Okay, so I was riding home from a friend's house with my best friend Hekate's Blackest Blood, and this came on the radio. I had never heard the song before, but Hekate loved it, and immediately grabbed my hand and told me that I had to write a fic for Tony and Steve to this song. Obviously, I agreed since it is now complete and available for my readers.
Warnings: This is a Stony fic, so if you don't like that, then you are on the wrong page, and you need to leave. Towards the end, there will be spatterings of Thorki, but it is not the main focus. Double Warnings!: This fic is full of The Feels, therefore avid fans may cry. Just saying.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers, or any Marvel product. Apparently, Disney does now. Just like the rest of my childhood…
Say Something
(Tony POV)
"Big man with a suit of armor. Take that off and what are you?"
Tony slammed his armored fist into the wall as he blasted off to save the engine. Steve was right. He was nothing without the suit. Nothing but a man obsessed with himself.
"You only fight for yourself!"
Damn, him! Couldn't he see Tony was trying?…But that was just it… He wasn't. He was not trying. To him, everything was so easy; it had become second nature to treat everything as a joke. Tony was a genius. A billionaire. A playboy. A philanthropist… but was he really? Did he really care about anyone but himself?
"I've known men with none of that worth ten of you!"
Was that really all he had to offer? He had been so caught up with the fame and the titles. Did everyone see that behind the mask he was nothing? If they did, why not cut him down to size? Why did it take a ninety-something year old buff man in tights to finally say something? Was it just because they need his help? What did they expect him to do, save the world?
"You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play. To lie down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."
Maybe he could, though. Besides, who was the other guy?
"You may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
"Sir," JARVIS' electronic voice interrupted his thoughts, "I think you ought to pay attention."
Tony looked up just in time to swerve out of the path of oncoming laser blasts. "Whoo, thanks, JARVIS."
"Of course, sir."
"Stark!" a voice called over the sound of explosions. His voice. "Stark, I'm here!"
Steve's star spangled form came into view. "Good." Tony flew over to the engine. "Let's see what we got."
(Steve POV)
"We've gotta get this super conducting cooling system back online, before I can access the rotors and work on the debris," Tony seemed to be mumbling to himself. He turned and pointed a little off to the left side of Steve. "I need you to get to that engine control panel, and tell me which relays are in overload position," He instructed.
"Yes, because I know what relays and overload positions look like." Steve grumbled sarcastically as he jumped across the gap to the control panel. Once there, he pulled open a panel with lots of red wires and glowing orange lines. 'Great. Time to look like an idiot in front of one of the smartest men on Earth.' he thought.
"What's it look like in there?" Tony's voice sounded on the radio.
"Uh, it seems to run on some form of electricity." 'Stupid, stupid!'
"Well, you're not wrong."
'Fantastic. Great job, Captain Obvious. Now, how about doing something impressive?' Steve flipped a couple of switches that were flashing rapidly. 'Hopefully, I didn't just break it.' "Okay, the relays are intact!" He called through the comms. "What's our next move?"
"Even if I cleared the rotors, this thing won't engage without a jump. I'm gonna have to get in there and push." Tony responded.
'No!' "Well, if that thing gets up to speed you'll get shredded!" Steve protested.
"That standard control unit can reverse the polarity long enough to-"
"Speak English!" 'I can never understand a word he says.' He grinned. 'It reminds me of his dad. Dammit!' His grin faded. 'Don't remember that!'
Steve could practically hear Stark's disappointment. "You see that red lever?" Yep, there's that disappointment. "It'll slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out. Stand by it; wait for my word."
Anxious to keep him safe from the rotors, Steve leaped back across the gap. 'Stop it, Steve, stop it. That's his son back there. Never again, never again… Wait a minute, who are those guys?'
Below him, gunmen had entered the explosion site. Upon seeing him, one swiftly pulled out a grenade and threw it towards the tunnel Tony had disappeared through.
'Tony!' Steve was suddenly in the air and swinging out his powerful leg, knocking the grenade back at the hit men. "Not today!" he whispered as he vaulted down on top of the men. 'I have to keep them away from Tony. They must not get by me…'
(Tony POV)
"You know, JARVIS, I've been thinking…" Tony said when he'd reemerged from his thoughts.
"What's that, sir?" the AI replied.
Tony seared through some jutting debris with his laser. He sighed. "Am I really thought of the way Captain Spangleydex says?"
"How do you mean, sir?"
"JARVIS, you know very well how I mean. Do you think I'm a hero, or do I only fight for me?" He smashed iron plating out into the atmosphere.
JARVIS didn't answer for a moment.
"JARVIS?"
"Perhaps you haven't found anyone to fight for, yet, sir," the computer finally said.
Tony flew back up towards the ship. "Hmm. Do you think I could be the guy to make the sacrifice play? Could I lie down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over me?"
"Who is the other guy to which you are referring?"
"Hmm…"
Suddenly, the engines started shutting down.
"JARVIS, what's going on?"
"It appears that the ship is sinking, sir."
"Well, damn." Tony boosted his thrusters, and shot down into the rotors.
"Stark, we're losing altitude," Fury's voice hailed.
'No shit, Mace Windu.' Out loud he said, "Yep, I noticed." With all the strength he could muster, Tony pushed on the rotor until it scraped along the edges. Steadily, it started going faster and faster.
(Steve POV)
Steve was cornered by the red lever, still waiting to hear Tony's voice. 'Come on, Stark, what is taking you so long?' Machine gun rounds erupted around him, forcing him backwards. In a flash, Steve slipped on a busted grating and fell backwards off the landing. Using his superhuman agility, he flipped back around and grabbed a thick power cord.
'I can't die, now. Tony still needs me. He would never forgive me if I didn't save Tony.' Brimming with determination, Steve dragged himself back onto the landing. 'Come on, Tony, talk to me. I need to hear your voice.'
"Cap, hit the lever," conveniently came Tony's voice.
'Dammit.' Steve struggled to stand against the air pressure. "I need a minute here!"
Tony's voice was getting desperate. "Lever! Now!"
'Dammit, get up! You are Captain America, and Tony needs help!' Finally, he pushed through the battering winds amidst a hail of bullets.
Too slow.
Steve heard an "Uh-oh" over the speaker and the sound of crunching metal. 'Tony, no!' Desperately, he grabbed at the red lever and pulled it down.
(Tony POV)
The rotors were spinning too fast for Tony to keep up. "Cap, hit the lever." 'Please, buddy, hit the lever. Like right now.'
"I need a minute, here!" Steve shouted back.
"Dammit, Captain Spangleydex! Lever! Now!" Tony was getting desperate. The rotors were spinning way too fast. The rudder pushed away from him, "Uh-oh-" The sound of crunching metal erupted as Tony was sucked under the spinners. "Oooh Fuuuckkk!" His armor banged and smashed beneath the rushing spinners before he was finally spat out into the air.
Regaining his balance, Tony rocketed back towards Steve. He noticed Steve struggling to push himself upright, just as the gunman reappeared. Steve couldn't see him, so there was no way for him to escape the next rain of bullets. "You will not get him!" Tony growled as he barreled into the gunner at full speed.
