Apartment Above Stark Industries

[heroic_jawline]

Steve was back from his normal run and enjoying the air conditioning of their apartment (which he'd turned up a little bit to make himself feel less guilty about being engaged to an engineering genius while everyone else was melting in the heat) and had showered and changed and was now sprawled out on the sofa with his Stark tablet, going through more of the exposed SHIELD files that Natasha had flagged for him in an email titled "Tugging on that Thread."

It was probably a bad idea to be reading the information, but Steve couldn't help himself. He'd been chasing Bucky for years and had gotten exactly nowhere. Maybe what SHIELD, well, Hydra, had on his past would give him some more leads to follow.

[OOC: For that guy! Let's detonate MCU canon today, shall we?]

Comments

[heroic_jawline]

Steve placed his hand over Tony's heart. "I can see that," he said softly. "Is it because I knew him as a pretty fun guy and that doesn't track at all with what you experienced?"

[imafuturist]

"Yes," Tony said when he wanted to at least try to soften that a little.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve kept his eyes focused on Tony and nodded, biting his lower lip. "You think it's more than just war changing people?"

[imafuturist]

"I don't know," Tony replied, placing his hand over Steve's to rub the back of with his thumb. "It's easier that way, isn't it?"

[heroic_jawline]

Steve nodded. "And he worked closely with the Commandos. I went down not long after Bucky fell--but I don't want to make this about me, or the two of us. People change for all kinds of reasons."

[imafuturist]

"You wouldn't put up with that," Tony said, whether it was to confirm to himself or Steve was up in the air.

Because it weirdly was good to know.

[heroic_jawline]

"I would not," Steve said firmly, stroking Tony's face.

[imafuturist]

"Good," he said firmly, leaning in to kiss him. "They say we're shaped by the relationship we see growing up. I don't want that."

[heroic_jawline]

"Maybe it's shaped you to realize that is not what you want," Steve suggested.

[imafuturist]

Tony kissed him again for that. "Sometimes I think I'd be lost without you."

[heroic_jawline]

"I know I would be," Steve said, "but then I think that makes me sound like I'm in too deep."

[imafuturist]

"I think we both might be," Tony said with a laugh.

[heroic_jawline]

"As long we're in this together," Steve said, kissing him softly. "I really don't think you're going to morph into whatever Howard became."

[imafuturist]

Tony sighed, relaxing against him. "Thank you."

[heroic_jawline]

"Of course," Steve said earnestly. "So Howard got pretty bad, huh?"

[imafuturist]

"Maybe it was just me he was angry with," Tony replied, still much, much too honest.

[heroic_jawline]

"Why would he be angry at just you?" Steve asked, rubbing Tony's back.

[imafuturist]

"Good question," Tony muttered against Steve's shoulder.

[heroic_jawline]

"What's that insidious voice in your head tell you?" Steve murmured. "So I can tell it how wrong it is."

[imafuturist]

"He wanted a different son," Tony said, halting because this was difficult even with the whole truth thing. "More up to his standards."

[heroic_jawline]

Steve hugged him more tightly. "Then his standards were impossible. You're the best man I know."

[imafuturist]

Tony let out a cracked open sound at that. Kind of a laugh, but kind of a sob too. "You really think that?

The honesty had to be on the fritz here, right?

[heroic_jawline]

Steve tilted Tony's face up so he was looking straight into his eyes. "I really think that."

[imafuturist]

"Remind me to give you something nice so you won't leave me." Tony, c'mon.

[heroic_jawline]

"Oh, sweetheart, no," Steve murmured. "You don't have to buy me."