Alright, so we're in fall now, and that means how much longer until the end of the year?
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
Tony woke up the next morning feeling infinitely better. His head didn't hurt, he could breathe just fine, and he went to third base with his boyfriend the night before. All were things that would easily constitute a "good morning" for Tony Stark. What set this morning above and beyond, though, was the fact that after he and Steve went back to bed, he hadn't had any nightmares for the rest of the night. Although a part of him wanted to thank the blowie he gave Steve for that, Tony knew that in all likelihood, it was probably because he had been awake for so long that his brain couldn't function any more and completely shut down; devoting all of its remaining energy to keeping all of his other organs working properly and not bothering to throw terrible memories up onto the screen of his mind. Either way, he was just thankful he got some amount of restful sleep. That was something he never thought he'd be able to do sober.
Getting out of bed, Tony pressed a kiss to Steve's temple and whispered that he was just going to get breakfast. Steve made a noise, but otherwise he didn't acknowledge that Tony had spoken to him at all and continued to sleep on. Tony sighed a little bit in disappointment, but the feeling didn't last long. After all, he couldn't be mad at that adorable sleeping face for too long.
After quickly using the restroom, Tony went into the kitchen and was shocked to find that he and Steve weren't alone in the apartment. Lara had apparently let herself in and helped herself to a plate of (whole wheat) toast. Tony frowned.
"Excuse me, who gave you permission to be up here?" Lara didn't even look up from her plate.
"You did when you gave me the key." Tony sighed, having seen that coming from a mile away and started drifting towards the coffee maker.
"You know there's another kitchen, right?" he asked. "A communal kitchen?"
"And from my understanding, didn't someone open a letter containing a deadly virus in that kitchen a few days ago?" Tony scoffed.
"The CDC cleared that kitchen along with the rest of the Tower," he pointed out. "It's safe to go in there."
"I'm still not taking the risk," Lara said. "I didn't dodge the bullet just to get hit by a ricochet. Do you know how long it took me to be able to open my mail without having an anxiety attack after 9/11?"
"They targeted Congress and the media," Tony pointed out. "You – a no-name Secret Service agent who protected low-level diplomats – would have been safe."
"Well dafaq if I knew that at the time." Tony rolled his eyes as he started hitting buttons on the coffee maker.
"Has anyone told you that you're too paranoid?" he asked.
"Both my brothers, three therapists, my ex-husband, my friend Todd…" Tony shook his head.
"Good to know I'm not alone in that opinion." He heard Lara scoff at that as he turned back around to face her. "So, did you get any actual sleep or am I going to have to explain to everyone why you're walking around like you're auditioning for the Walking Dead?" Lara laughed mockingly.
"No," she said. "I got about six hours of sleep. Then I checked my blood sugar, did my insulin, ate, and fell back to sleep on one of the beds in the med bay. Then around eleven last night, Bruce saw me, woke me up, and I went back down to the guest room and slept for another six hours. I should be all caught up by now."
"That still doesn't reassure me." It was Lara's turn to roll her eyes.
"I have a change of clothes in my desk," she said. "So, trust me, I'm not going to look like Maggie off the pickle boat all day."
"Who?" Lara's brows knitted together.
"Maggie off the pickle boat?" she said. "You know, the saying?"
"What saying?" Lara frowned.
"That's not a common American saying?" Tony shook his head. "Wow. Okay, everything I know is a lie." The coffee maker beeped, and Tony poured himself a cup before moving to sit across from Lara at the table.
"Speaking of lies," he said. "What exactly did Freeman say at the press conference yesterday?"
"Oh, God," she said. "I was so out of it yesterday; I don't think I can remember."
"Try." Lara took a deep breath before nodding.
"Well, first off, he unexpectedly announced that he was resigning from his position as head of public relations," she explained. "That didn't stop Pepper from firing his ass, though."
"As I doubt it would," Tony commented. "Go on."
