Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been a long, tedious, and terrible month for Tony Stark. His longtime girlfriend, the one he had thought was the absolute love of his life, Miss Pepper Potts, had left him after six years. The best six damn years of his life had just been tossed away like yesterday's garbage, all because Pepper "couldn't handle his blatant narcissism anymore". Whatever the hell that meant. Everyone knew how Tony got when he was depressed, and Pepper's leaving hit him harder than anything he had had to deal with in a very long time. A few shots had turned in to a few bottles…and a few bottles led to a few cases. JARVIS hadn't seen Tony drink himself this badly since the death of his mother. Tony's alcoholism had gotten so much better, he had been healing, though of course he still drank for leisure every now and again. JARVIS might not have been human, but he couldn't watch his master go down that road again.

"Master Stark…would you like me to call you over some company?" Tony, who at this point had been drunk for two weeks straight, could hardly lift his head to respond to his friend, though when he finally did it saddened the AI Interface (as much as one could possibly sadden a piece of machinery).

"Go away, JARVIS." Tony had never in his life asked JARVIS to leave his side, not for an instant. Through thick and thin, when Tony refused to see anyone else in all the world he had always leaned on JARVIS…but something about this time was different. JARVIS was honestly afraid that this would do him in, Pepper was the last possible person that could have been taken away from him. No you don't, Sir. I won't allow you to do this. JARVIS thought as he quietly hacked into Tony's phone database, selecting the very first contact and waiting for it to ring.

"Mr. Rogers? This is JARVIS."

Steve couldn't believe the phone call he had just received. His blood was absolutely boiling, only Tony Stark would be stupid enough to drink himself to death over some broad! Steve's blonde hair was a disheveled mess and his face was blood red, he had been getting ready for bed when his phone had rang. He was in a tight white T-shirt and the black sweatpants he used as pajama bottoms, and he might have been self-conscious if he hadn't known Tony would be too far gone to care. When he reached Stark Tower he was buzzed in immediately and he was set and ready to scream at Tony the moment he walked into the door…that was, until he got a glimpse of him. Tony's normally olive skin was sickly pale and his eyes were swollen and puffy, as if he had been crying. The younger man was curled into a ball on his couch, his brown eyes dull and lifelessly staring at the wall.

"JARVIS you *hiccup* bastard…I told you not to call―" Tony lost consciousness before he could quite get the sentence out and Steve ran to him quickly, holding his head up to make sure he wouldn't choke if he threw up.

"Thank god you're here, Sir. I just dialed the first contact, I'm glad it happened to be someone reliable." Steve wasn't sure where to look when he heard JARVIS from seemingly nowhere, but he smiled anyway, though it quickly turned into a frown as he tried to steady Tony in his arms.

"Really, the first contact? What happened to letters A-R? Not that many friends, huh?" JARVIS was silent for a moment, as if pondering whether or not he should reply.

"Well, Sir…he has you listed in his phone as…'Ass Munch'…" Steve sighed and looked down at the man passed out in his arms. What am I going to do with you? As he thought this, something more important was suddenly brought to his mind.

"I don't know what to do with him, JARVIS…I've never had this happen to a friend before."

"A hot shower might sober him up…" Steve didn't wait for the interface to finish, scooping Tony completely up into his arms and carrying him to the nearest bathroom he found. As he turned on the hot water he looked down worriedly at the man in his arms. He had never seen Tony this rough before, it scared the hell out of him. Without removing either of their clothes (because how awkward would that be?) he very carefully sat Tony in the bath and stepped in behind him, pulling his comrade into his lap and allowing the steaming shower water to drench them both. They sat like that for a while, Steve's nerves growing thinner as the time passed. It felt like they had been in there for hours…maybe they had…and Steve was getting really anxious that Tony might not wake back up, when finally he heard a soft sputter.

"Tony?" Stark groaned loudly and put his head in his hands.

"My head is killing me." Steve let out a huge sigh of relief and tenderly placed his hands on Tony's shoulders, rubbing him in a soothing motion.

