Title: Timelines
Author: Quietshade
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Eventual Steve/Tony, Tony/Pepper, past Steve/Peggy, Howard/Maria, Clint/Natasha, Thor/Jane.
Universe: Movieverse (Earth-199999)
Beta: Doomsymphony (Saixkosmos)
Warning: Slash, M/M, Strong Language, World War II topics.
Disclaimer: All Marvel characters and reference belong to them not to me.
Summary: Tony is a man of the future who can't manage to accept his past and Steve is a man of the past who have a hard time accepting his future because of this they understand each other and help one another come in terms with their times.
AN: I'm actually ashamed of it taking me so long to finish this, but what can I say, things happen. Well this chapter is painfully long to the point I called it the endless chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway, and not to ruin it but I left a little surprise at the end. ;D again enjoy it.
Timelines
Chapter six
"Morning sir. Today at eight am the weather is fifty degrees, clear sky, North winds at six Mph and a humidity of 48 percent." He groaned and rolled to his side as JARVIS let the daylight enter the room. He grabbed his pillow and buried his head beneath it. "Also sir, you have an incoming call from misses Potts."
"Connect her and for god's sake obscures the windows." He mumbled from under the pillow, bringing it closer to his head in a vain attempt to keep the light from reaching his eyes.
He didn't move at all until he heard someone chuckled and he peeked from under the pillow to find Pepper's face on the holographic screen in the middle of the now not so bright room.
"Morning sleepy head." He threw the pillow to his side and sat slowly, yawning all the way up. He rested his head on the headboard and looked up to Pepper's image.
"Morning Pep." His voice was muffled with sleep and he covered his mouth with his hand as another yawn escaped him. Pepper smiled at him, her smile somehow sad.
"Jarvis told me you were feeling better. Did you stay awake until late again?" There was a hint of accusation mixed with bare worry in her tone.
"Not really, Steve dragged me to bed." She nodded at that, some relief evident in her face.
"Thanks god for the man. How are you feeling? You look tired" He did felt tired, which probably meant that the flu wasn't completely out of his system yet. Even so Pepper didn't need to know that.
"Just a little bit sleepy, but hey I can run again." Pepper's smile widened.
"That's great Tony. I was beginning to think that you would make me go there in order to have you rest." He smiled sheepishly acknowledging the true in her word.
"Well, don't worry. Jarvis and Steve are quite good at that." He paused for a moment remembering why he had wanted to talk to Pepper in the first place. "Hey Pepper, I need to ask you a favor."
"I'm not sticking my hand on your chest ever again." She deadpanned with frown and a smile that said she trusted he wouldn't ask her to repeat the action. It almost made Tony smile.
"Yeah you put that clear last time, this is a different task." She nodded lightly and Tony saw her bit at her lower lip for a second, she tried to hide it but there was a hint of fear in her. "I need you to search and send me every bit of information we have about my dad on Stark industries, every bill, meeting schedule, reports, anything related to him."
She looked unsure for a moment. She was clearly expecting something else when he had asked her for a favor.
"Ok, I can do that. Are you searching for anything specific?" He thought about it for a moment.
Projects and reports would be extremely helpful but he doubted that Howard had left anything valuable on SI. What he was looking for was something that most people would pass as insignificant, a clue to something bigger.
"No, just give me everything you find." She nodded again with a small frown
"Why the sudden interest on your dad? Is something happening?" Concern was written all over her face and Tony looked away, partially because he couldn't stand her anxious gaze and partially because he wouldn't be able to lie if he looked at her in the eyes.
"Everything is alright, I'm just checking to do some clearance." She bit her lips again and by the look she gave him, he could tell she wasn't buying it.
"What aren't you telling me Tony?" There was some kind of bitter resignation in her voice that made Tony want to grimace.
"Nothing, everything is going smooth here. What about you? How is the company doing?" He tried his best change the subject but Pepper's face remained impassive.
She sighed in clear defeat. "I'm fine. The company is doing great, Mr. Fujikawa signed the contract and the stocks are at their highest point since the close up of the weapon manufacture." she gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"It's about time they started trusting you. After all you are a better CEO than me." The only reason why he had been a good CEO was because Pepper had been his assistant.
"I agree. You were a horrible CEO." Finally there was amusement in her tone and her eyes.
"In my defense, I do hate boring stuff and the company somehow managed to stand." She shook her head slightly in disbelieve, but there was a shy smile on her lips, a true smile.
"I still wonder how it survived."
"That's probably because I'm awesome." He joked, but they both knew that it was because of her, Rhodey and Stane, even if he had a hard time admitting the last one. "Anyways shouldn't you be visiting your not really sick boyfriend soon?"
"Should I?" She asked in a playful tone and raised an eyebrow at his question.
"Well I think he would appreciate it." He answered in an equal playful tone and she bit her lips trying really hard to hide a smile.
"I might do space on my schedule for next week if he promise to behave." He looked up with a small frown and rubbed his goatee looking as if he was thinking really hard about it.
"I think he would try to behave." Pepper finally allowed a smile slip.
"Fair enough." She looked down at her watch and frowned slightly. "I'm almost running late for a meeting."
"Is ok, we can talk later." She nodded at him and gave him one of those hearts melting smile that she reserved for him.
"I'm glad you worked things out with Captain America, take care and try not to give the man much trouble." With that the hologram faded to nothing and Tony looked up to the ceiling, deciding whether he should go back to sleep or go down to the workshop.
There were many things in his mind and his little time out of function had made a lot of work to pile on his desk, and yet he couldn't think of working at the moment, there was something in particular that was nagging him.
