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It was a typical Wednesday. Manhattan was once again crushed, mashed, and mutilated into almost unrecognisable heap of steel, concrete and glass. Manhattan is a quick island to recover from scratches on it's silhouette. A crazy former army boss had gotten an idea to take over the world starting from the island with equipment stolen from the govenment. The army guy had had a lot of time and money to furher his purposes. This resulted in a big fight between the nutcase, nutcase's men and the Avengers.
In the middle of a messy fight Widow and Hawkeye tried to dispacth as many evil minions as possible. The minions left incredible destruction after themselves. Thor and Banner were together in full on fight against enormous robots that were sent to destroy the city and it's habitants.
The army guy had stolen a rocket backbag. Stark wondered how and why the army's technology was still as primitive as the backbag on show. The army guy stopped to floated above the Brooklyn bridge. He had a bomb attached to his front.
”Stop. Or I'll drop this down on all the people on the bridge.” He said.
Stark needed to catch him before there weren't people left to protect in the city. He continued approaching the evil guy. As the seconds flew by, Tony realised that the evil crazy guy really kept his promise. When Tony was only not more than three metres away from the guy, the guy dropped the bomb on the bridge. There was a big explosion, and then it was all silent for a moment.
Tony was confused. Great pressure wave sweeped over him. He couldn't see the guy anywhere. He couldn't hear a thing. Half of the bridge was gone. It had been a fucking traffic jam and half of the bridge was gone. The people were lying in the bottom of the water fried into their cars.
The guy had died. One piece of concrete flying up from the exploding bridge had hit his head and the backbag was left shwishing uncontrollably without anyone to give commands. His bloody corpse splashed into the black water down below.
”'You're nothing but a big man in a suit of armor' you already told me, now stop that shouting.” Tony was visibly getting irritated as Rogers shouted at him.
”And I wasn't wrong. Do you have any idea what you have done?” Captain spat out furiously.
”Well, grandpa, how else you would have solved the same situation? There were no other possible solutions! Or, oh please tell me, did I miss something that your frozen brains noticed quicker that I could have ever wished for?”
”It's not about that! You risked hunderds of innocent lives back there. Who the hell do you think you are to have the right to do that?”
”Umm..? Possibly the only man that could have saved their lives?” Tony raised his eyebrows.
”You are always so full of yourself! 'You' this and 'you' that, we have a whole team to work together, but you are the only one who isn't capable of working as a part of the team! You always start composing something completely your own and risk lives of innocent people!”
”I'd say that the people are under a greater risk if no one does nothing.”
”And if the team would take a while to think what to do, maybe we would have spared those ten lives!”
”Or as well couldn't have saved. You run around wearing a tight flag, what can you really tell about critical thinking? Because I, sure as fuck, can't see any of that.”
Tony walked away, pissed off by the argument. He had lately been more and more annoyed by Rogers, who seemed to lack critical thinking and ability to function in unexpected situations.
Tony walked past Natasha as he exited SHIELD's New York's building. As soon as he hit the the open air, Iron man jumped up to the sky. Tony flew around Manhattan for sometime to calm himself down. He loved working for SHIELD because it gave him a well earned rest from his usual days. Especially he hated the days that when Pepper had booked his calendar full of boring business meetings beginning from dawn and finally ending after dusk. Tony Stark was not born to organise papers or to kiss asses, he was a man of action.
Tony landed on the building's roof and the Iron Man suit stripped itself off. Tony wondered what great his father had ever seen in Steve Rogers, world's first superhero with brains the size of an almond.
***********
On Friday night was taking place Clint's and Natasha's engagement party. Tony was going without Pepper, because she had gone back to Connecticut for the weekend to see her family.
Natasha was wearing a deep green coctail dress and she smiled hand in hand with her new fiancé. Thor looked as if he was a bit lost, as he always did. The alchol served his purposes, though. One young woman, a friend of Natasha's, tried to hit on him. The woman saw a tall, muscular, blonde man, who used such intelligent words and was wearing... drapes. But you can't get it all, can you?
Tony sat in the bar with Banner. They had long conversations about science and all the possibilities that it created for the future. Tony had drank maybe drink or two too much, but he was on good mood so Bruce didn't mind.
”So the big green... thing you do, is because of your father?”
”Yes. When I realized it, it was quite an identity crisis.”
”Most people get crises for less. I think that you've done relatively well, prof.”
Out of the blue Rogers had creeped behind Banner's back. He laid his hand on Banners shoulder and nodded to Stark. Stark ordered a new whiskey.
”Fury is asking for you.” Captain announced with serious voice.
”Now?” Banner asked a bit annoyed that he had to end the conversation with Stark.
”He said that it has something to do with the present.” Captain smiled.
”Okay. I got to dash, see you later.” Banner took his glasses off and left. Tony watched after him as he walked through the dance floor and disappeared in the crowd. He was left alone with Rogers. The situation didn't please him at the slightest.
