Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 1260

Something Better

Tony was literally flying blind, the snow was so bad. Even his sensors were useless in the onslaught, and Tony barely missed a tree by inches. He landed hard, grateful to be out of the air, even if he didn't actually want to be anywhere near the godforsaken hellhole he was in.

Bloody Steve and his self-sacrificing nature were actually going to kill Tony.

He pushed open the door to the log cabin and closed it quickly behind him, stepping out of his suit as soon as humanly possible.

Though he had temperature controls, flying through a snowstorm seriously didn't help him in his quest for warmth.

"Tony?"

"No, it's the abominable snowman," Tony quipped, walking over to the crackling fire Steve already had going.

"What… what are you doing here?"

"Come to get you, obviously," Tony replied, glancing at the window. "Though we should probably let the weather calm down a bit first. If I tried to fly you through that, you'd be back as a Capsicle in no time at all."

Steve stared at him, clearly confused, and obviously Tony had been too optimistic if he thought he could get away without having this conversation.

"I… don't understand," Steve admitted.

"Look, me and you, I know we've had some… difficulties," Tony forced out. "But the world needs you, and since you're refusing to come home, it was left to me to come and collect you."

"I don't deserve to come home," Steve said, looking away. "Not after what I did to you. The team, it's yours Tony. You don't need me, you don't—"

"Oh stop being such a martyr,"

"Tony—"

"No. What happened between us was unfortunate, but you weren't the only one to fuck up, Steve! What you're doing now though… this is fucking up, because the world needs you, and instead of doing what you do best, you're here feeling sorry for yourself and nobody has got time for that."

Steve stared at him for a long moment and then deflated slightly, running a hand through his blond hair.

"I was just trying to do right by you," he said eventually.

Tony sighed. "By putting the rest of the world at risk. Don't be so naive, Steve, I'm not that important."

"You are to me."

The words were whispered, low enough that Tony could ignore them, which he did.

"Pack your stuff up, we'll be leaving as soon as the snow settles down."

Tony sat down on the slightly rickety sofa and raised his eyebrow until Steve sighed and nodded.

…

"I hate snow," Tony muttered, a few hours later. It had finally stopped snowing, only for them to realise that they were actually snowed in.

"It shouldn't last too long," Steve said quietly. "It's happened a few times since I've been here, and the snow always melts within a day or so."

Tony just nodded, because what could he say?

He didn't want to be stuck in the tiny log cabin with Steve for a full day with nothing to do, but he also didn't want to give the super soldier any reason to believe that he shouldn't return to New York with Tony.

The silence was oppressing, but Tony wasn't quite sure how to break it. There were so many landmines between them now that even the most surface of conversations could be enough to blow them both to high heaven.

In the end, it was Steve that broke the silence.

"You look tired. You can, uh. There's a bedroom, just through that door. You can go and sleep there if you want?"

Tony was about to deny that he desperately needed sleep when he yawned involuntarily. Steve's lips tilted up.

With a deep sigh, Tony muttered his thanks and forced himself up from the sofa. When he entered the bedroom, he wasn't surprised to find the bed expertly made, with crisp corners and already fluffed pillows. He didn't bother to undress before he pulled the quilt back and rolled beneath it, his head burrowing onto the silver pillowcase.

It smelled faintly of Steve, and Tony hated the way his body immediately relaxed. Even after everything, after the Civil War and Siberia, Tony still registered Steve as safe.

He fell asleep almost immediately.

…

"Tony?"

Steve frowned at the door. He could hear Tony whimpering, but he didn't want to go into the bedroom uninvited.

"Tony!" he called out, louder this time, but it didn't work.

Hesitantly, Steve pushed the door open.

Tony was splayed out, shifting restlessly in his sleep. His face was contorted, and Steve's heart ached at the sight.

"Tony," he murmured, stepping closer. Now he'd seen the man, there was no way he could just leave him to the throws of such an awful looking nightmare. He called his name a few times and then carefully rested his hand on Tony's shoulder, shaking him gently.

Tony's eyes opened and he looked around, scrambling back until his back was resting against the headboard.

"You're okay," Steve said, quietly but firmly. "You're fine, Tony, I promise.

Tony stared at him for a long moment, chest heaving as he panted.

"Sorry," he managed to say, after a long moment. "Sorry, I uh. You shouldn't have had to uh, see that. I didn't mean to bother you. Sorry."

Steve frowned and shook his head. "You don't ever have to apologise for nightmares, Tony. You should know better than that. Weren't you the one to tell me that we all get them; that it would be weird if we didn't, given what we do?"

"I guess it was."

"Are you still tired? Do you think you could sleep a little more?" Steve asked. Tony still didn't look like he'd rested any, and he'd only really been sleeping for a couple of hours. "We can't go anywhere yet."

Tony shook his head and sighed. "You know me better than that. I can't sleep after a nightmare."

"You used to," Steve said, head tilting slightly. "When I was with you."

"I'm not going to ask you too—"

"What if it's what I want to do?" Steve interrupted. "Tony, the whole time I've been away from New York, the only thing I've wanted has been you, back in my arms where you belong."

"And yet, you were here, in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, when you could have been back in New York with me."

"I said it was what I wanted. I didn't think I could have it; or that I deserved it."

"If we got what we deserved in life, I'd be screwed, and not in a good way," Tony muttered, shaking his head. "Steve… we were never going to just fall back in the way we were before, but we could have healed. We still can. It's just going to take time, and work, and sometimes it's going to be really hard, but nothing is going to happen when you're not even at home."

Steve swallowed hard and nodded. "I know. I know that, I'm sorry."

Tony nodded. "Me too."

"So, uh. Can I stay? Help you get some more sleep?"

Tony tilted his head slightly for a moment and then nodded. "Please."

…

His head pillowed on Steve's chest, Tony relaxed into the loose embrace. This wasn't even close to how he'd expected the evening to go, but he couldn't bring himself to regret it.

Things weren't fixed; he suspected that none of them would never be completely whole again, but he was optimistic.

That they could build something new.

Maybe even something better.

Written for:

Space - 5. Snowstorm

Showtime - 7. Snowy

North Funfair - Do You Wanna Build A Snowman - Step 2 - 2. Bother

East Funfair - Snow Art - Black: Log Cabin / Brown: Snowed In / Blue: Optimistic

South Funfair - Holiday Cards - 18. Cozy snowy cottage: Snow

Galleon - Snow

365. 286. Naive