Myxophobia (page 1/2)
Story Info
Title: Myxophobia
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers (MCU)
Genre: Drama, hurt/comfort
Rating: MA / FRAO
Characters: Bruce Banner (Hulk), J.A.R.V.I.S., Steve Rogers (Captain America), Tony Stark (Iron Man)
Pairings: Steve/Tony
Summary: Steve’s life had been good recently: he and Tony had just begun their second date - which was going very well until they got a call to assemble and Steve was accidentally exposed to gamma radiation. Now disfigured and relying on Bruce’s word that the changes may fade in time, Steve can only hope his fresh relationship with Tony won’t be forever ruined by this. He also wishes Tony would stop with the tentacle jokes because they are not that funny.
Complete.
Written for: Tentacle Big Bang’s (tentaclebigbang) round 2.
Artist: danceswithgary (art here)
Warnings: Body horror & (temporary) transformation (including tentacles), M/M sex (also including tentacles). ‘Iron Man 3’ compatible; not ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ compatible.
Disclaimer: Iron Man, Avengers and Marvel Cinematic Universe, including characters and everything else, belong to Marvel, Marvel Studios, Jon Favreau, Joss Whedon, Shane Black, Joe Johnston, Louis Leterrier, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Universal Pictures. In short: I own nothing; this is pure fiction created to entertain likeminded fans for no profit whatsoever.
Beta: Mythra (mythras-fire)
About Myxophobia: Tentacles are hard to resist in fics and I’m really trying to stick with “consentacles” this time around.
Also, this is not one of my better works; I almost deleted the entire thing when I had reached 9000 words but decided that I had come that far and might as well finish it…
So, on that note, I hope you people enjoy the weird, light fluff that is this story!
Story and status: Below you see the writing process of the story. If there is no text after the title, then it is finished and checked. Possible updates shall be marked after the title.
Myxophobia
~ ~ ~
Myxophobia
Steve could see his exhalations in the air, a cloud drifting upwards for a moment before dispersing in the air. It looked like a visual representation of his body-heat escaping. His body shuddered at the thought.
The near-constant sloshing sound increased as Tony moved closer to him, the water they were submersed in feeling instantly warmer. “Come on, Cap,” Tony crooned, almost teasing, “you can hold out a bit longer.”
Steve shifted, his hold still secure on the beam above them. For a moment he lifted himself a bit further out of the water, but the relief was minimal with the cool air hitting his wet uniform. Giving up, he allowed his body to sink lower again until he was chest-deep in the water.
It would have been very dark, the night long since fallen, but Tony’s skin was a-glow almost constantly now. Tony’s reassurance that Extremis would keep him safe had been the only reason why Steve had let him stay while Tony’s suit had flown off to take the last of the ship’s crew to a safe location that wasn’t sinking beneath their feet. Steve didn’t know how exactly Extremis worked, but even being close to Tony made the water feel almost tropically warm - which it certainly wasn’t without the heat pulsing from the other man’s body.
“You’re not getting tired, are you?” Steve asked back. Tony didn’t look tired - another side-effect of Extremis - but he wanted to make sure, feeling bad that Tony had even had to consider staying behind with him.
“No, and it won’t be much longer before the suit comes back and we’ll be on our way to dry land, too,” Tony reassured.
Steve nodded and tried to think of something pleasant instead of the dark, cool water lapping against the sides of the boat, slowly lured into sinking lower and lower. Much more of that and they would have to move - which perhaps they should have done some time ago, knowing that the water was not safe to stay in. Steve didn’t feel hypothermic yet, thanks to the serum, but the way his mind kept drifting back to icier water filling the cabin of Red Skull’s plane…
“Hey,” Tony called out to him, moving his foot in the water, poking Steve’s leg with it. “You’re getting that look on your face again.”
“What look?” Steve pretended not to know.
“The ‘I don’t want to become an icicle again’ look. Stop thinking about it!”
“It’s not that easy,” Steve confessed. He didn’t like talking about it but he knew why Tony had stayed - knew that Tony knew - and that was why it felt like he should be honest about his misgivings.
“The suit will be back soon,” Tony reassured him again. “I’ll fly us back real quick and then buy you a cup of hot chocolate. Deal?”
“Marshmallows on top?” Steve dared to suggest.
“Loads,” Tony nodded, inching a bit closer. The heat coming from his body might have burned Steve had he not been wet and cold. In their current situation it was like basking in front of a roaring fire, on the edge of too hot, and he focused on that, ignoring the cold and the water and the darkness.
“Thank you,” he finally said, “for staying with me.”
“No problem,” Tony replied.
An hour ago Tony had insisted that if he got out of the suit, it could carry one extra person and then it would just be him and Cap on the last flight, the ship’s crew secured. He didn’t pretend that was the main reason anymore and Steve was thankful for it.
A faint roar reached them then, growing steadily stronger, at which point the entire boat shifted and lights moved in the darkness, zeroing in on them - or rather on Tony, because if the suit and the AI controlling it had to choose, Steve would be the one left waiting for rescue.
“Sir,” Tony’s AI, J.A.R.V.I.S., greeted from above, “the crew is now safely on board a nearby tanker and would wish to convey their thanks to you.”
“Great,” Tony said and allowed himself to drop into the water. Steve could see his grimace after his head went under briefly. “Get me back in the suit and let’s get out of here.”
“Yes, sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. responded and pulled them both up the side of the half-submerged boat, long enough for Tony to get inside the armor and Steve to get a good hold on it before they took off into the sky.
- - -
“This is nice,” Tony said, hands wrapped around a half-empty cup of hot chocolate - with marshmallows; his portion had peppermint in it, so much that Steve could easily smell the schnapps. “We should do this more often.”
“Float in cold water inside a sinking boat?” Steve raised an eyebrow. He was slowly warming up, dressed in hand-made wool clothes Tony had bought for both of them from a local gift shop in the small town where they had decided to get dry and rest. The inn’s dining area had a big fireplace - in front of which they were seated side by side, feet up near the flames, and it was hard to imagine that just two hours ago Steve had wondered if he could survive another watery grave.
Tony snorted. “That mission sucked - although it would have sucked a lot more with someone else,” he admitted with the kind of smile one didn’t often see on Tony Stark’s face. “I was talking about the drinks and the fireplace.”
“This is nice,” Steve admitted, sipping his second cup of hot chocolate. It was thick and held just the right amount of sweetness. “We could do this again - without the swimming part.”
“We could,” Tony agreed.
Steve nodded then smiled, chuckling to himself.
“What?” Tony asked.
“It almost sounded like we agreed to go on a second date.” After the water and sharing his vulnerability with Tony, Steve had the guts to dare a look at the other man. “I’ve never been on a second date with anyone.”
Instead of giving him a weird look or cracking a joke - which had been a possibility - Tony just smiled and tilted the foot closest to Steve’s, touching their toes together. “Maybe I’ll have to clean up my act, then, and not put out until our second date. Make it special for you.”
Steve considered his words, wanting to be sure what Tony meant by ‘putting out’. He knew the man’s reputation from before he became Iron Man - and the reputation he still liked to keep up, after he and Pepper split up, but which was a front more than anything else. “I wouldn’t be opposed to some putting out on a first date,” he dared to say. “I’ve never had that, either.”
Tony guffawed and covered his mouth, then laughed again, the sound brilliant and real. “Who did you go out on dates with?” Tony marveled.
Steve grinned with some nostalgia. “When you’re double-dating with Bucky Barnes… let’s just say the girls tended to like him a whole lot more than me.”
Tony sobered a bit, nodding. “Well,” he mused and slid a hand over to Steve’s thigh, giving him a completely disarming, seductive look, “Bucky Barnes isn’t here tonight. You might just get lucky, soldier.” His fingers caressed his clothed thigh, not even near his cock but the sensation was pleasant nonetheless. It was clear Tony had done this before. “Shall we go back to our room?”
“Let’s finish these first,” Steve decided, gesturing with his mug, and Tony smiled and nodded, leaning back into his spot on the couch - yet it wasn’t lost on Steve how he leaned against him just a bit, the promise still there.
They finished their drinks and left the dining room, taking the creaky steps upstairs to their room. Once the door closed behind them, Steve felt giddy - especially when Tony turned towards him, clearly waiting for something. His expression was soft - not the guarded one he wore when they were ready to argue over something - and Steve dared himself to take a few steps closer, to see what Tony would do.
What Tony did was lift his hands and tug Steve in the rest of the way by his shoulders. Once that was accomplished, Tony’s hands ran inwards, smoothly sliding up along Steve’s neck and to his face, gracefully guiding him into a kiss he hadn’t been all that prepared for.
