arno stark got snapped in the movieverse. where is he.
"Tony? Are you awake?" Jarvis taps on Tony's bedroom door. At this hour, a brusque 9 AM, Tony is undoubtedly already awake and fiddling with some gadget. It's more of a formality to ask.
"Yep. Come on in, bud," Tony replies with a tight jaw.
The morning is off to a rather shit start.
He texted Stephen two hours ago, and no reply yet. The standard "Good morning beloved" with about a hundred heart emojis and no response. When Tony falls, he falls hard. He can't help but feel Stephen isn't taking their relationship as serious as he is. Or maybe Tony's just reading too far into it, and Stephen isn't one to fall in love overnight or long-time harbour infatuations with people, as Tony is wont to do.
Not receiving a text back isn't the only problem. Holiday parties with the Stark family are dreadfully dull. He has to pretend to be Howard's perfect little clone when he's anything but. That, and he's so over being shoved inside a closet. He's come out numerous times in numerous ways, but Howard just won't listen. Maria just says, "We'll talk about it later." He's done waiting for "later" to come.
"What is the matter?" Jarvis shuts the door softly.
"I'm horrible at relationships, and I hate it here."
"Stephen again?" He stands with his hands folded behind his proper form.
"Yep! I'm too overwhelming for him. I move like a bullet train, and he's more of a bicycle guy. I'm gonna scare him off like I scared off Steve and like I scared off Pep," Tony says and throws his hands up in the air. He spins and sits down in his office chair, slumped over.
"You didn't scare off Steve. You were miserable together. He's much happier with Bucky, and you can be so much happier with Stephen. It's about letting yourself feel each other out," he stops and then quickly adds, "metaphorically speaking, of course."
"Well, he told me a little about his previous relationship. Some guy named Kae…And it sounds like it was kinda rough."
Jarvis nods and frowns under his white moustache.
"I imagine it would be pretty hard to jump into another relationship. He might be cautious because though logically, he knows you won't hurt him, but emotionally, he's scared to get into another bad situation."
Tony lets that stew for a bit. Jarvis makes a great point he hadn't thought about yet. It's quite possible that Stephen is scared of potentially entering another toxic relationship. And, as the butler said, Stephen's smart enough to trust Tony, but his heart just won't let him.
But, on the flip side, it's not far for Tony to put so much energy into the relationship and get so little back. He has his fair share of hang-ups too! Stephen isn't the only one with issues.
"Of course not. But unfortunately, you can't control how Stephen deals with his issues. The only way to deal with it is by talking. I know you aren't fond of that." Jarvis looks at him, and Tony realizes he shared his gripes aloud.
"Gross. Never suggest that again. Save that kind of WASP inspirational poster shit for Arno." Tony gestures with a flat hand to his brother's room across the hallway.
"WASP?"
"White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. C'mon, that's slang from your time. Anyway, I'm sure Stephen and I can work it out."
Jarvis stands and looks back at Tony from the doorway.
"If you say so. Guests will be arriving at two. Please come say hello." The door shuts.
Blueprints stare at Tony from their dusty places on his wall. He's built them all, taken them apart, and rebuilt them better. Some have Vision and Nebula's names signed in the corner. Of course, the Stark name is displayed much more prominent at the top of each print, but the thought counts.
He has two dried flowers in a frame on his desk.
A rose from Steve. A lily from Pepper. Maybe one day, he'll add a third bloom.
Tony flops onto his bed. Steve always said it was way too big for someone his size, but it felt overstuffed when he laid on it next to his ex. Sometimes, Tony would be napping when Steve came over, and he crawled right next to him on the king-sized mattress.
Tony always woke up tangled in Steve's long limbs, sweating profusely.
And perhaps that shows the nature of their relationship. They were too young, too hot, too close. They burned bright like a firework but touched down and burned like a forest fire.
All of those things, he felt burned with it.
Suddenly, Tony wants a smaller bed.
Two o'clock rolls around, and Tony had been counting the seconds. It came too fast. He could use another three weeks before socializing, give or take.
Howard and Maria don't want anything to do with him at first. They're too involved in stupid conversations about the economy or whatever it is people that rich talk about.
At least twenty different people ask him about taking up the Stark business so Howard could retire.
"I'd like to graduate high school first," is his response every time.
Over the years, he got pretty good at snobby small talk. Arno is less so, but he is much less abrasive. They each lacked the quality the other had. Tony envies his brother's lackadaisical nature and even temper. Arno envies Tony's charisma and passion.
Tony takes after Howard, and it stings profusely to admit. Arno is more like Maria but not really like either parent. It isn't fair.
"Your boyfriend is at the front door." Speak of the Devil, Arno appears next to him out of nowhere.
"Jesus! You need a bell or something. Okay, please distract mom and dad until I get back," Tony says with a start.
Arno does a two-finger salute and heads towards the kitchen to find Howard and Maria.
Tony mentally stops the dark cloud over his point of view. Arno isn't his problem. They're brothers, not enemies. It's not his fault.
Stephen sits on the bench in the Stark family's entrance room. It's a mudroom, but Maria insists they call it something more becoming. So, it's a mudroom with benches and fancy granite tiles.
His gloves feel tighter than usual, but they're the same as always.
He just feels tight all over.
Stephen does not do…parties. He doesn't really like people or enjoy their company. Except for the select few idiots he's decided to surround himself with. Idiots he loves very much, but he'd rather kill them than admit that.
Idiots like…
"Hey. What're you doing here?" Tony enters the surprisingly warm room.
"You sent me seven texts apologizing for various trivial things, and I figured I'd better clear things up in person," Stephen responds and scoots over for Tony.
"Clear what up? I already apologized."
"Believe it or not, I'm not mad at you. Certainly not for," he recalls one of Tony's texts, "you calling me honey instead of babe. I don't care what pet name you pick."
Tony squeezes in next to him on the narrow wooden bench. The cushion does little to make it more comfortable.
"Well, when you usually respond in two seconds and then suddenly stop messaging me for four hours, I get worried!"
"I'm not mad at you, though. I guess I'm madder at myself," he sighs, and Tony prepares to have an emotional conversation. Well, emotional for him. Stephen is almost emotionless, besides disgust.
"I'm mad that I'm not being my best self for you. But, it's tough for me to trust people. I've known you for years now, but when we started dating, my brain suddenly destroyed all trust in you. I know it's not fair." He won't look at Tony, opting to look out the frosted windows in the front door.
"It's not your fault. Brains suck. Mine is literally a stupid lump of fat with no redeeming qualities. I just…why not tell me instead of making me think you were mad at me?" Tony takes his trembling hand. The soft leather of his grip glove is cool to the touch.
"I didn't make you think I was mad. That was the explanation you came to by yourself," he says, scrunching his nose like the most passive-aggressive bunny Tony's ever seen.
"You know what I mean."
"I thought it would sound stupid. I'm not really known for my connection to emotions. I've never had to tell someone this."
"Well, I've felt every human emotion and then some, so…we balance each other out. Whatever you're going through, we're doing it together," Tony says, breathing easy for the first time in a while.
Tony leans on his boyfriend, hand in hand.
Stephen's winter jacket is cold. He feels cool.