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Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count: 1218

Mad And Sad (But Never At You)

"I'm not stupid, Tony. I know that the media will always try and cause problems," Steve said, shaking his head. "I don't care about that."

"You promise?" Tony asked, accepting the hand Steve held out to him.

"I promise."

…

Tony rolled his eyes when he saw the headline. The pictures of him with a blonde haired woman in a red dress were from about five years ago, back before the Avengers, before Afghanistan even.

He really didn't know why they kept trying. Steve and he were solid. He sent a quick text off to the legal team about it and continued on with his day, pushing the matter from his mind.

When this happened when he and Steve had just gotten together, it sent Tony into a panic, flooding Steve's phone until he answered, swearing on everything that it wasn't true, Tony hadn't done anything.

Steve had calmed him down, and eventually, Tony had settled into the idea that Steve really didn't care about what the media said. That he was confident enough in his ability to hold Tony's attention that he didn't need to worry about the utter horse manure the press printed to sell a few more copies of their rags.

He was lucky, Tony thought, to have such an understanding boyfriend.

…

You need to come home and face the music, Tony.

Tony blinked at the text. He'd been run ragged at SI the whole day and hadn't had time to check his phone.

Face the music? What in the hell was Nat talking about.

He dialed her number, waiting impatiently for her to pick up.

"What music am I facing?" he asked, when she answered.

"You know what you did," she replied flatly. "I don't think I've ever seen Steve so mad and sad at the same time. He's devastated, Tony."

Tony blinked, because what the actual fuck.

"Natasha… is this about the headlines?"

"What else could it be about?" she snapped. "I thought you were past this, Tony. I thought you and Steve were happy."

"We were—we are! This is ridiculous. He promised me he wouldn't believe the bullshit the press printed about me; and now as soon as I let my guard down, he what? He wants to leave me?"

"She knew about the birthmark on your hip," Natasha said, and he could hear the eye-roll in her tone.

"Yeah, I'm sure she did, because I slept with her. The papers obviously got one thing right," Tony snapped. "They just didn't get it right that it happened about five years ago! You can all go to hell."

He slammed his finger down on the 'end call' button and then threw it at the wall for good measure.

Not that it broke, but it did make him feel mildly better.

Pepper walked into the room, her eyebrows raised. "What's going on?"

"Oh nothing," Tony said airily. "Just, you know, my relationship just imploded because apparently my husband believes the papers. So you know, not much."

Pepper blinked. "Sorry, say that again so that I know I didn't misunderstand you. Because I'm sure you didn't tell me that Steve Rogers, Captain America, the most stubborn person in the world—"

"I know who I married," Tony grouced. "And you didn't misunderstand anything, Pep. Natasha told me I needed to go home and 'face the music'. So I called her. And she made it very clear that Steve believes the paper. I… I guess I knew this would happen one day but I thought… he promised, Pep. He promised."

Pepper hugged him tightly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "What are you going to do?" she asked, when she pulled back.

"I'm going… to run away. Because it's what I always do," Tony replied, nodding. "I'm going to go and stay with Rhodey, and watch him get shitfaced for me because I don't want to… I'm not that guy anymore. And then I'm going to get Rhodey snuggles and probably cry for a while, and then I'm going to pull my shit together and go home."

Pepper nodded and smiled slightly. "That sounds like a good plan, Tony. Take whatever time you need, okay? I'll field whatever needs fielding, and I'll deal with the Avengers if they start being assholes."

Tony chuckled sadly. "You're the best, Pepper-pot."

"I really am."

…

Tony stuck by his word and went to Rhodey, though instead of getting shitfaced, Rhodey ordered entirely too much Thai food and pulled Tony down on the sofa for movies and cuddles.

He spent three days with his best friend, keeping his phone turned off for the whole time so he wouldn't have to deal with anyone, and he let his emotions settle to a more manageable level.

He knew he had to talk to Steve, but he also knew that he had the right to be upset about this.

"Remember," Rhodey said to him, pulling him in for a last hug before he left, "you can always come here, whenever you need too. I'm always gonna be here waiting for you okay?"

Tony nodded. "Kay. Thanks, Honeybear."

Rhodey grinned and ruffled Tony's hair. "I'll call you later."

…

Steve was waiting on the landing pad when Tony touched down. He'd had JARVIS let him know he was on his way back, and ask him if he had time for a chat when he arrived.

He knew it would be better to just get it over with.

Tony stepped out of the suit and Steve immediately approached, his arms held out as if to hug Tony.

Tony frowned at him and shook his head, nodding to the door. "Let's go inside. It's cold out here, and I'd prefer coffee over frostbite."

Steve sighed, a forlorn expression on his face, but he nodded and let Tony lead the way inside.

"Nat got the wrong end of the stick," Steve said, as soon as he closed the door. "I was mad, and sad, about something in the paper but it wasn't the headline. I don't believe the stories they post about you, you know I don't."

Tony blinked and then frowned. "What were you mad and sad about?"

"There was another article inside the paper, about the new Stark Medical sending out their first machines to the community doctors. It makes me sad that you 'cheating' on me would be front page when that wouldn't be. And then I got mad for the same reason.

"Natasha asked me what was wrong and I said, 'the fucking paper', and the others were all there. They misunderstood, Tony. They thought I was talking about the headline but I wasn't."

"Huh. Well. Did you tell her that?"

"I did, though it was after I heard about the phone call from a rather irate Pepper, " Steve confirmed, stepping closer. "Can I have a hug now. I've been worried about you, though Pepper did tell me you were okay."

Tony nodded and leant into Steve's embrace. "Sorry I didn't call you to make sure," he murmured against the wide chest of his husband. "I just—"

"I get it. Nat wants to apologise."

Tony huffed. "Maybe later. I missed you."

"I missed you too, Sweetheart. I love you, you know that, right?"

"I know. I do know, Steve. I love you too."

Written for:

Showtime, 41. "I know who I married."

Forecast: 20. Misunderstanding something