Cover art by AngelicInsanity
Chapter Thirteen
Tony strolled into Stark’s lab feeling better than he had in weeks.
“I’m not sure which is worse… That dopey grin or the obnoxious level of afterglow you keep sporting. It’s been three days.”
Grinning, Tony propped a hip against a fairly empty worktable. “Total exaggeration. I only took one day off for sexnanigans. The rest has been…nocturnal.”
“Right. There were no quickies?” Stark scoffed.
“Well, maybe one or two.”
“Maybe a dozen?”
“That’s not even possible.”
“Jarvis?”
“No! You can’t have Jarvis count my sexcapades. That’s totally cheating.”
“Tony and Thor retreated to Thor’s suite eleven times during daylight hours over the last two days, Sir.”
Tony huffed as Stark started laughing.
Then Stark pointed a screwdriver at him. “How are you even walking?”
“Super soldier serum. Turns out it’s not just for super strength and agility.”
“That’s…nauseating.”
Tony grinned. “Is that the voice of envy?”
“Envy in the sense that you’re getting laid and I’m not,” Stark groused.
Tony cocked his head, considering how Stark had made a distinction about the nature of his envy. “Something you want to tell me?”
Stark gave a start of surprise. “Does anything get by you?”
“Yeah. I can’t afford to be so arrogant as to think I’m going to catch everything, but I did catch how you made a careful distinction about the nature of your envy. And it’s not how I’m up and walking, which is what I’d have expected contextually.”
After a moment of consideration, Stark sighed. “You won’t tell anyone else?”
“I won’t reveal your secrets, Tony, but you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. I’m not prying.”
Stark waved that away. “You know about Extremis?”
“Yeah. There’s not a lot of oddness going on in the world that doesn’t eventually cross my desk. But even the things we learn about after the fact are all data points we still need. That Mandarin shit took a while to get to me, but you had it sorted before we even took more than a cursory look.”
“You’d think they’d kick domestic terrorism to your team first off rather than letting it get fumbled so badly.”
“Well, agency pride plays a role in how quickly stuff gets sent to us. Or sometimes it’s more individual teams rather than the whole agency, who then must be ordered to play ball with Homeland. SecDef, the Secretary of State, the President, and a few others can override an individual agency’s decision to keep us out of the loop. And they have to be forced more often than anyone is comfortable with.”
“That’s fucking stupid.”
“Well, it is what it is. That last CIA director who was replaced? It was because he refused to play ball with Homeland or the NSA, and there were some fuckups because of his insular attitude.”
“You’d think succeeding in a cooperative effort would be better than failing on your own, but what the hell do I know.” Stark looked pensive. “Would have been great if the military had you guys trying to figure out where I was.” He smiled brightly, but it looked fake. “But that worked out in my favor, I think.”
“Rhodes didn’t tell you, then.”
Eyes narrowed, Stark asked, “Tell me what?”
“That the military called the search off.”
“That I knew.”
“But he called in a lot of favors to figure out how to make a request to my team. We don’t just analyze intelligence. We actively profile terrorist groups and cells, and finding the Ten Rings is right within our charter. He shouldn’t have had to jump through so many hoops to get our help. We eventually narrowed it down to a single region based on some supply chain patterns. Then my boss got SecDef on the phone and got some SEAL fire teams on board to start searching the five likely places they could hide in that region.”
“Did you guys figure out the right region? Is that why Rhodey found me so quickly after I escaped?”
“Yes and yes. He joined the teams doing grid searches.”
“Was the right location on your list of possibles?” Stark asked intently.
“Yes. But, in actuality, there were terrorists in every one of the locations, and yours was last on the search list. They were sending teams into those locations as quickly as they could, trying to clear them. There was manpower to do two locations at a time because we didn’t expect terrorists camped at every single location. They cleared two and were on to the second two when you got yourself out.”
“So I’d have been rescued?” he asked, his tone and affect flat.
“Well, probably not,” Tony admitted. “Word was going to spread quickly that the US military was in the region, and you’d have been killed or moved. If the latter, we’d have had to start over again. The ordering of the targets was always risky because it could bring greater risk to you if we got it wrong, and we did get the wrong search order.”
Stark shook his head. “But you got it right. You figured out where I was being held—in general. And Rhodey never stopped—” He blew out a breath. “He never told me.”
“Did he tell you about the general he got court-martialed?”
“Whoa. What?”
“The search for you was called off suspiciously fast. Then Rhodes’ request to involve a civilian intelligence group was denied when the Ten Rings was specifically in our mandate. It was odd. My final analysis submitted after you were brought back was that someone had been paid off to cancel the search and get in Rhodes’ way.
“In retrospect, that would have been Stane behind the bribe. Rhodes got AFOSI all up in that investigation, with backing from SecDef. NCIS and Army CID were involved too because it was their people primarily involved in the search, and an Air Force general shouldn’t have been able to corrupt the search and investigation like that. In the end, the Air Force general was found to have taken a bribe. He pled guilty and was sent to prison—where he will be for another fifteen years or so. Almost a dozen other people across the three branches of service were dishonorably discharged for granting favors to this general.”
“I can’t believe he didn’t tell me any of that.”
“I can’t speak to why, Tony. I think he should have told you that he did literally everything he could to make sure they kept looking. He never gave up on finding you. But I can see why he might not have told you about why they were already in the area.”
“Why?”
“Because it didn’t matter. The only things that were significant were that you accomplished something astonishing in the worst possible situation under horrible conditions; you saved yourself; and your friend never gave up on bringing you home.”
Stark looked a little emotional, and Tony knew he was about to deflect in a major way, so he decided to throw him a life preserver. “So why’d you bring up Extremis? Did you actually get it stabilized?”
The nod was a little jerky, but clearly he was getting it together. “Yeah, and gave it to myself. It made healing from the surgery better. Probably made it possible at all. People think you heal from major surgery in a couple of months, but my sternum is fragile. I’d have been healing for a year.”
“So you have super healing?”
“Of a sort, yeah. We had to remove some of the niftier features to stabilize it, but healing was pretty much intact. It won’t handle some things, but it’s spot on with injuries.”
“Well, that’s handy. You’re going to love the possibilities when soreness doesn’t last more than a few minutes. And,” he held up a hand as if about to drop the most important part, “not that I’m trying to prod you into anything, but the super soldier serum comes with a side order of a very short recovery period. Like a few minutes when properly…incentivized.”
Stark’s eyebrows shot up. “Is that right? Well, I guess I’m now really glad I kissed Steve. At least we’re moving that along though the pace may be glacial.”
Tony’s jaw dropped. “Wait, what? You kissed Steve? When? Where? What happened?”
Stark’s grin was mischievous. “I kissed him on the mouth, of course; I don’t think he’s ready for more than that yet.”
“How very literal of you. It was here in the lab, wasn’t it?”
“Oh my god! How do you know that?”
“He’s more comfortable here than in your penthouse because he barely spends any time up there because you’re always down here. And he’s like a patriotic puppy. He wants to be where you are. Except right now when he clearly wants to be downstairs trying to beat Thor’s head in.”
Stark threw up his hands.
“What?”
“This you noticing every damn thing is going to get old.”
“It’s kind of my job.”
“It’s annoying.”
“It’s awesome. Now, stop avoiding the subject! What happened?”
Stark chuckled. “Well, he was really bent about Thor throwing you over his shoulder and hauling you off to his den of iniquity.”
“Oh, come on. The shoulder thing only happened once, and Steve wasn’t even there.”
Stark blinked. “Wow, really? Thor really threw you over his shoulder like some sort of caveman?”
“More like a Viking,” he said with a grin.
“That was too easy.”
“Mm-hm. Don’t be mad when I walk through the door you throw open.” He made an impatient come-on gesture.
“So Steve was all upset because Thor was going to bespoil you or some such shit.”
“Be serious.”
“I am! And I quote, ‘I know how men are.’”
“Oh, my god.”
Stark laughed. “Which came up because I was trying to ascertain if his irritation during breakfast was that it’s his grandson or some latent homophobia.”
“I gather it wasn’t the latter?” It wouldn’t be shocking from someone from Steve’s era, but he hadn’t gotten that vibe, and he really didn’t want to deal with those kinds of issues with Steve.
“Nope. He just didn’t want a visiting god getting his glowbaby dirty.”
“You are so horrible, you know that?”
“It’s a gift,” Stark shot back with a grin. “And then he’s sitting there admitting how he’d been attracted to men before but had been too afraid to act on it—”
“Well, it was the 40’s.”
“—and I couldn’t help myself!”
Tony snorted. “So you jumped him.”
“I kissed him. And he froze like a deer in the headlights.”
“Oh.” Freezing was never a good sign.
Stark grinned. “Until I started to pull away, and then he got with the program.”
“See? I told you he was into you.”
“Do you ever get tired of being right?”
“Does anyone?”
“Point.”
“So…” Tony prodded. “What happened?”
“He asked me out on a date.” Stark’s expression was…complicated.
“Well, he’s an old-fashioned boy. He’s not just going to throw you over his shoulder, take you back to his cave, and ravish you.”
“Ugh. Thank you for turning my life into some sort of tawdry historical.”
