Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 3848

Fic Detail - TonySteve / Post Civil War fix-it / Not canon compliant.

Pulling Strings

"Well, this couldn't be much worse." Tony opened his eyes, only to see Natasha, Clint and Steve in the cell with him, and he groaned. "Of course you're all here as well. I just had to tempt fate."

"We're not exactly jumping for joy, Stark," Clint muttered.

Tony rolled his eyes and tried to take stock of himself. He was injured, that much was obvious. How injured was yet to be determined, as was if the others knew about it. He'd prefer they didn't—showing weakness wasn't really on his agenda when faced with his former teammates.

Whoever had kidnapped him clearly hadn't checked him for weapons before they threw him into the cell, an odd decision on the whole. He still had his repulsor watch on his wrist, and the knife he'd taken to harnessing on his thigh.

Tony forced himself to sit up, and then shuffled back against the wall. He took stock of the others quickly, not wanting them to see him looking at them. It was odd, seeing them not in the field. Ever since the so called Civil War—despite Tony having fought hard to have them brought home—he saw the team very little.

The UN had even agreed to him working alone unless absolutely necessary. Rhodey joined him when he could, and Tony had no desire to go back to the way it used to be, regardless of Steve's thoughts on the matter.

Speaking of Steve, he seemed as perfect as he ever did; not a hair out of place. Asshole. Clint and Natasha both had signs of an attack, ripped clothes and a few cuts and bruises, but overall they looked alright.

One less thing to worry about, he supposed.

"Do any of you know anything about who did this or why we're here?" he asked, his tone clipped.

"We think it's Doom," Natasha replied.

Tony frowned. "He's dead."

"Well. If his goons are to be believed, he's not as dead as we would have hoped."

Rolling his eyes, Tony said, "Perfect. Any of you got anything useful on you?"

Steve shook his head, but Natasha and Clint handed over three knives and two guns. Ignoring the pain in his ribs, Tony laid the guns out on the floor and eyed the speculatively, mind working a mile a minute.

When he started stripping the guns, Steve took a step towards him. "What are you doing?"

"I hope you understand," Tony said, "I'm too tense to pretend I like you, and I'm not going to sit and explain all the details that you won't understand."

Steve scowled. "I just want to help."

"Help by getting out of my space then," Tony snapped.

Huffing, Steve stomped away, though of course he didn't get far. Tony could hear the three of them muttering between them but he paid them no mind. There was nothing they could say that could possibly bother him anymore.

He quickly made the two guns into one more powerful one, and attached it to his repulsor watch.

"Move," he warned the others. Standing up made him even more aware that his ribs were damaged, and he barely stopped himself from whimpering.

They didn't need to know about that.

Tony busted the lock with the repulsor powered gun, wincing when the force sent shockwaves through him, stressing his already stressed ribs. He led the way out of the cell, despite Steve's protests, only to find them strangely empty.

Who kidnaps people and then just lets them escape?

Pushing through a door, Tony stopped when he saw Bruce, Thor, Rhodey and Barnes all sitting together. They stared back at him, guilty looks on their faces.

"What the hell is going on?" Tony demanded.

"We, uh. Well. We came to rescue you," Rhodey hedged and Tony narrowed his eyes at him.

"And?"

"We got rid of the goon squad holding you, but we thought, maybe if you had to work together for a while, then… maybe you could start moving past the issues you've all got with each other. So we just… waited, I guess."

Tony nodded. "Right. And while you were all here drinking tea and biscuits, I stressed my already likely fractured ribs to get us out of a cell that you could have already released us from. Brilliant. Go team!"

Not waiting for anyone else to speak, although he could hear Steve spluttering about him being injured, Tony walked away from all of them. Being held captive by villains was one thing; being held by his 'team' was another entirely.

He was so done with all of this.

…

"I can't believe that you hid fractured ribs!"

Tony looked up from his tablet to see Steve standing in the door of his hospital suite. "Why are you here? Did I give you any reason to think I wanted to visit?"

"Tony… we can't continue on like this."

"It's working just fine for me," Tony replied dismissively. "If there's a problem, work it out with your team."

"You're part of my team!" Steve threw his hands up, clearly frustrated. Tony could hear the emotion in his voice, and could see it in his eyes, but it didn't change anything. Couldn't, because Tony was still angry about things that Steve didn't even know.

He knew that it was a little unfair, but it didn't change the way he felt. It didn't change that he couldn't stomach being in the same place as Steve for any length of time.

"I'm not," he replied flatly. "I was never an Avenger; check the paperwork and you'll see my name down as 'Consultant'. We work fine together when we cross each other in the field so… there's nothing to fix."

"You are an Avenger," Steve argued. "And… there's so much to fix, Tony. I know I messed up real bad with you, and I know that a lot of the Civil War was on me. I know that, and I want to make it up to you, but I can't do that if you won't let me."

