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Challenges Listed at the Bottom

Word Count: 1777

Light The Way

Having a secret identity wasn't as fun as it sounded.

For one, Tony had to force himself not to react too much if he heard his pseudonym, but also, given he was the inventor of it, he had to make sure he sounded at least a little interested. The balance was hard and especially when he was tired—which was always, because what was sleep anyway—he struggled to remember that if someone said Iron Man, he couldn't just say hi.

In the middle of the night, it was even worse, because Tony's brain was very much switched off. He grabbed a plate from the fridge that had a little label on it saying Iron Man, and warmed it in the microwave.

He was about half way through the pie when he was joined in the kitchen by Steve, who stared at the plate in his hand for a long moment.

"I put that in the fridge for Iron Man," Steve said accusingly, pointing to the plate.

"Right," Tony said, nonplussed.

And then he remembered. Fuckity.

"He's not going to be around for a few days, it would have been wasted," he said, trying to make himself seem like less of a dick. Not that it mattered really. Steve had already gotten his opinion of Tony set in stone, and it wasn't a great opinion.

Shame really, because Tony wanted to climb him like a tree.

To make things more awkward, Steve had developed something of a crush on Iron Man—the pilot, not the armour—and it was just the worst thing. It was a love triangle when Tony was two of the people in it, and strange and awful didn't even begin to cover it.

"That's not really the point, Stark," Steve replied, and Tony could see he was gearing himself up for a rant that Tony wanted no part of.

"I'm sorry," he said, trying to head him off early. "Really I am. It's three in the morning, I was hungry, and it was the first thing I saw. I'll buy Iron Man all the pies he wants to replace it, okay?"

Steve huffed, but turned away and Tony congratulated himself on a job well done as he finished off the pie. Sure, it wasn't going to win him any friends, but it helped him keep his secret, and that was more important.

At least, that was what he kept trying to tell himself.

…

"That's disgusting," Tony muttered, his voice distorted by the faceplate of the suit. The villain of the week had decided that setting fires was a fantastic idea, and Tony—given the suit's abilities—had been left with the aftermath clean up.

The smell was not fun.

Clint was taunting him over the comms, and Tony was very tempted to make all of his showers cold for a week in punishment.

"This is grim as hell," he muttered. "Sometimes, I really wish I couldn't fly."

Steve chuckled. "But then you'd never be able to take me flying, Shellhead, and where's the fun in that?"

Tony snorted, but agreed softly. Inwardly he was cursing himself. He was supposed to be discouraging Steve's feelings.

Dammit.

…

Clint pushed Steve away from Tony with a shove. Steve let him do it—they all knew none of them, besides Thor or the Hulk, could move Steve unless he let them—and Tony took a step back.

"Clint, he—"

"I don't care," Clint said, shaking his head. "You're sticking fingers in people's faces, dammit. It's inappropriate."

Steve growled but lowered his hands.

Tony just turned and walked away, because what could he say? Iron Man wasn't at the attack in time because I was stuck in a meeting that I didn't have a reason to run out of?

It wasn't the best defence in the world, was it?

Of course, Steve didn't know just how shit it made Tony feel. He thought Tony was using Iron Man to run errands for him when he could be saving lives. It was no big surprise that Steve had so low an opinion of him when things like that kept happening.

…

"You can tell me who you are, you know?" Steve said, softly. They were sitting on the roof of Stark Tower, their legs dangling off the edge.

Tony sighed. "I can't," he said, the voice all Iron Man. "I signed a contract."

"It's not like I'd ever tell anyone your secrets, Iron Man," Steve protested. "Just… let me know you."

"You do know me, Winghead. You just don't know what I look like."

Steve sighed. "I guess that's enough," he said eventually, sliding his hand into the metal fingers of the suit. "For now."

…

"Motherfucker," Tony mumbled, stumbling around the lab. He'd misplaced—okay, he'd totally lost—his spare reactor, and the one in his chest was not doing very well.

The edges of his vision were going black, and he hit the emergency switch on his desk. It would tell Rhodey he needed help, and given Rhodey was currently stationed in the city, he was hoping his best friend would be able to get there with a reactor before Tony's heart gave out completely.

…

"War machine said there was an incident last week," Steve said, when Iron Man joined the team in the kitchen for the first time in almost a week. "We were worried, and of course, Stark wasn't answering his phone."

"He was in the hospital," Tony replied tiredly, unable to come up with a suitable lie. He shouldn't even be wearing the suit yet, and he knew it, but he also knew that Steve would need to see him to believe he was okay.

There was no way he would just take Tony's word for it. "Anyway, I just came to tell you all that I'll be out of town for another week. Mr Stark has business in Malibu, and I'm going with him."

