Fic: In Another's Eyes (Chapter Fifteen)
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: Thanks tomlekopijca over at cap_ironman for allowing me to use her Female!Tony picture as an icon :D
Also, you may want to acquaint yourself with Space Unicorns.
( 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)
Chapter Fifteen:
Sometimes Toni would dream and it was pleasant. Sometimes, she wouldn’t dream of hot deserts and the pain that still haunted her after two years. Sometimes, she wouldn’t dream about Obadiah Stane or Ivan Vanko or Justin Hammer (she didn’t really understand why that last one was in her dreams, he wasn’t that scary). Sometimes, she wouldn’t even dream about her father. Sometimes, though rare, she would honestly have a good dream. Rarer still, she would realize that she was actually awake. This, however, was not one of those times.
She was still in the infirmary; the fluorescent lights were dim and the room wasn’t particularly cheery, but Steve was still in a chair next to her, fast asleep and holding her hand, and that made things okay as far as she was concerned. In all actuality, she would have been reasonably convinced that she was awake, if not for one minor detail.
“Nice try, but I have a hard time believing that Nick Fury would allow a Space Unicorn in the SHIELD infirmary.” It was a very pretty white, sparkly unicorn. The rainbow horn sticking out of the space helmet was a nice touch. There was no way this wasn’t a dream.
“You like unicorns; I’m sure the Director knows that.” Toni looked over doorway closest to her bed; Loki was there, leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed at his chest. He strolled over casually, conjuring an elegant throne next to Steve-who was still fast asleep-and sitting down.
“Thank you for the unicorn, Loki,” she replied with a smile. “And the giant robot, that was a nice touch.” A small grin curled his lips.
“Thor told you, then?” Toni shook her head.
“Not at all; as soon as I saw the robot, I knew you had sent it for me. To cheer me up after the awful few days I’ve had.”
“You talk as though you don’t think I’m behind your stalker.”
“I don’t think you aren’t. I know you aren’t.” He raised an eyebrow. “The thing with the cameras? Not your style. If you had done it, there wouldn’t even have been footage, nor would there have been a phone call telling SHIELD where I was. You would have tied me up in a big red bow and left me on the front steps.”
“Are those the only reasons?” Loki asked coldly.
“Of course not,” she replied, her voice warm, kind. “None of those are even the main reason.”
“And what is the main reason, Stark?”
“The main reason is that frankly, you wouldn’t do that to me. Because as much as you don’t want to admit it, somehow in the midst of this comic book insanity I call my life… we became friends.”
Toni felt a kinship with Loki from the moment she heard his story; he was the son who stood in the shadow of a stronger older brother, while she was the daughter who would never live up to her father’s legacy. Both were masters of their craft-Loki and his magic, Toni and her robotics-and they were often shunned for it, neither having anyone that could keep up with their abilities. It was almost like having the other half of her soul staring back at her. She never intended to tell Loki she thought that way. No one told her that he could read minds.
“What was that?” Loki had hissed at her, moments after thinking that in his presence. He had come to the penthouse-she was staying there while the mansion was being fumigated-in an attempt to scare her. He threatened her with an army; she countered with a Hulk. “You see yourself equal to me?”
“Whoa, calm down, fancy pants,” she said quickly. “I never sai-” His hand was around her throat in an instant, squeezing tight and lifting her off the floor. She gasped for air, her fingers fruitlessly trying to pry his away. Between realizations of how likely it was she would die, she couldn’t keep her thoughts of their similarities away. She thought of her father, memories of him shunning her; of her mother and her indifference to Toni all of her life. Her eyes, filled with terror, watched Loki’s soften briefly. A moment later, she was tossed out a window. She was fifty stories up and landed on a beautiful hard top corvette; no one knows how she survived. To this day, Toni secretly believed that Loki saved her.