"I don't need you to make it up to me. I just need you to leave me alone."

"What if I can't?" Steve asked, voice suddenly low. He sounded exhausted.

Tony shrugged, wincing when it disturbed his ribs. "That's for you to work out, Steve. I'd like to be alone now."

There was a long pause, but Steve finally did as Tony was asking and left. The silence was deafening in his absence.

…

"Tony, you can't carry on like this," Pepper said, shaking her head. "I hate to see you so unhappy."

They were sitting in the office, a regular haunt for Tony these days. He could see the worry on her face, and it just made him hate himself more. He didn't want her to be worried about him.

"I'm fine, Pep."

"Uh huh. You know you can't lie to me."

Chuckling, Tony shook his head, but then he sighed. "I, uh. I've been thinking about moving back to California."

She frowned. "How are you going to get back for missions? Even in the suit, it's a bit of a way."

Tony shrugged. "I was actually thinking about retiring the suit. It's… I'm not getting any younger, you know? How long can I really get knocked around in a tin suit anyway? It was a means to an end, Pep, to find and destroy the remainder of the weapons Obie sold under the table, and I've done that. I'm just… I'm so tired."

"You know I've never loved you being Iron Man," she hedged, squeezing his shoulder. "But you love it, Tony. You have since the first suit you made since you come back, even when it was hurting you. I… Can you really give it up? Will it make you happier?"

Tony closed his eyes and leant back in his seat. "I don't know, Pep. I… don't know anything anymore."

…

"Sir, the UN is requesting your help on a mission," JARVIS said, disturbing Tony's work.

"Is it absolutely necessary, J?"

"It would appear so, Sir. The Avengers are… somewhat out of their depth. War Machine is already enroute to the scene, but your assistance would certainly help."

Sighing, Tony nodded. "Alright, J. Tell them I'm on my way."

...

Tony was the first to wake up.

He was still in the suit, though the suit wasn't actually in one piece. He must have landed hard. He struggled his way out of it, and glanced around.

He saw the rest of the Avengers—all of them plus Rhodey this time—splayed out across the small… were they in an ice cave? What the actual fuck? Rubbing his head, he realised that they were in an ice cave, and what was worse, it was caved in at all sides.

What had happened?

A groan caught his attention, and he looked to the side to see Barnes waking up.

"Stark?"

"That's me."

"What's going on?"

"Oh well, at least you're as clueless as me," Tony said, rolling his eyes. "I have no idea."

Checking on Rhodey, the closest one to him, Tony breathed a sigh of relief and moved onto Bruce and then Thor. Barnes, following Tony's example, checked Nat, Clint and then Steve. A mutter told Tony that Steve was waking up.

"S'everyone okay?"

"Knocked out by whatever we were, but otherwise, they seem fine," Tony replied.

He might be bitter, but he didn't want any of them to die. The Avengers were infinitely more useful when they were alive after all.

"W's Hydra," Steve said, forcing himself into a sitting position as Bucky checked him over feverishly. Tony viciously pushed down the jealousy that was flaring up inside him. "They… I think a… gas? And then the snow caved around us."

"SHIELD will be looking for us," Tony said flatly. "They'll get us out."

He was trying very hard not to panic, but being trapped in a cave—even one so cold that it was the farthest thing removed from Afghanistan that was possible—wasn't at the top of his list of things to do.

The others were waking slowly, each of them groaning as they sat up, checking in with each other.

"You okay, Tones?" Rhodey asked, a significant look of understanding in his eyes.

"Fine," Tony replied, pulling himself even tighter into a ball. "Cold."

"We should all huddle for warmth," Clint said, surprising Tony. Of anyone to suggest a group hug, he wouldn't have thought it would be him. "I've seen it in survival movies. It's a thing."

Bucky wrapped himself around Steve, while Clint and Nat both burrowed close to him on his other side. Thor, Bruce and Rhodey all took a few moments longer, but eventually, the seven of them were all huddled together.

Rhodey raised a hand to gesture Tony over, but Tony ignored him. He didn't want to 'huddle.' He wanted to get the hell out of there.

"I might be able to get the suit working enough to blast the snow," he muttered, shifting slightly towards his suit.

"Tony, come here," Rhodey said firmly. "Trying to blast your way out could cause more harm than help and you know it, and the suit doesn't look in its best shape. You'll freeze before you get anywhere with it."

A shiver ran through Tony. He knew Rhodey was right, he did. He was a genius and he knew the odds. He just… really didn't want to play puppy pile with people he didn't like being in the same room with. He shifted across the space and burrowed into Rhodey's side, ignoring the way the others seemed to be moving to make space for him.

"I don't want to be 'that guy'," Barnes said, "But anyone without… advantages should be in the middle."