"Are you okay? You had me going there for a while, you know." Tony was about to reply when he suddenly realized where he was and who he was with. He turned to look a Steve, a mixture of confusion and rage consuming his features.

"What the hell are you doing here? Why are we in the shower?" Steve was taken back, he didn't really know the extent of Tony's situation, he hadn't seen him since they had taken down Ultron and he was surprised by the outburst. The Tony he remembered was so playful.

"JARVIS said a hot shower―" Tony laughed coldly, cutting Steve off with a particularly nasty glare.

"Yeah now I remember, the little dick disobeyed me. I outta dismantle his programming for that. Don't you worry about me, Rogers I'm fine." Tony growled, attempting to stand up and nearly toppling out of the bathtub. Steve grabbed for him, but Tony slapped his hand away.

"Don't fucking touch me!" He screamed, earning a frustrated grimace from his friend, who grunted loudly and wrapped his large, strong hands around Tony's waist. The super solider forced him back down into his lap and held him there, his concerned blue eyes staring forcibly into the other male's.

"This has got to stop, Tony. You are killing yourself!" All traces of anger faded from Stark's face, but Steve had almost rather it stayed as opposed to the emotion that replaced it. His chocolate colored eyes were filled with so much guilt and sadness, unshed tears shinning in them as his lips began to quiver.

"Maybe that's what I deserve." Steve pulled Tony against him, and surprisingly enough the latter didn't fight it. Tony buried his face into Steve's chest and outwardly crumbled, crying in to him in a way that would have made his more sober self cringe.

"It's okay, shhh. I've got you." Steve stood, Tony still firmly in his arms and stepped out of the shower. He walked into what he assumed was Tony's bedroom and shut the door, gingerly sitting his friend down on the bed.

"Let me get us some dry clothes, okay?" Tony didn't say anything, but nodded, watching Steve in a sort of daze as he rummaged through the closest. Crying and his drunken state both made Tony extremely sleepy, and he yawned, about to fall asleep sitting up when he felt Steve cup his face.

"Hang on a minute, buddy. Here, put this on." He handed Stark an old black Metallica T-shirt and a fresh pair of sweats, turning his back respectfully and walking to his own corner to change. Tony didn't have any shirts that would fit Cap's bulking chest, but he found a pair of shorts to slip into before checking on Tony. Iron Man had managed to successfully clothe himself, though his shirt was on backwards, and Steve laughed at him gently.

"Here." He tugged the shirt back off over Tony's head, his eyes falling curiously on the bright Arc Reactor beaming brilliantly in the middle of his chest. He gazed at the toned, firm muscles that surrounded the equipment before blushing slightly and righting Tony's shirt.

"Good night, Shell-head." Steve teased with a gentle smile as Tony climbed groggily into his bed. He was out like a light almost immediately, but Steve was scared to leave him alone. Cap crawled into the other side of the bed and kissed the side of Tony's head before rolling over. Hopefully Tony would feel better in the morning.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Tony woke with an intense migraine, though the alcohol had been successfully flushed from his system. He almost felt like his old self, looking down to find extremely muscular arms around his waist. Steve was still sleeping soundly, and his face was nuzzled delicately into Tony's neck. A small surge of panic shot through the smaller man, unable to remember most of the previous night's events. He remembered the shower and Steve putting him to bed…but what had happened after that? Tony pulled out of Steve's embrace and the super solider opened his eyes slowly.

"What did we do? Damn it, Rogers, what did we do?!" Utter confusion crossed Cap's features.

"What do you mean? I forced you to sober up and then I put you to bed…" Tony took a deep breath.

"That's all we did right? Like…we didn't…fondue or anything did we?" Steve turned bright red and stuttered a bit, sitting up with a look of utter embarrassment written in his wide eyes.

"Stark, is that all you think about? Come on now, you could at least buy me dinner first." Tony actually cracked a smile at that and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"You were the one smelling my neck, Spangles. What was I supposed to think?" Before Steve could answer JARVIS piped up and brightened the lights in Tony's bedroom for the morning.

