The Corrupt and the Pure; Chapter 45: The Consensus
[INFO]Title: The Corrupt and the Pure
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers & Captain America (MCU)
Timeline: post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Genre: Drama, action, hurt/comfort
Rating: MA / FRAO
Characters: Steve Rogers (Captain America), Tony Stark (Iron Man). Also: Bruce Banner (Hulk), James “Bucky” Barnes (Winter Soldier), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), J.A.R.V.I.S., James “Rhodey” Rhodes (War Machine), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Thor, Sam Wilson (Falcon)
Pairing: Steve/Tony
Summary: When the Steve Rogers from an alternate universe appears in the middle of the Avengers Tower, two worlds are about to collide: one where Captain America became the tool of HYDRA and fell into a relationship with the hero Iron Man - and one where Tony and Steve are tentatively getting along. The latter are forced to reconsider their relationship when the Commander kidnaps Tony to replace his dead lover.
Complete.
Written for: A story commissioned by Susanne (ChickenHax @ AO3 / starkred @ Tumblr).
Warnings: Rape/non-con, major character death (alternate universe), graphic canonical violence, M/M sexual content, language.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 45: The Consensus
Steve had no idea how they had ended up here, Tony propped up on the pillows in his bed after punching Steve in the face and then kissing him again, now drinking the smoothie he had brought along with him.
Neither kiss measured up to the ones Steve had experienced before, but he wasn’t interested in that. Those kisses shouldn’t have even happened, but here they were because of them, sorting out the myriad of thoughts and feelings normal people, hopefully, never had to deal with.
“What are we doing?” Steve asked, pulling a chair into the bedroom but not close enough to Tony to make it seem like he was crowding him.
“We’re talking - which is probably the smartest, safest thing we could be doing,” Tony answered. “There’s no way this will work if we just rush headlong into it.”
“Into what?”
“You tell me.”
They stared at each other for a moment. Steve was the first to look away because on some level, he still blamed himself for starting all this even though Tony had been the one to pull him into that kiss last night.
“The things he said, about me missing out because I couldn’t see you the same way…” Steve was still uncertain whether saying it was a good idea. “It got me thinking. Obviously, I’ve spent a few too many hours obsessing over it.”
“I didn’t know it struck you so hard,” Tony said, cradling the smoothie bottle.
“Neither did I, but the thought hasn’t left me alone,” Steve admitted, looking directly at Tony again. “I missed out on so much. I waited too long, didn’t think it was the right time even though I felt like it was the right person.”
“But you don’t feel that with me,” Tony guessed.
“We barely get along when we’re in the same room for more than a couple minutes,” Steve huffed. “That was why it didn’t make sense to me at first, but you kept saying we came from the same life - that while we weren’t the same, there was a lot we shared.” Steve still didn’t like that thought, but he couldn’t dismiss it either, seeing as it was probably true.
“We’ll never know how much I shared with that other Tony Stark,” Tony reminded him. “Could be it worked for them, but it will never work for us.”
“Then why kiss me - twice?”
Tony’s jaw snapped shut and it was his turn to look away.
“It’s not… because of him, is it?” Steve asked. He didn’t want to bring it up, but he needed to know.
“Not really,” Tony replied slowly. “I never thought of you that way, but this thing opened my eyes to new possibilities.” His eyes snapped towards Steve’s face. “It doesn’t mean you’ll remind me of him, every second of every day. Sure, there will be times, I’m sure, and all this could be just some kind of a stress response from us,” he added, gesturing between them.
“Maybe we should wait,” Steve suggested. “See how we feel about it after some time has passed.”
“But how much time is enough?” Tony asked. “You already waited too long, once.” He shifted, sitting up slightly. “I’m not meaning to rush you,” he clarified, playing with the bottle, rolling it back and forth between his hands. Obviously, it served as a reason not to look at Steve again.
“I know,” Steve said, voice dropping a few notes even though he didn’t mean it to. The weight of that knowledge was all too real sometimes… “If we rush this, I think it will ruin whatever friendship we’ve built between us,” he decided. “I’ll do something and you’ll hate me for it, the way you hated him.”
Tony snorted. “Those things don’t happen accidentally, Steve,” he argued. “For me to hate you like I hated him, you would have to actually do something bad and mean it.”
