A/N: This is my longest chapter for this story so far ahh! It's also probably going to be the last for a bit since school started today. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, but for now, let's get started!
Songs Featured: "Confetti Falling" by Big Time Rush
Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or the song featured!
Chapter 9
Two months later . . .
"Come on, Steve! Go faster!"
"I'm trying!"
"Come on! Faster, faster!"
"I said: I'm trying!"
"Well, you're not trying hard enough!"
"I'm doing the best that I fucking can!"
"D—Did Captain America just swear?"
"Oh my God."
"YES!" Clint exclaims whopping with joy. The team has been playing Mario Kart for the past two hours and Clint just won—again. The archer throws his controller on the ground and starts dancing.
"Ugh," Tony scowls picking up a pillow and throwing it at the dancing Clint. "Why didn't you beat him?"
"It was a little hard to concentrate with you shouting in my ear," Steve retorts.
"Would you like me to do something else to your ear?" The brunet asks, a smirk crawling over his face. Steve glares.
Bruce rolls his eyes. "Is this going to be a regular occurrence?"
"Buzz off, Brucey, I know you're jealous," Tony answers not taking his eyes of Steve's.
"Hardly," the scientist deadpans.
After Tony was released from the hospital, he and Steve decided to give a relationship a go. They went to a pizza place the following night in Brooklyn that Steve used to frequent as a kid. The blond paid for the meal, much to Tony's amusement. Then, they went to a movie, which Steve also paid for. Tony can't recall what the movie was about because he spent the duration of the film with his tongue down Steve's throat. They were originally going to keep their relationship a secret before telling the team because they wanted to make sure they would work out and it wouldn't be awkward, but Clint walked in on them having sex in Tony's lab and proceeded to run throughout the tower screaming, "Steve and Tony are fucking! I so called it!"
Speaking of sex, sex with Steve is mind-blowing. The blond is a kinky bastard and Tony found out very quickly that the man loves being tied up and ordered around. Steve also has an extremely talented tongue, and he could write sonnets on how many times he came just from Steve's mouth alone.
Tony's pulled out of his thoughts when Clint loudly declares he's going to make more popcorn before grabbing his bowl and stomping towards the kitchen. The brunet notices that Steve has his back to him and is quietly having a conversation with Natasha. Tony pulls out his phone and leans against Steve's back, pressing his cheek against his right shoulder. He can feel the vibrations of Steve's voice through his body and soft lips pressing against his hair. Tony thinks he could fall asleep like this.
"Alright bitches and Natasha," Clint says as he enters the common room with his bowl filled to the brim with popcorn. "Who's ready for round twenty four?"
"I still do not understand your mortal forms of entertainment, but I will accept thy challenge," Thor responds.
"Sir, Miss Potts is on the line," JARVIS announces before Clint could start the game again.
"Tell her I'm busy," Tony says.
"She says the matter she is phoning for is urgent."
Tony groans. "Put her on speaker."
"You're actually up? It's only noon?" Pepper begins her voice flowing through the room.
"Couldn't sleep. What's up?" Tony responds.
"I've been trying to contact you for three days, that's what's up. Where have you been?" Pepper asks.
"I was here, but I wouldn't have been able to talk anyway—my mouth was a little busy," Tony responds with a smirk. Steve groans and buries his face in his hands.
Clint whistles. "Dude, don't even, I bet you have awesome stamina."
"Clint!"
"Oh he does," Tony answers, ignoring Steve's outburst and patting him on the arm. "My boy can go for hours."
"Is that so . . ."Clint wonders. He smirks slyly and looks between Tony and Steve. "What else can the serum do?"
"Well—"
Pepper clears her throat. "Tony, would you please focus?"
"Yeah, sure, okay, continue."
The redhead huffs. "Thank you. I'm calling to remind you that the Maria Stark Foundation Anniversary Ball is tomorrow night and—"
"I can't, that's date night," Tony says interrupting Pepper.
"Wait you guys actually do that?"
"Fuck off Clint. You're just jealous because I'm getting laid."
"Tony."
"Steve, you know it's true!"
"Tony!" Pepper exclaims. "This is a very important event and you're going to be there whether you like it or not!"
