#659: Smash, Hero and the Beast, Hulk/Iron Man, Avengers
Title: Hero and the Beast
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Avengers
Character/Pairing: Hulk/Iron Man
Rating: PG/K+
Challenge/Prompt: Writers_Choice #659: Smash
Warning(s): None
Word Count: 871
Date Written: 26 April, 2016
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to Marvel Comics and Disney, not the author, and are used without permission.
He shouldn't have been able to hold me still, regardless of his new armor. I should've wanted to smash him. I should have torn that new armor to fragments of the red and gold inside which he so loves to sparkle and gleam. He would have torn him to pieces.
And yet, . . . Yet, here I am, draped in his arms. He's still holding me tight from behind. I can't see his face. I imagine his eyes are closed with the strain of keeping him at bay, but he's gone now. He's gone, and I can scarcely believe I'm back in control already. "T-Tony?"
It's the quiver of my voice that makes me realize I'm not at all in control. He is subdued, almost as if by magic, but I still do not feel the reins of control. My body's shaking. My heart's hammering like mad in my chest. My breath is coming in shallow gasps.
And it's all because of him. It's all because of the arms that held me tight and still hold me now. It's all because of the man whose sheer determination kept me from unleashing my monster onto the city below. He's the reason my monster is gone, but he's also the reason I'm not in control.
His hands are turning gentle again now. He floats us back down toward the ground, and as we descend from the high atmosphere, I realize we are above Stark Towers. "Tony?" I try again, but still, he doesn't answer.
So I hold my peace. I hold my tongue as I let him carry us down. I wait as he sets me gently on my feet. For a man who wields such strength through his armor, even in that armor, he's surprisingly gentle with me now.
I hear the hiss of his visor opening and finally turn to look at him. There are tears still shining, unshed, in his dark eyes, and I wonder if they're there because he worried over me or because of the immense control and strength it took from him to stop my monster. Then his knees start to buckle, and I know which one as I catch him.
"Easy, easy." My monster is stopped. The city is saved. But the turmoil's not over yet. He's exhausted. I haven't seen him this fatigued since we first came together as a team and saved the world from Loki and his forces.
"Easy, Tony." I'm stripping him out of his armor. I wish I was stronger in this form. I wish I was wiser, more patient, gentler in my other, more in control. It's something we're working on together but something I fear we may never gain. I'd be so much more use to the team and the world if I could control my beast. I'd be so much more help to him.
It's not easy, but finally, I get the last of his armor off. We're on the floor of his balcony together, his head resting in my lap, when I remove the last piece. "I told you," he gasps tiredly, "we'd do it."
I smile down at him. I trace his bearded cheek with my fingertips. There's a new glow to his tanned skin now, and I realize the sun is rising on a new day. We did do it. We saved the city together again. We saved lives, and we're here, together, to tell the tale.
Knowing Tony, he'd want the whole world to know what we did last night, just the two of us with the other Avengers off on a different mission, but I don't care what the world knows. They're still going to fear me for my monster, regardless, but that's not the reason I don't care. The truth is, I don't want to move from this spot. I don't want his head to leave my lap or his eyes to stray from mine.
I don't want to move, and I don't want to move him. I want to stay like, just like this, forever. We both know we can't, but even Tony doesn't seem eager to move. He made some quirky remark early last night about the Beauty and the Beast, but he is so much more than the beauty to my beast. He's who saved the city last night, truly. He's what calmed my beast, and he's who makes my heart beat so hard in my chest sometimes that it hurts.
"Take a picture," he creaks out at me, smiling. He coughs but continues teasing, "It'll last longer."
I wouldn't mind a picture of us now like this. I wouldn't mind having something physical to always remind me of this moment no matter how crazy or busy our lives get in the future. I'm not naive or a fool; I know Tony won't stay with me long. He's got a list of lovers as long as this tower is high, but he is my only one. He's the only one I trust to allow this close, but I don't tell him any of that. I merely bend my head, and in the golden glow of the rising sun, I kiss the rest of what breath remains out of my hero.
