Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 3850

Fic Detail - TonySteve / Set in a hazy 2012 type world, where the team is happy and nothing hurts… and we also stopped along the way to pick up Sam and Bucky.

try for the universe

It wasn't the first time he'd woken up in a bed in Vegas, unsure how he'd got there and who he'd be looking at when he opened his eyes. It was the first time in a long while though, and he wasn't so sure how he felt about it happening now, when he'd long since turned a new leaf.

Trying to ignore his aching head, he blinked his eyes open and then froze.

Steve Rogers was lying close to him, his eyes open already as he watched Tony with confusion and barely hidden panic.

"Um. Hi?" Tony greeted. "Are you… okay?"

It wasn't the first time they'd shared a bed, and Tony was sure it wouldn't be the last. Whenever the team ended up staying anywhere that wasn't home, Tony and Steve were generally paired up to share a room together, so it wasn't really out of the ordinary.

"We… do you remember last night?"

Tony shook his head and then winced when it made his headache worse. "I think I'm lucky I remember my own name to be honest."

"I'm not sure you do," Steve muttered. "Unless you mean your new name?"

Tony blinked. "I didn't change my name? Did I? Tell me you didn't let me decide I wanted to be called something ridiculous like Scooby Doo?"

Steve snorted. "Not quite, though apparently we both decided that Tony Rogers-Stark had a ring to it."

Before Tony could question if Steve had lost his mind entirely, the Super-Soldier lifted his hand to show Tony the wedding ring sitting firmly on his finger.

Tony stared for a long moment before he rolled onto his back.

"I think my heart just stopped," he said, before he started laughing, rubbing his hands over his face and into his hair.

"I'm glad you think it's funny," Steve muttered, sitting up and pulling the sheet with him, revealing that they were both still wearing their boxers.

Only the hurt in Steve's tone caught Tony's attention, and he looked back at him, shaking his head. "No, I'm not… I'm not laughing at you, Steve."

"Then what are you laughing at?"

Tony groaned theatrically. "Pepper's going to kill me."

…

An hour later, the two of them were up, showered and dressed, and a little more ready to deal with the situation they'd found themselves in.

"Can I just blame Thor for this and be done?" Tony asked, staring blankly at the wedding certificate that was adorned with both of their signatures.

"Why is it Thor's fault?"

"You're usually my impulse control," Tony replied shrugging. "On any other occasion, you wouldn't let me get away with something like this, but Thor's hooch got you as pissed as I was."

Steve chuckled. "Alright, we'll blame Thor. I just… what are we going to do about this?"

Tony shook his head. "I don't know. It's too much to hope for that this is still a secret. Hell, a marriage certificate with just mine name on would be front page news. Both of our names on it and… well. It's gonna be a media nightmare.

"We can't just say "oh, we were drunk and being idiots" because the last thing we want to do is invalidate the LGBTQ community, or cause offense to them, but I can't imagine you want to stay married to me either so… I don't know, Steve."

Steve opened his mouth, his brow furrowing, but before he could speak, Tony's cellphone let out a shrill tone and Tony groaned.

"It was nice knowing you, Steve. Pep's gonna obliterate me via snark now."

…

It really wasn't pretty.

They met the rest of the Avengers at the jet, ready to return to New York, and found them all looking a little worse for wear; even Natasha, who could literally drink them all under the table.

None of them had any idea when Steve and Tony had gotten married, though of course, Clint, Bucky and Sam all thought it was entirely hilarious.

Waiting for them at the Tower were Pepper and two of the SI press liaisons. Each one of their faces were blank, though Tony winced when he saw the fire in Pepper's eyes. She was not impressed with him.

She'd already asked him what on earth he was thinking, (he wasn't), what he planned to do, (he had no idea), and if he was drunk, (well, duh), so he wasn't really sure what other questions she could have for him, but he sat down at the table with Steve while the rest of the Avengers scattered to their rooms.