Clint snorts. "Sucks to be you."
"Oh, Clint, didn't I mention that you're going too? In fact, the entire team is attending. It's good press and I already have Coulson's approval."
"Traitor!" Clint exclaims.
"The ball is going to be at the Ritz-Carlton by Central Park. The event starts at seven and Happy will pick you up at six thirty. Make sure you're ready." Pepper hangs up without another word.
"Well, fuck," Clint says.
"Sir, should I inform your regular tailor that you'll be stopping by?"
"Nah . . . there are plenty of shopping districts and places to buy formal clothing in Manhattan. You guys want to go now?"
"Sure, may as well get this over with," Bruce says, standing from his reclined position on the couch and stretching.
"Hey, let's stop by Kristyn's first. I'm hungry and I really want some chocolate fudge cake," Tony says. He rises to his feet and slips on the rug stumbling for balance.
Steve quickly stands and catches Tony's flailing arms, steadying the man, who gives him a grateful smile. "Sure, we'll stop. It'll be nice to see Maxie again."
"Great," Tony answers. "Let's go!"
The team abandons their game and takes the elevator to the garage. Even though Kristyn's is a short walk from the tower, they decide to take the minivan for two reasons: one, so they won't have to double back for the car since the restaurant is on the way; and two, so they won't be harassed by fans and photographers. Tony isn't sure about the others, but he would like to enjoy this rare day off from both work and Avengers duties.
They eventually reach the garage and climb into Steve's minivan in the same seating arrangement as every one of their outings: Steve and Tony upfront, Thor and Bruce behind them, and Clint and Natasha in the very back. The soldier pulls out of the garage while Clint sings along to Taylor Swift. Natasha tells Steve to change the radio station, and Thor curiously asks Bruce "What is so special about turning twenty two?" Tony changes the station and Clint tells him he sucks. The brunet responds that he sucks every night.
Steve almost crashes. Natasha yells at Tony.
The team arrives at the restaurant a few minutes later with no further incidents. After Steve expertly parallel parks the car, the team piles out while Tony fills up the meter before they head inside the restaurant. Maxie greets the team at the door and ushers them to their usual table.
Kristyn's became the Avengers hangout after Tony and Steve returned from a date one night, and Clint demanded to know where they got the delicious looking pie. They should have never given the archer a bite because he proceeded to steal the pie from Tony's grasp and run around the Tower, giving each of their teammates a taste. Ever since, the entire team was hooked.
Maxie quickly takes their orders, and leaves to fill them. The Avengers make casual conversation amongst themselves. Steve and Tony half listen to the chatter around them, focusing on each other and stealing kisses, which cause Clint to pretend to vomit and for the engineer to flick him off.
The waitress soon returns with their orders and the team invites her to sit with them like they have every time. Maxie accepts and settles in next to Bruce. She and Steve take turns telling everyone about life back in the thirties and forties, exchanging inside jokes and tales about Steve no one has ever heard before aside from her and Bucky.
Eventually, they finish their meals and decide to head out. Tony pays and everyone says farewell to Maxie, with each Avenger promising to visit the woman soon. The team exits the restaurant and pile into the minivan. Steve starts the car and waits for everyone to settle before putting the car in gear and pulling into traffic.
Twenty minutes later, Steve manages to find a parking spot along the busy street known as Fifth Avenue. The soldier stops the car and everyone gives Tony various looks of shock and annoyance. The engineer gives his teammates a confused look. "What?"
"Why did you bring us here? You know the only person who can afford this shit is yourself," Clint says sounding irritated and hurt.
Tony rolls his eyes and reaches into his pocket, pulling out five gold credit cards. He shows the items to his team and watches their expressions change into one of confusion.
"What the hell are those?" Natasha asks as she leans forward in her seat to get a better look.
"These, my Russian beauty, are Stark Cards," the genius responds, ignoring the redhead's eye roll and passing out the cards. "They have a direct link to the private bank accounts I set aside for each of you. I would have given these to you sooner, but I had to fight with Hill to have your Shield checks transferred directly into these accounts instead of the Shield ones which are so easy to hack." He takes a breath before continuing. "The only other person who has access aside from you is Pepper and that's because Pepper runs everything and she's the one who helped me set this up." Tony smiles to himself, feeling accomplished. "Plus, this way you won't have to ask and/or worry about money—at least, for a while."