Big mistake. The suit crashed landed on the body, shutting down once it had settled.
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
The next few hours went by like a blur. The entire mission had gone to hell so quickly. Coulson was dead, Loki escaped, and Thor and Bruce had gone missing. The Avengers had failed. Tony had failed.
Tony stood in the hanger bay where Loki's cell formerly sat. He looked to the wall beside him, taking in the sight of Phil's blood. Staring at it, he couldn't help but think of Steve's words again:
"I've known men with none of that worth ten of you."
And Steve had been right, of course. Phil was one of those men.
"Take off the suit and what are you?"
Phil didn't need a suit. He was brave enough to face a deity of legend on his own. Phil had definitely been worth ten of Tony.
"You may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."
"I'm not a hero. Without that damn suit, I'm nothing. Damn you, Captain Spangleydex, for pointing that out."
The clip-clop of Steve's riding boots echoed up the stairs. Tony mentally chided himself for the sort of comfort at having the taller man standing nearby.
They stood in silence for a few moments before, "Was he married?"
'And he wants to talk about Phil. Fine.' "No. He was a, uh, cellist, I think." 'A cellist? Really? If you're going to lie, Tony Stark, make it believable.'
"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man."
"Hmph. He was an idiot." 'No, don't say that. You know you don't feel that way.'
"Why? For believing?"
'Good one, Stark, now he hates you.' "For taking on Loki alone." 'Idiocy and bravery are one in the same, half the time.'
"He was doing his job," Steve argued.
'Don't argue. Don't argue.' "Ha. He was out of his league; he should have waited. He should have-" 'He should have waited for any one of us to get back in.'
"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony."
'Dammit. Stop getting all wise on me, Cap.' "Right, I've heard that one before." 'Get out of my head, Cap. Stop trying to make yourself at home, I'm starting to want you there.'
"Is this the first time you lost a soldier?"
"We are not soldiers!" Tony retorted.
The Captain glared at him.
Tony was speechless for a moment. 'Maybe that was out of line,' so he amended, "I'm not marching to Fury's fife."
"Neither am I," Steve responded gently. "Fury's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But, right now, we've gotta put that behind us and get this done."
'Okay, maybe, I'll let you stay in here for a little while, if you keep talking to me like that.' Tony looked down at Phil's bloodstain again.
Steve continued, "Now, Loki needs a power source-"
'Light bulb!' "He made it personal."
Steve was obviously getting annoyed, "That's not the point."
"No, that is the point!" 'Who would have thought your being up here would make me think better?' "That's Loki's point. He hit us all where we live. Why?" 'Come on, Steve, help me get these gears turning.'
"To tear us apart."
'Keep thinking.' "Yeah, but "divide and conquer" is great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants! 'We are so good when we're thinking together.' "He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it… he wants an audience." 'We got it!'
"Right, I caught his act in Stuttgart."
"Yeah, but that's just previews, this is opening night!" 'Yes, yes!' "And Loki, he's a full tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skys with his name plastered-" 'Wait this is sounding familiar.'
Steve gives Tony a knowing look. 'Yep, he's got it.'
"Son of a bitch!"
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
Tony placed the newly repaired Iron Man helmet on his head. "Hello, sir," JARVIS greeted him.
"Hello, JARVIS, good to hear you back," Tony responded casually.
"How are you feeling, sir?" the computer voice asked.
"I am feeling great, JARVIS, ready to kick some demigod ass." Tony answered in the same casual manner as he ran through the suit's diagnostics.
"Then you have discovered the identity of the "other guy," sir?"
Tony halted in his weapons check. "What, JARVIS?"
The AI explained, "The "other guy" for which you will fight and allow to crawl over you, sir."
Tony took a deep breath. Had he found that person? It was possible. Steve seemed to be making himself quite cozy in Tony's thought processes. He couldn't get the giant man out of his head. Tony thought about what would happen, what he would do, if Steve were in danger or feared for his life. The armor clad titan felt a sudden mixture of fear and rage eating away at his stomach, threatening to consume him. Then, he thought of other things, like how they worked so well together, how Steve looked in his Spangleydex tights. The rage and fear was replaced with a strange warmth. Finally, he thought of Steve's ability to see into his soul. They had only just met, for Christ's sake, and this man could see straight into his self-absorbed soul.
With all these thoughts swirling around in his head, Tony came to a not-so-shocking-as-expected conclusion. "JARVIS."
"Yes, sir?"
Tony took another breath. "JARVIS, I think I have."
"Well done, sir," JARVIS congratulated him. "But, sir, if I may say so, are you going to say something to him?"
Tony had been walking towards the hanger door, but he stopped. "Do you think I should?"
JARVIS replied, "Sir, my calculations say that our chances of success are about 320 million to one. I believe, sir, that he would take comfort knowing you fighting those odds for someone other than yourself. Do you agree, sir?"
Tony thought for a split second, before he signaled for the suit to come off, instructing JARVIS to stay put, as he ran for the deck. He had to make it to Steve before the original super took off.
(Steve POV)
Steve was suiting up in his quarters, when he heard small, yet urgent sounding knock on his door. He walked over and slid the barrier open to reveal the illustrious Tony Stark.
A confused expression crossed Steve's face. "Tony? What are you doing here? You should have left by now." He looked up and down the hallway. 'This is really weird. Tony has never come to my door before. I didn't even know he knew where it was…'
Tony shifted his weight and lowered his gaze to the floor. "Yeah, I know," he stopped.
Steve felt even stranger. "So, why are you still here?" he ventured.
"Uh…" Tony shifted again. "Well, I was about to, but then I realized that I needed to say something to you before we went into battle." He kept looking around for others lurking around.
Steve cocked his head slightly. 'What could he want to tell me?' He rolled his shoulders. "Okay, then. What is it?"
Tony's mouth went dry as he watched Steve's muscles contort majestically with just the simple movement. At Steve's question, he shook himself out of his reverie. With a deep breath, he raised his head and began, "Do you remember the other day when you told me that I only fight for myself?"
Steve was shocked. He definitely hadn't expected Tony to bring that back up. "You mean earlier this morning, when you countered by saying everything special about me came out of a bottle?" He raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you are talking about?"
Tony's gaze dropped back to his shoes. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Well, I've come to say that… I've come to say that…"
"Tony?"
The billionaire's head snapped up. "I have come to say that I am sorry for everything I said, because you were right."
Steve's eyes widened. 'I really wasn't expecting that.' "I was right about what?" he asked confused.
Tony sighed. "About me only fighting for myself. You were right."
Steve was getting worried. 'He's not about to quit on me, is he? Please, God, if you ever loved me, please don't let him quit. I don't want him to go…' Out loud he said, "I'm not sure what you mean…"
Tony nearly started wringing his hands, but he whipped them to his sides in time. "You said that I only ever fight for myself, and you were right. I am a selfish, intolerable asshole. But, what I've come to tell you is that, while I may still be a selfish, intolerable asshole, I have found someone to fight for."
Steve's breath hitched. "You, you have? Um, well, that's great, but why are you telling me-"
"Because you need to know," Tony interrupted. "And you need to know because it's…."
