Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was October 30th, a Wednesday, but that didn't stop Tony. If he wants a party on Wednesday, he'll have a party on Wednesday. Steve just took one look at his boyfriend, who was intensely texting at least ten people at the same time, and letting his toast go cold to know, there's no reason to fight him on this. Still, there was a small nudging feeling in Steve, bothering him about his whole thing. Maybe it was pointless to bring up. Maybe it was nothing. But still: all these years out in the field taught Steve to listen to his gut more than his mind. 

- Are you sure you have to do this, darling? - he said to Tony as he sat down to eat breakfast. 

- What? Oh, yes! - Tony answered a little delayed. - Why, you don't want it? 

- Well, you know me... I'm more old-fashioned than to throw a huge party on our anniversary. If I were planning, we'd have a picnic at the beach and kiss under the stars - Steve smiled to himself imagining this date. 

Tony didn't say anything, but Steve knew he was listening. The man could pay attention to fifty things at once if he wanted to, and often, he needed to. This was more or less common knowledge, but Steve was one of the few who didn't mind. He actually didn't mind a lot of things about Tony: not his chaotic mind, not his eccentric nature, not his clinginess, or his need to show off his boyfriend to everyone. That's what the whole party was about, 'cause although he'd never admit it face-to-face, Tony was incredibly proud of the fact that he's dating The Captain America, and Steve secretly found this absolutely adorable. Nat, on the other hand, often told Steve that he should put his foot down about some of Tony's insane things, but Steve always brushed her off. He loved Tony as is after all, and wouldn't want to change him. Perhaps he was too naive or just way too in love when he said such a thing, but he never took back his word on it.

Today, however, was different. Today he had this stingy feeling in his body, the kind you'd feel when lighting is about to hit you. 

- But it's not the idea of a party I mind, it's just... I have some foreboding about this, like something will go wrong - Steve tried to explain, but he had no reason to feel this way, so his speech fell short. 

- What, you caught the kid's spidey sense? - Tony giggled. 

He then took a bite of his toast, made a face after noticing it had gone stale, then drank some coffee, and went back to texting. 

- What about my spidey sense? - Peter walked into the kitchen, still in his pajamas, hair messy, eyes barely open. 

- Apparently, they're contagious - Tony laughed at his own joke, only looking up from his phone to give a good-morning-headkiss to Peter. 

- Hi Peter, did you sleep well? - Steve welcomed the boy. - I packed you lunch! 

Peter mumbled a "Good" and a "Thank you, Dad", followed by a huge yawn as he sat down with some toast, eggs, and chocolate milk. 

- Wow, someone is wide awake! - Tony commented. - Long night? What was it, fighting some gangsters or playing Minecraft too long? Or a secret guest? 

- No! If I had someone over, you'd know - Peter rolled his eyes. - I was studying chemistry... took some time... 

- Good luck on you're exam today... son! - Steve said to him, struggling with the last word for a moment. 

- Yup, fly those colors! - Tony added, purposefully butchering the saying, which made Peter smile. 

- Thanks, dads! 

- By the way, it's 7:40 - Tony mentioned casually. 

- SHIT! - Peter yelled. 

He quickly chewed down the rest of his breakfast, then he ran back to his room to get dressed. 

- Language! - Steve yelled after him, but it didn't reach the intended audience, instead made Tony giggle again. 

- Well, the lab waits for me! - Tony said after putting his phone down and standing up. - And don't worry babe. Everything will be fine! The whole Avengers team will be there, nobody could attack us then! 

- Promise? - Steve asked, holding his partner's hand. 

- Promise! 

- Alright then - Steve nodded. 

He kissed Tony, and they all went to do their daily routines. Peter rushed to school, arriving late (again), Tony went to the lab to perfect his new Mark model, and Steve tidied up before going to his weekly coaching gig he did at the special forces. He hoped it would distract his mind a little, however, he couldn't shake off that hunch from earlier. 