The rest of the Avengers remain silent and Tony twitches nervously wondering if he messed up again. He's about to recant his whole speech and take the cards back when Steve breaks the silence and says, "Wow, Tony this is . . ."
"Incredible? Generous? Extremely thoughtful?" Tony tries.
"Wow . . ."
Tony shrugs. "I'll accept wow."
"I love you," Clint says suddenly. "I actually fucking love you. I'd kiss you on your face if I wasn't worried that Steve would punch me."
"I would never!" Steve protests.
The engineer pats his boyfriend on the arm. "Yeah, you would."
"Steve, would you please kiss him in thanks on behalf of all us?" Clint asks hopefully.
The soldier rolls his eyes, but it doesn't stop him from leaning forward and capturing Tony's mouth. The brunet smiles against his lover's lips and presses back for a few moments before pulling away, though he doesn't go very far.
"Thank you, Tony," Steve says voice filled with gratitude. "This is very generous of you."
Tony shrugs. "It's what I do." He leans forward and gives the blond a quick peck before pulling away completely.
Clint claps his hands. "Alright, let's do this!"
The team climb out of the van and spilt up. Natasha grabs Clint by the wrist and drags him into Tiffany and Co. Bruce takes Thor across the street to Gucci while Steve and Tony link hands and start exploring the various designer shops.
The blond decides before they get started not to buy anything. About a month ago, he got a call from Fury saying that he tracked down Steve's old army uniform the 1940s and figured he would wear that. Tony ends up searching through several different shops before buying a black three-piece Armani suit.
The couple head out of the store and meet up with the rest of the Avengers, who are carrying various shopping bags and sporting grins on their faces. Tony shakes his head and declares it's time to leave. Clint whoops with joy and challenges everyone to another round of Mario Kart back at the tower. Everyone eagerly accepts.
The next morning, both Tony and Steve are awoken by the latter's alarm. The blond moves to stand and Tony whines low in his throat, rolling over and latching onto Steve's arm, trying to prevent him from leaving their warm cocoon of blankets. He coaxes his boyfriend back into bed with lazy kisses. They ultimately decide to spend the day in bed fooling around and having sex, then a shower, shower sex, then food, a nap, and then more sex until JARVIS announces that if they want to be on time to the Maria Stark Foundation Ball, they should start getting ready. This leads to another round in the shower and Tony clinging to Steve's soapy skin and coming with the blond's name on his lips.
The engineer exits the bathroom first while Steve stays behind and finishes washing. He drops his towel on the bed before going over to his dresser and pulling out a pair of blue boxer shorts and sliding them on. Next, he walks over to the closet and opens the double doors, moving a few of Steve's clothing items out of his way so he can reach the suit he bought yesterday. It didn't surprise the engineer when Steve had moved into his room after about a week and a half of dating. In fact, he encouraged it. Most of the soldier's things were on Tony's floor anyway and even though they weren't having sex, the blond slept here every night and Tony had gotten used to the feeling of falling asleep in Steve's arms.
The billionaire pulls his suit out of the closet and leaves the doors open, walking over to the bed and laying the garment flat down. He pulls on the white long sleeved button up first, before grabbing the slacks and slipping them on, tucking in his shirt and fastening his pants.
Steve walks out of the bathroom with one towel wrapped around his waist and drying his hair with another. Tony smirks and grabs his own towel off the bed before whacking Steve's ass. His boyfriend starts shaking his butt, causing Tony to laugh, before continuing his trek to the closet and pulling out his old uniform, which surprisingly still fits. Out of the corner of his eye, the brunet watches his boyfriend get dressed, loving the way the green fabric clings to Steve's muscles and leaving little to the imagination. The soldier always looks so fucking hot in his uniform and Tony literally tells him every time he wears it. There's only been a few instances, however. The Avengers don't go to many formal events, especially after the last time where Clint got himself tangled in a chandelier and Bruce hulked out.