'Oh, God. He can't say it! He can't say it!'
"Because it's you, Steve."
Steve's jaw dropped. "Wh-What?"
Tony sighed. "You've been plaguing my thoughts, Steve. I can't get you out, and I am not entirely sure I want to. You see me the way everyone else does, but you have the guts to say something. You, you always know what to say, and you sound so wise and comforting doing it. You're so beautiful when you fight, and," he grinned, "heh, and I can't stop calling you Captain Spangleydex because it's so damn cute. If there was anyone I could try to be a hero for, it would be you." He looked back into Steve's eyes, wondering what he could be thinking.
The first Avenger didn't know what to say. Tony's confession had rendered him speechless. 'No, no, no, no, no, this is wrong. This cannot happen, I have to tell him no. But do I want to? Of course I don't. I feel the same way. But, I can't do this again. Not after him.'
"And as for that bottle crack, I was wrong. My father never talked about you, and the only people he didn't talk about were the ones that were special to him. If the only specialness about you was what he gave you, then he would never have stopped bragging about it."
Steve grinned. "Yeah, I remember. He was a lot like you…" his smile faded. He shook his head. "I can't do this, Tony."
Tony's face fell. Steve couldn't remember a time when he felt guiltier. How does one do this? How do you break the heart of someone you love before anything even starts?
"Tony," he faltered. He stepped forward with his arm out, stopping just shy of grasping Tony's arm. "Tony, I was born in the 1920's. I fought in World War II. I had a crush on your dad, who was smitten with the woman who loved me. I lost both of them. Now, who knows if the ice is what kept me from aging for seventy years? What if the genetic manipulations in my body keep me from aging? What if I'm frozen? I couldn't lose someone else." He reached to brush Tony's arm. "I hope you understand."
Tony shrugged him off, nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, of course I understand." He stepped back. "Yeah, of course. I didn't come here to start something, or anything. I mean, I'm Tony Stark, for God's sake. Can't actually get into something, so…" the billionaire continued walking backwards. "I, um, ahem, I just wanted to say something before we head out, so that you know that I will follow you anywhere. So, see ya." With a salute, Tony turned and disappeared down the hallway.
"Dammit!" Steve shouted as he smashed his fist into the wall.
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
Ten minutes later found a pissed off Captain America stalking down the flight hanger deck, with Clint and Natasha struggling to keep up. Once they had entered the plane, a cocky pilot stepped forward. "Hey, hey, you guys aren't authorized to be in here," he said.
'I am not in the mood for this.' "Son, just don't."
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
(Tony POV)
Tony rocketed through Manhattan slightly clumsier than usual. His revelation to Steve had not gone as planned. Granted, there never really was a plan. Tony really didn't walk in there expecting Steve to reciprocate his feelings. However, he really hadn't expected him to say he'd liked Tony's dad.
"Sir, you have been silently fuming for the entire journey. Might I assume that your conversation with Mr. Rogers did not go well?" JARVIS inquired.
"Well, JARVIS, I'd say it was, right up until he started talking," Tony grumbled.
"Ah. May I ask what he said, sir?"
"Hmm, well he started with the whole age gap thing, mentioned that he had a crush on my old man, then went on this whole immortality what if spiel. Which I don't think is the case, but I'll look into. However, it sounded to me like he was just making a bunch of excuses. Not that I needed them, or anything. I mean, goddammit, JARVIS, it wasn't as if I was looking to start some wishy washy relationship!"
"Sir, if I may say so, I believe that he will at least be pondering on you. Perhaps, he will change his min-"
"Don't think so, JARVIS," Tony interrupted. "The good Captain has made up his mind. I am resigned to accept that."
"ETA in two minutes, sir," JARVIS said.
"Thank you, JARVIS," Tony responded.
"Sir, I've turned off the arc reactor. The device is already self-sustaining."
'Good.' "Shut it down, Doctor Selvig," Tony addressed the hypnotized scientist.
"It's too late!" he shouted as he stared at his machine in admiration. "She can't stop now." He turned back to Tony. "She wants to show us something!" he declared giddily. "A new universe!"
"Okay," Tony droned before blasting at the glowing energy sphere. 'This guy is a nut job.'
The blast knocked the doctor to the ground, and blew Tony backwards. When the smoke had cleared, the machine remained unharmed.
"The barrier is pure energy. It's unbreachable," JARVIS stated with almost a tremor in his voice.
"Yeah, I got that," Tony responded. 'What would Steve do?' Tony caught something green out of the corner of his eye. He looked down to see Loki staring up at him from the floor below. 'Great. Let's go have a meeting with the heir of Slytherin, shall we?' "Plan B."
Calculating his plan, JARVIS protested, "Sir, the Mark 7 is not ready for deployment."
'Not the time for arguing, JARVIS.' "Then, skip the spinning rims. We're on the clock," Tony ordered. 'I mean, really. It doesn't need to be perfect.'
With that, the billionaire superhero landed on his suit dismantling deck, signaling Loki with his gaze to meet him inside. 'Gotta stall him long enough for Steve to get here. This will be dangerous until I get the next suit on…'
"Please, tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," the demigod mocked as he entered the room.
'Just be yourself, Tony. This will all work out.' "Uh, actually, I'm planning to threaten you. He he." 'Ooh, I love the way I talk to people.'
Loki grinned. "You should have left your armor on for that."
Tony nodded to the side in agreement. "Yeah. It's seen a bit of mileage, and I see you've got the Glow Stick of Destiny there." He gestured at Loki's spear. 'Glow Stick of Destiny. That's great.' "Would you like a drink?" 'That's it, Tony.'
Loki scoffed, "Stalling me won't change anything."
'Ooh, never.' "No, no, no. Threatening," Tony corrected. "No drink? You sure? Heh, I'm having one." ''Cause I'm just that good.'
Loki hissed and turned back to the window. 'Aw, am I that irritating?'
"The Chitauri are coming," he rasped. "Nothing will change that."
'Um, hello, we will.'
He turned back, "What have I to fear?"
"The Avengers," Tony replied while nonchalantly fixing himself a whiskey. He looked up at Loki's curious face. "It's what we call ourselves. We're sort of like a team." '"Sort of."' "Earth's mightiest heroes type thing," he said in a bored tone.
"Yes, I've met them."
'Someone thinks this is a joke .Well, it kinda is.' "Yeah. Takes us a little while to get any traction, I'll give you that, but let's do a head count here." 'This is the fun part.' "Your brother, the demigod." 'Look at his face. Ha!'"A super soldier, a living legend that kinda lives up to the legend." 'Kinda? Understatement of the year. Ooh! Let's inconspicuously slip this homing bracelet on.'
Loki caught a flicker of wistfulness across Tony's face at the thought of Steve. "Your face when you speak of the soldier, it screams weakness!" he crowed.
Tony almost blanked, but he managed to keep his nonchalant act up, "What do you mean?" he asked.
Loki smiled wickedly. "You love the soldier!"
'Don't let him get to you.' Without dropping the act, Tony retorted, "Well, you love Thor, so what's your point?"
Loki didn't say anything else, but the smirk remained.
