Meaningless Conversation
Chapter 2 of 3
They made it through the evening by the skin of their teeth. Steve suspected it was Natasha's doing. She and Tony had disappeared to the restrooms at the same time, and when Tony came back he took his seat next to Pepper and somehow managed to ignore everyone without appearing to do so for the rest of the evening.
That is to say, he rose and mingled with the other honored guests, gave his speech when it was his turn, and completely avoided interacting with everyone save Pepper until it was time to leave. Even that was minimal and looked unpleasant for Pepper.
It was not for lack of trying. Well, Steve tried. Natasha hovered near Pepper most of the evening on the pretense of being her personal assistant. Coulson disappeared. Steve was sure the man had left the ballroom, since he could not blend into this crowd. Coulson looked like a fed no matter how he dressed or who he spoke with. No matter the tux, he would stick out like a sore thumb in a crowd like this. Which meant he had gone somewhere, probably damage control.
Steve made several attempts to talk to Tony. Fury had told Steve—warned him, really—early on that Tony had issues with people. Back when they thought maybe Steve had a snowball's chance in hell of controlling the man behind Iron Man.
"Watch out for the times when he gets to chatting about nothing. He'll do whatever it takes to avoid the heart of the matter. And whatever you do, don't let him start talking," Fury had said. "If you let him get going, he'll march right over you and be gone before you get a word in edgewise."
Steve remembered the advice, not that it had ever done him any good. He had always been a reserved kind of person. He was the super soldier, but Tony could talk. No less than three times did he attempt to approach the billionaire, and three times he was given a close up demonstration of why Tony was such a successful businessman.
"Tony," he would say. Once he got as far as, "Can I—" before Tony had his arm and was pulling him into the group, cheerfully introducing him.
"Congressman Isaacson, I'd like you to meet my good friend Steve Rogers."
"Ladies, I know you all know Captain Rogers."
"The floor recognizes Captain America," was the latest that had left Steve adrift in a crowd of wealthy businessmen with their pretty younger wives. They were immediately entranced, of course. As if he had anything interesting to say when his mind was abuzz with worry for his teammate. Steve hesitated to think friend. He felt he was a friend to Tony, but he was not sure Tony returned the sentiments. The man was impossible to get a true read on. Maybe he just needed to find that file Tony was talking about and read it.
Not until Coulson returned and said it was time to leave was Steve able to create an opportunity to speak with Tony.
It was Tony's intention to separate himself from the group that was his ultimate downfall. Steve was not sure when Tony managed it, but there was another car waiting for him when they left. It was a tiny thing, barely looked like it would hold a person, and the license plate read STARK27.
Steve did not bother listening to whatever Tony was hollering over Coulson and Pepper's protests. He rounded the car, recognizing the little chirp as a sign that the doors were unlocked, and climbed into the passenger side. Tony had been so busy running from the people climbing into the limo behind his car that he did not notice until he shut his own door.
"Jesus Christ!" Tony jerked back against his door, automatically scrabbling as if to try to escape the car. He caught himself and stilled, planting his hands on the steering wheel and fixing Steve with a stern frown. "I don't have time for this, Rogers."
"Make time," Steve retorted. "I just want to talk."
"You can talk to Agent Romanov. She likes you, and she's a lot more attractive."
"I don't want to talk to Natasha. I want to talk to you," Steve glanced out the window. The limousine glided into the traffic past them. "There goes the other car." He raised his eyebrows at Tony. "You wouldn't leave me here without a ride, would you?"
Tony gaped at him, clearly not having expected Steve to be so devious. He wasn't really. He was just very determined, and Tony had cornered himself in a car where Steve could get at him one-on-one, which was much more comfortable for the former WWII soldier. Tony was a performer. Intimacy of any sort seemed to just make him uncomfortable. Even this small level of it.
"Boy from Brooklyn doesn't know how to hail a taxi?" Tony mocked.
"Is it so hard to talk?" Steve asked.
"You know what? You can drive yourself home." Tony tossed the keys into Steve's lap and reached for the door. "I'll call a cab."
Steve caught Tony's wrist, effectively halting the man's escape. His hands had never been small, and they were large enough to completely wrap around the narrow-boned wrist, and he recalled again his initial protest of Tony being on the Avengers team. In the Iron Man suit he was unbelievable. Without the armor, Tony Stark was actually very frail. He had no real physical training. Steve was certain Coulson could take him down without much trouble. Even Banner was an effective fighter without the aid of the Hulk.
Tony froze, gaze honing in on Steve's hand on his arm. He did not try to pull away, which Steve thought was odd, but maybe Tony just realized how ineffectual any struggling would be. In a test of strength, there was no contest. Steve had all the cards.
"Will you just talk to me?" Steve asked gently. Brown eyes lifted, icy cold with a fury Steve could not recall seeing before from this man.
"Why?" Tony asked, voice silky soft. He was cautioning Steve to back off, but Steve had never been good at listening to warnings. "You planning on doing something, or did you just want to hold my hand?"
Steve wondered if he should listen to the warning bells that jangled away inside his head.
"I want you not to run away."
"So you thought it was a good idea to grab me." Tony made a fist, testing the grip, and relaxed when Steve did not let go. He thought maybe he should, but then Tony would just bolt, and Steve was pretty sure it was undignified to tackle the billionaire to the pavement when it was about time for the other guests of the dinner party to leave. They had left the event in good standing after all.
