“I don't have to tell you I love you. I fed you pancakes.”
Tony Stark Has a New Lover?
The owner of Stark Industries, billionaire Tony Stark aka Iron Man of the Avengers was seen with a mysterious woman leaving Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Known with his famous parties and his nightlife, Tony Stark was not seen with anyone for months. Now it seems he has a new lover, Tony Stark is back on the field!
Steve put the Daily Bugle harshly on the kitchen table. He fucking saves planets and sacrifices himself for the people all the time and he was “known for his parties”? That wasn’t fair. Steve didn’t actually know if he was angry because of the depiction of Tony in the paper or the fact that Tony was away in Vegas with someone for days. Probably both. He really wanted to go to Vegas and drag Tony back to New York. And he would. But he knew that Tony somehow needed time, he has been through a lot and Steve just made things worse for him.
He called him several times but Tony never picked up and did not call Steve back. This really bothered Steve but he didn’t know what to do. There were no problems in New York recently but Iron Man would be needed here soon. Who was he kidding, he needed Tony.
“You look upset.” Steve almost toppled his cup of tea when he heard her voice.
“Sharon?” He said, surprised. Sharon Carter was leaning against the wall, wearing her SHIELD uniform. “How did you get in here?”
“Wanda let me in. Don’t be alarmed like I am you enemy.”
“No, I am sorry. Of course you are not. I just- didn’t see you for a long time.” Steve said. Sharon looked prettier than ever. Well, she was always beautiful.
“I missed you too.” Sharon smirked.
“I didn’t know you were still working for SHIELD.” Steve said, he knew Sharon and she would never agree to something like the registration act.
“I quitted during Civil War. Joined back when they came to their senses.” She stated, Steve looked relieved.
“So…I assume you are not here just because you missed me?” Steve raised his eyebrows. Sharon and he dated briefly years ago and it was good. Steve was just starting to develop feelings for Tony and that was why he broke up with Sharon. But he really liked her, he always did.
“Well… I came to tell you something.”
“Sharon…we made it very clear that we will not work for-”
“It is not a mission. It is Thor.” Sharon said sharply.
“Thor is dead.” Steve said, recalling the memories with his old friend.
“We thought so. But we are getting vital signs from him.” Sharon said.
“…are you sure?” Steve sat down; this was a lot to take in. He was just starting to get used to the absence of his friend.
“We are. Unless someone possessed the power of Thor, which is highly unlikely.”
“How do we find him? Where is he?”
“That we don’t know. He is so powerful so his signs is scattered all over America. It keeps changing.”
“What do you need from us?” Steve asked, he really wanted to find their friend.
“Nothing you can do. I was hoping maybe Tony would be able to find a way to contact him.”
“Oh. Okay. I will try to let him know.” Steve now had to get him back to New York. How could he do that while Tony was being a prick and not picking up his phone?
“Don’t worry. We will find him.” Sharon smiled warmly. Then she headed for the door.
“Hey, Sharon.” Steve called behind her. “Can I buy you lunch?” Steve didn’t think this through but he just didn’t want to be alone at the moment.
“Sure.” She smirked.
----------------------------
“Yeah, I remember that! You were so cute!” Sharon giggled. It’s been over two hours since they sat in the restaurant, talking about their memories. It was fun and Steve really missed Sharon. She was a good friend.
“We should do this more often, Steve.” She said, reaching for his hand. Well, that was sudden. Steve didn’t know what to do. Steve should be honest with her, he dated her once when he was in love with Tony, and he couldn’t do it to her again.
“Sharon I-”
“You love someone else, I know who it is.” Sharon said.
“Oh. Okay. How?” Steve didn’t actually think she knew it was Tony.
“When we were dating… you kept repeating his name while sleeping almost every night, Steve.” Steve didn’t know he did that.
“Oh…I am sorry.” Steve couldn’t understand why she even talked to him if she knew it.
“I am not angry. I understand. I would like to try again, though.” Steve looked at her, surprised.
“Why?”
“I also love someone but don’t have a chance with them. Maybe we could help each other get over them.” Sharon said. This was the worst and most cliché idea Steve ever heard.
“I am not sure that will work.” Steve said. It seemed like an absurd idea that he would be able to forget Tony. “But I would like to be friends. Again, what is the difference? We would be seeing each other.”
“I would like that.” Sharon smiled. After lunch, they went to the Central Park and enjoyed the beauty of the nice weather.
When Steve returned to the Mansion, he tried calling Tony again, not getting a response as expected. This was so careless of Tony. It was his duty as an Avenger to respond to his team leader’s calls. New York could be in danger, something could come up.
Now he had to go all the way to Las Vegas to find him. He had no idea where he was. He really wished he planted a GPS device on him or something. He called Sharon to go with him and she agreed, so they took one of SHILED’s jets.