“I’m just delighted to know that you’ve read a tawdry historical.”
Stark flipped him off. “The making out is great, but I really need to get laid.” Stark thunked his head against the table.
“I’m sure you can work him up to frottage and blowjobs just like that,” he snapped his fingers, “if you set your mind to it.”
“You’re a terrible grandson…trying to get me to blow your grandfather.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “I don’t want details but, yes, that man is in dire need of a blowjob.”
“I said I’d be patient.” Stark was pouting. “And I meant it, but I don’t need your afterglow reminding me of what I’m not getting.”
Pondering this morning’s wake-up call, Tony let the good feelings bubble up in him until he was really glowing. “You mean that glow?”
“Holy shit. That’s a lot of literal glow. You can do it on purpose now?”
“Well, we weren’t only fucking during those eleven daytime excursions. Turns out this particular energy has some kind of healing potential. I don’t really get it. Thor tried to explain it, but it has something to do with balance. He tends towards analogies that don’t make a lot of sense to me. I got his sword analogy just fine, but then he started on something about a pool or a well and something called a bansera… I just did what he told me to do even though the analogies were crap.”
“The glowy energy is the one Bruce said wasn’t harmful, right?”
“Yep.”
“Well, this I have to feel. Steve was so busy keeping me behind him that I didn’t get to see what it was like.” He spread his arms wide. “Come give Uncle Tony a hug.”
Tony grinned evilly. “Seems like if you keep going the way you’re going with Steve, it’ll be Grandpa Tony.”
“You asshole.”
Tony gamely crossed the short distance and pulled Stark into a quick hug.
There was a bright flash of light, and Tony could feel the energy being drained away for a few seconds.
“Oh,” Stark said, pulling back and looking a little dazed. “That did something.”
“Uh, maybe we should go see Bruce.” Tony was worried that he might have inadvertently hurt Stark.
“Do we have to? I don’t want another lecture about uncontrolled experiments.”
In reply, Tony only said, “Jarvis, tell Bruce we’ll meet him in medical.”
“Certainly.”
“Killjoy.”
– – – –
Bruce stood with his hands on his hips, looking more than a little irritated. “I can’t believe you conducted another—”
“Uncontrolled experiment,” Stark finished. “Yeah, yeah. But I didn’t know that’s what it was. It was a hug for fuck’s sake.”
Tony propped up a wall, trying to stay off of Bruce’s radar. He did not want the guy in charge of needles annoyed with him.
“But you were hugging so you could see what the energy felt like. The energy that you know helped pull down the barrier separating me from Hulk.”
“Which is a good thing!”
“It was an unforeseen outcome! Which means anything to do with DiNozzo and glowing is inherently an uncontrolled experiment. Jesus, Tony.”
Stark held up his hands. “I’m fine.”
“How about I wait for the test results to ascertain that instead of relying on your intuition? The same intuition that led to hugging.”
“Look, uncontrolled experiments are practically my jam.”
“This is not the time to remind me that you jury-rigged a particle accelerator in your workshop.”
“Whoa, really?” Tony asked, briefly forgetting that he was trying to be unobtrusive.
“It was just the one time.”
“It was stupid.” Bruce, for all that he was pretty agitated, didn’t seem very Hulky.
Stark held out his hands in a surrender gesture. “Do we need to give you a moment? I love Green Bean, but there’s not enough room in here for him.”
“Actually,” Bruce snapped, “he’s fine. He says you’re better now. I am the one who is upset. Because even if it has a good outcome, you can’t take stupid chances, Tony. You matter too much to everyone to be careless like that.”
Stark looked more than a little bewildered. “Yeah, okay, Bruce. I’ll be careful.”
Bruce huffed and turned to his monitors. “Hulk keeps saying the fire in you is better now. Want to tell me what he’s talking about?”
Stark’s eyes widened in alarm. “Oh, Christ, did that hug remove it?”
“What’s it?”
“Um…”
“Tony!”
“I may have given myself Extremis.”
Tony would never forget Bruce’s utterly befuddled expression at Stark admitting to having experimented on himself. Again.
Finally, Bruce managed to unclench his jaw. “If you and Steve ever get your heads out of your asses and fall into bed, I hope he gives you a really unfun spanking.”
“Hey!” Stark protested.
Tony gave up blending into the wall because he was laughing like an idiot.
Bruce took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s not nice to rip someone’s denial away.”
“Oh, there’s no denial,” Tony chimed in. “They’re all up in that.”
“Is that right? I figured it would be at least another week.”
Stark crossed his arms. “I can’t believe you figured it out too! You! Who barely takes your head away from a microscope.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my powers of observation, Tony. But you’d have to be a blind idiot to not notice the sexual tension between you and Steve. Even Hulk noticed. Granted, you’re not as obvious as,” he waved in Tony’s direction, “and Thor, but literally no one is as obvious as those two.”
“Hey!” It was Tony’s turn to object. “He was feeling me up in the first five minutes after we met. I never even got the chance to try for subtlety.”
“Uh-huh.” He waved them both away. “Sleeves up. I need blood.”
It took more than two hours for them to determine that Tony’s energy hadn’t removed Extremis, but it had altered it somehow.
Bruce pulled away from the microscope. “I can’t explain it, but it’s still there, still working, but it’s more…in harmony, for lack of a better term, with your physiology. If I didn’t know exactly what to look for, I wouldn’t even be able to find it. And the samples I saw from Pepper are quite different from this.”
Stark had been pacing around, looking pensive. “And that’s a good thing, right?”
“I think so,” Bruce admitted. “But now I need to monitor both of you more closely.”
“Ugh.”
Tony completely agreed with that sentiment.
Bruce shot Stark a look. “I take it no one else knows about this? About you and Extremis specifically.”
“Hell no. I’d have—”
“You don’t have to explain,” Bruce said quickly. “I get it. The fewer people who know, the better, but that means you have to be willing to actually tell me the minute you feel even the slightest bit strange. You have to get Jarvis to agree to notify me if you’re unwell, including overriding any privacy protocols you have on that front. Because the only way we can keep something a secret is if we have safeguards in place to prevent issues that would blow the secret wide open.”
“Deal,” Stark said readily. “I promise.”
“Tony…”
“No, I mean it. I’m gonna be totally upfront about this because I don’t need anyone else finding out about it.” He slung an arm around Tony’s shoulders. “The two Tonys are going to be models of good communication about how we feel. Physically.”
“And you,” Bruce pointed at Tony.
“Whoa, what’d I do?”
“Do I need to spell it out?”
“Fine. No more hugging when I’m glowing. But, in the interest of full disclosure, there has been a lot of glowing while fucking going on, and nothing bad happened.”
Bruce closed his eyes. “Of course there has been. And really, do you two even sleep? Thor actually looked fuck stupid last night.”
“Is that a judgy tone?”
“No. It’s a ‘fuck-drunk Asgardians are no one’s idea of a fun dinner companion’ tone.”
Tony pressed his lips together and tried not to smile. He’d had to make some calls last night and hadn’t been able to join everyone for dinner.
“But since you’re here… I finished analyzing the tissue and blood samples Thor provided, and it definitely clarifies that the part of your DNA I couldn’t figure out is Asgardian. I would actually say you’re more like him biologically than you are like Tony or me.”
“Oh.” Which begged the question, did the serum activate some latent genetics, allowing them to almost take over his human DNA, or did Hydra have access to Asgardian DNA somehow?
“Except for the plant DNA. There’s nothing like that in Thor’s genetic makeup.”
Stark pulled away and stared at Tony. “Wait. You’re part plant?”
Tony groaned and buried his face in his hands.
– – – –
By the time they were entering the elevator, Tony was so done with this day. He was about to ask Jarvis if he knew what floor Thor was on, but Stark directed the elevator down.
“Jarvis, 42nd floor, please.”
“Certainly, Sir.”
“Are we going on a field trip? Because I was hoping Thor and Steve were done beating each other up. I need some recreation time.” He was probably a little too into this fling with Thor, but he’d always known sex was part of his coping mechanisms, and he really wasn’t ready for dealing with his issues in any other way right now.
“I want to show you something. It’s why I called you down to my lab in the first place before the radically mutating hug got us diverted to several hours in the med bay.”
“Is this going to traumatize me? Because I’m delicate, and I’ve had a rough day.”
The elevator doors opened. “You tell me.”
Tony stepped out and glanced around. “It’s completely empty. So it’s only traumatic in the sense that I feel like this floor is naked, and naked floors are kind of creepy.”
“Floors 41 and 42, as well as a few others in the building, were still unoccupied. Pep had planned to move the administrative offices for a recent acquisition onto this floor, but I’m thinking about diverting that to another building and setting your little crop project up down here.”
“Really? Huh. It’s a good hiding place, really. The lower 55 floors are known to be business offices, and you wouldn’t stash something top secret down here.”
“Right? They’d expect it to be up in the lab areas, which blueprints show as having the high security. I figured we could do the security upgrades ourselves. We’d lock these floors out completely to all but the rear elevators, and then the tower AI always makes sure people don’t get off on floors they’re not authorized for.”
“What about a small software division? Hire a few legitimate employees who do the administration side and make it look real and keep the analysts behind locked doors.”