"It's doing the job," Steve said finally.
"Yeah." The expression behind Tony's eyes was changing, flashing so quickly between emotions that Steve could not get a read on him. The rest of the man's face was utterly still, and now even the eyes were defeating Steve. "It always does."
Steve frowned. That was not the kind of reply he had expected.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked flatly.
"What do you think?" Tony yanked hard suddenly, grunting when Steve's hand barely moved. "Let go."
"Or else what?" Steve challenged.
"Just let go."
"I just want to talk."
"We can talk." Tony grabbed at Steve's hand with his free one, actually prying at the fingers. Steve identified the emotion this time, and that was fear in Tony's eyes. "Just get the fuck off of me!"
Steve released his wrist, startled by the way Tony's voice cracked and how the man fell back against the door in his attempt to pull as far from Steve as he could within the confines of the small vehicle.
"Goddamn it!" Tony struck the wheel hard enough to hurt. Steve really hoped the man didn't sprain anything in the process. "Are you completely dense? I expect this from Pepper, but… Jesus, Rogers!"
"I'm sorry," Steve wished he knew what Tony was talking about. The man was obviously in pain, and it was not because of his wrist, but that was all Steve could see. "I wasn't trying to hurt you."
"You were watching me all fucking night!" Tony snarled. Steve was struck by how vulgar Tony got when he was truly angry. "You all were! So what hare-brained idea planted itself in your psyche that made it seem like I would want anyone touching me after I had that asshole pawing at me all through dinner?"
Steve's jaw dropped, and yes, it suddenly clicked into place. He had not made the connection because, well, Roland was a man and Tony was a man. If Tony had been a woman, he would have been all over that situation long before they got to dessert. He would have seen the harassment for what it was. He would have known. But he was still unaccustomed to this behavior that was now considered normal when once it might have gotten a man shot in the street.
Actually, right now Steve felt that it might be appropriate for Roland to be shot. Not killed, of course, but maybe maimed. A bullet to that beefy part of his leg where it would hurt like a bitch but not cause too much permanent damage.
Steve realized Tony was actually still talking—ranting, really—and he immediately felt guilty. He really should have known. Then perhaps he would not have frightened Tony so badly. But he had. He was sure of it. This was Tony, talking off the remnants of honest terror.
"…no, you're Captain fucking America! Protector of the weak, defender of the goddamn American way! As you've already pointed out, I don't have super soldier serum backing me up!" Tony continued. "Why the hell do you think I built the suit?"
Steve did not know everything, but he knew Iron Man had stemmed from an incident overseas. Tony had built a suit of armor and destroyed the enemy base around him singlehandedly. The story had been so impressive (because really, what kind of man could take out a hundred gun-wielding men alone?) that Steve had failed to think about what drove Tony to do it in the first place.
"Tony," he murmured.
"Supposedly you know what it's like not to be the biggest guy in the room." Once on a roll, Tony really was difficult to shut up. "I mean, I know it was seventy years ago, but to be fair you spent most of those years in suspended animation, so it shouldn't be much more than a few years, right? You remember that. And Thor. Standing around that guy will give anyone a complex."
"Tony, stop." Steve was not a touchy-feely kind of guy, but in this instance he was willing to make an exception. Their location made it difficult. The car was small with bucket seats, the gear shift between them, but Steve did not care. He grabbed Tony's jacket and dragged the man forward, consciously making the effort to hug—not crush—the smaller man to his chest.
"Holy shit." Tony struggled out of surprise, then went rigid, his breath harsh in Steve's ear. Steve wasn't trying to scare him, so he relaxed his grip, pushing Tony back to hold him at arm's length. Tony looked at him like he was two parts crazy, one part insane, and another part potentially very dangerous, but at least he kept his mouth shut.
"Tony, I'm sorry," Steve said. "If I had realized what was going on, I never would have allowed it to continue."
Tony stared at him a good while longer before pinching his lips and nodding sharply.
"Great," he declared. "That's great. Really big of you. It's none of your business, Cap."
"You're my friend, Tony," Steve said firmly, and there. He had said it. He made it known, and he hoped to God Tony would accept it. "I'm making it my business. You shouldn't have to deal with these things alone."
Obviously Tony was not accustomed to people helping him. Fury had said the man was dangerously independent, unwilling to rely on anyone aside from himself. There was probably a reason for it.
Steve finally released Tony when the man eased away and reached for the steering wheel. He seemed to recall what he had done with the keys a moment later and sighed, falling back against the headrest.
"What do you want from me?" Tony muttered.
"Tell me what he did," Steve replied. He met Tony's incredulous stare with steady confidence. This had to be done. Tony needed it. "You'll feel better if someone else knows."
"Is that a line they fed you in boot camp?" Tony apparently could not give up the sarcasm, no matter the situation.
"I never made it all the way through boot camp," Steve admitted. He lifted his hand, then stopped, let it fall. Tony didn't want anyone touching him, so he would honor that wish now. "I just know people. I know you."
Tony looked at him, steady and calm. Steve was not sure if that was good or bad.
"Give me the keys."
TBC...
It occurs to me that this may not have been clear, but they are currently in Washington, DC.