When they arrived, Steve had no idea how to find Tony in the madness of Vegas. It was night and it was Vegas. It was impossible. Should he call Xavier to telepathically locate him? No, that would be odd.
“He is in the place called Ghostbar.” Sharon said as she looked at the tablet on her hand.
“How do you even know that?”
“Um, they…have a GPS device planted in him. He doesn’t know it.” Sharon said, hesitating.
“In him?” Steve said angrily. He would be really furious but now it was use to them so he decided to save it for later.
Sharon phoned someone, probably from SHIELD’s base in Vegas, and called for a car. When it arrived, they got in and headed for this Ghostbar place. Steve didn’t like the sound of that name.
They went to the bar. It was very crowded. He followed Sharon upstairs as she knocked on a door. It was a hotel room.
“Sharon…I’m not sure I want to see this.” Steve said, remembering the last time he saw Tony in an inappropriate situation.
“Don’t worry; there is no one with him which is weird.” Sharon shrugged.
“I don’t want any room service.” Tony said from inside, his voice cracking.
“Tony, it is me.” Steve said, wondering what was wrong with him.
Tony stayed silent for a minute then there was some shattering and breaking voices from inside.
“Tony?!” Steve called worriedly, ready to break the door. But Tony opened it.
“Cap? What the hell are you doing here? Who is this?” Tony said, he was barely able to stand. Steve held his arm to help him stand. He was drunk than ever, as if it was even possible. And he was alone.
“You know her? Sharon Carter?” He didn’t even remember her, he was that drunk.
“Oh, yes, yes, your girlfriend.” Tony said sharply, looking at her like he could cut her into pieces. As much as Steve would like to think Tony was jealous, he knew he was too drunk to even process his reactions.
“Ex-girlfriend.” Sharon corrected him.
Steve glanced inside; it looked like there was a war in here. Everything was shattered on the floor. Mirror was broke, and there was blood on it. Steve looked at Tony’s hand, it was wrapped unsuccessfully. He grabbed his hand.
“What the hell? What is that? What do you think you are doing?” Steve yelled at him. He was not going to take it anymore. “That’s it. You are not leaving my supervision from this moment. Sharon, you handle the checking out process. I will meet you in the car.” He said sharply, dragging Tony with him. The car was behind the building so they wouldn’t be seen to people.
Tony mumbled something.
“What?”
“You are hurting my arm.” Tony repeated.
Steve didn’t say anything, he was angry. Tony couldn’t even walk, so Steve just threw him on his shoulders. Tony was muscular and heavy but Steve was a super human, so it was nothing to him.
“I am not a kid.” Tony struggled.
“Oh, really? It doesn’t seem that way.”
“Seriously, Steve, put me down.”
Steve ignored him, trying to find a way out of the hotel without anyone seeing them. When they were finally out, Steve put Tony on the back seat, noticing he was asleep now. He sat beside him. He was mumbling things that Steve couldn’t understand.
“…can’t say it.” Steve heard Tony say. He was really curious what that was about.
“Can’t say what?” Steve asked, even he was asleep; Steve knew sometimes Tony responded to questions in his sleep.
“The word. Can’t say the word.” He mumbled.
“What word?” Steve was confused.
“The word-that word. Love.” With that, he completely fell asleep.
That was…Steve didn’t know what to think of this. He can’t say the world ‘love’? What did that even mean? Steve didn’t have time to think about this because Sharon came and they headed for the airport.
***
Tony woke up with a terrible head ache. He was in his room and Steve was asleep on the couch? Last thing he remembered was breakdown he had in the hotel room. Well, he had them a lot last couple of days. Steve was probably there through the night, which made Tony feel guilty because that couch looked so uncomfortable to sleep on.
Tony had to take a shower. He was stinking of alcohol.
After the shower, he wore a black t-shirt and jeans, Steve was still sleeping. Tony probably tired him a lot. Great. He probably owed him a good breakfast. Steve was usually the cooking one, and he always cooked for Tony. Tony hoped he wouldn’t end up setting up the mansion on fire.
He stated to make the only thing he knew how to. Pancakes. Tony really loved pancakes because it was the only thing that reminded him of his mother. One day, they made pancakes with her and it was probably the only thing they ever did together. Usually, Tony ate fancy breakfasts made by paid servants when he was little and he didn’t like that. His mother rarely showed any interest in him, his father never did, and pancakes were a reminder of that.
“Shit!” he hissed when he burned his hand. He started to shake his finger, jumping with pain. “Shit. Fuck.” He saw Steve standing by the door when he was turning around.
“Oh, Cap.” He tried to hide his pain, tried to look like he was doing fine with the pancakes. Steve was smiling warmly. “Um, I was making you pancakes.” Tony stated the obvious.