“Never,” Steve retorted instinctively. “I would never do that. I promised you before, and I promise you again. No matter how angry you make me sometimes.”
Tony gave him the softest of smiles. “I believe you. It might sound like very little to you, but it’s more than that. It’s a good place to start building something new, no matter the bad stuff that’s right behind us.”
Steve couldn’t shake the feeling that the damage the Commander had done would come between them, eventually, in one form or another, but he supposed it would make itself known eventually even if they didn’t pursue this. Things had a way of coming back to haunt them.
So, instead of running away from it, perhaps the smart thing was to learn from their mistakes, overcome the obstacles as they came - and embrace untold possibilities.
Tony drained his smoothie, setting it on the bedside table, then yawned. He looked like he could do with a few more hours of sleep.
“I should probably hit the gym,” Steve offered, to give Tony some distance.
“Or, you could come lie down with me and catch up on some more of your sleep; it looks like you didn’t get much last night, and I recall you being pretty wasted, too.”
Steve couldn’t deny either of those points, but he hesitated. “What happened to waiting?”
“You don’t have to lie down on top of me,” Tony rolled his eyes. “I would prefer it if you didn’t, actually, for a while…” Then, he scooted to one side of the bed and patted the empty space beside him.
Slowly, Steve moved to the appointed side of the bed, and after getting a nod of confirmation from Tony he slowly sat down and then moved to lie down.
There was plenty of space left between them, the bed large enough for the two of them to claim their space and never touch each other. Steve hadn’t thought it was practical to have such a large bed for just one person, but now he was glad it was there.
“Okay?” Tony asked, lying on his side, looking at Steve and appearing relatively comfortable.
“Okay,” Steve agreed. Tony was right there, within his reach, but for the time being he was satisfied not to reach across that distance. Instead, he would trust Tony to be there, and they would bridge the gap at a pace that worked for them, no matter what their alternative versions had done before them.
This was their beginning, after all, and no one else’s.
And even though it felt like someone had already robbed a chunk of Steve’s time and experiences with Tony, leaving an ugly stain behind for him to clean up, he was determined to see this through and make this theirs.
The End
Story info
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers & Captain America (MCU)
Timeline: post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Genre: Drama, action, hurt/comfort
Rating: MA / FRAO
Characters: Steve Rogers (Captain America), Tony Stark (Iron Man). Also: Bruce Banner (Hulk), James “Bucky” Barnes (Winter Soldier), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), J.A.R.V.I.S., James “Rhodey” Rhodes (War Machine), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Thor, Sam Wilson (Falcon)
Pairing: Steve/Tony
Summary: When the Steve Rogers from an alternate universe appears in the middle of the Avengers Tower, two worlds are about to collide: one where Captain America became the tool of HYDRA and fell into a relationship with the hero Iron Man - and one where Tony and Steve are tentatively getting along. The latter are forced to reconsider their relationship when the Commander kidnaps Tony to replace his dead lover.
Complete.
Written for: A story commissioned by Susanne (ChickenHax @ AO3 / starkred @ Tumblr).
Warnings: Rape/non-con, major character death (alternate universe), graphic canonical violence, M/M sexual content, language.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 45: The Consensus
Steve had no idea how they had ended up here, Tony propped up on the pillows in his bed after punching Steve in the face and then kissing him again, now drinking the smoothie he had brought along with him.
Neither kiss measured up to the ones Steve had experienced before, but he wasn’t interested in that. Those kisses shouldn’t have even happened, but here they were because of them, sorting out the myriad of thoughts and feelings normal people, hopefully, never had to deal with.
“What are we doing?” Steve asked, pulling a chair into the bedroom but not close enough to Tony to make it seem like he was crowding him.
“We’re talking - which is probably the smartest, safest thing we could be doing,” Tony answered. “There’s no way this will work if we just rush headlong into it.”
“Into what?”
“You tell me.”
They stared at each other for a moment. Steve was the first to look away because on some level, he still blamed himself for starting all this even though Tony had been the one to pull him into that kiss last night.
“The things he said, about me missing out because I couldn’t see you the same way…” Steve was still uncertain whether saying it was a good idea. “It got me thinking. Obviously, I’ve spent a few too many hours obsessing over it.”