Steve had said that Peggy told him some things about his dad. He was downright curious about what the old lady had told him and he was aware that she could have given him a crucial piece to the puzzle they had in hand but without the right information it would pass as unimportant to the soldier.
Maybe he should look for the man and see if she had given him any useful information.
He stood from the bed, deciding to look for the soldier. He grabbed some sweatpants and a white T-shirt from his dresser and made his way downstairs to the kitchen.
He heard some voices coming from the kitchen as he neared it. He knew that Jarvis, Thor and Steve were morning persons and he had expected to find some commotion on the kitchen but the strange thing was that while one of the voices clearly belonged to Thor, the other one didn't belong to Steve or Jarvis.
He wasn't surprised at all to find Clint sitting on the breakfast bar, nonetheless he was quite surprised to find Bruce sitting next to him, moreover when he realized that both men were in undergarments and happily eating some pancakes that Jarvis diligently cooked for them.
Thor who was beside Barton noticed the engineer and smiled charmingly at him, with one of the gentle smiles that seemed misplaced with his rough physic.
"Anthony, my friend is good to see thou awake." The blond god walked to him and patted Tony's back with enough strength to make him take a step forward and lose the breath for a moment. He would need to talk to Thor about his strength and personal space.
"Uh, yeah is good to be healthy again." He looked up at Thor for a split second and then his gaze fell back onto the two men sitting on the breakfast bar.
"Hey, the sleeping beauty is back from dreamland." Clint teased and Bruce looked up at him without much interest.
Tony continued staring at them, his mind still going over the fact that Barton and Banner were having breakfast in his kitchen, whiles in underwear.
It was indeed too early for him to be up without coffee.
"Good morning Master Tony, I'm glad to see you're feeling better." The English man passed the engineer a big cup of freshly brew coffee and he smiled at the old butler. He would argue with anyone that says the man was not a telepath and he had to admit that he loved Jarvis's seemingly ability to read minds.
He breathed in the scent of the black beverage and smiled fondly before taking a big gulp of the drink, it was perfect and it reminded him how much he had missed Jarvis's coffee before.
"God, you look as if you were making out with that mug." Tony glared at the archer as he sat on one of the empty stools.
"Let me get this clear." He took another gulp of his coffee and sighed in content before he looked at Clint again. "Why are you two having breakfast in my house while in underwear? And if the answer is in anyway related to sex I don't want to hear it." Clint looked disgusted whiles Bruce looked plainly embarrassed as he slipped his face on his hand and mumbled something that Tony couldn't quite understand.
"Man can you stop making sex innuendos before you scar one of us for life?" Clint thrust his finger on the engineer chest, trying to look menacing but Tony just arched an eyebrow, still waiting for his answer. "Hey wait… you really don't know what we are doing here?"
"I did ask, didn't I?" To Tony's surprise Both Clint and Bruce tensed at that, and suddenly there was a strong hand on his shoulder. He looked up to meet Thor's anxious gaze.
"Are thou trying to say that they did not announce that they were to be staying at your mortal palace?" Tony frowned and shook his head. He didn't remember anyone saying anything about Clint or Bruce.
"Well, yeah we are moving in, you see Fury kind of kicked us out." He looked at Clint, who had his arm crossed looking a little bit uncomfortable.
"You pissed off Fury enough for him to kick you out. That's a record even for me." The three of them looked haunted for a moment and Tony swore to get the story from one of them later.
Suddenly he realized something horrible. He knew better than believing that Fury, as pissed as he could be would leave those two alone on their own, which meant that Natasha or Coulson wouldn't be far behind. "Please tell me you are the only ones moving in."
"As far as I know, yes we are." Clint was giving him a curious look that probably meant he believed that Tony was going crazy.
"You sure there's no agent Romanoff or agent Coulson hiding in my closet with a Taser?" Not that he believed that Natasha needed a Taser to immobilize him.
Clint smile teasingly at him and shook his head. "So you are okay with us moving in?"
Tony looked at them with a little frown and his lips pressed together in a thin line. "It's not as if I'll kick you out when you are in need of a place." He turned his gaze away from them and looked at Jarvis instead. "Be sure to give them the house's rule."
"I already did, sir." He cracked a smile at that, Jarvis was always so thoughtful.
"Great, thanks Jarvis. By any chance do you know where Steve is?" Jarvis stopped washing the dishes to look at Tony.
"I believe he left the house about an hour ago, sir." The old butler answered as he glanced at Bruce.
"He said he had some errands to run and would return later today." Bruce added as he poked his pancakes with his fork, not looking hungry at all.
Well he would have to deal with Steve later.
He felt a strong and heavy arm settle around his shoulders as he was pulled toward Thor's chest. He was certainly going to have a talk with Thor about his strength and personal space.
"Now my friends everything is at its rightful place, we should indulge and enjoy our time with each other." Thor sounded ablaze, reaching for Clint with his free arm and the archer tried to dodge him but the deity was faster than him.
Tony patted his arm lightly but strong enough to get his attention. "Maybe another time buddy, I have some things to do." He removed Thor's arm from his shoulders and patted it in comfort when he saw the disappointment in his eyes.
It was always hard to decline to the blond god's offers, as he always had this look that made Tony want to give in.
"It is a shame that thou cannot join us my friend." The blond smiled at him and moved to grab Bruce, who tried to shy away from him with no success. "We will enjoy in thy instead."
"Actually, can I have a word with you Bruce?" Bruce looked relieved as he disentangled himself from the god's awkward hug and Clint sent them a pleading look which both effectively ignored.
