Avengers 1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Don't even ask how the idea for this came about, because I've already forgotten. Either way, this is a High School AU, with a twist. The Avengers and Loki are in a secret society, hidden amongst the private school's hierarchy. **

* * *

Every light in Tony's luxurious room was off, the only light source coming from the small lamp sat in the middle of the human circle. All six members of the Coulson Shield Private School _secret_ society were present, each of them sorting through individual photos of the junior year, each with a small fact file, then dividing them into piles.

"Do we even need a new member?" Natasha yawned. Being a secret society, the group only met once a fortnight, under the cover of night.

"Yes," Tony snapped, his own piles consisted of the 'burn these people, they will never qualify' pile and the much more simple, 'maybe' pile. Gazing up at him from the top of the of the 'maybe' pile, was Steve Rogers, whom Tony believed to be the best looking male in the entire school. Aside from himself, of course.

"Everyone else done?" Tony asked, already bored. There was general assent, and Clint produced a metal bin from behind the bed. One by one, they went through their piles, either arguing for a certain person to be accepted or binned, or simply agreeing to the chosen category.  
By the end of it, the 150 strong junior class was whittled down to 11 possibilities. The remainder of the class, were in the bin, already doused in vodka. Natasha lit a cigarette, and began passing it round the circle after taking a long drag. It went round twice, before Loki flicked the butt into the bin, and they all watched 139 rejected students go up in flames.  
Clint spread the 11 pictures out, accompanied by the attached files. Steve Rogers sat on the edge of the row, his piercing blue eyes still visible in the reduced light.

"Nat!" Clint clicked his fingers in front of her eyes, "Stop staring at Rogers!" Natasha frowned at Clint, and Tony also broke his gaze from the photo, realising he was doing the same.

"What was next?" Thor's eyebrows met in the middle, obviously confused. Bruce patiently explained to him.

"We'll do the tapping at the formal next week, but first we need to narrow this down to 5,"  
Tony instantly slapped his hand down over Steve's photo.

"Rogers stays," He said firmly. Natasha sounded her enthusiastic assent. Thor instantly stuck a finger onto the photo of Jane Foster, and Bruce followed suit by holding down her best friend, Darcy Lewis. Loki rolled his eyes, but picked up the image of a blonde girl called Amora, the third British person, in the otherwise American school. Clint looked at the last 7 people left, then pointed to a picture of a quirky girl with vibrant pink hair, her file deemed her 'Jessica Jones'.

"We all decided?" Clint drawled, obviously keen to get back to bed. Everyone nodded and tossed the remaining 6 pictures on top of the smouldering 139.

"I think Stark has a bigger crush on Rogers than you Natasha," Clint smirked, already on his way out of Tony's room.

"Just ask Natasha out already," Tony retorted, throwing his shoe at the back of Clint's head.

* * *

Tony begrudgingly made his way around the track, apparently being the son of a billionaire was not a valid reason to be excused from gym. Gym did have it's perks though, mainly being able to job behind the packs of girls, most of whom he'd slept with. From his peripheral vision, Tony could see Steve Rogers gearing up to lap him for a second time.

"Do you ever get tired of being perfect Rogers?" Tony called out, eyeing Steve's body as he jogged a metre or so in front of him. Tony caught Steve turn around, a blush on his cheeks, until Clint, who'd been jogging behind him, kicked violently at Tony's ankle, sending him tumbling towards the ground.

"Don't talk to the potentials until they know, dick!" Clint hissed, before running on ahead. Natasha booted Tony as she ran past, obviously seeing an opportunity and seizing it. Tony, fuming, scrambled to his feet and chased after the pair. They were going to suffer for this. He had only been having a laugh, joking around with Steve. Tony's mind whirred ahead, Clint's comment last night had got to him. Tony wasn't _gay_, sure, he appreciated a good looking guy the same way as he looked at the girls, but _gay_? Definitely not him.  
Pushing it to the back of his mind, Tony kept on sprinting until he caught up with Clint, and dived into him. The flying tackle sent Clint straight to the ground.

"Bastard!" Clint was saying, but Tony just disentangled himself from the pile of limbs and kept running, high-fiving Natasha on his way past. People moved out of the way, they all moved for Tony Stark and his pack of friends. The ragtag group who dominated the school, except the seniors. Pepper Potts sighed and rolled her eyes as Tony sprinted off, the only person outside their elite group able to share casual banter with the group.

"You're useless, Tony!" She shouted after him.

"You're still my date for the formal!" Tony called over his shoulder, grinning. He turned around in time just for his face to land in Steve Rogers chest.

* * *

Clint snorted at the unconscious Tony, he was completely out cold. As much as he hated to admit it, he was beginning to respect Rogers and his solid chest. What he did not like, was the way Natasha kept making eyes at anyone but Clint himself.

"You're not meant to be talking to Rogers," Clint murmured to Natasha. Rolling her eyes, she linked arms with him and followed the stretcher carrying Tony to the medical ward.

"Do you think he'd kill me if I shaved off part of his facial hair?" Natasha mused, gazing at the beard and moustache. Clint recognised the glint in her eye, immediately picking up on her excited vibe.