It was nice, the first touch of their lips. Steve had half-expected Tony to take over, to show him every trick in the book, but it was slow and almost shy, like Tony was willing to take his time to learn the new territory. Steve was the one who grew bolder, licking the seam of Tony’s lips, gaining a smile - then a yawn. Tony tried suppressing it, looking bashful, but Steve felt a yawn of his own approaching and let it take over, feeling weariness creep in.
“Perhaps we should just go to bed,” Steve suggested.
Tony nodded, managing to hide his next yawn behind his hand.
They stripped and took turns going to the bathroom. Steve was the first to settle down on one of the two beds - the one closest to the door, as if they might come under attack and he would need to protect the other occupants of the room. It was an old habit from the war.
Tony flushed the toilet and emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a pair of boxer briefs and nothing else. Steve was wearing the same since they hadn’t thought to purchase anything but what they would need to replace their wet uniforms. Tony halted briefly between the beds, looking over at Steve - then took a step and leaned over Steve’s upper body, dropping a kiss on his lips.
It had perhaps been intended as a ‘good night’ kiss, but Steve drew Tony closer, dragging it out, and eventually it was easier to let Tony settle properly beside him, under the covers, and keep kissing him that way until they were yawning again.
“Do you want me to go to my bed?” Tony asked, eyelids drooping.
“Not really,” Steve admitted.
Tony gave him a lopsided, tired smile, and settled down to sleep.
Steve smiled briefly, turned off the lamp between the beds and followed his lead.
“I promise a better performance on our second date,” Tony murmured in the darkness.
“Looking forward to it,” Steve replied - and he really was. He hadn’t felt so eager for quite a while and it was refreshing. Also, he wasn’t worried about stepping on anyone’s toes this time because he knew Tony and how much he could take - and how much he could dish out. He was happy, to put it simply, even after something as simple as kissing and lying next to Tony, their combined body heat between the sheets driving away the last of the cold from the water.
Steve had not slept so well since waking up from the ice.
- - -
Upon their return to New York City, Steve was a little concerned that the familiar environment would give them a reality check. Surviving stressful and dangerous situations often created a sort of bond between people - a bond that was easily broken once everyone returned to their daily routines.
He needn’t have worried because Tony didn’t function like most people.
They were riding the elevator up to the Tower’s top floors, fresh from debriefing with S.H.I.E.L.D., when Tony gave him a look from the corner of his eye. “You doing anything next Monday?”
“I don’t think so,” Steve replied. They both knew how quickly those plans - or lack of plans - could change should there be a mission that required their participation.
Tony nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. He was nervous, Steve could tell, but not in the way that could turn hostile in a heartbeat. “Well, then,” he started after a beat, “perhaps if we still have a mutual interest in that second date…”
Steve turned towards him, seeing as it was unfair to make Tony do all the work. “I would say I’m still pretty interested.”
Tony turned his head in the captain’s direction, his shoulders relaxing a bit. Steve wondered how long it had been since Tony last feared rejection. “Fantastic. I’ll set something up,” Tony promised.
“Don’t stress about it,” Steve said. “It doesn’t need to be anything fancy.”
“Not even if I want to impress you?” Tony quirked an eyebrow.
“I’ve seen your suit; I’m already impressed.” Steve knew that was the right thing to say. Some people had their fancy cars, others a beautiful wife on their arm; Tony had his suits, a solid, iron extension of his ego and manhood alike, and Steve was not above rubbing that spot.
“Much more of that and I’ll take you to third base right here in the elevator,” Tony promised and turned his body to face Steve’s, clever hands sliding up his waist and if that wasn’t an invitation for a kiss then Steve needed serious help to figure this dating thing out.
Taking the initiative, Steve framed Tony’s face with his hands and leaned in, finding the other man willingly meeting him half-way. Whatever ‘third base’ meant - he was pretty sure that term hadn’t existed outside a baseball field in his day - Steve was fairly sure it was something they should wait for until their next date, at least.
The elevator halted, the motion so smooth they didn’t notice it until the doors opened and someone cleared their throat from the outside. “I assume you’re both fine despite the conditions of the last mission,” Bruce Banner’s voice inquired.
Tony, of course, grinned without shame at his fellow scientist and slapped him on the shoulder while exiting the elevator. “Just huddling for warmth,” he claimed although there had been very little huddling going on in the elevator.
Steve gave Bruce a sheepish look and took off in the direction of his own floor, mentally circling Monday’s date in his mind over and over, wishing that no one would try to take over the world before then.
- - -
Monday arrived sunny and warm. On his morning run Steve wondered what Tony had planned; a dinner in some fancy restaurant that Steve could never afford - nor would he want to - and to which you had to reserve a table a year in advance unless you happened to be Tony Stark; a rented get-away near the city in some villa that was closed to the public - or a house of such modern design it would make Steve stare at all the architectural choices in puzzlement; a supper on one of the luxury boats Steve knew Tony owned -one of which was actually anchored in one of Manhattan’s marinas.
Steve felt a little less enthusiastic with all those options in mind, seeing as he would have rather done something simple. This was Tony, though, and Tony did nothing by halves.
Deciding that he would just roll with it, Steve headed back to the Tower and rode the elevator up to his floor, trying not to over-analyze the date ahead of him. Of course, he hadn’t seen Tony yet that morning so there was a small chance Tony had forgotten…
The elevator stopped suddenly a few floors below his, the opening doors revealing Tony. “Hi,” the man gave him a quick smile and leaned on the door to keep it open. “Just getting back from your morning run?”
“Yes,” Steve replied, seeing as that was rather obvious.
“Would it be okay with you if you skipped the rest of your morning workout, ran up to your floor to shower and change and then met me in the garage?”
Steve blinked. “Do you need help with something?”
“I was thinking we might head out on that date we agreed on - unless something’s come up and you’re busy,” Tony shrugged one shoulder, playing indifferent.
“It’s seven in the morning,” Steve clarified. Usually Tony hadn’t even gone to bed at this hour.
“I’m aware,” Tony replied. “We don’t have to leave now but I’ll have to re-arrange some things if we don’t -”
“It’s fine,” Steve cut in before Tony could think he wasn’t into it. “I’ll get cleaned up and meet you in the garage,” he agreed.
Tony nodded and stepped back from the doorway, allowing the elevator doors to close once again and take Steve up to his floor. It was entirely possible Tony’s day was booked and they had to get their date over with before his other duties interfered. Steve had half a mind to tell Tony that they could just do this on another day, but then, he had been looking forward to today and who knew when their schedules would be clear again at the same time.
He showered and then struggled to decide what to wear; Tony had been dressed in jeans and a tank top, but that didn’t mean the man wouldn’t be wearing an expensive suit by the time Steve got down to the garage. Not wanting to dress inappropriately and kind of disliking Tony for not giving him any cues on what to wear, Steve huffed at his limited options and gazed at the ceiling. “J.A.R.V.I.S., do you have any idea of what Tony has planned?”
“Indeed I do, Captain,” the AI responded at once.
“What should I wear?”
“Something casual will do.”
Casual it was, then: a button-up shirt that he could pull off even if they ended up going somewhere a bit fancier, stone-washed jeans - because his khaki pants made Tony purse his lips more often than not - and a leather jacket just in case. He was just about to pick out a pair of shoes when J.A.R.V.I.S. made a noise almost like clearing his throat. “The sneakers would work best, Captain Rogers,” the AI informed him.
Steve frowned, not thinking sneakers would go well with anything he had imagined they might be doing, but he trusted the AI and put on those shoes, then grabbed his wallet and phone before walking to the elevator and riding it down in genuine puzzlement.
When he reached the garage, Tony already had a car selected and parked near the elevators. The genius himself was leaning against the side of the vehicle, his phone in hand, eyes fixed on the screen. Steve noted that he wasn’t underdressed at all because Tony hadn’t changed since he last saw him, sporting the same jeans, top, and sneakers he had worn when he stopped Steve in the elevator.
Tony raised his gaze and smiled briefly. “All set?” he asked but didn’t wait for an answer as he moved to open the driver’s door and get in, waiting for Steve to round the vehicle and sit down beside him.
“Where are we going?” Steve asked the moment Tony started the engine and drove out of the garage.
“It’s a surprise,” Tony stated and took them to a north-bound street.
Steve kept guessing, wondering if some of his earlier ideas had been correct. They left Manhattan and headed towards the Bronx, the destination a complete mystery to Steve even when they pulled into an empty parking lot in front of the New York Botanical Garden.
Tony got out of the car, fully intending to stay here by the looks of it, so Steve followed his lead and walked behind Tony to the gate. The signs suggested the garden was closed on Mondays but a young woman let them in with a warm smile. Tony thanked her and beckoned for Steve to follow him.