"At least even drunk you still has taste," Pepper muttered, eyeing the rings still on their fingers.

Tony snorted.

"Okay, there are two options here," one of the press liaisons said, leaning forward, both arms on the table facing Steve and Tony. "We can try and quietly annul the wedding, and hope we do a thorough enough job of covering your tracks that nobody can prove that the two of you actually got married. Unfortunately, there are already pictures of each of you wearing rings.

"The second option, which we believe personally is your best bet, would be for the two of you to remain married for a time, after which you can have an amicable break up and divorce. There will be some press coverage of that, obviously, but it would be far more manageable than the press getting hold of the truth."

"This way," the second liaison said, "we can control the media coverage to a point. We'll carefully select outlets for you to give interviews too, both about the wedding and later about the divorce, and we can direct the flow of public opinion in a more positive way. If they find out that this was a drunken mistake, the pair of you will undoubtedly be raked over the coals for months."

"I…" Tony trailed off and shook his head, before he turned to Steve. "What do you want to do?"

Steve looked utterly baffled and shrugged. "I… whatever's best? I don't want this to negatively affect Stark Industries, or the way the public see the Avengers as a whole."

"That's sweet," Tony replied softly, "but it would be better for everyone if you can't handle faking a marriage for months if you tell us that now."

"I can handle that," Steve replied. "But you won't be able too… I don't want to stop you… uh…"

"You'll both have to remain 'faithful', yes," Pepper said, helping Steve out. "I'm sure you can manage that, given the fallout that would occur if it was found out that one of you 'cheated' on the other."

"That's not… fair to you," Steve said, eyes never leaving Tony. "I don't want to hinder your, um, opportunities? And you like flirting with people, I don't want to ruin that for you. And what about the fact that I'm a man? I know it's more accepted these days but women might… afterwards I mean."

Tony snorted. "That won't be a problem. Look, if you think you can put up with being my husband publicly for a while, then I'm fine with it, 't know if you've noticed, but I don't really do any of that anymore, so it's not an issue. And besides, unless you're planning to be a really controlling husband, I can still be flirtatious. It's how I've always been."

"He's not wrong," Pepper agreed. "I saw him flirting with the coffee maker in the office last week."

Steve snorted, but then he looked at Tony for a long moment before he nodded. "Okay. We'll do that."

"Okay, so we need to plan this to perfection. We should—"

Tony groaned and put his head down on the table. "Do I need to be here for this? Can you just… email me a schedule or something. I want greasy food, and then I want a bed. Not necessarily in that order, or mutually exclusive of each other."

Pepper chuckled, and waved him off. "Go on then. I'll expect you in the office tomorrow though, okay?"

Tony nodded and stood, pausing to bend and kiss her cheek. "You're a queen amongst peasants, Pep. Cap, I'll see you later."

And then—he really didn't run away—he left the room at a normal speed and went to his room, intent on calling out for food and sleeping for a week.

…

The flurry of interviews passed quickly, although the press coverage on them stayed strong. Just the slightest sighting of one of them out without the other was enough for an in-depth article about the problems surfacing in their relationship, while the photos taken of them together were devoured by body language specialists, and romantic journalists who pronounced them the power-couple of the century.

Tony was utterly done with all of it. It wasn't that he minded the media—he was far too used to it to be bothered by it—but being forced to spend so much time playing pretend with Steve was working on his last nerve.

Holding hands, occasionally sharing a chaste kiss for the paps, the loving looks and singing one another's praises… he wanted it all but it was the hardest thing to have it while knowing it wasn't real.

It would be so easy to just enjoy it, to let himself pretend that it was as real as the world seemed to think it was, but he knew how much that would destroy him when it finally came to an end, and he didn't know if he was strong enough to deal with that.