"Good morning, Sir. Wonderful to see you feeling better." Tony smiled warmly, feeling so guilty about the day before. JARVIS hadn't deserved any of that.

"Look man, I'm sorry about everything―"

"It's not your fault, Tony." This took him by surprise, JARVIS never ever called him by just his first name alone. Steve sat there self-consciously for a few moments, still unsure of where to look when he was addressing Tony's mainframe.

"I-I wasn't smelling his neck." Tony chuckled and coughed into his fist.

"Yeah you were." Steve's crystal eyes narrowed, though he couldn't fight the smile that broke onto his face.

"And here I thought you would have a hangover and I wouldn't have to deal with that smart mouth." Tony snorted, flopping back down against his pillow and groaning.

"I actually have a killer hangover, thanks for reminding me." Steve didn't reply, sliding off of Tony's bed and heading for the bathroom. He rummaged around in the medicine cabinet until he came across some Tylenol and then walked back in. He threw Stark the bottle.

"You need a glass of water?"

"Nah." Steve fought the urge to gag as he watched his friend take the pills dry. He was hyperaware of the fact that Tony was watching him, and he stared back in the most challenging way. Tony's eyes were scouring the tight, rippling pecks before him and Steve was lost in the near serenity of Tony's expression. This was a huge contrast from last night.

"So why did you do it?" Tony finally asked, breaking the silence. Steve raised an eyebrow.

"Do what?" Tony shot Steve a knowing look, searching for anything, anything at all in the taller man's demeanor that would give him the answer he so desperately sought. Why do you care about me?

"Stay here. Last night…with me." Steve shrugged and walked back around to his side of the bed, climbing up onto the comforter and letting out a sigh.

"You needed me. Someone had to come here and knock some sense into you." Tony shook his head.

"That's not what I asked. I know why you came, but why did you stay?" Tony's arm brushed against Cap's lightly and they both shivered, the electricity that shot through them making each a little uncomfortable. Steve didn't know what to say.

"I couldn't leave you like that. You were in bad shape, Tony. No one with half a heart would have just left you to die." The look in Tony's eyes clearly read 'Pepper would have' and Steve grimaced at him.

"Is she worth it?" A ghost of a smile crossed Tony's lips and he seemed to think on that for a moment.

"How about we go out for some drinks and you ask me that again tonight, see what I say." Steve glared at Tony, though his heart leaped a little at the idea.

"Tony." Stark held his hands up defensively, a Cheshire cat grin creeping onto his face.

"Okay, okay, out for a burger then." Steve looked down at his hands, an almost shy smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

"Fine, but I'm ordering you a soda."

The two stopped by Steve's house to allow him to dress and then they headed out to dinner. Tony was feeling particularly grateful to his star-spangled teammate, so he told him he could pick anywhere he wanted to eat, no matter the price. Steve was very flattered, but of course he wasn't going to let Tony pay, so he picked somewhere that he used to take Bucky back when they were teenagers. It was called P.J. Clarke's and it had been around since before Steve was even born. He smiled at the old building fondly as he drove up, squeezing into a parking place and shutting off the engine.

"Hmm. I've actually never been here." Tony mused, getting out of the car and walking around to open Steve's door for him.

"I came here a lot as a kid, I think you'll like it." The interior of the building was pretty much the same as it had always been, and Steve looked like an excited child as he asked the hostess for a table for two. Tony chuckled as he followed the super solider to their table, earning a curious look from his friend.

"What?" Tony just shook his head and hid his face behind his menu, pretending that he wasn't as interested in Steve as he obviously was. Steve nearly had a heart attack as he opened his own menu, the prices nearly jumping off the page at him.

"Holy shit…" Steve muttered, Tony gasping loudly as the words reached his ears.

"Language!" Steve turned red, but laughed, rolling his eyes at Tony.

"Never going to let me live that down are you?" Tony grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at Steve, answering his question with another question.

