Stretching his arms out above him, Tony let out a yawn as he took the last step down to the workshop. When he rubbed his eyes to clear them, he realized that the lights were still on, and several of his screens were still thrown up. He stopped in his tracks, immediately snapping his fingers thrice quickly to signal JARVIS.
“Running scans right now, Master Stark.”
The relief in his shoulders was evident as JARVIS said, “Scans show that only you and Captain Rogers are in the tower.”
“Alright, J. Call him down, would you?”
“I have relayed your message. He says he will be free in fifteen minutes.”
Not really paying attention to his surroundings, Tony walked towards the doors of the workshop, startling a little when he tried to key in his code only to find out that the door was already unlocked.
“I was out of it huh, J? Didn’t even set the lockdown sequence?”
“Indeed you were, Master Stark. Would you like the blueprints from last night, or this morning?”
“Bring up the Mark – fuck!” he shouted as he tripped over something on the ground. Thankfully, he managed to regain his balance by using the workshop table, and he reached down to pick up the offensive object.
“Huh.”
A black sports bra was hanging off his fingers, and it was still a little damp from what he could see. Pressing two fingers to his temple, he tried his hardest to remember when the last time he had brought someone to the workshop was, but all that came to his mind as he went through his memories was Steve, Steve, Steve.
Only Steve had access codes that allowed him access to the workshop. Tony had given it to him when they were working on a new piece of tech for Steve, and since it would be easier to work if Steve could come down with coffee and snacks, then well, he should have an access code too. At least that was how Tony rationalised it, seeing how it was way better than thinking about the other reason why he might be allowing Steve down into his personal space so easily.
Just as Tony opened his mouth to request the surveillance footage from last night, there was a moan from behind him, in the direction of his couch.
It was loud.
He spun around immediately, feeling a lot like he had been punched in the gut when he caught sight of a very familiar shade of blond hair.
Steve didn't even notice Tony standing there as he looked down at whoever he was straddling, a brunette, from what he could see. His heart was pounding in his chest, the blood rushing in his ears, and he felt a surge of jealousy run through his veins as he heard the woman give a cry of pleasure.
Somehow, Tony couldn't stop himself from staring at the two of them who were lost in their own world, and just as he wanted to cough to make his presence known, Steve leaned back so there was a space between him and his lady.
There was nothing but soft reverence in his eyes as he brought up one of her hands, rubbing the back of it against his cheek before bringing it to his lips and kissing each finger gently. Then he put his face into her palm, turning his face into it, his eyes fluttering shut.
"I love you."
Steve's voice was filled with gratitude and adoration, with a slight edge of possessiveness.
He couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to be the one on the receiving end of that gaze. He wanted to be the reason Steve's voice sounded like that. He wanted Steve Rogers' love more than anything, and having it played out in front of his eyes that that was never going to happen was not what he wanted to deal with.
Summoning as much snark into his voice as possible, he snarled, "Those access codes were not given so you had a place to make out, Rogers."
The pure shock that entered Steve's eyes as he realised Tony was in the room could have been hilarious, if only Tony had time to process it.
Instead, he was being pinned against the wall by a two-hundred pound (half-naked) supersoldier with a powerful forearm jammed against his throat. It could have been a precursor to some really angry sex in some other situation, but right now Steve was restricting his airflow so that he couldn't breathe.
"Fuck – Steve – I can't –" he gasped as his arms flailed and he clawed at his chest.
The clinking sound the arc reactor made as his fingers hit it seemed to strike the other man like a bullet, and he immediately released his hold on Tony, backing away from him with confusion written all over his face.
Tont fell to his knees with a thud. The lack of oxygen had made his vision blurry, but he could still make out that the woman was coming towards him, and he forced himself into a defensive position (that Steve had taught him) despite still being on the ground.
"Wait—"
"Get out of my–" he stuttered as he tried to catch his breath.
