The Corrupt and the Pure; Chapter 19: The Clue
[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 19: The Clue
Avengers Tower,
Manhattan, New York City, NY
After the deeply frustrating events in Brooklyn, the team headed back to the Tower. The trail had gone cold - not that they had much of a trail to begin with; half the team had gone back out there, out of uniform, to see whether they could sniff anything out, but it had been a dead end.
Beyond that it was all in the hands of J.A.R.V.I.S., seeing as the AI was much faster at checking out possible leads that might pop up. Steve wasn’t sure whether that was actually enough, but the general consensus seemed to be that there was no one better equipped or motivated to look for Tony Stark than his own AI.
For his part, Steve re-watched all the footage they had available on the Commander. His brain kept picking apart everything the man said and did; if he wanted to outsmart him, he needed to figure out how alike and unlike each other they were. Could he assume the Commander would be making the same kind of decisions he would under the circumstances, or did they have such a hard time locating him because of those vast differences?
Up until HYDRA found him, their background was the same. Whether any of that man remained in the Commander, Steve wasn’t sure.
“Have you figured him out yet?” Bruce asked when he came to sit in the chair beside his; the corner where Steve had set up his base of operations was quiet, separated from the larger space, and it seemed the others didn’t want to disturb him. Every once in a while, one of them would venture in, either to offer him food or check on his progress.
Maybe they were just checking that he was actually still there and not out in the streets in a futile search.
“I know we’re supposed to be the same guy, deep down, but I don’t see it,” Steve confessed.
Bruce leaned forward, elbows on his knees, fingers crossing in front of his mouth in thought. “Well, we know he’s obsessed with having Tony by his side.”
Steve nodded stiffly.
“You don’t approve?” Bruce asked him. It looked like maybe he was smiling, just a tiny bit.
“On principle or just because it’s Tony?” Steve challenged.
“Whatever your issue, you’re fully entitled to your opinion,” Bruce offered diplomatically, clearly not wanting to be argumentative.
“It doesn’t bother me, men being with men,” Steve revealed. “In my time, it used to be an issue, but that’s obviously not the case anymore.”
“So it’s because it’s Tony?”
“I don’t…” Steve frowned at the screen which was frozen on a grainy image - provided by the single working camera after the EMP - of the Commander carrying his unconscious captive out of the room while Steve lay incapacitated in the background. The armor couldn’t be seen from this angle, but he knew it was right there, outside the frame. “How do you fall for someone you’re fighting?” he finally spoke out loud.
“Chemistry, I suppose,” Bruce shrugged. “Or maybe our bad guy isn’t as rotten as he appears. He didn’t kill you when he had the chance. Perhaps all he’s ever needed is the right person to pull him out of the deep end HYDRA put him in. After all, he was Captain America before the crash.”
Steve nodded. “Still doesn’t explain how he and Stark… I mean, we hardly get along. I can’t imagine actively trying to kill him and ending up between his legs.”
Bruce looked at him, seeming amused.
“What?” Steve asked.
“I was expecting you to blush from tip to toe when you said that,” the scientist admitted.
Steve shrugged. “I’ve had ample time to wrap my head around that image. He wasn’t too shy about the details.”
“Doesn’t mean you actually had to think about it.”
“Kind of hard not to,” Steve sighed.
“Well, like I said… chemistry. Sometimes it takes time - and other times two things put together either blow up in your face or create the most beautiful synergy.”
Steve tried to envision it. His feelings concerning Tony Stark weren’t as negative as they used to be when they first met, but it was a far cry from an actual partnership. He wasn’t certain Tony was even capable of that, seeing as he seemed to have little regard for how other people wanted things done. There was a generous side to him, of which the Avengers Tower was a very solid testament, but he was still a self-centered, egoistical bastard the rest of the time.
Perhaps the Tony Stark of the Commander’s world had been different. That might explain most of it.
It should have also meant he’d have stranded Tony somewhere by now, having realized he wasn’t suitable boyfriend material.
“Tony respects you a great deal more than you realize,” Bruce said out loud. “You’re his childhood idol - but also the reason why his father spent most of his years searching for you and drinking his way through the failure of not succeeding. Plus the first time we met, it wasn’t the best of times for any one of us.”
Steve knew Howard Stark had looked for him, long after fishing the Tesseract out of the ocean. He had also discovered through his own research that he had been just about as fond of having a drink in his hand as his son was - not that he had seen enough of Tony out of the armor to know if that was still a thing for him. Saving the world kind of got in the way of your buzz, if the Howling Commandos were any indication.
But it had just meant hitting the bottle twice as hard when you had the chance.
‘Work hard, party harder.’
It sounded like a motto Tony could get behind, but in all honesty, Steve didn’t know him well enough to make that assumption.
Perhaps he should fix that, once they got him back.
“Captain Rogers,” J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke up suddenly, “there may be a lead.”
“I’m listening,” Steve acknowledged, straightening slightly in his seat.
“A member of a security team down in Brooklyn has gone missing. His work area suggests proximity to a decommissioned underground line - quite close to where we lost track of the Commander.”
“A perfect place to hide, and we know he’s already used the underground to get around unnoticed,” Bruce perked up.
“Prep the jet,” Steve ordered, standing up. “Keep us posted on whether the man is found.”
“Of course, Captain. Shall I notify the other Avengers?” J.A.R.V.I.S. didn’t seem to feel the need to differentiate between official Avengers and their assorted backup.