"He said the reason why he was resigning was that he couldn't stand by yours or the company's actions." Tony frowned.
"What actions?"
"Putting an end to the 'fated day of reckoning,'" Lara said. "AKA, the incident." Tony squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. There went his good mood for the day.
"Like the crap, the People's Unity Church has been spewing for months?" Lara's eyes went wide.
"Oh, shit," she said. "I didn't realize… Crap, that means that it was deliberate sabotage."
"Of course, it's deliberate sabotage," Tony said. "Why else would someone disparage me or the company like that?"
"Shits and giggles," Lara pointed out. "Higher ratings, perceived revenge, distractions from their own mistakes – all reasons that people have disparaged you in the past."
"Fair point." Tony shrugged.
"But why would they try to interrupt one of our press conferences like that?" Lara questioned. "Especially such an impromptu one. I can see them trying to interrupt something we planned days or even weeks out like that, but less than six hours before?"
"Everyone said that it seemed to come out of nowhere," Tony pointed out.
"Yeah, but still…" Lara shrugged. "It just seems really weird to me.
"Yeah," Tony agreed. "It does…" He frowned. Something about this gave him a bad feeling. His brain was telling him that there was probably a connection there, but he so badly not wanted it to be true. He really didn't need that right now. He didn't need any of the problems that were on his plate right now but there was really nothing he could do other than face them head-on. Lara, meanwhile, looked slightly defeated as she raked a hand through her hair.
"I just don't get this," she said. "Why does this all keep going back to them?"
"I think you just listed several reasons there a few minutes ago," Tony said. "Not to mention the plain fact that I'm a pretty widely despised individual…" Lara scoffed.
"Bold of you to assume this is solely about you." Tony frowned.
"What do you mean?" Lara sighed.
"I found out that my ex is a member of the Peoples Unity Church," she said. "That's how he figured out where I worked. He was attending one of the services and saw me getting on the elevator. I still have no idea how he found my personal phone number, though."
"Do you think the People's Unity Church is putting him up to harass you?" Lara shrugged.
"I don't know," she admitted. "With Dante, nothing is off the table. He's that much of an idiot."
"Do you need any help?" Tony asked. "Like in the way of protection." Lara shook her head.
"No," Lara said. "I've already talked to Cabe and the police about it, so if he shows up again, he's going straight to jail. I also texted my friend Todd to see if I could crash at her place until I go to court next Tuesday. By the way, I need next Tuesday off." Tony raised his eyebrows as he felt a little bit of weight come off him.
"That's excellent," he said. "Go ahead, take the day off. It's perfectly fine." Lara narrowed her eyes.
"You know you need to attend the weekly board meeting even if I'm not there, right?"
"Well, you won't be here, so you wouldn't know," Tony pointed out.
"I'll know because I'm not stupid," Lara said. "And neither is Pepper."
"Pepper can't babysit me all day," Tony said. "It's not her job."
"Nor is it mine," Lara said.
"That's arguable," Tony said.
"No, it's not," Lara said. "And if you don't go to that meeting, I will leave the court to kick your ass." Tony frowned.
"Casse couille."
"Ooo," Lara said. "Harsh words, andouille."
"I know harsher." Lara smirked.
"Try me," she said.
"Va te faire foutre." Tony burst out laughing while Lara's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped in shock. She kept that expression on her face as she turned around to look at Steve, who was standing in the archway, grinning like an idiot.
"Mon dieu," she said. "I would have expected better of you, Captain."
"Well, you shouldn't have called my boyfriend a lazy-ass." Lara's expression soured, but Steve remained non-pulsed as he walked over to Tony and bent over to give him a kiss. "Good morning, honey." Tony smiled.
"It's wonderful now that you're here." Tony pulled Steve back down for another kiss while Lara gave out a groan of mock-disgust.
"You know, I already have diabetes," she said. "I don't need you two making it worse."
