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Tony Stark had finished his morning studies and was ready to go for his daily horse ride. He stopped by his little brother’s room, which was six doors down from his own, and peeked his head in. His brother was doing his own studies and he smiled. His little brother meant everything to him. He protected him and looked after him, considering his parents were always too busy dealing with their empire of sorts. He shut the door before his brother could notice him and continued down the hall, down the circular staircase into the drawing room.
“Good morning, mother.” Tony said politely, going over to her and kissing her on the cheek.
“Good morning, Anthony.” She said, putting her cheek out as he kissed it. “Did you finish your studies?”
“Yes, mother.”
“James?”
Tony shook his head. “Not yet, mother.”
The Queen nodded. “Very well.”
“I’m going to take Jarvis. He hasn’t been out for a while.” Tony kissed his mother on the cheek once more and bowed politely to his father before heading to the stables.
The morning was colder than usual, and Tony had left his cloak inside. He wrapped his arms around himself and continued walking down the dirt path, his boots crunching the minerals below them. He reached the stables and quickly went inside.
“Good morning, your highness.”
Tony jumped and turned around. “Oh, it’s you.” He said, obviously relieved that it wasn’t one of the towns people sneaking in again. “Good morning, Steve.” He said with a smile.
Steve was one of their many servants. English born, blond hair, bright blue eyes, Tony knew little about him, even though they were about the same age and he’s been working for the family for the past three or four years. Tony never did like to pry into someone else’s life. He figured if Steve wanted him to know something, he’d tell him. Steve and Tony became best friend quickly, seeing as he was the only boy close to his age around.
“Which horse would you like to take today?” Steve asked.
“Jarvis.” Tony said with a smile.
Steve gave one nod and a bow. He turned and found Jarvis’s stall. He untied the horse from the pole and put a saddle on him. He walked him out to Tony and smiled. “Your highness.” He said, holding the reigns out to him.
“How many times have I told you to call me Tony?” he asked, his voice light and playful, as he swung his leg over and situated himself on the horse.
Steve held the reigns, keeping the horse steady, as the prince mounted himself on top. “One too many times, your highness.”
Tony gave him a playful glare.
“I mean, Tony.” Steve said, the faintest blush on his face.
The prince smiled triumphantly. “Very good. Would you like to join me?” he asked.
Steve looked around the stable, thinking that the prince had been talking to someone else. “Me?”
Tony nodded. “Get Ares and come along. It’s a bit lonely riding without someone there to respond to my ramblings.”
“I still have work to do.”
“If mother and father find out, I’ll tell them it was my fault you were away from your post and your unfinished work.”
Steve bit his lip, thinking and weighing out his options. Finally, he sighed and smiled. “Okay.”
The prince smiled as well and waited for the other boy to get Ares out, saddle him up, and get on him. Steve trotted up next to Tony and Jarvis.
“Ready?” Tony asked, tugging on the reigns a little to make Jarvis stay put. The horse kept moving around, making it a little difficult for the prince to talk.
Steve nodded and brought his feet together, making a clicking sound. It’s what got the horses to start moving. Tony watched as his friend trotted, a smiled plastered on his face, before clicking his tongue, getting Jarvis to follow. He caught up to Steve, enjoying the comfortable silence that was surrounding them.
“You never did say why your parents sent you all the way here from England.” Tony said casually, keeping his head forward, but letting his eyes wander on the scenery.
Steve kept his head forward as well, and shrugged. “I guess they didn’t want to deal with a seventeen year old boy.”
Tony felt like there was more to the story, but he was never one to pry. He’d ask questions, but when he could tell the other person was uncomfortable or upset, he’d just drop it and let them continue whenever they were ready. He did want to lighten the mood though. “I think they knew you’d find your best mate out here.”
Steve looked at Tony, smiling. “Maybe they did.”
Tony turned to look at Steve and returned the smile.
“What about you?” Steve said.
