FIC: 'Til the End of the Line, Ch.3/?, Avengers, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Title: ‘Til the End of the Line
Fandom: Marvel Avengers
Author: alexcat
Type: FCH, FCS
Rating: R - NC-17
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor do I profit from their use.
Warnings: None
Beta: Jaiden
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Archive: OEAM, Ao3, Alex’s Story Book
Spoilers: Yes, for both the Avenger universe movies and for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Summary: Steve Rogers can't let Bucky go. He needs to save him and Sam pledges to help. Along the way, he finds unexpected friendship and a little love as well.
~~~
Chapter Three
Sam, Steve and Tony got into Sam’s car.
“So, we just drive around?” Tony asked.
Steve shrugged. “You got a better idea?”
“He’s going to be hunting you, most likely,” Tony said in an attempt to be helpful.
“Do you think I’m crazy?” Steve asked.
“Yes, but I am, too, so that doesn’t bother me too much. Crazy I’m used to.”
They drove to Sam’s apartment and got out. “So, we’re going to wander around in the wide open? You do know I’m not in the suit anymore, don’t you?” Stark asked Steve.
“I’m not in one either.”
“But you don’t need the suit, Rogers.”
Steve looked at Tony for a second and said, “I’ll protect you.”
“Ass,” Stark mumbled under his breath as they walked down the street.
Sam shook his head. “You two, get a room.”
By midafternoon, they had covered a wide area, but had no trace of anyone with the serum. Stark was tired. He’d got up in the middle of the night to fly in from the West Coast and superhero or not, he was knackered.
“I have a condo here in the city that I use for Stark Enterprises business. Both of you are welcome to stay there while I’m here. Cap? Sam?”
Sam bowed out. He said his fish needed feeding. Steve decided he wanted to see how Stark lived. “I’ll come along. Give Sam a night off as my keeper.”
Sam just grinned and shook his head.
They all made their way back to Sam’s apartment and a car arrived a few minutes later for Tony and Steve. They made their way out to Georgetown.
Tony’s condo was the top floor of an expensive building. Steve had never seen anything like it. Tony showed him to a bedroom that was almost as big as Sam’s whole apartment. It had a king sized bed with a canopy, for God’s sake. The bathroom was the size of his former apartment. The tub was an updated claw foot big enough for two, and the shower was ultramodern with music and even a small TV monitor in the corner. It had a regular shower, and one where the water simply fell down as if it was raining. And steam, too.
Steve felt like a bull in a china shop.
He jumped when Tony spoke behind him. “Why don’t you try the shower out? You’re jumpy as hell.”
He turned, ready to argue with Stark, but the eccentric millionaire had changed into ratty shorts and a Superman t-shirt, a look that totally disarmed him.
“What do you like to eat? JARVIS tells me we can have our choice. Something tells me that a nice steak and some fries might hit the spot with you.”
Steve just stared. Had the bastard checked up to see what to cook? What was his angle? Tony Stark had to have an angle, didn’t he?
“So sue me! I asked Sam what you liked to eat. He said you talked about steak sometimes.”
“That was,” he searched for a nice word, “considerate.”
Tony waved it off in that flip way he had. “Before I forget, word is that you and Natasha Romanov had a thing. Any truth to it?”
“Don’t you have any manners?”
Tony laughed hard. “Me? Fuck no. So is she good?” Steve took a step toward him. Tony put up his hands. “Just curious. She’s one of the few women I know who pays me no mind. So naturally, I wonder about her.”
Steve stared at him without speaking.
Tony shrugged. “Dinner is at eight. Since I know you don’t drink alcohol, is soda okay?”
Steve nodded, glad to get rid of his annoying host.
The hot water felt good. He hadn’t known his shoulders were all knotted up and his head was ringing with the noise of the city. He shed those things in the shower, letting the water wash everything away but here and now.
Of course, Tony’s rude questions made him think of Nat. God, he’d never expected her to be so, so hot. It made his skin burn to think of that night with her. There had been a few women back in the forties, after he’d become Captain America, but the military had kept a tight rein on him, making sure that no hint of scandal sullied up their ultimate hero.
