My first try at a slash fic, first try at an Avengers fic, so I hope it's good. Please review :) [I'm secretly a mushy romantic at heart, so these kinds of stories are common with me.]
Tony Stark was never exactly a particularly common sense centric person. Therefore, it was of no surprise to anyone when he went out and nearly got himself killed trying to Hellicarrier in lofty perch in the air. Nearly getting killed was the specialty of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. This time, however, it was finally in the midst of a heroic act that he was almost not alive anymore.
Tony wouldn't admit it, but secretly he had feared for his life when Rogers (as he like to call Captain America in his head) hadn't been able to pull the lever at the right time that would slow down the hoverfan's blades. Being smashed around them was like being in a blender; his only saving grace was his outer shell of metal and Rogers overcoming the gunners and pulling that red lever.
That didn't mean he forgave Rogers for pulling the lever late, though. He mostly totally ignored the star-spangled hero, avoided him, even. The only time he ever did talk to Rogers was a passing snide comment or two, like he did to everyone else. But lately everyone else had noticed he was avoiding everyone on the ship, Rogers especially. Tony's snarky comments had become even more caustic and biting and sarcastic, hurtful. He seemed irritated and annoyed at every little thing, especially every move Captain America made.
The Avengers just assumed it was because Loki (that bastard) had decided to use Stark Tower as his starting point of the oncoming apocalypse. Yet they all noticed how he took out his anger on Steve; and they all thought it rather curious. Part of his anger actually was because of Loki; but it was a small part. As it always turns out to be with Anthony Stark, nothing was as it seemed.
Truth was, Tony Stark was in love.
Tony Stark, billionaire extraordinaire, playboy, occasional drinker, man with a metal suit, known by nearly every person on the planet, was in love?
No doubt. It was the only reasonable explanation of why whenever he got near… them, his heart started beating like a desperate prisoner pounding on the walls of his cell. And his heart kind of was like a prisoner, because he kept his feelings locked up in an emotion-proof cage inside him. He hid it very well, he thought. Not that he knew he was wrong…
The Hellicarrier was about two and a half hours from New York City, and Tony would have loved to have gone on an insane Hulk-like killing rampage. Not out of fear, or anger, or depression, or just a sudden maniacal urge, but rather because of who he was forced to stand next to during the run-through of events before the big battle. It was positively infuriating for the normally calm and collected billionaire. Especially, 'specially 'specially, because he had no idea if his crush liked him back… like this. His crush an Avenger who wasn't Natasha, so that made the whole "crush" situation more awkward, because that meant that his crush was a guy. Awkward much?
And now, Tony was going to have to somehow fight demon hordes alongside him. Damn. Well, it wouldn't be just him and Tony, of course, because the rest of the Avengers would be fighting too. But still. This just could not turn out so good. With the other superhero near him, he didn't know how he'd manage; his crush was just simply too… well, sexy to ignore, even in the middle of a battle to save the world.
The injustice of it all.
After the debriefing, Tony walked back to his room in the Avenger's quarters' hallway in stony silence, and only those who knew him very well (of which there are few) could read the slight signs of worry on his face, but to the rest of the world, he looked as normal as ever. His mind was actually running a few million miles an hour faster than normal, his heart rate was probably through the roof, and if anyone that wasn't an Avenger would've walked in his path, he would've given them such a death glare they might've actually died. Nobody messes with Tony Stark when he's in a mood, even if he only looked normal.
But of course, this being the royally fucked-up life of Tony Stark, someone just had to come down the hallway toward him. Good thing they were an Avenger, otherwise they'd be dead as stone.
Tony glared at the man. "Hey, Capsicle. How'd you manage to get here from the opposite side of the hall, when we both just came back from the same boring old meeting?"
"There are two exits out of the meeting room, Stark. It's the same distance from both exits to this hall, why?" Captain America, Steve Rogers, frozen for 70 years, smiled a little and chuckled as he finished his explanation and consequential question.
"Eh, just wondering, Stripey."
"Hey," Rogers blurted just as Tony was turning to open the door to his room, "Do you want to go to one of the lounge rooms with me? Just to, I dunno, talk, I guess, in the hour we have before we have to suit up again and face the oncoming hell. I don't know you very well, and it might be nice to now instead of later, since by then one of us might be dead."
Tony only turned away and muttered something about repairing something on his Iron Man suit and quickly stepped into his room, closing the door a little too fast to be how he always closed a door.
Captain America just shrugged and said, "Well, fine then. See you later, Tony." Steve Rogers went into his room across the hall from Tony's and sat on his bed, with a slight smile on his face. He knew all that he needed to, now. His assumption had been right… That, and Steve knew quite well that the very first thing Tony had done before going to the debriefing was fix all the dents and such in his Iron Man suit. It was, after all, the billionaire's top priority. Steve smiled again. He could read Tony like an open book; it wasn't hard to tell, really.
Tony Stark was leaning with his back on his door. Steve had just called him Tony! That was a first… and wait a second, had he just called Rogers Steve? Another first, this time for him. Maybe he should take Steve… no, Rogers, up on his offer. This could be the start of…
No! What was he thinking? This couldn't happen. No, no, no. Captain America, Steve Rogers, was his childhood hero, not… not… his crush!
But apparently, his heart and body had ideas opposite of that of his brain. His mind screamed, NO! , but yet his hand reached for that doorknob and opened the door against his will, and at the time, he thought, his better judgment.
His body reacted for him, entirely on its own, and walked across the hall to Steve's room. Once again his hand reached for the door to knock on it, but this time he froze, his hand just inches from the wood, his mind finally catching up.
Should he be doing this? he wondered, pondering what to do. But once again his body won over, and he knocked on the door to the room of the one man he pretended to hate… if only to cover up his love.
CLIFFHANGER! Please review, it makes me happy! Constructive criticism, please. :)