#wanda is a weirdo and a freak in the cool way | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

stony-feels1776 · 6 years

Text

Recovery - A New Day (Chapter Three)

This is part three of Recovery, a Stony Fic!

Warning: Angst

{More under the read more}

{link to it on wattpad: x }

{part 1}

{part 2}

Tony woke with a start at five am, the faint streaks of light from the sunrise sneaking into his dark room. Tony tried to slow his breathing. He wasn't sure if he had a nightmare or something- but he did know that he actually slept alright for once.

He took a shaky breath and groaned as he got out of bed. He looked at his alarm clock and sighed, stretching before wincing in pain. He strapped on the stupid leg thing that would support him as he walked and exited his room, yawning.

Today, he was feeling much better. Tired, dizzy, and a tad bit nauseous, but alright. He was pretty sure he'd basically threw up his whole stomach last night. He limped out into the living room, where he was surprised to see Clint still awake, staring at the TV.

Tony silently snuck around him - which wasn't hard to do, once Clint gave his attention to something almost nothing could distract him. Ah, Disney, of course. Cinderella. One of Clint's favorites. Tony smiled at him and walked into the kitchen, wanting to make himself a cup of coffee. However, he was disappointed when he realized the coffee machine was still gone. He sighed hastily, which made Clint jump and pull his bow and an arrow off the ground.

Clint rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh when he saw Tony. Sitting down, he smiled at him. "Hey, Tony," He said quietly, "can't sleep anymore?" Tony nodded, expecting Clint to yell at him for being awake. Instead, he just nodded in understanding, "I'm glad you slept."

Tony sat down next to him, yawning. "Yeah, me too, bud. Seriously? Cinderella? Again? You're such a nerd. Is that what Disney fans are? Or are they dorks?" He asked, his voice sharp, sarcastic, but caring.

"Ner-orks. But also really cool people, if you must know, Tony. I would know," he put his hand under his chin, "because I am a Disney fan and extremely cool, obviously." He sounded full of himself. He fidgeted with the arrows and ruffled his hair. "Are we going to completely ignore last night? Because I'd both love to and hate too."

"God, Clint, you're a weirdo." Tony said, chuckling, "Make up your mind." Tony patted Clint's knee gently before standing up.

"Actually, I did. I've decided that we'll talk about it later. But for now, I have a prank. A little bit of fun. I figured you needed it," Clint touched his hearing aid gently, smirking a little.

Ah, leave it to Clint to figure out a way to piss off/amuse the team. Tony spread his arms and make a 'let's hear it' face. Clint licked his lips and started to use his hands to explain.

"Okay, so, the team thinks slash knows you and Steve are basically a team - by the way, you are a thing, right? Y'all kissed. Three times. I didn't tell anyone about the first time, y'know, I was being a good friend back then. But you kissed twice. In front of everyone, dude. It's obvious y'all love each other." Tony awkwardly shifted on the couch as Clint talked, "But no worries, Tony, no one will bring it up yet. Anyways, I have a plan. The Avengers need a laugh." The smirk on Clint's face was priceless. He'd come up with something clever.

"We should totally act like a couple to freak everyone out," Clint said, a smile playing on his lips. Tony laughed.

"Oh my God, Clint, they'd have a heart attack. Natasha would probably give me her sternest parent-talk about how if I broke your heart she'd stab me violently." Tony said, ignoring the pain in his ribs as he coughed. He was fine.

Clint raised his eyebrows. "I bet Steve would get jealous. You did kiss him yesterday."

"Hey!" Tony protested, "We're not actually dating or anything." He paused. "Kissing him was a mistake." His voice dropped. Clint put his hand on Tony's shoulder.

"Hey, it was not. Steve kissed you like five seconds later. Dude, you're fine. He loves you." Clint said supportively, gasping at a part in the movie. Tony looked at the screen then back at Clint. Clint smiled at the movie in such a Clint way that it made Tony laugh some more. He clutched his ribs and coughed slightly. Clint immediately turned to him, concerned.

"Tony, ground rules: you are to tell me if you feel sick or tired or nervous you are to tell me immediately. And, try not to puke all over my hot bod." Clint said, accidentally slipping and using sign language again. Clint did this whenever he was nervous.

"Alright," Tony said before raising his eyebrows, "honey."