“I guess I could write a program or something really quickly.”
Tony shot him a look. “I wasn’t trying to give you more work to do. Pen writes apps for fun and does absolutely nothing with them because she doesn’t have the time to support them and handle the business side of it. Plus, getting paid for that kind of thing while working for the federal government? That’s a delicate little tap dance.”
“And she’d be willing?”
“I’m pretty sure she would be. Tickled pink, actually. She codes to relax but hates anything else associated with managing software. She developed her apps to meet her own needs, and some of them are pretty slick.”
Stark drummed his fingers over his sternum. “And if they’re any good, it might be self-supporting. Okay, let’s look into that.”
“But I don’t think we’d need two floors.” The space was huge.
“I thought to convert the one below this into apartments for your team. Make people think it’s business offices, and that way, all the people aren’t getting off on 42. Make the small apartments look like private office suites or something. And I get to put in secret stairs between the two floors.”
“Your exuberance over all the clandestine stuff is…”
“Off-putting?”
“I was gonna say it’s cute.”
“Asshole.”
“But put all the overt security on 41. Make anyone thinking about trying to break in believe that that’s the proverbial golden goose. Assuming they’re even remotely successful at bypassing security, they find a bunch of residential units—”
“Get confused, and we’ve got time to get 42, not to mention 56 and above, locked down tighter than a frog’s butt.” Stark rocked back on his heels, hands in his pockets. “I like that.”
Tony grinned. “Yeah, me too.”
“I love a good plan. Especially when it’s mine.”
He could only laugh at that.
Stark grabbed him by the arm and steered him back toward the elevator. “I can tell you’re eager to go find your little electric toy for your afternoon conjugal, but one more stop back by the lab. I have something else for you.”
“It’s not alive, is it? I don’t like living surprises.”
Stark laughed. “No puppies for you, then. But, no… Just a little present.”
“God, Tony, you don’t need to get me things. You’ve already done so much.”
“This is more…aspirational.”
The elevator doors opened on the 79th floor, and Jarvis automatically granted Stark access to the lab. Stark pulled out a big white box from a cabinet and plopped it on a table in front of Tony. “I thought about red, or maybe red, white, and blue. And, of course, I thought about red and gold, but this seemed a better fit.”
Confused, Tony opened the box to find a dark blue and black outfit of some kind. He touched it, finding it to be very solid. “Is this body armor?” It was incredibly low profile. Barely thicker than some of Tony’s wool suits.
“Yep. Top secret SI designs. We kept up with tactical gear for the military, but they can’t afford the cutting-edge stuff, even if we offered it at cost. We develop it and then try to work up the least expensive alternative we can for the US armed forces. But this…” He reached out and ran his fingers over the blue. “It’s what Steve’s new armor will be made from.”
Tony pulled it from the box, finding it to be flexible but it held a somewhat molded shape. The shoulders and various other places had leather accents. He shot Stark a questioning look.
Stark propped his elbows on the table. “While I was making discreet inquiries about HELIOS, I was also asking about the future of the Avengers Initiative and what we could do with it. I assume they’ve mentioned to you that your next logical cover identity is to be one of the Avengers?”
Tony hesitated. “It was brought up, yes.”
“Is that something you’re interested in?”
Running his hands over the surprisingly light body armor, Tony considered how to reply. “Maybe. If it was in good hands.”
“We can make that happen. I know you’ve got some sort of plan in the works for Fury and SHIELD, and that you recommended someone else run the Initiative…”
“Yeah. I’m just waiting for the right moment to deal with Fury.”
“And I’m not asking for details, but we can start doing the groundwork to get the initiative up and running again.”
“You think it’s important that this be in place sooner rather than later?” Tony clarified.
“I do.”
The lack of jokes, witticisms, or deflections told Tony just how strongly Stark felt about this. “Then let’s get moving.”
“Do we start with Congress?” Stark prompted immediately.
“I was thinking the UN.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, maybe the head of the security council.”
“And you’d be able to get her on the phone without tipping our hand to Fury?”
“Well… She doesn’t have any idea who I am, but Hermes did an off-book favor for her when her granddaughter was kidnapped last year.”
“You’ve only been here two weeks, and you’re already the most useful person I’ve ever met.”
Tony burst out laughing. “You asshole.” He folded the suit back into the box, letting his fingers trail over the leather detailing. “I know you’re going to hate this, but just deal. Thank you for this.”
“Yeah, okay. You get to be appreciative this once.” He nudged Tony’s shoulder. “It should fit perfectly. You haven’t gained or lost an ounce in a week, and I was waiting to be sure before I kicked off fabrication. It’ll have enough give so you can move, but the fit is important.”
“You monitoring my weight that closely could be creepy, but I find it oddly endearing.”
“It’s like you’re my twin.”
Tony snorted. “Now the hard part… I’ll have to come up with a name. It can’t be Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Tony.”
Stark laughed, looking happy in a way that Tony thought was new. “Did Coulson ever tell you what Peggy Carter’s project codename was for the vigil she kept over your mom and you?”
“No.” The topic change felt like a non sequitur, but he figured Stark had a reason to bring it up. Looking into those details had been very low on Tony’s priority list considering everything that had happened. “Why?”
“She called it Project Sentry. And the more I get to know you, the more I think Sentry is…you.”
“Huh.” Tony looked back down at the blue body armor. “Sentry…” he murmured, trying the name out, feeling like it fit. “I can live with that.”
Chapter Fourteen
Steve exited the elevator on the level of Tony’s penthouse. He was happy to see Tony any time, but there hadn’t been any communication about what Tony needed or why they were meeting up here.
He found Tony setting dinner out on the table.
“Hey. What’s all this?”
Tony moved closer, and Steve readily leaned in for a kiss. The introduction of casual affection over the last week had been a revelation. He’d gone from refusing to think about how he felt about Tony to not being able to stop thinking about it. And he liked kissing and touching so much more with Tony. He wasn’t sure if that meant Steve was likely gay or if he was just that into Tony.
“Just dinner for just the two of us. Date night.”
“Oh. I figured I’d—” He stopped himself, realizing he was being an idiot.
Fortunately, Tony didn’t seem pissed; he just looked amused as he walked back toward the kitchen. “I realize you grew up in an era of defined gender roles. You’re a man, so you think of your romantic partner as not-a-man. So I’ll forgive some lapses, but just remind yourself that even if I were a woman that gender roles should be negotiated.”
Steve considered for a second. “You talked to Anthony.”
Tony stuck his head out of the kitchen, scowling. “Is everyone going to suddenly be observant?”
He laughed. “I’ll do my best to stop with gender-based expectations.”
“Or… When you feel yourself slipping into that mindset, tell yourself that I am the man in the relationship and see if that changes how you feel about the situation. Because if you cast yourself in the traditional role of the woman and find it unpalatable—well, first, don’t do it. But also consider that women will probably find it obnoxious too.”
“By how uncomfortable I feel right now, I guess that’s pretty good advice.”
“Progress!” Tony came back with a bowl of pasta. “Either way, the responsibility for setting up dates is both of ours. The odds of us getting out of the tower are nil, so here we are. Sparky is doing filthy things to Thor all evening—after he graciously cooked for us because I’m amazing, but cooking isn’t in my skillset—and J will let us know if he decides to head back down for any reason.”
Steve couldn’t help the face he made at the reminder of Thor.
Sighing, Tony gestured to the chair. “Sit and eat while you angst.”
“Tony…” But he sat and dished up some pasta.
“Look, you need to chill. There’s nothing going on that both parties aren’t perfectly happy about, and Tony needs this. Activity is how he processes stuff. And sex is a very good activity for processing. It floods the brain with all kinds of mood-improving chemicals. He’s been through a lot, so let it be.”
Steve bit into some bread like it had personally offended him. “It’s the way Thor looks at him.”
Tony stared at him for a few seconds. “And how’s that?”
“Like he thinks the sun rises and sets on Anthony’s every word.”
“So you’re upset that Thor is smitten?”
“Thor has known him for a week. How could he be that…involved?”
“Maybe he knows what he wants?” Tony shrugged. “Sometimes, you just click with someone.”
“Didn’t his girlfriend just dump him?”
“You get that Thor was always emotionally detached to some degree with Dr. Foster, right?”
Steve frowned, wondering what he’d missed. “Why?”
“Because Thor is like 1000 years old? He’d be an idiot to get too wrapped up in someone who he would lose in another seventy years. At most. I don’t doubt he cared for her, but he’d be crazy not to keep some level of detachment.”
“Oh.” Steve took another bite of his food, carefully chewing while he thought. “Do you think he’s genuine in his…regard for Anthony?”
“Actually, I do. And I agree that it’s damn fast to be so intense. It makes me wonder if there’s some Asgardian mystery thing going on that Thor isn’t sharing.”
“But Anthony talks about it like they’re just fooling around.”
“I think we’re seeing his blind spot in action. And it’s a doozy. So just enjoy it while you can because he doesn’t have many of those. It’s like seeing a kod kod at all, much less during the daytime.”
“Was that supposed to make sense?”
“Probably not.”
Steve huffed, getting used to ignoring Tony’s verbal tangents. “Should I talk to him?”