"Anyway, as I was saying, a man with breathtaking anger management issues." 'You can say that again.' "A couple of master assassins. And you, big fella!" Tony points at Loki. "You've managed to piss off every single one of them." 'And that is quite a feat.'
That damned smirk never left Loki's face. "That was the plan," he said.
"Not a great plan." "No, indeed not.' "When they come," he stepped out from behind the bar, "and they will, they'll come for you." 'Well, at least, Thor might. Burn.'
Loki tensed. "I have an army," he defended.
"We have a hulk." 'Beat that, pussy willow.'
"Oh, I thought the beast had wandered off—"
"You're missing the point." 'Dumbass.' "There is no throne," Tony said as he strode down the stairs. "There is no version of this where you come out on top." He stopped. "Now, maybe your army comes, maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it. He took a swig of his whiskey. 'Steve would be proud of that whole speech thing there. He's really big on the speech thing.'
Tony looked up from his empty glass to notice Loki stalking towards him. 'Some one looks mad.'
"How will your friends have time for me…" 'Wait, what is he doing' "When they're too busy fighting you?" His staff made a whirring sound, just before he tapped it above Tony's heart with a *clang*. 'Huh?' They both looked down. Loki kept clanging the spear point against Tony's chest in confusion. 'What's going on?'
"This usually works," Loki baffled.
"Well, performance issues. You know, it is not uncommon. But Thor won't be very happy to know—"
Loki cut him off with a forceful grip on his throat. With a burst of his godlike strength, Loki threw Tony against the floor like a rag doll.
"JARVIS, any time now," Tony grunted as he struggled to his feet. Before he could regain his balance, Loki had him caught by the throat again,
"You will all fall before me," he hissed in the shorter man's ear.
Suddenly, there was a jingling bleep cuing Tony's, "Deploy!"
A door slid open on the far side of the room. Angered, Loki lifted Tony off the ground. 'Oh, shit.' "Deploy!" he called again, just as the trickster god launched him out the window. The Mark 7 suit shot passed Loki in pursuit of the flashing bracelet on Tony's wrist.
'Come on, suit, I'm waiting!' Tony screamed inside his head, just before he felt the metal armor cuffs latch onto his wrists. In less than ten seconds, it had fully assembled itself around its creator, allowing him to push off with the engines just short of hitting the ground. Quickly, Tony righted himself, and shot back up towards the top of his tower.
'You cannot kill me that easily. Not when you threaten those I care about.' Tony pulled up to the broken window and stared Loki down. "And there's one other person you pissed off," he growled. "His name was Phil." 'This one's for you, buddy. Take this, pussy willow!' A power blast exploded out of Tony's hand, hitting Loki square in the chest. A strong blast from the tesseract machine drew Tony's attention. An electric blue beam had erupted from the gun barrel, ripping a hole in the sky. Flying motorcycles swarmed out of the portal.
Tony's mouth dropped as he stared in shock. "Right. Army." 'Um, yeah, we've got this…' "We've got this, right, JARVIS?" He asked the AI nervously.
"Would this be one of those moments where you would like me to lie to you, sir?" JARVIS replied.
'Dammit.' "Um, yeah. Maybe." He wasn't reassured.
"In that case, sir, as you say: "we've got this."
"That's what I thought." With that, Iron Man shot upwards, blasting alien vessels as he went.
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
(Steve POV)
The ship lurched as a power discharge exploded against the left wing. Steve would have been thrown up against the wall if he hadn't been holding the ohhshyyt bars on the ceiling with an iron grip. "I thought you said you could drive this thing!" he screamed to the assassins in the pilot seats.
"I said I could fly it!" Clint called back. "Crash landings are another thing entirely!"
Steve eyes widened. 'Oh shit.' "Crash landing?" Steve's voice raised its pitch. "Did you just say crash lan-?!" The sudden jolt and scraping against the ground cut him off.
The super soldier pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, shaking his head to clear it. He looked up to find Clint moving towards him with his hand extended to help him up. Steve chuckled. "You really do suck at landings," he joked, reaching for Clint's hand.
"Yeah, well," the archer responded as he grasped Steve's hand. "I think Tony would look better in that position." He nodded to Steve's rather suggestive position.
Steve looked behind himself in shock. When he noticed sensual curve of his back leading into his ass sticking in the air, he blushed viciously. Clint's smile broke over his teeth as he pulled Steve to his feet.
"Not that you don't do it justice," he amended, "That position would just suit Tony better."
Steve swung his face to gape at them. "What..? How..? Excuse me?"
Natasha pushed past him with a playful grin. "Relax, Captain. Everybody knows. Everyone but Fury, that is." She turned back once she had reached the door.
Steve was thoroughly embarrassed and confused by this point. He leaned his hand against the wall to support his weight. "How does everyone know? Tony just told me how he felt right before he left, and I'm pretty sure he's not the type to go blabbing about a rejection. Especially not right after it happened."
Natasha chuckled. "Thor figured it out after your little showdown in the lab right before the attack. Said the two of you reminded him of a couple he knew back on Asgard that no one ever expected to end up together. He says they fight all the time and are jealous of each other's talents. Yet, when they are alone together, or think together, they are a beautiful, unstoppable force. He said they were meant to be together. I thought it was him and someone else, due to how sad his tone of voice was, but he wouldn't tell us."
The Captain shifted so that his back was to the wall. He pinched the bridge of his nose." And the rest of you? Dr. Banner has been gone since Loki escaped, and no offense, but you two can't even figure yourselves out."
The assassins shifted awkwardly. "Banner has spent more time around Stark than any of us. He kind of predicted it a while ago," Natasha continued.
"Phfft, Oh!" Steve move his arm in an "of course he did" gesture.
Clint grimaced. Steve was not going to like their excuse. "And we were sorta in the hallway when Tony was, uh, confessing to you," he said slowly, trying to tread carefully.
Steve glared at him. "And?" his voice was deeper in a more intimidating tone.
Clint was confused. "And what? What do we think?"
Steve nodded jerkily.
A knowing grin replaced the Hawk's confusion. "What, you think we're gonna be against it? That we're gonna hate you?" He placed a comforting hand on Steve's shoulder. "Cap, it's just the opposite."
Natasha placed her hand on his other shoulder. "We think you're making a mistake," she said gently.
Steve faced her slowly. "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously, not sure if he wanted to know.
Natasha took a deep breathe. "Thor is right. You two are beautiful together, and have you even thought about the fact that it was Tony's dad who made you. Even if you did have a thing for him, he made you, and you are still here! You are still here with Tony!" the Russian spy adamantly reasoned.
Clint squeezed Steve's shoulder before releasing it. "And if that isn't meant to be, I don't know what is."
Steve thought a moment, 'What if they're right? What if I screwed up? Does all that stuff really matter against the fact that I love him?' Steve shook his head and sighed. "What do I do?" He looked up glancing questioningly at his two friends.
Natasha leaned in. "You say something, Steve," she ordered. Steve's eyes widened. She continued, "Say something before he gives up on you…"
A moment passed for Natasha's words to sink in. When they had, determination plastered itself across his face. "Hawkeye." Clint stood at attention. "Black Widow." Natasha snapped straight. Captain America glared at the doorway. "Let's do this thing." With that, he smashed the doors release button, and they sprinted out into the fray.
