Fic: In Another's Eyes (Chapter Fourteen)
Title: In Another’s Eyes
Fandom: The Avengers (AU-Cinematic Universe)
Characters: Antonia “Toni” Stark, Steve Rogers, others.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Toni/Steve
Warnings: Mentions of Non-Con, bondage
Summary: A stalker is targeting Toni, which skews how she sees herself and how she allows others to see her.
Author's Notes: I loved being told I was evil after that last chapter. It made me feel all warm a fuzzy. Here, have a new chapter!
( Chapter One) ( Chapter Two) ( Chapter Three) ( Chapter Four) ( Chapter Five) ( Chapter Six) ( Chapter Seven) ( Chapter Eight) ( Chapter Nine) ( Chapter Ten) ( Chapter Eleven) ( Chapter Twelve) ( Chapter Thirteen)
Chapter Fourteen:
“Toni!” Steve watched in horror as the robotic hand, still clenched around Toni, swung towards the ground. The robot was too much for the ropes Clint had strung to hold it up, breaking them the instant Toni’s thrusters gave out. It was falling fast; not even Hulk would be able stand up against something that heavy falling with that much velocity… Toni had been right in her actions. Hopefully she wouldn’t die not knowing that.
“Everyone, get out of the way!” he yelled. “Hulk, move!”
“ROBOT HURT HULK’S FRIEND!” came the angered reply. “HULK SMASH!”
“Move out of the way or it’s going to smash you!” The robot collapsed a moment later, causing the ground to shake violently and send dust into the air. Hulk hadn’t moved an inch; the beheaded robot landed about a foot in front of him. Hulk seemed to be smirking at the metal corpse, as if its falling had been his doing. Steve decided it was best to let him think that way.
“Hulk smash.” Steve nodded and looked over at the robot. The dust was clearing; he could see its hand again. It had landed palm up next to the rest of the body… and Toni was still trapped in its grasp.
“Hulk!” Steve yelled, pointing at the hand. “Your friend is trapped right there, get her out!” Hulk looked over at the hand, his eyes narrowing. The hand was ripped open within seconds and Hulk was cradling Toni’s prone form in his arms.
“Iron Man hurt,” he said angrily. “Light not shine.” Steve didn’t understand him, but only for a moment. Then he saw the arc reactor; it was glowing, but just barely. She was alive.
“Hulk, you’re faster than the rest of us,” Steve told him. “You need to get her back to SHIELD now, can you do that?” The larger man nodded, holding Toni close.
“Hulk can do, tiny Captain.” Before Steve could say another word, Hulk leapt into the air and was gone. Steve didn’t want to let him take Toni alone; he knew she was safe with him, so that wasn’t the issue. He just wanted to be there for her when she woke up. He would be there for her later; right now, he had to get the rest of his team together.
“Hawkeye, Widow!” he said over his com. “Hulk’s taking Iron Man back to SHIELD; are you two alright?”
“Fine!” they say in unison and that’s good enough for Steve.
“Where is Thor?” he asks, probably a lot more angrily than he meant to.
“I am sorry, Captain!” Thor landed at his side, a distressed look on his face. “I regret to inform you that this creature was sent by my brother. I attempted to apprehend him and to ask if he knew anything of the man tormenting Lady Iron, but I failed in both tasks.” He hung his head slightly and Steve couldn’t bring himself to be upset with the Norse god. He gave him an understanding nod, which caused Thor to smile slightly. He then looked around. “Where is Lady Iron? And the Jolly Green Giant who is not Jolly?” Steve rolled his eyes.
“Clint, I told you to stop telling him to say these things.”
“That wasn’t me!” Clint protested. His protests fell upon deaf ears however; after he got Thor to call Coulson “Agent 007”, no one believed him.
“Let’s get the area cleaned up so we can get back to SHIELD.”
There was now a special team specifically tasked with cleaning up after the Avengers when they make stuff go boom and no one is happier than Steve to see them arrive and have them say “We can handle things from here; you are to report to SHIELD for debriefing”. He gets back to HQ and is rushed right into a meeting with Fury. He opens and closes with one sentence.