“That’s unusual. You need any help with that?” Steve pointed at the pancakes. Tony turned around and saw that the one of them was black. “Shit!” he exclaimed, taking it and throwing it into the garbage. Great, he wanted to make something for Steve in exchange of everything he did for Tony and now he was ruining it. He quickly put the unburnt pancakes to the plate; fortunately there were enough for them to eat.
Tony sighed and lowered his head in embarrassment. He sucked at everything.
“I’m sorry.” Tony said in a low voice.
Tony didn’t even know how it happened but suddenly he was in Steve’s arms. Tony didn’t know how to react to that, Steve just suddenly hugged him for no reason. Tony just stood in there before hugging him back.
“Don’t, ever, hurt yourself like that.” Steve said, breaking the embrace. Tony didn’t want Steve’s arms to leave him but it could be very weird if he tried to hold on to them.
“It was an accident.” Tony lied. Coughing and setting up the table.
“Tony.” Steve warned.
“Okay, okay. I won’t.” Tony said. “Let’s eat our pancakes. I also made coffee. You like it without sugar, right?” Steve nodded and sat down.
“So…how did I get here?” Tony asked.
“I had to carry you.” Steve said.
“Oh. Okay. Sorry about that.”
They ate their pancakes, not talking.
After couple of minutes, Tony looked at Steve and it looked like he wanted to say something.
“Steve, what is it?”
“You…you said something in your sleep.” Steve said.
Tony almost choked on his drink.
“What- what did I say?” He tried to look calm.
“You said that you can’t say the word love.”
“Well, that’s ridiculous. It’s just a word, right?” Tony laughed, trying to avoid the subject. He was an idiot.
“Say it.”
“Cap, come on…”
“Tony.”
“Love! Love, alright?” Tony said, not looking Steve in the eye. Why was he doing this?
“Look at me in the eye and say it.” What was he thinking? Tony was trying to get over him and now he was asking him to say the word.
“No.” Tony said. “No.”
“Why?”
“I can’t.” Tony admitted. “I can’t do it.”
“Captain Rogers, you have a visitor.” Jarvis said.
“Who is it?” Steve said, not breaking the eye contact. Tony was glad they had a visitor, at least till she walked into the kitchen.
“Sharon.” Tony said formally.
“Hi, Tony. Um, are you better?” Tony raised his eyebrows, how did she know?
“You probably don’t remember. I was with Steve last night when you were- well, drunk.”
“Oh.” Tony said, faking smile. He liked Sharon, he just didn’t like that she used to date Steve.
“So, Steve, I bought two tickets to the movies. You promised, remember?” Sharon grinned. Steve looked oblivious.
“Yes. Tonight?” He smiled to her, Tony was jealous. Were they dating again? Steve wouldn’t just say he loved Tony and date someone else, would he? Maybe he gave up on him? Well, it was what Tony wanted, wasn’t it?
“Tony?” Sharon asked.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I said, would you like to come with us?” Sharon repeated.
“Oh, I wouldn’t like to ruin your date.” This came out harsher that he intended. Steve threw him questioning looks.
“Um, right. Meet you at 8, Steven.” Steven? Seriously? Then she left. She just dropped by to say that? She could have just texted or called or something. Tony knew he didn’t have any right to feel that way since he didn’t even tell Steve he loved him but he couldn’t help it.
Tony tried to hide his jealousy as he put the dishes away. He felt Steve’s eyes watching him but he just acted like he didn’t notice it.
“So, you and Sharon are together again?” Tony tried to sound like he asked this as a best friend, a friend who would be happy if Steve dated someone.
“No. Why?” Steve smirked.
“Just asking. I mean, I would be happy if you two-”
“Tony, stop babbling.”
Tony stopped talking, he was really bullshitting.
“It would not be likely now, is it? Considering what I told you?” Tony choked for the second time this morning. Why was Steve this smooth these days?
“Do you want more coffee?” He tried to change the subject.
“How long do you think you can avoid this?”
Tony coughed.
“Avoid what?”
Steve stood up, slowly approaching Tony. Tony was wondering how long he could avoid his eyes. He unintentionally stepped back as Steve got closer.
“So…I actually need to work on my prototype.” Tony tried to get out of the small area Steve left for him. “You know, probably somebody will try to destroy New York soon enough.”
Steve didn’t move but stopped coming closer. “What are you so afraid of?” He asked.
“What has gotten into you, Cap? I am not afraid of anything.” He said, unsure.
“Yeah, I know you, Tony. You could escape now but you can’t avoid me forever.” He said, stepping aside.
Tony stayed still for a minute, not knowing what to do.
Then he just left, with a little smile on his lips.