"I see we are using my awesome, hilarious plan!" Clint said, whooping. "Alright, sweetheart. Should we just," he suddenly looked awkward, which was a weird look on Clint, as nothing ever seemed to faze him, "flirt with each other? God, they'll all fall for this."

As if on cue, Bruce walked into the room, clearly exhausted. "Oh, darling," Tony complained, "you simply must buy me a new coffee machine." He wrapped his arms around Clint, who was still sitting.

Clint rolled his eyes. "Love, you're not allowed to have coffee." Clint wrapped his arms around Tony's waist and put his forehead against Tony's. Bruce sighed and the rest of the team appeared. Tony jumped - a real flinch, they popped out of nowhere, the goddamned idiots - and Clint stood up. Tony rubbed his face and didn't look up. Clint was stuttering, pretending like he couldn't get words out. Unlike Tony, Clint could blush super easily. A single thought? The man's face could turn red. And so it did.

Steve paused, and Tony could see him fighting a war within himself. Thor was laughing. Bruce was shrugging it off, although he looked confused, Natasha was basically glaring at them but her eyes sparkled, and Rhodey was blinking in astonishment.

But Steve's sad look was killing Tony.

"Hey! Hey! Just a joke, y'all." Clint said, noticing Steve too, giving a sorry look to Tony. "We wanted to see if y'all would be happier or something. Tony and me? Seriously, guys? He'd gladly punch me and I've literally shot at him before."

Tony stood up and smiled, laughing. "Yes. You really thought I'd date someone like Clint? All of you are fools," he glanced at Steve, who was looking confused and a little hurt still. Natasha gave a sigh of relief and the rest of them laughed.

"Steve's an exception. He's an idiot, but he's a handsome idiot." Tony added, regretting it immediately. Steve blushed and looked like he was unable to say anything. He still looked iffy on the situation.

"Th-thanks...?" Steve finally responded, looking at his feet. Tony clenched his jaw. Great job, Mr. Stark, you've made the room awkward again.

"Alright. Let's go out. I don't want to stay here. Unless, of course, you let me go into my own basement." Tony said, throwing his hands into the air and picking up a cookie from a plate in the kitchen. He bit into it. It tasted lovely - Natasha and Bruce probably made them (don't tell anyone, but Tony knows how they love to cook together - and even though Wanda and Vision usually are the ones cooking, everyone agrees Nat and Bruce are the real talented chefs).

Clint shifted and smiled at Natasha. "We should go out," he said, "some sunshine would do us all good." Steve nodded and grabbed Tony's hand. Tony shivered at his touch. Steve's hands were cold but soft. Tony could feel the gentleness and the strength in them. Tony looked up at Steve's eyes.

"I agree. Who's up for a picnic?" Bruce said, toying with a pencil. Natasha was already searching for some sort of big basket. "I can get Thor over here. I talked to Rhodey; he's busy. Sam is too. I can see if Pepper can meet us." Bruce offered.

Natasha nodded. "Thor should come, but Pepper's working today. Vision and Wanda are probably making out somewhere in a romantic forest, so let's not worry about them." She grabbed a large woven basket and started planning what everyone would eat.

"We all like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, correct?" Tony asked. Everyone nodded. "Alright, Nat, you're on sandwich duty. Brucie, you can borrow one of my cars, please go get some snacks. Uh - let's see - Clint, we need some - goddamn, am I still not allowed to drink? - water, I suppose. Sparkling, please. And Steve, I need a kiss right here," he pointed at his cheek finally, ordering everyone around. Like he usually would.

Steve kissed Tony gently on the cheek and everyone scurried to do what they needed to. Tony smiled and helped Natasha with the sandwiches. "Tony, I'm proud of you." Nat whispered, "Look at what you've done."

Tony sighed. "It's not enough. I caused all of you grief. I made you guys worry." He responded quietly, dropping the knife. He bent over and picked it up, walking over to the sink to clean it, not trusting the floor to be perfectly clean.

"Tony, after you got - when you were in the hospital, we all thought the team would disband. We fought. Steve said that what we were doing was getting too dangerous. Bruce said that Steve was being stupid and that the world - and you, Tony - needed us more than ever. Steve threatened to quit. Physical fighting almost broke out. But Tony, you, you and your brilliant, charismatic, kind mind brought us back together." Natasha said, putting together two sandwiches for every one Tony made.

