fic

[saraid.livejournal.com]

um. let's see if i can remember how to do this again. it's been a while, and lj confuzzles me.

title: Times Two
author: saraid
fandom: Avengers
pairing: Tony/Steve
rating: NC17
word count: 5788
archive: sure, just please tell me where
warnings: sharon bashing?
notes: this was written in an odd style. it's sort of choose-your-own-ending, but i expect that everyone will read both endings, as they're actually fairly similar in content, just different in style and substance. both are sex scenes, both are NC17. they're meant to represent two different ways in which Tony can, and will, give Steve everything he needs -- which will hopefully make sense when you read the story.

most of my recent avengers stuff seems to be set in new avengers, with no evil civil war, but i have an odd group living at the Tower. because these are the characters i feel comfortable writing, though this one is really just steve & tony, with a bit of sharon to start things off.

okay, i'm gonna try to post this. wish me luck.

***
Times Two
***

 

As so often happened, when they had an opportunity to spend a little quiet time together, it was interrupted.

Not the usual sort of interruption; no supervillians or natural disasters. No emergency calls from SHIELD or Stark Industries. No, this time it was just an uninvited guest rather inviting herself.

Just past dinner time and everyone else was out. It didn’t matter where they’d gone or what they were doing, because Steve and Tony had the living room to themselves and a chance to engage in a little illicit snuggling in front of the TV while the stars of Grey’s Anatomy schemed and snarked their way through the newest dvd of episodes — which Tony had bought online because he’d gotten tired of missing them and not knowing what was happening. Steve was perfectly okay with that. So okay that he was really just dozing, lying on his back with Tony half on his chest, his head pillowed on Steve’s shoulder. He’d occasionally offer verbal encouragement to the besieged characters, but more often it was low-voiced commentary on their physical attributes and who should really be sleeping with who.

“— and it’s not like McDreamy belongs with Meredith. He has way more chemistry with McSteamy – I bet that’s why his wife cheated on him, because he had the hots for his best friend –“

“Oh my God!”

The woman’s voice actually took a few seconds to register, Steve was so dozy and comfortable. Tony reacted more quickly; the lights sprang up to full blinding brightness and the TV switched off without a sound.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Steve sat up, an arm going around Tony’s waist so he wouldn’t tumble off the sofa—not that he would have, but Steve was the protective sort and Tony usually didn’t mind – and he stared over the back of the couch at Sharon Carter, who was staring at him with wide eyes and an angry face.

“Good God, Steve, have you lost your mind?!”

“Sharon –“ he started to speak, but Tony was slipping free, rolling off of him and hitting the floor standing. The tee he was wearing – one of Steve’s – was too big for him, it hung off one shoulder, flashing a bit of collarbone that drew Steve’s eyes like a magnet. He loved seeing Tony in his clothes. Far more than he’d ever enjoyed it when Sharon wore them.

“I knew something was up,” she spat. “I could tell, just from the press footage. You looked too damned complacent. I thought, no, he’s fine, Steve wouldn’t do anything stupid, but I thought I should come over and check and this – this is what I find?!”

Tony closed his eyes for a minute and when he opened them they were black. Steve swore silently in his head, getting up himself.

It had taken him months to get Tony comfortable with any kind of pda. Just watching TV and snuggling was a milestone. Now he wouldn’t get a pat on the head outside the bedroom. Unless Tony went way over the line and decided that Steve was going to want Sharon back and nobly sacrifice himself to the cause –

“Yeah, I’m gonna –“ Tony waved a hand vaguely, Extremis already taking over his brain. “The Asian markets will open soon and there’s a lot I need to get done –“

“Tony, wait –“ Steve tried to catch him, but Tony, already ridiculously quick for a human, was almost faster than Steve now, his body reprogrammed by Extremis.

“Just, um, go grab some coffee or something, with Sharon, I’ll be in my office, or down in the workshop, y’know, when – when you get back –“

Shit, shit. Tony needed to sleep. He’d had the hell beaten out of him two days ago. One of the reasons Steve had planned so carefully for this quiet night, so he could get Tony to bed and then to sleep at a decent hour.

“I wanted you to get some sleep tonight,” he blurted, proving once again that he was Mr. Sauvé and Sophisticated. Tony paused in the doorway and looked back at him. His eyes were still black, Steve could see the tiny lines of code that marched over them, but Steve knew Tony was looking at him. “You’re still – tired. From the fight.” He couldn’t say Tony was hurt, because maybe he really wasn’t. Extremis did heal everything. It just seemed to leave Tony more worn out than if he’d healed naturally, sometimes.