"I've got a better idea," He smirked.

* * *

Tony pried his eyes open, his face _really_ hurt, he could smell something weird, and what was with that pain in his ass? A nurse came over and began checking him up, including shining a light in his eyes.

"You ran into Rogers and got knocked out, you'll be fine in a few days, but for now, you're free to go," She said simply. Tony swung himself off the lumpy bed, then carefully lifted himself off, careful not to brush his ass cheek against anything.  
The entire way back to his room, having been granted the afternoon off lessons, people looked at him funny. Tony frowned, catching several sophomores giggling at him. He glanced in the glass of Coulson Shield's trophy cabinet, and almost collapsed again. Clint and Natasha were going to pay.

"Tony, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Steve Rogers appeared beside him, still in gym kit.

"Not right now, Rogers, later," Tony growled, pushing the fit body aside, he ran up the second flight of stairs to his room, ignoring the burning in his ass.  
In his room, Tony looked into the closest mirror. His beloved facial hair was almost entirely gone, the remaining Hitler style moustache and small circular beard, were blue. Secondly, Tony turned around and shimmied his gym shorts down, then his Calvin Klein boxers, then he awkwardly turned his head to see his ass cheek.

"Oh... my... God." Tony managed. Where his ass cheeks had once been perfectly toned, with smooth peachy skin, there was now a horrific burn. A brand, similar to what might be on a cow. The school logo, a bird, and next to it, a dagger. The burn was deep, Tony knew that much. He snapped his head back round to the bed, having spotted something lying there. A tube of something and a note.  
'_Too late to change your mind now..._' The note read, and the tube was antiseptic. Tony had no doubt it had been left by the seniors also in the secret society, not that he knew their identities. Burn later, Clint and Natasha first, Tony decided.

* * *

"Clint Barton!" Tony snapped, having finally found the pair sat in Natasha's room, after what could only be described as a trek around the school grounds.

"Oh, it looks even better now!" Clint chuckled to himself, getting to his feet.

"Why aren't you in lessons?" Tony demanded, not so tactfully changing the subject. At this point, the pair shifted uncomfortably. Tony smirked, something similar had clearly happened to them. Quickly, Tony slipped behind Clint and hit him in the ass cheek, the same spot where Tony had found his own brand. Clint yelped and swore loudly. Tony ran, without looking back.

This secret society thing was going to be fun, he decided.


	2. Chapter 2

"You have a brand on your ass," Tony snorted, Clint frowned.

"So do you!" He exclaimed. Tony then glanced around the circle.

"So who hasn't got one?" Tony asked. They were gathered in the shed at the back of the playing fields, an unscheduled meeting in order to sort things out. Thor nervously raised his hand.

"I have not yet received a burned in mark," He confessed. Tony cocked his head to one side.

"Of course you haven't, it would take a cage fighter to knock you out," He grinned.

"Who wants to compare marks? Nat you go first," Clint suggested. Natasha smacked Clint in the chest and scowled.

"Why are we here? You people keep dragging me out of my room, it's making my roommate look at me funny,"

"I'm pretty certain the school is hiding something from us," Tony stated.

"Like what? The asbestos in the back kitchen? Because everyone knows about that," Clint said.

"I have to agree with Stark here, I too have noticed the staff behaving oddly," Loki put in.

"It's almost the end of the term, nearly Christmas, of course they're all jumpy," The voice of logic and reason, Bruce, added.

"They keep having impromptu _staff meetings_, that half the staff aren't at, meetings that do not include the vice principal, yet include the cleaning team and the chef," Natasha drawled,  
seemingly uninterested.

"How did you know that?" Tony raised his perfectly shaped brows.

"All the girls in my room block have relatively boring backgrounds, it's much more amusing to creep through the school and eavesdrop. By the way, Clint, stop looking at my Facebook page," Natasha was now examining her nails, the very epitome of boredom.

"I can't even say I'm surprised. But Natasha is right,"

"I respect your fears, Stark," Thor said, "But I thought we were folding a new member amongst our number,"

"Fine, we'll concentrate on the staff thing later," Tony sighed, then reached behind him and gathered up the files of the students.

"At the Christmas Ball, next week, we'll be letting these guys know about us, not entirely, because otherwise they know too much. Leave them an anonymous note at some point this week, asking them to meet you in the astronomy tower during the ball, at 8.30, we'll all be there, and we'll give them the task," Tony explained quickly. Everyone nodded.

"They will know our identities, will they not?" Thor frowned. Tony rolled his eyes.

"It's a _masquerade_ ball, the same way it has been for the last two years you've been at this school," He said sharply. Thor's lips formed a perfect 'O', then he turned to his brother, who confirmed Tony's words.

"Whatever, I'm there," Natasha got to her feet, already pulling a cigarette packet from her shirt pocket.

"May I join you, Natasha?" Loki asked pleasantly, getting gracefully to his feet.

"Only if you walk me back to the school," She smirked. The two of them left, walking through the dark night, leaving the remaining four sitting in the shed, including a stricken looking Clint.