“God, no. Do you have any idea how awkward that would be? Just give it a few more days, and if he hasn’t twigged into what’s going on, I’ll figure out a way to bring it up.”
He wasn’t offended, but he was perplexed. “And it’s okay for you to talk to him about it but not me?”
Tony shot him a look. “Just for a moment, ponder which of those scenarios will be less awkward.”
Steve made a face. “Yeah, okay.”
Tony laughed. “Now, no more talk about Sparky. He’s fine. Tell me about your day. I heard something happened with Barnes, but J said you and Coulson had it handled. I was busy with a project, so I didn’t ask anything further.”
“Yeah.” Steve sighed. “Remember that data Anthony turned over to us to go through looking for information on James’ brainwashing or the control words?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, it was in there, in a benign document written in Russian. And seeing the words in a particular order is apparently enough to activate him.” Steve blew out a breath. “It was easier than I expected to get him settled down, but it was…”
“Upsetting?”
“Yeah.” Steve hated what had been done to James with every fiber of his being, and seeing the proof of just how much damage Hydra had done to him had made Steve livid in a way he could barely contain. He’d needed an hour in the gym and gone through three punching bags.
“And Barnes is okay?”
“Better than I am, I think. Bruce and Phil are keeping him company this evening.”
“If you want to go back down, that’s fine,” Tony assured. “You should have told Jarvis you were busy. We can have dinner any time.”
“No,” Steve said hastily. “I needed to get a break. He’s doing fine for the moment.”
“At least we have the list now?” Tony offered, sounding hesitant.
He nodded. That was the good news. “The question becomes…what’s next?”
“We’ll figure it out. We need to get over the hump of Hydra being an immediate threat—to him and Sparky—and then we can find specialists who can help him.”
“I wish we could do more about Hydra… Be out there taking the fight to them.”
“We agreed that you and I need to stay close to the tower in case Hydra does something stupid in regard to Barnes or Sparkles. Let May and Coulson do what they’re good at. SHIELD is, for a little while longer, an asset we can exploit for resources and intel. I’m not prepared to be associated with SHIELD any longer in any capacity, and I don’t think it’s a good idea for you either, so let the SHIELD agents be SHIELD agents, and you and I can be civilians who are just protecting their own.”
Steve nodded, struggling with his frustration over everything. “I agree. I just feel like I’m not doing anything.”
“You have a whole lot of world to catch up on. It probably feels like going back to school, but it’s what you need. Plus, being there for Barnes and getting to know your grandson is actually something important.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right; I just wish I could do more.”
“Well… There’s always making out like teenagers. I don’t know what it does for you, but I feel all kinds of stress relief.”
Steve grinned. “That’ll never get old.”
Tony shuddered. “I love it when you use a modern turn of phrase. It’s so hot.”
Laughing, Steve threw a bit of bread at Tony. “Idiot.”
Tony batted his eyelashes. “It’s one of my best features.” He tossed the bread back, and Steve caught it deftly. “You doing okay still with separating the idea of James from Bucky?”
Steve nodded, pushing away the sadness. “Anthony keeps helping with that. We talk about it a lot when we have lunch. I just keep reminding myself that Bucky, the Bucky I knew, is gone. I never really grieved for him, so having him here now makes it harder to do. There will be parts of James that came from Bucky, but I’m trying to get to know who he is today.”
“You get that he’s a work in progress, right? The more he recovers, the more he’s going to change. In some ways, he’ll be more like Bucky and in others he’ll be less.”
Steve nodded again, wishing he could get his hands on some Hydra scientists and commit cold-blooded murder. He pushed the dark thoughts away. “I’ll be there for him the whole way and do my best to become a friend to James.” He decided to ask something that had been on his mind. “You and Anthony are working on something, aren’t you?”
Freezing for a second, Tony met Steve’s gaze. “What are you asking me?”
“Can you tell me what’s going on?” He held up a hand because Tony’s expression was forbidding. “Jarvis went through the whole thing about security clearances and various levels of classified information, so I know you may not be able to tell me specifics. Just… Is that it? Are you working on his classified stuff? Or is something else going on?” Steve felt out of the loop, and it helped to know exactly what kind of thing he was being left out of.
Tony blew out a breath. “More or less. I’m not sure if you fully understand the risk Nick Fury brought to Tony’s team at Homeland. He compromised their safety in an appalling way. I signed a lot of extra paperwork and practically promised my firstborn to get a higher security clearance so I could try to help—in any capacity. I’m not sure how much help I can be, but I’m trying.”
Steve shook his head. “I don’t believe there’s anything you can’t do.”
Tony looked flummoxed for a second, then he whispered, “Thanks. That’s…sweet.”
“It’s the truth.” He left Tony to his thoughts for a few seconds before adding, “I just wanted to be sure you guys were going to be safe with whatever you’re doing and to let you know that I won’t pry, but I’ll help if you need anything.” It was hard for him not to know everything, but James had been the one to yell at him—for several hours!—about how Steve couldn’t expect to know the world’s secrets.
“We’re being careful. Honestly, there’s a lot I don’t know. They had to raise my security clearance just to have some conversations, and it was already pretty high because of the work SI does for the DoD. And your grandson has the highest security clearance possible.”
“Will they take that away from him?”
Tony was quiet for a long time, and Steve wondered what about that question was giving Tony pause. Eventually, he replied, “I don’t think so.” He put his fork down and pushed his plate away. “Look, the powers that be want him to be an Avenger if we manage to sort out all the issues with the initiative.”
“Oh.” Steve considered for a second. “That seems like a good idea.”
“Yeah, but my guess is they’re still going to ask him to consult on high-priority intelligence projects. The government isn’t going to want to lose a mind so adept at interpreting intelligence so he can sit around on call for the occasional alien invasion.”
Steve nodded, considering the ramifications. “If he’s that good at it, I can see why they’d want that. But it makes him vulnerable, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. His cover isn’t completely blown, but it probably will be. Too many people know who he is now. So he’ll be a target because of what he is due to Hydra’s assholery, and also because of what he knows because of HELIOS.”
“And how do we keep him safe?”
“Well, we can’t be overbearing assholes about it, you get that, right?”
Steve made a face. “I know.”
“Your pout is epic…and kind of adorable.”
He rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but smile.
Tony pointed at him. “Considering your worry, I’d think you’d be happier that a fucking Norse god has taken such an interest. That’s one more very terrifying person between Sparky and Hydra.”
There was nothing Steve could do but concede that point. And he was certain Thor would happily stand between Anthony and any threat.
Feeling lighter, they finished dinner, discussing various things—heavily focusing on things Steve was learning about the modern time. After dinner, they moved to the couch, and Steve once again noticed Tony’s hesitance to make the first move. He’d observed it a couple of times in the last week but thought Tony would have settled a bit now.
Snagging Tony’s wrist, he pulled him down to sit right by Steve. “What’s going on? I thought you were getting more comfortable with me?”
“I am!” Tony insisted hurriedly even as he practically melted into Steve’s side. “I just don’t want to push you.”
“Really?” Steve was stunned by that bit of news. He wrapped his arm around Tony. “Is that also why you’re always pulling away so quickly?”
“Hey! It’s a compliment. You really get me going, and so I pull away when I’m about a second from sticking my hand in your pants.”
Steve chuckled at the obvious exaggeration. “Tony, you pulled away in less than a minute last night.”
“As I said.”
“Oh.” Wow. “It does stupid things for my ego that you get that hot and bothered so quickly.” He snagged Tony around the waist and hauled him into Steve’s lap. “How about you let me decide if we’re going too fast?”
Tony straddled Steve’s thighs, hands braced on his chest. “Okay, I think I’ve developed a manhandling kink. Sparky said the super strength was super hot, and I’m starting to see the appeal.”
“Tony. Shut up.” Cradling Tony’s head, he pulled him down into a heated kiss, readily sliding his tongue into Tony’s mouth, enjoying the taste and the heat of him. In a few short seconds, they were both fully hard, and Tony was rocking against him.
Steve broke the kiss, stroking his thumb over Tony’s cheekbone. “Why are you with me?”
Tony blinked in apparent astonishment. “What?”
“You’re perfect, and I—”
“Oh my god, Steve, I am not perfect. Don’t—” He cleared his throat. “You started off with a false opinion of me based on bad information. Don’t get another false opinion based on your dick.”
Steve sighed, not getting even close to offended. “I’m basing my opinion on how smart you are, how funny, how much you give to everyone around you. I know you’re an asshole—Anthony’s term for your character defects, not mine.”
Tony huffed out a laugh.
“Maybe it doesn’t make sense, but you can have flaws and still be perfect…to me.”
“That’s ridiculously sappy.” But Tony looked happy, so Steve disregarded the words.
“Maybe. But you make me feel sappy. Anthony said I should embrace my sappy side.”
“Don’t listen to him; he’s a terrible troll.” The smile belied the words.
Steve pulled him down for another quick kiss. “Can I ask you something really personal?”
“Well, if anyone can, it’s you.”
“Are you over Pepper? Do you miss her?” He’d worried about how recently that relationship had ended. Steve didn’t resent Tony’s past relationships, but he didn’t want to share emotional time with them either.
