The Corrupt and the Pure; Chapter 42: The Prospect
[INFO]Title: The Corrupt and the Pure
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers & Captain America (MCU)
Timeline: post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Genre: Drama, action, hurt/comfort
Rating: MA / FRAO
Characters: Steve Rogers (Captain America), Tony Stark (Iron Man). Also: Bruce Banner (Hulk), James “Bucky” Barnes (Winter Soldier), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), J.A.R.V.I.S., James “Rhodey” Rhodes (War Machine), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Thor, Sam Wilson (Falcon)
Pairing: Steve/Tony
Summary: When the Steve Rogers from an alternate universe appears in the middle of the Avengers Tower, two worlds are about to collide: one where Captain America became the tool of HYDRA and fell into a relationship with the hero Iron Man - and one where Tony and Steve are tentatively getting along. The latter are forced to reconsider their relationship when the Commander kidnaps Tony to replace his dead lover.
Complete.
Written for: A story commissioned by Susanne (ChickenHax @ AO3 / starkred @ Tumblr).
Warnings: Rape/non-con, major character death (alternate universe), graphic canonical violence, M/M sexual content, language.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 42: The Prospect
Steve spent a few hours mindlessly scrubbing his shield. He probably could have dropped it off for Tony to deal with, but after their conversation at the morgue, he knew better than to think it would go over well.
Tony’s feelings towards the Commander were a myriad of mixed messages - just as his feelings for Steve seemed to be. While he pretended to be thinking of nothing in particular as he cleaned the vibranium disc, it was becoming more apparent by the minute that Steve was obsessing over each little detail of his and Tony’s interaction ever since the man was rescued.
“I wouldn’t have fought back nearly as much had it been you.”
Steve’s scrubbing arm halted, fingers tightening around the rag he was using, squeezing the water and soap right out of it. The red of the Commander’s blood was long gone, but he had kept cleaning on autopilot.
Half of the time, he kept thinking Tony had said that to cheer him up in the form of a morbid joke.
The rest of the time, he kept going back to the comments the Commander had made, ever since appearing in the middle of the Tower’s living room. Insinuating that Steve would never experience that particular feeling…
The click of a lock sliding open drew his mind away from his feverish ponderings and into full focus on someone entering his room. Steve rose from his crouched position on the shower floor, dropping the washcloth and gripping the shield tight, just as he began to move towards the doorway of the bathroom, each of his motions as soundless as he could make them.
“It’s me,” Bucky’s voice called out before he could decide on a strategy.
Steve relaxed and lowered the shield, stepping out of the bathroom to find Bucky standing in the middle of the bedroom, looking ready to bolt in case Steve didn’t take kindly to his presence.
“Hi,” Steve said, uncertain how to proceed. It was like constantly balancing on thin ice, hearing the cracks form beneath his feet even when he couldn’t see them.
“He’s dead now,” Bucky began, clearly having no such problems. “The other you. The Commander.”
Steve nodded, feeling the tension crawl back into his body.
Bucky stared at him, studying him. He had stayed behind during the capture mission at Central Park, and Steve had half-expected him to disappear when they got back and the Tesseract was still messing up the Tower’s systems with its vanishing act.
“You’re not celebrating,” Bucky finally observed.
“Should I be?” Steve asked, propping the shield against the side of his bed, deciding that it wasn’t going to get any cleaner.
“You were pretty dead set on stopping him,” Bucky noted. “Killing him was always the safest option.”
Steve nodded again.
“It’s Tony, isn’t it?” Bucky guessed, alarming Steve with his jump of logic.
“Why do you think that?” Steve asked.
Bucky shrugged and folded his arms over his chest, then began moving around the room as if observing the little details of Steve’s presence there, although there were barely any that Steve himself could find. “I could tell he had mixed feelings about the guy. A bit odd, considering what happened between them.”
Steve couldn’t agree more.
Not finding anything of interest, clearly, Bucky stopped and looked at him again. “Maybe it’s you,” he offered. Whether he was just shooting blindly or exploring a theory, Steve didn’t know. Just the fact that Bucky was in his room, instigating a conversation, was surprising enough.
“We’re not the same,” Steve replied. “At least, that’s what Tony keeps telling me. It seems to be very important to him that I should know that, too.” Tony had made that point more than once, and whether it was to reassure Steve or Tony himself…
In hindsight, it could have been both.
“Maybe he likes to draw a line between the two of you: the Commander was corrupt whereas you are as pure as the driven snow.”
“I’m not…” Steve started, but he supposed that in comparison, he might as well accept Bucky’s wording. “Tony told me there was good in the Commander - or that’s what he was trying to imply, at least. That he might have had the capacity to change.”
“We all do, right?” Bucky mused, looking at him.
“Yes,” Steve quickly agreed, knowing Bucky might take it personally if he didn’t.
“He’ll sort it out in his head, eventually,” Bucky said thoughtfully, eyes straying off Steve’s face to trace the wood-like paneling on the walls. “Emotions are tricky, especially if they conflict with pure reason.”