The gardens, as expected, were amazing, full of exotic flowers in full bloom under the morning sun. They saw a few garden employees as they walked but otherwise it was silent, save for the chirping of the birds.
After a mile’s trek from the gate, Tony took them down a smaller path to an area that had been restricted with a chain hanging between two stone pillars.
“Are we supposed to go there?” Steve asked.
“Yeah,” Tony flashed him a smile.
“Wait,” Steve blinked in surprise. “You arranged for us to have a date at a closed botanical garden?”
Tony shrugged and led them over to what looked like a picnic spot, with a basket and a cooler sitting by a folded blanket. “I knew you wouldn’t like a fancy dinner and frankly, any place I’d go to, people would talk.”
“What did you tell the staff here?” Steve frowned.
“I told them you’re my friend and an artist,” Tony shrugged again and reached down to grab the blanket, then shook it open and laid it out on the grass. “They selected a real nice spot for us, too,” he gestured at the flowers and trees, then unlatched the cooler and pulled out a couple beers, offering one to Steve. “My other option was to book the observation deck of One World Trade Center but I thought this was, in the end, the better option - seeing as we already spend enough time on a skyscraper.”
“I like this better,” Steve confessed, sitting down next to Tony and opening his beer. It was an old brand he liked - a small gesture from Tony that he appreciated.
“Good,” Tony smiled and opened his own bottle, clinking it against Steve’s and taking a sip.
“Should you be drinking?” Steve frowned in puzzlement.
“If you think me too drunk to drive after a few beers, I’ll just have you drive us back, Mr. Sobriety,” Tony teased. His words weren’t malicious, however, and Steve decided to let it go, taking in the beautiful scenery instead. Truth be told, he could find a lot of things to sketch here.
His gazing eventually circulated back to Tony - who was being uncharacteristically quiet. “I hope this date isn’t too mundane for your tastes,” Steve mused.
“I find it in my… current level of experience in the dating pool,” Tony started, carefully sidestepping the word ‘age’, “that it’s the company that matters.”
“I half expected you to take us to your yacht,” Steve revealed.
“We can do that later if you want,” Tony chuckled.
“Sail off into the sunset? I don’t think either one of us wants to do that after the last mission,” Steve snorted.
Tony shook his head in agreement and sipped his beer again, then reached into the basket and pulled out two wrapped items of food that smelled like sandwiches from one of the cafés Steve liked: their breads were always fresh, as were the other ingredients, and the portions were big enough to satisfy his hunger.
“You’re frighteningly aware of my eating habits,” Steve acknowledged but accepted the bigger of the two wraps and opened it after setting his beer bottle down on the grass. He hadn’t gotten to eat after his run and took the first bite gratefully.
“You’re not much of a mystery,” Tony claimed and dug into his own sandwich with a little less enthusiasm, seeing as he had no serum-enhanced metabolism to maintain.
“Are you calling me simple?” he asked, knowing he was a pretty transparent person but wanting to tease Tony just a little bit.
“Simple isn’t always bad,” Tony argued. “Makes my life easier,” he added.
“I might surprise you yet.”
“I’m betting on it.”
While Steve ate he tried to think of ways to be unpredictable - in a good way. They had fought side by side for a few years now and having lived in the Tower, they had sort of become part of a small community of superheroes. That didn’t mean there weren’t a lot of things they didn’t know about each other and Steve looked forward to learning more about Tony.
He was finishing his sandwich while thinking of questions to ask the other man when both their phones chimed at the same time. Tony groaned and Steve sighed, both of them knowing what it meant: a call to assemble.
“Well, this was nice,” Tony groused as he cleaned his hands on a napkin and picked up his phone, pulling an earpiece from his pocket and placing it in his ear. “Go ahead,” he said to someone at the other end and listened intently.
Steve used the time to finish his food, washing down the last of the bread with his beer because that’s what was available and he couldn’t get drunk anyway.
“A.I.M.,” Tony informed him a few seconds later, rising to his feet. “Let’s go.”
Steve nodded and followed his lead, giving their picnic spot a mournful look before focusing on the mission ahead of them.
- - -
All the other Avengers were unavailable to partake in the mission and Bruce thought it best not to risk bringing the Hulk into a situation where success didn’t rely on their heaviest hitter, so Steve and Tony moved out together once again, Iron Man providing the means of transport since the A.I.M. sighting had been just outside New York City.
The seaport they landed in was quiet, a maze of shipping containers spreading out around them. A single ship was fastened to the dock and preparing to leave by the looks of it.
“We better hurry,” Tony said through the comm. “It will be easier to apprehend them before the ship gets moving.”
Steve voiced his approval and made sure his shield was secure on his back, then began moving out towards the ship that was hiding some kind of A.I.M. device on board. Tony waited for a moment, allowing Steve to get much closer, then rose to the air again, the thrusters working quietly compared to the usual sound; Steve knew Tony was using the stealth mode of his suit to not alarm anyone who might be lying in wait for intruders.
“Anything from the external scans?” Steve asked, keeping his voice low, knowing Tony would catch his words anyway.
“Nothing conclusive but there’s definitely something inside the main cargo hold - something big. I’m also getting some mild radiation counts but nothing serious.”
Steve moved a bit closer still, halting to take a look around. There was no one in sight but he knew that rarely meant anything. Slowly he slid the shield free from his back, looked up in case he could see the suit, but for the time being he couldn’t tell where Tony was. “I’m going in,” Steve decided them. “If I engage the enemy, feel free to go and take a look inside. Otherwise we’ll start exploring the ship and secure it.”
“Copy that.”
Steve approached the ramp leading up to the ship’s deck, still not seeing or hearing anyone, so he decided to take the easy way in and rushed up the gangway. He did so with all the silence he could muster yet prepared for enemy retaliation - which never came. Once on the deck, he could still see no one and doubt began to gnaw at the back of his mind. “Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Steve asked, walking along the deck to find a way to the hold.
“That’s what the intel said,” Tony replied. Steve couldn’t hear him moving around but knew Tony had to be close by.
With a small frown, Steve moved out along the deck, trying to find a door or stairs that might lead in the right direction - then heard something move on his right side. He barely had time to lift his shield before some kind of energy weapon was fired at him, the impact sending him flying back despite the vibranium absorbing any dangerous effects.
He slammed down hard, felt something creak beneath him - then fell all over again as whatever he had fallen on disappeared. After a rather long drop that completely winded him and possibly cracked a few ribs, he landed on what felt like a stack of wooden crates. The wood gave beneath the impact, snapping and collapsing, sending him rolling down onto the floor along with a shower of dust and pieces of wood.
“Cap?!” Tony called out to him.
Steve groaned, supposing that was enough of a sign that he was still alive.
“You found the hold. I’ll be there in a second.” This time Steve heard the thrusters, a quick whine followed by a repulsor blast - possibly aimed at whoever had shot him - and then the suit landed heavily on the bottom of the hold a few feet from him. “Can you get up?” Tony asked.
“I think I’ll need a minute,” Steve managed. His body was on fire but he didn’t think he was bleeding. The serum was already working to restore his mobility and he tried to relax, to let it work, knowing he would get back to his feet faster that way.
Iron Man moved around, bright lights washing the area, burning Steve’s eyes. “I think you broke whatever they were transporting,” Tony announced - then swore sharply. “Okay, we have a problem. Try to lie very still.”
“Why?” Steve asked and blinked, slowly raising a hand to his face in the hopes that rubbing his eyes might restore his vision to normal. He saw a flash of red before he got that far, though, and the armor gripped his forearm tight.
“You’re lying in a pool of liquid heavily infused with gamma radiation.”
Steve supposed that was bad and focused on keeping still, not wanting the liquid to get anywhere it already wasn’t. “Don’t touch it,” he ordered.
“The suit will protect me,” Tony reassured. “I need to call Bruce in. He can do an analysis much faster than I can.”
“What about A.I.M.?” Steve asked. He heard the armor move, just a little, and he guessed Tony was either looking around or scanning his surroundings.
“Hightailing, by the looks of it. I’ll alert S.H.I.E.L.D., see if they want to try and catch them, but right now we’ll worry about getting you cleaned up, okay?”
“Okay,” Steve agreed and remained as still as humanly possible.
- - -
Bruce arrived on a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet in less than half an hour. By that time Tony had secured the machine and helped Steve to his feet, away from the pool of the oily substance that had leaked out of the machine he’d fallen on. Steve was sore all over but he didn’t think the liquid was actually affecting him. They needed to be sure, though, and that was why Bruce entered the hold alone - with a load of diagnostic equipment.
“What was A.I.M. trying to do with this machine?” Bruce mused as he instructed Steve to strip his uniform, piece by piece.