"If you couldn't handle it, then you shouldn't have had breakfast up here." Tony kept his gaze on Steve, so he had no idea how Lara looked, but his best guess would be annoyed.
"Well, that was my mistake," she said. Tony heard her chair screech back as he assumed, she stood up. "I'm going to get my clothes from my desk and take a shower far away from here, so feel free to fornicate all you like." A smirk broke out across Tony's face.
"Oh, don't worry," he said. "We will." Lara made another noise of mock-disgust before turning and walking out of the room, leaving Tony and Steve alone to stare lovingly into each other's eyes.
Tony kept thinking he should lean up to give Steve another kiss, but he didn't want to break the moment. Eventually, Steve went ahead and did it by speaking up.
"Good morning," he said again.
"Good morning," Tony reciprocated as he leaned in to take that quick kiss. He could feel Steve's smile against his lips.
"How did you sleep?" Tony's own smile widened.
"Perfectly fine," he said. "Thanks to you." Steve laughed as he pulled back.
"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" he asked.
"Oh, most definitely," Tony said. "But you still deserve some credit."
"I deserve credit for the blow job you gave me which helped you sleep last night?" A half-smile, half-smirk graced Steve's face as he said that.
God, he's gorgeous, Tony thought.
"I said some," he pointed out. "Not at all."
"And how much is some?" Tony paused for a moment to think about it.
"Eighty percent." Steve laughed. "I can give you more."
"Oh, trust me, I'd love that," he said. "But I'm just glad I could help in some way, even if that way was you giving me pleasure."
"I'm going to take that as a 'you're welcome,'" Tony said. "I am welcome to do that again, right?"
"Of course," Steve said. "But not until I get a chance to repay you, first." The excitement rushed through Tony's body at a break-neck speed.
"I like the sound of that," he said.
"I had a feeling you would." Steve started to lean down a bit and unfortunately, Tony had to scooch back.
"Sadly," he said. "That's going to have to wait until later." Steve frowned.
"What's wrong?" Tony squeezed his eyes shut. It really pained him to say it.
"I have to go to work." When he opened his eyes again, a concerned look had spread across Steve's face.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Tony gave a half-hearted shrug.
"Do I really have a choice?" he asked.
"You're the owner of the company," Steve said. "Of all people, I'd imagine you'd be allowed to take a day off if you need it."
"You'd think," Tony said. "But it doesn't always work out that way, especially after a biological attack."
"That you were exposed to," Steve pointed out. "Don't you think you need more time to recover?"
"Is it really recovering if I spend the whole time screwing my boyfriend's brains out?" Steve's cheeks reddened a bit.
"Well, I mean we wouldn't spend the whole time… Besides, I don't think we're quite ready for that yet…"
"Oh, I know we're not." Steve looked down slightly and Tony got to his feet, wrapping his arms around Steve's shoulders. "It's alright. I'm not disappointed."
"I know," Steve said. "I just feel like I'm keeping you waiting."
"You could never," Tony said. "I care about you too much to make you do something you're not ready for." He felt Steve hug him back.
"Me too."
They stood there for a few minutes, just enjoying the embrace. However, eventually, Tony felt compelled to pull back.
"That still doesn't change the fact that I need to go to work," he said. "As much as I'd like it to." Steve shrugged.
"We can't always get what we want." Although Steve was doing his best not to look disappointed, Tony still couldn't help but notice the slightly sad note in his voice. "But I still don't think it's a good idea for you to go back to work so soon."
"It probably isn't," Tony admitted. "But it's not like it can be helped. We're in crisis-mode and I can't leave Pepper to deal with it by herself, especially when I technically haven't been to work in two weeks." Steve still looked like he had reservations, but nodded, nonetheless.
"Okay," he said. "Just don't push yourself too hard." Tony scoffed.
"Please," he said. "When have I ever pushed myself too hard." Steve raised his eyebrows, several instances clearly coming to mind. "Don't answer that."
"I won't," Steve said. "But still…" Tony sighed.