Tony sighed. "I'm glad some people feel that way," he mumbled, "but I should have listened to Clint. We could have captured them and rescued his daughter."

Natasha sighed, "You're wrong, Tony," she whispered, "they called us right after you left. They said that if the team - or more than one person - showed up, they'd kill her right away. We couldn't go after you, even."

Tony sighed and licked his lips, swallowing. Natasha suddenly took a sandwich without the top piece of bread and smacked it on Tony's face, making him stumble as it slipped off his face, leaving a trail of peanut butter and jelly on his cheek. He smiled and laughed, sticking his finger in the jelly and flicking a bit at Natasha, who gracefully avoided it, a smirk on her lips.

Clint walked into the kitchen and naturally joined in, grabbing the ketchup from the fridge and holding it dangerously. Tony put his hands up instantly. Natasha, unfortunately, was too late to surrender and Clint sprayed her with the red liquid, making her smooth ginger hair drip with the stuff. Tony chuckled before a spray of ketchup landed on his cheek. "Not fair, Barton! I had surrendered!" He exclaimed.

"What in the world are you doing?" Bruce whispered, horrified. He nearly avoided a squirt of ketchup. "Clint! Watch it! I'm not in this!" He said, slowly walking backward. Thor suddenly burst into the room, and when Clint tried to hit him with the vile tomato paste, his hammer got hit pretty hard.

Thor laughed. "You humans are hilarious! You throw food at each other simply to create conflict and make a mess!" He said, wiping his eyes. He licked some ketchup off his hammer before grimacing in disgust. "You drink weird liquids, too! What a vile kind of wine!" He said, obviously confused.

"Hey, bud, that's not wine, I'm banned, remember?" Tony said, and then Clint pointed the ketchup back at him.

"And you won't drink anything, right?" Clint threatened, eyes cold and face hard as he glared at Tony, squeezing the ketchup bottle slightly. Tony raised his hands a bit more.

"Nope! A good person, I am, would never disobey my best friends," he said quickly in response. He slowly grabbed the spraying thing by the sink and tapped it, spraying Clint with viciously cold water instantly, making him jump and drop the ketchup. Natasha swooped down and grabbed it, pouring loads of the tomato sauce on Clint's head, where it dripped down all across his body.

"Aaah! Nat!" He cried in dismay, jumping backward and grabbing a cookie that was sitting on the counter before throwing it so it just missed Natasha and crumbled against the wall. "You know I never miss, Nat!" He cried, picking up a pie. Natasha gasped.

"You wouldn't dare!" She said, mocking betrayal. Clint began to throw the pie, but instead of hitting Natasha, it landed right on Tony's face. Tony gasped and the room began to scream in uproar as he wiped his eyes. Clint fell on the floor he was laughing so hard.

Thor laughed and Bruce was doing the 'oooohhhh' thing that happens in public schools with Clint, and Natasha was whooping. Tony blinked it out of his eyes and grabbed the sink thing again, spraying Thor and Bruce with it. Bruce yelped and ducked behind a couch and Thor pretended to wash his long hair with the water.

Clint leaped from off the floor and turned the squirty-thing to face Tony, making him get himself all wet. Tony gasped as the water sloshed against his face. "Friday! Turn off the sink!" He cried and the sink turned off quickly. Tony wiped his face, laughing. "My house, Clint, I make the rules! No spraying me with water!" Tony said, smirking.

Just then, Steve walked in and came up to Tony, grabbing his hand. Flustered, Tony didn't realize Clint pouring a bottle of water over his head. Tony gasped as the cold water ran down his body. "Clint!" He cried. Steve chuckled and Tony looked ultra betrayed, with his mouth hanging open and everything. Tony could hear Bruce laughing on the couch and Thor was grinning.

"Hey! Hey! I surrender!" Tony cried, feeling his ribs starting to ache. He gulped and tried to force his body to stop hurting. He raised his hands, ripping his hand out of Steve's maybe a little too forcefully. Steve looked at Tony with a confused and hurt look.

Clint narrowed his eyes. "Alright, guys," Tony guessed Clint must have been able to tell Tony was hurting, "let's clean up and get going." Natasha nodded, examining Tony with her eyes. Tony shifted, uncomfortable. He needed to step up his 'I'm fine' game.

