slide of lips to little nips before sending a probing tongue to explore the other's mouth.
They stood there for what could have been days, just exploring one another, before Tony pulled back, slightly out of breath and his genuine smile on kiss bruised lips. Steve smiled as he stepped back and lead Tony down the street.
"Come on, I'll walk you home." Steve whispered as he laid an arm around slender shoulders.
New York Present
"For the rest of the summer, the pair were nearly inseparable, it was difficult to find one without the other, not worried about the fact that they came from completely different parts of the city. Steve was from the lower class and didn't have two pennies to rub together. He worked hard to help his mother with the bills and the only thing he had to his name was the motorcycle his dad had left him before going away to the Great War. Tony came from money and a from a city of opportunity. He wanted to change the world. They got in fights like every other couple, just more often. They would scream and yell at each other for hours but one thing remained the same. They always came back to each other." Captain's glasses started to slide down his nose. He paused to push them in place and glanced up to see his captive audience.
"I like this story," the other man stated. "Do they fall in love?"
The Captain smiled and nodded. "Yes, they do. They fall in love."
"Cap?" A nurse placed her hands on the Captains shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. "The doctor is ready for you."
"But I want to hear more of the story!" The other man protested with a pleading look at the nurse. The Captain smiled at him.
"Don't worry, I'll read some more when I get back." He stood and followed the nurse out of the recreation room and down the hall to the other side of the wing for his checkup. The nurse opened a door to an open exam room and smiled at him.
"He'll be here soon, Captain."
Captain knew the drill at this point, he pulled off his shirt and carefully climbed onto the examination table where he sat patiently. The door opened a few minutes later and a young man wearing a lab coat walked in with a clipboard under his arm. Captain frowned.
"Where's my doctor?" he asked.
"I'm new," the young man replied. "I haven't met you yet so I thought we'd get to know one another over a checkup."
The captain shrugged and nodded. "Whatever you say, doc."
They ran through the simple tests and the doctor listened to his heart and lungs and gauged his blood pressure. Five minutes passed and the exam was over.
"Alright you can put your shirt on." The young man scribbled some notes on his clip board as he took a seat on the stool in the room. He looked at Captains straight in the eye. "I understand it you had to heart attacks?"
"Yep." The captains responded automatically. "Although I wouldn't say two since one of them were categorized as an 'episode.'" The doctor chuckled.
"Any problems since the last one?"
"No."
"Are you taking medication?"
"Yep, two cocktails every day."
"Good, good." The doctor wrote down some more notes before he asked his next question. "As I understand it, you read to Mr. Stark?"
"Yes."
"Now, I know I probably don't need to say this, but dementia isn't reversible…"
"My Tony is in there, doc." The captain interrupted. "I read him the same story, over and over again and he always comes back to me."
"I just don't want you to get your hopes up." The doctor said softly.
"Don't worry, I'll be perfectly fine." The captain smiled. "Am I in the clear?"
The doctor stared at him for a long while and nodded. "Yeah, go ahead."
The captain hopped off the table and buttoned up his shirt as he headed back down the recreation room where his beloved was waiting to hear more about Steve and Tony.
So, what do you think? Huh? Huh? Shall I continue? Honest, I'm almost done. There's like two or three more chapters left and we shall be good. Leave a comment question or concern and I'll be sure to get back to you if need be :)
Remain being awesome!