"Of course, how can I be of service?" The engineer took a hold of his arm and dragged him out of the others' hearing range, behind them Thor talked enthusiastically about all the events he had planned for the day.
"Let's go down to my workshop, there's something I want to show you." He pointed to the elevator and Bruce looked unsure for a moment.
"Can I go change first?" Tony smiled and nodded lightly, looking at the man's boxer and t-shirt, which hung a little bit loose on him, making Tony wonder if he was feeding himself well.
"Of course, take your time." He turned around to leave, walking toward the elevator. "I'll be waiting for you there."
"Hey Tony, what is this about?" Tony looked at him over his shoulder and grinned widely. Bruce was looking at him deeply as if he was searching for something on the engineer's gaze.
"Multi-dimensions and wormholes." Tony's grin widened as a spark of interest crossed Bruce's eyes.
When he leaved the mansion earlier that day, he had gone running in order to dissipate his mind and spend some time alone, after all there was so much going on those days. He was still thinking about everything Tony had said the night before, mainly about the probability of Schmidt still being alive. He hadn't known how to take it at first but after thinking deeply about it he started to question his sacrifice.
Had it been worth it to follow Schmidt into that plane? It helped win the war and that probably made it be worth it.
Still he couldn't help but think: what if he had let Schmidt scape and then capture him somewhere else? Maybe then he would have remained in his time and everything would be much easier. The more he thought about those things the more frustrated he grew about it.
In the end what was supposed to be a relaxing run around central park, turned into a frustrating way to spend time thinking about discouraging thoughts, which led him to a probably worse idea. Somewhere along his thinking he grew nostalgic and it occurred to him that paying a visit to his old neighborhood would cheer him.
It didn't, in reality it made him feel worse.
The buildings were almost the same but the feeling wasn't, everything felt wrong. How the people were dressed, the modern cars coursing the streets, the flashy sings outside the business and shops, the kids that were walking around with complex gadgets in hands instead of running around playing on the streets. All it did was make him realize even more that this wasn't his time, that he was misplaced.
Nonetheless he walked around the neighborhood out of curiosity and found a shop or two that hadn't changed much after all the time. He had wandered inside, in hopes of finding someone or something familiar but instead found a bunch of new faces running the place and an interior that had changed too much over the years. Yet there was this one shop where he found someone who was not familiar, but was in a way related to him.
It was an old bakery that he remembered visiting often in his childhood. The owners had been a kind elderly couple which he remembered used to give Bucky and him bread, a kind gesture in a time of need. Gesture that he grew to appreciate more as the time passed.
He knew he wouldn't find the elderly couple when he entered but he hoped to find at least something vaguely familiar in there. He was surprised when he was greeted by a wall full of old picture of his time. It turned out that the bakery was now in charge of one of the couple's grandsons and he liked to keep the past of the neighborhood alive.
Steve stood in front of the wall looking at the photos for a while, taking his time to look at each one carefully. They were mostly about big events that had happened on the neighborhood and he remembered the day were most of them were taken.
His eyes watered when they landed in a particular photo, one of children playing baseball on the newly inaugurated baseball field. There in all his glory was standing a really young Bucky, who was holding the bat grinning in confidence, behind the fence he could make the faces of his then alive mother and himself, cheering eagerly at Bucky.
He was absolutely tempted to ask the owner if he could keep it and after an hour of talking to the man, hearing about the many things that happened to the neighborhood after he was gone, he summoned the courage to ask for it. He told him that his grandfather was in the photo, and the owner, who apparently inherited his grandparents' kindness, had given him the original photo and kept a copy.
When he returned to the mansion he was somewhat happier than before, still feeling nostalgic but the bitterness of remembering his time had disappeared leaving instead a longing. He had the sudden urge to see Peggy, to show her the photo. After all she would surely like to see his mother and the young version of Bucky and himself. After sometime of looking at it, he leaved the photo in his room and went in search of his teammates.
There was no one in the kitchen, the living room, or the yard and he went downstairs to Tony's workshop, knowing that the engineer was most likely to be there. To his surprise not only was he there, Bruce was accompanying him too.
"Hey guys, where is everyone?" Tony's head turned around so fast that he feared for his neck to break. He pointed his middle finger to Steve, frowning in annoyance.
"You didn't tell me that they were moving in!" Oh. He hadn't forgotten on purpose, is just that he hadn't find the right time to tell him, after all, the man had been sick for the past days.
"I had meant to tell you, I just didn't find the right time." Tony didn't look any happier with that statement and he crossed his arm over his chest, looking like he was sulking.
Bruce on the other hand was quietly looking at them, a week ago he would had say that the short man was looking bored but now, after living a few days with him, he could recognize the amusement in his eyes.
"Jarvis is out shopping. Thor and Clint are in the training room." Bruce answered him and Steve nodded, trying to get a look of whatever they were working on.
"What's that?" He asked as he pointed to the tablet pc sitting on the table in front of Tony, said tablet was projecting some kind of graphic.
"This is a graphic of the fluctuation of energy released by a Vibranium atom when accelerated." Tony said proudly and Bruce looked at the genius then at Steve.
"We have been working on some of Tony's theories. He showed me a handful of interesting theories about multiple universes and now we are trying to figure out the physic behind the Arc Reactor." Bruce's tone was neutral but there was excitement evident on the back of his eyes. He was probably as excited as Tony looked.
"Vibranium, as in my shield?" Tony nodded as he tapped the tablet and moments later an image of an atom appeared.
"Last year I succeeded on synthetizing Vibranium to use on the Arc Reactor. I hadn't had the time to further analyze it but Vibranium is proving to be quite an interesting element." Tony looked delighted as if talking about physic and mechanic was the most fascinating thing in the world and it occurred to Steve that in Tony's case it wasn't far from the true.
