Chapter 11: Wolverine and the wolf

At some point Tony had completely forgot about why Steve and him had been brought together in the first place. He faintly remembered something about pissing Fury off, and a conversation in a livingroom foggy by cannabis-smoke. Since then an appreciative look at Steve's well sculpted behind had turned into a sexual obsession and that had again turned into something completely different. Tony had accepted that he now was in love. And even though Steve still wouldn't label them as a couple, and still wouldn't go all the way with him, Tony was happy. He had completely forgot about all his worries. It felt like childhood, but a much better one that the pretty crappy one he had already had had. One with more saving the world, booze and shower duets with his childhood idol. It was awesome. But then one day Steve was gone.

Tony waited in two weeks without knowing where his freedom boy had gone. He had grown a little worried even though Fury had assured them that he was just on a super secret solo mission.

And then suddenly one day Steve walked into Tony's workshop. Tony had made a girly screech of shock because Steve looked like an incarnation of the cruelness of war and death. The bright colors of his uniform was muted by a layer of dust and mud and he looked like he hadn't slept for days. His shield fell out of his hands and hit the floor with a clank. Tony noticed that it was smeared by something that looked like dried blood. Steve looked at Tony with dazed eyes.

"He made me do it again," he whispered with a hoarse voice. Tony literally dropped what he had in his hands, even though he had used hours on screwing it together, and ran towards him wrapping him in a tight embrace. How could he have forgot about this?

Steve didn't say anymore the rest of the day. Tony washed the layers of dust and blood of his body. Luckily Steve wasn't physically hurt. He then dressed him in sweatpants and a t-shirt and led him back to bed where he wrapped his arms around him in a protective way.

"I will figure this out. A way to free you from Fury's gripp, and until then I will make you forget about this and make you feel happy. I promise you that," he whispered and kissed the top of Steve's head. Steve didn't reply, but he hugged Tony back, a little too tightly and buried his face in the crook of Tony's neck. At some point they both fell asleep.

Next morning Steve acted like nothing had happened. He got up and made breakfast for everyone. Not the unbearable healthy kind, but more like a greasy full english. The rest of the team had missed him almost as much as Tony had, and he was almost drowned in hugs. When they asked about his mission he just brushed them off by saying it was top secret stuff, but that it had sucked, and that Fury was a bitch. He really had become quite fond of that word. He then quickly changed the topic again, by asking everyone what they had been up to. No one suspected that anything was wrong.

Tony didn't know what to do. He really felt awkward about the whole feelings thing, and had always been the person to bottle things up and then abreact with the help of sex, drugs (more like booze. He had never been that into the whole drug-scene) and rock'n'roll. And now he knew that Steve probably felt horrible, and that somehow made him feel horrible too. And that he felt like doing something about it. He just didn't know what. He was great at fixing things but Steve wasn't a thing. He was a young man, barely more than a kid, who had been through a lot of unbelievable things, and was now forced to do the thing he hated the most. Killing people. How the fuck could he make him feel good about that? Tony had promised him that he would think of a solution to the whole 'owned by SHIELD'-thing, but that didn't help on that Fury already had made Steve single handedly kill off two terror cells. Tony wished that it was enough just to take Steve out, make him drink a ridiculously amount of Vodka and dance his frustrations out, but something told him that, that wouldn't go forever.

Tony reached down under the table grabbing Steves hand, lacing their fingers together. He should ask Pepper. She probably knew what to do. She was good at those kinds of things.

"So you're sure you can't tell me what the problem is?" Pepper's voice sounded over the phone.

"No its a secret. Its like... superhero problems... super problems... The point is that he is really sad and he acts like everything is fine, and he is doing a great job. I constantly forget that the problem even exist... But I want him to be happy. I don't know what to do?" Pepper didn't answer right away.

"You should probably ask him if he's okay, offer to listen to him. If you can. You are a terrible listener..."

"Fuck you too, Pepper..."

"... And then let him cry out on your shoulder if he needs to. And then don't worry too much. He's not a kid. He's strong and have probably been through worse."

"Steve?"

"Yes?"

"You know... I would totally listen if you needed to talk about it. I don't want you to go through this alone you know." Steve's face cracked in a smile. A real one. They were standing in the kitchen. Steve was washing dishes even though they had machines for that.

"Don't worry Tony. I'll be fine. I was constantly doing such things under the war. At that time it only felt like I was doing it for a reason. But seriously, I have been through worse. I mean the whole deal with being frozen and waking up to everyone being dead. At least I have you guys as a support now!" Tony's eyes widened as a realisation hit him like a brick.

At that time under Loki's first attack. That time where they had hated each other, Steve had just woken up to everyone he knew being dead. He had been completely alone in the world, and he hadn't even given it a didn't even notice the way Tony had frozen like a statue.