"Calm down," was all he heard as someone reached for his shoulder at the same time Steve was saying, "Tasha, don't–"
Then he was being pulled into a pair of strong, warm arms that smelled awfully familiar, and Tony blinked for a few moments as he realised that Steve was holding him up with one arm against his chest, the other positioning the shield so that it covered both of their fronts.
Coughing a little, he managed to regain his own balance before he shoved the Steve that was holding him away.
He shouted, "JARVIS, code 6!" right at the same time that the woman did, and they stared at each other in utter disbelief.
The doors of the workshop shut immediately, and all the armours that were standing behind her began whirring threateningly.
Steve, the one with the shield spoke first. He called out, "Tony?"
Before he could answer, the woman stepped forward and snapped her fingers twice before holding her hands up to show that she meant no hostility. The armours stopped whirring, and Tony watched with bated breath as she walked towards the Steve with the shield, completely unafraid.
All she was wearing was one of Steve's plaid shirts that ended mid-thigh, and her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail. She had completely no defense against Steve with the shield, yet she walked with a grace that portrayed that she could own the world if she wanted to. But there was something odd about it, something Tony couldn't quite put his finger on.
The woman stopped right in front of the shield, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Shield down. It could take my head off."
"Identify yourself," Steve with the shield growled at her.
"You’re being unreasonable."
The tension was thick in the air as both of them refused to back down, and there was nothing but silence as they challenged each other with their gazes. Steve with the shield’s jaw was set tightly, and it looked like he was a moment away from snapping with frustration.
The woman seemed to sense it too, as she turned back to Steve, a small smile forming on her lips as he towards her. He was still half-naked (why was he noticing that) as he put an arm on her shoulder, frowning slightly as the woman tiptoed so she could whisper something in his ear.
Nobody moved for a second, and then Steve was placing his hands on her hips, pulling her into an absolutely passionate kiss. It was awful, to say the least, having to watch Steve kiss someone who wasn’t him like that.
Forcing himself to look away, Tony turned towards Steve with the shield, whose mouth was pressed in a thin line, and he could see that the hand not on the shield was shaking due to how hard it was being clenched. However, the vast amount of time spent together had allowed Tony to learn about Steve, from the way he would tap his foot if he was getting hungry to the way he would bite his lip if he was surprised but wanted to pretend not to be. He could see a desire reflected in Steve with the shield's eyes, a consuming want that he hadn't seen before. He took a tentative step towards Steve with the shield, almost certain that this was the Steve that he knew, and the other was a shape shifter or something else, when the woman called out to him.
"Tony, right?"
He didn’t acknowledge her.
"My name's Natasha –"
Turning around angrily, he shot her a hostile glare before saying, "Great, now you can get out–"
"Don't get pouty. Listen, you're currently in an alternate universe known as Earth-three-four-nine-zero.”
“An alternate universe.”
“Yes. And this Steve Rogers here is married, –" she interlaced their fingers "–to me. And he’s very happy about that, I’d just like to declare that right now, for the record. If I had known—“
Ignoring the hurt building in his chest, he turned to face the Steve with the shield, who was staring at him with wide eyes. Tony could hear Steve with the shield take a deep breath, steeling himself as he asked, “Two nights ago on the roof, what did I show you?"
Without skipping a beat, he replied, "A black sketchbook, half filled with sketches of the skyline and half filled with portraits of the team, bound with a white strap with your name which Clint bought for you."
The relief he felt as his Steve moved toward to him so they were standing side by side was huge, and he couldn't help giving his friend's arm a gentle nudge before pressing the top of the shield down. Although his Steve raised his eyebrows in a questioning manner, he still placed it on the ground, evidently trusting Tony on this. It was still within arm's reach, but apparently that was good enough for the woman.
She laughed before poking her Steve in the chest and said, "Other you is really stubborn. Although that haircut looks way more sexy."
"Tasha–"
"Alright, alright, I just–"
Tony spoke loudly at them, "Alternate universe you said?"
"That's right."
"And?"
"And what?"
