Hotel
They were quite literally in the middle of nowhere, with no hope of contact to the outside world. Steve didn’t think this could get any worse. As if hearing his thoughts and intent to prove him wrong, the sky darkened and a loud thundering boom preceded a downpour of bone-chilling rain. He almost hoped Thor would pop up and save them. At least that would make up for being instantly drenched in a forest he had no idea the exact location of. He sighed as the dark sky remained God-less.
Tony had flown ahead of him in hopes of finding some shelter, leaving Steve alone to trudge through the mud. When Fury had sent them on a solo mission together, with none of the other Avengers as a buffer, to an undisclosed location, Steve had internally groaned, sure the overgrown man-child who called himself a philanthropist would drive him insane within the week. So far, he’d been right. Tony had hardly shut up the entire trip, an Steve was about ready to throw him in the volcano he could see looming in the distance, suit and all.
The small hum that Steve has come to associate with the Iron Man suit in flight reaches his ears a second before Tony lands in front of him with a loud thump, clearly trying to startle the other man. Steve merely raises an eyebrow, forgetting that his helmet hid any such action.
“Oh come on,” Tony whines annoyingly. “How’d you know I was coming?”
“Have you found shelter?” Steve asks instead, ignoring his companion’s usual childish antics.
He sighed, “Yeah, old man, I found something. You’re no fun at all, you know that?”
Again the Captain decided to keep focused, “Good. Lead the way.”
He hesitated long enough for Steve to shift worriedly from foot to foot, “You know what? I have a better idea.”
“Tony…” Steve trailed off, eyes widening as his partner reached forward, grabbing hold of Captain America’s arms before he could say anything and taking off into the air. Steve’s shouts of protest went completely ignored. And so, he found himself flying over the solid mass of green trees that made up this anonymous forest. He had to admit, the view was breath-taking, but that didn’t stop the uncomfortable-ness of the situation any. Until, that is, Tony called for him to look to the left a little. Steve’s eyes widened when he caught sight of the large crumbling building on the side of the (thankfully inactive) volcano. Even in its ruined state, the building held a sort of devastating beauty, the forest around it creeping in and curling around it in a lover’s embrace. At least, that’s how Steve likes to think of it. He always was a romantic at heart. Something Tony had been known to tease him relentlessly about, so he keeps his observations to himself as Iron Man gently glides through the gaping hole in the side of the building and into what looks like the lobby of an old abandoned hotel.
After being gratefully set back on his own feet, the captain takes a few minutes to get his bearings, brow wrinkling in thought, “Why is there a hotel out here in the middle of nowhere?”
Iron Man landed softly beside him, his faceplate rising as he spoke, “No idea. But I did see a few other smaller buildings scattered around the volcano, so maybe a town or small city was once here.”
Steve nodded, glad to see Tony beginning to take this seriously. That coupled with being out of the downpour had the captain’s spirits rising considerably. They’d rest there for the night, or at the very least till the rain stopped, an then continue up the mountain. Tony seemed especially relieved when told of the plan, flopping down unceremoniously onto a suspiciously well-kept old-fashioned chaise near an old fireplace in the corner of the lobby. Steve moved to sit across from him, eyes darting to all the shadowed corners, ears strained for the slightest noise beyond the thumping of rain outside. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Tony’s judgment in fining a safe place to rest. Man-child he may be, but Tony knew what to take seriously when. But the fact was, the place gave Steve the creeps. Maybe he was just getting paranoid. He hoped that was it.
He becomes aware of Tony’s eyes on him as he continues to gaze around at their slowly darkening surroundings. It wasn’t the first time the scientist took to staring at him for no apparent reason and Steve got the feeling the look was somewhat disapproving. He couldn’t understand it, and truthfully, it was starting to irritate him. More than usual. More than any of Tony’s other idiosyncrasies.
“Is there something you wanted to say, Iron Man?” he finally hisses through gritted teeth, immediately regretting his tone. It was a bit harsh.
Tony continues to stare, his face visible with the mask still raised, “Just thinking.”
Steve sighed, tearing off his helmet and mask and scrubbing a hand down his face, “Do you want to talk about it?” He doubted it. Tony never talked. Oh he said a lot, just nothing of importance.
There was a pregnant pause as Tony thought through his answer, “Just trying to see what fascinated my dad so much. He never shut up about you. Can’t see why.” It was his usual teasing tone, but Steve could catch the honest curiosity behind the sarcasm. More than that. There was a hint of bitterness cutting into his words. Once again Steve had to wonder what his friend had ended up like after he’d left, to leave his son so affected still, after all these years.
Steve didn’t know what to tell him. He himself constantly wondered why Howard would have spoken about him so much, looked for him for so long. “Look Tony,” he began slowly, unsure what he was saying.
“Don’t,” Tony cleared his voice, cutting him off with a wave. “Don’t worry about it. You probably don’t want to hear from a whiny rich boy like me, huh old man?”
“Stop that, Tony,” he shook his head. “This is serious. I don’t know what your father told you, but I never wanted him, or anyone for that matter, to…to hero-worship me like that. It’s not why I do what I do.” He snapped his mouth shut, realizing he sounded a bit preachy – something Tony hated, quite vocally.
“I know that,” the other man almost whispered. “I just wanted…when I was younger…I always hoped my dad would one day talk about me the way he talked about you.”
Steve’s heart broke into a million pieces at the small voice of his normally boisterous friend – because even when he was migraine-inducing-annoying, Tony was Steve’s friend. Maybe even more so than Howard had been. And to hear that Howard had looked over his own son for an ‘American Hero’ had to be the worst thing he had ever heard.
“Tony,” Steve leaned forward, elbows braced on his knees and waited until his friend was looking him in the eyes. “If your father wouldn’t be proud of you, that’s his own mistake. Any man would be honored to call you son.” Steve smirked slightly at Tony’s slightly shocked expression. “And besides, he was exactly like you when I knew him.”
Tony snorted and shook his head, “Have to admit, I haven’t heard that one before.”
Steve merely shrugged, relaxing back in his chair and Tony did the same. A weight seemed to have lifted off the captain’s shoulders. He’d finally got to the root of the problem with Tony and the air was clearer between them. Maybe now they could move past Howard’s apparent idiocies and start a stronger friendship.