"But seriously! I think I might end up killing that damn cyclops one day! I really feeling like doing something really stupid in public now. Like the whale-thing, only more epic. And it is just the right time! Everyone have forgotten about the Tango-incident I think... Tony? Is there anything wrong?" Tony took a step forward and threw his hands around Steves waist, burying his face in his shoulder.

"I'm such a shitty person," he whispered.

"What? What are you saying?" Tony looked up into Steve's confused gaze.

"I love you." Steve stared at him with wide eyes and open mouth.

"Tony..." he whispered with a slightly trembling voice.

"I-I-I... what the hell?! Don't say things like that. You can't... You just can't" Steve tried to push him away. Not using his strength at all.

"Yes I can! And I do," Tony answered not moving an inch. All the insecurity in his voice was suddenly gone. A smirk even creeped over his lips.

"You don't mean that. Seriously you just broke up with Pepper. You can't already..." For every word Steve said his voice turned more whiney.

"And why did I break up with her?"

"You didn't! She broke up with you!"

"Because I was in love with you," Tony stated calmly.

"No! No your not!... I-I-I... For the love of god!" Steve turned away covering his mouth with a hand.

"Relax Freedom. You don't have to say anything back... It is not like it is a big deal or anyth..."

"IT IS A MAJOR DEAL! Seriously! If this is just something you are making up... I couldn't..." Steve could sense Tony slowly approaching him from behind.

"I am not making it up. Why is it so hard for you to believe me?" The smooth voice whispered into his ear. Steve shivered. It literally felt like his brain was exploding. It was terrifying. All he wanted to do was believe Tony for once, but he just couldn't. Tonys arms once again reached around him from behind.

"Tony please..." Lips were on his neck.

"I just don't see what you would use me for. Lately I just feel like I'm only good for killing and dancing." Tonys hand was slowly sliding up under his t-shirt caressing his abs with feather light touches.

"We both know that's a lie, and I would by the way never use you," he muttered. Steve sighed melting into the touch.

"Thank you. That's nice to know," he whispered. He bit his lip as a cold finger slowly traced his hipbone all the way down to the waistband of his sweatpants.

"I don't think we should be doing this here. Someone might walk in on us." His pleas fell for deaf ears. Tony ignored him and gently sucked down on his neck, making the other man whimper. Steve didn't fight back when Tony's hand found its way down his pants. And then the alarm went off.

"Eew guys seriously? Me and Nat at least keeps it in the bedroom," Clint said.

"At least we were not the only one's who got cockblocked by the alarm," Natasha added. They had both stomped out of their room half naked fighting to pull their shirts back over their heads. Steve's face could probably glow in the dark and he quickly untangled himself.

"Okay... you two saw nothing," he muttered.

"So apparently there's some giant wolf running loose in Brooklyn. We don't know if it is some kind of mutant or are from another world, but it is making a hell of a mess. At the moment Wolverine is fighting it alongside with some spider-kid? But he can't hold it down much longer." Fury's voice sounded over the radio in the chopper. Steve sighed.

"Okay. Giant wolf. I guess we can take care of that."

"Be careful it is a tough beast."

"Yeah sure."

"Good luck... uh yeah. You have to get it alive."
They landed outside a big abandoned warehouse. Judging by the noises, Wolverine was at the moment fighting for his life inside.

"Okay guys! We don't know just how evil this creature is, we just know it is pretty evil!..." Steve was about to start giving orders as a bone shuddering howl resounded from the building. Thor cleared his throat. He was suddenly a bit pale.

"My dear Captain... I know that wolf. That is a dangerous creature. So insidious that it is feared even on Asgard. That, my friends, is Loki's wolf Fenris." Tony was happy that his face was covered by the faceplate. The team would probably had found the way his face lightened up by the mention of Loki, a bit suspect.

"Loki's wolf? So Loki is here too?" Steve asked. He hid his excitement well, Tony thought. But seriously. A wild night out with Loki, was just what they needed.

"I honestly don't know. And I don't know how it got here. It is supposed to be chained at Asgard! But friends! We have to be careful. That creature could be the end to any of us! It's fangs can even kill a god!"

"And Wolverine is fighting it alone..." Steve muttered.

"Hey, the spider-kid is there too," Clint added. Tony could literally see the way the cap-mode was engaged. Steve Rogers cute-factors was immediately replaced by hardcoreness.

"Okay! Thor and Tony, the three of us will run inside the warehouse and try to distract the wolf, while Clint and Natasha will shoot it with as much anesthesia as possible. Bruce will wait outside. If the wolf tries to escape, hulk out and beat the crap out of it..."

"Okay let's do this! LEEEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY JEEEEEENKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIINS!" To Steve's big horror he saw something red and gold fly inside the warehouse. Why did Tony never listen.