“Toni’s actions saved our asses, sir, and now if you don’t mind, I’m going to make sure my teammate is alright.” He walks out, despite the protests from Director Fury.
“Stark’s been a bad influence on him,” he hears Coulson remark. Coulson’s probably right.
Toni is in a bed down in the infirmary. It’s one in the back corner, away from the rest of the patients; there are no other patients, but that really doesn’t matter. Toni’s where she’d want to be if she’d chosen the bed herself. Steve can only see her sleeping face as he walks into the room; Bruce is seated next to her, wearing his customary post-Hulk sweat suit. His elbows are resting on the arms of the chair he’s in, his chin on his knuckles. Steve can’t tell if he’s worried or just tired; that worries him.
“How is she?” he asks quietly. Bruce turns towards him and Steve is finally able to see the arc reactor in Toni’s chest; it’s glowing, much brighter than it was earlier. She’s alive.
“Pepper got here just as I did,” Bruce said. “Told me I had to ‘calm the fuck down’ and help her.” Bruce picked up something that looked like a small burnt pop tart that had been deep fried. “It was smoking a few minutes ago.”
“What is it?”
“Vibranium. Or it was, anyway.” Steve’s jaw dropped.
“That’s the same stuff my shield’s made of… and she did that to it?”
“Not all in one day,” Bruce assured him. “Pepper said she’s had that core in for over a year, today was just the final push.” Bruce sounded like he didn’t even believe himself and Steve told him so. “I don’t…”
“Why not?”
“That robot barely made a dent in the pavement when it hit; holding it up should not have completely drained a vibranium core. It doesn’t make sense.” Bruce sighed, shaking his head. “Toni should have been able to run on that one core for the rest of her life. It’s a miracle she even thought to have a replacement…”
“That’s Toni for you,” Steve replied, grinning slightly. “Always planning for the impossible.” He watched her for a moment; fast asleep, her chest rising and falling with each calm breath. She looked relaxed, peaceful… exhausted. “Is she going to be alright?”
“Doctor said she would,” Bruce replied. “She’s just wiped out; the arc took most of the stress, but when it failed…” He shrugged his shoulders. “It had to pull energy from somewhere to keep going.”
“And that somewhere was Toni?”
“Apparently.”
“How the hell could it even do that?”
“Knowing Toni, she probably programed it to; it took just enough energy to keep going at minimal power.” Bruce looked at the sleeping brunette, smiling fondly. “Pepper explained it to me, but I still can’t believe that thing’s part of her… it must have hurt like hell, having it put in.” Steve nodded; it hadn’t occurred to him until just then that after everything else that had happened to her in Afghanistan, the one thing that kept her alive may have hurt her the most.
“Any idea when she’ll wake up?” Steve asked.
“She’ll be out cold for the rest of the day at least,” Bruce replied. “God knows she could use the sleep, right?” Steve nodded as Bruce got to his feet. “I’m gonna grab a bite to eat. Want anything?”
“I’m good, thanks.” Bruce nodded and started out. “You saved her life, Bruce,” Steve called after him. “Thank you.” Bruce turned back towards him, grinning a little.
“Didn’t do it for you, but you’re welcome.” He was quiet for a second. “By the way, if you break her heart, Hulk’s going to break your neck.” Steve nodded.
“I’ve been hearing that a lot today.”
After Bruce left, Steve took the chair he vacated and immersed himself in something he knew he shouldn’t; trying to figure out how he could have kept this from happening. He supposed it could have started with Rhodey; the colonel had wanted to suit up and join in on the mission, but he was Army and not SHIELD and neither agency was willing to let him join in this once. Maybe if Steve had taken the time to push the issue, then Rhodey would have been there to help. Maybe he could have helped to lower the robot to the ground so Toni wouldn’t have drained her Arc…
“Stop it.” The voice was soft, exhausted and completely unexpected… it could only be one person.
“Toni!” he cried, taking her hand in his. Her bronze eyes were barely open as she looked at him, wincing slightly at the volume of his voice.