"I'm not going to go insane from trying too hard," he said. "If anything, this day will drive me insane without me even trying at all." Steve gave him a sympathetic look.
"Well, if it's any consolation," he said. "Just remember that at the end of the day, you get to come home to a nice supper with your wonderful boyfriend." Tony looked up at him, eyes wide and a smile bursting across his face.
"You're going to cook for me?" Steve smiled and answered in the affirmative. "Oh, babe, that's so nice." He pulled him in for another hug and Steve laughed.
"I've made food for you before," he pointed out.
"It's still nice, though," Tony muttered into Steve's shoulder softly. They remained like that for another minute before Tony once again had to reluctantly pull back. He made sure to take a deep breath and savor the moment before doing so, though.
"Alright," he said. "As much as it pains me to do this, I have to get in the shower and get ready for work."
"Okay," Steve said, matching Tony's heavy-hearted tone. "Have you had anything to eat yet?"
"Yes."
"No." Tony frowned at the unprompted response JARVIS gave.
"I really need to do something about that," he sharply remarked. Steve patted his shoulder.
"Get in the shower," he said. "I'll make you something." Tony frowned.
"You're already making me dinner," he pointed out. "You don't need to do that." Steve smiled.
"It's not a problem," he said. "I want to. Just get ready, okay?" Steve pressed a kiss to Tony's forehead and Tony grumbled a bit, still reluctant to leave his boyfriend. He forced himself to turn and walk out of the kitchen, though, and on his way out, he noticed that Lara had left her half-eaten plate of toast on the table.
"By the way," Tony said. "Andouille forgot to clean up her plate."
"I'll take care of it," Steve assured. "But the two of you need to stop calling each other those names." Tony shrugged it off.
"She started it," he said. "I'll stop when she stops. Besides, I've heard worse in scarier languages from strangers on the street."
"Like what?" Steve asked.
"Ich libe ditch!" Tony was out of the room before Steve could properly translate out what that meant.
As she walked out of the bathroom, Lara felt all-too tempted to flop back down on the guest bed and go right back to sleep. It wasn't because she was tired (honestly, she felt more well-rested than she ever had in her life) but more because she just didn't want to have to go through this day. It was already shaping up to be a nightmare from hell and it wasn't even eight AM. The worst part was that she could hardly even come up with a bright side to the situation. Even the weather outside was miserable, which only served to add to the grim tone of the day.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Lara realized as she stepped out of the shower that she didn't have a hairdryer on her. She groaned internally at herself before throwing her palm against her forehead.
"God damn it, Lara!" she growled out. "Look what you've done now!"
She raked her fingers though her damp blonde hair as she bit her lip and tried to figure out how to proceed. She knew there wasn't one in the guest bathroom and she found it doubtful that there'd be one anywhere in the guest room give that the penthouse was mostly occupied by men who likely rarely considered such things. To be sure, however, she had to check.
"Hey, JARVIS," she said. "Is there a hair dryer anywhere around here?"
"Not on this floor," the AI responded. "But there is one upstairs in Agent Romanoff's room."
Lara swallowed hard. As much as she liked Natasha – who was much nicer than Tony had made her out to be – Lara knew that it would be a terrible idea to try to go into a master spy and assassin's room without there permission, even if it was for something as trivial as a hair dryer. In fact, it'd probably be tantamount to suicide. It was probably a better idea to walk blindfolded through a minefield. Regardless, it wasn't like she had any other choice. So, rather dramatically, she sighed.
"Thanks, JARVIS," she said.
"You're welcome, Miss Conroy."
Stepping back over to where she had left her phone charging, she picked it up and pulled it off the wire. She figured she should probably text some last words to her brothers while she still had the chance. However, she ended up being distracted when she saw that she had a new text message. Figuring it was Todd texting her back, she opened it up right away, only to be shocked to find that the text had come from an unknown number.