"Dum-e, hey, you two, clean this all up," Tony commanded, making the robots jump a little before scurrying over. "They'll probably be half-way done by the time we get back, but they'll do it. Or I'll sell them online," He added, glaring down the robots, which moved faster.

Clint was in charge of holding the basket for the whole walk, despite his efforts to avoid this duty. Originally, Steve was going to carry it, because of super-strength and everything, but after Clint's act with the ketchup, they all deemed it an appropriate punishment for poor Clint. He'd grumbled a little, but when the whole team's staring down at you stubbornly, you kind of have to obey.

They walked for a little while. It was a sunny day with a nice breeze, and the grass was green as spring had begun. Tiny flowers were sprouting up along the sidewalks. Tony led them to a small park. It looked like nothing at first; New York had much larger, nicer parks, but this one was small with one table and was surrounded by trees. It was also completely empty.

Except for two people.

"Bucky!" Steve cried, running towards his friend, who was supposed to be sitting at home, far away, in a cold forest cabin. Bucky opened his arms too late and Steve and him ended up on the ground.

"Peter!" Tony said, grimacing. He loved the kid, don't get him wrong. Peter walked over, smiling awkwardly, ruffling his own hair.

"Hey, Mr. Stark," He said. Tony rubbed his head but smiled and patted Peter on the back. Clint squinted at Peter before handing him the basket. Peter took it, almost falling with its weight, which he didn't expect. Natasha shook Peter's hand and grabbed the basket from him, giving Clint a mean look. Bucky was awkwardly trying to push Steve off of him while Steve pestered him with questions.

Tony looked away. Why couldn't Steve hug him like that? He tried to push away the spikes of jealousy. He gulped and gestured to the table, sitting down next to Peter. Natasha put the basket on the table - which rocked everytime someone moved or bumped into it - and took a sandwich out before jumping up into a tree next to the table. Clint tried to grab one too, but Peter grabbed it and pulled it towards him, smirking at Clint. Peter took two out, handing one to Tony, who accepted it with a quick 'thanks, kid.'

Everyone took a sandwich. Thor ended up sitting on the grass - Clint told him he'd crush the seat with his massive muscles - Steve sat next to Bucky, Clint had climbed into the tree - higher than Natasha - and Bruce sat down next to Tony. Tony, Bruce, and Peter began to talk about electrons and what Peter was doing in school, while Steve and Bucky talked about the 'old days.' Clint and Natasha were bickering fondly, as usual.

When everyone was done, Peter jumped up on the table and smiled at everyone. He clapped his hands together, making Clint, who was arguing about scientific things he didn't know anything about, jump and almost fall. Tony snickered. "I have a friend I'd like all of you to meet," he said, "well, you've technically met her before. She'll be here in five, four," he started counting down.

Interrupting him, a young, pretty girl walked up. "Shuri! That's my main meme! Everyone, officially meet Shuri. She's King T'Challa's sister." Peter said, extending his hand. She took it and jumped on the table with him.

Clint fell with a yelp suddenly. Everyone turned to see Black Panther in his place. T'Challa took off the mask and looked at everyone, smiling at his sister. "Ow..." Clint groaned from the ground, where he landed on his bum. Natasha laughed at him. Everyone stood. Tony, Bruce, and Steve bowed. Steve elbowed Bucky, who then bowed with them. Peter saluted the King. Thor smiled.

"Ah! So you're the other king!" Thor said, chuckling. "I am Thor." T'Challa raised his eyebrows.

"I know," T'Challa responded. Shuri touched Bucky's hair, making Bucky turn around, perplexed. "Shuri, please cease touching people's hair. It is not only strange, but it is also awkward." He commented. Shuri shrugged and touched Peter's.

"It's nice to see you again, Your Majesty," Tony said. Natasha nodded in agreement. Bucky and Steve shifted. Bucky hid his face and looked like he was going into cardiac arrest and was constipated at the same time. Steve grabbed his hand. Another wave of jealousy ran over Tony. Bucky was just Steve's friend. They were like brothers. No reason to get jealous.

Clint walked over to stand by Steve. "I apologize, Barton, for knocking you down. I hope that all of our rivalries have diminished. Same to you, Rogers and Barnes." T'Challa commented, jumping down and landing with perfect grace.