“Maybe I should leave, make sure I don’t make it worse,” Steve pondered out loud. “But I don’t want it to look like I’m running away from my responsibilities, if he needs my help.”
Bucky nodded, watching the walls some more. “What does your gut tell you?” he asked.
“I don’t think I should consult my gut on this one,” Steve replied dryly.
“Why not?” Bucky asked. “I think I recall it used to get you places.” It was the first time Bucky admitted to remembering much of anything of his past - or maybe it was just a remark, to get his point across.
“Really not sure I want to listen to my gut,” Steve muttered.
“What is it telling you to do?” Bucky asked, openly curious.
Steve wasn’t certain whether he could trust Bucky yet, but if he withheld the truth from him, it might ruin any chance of trust between them for a long time. After all, Bucky used to know when Steve wasn’t being honest. He didn’t want to push him away, but the feelings and thoughts inside him at this time…
He wasn’t certain he could trust them.
“Say it,” Bucky told him. “It will make you feel better.”
Maybe he was right - or maybe he was just fishing for information, hoping to use it as leverage at some later instance when he needed something from Steve.
If it had been anyone but Bucky, Steve would have clamped down on the truth.
“The Commander told me, several times, that I was missing out, not seeing Tony as a potential partner. That I would never know the happiness he had obviously felt, no matter how twisted his version of it had to be.” He couldn’t look at Bucky, nor did he want to look at his shield right now, so he opted to stare at a spot on the floor that was no different from any other section of it. “I keep wondering if maybe he had a point. That Tony and I could have some kind of a… relationship…” He forced himself to snort. “I’ve never fought so much with anyone who’s supposed to be on my side as I’ve fought with him,” he spat out.
“But your gut is telling you to give it a chance, isn’t it?” Bucky guessed. His tone was steady, almost intimate, like they were sharing secrets in the dark again, like they used to. “If one version of you could fall for him so hard he traveled across the barrier of two realities to be reunited…”
Bucky made it sound like a damn romantic tale of endless love and a ‘happily ever after’, but Steve couldn’t quite deny there was a piece of truth hidden within that outrageous description.
“Like I said,” Bucky said, “your gut used to get you places. Why would this time be any different?”
“You seem awfully calm at the prospect of me romancing another man,” Steve pointed out, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
“I hear it’s a thing these days - not to mention legal,” Bucky replied. “Besides, you were always ahead of your time. No reason to start hitting the brakes now.”
Steve hated Bucky for supporting this idea, especially when he had no idea how Tony would respond to it, no matter how he approached him about it.
If he approached him.
But if he didn’t, how would he know if he was missing out on something that might actually work - and moreover, make him happy?
to be continued…
Story info
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers & Captain America (MCU)
Timeline: post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Genre: Drama, action, hurt/comfort
Rating: MA / FRAO
Characters: Steve Rogers (Captain America), Tony Stark (Iron Man). Also: Bruce Banner (Hulk), James “Bucky” Barnes (Winter Soldier), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), J.A.R.V.I.S., James “Rhodey” Rhodes (War Machine), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Thor, Sam Wilson (Falcon)
Pairing: Steve/Tony
Summary: When the Steve Rogers from an alternate universe appears in the middle of the Avengers Tower, two worlds are about to collide: one where Captain America became the tool of HYDRA and fell into a relationship with the hero Iron Man - and one where Tony and Steve are tentatively getting along. The latter are forced to reconsider their relationship when the Commander kidnaps Tony to replace his dead lover.
Complete.
Written for: A story commissioned by Susanne (ChickenHax @ AO3 / starkred @ Tumblr).
Warnings: Rape/non-con, major character death (alternate universe), graphic canonical violence, M/M sexual content, language.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 42: The Prospect
Steve spent a few hours mindlessly scrubbing his shield. He probably could have dropped it off for Tony to deal with, but after their conversation at the morgue, he knew better than to think it would go over well.
Tony’s feelings towards the Commander were a myriad of mixed messages - just as his feelings for Steve seemed to be. While he pretended to be thinking of nothing in particular as he cleaned the vibranium disc, it was becoming more apparent by the minute that Steve was obsessing over each little detail of his and Tony’s interaction ever since the man was rescued.
“I wouldn’t have fought back nearly as much had it been you.”
Steve’s scrubbing arm halted, fingers tightening around the rag he was using, squeezing the water and soap right out of it. The red of the Commander’s blood was long gone, but he had kept cleaning on autopilot.
Half of the time, he kept thinking Tony had said that to cheer him up in the form of a morbid joke.
The rest of the time, he kept going back to the comments the Commander had made, ever since appearing in the middle of the Tower’s living room. Insinuating that Steve would never experience that particular feeling…
The click of a lock sliding open drew his mind away from his feverish ponderings and into full focus on someone entering his room. Steve rose from his crouched position on the shower floor, dropping the washcloth and gripping the shield tight, just as he began to move towards the doorway of the bathroom, each of his motions as soundless as he could make them.
“It’s me,” Bucky’s voice called out before he could decide on a strategy.
Steve relaxed and lowered the shield, stepping out of the bathroom to find Bucky standing in the middle of the bedroom, looking ready to bolt in case Steve didn’t take kindly to his presence.