Tony was confused. He didn’t get what Steve was asking. He’s been here his entire life. He’s never moved at all. “I…”
“How do you feel about taking the throne?”
Tony’s confusion fell, and was replaced by deep thought. “I… don’t actually know.” He said honestly. “I guess I’m excited? But at the same time I just want to run away from it all. There’s too much pressure in being King.” Tony stopped talking and chuckled. “There’s pressure in being a prince. I don’t think I was born to lead people. At least not emotionally or spiritually or whatever else there is that isn’t physical.”
Steve just nodded and looked back to the dirt road in front of them. “What’s it like?” he asked.
“What’s what like, Steve?”
“Being royalty, having people respect you.”
Tony wasn’t sure how to answer. “I guess it’s always nice to have people respecting you and not talking down to you, but, at the same time, there are always those people who will despise you and wish for your death.” Tony stopped talking, to think a little more and guide Jarvis around the bend. “Sometimes I wish I were a servant, though.”
Steve looked at Tony in disbelief. “Really?” he asked. “Why on Earth would you want that?”
“To know what it’s like to have nothing, or close to it, and to know what it’s like to have to work for something.” Tony sometimes hated being a prince. He hated having people be nice to him just because they had to, not because they actually liked him.
Steve was baffled. A prince who wanted to be a servant? How did that make any sense at all? Steve would do anything to give up his place as a servant. He wants to be successful. He wants to be someone that people admired in the long run. He wanted to leave a legacy behind. It was near impossible to do that as a servant. “Well, I can tell you it’s not much fun at all.” He said with a laugh.
Tony laughed as well, and nodded. “I’m sure it isn’t, but it’s something I’ve never experience before. I like to try new things.” Tony looked at Steve and smiled when he was done talking. There was a lot going on in his head, but only so much he could say out loud. “I know a spot that’s just a few miles up that we can stop.” He said. “It’s by the lake and its beautiful there. It’s a good thinking place.”
“You go there a lot, don’t you?”
Tony nodded. “My mother always wants to know where it is I’m going when I take one of the horses out. I never tell her, though. It’s my personal space away from the King and Queen.”
“Don’t you have a room for that?” Steve asked.
“That’s what my room should be, but it’s not that at all. They always send people in and out of my room for reasons that are unknown to me.”
The talking stopped for a while, and a comfortable silence fell over them the last couple miles to the lake. Tony smiled when he saw it and stopped Jarvis. He swung his leg over and got off of his horse, tying him to a tree that was nearby. He didn’t want Jarvis to run away, not that he ever did run away, it was just precaution. “Well,” he said, “this is it.”
It was a beautiful place. The trees were as bright and as green a tree could get. The lake was still and serene. The only real noises were those of the animals scurrying through the bushes and on the ground. There was a rock that protruded out into the lake, making it a nice sitting place. Trees surrounded the small area, making it seem even more private and hidden. As far as Tony knows, he’s the only person that comes here.
“Wow.” Steve said after he got off Ares and had a chance to look around the area. “This is… incredible. You found this?”
Tony nodded happily. “Yes, sir.”
Steve climbed right up onto the protruding rock, dangling his legs over the water. “And you come here every day?”
Tony followed Steve up to the rock, sitting next to him. It wasn’t a very big rock width wise, but it fit the both of them on it. “Just about. I try to come as many times a week, or even a day, that I can. I don’t think I’ll make it through the day without coming here at least once.”
Steve smiled, finding that to be a rather cute quality about the prince. Steve knew the thoughts were wrong, and that he shouldn’t be thinking that way about someone with great power, but he really couldn’t help it. “Well, if you ever want company again just let me know and I’ll be happy to join you.”
The prince smiled gratefully and nodded. “I’d like that.”
Steve nodded back and looked back out to the scenery. He thought it was beautiful. The way everything just sort of blended together and harmonized. He wished that humanity could be the same way. He didn’t understand why the human race always found it necessary to belittle others and make them feel worthless. In nature, every little leaf and piece of dirt made a huge difference in the area, making it seem perfect and aligned. “Do you ever get lonely?” he asked, still looking at the environment.