"We apologize too. We all forgive each other, then?" Steve said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Awesome. Now, what are we going to do?" Clint said.

"Vines!" Peter and Shuri yelled simultaneously.

"Shuri, your addiction to 'vines' and 'memes' is getting out of hand, please do not annoy everybody with them like you do me-" T'Challa started, facepalming, shaking his head.

"Peter, remember how I told you to not do anything that I wouldn't do? Would I indulge in vines?" Tony said.

Shuri and Peter laughed. "Hey, Jared, can you read number nineteen to the class?" Shuri asked.

"No I cannot," Peter responded, "hi I'm Jared, I'm nineteen and I never fucking learned how to read."

Tony gasped. "Watch your language!" He scolded. T'Challa looked like he was dying. Thor laughed.

"Peter, your name isn't even Jared!" Thor said, slapping his knee. Clint looked pleased and Natasha raised her eyebrows. However, Bucky and Steve looked confused and lost.

"Brother! Please, put your mask on. I wish to show them the technology." Shuri said. T'Challa did so, standing on the bench. Shuri pointed to the ears. "Such ears! Much wow! Very good! Such awesome! Much cat!" She exclaimed. Peter was laughing so hard he had to sit down. T'Challa put his hand up to where his mouth would be before jumping back on the tree.

"Shuri, I swear-" he started.

"Captain Rogers, may I see your shield? It's made of vibranium, right?" Shuri asked sweetly. Steve handed her the shield, nodding, confused. Shuri handed it to Peter. "This bitch empty!" Shuri yelled.

Peter looked at her with a desperate look before throwing Steve's shield, screaming "YEET" as loud as he could. Steve looked so confused he might cry. Bucky was chuckling. Tony and T'Challa glanced at each other.

Clint grabbed a stick. "This bitch empty, too!" He shouted before throwing the stick at Natasha, screaming 'yeet' too. Natasha caught it easily. Thor raised his hammer.

"Wait, no-" Tony said before Thor threw it gently, whispering 'yeet.'

"It didn't do anything special. What is the point of this spell?" Thor asked, looking genuinely disappointed.

"It's not a spell," T'Challa explained, "it is a stupid thing that children these days find interest in."

"Hey! I'm old and I like vines!" Clint objected. T'Challa sighed, obviously pondering his existence.

"You don't count. You're basically a big baby." Natasha chimed in, sharpening the stick with a pocket knife.

"What? Explain!" Clint demanded.

"Well, you like to throw fits, are dramatic, egotistical at your low skills - I mean, Tony's egotistical, but he at least has some skills - and you like to color in children's coloring books. Not to mention you cry at Disney movies." Natasha retaliated instantly. Clint stuck out his tongue at her.

"Okay, but how can you not cry at them? Y'all don't have hearts." Clint shot back.

"I cry at Disney movies!" Peter chimed in. Tony looked disappointed.

"If I may interrupt," Clint said, gently pushing Peter off the table, "can we talk about how Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are totally fucking in secret?"

"Clint!" Steve and Tony both cried. Steve covered his face with his hand and Tony put his head on Bruce's shoulder as Bruce laughed. Peter gasped. Shuri and T'Challa looked confused. Peter whispered to her why everyone was freaking out about this.

"Wait! Does this mean all that fighting was sexual tension?" Shuri asked. Steve looked at her with alarm. Tony shifted.

"No, it wasn't!" Tony said finally, "It was - we were - it was fighting! Disagreeing!" He said. Bruce pat him on the shoulder. Steve's face was red. Wait- did Steve feel that way back then? Oh god.

"Ah, so it was just a divorce." Shuri came to the conclusion.

"We weren't dating!" Tony said. "We- we aren't dating! Wait- are we dating?" Tony said, confused. His head was beginning to spin and he felt lightheaded. He took a deep breath. He was fine.

"Uh," Steve paused, "a-are we?" Tony didn't answer. How could he? They waited in silence. Steve walked over to Tony and put his hand on Tony's cheek. "Do you want to be?" Steve asked gently. Tony looked up at his blue eyes and his gentle face. Tony opened his mouth but no sound would come out. Tony nodded and gently leaned his head against Steve's chest. Steve ran his hands over Tony's hair before kissing his head gently.

