Authors note: One shot. Tony is female in this. All rights belong to Marvel.
They first met in Germany. Oh, sure, she knew he had been found, but she had been pushing that fact out of her mind from the day she learned it. When Phil showed up at the tower with the Avengers dossier containing him she knew it would be bad, but she wasn't prepared for this. Hell, she wouldn't have stood a chance even with a lifetime of planning. Psyching yourself up to meet the now-living representation of your inferiority complex just wasn't even possible...
He was getting his ass kicked when she first laid eyes on him in the flesh. That made it a little easier to bring him down off the pedestal her father had put him on. Growing up competing with the dead-but-not-dead man your father dedicated his life to saving was daunting. There was something satisfying in knowing that the infamous Captain America wasn't perfect. Not as flawed as her, perhaps, but it was a start. A conciliatory ribbon for last place. Maybe she had never really needed to be perfect, she had just needed to trick Howard into thinking she was. Not that it would do her any good now.
She shook herself out of her thoughts and turned her attention to saving the man in question. Thor showed up, and she didn't have her proudest moment as she fought him, but she held her own. She felt justified in her actions; who was he to fly in and take their prisoner without even a word? Eventually Steve showed, broke it up, and got them and Loki back on the jet.
It all kept going straight downhill from there. She couldn't stop needling the Captain. Sure, he seemed like a total stick in the mud and he was more attractive than he had the right to be, but that's no reason for her to keep harassing the guy, right? Right?
'What's my problem?' She thought.
She distracted herself from that initial confusing interaction between talking to Coulson and seeing Dr. Banner. All of a sudden Mr. Perfect's daunting presence didn't seem so oppressive. Bruce was like a ray of light; here was someone she could focus on science with instead of wondering what her dad would say about seeing Steve Rodgers back from the dead. She could dwell in her wheelhouse, doing what she did best with someone who was on her level. Talking to Banner and the others about Iridium and atomic fusion kept Steve off her mind for a time. Until the poor thing looked so proud of understanding a Wizard of Oz reference that not even her eye roll could keep her heart from breaking just a little. What it must be like for him in this world he had just woken up to? He couldn't possibly understand it yet, not even close. How isolated did he feel? What was it like when she was talking, calling out references left and right? She wondered if he saw her as a mini embodiment of the things he didn't understand; technology and pop culture all wrapped up in one little package. Toni frowned at that. Maybe Steve had every reason in the world not to have a good first impression of her. Maybe she should try to be a little nicer, a little more accepting of his predicament. It's not his fault Howard had a proverbial hard on for him after he crashed into the ocean. He couldn't possibly know that she grew up living in a shadow he didn't even know he had cast. Or that her father had searched for him so desperately that he had no time for his wife, let alone his daughter.
She was able to push him out of her thoughts again when they made it to the lab. She was able to turn her attention to the matters at hand until he just had to show up and chastise her. And for what? Teasing Bruce? Making a joke? She was trying to get the guy comfortable with himself, for Christ sakes! Anyone taking one look at him could tell he felt guilty for everything the Hulk had done. Every bit of terror and destruction he had unconsciously wrought weighed on Bruce until Toni was surprised he could even stand under it. So yeah, she made a joke about it. Maybe if he could laugh at himself he would stop looking like a kicked puppy. Then here comes Steve-fucking-Rodgers, chiding her at Banners expense. She tried changing the topic to Fury in hopes that it would get his mind off whatever his issue was with her. There was definitely something shady about S.H.I.E.L.D.s intentions with the cube. Maybe Steve would unite with her on that and see that there was something else going on here. Maybe there was still hope for them to see eye to eye. She started to tell him about the program she had planted in the bridge before a look of incredulity crossed his face.
'Shit, of course' she thought. 'There's no way mister high and mighty would be okay with hacking...idiot!' How many times can she stick her foot in her mouth? 'Whatever, just get him out of the lab before he gets even more pissed,' she sighed to herself.
"Of the people of this room who is a) wearing a spangle-y outfit and b) not of use?" she asked.
