Burn

Chapter twelve: Kryptonite

I went partying the other night and made out with a boy. Summer is going to be lit asf. Anyway, I think this chapter surfaces more questions than answers but what's a good story without a bit of confusion?

"Well, this is awkward."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Bucky took a step back behind Steve. His eyes found the man standing in the glow of the oil lamps, the fire from the flames bouncing off the sleek red and gold metal body suit. Bucky's fingers tightened around the weapon in his hands, his knuckles turning white.

Addie watched from the door frame, her left hand still clutching the gun. The whole room seemed to tense, as if a rubber band had been wrapped around everyone's throats.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked as he stepped forward, closer to Cap.

The man who Addie could only assume was Tony shrugged nonchalantly. "You know," he mumbled, his mouth half full with doughnut, "just hangin'." He took another snobby bite of his snack, white sugar crusting the sides of his mouth. From under the orange glow of the oil lamps, he looked younger than Addie thought he would be. The great Iron Man, with a dark, detailed beard and deliciously dark eyes.

"Tony," Steve said gravely, his voice resounding in the small area. Addie thought he was going to say something reproachful by the somber tone of his voice and the indisputable look in his eyes, yet instead all he said was, "it's good to see you."

Tony's eyes stayed glued to Steve for a second longer than they should have, a look of enmity crossing his features. He slowly moved his jaw from right to left, slacking it a little before taking another bite, his eyes moving quickly away from Cap. "Wish I could say the same," he said in a careless tone. His eyes briefly brushed over Bucky, and Addison quickly remembered what Clint had told her all those weeks ago.

Bucky killed Tony's parents.

Stark moved closer to her as he pretended to be examining the room, his mouth still shiny with sugar. "I see you've been busy," he said loudly, turning his head dramatically to her, his eyes changing from acrimony to comedy, his head cocked slightly to the side. Silence filled the room as everyone watched between Tony and Addie, before the former plucked the last remaining piece of his doughnut into his mouth and laughed. "I mean, I can't blame you!" he chuckled, wiping his hands together. "I've been busy as well. Peter is doing super great in school. He's got a new suit and I'm pretty sure he's got a girlfriend now." He gave the girl a once over, analyzing her suit, her boots, her weapons. He gave an apathetic smile, as if he was the president of Prada and she was an ugly duckling auditioning to be a model.

"Well that's great for him, but frankly, I don't care." The tone of her voice surprised even herself as she tried to suppress the blush from creeping onto her cheeks. She saw everyone shuffle slightly closer, as if she had set off a bomb.

Tony looked at her, jaw slacked, eyes blank. Then suddenly, he laughed, all pearly whites and everything. "Well well well," he chanted, "we've got ourselves a comedian over here."

There was an edgy silence following his laugh, and Addie risked a look in Bucky's direction. What she saw could have made her heart sunk if she hadn't groomed herself to disregard her feelings. He was looking at the ground, his brows pulled into a deep frown, his lips in a tight line. He was still firmly clutching his automatic weapon, while everyone had lowered their arsenal. He was standing closer to Steve than before, a look of culpability and anger dominating his expression. He was submitted completely, his head bowed to Tony, his eyes averted from everyone's. It would have broken Addie's heart.

"You weren't supposed to be here," Steve said, which broke Tony and the brunette's staring contest. Tony swiveled on his heel, turning to face Cap with a brilliant smile. Stark was particularly careful to avoid Bucky's eyes.