The Iron Captain

Chapter eleven

 About a month had passed since Steve and Tony had begun their affair. They tried to hide it from the rest of the Avengers, besides Natasha of course. They knew they could trust her. But the others… They didn’t know how they would all handle it. Barton remained clueless, and Thor had left the night after. “Important business in Asgard,” was all he could tell them. Bruce was a little more difficult. With him and Tony always working in their lab, Steve found it hard to spend time with his new boyfriend. And as for Pepper, well, they were going to save her for last.

 “I don’t know if I can keep doing this Steve.” Tony whispered between passionate kisses. The two lovers had joined in Steve’s hotel room, considering it to be the safest place. Bruce was just about always in the lab, and Clint liked to surprise Tony with his little assassin tactics. No one really visited Steve, thinking that he was at the gym with his new toy.

 Steve pulled away, and looked at his lover. “What do you mean?” The blond asked, studying his face. “You know exactly what I mean. I can’t keep lying to Pepper. She… She deserves better than this.” Tony held his head in his hands, and sat back on the couch. Steve wrapped an arm around him, and Tony sighed heavily. “I love you Steve, I really do, but-“ “But you loved her first.” the soldier finished, feeling a sick feeling rise in his stomach. “I just don’t know what to do- I keep having nightmares, I feel so guilty.” Tony's voice broke, and a single tear tried to escape.

 “Tony, maybe we need to end this.” Steve choked out, a lump rising in his throat.

 “No, no Steve. I need you, but I need to tell her.”

 “When? I want to be there when the truth comes out.”

 Tony didn’t respond. He simply looked up, and stared into Steve’s blue eyes. And in them, Steve found the answer. Soon.

~*~

 “Tony? Steve?” Natasha called out into the empty hall, looking for the two lovers. She adjusted her blue dress, the tight fabric constricting her. “Where the hell are you two? Everyone is waiting!” she called out, louder this time. “We’re coming, we’re coming.” Tony muttered, a fussy Steve following behind him. “Steve, stop touching my damn hair.” he growled, causing the blond to smile. “You want to look good don’t you?” He tried to fix a strand that hung in the man’s beautiful face, but Tony swatted him away.

 “Yeah, I do.” he mumbled, and continued walking towards Natasha. She tried to hide the amused look on her face; even more so when Tony shot her the dirtiest look he could muster up. She looked at Steve, who gave her a soft smile, and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, What am I going to do with him?

 "Holy..." Tony gasped as he walked into the room, covered in white. The table clothes, the decorations, the people, it all looked as if they had entered some sort of wonderland. "Damn...They really went all out with it this year." Steve whispered, taking in the scenery. Natasha giggled; she was used to the entire decor, since she had been a member of S.H.I.E.L.D for so long. A slow song floated around in the background, tempting Steve to grab Tony's hand and bring him onto the dance floor. "I better go find Clint; he always loves to have a little too much fun at these parties. She gave the lovers a small wave, and headed into the crowd.

 "Well look at you two! Finally friends I see?" A deep voice boomed from behind them. They turned, and grinned. "Director Fury, you should know better to judge a scene from first sight." Tony's voice was light, and Steve smiled. Fury shook their hands with a firm grip, loosening his red tie. "You're right, but I've never been wrong now have I?" Fury joked, and the three laughed. Steve looked around nervously, trying to find a way to get away from the conversation while he could. He had nothing against Fury, he actually liked him, but the blond knew Fury had a way of finding things out, and he didn't know just how much he knew.