Chapter 14
Lee hovers behind Selvig, who is furiously typing at an attached keyboard. He keeps the comm open, listening to the team chatter between each other, pinpointing what was happening. Bruce had somehow made it down to the front line, and was currently destroying things as the Hulk, smashing Chitauri soldiers and causing mayhem. Tony’s voice crackled into the comms, urgent.
“Guys, we got a government missile going rogue towards the city.”
“But there’s civilians! Do they think they’re going to evacuate in time?!” Lee couldn’t believe his ears.
“I don’t think so. I’m going in to intercept. Any luck on the portal closing?”
Lee turned to Selvig. “What’s our status?”
“I can close it, but we need the scepter.” Lee runs back inside the Stark tower, where Thor and Loki were, snatching up the scepter. Loki looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes, and his hair a mess. Thor was trying to feed him, what looked like pop tarts.
“Thor, give him something else. That kind of sugar is gonna make him sick.” He looked a little disappointed, but nodded, and Lee ran back outside.
“Okay, tell me what to do,” he told Selvig.
“Lee, update?”
“Shit, sorry,” Lee sent out. “We can close the portal, with the scepter. What are you gonna do with the missile?”
“I have an idea, I’m going to send it through the portal, then you guys close it.”
“Sounds good, tell me when you’re out and we can close it.”
Tony sighed, and sounded resigned. “I won’t be coming out. I gotta make sure it’s over.”
“What?! No, Tony, you idiot, we can do this with you alive. You better get your ass back out of there!”
“I’ve intercepted the missile, heading to the hole now.”
“Tony-”
“Almost there. Tell Happy he can have my TV.”
“Tell him yourself you idiot-”
“I’m here--” The comm crackled out, and Lee watched as Tony flew into the hole, his chest wrenching in pain, his breaths coming out shallow.
“Tony, please come back, please-”
“Cl-se th- port--” crackled through the comms, faint. Lee felt tears trail down his face, but he positioned the scepter into the beam of energy, and pushed it, breaking the connection. The beam of energy stops, trailing the last bit up to the hole, and the hole begins to close.
Steve’s voice was soft. “Lee--”
“There! I see him!” Lee points to a tiny figure that fell out of the hole just before closing.
“Tony! Can you hear me? Tony!” Steve’s voice caused no reaction.
“He’s falling, someone needs to catch him,” Natasha’s voice rang in Lee’s ears.
Lee stood frozen, and he watched Tony’s body fall, and fall.
He wasn’t waking up.
“Come on, Tony, please,” Lee whispered to himself. “I can’t lose you too.”
A green blur flies through the air and snags him, landing unceremoniously into a pile of rubble. Lee breathed a sigh of relief. “Steve, get over there,” he ordered.
“Already en route.”
Lee couldn’t see what was going on. He turned to Thor, who was now standing next to him with a still-cuffed Loki.
“I think it’s over, Agent Leigh.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The Chitauri, they’ve stopped.” Lee looked around, down below, and saw that they all had collapsed, in crumpled piles of alien bodies all over the streets.
“Thank God it’s over. Steve,” he commed in, “Is Tony okay?”
“Tony’s great,” answered a roughened Tony, over the comm. “Tony just saved the world.”
“You fucking idiot-”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. You love me.”
“I hate you. Go back to death.”
“Aww, you really do love me!”
०००
Weeks Later
“So, Lee, dearest,” Tony crooned. “Does this mean I get to hire you to be my new head of security?” Tony and Lee were lounging on his couch, watching television. Lee grabbed some popcorn out of the bowl in Tony’s lap, and stuffed it in his mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing it and answering.
“Isn’t that Happy’s job?”
“Yeah, so what? Co-Head of Security then.”
“Tony I’m not taking Happy’s job, you know how he is when you joke about that.”
“Fine, fine. Personal security.” Lee shook his head. “Tower security?” Another head shake. “Lee you’re killing me. I want to hire you. Let me please hire you for something.”
“I just retired from SHIELD officially, I don’t need a job right now.”
“How can you afford that?”
Lee rolled his eyes. “I’ve got sixty years of vacation time stacked up, man. I’m set for a while.”
Tony stretched, joints popping. “What about Steve, then? Is he gonna go on missions while you stay home like a cute housewife?”
“Ugh, Steve’s not even in SHIELD, Tones. He declined to sign on to the Avengers Initiative after that whole HYDRA fiasco.”
“Good. Means he can sign on under my Avengers.” Lee turned to him, confused.
“What.”
Tony turned to face Lee, both of them facing each other on the couch now, an excited glimmer in his eye. “I’ve been thinking, you know? We were a good team. This isn’t the Stark tower anymore, anyways, I’m moving the company to Malibu-”
“Wait, Tony. You think Bruce is gonna agree to this? Or Nat?”
“Sure, why not.”
“Do you want me to talk to Steve about it?”
“Sure, why not.”
“Tony."