Tony knew what he was getting at… and the logical part of him agreed, but he really wasn't interested in logic.

They rearranged themselves, until they were all looking at Tony, waiting for him to duck into the space they'd cleared for him.

He was going to refuse, but then he made the mistake of looking Steve in the eye, and he realised the Super Soldier wasn't doing so good.

"Please, Tony," he whispered, and with startling clarity, Tony realised just how this would be to Steve, who spent seventy years frozen in the ocean. Tony had always been the one to settle him after a nightmare before the team split, and he had the same look in his eyes as he always had them.

Putting his own needs aside for a moment—and knowing he would regret the hell out of it when they were out of the cave—and shuffled into the middle of the group, until he was wrapped in Steve's arms with Thor pressed against his other side.

It was going to hurt later, he knew.

And he didn't know how he was going to cope with that.

…

"There was a contentment in you that I haven't seen for years!" Rhodey argued. "Tony, go and speak to him! Clear this mess up and let him back in! It's clear you love him enough that you can let this anger go!"

"It's not that easy," Tony snarled, shaking his head.

It had been a week since SHIELD flew in and saved them from their ice prison, and Tony had been hiding ever since. It wasn't helping that the UN had planned to do a refit on the Compound, and Tony had given in to hosting the team for the few weeks it would take.

They'd cheated and caught him when he was just waking up.

It was rude.

So, he was hiding. It was only now, a week later, that Rhodey had managed to get into the lab, and the cheating cheat had brought Thor and Bruce along with him.

"Why?" Rhodey asked.

"You just… you don't get it."

"Then help me get it!"

"He left me behind!" Tony shouted, rubbing a hand over his face. "He… I thought he loved me, okay? I thought we were… we were getting somewhere. And then, he disappeared and the next thing I know, he's on the trail of Barnes and he didn't even tell me. Didn't come to me for help. Didn't… he left me behind way before Siberia."

He shook his head and turned away from them.

"None of you get it because none of you saw the look on his face in that bunker. He would have killed me. He almost did. All for Barnes. And… I can't compete with that; I don't want to compete with that because I don't want to fight for him.

"I want him to want me enough that I don't have to fight. I'm so tired."

The last words were little more than a whisper.

"Tony—" Tony spun around and saw Steve standing in the doorway, a heartbroken look on his face.

"I hate all of you," Tony muttered, striding towards the elevator. "Fuck every single one of you."

"Tony, wait!" Steve shouted, running forward to stop him from leaving. He managed to get into the lift before the doors closed.

"Just leave me alone!"

"I can't!"

Tony pressed his face against the cool metal.

"Tony… what you just said… I do love you. I do. I… I know I got single minded about Bucky, and I don't regret all of that, but I regret hurting you so much. I'm so sorry, for all of it."

"I don't want to have this conversation," Tony whispered. "I just want to be left alone."

"Tell me how I can convince you that I'm serious about you," Steve begged. "Please, Tony! I can't… I don't know how to… tell me how to make it better."

"Build a time machine," Tony replied tiredly. "We can't change what happened, Steve. It did, and it sucks, but we can't just… take it back. It doesn't work that way."

"But we can move past it," Steve said. "We can… we could go slowly. Start small. I'm not asking you to jump into a relationship with me, I'm just asking for you to… just give me a chance to show you that I can be good to you."

"And Barnes?"

"What about him?" Steve asked, suddenly confused. "He's my best friend but that doesn't mean he's going to be part of my relationship."

"You're not… the two of you aren't…" Tony whined wordlessly, unable to force the words out but Steve seemed to understand.

"No, Tony. Buck and I, we're like brothers. It's too close to incest to be comfortable even thinking about it."

"You… I thought—"

"I love you. I've loved you for a really long time but you were with Pepper, and then when you weren't and we were… but then I found out about Buck and I just… I guess I thought I could explain it all to you afterwards. I know it was stupid, I was a dumbass about the whole thing, but…" Steve shook his head. "I don't deserve another chance, but I'm asking for one anyway."

The doors of the elevator opened and Tony stepped out into the penthouse. He looked back at Steve and sighed.

"I don't want to make promises that I can't keep and I just… I need to think. Okay? I just… need to think."

"Whatever you need," Steve promised.

…

Almost an hour later, Tony was tossing and turning in his bed, unable to relax long enough to get any sleep. It had been the same all week, and he'd gotten by on an hour here or there on the sofa in his lab.

Coming to a decision that he decided he could later blame on his exhaustion if he needed too, Tony asked JARVIS where Steve was.

"He's in his room, Sir."

"Is he on his own?"

"Yes, Sir. Should I alert him to your visit?"

"No… no it's fine. I'll alert him myself. Thanks, J."