It didn't help with the team making quips about who was getting who in the divorce. Clint was firmly in Tony's camp, since Steve didn't have the same capabilities to make the Wi-Fi work when it was playing up, and Sam was in Steve's, since Steve made the best pancakes, but every time one of them said it, Tony wanted to throw something at them. That or vomit. Or both.

Rather than deal with any of that, Tony hid himself away. He spent hours and hours with the workshop on lockdown, unwilling to be around the team and Steve. He was so scared that he'd say or do something to give himself a way if he spent too much time with Steve without the bright glare of the camera's to keep him grounded.

It was lonely sometimes, but it was still better than the alternative.

Throwing a spanner on to the table, Tony ran his hand through his already messy hair. "J, prep the suit."

He was going flying.

Maybe flying aimlessly would help him clear his head a little.

…

"You can't keep hiding yourself away."

"What would you have me do instead, Pep?" Tony asked tiredly.

"You could talk to him?"

Shaking his head, Tony replied, "I can't. When do I ever talk to the people that I actually care about? Don't you remember just how much I didn't talk to you when we were together. It's like… impossible. I ramble, and I don't get my point across and it just gets… messy."

"Well, you can't keep on like this," she said gently. "You're destroying yourself. He might surprise you."

"He'll break my heart."

"Some things are worth getting your heart broken for," she replied. "Think about what will happen if he feels the same. Think how happy you'll be. Isn't that worth a chance?"

Tony shook his head, because it really wasn't. "I can't jeopardise the team like that, Pep. I'm trying so hard to not be selfish and it's just… it's hard, because I want him."

"You can't concern yourself with bigger things like the team, Tony. Think about yourself, and about Steve. You're the only two that matter in this situation."

"We're not though," Tony said, shaking his head sadly. "If I fuck this up, I won't just lose him, I'll lose all of them, and the world will lose their best defense as a consequence of that. I'm not… I don't want to lose him on the slim chance that I could have more of him, Pep."

"I'm sorry, Tony. You really have got it bad for him, haven't you?"

"You have no idea. I just… is it bad that I miss being a bachelor and not… feeling so much?"

"Oh, Tony."

He accepted her hug and clung to her for a little bit longer than was socially acceptable. The comfort was nice. It was just a shame that they weren't quite the arms that he wanted around him.

…

"Are you even listening to me?" Rhodey asked, rolling his eyes.

Tony blinked and forced his eyes away from where he'd been watching Bucky and Steve sparring on the mats. He was used to being jealous of the two of them, but the way they were moving together, so flawlessly in sync with each other, it made it even more prominent.

"Um… can you repeat the part of the stuff where you said all about the… things?" he asked, looking up at Rhodey sheepishly, giving his best friend the best puppy eyes he could manage.

"Don't you look at me like that," Rhodey warned.

"They're my eyes, I do what I like with them."

"Uh huh. You should just tell him you love him and be done, you know?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Don't wanna talk about that, Sour Patch. Tell me about my suit."

"It's my suit, and it's doing just fine, though I won't say no to an upgrade while I'm here if you've got one."

"Of course I've got one. I've always got upgrades, but you're not being very nice to me so I don't know if I want to do it."

Rhodey raised his eyebrow. "I could always go and talk to Steve instead…"

"You're an asshole."

Rhodey grinned, but then he softened. "It might go better than you're thinking, if you're honest with him. I've seen the photos, Tony. He loves you."

Tony shook his head stubbornly. "Nope. Not talking about that. Let's go down to the workshop and I'll show you my new toys."

Rhodey sighed but followed on, dropping the subject for the time being.

…

"Hey," Steve said, leaning on the door to the workshop. "What are you doing?"

Tony was lying on the floor, throwing a ball for DUM-E to catch, but obviously he couldn't tell Steve that.

"Um, calibrating DUM-E," he said, sitting up. "What's up?"

"I just wondered if you'd heard anything off the press liaisons. They, uh, said we could think about starting the divorce proceedings, and I just… wondered what you thought."

