Ice Bucket Challenge (Stony)
“There you are,” Pepper leveled her most disappointed stare at Tony. “We have a meeting that you’re already late too and you’re here watching viral videos.”
“It’s called the Ice Bucket Challenge. People dump a bucket of freezing cold water on themselves and then donate money to the ALS Association. You nominate others at the end of the video who are also supposed to take up the challenge. Several people have nominated the Avengers.”
Pepper seemed to think for a moment before muttering, “That might actually be a good idea. We still have money in our charity fund to be donated before the end of the fiscal year and it’d be good publicity. I’ll talk to you later Peter.” She smiled and waved at the high schooler as she dragged Tony by his collar. Their breakup had been amicable and both parties were relieved that they could maintain their friendly dynamic. Although, in situations like this, Tony often wondered if it’d be better if she was nervous around him. Then he wouldn’t have to deal with this ’take care of yourself’ by ‘eating’ and ’sleeping’ and ‘doing your work’ business.
Unexpectedly, Steve Rodgers had stepped up to the job of forcing Tony to maintain a regular, healthy routine. At first, he did it to repay Tony for everything he had provided for the team. He let everyone stay in the tower, fed them, and gave them upgrades to their fighting gear. Tony was also a member of the team and as its leader, Steve felt obligated to keep Ironman in a decent condition. Slowly, obligation turned to choice which morphed into pleasure. He enjoyed the meals with Tony and cuddling with him on the couch.
“Do you want to go on a date?” His need to know quickly outweighed any doubts he had and Steve braced himself for the worst when he asked Tony out in the lab one evening. He was ecstatic when Tony agreed and the first date went well.
Tony was in shock when Steve asked him out. He never measured up to Captain America in his father’s eyes so he spent plenty of time hearing about how strong and kind and perfect the man was. He’d tried to hate him when he was first thawed, but it was impossible when everything he’d heard was completely true. He developed his own little crush, but swore he wouldn’t ever reveal it. If Tony was crushing on a straight man out of his league, who had to know?
“I’d love to go on a date with you.”
It’d been a couple weeks of flirting around the tower and going on a couple of dates when Tony almost ruined it.
“This is definitely going to happen. Who should represent the Avengers?” Pepper leaned over Peter’s shoulder, reading the article he’d pulled up on the trend. “Probably Captain America or Iron Man. It’d make sense for one of the most public figures to go.” She focused her attention on Tony, “You are the one providing the money and the one most directly connected to Stark Industries.”
“Nope, I think it should be the Captain. Everyone knows the Avengers are afflicted with us anyway.” Tony quickly cut in. He was still a bit wary of water even though he didn’t have the arc reactor anymore. Plus, a wet Steve would be… To bad he had to be in the waterproof Captain America gear and not just a white T-shirt.
“No thanks. I’m done with PSA’s.” Steve wasn’t quite as fond of the idea as Pepper was. Everyone knew he wasn’t a fan of the media. He despised the paparazzi and interviews seemed to cause him physical pain. Plus, he still didn’t fully grasp the Internet, let alone trends and viral videos.
“So you’re going to stand in the way of providing resources to a nonprofit researching for a cure to a horrible disease?” Tony challenged him.
“Nope. You should still do that. Just choose someone else to star in the video or donate the money without a public show. Ms. Potts could do it. She is the standing CEO.” He was stubborn in his resolve.
Pepper sighed and left Steve to draw in peace. Tony scrambled after her. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”
When other persuasion methods, offering him kisses or dates or new tech, weren’t convincing enough, Tony decided it would be a sneak attack while he was working out or something. The internet loved pranks and he might get to see Steve in a wet shirt yet. He thought that making it a sneak attack meant that Steve wouldn’t have all the normal jitters and anxiety he got when he had to be in front of a camera. Sweet, caring Steve probably wanted to help, but he was just too nervous about the limelight.
If it went well, he might surprise some others with a bucket of cold water. They would make a compilation. Hopefully, Bruce wouldn’t Hulk out. Actually, that might be cool. Hopefully he does Hulk out.
Peter and Tony were excited as they filled the bucket with ice and poured super cold water in. They waited for the cubes to mostly disappear, they didn’t want to hurt him, and made sure JARVIS’s security footage got a good angle. They had seen Steve reading some book from Tony's library on the couch. An unsuspecting victim.
As Tony and Peter discussed what to say and how to silently approach him, Steve nodded off. Waking up so early to run meant that he liked taking afternoon naps when he could. The next thing he knew, he was woken up to a rush of cold water.
