Human beings in a mob
What's a mob to a king?
What's a king to a god?
What's a god to a non-believer?
Who don't believe in anything?
Lights blasted to every corner. People were illuminated, drinks were spilled and cigarettes were smoked. Happy New Year indeed. The roaring crowd of dancing bodies contrasted greatly with the two lone figures sitting by a table, away from the intoxication. Both men were vastly out of their comfort zone. Steve and Bruce sipped their drinks silently. Orange juice and tap water; they were taking it slow. Conversation between the two had stopped suddenly when the Captain caught glimpse of their intoxicated teammate in the crowd.
"Oh dear.'
The scientist's eyes followed Steve's gaze focusing on the pack of partiers.
"What's wrong?" he questioned, while his eyes flew through the crowd looking for any sign of disturbance. Well, any sign of disturbance that didn't include vomit or unconsciousness. However, before the question could be answered his eyes landed on the disturbance.
Tony.
Bruce chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "Oh dear indeed."
Surrounded by an array of 'colourful' people was Tony Stark. And boy, was he looking intoxicated. The partiers, himself included, were all partially undressed. Shirtless, with splashes of coloured handprints painting his upper body and shining glitter dusting his tanned skin, Tony swayed to the beat. His hair was incredibly damp, most likely from sweat or alcohol, and ringlet curls were beginning to form.
Bruce glanced over to Steve, studying the man's expression. A wave of sympathy swept through the scientist. Steve looked unsettled, agitated. A frown marked his features, leaving a crease in his brow that didn't seem to belong on the Captain's face. He looked lost. The music, the lights, the people, the attitudes. Everything was still so new to Steve. Despite the picture his face usually painted to the world, Steve was struggling.
Perhaps growing conscious to Bruce's concerned gaze, Steve sucked in a breath and turned back to the scientist. "He's crazy."
Surprisingly the words weren't spoken harshly, but fondly, which made Bruce smile. Taking a small sip of his drink, Bruce's eyes focused again on his fellow scientist. "He's more than crazy,' he stated, which ignited a small laugh from the super soldier, catching Bruce slightly off guard but he recovered quickly as he spotted Natasha and Clint heading towards them.
Natasha's red curls hung loosely down her back, catching attention of many men and women alike. "We're heading back to the tower, if you gentlemen would like to join us?'" The female spoke in her usual calm, collective tone. If she had consumed any alcohol at all during the evening, there was no sign of it having affected her. Clint stood by her side, subtly alert, as always. However, unlike his fellow spy, it was obvious to his teammates that he'd been drinking. His face appeared softer and his eyes were half-lidded. To anyone else, it would mean nothing, but by now his teammates knew him well enough to know he was on his way to getting smashed. Steve looked to Bruce and the scientist nodded, "Yeah, I think it's time to call it a night here." Both men quickly finished their drinks and stood, putting their coats on in unison. A party really wasn't their scene.
"You think we should get Tallulah over there?" Clint gestured into the crowd; a smirk marking his features as all four Avengers stared at the man in question. What a sight. Before, Bruce believed he'd never seen Tony Stark look so..pissed? But as it sometimes happens, Bruce had never been so wrong. Tony was currently dancing, if dancing was the word, with a group of equally glittering people. He was now sporting a flower chain around his neck and his hair looked decidedly animated. Red, pink and purple paint decorated his usual brown curls. A female, around the same age as him, dressed in a hula skirt was dancing with him dramatically. All in all, he was well and truly smashed.
"Ok," Clint turned back to the small group of Avengers, "which one of us is going to get him?" Clint snorted at the lack of immediate response. The Captain sighed, but spoke up in a confident tone, "I'll do it." He headed past his teammates and decidedly ignored Clint's distant call of "Good luck!"
Once eventually behind Tony, Steve extended his arm and tapped the other man on his bare shoulder, "Tony!" The lack of response made Steve childishly glare at the ceiling. Damn 21st Century music. "Tony!" he shouted, "Tony, we're heading home now, you coming with?" Once at a close proximity to the genius, Steve couldn't hold back a grin at the other man's appearance. Realising that shouting was getting him nowhere, Steve placed his hands securely on Tony's shoulders and guided him around until they were face to face.
Eventually, Tony's eyes made their slow journey towards Steve's faces and an incredible grin blessed his features. Steve found himself just staring at that grin, completely forgetting his reasons for drawing the genius' attention in the first place. Thankfully, the high pitch shout that emitted from Tony brought Steve out of his trance. "Steveeeee!" Despite slurred and sounding more like he was shouting 'Eve', Steve could only smile.
"Hi Tony."
The Captain shook his head, amused, "We're going home now, are you coming with us?"
Suddenly, Tony's eyes opened dramatically and his lip pouted, "You're not going to stay for the countdown?" The genius began petting Steve's arms, as if he were a wounded animal, and his usual babbling began at full speed. "I can't believe you're not staying for the countdown! I mean, I guess I could do your counting for you but it'd be quite difficult. Like, Tony's 10, then Steve's 10. Then Tony's 9, then Steve's 9. Then Tony's 8, then.."
"TONY!" Steve leant his head forward and let out a breathy chuckle. "Tony, Tony, shhh!"