Tony coughed to hide the sound of his heart shattering in his chest. "Wow, times certainly flown hasn't it? Well, I'll get onto them and see what they're saying. Is that all, Cap? I'm a bit busy."

The dismissal was clear, and Steve seemed taken aback by it. Tony had never stopped him from being in the lab before; many a day Steve had spent hours on the little sofa, sketching while Tony made the future happen around them.

"Oh. I'll just, uh, go then. Let me know what they say."

Tony nodded tightly and waited until Steve had left to flop down on the floor.

"Yeah," he muttered. "Sure he feels the same way, Pep. He can't wait to be rid of me."

...

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Pepper asked, handing him the divorce papers.

Tony shrugged. "It is what it is. He doesn't want to stay married to me so… what can I do?"

"Has he actually said that?"

"He asked me when we could start the proceedings, Pep. I'd say that was pretty clear, wouldn't you?"

"No, not really. Maybe he's struggling with it just as much as you are."

"I just… want this to be done," Tony said. "And, if you can arrange a tour out to the international branches of SI, leaving in the next week or so, that would be fantastic."

"You want to leave?"

"Just… I just need a minute, okay. Just a little bit of time to get my brain in gear again. Besides, it'll look good for the divorce so it's a win-win. Please, Pep."

She sighed but nodded. "I'll see what I can do, Tony. Just… look after yourself. Please."

He smiled sadly. "I always do, Pep."

There was no one else to do it for him, after all.

…

"I can't believe you just left these on the table for me," Steve said, as he stormed into the workshop a few hours later, the brown envelope containing the divorce in his hands.

"What did you want me to do, present them to you on bended knee?" Tony asked, frowning. "I left a note, didn't I?"

"Anyone could have found them!"

"Um. Steve, only the team and people we absolutely trust have access to the top three floors. I don't… understand what the problem is."

"It's private, Tony! I don't care if it's not real, it's still ours. And you just… left it out for anyone to see! Don't you see why that's a bad thing?"

"Anything sounds bad if you say it with that attitude," Tony quipped, trying to not let the hurt he was feeling show on his face. "Relax, Steve. There's nothing incriminating in them, you can see that for yourself when you go through them. You just need to sign them."

"And then things will go back to normal?" Steve asked, a demand in his tone that made Tony frown.

"I didn't realise they were much different," he admitted. "Except for when we're in public, obviously."

Steve scoffed and shook his head. "You've been avoiding me, you act as though being around me physically pains you, you barely even look at me, Tony! I'm sorry that you're so disgusted by the idea of being married to me, but you were there too! You signed the marriage certificate just the same as I did, so it's not all my fault!"

"I'm not disgusted by the idea of being married to you," Tony spluttered. "What kind of ridiculousness is that? And I haven't been avoiding you, I've just been busy! It happens, Steve!"

"And it just so happened to be now that you'd be so busy that you can't even come for burgers with me, unless the PR team demand it of you? Don't tell me that you haven't been avoiding me, Tony. Everyone has noticed; I'm sick to death of hearing people ask me if there's 'trouble in paradise'."

"I don't understand what we're even arguing about," Tony said quietly. "You're getting what you want, Steve. You asked about the divorce, I got you the divorce. Your finger will be once again unblemished by my ring and… life can be as it was before. Done deal. Why are you fighting me?"

Steve was silent for a long time, long enough that Tony looked up to see what the problem was. When their eyes met, Steve softened and tossed the divorce papers onto the sofa.

"You know," he said, stepping closer to Tony. "Growing up, liking men was forbidden, but… I always did. Never told anyone except Buck of course, but I always found men more attractive than women. And then, I woke up here, seventy years in the future and suddenly it was okay that I liked men. I'll be honest, I didn't really know what to do with that."

"Is there a point to this, Steve?"