Tony looked like he was considering his answer. “It’d be easy to just say I’m over it, but I don’t want to lie to you. And I don’t think we really ever get over people we truly care about. So, in that sense, I’m not over her. But it’s also a relief that it’s done. I don’t know that I’d have ever taken the step to end what we had but, once it was done, it was like a weight was lifted.”
“How come?”
“She never really accepted me the way I am. And it wasn’t just Iron Man, which was her main talking point, it was everything. It was my propensity for staying in my lab all the time, it was the way I behave at board meetings—if I go to them at all—it was just…everything. Every day it felt like some subtle ‘Tony, be different, be better,’ and it was exhausting. I felt like I was always disappointing her.” He shook his head. “And I don’t mean to make Pep sound terrible. She wasn’t a nag or anything, and she’s amazing really, but I always knew I wasn’t quite meeting her expectations.” He looked away. “I’m so tired of feeling like I don’t meet people’s expectations.”
Steve felt like his heart was in his throat. “And I was like that too, wasn’t I?”
“At first, yeah. But we wouldn’t have gotten here if you hadn’t turned off the judgmental vibes, so…” He paused for a few seconds. “Just don’t go back. If you don’t think you can accept me the way I am, tell me now. We can have some fun, get you up to gay sex if you want, but I don’t want to get any more emotionally invested just to spend a few years feeling like I’m making yet another person miserable.”
Steve considered what he wanted to say, but while he was thinking, Tony took his silence badly.
“Yeah, I shouldn’t have said all that. Just ignore me.” He tried to get up, but Steve got his hands on Tony’s hips and held him in place.
“Sometimes, I think I don’t understand you even half the time, but I want to. I want to get you. I want to understand what makes you happy or sad or just what captivates your interest. And I don’t care if you want to be in your lab all night, but sometimes I want to be with you there. I like watching you work. I like watching you. I like that you’re irreverent because it reminds me not to take things too seriously. And I love Iron Man because it shows how you can turn something awful into something amazing. And rather than turning that into a source of profit, you tried to help the world. I admire you so much.”
“Steve…” Tony seemed flustered, but then he lunged forward, kissing Steve with a ferocity he hadn’t experienced before now. It was all-consuming and like nothing Steve had ever felt. They were rocking against each other with frantic urgency, and Steve was perilously close to coming in his pants like when he was a teenager.
Tony broke away gasping for air, flushed and looking so sexy it took Steve’s breath away. “I want to suck you. Can I do that? Will you let me shimmy off your lap and get on my knees, take your cock out, and suck you all the way down?”
Steve gasped and shuddered and nearly came.
Tony nipped at his ear then whispered. “Can I do that, Steve?”
“God, Tony, who would say no to that?”
Tony flashed him a wicked grin then did exactly what he’d said. He wiggled around until he could slide to the floor, kneeling between Steve’s spread thighs. He kneaded the tight muscles for a few seconds then slid his hands up and under Steve’s ass, yanking him forward so he was closer to the edge of the couch.
Without saying anything further, Tony popped the buttons on Steve’s jeans and reached in, freeing Steve from his briefs. Steve hissed through his teeth, nearly coming at the feel of Tony’s hand wrapped around him.
“Wow, Rogers…”
“Jesus, Tony, don’t call me ‘Rogers’ when you’re about to— Fuck!” The sudden hot and wet and pressure on his dick nearly had him shooting off. He arched up, but Tony pressed him back into the sofa.
Steve had more experience with receiving blow jobs than just about any other aspect of sex, and this was nothing like anything he’d ever known. Tony took him so deep and moved his tongue so perfectly… Lightning sizzled in Steve’s veins. He felt tension building in his spine so fast he couldn’t control it.
He gripped the sofa, fighting not to thrust Tony away from him with his enhanced strength as the climax ripped through him, robbing him of breath and every rational thought.
It was almost embarrassing how fast it was over. Steve was too keyed up and Tony was too good for it to last more than those scant few minutes. He managed several shuddery breaths then looked down to meet Tony’s gaze. Tony looked more than a little smug.
Steve reached down and hauled him back up onto his lap, pulling Tony in for a kiss.
“Most guys don’t like— Mmph—”
He didn’t care about the taste of himself in Tony’s mouth. He just had to kiss him again. As he sucked Tony’s tongue, he found he really didn’t mind. The idea that Tony had just had his mouth on Steve’s cock made him shiver and start to get hard again.
He got to his feet, keeping hold of Tony, who flailed for a second then wrapped his legs around Steve. Making sure he had his balance, he headed for Tony’s bedroom.
“I guess we’re changing venues,” Tony murmured as he began kissing the side of Steve’s neck. “And Sparky was definitely right about how hot the super strength is.”
Laughter bubbled up, and Steve dropped Tony on the bed then quickly stripped off his own clothes. He braced himself over Tony, kissing him hard before saying, “Relationship rule: We don’t talk bout my grandson in bed.”
Tony grinned. “Even during post-coital cuddling?”
“If you can talk about Anthony, I haven’t worn you out enough.”
“Ooh. You’re setting the bar high. I approve.”
Steve felt a moment of uncertainty. “I’m not sure I’m ready for…” He cleared his throat. “But I want to be with you.”
Tony cupped his cheek then ran his fingers through Steve’s hair. “Do what you want. I’m all yours.”
Steve shuddered, claiming Tony’s mouth. He broke the kiss, feeling gratified by the dazed expression on Tony’s face, then he kneed Tony’s thighs apart so he could kneel up between them. His hands teased at the waistband of Tony’s jeans. “Can I?”
“Oh yeah. You go low; I’ll go high.” Tony grabbed the hem of both T-shirts he was wearing and pulled them off together. Steve’s gaze was immediately arrested by the sight of the mass of scar tissue in the middle of Tony’s chest. Tony nudged Steve with his foot. “They’re just scars, Steve.” His expression seemed stiff.
“I don’t like that you’ve been hurt so much.”
Tony’s features softened. “Consider it proof of how awesome I am at surviving the impossible. Now get with the denim removal and then pretend like you’re my blanket.”
Steve laughed, tugging at the button and zipper on Tony’s jeans, easily working them off his hips and down his legs. He slid his hands up Tony’s thighs then up to his waist and chest before sliding them under Tony’s shoulders, settling his weight on Tony’s body. He groaned as their naked bodies came in contact for the first time. Clothed, Tony looked skinnier than he actually was. The amount of muscle he carried was surprising. Especially in his upper body.
“Yeah, that’s really good,” Tony said breathlessly, arching up.
Steve nuzzled at Tony’s throat, kissing and nipping the skin, cataloging the responses he got. Tony was particularly sensitive the closer Steve got to his ear. He sucked at Tony’s earlobe, earning full-body tremors and a gasp. The feel of Tony’s hard cock pressing against his belly was driving Steve insane. He ground against Tony, wanting to drive them both to completion. “This okay?”
Dazed, Tony managed, “Yeah, yeah…great. Just…” He flailed around on the nightstand, coming up with a bottle. “Lube’ll be good.” Tony slicked up his hand then slid it between their bodies, taking both of their cocks in hand. Steve gasped, thrusting hard into the clench of Tony’s fist.
Tony got their cocks lined up then wrapped his legs around Steve’s hips. “Go for it.”
Steve thrust against Tony’s body, and it was slick and hot and hard. “Tony,” he gasped.
“Perfect,” Tony breathed as he arched up, meeting and mirroring Steve’s increasingly frantic movements.
“You’re perfect,” Steve murmured against Tony’s mouth before licking inside. Tony was absolutely perfect for Steve. And the feel of his body arching and writhing under Steve was the most intense thing he’d ever experienced.
Tony clutched frantically at his shoulders. “Steve… Fuck!” His head arched back, tendons standing out sharply on his throat as he came, liquid heat flooding between them. Steve groaned, tremors wracking his body as he followed Tony into orgasm.
He collapsed on Tony, trying to catch his breath, but he managed to rouse himself enough to try to roll away. But Tony held on, legs and arms wrapped around him.
“You weigh a ton more than anyone I’ve ever had sex with—damn super soldier bone structure—but I can handle it for a few minutes.”
“You sure?” Steve mumbled into Tony’s throat.
“Yeah. Just…stay with me.”
Chapter Fifteen
Tony woke abruptly, sitting straight up in bed with a sharp inhale, waking Thor in the process. He gasped for air, trying to regain his equilibrium. He felt heat at his back as Thor moved to sit behind him, wrapping his arm around Tony and dropping a kiss on his shoulder.
“Why will you not tell me of your dreams, beloved?”
He snorted in amusement at the over-the-top endearments. He’d come to expect it from Thor, but it wasn’t quite the same as getting used to it. “Are all Asgardians so…hyperbolic?”
“In what way do you think I exaggerate?” There was something about Thor that Tony found incredibly appealing. He wasn’t particularly witty, but he was clever, though in a way different from Tony. And there was something steadfast about him that Tony found alluring. And it didn’t hurt that he was hot like burning.
