Work Text:
Steve sighed as he gazed out into the forest. The humid air and lush greenery weren’t enough to take his mind off the fact that it had been three weeks- three weeks and Tony still hadn’t responded. Natasha had told him to give Tony time, that he was the kind of person that needed to think about his response instead of being irrational and flying off the handle. He carried that damn flip phone everywhere. T’Challa insisted that he use a model that would be next to impossible to hack. The old Motorola's didn’t have fancy GPS, or internet. There was no way Tony could find out that he was in Wakanda. The return address on the package he sent was to a Postal Box in Switzerland. King T’Challa had a member of the Royal Guard in contact with the company that held the box and would dispatch someone the moment they received word there was a delivery.
The door behind him opened slightly. He strained to hear the snick of feet across the tiled floor. Natasha could be deadly quiet when she needed to be. “Looking for a sparring partner?” Steve didn’t bother to turn around.
“Special Delivery?” Steve could hear the smile in her voice. He turned around to face the assassin.
“Is it?” Steve took three steps toward her.
“The one and only Futurist, Tony Stark.” Natasha handed over the manilla envelope. “I should-”
Steve nodded as she gestured to the door. “You should- It’s-”
Natasha laid a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “I understand… You need to be alone. It’s okay. There’s a laptop in your room. Feels like he sent a flash drive.”
“Thanks, Nat.” Steve smiled as he left the room.
He walked down the airy hallway to his room. It was almost as if T’Challa’s mansion didn’t have outside walls. There was some type of force field protecting them from the outside. A gentle breeze floated everywhere carrying the scent of wildflowers and and jasmine. He stepped into his room, the gauze curtains blowing in the breeze. Just as Natasha said, there was a laptop on the bed in the middle of this fluffy white comforter.
Steve sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled the computer onto his lap. He booted it up quickly and tore the envelope open. The flash drive and a small, folded piece of paper fluttered to the bed. His fingers scooped the small USB device up and plugged it into the port. A small icon lit up on the screen. Steve clicked the audio file and made himself more comfortable.
“Loving you
Isn't the right thing to do
How can I ever change things that I feel?
If I could
Baby I'd give you my world
How can I
When you won't take it from me?”
Steve raised an eyebrow and turned the brown envelope over. It was Tony’s handwriting- and the address to the Compound. He picked up the folded paper and flipped it over, the words read last, stilling his movement.
“You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way”
Steve knew this song. Clint was a closet Fleetwood Mac fan and had made him listen to all of their greatest hits. This wasn’t a good sign. He thought when he sent that R.E.M. song to Tony that he would call, let Steve know that he accepted the apology. Steve was more in the dark now than he was a month ago in Siberia. Sure, he had his friends out of jail… But, he wasn’t a free man.
Bucky was on ice, Clint and Scott away from their families… Natasha was floating in a sea of uncertainty. She had been talking to Fury, trying to get missions with SHIELD for her and Clint. There were still HYDRA bases that needed to be taken out. Steve wanted to help, but without the mantle of Captain America… He didn’t know what to do. He thought that maybe he could mend the bridge with Tony, but now-
“Tell me why
Everything turned around
Packing up
Shacking up's all you wanna do
If I could
Baby I'd give you my world
Open up
Everything's waiting for you”
Steve set the computer on the bed next to his hip. He wasn’t going to break down. They could work this out. It wasn’t over. Steve may have been a jerk... But Tony was just as bad. Sure, it seemed like all they did was fight, but they spent a lot of time together, too. Steve was opinionated and quick to temper, Tony was stubborn and manic. It wasn’t the best combination for a working relationship, but on the Battlefield, it worked for them. They were a well oiled machine when working. It was just the downtime that had them in knots.
He began formulating his next letter to Tony. It seemed that they weren’t ready to talk to each other over the phone. Steve wanted to keep options open for Tony so that when the time was right, he wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to him. He didn’t want to wait to read Tony’s letter. The fact that the dark-haired engineer had reached out to him was hope enough. Steve thought that maybe he should keep the letter light. Not necessarily avoid the elephant in the room, but dance around it a bit.
He thought that if he could redirect Tony’s thoughts to the Team and what they needed, he could get away with not talking about anything. He began thinking of all the things that he could tell Tony- what he had been working with T’Challa on- but not Accord business, stuff like taking down the remaining HYDRA bases. He thought maybe he could share some ideas for upgrades to the Iron Man Armor that would help Tony the next time he got into a hand to hand combat situation. Clint could use some sticky arrows, Natasha was always up for work on her combat sticks and widow bites.
”You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way”
The last notes of the song faded. Steve picked the note up off the comforter, and carefully unfolded the missive. He looked at the words on the paper, not quite understanding the meaning at first. A sob ripped from his throat as the paper fluttered back down to the bed, the words now wet and slightly smeared. Tears flowed freely from Steve’s eyes. His cheeks reddened and his nose started to run. He couldn’t- Tony just- it wasn’t fair.
The letter consisted of just six words, but they might as well have been bullets straight into Steve’s heart.
...Or better yet, just go away