“I mean, yeah, he’s gonna say yes if you ask. I’m planning on a floor for each member, I’ve already started building Bruce’s floor, to be safe for Hulk-outs, and we know you’ll always have your floor-” Lee closed his eyes and tuned out Tony’s chatter, processing the idea. They’d live in the tower? No government influence, only large-scale intervention, it sounded perfect for the team. No Nick Fury, to manipulate everything. Maybe they could look for Chuckie, even if he’s long dead. “....Lee?”
Lee snapped out of his thoughts, blinking. “What?”
“Do you think Steve and I would get along better if we did this?”
Lee paused. “Possibly. I don’t think he hates you or anything, Tony.”
“Yes he does. He wanted to rip my face off before the invasion. You were there.”
“Tones, he’s not a hard guy to get along with. I think he was more pissed about Fury lying than anything.” Tony regarded this, then nodded.
“Then it’s settled. We can start the recruitment tomorrow.”
“Wait, Tony, I didn’t even agree-”
“Nope! We’re doing it! I’m calling Clint!” Lee groaned in frustration, while Tony left the room, cellphone already dialing. Lee turned to the abandoned bowl of popcorn and reached for it, and turned back to the TV.
०००
Steve was the first to say yes, because of course he was. Lee tried to downplay it, tried to say things that might turn off Steve, but he wasn’t buying it.
“We’d be on Stark’s payroll, and we’d be living in the Tower, if you agreed to it. Might get cramped?”
“That’s better than living off of you, Lee, I wouldn’t have to bunk with you anymore. You’d have me out of your way.”
“Stevie, I don’t want you out of my way, if anything I welcome you to be more in my way-”
“Lee, you know this is a great opportunity. We’d be doing some good, away from government influence.” It’s like Steve reads his mind sometimes. Lee sighed.
“Alright. I trust you. If you’re in, then so am I. We can move our stuff out of my apartment together, next weekend.”
Steve sounded confused. “I thought it was just me?”
“No, it’s for the whole team. That’s me too, dummy.”
“Right. Well, see you when you get home then, we can talk more about it.”
“Alright.” The line ended and Lee sighed. Tony walked back into the room, a huge smile on his face. “Steve’s in, so I guess I am too.”
“Awesome! Clint’s in too, and Nat’s still thinking about it. Bruce said no but I’m still making his room for when he says yes. I’m going to call Jane Foster, to recruit Thor, when he gets back from Asgard.” He blew out a breath in excitement. “It’s coming together! And you’re moving in next week?” Lee nodded. “Excellent. I actually have a choice for you, floor-wise.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you want your own floor, or do you want to bunk with Steve?”
You’d have me out of your way. Lee felt a pang of sadness, about having Steve in his own floor, but he pushed past it. If he wanted his own space, then he can’t force Steve to room with him.
“Nah, our own floors is fine.”
“Great. I’m going down to the shop, you staying?”
“Steve’s waiting for me, I’m gonna head home.”
“See ya, Lulu.”
“Bye, asshole."
On the way home, Lee grabbed takeout, and got Steve’s favorite, Orange Chicken and noodles. Lee drove at a leisurely speed, taking his time. Steve was waiting for him, reading a book on the couch, the television muted. “Hey, Stevie.”
“Awesome, you brought dinner. Wasn’t sure if I should’ve made some or waited until you got home.” Lee set the bags on the counter, and Steve got up, rummaging through the bags and placing boxes of noodles on the counter. “Ooh! My favorite. You shouldn’t have, Lee.” He swooped down and kissed the top of Lee’s head, gently, and turned back to the takeout, before realizing what he’d done, freezing in place. “Uh…”
Lee didn’t say anything, just tried to ignore his reddening cheeks, and he grabbed a box. “Wanna watch a movie?”
“Uh, sure. What have you got in mind?” They settled on the couch, boxes and chopsticks in hand.
“I was thinking of maybe a David Lynch film, something that blows your mind,” Lee suggested.
“Who’s David Lynch?”
“Perfect, now we’re definitely watching the movie I was thinking of.”
०००
Lee hauled his duffel bag onto the bed of his floor-er, well, floor and a half, and looked around the room. Tony had left the room mostly unfurnished, save a bed and a dresser, thankfully. Lee’s furniture was arriving tonight, and his books had already been moved into the upper, half-loft.
The floor was huge, with a living room, a kitchenette, with a master bedroom and an attached bathroom, a main bathroom, and a guest room. It was about the same size as his apartment, just rearranged differently, and a view of New York dazzling through the open wall of windows. Another spiral staircase--possibly inspired by his apartment-- led to the half-loft, where boxes and boxes of Lee’s books had already been stacked neatly in. The loft was about half the size of the floor below, and Lee presumed that the rest of the floor was being used as a closet space.
All in all, the place was amazing. Lee wandered around, still taking it all in, when Jarvis’s voice rang out into the air. “Agent Leigh, Captain Rogers is requesting to visit your floor.”
“Let him in, thanks J.”
“You’re welcome.” The elevator doors slip open, and there stood Steve, wandering in with the same look of wonder at Lee’s floor.
“Wow, so you’re right under me! Awesome. Did Tony give you a loft?” Lee smiled warmly, and nodded. “He gave me this like, under-floor… loft thing.” So it wasn’t a closet space.