Steve grumbled under his breath. Tony just nudged him gently with his shoulder. This double life stuff was exhausting.

…

"You need to tell them, Tones," Rhodey said. He'd travelled to Malibu with him to keep him out of trouble, and make sure he got some rest.

The failing arc reactor had given them something of a scare; Rhodey had got to him with barely two minutes to spare and it was a closer call than either of them would like.

"I can't," Tony replied, hitting his best friend with a pillow. "Steve will never forgive me."

"He will if you explain why you hid," Rhodey pointed out.

Tony just shook his head. Captain America was a stubborn shit. Once he made his mind up about someone, he didn't often change it.

…

Steve let out a whoop as he dove from the top of the building. Tony rolled his eyes, but soon gave chase, scooping Steve up in his arms with ease.

"You coulda let me fall a little more," Steve said, grinning widely as Tony flew him back to the top of the building.

"How about we don't try and die when we're just training," Tony replied, wishing Steve could see just how hard he was rolling his eyes.

They were training a 'hug and fly' motion, since whenever Tony caught the team in the suit, he often left more bruises than the bad guys. Sure, it was still handier than being dead, but they were trying to find a better way for him to catch them, and Steve was the sturdiest member of the team.

"Let's go again," Steve said, and Tony huffed when, with no hesitation, Steve threw himself off the roof. Again.

…

"Are you sure about this?"

Tony looked around the caved-in basement they were stuck in, and shrugged as much as he was able with the suit.

"No, but there isn't much choice left."

"We could just wait. The team will come and—"

"Not in enough time," Tony replied. He wondered if his desperation to get out of there was as clear through the voice filter as his voice was to his own ears. "I'm not good at enclosed spaces."

Tony moved until Steve was protected against his front, and then blasted his way out using the thrusters.

The resistance wasn't doing the metal any favours, but they were out before the power gave up, and Rhodey was waiting for them with the team.

"Can you get back to the tower?" he asked, staring directly at the eyes of the suit. It wasn't Iron Man that answered, but JARVIS, using his safety override.

"Sir cannot wait, Master Rhodes," he intoned from the suit. "Override is in sequence."

Tony tried to stop it, but the suit opened with a creak, and Tony spilled out onto the road.

…

"You could have told me, you know?" Steve offered, his voice soft in the darkness of the workshop.

Tony spun around on his chair. He hadn't been expecting the visit, so he hadn't thought to lock the place down.

He was wearing an aqua coloured shirt, and Tony focused on that as he said, "It wasn't personal. Only Rhodey and Pepper knew, and then it was because they found out by accident."

"Tony, look at me."

Tony twisted his lips, but eventually looked him in the eyes.

"I'm not mad," Steve said. "I don't know the circumstances of the suit's birth, or why you kept it a secret, but I think I know you well enough to know they were real."

"You hate me," Tony couldn't help but point out.

Steve shook his head. "I've never hated you. As Tony or Iron Man. You… frustrate me, because you act like you don't care. Now I have proof you do care, because I know Iron Man does. I think it's time I got to know Tony, rather than Iron Man or Stark, don't you?"

"Steve—"

"Why don't you come and eat with me? It's two in the morning and I know you haven't eaten today. Maybe you can tell me about how you first made the suit… or you can tell me your favourite colour. It's up to you."

Tony glanced at the suit, which he'd been working on, and then arched his eyebrow at Steve. "If you can't tell my favourite colour by now, we have more problems than secret identities."

Laughing, Steve motioned for Tony to join him, boldly arching his eyebrow when Tony didn't immediately join him.

Dropping the spanner he'd been using, Tony walked over to meet him by the door. Iron Man had been his way of surviving the darkest hours of his life. Maybe now, it could be a way to light the way to the future.

Written for:

Bromance to Romance: 12. Going by a different name

Written in the Stars: 13. Love Triangle

This or That: 7. Taunting someone

Showtime: 4. Pie

Film Festival: 6. Secret Identity

Lizzy's Loft: 11. Summer - Tell me all your secrets, let me know you

Elizabeth's Empire: 6. Electro: (plot point) training for something

Amber's Anime Adventure: 4. losing something important

They Said What?: 13. "You're sticking fingers in people's faces, dammit. It's inappropriate!"

Entitled: 11. The aftermath of a fire

Lyric Alley: 13. Survived my darkest hour

Hobby Hole: 3. Aqua

Artist Appreciation: 24. Secrets

Buttons: W4. Pseudonym

Auction: Day 3, Auction 4: Bold

365: 120. "Are you sure about this?"/"No, but there isn't much choice left."