The End
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Avengers
Character/Pairing: Hulk/Iron Man
Rating: PG/K+
Challenge/Prompt: Writers_Choice #659: Smash
Warning(s): None
Word Count: 871
Date Written: 26 April, 2016
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to Marvel Comics and Disney, not the author, and are used without permission.
He shouldn't have been able to hold me still, regardless of his new armor. I should've wanted to smash him. I should have torn that new armor to fragments of the red and gold inside which he so loves to sparkle and gleam. He would have torn him to pieces.
And yet, . . . Yet, here I am, draped in his arms. He's still holding me tight from behind. I can't see his face. I imagine his eyes are closed with the strain of keeping him at bay, but he's gone now. He's gone, and I can scarcely believe I'm back in control already. "T-Tony?"
It's the quiver of my voice that makes me realize I'm not at all in control. He is subdued, almost as if by magic, but I still do not feel the reins of control. My body's shaking. My heart's hammering like mad in my chest. My breath is coming in shallow gasps.
And it's all because of him. It's all because of the arms that held me tight and still hold me now. It's all because of the man whose sheer determination kept me from unleashing my monster onto the city below. He's the reason my monster is gone, but he's also the reason I'm not in control.
His hands are turning gentle again now. He floats us back down toward the ground, and as we descend from the high atmosphere, I realize we are above Stark Towers. "Tony?" I try again, but still, he doesn't answer.
So I hold my peace. I hold my tongue as I let him carry us down. I wait as he sets me gently on my feet. For a man who wields such strength through his armor, even in that armor, he's surprisingly gentle with me now.
I hear the hiss of his visor opening and finally turn to look at him. There are tears still shining, unshed, in his dark eyes, and I wonder if they're there because he worried over me or because of the immense control and strength it took from him to stop my monster. Then his knees start to buckle, and I know which one as I catch him.
"Easy, easy." My monster is stopped. The city is saved. But the turmoil's not over yet. He's exhausted. I haven't seen him this fatigued since we first came together as a team and saved the world from Loki and his forces.
"Easy, Tony." I'm stripping him out of his armor. I wish I was stronger in this form. I wish I was wiser, more patient, gentler in my other, more in control. It's something we're working on together but something I fear we may never gain. I'd be so much more use to the team and the world if I could control my beast. I'd be so much more help to him.
It's not easy, but finally, I get the last of his armor off. We're on the floor of his balcony together, his head resting in my lap, when I remove the last piece. "I told you," he gasps tiredly, "we'd do it."
I smile down at him. I trace his bearded cheek with my fingertips. There's a new glow to his tanned skin now, and I realize the sun is rising on a new day. We did do it. We saved the city together again. We saved lives, and we're here, together, to tell the tale.
Knowing Tony, he'd want the whole world to know what we did last night, just the two of us with the other Avengers off on a different mission, but I don't care what the world knows. They're still going to fear me for my monster, regardless, but that's not the reason I don't care. The truth is, I don't want to move from this spot. I don't want his head to leave my lap or his eyes to stray from mine.
I don't want to move, and I don't want to move him. I want to stay like, just like this, forever. We both know we can't, but even Tony doesn't seem eager to move. He made some quirky remark early last night about the Beauty and the Beast, but he is so much more than the beauty to my beast. He's who saved the city last night, truly. He's what calmed my beast, and he's who makes my heart beat so hard in my chest sometimes that it hurts.
"Take a picture," he creaks out at me, smiling. He coughs but continues teasing, "It'll last longer."
I wouldn't mind a picture of us now like this. I wouldn't mind having something physical to always remind me of this moment no matter how crazy or busy our lives get in the future. I'm not naive or a fool; I know Tony won't stay with me long. He's got a list of lovers as long as this tower is high, but he is my only one. He's the only one I trust to allow this close, but I don't tell him any of that. I merely bend my head, and in the golden glow of the rising sun, I kiss the rest of what breath remains out of my hero.
The End