They’d had a week together, filled with truly epic amounts of amazing sex—the best sex of his life if he were honest—and Tony worried about himself becoming attached. Thor was stuck on Earth for the time being, and since he had abandoned his mission, he had nothing to do but spend time with Tony. Normally Tony didn’t hang out or sleep with his casual fuck buddies, and for good reason. Relationships were a complication he couldn’t usually afford. But, by some measure, Thor was a god. No one was going to go after Thor to get to Tony. So Tony didn’t have to stay distant if he didn’t wish it. But distance was the mode he was accustomed to. Although, in this case, distance might still be better because Thor lived on another fucking planet.
“Don’t you think ‘beloved’ is a bit much?”
“Hmm.” Thor pressed another kiss to the back of Tony’s neck. “You doubt my affection but, in time, I will persuade you of my sincerity.”
Tony froze at that, wondering how exactly Thor could be sincere about a term like beloved after a week.
“But you will not distract me again, Anthony. You have been plagued every night, your rest interrupted by this dream. Why will you not tell me?”
“Because it’s just…fallout. You get that the last few weeks have been rough, right? I just need time to process.”
Thor adjusted his position, molding himself more tightly to Tony’s back, bracketing Tony with his legs. “You were captured by an enemy and tortured, and you need time to recover yourself; I understand this, but this dream… It distresses you, yet you are not afraid. Terrors that come in the night, those I have seen from fellow warriors after a battle, bring fear. But you are fighting. What is it?”
“It is a fear…of a sort. It’s not like I’m being hurt or anything in the dream, but… Hydra took my humanity from me in a very literal way. My DNA was altered at such a cellular level that I’m not like my own people anymore. And then Bruce keeps wanting to talk to me about being part plant. And I just can’t…deal with anymore. I’m mentally exhausted. And when he brings up plant DNA, my mind can’t go there. I’ve had hundreds of hours of psychology training, so dreaming about a damn tree in these circumstances makes perfect sense, but I don’t want to be dreaming about a damn tree every night. Because I don’t want to think about plants.”
Thor had been gently touching him, stroking over his belly above where the sheet pooled, or caressing his hipbones but, at Tony’s words, he stilled, hands gripping tightly. “You dream of a tree?”
“Well, not exactly a tree, but tree shaped. Which makes even more sense since I’m apparently sort of a tree but I’m not really a tree tree. And the brain will go to crazy places to try to deal with stuff. There are whole books written about the subconscious and how it manifests your hidden fears and anxieties through your dreams.”
“What does this tree do that distresses you so?” Thor was still oddly unmoving.
“It reaches out. And maybe my subconscious wants me to get on board with my tree parts, but I’m not ready, and I need my brain to stop and let me process at a rate I can handle. I think I’ve been doing okay. So I’m more than a little pissed that my subconscious won’t get on board the take-it-slow train.”
Thor pulled away from him, and Tony immediately felt the loss. He’d become ridiculously attached to the way Thor felt wrapped around him. He watched curiously as Thor pulled out the leather-bound notebook he occasionally wrote in and began writing something. Not at all eager to go back to sleep, Tony was content to wait and wonder what was on Thor’s mind.
When he was finished, Thor closed the notebook with his finger jammed in to mark his place. “Tell me about your tree. Would you describe it for me?”
Tony hesitated, but Thor had been patiently asking every night, readily accepting Tony’s “no” every single time even though Tony kept waking him up. It wasn’t like describing his dream was going to make it happen more often. For all he knew, it might make it happen less to get it out of his head.
“It’s not exactly a tree in that trees as we know them are wood and leaves or needles of some kind. Brown and green mostly. This is like a tree made of light, but sort of a muted light with bright spots on its branches. I figure my brain is conflating the whole plant thing with the way I have this visible energy a lot of the time…” He trailed off as Thor opened the journal and showed him the page he had marked. His eyebrows shot up as he saw that it was a drawing of the tree he had just described. Where the bright spots on the branches had been in Tony’s dream, Thor had drawn a ball.
“Your expression tells me this is what you’ve seen when you sleep. You say it reaches out… Why does that worry you?”
Flummoxed, Tony didn’t try to censor his answer. “It reaches for me like it’s trying to grab me or something.”
Thor blinked a few times. “And then you wake?”
“No. I…pull back and make myself wake up.”
“Oh, Anthony…” Thor put the journal down and reached out to cup Tony’s face in his hands. “Yggdrasil reaches for you and yet you run. This is no threat. There is something it wishes to show you.”
“Yggdrasil,” he repeated tonelessly.
“It is—”
“I know what it is. Or the legend of it anyway. The world tree.”
“Yes. Within the branches of which reside the nine realms.”
Tony shook his head. “I’d always discounted that because the idea of there just being nine realms is absurd. Considering the Chitauri invasion, I’d think that’s pretty well proven. And let’s not get into the absurdity of a tree that size.”
“You confuse realms with physical worlds. There are nine realms within the hold of Yggdrasil, but not all those realms exist on the same plane.”
“So, you’re saying the realm you call Niflheim is not actually on this plane of existence?”
Thor smiled brightly as if he found Tony a particularly astute student. “Yes, exactly. Niflheim is the realm of the dead. If it were on this plane, any could travel there.”
“I suppose that makes sense, but you’re talking about something that is…fantastical to people on this world. We don’t acknowledge other planes of existence. Well, outside of various popular mythologies. But you’re saying it’s real.” He sighed and gestured to Thor. “But look at you, sitting right in front of me—and looking very hot by the way—mythology made flesh. I guess I shouldn’t be quite so skeptical. Still…the idea that some energy tree is trying to…what? Talk to me?”
“The only way to know is to surrender.” Thor maneuvered them around so they were lying face to face, back under the covers. “My mother once told me that Yggdrasil used to reach for my father. I know not what the great tree spoke of to him, but she said he stopped heeding its call.”
“For a king who believes in that sort of thing, it doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“Indeed. Though mother said it was over a singular issue.”
“So this tree is sapient?”
“Yes, but perhaps not in the way you would expect. It has a will. Whether to heed that will is a matter of choice.”
“And has this tree ever reached for you?” Tony idly stroked his hand over Thor’s chest, enjoying the feel of Thor’s skin and the shape of the defined musculature.
“Once, when I was young. I don’t remember what was said or done, but one of the Norns visited the palace the next day and proclaimed me the God of Thunder.”
Tony frowned. “Aren’t all your people gods of some sort? I figured the titles were handed out to coincide with how you are gifted.”
Thor shook his head. “All Asgardians are skilled, but some are gifted with great power, whether energy like you or me, or perhaps seidr—what you call magic. Others can heal.”
“And so it’s not a function of birth?”
“Those who are powerful usually come from those who are powerful, it has always been so, but the gifted can be born to the ungifted.”
“I don’t… I’m not sure any of that is relevant to me. I was born here. I wasn’t born gifted.”
“And yet you are gifted. In many ways, you are like a young Asgardian coming into their powers. Perhaps this is why Yggdrasil calls to you.”
Tony blew out a breath. “Aliens are conceptually a lot easier to deal with than mystical, sapient trees. I just want to be sure we’re clear on that.”
Thor laughed and leaned in for a chaste kiss. “It is always easier to ‘deal with’ that which you can see, no?”
“True.” He slid his arm around Thor’s waist, snuggling closer. “So, what is it that you recommend?”
“Embrace Yggdrasil when you are called.”
“And either I’ll talk to a mystical tree, and possibly not remember it, or nothing will happen?”
“Precisely.”
“Okay, then.” A few minutes passed, and his eyes popped open. “Except I’m wide awake now.”
Thor chuckled. “Shall I exhaust you?”
“Exhaust? Someone thinks highly of their skills,” he shot back with a grin.
“I only speak what has already been proven. Repeatedly.”
“Yeah yeah.”
Thor pushed him onto his back, draping himself over Tony, grinding against him. “At length.”
“I concede the point.” He pulled Thor down into a heated kiss. When they broke apart, they both were fully hard and panting. “Exhaust me, then.”
– – – –
The inky blackness was disorienting, and it made Tony feel dizzy.
“I apologize for the discomfort you are experiencing. Your first astral journey can be confusing,” a woman’s voice came through the darkness.
“Who are you? Where are you?”
“I have blocked your sight temporarily to prepare you for what you will see. When I lift the veil, please remember that this is your astral form, and no harm will come to you.”
“Wha—” Millions of pinpoint lights suddenly exploded in his vision. He nearly panicked when he realized where he was. “I’m in space.” He took shuddery breaths. “But I’m breathing. I’m somehow standing in outer space, and I’m breathing.”
“You don’t need to breathe at all. You do so because you think you should.”
Tony turned and found a woman standing next to him. Except she was easily a head taller than him with inky hair that seemed to go on for yards and floated behind her. It wasn’t random floating, however. Individual strands seemed to be moving independently.
“Don’t pay them any mind. Though my primary aspect is here, they must all still work.”
“Aspect,” he repeated dumbly. “Here?” He shook his head. “Who are you?”
“I have many names in many realms. In some realms, I have more than one name. A name for each aspect or a name in each culture.”
It was easy for Tony to turn off his own freakout and focus on her and the puzzle she presented. He faced her more squarely and noticed that her facial features were constantly, subtly shifting. “And in all your years and all your incarnations, is there one that resonated with you?”
Her features settled for a second, and the settled features made her appear quite young, as if she were in her mid-twenties. She smiled down at him. “I always liked Morrigan.”