"Leave her for now, Bird Brain, make your move later," Tony said to him.

"Bruce, you take Darcy, Thor you take Jane, let Loki know he was to write a note to Amora, Clint write to Jessica Jones, and I'll deal with Rogers," Tony ordered.

* * *

'_The astronomy tower, at 8.30, on the night of the Masquerade Ball, I'll be there, will you? -Emma Hugh_', Tony had borrowed the name of an average looking girl in their class for his note to Steve. Emma Hugh was shy, and barely spoke to anyone, but paid plenty of attention in English, all in all, the perfect candidate for note writing. Tony glanced up and down the corridor, before rapping on the door of Steve's room.  
Boarders at the Coulson Shield Private School shared a room with another pupil of the same gender.  
Except for Tony, because his father's name had bought him the best room in the school all to himself.

When no one answered the door, Tony pushed in regardless. The room was spotless, whether Steve's geeky roommate wanted it this way, or Steve himself, Tony couldn't tell. But it was immaculate, not a single thing out of place. One half of the room was more bland than the other, the desk covered in textbooks and notes, no decor on the walls. The other half had several paintings hung up, an easel in the corner by the window, and a sketch book lying open on the bed. Tony picked up the sketchbook and began flicking through it. He recognized different parts of the school, groups of people. Mainly charcoal or pencil sketches, but also watercolour paintings. Then, Tony was staring back at his own face. Pictures of him, Clint, Natasha, the entire group, just doing normal things. Queuing for lunch, laughing with each other. But mainly Tony, him everywhere.

The toilet flushed from inside the room's ensuite bathroom, and Tony, having nowhere else to go, flung the note and the sketch book down on the bed, then dived under the bed. Reed Richards emerged from the bathroom, murmuring quadratic equations and formulas for something. Tony held his breath, watching Reed's socked feet pad about the room, still murmuring. The main door opened, and a second pair of feet walked in.

"Reed!" Steve sounded surprised, "I wasn't expecting you to be here,"

"I just came to use the bathroom, I'm going now anyway, I have extra math classes outside of the normal curriculum," Reed sounded smug. Classes that Tony himself had passed three years ago.

"Hey, did you know that Tony Stark passed those when he was 13, pretty cool, right?" Steve said earnestly.

"What?" Tony whispered to himself. Yes, he'd bragged around a lot, but he didn't think anyone listened, let alone remembered. Reed made a frustrated noise.

"Someone left you a note," He spat, then stormed out the room. Tony clamped his hand over his mouth, in an attempt not to laugh. Steve took off his shoes, then walked over to his bed and sat down, his feet mere inches from Tony's head. There was silence as Steve read the scrawled italics on the cream paper.

"Emma Hugh," Steve murmured. Then his feet lifted up and the bed creaked a bit, Steve was lying down, Tony realised.

"She's no Tony Stark though," Steve sighed.

* * *

TheClintmeister: _Have a nice time with Rogers yesterday?_  
Tony glanced around the IT suite, then caught Clint staring pointedly at him with raised eyebrows.

MrStark: _I don't think you get it BirdBrain, when you IM someone, you don't need to watch them until they reply._

MrStark:_ And I have no idea what you're talking about, for the record._

Nat _has joined the conversation._

Nat: _Really? No recollection of hiding under his bed while he drew pictures of you?_

MrStark: _How do you even know these things?_

TheClintmeister:_ So this_ did_ happen!_

Nat: _Of course it did, I watched them from the air vent._

MrStark: _What you do with your spare time concerns me..._

StaffMember14 _has changed their name to_ MrsBrown.

MrsBrown: _What all of you are doing in my lesson concerns me, Mr Stark. If any of you were paying attention in any of these classes, you'd know how to make a conversation private, but for now, please report to the detention hall at 4pm, tomorrow._

"No fair!" Tony shouted aloud. "Can everyone in the class see this chat?"

"Yes, they most definitely can," Mrs Brown called out cheerfully. Across the classroom, Clint groaned. Tony glanced around the room, then caught sight of a blushing Steve Rogers, who was already being mocked. In that moment, Tony felt awful for what had just happened. He, the most popular kid in school, would get over this. Steve Rogers, a jock, yet strangely unpopular, would not. So he did the only thing he could.  
Cause a scene.

"Bull_shit_ Natasha!" Tony shouted and got up abruptedly, knocking his chair over in the process.

"I was with you and Clint all day yesterday! So don't go making up shit about me!" Tony stormed over and hauled Natasha out of her seat. She turned to face him indignantly. Clint shot up next to her, looking defensive. Every student watched them anxiously, in anticipation of a showdown.

"Go with it, Rogers is gonna cry," Tony murmured under his breath. Natasha and Clint gave imperceptible nods.

"Jeez! It was a joke, Stark!" Natasha yelled in Tony's face, then pushed him backwards. The class began shouting and cheering, as Tony lunged towards Natasha, only to be intercepted by Clint. The two of them began wrestling, not really doing anything in particular.

"That is enough!" Mrs Brown screamed, above the noise of her now out of control class.  
"Did you make that up, Clint, Natasha?" She asked, looking between the two of them. The pair nodded, feigning disappointment.