“Who knows,” Tony shrugged, still fully inside the armor; the area had been sealed and there was no fear of contamination, at least no more than what Steve had been subjected to. “If S.H.I.E.L.D. catches them, I’ll be sure to ask.”
Steve cringed as his ribs protested against the pull as he removed his arms from the sleeves, one at a time. Bruce gave him a worried look, shining extra light at visible skin. “There doesn’t appear to be irritation.”
“Maybe it didn’t seep through,” Steve offered.
“I’m fairly certain it did, plus the liquid is releasing fumes as we speak while vaporizing…”
“Before you ask me to hold my breath, let me tell you it’s probably too late to protect me against that,” Steve said.
“Duly noted,” Bruce replied. “Tony, can you help him out?”
Steve watched the armor approach, then moved his arms to help Tony tug off the top of his uniform, baring him down to the waist.
“This is not how I imagined undressing you tonight,” Tony noted.
Bruce cleared his throat as if to remind them that he was still standing right there.
Steve didn’t bother apologizing, knowing what Tony meant. “Just help me get the rest of it off and we can head home.”
“Through a quarantine,” Bruce added.
“Spoilsport,” Tony muttered and moved his armored hands to Steve’s waist.
- - -
“We may have a problem,” Bruce said.
They were inside a mobile quarantine unit and Steve was slowly starting to feel like a healthy human being again; his body was healed to a point that left him mostly pain-free and he couldn’t believe Bruce had found something to be wrong with him.
“What’s wrong, doc?” Tony asked from the other side of a protective wall, the wide observation window giving him an unrestricted view to the other side where Bruce and Steve were.
“Every test suggests he’s been exposed to gamma radiation - yet there are no ill effects,” Bruce said.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Steve frowned.
“Your body is clinging to the radiation and until I know for certain whether it’s going to be released or neutralized by the serum, I’m considering it a problem,” Bruce explained.
“That’s your scientific take on this?” Tony rolled his eyes. Bruce didn’t see it, his back to the glass, but Steve did and he shook his head, knowing that Bruce was doing his best to sort things out.
“What do I need to do?” Steve asked.
“Stay in isolation, unfortunately. We can transport you back to a S.H.I.E.L.D. base or even the Tower, whichever you would prefer. I’ll monitor any changes and you should try and rest.”
Steve was tired, his body craving sustenance and rest after being pushed through the healing process. “I think I would like the Tower better but whatever works best,” he replied.
Tony nodded. “I’ll get one of the quarantine quarters ready; can’t risk you irradiating your floor,” he added. “Anything you think you might want in there?”
Steve did have one thing in mind - a thing he and Tony had sort of skirted around - but he knew that was out of the question. “Food and a bed will do,” he replied, holding Tony’s gaze for a moment.
If Tony knew what he was really thinking about, he didn’t say anything. There was something in his eyes, though, that made Steve presume Tony was well aware of his regret at how their date had ended.
- - -
After three days in quarantine, Bruce began to consider the possibility that Steve’s body was not going to release the radiation after all and that he was safe to be around people.
Steve, after all the extensive tests, was relieved by the news, but the uncertainty made him wary. “Perhaps I should stay in the Tower for a few more days, just to be sure,” he suggested.
Bruce nodded, clearly appreciating his caution. “The gamma radiation may be harmless to you and me, but others are not as fortunate.”
Tony walked in just then, making them both stiffen, but Tony rolled their eyes at them. “Relax. I’ve done some tests with J.A.R.V.I.S. and it would appear Extremis is more than capable of battling low levels of gamma rays.” He gave Steve a suggestive look.
“Don’t risk it,” Bruce cautioned. “I think the radiation should have vanished by now, seeing as his other injuries have completely healed, but there’s no prior data on how exactly the SSS stands against radiation in general. We all know gamma radiation’s capabilities so I won’t consider Steve free of danger until every last bit of it has vanished from his system.”
It made Steve feel like he was a walking time bomb and he considered staying in quarantine for a while longer, just for Bruce’s peace of mind. Tony, however, was having none of it: “We’ll keep an eye on things. Actually, I was wondering if you would stay on my floor until the situation’s cleared.”
Steve looked at him in surprise. “Why?” he asked.
“The detectors are way sharper in my quarters,” Tony shrugged as if he had no ulterior motives whatsoever. “J.A.R.V.I.S. will be able to monitor you 24/7 and none of us will have to worry quite so much.”
It was enough of a reason for Steve although he suspected his floor was equipped with enough such gadgets to get the same results. However, Tony’s floor was Tony’s and Bruce seemed to approve of the idea. “I’ll go and… pack a bag, I guess,” Steve finally agreed. He half-expected Tony to tell him he’d already done that for him, but Tony just nodded and told him to come up when he was ready.
Although his quarantine quarters had been more comfortable than could have been expected, it was wonderful to be able to move around freely. Steve was a little tempted to go to the gym but stuck to the plan and went to his rooms, packing a bag of items he thought he might need.
He took the stairs up, J.A.R.V.I.S. unlocking the access door to Tony’s floor without asking. Tony was already there, food on the kitchen table.
“You can put your things in the guest room,” Tony told him without looking up from the tablet he was using.
Steve halted, a bit confused. “I thought…” He cut himself off, realizing how stupid that thought had been to begin with. Where else would Tony put him? The master bedroom - where Tony slept? Just because they had spent that one night in the same bed… Steve furiously hoped Tony hadn’t heard him, too engrossed in his current project.
Tony looked up at him sharply a moment later, dashing Steve’s hopes of a graceful way out. “I thought you would be more comfortable in a room of your own.”
“You’re right, of course,” Steve nodded. “Which way…?”
“If you want,” Tony went on, not showing him the right direction, “you can stay in my bedroom, too.”
“I’m your guest so the guestroom is more than fine,” Steve reassured. “Frankly, I was expecting the couch.”
Tony narrowed his eyes, just a little. “I don’t think you were,” he said slowly. “I think…” he got up from his seat and moved over to Steve, a small smile pulling his lips. “Have you thought about it?” he asked then, voice lower, nearing that seductive tone Steve had experienced before. “That night at the inn, sharing a bed?”
Steve swallowed. “I have a very good memory,” he answered, knowing that wasn’t what Tony wanted to hear.
He got a smile in response, Tony’s eyes filled with mirth and something Steve had seen when they sat in the botanical garden before the disastrous mission. “The master bedroom’s over there,” Tony said finally, gesturing towards an open door. “Make yourself at home.”
“You’re not going to… go anywhere, are you?” Steve asked to make sure there were no misunderstandings.
“Nope,” Tony told him then leaned up to land a small kiss on Steve’s lower lip before moving back to the dining area, picking up his tablet again.
Steve went to the master bedroom, placing his bag in a corner. The bed was big enough for a large family back in his day, and if either of them started to feel crowded they could easily share a bed and have their own space. Not that Steve had felt crowded that night at the inn and he smiled a little to himself, feeling that giddy happiness flutter in his stomach again - a stomach that growled a moment later, prompting him to turn and go to the kitchen, seeing as there was food that wasn’t going to eat itself.
- - -
The first day with Tony was much like what Steve had thought could have happened after their second date: they ate, talked, then settled on the couch to talk some more and ended up making out. Steve had always known Tony didn’t handle his down-time well - not without starting a dozen projects - and it was possible he had no real work to attend to so locking lips with Steve was a way for the other man to occupy himself.
Steve didn’t complain.
Neither did he complain when they actually ended up in the same bed; while Tony had agreed to it, Steve wouldn’t have blamed him for changing his mind because sleeping with another person was regarded as an intimate experience by some. Steve, of course, had spent most of his nights before crashing into the ice sharing his mattress or at least sleeping in a room that had been smaller than Tony’s walk-in closet, so it was more like settling back into a familiar routine. Not that Tony’s mattress was anywhere near as small or hard, and it was clear that them sharing a bed was different from what Steve had done in the past.
“This is probably the most decent hour I’ve ever gone to bed,” Tony admitted once they were between the sheets, a comfortable distance between their bodies.
“You can stay up if you want,” Steve told him. “I’m worn out from all of Bruce’s tests so I won’t be much fun for much longer.”
Tony chuckled and shifted a bit closer to him. “And here I had the whole evening planned out…”
“Sorry to disappoint,” Steve apologized even though he knew Tony was joking.
Steve leaned in to kiss him again, and one kiss led to another, but eventually Steve yawned and gave up, shuffling down to a good sleeping position. Tony left him to it, rolling over with his back to Steve - something Steve was starting to see as a pattern, perhaps from the years when Tony still carried the arc reactor in his chest.
Steve debated calling ‘good night’ but fell asleep before he could decide whether Tony would kick him out of bed for that.