“Shhh,” she replied, the same soft, tired tone in her voice. “No loud… head hurty… and you’re doing that thing again. Stop it.”
“What thing… no, don’t answer that, you need to rest…” She squeezed his hand lightly, showing how weak she was after everything.
“When you think no one’s watching, you go through it again. You replay the entire thing in your mind; you do it over and over again until you figure out how you could have changed things. You do it every time, I’ve watched you do it.” He smoothed her hair gently, watching her lean into his touch.
“How do you know that’s what I’m doing?” She shook her head, chuckling a little.
“Because I used to do it… it was a daily thing. Maybe if I had done this, I wouldn’t have ended up in Afghanistan… maybe if I’d done something else any other way, my parents wouldn’t have died… maybe if I’d been better, Dad would have at least liked me.”
“Toni…” She looked him, lock her eyes with his. He wanted her to stop talking about this, she looked so tired, so sad…
“There’s no way to go back and change things, Steve,” she continued, the seriousness she was trying to convey quite apparent in her voice. “I realized that after Pepper and I broke up… and even if there was, how I would I know if changing that one thing wouldn’t somehow make things worse?” She took a deep breath, letting it out slow. “I’m not religious, Steve… never have been. But are many days when what helps me most is to just close my eyes…” Her eyes drooped closed as she squeezed Steve’s hand a little tighter. “And say “God, give me the strength to accept the things I can’t change’…” She was quiet for a moment. “If I had a point, I lost it in being philosophical and exhausted and possibly drugged. Am I drugged?”
“Morphine,” Steve admitted, his hand sliding down from her hair to stroke her cheek. “You got squeezed by a giant robot, do you remember that?”
“Vaguely.” She yawned, her eyes remaining closed. “Think I’m going back to sleep.”
“Good idea.”
“Would we get into trouble if you climbed into this bed and held me?” He chuckled; the same idea had crossed his mind not two minutes ago.
“Probably.” She nodded her agreement.
“…Don’t let go of my hand?” He smiled, leaning over to kiss her cheek.
“I won’t.”
“Awesome.”
Fandom: The Avengers (AU-Cinematic Universe)
Characters: Antonia “Toni” Stark, Steve Rogers, others.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Toni/Steve
Warnings: Mentions of Non-Con, bondage
Summary: A stalker is targeting Toni, which skews how she sees herself and how she allows others to see her.
Author's Notes: I loved being told I was evil after that last chapter. It made me feel all warm a fuzzy. Here, have a new chapter!
( Chapter One) ( Chapter Two) ( Chapter Three) ( Chapter Four) ( Chapter Five) ( Chapter Six) ( Chapter Seven) ( Chapter Eight) ( Chapter Nine) ( Chapter Ten) ( Chapter Eleven) ( Chapter Twelve) ( Chapter Thirteen)
Chapter Fourteen:
“Toni!” Steve watched in horror as the robotic hand, still clenched around Toni, swung towards the ground. The robot was too much for the ropes Clint had strung to hold it up, breaking them the instant Toni’s thrusters gave out. It was falling fast; not even Hulk would be able stand up against something that heavy falling with that much velocity… Toni had been right in her actions. Hopefully she wouldn’t die not knowing that.
“Everyone, get out of the way!” he yelled. “Hulk, move!”
“ROBOT HURT HULK’S FRIEND!” came the angered reply. “HULK SMASH!”
“Move out of the way or it’s going to smash you!” The robot collapsed a moment later, causing the ground to shake violently and send dust into the air. Hulk hadn’t moved an inch; the beheaded robot landed about a foot in front of him. Hulk seemed to be smirking at the metal corpse, as if its falling had been his doing. Steve decided it was best to let him think that way.
“Hulk smash.” Steve nodded and looked over at the robot. The dust was clearing; he could see its hand again. It had landed palm up next to the rest of the body… and Toni was still trapped in its grasp.
“Hulk!” Steve yelled, pointing at the hand. “Your friend is trapped right there, get her out!” Hulk looked over at the hand, his eyes narrowing. The hand was ripped open within seconds and Hulk was cradling Toni’s prone form in his arms.