“I didn’t know it struck you so hard,” Tony said, cradling the smoothie bottle.
“Neither did I, but the thought hasn’t left me alone,” Steve admitted, looking directly at Tony again. “I missed out on so much. I waited too long, didn’t think it was the right time even though I felt like it was the right person.”
“But you don’t feel that with me,” Tony guessed.
“We barely get along when we’re in the same room for more than a couple minutes,” Steve huffed. “That was why it didn’t make sense to me at first, but you kept saying we came from the same life - that while we weren’t the same, there was a lot we shared.” Steve still didn’t like that thought, but he couldn’t dismiss it either, seeing as it was probably true.
“We’ll never know how much I shared with that other Tony Stark,” Tony reminded him. “Could be it worked for them, but it will never work for us.”
“Then why kiss me - twice?”
Tony’s jaw snapped shut and it was his turn to look away.
“It’s not… because of him, is it?” Steve asked. He didn’t want to bring it up, but he needed to know.
“Not really,” Tony replied slowly. “I never thought of you that way, but this thing opened my eyes to new possibilities.” His eyes snapped towards Steve’s face. “It doesn’t mean you’ll remind me of him, every second of every day. Sure, there will be times, I’m sure, and all this could be just some kind of a stress response from us,” he added, gesturing between them.
“Maybe we should wait,” Steve suggested. “See how we feel about it after some time has passed.”
“But how much time is enough?” Tony asked. “You already waited too long, once.” He shifted, sitting up slightly. “I’m not meaning to rush you,” he clarified, playing with the bottle, rolling it back and forth between his hands. Obviously, it served as a reason not to look at Steve again.
“I know,” Steve said, voice dropping a few notes even though he didn’t mean it to. The weight of that knowledge was all too real sometimes… “If we rush this, I think it will ruin whatever friendship we’ve built between us,” he decided. “I’ll do something and you’ll hate me for it, the way you hated him.”
Tony snorted. “Those things don’t happen accidentally, Steve,” he argued. “For me to hate you like I hated him, you would have to actually do something bad and mean it.”
“Never,” Steve retorted instinctively. “I would never do that. I promised you before, and I promise you again. No matter how angry you make me sometimes.”
Tony gave him the softest of smiles. “I believe you. It might sound like very little to you, but it’s more than that. It’s a good place to start building something new, no matter the bad stuff that’s right behind us.”
Steve couldn’t shake the feeling that the damage the Commander had done would come between them, eventually, in one form or another, but he supposed it would make itself known eventually even if they didn’t pursue this. Things had a way of coming back to haunt them.
So, instead of running away from it, perhaps the smart thing was to learn from their mistakes, overcome the obstacles as they came - and embrace untold possibilities.
Tony drained his smoothie, setting it on the bedside table, then yawned. He looked like he could do with a few more hours of sleep.
“I should probably hit the gym,” Steve offered, to give Tony some distance.
“Or, you could come lie down with me and catch up on some more of your sleep; it looks like you didn’t get much last night, and I recall you being pretty wasted, too.”
Steve couldn’t deny either of those points, but he hesitated. “What happened to waiting?”
“You don’t have to lie down on top of me,” Tony rolled his eyes. “I would prefer it if you didn’t, actually, for a while…” Then, he scooted to one side of the bed and patted the empty space beside him.
Slowly, Steve moved to the appointed side of the bed, and after getting a nod of confirmation from Tony he slowly sat down and then moved to lie down.
There was plenty of space left between them, the bed large enough for the two of them to claim their space and never touch each other. Steve hadn’t thought it was practical to have such a large bed for just one person, but now he was glad it was there.
“Okay?” Tony asked, lying on his side, looking at Steve and appearing relatively comfortable.
“Okay,” Steve agreed. Tony was right there, within his reach, but for the time being he was satisfied not to reach across that distance. Instead, he would trust Tony to be there, and they would bridge the gap at a pace that worked for them, no matter what their alternative versions had done before them.
This was their beginning, after all, and no one else’s.
And even though it felt like someone had already robbed a chunk of Steve’s time and experiences with Tony, leaving an ugly stain behind for him to clean up, he was determined to see this through and make this theirs.
The End
Story info