𝑩𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 - STONY

16

"Is it true? You're...you're with somebody else?" Sadness coloured Steve's tone, his eyes filled with what Tony refused to acknowledge as heartbreak.

"That's none of your business, I don't have to explain myself to you" Tony walked past him.

"Tony, please. Just talk to me," Steve tried.

"There's nothing to talk about. Go away" Tony walked into the washroom and slammed the door. Steve sighed. He didn't want to anger Tony or irritate him any further, so he did just as Tony asked and left the workshop.

"Hey, you okay?" Bucky walked over to Steve once he saw him walk upstairs from Tony's workshop.

"I don't think I can get him back" Steve sighed, pinching between his eyes in melancholy frustration.

"Don't say that. I really believe everything will work out" Bucky tried to reassure him.

"I was terrible to him, Buck. I was always indifferent, never on his side, absent..." Steve shook his head. "I'm...I'm afraid I'm too late"

"Hey. Don't give up. He's worth every bit of the fight" Bucky told him.

"He is..." Steve smiled and nodded.

§

Natasha cooked Mac N Cheese for dinner that night. The entire floor smelled heavenly. Everyone was sat at the dinner table except for Tony. Natasha knew he'd rather die than come upstairs and eat with everybody, so he put some food on a plate and gave it to Steve to bring downstairs to the busy genius.

Steve happily obliged and excitedly took the plate down to the workshop. He saw the door was left open. He must've forgot to close it when he left a few hours ago. "Tony?" He lightly knocked on the door.

He stepped in and found that the music was surprisingly not blasting, the lights were dimmed, and Tony was nowhere in plain sight. He stepped in a bit further and distantly heard Tony's voice. It sounded like he could be on a call?

He finally found Tony standing by the counter. He appeared to have changed into a big white shirt and adidas shorts. But he was also...talking to himself? Or somebody? But nobody was there though...

"No. You- Listen, you gotta go. If people see you here it's gonna start a whole situation" Tony said in a quiet voice. "I don't even know how you're here. You're supposed to be dead, I saw your corpse...or...my corpse- I don't know. You can't be here"

Steve frowned. Was Tony hallucinating somebody? Steve could very clearly see that nobody was there. And what was Tony talking about, seeing his own corpse? Something felt off to Steve.

"Tony?" He softly put a hand on Tony's shoulder. Tony spun around immediately, panic crossing his features. "Hey, you're okay. It's me" Steve cupped Tony's face comfortingly.

"Oh...Cap..." Tony mumbled.

"Are you okay? You seem a little shaken. Who were you talking to?" Steve asked.

"N-No one. I just- um- I have a habit of talking to myself" Tony said.

"Right..." Steve nodded, not believing it one bit. "I, uh, I brought dinner" he handed the plate to Tony.