"When I met you, I thought you were an obnoxious, selfish, rich asshole," Steve said, but his smile was fond so Tony held his tongue. "And yet, I still thought you were the most beautiful man I'd ever laid eyes on. Now, I know you much better, and you're still obnoxious, and you're still rich, but you're also one of the most selfless, kind, caring man I've ever met."

Tony stared at him, sure he was hearing wrong.

"When I woke up in that hotel room and realised what we'd done, I was… so happy. Until I realised that I couldn't actually remember getting married. Until I remembered that we'd both been so drunk that I'm amazed we even made it back to the hotel room. Until I realised that sober, there's no way would it have happened because you didn't feel that way about me."

"Steve—"

"When we decided to stay married, when we did the interviews and went on those dates and I saw the photos of us together looking so in love… I hated every second of it, because I knew for you, it wasn't real. But it was real for me, Tony. So real. I love you, I've loved you for a really long time, and I understand if you don't feel the same but… well. Bucky's been bugging me to take a chance and tell you since… well, since even before we got married, but definitely since after then.

"If you want me to sign those papers, then I'll do it, but… if it were just up to me? We'd be the happiest married couple in all of New York City."

"Only New York?" Tony choked out, his eyes brimming with tears and his heart brimming with hope. "Not the whole world?"

Steve's smile was blinding as he reached a hand out for Tony to take. When Tony did so, Steve gently tugged him to his feet and into his arms.

"I think between us, we could try for the whole universe."

Their lips met in a gentle kiss that wasn't their first but was the first that mattered.

"No divorce?" Tony asked, pulling back just enough to see Steve's face, just to make sure that he was reading this the right way.

Steve shook his head. "No divorce. I love you."

"I love you too."

…

Epilogue

...

Barnes' speech made Steve cry. Barnes had even shed his own tear when he'd choked out, "I'm with you 'til the end of the line, Stevie."

Pepper had looked beautiful as Tony's Best Woman, and Rhodey had been her perfect match as his Best Man.

If it hadn't been for those three, the reception would have been more of a divorce party, Tony knew, so really, him and Steve had them to thank for even being here.

And Steve… Steve had looked utterly perfect in a classic black tuxedo, his ruby red waistcoat and cravat showcasing his fantastic physique wonderfully.

As Steve spun him around the dancefloor, Tony could only look up at his smiling face and think that he was the luckiest son of a bitch to ever walk the planet. This was what their first wedding should have been, with all of their family and friends around them.

Not a drunken mistake in a Vegas chapel.

Although… he couldn't bring himself to regret it. It had definitely turned out to be successful, regardless of the origin.

"I love you," he murmured, before pressing his face against Steve's neck, pulling him tighter.

Steve kissed his temple and tightened his arms. "I love you too."

Written for:

Assorted Appreciation - 9. "Some things are worth getting your heart broken for."

Trope - 9. Forbidden

Space - 7. Flirtatious

Book Club - 3. Marnes - "I'm glad you think it's funny." / Sharing a bed / Having a broken heart.

Showtime - 4. Wedding rings

Sophie's Shelf - C1. Finding it difficult to communicate with someone you like.

Press Play - 21. "They're my eyes, I do what I want with them."

Liza Loves - 10. Someone feeling lonely

Angel's Arcade - 22. "I think my heart just stopped."

Scamander - 14. Flying

Basement - 10. "Um… can you repeat the part of the stuff where you said all about the… things?"

Film Festival - 27. "Anything sounds bad if you say it with that attitude."

Marvel - 13. "I'm with you 'til the end of the line."

Lyric Alley - 14. You can't concern yourself with the bigger things.

Wandmaker - Fir (Unblemished) / Thunderbird Tail Feather (Success)

Build A Bear - Fluff/Sew - Accidental Marriage

Sci-fi - Superhero - Arch Nemesis - Lex Luthor - Jealousy

Game Night - Trope - Accidental marriage

Mythology - 3. Ring

Pop Figure - Gendry - 1. Stubborn / 2. Being hopelessly in love / 3. Black

365. 334. Bachelor