“Oh! Then you must be on the other side of my loft wall. We could have Tony add a door, or break the wall down, if you’d like.” Steve beamed.
“That’s a wonderful idea, that way we can visit each other without the elevator. He made it into an art studio, I guess someone told him?” Lee raised his hands in mock surrender.
“You got me. Jarvis, could you send Tony that request?”
“Already done, sir. Workers will be in to work on it tomorrow.”
“Awesome. So, what do we do now?” Lee looked at Steve expectantly.
“I guess.... We could do our usual routine. The floor under Thor’s is the gym, want to go?”
Lee grinned. “Let’s do it.” He walked back into his room, rummaging through his duffel bag until he found his sweats and running shoes, and headed into the elevator, followed by Steve.
They worked out for a couple hours, Steve working on the punching bags, Lee using various weights and other equipment, until Clint walked in through the elevator. “Guys, this place is awesome. We’ve gotta do something for Tony somehow, to thank him.”
Lee stopped using one of the machines, and took a break, drinking from a bottle of water. He finished, then wiped his brow with a towel. “He’s in his shop right now, I doubt he’ll be out for a few hours. Maybe we could have a movie night, drag him in it?”
“That’s a good idea. Let’s make a list of movies!”
“Not Inland Empire,” Steve muttered, and Lee chuckled at him.
“Yeah, let’s wait to add David Lynch films for sure,” Lee agreed. “Tony usually likes comedies or unconventional action films.”
“Speaking of,” Clint said, leaning against Lee’s exercise equipment. “How do you even know Tony?”
Lee leaned back against the seat. “Easy. When Howard died, I was there. Stane was his godfather, but I was the weird uncle, I showed up to all his birthdays, Christmases, you name it. Howard didn’t treat him right. I was the positive force in his life, I encouraged him to go to MIT. He’s like my little baby brother.” Steve thought about that, and realized with an awkward blush that the dynamic between Lee and Tony wasn’t what he had thought. He was more like Chuckie to him, he mused, but more likely to get himself into trouble. “Actually, he kind of reminded me of Steve, before we got on the Serum.” Steve blinked at him, confused. Lee winked, and continued. “He’s brilliant, always getting into trouble. He went missing in Afghanistan and I nearly pulled all my hair out worrying over him.”
“Sounds like me alright,” Steve murmured quietly. Clint grinned, and stepped away, starting to head toward the elevators.
“Well, I’m going to go explore some more. Maybe I’ll find Dracula, hiding in a coffin.”
“You’ll probably find Nat.”
“Lee, don’t say that,” Steve scolded. “You know she probably bugged all of us. She’ll probably take offense and kiss you in your sleep.”
“Please, if anything she’d kill Clint. I’m too sweet,” Lee cooed, batting his eyelashes comically. Steve laughed and turned back to his punching bag. “Say, why don’t you try something other than punching those bags?”
Steve paused. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you can punch just fine. What about your flexibility? Or your agility?” Steve grinned, already moving away from the bag.
“Alright, show me.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, show me. Do some yoga, or something.”
Lee flushed red, scrambling to think of something. “Yeah, okay. Come here.” He led Steve to a clear area, and grabbed a yoga mat from a rack. Steve did the same, and set it down next to Lee’s. Lee sat down, and turned to Steve, motioning for him to do the same.
“Okay, we can start with something easy, to stretch some muscles out. This one’s called the Cobra.” He laid on his stomach, then stretched his torso upwards, and Steve followed suit. Lee watched him as his muscles ripples in his arms, his back a gentle curve.
They tried a few more, until Steve finally stopped, rolling over onto his back, breath coming out in short puffs. “Wow, that’s… harder than it looks. No wonder you do it, Lee,” he said. Lee left his position, the Dancer’s Pose, and put his leg down.
“It’s honestly relaxing, for me. Not many guys do it, but it’s just something I’d discovered helped. There’s also meditation, calming exercises to help with mental stress as well.” Steve nodded, still on the floor, so Lee extended a hand. He grabbed it and Lee lifted him up, and Steve bent down to pick up his mat, wincing.
“Sure does pack a punch on the back muscles, though.”
“Oh, you’ll get used to it. That just means they’re getting stretched.” Lee grinned up at Steve.
“You could always stretch them other ways,” A voice called out flirtatiously, and Lee and Steve turned to find Tony. “Alright love birds, shower time. We’ve got a movie marathon to watch.”
Steve didn’t comment, just grabbed his towel and walked over to the elevator. Lee did the same, and Tony grinned at him.
“You guys stink.”
“Thanks Tony, it blocks out the smell of asshole in the air. Guess you can’t escape from it though, sorry,” Lee quipped, showing Tony a mock sad face. Tony stuck his tongue out at him.
Steve rolled his eyes, and Tony turned to face him. “Alright Capsicle, you’re not the dad here. No rolling eyes in my vicinity, that’s Daddy Lee’s job.”
Lee scoffed. “Since when am I your dad?”
“Since right now. Welcome to the family Daddy.”
“I hate you.”
“We both know that means you love me, come on, Daddy-” Tony’s retort was cut off by Lee elbowing him right in the stomach, followed by a soft oof.