Oh, fuck no. Her first thought was that it was Dante who texted her. She felt her pulse speed up with panic and anxiety. For a second, she froze, unsure of what to do before her investigative instincts started screaming at her.
What are you doing, you idiot?! Screenshot it! Screenshot it! Screenshot it! That's evidence you can use in court! Screenshot it!
She tapped the screen to open the message faster than she had done anything else in her life. She was racking her brain, trying to remember how to take a screenshot with this phone when she finally caught a glimpse of the message's contents.
1-555-355-5279: Hello, Lara. This is Betty Samson. I'm a friend of Bruce's. He gave me your number yesterday. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you in person, but I just thought it would be a good idea for us to talk and get to know each other, especially if you're going to be coming to the wedding. Does that sound okay to you?
Lara's eyes widened and narrowed as she read the message over a few more times. Then she blinked in confusion. It didn't make sense to her. Why would Bruce give a stranger her number? Granted, Betty wasn't a stranger to him – he had spoken of her quite a few times – but Lara hadn't met her before and with what was going on in her life right now, she was sort of wary and skeptical of anyone who was attempting to contact her over text. Sure, Dante had previously only called, but that didn't automatically mean he wouldn't try impersonating someone and contact her over text. In fact, it would make it easier to conceal his identity.
However, if it was Dante, that kind of made less sense. After all, whoever was texting her knew she was friends with Bruce and as far as Dante was concerned, she just worked for Stark Industries; she didn't know Bruce or any other of the Avengers. So, for him to use Bruce's name and the name of one of his acquaintances made no sense at all. Still, she had that sinking, suspicious feeling in her gut that made her hesitant to reply. Pulling the phone away from her face, she figured that there was only one way to find out the truth and swallowed hard.
"Hey, JARVIS," she said. "Is Bruce awake?"
"Yes," The AI responded. "Dr. Banner is awake and is in his private office."
That was good. Bruce's office was on the second floor along with all the Avengers' quarters, and she was going to be heading up there anyways to use Natasha's hair dryer, so she wouldn't be going out of her way. That still didn't get rid of the weird feeling in her gut, though.
Bruce had returned from S.H.I.E.L.D. early on Monday morning. He had managed to get some in the accommodations they had provided, but he had been glad to hear that he could return to the Tower and planned on getting some rest in his own bed (and yes, that still felt weird to say) as soon as he got back.
Before he left, though, he did run into Betty one last time and they chatted for a bit until she had to leave to get on her flight back to Virginia. During their conversation, Betty asked if she could have Lara's number. Apparently, she thought it might be weird for her to get invited to a stranger's wedding, so she figured that they should talk and get to know each other beforehand. Bruce saw no problem with that and sent Lara's contact information to Betty over text. Shortly after that, they parted with Betty catching her flight back home and Bruce going back to the Tower.
When he got back, Bruce had essentially one goal in mind; to get to his bed and take a nap. However, his plans were slightly derailed when someone working for the CDC flagged him down. The worker explained that while searching the Tower, they had come across an animal locked in one of the rooms. A bit further questioning revealed the animal to be Clint's dog. They immediately put the dog in isolation and ran a battery of tests on him. Fortunately, other than a minor ear infection that was likely a result of his previous life on the streets, they determined that the dog carried no known diseases.
Generously, some of the staff from the CDC offered to keep an eye on the dog until the situation was resolved, so the dog hadn't gone without food, water, attention, or bathroom breaks while his owner was hospitalized. Since the dog had been found in the Avengers' penthouse, it was safe to assume that one of the Avengers was his owner, which was correct. However, they weren't sure as to which Avenger he belonged, and since Bruce was the first one to arrive back to the Tower, he was the first one they asked.
Although, no, Bruce wasn't the owner of the dog, he was more than willing to care for the animal on Clint's behalf. The CDC workers found this agreeable and handed the dog over to his custody. Caring for the dog wasn't that bad. The dog seemed to know that the bathroom was outside and for the most part he didn't seem too interested in chewing anything up other than the tennis ball that was given to him by one of the CDC workers. The only thing the dog demanded was attention, which Bruce was more than willing to give. He even cuddled with the dog while he took his well-earned nap. It was rather nice.