"Oh, aren't I the perfect matchmaker?" Shuri bragged. Tony lifted his head and looked at her, mouthing 'thank you' to her. She winked at him. "Well, T'Challa and I better be going," she paused and smirked, "for now. My main meme, keep sending me memes you find." And with that, her and T'Challa walked away.

Steve leaned down, startling Tony before Steve picked him up bridal-style easily. Tony smiled fondly. "I weigh nothing to you, do I?" He asked.

"Tony, a car weighs nothing to me," Steve said, "but that worries me because I could so easily hurt you." His hands gently held Tony, but fear was prominent in his eyes. Tony reached up and touched Steve's face.

"You never hurt me," Tony whispered. It wasn't true, of course. Steve almost killed Tony. Tony swallowed hard. No, this Steve, the Steve he loved, wouldn't hurt him. Steve smiled at him and put Tony down gently.

"Okay, good job guys, but get a room? My poor eyes," Clint said, covering his eyes, acting disgusted despite grinning. Natasha nodded in agreement but gave them a thumbs up. Bruce was focusing on sketching something. Peter clapped. Thor smiled.

"Well, I must be going," Thor said before promptly leaving, shooting into the sky. They waved and watched him go.

"Anyone else leaving?" Tony asked, his gaze falling on Bucky. He didn't hate Bucky, don't get him wrong, but knowing that Bucky had such a deep relationship with Steve - and was single - worried him. What if Steve decided he loved Bucky more and left him? Tony couldn't talk much of the old days with Steve, while Bucky could recite their precious childhood memories.

Natasha nodded. "I've got a mission. Clint, you can stay here. Bucky, you're coming with me. We've got heavy things that need to be lifted." She said. Steve looked at Bucky, longing in his eyes. He missed his best friend. They'd lost so much time together. A pit of sorrow was dragging Tony down. Maybe Steve deserved Bucky. Maybe Steve shouldn't love Tony. Why should he? Tony was cocky, arrogant, and stupid. Someone like Steve deserved better. The whole team deserved better.

Bucky smiled at Steve. "Well, you've finally decided to get in a relationship," he said, eyes shining. He looked proud. A little sad, maybe, but mostly proud. As a friend should be. He and Natasha walked away, talking.

"Okay, guys, uh-" Peter began, "we should dance. Aunt May and I always dance when we go to empty parks. It's fun, c'mon." Tony was about to object when Peter said, "Please?" God, how can anyone not give into that? Tony sighed and chuckled.

"Sure, kid." Tony said. Steve jumped up on the table - which creaked and complained - while Bruce sat on the grass, running his fingers over the blades and drawing. "Friday, please play my kid-friendly playlist." Clint jumped to his feet.

"No way. Disney music?" He cried, excited as 'Be Our Guest' started playing. Clint jumped up and down, acting far too dramatic. Steve looked around.

"How are you supposed to dance to Disney?" Steve asked while Peter did a backflip, landing it perfectly. Clint climbed up the tree and did a backflip too, barely landing it with an 'oof.'

"You're right. Friday, please." One of Tony's favorites came on. Classic 'Back In Black.' Tony began dancing to it. It wasn't good dancing. If they were recording, it would probably end up on the 'cringier' side of YouTube.

Crash!

The table fell with a crash. Peter, luckily, landed on Steve instead of Steve landing on him. Clint began to laugh obnoxiously. Clint could laugh very loudly, and if you weren't in a good mood, you'd slap him, but usually, his laughter made everyone else laugh. And it did. Peter started laughing so hard he was crying while Steve looked concerned.

Tony chuckled and asked, "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah," Peter said in between wheezes. Steve nodded and gently lifted Peter off of him an set him on the ground carefully. "Oh! Captain. I'll go get your shield. I'm sorry for throwing it." He added apologetically. Steve laughed and patted him on the back.

"It's no problem," Steve said kindly. "But I would appreciate it if you could retrieve it for me." Peter nodded and quickly ran in the direction he 'yeeted' it in. Steve turned to Tony, Clint, and Bruce, "So, this was fun. What now? What excitement awaits us?"

Just then, Thor landed back in front of them. With Loki next to him, smirking. Clint took a deep, shaky breath and Bruce let out a tiny 'oh no' while Steve and Tony simply looked at them. "Hello, friends! I brought my brother! Loki!"

