Title: Battle: Steve
Summary: Steve knew it was irrational to hope that the Avengers could put aside their differences with Loki and work together as a team, but he had thought that Clint would be the one with a grudge against the trickster. Why Tony was glaring at the mischief-maker as though he wanted nothing more than to strangle him was beyond the Captain. Steve/Tony, Loki/Steve, Loki/Steve/Tony.
Disclaimer: I own my deranged mind.
Warnings: Oh, let's see... Blood, gore, violence, graphic sex, yaoi, swears, alcohol use, crude gestures and jokes, poor grammar/spelling, etc.
To say that Tony Stark hated Captain America was...apt.
He truly despised at how accurate Steve's words had been in the helicarrier; the man turned out to be everything that his father said that he was and even managed to call him out on all of his shortcomings. So, when the blonde had called him not even a few days after everyone had parted ways, the playboy was proud to say that he took the highroad and was mature.
He let Steve get out a few words before hanging up in him.
Unfortunately, that was not the end of the Captain's valiant attempts to make things right between them. JARVIS had informed him about letter that he had received in the mail and that had thrown the brunette for a loop at the time. He could not remember when was the last time he had received an actual pen-and-paper letter. Tony had looked over the thin and looped penmanship that spelled out his name. He panicked a little at the realization that there was no return address and had JARVIS check out the letter before he even dared to open it; there was no need to risk getting anthrax over his first letter, after all.
Once he was informed that there were no dangerous contents, just a piece of paper that was folded up, the brunette tore open the plan envelope and unfolded the note, reading over the words that were evenly spaced and parallel along the unlined paper, one name stuck out clearly at the bottom of the page, standing alone: S. Rogers.
That hard-ass of a super soldier had actually taken time out of his SHIELD-filled day to write him a goddamn letter. He had quickly learned that calling the man would get him nowhere so he had taken to the ways of communication back from the forties. Tony could not help but feel a contempt glee at the fact that the golden boy of the country, his father's favorite, was struggling to make things right between them and did not seem to grasp the idea that maybe, just maybe, the genius was petty enough to want nothing to do with him. He contemplated crumpling the letter into a tiny ball and tossing it out with the molding container of Chinese food that was hidden somewhere in the vast recesses of his refrigerator before he frowned. He folded the paper up and set it on the nightstand beside his bed before going back to his lab to check on what progress Bruce had come up with.
A week later, after Tony had forgotten all about the letter, he received another. There was no address again but the handwriting was exactly the same so the brunette tore into the paper with haste, smiling slightly as he read through the letter. It was another try at apologizing to the man for his harsh judgment on the helicarrier.
The letters continued to arrive over the weeks because, apparently, Steve Rogers was a tenacious son of a bitch and was undeterred by the fact that Tony had neither written him back or even attempted to contact him. But, unfortunately for the playboy, his resolve was cracking and he soon found himself looking forward to receiving the letters. Losing the last of his will, Tony had JARVIS patch him through to the soldier's phone just to be told that the blonde man in question did not have a phone. He had frowned and asked the artificial intelligence to track where the blonde had first called him from just to discover that the soldier had used a payphone - honestly, how were those still in existence? - in Iowa. Seriously, Iowa.
Was is so much to ask that Fury be predictable for once in his goddamn life and keep the blonde holed up in SHIELD so he could call the soldier and tell him to quit with the whole soldier-in-war-writing-a-long-lost-love routine?
And, because just thinking about the one-eyed man was enough to summon him, his phone rang with Fury on the line, telling him to sober up - even though he had not gotten drunk for months, thank you very much - and get to Times Square before a new threat leveled it. Tony had wasted no time hanging up of Fury before shouting for JARVIS to ready his suit as he ran to go get Bruce.
Steve grunted softly as he singlehandedly held up the support beam, shouting for Clint to help with the evacuation of the building before it came crashing down and killed all of the civilians inside of it. He could hear Natasha in his ear, speaking into his earpiece, about how backup had arrived. Thunder rumbled overhead and the Captain could only hope that it meant that Thor had returned from Asgard and was willing to fight alongside them again. Suddenly, a horrible sound of screeching music overcame the frequency in his ear and the blonde recoiled, nearly dropping the support beam and having the ceiling come crashing over his head.
"Hey, starting the party without us? Rude," the joking and amused sound of Tony's voice crackled in his head and Steve could not help but smile softly. He could hear the Hulk roaring outside of the lobby and knew that Bruce had joined the party, to use Iron Man's vernacular.
"MY FRIENDS!" a loud voice boomed out, making Steve laugh softly. Even after all of those months, Thor still had difficulties lowering his voice. "I HAVE RETURNED WITH GOOD NEWS!"
