Drink four.
Unsure of where else he could have gone, Tony ends up having Happy drive him around town for a few hours, while he lays across the back seat. He's worried, upset, and heading toward depressed. Steve will probably hate him forever.
Drink five.
If Steve does hate him, Tony doesn't know what he'll do. Then again, he's already a little drunk, so he might just not know anything in general. He does know, though, that he'd like another glass of this beautiful, amber liquid.
Drink six?
He's given up drinking from a glass in favor of drinking straight from the bottle. While he had stopped drinking in an attempt to better himself for Steve, Tony hadn't actually gotten rid of any of the good stuff. And this is the good stuff.
He finally glances at his watch, and decides that his made-up meeting could be made-up over.
"Mmm back now, 'appy?" He slurs the request to Happy, who eagerly obliges, just glad to be out of the car filled with borderline-toxic fumes.
Tony slides his way out of the car, and stumbles his way to the elevator in the lobby of his building, glad that he's the only one who has access to his private one. Well, him and the other Avengers. But he's alone now, and that's what matters.
The elevator gives a mechanical ding, signaling to Tony that he's reached his destination; the living room. Attached is the kitchen and a full bar. He makes his way to the bar, only bumping into the kitchen table once, and grabs a bottle of good Russian vodka. Nothing like mixing your liquors to truly numb yourself, he figures. He grabs a bottle of Bacardi for later, and collapses on the couch.
About an hour, half a bottle of the vodka, later Tony is thoroughly wasted. As wasted as he can ever remember being in the last year. This is also when he realizes he hasn't seen hide or tail of Steve since he'd gotten home.
"Steeebe?" Tony calls out. "Steeebe? You mm home?"
There's no answer, and Tony gets frustrated. Where is he? He's calling for him, he needs him, and he's not here. He's probably left for good. Which Tony is sure he deserves. He takes another long pull from the bottle, and then throws it as hard as he can at the wall next to the hallway.
All of a sudden, Steve appears in the doorway. Well, it feels like all of a sudden to Tony. He's probably been standing there for a while. Whatever.
"Steeeeeeebe! I mmmissed you!" Tony yells, louder than he thinks he is.
Steve is just staring at him. Why is Steve just staring at him?
"Steebe? Why're you jus starin' at me? S'there something on me?" He glances down at his shirt.
"Tony," Steve says somberly, "What are you doing?"
"I'm waiting for you 'course. Cuz we had said that we'd talk later and now it's lllater, so now we can talk."
"Tony, I don't want to talk to you when you're like this."
"Why's that, Steve?" Tony starts to get defensive. "You jus don' want to talk to me? This is who I was! This is what I was like 'fore you."
"Tony, no," Steve starts to reason, but chokes a little.
"Are you gonna start crying? You can't cry! I'm the one being dumped by the one person in the world I love!" Tony tries to focus on how he's saying his words. He also notices that Steve's eyes are rimmed red, and there are tracks on his face from tears. He just doesn't understand why.
"Tony I, no, what are you talking about?"
"You hate me, and I knew you would. You said you wanted to talk earlier! You're breaking up with me!" Tony screams, and he's never, ever, felt this broken. He feels like he's being torn in half. And he feels powerless to stop it.
Steve stays in Tony's room after Tony leaves. It practically feels like his room anyway. He curls up on himself, and just waits. He doesn't realize it at first, but he's crying. He shifts his head, and his ear and cheek feel that the pillow is wet. He cries harder, and his breathing turns into sobbing. He can't believe Tony can make him this way.
Eventually Steve falls asleep, until he hears a door slam shut. Figuring it's just Thor or Clint, however, he just rolls onto his other side and stares at the wall. It stays pretty much silent for the next hour, until He hears someone calling out.
"Steeebe?" Steve hears the muffled slur. "Steeebe? You mm home?"
Is that Tony? Why does he sound so drunk? He hadn't been more than a little buzzed when he'd fled earlier. He doesn't investigate for a minute, feeling uneasy. He's walking down the hallway when he hears the crash, and sees the explosion of glass fly past the hallway's opening.
He emerges warily, and a minute later, Tony realizes he's standing there.
"Steeeeeeebe! I mmmissed you!" Tony yells, and Steve winces at the volume.