"Vibranium absorbs energy and stores it in the bonds between the molecules, which we believe is because of a special property of the vibranium atom, also it is able to release the energy it stores." Bruce continued and then looked at Tony who picked it up from where Bruce had left it and the two of them started some kind of scientific conversation between them.
If Steve hadn't been so confused and partially annoyed about it, he would find how easily they fit with each other amusing, endearing even if he pushed it further.
He cleared his throat trying to get the attention of both geniuses but they ignored him. "Hey, guys." Once again he was ignored and he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, this happened to him far too often with Tony. "Guys!"
"What?" Both said at the same time. Tony looked annoyed and Bruce looked plainly curious, Steve sighed and looked down at his watch, it was long past four.
"Did you two eat lunch?" The poker face he received as an answer from both men was expected. "Let's grab something to eat."
The two geniuses looked reluctant for a moment, looking at each other and then at the table in front of them. Steve narrowed his eyes at them and that that seemed to do the trick.
Bruce was the first to stood and he passed by Steve, not looking as excited as before. Tony on the other hand was putting away everything they had been working on. Steve watched Bruce back retreat upstairs and waited patiently for Tony to finish cleaning.
"You told Bruce about the cube? He said something about multiple universes." Steve tried to keep his voice as far from accusation as he could, he was just curious, he wasn't trying to question Tony's judgment.
Tony stopped and shook his head. "I just showed him the theory and equations. I kept the details for myself. It was really easy to work the math with him."
"Figure, you two seems to fit well together." Tony chuckled lowly and continued cleaning,
"The Hulk seems to like Clint better." Steve had noticed that too, Hulk often paired with Clint and Natasha. "On another matter I have a few questions to ask you."
"What is it?" He moved closer to the engineer, trying to get a look at his face and Tony turned to meet him. At least from the look on his face he knew it wasn't anything serious.
"I just want to know what Peggy told you about dad." Tony looked a little anxious, his eyes roaming over Steve's face in search of something, disapproval probably.
"Of course, but I'll tell you later, we better don't keep Bruce waiting." He put his hand on Tony's shoulder and squeezed lightly. The engineer nodded and walked past him, Steve following suit.
When they got to the kitchen Bruce had the fridge door open and his head was partially inside it, Steve smiled at that and so did Tony. Bruce immediately looked up when he realized they were there and Steve noticed that he was frowning lightly.
"We have a problem, now I know why Jarvis went shopping..." Steve ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
"There's no food." Steve finished as he walked to the fridge in order take a peek of the inside from above Bruce's shoulders, it was almost empty.
"Not a problem! We'll just order pizza." Tony said as he got his phone from his pants pocket and Steve suddenly had an idea.
"Tony, wait!" Said man looked up from his phone at the same time he stopped tapping it. "Why don't we go out and get it, it will be a good exercise for your legs."
Tony smiled and nodded, putting his phone back on his pocket. "Sounds like a plan to me." They both looked at Bruce, who shook his head in answer.
"I think I'll pass, I'll wait for you two here." Steve wanted to sigh in frustration. Bruce had a thing about going out as little as possible, like he feared he would hurt someone if he did so.
"Alright, do as you like" Tony said and then he turned around walking toward the stairs. "I'll go change." He said and the soldier noticed that Tony was barefooted and wearing clothes too thin to go out.
Tony came back minutes later, wearing a jacket and some jeans. Steve walked toward the closet, taking his jacket, a scarf and two hats from it. He then walked toward the engineer and put the scarf around his neck and was about to put the hat on his head but he ducked the hat as if it was on fire.
"Ah, ah, ah, I'm not wearing that again." Tony put his hands between the hat and himself. Steve pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. Obviously the engineer didn't care if he was to catch another cold. Steve noticed Bruce smiling in amusement at them in the corner of his eye.
"Come on Tony, you will catch another cold!" He tried again to put the hat on his teammate's head but he ducked and ran to the front door, ignoring Steve's desperate call.
"You two are something else." He looked at Bruce who wasn't even trying to hide his amusement and was smiling broadly. "I didn't think you would fall into being his bodyguard so easily."
Steve shrugged and threw the hat back into the closet. "Someone has to take care of him, it seems he is unable to do so himself." He turned to leave and stopped to look at Bruce over his shoulder. "What do you want on your pizza?"
"Anything will do." He nodded and followed Tony outside.
Just like Steve predicted they hadn't been a minute outside when Tony's face turned red from the cold. He was tempted to run back and grab the hat, but it would probably only made them argue in the cold for a while.
"Let's go through the park, I know a nice place on the other side." Tony said as he tugged at the captain's jacket.
"Alright." He followed his teammate as he walked into the park.
For a while they remained silent as Tony tapped his phone and Steve looked around, but eventually Steve grew bored and then he remembered what Tony told him earlier.
"What did you want to know about my conversation with Peggy?" Tony looked up from his cellphone to Steve with a curious gaze.
"Everything related to my father." The blond haired avenger stopped walking and the engineer imitated him.
"She told me a lot of things about Howard." It still felt weird for him to think of Howard as Tony's father. "How will that help you?"
Tony looked aside, focusing on two children playing on the distance. "I don't know. I'm searching for a clue, something small that he might have left behind."
He started walking again and Tony followed. "Well, it seems Howard wasn't proud of his participation on the Manhattan project."
"He wasn't?" Tony asked clearly surprised, his brows furrowed in disbelieve.
"You thought he was?" Tony looked down at the question, some kind of sorrow evident in his eyes. Steve wondered if Tony was lowering his defenses around him or if he was getting better at reading him.