- - -
PAGE 2
Title: Myxophobia
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers (MCU)
Genre: Drama, hurt/comfort
Rating: MA / FRAO
Characters: Bruce Banner (Hulk), J.A.R.V.I.S., Steve Rogers (Captain America), Tony Stark (Iron Man)
Pairings: Steve/Tony
Summary: Steve’s life had been good recently: he and Tony had just begun their second date - which was going very well until they got a call to assemble and Steve was accidentally exposed to gamma radiation. Now disfigured and relying on Bruce’s word that the changes may fade in time, Steve can only hope his fresh relationship with Tony won’t be forever ruined by this. He also wishes Tony would stop with the tentacle jokes because they are not that funny.
Complete.
Written for: Tentacle Big Bang’s (tentaclebigbang) round 2.
Artist: danceswithgary (art here)
Warnings: Body horror & (temporary) transformation (including tentacles), M/M sex (also including tentacles). ‘Iron Man 3’ compatible; not ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ compatible.
Disclaimer: Iron Man, Avengers and Marvel Cinematic Universe, including characters and everything else, belong to Marvel, Marvel Studios, Jon Favreau, Joss Whedon, Shane Black, Joe Johnston, Louis Leterrier, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Universal Pictures. In short: I own nothing; this is pure fiction created to entertain likeminded fans for no profit whatsoever.
Beta: Mythra (mythras-fire)
About Myxophobia: Tentacles are hard to resist in fics and I’m really trying to stick with “consentacles” this time around.
Also, this is not one of my better works; I almost deleted the entire thing when I had reached 9000 words but decided that I had come that far and might as well finish it…
So, on that note, I hope you people enjoy the weird, light fluff that is this story!
Story and status: Below you see the writing process of the story. If there is no text after the title, then it is finished and checked. Possible updates shall be marked after the title.
Myxophobia
~ ~ ~
Myxophobia
Steve could see his exhalations in the air, a cloud drifting upwards for a moment before dispersing in the air. It looked like a visual representation of his body-heat escaping. His body shuddered at the thought.
The near-constant sloshing sound increased as Tony moved closer to him, the water they were submersed in feeling instantly warmer. “Come on, Cap,” Tony crooned, almost teasing, “you can hold out a bit longer.”
Steve shifted, his hold still secure on the beam above them. For a moment he lifted himself a bit further out of the water, but the relief was minimal with the cool air hitting his wet uniform. Giving up, he allowed his body to sink lower again until he was chest-deep in the water.
It would have been very dark, the night long since fallen, but Tony’s skin was a-glow almost constantly now. Tony’s reassurance that Extremis would keep him safe had been the only reason why Steve had let him stay while Tony’s suit had flown off to take the last of the ship’s crew to a safe location that wasn’t sinking beneath their feet. Steve didn’t know how exactly Extremis worked, but even being close to Tony made the water feel almost tropically warm - which it certainly wasn’t without the heat pulsing from the other man’s body.
“You’re not getting tired, are you?” Steve asked back. Tony didn’t look tired - another side-effect of Extremis - but he wanted to make sure, feeling bad that Tony had even had to consider staying behind with him.
“No, and it won’t be much longer before the suit comes back and we’ll be on our way to dry land, too,” Tony reassured.
Steve nodded and tried to think of something pleasant instead of the dark, cool water lapping against the sides of the boat, slowly lured into sinking lower and lower. Much more of that and they would have to move - which perhaps they should have done some time ago, knowing that the water was not safe to stay in. Steve didn’t feel hypothermic yet, thanks to the serum, but the way his mind kept drifting back to icier water filling the cabin of Red Skull’s plane…
“Hey,” Tony called out to him, moving his foot in the water, poking Steve’s leg with it. “You’re getting that look on your face again.”
“What look?” Steve pretended not to know.
“The ‘I don’t want to become an icicle again’ look. Stop thinking about it!”
“It’s not that easy,” Steve confessed. He didn’t like talking about it but he knew why Tony had stayed - knew that Tony knew - and that was why it felt like he should be honest about his misgivings.
“The suit will be back soon,” Tony reassured him again. “I’ll fly us back real quick and then buy you a cup of hot chocolate. Deal?”
“Marshmallows on top?” Steve dared to suggest.
“Loads,” Tony nodded, inching a bit closer. The heat coming from his body might have burned Steve had he not been wet and cold. In their current situation it was like basking in front of a roaring fire, on the edge of too hot, and he focused on that, ignoring the cold and the water and the darkness.
“Thank you,” he finally said, “for staying with me.”
“No problem,” Tony replied.
An hour ago Tony had insisted that if he got out of the suit, it could carry one extra person and then it would just be him and Cap on the last flight, the ship’s crew secured. He didn’t pretend that was the main reason anymore and Steve was thankful for it.
A faint roar reached them then, growing steadily stronger, at which point the entire boat shifted and lights moved in the darkness, zeroing in on them - or rather on Tony, because if the suit and the AI controlling it had to choose, Steve would be the one left waiting for rescue.
“Sir,” Tony’s AI, J.A.R.V.I.S., greeted from above, “the crew is now safely on board a nearby tanker and would wish to convey their thanks to you.”
“Great,” Tony said and allowed himself to drop into the water. Steve could see his grimace after his head went under briefly. “Get me back in the suit and let’s get out of here.”
“Yes, sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. responded and pulled them both up the side of the half-submerged boat, long enough for Tony to get inside the armor and Steve to get a good hold on it before they took off into the sky.
- - -
“This is nice,” Tony said, hands wrapped around a half-empty cup of hot chocolate - with marshmallows; his portion had peppermint in it, so much that Steve could easily smell the schnapps. “We should do this more often.”
“Float in cold water inside a sinking boat?” Steve raised an eyebrow. He was slowly warming up, dressed in hand-made wool clothes Tony had bought for both of them from a local gift shop in the small town where they had decided to get dry and rest. The inn’s dining area had a big fireplace - in front of which they were seated side by side, feet up near the flames, and it was hard to imagine that just two hours ago Steve had wondered if he could survive another watery grave.
Tony snorted. “That mission sucked - although it would have sucked a lot more with someone else,” he admitted with the kind of smile one didn’t often see on Tony Stark’s face. “I was talking about the drinks and the fireplace.”
“This is nice,” Steve admitted, sipping his second cup of hot chocolate. It was thick and held just the right amount of sweetness. “We could do this again - without the swimming part.”
“We could,” Tony agreed.
Steve nodded then smiled, chuckling to himself.
“What?” Tony asked.
“It almost sounded like we agreed to go on a second date.” After the water and sharing his vulnerability with Tony, Steve had the guts to dare a look at the other man. “I’ve never been on a second date with anyone.”
Instead of giving him a weird look or cracking a joke - which had been a possibility - Tony just smiled and tilted the foot closest to Steve’s, touching their toes together. “Maybe I’ll have to clean up my act, then, and not put out until our second date. Make it special for you.”
Steve considered his words, wanting to be sure what Tony meant by ‘putting out’. He knew the man’s reputation from before he became Iron Man - and the reputation he still liked to keep up, after he and Pepper split up, but which was a front more than anything else. “I wouldn’t be opposed to some putting out on a first date,” he dared to say. “I’ve never had that, either.”
Tony guffawed and covered his mouth, then laughed again, the sound brilliant and real. “Who did you go out on dates with?” Tony marveled.
Steve grinned with some nostalgia. “When you’re double-dating with Bucky Barnes… let’s just say the girls tended to like him a whole lot more than me.”
Tony sobered a bit, nodding. “Well,” he mused and slid a hand over to Steve’s thigh, giving him a completely disarming, seductive look, “Bucky Barnes isn’t here tonight. You might just get lucky, soldier.” His fingers caressed his clothed thigh, not even near his cock but the sensation was pleasant nonetheless. It was clear Tony had done this before. “Shall we go back to our room?”
“Let’s finish these first,” Steve decided, gesturing with his mug, and Tony smiled and nodded, leaning back into his spot on the couch - yet it wasn’t lost on Steve how he leaned against him just a bit, the promise still there.
They finished their drinks and left the dining room, taking the creaky steps upstairs to their room. Once the door closed behind them, Steve felt giddy - especially when Tony turned towards him, clearly waiting for something. His expression was soft - not the guarded one he wore when they were ready to argue over something - and Steve dared himself to take a few steps closer, to see what Tony would do.
What Tony did was lift his hands and tug Steve in the rest of the way by his shoulders. Once that was accomplished, Tony’s hands ran inwards, smoothly sliding up along Steve’s neck and to his face, gracefully guiding him into a kiss he hadn’t been all that prepared for.