Tony finishes dressing first, slipping on his suit jacket and tie before pulling on his polished black shoes. He walks up behind Steve, who is straightening out his tie in front of the full-length mirror, and wraps his arms around the man's trim waist. "Have I ever mentioned that I love a man in uniform?" he says while placing a light kiss to the back of Steve's neck.
The soldier smirks. "You may have mentioned it once or twice." He turns in Tony's arms before placing a firm kiss on his lover's lips, bringing his hands up to cup his neck. They stand like that for some time, mouths locked together. Steve breaks the kiss, and says, "Tony, we're going to be late."
"Don't care," the brunet responds before trying to bring their mouths together again, only for Steve to hold him back. He whines low in his throat.
"The others are probably already waiting."
"Again: Don't care. Want you."
The soldier shakes his head and gives Tony a quick peck, which the brunet tries to turn into something more. Steve smiles against his boyfriend's mouth before pulling away and kissing the billionaire on his forehead. He slides out from Tony's arms and places his little green hat on top of his head. The blond holds out his right hand and Tony slides their fingers together, smiling up at the other man. The engineer grabs his phone and wallet on their way out of the bedroom.
The couple joins up with the rest of the Avengers in the common room. The guys are wearing crisp black suits. Thor, who's wearing his hair in a ponytail, and Bruce are wearing black bowties, while Clint opted for a tie like Tony, except the archer's is purple. Natasha is wearing a dark blue, strapless, floor length gown. Her red hair is tied in a messy bun at the back of her head. She accessorized with silver jewelry and a small black clutch. She gives small smile in greeting before leading the way to the elevator. She presses the button to go down. The elevator arrives, the team enters, and Steve, who is closest to the doors, presses the button for the garage.
When the elevator arrives to the lowest level, the Avengers pile out and head towards Happy, who is waiting patiently by his long black stretch limo. Happy opens the door and Natasha slides in first, followed by Thor, Clint, Bruce, Steve, and finally Tony. The chauffeur closes the limo door and Tony leans against Steve smiling when he feels the blond kiss the top of his head. Happy starts the limo and drives off. The entire ride, the Avengers sing along to the radio.
Eventually, the team arrives at the Ritz-Carlton hotel without an incident. Happy opens the door and Tony steps out, first, shuffling out of the way so the rest of the team can exit the car. The brunet squints his eyes at the flashes from the photographer's cameras. He pastes a semi-forced smile on his face and waves to the crowd, watching them eat up his stage presence like animals.
The Avengers quickly make their way to the front doors of the hotel, posing for a few photos and denying any requests for interviews. Before they get the chance to enter the hotel, Thor spots Jane and Darcy making conversation amongst themselves. The blond God wanders over to the women and gives both of them a giant bear hug while booming an enthusiastic greeting.
Jane laughs, a light happy sound, and Darcy smiles, patting Thor on the arm. The Asgardian takes Jane's hand and leads the two women to where the rest of the group is standing. Jane is wearing a sleeveless floor length dark green dress, a silver belt with a large buckle clasped at her waist. Her brown hair is tied into a low, messy ponytail. Darcy is wearing a knee length sleeveless dark amethyst dress. She's wearing her long hair down, and her black pumps making her stand a few inches taller than normal. She pushes her glasses further up her nose.
"Yo, who's ready to get smashed?" Darcy greets with a smile.
Clint smirks. "You were always my favorite, Lewis." He holds out his arm to her. "Shall we?"
Darcy grins lecherously and loops her arm in his. "We shall," she says before the pair enters the hotel lobby.
Bruce glances around. "Where's Selvig?"
"Oh, Eric couldn't make it unfortunately. He's making a presentation in London," Jane informs.
Tony turns away from the conversation when he feels a hand link with his. He smiles before looking up and meeting his handsome boyfriend's eyes.
"You ready to do this?" Steve asks.
"If by that you mean 'ready for this to be over with' then yes, I'm ready," Tony responds as they enter the hotel with the remaining Avengers and Jane surrounding them.
The group makes their way towards the ballroom. Tony glances around at the beautifully designed lobby, dressed in the finest of imported furniture and other items, with bored interest. All luxury hotels look the same to him.