Tony took a second to think about the question, and shrugged. “Sometimes, I think.” He said. “Seeing as my brother is only ten and parents are always too busy, it does get pretty lonely.”
“Do you ever talk to the King and Queen about it?”
The prince scoffed. “They don’t care. As long as I’m present for all the public events and speeches, then they’re pleased. They think I’m happy, even when it’s obvious I’m not.”
“Why not just tell them that you’re unhappy? Or tell them that you’re really not into the whole… well, prince thing.”
Tony sighed and rested his head against Steve’s shoulder. “I can’t just do that.” He said softly. “As much as I wish I could, I can’t. I am the prince. I’m taking over the moment my parents die. And, even if that’s twenty years from now, I have to do it. My brother would be way too young to take the throne.”
“But you’re unhappy, Tony.” Steve said, resting his head back on the other’s shoulder. “You should be happy. What good it is to live if you’re not happy?”
“Are you happy?”
Steve stayed quiet. Of course he wasn’t happy, but he didn’t have a choice. He was uneducated, at least not in the way Tony was educated. He was a servant and the son of a locksmith. His future was set for him before he was even born. He was born into lower class. He wasn’t meant to be successful, but he’d be content with that which was given to him. But Tony, he had a chance to make a huge difference. Once the prince was king, he could do anything he wanted. “Well… not exactly, but that doesn’t matter.” He said. “I wasn’t meant to be happy with my life, but you have a chance to make a huge difference. You can change the laws, making things that weren’t legal, legal, and vise versa. You could be an amazing King and make history as more than just the son of a tyrant King and a materialistic Queen.”
“I know, Steve. I know. I just… I don’t want to disappoint people. What if they try to kill me because I do something they don’t like? What if they raid the castle and then try to hurt Rhodey?” The prince sighed and closed his eyes. “I just… I don’t know; I don’t know if I can lead an entire empire. I can barely set my own life on track, let alone thousands of other people.”
Steve ran a hand through Tony’s hair and kissed the top of his head. “Don’t worry so much.” He said gently. “You’ll do great. Just go with your instinct. Whatever your first choice or thought is, stick with it, because it’s probably the right thing to do. You’re going to be an amazing King, and you won’t be king for a long while. You have time think about everything.”
Tony nodded, really hoping his friend was right. He wanted to please so many people, but he knows that pleasing one person, is upsetting another. It was a no win situation, but he wanted to let everyone win. He wanted to make things equal and fair for everyone in the kingdom. He knows some of the rights that his parents took away from some of the people, but if he gives them back, then he’ll upset his parents and their memories. Tony just sighed, and stayed calm. Having his friend so close and supportive was helping get through one of the hardest times of his life.
Tony lifted his head and looked into Steve’s eyes. Searching them for something. Anything, really. They’ve been friends, really good, really close friends for a very long time and, even though Tony was expected to take a bride and start a new generation to rule the country, his heart was hoping for something else. His heart was stuck on a boy with blond hair and crazy blue eyes.
Steve caught Tony staring at him and flushed slightly, a small smile coming to his face. “What is it?” he asked.
Tony shook his head, leaning in close. So close that there was no way his intentions could be misread. “Stop me.” He said softly, looking from Steve’s lips, to his eyes, and back again.
Instead of stopping him, like Tony had thought he would, Steve brought a hand up to cup the side of Tony’s face and pulled him in the rest of the way until their lips connected in a soft kiss. That kiss was enough to send Tony’s heart racing. Their lips moved together in a fluid motion, as if Steve had been waiting for this moment. And maybe he was. Tony was always too scared to say anything. But here? In his private little corner of the world? Nothing else existed. Nothing else in the world mattered except for him and Steve. He wanted it to stay this way, not having a worry in the world.
Unfortunately, every good thing comes to an end.