“Hi,” Steve said, uncertain how to proceed. It was like constantly balancing on thin ice, hearing the cracks form beneath his feet even when he couldn’t see them.
“He’s dead now,” Bucky began, clearly having no such problems. “The other you. The Commander.”
Steve nodded, feeling the tension crawl back into his body.
Bucky stared at him, studying him. He had stayed behind during the capture mission at Central Park, and Steve had half-expected him to disappear when they got back and the Tesseract was still messing up the Tower’s systems with its vanishing act.
“You’re not celebrating,” Bucky finally observed.
“Should I be?” Steve asked, propping the shield against the side of his bed, deciding that it wasn’t going to get any cleaner.
“You were pretty dead set on stopping him,” Bucky noted. “Killing him was always the safest option.”
Steve nodded again.
“It’s Tony, isn’t it?” Bucky guessed, alarming Steve with his jump of logic.
“Why do you think that?” Steve asked.
Bucky shrugged and folded his arms over his chest, then began moving around the room as if observing the little details of Steve’s presence there, although there were barely any that Steve himself could find. “I could tell he had mixed feelings about the guy. A bit odd, considering what happened between them.”
Steve couldn’t agree more.
Not finding anything of interest, clearly, Bucky stopped and looked at him again. “Maybe it’s you,” he offered. Whether he was just shooting blindly or exploring a theory, Steve didn’t know. Just the fact that Bucky was in his room, instigating a conversation, was surprising enough.
“We’re not the same,” Steve replied. “At least, that’s what Tony keeps telling me. It seems to be very important to him that I should know that, too.” Tony had made that point more than once, and whether it was to reassure Steve or Tony himself…
In hindsight, it could have been both.
“Maybe he likes to draw a line between the two of you: the Commander was corrupt whereas you are as pure as the driven snow.”
“I’m not…” Steve started, but he supposed that in comparison, he might as well accept Bucky’s wording. “Tony told me there was good in the Commander - or that’s what he was trying to imply, at least. That he might have had the capacity to change.”
“We all do, right?” Bucky mused, looking at him.
“Yes,” Steve quickly agreed, knowing Bucky might take it personally if he didn’t.
“He’ll sort it out in his head, eventually,” Bucky said thoughtfully, eyes straying off Steve’s face to trace the wood-like paneling on the walls. “Emotions are tricky, especially if they conflict with pure reason.”
“Maybe I should leave, make sure I don’t make it worse,” Steve pondered out loud. “But I don’t want it to look like I’m running away from my responsibilities, if he needs my help.”
Bucky nodded, watching the walls some more. “What does your gut tell you?” he asked.
“I don’t think I should consult my gut on this one,” Steve replied dryly.
“Why not?” Bucky asked. “I think I recall it used to get you places.” It was the first time Bucky admitted to remembering much of anything of his past - or maybe it was just a remark, to get his point across.
“Really not sure I want to listen to my gut,” Steve muttered.
“What is it telling you to do?” Bucky asked, openly curious.
Steve wasn’t certain whether he could trust Bucky yet, but if he withheld the truth from him, it might ruin any chance of trust between them for a long time. After all, Bucky used to know when Steve wasn’t being honest. He didn’t want to push him away, but the feelings and thoughts inside him at this time…
He wasn’t certain he could trust them.
“Say it,” Bucky told him. “It will make you feel better.”
Maybe he was right - or maybe he was just fishing for information, hoping to use it as leverage at some later instance when he needed something from Steve.
If it had been anyone but Bucky, Steve would have clamped down on the truth.
“The Commander told me, several times, that I was missing out, not seeing Tony as a potential partner. That I would never know the happiness he had obviously felt, no matter how twisted his version of it had to be.” He couldn’t look at Bucky, nor did he want to look at his shield right now, so he opted to stare at a spot on the floor that was no different from any other section of it. “I keep wondering if maybe he had a point. That Tony and I could have some kind of a… relationship…” He forced himself to snort. “I’ve never fought so much with anyone who’s supposed to be on my side as I’ve fought with him,” he spat out.
“But your gut is telling you to give it a chance, isn’t it?” Bucky guessed. His tone was steady, almost intimate, like they were sharing secrets in the dark again, like they used to. “If one version of you could fall for him so hard he traveled across the barrier of two realities to be reunited…”
Bucky made it sound like a damn romantic tale of endless love and a ‘happily ever after’, but Steve couldn’t quite deny there was a piece of truth hidden within that outrageous description.
“Like I said,” Bucky said, “your gut used to get you places. Why would this time be any different?”
“You seem awfully calm at the prospect of me romancing another man,” Steve pointed out, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
“I hear it’s a thing these days - not to mention legal,” Bucky replied. “Besides, you were always ahead of your time. No reason to start hitting the brakes now.”
Steve hated Bucky for supporting this idea, especially when he had no idea how Tony would respond to it, no matter how he approached him about it.
If he approached him.
But if he didn’t, how would he know if he was missing out on something that might actually work - and moreover, make him happy?
to be continued…
Story info