Chapter 10
"You're being serious right now. You really saw Tony fucking Stark at the Hydra compound?"
Steve sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yes, Clint. I've said it five times now. I'm being serious."
"And he was there because Hydra stole his tech?" Natasha asked curiously. "How did Hydra get a hold of it?"
"I don't know. Apparently Tony didn't know either," Steve said with a shrug. "He didn't stick around for long after he told me the Avengers were in danger of...someone. He wouldn't tell me who."
"But why protect us?" Bruce asked confusedly. "Tony is still our enemy. Why protect us? What does he want from us?"
"I don't think he wants anything from us," Steve mumbled. "And he's not an enemy. Not really. He just likes to cause trouble for us."
"So, what we know for sure is that someone is after the Avengers and Tony's trying to protect us from them," Natasha stated. "Do you think the person after us is the same person that's been threatening Tony?"
"It could be," Steve admitted. "There's no way to know for sure though. Not unless Tony tells us what's going on."
"Which doesn't seem very likely," Natasha noticed with a sigh.
"We need to talk to him," Steve muttered. "Properly. But he runs away every time we get a moment to talk to him."
"So what can we do to make sure he doesn't run off again?" Clint asked with a frown.
"Well," Steve sighed. "He is a criminal. We don't need much reason to put him in a cell."
"You're saying we should capture him?" Clint asked, looking scandalized. "This isn't a rare pokemon, Steve. This is Tony."
"What else can we do? He won't talk to us otherwise," Steve told him with a frustrated sigh. "I'm not saying we hurt him. That's the last thing I want to do. But arresting him and putting him in a cell to interrogate him gives us enough time to talk to him. We all know he'll manage to escape anyway."
"I don't know. He might hate us if we do that," Bruce mumbled, Thor frowning as he gave a slight nod in agreement. "Shouldn't we let him wait to talk about whatever is going on?"
"And what if whoever is threatening him ends up hurting Tony before then?" Steve asked with a head shake. "Tony himself is afraid of whoever this person is. That makes them much more powerful then Tony if he's afraid of them."
"This all sounds like a completely terrible idea," Clint muttered. "Which usually means it's the best plan to go with. It's not like we have anything better."
"Let's just hope he'll show back up soon before whoever's threatening him becomes an even bigger problem," Steve murmured.
Tony was in so much trouble.
He still couldn't believe that he had kissed Steve Rogers. The Captain America. A literal hero. His lips still tingled from the kiss.
'It didn't happen,' Tony furiously reminded himself.
But now it was stuck in his head. Those soft lips on his, so gentle. Nothing Tony was normally used to. He had felt...safe. So very safe.
It wasn't a feeling he knew much of before.
Tony was in his workshop again, working on the next piece of tech. It was slow going but it should be done over the next week or so. He hoped it would help distract him from thinking of the Avengers for a little while at least.
He worked for hours, ignoring Jarvis when he spoke. He didn't need to be hassled to eat or sleep or whatever else it was that Jarvis wanted from him. He was perfectly well enough to work.
Tony should have listened to Jarvis, having specifically asked Jarvis to warn him whenever he came over.
Tony stifled a yelp of alarm when arms wrapped around him from behind, pulling him back against his chest. Tony shivered when a mouth pressed a kiss to his neck. "Look at you being such a good boy, doing what I ask, hm?"
Tony swallowed harshly. "I d-didn't know you were coming to visit today."
"I decided to make it a surprise visit. Make sure you've been working on what I told you to," he said, releasing Tony's waist in order to step around him.
Tony stepped back, watching with tired brown eyes as the other man looked over the project Tony had been working on. "It's not finished yet. I need more time—"
"You always do, don't you, Tony?" The blond stated, voice hard in disapproval. "Sometimes I think you don't appreciate what I do for you."
Tony felt frustrated tears prick at his eyes. "Ty—"
"None of those crying fits. I don't have time for it," Tiberius told him, looking at him with dark eyes. "I'm a busy man. You should feel grateful I put any effort in coming to visit you."
Tony lowered his eyes to the floor, hating the tears that slipped down his. "I-I know."
Tiberius tittered, walking over and cupping Tony's chin, lifting his face so Tony looked up at him. "You know I'd do anything for you, don't you? I do everything I can to protect you."
Tony sniffled, weakly nodding his head.
"But if you don't provide what I need then I can't keep supplying you with resources," Tiberius said with a sigh as if he didn't have any choice in it. "And you know what will happen if those other villains realize your resources for your weapons have been cut off, don't you?"
Tony nodded stiffly. He did know. They would all come after him. Every villain wanted to best the great Tony Stark to show they're the best villain there is. If Tiberius stopped supplying him with resources, Tony would be left vulnerable.
Not only that but Tony had no doubt in his mind Tiberius would tell as many people as possible that Tony Stark was vulnerable to an attack. Tony would be forced to go into hiding or be killed.
"Have you been staying away from those Avengers like I told you?" Tiberius asked, tilting his head to the side. "Because after that little stunt with Doom, I'll have to take my resources away. We don't want other villains thinking you're becoming one of those heroes. That wouldn't be good for business."
"I know, Ty. I-I haven't gone near them," Tony lied through his teeth, grimacing when Tiberius raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Are you sure?" Tiberius asked, squeezing his hand tight against Tony's chin, his nails digging into Tony's cheeks. "Because you know if you have, I'll be forced to kill them myself. I can't have them...corrupting you. Your Father would be so disappointed if that happened, wouldn't he?"
Tony wanted to tell Tiberius to shut his mouth about Howard but he didn't. He never snapped at Tiberius because whatever punishment followed wouldn't be worth the smart retort.
"How funny it would be to kill those pesky heroes with weapons you've built for me," Tiberius said with a smirk, making Tony shiver. "You have four more days to finish what I've asked for. Fail and...well, you know what will happen."
Tiberius released Tony's face which had started to bruise under the pressure of Tiberius' fingers. Tony watched Tiberius turn away dismissively, not sparing him another glance as he strode back out of the room, leaving Tony alone.
Tony pressed a hand to his sore cheek, wincing at the pain the action caused and dropped his hand back to his side, ignoring the fresh wave of tears that fell.
No, he didn't kiss Steve Rogers.
It never happened.