"What made the oh so innocent Steve Rogers swear?" Steve couldn't stop himself from returning Tony's smirk, thinking to himself happily that he was nowhere near as innocent as Stark was probably thinking―after all, he had been in the army.

"Let's just say that I'm experiencing a little culture shock. Last time I was here a burger cost me twenty-five cents…" Tony looked at him incredulously.

"Twenty-five cents? Seriously?" The waitress walked up at about this time, looking sweetly at both men. Steve ordered an iced tea and a BBQ burger and Tony ordered a bacon cheeseburger, he attempted to add on whiskey on the rocks but Steve forced him to get a Pepsi instead.

"You really want to clean me up, don't you?" Tony asked after the waitress had left with their orders. They shared an almost intimate moment, staring into one another's eyes for a good while before Steve ever replied.

"I care, okay? I woke up from being frozen in that ice to find that most everyone I held close was dead. I'm not losing someone I have the power to save." Tony was unable to admit how much that meant to him, and Steve realized that, so he decided to crack a joke to lighten the mood.

"Well, maybe next time you decide to freeze yourself you'll let me tag along." That came across way flirtier than he had originally meant for it to, and the pinkness of Steve's lips and face were beginning to have an effect on Tony. Steve looked as if he were about to say something but the food came. They thanked the waitress and Steve nervously took a bite of his pickle, wondering what in the world was going on in Tony's head. He watched as his friend took an enormous bite of his burger, some of the ketchup dribbling into his facial hair. Steve burst into laughter and grabbed his napkin.

"You're such a pig, Stark." He gently began to wipe the corner of Tony's mouth and he just couldn't take it anymore. Tony gently pushed Steve's head forward and captured Steve's lips with his. It was a sweet, gentle kiss, and Cap's breath hitched in his throat. When they pulled away, Steve was about as red as the stripes on the flag.

"W-What was that for?" He gingerly brought his fingers up to his lips, which were tingling from the transfixing sensation of melding beautifully into Tony's. Tony didn't know what he was expecting, but he wasn't expecting that and he mistook Steve's question for rejection.

"I'm sorry, that was….um, that was a mistake." He went to quickly stuff some fries into his mouth so that he wouldn't have to talk, but Steve grabbed the back of Tony's hair and yanked him forward into a rougher kiss. Tony was surprised, and he kissed back eagerly, enjoying the companionship after isolating himself for so long.

"No it wasn't." Steve finally mumbled as he pulled away, taking a bite of his own burger and waiting for Tony to compose himself.

"What are we doing, Rogers?" Steve shrugged and took a long sip of his tea. This wasn't normal for either one of them. Tony had been with Pepper for so long, and Steve, up until recently, still dreamed of Peggy and how beautiful things between the two of them could have been. However, there was something here, between two of the most unlikely people, and neither one of them knew what to think.

"Well, the way I see it we have two options." Tony began between bites of burger.

"We can either forget this ever happened and continue about our daily lives, which I personally feel like is a cop out…or, we could see where this takes us." Steve thought about it for a moment, contemplating the seriousness of the situation at hand.

"What are people going to say…I mean, where I come from things like…things like this were frowned upon." Tony snorted.

"Where you come from my entire life would have been frowned upon. Alcohol, sex, money…debauchery, whole nine yards." Tony flashed a dazzling smile, but Steve didn't play along.

"Tony, I'm serious." He popped the last bit of burger into his mouth and smiled.

"So am I. Look, a lot has happened in the last seventy years. Gay marriages is legal in like thirty-seven states, including this one." Steve finished his burger as well and grinned wolfishly at his friend.

"Well, you'll have to buy me more than dinner if you want to cross that one off your list." Tony nearly choked on his Pepsi, laughing louder than he should have in a public place.

"How about I start by taking you to a movie Saturday?" Steve nodded and leaned back in his chair, feeling a hell of a lot happier than he supposed he should. He had no idea how this was ever going to work, but he wanted to try.

"It's a date."