He and Peggy Carter had almost made love once, but they’d been interrupted before they got much past groping. He still remembered her soft skin and the way she smelled. She was his biggest regret.
He realized his hands were shriveling from being in the shower so long. He turned off the water and stepped out, drying off with the fluffiest towel he’d ever seen. This is how Stark lived? No wonder he was such a shit. Living like this could spoil a man, make him soft. But Stark wasn’t soft. He was tough and brilliant. He was still a shit, though.
He dried his short hair and combed it, dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt that he’d grabbed at the apartment.
Something smelled wonderful when he stepped out of his room.
“Dinner is ready.” Tony pointed to a seat beside his at the head of the table. “You sit there.”
Steve sat. A butler came in with their food. The first course was a salad. Steve ate like he’d not had food in weeks. Tony chattered about mechanical things and computerized things that Steve knew little about. The second course was steak and fries with a pretty broccoli dish on the side.
“Pepper says I have to eat some vegetables,” Tony offered in explanation of the broccoli. Steve ate. Everything was delicious, and he ate it all.
Dessert was cheesecake, tiny slices with a few local grown strawberries on top. Steve ate all of that, too.
“Do you not get enough to eat?” Tony seemed serious.
“Yeah, but not this good. We eat pizza and take out for the most part.”
Stark laughed. “I do too, unless Pepper makes me eat right. That seems to be a woman thing.”
“Why did you come?” Steve asked abruptly.
“Coulson sent me.”
“No one makes you do much that you don’t want to do.”
“I sort of volunteered. We’re kinda shorthanded right now, in case you’ve not noticed.”
“But you don’t even like me.”
“Oh, I like you well enough. We just don’t agree on much. So, do you like sports?”
“Baseball. I like baseball.”
He led Steve to a den with a huge screen television in it. He pointed to one of the recliners there and sat in the other himself. He picked up a remote and found a baseball game. “Not sure who is playing, but it’s baseball.”
They watched in an oddly companionable silence for a long while. Steve was enjoying the game more than he’d thought. He and Bucky never dreamed of such wonders when they were growing up. He felt that uncomfortable twinge he got when he realized that he was completely outdated.
“Not as good as the real thing but close,” Tony said, which made him feel a little better.
“The crowd makes it more fun but this, this is great.”
“Did you have a girl back then?”
Before he answered, he looked over at Stark to make sure he wasn’t being made fun of again. Stark looked sincere.
“No. I was too much of a shrimp. Hell, I was barely as tall as the elementary school kids. Girls didn’t want someone who was littler than their kid brothers. They liked Bucky. I got his leftovers sometimes.”
Stark didn’t say anything, but didn’t seem to be waiting for more details either, so Steve asked him, “How about you before you were famous?”
“Well, I was always an ass and always rich and famous, but I never cared about the girls I had. I fucked them and sent them away. Until Pepper.”
“Why all the questions?”
“I’m nosy. Ever been with a man?”
Steve’s mouth fell open. What the hell kind of question was that? He’d been called a fruit when he was a scrawny weakling but even then, he’d never thought about men that way. Not until he’d been awakened in this century did he even meet someone who was openly homosexual.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but no. I’m not - I don’t…”
“I’m not either, but I am always one thing: curious. I’ll try anything at least once.”
“So have you?”
“Yeah. Long time ago.”
“And?” Steve’s face felt hot, and he knew he must be blushing but he didn’t know why.
“Intense. Erotic.”
Steve was surprised at his answer. He expected him to say it wasn’t good, that he didn’t like it, but then Tony Stark seldom said or did what anyone thought he would.
Just then someone hit a grand slam homerun and Steve’s attention was back on the ballgame. It wasn’t until later that he wondered if Tony had ideas about him!
Steve’s sleep restless despite the huge soft bed. He thought of Peggy and Natasha, wondered what it would be like to have someone to love, to go home to. He wondered if Stark knew how lucky he was.