“Please do,” Steve nodded and headed out, picking up his shield and tightening his uniform where he had slightly unfastened it when it looked like they might have to wait for news. It was possible this was a false alarm, but it was better to check it out than to sit here twiddling his thumbs.
to be continued…
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 19: The Clue
Avengers Tower,
Manhattan, New York City, NY
After the deeply frustrating events in Brooklyn, the team headed back to the Tower. The trail had gone cold - not that they had much of a trail to begin with; half the team had gone back out there, out of uniform, to see whether they could sniff anything out, but it had been a dead end.
Beyond that it was all in the hands of J.A.R.V.I.S., seeing as the AI was much faster at checking out possible leads that might pop up. Steve wasn’t sure whether that was actually enough, but the general consensus seemed to be that there was no one better equipped or motivated to look for Tony Stark than his own AI.
For his part, Steve re-watched all the footage they had available on the Commander. His brain kept picking apart everything the man said and did; if he wanted to outsmart him, he needed to figure out how alike and unlike each other they were. Could he assume the Commander would be making the same kind of decisions he would under the circumstances, or did they have such a hard time locating him because of those vast differences?
Up until HYDRA found him, their background was the same. Whether any of that man remained in the Commander, Steve wasn’t sure.
“Have you figured him out yet?” Bruce asked when he came to sit in the chair beside his; the corner where Steve had set up his base of operations was quiet, separated from the larger space, and it seemed the others didn’t want to disturb him. Every once in a while, one of them would venture in, either to offer him food or check on his progress.
Maybe they were just checking that he was actually still there and not out in the streets in a futile search.
“I know we’re supposed to be the same guy, deep down, but I don’t see it,” Steve confessed.
Bruce leaned forward, elbows on his knees, fingers crossing in front of his mouth in thought. “Well, we know he’s obsessed with having Tony by his side.”
Steve nodded stiffly.
“You don’t approve?” Bruce asked him. It looked like maybe he was smiling, just a tiny bit.
“On principle or just because it’s Tony?” Steve challenged.
“Whatever your issue, you’re fully entitled to your opinion,” Bruce offered diplomatically, clearly not wanting to be argumentative.
“It doesn’t bother me, men being with men,” Steve revealed. “In my time, it used to be an issue, but that’s obviously not the case anymore.”
“So it’s because it’s Tony?”
“I don’t…” Steve frowned at the screen which was frozen on a grainy image - provided by the single working camera after the EMP - of the Commander carrying his unconscious captive out of the room while Steve lay incapacitated in the background. The armor couldn’t be seen from this angle, but he knew it was right there, outside the frame. “How do you fall for someone you’re fighting?” he finally spoke out loud.
“Chemistry, I suppose,” Bruce shrugged. “Or maybe our bad guy isn’t as rotten as he appears. He didn’t kill you when he had the chance. Perhaps all he’s ever needed is the right person to pull him out of the deep end HYDRA put him in. After all, he was Captain America before the crash.”
Steve nodded. “Still doesn’t explain how he and Stark… I mean, we hardly get along. I can’t imagine actively trying to kill him and ending up between his legs.”
Bruce looked at him, seeming amused.
“What?” Steve asked.
“I was expecting you to blush from tip to toe when you said that,” the scientist admitted.
Steve shrugged. “I’ve had ample time to wrap my head around that image. He wasn’t too shy about the details.”
“Doesn’t mean you actually had to think about it.”
“Kind of hard not to,” Steve sighed.
“Well, like I said… chemistry. Sometimes it takes time - and other times two things put together either blow up in your face or create the most beautiful synergy.”
Steve tried to envision it. His feelings concerning Tony Stark weren’t as negative as they used to be when they first met, but it was a far cry from an actual partnership. He wasn’t certain Tony was even capable of that, seeing as he seemed to have little regard for how other people wanted things done. There was a generous side to him, of which the Avengers Tower was a very solid testament, but he was still a self-centered, egoistical bastard the rest of the time.
Perhaps the Tony Stark of the Commander’s world had been different. That might explain most of it.
It should have also meant he’d have stranded Tony somewhere by now, having realized he wasn’t suitable boyfriend material.
“Tony respects you a great deal more than you realize,” Bruce said out loud. “You’re his childhood idol - but also the reason why his father spent most of his years searching for you and drinking his way through the failure of not succeeding. Plus the first time we met, it wasn’t the best of times for any one of us.”
Steve knew Howard Stark had looked for him, long after fishing the Tesseract out of the ocean. He had also discovered through his own research that he had been just about as fond of having a drink in his hand as his son was - not that he had seen enough of Tony out of the armor to know if that was still a thing for him. Saving the world kind of got in the way of your buzz, if the Howling Commandos were any indication.
But it had just meant hitting the bottle twice as hard when you had the chance.
‘Work hard, party harder.’
It sounded like a motto Tony could get behind, but in all honesty, Steve didn’t know him well enough to make that assumption.
Perhaps he should fix that, once they got him back.
“Captain Rogers,” J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke up suddenly, “there may be a lead.”
“I’m listening,” Steve acknowledged, straightening slightly in his seat.
“A member of a security team down in Brooklyn has gone missing. His work area suggests proximity to a decommissioned underground line - quite close to where we lost track of the Commander.”
“A perfect place to hide, and we know he’s already used the underground to get around unnoticed,” Bruce perked up.
“Prep the jet,” Steve ordered, standing up. “Keep us posted on whether the man is found.”
“Of course, Captain. Shall I notify the other Avengers?” J.A.R.V.I.S. didn’t seem to feel the need to differentiate between official Avengers and their assorted backup.
“Please do,” Steve nodded and headed out, picking up his shield and tightening his uniform where he had slightly unfastened it when it looked like they might have to wait for news. It was possible this was a false alarm, but it was better to check it out than to sit here twiddling his thumbs.
to be continued…
Story info