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
The horrifying sight of the colossal portal ripping through the sky, and the giant, armored worm emerging from it forced the trio to a halt. They looked on the scene in dismay as doubtful thoughts entered their minds. Steve hailed Tony on the comms, not even worrying about the awkwardness of it, "Stark, are you seeing this?" he asked with disbelief.
"Seeing. Still working on believing," Tony responded uneasily. "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?" he inquired.
"Banner?" Steve scanned the area in search of the rage monster.
"Just keep me posted," he said, quickly ending the conversation.
'I've gotta get him to talk to me…'
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
(Tony POV)
The battle waged ever onward. Vehicles and buildings exploded as people ran screaming down the streets. Tony knew the whole thing would be difficult, but he hadn't banked on the enormous worm gliding around the skyscrapers. He noticed how the foot soldiers seemed to hang from the worm's sides with grappling hooks, and then swung off onto the surrounding buildings like pirates boarding a captured ship.
Once he understood this, Tony quickly calculated a plan to get the armored worm out of the sky. 'Step 1: Get its attention.'
Tony boosted the thrusters to sail around a trashed tower, coming face to face with the creature. Quickly, he released a number of small missiles into its head. With an angry growl, the creature flipped around in pursuit of its attacker.
Tony swerved out of its path. "Well, we got its attention. What the hell was step two?" he asked JARVIS before taking off. He just barely escaped the worm's powerful jaws.
"Did you not say you would bring it to the others, sir?" JARVIS asked in response.
"Great idea, buddy. What would I do without you?"
"Talk to yourself, I would imagine, sir," came the AI's unknowing barb.
Tony spun to avoid the monster's onslaught. "Now, I don't think that's true, JARVIS, I am not that crazy." He thought a moment. "Yet," he added.
"Of course not, sir," JARVIS responded in his usual bored tone.
"Oh, hush, JARVIS."
"Stark, we got him," Steve's voice interrupted.
"Banner?" Tony confirmed.
"Just like you said," he breathed through the comms. 'When will you learn I am always right?' Tony thought.
"Well, tell him to suit up." 'This is where the fun begins.' "I'm bringing the party to you." With that, Tony zoomed around the final scraper, revealing the monster trailing him. He looked ahead to find his team staring in shock.
"I-I don't see how that's a party," the female assassin commented.
Tony led the creature lower to the ground. 'Come on, any time now, fellas. I can't keep this up forever.' That was when he noticed Banner stepping forward. 'Oh shit," he thought, and swung out of the way just in time to avoid getting Hulk smashed in the face.
Once he was clear, he spun back around to see what had happened. To his dismay, the worm was about to flip frontwards on top of the whole team and… 'Steve!'
"Hold on!" he shouted to get their attention and launched an explosive into the creature before it could crush them.
When the smoke had cleared, Tony cautiously landed beside the WWII hero as they all gazed at the alien foot soldiers surrounding them. For a moment, it seemed they had won. However, it was short lived. In the sky above, Black Widow noticed movement.
"Guys," she drew their attention. Everyone looked up to see more worms and bikes pouring out of the portal.
'This is your time, Steve. I said I'd follow you anywhere. So, what are my orders?' His thoughts were echoed by his words, "Call it, Captain." 'Send me where you will.'
The captain stepped forward. "All right, listen up. Until we can close that portal, our priority is containment," he began in his authoritative voice. "Barton, I want you on that roof." He gestured to the said roof. "Eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays."
'Good plan.' "Stark!" 'Yes, Captain?" You've got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash. ' *sigh* As you say.'
"Can you give me a lift?" Hawkeye asked.
'Not my first choice, but, eh, whatever.' "Right," he stepped toward the archer and gripped the back of his shirt. "Better clench up, Legolas." 'Yeah, 'cause I need to get out of here before things get awkward, and it's not really a fun ride, anyway.' And he shot off into the sky.
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
"Stark, you got a lot of strays sniffing your tail," Clint informed him through the radio.
'Well, you know how it is.' "I'm just trying to keep them off the streets," Tony joked back.
He could hear Clint chuckling. "Well, they can't bank worth a damn." An explosion sounded. "So, find a tight corner," he advised.
'Ooh, good tip.' "I will roger that." Tony shifted his direction to hug the nearest building corner. Bam! Bam! Bam! His pursuers crashed one by one from their bikes' dreadful steering. Soon, Tony only had a couple left that he just couldn't shake. "Oh, boy," he grumbled just before ducking into a tunnel. Fiery bikes followed him back out into the streets, where they fell into smoldering heaps on the pavement.
'Well, that was awesome.' "Nice call," Tony congratulated the Hawk. "What else you got?" 'Please, tell me the fun isn't over yet."
Barton's voice came through, "Thor is taking on a squadron down on Sixth."
'That bastard.' "And he didn't invite me." Tony shot off in search of the Norse god.
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
"You, puny Chitauri, have no chance of defeating the mighty Thor!" the hammer wielder proclaimed as he battered the oncoming forces.
"Thor!" Tony announced his arrival. "How dare you not invite me to this party?" His hand glowed as a blast discharged into a Chitauri soldier.
The Asgardian laughed. "Well, you know how it is, my friend." He swung his hammer at a nearby car, sending it into a group of invaders. "Ah! The glorious battle is too exhilarating to stall!" Tony laughed with him.
A Chitauri managed to jump onto Tony's back and claw at his armored face. With his vision impaired, the billionaire struggled to maneuver his already charging gun hand to the creature's ugly head. When he finally did, a squishy popping sound resulted from the thing's exploding head. "Agh.." Tony shook his head to clear it.
Tony glanced over at the Asgardian fighting below him. He chuckled over the intercom, "You know, Thor, you really need to start controlling your bitch a bit better. Anymore of these guys, and we may have a problem on our hands."
Thor laughed at Tony's blunt joke. "Excuse me?" He smashed his hammer into the pavement. "But I will start controlling my "bitch" as you call him, when you start controlling yours."
Tony gapped but managed to deck an oncoming Chitauri in the face. "I-he-uh." He seared one in half with his laser beam. "He is not my bitch…" His denial trailed off uncertainly.
Thor laughed again. "No. No, of course not. I am not certain what your term "bitch" means, but judging from your use of it to describe my relationship to Loki, it would be more accurate to say that you are his bitch," the thunder god reasoned.
Tony threw a Chitauri to the ground, and then landed on top of it, crushing its chest beneath his feet. "I'm not sure you know what you're talking about, big guy," he tried to throw the hammer wielder off.
Thor presented a huffing growl as he shifted the force of his thunder to knock Tony off his feet, along with the remaining Chitauri. "Do not take me for an ignorant in the matters of love because I am not human." Tony struggled to lift himself on his arms. 'Well, that escalated quickly. Advice for the future: Don't make the god feel stupid.'
