#capimtrb2017

The wind sliced through the air, whipping Tony’s coat around his legs. He’d left the suit at home. A calculated decision because, considering all the variables-- their relationship, their given agendas and their pride-- Tony had an 83% certainty that Steve Rogers would refrain from slamming his shield into Tony’s skull.

Not today, not here.

The footsteps ran passed his floor. Then the sound of glass breaking, the whish of the shield, gunshots. And for one, fleeting, horrible, moment Tony wondered if he was about to get arrested. Glass fell onto the rooftop by his feet, and he kept his eye on the bridge in the distance. New York looked so beautiful at night and if this was the last thing he’d see, at least it was here, this view, the one that had acted as a backdrop to so many of his favorite fantasies and memories.

Red entered his periphery, it broke through the black and grays of night. His whole body yearned to turn to the Captain, but he kept his eye on the bridge.

It only took a second for Tony to hear that Steve was now alone, the others silenced by Steve’s fists and shield. Tony couldn't care in the slightest. He saw Steve move, push his cowl back, and Tony had to remind himself to breathe.

“You going to say, hello?” Tony could hear the smile in Steve’s words, and it made him break, look away from the bridge. Steve was an icon in his uniform, but uncertainty was sketched into the flush of his cheeks, how he rubbed his neck, licked his lips.

“Hello.” Tony’s softly spoken word was swept away by another gust of wind but Steve didn’t seem to care, just stepped forward as if he had heard Tony’s greeting. “I see you decoded the gps coordinates,” Tony continued, louder, trying to force confidence into his voice and knowing he had failed. Of course he had failed. He could never wear a mask around Steve, not when his cowl was off and the Iron Man suit was far away..

Steve had moved closer. Tony could feel the warmth radiating from his hand, where it rested inches above Tony’s shoulder, before he closed the space, connecting them.

“I didn’t need to decode the message,” Steve replied, slotting himself into the space behind Tony, facing the river. When he spoke, his words were right by Tony’s ear, and their timbre sparked goosebumps down his neck, made him lean into Steve’s weight. “As soon as I saw the paper lying on my desk, I knew.”

“Really?” Tony whispered. “I never thought someone would associate me with paper.” His joke fell flat into the night but Steve chuckled anyway, his hands coming up to rub at Tony’s arms through his coat. Heat seared, following Steve’s large hands and it was so easy to forget that there was a War and they were on opposite sides when they were slotted into each other like two worn puzzle pieces.

“I missed you too.”

“I never said I missed you,” Tony lied, letting Steve’s hand come up and turn his cheek so that their gazes finally met. Blue and open, honest and kind. Not a sign of Cap, just his Steve.  “I missed you.”

Any uncertainty faded from Steve’s face as he whispered, “I know,” before closing the space between them

His lips still tasted the same. Even after so many years, after all the vile words they’d spat at one another, Tony surged forward at the familiar taste, parting under Steve’s tongue. It was almost too much, the soft skin reminding him of countless other kisses. He remembered their first, right at this spot, right on this day, thirteen years ago. Steve had been so young, happy and flushed from flying. His arms had still been wrapped around Tony. Steve had been in his uniform, just like today. But now Tony wasn’t hidden behind layers of metal, he could feel every line of muscle and strength under the red, white and blue.

Steve’s hand came up to grip the back of Tony’s head, and Tony moaned, sliding his hands into Steve’s hair and gripping, hard.

“It’s been too long,” Tony gasped as he pushed back, only to bite at the uniform collar.

“A year.”

“We have to stop meeting like this.”

The wind brought with it the sounds of shouting and Tony groaned when it pulled Steve’s attention away from him. When he turned back to Tony, those blue eyes were still open, but now all Tony could see in them was regret. Resolve.

“I--”

“You have to go,” Tony interrupted, because it was easier to say the words than hear them.

They surged forward at the same time for one more kiss, one last taste, even as the unfamiliar footsteps of Steve’s new companions grew closer.