He enters the ballroom with Steve by his side and glances around taking in the atmosphere and noticing some people already standing around mingling with false smiles and forced laughter. Tony squeezes Steve's hand, already wanting to go home. He feels the soldier squeeze back and the action comforts him a little. At least he won't be the only one miserable.
"Tony! Is that you?" a male voice exclaims.
The brunet looks around for the source of the voice before finding the person in question. A huge grin crosses his features. "Honey-bunches!" He yells, dragging Steve by their joined hands over to the pillar that his longtime friend, James Rhodes, is leaning against. The Lieutenant Colonel is clad in his military uniform, his dark navy blue blazer and matching pants pressed to perfection. He's wearing a white button up shirt and a black tie underneath his blazer. He has a small navy blue hat on top of his head and his black dress shoes and various metals are polished and shining in the light.
When Tony reaches his friend, he gives the man a one armed hug, which is returned enthusiastically. After a few moments, Rhodey pulls away first and says, "Why don't you ever call me?"
"Because you're always in an area without service and you locked me out from hacking into the military's phone lines," Tony answers.
"Well, someone had to," Rhodey responds.
"And I will bypass them soon enough," the brunet declares while Rhodey laughs. "Hey Rhodes, I want to introduce you to someone," he says before tugging on Steve's hand to get his attention. "Steve, Rhodey. Rhodey, Steve."
Steve gives Rhodey a warm smile and holds out his left hand. "Steve Rogers."
The black male's eyes widen. He opens and closes his mouth a few times before clasping Steve's hand within his and shaking hands once. "Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes. You can call me Rhodey—can I just say that it is an honor to meet you, Captain?"
The blond smiles and releases Rhodey's hand. "I can say the very same about you. It's nice to put a face to a name. Tony's told me so much about you."
Rhodey lets out a nervous laugh and places his both hands in his pockets. "Yeah, well, good things I hope."
"Trust me, it's nothing but the best."
Rhodey gives Steve a wide smile. Tony snorts and punches Rhodey gently on the shoulder. "You are seriously fangirling right now."
"Shut up, man," Rhodey responds with a smile as he lightly punches his friend back on the shoulder before noticing Tony and Steve's clasped hands. He frowns. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me you were dating Captain America?"
"Because I knew you would have that reaction."
Rhodey raises an eyebrow. "And what reaction is that?"
"The one where you act irritable and pissy because I'm sleeping with your childhood hero and didn't tell you."
"You are!"
"Point!"
"We're going to talk about this," Rhodey says with a determined expression.
"Nope," Tony answers. He moves to walk away, but Steve won't budge. The brunet tries to tug the blond by their hands, but to no avail.
"Captain, can I borrow him?"
"Go ahead."
"What!" Tony exclaims as Rhodey grabs him by the arm with a wicked smile on his face. "Steve, you traitor!"
Steve, amused, releases Tony's hand and waves to the brunet as Rhodey drags him away.
Tony and Rhodey find a secluded table away from all the action so they can catch up on everything since the last time they saw each other, which was a few months after California. Rhodey's been busy running various top-secret missions for the government, that he refuses to go into detail about (no matter how much Tony pries) and how he was finally able to get some time off. Tony tells his friend about how he was mainly busy with his company and now the Avengers and Shield. The brunet was forced to spill about how he and Steve got together and when he finished, Rhodey laughed obnoxiously loud and called them both idiots. He only stopped when Tony randomly declared that his boyfriend can swallow dick like a champ. His friend let out a horrified exclamation of "I didn't need to know that shit, damn!"
Over the course of the hour, the rest of Avengers, Jane, and Darcy migrated to Tony and Rhodey's table and ended up dragging the soldier into a conversation about Glee, which turns out to be the dark skinned man's favorite show. Tony's never going to let him live it down. Though, the engineer does watch the show on occasion . . . when it's on, of course.
At one point, the DJ starts playing music. Darcy lets out a whoop of joy, grabbing Natasha and leading her to the dance floor. Thor and Jane follow their example not long after. Bruce and Steve hit the bar, though the soldier actually returns to the table with drinks for himself and Tony. Clint leans back in his seat and almost falls over, causing Rhodey to laugh uncontrollably and for the archer to bristle like a porcupine.
Tony takes a sip of his drink and leans against Steve. "Are you having a good time?"