It was nice, the first touch of their lips. Steve had half-expected Tony to take over, to show him every trick in the book, but it was slow and almost shy, like Tony was willing to take his time to learn the new territory. Steve was the one who grew bolder, licking the seam of Tony’s lips, gaining a smile - then a yawn. Tony tried suppressing it, looking bashful, but Steve felt a yawn of his own approaching and let it take over, feeling weariness creep in.
“Perhaps we should just go to bed,” Steve suggested.
Tony nodded, managing to hide his next yawn behind his hand.
They stripped and took turns going to the bathroom. Steve was the first to settle down on one of the two beds - the one closest to the door, as if they might come under attack and he would need to protect the other occupants of the room. It was an old habit from the war.
Tony flushed the toilet and emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a pair of boxer briefs and nothing else. Steve was wearing the same since they hadn’t thought to purchase anything but what they would need to replace their wet uniforms. Tony halted briefly between the beds, looking over at Steve - then took a step and leaned over Steve’s upper body, dropping a kiss on his lips.
It had perhaps been intended as a ‘good night’ kiss, but Steve drew Tony closer, dragging it out, and eventually it was easier to let Tony settle properly beside him, under the covers, and keep kissing him that way until they were yawning again.
“Do you want me to go to my bed?” Tony asked, eyelids drooping.
“Not really,” Steve admitted.
Tony gave him a lopsided, tired smile, and settled down to sleep.
Steve smiled briefly, turned off the lamp between the beds and followed his lead.
“I promise a better performance on our second date,” Tony murmured in the darkness.
“Looking forward to it,” Steve replied - and he really was. He hadn’t felt so eager for quite a while and it was refreshing. Also, he wasn’t worried about stepping on anyone’s toes this time because he knew Tony and how much he could take - and how much he could dish out. He was happy, to put it simply, even after something as simple as kissing and lying next to Tony, their combined body heat between the sheets driving away the last of the cold from the water.
Steve had not slept so well since waking up from the ice.
- - -
Upon their return to New York City, Steve was a little concerned that the familiar environment would give them a reality check. Surviving stressful and dangerous situations often created a sort of bond between people - a bond that was easily broken once everyone returned to their daily routines.
He needn’t have worried because Tony didn’t function like most people.
They were riding the elevator up to the Tower’s top floors, fresh from debriefing with S.H.I.E.L.D., when Tony gave him a look from the corner of his eye. “You doing anything next Monday?”
“I don’t think so,” Steve replied. They both knew how quickly those plans - or lack of plans - could change should there be a mission that required their participation.
Tony nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. He was nervous, Steve could tell, but not in the way that could turn hostile in a heartbeat. “Well, then,” he started after a beat, “perhaps if we still have a mutual interest in that second date…”
Steve turned towards him, seeing as it was unfair to make Tony do all the work. “I would say I’m still pretty interested.”
Tony turned his head in the captain’s direction, his shoulders relaxing a bit. Steve wondered how long it had been since Tony last feared rejection. “Fantastic. I’ll set something up,” Tony promised.
“Don’t stress about it,” Steve said. “It doesn’t need to be anything fancy.”
“Not even if I want to impress you?” Tony quirked an eyebrow.
“I’ve seen your suit; I’m already impressed.” Steve knew that was the right thing to say. Some people had their fancy cars, others a beautiful wife on their arm; Tony had his suits, a solid, iron extension of his ego and manhood alike, and Steve was not above rubbing that spot.
“Much more of that and I’ll take you to third base right here in the elevator,” Tony promised and turned his body to face Steve’s, clever hands sliding up his waist and if that wasn’t an invitation for a kiss then Steve needed serious help to figure this dating thing out.
Taking the initiative, Steve framed Tony’s face with his hands and leaned in, finding the other man willingly meeting him half-way. Whatever ‘third base’ meant - he was pretty sure that term hadn’t existed outside a baseball field in his day - Steve was fairly sure it was something they should wait for until their next date, at least.
The elevator halted, the motion so smooth they didn’t notice it until the doors opened and someone cleared their throat from the outside. “I assume you’re both fine despite the conditions of the last mission,” Bruce Banner’s voice inquired.
Tony, of course, grinned without shame at his fellow scientist and slapped him on the shoulder while exiting the elevator. “Just huddling for warmth,” he claimed although there had been very little huddling going on in the elevator.
Steve gave Bruce a sheepish look and took off in the direction of his own floor, mentally circling Monday’s date in his mind over and over, wishing that no one would try to take over the world before then.
- - -
Monday arrived sunny and warm. On his morning run Steve wondered what Tony had planned; a dinner in some fancy restaurant that Steve could never afford - nor would he want to - and to which you had to reserve a table a year in advance unless you happened to be Tony Stark; a rented get-away near the city in some villa that was closed to the public - or a house of such modern design it would make Steve stare at all the architectural choices in puzzlement; a supper on one of the luxury boats Steve knew Tony owned -one of which was actually anchored in one of Manhattan’s marinas.
Steve felt a little less enthusiastic with all those options in mind, seeing as he would have rather done something simple. This was Tony, though, and Tony did nothing by halves.
Deciding that he would just roll with it, Steve headed back to the Tower and rode the elevator up to his floor, trying not to over-analyze the date ahead of him. Of course, he hadn’t seen Tony yet that morning so there was a small chance Tony had forgotten…
The elevator stopped suddenly a few floors below his, the opening doors revealing Tony. “Hi,” the man gave him a quick smile and leaned on the door to keep it open. “Just getting back from your morning run?”
“Yes,” Steve replied, seeing as that was rather obvious.
“Would it be okay with you if you skipped the rest of your morning workout, ran up to your floor to shower and change and then met me in the garage?”
Steve blinked. “Do you need help with something?”
“I was thinking we might head out on that date we agreed on - unless something’s come up and you’re busy,” Tony shrugged one shoulder, playing indifferent.
“It’s seven in the morning,” Steve clarified. Usually Tony hadn’t even gone to bed at this hour.
“I’m aware,” Tony replied. “We don’t have to leave now but I’ll have to re-arrange some things if we don’t -”
“It’s fine,” Steve cut in before Tony could think he wasn’t into it. “I’ll get cleaned up and meet you in the garage,” he agreed.
Tony nodded and stepped back from the doorway, allowing the elevator doors to close once again and take Steve up to his floor. It was entirely possible Tony’s day was booked and they had to get their date over with before his other duties interfered. Steve had half a mind to tell Tony that they could just do this on another day, but then, he had been looking forward to today and who knew when their schedules would be clear again at the same time.
He showered and then struggled to decide what to wear; Tony had been dressed in jeans and a tank top, but that didn’t mean the man wouldn’t be wearing an expensive suit by the time Steve got down to the garage. Not wanting to dress inappropriately and kind of disliking Tony for not giving him any cues on what to wear, Steve huffed at his limited options and gazed at the ceiling. “J.A.R.V.I.S., do you have any idea of what Tony has planned?”
“Indeed I do, Captain,” the AI responded at once.
“What should I wear?”
“Something casual will do.”
Casual it was, then: a button-up shirt that he could pull off even if they ended up going somewhere a bit fancier, stone-washed jeans - because his khaki pants made Tony purse his lips more often than not - and a leather jacket just in case. He was just about to pick out a pair of shoes when J.A.R.V.I.S. made a noise almost like clearing his throat. “The sneakers would work best, Captain Rogers,” the AI informed him.
Steve frowned, not thinking sneakers would go well with anything he had imagined they might be doing, but he trusted the AI and put on those shoes, then grabbed his wallet and phone before walking to the elevator and riding it down in genuine puzzlement.
When he reached the garage, Tony already had a car selected and parked near the elevators. The genius himself was leaning against the side of the vehicle, his phone in hand, eyes fixed on the screen. Steve noted that he wasn’t underdressed at all because Tony hadn’t changed since he last saw him, sporting the same jeans, top, and sneakers he had worn when he stopped Steve in the elevator.
Tony raised his gaze and smiled briefly. “All set?” he asked but didn’t wait for an answer as he moved to open the driver’s door and get in, waiting for Steve to round the vehicle and sit down beside him.
“Where are we going?” Steve asked the moment Tony started the engine and drove out of the garage.
“It’s a surprise,” Tony stated and took them to a north-bound street.
Steve kept guessing, wondering if some of his earlier ideas had been correct. They left Manhattan and headed towards the Bronx, the destination a complete mystery to Steve even when they pulled into an empty parking lot in front of the New York Botanical Garden.
Tony got out of the car, fully intending to stay here by the looks of it, so Steve followed his lead and walked behind Tony to the gate. The signs suggested the garden was closed on Mondays but a young woman let them in with a warm smile. Tony thanked her and beckoned for Steve to follow him.