As evening rolled around, the guests started to pour in too. All of their friends and major allies were there to congratulate them, drink a few glasses, and dance a little, but most left before midnight. The only remaining guests who stuck around were the original Avengers: Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Hulk; and strangely enough, Scott Lang too. And of course, Peter, who insisted on not going to bed before everyone else leaves. 

- Remember when we all used to live here? - Clint reminisced while fiddling with his wine glass. 

- Yeah. You took my pickles - Hulk answered. 

- Well, you and Thor always took the controller! - Clint argued back. 

- That's because the legendary games on video were to be played by the mightiest of heroes only! - Thor explained, very pleased with his reasoning. 

- I'm a mighty hero! - Clint was ready to fight. And not the only one...

Natasha just sighed and rolled her eyes, Peter's eyes were pingponging between the contestants, and Tony was already calculating how much property damage he might need to pay after this. Steve, however, was having none of it. 

- Stop this nonsense! - he rebuked them in an unusually sharp tone. 

- Party killer... - Hulk grumbled. 

- Gee, Captain, take it easy! We weren't doing anything! - Clint put his hands up in defense. 

- Yet... - Steve added, further confusing the group. 

- I think he's right, Clint! It's his and Tony's day, don't ruin it! - Scott said, which finally worked. 

- Okay, fine, whatever! - Clint said, a little annoyed, but he sat down. 

- So no fight? - Hulk asked, clearly disappointed. 

- No! - none of them have seen Steve this tense before... 

- It would've been a mighty battle... - Thor started, not reading the room, but when everyone stared at him, he got the memo and sat down too. 

- Are you alright, babe? - Tony asked and caressed Steve's arm to try to calm him down. 

- Yeah, what has gotten to you, Steve? - Natasha seemed worried. 

- I dunno - Peter shrugged, not noticing that the question wasn't directed towards him. - He was like this all day! 

- I have no idea... - Steve thought about telling the team about his hunch, but it still sounded so dumb, and maybe a little paranoid, so he didn't. - I just must be tired... and I have a bit of a migraine... 

No one bought this explanation though, after all, Steve was always an awful liar. Besides, they've seen him tired, and it was NOT like this... But, they also knew better than to ask further. So instead, they started playing different party games. I say different, because any time one game got pretty heated, they just switched to a new one instead. 

- I'm just saying, I did the dare properly! - Tony argued. 

- No, you were supposed to use a vase, not a bowl! - Clint yelled back. 

- Oh, sorry for not wanting to break one of my fine china vases! 

- Well, the dare said vase, not bowl, so do it again! 

- Didn't you hear me? I don't want to break my vases for a stupid dare! 

- But you didn't break the bowl either! 

- And that's why we don't live together anymore... - Natasha commented. 

- Tony, Clint, stop it! - Steve tried to end the fight, but it had no effect. 

- Guys, come on! This is ridiculous! - said Scott, but he also couldn't de-escalate the situation. 

- Punch! Punch! Punch! - Thor and Hulk chanted in sync. 

- I didn't know they could be like this... - Peter couldn't decide whether to be disappointed in his father or laugh. 

- Ohh, they could get much worse - Nat said to Peter in a little bit bitter tone and drank the rest of her wine. 

Suddenly, Peter noticed a faint shushing sound, that got louder and louder. It made his skin crawl, and he finally understood what was Steve talking about during breakfast. 

- Do you guys hear that!? - he shouted, but they weren't listening. 

Except for Steve, who was about to ask what was he supposed to hear, when Peter screamed: "WATCH OUT!". And then, bare milliseconds later, a bright red light illuminated the room, blinding all of them, and expelling the energy of a small explosion, enough to sweep them off their feet. 

And then, just as suddenly, all light disappeared, and there was only darkness... 

Chapter Text

It was dark. And cold. Steve felt some sort of floor underneath him that was also cold and hard. As the group started to wake up, and their eyes got used to the darkness a bit, they realized they were in a room that resembled medieval prison chambers the most. With no idea how they got there, why, and most importantly, how to get home. 