~~~~
Fandom: Marvel Avengers
Author: alexcat
Type: FCH, FCS
Rating: R - NC-17
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor do I profit from their use.
Warnings: None
Beta: Jaiden
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Archive: OEAM, Ao3, Alex’s Story Book
Spoilers: Yes, for both the Avenger universe movies and for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Summary: Steve Rogers can't let Bucky go. He needs to save him and Sam pledges to help. Along the way, he finds unexpected friendship and a little love as well.
~~~
Chapter Three
Sam, Steve and Tony got into Sam’s car.
“So, we just drive around?” Tony asked.
Steve shrugged. “You got a better idea?”
“He’s going to be hunting you, most likely,” Tony said in an attempt to be helpful.
“Do you think I’m crazy?” Steve asked.
“Yes, but I am, too, so that doesn’t bother me too much. Crazy I’m used to.”
They drove to Sam’s apartment and got out. “So, we’re going to wander around in the wide open? You do know I’m not in the suit anymore, don’t you?” Stark asked Steve.
“I’m not in one either.”
“But you don’t need the suit, Rogers.”
Steve looked at Tony for a second and said, “I’ll protect you.”
“Ass,” Stark mumbled under his breath as they walked down the street.
Sam shook his head. “You two, get a room.”
By midafternoon, they had covered a wide area, but had no trace of anyone with the serum. Stark was tired. He’d got up in the middle of the night to fly in from the West Coast and superhero or not, he was knackered.
“I have a condo here in the city that I use for Stark Enterprises business. Both of you are welcome to stay there while I’m here. Cap? Sam?”
Sam bowed out. He said his fish needed feeding. Steve decided he wanted to see how Stark lived. “I’ll come along. Give Sam a night off as my keeper.”
Sam just grinned and shook his head.
They all made their way back to Sam’s apartment and a car arrived a few minutes later for Tony and Steve. They made their way out to Georgetown.
Tony’s condo was the top floor of an expensive building. Steve had never seen anything like it. Tony showed him to a bedroom that was almost as big as Sam’s whole apartment. It had a king sized bed with a canopy, for God’s sake. The bathroom was the size of his former apartment. The tub was an updated claw foot big enough for two, and the shower was ultramodern with music and even a small TV monitor in the corner. It had a regular shower, and one where the water simply fell down as if it was raining. And steam, too.
Steve felt like a bull in a china shop.
He jumped when Tony spoke behind him. “Why don’t you try the shower out? You’re jumpy as hell.”
He turned, ready to argue with Stark, but the eccentric millionaire had changed into ratty shorts and a Superman t-shirt, a look that totally disarmed him.
“What do you like to eat? JARVIS tells me we can have our choice. Something tells me that a nice steak and some fries might hit the spot with you.”
Steve just stared. Had the bastard checked up to see what to cook? What was his angle? Tony Stark had to have an angle, didn’t he?
“So sue me! I asked Sam what you liked to eat. He said you talked about steak sometimes.”
“That was,” he searched for a nice word, “considerate.”
Tony waved it off in that flip way he had. “Before I forget, word is that you and Natasha Romanov had a thing. Any truth to it?”
“Don’t you have any manners?”
Tony laughed hard. “Me? Fuck no. So is she good?” Steve took a step toward him. Tony put up his hands. “Just curious. She’s one of the few women I know who pays me no mind. So naturally, I wonder about her.”
Steve stared at him without speaking.
Tony shrugged. “Dinner is at eight. Since I know you don’t drink alcohol, is soda okay?”
Steve nodded, glad to get rid of his annoying host.
The hot water felt good. He hadn’t known his shoulders were all knotted up and his head was ringing with the noise of the city. He shed those things in the shower, letting the water wash everything away but here and now.
Of course, Tony’s rude questions made him think of Nat. God, he’d never expected her to be so, so hot. It made his skin burn to think of that night with her. There had been a few women back in the forties, after he’d become Captain America, but the military had kept a tight rein on him, making sure that no hint of scandal sullied up their ultimate hero.