The gardens, as expected, were amazing, full of exotic flowers in full bloom under the morning sun. They saw a few garden employees as they walked but otherwise it was silent, save for the chirping of the birds.
After a mile’s trek from the gate, Tony took them down a smaller path to an area that had been restricted with a chain hanging between two stone pillars.
“Are we supposed to go there?” Steve asked.
“Yeah,” Tony flashed him a smile.
“Wait,” Steve blinked in surprise. “You arranged for us to have a date at a closed botanical garden?”
Tony shrugged and led them over to what looked like a picnic spot, with a basket and a cooler sitting by a folded blanket. “I knew you wouldn’t like a fancy dinner and frankly, any place I’d go to, people would talk.”
“What did you tell the staff here?” Steve frowned.
“I told them you’re my friend and an artist,” Tony shrugged again and reached down to grab the blanket, then shook it open and laid it out on the grass. “They selected a real nice spot for us, too,” he gestured at the flowers and trees, then unlatched the cooler and pulled out a couple beers, offering one to Steve. “My other option was to book the observation deck of One World Trade Center but I thought this was, in the end, the better option - seeing as we already spend enough time on a skyscraper.”
“I like this better,” Steve confessed, sitting down next to Tony and opening his beer. It was an old brand he liked - a small gesture from Tony that he appreciated.
“Good,” Tony smiled and opened his own bottle, clinking it against Steve’s and taking a sip.
“Should you be drinking?” Steve frowned in puzzlement.
“If you think me too drunk to drive after a few beers, I’ll just have you drive us back, Mr. Sobriety,” Tony teased. His words weren’t malicious, however, and Steve decided to let it go, taking in the beautiful scenery instead. Truth be told, he could find a lot of things to sketch here.
His gazing eventually circulated back to Tony - who was being uncharacteristically quiet. “I hope this date isn’t too mundane for your tastes,” Steve mused.
“I find it in my… current level of experience in the dating pool,” Tony started, carefully sidestepping the word ‘age’, “that it’s the company that matters.”
“I half expected you to take us to your yacht,” Steve revealed.
“We can do that later if you want,” Tony chuckled.
“Sail off into the sunset? I don’t think either one of us wants to do that after the last mission,” Steve snorted.
Tony shook his head in agreement and sipped his beer again, then reached into the basket and pulled out two wrapped items of food that smelled like sandwiches from one of the cafés Steve liked: their breads were always fresh, as were the other ingredients, and the portions were big enough to satisfy his hunger.
“You’re frighteningly aware of my eating habits,” Steve acknowledged but accepted the bigger of the two wraps and opened it after setting his beer bottle down on the grass. He hadn’t gotten to eat after his run and took the first bite gratefully.
“You’re not much of a mystery,” Tony claimed and dug into his own sandwich with a little less enthusiasm, seeing as he had no serum-enhanced metabolism to maintain.
“Are you calling me simple?” he asked, knowing he was a pretty transparent person but wanting to tease Tony just a little bit.
“Simple isn’t always bad,” Tony argued. “Makes my life easier,” he added.
“I might surprise you yet.”
“I’m betting on it.”
While Steve ate he tried to think of ways to be unpredictable - in a good way. They had fought side by side for a few years now and having lived in the Tower, they had sort of become part of a small community of superheroes. That didn’t mean there weren’t a lot of things they didn’t know about each other and Steve looked forward to learning more about Tony.
He was finishing his sandwich while thinking of questions to ask the other man when both their phones chimed at the same time. Tony groaned and Steve sighed, both of them knowing what it meant: a call to assemble.
“Well, this was nice,” Tony groused as he cleaned his hands on a napkin and picked up his phone, pulling an earpiece from his pocket and placing it in his ear. “Go ahead,” he said to someone at the other end and listened intently.
Steve used the time to finish his food, washing down the last of the bread with his beer because that’s what was available and he couldn’t get drunk anyway.
“A.I.M.,” Tony informed him a few seconds later, rising to his feet. “Let’s go.”
Steve nodded and followed his lead, giving their picnic spot a mournful look before focusing on the mission ahead of them.
- - -
All the other Avengers were unavailable to partake in the mission and Bruce thought it best not to risk bringing the Hulk into a situation where success didn’t rely on their heaviest hitter, so Steve and Tony moved out together once again, Iron Man providing the means of transport since the A.I.M. sighting had been just outside New York City.
The seaport they landed in was quiet, a maze of shipping containers spreading out around them. A single ship was fastened to the dock and preparing to leave by the looks of it.
“We better hurry,” Tony said through the comm. “It will be easier to apprehend them before the ship gets moving.”
Steve voiced his approval and made sure his shield was secure on his back, then began moving out towards the ship that was hiding some kind of A.I.M. device on board. Tony waited for a moment, allowing Steve to get much closer, then rose to the air again, the thrusters working quietly compared to the usual sound; Steve knew Tony was using the stealth mode of his suit to not alarm anyone who might be lying in wait for intruders.
“Anything from the external scans?” Steve asked, keeping his voice low, knowing Tony would catch his words anyway.
“Nothing conclusive but there’s definitely something inside the main cargo hold - something big. I’m also getting some mild radiation counts but nothing serious.”
Steve moved a bit closer still, halting to take a look around. There was no one in sight but he knew that rarely meant anything. Slowly he slid the shield free from his back, looked up in case he could see the suit, but for the time being he couldn’t tell where Tony was. “I’m going in,” Steve decided them. “If I engage the enemy, feel free to go and take a look inside. Otherwise we’ll start exploring the ship and secure it.”
“Copy that.”
Steve approached the ramp leading up to the ship’s deck, still not seeing or hearing anyone, so he decided to take the easy way in and rushed up the gangway. He did so with all the silence he could muster yet prepared for enemy retaliation - which never came. Once on the deck, he could still see no one and doubt began to gnaw at the back of his mind. “Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Steve asked, walking along the deck to find a way to the hold.
“That’s what the intel said,” Tony replied. Steve couldn’t hear him moving around but knew Tony had to be close by.
With a small frown, Steve moved out along the deck, trying to find a door or stairs that might lead in the right direction - then heard something move on his right side. He barely had time to lift his shield before some kind of energy weapon was fired at him, the impact sending him flying back despite the vibranium absorbing any dangerous effects.
He slammed down hard, felt something creak beneath him - then fell all over again as whatever he had fallen on disappeared. After a rather long drop that completely winded him and possibly cracked a few ribs, he landed on what felt like a stack of wooden crates. The wood gave beneath the impact, snapping and collapsing, sending him rolling down onto the floor along with a shower of dust and pieces of wood.
“Cap?!” Tony called out to him.
Steve groaned, supposing that was enough of a sign that he was still alive.
“You found the hold. I’ll be there in a second.” This time Steve heard the thrusters, a quick whine followed by a repulsor blast - possibly aimed at whoever had shot him - and then the suit landed heavily on the bottom of the hold a few feet from him. “Can you get up?” Tony asked.
“I think I’ll need a minute,” Steve managed. His body was on fire but he didn’t think he was bleeding. The serum was already working to restore his mobility and he tried to relax, to let it work, knowing he would get back to his feet faster that way.
Iron Man moved around, bright lights washing the area, burning Steve’s eyes. “I think you broke whatever they were transporting,” Tony announced - then swore sharply. “Okay, we have a problem. Try to lie very still.”
“Why?” Steve asked and blinked, slowly raising a hand to his face in the hopes that rubbing his eyes might restore his vision to normal. He saw a flash of red before he got that far, though, and the armor gripped his forearm tight.
“You’re lying in a pool of liquid heavily infused with gamma radiation.”
Steve supposed that was bad and focused on keeping still, not wanting the liquid to get anywhere it already wasn’t. “Don’t touch it,” he ordered.
“The suit will protect me,” Tony reassured. “I need to call Bruce in. He can do an analysis much faster than I can.”
“What about A.I.M.?” Steve asked. He heard the armor move, just a little, and he guessed Tony was either looking around or scanning his surroundings.
“Hightailing, by the looks of it. I’ll alert S.H.I.E.L.D., see if they want to try and catch them, but right now we’ll worry about getting you cleaned up, okay?”
“Okay,” Steve agreed and remained as still as humanly possible.
- - -
Bruce arrived on a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet in less than half an hour. By that time Tony had secured the machine and helped Steve to his feet, away from the pool of the oily substance that had leaked out of the machine he’d fallen on. Steve was sore all over but he didn’t think the liquid was actually affecting him. They needed to be sure, though, and that was why Bruce entered the hold alone - with a load of diagnostic equipment.
“What was A.I.M. trying to do with this machine?” Bruce mused as he instructed Steve to strip his uniform, piece by piece.