He got back into the elevator, and seconds later, the doors opened on Steve's floor. Tony had never redone the tower, so the Avengers were all staying in their old rooms. Knocking, Tony leant against the wall.

He was just so tired, and he didn't know what else to do.

"Tony?"

"Can I come in?"

"Of course."

Steve closed the door behind them with a quiet snick, and turned to look at Tony. Tony swayed on his feet.

"I can't sleep. I'm just… I'm so tired, Steve, but I can't… I can't sleep, and I haven't been able to sleep properly since the cave and…"

"Okay, okay," Steve soothed. "Can I touch you?"

Tony had barely nodded his permission before Steve had hands on his shoulders, pushing him gently towards the bedroom. He carefully helped Tony lay down on the bed.

"Your bed isn't much different from mine," Tony protested weakly.

"No," Steve agreed. "But your bed doesn't have me in it, does it?"

He settled in beside Tony and gently tugged him closer, until Tony was laying on his chest with Steve's arms around him.

"Sleep, Tony," he murmured, stroking a soothing hand up and down his spine. "I've got you. Just sleep."

Tony was out in seconds.

…

When he woke, Tony was fuzzy and confused to open his eyes on a room that wasn't his. As the memories of before he slept came back to him, he felt his heart sink when he realised he was alone.

Was it really that bad sharing a bed with him that Steve couldn't stay?

Movement made him look up and Steve opened the door, blinking when he saw Tony was awake.

"I didn't expect you to be up yet," he said, tone apologetic. "But I brought you coffee and breakfast."

Tony's eyes fell to the tray in Steve's hands, and he sat up so that Steve could put it carefully across his thighs.

"You didn't have to do this," Tony murmured, automatically picking up the coffee mug first. Steve had made him pancakes. Tony hadn't had pancakes since… since the last time Steve had made them for him, in happier times when Tony hadn't realised just how far everything was going to go to shit.

"I don't have to do anything," Steve agreed with a nervous smile. "But I want too. I've always wanted to be allowed to do things like this for you."

"Thanks. And, uh. Thanks for last night. It probably wasn't fair of me to impose myself on you like I did, but… thanks."

"You're never an imposition, Tony. I meant what I said last night. Every word of it."

Tony nodded, taking a bite of a pancake to give himself time to consider his words. "I want you. I love you, but I'm not sure if… I don't know if I trust myself."

When Steve frowned, Tony elaborated.

"I've never been an 'eggs all in one basket' type of guy, you know? But with you… I'd give you all of me, Steve, because you… I don't know how to give you any less than that. If it went wrong… I wouldn't be able to recover from that. I'm not sure I trust myself to be okay with us not working, and I definitely don't trust myself to not fuck up."

"It's not about not fucking up. We'll both make mistakes because we're human. It's how we work to make up for that. You're not in this alone, Tony. We'll work together."

"Together, huh?" Tony said, lips tilting up slightly.

Steve nodded.

"I'm still not promising anything, but… I want this. I want you. So… I'm willing to work at it if you are."

The smile Steve gave him was blinding.

…

Looking back, Tony couldn't help but think that fate was pulling strings in their favour. Such a series of events was unlikely, no matter the dangerous jobs they did, and he couldn't deny just how close he'd been to giving up.

While usually he scoffed in the face of so called 'fate', he couldn't deny that it sure felt like fate had brought him and Steve together over and over until they fixed the chasm between them.

It didn't fix itself overnight, and the relationship between Steve and Tony wasn't the only problem the Avengers had to work out.

It was slow, and they stumbled more than once, but slowly the team came back together to be a real team, following the lead of their leaders as they always had.

Tony and Steve dated. The took things slow, though more often than not, Tony found himself wrapped up in Steve's arms when night fell and sleep beckoned. He found himself wondering how he'd ever slept without the soldier.

The Avengers never did return to the compound, except for the occasional overnight stay when training ran late, and the top floors of Avengers Tower thrived once more.

It wasn't perfect, but it was something better. It was real.

Tony wasn't so exhausted anymore, and when he was? Steve was there to pick him up. He couldn't really ask for more than that.

Written for:

Assorted Appreciation - 7. Jealousy

Trope - 10. Hiding something

Space - 18. Gun

Showtime - 3. Alive

Angel - 4. "I hate all of you."

Scamander - 12. An escape

Basement - 9. "I hope you understand, I'm too tense to pretend I like you."

Film Festival - 25. "He's not as dead as we would have hoped."

Wandmaker - 8. Black Walnut (Desire) / Kelpie Hair (Significant)

Build A Bear - Accessory - Heart Chair Bed - "We can't continue on like this."

Sci-fi - Weakness - Intense Heat - Huddling for warmth

Game Night - Trope - Huddling for warmth

Mythology - 9. Emotion

365. 310. Captive