Tony tilted his head and the black cleared out, long enough for Steve to see the worry in the dark blue eyes. He was certain Tony hadn’t meant for him to see that.

“I’ll go to bed soon,” he said, like it was a promise. Steve resisted the urge to ask for that, a promise. Tony was a grown man. If he said he’d go to bed, he probably would. If he told Steve he would go to bed the odds were better.

“Thank you,” Steve managed a smile. “I -- I won’t be long.”

“Take as long as you need,” Tony replied, over his shoulder as he left the room.

Steve turned on Sharon.

“What do you think you’re doing, barging in here like that? This is our home.”

“And I thought I was your friend! How could you keep something like this from me, Steve? What the hell are you doing with Tony-fucking-Stark?”

There were cameras all over the Tower. Tony could access any of them with Extremis. Steve was suddenly very sure that this was a fight he did not want to have with Tony watching. Even if Tony didn’t watch Steve didn’t want it available later.

“I happen to be in love with Tony-fucking-Stark, not that it’s any of your business,” he growled at Sharon. “Let’s go get that coffee, okay?”

He took her by the elbow and almost hustled her out of the Tower. Into the elevator and then out on the street. The doorman, Blue, looked disgruntled, as if he could tell Steve was unhappy with him, but he hadn’t done anything wrong. Sharon was on the guest list, there had been no reason not to let her in. That could change, though, Steve thought.

“I want to know what’s going on,” Sharon demanded, yanking her arm free.

“Not yet,” Steve said. “Let’s find some place to sit down.”

“I don’t want to sit down!”

Steve stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned on her.

“Then you can just keep on walking and I’ll take your name off the guest list and we never have to talk about this again.” And I’ll go inside and make sure Tony’s not having a freak-out.

“You’d do that?” Sharon looked…hurt. Not like she was faking it, either, but truly hurt. Steve felt a stab of guilt, and softened his tone.

“Look, I know this was a surprise. I’m willing to sit and talk to you about it, because we are friends. Can we do that?”

She looked away and mumbled her answer.

“Fine, yes, alright.” It wasn’t exactly enthusiastic, but Steve accepted it at face value.

“Thank you,” he said, more quietly.

They walked a few blocks, to an all-night coffee shop he and Tony sometimes visited. It had security cameras, there was nothing Steve could do about that except hope that Tony didn’t use them.

A cup of decaf for him and a mocha latte for Sharon and they were settled at a little round table, hand-painted with blooming pansies in a riot of colors.

They sipped silently, watching the other customers. There were only a few; two elderly men playing checkers, two young men and a young woman, all wearing baggy black clothing and eyeliner and dark lipstick. The boys too. Steve thought they looked…interesting. They might be fun to draw, later. When he and Tony came here Steve usually brought a sketchbook, though he inevitably spent more time doodling pictures of Tony than he did sketching anything else in the vicinity.

“Do you come here with him?” Sharon asked suddenly. She was keeping her voice low, and suddenly Steve was annoyed with her all over again.

“It’s kind of our place,” he said, putting his cup down. “I draw while Tony reads and works and does a million other things at once. It’s relaxing.” He couldn’t help a smile at the thought; Tony Stark was actually pretty good at relaxing, sometimes.

“So how did this start? When did it start?”

He wasn’t sure why she wanted to know. “About four months ago. After that earthquake in Taiwan. It just seemed like…something we’d been building up to.”

A natural progression, he’d told Tony, of their friendship. They’d developed feelings for each other that went beyond those boundaries and Steve had been only happy for it.

“But you’re not gay,” Sharon shook her head. Her hand shook a little and Steve thought she might spill her drink. “And if you’re going to experiment, couldn’t you pick someone better for you than – him?”

Tony-fucking-Stark, Steve heard her not say. He sort of appreciated the effort.

“It’s not that I’m not gay,” he said slowly, because he hadn’t really tried to put it into words before. “I mean, I think I would have noticed that by this point in my life. Tony just – the rules don’t apply to him. I’ve never wanted to – touch – another man, except him. I can’t imagine that I would ever want to.” 

Truly, the thought of holding or kissing or caressing another man kind of left him cold, just as it always had. The thought of doing any and all of those things to Tony made his heart pound eagerly.