“Who knows,” Tony shrugged, still fully inside the armor; the area had been sealed and there was no fear of contamination, at least no more than what Steve had been subjected to. “If S.H.I.E.L.D. catches them, I’ll be sure to ask.”
Steve cringed as his ribs protested against the pull as he removed his arms from the sleeves, one at a time. Bruce gave him a worried look, shining extra light at visible skin. “There doesn’t appear to be irritation.”
“Maybe it didn’t seep through,” Steve offered.
“I’m fairly certain it did, plus the liquid is releasing fumes as we speak while vaporizing…”
“Before you ask me to hold my breath, let me tell you it’s probably too late to protect me against that,” Steve said.
“Duly noted,” Bruce replied. “Tony, can you help him out?”
Steve watched the armor approach, then moved his arms to help Tony tug off the top of his uniform, baring him down to the waist.
“This is not how I imagined undressing you tonight,” Tony noted.
Bruce cleared his throat as if to remind them that he was still standing right there.
Steve didn’t bother apologizing, knowing what Tony meant. “Just help me get the rest of it off and we can head home.”
“Through a quarantine,” Bruce added.
“Spoilsport,” Tony muttered and moved his armored hands to Steve’s waist.
- - -
“We may have a problem,” Bruce said.
They were inside a mobile quarantine unit and Steve was slowly starting to feel like a healthy human being again; his body was healed to a point that left him mostly pain-free and he couldn’t believe Bruce had found something to be wrong with him.
“What’s wrong, doc?” Tony asked from the other side of a protective wall, the wide observation window giving him an unrestricted view to the other side where Bruce and Steve were.
“Every test suggests he’s been exposed to gamma radiation - yet there are no ill effects,” Bruce said.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Steve frowned.
“Your body is clinging to the radiation and until I know for certain whether it’s going to be released or neutralized by the serum, I’m considering it a problem,” Bruce explained.
“That’s your scientific take on this?” Tony rolled his eyes. Bruce didn’t see it, his back to the glass, but Steve did and he shook his head, knowing that Bruce was doing his best to sort things out.
“What do I need to do?” Steve asked.
“Stay in isolation, unfortunately. We can transport you back to a S.H.I.E.L.D. base or even the Tower, whichever you would prefer. I’ll monitor any changes and you should try and rest.”
Steve was tired, his body craving sustenance and rest after being pushed through the healing process. “I think I would like the Tower better but whatever works best,” he replied.
Tony nodded. “I’ll get one of the quarantine quarters ready; can’t risk you irradiating your floor,” he added. “Anything you think you might want in there?”
Steve did have one thing in mind - a thing he and Tony had sort of skirted around - but he knew that was out of the question. “Food and a bed will do,” he replied, holding Tony’s gaze for a moment.
If Tony knew what he was really thinking about, he didn’t say anything. There was something in his eyes, though, that made Steve presume Tony was well aware of his regret at how their date had ended.
- - -
After three days in quarantine, Bruce began to consider the possibility that Steve’s body was not going to release the radiation after all and that he was safe to be around people.
Steve, after all the extensive tests, was relieved by the news, but the uncertainty made him wary. “Perhaps I should stay in the Tower for a few more days, just to be sure,” he suggested.
Bruce nodded, clearly appreciating his caution. “The gamma radiation may be harmless to you and me, but others are not as fortunate.”
Tony walked in just then, making them both stiffen, but Tony rolled their eyes at them. “Relax. I’ve done some tests with J.A.R.V.I.S. and it would appear Extremis is more than capable of battling low levels of gamma rays.” He gave Steve a suggestive look.
“Don’t risk it,” Bruce cautioned. “I think the radiation should have vanished by now, seeing as his other injuries have completely healed, but there’s no prior data on how exactly the SSS stands against radiation in general. We all know gamma radiation’s capabilities so I won’t consider Steve free of danger until every last bit of it has vanished from his system.”
It made Steve feel like he was a walking time bomb and he considered staying in quarantine for a while longer, just for Bruce’s peace of mind. Tony, however, was having none of it: “We’ll keep an eye on things. Actually, I was wondering if you would stay on my floor until the situation’s cleared.”
Steve looked at him in surprise. “Why?” he asked.
“The detectors are way sharper in my quarters,” Tony shrugged as if he had no ulterior motives whatsoever. “J.A.R.V.I.S. will be able to monitor you 24/7 and none of us will have to worry quite so much.”
It was enough of a reason for Steve although he suspected his floor was equipped with enough such gadgets to get the same results. However, Tony’s floor was Tony’s and Bruce seemed to approve of the idea. “I’ll go and… pack a bag, I guess,” Steve finally agreed. He half-expected Tony to tell him he’d already done that for him, but Tony just nodded and told him to come up when he was ready.
Although his quarantine quarters had been more comfortable than could have been expected, it was wonderful to be able to move around freely. Steve was a little tempted to go to the gym but stuck to the plan and went to his rooms, packing a bag of items he thought he might need.
He took the stairs up, J.A.R.V.I.S. unlocking the access door to Tony’s floor without asking. Tony was already there, food on the kitchen table.
“You can put your things in the guest room,” Tony told him without looking up from the tablet he was using.
Steve halted, a bit confused. “I thought…” He cut himself off, realizing how stupid that thought had been to begin with. Where else would Tony put him? The master bedroom - where Tony slept? Just because they had spent that one night in the same bed… Steve furiously hoped Tony hadn’t heard him, too engrossed in his current project.
Tony looked up at him sharply a moment later, dashing Steve’s hopes of a graceful way out. “I thought you would be more comfortable in a room of your own.”
“You’re right, of course,” Steve nodded. “Which way…?”
“If you want,” Tony went on, not showing him the right direction, “you can stay in my bedroom, too.”
“I’m your guest so the guestroom is more than fine,” Steve reassured. “Frankly, I was expecting the couch.”
Tony narrowed his eyes, just a little. “I don’t think you were,” he said slowly. “I think…” he got up from his seat and moved over to Steve, a small smile pulling his lips. “Have you thought about it?” he asked then, voice lower, nearing that seductive tone Steve had experienced before. “That night at the inn, sharing a bed?”
Steve swallowed. “I have a very good memory,” he answered, knowing that wasn’t what Tony wanted to hear.
He got a smile in response, Tony’s eyes filled with mirth and something Steve had seen when they sat in the botanical garden before the disastrous mission. “The master bedroom’s over there,” Tony said finally, gesturing towards an open door. “Make yourself at home.”
“You’re not going to… go anywhere, are you?” Steve asked to make sure there were no misunderstandings.
“Nope,” Tony told him then leaned up to land a small kiss on Steve’s lower lip before moving back to the dining area, picking up his tablet again.
Steve went to the master bedroom, placing his bag in a corner. The bed was big enough for a large family back in his day, and if either of them started to feel crowded they could easily share a bed and have their own space. Not that Steve had felt crowded that night at the inn and he smiled a little to himself, feeling that giddy happiness flutter in his stomach again - a stomach that growled a moment later, prompting him to turn and go to the kitchen, seeing as there was food that wasn’t going to eat itself.
- - -
The first day with Tony was much like what Steve had thought could have happened after their second date: they ate, talked, then settled on the couch to talk some more and ended up making out. Steve had always known Tony didn’t handle his down-time well - not without starting a dozen projects - and it was possible he had no real work to attend to so locking lips with Steve was a way for the other man to occupy himself.
Steve didn’t complain.
Neither did he complain when they actually ended up in the same bed; while Tony had agreed to it, Steve wouldn’t have blamed him for changing his mind because sleeping with another person was regarded as an intimate experience by some. Steve, of course, had spent most of his nights before crashing into the ice sharing his mattress or at least sleeping in a room that had been smaller than Tony’s walk-in closet, so it was more like settling back into a familiar routine. Not that Tony’s mattress was anywhere near as small or hard, and it was clear that them sharing a bed was different from what Steve had done in the past.
“This is probably the most decent hour I’ve ever gone to bed,” Tony admitted once they were between the sheets, a comfortable distance between their bodies.
“You can stay up if you want,” Steve told him. “I’m worn out from all of Bruce’s tests so I won’t be much fun for much longer.”
Tony chuckled and shifted a bit closer to him. “And here I had the whole evening planned out…”
“Sorry to disappoint,” Steve apologized even though he knew Tony was joking.
Steve leaned in to kiss him again, and one kiss led to another, but eventually Steve yawned and gave up, shuffling down to a good sleeping position. Tony left him to it, rolling over with his back to Steve - something Steve was starting to see as a pattern, perhaps from the years when Tony still carried the arc reactor in his chest.
Steve debated calling ‘good night’ but fell asleep before he could decide whether Tony would kick him out of bed for that.
- - -
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