“Ah. Goddess associated with war, destiny, fate, and death.”
“Destiny and Fate are my callings, but those often lead to war and death.”
“And so they become conflated.”
“Yes.” She stared out at the vast expanse of stars.
“And why am I here? Am I really here? Because the last thing I remember is going to sleep thinking I wouldn’t fight it when the glowy tree reached for me.”
“Yggdrasil is the pathway I used to reach out to you, but you have to accept. Yggdrasil would not force itself onto you. And because you have accepted, we may now speak.”
“So a goddess of destiny wishes to speak to me. That’s not alarming.”
“They call me goddess, but I am not a god like the Asgardians. I am a cosmic entity. Here since the beginning of time. There are others. Four specifically that guard the nine.”
“And they are?”
“Death, Entropy, Infinity, and Eternity.”
“And you would be Fate.”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Well. Now it’s even more alarming. A cosmic entity needed to have a heart-to-heart.”
“Do you know where the universe began?”
Tony’s brow furrowed. “No. How could anyone know that?”
“It began in your solar system.”
Tony stared. “Well, don’t tell people on Earth that. We already think we’re the center of the universe; we don’t need it confirmed. Our egos will inflate beyond literally anyone’s ability to tolerate.”
She smiled faintly. “Do you know what an infinity stone is?”
“No, but that’s another terrifying sounding thing I’m hearing today.”
“In the beginning, there was a singularity called creation.”
“That sounds weirdly biblical,” he muttered.
“Creation derived her name from creating the universe. The byproduct was her six… We’ll call them her children. They were space, mind, reality, power, time, and soul. Creation was tired and sought her rest in a small, white stone. Around her, she created Midgard.”
“You’re kidding me. So the Earth was the very focal point of the creation of the universe? Wow. Really, don’t tell anyone on Earth that.”
Several of Morrigan’s strands of hair prodded at him. Up close, he could see they were thicker than a hair and looked more like filaments of some sort.
Morrigan brushed them away. “Stop bothering him and focus on your task.”
“Your hair is sentient?”
“One strand for every aspect, reaching out through the pathways Yggdrasil has formed. Some are clones of others. Hundreds of thousands, and some are more unruly than others.”
“Huh. Okay, well, I won’t try to wrap my brain around that mystery. So, the source of the creation of the universe is sleeping inside the Earth, and she left behind six kids.”
Morrigan smiled faintly, the effect unsettling as her features continued to shift. “Yes. The creation of the universe birthed the cosmic entities, the six singularities, and Yggdrasil. The Norse called Yggdrasil the tree of life because life literally came from the well of creation energy. It flows through the universe, but it has four anchor realms in the physical plane of existence and four anchor realms in the spiritual plane.”
“So that’s eight realms.”
“The ninth realm is Midgard, the heart of Yggdrasil because that is where creation rests.”
“Oh lordy. So the entire universe is touched by Yggdrasil, but the tree is anchored by the nine realms?”
“Yes. Odin ultimately claimed dominion over the nine and was to serve as their protector. He sought to protect through subjugation and created strife where it need not have been. Then his daughter sought to conquer other worlds, but courting war with those of equal power could have unseated him and toppled Asgard.
“Yggdrasil, through the Norns, ordered him to cease lest he destabilize the Nine more than his poor choices already had. But his daughter was not so easily dissuaded and would not stop. He was forced to imprison her, held in check only by the force of his own seidr. Now he concerns himself with only Asgard, and so it has been for many centuries. But that is another tale.”
“Soap opera, Asgard style. It doesn’t sound very entertaining.”
“It is tragic in its way.” Her eyes shifted colors when she looked at him. “We, the cosmic entities, shaped the singularities into stones, much like their mother. Together, they are the single greatest source of power in the universe.”
“Outside of creation?”
“Yes, but she sleeps. Yet they are drawn to her. The time stone currently resides on Earth, and the space stone did so until recently. The space stone is particularly diligent about seeking out its mother.”
“And is this a problem?”
“It’s something to be aware of.”
“Okaaay.” He stared at her for several seconds, watching her expression morph. “Why am I here?”
“Do you know the legends of the Fates?”
“Greek mythology… Those Fates?”
“Yes.”
“People’s lives represented by a thread, woven into a tapestry, a thread is cut when you die.”
“An adequate allegory for the people of that time. And since you’re aware of it, we’ll use it illustratively. It has never been my function to weave some tapestry or cut threads.”
“I figured. That’s way too literal.”
“Yes. But each living thing in the universe carries the energy of Yggdrasil. And if you represent those energies as threads, they weave their own tapestry—of a sort. When a physical body dies in a being with consciousness, the consciousness moves on to another plane and exists as a new part of the tree.”
“Okay, I’m following.”
“Allow me to give you an illustration…” She waved her hand, and the vastness of space disappeared, leaving what looked like millions, or maybe even billions or trillions, of threads weaving around each other. “Tell me what you see?”
“They are lots of threads, and they sort of weave around one another.”
“Life interacting with other life. Tell me about the colors.”
“It’s a pretty muted palette, all told, but there are those bright threads. They’re like light.”
“Yes, the instruments of Fate. They operate differently from other life in the universe. They create change around them in a way that ensures the universe continues to function as it should. It is…problematic when they die before their time.”
“Are we talking about me or Tony Stark?”
She smiled again. “Both of you. Tony Stark should have died in that cave with the metal encroaching on his heart.” She held up her hand, and one of the hair-filaments wrapped around it. “But there is a watcher over all my instruments. And we interceded to ensure he survived.”
“Wow. You make me sound like a tool. And that really didn’t come out right.”
“Your will is your own, Anthony, but it’s been your actions in many lives that make you glow so brightly.”
“Many lives,” he repeated dully, not sure he wanted to go down that path.
“There is always new life, but some old life chooses to be born again. Those who follow the path of Fate almost always choose to live again, to continue their work.”
“Okay.” He blew out a breath. “Back to Stark. Why not just get him out of there?”
“We try to interfere as little as possible and not in a way that would make people question reality. Physically moving his body would raise questions. Nudging the metal away from his heart would not. Bringing him to the astral plane while they performed surgery did not harm him either.”
“Does he remember that?”
“No. Very few remember their time here. If I must bring one of my instruments to this place, it is usually desperate, and I block their memory of it to keep from influencing their lives.”
“Okay, well, thank you for taking care of Tony. I know his situation was awful, but it sounds like it could have been a lot worse.”
“You ask me about your friend, but not about yourself.” Her tone sounded curious.
“Well, I’m not sure I want to know.”
“A man whose trade is in information wishes for ignorance?” She now sounded amused.
“No, I guess not. But just because I want to know doesn’t mean I want to know.” He waved his hand. “It’s a conundrum. So, lay it on me. I assume I was going to die at the hands of Hydra?”
“Not immediately, no. Everything that has happened to you is what would have happened if you had a bit more Asgardian in you. Perhaps as little as two or three generations.”
“So I am descended from an Asgardian?”
“Yes, you are from the line of Heimdall. A child he did not know of was left on Midgard when Asgard closed the Bifröst. The experiments performed on you awakened the Asgard lineage within you to protect you from the changes caused by the various serums they injected into you.”
“And so you made me…a little more Asgardian?”
“Not exactly.”
“Does this have something to do with the plant?” he asked dryly.
“Yes. All species are children of Yggdrasil, but one of the very first was a plant-like race. They are incredibly adaptive. The addition of their DNA allowed the Asgardian nature to awake without killing you in the process.”
“Are we talking sapient plants?”
“They are not plants in the way you think of them. They eat, sleep, live in social groups, love… They are called Groot.”
Tony sighed. “And will I ever have to meet these Groot?”
“You’ll likely encounter at least one in your lifetime. They are more in tune with life energy than most other beings. They will recognize you as kin.”
“Okay, so this Groot part was put there by you to help me survive, but Hydra didn’t actually make me part plant. And if I ever encounter a Groot, they’ll think I’m a long-lost cousin or something? Or will they try to strangle me with a vine?”
“They will be…confused. But they understand fate in a way many do not. Tell them you’re my instrument and you are now related to them because it helped ensure your survival.”
“And they’ll let it go?”
“Well, that or they’ll try to protect you the rest of your days. What’s the Earth term? It’s a toss-up?”
Tony snorted in amusement. “Yeah, that’s the term.” He kept staring at the threads weaving themselves into…something. “So, is that all I needed to know? How I survived?”
“No.” She reached out and cupped his face, and he felt an odd tingling energy. “Anthony, to save you, we had to change you. Some Asgardians are truly chosen by Yggdrasil to be what your realm calls gods. Yggdrasil has chosen you.” She hesitated. “Again.”
He took a step back, breaking her hold. “Whoa. Just slow down. I’m going to skip the god part of the conversation for now. What do you mean again?”
“Your first life, you were born on Asgard.”
“Oh god.”
“Life is a circle; perhaps you were fated to return there sooner than you might have wished.”
“Isn’t fate your lookout? Wouldn’t you know?”
“I’m a guardian of fate, Anthony, not its creator. Which is why I protect you. You became an instrument of fate when you gave up your life to save the future of Asgard.”
