Chapter Text
Steve got back the next day, but in the excitement, everyone forgot about the mistletoe and Tony watched in horror as Steve stepped right into its path, immediately getting thrown backwards.
“What in the hell?” Steve said, reaching for his shield.
“I advice against that,” Dr. Strange said, rushing down the stairs, past Tony. “Captain, hitting the barrier with the shield will only keep pushing you further and further inside the circle.”
“What circle?” Steve asked, the annoyance clear on his face. He looked tired, Tony thought. He didn’t know exactly what Steve's mission was, but he figured from the 13 hour flight that Steve probably was jet-lagged and exhausted.
Tony pointed up at the mistletoe and Steve followed his finger, the realization plain as day on his face.
“You missed a few things, cap,” Tony said, walking down the stairs. “Long story short, yada yada, magical mistletoe,” Tony said, clapping his hands and shrugging.
The rest of the Avengers had gathered around then, small smirks on their faces.
“Strange, why’s Steve the only one in there?” Natasha asked, her arms crossed over her chest.
Dr. Strange smiled as he paced around the boundary. “I have a theory regarding that. Miss Romanoff, would you mind stepping into the barrier?”
Natasha raised an eyebrow skeptically. “What?”
“You seem to be the least affected by romantic interactions, and you’re a good test,” Strange explained.
Natasha eyed him warily but walked slowly towards the barrier. Steve still looked confused and lost, and the rest of the Avengers held their breath as Natasha grew closer and closer.
Tony felt something clutch at his chest as he watched her saunter over to Steve. The barrier was going to let her in, and then he was going to have to watch as she kissed Steve. Obviously, it’s not like Tony had any problem with that, it was just…
Tony shook his head and let out a breath angrily.
Natasha took one final step, and was immediately thrown nearly across the room before Strange used some spell to steady her.
“What the hell was that?” she asked, still slightly unsteady on her feet.
Strange smiled at the mistletoe then, shaking his head slightly at it. “It appears that Captain rogers here is infatuated with someone,” he said, slowly.
“What? That’s ridiculous, i’m not-” Steve said, spluttering. He was blushing, the tips of his ears and cheeks turning red.
“Captain, the mistletoe says otherwise. I believe that it will not let you out, or anyone else in until the person you are enamored with joins you.”
Steve balked at him, his initial denial turning into concern and fear. “No, that’s not...no, you need to get me out of here.”
Steve turned to Tony then, his hands running through his hair. His face paled as he saw him stepping closer.
“No, no, Tony, stay away, it’ll hit you,” he said, eyes wide. There was a hint of fear and desperation in his voice as he backed away from Tony.
“Relax, Cap,” Tony said, trying to keep his voice light. In reality, his chest felt tight and he wanted to be anywhere, anywhere without this godforsaken mistletoe and romantic compatibility, some world where Steve wasn’t fucking enamored with someone, someone completely wrong for him, someone didn’t know him, someone who wasn’t him .
Tony stopped just outside where he assumed the barrier was, giving Steve what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
“It’ll be okay, Cap. We’ll get you out of here. Would’ve been nice if you told me though,” Tony said, half-heartedly.
“Told you what?” Steve said, his eyes still watching Tony’s every move.
“That you were enamored with someone.” Tony said, throwing air quotes up when he said enamored. He tried to keep the bitter tone out of his tone but he must’ve failed, because Steve’s eyes narrowed as he stepped slightly closer to Tony.
“You okay, Tony?”
“Yeah, yeah, great, cap. anyway, I’m gonna go get Bruce’s advice on this whole conundrum, you stay right there, alright, Rogers?” Tony called over his shoulder, already sprinting up the stairs.
“Wait! Tony!” Steve called after him, but Tony was already gone, his door slamming shut.
Steve sighed and rubbed his eyes, slowly sitting down in the middle of the circle.
After a couple of hours and some pointless throwing of objects, both Bruce and Tony declared that they couldn’t seem to find a way to get Steve out.
Steve looked at them desperately, placing his hands on the invisible barrier.
“You can’t do anything? Nothing? I’m stuck here?” Steve said, his voice getting higher in pitch. He started to pace back and forth in the few feet of space he had.
“Cap, calm down,” Tony said, stepping closer.