"Is just that Ob-" He shook his head and Steve let his eyes roam the engineer's face, trying to decipher what he had been about to say. "They always make it sound like something he should be proud of. I just thought he must have been in fact proud of it. Is not like he ever talked to me about work or how he felt about it."
"From what Peggy told me he wasn't fond of doing weapons that could turn on him at any moment." The raven haired avenger grimaced. "He created S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to have a better hold of how his weapons were used."
"He always liked to have control of things." Steve took a good look at his teammate, his semblance had a heavy air of despair.
The way in which Tony was speaking wasn't as if he was talking about Howard but rather as if he was talking about himself. "She said something about Vanko."
The engineer shook his head again. "Skip that, I know enough of him already."
"She talked about your mother too." This seemed to take the genius's interest. "She said Maria was a scientific and they met on a government project."
Once again his companion's eyes widened in surprise. "She was a scientific?" The blond captain stopped walking to look closely at Tony. Just how little did the man know about his parents?
"That's what Peggy said." The shorter man looked away with a frown.
"I didn't know, she never said." At that point Steve was wondering what they had told him.
"Howard was reluctant to marry her, something about not having time for a family." Tony snorted at that, they both knew that Howard had been right about it.
"Did she tell you anything about his work?" Steve looked up recalling everything Peggy had told him.
"I already told you all she said about his work." He didn't feel like it was worth telling Tony about his father's attempt of suicide and the circumstance of his conception. "She does believe that Howard's death is not how they tell it and that Fury knows the true."
The engineer sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Why is it always Fury?" Steve chuckled at that and patted the other man's shoulder in comfort.
"By the way, do you have a plan for us to get a hold of the cube?" Tony smirked widely at that.
"I might have a plan." Steve let a smile slip. Of course, the shorter man must have spent all night formulating plans.
"Care to share?"
The genius engineer scratched his goatee and then shook his head. "Not yet."
"Then when?" he was definitely not pouting at his friend's antics.
Tony's smirk turned into a silly smile. "Later." He tugged again at Steve jacket. "C'mon, let's keep moving before Bruce Hulk out from hunger."
"Alright." And there wasn't any disappointment in his voice.
They started moving again and Steve kept his eyes on the engineer as he went back to tapping his phone. His cheeks and nose were flushed from the cold, and his hair was being messed by the cold autumn's wind, he looked… Steve stopped his train of thoughts and his cheek started burning because of a different reason to the engineer's one.
What was wrong with him those days? It was his Teammate in front of him, Howard's son, someone who could be in theory his son.
Tony seemed to feel his commotion and picked up that exactly moment to look at him. He looked aside as his cheeks burned brighter, not before picking the confusion on the engineer's eyes.
The moment he looked aside his eyes felt onto two figures at the distance and his heart started to beat faster at the same time his eyes widened in some kind of panic and horror. sitting on the far grass to their side were two boys whom he had been too busy staring at Tony to notice before.
They were holding hands and leaning into each other rather intimately. One of them was blushing with shy a smile as the other whispered something into his ear, close enough for his lips to brush against the other's ear.
"You alright cap?" He felt a rush of panic crawl him and he tried to block Tony's gaze from the display.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Tony frowned not really believing him and before the blond could react he grabbed Steve by the arms and took a look at his side.
"Oh, god." Tony's eyes widened comically and Steve felt his panic reach new dimensions. "Please tell me they gave you the gay talk in S.H.I.E.L.D."
Steve blinked confused. "The gay talk?" The engineer groaned in distress.
"I swear Fury is letting me have all the dirty work. World domination is not an excuse to forget telling you that." Steve was still looking confused at the man, he sounded more distressed about Fury not telling him something than at the clearly illegal display the two boys were putting. "Look Steve, you already know that the world has changed a lot since your time."
Tony looked again at the boys and Steve followed his gaze. The boys were looking at them with an inquiring gaze, suddenly the engineer's hand let go of his arms and he took a hasty step away from the blond. Steve swore that Tony's cheek flushed more under the two boys' gazes.
"Let's move before they sue us for harassment or something." He tugged the cuff of his jacket's sleeve and walked away in a hurry. Steve let Tony drag him away but he looked back again at the boys, who were now openly giggling at them.
"What was that about? And what is the gay talk?" Tony's blush had reached his neck and he seemed clearly fraught. If anything that made Steve feels more uneasy, after all it wasn't often that Tony loses his composure.
"Like I said, many things have changed in these past sixty-four years." The shorter man let go of his sleeve and slowed his pace. He didn't look at Steve as he talked, always giving him his back. "What happened in the World War II changed the people one way or another, Steve. They started caring more about their world, and of the many things that changed, homosexual rights were one of them." Tony was clearly distraught, even if his voice betrayed nothing Steve could tell by the tension on his shoulders. "Homosexuality is now to some extend socially accepted and is legal in many countries."
Steve stopped walking once again and licked his lips tentatively before speaking. "You are saying that being a queer is alright now?" he said very slowly, as if he was letting his tongue taste the question.
Tony finally turned around to face him, his expression said nothing but the tension in his posture was still there.
"I'm saying that you won't be prosecuted because of your sexual orientation on some countries. There are still lots of people who won't accept it as socially correct and will discriminate you for it, although there are countries working on anti-discrimination laws for that too." Instinctively the blond soldier looked back towards the boys, even though from that distance he couldn't even make out their silhouettes.
"From what I saw, I'll take it is legal here." Tony nodded slightly, as if he was afraid of admitting it.