Tony knew the answer to that immediately. It resonated in him. “Thor.”
“Yes. It is vital that Thor be the next king of Asgard, but he was nearly cut down very young. You were friends, and his soul recognizes yours. As yours does him.”
“I don’t even know what to do with that.”
“Nothing. Right now, you have a sort of equilibrium. You have this knowledge, but he has memories you do not. You’re not equal in what you know, but it creates balance between you.”
“So, he’s being sincere with the…endearments.”
“Yes. You are not obligated to stay with him, but do not dismiss his feelings. Your souls walked the world together once before, and you both feel the bonds between you.”
“Yeah, okay.” He didn’t want to discuss Thor anymore. “Why was it so vital to save me?”
“The universe is poised on the precipice of destruction. And because of the stones’ affinity for Earth, the battle will be waged there.”
“Oh great.”
“You have a few years to prepare, but Thanos will come. He’ll believe he comes for the stones, but the stones want to be on Earth. His path towards Earth, in a way, makes it easier for him to collect the stones. And if Earth falls—Midgard, the heart of Yggdrasil—it will destabilize the tree of life and threaten not just the life Thanos wishes to take, but all life. Earth, more than any other realm, could not afford to lose one of its protectors.”
“And what is Asgard’s role in all this?”
“Thor needs to know some of this; what you tell him is up to you, but be discerning.”
He nodded, thinking through the issues.
“As for Odin… He has removed himself by failing to listen. Perhaps Thor can delay Ragnarok, but it is unlikely.”
He shot her a look. “Now is not the time to be vague. I can almost feel a non-interference speech coming, but if you’re going to trust me to act, then actually trust me with all the information I need rather than having me stumble around in the dark.”
“Ragnarok is a prophecy about the destruction of Asgard. Made because Odin refused to listen.”
“About what?”
“His children. Specifically, the daughter I mentioned and Loki. Odin and his firstborn, Hela, walk in both planes, which were in chaos when Odin came into power. He sought to bring peace the way many approach it, through war. As I said, peace through subjugation. But Hela thrived on war. It fed something dark in her. The Norns told him to strip her of her power, but he could not bear to have that godly distinction removed from her.”
“From her or from his line? I mean, was he being all paternal, or was his pride at stake?”
“Pride,” she acknowledged. “As he ages, he tries to be a good king in a way he wasn’t in his youth, but he refuses to correct his mistakes or even acknowledge they exist. So his seidr keeps Hela imprisoned in another plane. When he failed to heed our counsel about Hela, we tried to bring him to reason about Loki. Odin cannot live forever, and Loki has the potential to channel seidr in a way like none before him, even Odin himself. Loki could hold the lock on Hela’s prison with little effort. Loki could also bind Hela’s powers—if he were trained.”
“What was Odin supposed to do in regard to Loki that he didn’t?”
“He was supposed to stop demonizing Frost Giants. Loki learning of his heritage was inevitable. And we knew he would not do well to discover that he was the proverbial monster parents warn their children about. Odin was advised to seek true peace with the Frost Giants, but he chose, instead, to allow the bigotry on Asgard to stand and bound much of Loki’s seidr. When Odin dies, Hela will escape, and Asgard will fall.”
Tony huffed. Damn family dramas that ruin the universe. “And can that be stopped?”
“Perhaps, but that would be a difficult path with Loki as he is today. He has no love for Asgard any longer. Only his mother and Thor.”
“To make sure I have this right… Loki could be instrumental to saving Asgard—someday—but he’s not instrumental in this bit with this Thanos guy?”
“Loki would prefer to stay far away from Thanos. The Mad Titan is who found Loki when he fell from the Bifröst. Loki, due to his heritage, is capable of surviving a great amount of torture.”
“Ah.” Something else to add to the to-do list. “What was the scepter Loki used? Was that what was influencing him when he came to Earth?”
“Yes. The mind stone was placed in the scepter long ago because most mortals are not capable of handling the raw power of an infinity stone. That scepter was used on Loki before he was sent with it to Earth.”
“And can Thanos create more portals straight to Earth? Send another minion to finish what Loki didn’t?”
“No. They needed the space stone, which is hidden in the tesseract and presently on Asgard, to create the invasion portal. He was able to create a portal between the two stones to send Loki to Earth. But he does not know that the only reason it worked was because the creation stone is on Earth and both stones were willing to connect to bring the mind stone here. He assumes it is because the space stone was at one end of the portal. The stones will work outside their domain to be closer to their mother.”
“That feels kind of sad.”
“Perhaps. You may not be able to change the course for Asgard. Loki is as much an instrument of fate as you are, but he’s been abused. Fate can turn against those who abuse its chosen, and Asgard, not just Odin, has made poor choices.”
“Can I be honest with Loki and let him make an informed decision?”
She cocked her head to the side, her facial features freezing in one look for several seconds. “I foresee good and bad outcomes from Loki having knowledge. I can only advise you to act as you would when it comes to Loki and not heed the advice of others.”
“So I have to be an arrogant ass to save Asgard?”
“See it how you will. However…” She stared out into the vastness of space, the illusion of the threads having long since faded. “The stones will all come to Earth eventually. Over time, most were made into other objects. I never approved of using the stones that way. The fact that they cannot be used by mortals should be reason enough to leave them be rather than caging them in devices that bend them to the will of others.”
“Okay, when you put it like that…”
“I sought to protect the soul stone from this. Instead of a weapon or a tool, I created a great trap around it. But it is now farther from Earth than the others with no hope of travel outside of Thanos retrieving it. In this, I have made a mistake. It is unwise to make an infinity stone desperate.”
“That does sound…potentially catastrophic.”
“My intention was to accept the repercussions should Thanos manage to satisfy the terms of the trap around the stone, thinking he would never accomplish it. But I see now that there is a way. I think it would be wiser to free the stone.”
“And maybe apologize,” Tony added. “Because I think really powerful beings underestimate the impact of a good, old-fashioned ‘I’m sorry.’ Just sayin’.”
She looked thoughtful. “I will consider your counsel.”
“Okay, then. Just tell me, is it now my fate to wind up on Asgard?”
Several of her hair-things curled around him again, and she waved them away. “Your time on Earth would have ended in…another forty years?”
“Yes.”
“You now have potentially thousands of years in front of you. What will you do with them? Live amongst those with painfully short lives, losing those you care for over and over and over? Or move to be with people whose lifespan matches yours? I will not advise you in the matter of your own personal future. You were an instrument of fate, and you still are. And your role was always to stand watch over your people. New instruments will rise, and who you call your people may change.”
His lips twitched. “A sentry of sort.”
“As you will.”
– – – –
Tony jolted upright in the way he always seemed to wake these days, except that it was clearly the middle of the day. He had to have been asleep for at least twelve hours.
He blew out a shaky breath, wondering if all of that had been real or just a weird plant-fear-fueled dream?
Thor was sitting in a chair by the bed, drinking coffee and watching Tony with an expression of concern. “Are you well?”
“I… What happened?”
“When I woke, your spirit was no longer within your body. I gathered you heeded Yggdrasil’s call.” Thor set the coffee aside. “So, I sat vigil by your bedside and waited. I told Steve that I had kept you up all night and thus, you would miss your usual lunch with him while you gathered your strength.”
Tony couldn’t help but laugh. “You used the way he freaks out about me having sex to keep him from worrying about me?”
“Indeed.”
“Nicely done. I wholeheartedly approve.”
Thor set the coffee aside and moved to sit on the side of the bed so that their hips touched as they faced each other. He reached out and brushed Tony’s cheek. “What happened?”
“I, uh… Well, I’m not sure it was real.” He reached up to rub his hand over his face but froze when he saw the black around his wrist. One of Morrigan’s filaments was wound many times around his wrist, creating a nearly quarter-inch band of black that faintly shimmered when he moved. “I guess it was real.”
Thor took Tony’s hand and lightly touched the black band. “This was not there before.”
“No… It belongs to Destiny.”
Thor’s eyebrows shot up. “Yggdrasil summoned you to speak with one of the cosmic entities?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Do you wish to discuss your journey?”
“Uh… How about in a little bit. Let me take a shower and eat. Get my head on straight.” Tony could use a few minutes to decide what all he was going to tell Thor. He figured his partner in crime in all this was actually Stark. But Tony wanted to be as honest with Thor as he could be.
“Such odd expressions,” Thor said with a fond smile. “Your head is in no way crooked. You are most symmetrical.”
Tony took in the smile, the tender touches and expression, and considered it in the light that Thor was serious about all of this. Their souls knew one another even if their minds did not. How incredibly…weird. There was a lot he could tell Thor, but he thought perhaps that bit of news needed to be held back. At least for now.
He climbed out of bed then reached for Thor’s hand. “Come on. Shower blowjobs wait for no man.”
Grinning, Thor grabbed Tony and almost sprinted for the shower.
Morrigan (Vanessa Hudgens)
Chapters 10-12 | Main Page | Chapters 16-18 (End)
I just *love* that you placed them on floor *42*. It’s the sci-fi need in me, and such a small thing, but it brings me a lot of joy.
LOL. No one’s ever commented on that before, and the floor was chosen because of my inner geek, so your comment tickled me.