"Who are you exactly? You have the same name, but you look nothing like Natasha. How do you have access to JARVIS? It doesn't–"
His train of thought was cut off as the woman started unbuttoning her shirt. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but his arc reactor, right in the middle of her chest was definitely not even in the realm of possibility.
“You – How –”
She grinned at him as her Steve embraced her from the back, pressing both his hands over her chest protectively.
“Natasha Stark-Rogers, also known as Iron Woman. Nice to meet you, male version of me.”
“What the fuck. That is impossible—” he couldn’t help saying.
“Nothing’s impossible.”
“Multiverse theory is still just a theory—no one’s been able to prove—”
“That doesn’t mean that it can’t happen. How else do you explain this?”
“Shape-shifters.”
“Really? I expected more from myself, I didn’t know I was so stupid—”
“We live in a world with aliens and Norse gods, forgive me if I considered it a –”
The incredulous, “You married me?” that left his Steve’s mouth cut the two of them off, causing both Starks to raise an eyebrow at him.
Natasha recovered first, and she glanced between the both of them, her brilliant blue eyes finally landing on Tony. Up till now, she had shown no sign of weakness, but there was no mistaking the slight tremble in her voice as she went, “Of course, aren’t you two— oh.”
Her Steve sensed immediately that something was wrong, as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, which seemed to soothe her.
“I just—The possibility that I could be without you—even if it’s in another universe—it’s never occurred to me—Steve, you know I—”
“I know. But they’re not us, I’m here with you,” he said quietly.
The intimacy of the moment he had just witnessed sent a wave of longing shooting through Tony, and before he knew it, he was grabbing the collar of his Steve’s shirt and pulling him down so he could press their lips together.
His Steve opened up to him without hesitation, receiving his kiss with excitement mingled with desperation, before returning it with much enthusiasm as he cupped Tony’s cheeks so he could bring them closer. When they finally broke apart because they needed air, Tony took in the sight of his Steve’s blushing face, and he stuttered, “That was – I just—”
“I was – Me too—”
Natasha’s voice snapped him back to reality, as she exclaimed, “That was fucking hot.”
“Remember when you were pining over me, Tasha?”
“Shut up, you were doing the same.”
Tony cleared his throat, attempting to hide his embarrassment as he looked at the couple opposite him.
“How do we get back?”
“I don’t know, other Stark. Maybe you could ask the universe to bring you back?”
“I don’t believe in magic, you know that.”
“Well, I could call in Richards but he’s not exactly the freest man in the world. You don’t want to stay here, do you?”
“It’s not going to—”
Without any warning, his Steve took his hand, holding it tightly and giving it a squeeze. He whispered, “Let’s just try, okay?”
How was he to resist when Steve was using that slightly pleading tone of voice, with the warmth of his breath ghosting over Tony’s ear and the firmness of his hand overwhelming all of Tony’s senses?
He nodded his head without any further protest. Before he closed his eyes, he saw Natasha mouthing, “Nothing else matters but him.”
Then there was nothing but a soft wind blowing across his face, and if not for the solid presence of Steve next to him, Tony would have felt like he was drowning.
________________________________________
He heard Steve mumble something like, “Never doing that again,” before another voice called out, “What’s up with the hand holding—you guys finally got together?”
Tony opened his eyes to an unimpressed Clint looking at him. The archer was leaning back on a chair with his legs up on the kitchen counter, a pizza box right beside him. He reached for another slice and went, “Well, earth to Stark?”
“Where are we?” he blurted out.
“In the kitchen. Are you gonna answer me or what?”
“No, I mean what Earth is it?”
“Are you drunk? Steve, is he drunk?”
“No he’s not. But I might be.”
Next thing he knew, he was being hugged by Steve, who buried his face in the crook between Tony’s neck and shoulder. Saying nothing, he took the opportunity to give long strokes up and down Steve’s back, feeling the hard lines of muscle relax under his hands.
In the background, he could hear Clint muttering, “What the hell is going on?”