"All three of you, detention tomorrow and isolation the day after. For now, get out!"  
The trio trudged out the room, barely hiding their grins. Tony nudged Steve in the back.

"You owe me," He muttered. But he didn't mean it, any reason to talk to Steve again though.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony unboxed his outfit for the masquerade ball, a stunning classic with a twist. Instead of the traditional royal blue that most of his year went for, Tony had picked a deep red suit with golden trimming. The mask however, was truly in a league of it's own. Custom made, from Venice Italy, it covered the majority of Tony's face, including his distinctive beard, that had just just grown back after he' been forced to shave the blue facial hair completely off. Primarily gold, with dark red detail, the mask only displayed a deep V of Tony's forehead, making him completely unrecognizable.

A knock at his window made Tony turn, only to see Clint balanced on the ledge.

"Open the window!" Clint called with a grin. Tony sighed, but leant over and tugged the window open anyway. Clint came straight through, and had barely hit the floor before Natasha swooped in after him. Tony raised his arms in defeat.

"Why can't you two just use the door?"

"It's more fun this way, this your thing for tonight?" Clint shrugged, then began stroking the fabric.

"Yes! Quit touching it, it probably costs more than your house," Tony snapped. Someone knocked at the door, making all three of them turn to face it.

"In the bathroom," Tony pushed them in that direction, then watched them close the door before he answered. Tony flung the door open, with a less than welcoming smile.

"Yes?" He asked shortly, before registering who it was. Steve Rogers, now looking thoroughly upset.

"Is now a bad time, I can come back later?" He asked quietly. Tony answered by stepping out the way of the door, then hurrying over to his bed and closing the lid on the box of his outfit.

"Outfit for tonight," Tony said, answering Steve's questioning look.  
Tony sat down on his bed, then patted the space beside him. Steve sat down slowly next to him.

"How can I help?" Tony smiled. Steve blushed, although Tony couldn't see why.

"I wanted to er, first apologise for knocking you out, and secondly thank you for last week,"

"It was a pleasure being knocked out by your incredible pecs, and I got you into that yesterday so it was only fair I got you out of it,"

"But I did want to ask, why were you under my bed anyway?" Tony faltered, not noticeably of course, but the million mile a minute train of thought he usually sported slowed right down, like trying to run through tar.

"Spying on Reed, the guy irritates the hell out of me so I thought I'd see what he was up to," Tony shrugged casually.

"Oh..." Was all Steve said. Tony quickly searched for another subject.

"So who are you going to the dance with tonight?"

"No one really, I'm not hanging around for long. Not great at talking to girls... or boys actually," Steve blushed again.

"Well, I'm going with Pepper, but I don't think I'll be there for long either," Tony laid back on his bed.

"Oh why not-" There was an audible thud from the bathroom, effectively cutting Steve off.

"What was that?" Steve frowned. Tony jumped to his feet and grinned sheepishly.

"One second," Tony raised a single finger, and then swiftly ran into the bathroom, where Clint and Natasha were trying to scramble out the tiny bathroom window.

"Good date with Rogers?" Clint turned to face Tony, Natasha's feet still on his shoulders.

"Have you made out yet?" Natasha's voice drifted through. Tony made a lunge for Clint, at which point he pushed Natasha's legs up and made for the main bedroom.

"Sorry Nat!" He called behind him. Tony followed Clint through to the main bedroom, where he was just leaving. Tony turned to Steve, who looked thoroughly confused.

"I don't normally keep people in my bathroom," Tony apologised, Steve just nodded slowly.

"Well, see you tonight then." Steve said, getting to his feet.

"Yeah, tonight,"

"One more thing," Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He shoved it into Tony's hand, then dashed out the door. Tony looked after him, then shrugged. If Steve was going to run away from him, so be it.

He unfolded the paper, noting the creamy texture of the single sheet. Tony was looking at his own face, a pencil sketch. Slightly profile to Steve, every detail of his face had been captured. In the picture, Tony was clutching Natasha's shirts and yelling at her.

"That's a good drawing," Natasha said from behind him, causing Tony to jump violently.

"Stop creeping up on me!"

* * *

There was a knock at Tony's door, before he answered, he tugged his mask over his face.

"Pepper?" Tony said, sounding more surprised than he'd meant to.

"Yes, Tony, we arranged to go together four month ago," She sighed. Tony nodded, trying to make it look like he hadn't forgotten. Which was useless, since Pepper inevitably saw straight through him.

"You forgot, didn't you?"

"Yep," Tony said with a nod. Then he actually looked at Pepper, who was in a deep blue dress, with a silver and dark blue mask across her eyes, she looked pretty good.

"You look great, let's go," Tony beamed, then grabbed Pepper's hand and began walking them down to the ballroom.

As soon as they were in, Pepper smiled for a picture with Tony, then gently pecked his cheek and blended in with the crowd. No sooner had she left, than Loki appeared beside Tony, Thor not far behind him

"Great disguise," Tony said to Thor, who was completely recognisable, wearing a flowing red cape and some odd form of suit Tony hadn't seen before, all with no mask. Loki turned and sighed, with obvious frustration.

