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cap_ironman2013-12-29 02:00 am
Secret Santa: Cold December Night
In general, the Iron Man armour is their most valuable asset in the field, which only makes sense since it's a frankly beautiful piece of technology, if Tony does say so himself. That’s when it’s working, however, and therein lays the catch. The suit now lays at the edge of the cave where him and Steve have settled together. They’ve dragged the emergency supplies out of the Quinjet, and Tony is wrapped up in a hideously orange blanket, expertly not letting his lungs rattle around whatever it is that is going wrong inside of him. It feels suspiciously like cracked or broken ribs, but he can’t be sure without, you know, a doctor. Unfortunately for him, there aren’t many doctors in cold, icy tundras.
“It’s Christmas Eve,” he says for what must be the billionth time. Steve sighs from the other side of the fire they’ve made, but it’s still that good-natured sort of sigh people make when they’re used to his antics, rather than the one where they’re close to reaching the point where they want to punch him in the face. It’s the small mercies his friends give him, really.
“And Jen is the one who’s on a plane right now bringing us more power cells to replace the ones which exploded, so I don’t really think you have any right to complain,” Steve answers coolly. Why they sent the one with the temper is something Tony will never understand. Temper and a family. Well, Bruce. He counts. It could be worse, though. Jen at least likes him. They could have sent Logan.
“Well, I’m cold,” he complains, just to have something to complain about at this point. “I bet she doesn’t have that problem.”
To his credit, Steve’s sigh is still very “Why am I friends with you?” instead of “I am going to throttle you.” Then he gets up and moves to the other side of the fire, settling down beside Tony, at which point he unceremoniously drapes himself and his blanket over him like he’s allowed to just get in Tony’s space like that. Although, given the history of their friendship, that might be his right after all.
Either way, he’s unfairly warm, and Tony, who gets cold too easily, and who hates nothing more than he hates the snow, tucks himself back against the warm length of Steve’s torso. Steve’s face nuzzles into his neck, and then his arms slip around Tony’s ribcage. Tony inhales sharply, biting back the pain whimper that tries to choke its way from his throat, and Steve’s breath huffs over the skin of his neck.
“I knew it,” he says, and he sound exasperated now, a little biting; and Tony half-expects Steve to dig his teeth into the tan skin of his neck, like a wolf scolding pack. Instead, his fingers dig carefully into Tony’s ribcage, ignoring the low hissing sound Tony makes in favour of assessing the damage.
“You are so damn selfish,” Steve half-snaps, digging his fingers in a little too hard. Tony yelps and shoves at Steve’s warm, warm chest, trying to push him back. It’s like trying to push a brick wall, and irrationally that just makes his hackles go up further.
“Selfish? I wanted to keep you from worrying, you prick,” he snaps right back. They always end up like this. There’s all of the moments where they laugh together, the times when Tony can remember feeling comfortable and at ease in Steve’s presence, but their differences are like needles, pricking at the peace between them every time they have some sort of disagreement. They are a pincushion and everything else is needles.
“Fuck you,” is how Steve answers. Tony’s heard Steve swear before. It mostly happens in the field, but every now and then he’ll swear in a private situation. It’s always merited, and is equivalent to Steve lighting a neon “Shut up, Tony” sign.
“You are the most idiotic genius I have ever met in my life,” Steve tells Tony’s shoulderblade, his hands settling just below Tony’s ribs. He gives a gentle squeeze, probably being careful not to hurt Tony’s ribs, and Tony lets himself settle back down. “I mean, honestly. You can come up
with the most radical business plans and inventions, not to mention your skills as both a tactician and a socialite; but you never seem to see the things that are right in front of your nose.”
“You trying to tell me something, Rogers?” Tony asks, nudging Steve with his elbow. He feels like he’s in a soap opera, caught somewhere cold with a serious injury, accompanied only by his handsome best friend. How much cheesier could this get?
“I am,” Steve grouses, sounding extremely unamused by Tony's teasing.
“And were you intending to play twenty questions with me about it until Boxing Day?” Tony prods at Steve again with his elbow. In general, he’s found that teasing and poking fun at Steve is sometimes the best way to get him to just spit out whatever it is he’s biting down on. He’s like a dog with a chew toy about his secrets. He’ll bring you the secret, but if you try and get it from him, it suddenly becomes a game of tug-of-war. Tony used to make the mistake of grabbing and trying to pull, getting wrapped up in the push-pull of their relationship until they degraded to slamming door and shouting at each other from across the mansion. After many, many years of experience, he knows better than that.
“Well, no. I wasn’t going to tell you at all, really, but you’re just so–” Steve cuts himself off, frowning into Tony’s shoulder.
“Handsome? Intelligent? Charming?”
“I was going to go with idiotic and reckless, but yes, those, too.”
Tony laughs. It’s a sharp, mirthful sound that stops as soon as it starts, pain shooting through him as his injured ribs make a solid protest.
“You wound me,” he says, to which Steve replies, “I think you manage that well enough yourself.”
“So what is it?” Tony wheedles. “Come on, Rogers. I wasn’t serious about that Boxing Day thing.”
“Well,” Steve says. He leans into Tony’s body, warm and all-consuming. His breath ghosts hot on the skin of Tony’s throat, and Tony smiles, and lets himself admit that this isn’t the worst Christmas Eve he’s ever had in his life. Steve’s fingers settle comfortably on his belly, and Tony can feel the wicked curve of Steve’s lips as he tells Tony his secret.
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I loved it. I loved their banter specially, the whole relationship, it felt so natural! Hng, you portrayed them wonderfully! Thank you thank you, it's all that I wanted <3
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