Steve just watches him. He feels uneasy, and almost sickened, by the version of Tony he sees before him. He'd only heard stories and rumors about the former playboy's old ways.
"Steebe? Why're you jus starin' at me? S'there something on me?" Tony looks down at his shirt, and Steve tries to stay calm.
"Tony," Steve says slowly, "What are you doing?"
"I'm waiting for you 'course. Cuz we had said that we'd talk later and now it's lllater, so now we can talk."
Not only can Steve can hear how drunk he is, by his thick and slurred words, he can smell it. The light scent of whiskey has been replaced by the sour smell of an old bar.
"Tony, I don't want to talk to you when you're like this," Steve can't try to reason with Tony when he's like this, they'll just end up hurt.
"Why's that, Steve?" Tony starts to scream. "You jus don' want to talk to me? This is who I was! This is what I was like 'fore you."
"Tony, no," Steve starts to reason, but chokes a little on new tears.
"Are you gonna start crying? You can't cry! I'm the one being dumped by the one person in the world I love!" Tony's speech clear up a bit, and Steve almost can't believe he heard what he heard. Tony loves him?
"Tony I, no, what are you talking about?" Steve also starts to scream, tears welling up in his eyes, his voice constricting.
"You hate me, and I knew you would. You said you wanted to talk earlier! You're breaking up with me!"
Steve can't believe what he's hearing. He can't believe what he's seeing. He can't believe the whole situation. He's been in love with Tony since he woke up, and Tony was there. He didn't believe it at first, he blamed it on confusion. It progressed over time, and he fully accepted it the first time Tony had truly opened up to him. And now? Now, now here he is standing in front of Tony, who is so drunk Steve can't believe he's even still functioning. Now he's hearing Tony profess his own feelings, and the fact that he thinks Steve hates him.
"Tony! Why- why would you say that? Why would you even think that? I've loved you since the first time I saw you. I never even believed in love at first sight, but then there you were!" The words are falling out of his mouth before he even knows what he's saying, but he knows they need to be said. "And I couldn't accept it! I fought you tooth and nail on everything. But then we worked things out. Our relationship improved. Then the best thing in the world happened, and you made my literal dreams come true! I stopped breathing when you asked me to stay that night. I knew from then on I'd never leave you. I'd never let anything happen to you. I have always loved you, Tony. I will always love you. Don't push me away like this. And don't ever think I'll leave you," he finishes pleadingly.
Tony freezes. All movement stops, and Steve just waits. Tony had gotten off the couch, and had been approaching the super soldier carefully, trying not to step on the broken glass, while still staying upright. He's now frozen in front of Steve, and looks so hesitant Steve thinks time might have stopped.
All of a sudden, Tony is grasping him as tightly as he can imagine the drunken genius has the strength for. He can feel Tony sobbing into his shoulder, and he can feel the breaths and shudders wracking Tony's smaller frame. He guides Tony to the couch, and he holds him there.
Eventually Tony has calmed down a little and starts to explain to Steve what has been going on in his mind. He tells him his fears of Steve leaving him, and Steve listens patiently. Tony explains about his past failed platonic, professional, and romantic relationships with his parents, Yinsen, Obi, Pepper, and everyone else he has ever known. How everyone leaves him in some way. Steve knows all of the stories about these people, but he's never thought about the cumulative effect they could have on one man's mind.
He pulls Tony in as close as he can, and kisses his forehead.
"Tony, you asked me to stay once, and I did. If I hadn't wanted to, I wouldn't have. I have no plans of leaving you. I can swear to you, I will never leave you. It's me and you. I love you."
Steve feels Tony sink into him, and he wraps his arms around him. As Tony nods off from the excessive alcohol and exhaustingly emotional afternoon, Steve hears it, as quiet and beautiful as the first "stay," Tony had sleepily uttered.
"I love you, too."
A/N: This is the final real chapter, but I'll be adding an epilogue. I have a few new one-shots I'm working on, including a prequel to "You Sounded Sober When You Told Me To Come Over." I'm thinking about making it a series of college AU stories. We'll see. I also have a few other one-shots I'm working on.
After that, I might do a sequel for this one, since I have some ideas. But I could always use those ideas in another story. Let me know what you think about that. :)