"Put the mask on Thor," He chided, then grabbed Thor's mask from his hand and tied it round his face.

"An hour until the astronomy tower," Loki said quietly, "I suggested we leave earlier to avoid confrontation with the nominees." Tony nodded in agreement.

"Stark, good news," Thor boomed, smiling, "I received a mark such as yours and my brother's."

In that moment, Tony was extremely glad for the loud music of the band.

* * *

Tony almost didn't recognise Natasha, despite her being the only female in the room. The six of them were stood in a semicircle in the unused astronomy tower. Natasha had dyed her distinctive red hair a chestnut brown for the night.

"How much longer?" Clint asked impatiently. Bruce glanced down at his digital watch, then adjusted the blue mask over his face nervously.

"Less than a minute," He said. The sound of heeled footsteps on the stone stairs echoed up into the tower, and Tony gestured for quiet amongst the group.  
Tony saw the distinctive pink hair of Jessica Jones before anything else, then she was fully visible as she stepped up the final stair of the spiral staircase, decked in a long magenta dress.

"Um, help?" Jessica said, stepping into the dim light.

"Wait," Loki said in a deep voice, that wasn't entirely his own. Jessica nodded, looking terrified. Tony couldn't blame her, she was surrounded by six people, who weren't fully visible, wearing masks, and all wearing the same expressionless look.  
One by one, the rest of the potentials walked up the stairs, Steve being the last to arrive.

"Welcome," Clint's disguised voice reverberated around the room, giving it an eerie effect. The group of six stepped forward into the light as one.

"We're the Avengers, and we need new member. Elected by the seniors, we were asked to select a member for ourselves, and you are the final five," Tony said, putting an edge into his voice. Natasha took over.

"Masks off, look at each other," She said, "Look at your competition." The potentials took their masks off, and gazed at each other. Amora was the first to say anything, her British accent crisp.

"You chose Rogers for a secret society? This is far too corrupt for his liking," She smirked. Tony caught the corner of Loki's lips turn up. Tony's stomach twisted, he felt oddly defensive.

"Who we choose is not your concern, you have a task," Tony interrupted. "Find the society's crest, in a place you'd least suspect. When you do, take the flag from the pole outside of the school, without being noticed, and put it with the crest. Leave your name on it, and you're in."

"Yo, excuse me, red guy, how are we supposed to find this secret crest, there's plenty of crests around this place. It's like Hogwarts or something," Darcy Lewis drawled.

"In the great hall, look through the wall. It's like living in sin, when you're on the outside, looking in," Bruce said cryptically. Clint reached into his pocket, and pulled out a slim knife.

"Shit," Darcy murmured, shortly before Clint flung the knife. It twisted over and over in the air, then stuck in the curved wall behind Jane's head, then, as arranged, the six of them filed out in single file, without another word.

Tony caught Steve's expression as he left, one of pure confusion and wonder. It was endearing on him.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yaaaaaayy! I like this chapter. Next chapter will include more POVs of the group, I'll be doing that every fifth chapter! **

* * *

"You look tired," Tony stated, watching Steve. They were stood in line, waiting for their turn to bat. Steve looked about awkwardly.

"Yeah, uh, Reed kept me up so," Steve replied. Which Tony knew was a lie, since he'd seen Steve still sat in the ballroom late last night.

"Oh really?" Tony said flirtatiously, "If you need to change rooms, there's a spare bed in mine." Steve promptly blushed, and glanced away.

"Or I could ask Reed to maybe be quieter?" Tony suggested, Steve quickly spun back to face him.

"No!" Steve shouted, causing several people to turn and face them. Tony smiled, he'd forced Steve to play his hand.

"Why not? I'm sure Reed wouldn't mind," Tony shrugged, making like he was turning to Reed. Steve reached out and grabbed Tony roughly, forcing Tony to face him. Tony feigned shock.

"I lied," Steve said quietly, Tony raised his eyebrows, "I wasn't in bed."

"So where were you?"

"Just... drawing," Steve said vaguely. Tony gently touched Steve's arm.

"Why don't you come to my room after classes? You're up," Tony nodded his head towards the batting square. Steve nodded, then hurried up to the square, swiping the bat from the ground as he went. The pitch was poor, but that didn't stop Steve from sweeping it up and hitting it far enough to score a homerun. Tony snorted as Steve modestly brushed off praise, the guy really was perfect.

* * *

There was a gentle knock on Tony's door, one that he'd been expecting, and Tony rolled off the bed, then opened the door. Steve was stood there, looking confident, with a straight back and set back shoulders.

"Welcome," Tony joked, stepping aside to let Steve in. Steve's face dropped for half a second, then it went back into place and he walked in, before sinking into the plush armchair in the corner of Tony's room. Tony swung the door shut, then slinked back onto his bed.

"So, what were you drawing last night?" Tony asked. Steve shrugged.

"Just... things," He said, "Can I ask you something?" Tony nodded, noticing the way the light threw the shadow of Steve's eyelashes across his face, making him look simply, pretty.

