AN: And here is the start of our first Avengers RP fic. Each Chp will be spilt in two – the first half is written by Ninotsjka1992 as Steve and the second half will be written by High-FunctioningGinger as Tony.
Steve
Steve is awake.
At first, he has no idea why he's awake at - a quick glance towards his alarm clock - 3:44 in the morning, but then he realizes that something woke him up. A noise, to be exact.
Steve's senses are alert almost immediately. Without making a sound, he slips out of bed, straining his ears as to pick it up again. It did not sound familiar, yet it couldn't have been an intruder or anything dangerous or JARVIS would have woken him and all the other Avengers immediately. He treads over to his door carefully, sliding it open and stepping into the dark hallway, still listening carefully.
There it is again! By now he's recognized the sound for what it is - a whimper, to be exact - and he tries to determine where it's coming from. When he hears it again, he follows it immediately, taking care as to stay as silent as possible. He does not want to wake anyone else.
The sound is coming from the living room. Steve frowns. He's pretty sure all his team mates went to bed earlier this evening. They were all knackered after today's training and meetings with SHIELD, especially Tony, who hasn't slept in a couple of days and has been cranky for most of the time.
The blond steps into the room and spots the source of the sound almost immediately. The faint blue glow is all he needs to identify the person who's currently sprawling on one of the sofa's, one long leg dangling over the armrest and the other one resting on the ground. Tony seems fast asleep, murmuring and twitching at what seems to be a very intense dream.
Even from where he's standing, Steve can see how worn Tony is. The bags under his eyes are larger than usual, his hair is greasy - Steve knows Tony forgets to shower when he goes without sleep for long periods of time - and his black sleeveless top is stained. Steve stares at his teammate, who is still thrashing in his sleep, and wonders why the man doesn't take better care of himself.
Just then, the brunet lets out another whimper, this one louder than the previous ones. His expression, which was kind of neutral up till now, twists into something vaguely resembling anxiety and he thrashes more violently than before. Steve lingers in the doorway, unsure of what to do, when Tony suddenly let out another sound. This time, however, it's clear what the man is saying.
Tony says Steve's name.
The blond doesn't hesitate any longer. He steps away from the doorway, making his way over to Tony, who is now his arms as if fending off something or someone, his moans and whimpers getting louder and more desperate. When Steve reaches him, he hovers for a moment, before grabbing Tony's arm and shaking gently.
"Tony, hey."
The brunet does not respond, but continues moving, so Steve tries again. "Tony, wake up, you're dreaming."
He hears the anxiety in his voice, but he does not pay attention to it. Tony is more important right now; even though they are not really friends, they are teammates, and Steve, as their leader, cares for his team. He shakes Tony again, still not getting a response. The brunet is in clear distress now, mumbling and shaking his head, thrashing around violently and Steve has to duck in order to avoid his flailing arms, before he manages to grab both of Tony's shoulders and shakes him more thoroughly, desperate to pull him out of his nightmare.
"Tony, wake up!" he almost yells. And with a shuddering gasp, Tony does.
Tony
"Evening, Mr. Stark." the words, which seem so benign are spoken by a slim blonde woman with a sneer. As Tony slowly comes to, he realizes he's tied to a chair. A metal chair. No, wait, not tied, handcuffed, he realizes as he tries to squirm from his bonds.
"Look, if you wanted to tie me up, there are easier ways of doing so." he quips, as he looks the blonde woman over, and the two burly companions that he's just noticed.
This earns him a sharp blow across the jaw and he swears under his breath at the throbbing pain. "Cute, Mr. Stark. But I don't mix business with pleasure. And this is all about business. Your business to be more specific."
And then it dawns on Tony that he's been taken captive for interrogation. He racks his memory, trying to recall where he'd been, how it all happened, but he drew a blank. Strange for him, he usually has excellent memory.
"You're wasting your time. I mean ten points for effort and all, but I'm not going to tell you anything." he responds with a casual shrug.
"No?" the woman questioned, producing a pistol and leveling it at his head.
Tony snorts. "You're not going to shoot me. You need me and you damn well know it." he snaps and the gun is lowered.
"True." she concedes. "But we have other ways, Mr. Stark. Terrible ways."
"I saved New York from an alien invasion and camp out with two assassins and a raging green monster. I'm sure I'll manage." he responds with a smile, which earns him a harsh blow across the cheek with the butt of the pistol.
"Can you really?" she asks, and produces a Taser. Tony's about to sneer out another slight when she presses it to his chest-piece and his world goes white.
Pure, blinding pain rips through his body at electricity jolts through his muscles and nerves. Sharp, crawling agony, eating at him like white-hot knives and though he tries desperately not to scream, whimpers escape him.
"Oh god, save me. Somebody save me." the thought echoes through his mind somewhere beyond the intense pain and the image of Steve suiting up comes to him suddenly.
"Steve, help" he manages to gaps between his whimpers, though he knows it will do no good.
"Steve, please" he whimpers, straining desperately in his bonds.
But suddenly Steve's voice is there beside him, blocking out the pain "Tony, hey."
It fades into the white pain, then comes through again, louder this time "Tony, wake up!"
Wake up? With a jolt Tony's mind sorts itself out and he realizes it's a dream, simultaneously awakening.
Sweat beads on his forehead and his breath comes in ragged breaths. He closes his eyes, wincing at the images still burning in it, and then realizes a soft hand is resting on his shoulder and someone is speaking to him.
"Tony? You alright?" It's Steve, murmuring in concern. "Tony, hey, you were having just a nightmare." he reassures.
Tony gives a laugh that sounds more like a cough and says "Ah, I forgot. You're Captain Obvious now too." he quips, trying for a smile as he turns to face Steve.
Seeming to realize their proximity isn't entirely appropriate Steve sits back with a blush and removes his hand. Tony misses the warm firmness of his grip and the comforting grasp on reality it offered.
"What were you dreaming about? You seemed pretty upset." Steve inquires.
Tony shrugs without hesitation and lies with a casual smile "Don't remember. Probably about someone breaking my new coffee machine." he jokes easily.
Steve chews his lip for a moment, wondering if he should press the issue as to why Tony said his name of all people. But Tony doesn't give him a chance.
He stands quickly and saunters from the living room calling "Night, Cap" over his shoulder.
Tony doesn't sleep when he reaches his room. He lays in bed, staring at the ceiling allowing his mind to puzzle over his strange dream and Steve's place within it.