He was on his second cup of this glorious coffee, busily checking his twitter feed, when he hears his name on the television.
TMZ is playing on the screen and Steve had warned him not to tune in to this show. Steve says it's trashy, tacky, and slanderous. Tony, personally, finds himself entertained with the show (although, it is kinda trashy).
Being the featured on the gossip ridden show isn't something unusual for Tony, but reports about a "leaked sex tape" with Tiberious Stone was something on a different scale.
He puts his phone down and watches as a still from this "leaked sex tape" is plastered on the television.
It is clear to anyone who's tuned in to the show: that is undeniably his face and his body riding Tiberius Stone.
Oh shit, he panics, Howard is gonna murder him.
________________________
Howard's face popped up in his vibrating phone. He has no choice but to answer. Besides, it's not like this was his first scandal.
(It was his first sex tape scandal though. Hopefully, this was also the last.)
He answers and he sees his father's eerily calm face and his mother's poker face in it.
"Fix this." Howards sternly says. Wow. Not even a hello or a hi, just straight to the point.
Tony tries his hardest not to roll his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm on it." Tony tells him. Howard ends the call and Tony wants to hurl his phone on the wall. Would it kill Howard to to at least act like he cares about his son and not just the reputation of his family and company?
The phone he's gripping way too hard vibrates.
Are you okay? the message reads. It's from his mom. Tony smiles weakly and types his response.
Never better. Don't forget my Belgian choco.
Bless his mom, he thinks, at least she tries her best to give a shit about him.
__________________________
Then came the flood of texts from his friends, bombarding him with questions regarding his well-being. He feels overwhelmed, they're the best people ever.
His twitter is spammed with tweets that ranged from innocently funny to degradingly lewd. He's tempted to delete his account but that would mean he's letting those rude ass comment get to him.
His phone rings and Steve's picture pops up.
Oh, shit. What the fuck is he supposed to say?
He lets it ring a few more times then he nervously answers the call.
"Are you alright?" Steve says into the phone.
"I'm ok." He answers quietly then adds, "How about you?"
He wants to ask, Can you still proudly say I'm your boyfriend even though I just proved to the world how right they are when they labelled me as a slut?
"Can I come over?," Steve asks, then goes on, "Sorry, I just really need to see you because I know you're probably thinking bad things about yourself again."
Tony snorts. Of fucking course his boyfriend understands him too well. Steve is the epitome of goddamn perfection. He deserves to be with someone better, but Tony replies,
"Yes please."
Because he's weak and he needs Steve to hug him so tight that he'll forget all about his shitty ex and the goddamn sex tape.
________________________
Two years and a half ago, he was happily in love with this handsome and utterly charming man named Tiberius Stone. His precious and loyal childhood friend confessed to him when he graduated from high school, and they dated.
Howard approved, only because Tiberius was loaded and the heir to a very prominent company. If he and Tiberius end up tying the knot, the prestigious Stark Industries could merge with Tiberius's company.
A perfectly advantageous business deal.
Tony lost his virginity to Ty and Ty was really good in bed. They partied together, took drugs, consumed unbelievable amounts of alcohol, and fucked like there's no tomorrow.
Rhodey and Pepper found him on his bed, almost dying because he fucking overdosed on drugs. They rushed Tony to the hospital and the media feasted on the scandal: that the only heir of Stark Industries OD'd and almost died. Tiberius never came to visit him when he's struggling to recover.
Tony dumped him and hacked his phone to delete all video recordings of their intimate moments. Then, with the help, love, and unconditional support from his awesome friends, he sobered up. He gave up on drugs and learned to limit his alcohol intake.
He met Steve while struggling to regain sobriety. He warns Steve about his own demons and Steve loves him despite everything.
And oh god, he doesn't deserve Steve but he swears he'll do better and maybe he'll be worthy of him, someday.
___________________________
A knock on the door signals that Steve is here and Tony calms himself before opening the door.