“No!” Steve practically hissed, spinning around to face Tony. “Don’t. Touch. It.”
Tony backed away, his hands raised. “Okay, I won’t. but you need to breathe. Come on, it can’t be that bad. Steve, Steve, come on, breathe. It’ll be okay.”
Steve looked up at Tony, fear in his eyes. He took a few deep breaths and sunk back down to the floor.
“Steve, just tell us who it is so we can bring them here and you can get out.”
Steve’s jaw was locked and his shoulders were tense. The bags under his eyes were dark and he looked like he was panicking. “It’s not that simple, Tony.”
“Sure it is! The worst thing they can do is say no. But you can’t stay in there forever, Rogers.”
Steve looked up and sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I know, Tony.”
Tony felt frustration rise up in his chest. Steve wasn’t stupid, he knew that he’d eventually have to tell them who it was so that they could get him out, but this whole thing was killing Tony.
Honestly, he prefered Steve’s silence. He didn’t want to know who Steve was “enamored” with. He didn’t want to hear about his crush. He didn’t want to see some pretty brunette walk through the door and kiss Steve, Steve who had always been there for Tony, Steve who was loyal and strong, Steve who was smart and funny, Steve who Tony had somehow managed to fall completely in love with.
He didn’t want to see someone waltz in and kiss Steve, his Steve.
He shook the thought out of his head as he knelt down so that he and Steve were face to face. “Look, Bruce and I’ll try a couple more things, but if we don’t figure it out in 4 hours, you’re gonna have to tell us who it is. Deal?”
Steve looked up at Tony, his eyes begging, pleading. He sounded tired as his head dropped between his knees. “Deal.”
Tony shook his head and gestured for Bruce to follow him back upstairs. He didn’t want to admit that he didn’t have any more ideas. This was magic and love, this was feelings and Tony had never known anything about them.
Steve was going to have to kiss someone tonight, someone he liked, hell, probably someone he could love, and Tony would have to watch.
He sighed as he climbed the stairs. Some Christmas , he thought.
When Tony and Bruce finally admitted defeat, they softly climbed back down the stairs. Steve was in the same position they’d left him in, his back against his duffel bag, his head between his knees.
When he heard their steps on the stairs, he looked up, eyes hopeful.
“I’m sorry Steve, but we...we couldn’t find anything,” Bruce said, his voice gentle.
Steve closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Oh.”
“Okay, so, you tell us their name and we go get them,” Tony said, trying to keep his voice light. The rest of the Avengers had gathered around by now, looking at Steve on the floor, with Tony and Bruce next to him.
“No,” Steve said, quietly.
“What?”
“No.”
“What do you mean, no? In case you haven’t noticed, Steve, there isn’t a lifetime’s supply of food in that circle of yours,” Tony said, his fists clenched.
“I know.”
Tony growled then, then let out a breath. “Then get your ass up, and tell us who they are! ”
Steve suddenly stood, angry. “I can’t just do that, Tony!” he yelled back, his eyes flashing.
“Why the hell not?” Tony screamed, stepping closer.
There was a gasp around him and Tony’s brow furrowed. Steve was backing away from him now, his eyes wide and terrified.
“That’s why not,” Steve mumbled, looking down at the floor.
Tony looked around at everyone else. Bruce was shocked and Natasha looked slightly smug. Strange had a sadistic smile on his face, but the rest of the Avengers just looked on, intrigued.
“Does someone want to fill me in here? Why the hell is everyone looking at us like that?” Tony asked, spinning around. It was only when he tried to take a step towards Bruce that he realized.
He was immediately pushed back by the barrier, but rather than being pushed away from Steve, he was being pushed towards Steve.
Tony’s mind raced as he tried and failed to grasp the situation. Suddenly, it hit him. He was in the barrier. With Steve.
Steve, Steve who was messy and loud, Steve who was brave and kind, Steve who was sarcastic and caring, Steve, his Steve, was “enamored” with him ?
Tony spun around, looking at everyone’s faces through the slightly shimmering barrier. He felt his own eyes grow wide as he spun back around to face Steve.
In the back of his mind, he heard Natasha ordering everyone out of the room, something about a “private conversation.”
