The Corrupt and the Pure; Chapter 44: The Mistake
[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 44: The Mistake
The aftermath of the party felt like good ol’ times - including one hell of a hangover.
Tony recalled retreating to his room before the party had even truly ended, only to continue some partying of his own. Or rather, more alcohol consumption; it hadn’t been much of a party anymore at that point, his body already fairly liquored as it were.
Come midday and his awakening to the horribly painful new day, Tony didn’t at first recall why, exactly, he had made the mistake of drinking too much. He would never admit it, but he, too, had a limit - obviously - and he had passed it spectacularly.
“J,” he groaned from the bed, “what did I do?” He left it up to the AI to figure out the cryptic request.
Apparently, it wasn’t as cryptic as he had thought, seeing as J.A.R.V.I.S. answered almost immediately: “I believe you are referring to your kiss with Captain Rogers, sir.”
Oh, hell.
Tony could have gone on happily with his life without ever remembering that part of the night, but he supposed it was for the best he recalled it now instead of later, seeing as it was very doubtful that the other party of said kiss was likely to forget it had happened.
“Why?” Tony moaned, tossing his arm across his eyes.
“That I cannot answer.”
“Didn’t expect you to.”
What the hell was wrong with him? Kissing Steve… If one of his bots had done something this caliber of insane, he would have assumed their wires were crossed the wrong way. What was his excuse?
He needed to find Steve and apologize before the good Captain got it in his head that Tony was a very screwed-up individual.
Well, perhaps he was; his actions proved that point quite eloquently. However, kissing Cap hadn’t been a completely foreign thought to him before, although the lines had become somewhat blurred thanks to the Commander. That experience had put things into a new perspective, over-complicating matters even when Tony thought he and Steve had become closer because of it.
There was no better bonding catalyst than trauma, obviously - especially for superheroes.
Tony forced himself upright, which almost made him empty the contents of his stomach right then and there. He swallowed it back, however, and slowly made his way out of bed and into the bathroom. After a cold shower, vigorous tooth-brushing and making himself at least semi-presentable, Tony headed to the kitchen to make himself a smoothie. There was no way he was having a potentially explosive conversation on an empty stomach, but he was also afraid to let any more time pass than was absolutely necessary.
J.A.R.V.I.S. confirmed Steve was in his room, and Tony walked to his door, took a deep breath, then knocked. There was no reply, so he knocked some more, keeping it up until Steve came to open.
Clearly, he wasn’t expecting to find Tony there, if his expression was anything to go by.
“Hi,” Tony started and ran a hand through his hair. “Can I come in?”
Steve hesitated, one hand on the door. If he really wanted to, he could slam it in Tony’s face and not let him in. Tony made no move to try and force himself inside despite the odds, wanting Steve to make the choice for himself. “I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Steve finally said.
Shit, Tony chanted in his mind.
“I’m sorry about last night,” Tony said. “It was completely out of line and no amount of alcohol should justify what I did,” he admitted.
Steve frowned. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Tony stopped to check his memory - which was spotty, but not that spotty. “I kissed you,” Tony said. “I’m pretty sure I started it.”
Steve shook his head. “It’s okay. I led you on.”
“Since when?” Tony asked incredulously. “I think I would recall it if you did.”
Steve pressed his lips together, like he didn’t want to tell him more. Tony, however, wasn’t buying any of it without proof, and Steve must have realized that because he sighed shortly after, looking tired. “I said I liked you - that I wanted to like you more.”
“That hardly counts as ‘leading me on’,” Tony countered.
“Yeah, it didn’t go over too smoothly,” Steve agreed ruefully. “I had it all sorted out in my head, but it always felt like the wrong time… And that’s because it is,” he added, almost angrily. “I never should have said anything because it was going to always end like this, with you apologizing about something that wasn’t your fault.”
Tony blinked, feeling very confused. Clearly, Steve wasn’t about to accept his apology, and there was only one good reason why that was. “Are you telling me you’ve been trying to come up with a way to let me know you like me? In light of all that’s happened?”
Steve shrugged. “Exactly. Horrible timing, like I said. But it wasn’t until the Commander that I even considered it -”
It was most likely the only time Tony was ever going to hit Steve totally out of the blue, taking the super-soldier by surprise.
And, while Steve was still gaping at him, his cheek red from the impact, Tony raised his smarting hand again and pulled Steve into another kiss.
Last night, it had been something that could barely be called a kiss, and this one wasn’t much better. However, they were both sober, albeit hungover, and they both pulled back at the same time.
“What are you doing?” Steve asked, a frown so deep on his face it might well have become permanent if left there for too long.
“Making a mistake, maybe,” Tony offered. “Or starting something that will work despite the odds.”
“Those are pretty big odds,” Steve reminded him. However, he hadn’t moved away, staying right there in Tony’s space - or allowing Tony to stay in his, depending on how you looked at it.
“I know,” he rolled his eyes, frustrated. The motion of his eyes made his head hurt, and Tony knew he had better go lie down soon. “But you reached the same conclusion, right?”
Steve looked away, but clearly there was something he had been wanting to talk to Tony about, and he doubted it was to tell him how much of a bad idea this was. After all, they didn’t need to have that talk, seeing as they both knew that by default.
What they probably needed to talk about was the flipside of the coin.
“We need to talk this through, but first, I need to lie down,” Tony said, knowing it was a shitty way to end the conversation but he was starting to feel pretty woozy.
“I have a bed,” Steve blurted out, then looked like he wanted to kick himself. “I won’t be in it,” he added, not really managing to save face. “I think we should have that talk, too,” he concluded, serious again.
It was one of the rare times in Tony’s life he got into another person’s bed with the solid intention of doing nothing more than having a conversation.