He didn’t like the cold. It brought up bad memories. If he prepared himself, he could handle snow or frigid water or even ice baths after difficult missions. In his unconscious state, he was not prepared. His mind immediately flashed to the HYDRA bomber. He was in the cockpit steering the plane for a nosedive in the water. He could feel the ice and water swirl around him. He was freezing. His body was shutting down. His lungs were filling with water. He was drowning.
Peter and Tony laughed a little before recognizing that something was off. "He’s not breathing” Peter observed. Steve’s eyes were open, but they were erratically jumping to different spots in the room. He was shivering way more than expected and he was hyperventilating. He was panicking.
Sam, who heard the chaos, sprinted to Steve’s side. He repeated a mantra reassuring Steve that he was safe and able to breathe. Eventually, Steve calmed down. He choked up bile in the sink and let Sam lead him to his bedroom.
Peter was a bit terrified. “We hurt him.” He mumbled over and over again. Tony was also in shock. Why hadn’t he even considered that Steve wouldn’t like a challenge that involved ice? The guilt gnawed at his heart and he felt like crying. He felt as terrible as when he realized how much harm his weaponry had caused.
Peter went to Steve’s room a couple hours later and apologized profusely. Steve forgave him and assured him that it wasn’t his fault. He explained how he wasn’t big on surprises and he especially hated the cold because what had happened to him. It was actually therapeutic to talk about it with someone else and they both parted feeling much better.
Tony, on the other hand, felt like complete garbage. Obviously, he didn’t blame the kid. Peter didn’t really know Steve and he didn’t know any better. He hadn’t been the one to come up with the idea of a sneak attack. He wouldn’t have even dared to douse one of his idols in cold water if Tony hadn’t insisted it was going to be taken well. Tony needed to come up with some way to apologize for what he did.
He stayed up all night brainstorming, but nothing seemed good enough. Everything was too impersonal to make up for the emotional pain Tony had inflicted. Ever so often, he would get an idea and frantically work on it, but upon completion realize that it was tacky or stupid. The night turned to day and then back to night. He hadn’t eaten or slept in thirty hours when Steve finally came knocking, more like calling to JARVIS, on the lab door.
Tony hesitantly granted him access and tensely waited for the rage directed his way.
“I’m sorry.” Steve started in an unimaginably small voice.
Wait? What? Tony’s jaw dropped.
“It was just some water. I overreacted. That wasn’t very heroic, or Captain America like, so I get that you aren’t attracted to me anymore. Once you get to know me I’m kind of….disappointing. Everyone wants the war hero, but I’m only Steve Rodgers. Um, again, sorry you had to see that.” Steve spun on his heels to rush out of the lab. His eyes were red with unshed tears. God, he really was pathetic.
Tony finally registered what was happening and jolted up to grab Steve’s forearm. “Wait. You don’t have anything to apologize for. I should’ve known better. It’s all my fault for triggering a panic attack. I’m the worst and I understand if you don’t want to continue dating such an inconsiderate person, but I’m not going to break up with you. If you give me a second chance, I’ll make sure to make it up to you, but that’s only if you want it.”
Steve’s eyes filled with doubt, “You don’t have to lie out of pity. I know you’ve been avoiding me. You’d probably get bored with me eventually. I’m not very smart or personable. Hell, I can’t even figure out the tablet you gave me. Maybe it’s for the best.”
Tony’s heart broke as he realized how many insecurities Steve had been hiding. Steve halfheartedly tried to shake him off, but he just held on tighter. “You aren’t weak. You’re one of the smartest and strongest people I know. I don’t like you because of the attributes you got from the serum or the superhero image you project. I like you because you're the man who was intelligent enough to navigate an entirely new world. The man who was strong and stubborn enough to make his place in a modern world. The man who was kind enough to take care of my emotional mess of a person after my break up. The man who forced me to keep myself healthy. Wait, that’s wrong. I don’t like you just because you take care of me. I like the cute cartoons of the team doing ordinary things. The way you adore Netflix documentaries. Your integrity to follow through with promises. Your loyalty to the side of justice. The way you’re willing to sacrifice everything you are for the greater good. Actually, don’t sacrifice yourself. I’m not great at this…”
Steve stood in silence for a minute. Tony felt like he was going to throw up. He wanted to bolt but willed himself to stay because Steve deserved it. He wasn’t expecting it when Steve pulled him into a passionate kiss. “Thanks” He whispered and motioned toward the door. “If you haven’t eaten since you’ve been down here, do you want to go to dinner?”
Later that week, Thor made an unexpected visit and was thrilled to participate in one of Earth’s tradition. The video of Thor laughing while Natasha, on a step ladder, dumped water on him while Clint got electrocuted by the puddle around his feet had millions of views in hours. They nominated other billionaires and donated a giant sum of money.