The blond nods his head. "Surprisingly, yes. What about you?"
The brunet nuzzles his boyfriend's cheek. "Same, though things are usually more fun with you around."
Steve smiles while Clint and Rhodey make gagging noises in the background. Tony flicks them both off.
A different song plays over the speakers and Tony's ears perk up. He's heard this one a number of times when Clint was watching Nickelodeon and he surprisingly likes it. The genius stands and tugs on Steve's arm. "Babe, come dance with me."
Steve rolls his eyes fondly at the nickname and sets his drink down before standing and following Tony to the dance floor. When the brunet finds a spot he likes, he turns to face Steve, wrapping his arms around the man's neck and pulling him close. He smiles when he feels the blond curl his arms around Tony's waist and places their foreheads together.
"All this talk about being in love . . . I could never get into the party, never really understood what it was—Like what's the big deal anyway?
"Oh, but I decided I should give it a try—the very moment that you gave me the invite. I've never seen anything like it before once you open the door. See I was like...
"Oh yeah, yeah, don't get any better
Oh yeah yeah wish that this was forever
Your heart calling, feels like confetti falling
And it's a celebration, feels like a celebration
Cause your heart calling, feels like confetti falling down, down, down."
Steve smiles at the lyrics and nuzzles Tony's nose with his. The brunet lets out a small laugh and pulls Steve even closer. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Jane and Thor not far away, swaying together with warm smiles on their faces.
"And everybody's gonna make an appearance. Even the butterflies came, what a feeling.
And then bliss came with Mr. First-Kiss, it was better than they ever explained it
"I think I even saw Cupid flying 'round. I caught a glimpse before the lights went down.
And when I turn to see the stars in your eyes, I realize . . . And I was like . . .
"Oh yeah, yeah, don't get any better
Oh yeah yeah wish that this was forever
Your heart calling, feels like confetti falling
And it's a celebration, feels like a celebration
Cause your heart calling, feels like confetti falling down, down, down.
"I love you," Steve whispers against Tony's lips.
Tony smiles, remembering the first time they said those words. It was a month after the brunet was released from the hospital. The Avengers just finished dealing with a few wannabe villains, and were in the middle of a Shield meeting. He and Steve had gotten into a huge argument about their reckless behaviors. The situation ended when Steve blurted that he didn't want anything to happen to Tony because he loves him and wouldn't know what to do without him. Tony had proceeded to cross the room and kiss the breath out of Steve in front of everyone before returning the words. Bringing himself back to the present, the brunet sighs content and looks into Steve's shining blue eyes. "I love you, too."
"See I know it's getting late. Only wish the sun would wait and let this party last a little longer, yeah. See I know love it comes and goes, but this right here, I don't think that I ever wanna let it go . . . I wish I would've known...
"All this talk about being in love
I could never get into the party
Now, I understand only because
You show me the way
And I was like..."
The rest of the song fades to the background as Steve closes the gap between them and gives Tony a gentle kiss. They stop dancing and focus on the warmth between them, lips loving slowly against each other. Tony breaks the kiss first and gives Steve a blinding smile at seeing nothing but love and adoration reflecting in the soldier's eyes.
The song ends and a faster one beings playing over the speakers. Steve and Tony slowly unwrap themselves from each other, lace their fingers together and head back to their seats. When they reach their table, Clint is the only one seated, leaning back in his chair and sipping wine from his glass. The archer meets Tony's eyes, smirks, and mouths out the words, 'You get that D.' The billionaire rolls his eyes fondly and takes a seat beside Steve. He looks around. "Where'd Rhodey go?"
Clint shrugs. "He said something about a bathroom and a swan?"
The genius snorts. Whenever he and Rhodey would go to a fancy restaurant or event, the Lieutenant Colonel makes it his mission to get one of those weird foil soap swans from the bathroom. He has a collection of about forty-five and says he won't stop until he reaches a hundred.
Steve strikes up a conversation with Clint and Tony decides to ignore then both and fiddle with his phone. Sometime later (twenty minutes according to Steve), Rhodey returns with two of those stupid foil swans in each hand. He plops down next to Tony and sets the swans on the table looking extremely proud of himself. The engineer looks between the swans and his friend. "Please tell me you didn't go into the women's bathroom to get one of those."