The Asgardian crouched before the armored man. "We Asgardians love in the same ways you do." He placed a hand to his heart. "I do, specifically, as you have discovered." He reached out to help Tony stand. "On Asgard, we believe that when someone is born, their soul is broken in two. One half stays with the elder born, and the second half is imbedded into the one they are meant to be with when they are born. Sometimes, years will pass before the second half finds their host."
"You believe you found that with Loki? Then why does he hate you so much?" Tony asked, confused.
"We were together many years ago on Asgard. No one knew, not even my team. We have the same laws against those kinds of relationships on my planet that you have here." He looked at Tony to make sure he was listening carefully. "However, we didn't care. We knew that we were meant to be, that the laws just had to be wrong. For a while, we were happy." He grinned. "Though, we still fought like knorfkas and digras."
Tony pulled back his mask so Thor could see his raised eyebrow. "Knorfkas and digras?"
Thor frowned at the interruption. "I forgot, our planets have very different creatures. I believe the closest thing on your planet to a knorfka would be these domesticated mewling creatures… I can't seem to remember what they are called…"
"Cats?" Tony offered.
"Yes, those things! And digras would be like the obnoxious wailing creatures that battle them." Thor confirmed. "But, I digress. Loki and I did not agree very often, but we loved each other and respected our ideas just the same. Eventually, the time came for me to be trained in ruling the kingdom. I had rare moments where I wasn't watched by the guard, and therefore little time to spend with Loki. It wasn't long before Loki and I were discovered."
"I assume nothing good came of that," Tony tried to lighten the mood.
It didn't work. "No." Thor closed his eyes as he relived his most hated memory in his mind. "Nothing good did come of it." He opened them. "My father was not.. happy.. when he found out. We tried to explain that we had not meant to break the law, that we had found our second half, but Father would not hear us. He presented me with an ultimatum. Either I renounce my love for Loki, or I relinquish my claim to the throne. At the time, I believed I was prepared to choose Loki over the throne, but Father was one step ahead of me. In my ear, he whispered that Loki would be banished to one of the outer regions if I chose him."
Tony immediately realized what happened next, "You gave him up."
Thor bowed his head in shame. "Yes, I gave him up. And he has hated me ever since."
Tony threw is arm out in frustration. "But, you had no choice. Surely Loki would have understood that." Thor turned his head away. "Unless…" Realization hit the armored hero. He sighed. "You didn't tell him."
"I was ashamed; ashamed of myself for betraying him, ashamed of my father for betraying his sons." He turned back to Tony. "How do you tell someone that their father threatened to banish them? I thought I was protecting him…"
Tony blew out a huge breathe. "Thor, I don't mean to sound insensitive, I really don't. But, what does this have to do with me and Steve?" he wanted to know.
Thor smiled at Tony's question. "Do you not see, so-called-genius? When I speak of fate driven love, I do not just speak of Loki and myself." Tony took a step back. He knew what was coming. Thor continued, "I speak of you and Steve, as well."
Tony was dumbstruck. How did everything come to this? How was it even possible? "Thor," Tony started. "We can't be like you and Lok—" Thor cut him off.
"I am not saying that you will be like us, and I sincerely hope you will not be. I am speaking of your souls. Tony, you were born almost a century after Steve. Now, for we Asgardians that is a mere blip in time, but not for you humans. No, Steve was saved from the passage of time for seventy Earth years." Thor placed a hand on Tony's armored shoulder. "Do you want to know why, Tony?" he asked.
Tony was a genius. He knew where his friend was going with this. 'But it doesn't matter.' He took a deep breath before responding, "Thor, I know what you're going to say, but it doesn't make a difference. Steve has already made his decision, and there is nothing left for me to do. I have already said all that there is to say."
Thor stepped away from Tony. "My friend, Loki and I failed because I could only see the words that had been said. Do what I could not. If you have said all that there is to say," Mjolnir started to spin. "Then do not say something." A gust of wind blew him upwards. "Do something!" he shouted, before disappearing into the jungle of skyscrapers.
Tony stared after the Asgardian prince. Maybe he was right… Maybe-
"Stark!" Clint hailed. "The Captain's getting surrounded, you better go give him a hand."
Tony's blood froze. "On it!" he confirmed. In a flash, his helmet reset, and he was rocketing towards the WWII hero.
He zoomed between buildings, taking out a detachment flyer tailing Natasha on the way.
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
(Steve POV)
The Captain and Black Widow were tearing up the oncoming forces. Natasha kicked here, Rogers throwing his shield there. One Chitauri managed to wrestle the assassin onto the hood of a nearby car. When it swung its power spear at her head, she shifted to the side, slid her agile legs around its neck and torso, and jammed her right hand into the mechanism on the back of its neck. With her attacker in shock, she was able to confiscate its weapon, turn it on him, and fire it into his chest.
A sudden movement to her right triggered her razor like reflexes. In the blink of an eye, Natasha had swung the spear around to meet the new threat. However, the flash of red, white, and blue halted her assault.
Steve landed with his shield in a defensive position against the weapon. When she realized it was the Captain, Natasha's fatigued body collapsed onto the car hood. Steve stepped forward to see if she was alright.
Through heavy breathes Natasha said, "Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal."
Steve shifted his gaze to the space rift. 'She's right, but…' "Our biggest guns couldn't touch it," he pointed out. 'What else is there?'
"Well, maybe it's not about guns," Natasha reasoned.
Roger's gaze instantly shifted back to her. 'She's not thinking of… Yes!' He noticed the next wave of enemies approaching. "If you want to get up there, you're going to need a ride."
Natasha rolled her eyes and dropped the spear. "I got a ride," she announced while walking to the other side of the street.
Steve searched the sky, instantly deducting her plan. 'This is not safe.'
The assassin looked back at him. "I could use a boost, though," she hinted.
Uncertainly, the Captain braced himself. "You sure about this?"
Apprehension flickered across her face. "Yeah," she decided. "It'll be fun."
'Okay, then. Go kick ass.' And he bulleted her into the air.
As he watched her speed away, he nearly forgot about the Chitauri closing in… Until a power blast fired past his head. The Captain snapped his attention to his attackers. He grinned. "Come and get me!" he shouted.
The Chitauri squadron screeched as they charged the lone soldier. They spread out as they came closer, until they had him completely surrounded. 'Let's go.' And he jumped into the fray.
The Captain leaped into the air, landing shield-first onto a soldier. As he flipped back, he noticed a flash of maroon shoot underneath him. 'Tony!' They weaved between each other in perfect fluid forms, blasting or slamming Chitauri as they went. "Tony!" he called through the explosions and screams.
Tony spun, shocked, his arc reactor shooting laser beams out as he turned. Steve immediately lifted his shield to block the heat rays, making them reflect off into several Chitauri soldiers.
"Tony! Tony, stop!" But it was too late. The armored hero had already escaped into the skys. "Tony, I need to talk to you…" he whispered into the comms, hoping to God that Tony would hear him.
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
Steve ran in the direction Tony disappeared to, hoping to catch up with him. 'Maybe... maybe he just got freaked out, you know? I mean, he almost hit me with that blast, and… and I'm not like Thor or Hulk, I can't just bounce back. He's freaked out that he almost hit me… but that's not like hi—' "Ugh!"