"Nationwide since 2003 and same sex marriage is legal in four states now, although I don't think it will be long before it is legal in New York too." Steve's gaze snapped back at Tony in surprise.
"Same sex marriage?" He asked surprised and the engineer flinched so lightly that Steve thought he had imagined it.
"Yeah like Pepper and Natasha getting married." Tony flashed a confident grin which Steve knew was bravado. "Or Clint and Bruce." He snorted and then grimaced. "Or Coulson and Clint… god let's stop before my mind provides something I'll regret." Like you and me? Steve wanted to ask but before he got the chance Tony grunted as if he was in pain. "Too late and I'm sharing because I won't be the only one scarred here. Like Coulson and Fury."
This time it was the blond who grimaced. It wasn't as if he had anything against those two coming together but there was something disturbing about that.
The soldier sighed and then smiled shyly at his teammate. "I know what same sex marriage means, Tony. Is just that, wow, things have indeed changed these years." He looked back to where the boys had been. "I'm glad that some things changed for the best."
There was a moment of silence and Steve turned to look at the self-proclaimed philanthropist and found him staring with slightly widened eyes and two arched eyebrows. The tension that had showed in his stance moments before was all gone.
Steve's cheeks burned lightly under the engineer's intense gaze. "W-what?"
"You had me panicking there. I thought you were about to have a homophobic attack." Tony's voice was full of disbelieve and Steve frowned at his accusation.
"You thought I would support people who discriminated others just because of their sexual preferences?" There was a hint of anger in his voice and Tony flinched more visible this time.
"It was a valid fear, not many people from your time are chilly with those things. You are just an odd exception."
Hadn't he always been one? There was a bitter sense in that question, but he dismissed it and started walking again. He didn't want to find veracity in Tony's threat of Bruce Hulking out from hunger.
He gave it much thought before saying the next thing "I used to have a homosexual friend." He hoped his voice didn't sound as shaking as he felt at the moment. "Arnie, he used to play with Bucky and me all the time when we were kids. We were pretty close and by the time we hit puberty we knew there was something different about him." He paused to look briefly at Tony. Said man was looking attentively at him, waiting patiently for him to continue. "They used to tease him about it and I didn't get why at first, but Bucky did and he tried to protect him from the bullies." He paused again this time to take a breath in order stop his voice from shaking. "They found him with another boy one day and he was taken away… that was the last time we heard of Arnie."
There was a pregnant pause before Tony talked. "I'm sorry." Steve got the feeling that neither of them knew if he was apologizing for thinking Steve was homophobic, for what happened to Arnie or both, but Steve was grateful anyways.
He felt relieved to know that things like that wouldn't happen in his country anymore.
They were finally nearing the pizzeria but there was something that was frustrating Steve and he knew he wouldn't relax until he got it out. "What is your opinion about homosexuality?" He asked after a moment of silent walking and tried not to sound too hopeful.
The engineer shrugged. "I couldn't care less about what people do with their personal life." That wasn't the answer the blond was hoping for but he didn't push the matter.
They bought enough Pizza to feed an army, knowing that by then Clint and Thor would have finished training. A Hulk, a demigod and a super soldier were enough reason for Tony to spend on pizza more money than Steve had ever seen being used in food before in his life.
"We're back!" Tony shouted as he kicked the door shut with one foot.
Clint's head instantly appeared from the kitchen and he smiled cheerfully when he noticed all the pizza's boxes they were carrying.
"I could kiss you guys!" He said as he grabbed half the boxes that Tony was carrying and ran back into the kitchen.
Tony chuckled and followed Clint, the blond super soldier following not far behind him. When they entered the kitchen the archer was already swallowing a mouthful of pizza and Bruce was looking at him with amusement. Tony instantly noticed two unexpected presences in the room, sitting beside Thor. Darcy Lewis and Jane Foster.
"What took you so long?" Bruce asked as he took a slice from pizza, from the already half eaten pizza's box.
Tony glanced momentarily at Steve. The blond had already dropped the boxes on the counter and was taking off his jacket, not looking fazed by the question. "Long line and many pizzas."
Bruce gave him a strange look and Tony got the feeling that he wasn't buying the answer. He wasn't about to tell them that he had just given the gay talk to America's golden boy and that said man was surprisingly fine with it. No he had had enough odd conversations for a day.
He looked at Clint who had to be on his sixth slice already, maybe they had been wrong all along and Clint's superpower was to swallow food like a Hulk.
"Don't eat them all Clint." The archer looked at him a said something with his mouth full of food. Tony shook his head and walked toward Thor and his companions. "Hey girls, long time no see."
Jane and Darcy looked at him and smiled. Darcy was instantly up from her sit and rounding him.
"I can't believe you haven't invited us here before. This place is huge, man you could probably held an army here." Tony smiled at the girl enthusiasm and patted her shoulder affectively.
"You are always welcome here darling." She smiled merrily at him and leaned a little closer into his space.
"Am I welcome to your workshop? Because I'm dying to see the armor closely." He arched his eyebrows at her suggestive tone, he was sure that she was a little too young for him. Not like he would take her offer when he was doing so fine with Pepper.
"Maybe later." He tried his best casual tone, not wanting for any misunderstanding to arise. Darcy pouted at him and went back to her seat with a little hump.
He smiled at Darcy's actions and looked at Thor. "So how was training, buddy?"
"The archer is a formidable adversary." Tony nodded, of course he was. Clint was one of Fury's best agents. "I would be honored to fight thee."
"I'll have JARVIS schedule a training session for us." Thor grinned at that and patted Tony's back eagerly. "Anyways, would you mind if I take your girl for some minutes?"