”Nice weather.” Tony remarked dryly.
”Um. Yes. Lovely. It's warm and doesn't rain.” Captain tried to keep on the awkward conversation.
”Could I get another whiskey?” Tony asked the barista as soon as he was free.
The barista poured a new whiskey looking Tony with judgement. Tony didn't care of the bar man's blaming look, he was just trying to relax and carry on a nice conversation. The awkwardness went on and on. The barista poured another whisky. And another. And another. And another, until everyone had lost count of how many drinks Stark had drunk trying to make a polite conversation with Rogers. The conversation was strictly business, and both men were bored.
”I need a cigar.” Tony sighed after forty five minutes that had felt like four hours.
He got up from his seat and started walking towards the the front door. Rogers followed him, because he didn't know anyone else, and he had never been especially good at socialising.
They walked around the street outside the door. Tony breathed the smoke deep in his lungs.
”What are you going to do if we have a mission tomorrow?” Captain asked looking Tony from head to toe.
”Excuse me?” Tony asked and tilted his head. He was finally absolutely wasted.
”You are going to be helplessly hung over, don't even try to deny it.” Captain rolled his eyes judgingly with a sarcastic smirk.
”And how is that any of your business?” Tony took another sip of his drink.
”I'm going to have to look how you make stupid ass decisions and compromise lives.” Captain replied lightly.
”Well fuck you. You, wall of meat are the best one to talk about compromising! As if you hadn't ever made bad decisions! Sometimes shit happens and you can't help it.” Tony yelled and threw the glass he was holding away, and tried to hit Rogers. Rogers countered, but Stark kept on hitting and kicking him and shouting insults towards him.
Captain had gotten one quite rough hit to his cheeck and his lower lip was cut and swollen. Tony's nose was bleeding and he had a wound on his eyebrow.
Captain tried to retrieve, but Tony kept drunkenly attacking him. Tony hit him. And he hit again. And again. He was drunken and he released all his bottled-up anger and let it go through his fists. Tony needed to hit somthing, and on the moment his fists sank into Roger's flesh he felt satisfaction. Now he understood Hulk a bit better.
Stark dropped himself down and took Captain with him to the ground. Wrestling Rogers managed to force Stark to roll on his back on the ground.
Captain weighed much more than Tony did and it helped him to keep the drunken one still. Captain sat on Starks hips and was holding his wrists against the ground.
”You fucking bastard in tights, you think you can contr...Ummph!” His voice dampened quickly.
Steve kissed Stark on the lips.
At first Tony was paralysed by the surprise, but quickly he kissed Captain back. Rogers tasted like mint and was without a doubt a good kisser. Actually one of the best ones that had ever kissed Tony. Considering Tony's backround, that was a great compliment. Rogers ended the kiss and looked straight into the eyes of the smaller man. His look was intense and confused. Rogers got up, straightened his suit and walked away. Tony lied on the ground and watched Captain's back as he moved on and on. Nice ass he thought as he laid his head down back on the pavement.
He didn't want to get up. He looked up to the sky and sighed deep. He could still taste Rogers' kiss on his lips. He felt how the blood was dripping out from his wounded eyebrow.
People walked by. One old lady walked slowly past him and hit his side with a walking stick.
”Get up, thug!” The lady ordered and hit Tony again with the walking stick.
Tony got up and felt dizzy. He leaned his back to the side of the building for a while, until he headed back home home on foot.
**********
Tony rolled in his bed. His mouth tasted like seven little monkeys had peed in it while he was a sleep. His head weighed a ton. He was hungry and tired. The sun shone too brightly straight into his eyes as he opened them. Tony got up and walked to the kitchen. He put the coffeemaker on and took an aspirin. He went to shower while waiting the coffee to get ready.
Stark was coming out from the shower feeling a little better. After washing his teeth he thought that maybe the day wasn't that bad. If he stayed home and just tried to handle the hang over. Tony was walking stark naked through the apartment, when he jumped three feet up in the air as he noticed Rogers sitting on the couch. Captain raised his eyebrows.
”God damn it, Rogers!” Stark backed up a few steps trying to cover himself.
”Ehm. Sorry. Jarvis let me in.” Captain apologised and looked genuinely abashed as he discover that Tony had it all on display.
”Wait there, I'll go and get something to wear.” Tony strode away.
Rogers sat alone and looked over New Yok skyline. He looked himeself at the mirror accros the room. He almost regretted that he had came in the first place. He laid his face in his hands. He had crossed the line last night. He should never have kissed Stark who wouldn't probably even look straight into his eyes anymore. It was just.. He was nothing more than a human. Steve was quite sure that Stark wasn't aware of the fact that he couldn't get drunk and he could use that as an excuse for what he had done. Fuck.
