Fic: Circuits and Labs
Title: Circuits and Labs
Fandom: Iron Man/The Avengers
Characters/Pairings: Tony Stark/Steve Rogers, JARVIS. Mentions of Pepper, Obidiah and Rhodey.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Anything you recognise doesn’t belong to me. It’s all Marvel’s and I’m just playing with it.
Summary: Tony doesn’t hide in his workshop no matter what Pepper might say. He strategically retreats. Or five times Tony Stark took sanctuary in his workshop and one time he didn’t have to.
Notes: Written for my picture prompt table at avengers_tables, the picture was of a circuit board.
Date Written: 18.03.2012
~*~
1.
When he was younger Tony didn’t exactly have a workshop, or at least not one like he has today.
Tony is eight and already a genius. He works on his designs and circuit boards in the (admittedly rather large and hi-tech) shed at the bottom of the garden. He spends all his time there when he’s not at school.
But the times when he appreciates his space most, is when he’s dad is drunk and going crazy. When Howard Stark has had too much to drink he’s not violent (at least not with his fists) but he is ten times more critical of Tony and of his work. After the fight has left him he just sits in his chair and stares into the distance, often muttering about the ice and the search he was forced to give up.
Tony doesn’t quite understand his father when he’s like that. He doesn’t like it and promises himself that he’ll never be like his father, a drunk and bitter man with no real friends.
2.
Tony is fourteen and away at boarding school. Whilst his father does have a degree of influence over the school it is Tony who finds himself his own workshop. Well, Tony says found. The Board of Directors of the school on the other hand say that he stole it from the rest of the students. It wasn’t his fault if his work took up every surface and that the other boys didn’t know what any of it meant. Though Tony does concede (after much persuasion) that changing all the locks on the doors and windows to the lab was possibly too much.
Tony finds himself in his workshop everyday. He often doesn’t go to class. English is pointless and he has no time at all for Sports. Tony knows all that any of the teachers here could teach him about science and maths and the rest he has the ability to cruise his way through.
Once again his workshop becomes his sanctuary. He is not naïve enough to not know that he doesn’t have any real friends here, and those who do pay attention to him only do so to torment him (not that Tony doesn’t give as good as he gets.) His inventions become his companions; he begins to design machines that can do different jobs at his command.
3.
Tony is seventeen when his parents die. He’s still busy at MIT and it takes him three days to actually listen to all the messages Obidiah has been leaving him. He’s in his apartment, which is really more of a lab with a bed. He doesn’t want to leave, doesn’t want to go and have to face the circus that will be his father’s funeral. Tony doesn’t want to have to face the press, asking what will he do with the company when he is old enough to take it over, what he is going to do in the meantime.
When Tony eventually makes it back to the family home he goes to his workshop in the garden. It’s full of dust and old prototypes and computers that look ancient, but it still smells like home. That’s where Obi finds him when it’s time to go to the funeral, time to face the world.
4.
When he got back, straight after the press conference Tony locked himself in his workshop. He buried himself in coding and designs for a more stable arc reactor. It wasn’t until JARVIS told him that Pepper was threatening to use the override codes for the door that he resurfaced.
The problem was that Pepper wanted to talk. Rhodey wanted to talk. Even Obi wanted to talk. Pepper wanted to talk about how he felt. Rhodey wanted to talk about (in his words) how the hell did he end up in the middle of the desert when they couldn’t find him for three months. Obadiah wanted to talk about the company and Tony’s announcement that they wouldn’t be making weapons anymore. Tony didn’t want to talk about any of it.
His workshop was his perfect sanctuary. JARVIS merely made passing comments in that sarcastic British accent of his that Tony could answer back in his sleep and Dummy couldn’t talk full stop.
5.
Big man in a suit of armour, take that away and what are you?
A genius billionaire playboy philanthropist.
Tony goes to his lab after he first meets the team. He’s just the consultant, as Fury delighted in reminding him. He isn’t one of them.
“Stupid, American Hero. What does he know?” Tony mutters as he brings up the semantics of Captain America’s suit - what could he say, he was a masochist at heart. “I’m the one that’s going to be keeping him alive, ungrateful arsehole.”
“I take it the meeting did not go well, Sir.”
“Butt out JARVIS,” Tony snapped and continued to pull Captain America’s suit around in the air in front of him. He ignored Dummy who left him a cup of coffee on the table next to him and whirred sadly.
+1.
Steve was frozen in place, blinking at him. A million thoughts ran through Tony’s head, he read the signs wrong, Steve still didn’t like him, he’d really screwed the team up now and finally why are you still standing there?! Move!
Tony came back to himself and quickly turned away, “Well I’ve gotta go, stuff in the lab-”
He’d barely made it across the room before Steve had grabbed his arm. Tony closed his eyes, this was it. He was going to get the Steve Rogers look of disapproval and then he’ll be allowed to go back to the safety of his workshop.
“Tony, I -”
Tony turned to face Steve again, though refused to meet his eyes, “You don’t need to say anything Steve. You’re you and I’m me and it’ll only end in disaster and mmph -”
Tony arms flailed a bit before he grabbed hold of Steve’s shoulders (big, muscley, solid shoulders) and his brain finally caught up with what was happening. Steve was kissing him, on the mouth, and he wasn’t running away. Tony closed his eyes and held on tighter. He would deny to his dying day that he made a noise which sounded horribly like a whimper when Steve bit his lip and their tongues touched for the first time.
They finally broke apart, foreheads touching, and in that moment Tony couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be.
“How-” Steve cleared his throat, “How about we go out for dinner?”
Tony smiled and nodded. Dinner, with Steve. They’ve had dinner together so many times before but this time it would be the start of something new. Steve took his hand and led the way through the mansion. Tony paused when the reached the front door, “JARVIS! Tell Dummy I’m sorry but I’ve had a better offer!”
“Of course Sir.”
Tony laughed and Steve looked at him as he was crazy. Tony leant up and placed a kiss on Steve’s lips (because he could) and asked, “Where to Cap?”