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 44: The Mistake
The aftermath of the party felt like good ol’ times - including one hell of a hangover.
Tony recalled retreating to his room before the party had even truly ended, only to continue some partying of his own. Or rather, more alcohol consumption; it hadn’t been much of a party anymore at that point, his body already fairly liquored as it were.
Come midday and his awakening to the horribly painful new day, Tony didn’t at first recall why, exactly, he had made the mistake of drinking too much. He would never admit it, but he, too, had a limit - obviously - and he had passed it spectacularly.
“J,” he groaned from the bed, “what did I do?” He left it up to the AI to figure out the cryptic request.
Apparently, it wasn’t as cryptic as he had thought, seeing as J.A.R.V.I.S. answered almost immediately: “I believe you are referring to your kiss with Captain Rogers, sir.”
Oh, hell.
Tony could have gone on happily with his life without ever remembering that part of the night, but he supposed it was for the best he recalled it now instead of later, seeing as it was very doubtful that the other party of said kiss was likely to forget it had happened.
“Why?” Tony moaned, tossing his arm across his eyes.
“That I cannot answer.”
“Didn’t expect you to.”
What the hell was wrong with him? Kissing Steve… If one of his bots had done something this caliber of insane, he would have assumed their wires were crossed the wrong way. What was his excuse?
He needed to find Steve and apologize before the good Captain got it in his head that Tony was a very screwed-up individual.
Well, perhaps he was; his actions proved that point quite eloquently. However, kissing Cap hadn’t been a completely foreign thought to him before, although the lines had become somewhat blurred thanks to the Commander. That experience had put things into a new perspective, over-complicating matters even when Tony thought he and Steve had become closer because of it.
There was no better bonding catalyst than trauma, obviously - especially for superheroes.
Tony forced himself upright, which almost made him empty the contents of his stomach right then and there. He swallowed it back, however, and slowly made his way out of bed and into the bathroom. After a cold shower, vigorous tooth-brushing and making himself at least semi-presentable, Tony headed to the kitchen to make himself a smoothie. There was no way he was having a potentially explosive conversation on an empty stomach, but he was also afraid to let any more time pass than was absolutely necessary.
J.A.R.V.I.S. confirmed Steve was in his room, and Tony walked to his door, took a deep breath, then knocked. There was no reply, so he knocked some more, keeping it up until Steve came to open.
Clearly, he wasn’t expecting to find Tony there, if his expression was anything to go by.
“Hi,” Tony started and ran a hand through his hair. “Can I come in?”
Steve hesitated, one hand on the door. If he really wanted to, he could slam it in Tony’s face and not let him in. Tony made no move to try and force himself inside despite the odds, wanting Steve to make the choice for himself. “I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Steve finally said.
Shit, Tony chanted in his mind.
“I’m sorry about last night,” Tony said. “It was completely out of line and no amount of alcohol should justify what I did,” he admitted.
Steve frowned. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Tony stopped to check his memory - which was spotty, but not that spotty. “I kissed you,” Tony said. “I’m pretty sure I started it.”
Steve shook his head. “It’s okay. I led you on.”
“Since when?” Tony asked incredulously. “I think I would recall it if you did.”
Steve pressed his lips together, like he didn’t want to tell him more. Tony, however, wasn’t buying any of it without proof, and Steve must have realized that because he sighed shortly after, looking tired. “I said I liked you - that I wanted to like you more.”
“That hardly counts as ‘leading me on’,” Tony countered.
“Yeah, it didn’t go over too smoothly,” Steve agreed ruefully. “I had it all sorted out in my head, but it always felt like the wrong time… And that’s because it is,” he added, almost angrily. “I never should have said anything because it was going to always end like this, with you apologizing about something that wasn’t your fault.”
Tony blinked, feeling very confused. Clearly, Steve wasn’t about to accept his apology, and there was only one good reason why that was. “Are you telling me you’ve been trying to come up with a way to let me know you like me? In light of all that’s happened?”
Steve shrugged. “Exactly. Horrible timing, like I said. But it wasn’t until the Commander that I even considered it -”
It was most likely the only time Tony was ever going to hit Steve totally out of the blue, taking the super-soldier by surprise.
And, while Steve was still gaping at him, his cheek red from the impact, Tony raised his smarting hand again and pulled Steve into another kiss.
Last night, it had been something that could barely be called a kiss, and this one wasn’t much better. However, they were both sober, albeit hungover, and they both pulled back at the same time.
“What are you doing?” Steve asked, a frown so deep on his face it might well have become permanent if left there for too long.
“Making a mistake, maybe,” Tony offered. “Or starting something that will work despite the odds.”
“Those are pretty big odds,” Steve reminded him. However, he hadn’t moved away, staying right there in Tony’s space - or allowing Tony to stay in his, depending on how you looked at it.
“I know,” he rolled his eyes, frustrated. The motion of his eyes made his head hurt, and Tony knew he had better go lie down soon. “But you reached the same conclusion, right?”
Steve looked away, but clearly there was something he had been wanting to talk to Tony about, and he doubted it was to tell him how much of a bad idea this was. After all, they didn’t need to have that talk, seeing as they both knew that by default.
What they probably needed to talk about was the flipside of the coin.
“We need to talk this through, but first, I need to lie down,” Tony said, knowing it was a shitty way to end the conversation but he was starting to feel pretty woozy.
“I have a bed,” Steve blurted out, then looked like he wanted to kick himself. “I won’t be in it,” he added, not really managing to save face. “I think we should have that talk, too,” he concluded, serious again.
It was one of the rare times in Tony’s life he got into another person’s bed with the solid intention of doing nothing more than having a conversation.
to be continued…
Story info