Jane looked at him suspiciously at the same time Thor shook his head and smiled broadly. "Not at all my friend."
Jane stood from her sit and walked toward him, the suspicious never leaving her gaze. He walked behind the counter, on the far end of the kitchen and she followed.
"What do you want Stark?" He got two soda cans from the fridge and handed her one.
"You were there when Thor landed in earth for the first time, weren't you?" She nodded at him and he continued. "And you registered the event and its energy trace?" She nodded again. "Would you lend me the data?"
She arched an eyebrow at his question. "S.H.I.E.L.D. took everything away." He felt like screaming at the moment. Everything he tried in order to solve the riddle somehow ended in S.H.I.E.L.D. and it was upsetting because he was pretty sure that getting the information from them would be a pain in the ass.
"Come on, you were researching vortex and wormholes for years, you must have a backup, some notes, whatever will work for me." The suspicious look was back on her face, she sipped from her soda before speaking.
"We both know that you aren't interested in astrophysics, so tell me Stark, what do you want with my researches?" He looked around, Clint, Darcy and Thor seemed to be in some kind of eating contest, while Bruce and Steve looked at them disapprovingly.
He leaned closer to Jane. "I have something in my hands, some kind of riddle which I can't solve with my knowledge alone. I believe your researches would help me understand it better."
There was a teasing smile in her lips and pure curiosity in her eyes. "A riddle Tony Stark can't solve. Now I'm interested."
Tony shook his head, almost feeling bad about it. "Sorry, can't share it."
She frowned at him. "What kind of deal is that? You get information while I'm left empty handed." So now they were negotiating, Tony could play that game, he could play it really well.
"If what you want is a fair deal I know a few things that might raise your interest." He said with one of his best business charming smiles.
She was back to looking interested. "And what might that be?"
"I offer to upgrade, customize and even provide all the equipment you need. Just so you know I'm not talking about the Stark Industry's stuff, I'm offering to do all that myself." She smiled delightedly, obviously interested in what he offered.
"Make it that and funds for my researches and you can have everything I know as well as me as a consultant for anything you need." She extended her hand to him and he took it with a grin.
"You got yourself a deal lady." Tony felt accomplished. Jane was an excellent astrophysicist and particle physicist, he was sure that she would help him greatly with the riddle that was the cosmic cube.
The engineer leaned against the counter and then looked at the others avengers. They were still having the eating contest but now Steve was walking toward him with two plates of pizza.
When the blond reached them he handed one plate to Jane and one to Tony. "I feared they wouldn't leave anything for you." He explained and the genius smiled gratefully at him. He was always such a gentleman.
Tony had just taken a bite from his pizza when a loud crash startled them. There was a loud groan which sounded a lot like Bruce hulking out and then something humid hit the side of his face, hard.
The three of them looked stunned at the slice of pizza that had just dropped from the billionaire's face and then looked at their side just in time to see the Hulk grabbing a handful of pizza and throwing it at Clint.
"Food Fight!" Darcy yelled and then hell broke loose.
He felt a strong hand shove him to the ground and in a moment, Steve, Jane, and he were hiding behind the counter.
"Steve, stop them." He hadn't wanted it to sound so much like a whine, but given that he had just been hit with the food he had bought by one of his teammates, he was allowed to whine at his team leader.
Steve sighed as he got a handkerchief from his pocket. "It is your house, you stop them." He grabbed the clean side of the engineer's face with his free hand and tried to clean the mess on the other side of the man's face with the handkerchief.
"You are their team leader! Is your team, stop them." He was frowning now and he was trying to get free from the blond man's grip, but he was holding him steady.
"It is your house and they're your teammates." The man was impossible, there was no way that the Hulk would listen to him, but he didn't believe there was anyone capable of not listening to Captain America.
"Ok let me stop you both before you continue with the why the other is more suitable to stop them argument. Just throw a coin or something it will be faster." Tony blinked at Jane, she got this wide smile of I know something that you don't and Tony was sure that he didn't like it.
Even so he decided to ignore Jane this time. "Steve." He whined and the blond smiled at him.
"Tony." The soldier voice was playful. He was most likely enjoying everything.
"I'm sorry to break it on you but I think they stopped alone." Now they both looked at Jane, realizing that the room was silent.
"They stopped or the Hulk killed them all." Both Steve and Jane glared at him and he shrugged. "I'm just saying."
"Thor wouldn't lose to the hulk" Tony jeered at Jane.
"You say that because he is your boyfriend." Her glare on him intensified and the engineer chuckled. "So who is going to check what happened?"
"Oh no, I'm not going through a "You go. No you go argument" with you two. I'm checking." Jane stood before either of them could argue about it. "Oh." She said as soon as she was up.
Both men glanced at each other in agreement before following Jane. When they stood, everyone was pretty much alive and well, but they were frozen looking at the kitchen entrance where a really upset Jarvis stood.
"Jarvis!" Tony ran to the man gleefully, it was amazing how he had stopped even the Hulk with just a glance.
"Every one of you is going to clean this mess before I decide to take actions in regards of the matter, and when I say everyone, I mean everyone." Jarvis voice was calmed, so calmed that it sent a chill through the engineer and probably all the other room's attendants.
"What? But they were the ones who wouldn't stop and they hit me with a pizza!" He emphasized his point by signaling his stained shirt but the older man shook his head and walked away. "Just great."
He felt as if he was eight again and had just been grounded for blowing the stove.
He turned around and glared at Clint, Darcy and Thor. The three of them were having a fit of laugh, not really troubled by Jarvis imposition.
"Ye mortals have the oddest rituals." Thor grinned as he took a slice of pizza from his hair.
