Secrets Don't Make Friends

Chapter 14: Secrets Don't Make Friends

"I am ironman."

Steve didn't say anything, he didn't need to. His eyes swept up and down Tony's tense form, lingering on the fisted hands at his sides, before swooping back up to stare boldly into Tony's eyes. There was a hardness in those blue orbs, a steely determination, undercut with an emotion that Tony couldn't quite put a name to.

His lips parted to explain - to deflect - maybe even to beg.

Please don't leave me.

I love you.

I wanted to tell you.

He didn't get a chance. Steve stepped forward, stepped into Tony's personal space, his hard hands going to Tony's hips and capturing them. In no time at all Tony found himself pushed back into his own home and pinned to the wall. Steve's blue eyes glittered in the morning light cutting through the open doorway.

"You know, Tony, for a secret genius you can be a real bonehead." Steve's voice was pitched low and tight. "Do you think I care that you build robots? That you're smart?"

Tony's lips parted to answer, but the hard look in Steve's eyes made his mouth snap shut with an audible click.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was about you? He had a live feed going." Steve's face contorted into a snarl. " Schmidt was bragging about how he was going to have his soldiers kill and rape you. And all I could think was that I couldn't protect you. That you were going to die and I wasn't going to be able to be there to stop it from happening. And the worst thing of all? That you were going to die not knowing how I felt about you. Because I was too much of a coward to say the words to you. All I could think of was all those missed opportunities. Pinned to that wall, helpless, and all I could do was pray. Pray for a goddamn miracle."

Steve swallowed hard, blinking furiously, his lips pressed into a thin line. Tony's brow buckled at the obvious pain on his mate's face. He wanted to reach up, to try to smooth it away, but he didn't know if his touch would have been welcomed just then.

"And then my prayers were answered, Tony, because you were the miracle I was praying for. You saved yourself. You saved the kids. You saved Laura. You saved all of us." Steve's voice was raspy with emotion.

"This pack, your pack, owes you an incredible debt that we can...we can never repay. If it weren't for you we'd all be... the kids..." Steve's hand lifted, coming up to cup the side of his face.

Tony couldn't help the hot wash of tears that stung his eyes, nor the way his face turned instinctively into that broad palm - seeking comfort.

"I don't give a fuck if you're Santa Claus, Tony. You're alive. You're still here. And that is all that matters." He paused, taking a deep breath. "I've made a lot of mistakes in this mating of ours. And I hope that you will stick around long enough for me to make it up to you."

Tony's hand reached up hesitantly. He laid it over the hand cupping the side of his face, eyes pricking with tears.

"I love you, Tony Stark-Rogers. I have loved you for a while now." He said with a rueful smile.

"I love your strength, your sense of humor, your determination. I love how even when the world is determined to stomp out your spark you refuse to bend, you refuse to diminish who you are. I love your heart, your giving nature, your mischievousness. I love you in the morning, before you've had your coffee, and I love you when you steal the blanket and use me as a pillow in the middle of the night. I like waking up and not knowing what the day will bring with you. I don't care if you're rich. I never have. I don't need or want your money. I haven't touched it since the day we mated. I don't care if you're a genius. Because I love you , and who you are at your core, and that's not something you can fake or hide. But more importantly, I like who you are. I like you . You're a good person, and I am so god damned lucky to have you as my mate. As my person. My partner. And I promise you, if you give me the chance, I will try to be worthy of you. Every day."