"I don't tell you how to live your life. And for the record, there was nobody inside. I was in and out like a ninja."
"A ninja?"
"Correct."
Tony laughs and shakes his head fondly before turning back to his phone.
The ball ends three hours later at eleven and everyone slowly gathers their things to leave. After finally being able to pull Darcy's drunk ass off the dance floor, they pause in the lobby to say their goodbyes.
Rhodey stands in front of Steve and Tony, looking serious. He holds his hand out to the blond, who takes his hand and shakes it once. "You take of him, you hear me?"
"What are you doing?" Tony asks annoyed.
"I'm doing the friend thing."
"The what?"
"If you hurt him—"
"Jesus . . ."
Rhodey rolls his eyes at Tony and turns back to Steve, glaring at the blond. "If you hurt him, I will punch you repeatedly and I don't give a damn if it breaks my hand."
"Honestly? I wouldn't want it any other way," Steve responds before smiling. "Even though Tony is capable of caring for himself, I swear on my life that no harm will come to him."
Rhodey seems pleased by the answer because his grin returns in full force. He releases Steve's hand and turns to give Tony a hug, but the brunet is too busy giving the blond a shocked look.
"You perfect asshole, I hate you," the engineer says astounded.
Steve chuckles and kisses the top of Tony's head. "No, you don't."
"Alright, before you two start fucking in the lobby, can I get my goodbye hug?" Rhodey says.
Tony rolls his eyes and embraces his friend.
"I'm gonna be in the states for a couple weeks so call me, okay?"
"Yeah, okay. And you know you can stop by at any time, right?"
"Pssh. I was planning on it."
The two separate and sport matching grins. Rhodey pats Tony on the shoulder and nods once to Steve before leaving the hotel. The genius glances around and notices the rest of the team is gone. They must already be in the limo, the impatient bastards. The genius sighs and follows Steve through the lobby.
Tony steps out of the hotel and immediately freezes, glancing around nervously. His hair is standing on edge and he's breaking out into a nervous sweat, his stomach clenching with unease. He feels a gentle hand lightly touch his back.
"Tony?" Steve asks quietly trying not to startle the other man further. His voice is filled with worry.
The engineer takes a shaky breath. "Do you ever feel like you're being watched?"
Steve rubs his hand in a comforting way on Tony's back. "You think . . .?"
Tony shakes his head. "I'm sure it's nothing. Let's—Let's just go."
"Alright," the blond answers, pulling Tony closer to his body. He leads him to the limo, where the rest of the Avengers are waiting.
"Sir . . . sir?"
Tony groans unhappily and opens his eyes before immediately closing them again. "JARVIS, what?" He yawns and opens his eyes again, blinking rapidly to keep them open. He feels steady puffs of breath against the back of his neck and soft snores, which show that Steve wasn't awoken by JARVIS—that bastard. The engineer shifts slightly and feels the soldier's arms tighten around his waist, which makes him smile sleepily. "Yeah, what's up?"
"Director Fury is on the line. He said he's tried calling your phone several times with no answer."
That's because the first thing Tony did when he came home was take his pants off and hop into bed with Steve. The genius smiles to himself and says, "Put him through."
"Stark?" Fury's begins annoyed, his voice the only sound in the silent room.
Tony rolls his eyes. Fury hasn't contacted them personally (he gives the team orders through Coulson and Hill) since the Skull attacked two months ago and now all the sudden he wants to have a conversation at—Tony checks his clock—five in the morning. What is it with Shield agents and calling him so fucking early? "What the hell do you want?"
Silence. "I'm gonna let that comment slide since it's early and I really don't want to get into an argument right now."
Tony puffs out his cheeks. "Then, spill it already."
"Assemble your team and get to headquarters immediately. We figured it out."
The brunet's eyes widened. "You mean . . ."
"Hell yeah, I do," Fury says, with a smirk. "We know what that bastard Skull is planning."
A/N: One of the most important lines for the series was said in this chapter, whoo! Hmm, wonder what Skull is up to? I guess we'll find out next time! Until then, stay awesome!