"Oh no he just didn't..."

"Yup... He went in by himself..." Clint muttered. Steve sighed. If Fenris didn't get him, the shield would.

"Okay after him! GO! GO! GO!"

The wolfe was terrifying. It was nearly on the size of a truck, eyes red and mouth dripping with froth. And Fury wanted it alive. That guy was a bitch! Steve had never seen anyone as relieved as Wolverine as they ran in and started fighting it along the side of him. He hadn't taken it on alone though. That spider-kid in a skintight red and blue suit, was swinging around shooting some web-thingie at the animal. It didn't have any effect though.

They fought in what felt like hours. Of course the anesthesia didn't work at all. The wolf tried to escape out of the warehouse, and Bruce immediately turned green and chased it down the road while roaring furiously. Steve ran after only to see the two monsters disappear.

"They are heading for the main street!" He barely managed to finish the sentence before he was picked up by a couple of red and gold arms and flying through the air in rocket speed.

"Tony! Don't do that without warning me!" Steve screamed.

"No time! They are people where they are heading! We need to evacuate them as fast as possible!"

Easier said than done. People were panicking and apparently the Fenris vs. Hulk-combo wasn't really that good. They were pretty much destroying everything. Steve was running around trying to get as many people out of the way as possible. It was pure chaos. The rest of the team caught up to them and once again joined in on the fight. The assassins was helping Steve with the evacuation, while wolverine was rodeoing the wolf. The animal was furious by now. But then again it was also being bombarded with hammers, green fists and miniature missiles. The hulk grabbed the giant wolf by it's tail and threw it into a building that slowly started collapsing.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooo my babyyyy!" A young woman in a dark fur coat and black hair in a high ponytail and dropped to her knees, while pointing at the collapsing building.

"Uh cap... I think that was a kindergarten," Clint yelled.

"Son of a gun!" Steve sprinted inside the building grabbing as many kids as possible on the way out before running in again. Hulk and Fenris was still beating the crap out of each other. Seriously did that wolf never pass out?

Steve entered the building again. Everything was dust from powdered concrete and screaming children. He had grabbed at least five kids and was fighting his way out, koffing because of all the dust in the air, when the ceiling started to creak dangerously.

"Well isn't this just my day, today?" Steve muttered as the ceiling cracked and fell towards him. He clenched his eyes shut but nothing happened.

"You're welcome!" Steve opened his eyes. The crumbling rubble had been caught by a thick spiderweb just above his head. Even though his head was covered by the red mask, Steve could still sense the smug grin covering Spidermans face.

"Thanks."

In some miraculous way they managed to get everybody out from the kindergarten only with a broken arm and a concussion here and there. The hulk had finally knocked the wolf out, and it was taken away by some agents.

Tony quickly came out out of the suit. It was a warm day of spring and the heat was killing him. Logan was sitting back against an ambulance with an ice pack pressed to his forehead. He had taken quite a hit when the wolf had thrown him of it's back. He nodded to the inventor with a grin.

"So this was... quite the fight," he mumbled with a voice raw from yelling. Tony nodded.

"You don't say. It is good you were still in New York. Say...? Tired of the x-men?" Wolverine shrugged.

"Cyclops can be a handful sometimes," he muttered. Tony sighed.

"You are not the only one. Steve and I are struggling with the cyclops of our own." At the same time Steve was walking towards them. He was tugging the mask of his face, and ran a hand through his damp locks, and then shaking his head like in some kind of shampoo commercial.

"Did that just happen in slow motion?" Logan muttered.

"He does that often."

"Leeroy Jenkins? What the hell was that about!" Steve yelled to Tony and ran towards him bopping him on the head.

"Seriously I thought that damn wolf would eat you! You suck!"

"It almost did."

"Yeah don't do that ever again!" Tony grinned.

"I can't promise anything. And what about you and the running into a collapsing building-thing? You could have been buried alive!"

"There were kids inside."

"I know, but still."

"The spider-kid saved me."

"Spiderman... It's spiderman for fucks sake." Tony and Steve turned around. The kid was standing, still masked, just behind them. Tony's face cracked in a big, grateful smile. He walked over and shaked the kids hand.

"Tony Stark, I'm a big fan! Thank you for saving my boytoy over there!" He snickered at Steve.

"Bite me!" Spiderman looked from Steve to Tony.

"So is it true? Are you guys... together?" Tony sighed.

"Well not re..."

"Yes! Yes we are!" Tony's eyes widened, but Steve send him a dashing and really contagious smile.

"Damn you Rogers."

Hey guys! Thank you for the reviews. It really made me happy that you are enjoying the story. You guys are awesome! This chapter was a bitch to write, but I hope it turned out allright c:

Landevejsridder