"Tony?" Steve raised his voice, shaking Tony from his daze. "Were you listening?" Tony realised he hadn't been, too absorbed in Steve's pretty face.

"No," Tony let out an unnaturally high laugh, "Sorry, I was just drifting away."

"Well, I was saying, I found this really odd riddle in one of the history books about the school, and I was wondering if you could help me?" Steve asked, looking flawlessly innocent. Tony resisted the urge to burst out laughing, not only was Steve competing to get into a completely corrupt secret society, he was cheating to win. Clearly, Steve was not as incorruptible as everyone thought. But Tony couldn't directly tell him the answer, that was completely unfair, beyond Tony's views on fairness. He nodded all the same, and listened intently while Steve repeated the riddle Tony himself had told him last week.

"Sorry, I don't know, but why don't we go for a walk, it might help you think," Tony suggested casually. Steve shrugged and got up, then waited while Tony tried to put his shoes on. He lost his balance, and flung his arm out to prevent him falling. Simultaneously, Steve reached out and caught Tony, leaving the two of them wrapped up in each other. They both stayed quiet, just watching the other, until Tony smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Any excuse to touch me, eh Steve?" Steve blushed deeply, then swiftly righted Tony and stepped away. Tony finished shoving his feet into his boots and walked out, leaving the door open for Steve to follow. When he heard the door close, Tony began walked up the stairs, checking Steve was following him, then carried on.

"I thought we were going for a walk?" Steve said, sounding thoroughly confused. Tony nodded.

"We are," He confirmed, "Just not a, let's say, conventional one." If he couldn't tell Steve the answer to the riddle, he was going to help in any way he could. They reached the top of the stairs, and Tony glanced around before pushing open a window onto the roof.

"After you," Tony grinned, gesturing for Steve to go out the window. Steve obliged, and stepped out. Tony couldn't help but glance down as Steve bent to fit through the small window frame, he was rewarded with a glance at Steve's perfect ass. Tony climbed through after Steve, then used a stone from the roof ground to prop the window open.  
The school's roof was surrounded by a balcony-like ledge, less than a metre outwards, with a stone fence at knee height. Gargoyles were placed at regular intervals along the fence, glaring outward at anyone approaching the school.

"You come here alot?" Steve asked, as Tony let them to the front of the school. Tony shrugged, then sat on the ground, out of sight from all angles. He patted the ground next to him, then continued to people watch through the domed window of the great hall of the school.

"I like to people watch," Tony answered. The two of them sat in silence, until Tony felt it was right to hint Steve towards the riddle answer.

"You know what always bugged me?" Tony said casually. Steve hummed in response.

"Look at the mural on the ceiling of the hall, it's all religious and everything. And then, just over there," Tony pointed to the centre of the domed ceiling, "Is some weird bird getting stabbed by that creepy dagger, it kind of looks like the school crest, but a bit different." Tony watched Steve's face, then smiled when the confusion cleared. Steve had got it. Now he just had to get there before anyone else did. Steve had to take the flag from the flagpole, climb to the middle of the ceiling, using the building struts to get there, then use the dagger from the astronomy tower to stick the flag into the ceiling.

"Tony, I gotta go, I uh, I have to... wash my hair," Steve rushed out, then he was running back to the school. Tony let him go, Rogers had to win.

And now Tony was left to ask himself why? Why was Steve so important to him?

"Hey, Tony," Bruce was breathing heavily, he must have been running, as he barged into Tony's room, "Someone found the crest, and got the flag on it." He panted. Tony feigned surprise.

"No way? In just a week? Who was it?"

"You're gonna love this," Bruce clutched the door for support and paused dramatically, "Rogers. Steve did it." Tony leapt into the air and fist pumped at the same time. It was the second to last day before everyone left the school for Christmas, Tony was just glad that someone had managed it at least.

"Notes are being sent to the others so they know they lost, as far as the rest of the school are concerned, it was some kid playing a dumb prank. Steve's gonna get a note soon from us, asking him to meet us in the astronomy tower tonight," Bruce, who'd finally caught his breath, stepped in and closed the door behind him. Tony noted that Bruce was watching him warily, obviously hesitant to say something.

"Whatever it is, just say it," Tony said with a casual wave of his hand, then sunk down into his armchair.

"Are you serious about settling down?" Bruce blurted out. Tony spat out the wine he'd just taken a sip of, the infamous Tony Stark, settle down?

"Who told you that?" Tony spluttered. Bruce shrugged.

"You've not flirted with anyone in ages, no one's seen anyone sneaking out of your room early in the morning, and Pepper said you kept your hands in the right place so we just assumed..." Bruce trailed off, catching sight of Tony's incredulous expression.

"That must be wrong, of course I've... oh," It dawned on Tony, that Bruce was right. In the past month, he'd not slept with anyone.

There's been no one since Steve, Tony's subconscious put in. That was true, try as he might to deny it, Tony had a crush on a guy, Steve Rogers. Tony shook his head violently.

"I'll talk about it after the holiday Bruce, I promise. Tonight, have Steve be in the tower at 2am exactly, we'll walk in after him, so he gets to see us one by one," Tony told Bruce, Tony had a thing for dramatics, and he knew Loki did too.