Tony stepped back first, made it easier for Steve to pull away. The warmth was still there, pressing against his coat, even as the wind picked up as if it was eager to take every reminder of Steve from him.

“Till next year,” Steve said, and they stared at each other for a moment. Then he pulled the cowl back on and sprinted towards the stairwell.

“Happy anniversary,” says Steve. Tony goes red and quickly ducks his head.   

“For me?” he asks, voice light and playful even, but Steve knows better than to reply with a joke. Tony will never admit it, but he likes to be wooed—genuine feelings, ardent confessions, the whole nine yards. And Steve is happy to do it because he genuinely has a lot of very ardent feelings for Tony.   

“For you,” he confirms, holding the bouquet out. Steve steals a kiss when Tony comes to take it, careful not to crush the still-dewy flowers and fronds of greenery which tickle their chins when they come together. When they part, Tony does this thing where he licks his lips, clenches his jaw and bites the inside of his cheek like he’s trying not to smile right before his face splits into a helpless grin.   

Steve sighed, leaning in the open door frame that protected the elevator from whatever might come from Tony’s lab. He had paused to watch Tony through the bullet proof glass for a moment before entering the engineer’s space. It was a strange kind of beautiful, watching him almost dance around the lab as he ran from desk to desk, juggling ten projects at once. It’d be better if he wasn’t running, of course. Running led to tripping which led to chemical spills which led to chemical burns, a fact they’d learned the last time Tony went on a bender like this.

“This isn’t a discussion, Tony. You and Bruce agreed to cap consecutive work hours at fifteen unless it’s an emergency.”

“But this is an emergency! These projects needed to be done yesterday.”

“No they didn’t, I checked with Jarvis. He also informed me this is hour twenty-eight.”

“Jarvis, no.” Tony gasped at the ceiling, faux-scandalized.

“Jarvis, yes.” The AI replied without missing a beat.

“But Steeeve, genius is happening.”

“Genius is always happening with you, babe.” Steve crossed the threshold of the lab door to meet Tony in the center of the room. He wrapped his arms around Tony’s midsection, resting his chin on the genius’s shoulder. It was pretty difficult to work with Steve so warm against him. Tony knew Steve knew that, the sneaky, perfect bastard. “Please take a break.”

“I couldn’t go to bed even if I tried.” The manic energy seemed to melt out of Tony. He tilted his head to the side, leaning against Steve. He seemed exhausted, but with visions of water and wormholes still lingering in his mind, he wasn’t about to chance sleep again.

“I wasn’t going to ask you to come to bed, since it’s four in the afternoon.”

“Oh.”

“I was thinking,” Steve slid his hands to Tony’s hips, turning him so their foreheads touched. “we could go walk around Central Park. When was the last time you saw the sun outside the armor, anyway?”

“That obnoxious gas ball in the sky? Gross, no thank you.”

Steve laughed, stealing a kiss. “We can get ice cream from that little stand near 65th street?”

“Hm, fine.” Tony couldn’t keep up the act of pretending to be uninterested. He wasn’t so much interested in the sweets or the – ugh – the sunshine, but an adorable date idea from his favorite man with a plan was too perfect to say no to. A grin spread across his face. “I’ve got new sunglasses I’ve been meaning to break in away.”

The sunglasses were tinted red frames and, in Steve’s opinion, looked exactly like every other pair of sunglasses his boyfriend owned. He knew better than to comment on them. They dressed in jeans and loose shirts, Steve in his old sneakers and Tony in some Nikes that looked to be twelve different shades of neon orange. New York City had gifted them a surprisingly cool summer day, with a breeze rolling between the rivers as the couple made their way to Central Park. They weren’t exactly incognito with their attire, but if they were recognized, no one bothered them.

“There’s a lot of people out today.” Tony scanned the collection of trees and statues as they made their way along the edge of the park. “Is it Saturday still?”

“Close, it’s Sunday.” Steve really wished he was more concerned about the way Tony lost days, but it had become such a normal part of the engineer’s eccentricities. “Which flavor do you want?”

“Can I just steal some of yours?”

