Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
Challenges listed at the bottom.
Word Count - 986
How Does Forever Sound?
Tony woke slowly, his head pounding. It wasn't a new feeling, he'd had many a hangover over the years, but what was strange was that he wasn't alone in his bed.
A few years ago, that would have been normal, expected even, but not now. He hadn't done that since Pepper, even after the two of them had broken up and gone back to their friendship.
He forced his eyes open and turned his head, blinking to get rid of the hallucination when he realised it was Steve beside him.
What the actual fuck?
Steve groaned and his eyelids fluttered for a moment. Tony panicked, wondering if he should pretend to still be asleep, but before he could decide, Steve opened his eyes and looked right at Tony.
His eyes widened in surprise, and that made Tony feel a little better about not knowing what the hell was going on.
"Um. Hi?"
Tony snorted. "I don't know what's going on either but—"
Oh. Ouch. The ache in Tony's head took it upon itself to intensify and he winced, raising a hand to his head. Before he closed his eyes, he saw Steve do the same.
Memories fought for dominance and for a moment, Tony was completely overwhelmed and confused, but eventually, the pain left and he—
Oh fuck.
Lifting his hand, he cracked his eyes open to see the ring on the third finger of his left hand.
"We... we got married."
He felt rather than saw Steve nod. "Yeah… apparently we did."
…
"So… the orb made us get married? What?"
It was too early for this… then again, Tony wasn't sure he'd ever be ready for this conversation.
Fury nodded. "We still don't know exactly how it works, but when Loki hit you with it… you were different. And. Vocal. About certain desires. And then Steve took a hit and… we tried to stop you, Stark, but hell, even you know that when you want to do something, you're going to do it. Add in Roger's enthusiastic stubbornness and we had no chance."
Tony looked at his teammates. Bruce looked apologetic, and Nat was watching them curiously. Clint, the bastard, just looked amused. Thor was definitely apologetic, since it was his brother that had caused this mess.
Again.
"Well, they'll grant us a divorce, surely? Or annulment, since we haven't…" Tony trailed off, the mental images too much. "So, no real harm done. I'm going now. Email me when you know what Loki's orb actually does."
Before anyone could call him back, Tony left the room, because he knew if he stayed he was either going to cry, scream, or do something ridiculously embarrassing like beg Steve to love him and stay married.
Definitely time to go.
…
When the email finally came, Tony was fourteen hours into an inventing binge, using everything he could to remain distracted from his current reality.
Stark,
The orb, at it's base, takes away your impulse control. It makes you realise your deepest wishes and go for them. Take that as you will.
We can have your marriage annulled if you and Rogers agree it's what you both want. Beyond that, sort it out yourselves.
I'm not your marriage counsellor.
Fury.
Tony knew that the pirate was probably enjoying this situation far too much, but he was stuck on the 'deepest wishes' part. Because Steve was in on it with him. So that meant…
Nope. He wasn't going down that road. That road led to pain and uncertainty and him undoubtedly fucking up because that was what he was good at.
He'd have the marriage annulled and forget all about it.
…
"J.A.R.V.I.S told me you'd finally taken the workshop off lockdown."
Tony turned to see Steve standing behind him, dressed casually in sweats and a black hoodie. Then again, it was after midnight, so it was no surprise.
"You've got my AI spying on me now?" Tony asked, his lips quirking up slightly.
Steve rolled his eyes. "Of course not. I asked him and he replied."
"How… disappointing," Tony said. "I thought for a second you were a master hacker. You've shattered all of my dreams now, I hope you're proud of yourself."
"Immensely," Steve replied, chuckling. "You know we've got to talk about this."
"What's to talk about? Fury said we can get it annulled. You got the email too, right?"
Steve nodded. "But… what if we didn't get it annulled?"
"That is the worst idea you've ever had. This isn't some fairytale, Steve."
"Tony—"
"What you're feeling right now is regret, Steve, and you're trying to make the best of a bad situation. You'll get over it, and it'll all go back to normal and—"
"I don't regret it, Tony."
"You don't want to be married to me! That's not a thing. I'm sarcastic, a workaholic, an asshole like, ninety percent of the time, and—"
"Kind, considerate, generous, gorgeous," Steve interrupted, raising his hand to stroke Tony's cheek. "And you want this as much as I do. You saw that email. Deepest wishes, Tony. For both of us."
"Steve—"
"Tony."
"So you think we can make this work, huh? Accidental marriage turned serious just by… what? Wishing it so?"
"Why not?"
"You're so optimistic, Steve."
"Then I'll balance out your pessimism, won't I?"
Tony snorted, but he leant against Steve's side, as the taller man rubbed a hand up and down his side.
"Just… give us a chance, Tony. We could be amazing together."
Tony swallowed. "I… yeah. We probably could."
"And when our children tell our story, they'll tell the story of tonight."
Tony choked on spit but when he looked up at Steve, it was to see him grinning down at him, eyes twinkling.
"You're a goddamn troll," he muttered.
Steve bent down and pressed their lips together. "Hmm. I'm also yours. For as long as you'll have me."
"How does forever sound?"
Written for:
Showtime - 21. Sarcastic.
Attic - 4. "And when our children tell our story, they'll tell the story of tonight."
Arcade - Zenyetta - Orb / Accidental marriage / "How...depressing."
North Funfair - Photo Booth - Rockstar - 1. Leather outfit : Black
East Funfair - Pie Eating - Salted Caramel - "What you're feeling right now is regret."
South Funfair - Test Your Strength - God Level - "This is the worst idea you've ever had."
365. 242. Fairytale.