Suddenly, he was on the ground with a Chitauri clawing around on his back. He felt a gust of wind as his attacker swung back with his spear. The super soldier waited until the blade had come down right above his head, before he slid his head to the left, the weapon barely grazing his ear. "Ha! Not today!" he shouted as he grabbed the spear and jabbed it in the face with the butt.
The Chitauri howled in pain, giving the Captain an opening to flip himself onto his back. His assailant recovered in time to shove the blade back towards the Captain's face. Steve grabbed the handle and pushed it away from his head, leaving an opening for his fist to say hello to the creature above him.
The Chitauri emitted a dying yowl as Steve pushed it off his body. As he was struggling to his feet, Barton radioed in, "Captain, the bank on 42nd past Madison. They've cornered a lot of civilians in there."
Steve waited a beat to catch his breath. 'Well, Tony, I guess you'll have to wait.' "I'm on it," he confirmed. He quickly changed directions so he was headed toward 42nd Street.
When he arrived, the Chitauri were patrolling the second floor of the building. Below them, on the ground floor, the civilians were huddled together. Steve watched as one alien detached from its group and pulled out a flashing remote-like object. Realization hit him. 'Dammit, it's a detonator!
Steve flipped through an open window and flung his incredible shield at the Chitauri warrior, knocking the remote out of its hands. The two remaining villains swung around with their spear guns raised. 'Oh shiiit!' Steve'sbrain screamed as he threw himself to the floor.
Beside his head, the detonator flashed blue. 'Dammit, gotta get out of here…" Steve had to think fast. 'Uh… table! The thought was barely fully formed before his powerful leg was raised and sent the table barreling into the still firing Chitauri. One was crushed by the force of the table, but the other was able to wriggle free. Steve managed to make quick work of the survivor by deftly snapping its neck.
The detonator's beeping quickened. Steve knew his time was limited. 'I have to get these people out!' The hero heaved the Chitauri meat sack over the edge ads let it drop. "Everyone, clear out!" he shouted at the crowd just as the second Chitauri launched itself onto his back and wrapped its rough arms around his neck.
"Aghh!" Steve growled as his attacker ripped his mask off his face. 'You will not get me! Not today! Tony still needs to know how I feel! With Tony in his thoughts, a new determination welled within him. Steve drew up his strength and rammed his elbow into the Chitauri's gut. Winded, the assaulter loosened its grip on the hero, allowing him the opportunity to flip backwards over the Chitauri's head. A blast from the first Chitauri's spear burned through the one Steve now used as a shield.
'Woo! That was close…' he thought as he rolled to the side. When he looked up, the remaining enemy had suddenly noticed the still flashing detonator. Steve's eyes widened when the alien being lunged for the device. Realizing that the machine was about to explode, 'Oh, hell!' Steve quickly retrieved his shield and curled his legs up behind the spangled circle, just as the device exploded.
The blast sent him crashing through the window onto the hood of a nearby car. Steve lay face down on the car for a few minutes in shock. 'I can't do this,' he thought.Slowly, he dragged his tired body off the hood. 'This is all hopeless.' He lifted his head and scanned the area in dismay. In every direction, explosions sounded, terror stricken screams filled the air, and through all of this, the Chitauri just kept coming.
'There is just no end to these things. How can we even hope to defeat them? In the end, what can we achieve against Loki?'
The radio crackled. "Captain!" Hawkeye's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Captain, are you there?"
The WWII hero shook his head to clear his thoughts. 'Pull yourself together, Captain America.' He lifted his hand to his ear to activate his communicator. "Yeah, Hawkeye, I'm here. Is something wrong?"
"Well," Clint began, "I wouldn't say wrong, per say…" he trailed off.
'Oh, great,' Steve thought as he rolled his eyes. "Okay, then, what do you want?"
The channel crackled as Clint let out an impressed sounding huff. "I, uh, just thought you might wanna hear about this fricken awesome thing your man just did."
Steve's face crinkled in a confused expression. "You called to give me a play by play of Tony's battle sequences? Do we really have time for this?" 'Not that I don't actually want to hear about them…'
The Hawk chuckled. "Well, if you've got the time to stand around feeling sorry for yourself, then we've got time for a play by play."
Steve opened his mouth to deny the accusation but Clint interrupted, "You do remember that I can see everything from up here, right? I can practically hear your pity party, and Tony is not going to be a big fan of that. "
The Captain grimaced. 'He's right. Dammit.' He sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. What's Tony doing?"
Clint laughed. "He just shot into the mouth of one of those worm things, flew through it, and blew it up from the inside. It was like Jonah meets Anakin Skywalker."
Steve grunted. "Yeah, I don't know who this Anakin Skywalker is," he responded in his 'I'm-not-from-this-era voice.' "But I think I get the picture, and it seems pretty cool," he smiled. 'Everything Tony does is cool. He's just so resourceful, it's awesome.'
Another laugh cloaked in static sounded in Steve's ear. "Yeah, it was pretty cool. But, you know we're going to have to remedy your not knowing who Anakin Skywalker is, right? As soon as this is over: Star Wars marathon!"
"Whatever, just keep your eyes open, Hawkeye," Steve chuckled in response.
"Will do, Cap!" Clint signed off.
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
(Tony POV)
Iron Man crashed into the cement pavement of Manhattan's streets. Turbo jetting through that armored worm might have been one of the coolest things Tony had ever done, but it certainly was not the wisest. 'Damn, I'm definitely going to feel that tomorr-"Whoa!"
However, Tony didn't get much time for regret before a flash of blue energy exploded in his chest. The force of the impact threw the armored man into a parking meter twenty feet behind him. "Fuck, that hurt," Tony groaned as he attempted to stand. But the assaulting Chitauri didn't give him the chance, as they began firing rapidly at the downed hero.
Though it was difficult through the constant blasting, Tony managed to maneuver his arms and return the fire on the Chitauri. Instantly, the shooting was halted. It gave him enough time to boost his thrusters toward the remaining invaders.
He blasted with his right hand and slammed an armored left hook into an unsuspecting Chitauri face. "Now, that's what I'm talking about!" he taunted his enemies.
"Stark, do you hear me?" Fury's voice hailed him.
'Fury?' A shot in the back face planted Tony in his distracted state. 'Dammit, Fury!'
"You have a missile headed straight for the city," Fury relayed.
'A WHAT?!' He pushed himself off the ground. "How long?" he responded. There was no time for delays. Something large came down and knocked him in the head with a loud clank.
"Three minutes, max," Fury had just a touch of desperation in his voice. "The pay load will wipe out midtown." Tony blasted the offending Chitauri into the sky.
'Fuck, fuck, fuck!' "JARVIS, put everything we got into the thrusters!" Tony urged the AI.
"I just did." And they were immediately in the sky, zooming in the direction of the oncoming war bird.
'But what do I do with it once I get it?' the thought suddenly occurred to him. 'Doesn't matter, dammit. I just have to get it away from the city. Away from Steve…'
"I can close it. Does anybody copy? I can shut the portal down!" Natasha's strained voice crackled in his ears.
Realization struck the genius. 'That's it!'
"Do it!" came Steve's immediate order.