Since then, they had a weird relationship. Loki would fight with her, but somehow never hurt her without making it obvious he wasn’t trying to. She would fire repulsor blasts his way and somehow ‘just’ miss him. He would show up at the mansion, in mirrors and other reflective surfaces; at first, he would taunt her about things he planned to do in the future, but after a while he was showing up simply to say hello. She never talked about the Avengers and he never talked about Midgardian domination. He didn’t chastise her for her drinking and she didn’t mock his hair. It was a very, very strange friendship, but for Toni’s part, it was a friendship just the same.
“You’re quite alright then, Lady Iron?” Loki asked, a smile in his voice though a smirk was on his face. Toni rolled her eyes slightly; she could never get him to call her by her first name.
“I’m fine,” she promised, sitting up a bit and stretching her sore muscles. “What the hell was that robot made of?”
“I believe your primitive society calls it ‘aluminum’.” Toni stared blankly at him for a moment, just until she was certain he was serious. When she was, she started to laugh, doing so until tears came to her eyes.
“Aluminum, seriously? You had to have strengthened it somehow, right?” Loki nodded
“It was. I had not taken into account the durability of your Captain’s shield and he dispatched my creation while I was busy with my brother… it was not meant to be destroyed until I was close enough to remove the strength enchantment…”
“Which is why it took so much energy for me to keep it from falling,” Toni finished. “I appreciate the thought, Loki, I really do…”
“It is as you have said, Lady Iron,” he replied softly. “You and I… are friends.”
“Are you now!” Thor’s voice boomed through the infirmary, shaking everything, including the space unicorn and Steve Rogers, both of whom looked very, very confused. Toni’s eyes widened as the god of thunder strode quickly across the room and gathered his brother in a hearty embrace. “This warms my heart, brother, to see that you care for Lady Iron in this way!” Toni blinked. She then asked an obvious question.
“This isn’t a dream, is it?”
“No,” Loki replied, unable to escape Thor’s embrace. “It’s not.”
“So… the unicorn?”
“Completely real.” Toni was unable to hide her joy.
“Toni…” Steve said slowly. She looked at him, his face more angered than confused. She must have looked as worried as she felt, because he softened almost instantly. “What the hell is going on?” She looked from him, to the unicorn, to Thor and Loki, and then back to him.
“…I’m afraid you wouldn’t believe me.”
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: Thanks tomlekopijca over at cap_ironman for allowing me to use her Female!Tony picture as an icon :D
Also, you may want to acquaint yourself with Space Unicorns.
( 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)
Chapter Fifteen:
Sometimes Toni would dream and it was pleasant. Sometimes, she wouldn’t dream of hot deserts and the pain that still haunted her after two years. Sometimes, she wouldn’t dream about Obadiah Stane or Ivan Vanko or Justin Hammer (she didn’t really understand why that last one was in her dreams, he wasn’t that scary). Sometimes, she wouldn’t even dream about her father. Sometimes, though rare, she would honestly have a good dream. Rarer still, she would realize that she was actually awake. This, however, was not one of those times.
She was still in the infirmary; the fluorescent lights were dim and the room wasn’t particularly cheery, but Steve was still in a chair next to her, fast asleep and holding her hand, and that made things okay as far as she was concerned. In all actuality, she would have been reasonably convinced that she was awake, if not for one minor detail.
“Nice try, but I have a hard time believing that Nick Fury would allow a Space Unicorn in the SHIELD infirmary.” It was a very pretty white, sparkly unicorn. The rainbow horn sticking out of the space helmet was a nice touch. There was no way this wasn’t a dream.
“You like unicorns; I’m sure the Director knows that.” Toni looked over doorway closest to her bed; Loki was there, leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed at his chest. He strolled over casually, conjuring an elegant throne next to Steve-who was still fast asleep-and sitting down.
“Thank you for the unicorn, Loki,” she replied with a smile. “And the giant robot, that was a nice touch.” A small grin curled his lips.
“Thor told you, then?” Toni shook her head.
“Not at all; as soon as I saw the robot, I knew you had sent it for me. To cheer me up after the awful few days I’ve had.”
“You talk as though you don’t think I’m behind your stalker.”
“I don’t think you aren’t. I know you aren’t.” He raised an eyebrow. “The thing with the cameras? Not your style. If you had done it, there wouldn’t even have been footage, nor would there have been a phone call telling SHIELD where I was. You would have tied me up in a big red bow and left me on the front steps.”