* * *

At 1.54am, Tony was shoving his feet into a tattered pair of boots that Clint had thrown at him. Clint and Natasha had turned up less than two minutes ago, when Tony had failed to get up and meet the group at top staircase at 1.45. The pair of them now had their arms around each other, and their lips locked. Tony scowled as he laced up the boots.

"Guys, I just got up, leave it," He said, climbing to his feet. Natasha and Clint pulled away from each other, settling for hand holding instead.

"If you weren't late Stark," Natasha retorted. Clint smirked beside her as they left the room.

"He was probably having sweet dreams involving Rogers," Clint said. Tony kicked Clint's feet out from underneath him and jogged away. The rest of the group was waiting at the top of the stairs, all fighting to keep Thor quiet.

"Steve just went up, we should go in now," Loki whispered. Tony nodded, then prodded Bruce in the back. Bruce began climbing the spiral stone steps, Loki counted to five, then pushed Thor up after Bruce, telling him to take one step at a time. Loki followed five seconds after Thor, then Clint and Natasha respectively went after him. Tony was nervous, that was all he could think about as climbed the steps. Would Steve rat him out? Would Steve even want anything to do with Tony? Steve was all about morals, but he'd cheated to get into a secret society, making him unpredictable. Tony took one more step, then he was in view. Steve would now be able to see him. With his face kept stoic, Tony walked up, then joined the line of the secret society, all facing the stunned Steve.

"You win," Natasha stated blandly. "You're one of us now, expect a brand." Then Natasha was pulling out cigarettes, lighter already in hand. She lit the end and took a long drag, before passing it down the line. It made it's way up the line, then back down to Tony, who held it out to Steve. There was enough left for one final drag.

"Just one drag," Tony said persuasively. Steve hesitated, then took the cigarette from Tony and put it to his lips.

"Suck it in, hold, then let it out," Bruce said helpfully. Steve did just that, and smoked, what Tony assumed, was his first cigarette.

"...So this is what it's like to be you guys?" Steve asked, "You're a gang who hang around in towers and smoke?"

"Technically, none of us smoke, Natasha carries smokes with her, but we only have them when we're together," Bruce put in.

"And we were not a part of this secret group before, we were just friends," Loki added.

"And I do smoke," Natasha smiled, not that it looked friendly.

"Congratulations, dear brother!" Thor boomed happily. Tony rolled his eyes.

"We're still not your brothers, Thor," He said. Clint shrugged, wrapped an arm around Natasha's waist, and the two of them left. The others followed, until Tony and Steve were left watching each other.

"You helped me cheat," Steve said finally.

"You were happy to get my help when you didn't know I was a part of all this," Tony shrugged. Steve nodded slowly.

"You coming?" Tony said, jerking his head towards the stairs. Steve hesitated again, then blushed.

"Reed's a light sleeper, I was planning on staying up here tonight," He confessed. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"It's the end of term tomorrow, you'll have to spend ages in a car or something as well,"

"Actually, I'm staying at school, I've not got anywhere to go at the moment," Steve looked down. Tony's heart broke, he had everything he wanted. Steve had nothing, and that wasn't how Tony wanted it.

"Come with me," Tony said softly. Steve's head shot up.

"What? Now?"

"Now, and tomorrow, come to mine, no one should have to spend their holidays at this rotting school," Tony snorted.

"Seriously?" Steve asked, already looking happier.

"Yep," Tony began walking down the stairs, smiling.

"Called it!" Tony pried his eyes open, only to see Clint staring down at him, the rest of the group there too. Then Tony became aware of more other things, like Steve's arm across Tony's chest, and their bodies pressed together.

"What do you want?" Tony grunted, he'd decided not to care, although he did note the disappointed look on Natasha's face.

"We came to drop off your presents," Bruce said gently.

"Congratulations on your relationship, brother Stark!" Thor boomed happily. Tony winced at his loud voice.

"Leave the presents on the chair, all of yours are in the cupboard," Tony slammed his eyes shut again. The holidays were almost here, and he got to spend it with Steve.


	5. Chapter 5

Tony purposely leaned across Steve's broad chest to reach his book, which he'd left there, of course, accidently. Steve blushed crimson, embarrassed.

"Lighten up, Steve," Tony laid back in his plush seat, first class for the flight to the holiday home, all the way in the Hamptons.

"I've never flown on a commercial plane," Steve marvelled. Tony shot up, had he heard right?

"Commercial plane?" He queried, Steve nodded.

"My father was in the military, so we always took military planes," Steve explained, "Not nearly as comfortable as this."

"So has he left the army now?" Tony asked, settling back down into his seat. Steve's eyes dropped, and Tony could sense he'd said something wrong.

"My father died in 2003, he was one of the first war casualties of Iraq,"

"Steve, I'm so sorry I had no idea," Tony reached out and clutched Steve's hand.

"Why would you?"

"So where do you and your mother live?" Tony ventured. Steve's lower lip trembled, and Tony instantly knew he'd put his foot in it again.