“Iron Man hurt,” he said angrily. “Light not shine.” Steve didn’t understand him, but only for a moment. Then he saw the arc reactor; it was glowing, but just barely. She was alive.
“Hulk, you’re faster than the rest of us,” Steve told him. “You need to get her back to SHIELD now, can you do that?” The larger man nodded, holding Toni close.
“Hulk can do, tiny Captain.” Before Steve could say another word, Hulk leapt into the air and was gone. Steve didn’t want to let him take Toni alone; he knew she was safe with him, so that wasn’t the issue. He just wanted to be there for her when she woke up. He would be there for her later; right now, he had to get the rest of his team together.
“Hawkeye, Widow!” he said over his com. “Hulk’s taking Iron Man back to SHIELD; are you two alright?”
“Fine!” they say in unison and that’s good enough for Steve.
“Where is Thor?” he asks, probably a lot more angrily than he meant to.
“I am sorry, Captain!” Thor landed at his side, a distressed look on his face. “I regret to inform you that this creature was sent by my brother. I attempted to apprehend him and to ask if he knew anything of the man tormenting Lady Iron, but I failed in both tasks.” He hung his head slightly and Steve couldn’t bring himself to be upset with the Norse god. He gave him an understanding nod, which caused Thor to smile slightly. He then looked around. “Where is Lady Iron? And the Jolly Green Giant who is not Jolly?” Steve rolled his eyes.
“Clint, I told you to stop telling him to say these things.”
“That wasn’t me!” Clint protested. His protests fell upon deaf ears however; after he got Thor to call Coulson “Agent 007”, no one believed him.
“Let’s get the area cleaned up so we can get back to SHIELD.”
There was now a special team specifically tasked with cleaning up after the Avengers when they make stuff go boom and no one is happier than Steve to see them arrive and have them say “We can handle things from here; you are to report to SHIELD for debriefing”. He gets back to HQ and is rushed right into a meeting with Fury. He opens and closes with one sentence.
“Toni’s actions saved our asses, sir, and now if you don’t mind, I’m going to make sure my teammate is alright.” He walks out, despite the protests from Director Fury.
“Stark’s been a bad influence on him,” he hears Coulson remark. Coulson’s probably right.
Toni is in a bed down in the infirmary. It’s one in the back corner, away from the rest of the patients; there are no other patients, but that really doesn’t matter. Toni’s where she’d want to be if she’d chosen the bed herself. Steve can only see her sleeping face as he walks into the room; Bruce is seated next to her, wearing his customary post-Hulk sweat suit. His elbows are resting on the arms of the chair he’s in, his chin on his knuckles. Steve can’t tell if he’s worried or just tired; that worries him.
“How is she?” he asks quietly. Bruce turns towards him and Steve is finally able to see the arc reactor in Toni’s chest; it’s glowing, much brighter than it was earlier. She’s alive.
“Pepper got here just as I did,” Bruce said. “Told me I had to ‘calm the fuck down’ and help her.” Bruce picked up something that looked like a small burnt pop tart that had been deep fried. “It was smoking a few minutes ago.”
“What is it?”
“Vibranium. Or it was, anyway.” Steve’s jaw dropped.
“That’s the same stuff my shield’s made of… and she did that to it?”
“Not all in one day,” Bruce assured him. “Pepper said she’s had that core in for over a year, today was just the final push.” Bruce sounded like he didn’t even believe himself and Steve told him so. “I don’t…”
“Why not?”
“That robot barely made a dent in the pavement when it hit; holding it up should not have completely drained a vibranium core. It doesn’t make sense.” Bruce sighed, shaking his head. “Toni should have been able to run on that one core for the rest of her life. It’s a miracle she even thought to have a replacement…”
“That’s Toni for you,” Steve replied, grinning slightly. “Always planning for the impossible.” He watched her for a moment; fast asleep, her chest rising and falling with each calm breath. She looked relaxed, peaceful… exhausted. “Is she going to be alright?”