“Are those the only reasons?” Loki asked coldly.
“Of course not,” she replied, her voice warm, kind. “None of those are even the main reason.”
“And what is the main reason, Stark?”
“The main reason is that frankly, you wouldn’t do that to me. Because as much as you don’t want to admit it, somehow in the midst of this comic book insanity I call my life… we became friends.”
Toni felt a kinship with Loki from the moment she heard his story; he was the son who stood in the shadow of a stronger older brother, while she was the daughter who would never live up to her father’s legacy. Both were masters of their craft-Loki and his magic, Toni and her robotics-and they were often shunned for it, neither having anyone that could keep up with their abilities. It was almost like having the other half of her soul staring back at her. She never intended to tell Loki she thought that way. No one told her that he could read minds.
“What was that?” Loki had hissed at her, moments after thinking that in his presence. He had come to the penthouse-she was staying there while the mansion was being fumigated-in an attempt to scare her. He threatened her with an army; she countered with a Hulk. “You see yourself equal to me?”
“Whoa, calm down, fancy pants,” she said quickly. “I never sai-” His hand was around her throat in an instant, squeezing tight and lifting her off the floor. She gasped for air, her fingers fruitlessly trying to pry his away. Between realizations of how likely it was she would die, she couldn’t keep her thoughts of their similarities away. She thought of her father, memories of him shunning her; of her mother and her indifference to Toni all of her life. Her eyes, filled with terror, watched Loki’s soften briefly. A moment later, she was tossed out a window. She was fifty stories up and landed on a beautiful hard top corvette; no one knows how she survived. To this day, Toni secretly believed that Loki saved her.
Since then, they had a weird relationship. Loki would fight with her, but somehow never hurt her without making it obvious he wasn’t trying to. She would fire repulsor blasts his way and somehow ‘just’ miss him. He would show up at the mansion, in mirrors and other reflective surfaces; at first, he would taunt her about things he planned to do in the future, but after a while he was showing up simply to say hello. She never talked about the Avengers and he never talked about Midgardian domination. He didn’t chastise her for her drinking and she didn’t mock his hair. It was a very, very strange friendship, but for Toni’s part, it was a friendship just the same.
“You’re quite alright then, Lady Iron?” Loki asked, a smile in his voice though a smirk was on his face. Toni rolled her eyes slightly; she could never get him to call her by her first name.
“I’m fine,” she promised, sitting up a bit and stretching her sore muscles. “What the hell was that robot made of?”
“I believe your primitive society calls it ‘aluminum’.” Toni stared blankly at him for a moment, just until she was certain he was serious. When she was, she started to laugh, doing so until tears came to her eyes.
“Aluminum, seriously? You had to have strengthened it somehow, right?” Loki nodded
“It was. I had not taken into account the durability of your Captain’s shield and he dispatched my creation while I was busy with my brother… it was not meant to be destroyed until I was close enough to remove the strength enchantment…”
“Which is why it took so much energy for me to keep it from falling,” Toni finished. “I appreciate the thought, Loki, I really do…”
“It is as you have said, Lady Iron,” he replied softly. “You and I… are friends.”
“Are you now!” Thor’s voice boomed through the infirmary, shaking everything, including the space unicorn and Steve Rogers, both of whom looked very, very confused. Toni’s eyes widened as the god of thunder strode quickly across the room and gathered his brother in a hearty embrace. “This warms my heart, brother, to see that you care for Lady Iron in this way!” Toni blinked. She then asked an obvious question.
“This isn’t a dream, is it?”
“No,” Loki replied, unable to escape Thor’s embrace. “It’s not.”
“So… the unicorn?”
“Completely real.” Toni was unable to hide her joy.
“Toni…” Steve said slowly. She looked at him, his face more angered than confused. She must have looked as worried as she felt, because he softened almost instantly. “What the hell is going on?” She looked from him, to the unicorn, to Thor and Loki, and then back to him.
“…I’m afraid you wouldn’t believe me.”