“So he did something to you. With Extremis,” Sharon said with certainty. “We can go to Hank, get it checked out. Make it stop and make sure he doesn’t do anything like it again.”

About to take a swallow of coffee, Steve almost did a spit-take. “What?!”

A few drops hit the table, spattering a vivid purple-and-black flower. He grabbed a napkin and wiped them off, silently fuming.

“It’s got to be mind-control or something. Do the others know? Of course they don’t, then they would know he’s done something. We don’t know exactly what Extremis does, if it’s safe, we just have Tony’s word for it.”

“Tony is not mind-controlling me!” Steve just managed to not shout. The Goth kids all looked at him and Sharon, then quickly away again, like they were embarrassed to see them fight. “Jesus, Sharon! We fell in love! It happens!”

“Tony Stark doesn’t fall in love,” she hissed. “He’s a greedy, selfish man who can’t possibly be what you want. I know he has his  good points, but Tony is the kind of guy that takes – he’s not a giver, and I’m sure that applies to sex, too.”

Steve found that he couldn’t even say anything. He just stared at her, dumbfounded by her…her…audacity. She didn’t know Tony at all.

“You’re a man’s man, Steve,” she went on, oblivious. “You like old-fashioned women. Sweet and submissive, you like to take charge wherever you are, and especially in bed. I should know.”

She gave him a feral smile.

“There’s no way in hell Tony Stark can give you what you need.”

Abruptly, Steve stood. He pushed back his chair, both hands flat on the table. It looked like they were sinking into a window-box.

“Okay,” he said, as quietly as he could. Not going to yell at her, he told himself. Someone will sell it to a tabloid and the reporters will swarm us and Tony doesn’t need that kind of attention right now, just as we’re getting comfortable with each other. “Okay.”

Sharon looked pleased with herself. Steve hadn’t realized until this moment how much that expression irritated him. She opened her mouth, probably to congratulate herself, and he held up a hand.

“I’m going to go now,” he said. “I’m going to go home to my – boyfriend, and try to undo the damage you’ve done. I won’t take you off the visitor’s list, but I will expect you to call before you come over ever again. If you can’t observe that common courtesy you won’t be leaving me any choice.”

“Steve?” she looked flabbergasted. “You can’t mean – you can’t – he can’t –“

“Goodnight, Sharon. I’ll talk to you in a few days,” Steve said. He turned and left, walking as quickly as he could without leaving his dignity behind too.

As soon as he was out on the street he began to hurry, breaking into a jog. It felt good to move, it helped relieve the frustration that was building in his chest. He didn’t even listen to see what Sharon did after he left.

He thought about calling Tony, but decided against it. Whatever harm Sharon’s words had caused, he would have to deal with it in person. He hadn’t been gone that long – an hour, maybe. Tony was probably still in his office. He tended to go there and do paperwork when he was really unhappy. True unhappiness kept him out of the garage and away from the things he enjoyed, as Steve knew. Tony made an art form out of punishing himself, and he probably thought he’d screwed up tonight, somehow. Steve would just have to make him see that it was Sharon who’d been in the wrong. Tony had been doing exactly what Steve wanted him to.

***

He entered the Tower with Sharon’s words playing through his mind. Blue wasn’t in sight, he was probably performing some other critical function Steve didn’t understand. What did a doorman do when he wasn’t opening doors? Something he should probably find out. Pepper would know.

How could Sharon say Tony couldn’t give him what he needed? Pacing in the elevator, Steve let himself get angry. What did she know? Sure, they’d been close, very close, but she hadn’t exactly been generous and giving in the bedroom. It had been almost a competition between them. Hot and gratifying, but not the kind of give-and-take Steve thought a healthy relationship needed.

With his thoughts turning on themselves, he stalked the living quarters. He tried the office first, and was pleasantly surprised to find it empty. It took a few minutes to ride the lift down to the workshop, but it was dark and empty as well.

That was pretty strange.

Methodically, he checked the next most likely areas. Tony wasn’t in the gym, or the study, or the library. Steve thought there was a remote chance he had actually gone to bed, as Steve asked, but it was equally possible that he’d left the building. In that case he might have left a note – it was an old-fashioned habit, but most of the residential Avengers did it. They left notes on the fridge. It was kind of fun and made it feel more like a home. Danny sometimes forgot, but Luke ragged on him for it. Peter’s notes were indecipherable, but he did leave them. Logan had even left one or two – consisting of about that many words.

***

(Ending One and Ending Two soon to follow)