And This One's For You

by capsicleironman

Steve Rogers is a writer looking for work in the Bohemian underworld of 1899, Paris. Tony Stark always did know how to charm a crowd, and he'll be moving on to bigger and better things the first chance he gets. Steve is a hopeless romantic; Tony has never believed in love. An Avengers/Moulin Rouge! crossover.

14. Epilogue

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. And then, one not so very special day, Steve went to his typewriter and sat down to write their story.

That last promise guided every word.

Pain was not the sort of the thing that disappeared over night. For years after, Steve could still feel Tony's shaking form in his arms, could still see the blood on his lips; but mostly, he remembered kissing Tony in a crowded room, remembered their fist kiss and their last, remembered the brush of their hands, and the hysterical way Tony laughed too late at night, or the way his eyes lit up with a new idea.

Sometimes, when the story gave him trouble, or the pain became too intense to ignore, Steve remembered what it was like to write—that simple, basic pleasure. He remembered the empowered feeling he could only get when he sat behind his keyboard. He remembered the rush of a crisp white page and Tony stealing it away in order to bring Steve back to bed. He remembered writing by hand, remembered all the ink splotches and stains from where he'd spilled after Tony had snuck up on him from behind, throwing his arms around Steve's waist and kissing behind his ear.

He remembered Clint's laugh and Natasha's smile, which he still saw most days when he visited the Avengers. They were back where they started, writing and performing out of their living room, but they were happier that way. Children of the revolution, they found freedom in their penniless independence. No benefactors to dictate what they could or could not say. No "supporters" to stomp out their creativity. Years later, they'd find success with one of Steve's later plays—a comedy in which Bruce took the leading role—but that was all still to come.

For now, Steve focused on one story and one story alone: theirs. His and Tony's—for with every word, he immortalized what they'd shared. In that way, Tony's smile never had to die—not really. And that pounding in Steve's heart, that fire that kept him going, stayed forever lit.

It was a story about a time, a story about a place, a story about the people. But above all things, it was a story about love.