- Is everyone alright? - Steve asked in the dark. 

The answer was a half-hearted yes since the others were mostly too caught up in their confusion to pay attention to whether they're hurt or not. But at least no one was screaming in pain, and that calmed Steve a little. 

- Where are we? - Scott asked. 

- You think we know, dingus? - Peter asked back. 

- Heyy, no need to be rude! - Clint yelled. 

- Ironic that it's you who says that... - Nat joined. 

- Could we not start this again? - Tony requested. - We have a bigger issue at hand. 

- Yeah, that we're locked here! - judging from his voice, Clint was freaking out. 

- I don't like small, cold rooms - Hulk noted, and all of them could only agree with him. 

- Yes, but... - Tony continued. - I was about to say I can't reach Jarvis, or get my suit to work! 

- Wait, you're suit? - Nat questioned. 

- Yes, I always have one in my pocket! It's like a Pokemon, you can fight with it, and store it in a tiny space! But it seems useless here... 

- Great... - Steve sighed.

- That makes sense. This place is filled with ancient magical energy. Not the place for technical gadgets - Thor mentioned. 

- Now do you believe me, dear?! - Steve asked Tony. - I told you something would go wrong... 

- I know, I know... khmm... sorry - Tony tried to apologize. It wasn't his strongest skill. - But we'll be fine, we're the Avengers! We always solve these kinds of things! 

- Except we split up because it didn't work! Mainly because someone wouldn't listen to others... - Steve argued. 

- Nahhh, are we solving or arguing? - Peter interrupted them. He hated it when his dads fought. 

- You're right, Peter, I'm sorry - Steve stopped for a second to try to collect his mind. 

And Tony used this moment of silence to speak up. 

- Indeed, now, can anyone see in the dark? - he asked. 

All the Avengers blinked for a second, questioning if they heard it right. They all had many exceptional powers, but night vision was not one of them. Then slowly, Peter put his hands up (which no one could see). 

- I can... 

The whole team was shocked, and they all started talking at the same time, some thanking him or god, others complaining why he hadn't mentioned this earlier. Except for Tony, who sat there with a proud grin on his face. He knew exactly that Peter had this power, after all, he studied him extensively to make the best suit possible for his little boy. 

- So, did you find anything?! - Clint asked impatiently. 

- Oh, yeah, there's a door - Peter said, then crawled over to it. 

Unfortunately, the door was locked. But, after some knuckle-tearing punches, it broke open a little, and the incoming streak of light was enough for the rest to find it and rip the door off. Finally, they could leave. 

The team ran out and found themselves outdoors... well sort of. They were definitely out of the building, which, looking back, seemed to be a huge castle built from red bricks. However, the light and the sky and the ground were all off. The sky was orange, spotted with grey clouds and a giant red... sun? Moon? They couldn't tell. But it shined with a dim red light, tinting everything in its color. Because of that, the grass seemed purple (or it was purple anyway, who knew...), and there were not many flowers or plants at all. Which felt understandable, as the air was heavy and filled with some strange smell that none of them smelled before. However, there were rocks. Many, many rocks everywhere. Some had crystals on them, some were shining on their own, some had weird shapes, or were placed in random circles. The view actually looked somewhat beautiful in its menacing way, but no one stopped to admire it. Instead, the Avengers just sprinted forward, trying to get away from this place as soon as possible. 

That's when the second issue was discovered: they couldn't leave. As it turned out, the castle and the garden around it were floating on a solid piece of rock in the middle of a reddish, sparkling space that seemed to have no end or anything beyond it. No matter where they looked, which side they tried, they always ran into the same abyss of doom again. 

- That's it, we're trapped! This is where we'll die! - Clint exclaimed after the third run-around in the garden. 

- Oohhh, don't be so dramatic! - Natasha sighed. As much as she loved her best friend, she often felt like he was dragging her down with his theatrics. 

- We are trapped tho... - Scott seemed to share Clint's worries. 

- Thank you! - Clint appreciated this more than he let it show. 