“Doctor said she would,” Bruce replied. “She’s just wiped out; the arc took most of the stress, but when it failed…” He shrugged his shoulders. “It had to pull energy from somewhere to keep going.”
“And that somewhere was Toni?”
“Apparently.”
“How the hell could it even do that?”
“Knowing Toni, she probably programed it to; it took just enough energy to keep going at minimal power.” Bruce looked at the sleeping brunette, smiling fondly. “Pepper explained it to me, but I still can’t believe that thing’s part of her… it must have hurt like hell, having it put in.” Steve nodded; it hadn’t occurred to him until just then that after everything else that had happened to her in Afghanistan, the one thing that kept her alive may have hurt her the most.
“Any idea when she’ll wake up?” Steve asked.
“She’ll be out cold for the rest of the day at least,” Bruce replied. “God knows she could use the sleep, right?” Steve nodded as Bruce got to his feet. “I’m gonna grab a bite to eat. Want anything?”
“I’m good, thanks.” Bruce nodded and started out. “You saved her life, Bruce,” Steve called after him. “Thank you.” Bruce turned back towards him, grinning a little.
“Didn’t do it for you, but you’re welcome.” He was quiet for a second. “By the way, if you break her heart, Hulk’s going to break your neck.” Steve nodded.
“I’ve been hearing that a lot today.”
After Bruce left, Steve took the chair he vacated and immersed himself in something he knew he shouldn’t; trying to figure out how he could have kept this from happening. He supposed it could have started with Rhodey; the colonel had wanted to suit up and join in on the mission, but he was Army and not SHIELD and neither agency was willing to let him join in this once. Maybe if Steve had taken the time to push the issue, then Rhodey would have been there to help. Maybe he could have helped to lower the robot to the ground so Toni wouldn’t have drained her Arc…
“Stop it.” The voice was soft, exhausted and completely unexpected… it could only be one person.
“Toni!” he cried, taking her hand in his. Her bronze eyes were barely open as she looked at him, wincing slightly at the volume of his voice.
“Shhh,” she replied, the same soft, tired tone in her voice. “No loud… head hurty… and you’re doing that thing again. Stop it.”
“What thing… no, don’t answer that, you need to rest…” She squeezed his hand lightly, showing how weak she was after everything.
“When you think no one’s watching, you go through it again. You replay the entire thing in your mind; you do it over and over again until you figure out how you could have changed things. You do it every time, I’ve watched you do it.” He smoothed her hair gently, watching her lean into his touch.
“How do you know that’s what I’m doing?” She shook her head, chuckling a little.
“Because I used to do it… it was a daily thing. Maybe if I had done this, I wouldn’t have ended up in Afghanistan… maybe if I’d done something else any other way, my parents wouldn’t have died… maybe if I’d been better, Dad would have at least liked me.”
“Toni…” She looked him, lock her eyes with his. He wanted her to stop talking about this, she looked so tired, so sad…
“There’s no way to go back and change things, Steve,” she continued, the seriousness she was trying to convey quite apparent in her voice. “I realized that after Pepper and I broke up… and even if there was, how I would I know if changing that one thing wouldn’t somehow make things worse?” She took a deep breath, letting it out slow. “I’m not religious, Steve… never have been. But are many days when what helps me most is to just close my eyes…” Her eyes drooped closed as she squeezed Steve’s hand a little tighter. “And say “God, give me the strength to accept the things I can’t change’…” She was quiet for a moment. “If I had a point, I lost it in being philosophical and exhausted and possibly drugged. Am I drugged?”
“Morphine,” Steve admitted, his hand sliding down from her hair to stroke her cheek. “You got squeezed by a giant robot, do you remember that?”
“Vaguely.” She yawned, her eyes remaining closed. “Think I’m going back to sleep.”
“Good idea.”
“Would we get into trouble if you climbed into this bed and held me?” He chuckled; the same idea had crossed his mind not two minutes ago.
“Probably.” She nodded her agreement.
“…Don’t let go of my hand?” He smiled, leaning over to kiss her cheek.
“I won’t.”
“Awesome.”