"Can it wait until after we've emptied out the buildings and stopped- What are these things again, 'Tasha?" Clint asked as he escorted a little blonde girl with pigtails out of the lobby as she sobbed, an even small child draped over his shoulders.
"There's a weak spot on the back of their necks. Aim there," the Russian's clipped voice replied. "It doesn't matter what they're called, Hawk. Now, is everyone out of the building?"
"Yeah, you're free to run off, Cap," the archer cheerfully called over his shoulder as he led the small children out of the lobby and away from the ongoing battle in the streets. Sucking in a deep breath, the blonde superhero counted back slowly from ten, wanting to give Clint the chance to at least get the children a safe distance before he released the beam and ran just in case the building decided to collapse due to a compromised structural integrity.
Ten Mississippi...
Steve could hear Clint talking amicably with the still sobbing girl that he was walking with over the frequency, his voice soft as he tried to calm her down with bribes of ice cream. It only seemed to make her cry harder.
Nine Mississippi...
An old vernacular sounded out as Thor appeared to be speaking to his teammates loudly, his voice washed out throughout all of the screaming, shrieking, and rumbling of thunder. Steve could remember fighting with the blonde against the Chitauri and that brought a soft smile to his face. If there was one thing that the Asgardian was, it was fierce. Both in how loyal his heart was and how determined he fought.
Eight Mississippi...
A soft grunt and some creative cursing from Natasha sounded out over the frequency followed quickly by a dirty comment from Tony about what else she could do with those powerful thighs of hers. Steve had the good morals to blush at the lurid words while the assassin offered to show him just what she could to with that part of her anatomy. The soldier found it hard to miss the dry and promising tone of her voice that spoke of pain in all of the wrong places should she try out that move on him.
Seven Mississippi...
The ground vibrated as the battle continued without him for the time being, pulverized plaster raining down over his head and shoulders like fine dandruff.
Six Mississippi...
The soft voice of the girl could be heard over his earpiece as she told Clint that their parents were at a movie while they were left in the hotel. That just broke Steve's heart to hear.
Five Mississippi...
A loud roar rippled out right before something came crashing through the lobby's wall and nearly slamming into him. He could hear the others yelling at Hulk to back away from the building, to make sure not to throw anyone else through it. A growl sounded out but no one else came barreling into the lobby so that was a plus.
Four Mississippi...
Tony was calling out locations for the Other Guy to get to and laughing when a particularly loud crash sounded out and resonated through the block, seeming to be at ease in the chaos.
Three Mississippi...
Natasha was heard grunting before letting out a curse, Clint laughing as he replied in the same language. It should not have been such a shock that the spies could speak to each other in more than one language but it always through the soldier for a loop at how well they were able to talk to each other in more than one language or with no words at all. He wished that he would be able to be close enough to someone like that but Steve was almost certain that he had let that chance slip by him.
Two Mississippi...
Steve breathed in and out slowly, calming his nerves for what was to come. Once he released the support beam the weight was certain to buckle and he would have to just as much energy into escaping just to make sure that he would not be buried alive in the rubble that would certainly be left in place of the old building.
One Mississippi...
The super soldier released his grip on the thick support beam, hearing the weight shift above his head, groaning mercilessly in a threat as metal and concrete shifted ominously. The blonde breathed heavily as he took off running as fast as he could, hearing the building crashing down from where he was standing, dust kicking up as the damage radiated out and the entire building began to crash to the lobby's floor, kicking up dirt and dust from both the ventilation system and crusted plaster. He had barely manage to set foot outside of the entrance of the hotel when he could hear Tony screaming into his earpiece about something above him. Steve rose his shield in that instance, the soldier's muscles tensing in anticipation of the heavy weight hitting his decorated shield. It never came.
Instead, a solid weight rammed into his ribs from the side, the super soldier barely making out the colors of verdant and obsidian before he was rolling on the ground, a warmth over his groin as a large collision sounded out to his left, drawing in the blonde's attention. Bright blue eyes widened at the sight of the collapsed building, a particularly large portion of the ceiling crumbled into smaller pieces where he was previously standing. Steve swallowed dryly, wondering if his shield would have been enough to protect him or if his bones would have been crushed just by trying to hold up his weapon against the impressive amount of bricks, metal, and wood.
A pleased sigh came from above him and the soldier turned his head to look at the person that had tackled him to safety, eyes widening even more at the bright green eyes peered down at him. Dark hair slipped over a leather-clad shoulder while a playful and lecherous smirk pulled at thin and pale lips, the brunette sitting on his groin leaning closer so their noses almost touched. "Hello, Captain," Loki purred from his position over the wide-eyed super soldier.
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