"That's so far the first food fight I ever have with pizza." Darcy was bouncing, sounding really eager about the circumstance. "When are we doing this again?"
"Never." Jane and Tony yelled at the same time. Steve meanwhile was taking the Hulk away from the kitchen.
"Hey, not fair Steve, Jarvis said everyone!" The blond soldier looked back at Tony and smiled lightly.
"He won't help while Hulked, I'll be back with Bruce later." With that they left the kitchen and the engineer was left sulking.
Something wet hit the back of his head and the billionaire cursed. He was going to kill everyone if it was another pizza slice. He turned around to find Barton grinning cockily, holding a wet sponge. Tony looked down to the projectile and found that it wasn't a pizza slice but a sponge similar to the one the archer was holding.
"The best part of all this is the one where we see the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist cleaning." Tony narrowed his eyes at him.
"Shame on you Barton."
No one was surprised when Tony dropped half a cube of soapy water on Clint later.
He was startled by a light noise coming from the door. He blinked a few times trying to get the sleep out of his eyes as he looked toward the door. A sole figure stood there, illuminated only by the blurred glow emanating from his chest and the dimmed light coming from the windows.
The dark haired man was wearing a dark flannel and a pair of sweatpants which he usually wore on his workshop. Also there was a mischievous smile on his lips, one that spoke of many secrets.
"Something wrong Tony?" He asked with a sleep muffled voice. The addressed man brought a finger to his lips, signaling for the man to stay quiet as his smiled widened, becoming somewhat naughtier.
Steve watched silently as his teammate crawled onto the bed, blue eyes met bright brown ones in the dark and he felt enchanted by then, by their brightness and their mystery. He felt his heart skip a beat as the shorter man's body pressed against him and a shiver crawl him.
He breathed in slowly trying to appease his racing heart as the dark haired man leaned closer into his space, close enough for him to feel the faint and hot breath of his friend on his cheek.
"Tony what are you doing?" His voice was deep with arouse and shaky with feelings. The older yet younger man smiled at him, with one of those shy and sad smiles that made him feel ticklish all over his body.
Tony leaned closer and nipped his lower lip, with a gentleness and shyness not proper him. Steve gasped in surprise at the same time his friend's tongue licked his lower lip. He whimpered much to his embarrassment and leaned down to claim the engineer's lips.
Tony tasted just as he thought he would, he tasted of a mix of something expensive, metal, coffee and sweet. It drove Steve insane reminding him of the time when he had kissed the tanned man's forehead, but a hundred times more intense.
He moaned as the devilish tongue of his friend slipped into his mouth and caressed his own. It started a battle for dominance that slowly took away what was left of the blond man's coherence and soon all he could think about was how good the other's mouth felt.
He broke the fierce kiss in favor of caressing the shorter man's neck, biting and sucking every inch of skin there. He smiled proudly when he elicited a desperate moan from the iron avenger. He felt heat crawl his skin fast, and build up below his belly in a frantic way.
He bucked his hips against the dark haired man's thigh, making him shudder in delight. They started a desperate and erratic rhythm as the moans and gasps filled the silence. He grabbed both side of the engineer's face and brought his face forward to start another frantic kiss.
He was already feeling too close to the edge.
"Tony…" He moaned on the other man's mouth and his hand slipped through the engineer's boxers, cupping his ass and bringing it forward in a desperate attempt to increase the friction. He broke the kiss and burrowed his face in the crock of his companion's neck, breathing deeply the man's scent, letting it intoxicated him.
He needed more friction. He needed to touch more skin.
He let go of the engineer's ass and grasped his hips firmly, with all intention of turning the man around, but as soon as he made the motion he felt like falling and then something hard hit his back with enough force to kick the air of his lungs.
He blinked confused and rubbed his eyes, taking in his surroundings. He was lying in the floor just beside his bed, and that didn't make any sense because he was sure that he had been in the middle of the bed.
Slowly he looked up to his bed and found it messed but empty.
A dream.
He let his head fall on the floor and rested his arm on his eyes, fighting the urge to laugh or cry. To add to his dismay he was still painfully hard under his boxer.
"Damn it." He yelled, his voice broken from sleep and piled emotions.
It wasn't as if he hadn't known that he was attracted to men. No he had been aware of it since he had surprised himself wanting to kiss Bucky at twelve, but then it had been totally improper. Not only because it could send him to Jail just like Arni, but because Bucky was his friend, his brother and whenever he thought of Bucky outside of that boundary it made him felt ashamed, as if he had just took advantage of their relationship.
This time it wasn't any more proper than before. Tony was his teammate, the man he was to protect, Howard's son and Ms. Potts Boyfriend. Whether he was allowed to like a man or not now, did not change the fact that it was dreadfully wrong to like Tony.
He muffled a soft and frustrated cry that managed to escape his throat.
It was so unfair, all he had wanted was to serve his country, all he needed was a chance to protect what he believed was right. He was to return victorious from the war and marry the girl that loved him. He had never meant to end in a time were nothing belonged to him, a time in which he wasn't familiar with anything or anyone. Instead he was there longing for a man he should have never met in the first place.
He hiccupped as his eyes begin to fill with warm tears and he bit his lips to mute his cry.
He couldn't see Bucky again, he couldn't have Peggy anymore and he was sinfully yearning for the son of the man who had spent many years and funds searching for his body.
Why did he always reach for things that weren't meant for him? Why did he always end up with weights heavier than what he could carry?
"Damn it!" He yelled more loudly this time, letting his anger fill the empty and cold room.
He was screwed and there was no way for him to run.