Steve immediately embraces him and Tony feels like he's melting.
___________________________
"I still love you, you know, in case you're in doubt again" Steve informs him. They're watching the Adventures of Captain America and Bucky Barnes, a cartoon show that Tony absolutely adores. Something that usually distracts Tony but in this case, it's not quite as effective.
"Why?" Tony asks, it comes out a bit whiny but Steve understands. They've had this type of conversation before. Severaltimes, actually.
"Because you obsess over a fictional supersoldier. Because you drink coffee like it's water. Because you scrunch your nose up when you're annoyed."
Steve wraps an arm around Tony's shoulder and pulls him closer. Tony lets him.
"Because you roll your eyes when you find something ridiculous. Because you sing your heart out with AC/DC songs. Because you often tweet about insane things."
Steve kisses his forehead and continues.
"Because you have a secret soft spot for little kids. Because you hide your big heart underneath the biting sarcasm."
Tony leans closer. Steve kisses his cheeks then talks again.
"Because you're impatient. Because you easily get insecure. Because you don't trust people easily. Because you're often impulsive. Because you have the tendency to overthink."
"Because you are yourself. You have your flaws yet strive to be better every single day."
"But Steve, I'm--"
"A human being, like the rest of us." Steve cuts him off. Tony frowns slightly.
"Hey, look at me," Tony turns to look at Steve. "I have my flaws, I'm stubborn, I get jealous quickly, and I'm a bit uptight."
"...only a bit?" Tony retorts lightly. Steve grins.
"Tony, I yelled at you when you came home late during your birthday. I gave Rhodey a cold shoulder because I got jealous." Tony looks at him in disbelief and Steve shrugs and continues,
"I told Howard to fuck off when he implied that I'm a gold digger. I flipped off the papparazi on our date. Do any of these things make you love me any less?"
Tony shakes his head and opens his mouth.
"But Steve, I just proved to the world how much of a slut I am, how they were right all alo--"
"Okay, stop." Steve interrupts him again.
"The video, which I will never watch because I respect you and I loath that toad-faced bastard, that video was made when you were in love with him."
Steve takes a deep breath and exhales.
"You loved him and that was you expressing your love to him. So I don't care about it, cause that's in the past and it's done."
Tony starts tearing up. Steve adjusts Tony's position and places him on his lap. Steve caresses Tony's cheeks and places their foreheads together.
With teary eyes, Tony stares at Steve's eyes and Steve smiles at him fondly.
"I love you. I choose to love you everyday and for as long as you'll have me. I choose to be with you and to live by your side no matter what happens."
Tony kisses him hard and Steve kisses him back. When they separate, Tony rolls his eyes.
"I swear, you're a big goddamn sap and everything you say is cliche as fuck."
Steve laughs warmly and Tony thinks,
I'll love him for the rest of my life.
______________________
The next day, Tony tweets:
You may have been inside my body but you'll never be inside my mind, my heart, and my very soul.
The tweet gets shared ten thousands of times and he gets replies that ranged from enthusiastically supportive to disgustingly mocking. He doesn't care.
Howard and his mom are coming back tomorrow. His mom texts him that she has the Belgian chocolates...and that she's proud of him. Tony texts back to her: thank you and take care.
After a minute, he follows up with another message: I love you, Mom.
TMZ features a still of his sex tape, a papparazzi shot of Steve flipping them off, and a picture of him kissing Steve. The channel suddenly changes to Disney XD.
Startled, Tony looks behind him and sees Steve putting down the remote.
"The Adventures of Captain America and Bucky Barnes is starting in 5 minutes." Steve informs him as he plops down beside him.
Tony leans closer and snuggles up to his boyfriend.
"Well, you know I can't say no to the epic love story of Cap and Bucky." Tony comments teasingly.
Steve snorts loudly and Tony grins mischievously.
He feels everything will be alright.