And Steve really wished he had asked Jarvis when the last time Tony ate was. If he wasn’t sleeping, his mind probably wasn’t letting him eat either. “Alright, one mint chip, please.” Steve asked the stand owner, knowing to pick his battles when it came to Tony.

They wandered their way between the parks and museums, finding a spot under an ancient oak. For a while, they sat with their backs against its massive trunk and watched people walk by. Dogs ran past, skateboards occasionally did tricks or wiped out, birds chattered above them. Tony was surprised how much he actually enjoyed being away from his work for an hour or two like this.

Steve wasn’t at all surprised as Tony leaned over to lick at the ice cream still in his hand. The genius ended up finishing most of it, leaving the last bite of the cone for Steve. “I could have gotten you your own, you know.” Steve teased, but Tony just shrugged, leaning over again to lick off the mint-green melting that had gotten on Steve’s fingers.

“Ah, I see your point,” Steve tried not to shudder. The melted ice cream was long gone, but Tony had wrapped his lips around Steve’s finger. “Yeah it’s better this way.”

“You’re too easy, Rogers.” Tony pressed a kiss to Steve’s palm before leaning over completely to drop his head in Steve’s lap. The soldier ran his other hand through Tony’s mess of loose curls, but stopped, letting his hand rest on the ground. Tony grumbled, grabbing Steve’s wrist and putting it back on his hair.

“You want me to take a break, then do your part.”

Steve laughed, but kept his hand running through Tony’s hair. Time slipped, the sun moved through the thin clouds until it poured through the leaves above them. Steve couldn’t keep his eyes from Tony. The genius’s eyes were closed, in a place just above real sleep, but still as peaceful. The light made his face seem to glow, his lips resting in an almost smile.

The moment was almost broken when Tony’s phone vibrated between the ground and his back pocket. Without opening his eyes, he grabbed it, but Steve took it from his loose fingers before he could read whatever the message was.

“I got it, you keep taking your break.”

Tony pouted, but still didn’t open his eyes. “You spoil me, Stevie. But be warned what’s that text contains. Could be the blue prints for a new tablet, could be a dick pic, I never really know.”

“I’m sure I’ll manage.” Even as he read the text, he kept his hand moving in slow circles in Tony’s hair. “It’s actually Bruce, he’s cooking dinner tonight. He also wants to remind you that it’s my turn for movie night and – and you should get me to pick Jurassic Park? Do you two always make my choice for me on movie night?”

“Yes.” Tony answered without hesitating. He sat up slowly, Steve’s hand guiding him by moving from his hair down his spine. “But we always make you make the right choice, so don’t worry.”

“I’m picking Mean Girls tonight and you can’t stop me.” Steve stood first, offering a hand to pull Tony up.

“That’d be more threatening if that wasn’t also a fantastic movie.” Tony stretched, a dangerously distracting sight as he shirt rode up just slightly. “You have no power in the realm of pop culture, babe, not yet.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

But of course whether the team was together or not, things were never simple for the Avengers.

Because of course Tony had to fight with him and Ultron had to show up right then and there Tony had to get infected by Ultron’s virus that was quickly spreading to other civilians in the area.

The battle made it’s way to the subway and while the others dealt with the other infected humans, Steve fought Tony. They grappled on the railways until Steve found himself pinned under Tony with Ultron tendrils slowly wrapping around his neck. Steve stared into Tony’s eyes, but it was clear that Tony wasn’t staring back. Tony was gone.

But not forever Steve thought stubbornly.

But isn’t that what you wanted, a treacherous little voice in the back of Steve’s head asked. I mean, you were the one who left.

Steve was starting to black out as the tendrils tightened around his neck, when Ant-Man knocked Tony off of him. Steve got back up as Scott managed to shrink Tony down and contain him in a test tube.

The two sets of Avengers regrouped at the platform. Steve kept Falcon with him, while the others left to contain Ultron’s forces. As for Tony, Ant-Man took him back to the lab to try and find a way to get rid of the virus.