Tony came back wearing jeans and a t-shirt. His hair was still wet and he had done nothing to the wound on his eyebrow, which looked quite bad. Tony had only scattered memories of last night, He drank too much, once again. He had fought Rogers. Tony got a weird vision of him kissing Rogers and even enjoying it, but... He was certain that it was part of some peculiar dream or something. He was surprised to even have thought about something like that. As he walked back to the lounge he was wondering how would the Captain taste like.
Tony sat next to Rogers on he sofa and looked at him questioningly.
”You are here because..?”
”I...” Captain paused. ”I want to apologise.” Tony rubbed a corner of the wound absent-mindedly. It was swollen.
”It's okay, I get it.”
”No I don't think that you do.”
”We drank and fought, and we were extremely drunk and you hit me and I passed out.” Tony said as he sat on the couch beside Rogers.
Captain looked deep into Stark's eyes and was amazed. Stark's idea of kissing Captain got even more vivid, as he imagined how that piercing pair of eyes would look at him from above.
”I should apologise my own behaviour. I was a complete dick. I just still felt bad about the bridge, and took it out on you. I am sorry.” Stark said sincerely.
”It wasn't your fault, I would have probably done the same.” Captain told and patted Stark's thigh. Stark shivered. He had no idea, why he was so turned on by the idea of Captain touching him.
”Sorry, for that wound and the bruising I probably caused. And forgive me the fact that I blamed you for the bridge. It was my way of... coping. A bad one.” Captain looked Tony's face still having hard time trying to believe that Tony didn't remember.
”That eyebrow looks bad, by the way.”
”It's a bit sore, but it'll heal. Eventually.”
”Have you even cleaned it? I have quite a lot of experience of battle wounds. Would you mind if I tried to treat it?”
Stark raised his left eyebrow giving Captain a funny look.
”Please.”
”I need water, cotton, and disinfectant.”
”Take a glass of water from kitchen, the first cupboard from right and there's cotton and disinfectant in the mirror cabinet in bathroom.”
Soon Steve was back with the equipment acquired.
”Sit down.”
”Is it going to hurt?”
”Like hell.” Steve bended over Tony and eyed the wound. ”It could be worse.”
Steve doused the cotton and dampened the wound with water. Tony jumped up and cried out loud.
”What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?”
”It's just water. I don't get how you didn't clean the wound while you were in shower” Steve wondered.
”It hurt. That's why. I can feel how it's hot and it throbs.”
”So you have aready infected it. Sit down again, and try not to move, the faster you let me clean it the sooner it'll be over.”
Tony sat back on the couch and took a deep breath. Captain approached Tony's eyebrow again, still with nothing more than just water. The moment he touched the wound Tony jumped up again.
”Now. Sit down Stark, you are one big baby! You're the first superhero I've met who cant stand a little pain. ”
Tony gave a suspicious look for the ball of cotton and sat back down. Steve sat on his lap with a apologetic look in his eyes.
”Sorry, but you jump up and down. I have to keep you steady. Take a deep breath.” Tony did as he was told and closed his eyes. He felt pain as captain cleaned the wound carefully. Captain was keeping him still with his whole weight, and squeezing Tony beween his thighs. Tony didn't anymore feel the cotton on his swollen, broken skin.
”Okay. Now is the real painful part. It's maybe better if you keep your eyes closed and... The way you just did.”
The pain was terrible. Tony made a little squealing noise as Steve tried to clean the wound as quickly as humanly possible. Tony had water in his eyes, the wound felt like it was in flames. Then the hellish cotton was away. Steve held Tony's head between his hands.
”Do you want me to blow it?” Steve asked.
”Blow?”
”Thor taught me that it's some weird Scandinavian magic thing to make wounds heal faster.” Steve explained.
”Go ahead.” Tony closed his eyes again. Blowing cooled the burning and it really helped. Steve sat now in his lap without trying to strangle Tony with his thighs anymore. He was warm, firm, and soft.
Steve wasn't blowing anymore, but Tony didn't make a move to hint him to move away. Steve leaned his nose on Tony's forehead and petted Tony's temple with his fingertips. Tony purred and wrapped his hands around Captain's lower back. Steve kissed Tony's forehead with caution. Tony buried his face into Steve's neck. Steve smelled good. Steve moved his hand slowly into other man's hair and stroked slowly.
Steve kissed Tony. The kiss was better than the one last night. It tasted like mint. Tony withdrawed form the kiss and Steve got scared that he had finally crossed the line.
Tony looked up in Steve's eyes. ”It was... It was not a dream? Not just a creation of my imagination?” Tony was baffled.
”No.” Steve whispered with low voice.
”Would you mind if I...” Tony tried to read the impression on Steve's face. ”Again?”
Steve smirked and kissed the older man's lips passionately and Tony answered with the same volume.