“This isn’t how i wanted you to find out,” Steve said, looking up at Tony in a way that made his heart clench. “I never wanted to jeopardize our friendship, Tony. I’m sorry. I know this makes things weird, I just-”
Tony simply stared at him in shock.
Steve shrugged slightly, his eyes sad. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, and I didn’t want to lose what we had. I’m so sorry-”
“Shut up,” Tony interrupted.
“What?”
“Shut. Up.”
“Okay. I get it. I’m sorry Tony, I know this makes you uncom-”
Tony growled and spun around to face Steve again, hooking a hand around Steve’s neck to kiss him.
At first, the angle wasn’t right because Tony had basically attacked Steve’s mouth as he had been talking, but then Steve tilted his head and everything seemed to fall into place. Tony leaned against Steve, his hand resting on Steve’s chest, his other tangling in Steve’s hair. To his surprise, Steve pushed back with force, eliciting a soft whimper from Tony.
His tongue pushed into Tony’s mouth, sucking and licking, and Tony felt his legs go slightly weak. Steve growled at the back of his throat, bringing his hands up to grab Tony’s neck, his hair. The kiss was hot and hard and the slightest bit dirty and Tony wasn’t even sure he would be able to form a coherent thought afterwards.
After a while, Steve gently pulled the kiss back, softly tracing his tongue along Tony’s lips, which fell open at the suggestion. Tony didn’t resist, he just followed Steve’s lead, and even though Tony had kissed more people than the population of a small city, this was easily one of the best kisses he’d ever had.
Eventually, they broke apart to breathe and Tony took Steve in, resisting the urge to laugh. His lips were wet and swollen, his hair was a mess and his shirt was scrunched up from where Tony had fisted his hand in it. And judging from the way Steve was looking at him, Tony figured he probably looked about the same.
Tony was still slightly dizzy from the lack of oxygen and the astonishingly dirty kiss, but when he leaned back, expecting to fall against the barrier, he stumbled out on the floor instead. Steve seemed to have the same realization Tony did, a smile spreading across his face as he stepped out from where the circle had been.
The doors on both sides of them burst open and the Avengers came flooding in, smiling and cheering.
“I told them not to listen,” Natasha said with an accompanying eyeroll. Tony was immediately surrounded, with Scott and Bruce clapping him on the back and congratulating him. in all the excitement, Tony had forgotten about the mistletoe.
That is, until bright red glowing numbers popped up in front of him.
“97%?!” Clint practically screeched.
“Are you kidding me?” he heard Scott say behind him.
But Tony didn’t move, he just stayed transfixed, staring at the numbers. There was no way. No one had even gotten past 80%, let alone 90. It wasn’t possible, it must be a mistake. His thoughts were cut off by Steve.
“Wait, what are those?”
Everyone turned to look at Steve, remembering that he didn’t know about any of this.
“They’re our romantic potential,” Tony said, turning back around to face Steve.
Steve raised his eyebrows. “So...I know I’ve been gone for all of this, but I’m guessing that’s...high?”
“67% is average for most married couples, Captain,” Dr. Strange said.
Steve’s eyes got a little wider then, and he stepped towards Tony. “ Oh . So...so what does this mean?” Steve asked, waving his hand at the glowing numbers.
Dr. Strange shrugged, and Tony could swear that was a hint of a smirk on his face. “For lack of a better term, Captain, it appears you and Mr. Stark here are...soulmates.”
Tony turned to face him, his heart beating in his chest, his thoughts racing. “Soulmates? That’s real? None of that hokey-pokey shit?”
“Yes, in a sense, soulmates exist. There are people who balance each other out, who complete each other. Congratulations, Mr. Stark,” Strange said dryly, “you’ve found yours.”
Tony still just stared, his mind spinning. This was too much information, and that kiss, damn , that kiss, he couldn’t think straight. “I’m...I’m gonna go do some things,” he choked out, clapping his hands and backing up the stairs. Steve stared at him, confused and fearful, while the rest of the Avengers looked on, enraptured. “Stark Industry things, you know, I’m just gonna...go.”
Tony reached the top of the stairs and turned, immediately bolting to the room Strange had given him. He pushed the door shut and leaned against it, taking a deep breath.
What the hell was he going to do?