"No, wait!" Tony interjected. 'No time! No time!'
"Stark, these things are still coming!" The Captain objected.
'No time!' "I got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute," Tony quickly explained. 'Almost have it.' Tony altered his course slightly, flying under the Brooklyn Bridge, and then sweeping back overtop to get behind the missile. 'I cannot fail.' "And I know just where to put it," he finished decidedly.
Tony fell silent to give Steve time to understand his plan as he flew under the flying explosive and latched onto it. He swiftly changed course for the rip in the sky.
It was Hawkeye who responded next, "Stark, you know that's a one-way trip!"
'Of course, I know.' "Save the rest for the turn, J."
"Sir, shall I try Captain Rogers?" asked the Ai in a resigned tone.
Tony sighed. If the AI put the call through, it would just be between him and Steve. What did it matter, now? He looked away from the small image of his love on the screen. "Might as well," he responded.
The dial tone rang in Tony's ears.
Say something, I'm giving up on you
I'll be the one if you want me to
Steve's voice filled his head, "Tony, what the hell are you doing?" His worry and agitation saturated his voice.
Tony chuckled.
Anywhere I would've followed you
'You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play!' "Doing the only thing I can, Steve. I'm making the sacrifice play. Isn't that what you wanted?"
Tony heard the air leave Steve's lungs as the man remembered his own harsh words. The other man fell silent.
Say something, I'm giving up on you
Tony squeezed his eyes shut. 'Please, don't just say nothing.' He angled himself to shoot upwards along his tower walls.
And I'm feeling so small
It was over my head
"You know, I would've followed you anywhere, Steve. I really would have."
I know nothing at all.
The comms crackled as Steve exhaled. "I know, Tony, I know."
The portal was rapidly getting closer.
And I will stumble and fall
I'm still learning to love
Just starting to crawl
Tony closed his eyes and exhaled. "You know, I've never… been in love… before, Steve." The Captain's breathe hitched on his end. "I don't know how to say something that tells that one person everything they need to know."
Tony sighed again. "So, I'm just not gonna sa-" The signal cut out as Tony rocketed through the portal. 'I'm just going to do something.'
Instantly, JARVIS's systems began to fail. Tony gulped and choked as the oxygen filters shut down. The AI's voice garbled as the rest of the suit finally died. Without the strength to hold it, Tony's stiff fingers slipped from the explosive capsule. Slowly, he began falling back towards the rip in space. Tony's frozen-open eyes watched as his plan successfully carried itself the rest of the way out. Right before he fell back through the portal, the missile destroyed the Chitauri mothership.
Tony smiled as darkness closed in around him. His last thoughts were of Steve's laughing face.
Say something, I'm giving up on you
ҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖҖ
(Steve's POV)
"You know I've never… been in love… before, Steve," The Captain's breathe hitched and his heart skipped a beat at Tony's confession. "I don't know how to say something that tells that one person everything they need to know."
On the ground, Steve placed a hand over his mouth to keep from screaming at Tony to stop and turn around. 'No, Tony, stop! You don't have to!'
The comms crackled as Tony sighed again. "So, I'm just not gonna sa—" Tony disappeared through the portal.
Steve's eyes squeezed shut. And that was it. A one-way trip. Through the comms, the Captain could hear Fury and his people cheering for Tony's success. He knew it was a great thing to celebrate, but he just couldn't bring himself to join them.
Thor placed a comforting hand on Steve's shoulder. "Do not grieve yet, my friend. Tony may yet still return."
Steve instantly snapped his head back to the gateway, his hope partially renewed. 'Come on, Tony. Come back to me…'
However, after a few minutes, Steve realizes that it was just too much to hope, and the portal needed to be closed.
With a resigned sigh, he ordered Natasha, "Close it."
Thor stared at him with a deep concern. He understood how much Steve was giving up with those two words.
Steve forced himself to turn away as the blue energy column suddenly disintegrated. He couldn't bear to watch the portal close on Tony.
He suddenly heard a bellowing laugh erupt from his Asgardian friend. Thor clenched Steve's shoulder, "Look, my friend! Look what the heavens have awarded you!"
'Could it be true?' Stave snapped his head up to see his armored hero falling from the sky. A huge smile broke out across his face. "Son of a gun." 'Why, that lucky bastard.'
Thor's face fell as he noticed something strange. "He's not slowing down." Immediately, the Norse god began twirling Mjolnir.
Alarm swept across Steve's face. 'It can't be, no, it can't be. Thor, hurry up!'
But before the Norse god could lift off the ground, the giant rage monster leaped into the air, and caught the fallen hero. All hope crashed around Steve's feet. There was no way Tony had survived that.
Say something, I'm giving up on you
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
Steve ran up the street to kneel at Tony's side. Thor rolled Tony's body onto his back. "Is he breathing?" he just managed to bring himself to ask.
Anywhere I would've followed you
Say something, I'm giving up on you
Thor ripped the mask of Tony's helmet off. Anxiously, Steve placed his ear to Tony's chest to check for life signs. Another wave of despair washed through him when he realized the arc reactor in Tony's chest wasn't glowing. He sat back on his haunches to stare in disbelief at his love's lifeless body.
And I'll swallow my pride
You're the one that I love
And I'm saying goodbye
His fingers trailed down Tony's armor. 'Tony, I did love you, I swear. I swear. Oh, why couldn't I tell you that when I had the chance?'
Say something, I'm giving up on you
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
Heavy gasps resulted from Steve's inability to catch his breathe. Losing Tony was a difficult thing to accept, and he was having a hard time keeping his emotions in check. His hand continued to rest on Tony's armored chest.
And anywhere I would have followed you
Say something, I'm giving up on you
Steve clenched fist against the armor as lowered his head. His face scrunched up in anger.
'Dammit, Tony, say something before I give up on you!'
Say Something
"Rarghh!"
"Ahh!" the sudden roar from the Hulk seemed to frighten Tony back to life.
Shock, relief, anger, immense joy all washed through Steve, soaking him through so that he didn't know what to feel.
Tony gasped and blinked repeatedly. "What the hell?" he asked, surprised.
Thor stared at Tony with a curious confusion.
Tony looked around at all of our faces. "What just happened?" His eyes wouldn't stop moving. "Please, tell me nobody kissed me," he deadpanned.
Steve couldn't help but laugh. Thor knelt down, and grinned mischievously at the armored man. "Not yet, my friend. But trust me, I believe you will be doing a great deal of that later." He stood back up with a laugh.
Tony immediately shifted his gaze to Steve. He raised an eyebrow. "Is that true?" he asked.
Steve looked up at the sky as he finally managed to slow his breathing. He shifted his gaze back, his face plastered with his trademark grin. "What? That you'll be getting a lot of kissing, later?" He twitched his head to accent the grin. "Hell yeah, you will."
Fin
And this is the end. I do so hope you enjoyed this. My sister wants me to give her props for the whole "Loki is Thor's bitch" thing. It was her basic idea. Um, if you readers want me to write an epilogue for this just to resolve some stuff, than I will. The epilogue would include Stony and Thorki stuff. Just let me know in your reviews if you want it. Thanks for reading!