- I hate it here! Stupid magic! - Hulk mumbled and smashed a few rocks to really drive his point home. 

- I must say, I agree with our green friend over there - Tony said, with clear frustration in his voice. 

- Why, because you can't use your toys here, Stark? - Thor asked. - I find this place quite fascinating, to be honest! I have never seen magic like this one! 

- That's fantastic, but I wanna go home - Clint crossed his arms. 

Meanwhile, Hulk started to throw rocks at the red sun, which flew to a point, then disappeared with a loud "swhip" sound, and came back around on the other side, hitting him in the head. But Hulk didn't seem to mind that minor side-effect. 

- This seems to be a sort of space-loop we're stuck in - Peter commented after observing the results of Hulk's rock-throwing. - Which means until we don't break the loop, we can't get out. Right, dad? Dad! 

The last yell made both Tony and Steve immediately turn their heads towards him. 

- Hmm, it does seem like it - Tony agreed after watching Hulk's little sidequest himself. - That's my boy! Good job! - he smiled at Peter, and pat his back. 

Tony always tried to make sure that he complimented Peter enough. He was still in that stage of parenting, where you're desperate to do everything differently and better than your parents did... 

- Steve? What do you think? - Tony asked his boyfriend, who was oddly quiet this whole time. 

- I ran through the possibilities, and I think our best chance right now is to go into the castle and discover why we're here to solve the how - Steve explained. 

- Go back?! But we just got out! - Clint complained. 

He wasn't alone with this view. The members of the Avengers started to think out loud and figure out if it would be a good idea or not. Steve watched them a little anxiously, afraid they're gonna vote against him. Tony noticed this, and having no better ideas himself, he decided to do something. 

- Well then, lead the way, Captain! - he exclaimed, catching everyone's attention. He even saluted, which gave Steve a small smile. 

This pretty much settled the argument, and they all walked to the giant front door of the castle, and with the combined strength of Thor and Steve, they managed to open it and go inside. 

The inside of the castle was just as intense, yet captivating in design as the outside. The walls were the same red brick, but the floor was covered with black marble and had intricate decoration: a bunch of small diamond-shaped carvings starting from the walls that grouped together and formed a great circle in the middle, which had strange symbols in it. The glass in the windows was tainted and split into a pattern of little, colorful rhombuses. Then, mainly at the other end of the hall, there were doors and stairs, all to be discovered. And I haven't even mentioned the weirdest thing: both the walls and the floor were overrun by shining red lines, that, if you looked at them closely, seemed to pulsate, as if they were the veins of this building. 

In the middle of the hall, right in the center of the circle, stood a man. He wore the usual outfit of a butler, but there was something very wrong and inhuman in the way he just stood there, unfazed, waiting for the team to come closer. And when they did, he started talking, only it wasn't really speech, more like a robotic resiting of a poem. He said the following: 

"Into the Red Realm, thy were chanted to, 

Out of this very realm, thy shall never go, 

Except if three comply to be ruled by our Queen, 

Then our Red Lady shall let the rest to be free, 

But if no one dares to stay here, 

Then all of thee must find death here, 

When the foul beasts will be released, 

On the midnight of Halloween's eve, 

Thee have twenty-four hours to decide, 

Or else thee shall never see again light!" 

After this, the strange butler-man exploded, shooting cloth and hay into every corner of the room. In his place, a giant hourglass appeared, with red sand inside, that immediately started counting down the twenty-four hours. The Avengers all looked shocked, as they stood there for seconds before they processed what just happened. 

- What a charming little poem... - Tony was first to speak. 

- We're totally very dead! - this optimistic little sentence of course came from Clint. 

- Now what? - asked Natasha, who tried to not get surprised by anything at this point. It wasn't really working, but she tried... 

- I don't know yet... But what's sure is that we won't leave anyone behind! - Steve exclaimed, ready to fight whatever this "Red Lady" was going to send their way. 

And in this moment, when Tony saw his boyfriend like this, he thought to himself "Fuck, I don't deserve this man!"