He and Peggy Carter had almost made love once, but they’d been interrupted before they got much past groping. He still remembered her soft skin and the way she smelled. She was his biggest regret.
He realized his hands were shriveling from being in the shower so long. He turned off the water and stepped out, drying off with the fluffiest towel he’d ever seen. This is how Stark lived? No wonder he was such a shit. Living like this could spoil a man, make him soft. But Stark wasn’t soft. He was tough and brilliant. He was still a shit, though.
He dried his short hair and combed it, dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt that he’d grabbed at the apartment.
Something smelled wonderful when he stepped out of his room.
“Dinner is ready.” Tony pointed to a seat beside his at the head of the table. “You sit there.”
Steve sat. A butler came in with their food. The first course was a salad. Steve ate like he’d not had food in weeks. Tony chattered about mechanical things and computerized things that Steve knew little about. The second course was steak and fries with a pretty broccoli dish on the side.
“Pepper says I have to eat some vegetables,” Tony offered in explanation of the broccoli. Steve ate. Everything was delicious, and he ate it all.
Dessert was cheesecake, tiny slices with a few local grown strawberries on top. Steve ate all of that, too.
“Do you not get enough to eat?” Tony seemed serious.
“Yeah, but not this good. We eat pizza and take out for the most part.”
Stark laughed. “I do too, unless Pepper makes me eat right. That seems to be a woman thing.”
“Why did you come?” Steve asked abruptly.
“Coulson sent me.”
“No one makes you do much that you don’t want to do.”
“I sort of volunteered. We’re kinda shorthanded right now, in case you’ve not noticed.”
“But you don’t even like me.”
“Oh, I like you well enough. We just don’t agree on much. So, do you like sports?”
“Baseball. I like baseball.”
He led Steve to a den with a huge screen television in it. He pointed to one of the recliners there and sat in the other himself. He picked up a remote and found a baseball game. “Not sure who is playing, but it’s baseball.”
They watched in an oddly companionable silence for a long while. Steve was enjoying the game more than he’d thought. He and Bucky never dreamed of such wonders when they were growing up. He felt that uncomfortable twinge he got when he realized that he was completely outdated.
“Not as good as the real thing but close,” Tony said, which made him feel a little better.
“The crowd makes it more fun but this, this is great.”
“Did you have a girl back then?”
Before he answered, he looked over at Stark to make sure he wasn’t being made fun of again. Stark looked sincere.
“No. I was too much of a shrimp. Hell, I was barely as tall as the elementary school kids. Girls didn’t want someone who was littler than their kid brothers. They liked Bucky. I got his leftovers sometimes.”
Stark didn’t say anything, but didn’t seem to be waiting for more details either, so Steve asked him, “How about you before you were famous?”
“Well, I was always an ass and always rich and famous, but I never cared about the girls I had. I fucked them and sent them away. Until Pepper.”
“Why all the questions?”
“I’m nosy. Ever been with a man?”
Steve’s mouth fell open. What the hell kind of question was that? He’d been called a fruit when he was a scrawny weakling but even then, he’d never thought about men that way. Not until he’d been awakened in this century did he even meet someone who was openly homosexual.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but no. I’m not - I don’t…”
“I’m not either, but I am always one thing: curious. I’ll try anything at least once.”
“So have you?”
“Yeah. Long time ago.”
“And?” Steve’s face felt hot, and he knew he must be blushing but he didn’t know why.
“Intense. Erotic.”
Steve was surprised at his answer. He expected him to say it wasn’t good, that he didn’t like it, but then Tony Stark seldom said or did what anyone thought he would.
Just then someone hit a grand slam homerun and Steve’s attention was back on the ballgame. It wasn’t until later that he wondered if Tony had ideas about him!
Steve’s sleep restless despite the huge soft bed. He thought of Peggy and Natasha, wondered what it would be like to have someone to love, to go home to. He wondered if Stark knew how lucky he was.
~~~~