"Just find the cube," he sighed. His face was the very picture of exasperation, but at least he left.
She was shocked when he came back with the weapon right as she started confronting Fury about Phase Two. Who would have thought he was capable of making a rouge move? Hell, who would have thought he would take her concerns seriously? This was good! Maybe he would see that Fury was a problem, maybe there was hope that the whole team could see eye to eye. Everyone was here but Barton, maybe this could work as a perverted 'Avengers' bonding opportunity. Maybe she and Rodgers could get back on the right foot, there had to be some reason her dad liked him and…'wait, what?'
"Hold on, how is this now about me?!" She cried.
"Oh, I'm sorry, isn't everything?" he sneered.
'That fucking asshole!' How did they keep ending up at each other's throats?! Her temper was rising. Everyone's was. Chaos reigned but all she cared about was giving back as good as she got until she noticed Fury piling on Dr. Banner. Maybe it was time to try and diffuse the tension.
"Why shouldn't he blow off a little steam?" She put her hand on Steve's arm as she posed the question to the room with as much innocence as she could fake. He smacked her hand away.
'Well that didn't work,' she thought.
"You know damn well why" he snapped. "Now back off." That did it. Something inside her snapped and she was sick of his attitude. She was the one that was supposed to have a chip on her shoulder here!
"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me," she hissed as she refused to drop her eyes. He wanted a pissing match? She could whip it out as well as any man.
"Big gal in a suit of armor. Take that off and what are you?" His voice was cold.
"Genius, billionaire, playgirl, philanthropist" she countered. She saw Natasha conceded her that point and felt her ego swell a little.
"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you" he bit back, his eyes full of disdain and something close to…disappointment? Disgust? "I've seen the footage, the only thing you really right for is yourself. You're not the one to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."
"I think I would just cut the wire." She countered. At humorless smile graced his face as he glanced at the others.
"Always a way out." His attention turned back to her. "You may not be a threat but you better stop pretending to be a hero" he said. Her eyes flickered as she struggled to keep the emotion off her face. That hurt. His comment and the look in his eyes sliced through her as he struck close to some of her biggest insecurities. She knew she wasn't a hero. Hell, she wasn't even a good person. She was a pessimist, and a drinker. She jumped into bed with just about anyone because she was craved affection. And she hid all that with the mask of a cocky, unapologetic asshole so people wouldn't notice how desperately broken she was. She was a mess pieced together by lies, extravagance and swagger. He had known her for less than a day and had already boiled her down to her worthless core. But she would be damned if she let him know that. She spewed out some line about him being a lab rat before he dared her to put on the suit.
She nearly laughed. He was looking for a fight. Captain America wanted to fight her. The Boy Scout was mad enough that he was willing to hit a "comrade ", if that word could even be applied them. Thor started laughing condescendingly. It broke the tension slightly, and she ran a hand over her face as if trying to wipe the shame from her being. She didn't focus on much of anything until Bruce made the confession that stunned the entire room into silence. Her own personal self-destruction came in the forms of alcohol, sex, and exhaustion but she thought she could understand where he was coming from. No one said a word until Steve told him to put down the scepter right before the locator dinged. She was itching to escape the charged space and all the emotions swirling about.
"I can get there fastest," she said quietly as she began to turn toward the door.
"You're not going alone," Steve said as he grabbed her arm. This time she was the one slapping his hand away.
"You gonna stop me?" she asked. What did he care what happened to her?
"Put on the suit, let's find out" he egged.
"I'm not afraid to hit an old man," she gritted out.
"Put on the suit."
She was going to counter with some stupid quip about good ol' boys beating women when an explosion rocked the Heli carrier, knocking them all off their feet. Some unknown part of him landed on her hip and she felt a jolt of pain. He hurried off her, glancing her way before telling her to suit up again, this time with a markedly different tone. His hand burned her side like a brand as they both struggled to their feet and he guided her toward the hall to investigate the attack.
'Game on, Loki.'