After his nap, Bruce went about his usual business. He worked on his research in his office and pet the puppy whenever he started getting whiney. Eventually, he made himself dinner and took the dog for a walk outside (careful to give the gathered reporters a wide berth.) When he came back, he went to his office to see if he could get some more work done before he went to bed.
However, as he walked into the room, he caught a glimpse of a figure lying on one of the exam beds through the door leading to the med bay. Right away, he went to investigate and found Lara fast asleep. Careful not to be too abrupt, Bruce called out her name until she started to stir. She seemed slightly out of it and quickly mumbled an apology and said something about staying in the guest room downstairs. He helped her make her way back to bed. After that, he went about the rest of his night, heading to bed around ten o'clock.
Once he woke up and got ready, he intended to pick right back up where he left off. That was until he heard a knock at the door. Before he even opened it, he knew that it was Lara. She more than likely only had a vague recollection of the night before and needed him to tell her what happened, which wasn't a problem at all. He opened the door, but before he could even get a single word out, Lara pre-empted him.
"Hi, did you give my number out to anyone?" Bruce blinked in confusion, mostly because she said it really fast in a thicker accent than usual.
"What?" Lara frowned.
"It's a simple yes or no question," she said. "What's hard to understand?"
"Your speech," Bruce said. "Slow down. You're talking a little too fast." Lara seemed to huff a little in annoyance but complied.
"Did you give my number to anyone else?" She made a point to ask the question slowly in properly enunciated English. Bruce nodded in confirmation.
"Yes," he said. "I gave it to Betty." Lara's face dropped, but she seemed to relax a bit.
"Why?" Bruce frowned.
"Didn't she tell you?" Lara shook her head.
"I didn't text her back," she said, allowing herself to speak a little faster, but still being careful of how she pronounced each word. "I am not texting someone I have never met. Not now. Why would you do that?" Bruce's face scrunched in confusion.
"I'm sorry?" he said. "I didn't think it would be a problem."
"Of course, you wouldn't." Lara didn't do much to keep that comment under her breath, causing Bruce to raise his eyebrows.
"Excuse me?" Lara gave a dismissive scoff.
"Never mind," she said. "I don't have time to get into this right now. Just don't do it again." Bruce was only able to nod feebly before Lara turned and walked away. He watched her until she turned a corner and was out of sight. Then, he stepped back into his room, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it.
He took a deep breath in and out. He wasn't angry, just confused. A part of him wanted to chase down Lara and ask her to clarify, but he had a feeling that would just make matters worse. She was clearly upset and probably needed a bit to cool off – something he could understand better than anyone. For a brief second, he considered texting Betty to find out what she had texted to Lara, but that kind of felt underhanded and would just make more problems than necessary.
So, he just gave up. At least for now. He'd give her time to cool off. In the meantime, he had work to get done and a puppy to care for.
Special Thanks to mfaerie32 on FFN for the review, Saidra for the comment and kudos, and Daughter_of_a_fangirl for the kudos on AO3! You guys all rock! :)
There's no salvaging the year for me at this point. Everything's canceled whether it be from coronavirus or political activism and there's really no point in being hopeful or enjoying anything anymore. Crushing disappointment isn't anything new for me, but God, I've never experienced this much of it at once. It's seriously to the point where I'm looking forward to being hospitalized for dysmenorrhea because at least the hospital is an entirely different building from the one I'm normally trapped in all day. *le sigh* You don't want to hear about that, though.
Anyways, if you liked this chapter, you know what to do. I'm just going to look up pictures of teacup pigs doing random mundane tasks to try to cheer myself up.
Remember kids, only a hundred days until this God-forsaken year is over.
Originally uploaded to FFN on 9/22/20.