Loki bowed, chuckling. Clint reached for the stick that Natasha had been sharpening and then held it threateningly towards Loki's heart. Loki raised his eyebrows. "Ah, lovely, you're all still feisty." He said, "What fun this'll be."

"Don't fucking try me," Clint hissed, "I'm a trained assassin. I'll kill you." Thor laughed at this. Loki stepped closer, looming over Clint. Clint held the stick tighter - so tight that his knuckles were turning white and the splinters were digging into his hand.

"Oh, I don't doubt it," Loki said, walking around Clint. "Ah, Captain Rogers. What a pleasure to see you and Mr. Stark again. And is that the Hulk? Wow. I'm so pleased." Loki reached for Tony's hand. Tony slowly shook hands with him, but when he tried to pull his hand back, Loki gripped it tighter. "Ah, so you are injured. What a pity." Tony took a deep breath and yanked his hand back.

"Hey, back off," Steve said, intervening. He grabbed Tony's hand gently, making sure Loki hadn't hurt Tony. Clint suddenly stabbed the piece of wood into Loki's shoulder violently. Loki sighed and lazily pushed Clint to the ground. Loki grabbed the piece of wood and yanked it out of his shoulder.

"You do realize, Clint Barton, that I am a god?" Loki said, looking disappointed. Clint clenched his jaw and stood up. Steve stepped closer to Loki, his fists clenched.

"Hey, Captain Crunch, calm down," Tony mumbled, "we're in a park near apartments. A fight here would not be good," Tony glanced at Bruce, who was looking at the ground. Steve unclenched his fists and stretched his fingers. Thor laughed.

"Anyways, I'm leaving you with my brother for now. He was being bothersome back at home, and I figured you would be the perfect," Thor paused, looking perplexed, "babysitters. Ah, that's the word."

"Thor, he tried to kill us!" Clint said, clearly outraged.

"You're allowed to smack him. He does require food occasionally. Get ahold of me if he starts killing people. See you soon! Love you guys." Thor said before flying away. Loki licked his lips and put on a smile.

"We can't - I - I'm - I did not sign up for this!" Clint yelled, kicking the tree. Loki laughed.

"Well, now you're stuck with me. Let's go somewhere. Ooh, how about Stark's home? Don't all of you basically live there anyway?" Loki slipped a gold ring off his finger and swung it around on the tip of his pinky. He was chewing something - Tony guessed some sort of space gum or whatever the hell they eat.

Steve grabbed Loki's arm suddenly, holding it so tight that Loki winced. "No games, alright? If you do anything fishy we'll beat you." He hissed. Loki nodded promptly and Steve let go. Holding his wrist, Loki looked at all of them.

"I'm not here to fight. I don't have any weapons and I know that I cannot beat you without something strong. Don't get me wrong - I'm strong. But it's so much effort to fight! Let's play a game. A fun game." Loki paused and smirked at Bruce, but there was fear deep in his eyes. "How about truth or dare? I hear mortals love that kind of game."

"Yeah, why should we 'play' with you?" Clint hissed.

"Because if you don't," he smirked and pointed a long finger at Bruce, "I might not behave." Bruce shifted and gulped, playing with his pencil. Tony stepped in front of him. What choice did they have? Maybe this could stop Loki from wreaking havoc for a little while. Plus, it's just truth or dare. Nothing too worrisome. They might even have fun.

"Fine," Tony said, jumping in. Clint started glaring at him. "What? Do you really want a fight, right here, right now, Clint?" Tony hissed back at him. Steve sighed. Bruce opened his mouth but didn't say anything. Clint forced a smile on his face and turned to Loki.

"Good. Let's play at the house. Where I have my bow." Clint said, looking darkly at Tony. Tony couldn't help but worry; had he made Clint seriously mad at him? The badass archer was usually pleasant but once you got on his bad side... well, things were never fun. Tony nodded in agreement.

They all started walking back. "This is a terrible idea," Bruce muttered, standing next to Tony. "I-I think it'd be best if I went home. Or somewhere." He whispered to Tony, "I'm not safe." Tony sighed and gritted his teeth.

"Yeah. If you want." Tony responded, rubbing his head, "Good plan." They continued walking for another minute before Bruce apologetically patted Tony on the shoulder and turned around, walking the opposite direction. Tony waved to him and sped up a little, keeping up with Steve and Clint, who were basically marching, glaring down Loki. Loki simply smiled up at them both.