Steve's eyes glanced to his watch, "It's 2:49am, we've already had the countdown, remember?"
Tony's face remained blank. Steve grinned.
Tony shook his head. Steve nodded.
After a possible full minute of silent debate, Tony's features transformed and he began laughing, happy and comfortable, "Oh yeah! That was a fun time! We should do it again!" Eventually the laughter died down, and Steve realised that the genius' face appeared happy, but tired. The Captain cleared his throat, squared his shoulders, and made the decision for his painted friend. It was home time.
Steve looped his arm around Tony's waist and started their journey through the crowd.
"Right, I think it's time for you to go home too." As expected, Tony began attempting to squirm out of the Captain's grasp. ""But, but, I haven't done the 3am countdown yet. I gotta..I gotta show the world my moves, Steve!" Tony's babbling continued again as Steve tightened his hold on the childish man.
Stopping his movements so he could look Tony in the eyes, he grasped the brunet's shoulders for support, "Ok. One: there's no such thing as a 3am countdown. Two: I'm definitely sure that you've already shown the world most of your 'moves' by now. And three: I shouldn't have thought that getting you home would be this easy." With that comment, Steve crouched slightly and placed his right arm underneath the other man's knees. Lifting him easily and decidedly ignoring Tony's undignified squeal, he continued his journey towards his now grinning teammates.
"Steve! Stop! I'm upside down! I'm not a fucking bat!" Tony continued to squeal.
The Captain nodded at the three Avengers. "Ready to go?" He smiled largely and adjusted the man over his shoulder. Bruce could only smile and nod towards the door. "Ready and waiting. After you, Captain."
The two assassins smirked and followed the three men out the door. The journey to the bottom floor was hilarious for four people and disastrous for one. Tony kicked, smacked, cried and yelled but to no avail he was stuck. The elevator doors pinged open, and they made their way out to the waiting car.
"Clint, can you open the door for me?" Steve gestured to the archer as the genius in his arms continued his failing battle for freedom. "Sure thing, Cap." Clint skipped merrily over to the car door and opened it, not before smacking Tony's backside, which earned him a "Fuck you Barton!"
The Captain stepped forward and placed Tony on the ground with his back to the inside of the car.
Tony huffed out a breath and smoothed down his still wet hair.
"Thanking you, now let's party-OOF." The billionaire was pushed backwards onto the backseat of the car and lay flat as Steve climbed in beside him. Bruce took the seat to his other side, lifting him in the process and making him fall face first into Steve's muscled chest. Clint and Natasha took the seats opposite them as their private driver started the car. Tony placed his hands slowly on the super soldier's chest and pulled himself back into his own chair.
"You look like you were puked on by a rainbow." Clint bellowed at his own joke. Tony leant forward and pointed his finger at the archer. Swaying, while glaring the best he could, the genius blew a raspberry and slumped back into the seat. Clint feigned sadness and placed his hand on his chest. "That hurt." Tony's glaring continued for a further 10 seconds until the man gave a defeated sigh, leant back and placed his head on Steve's shoulder, eyes closing.
The Captain smiled fondly and stared down at his friend. He truly was a state. Paint, glitter and sequins were everywhere. His chest was indeed, like a rainbow.
Suddenly, Steve's smile dissipated as his eyes locked onto the large, mostly hidden, pink scar on Tony's chest. The arc reactor's previous home. The scar was healing quite nicely and it would soon fade but that didn't make Steve feel any better. The operation itself had caused Tony an enormous amount of pain and the thought alone made the blonde man feel sick.
Steve hadn't noticed he'd been staring until he felt a nudge to his foot. The soldier's eyes looked onto the archer, who was smiling sadly. Of course he knew what Steve was thinking about. He returned the smile and looked out the window.
The journey home was mostly quiet. Silent conversations occurred and heavy breathing started about 2 minutes after getting into the car. Their driver pulled up outside the tower and the assassins were the first to depart. Bruce placed his hand on Tony's shoulder and shook the man gently. "Tony, come on. We're at the tower, wake up." The drunken man groaned loudly but other than that didn't react. Bruce was about to start his second attempt of waking the man but he was soon interrupted by the genius' current cushion. "I've got him."
Bruce glanced at the Captain. Steve's expression was warm, the type of warmth that was only reserved for the man leaning against him. The scientist looked between his teammates then smiled knowingly. "Right."
Steve carefully moved his arm under Tony's legs and placed them across his lap. His left arm gripped the asleep man round the chest then placed Tony's own arm around his broad shoulders. Bruce took this moment to step out the car and open the door nearest to Steve. What the scientist saw next left him slightly speechless. The soldier slowly stepped out from the car, gripping Tony securely so that his weight was balanced. His movements were precise and calculated as he transported the genius from the backseat to his arms. Once out the car, Steve walked through the tower's doors carrying the sleeping man.
Bruce stood stock still, hand still gripping the car door. The utter delicacy shown from the Captain towards his fellow scientist caught Bruce off guard again.
"Bruce?" The man was broken out of his thoughts by Natasha's slightly confused tone. "You ok?" Bruce stared at the female; a broad smile crossed his face. "I'm great." And with that he closed the car door and made his way to the tower.