"Bruce decided to walk away," Tony whispered to Clint, who simply ignored him. Tony swallowed hard and rubbed his ribs, which were starting to hurt even more. He walked behind them, carefully, watching the ground, nearly panicking. Everyone hated him. He shouldn't have made the decision. He should have left it to Steve.

Soon enough, they reached the house and went inside. Loki threw himself down on one of the couches and Clint sat down, fingers running over his bow as he grabbed it. Steve sat down next to Tony on a separate loveseat.

"Perfect. The game commences. Tony, darling, truth or dare?" Loki asked, playing with a pen he'd picked up off the coffee table, smirking, eyes glittering. Tony shifted uneasily.

"Truth." He finally answered. He could always lie. Plus, with his body starting to ache, whatever sick dares the manic came up with wouldn't be fun.

"What's your honest opinion on everyone in the room?" Loki asked smoothly after a brief silence. Huh. Tony had expected worse.

"I think you're a fucking idiot and are deeply annoying and I'd gladly kill you. I think that Clint is a pretty alright person and is a very skilled individual, although stubborn, like me. And Steve," Tony paused and looked at him, "well, he's Steve." He hadn't planned on saying anything else, but something unsettling came over him and forced him to keep speaking, "He's perfect. Gorgeous. Strong. Reliable. I don't deserve him, honestly. He's... well, perfect." Tony tried to shut up, but he couldn't. "And he has a nice ass." Tony's face flushed red. "What the fuck?" He said finally, able to control the words coming out of his mouth.

"Ah. Playing truth or dare means that you have to tell the truth and always do the dare. Did I not tell all of you this? And if you decide to quit, I will have to unfortunately light things aflame, and that's never pleasant, so please continue playing." Loki explained with his eyes closed, clicking the pen and shrugging.

Tony's heart rate quickened. Oh no. This could be bad. Clint looked even angrier now and Steve just looked simply confused, flustered, angry, and somewhat pleased all at once. It was odd and confusing. "Clint. Truth or dare." Tony said - he wanted to give Clint the option to pick on Loki.

"Truth," Clint responded, eyes not moving to look at Tony.

"What's your honest favorite color?" Tony asked.

"A soft lilac." He responded, eyes narrowing at Loki, "Okay, asshole, your turn. Truth or dare."

Loki paused and his eyebrows twitched, "Well, since everyone's chosen truth, I'll choose that as well, please."

"What is your most traumatizing experience?" Clint asked. Tony let out a shaky breath, glad he wasn't the one receiving this question. Steve reached out and touched Tony's hand, making him jump. Tony ran his fingers over Steve's hand gently, before giving it a little squeeze.

Loki looked at Clint spitefully, "When I was six I stabbed my brother for the first time. I thought he was going to die. I stabbed myself as well, just to experience what he was going through. After I learned that both him and I could recover from measly stab wounds easily, stabbing him became easier. But it had scared me as a child." Once he was done, he whispered a string of curses and clenched his fist. "Steven!" Loki said sharply, "Truth or dare?"

"I can't believe we're doing this," Steve mumbled, "dare."

"I dare you to throw Mr. Stark out the window," Loki said, a devilish smile growing on his face. Steve opened his mouth to protest and his breathing became increasingly fast as he stood up and grabbed Tony, again bridal-style.

Tony sat in Steve's arms, silently panicking.

You never hurt me.

Tony felt like he was going to throw up as they approached the window. "Stop!" Clint screamed, "Loki, you unprecedented asshole! Stop!" Tony tried to scramble out of Steve's arms as Steve basically hyperventilated, whispering 'no' and 'stop' and 'sorry' over and over and over again.

Steve suddenly threw Tony. The window broke with a crash and Tony began to fall. His armor was destroyed. There was no rescue. The wind whistled in his ears as he fell. Luckily, Tony had been looking up.

The blue sky would be an okay sight to see before you die.

Blue like Steve's eyes.

\\author's note//

ah, yes, the angst train has returned

this one was a doozy!!

struggled a lil bit, but here it is.

please!! leave kind things!! or funny comments!!

also wow how rude of me to leave y'all on a cliffhanger,,,, tell me if you want me to tag you when I update!!

date: 3/28/18

word count: 6333

1 note · View note