"My mother died during the swine flu epidemic, she had asthma as well, and it was all too much," Steve mumbled. Tony squeezed Steve's hand, he felt terrible for making Steve talk about it.

"Where do you live now?"

"With my friend Bucky, he was reasonably upset when I won the scholarship to Coulson Shield," Steve smiled softly, "We live in Brooklyn together."

"Where we're going is a big change from Brooklyn," Tony smirked.

* * *

Clint and Natasha sat opposite each other at the breakfast table, hands on the table, a timer in between them. It counted down to zero, then rang shrilly.

Both of them leapt up and sprinted to the breakfast cupboard, elbowing each other out of the way. It had been a tradition between the two of them since they were at least four. They'd met at a karate class, brutally fought each other in the second week, and then became friends. Natasha maintained she'd won. Since then, they'd both started doing more and more violent sports, each of them trying to outgun the other.

Natasha pushed her elbow into Clint's neck, then swung down and hit him in between the legs. Clint groaned and went down, clutching his groin as he did. Natasha smugly pulled out the Lucky Charms from the cupboard, the prize if you won, and turned her back to Clint.

Sadly, that was her biggest mistake, as she was then tackled to the ground. The Lucky Charms spilt out as Clint put all his weight down on Natasha's stomach.

"No fair," Natasha scowled and looked into the grey eyes of her best friend. She felt it again, the lurch in her stomach. The same one she got every time she looked directly at Clint recently. Clint was watching her, she realised.

"What are you thinking?" He whispered. He'd known her for 13 years, not once had he had to ask for her thoughts. Natasha debated not telling him, she wasn't sure how it would affect their friendship.  
Moreover, she wasn't sure how she felt yet.

But he was looking at her with those eyes. Such beautiful eyes, Natasha had always appreciated the beauty in everything, but his eyes were on another level.  
And at the moment, those eyes were saying he knew, she hadn't told him, and he knew.

"I love you," Natasha choked out, oddly, she felt like crying. Saying it aloud made her feel weak, vulnerable. Clint gazed down at her, then lowered his face until Natasha could feel his warm breath on her ear.

"Good," He whispered. Every little vibration of that one little word sent Natasha into hyperalert. Goosebumps rose all over her body as she realised she was wearing very little clothing and lying on the cold, hard linoleum floor.

Clint pulled his face back up to look at Natasha's face, then gently kissed her. Natasha's stomach flurried like a storm and she wound her arms around Clint's neck.

It was different to kissing Loki, who she'd used to test her feelings. Loki was all hard muscle, cold and unrelenting. The muscle on Clint's toned body was more prominent, but his body was soft all the same, everything was warm and fireworks when she kissed him. It all felt right, like he would never go away.

"Get a room," Barney, Clint's brother, said, obviously disgusted. He stepped over them, and picked up the Lucky Charms up. Natasha reluctantly pulled away from Clint, breathless, and glared up at Barney.

"Fuck yourself Barton,"

"Looks like I'll have to, since you're fucking the other Barton," Barney said cheekily, then dashed from the room, carrying the milk and the Lucky Charms.

"Dick!" Natasha shouted after him, but he was already halfway up the marble steps. Clint got to his feet and pulled Natasha up after him.

"Your parents staying away through the whole holidays?" Natasha queried. Clint nodded, his parents were nearly always away doing something. Natasha's also were. The pair knew their parents loved them, but to avoid being alone, Natasha spent most of her time at Clint's house, and even had a room there.

"In that case, we're sharing a room," Natasha smirked and walked out of the kitchen, knowing Clint would be staring, she swung her hips in her tiny pyjama shorts.

Sure enough, Clint's voice drifted after her.

"Damn girl!"

* * *

Tony dropped his bag by the door, knowing someone would pick it up later. Steve's duffel remained in his fist until Tony pried it off him, and set it down with his own.

"Mom? Dad?" Tony called, the holiday home was big enough that his voice could be heard in every room, but he still got no reply.

"Guess they haven't arrived yet," Tony said, grinning sheepishly. Steve didn't say anything, just frowned.

"Do you spend a lot of time on your own?"

"My dad isn't home a lot, sure, but my mom tries," Tony shrugged, acting casual. Even though constantly being unable to impress his father always weighed him down.

"Let me give you the guided tour," Tony grinned, not so tactfully changing the subject, and grabbed Steve's hand.

"Heres the living room," Tony dragged Steve out of the marble hallway into the first room on the left, it was all open plan downstairs, archways separated the rooms. Steve gulped.

"This is bigger than the entire apartment Bucky and I share," He said, gazing at the huge living room. It was adorned in cream and gold, with dark red furniture. Fluffy cream carpet, three gold walls and a red wall. The red wall had an open fireplace set in it, with a gold mantelpiece above it, with an extraordinarily large television mounted above it.

"We'll just stay in here actually, tour later," Tony said, eyeing the roaring fire. Steve shrugged, and let Tony drag him down onto the plush red couch.

"So with this secret society thing, how elite is it?" Steve asked quietly. Tony raised his eyebrows.

"We have brands, like, burnt into our skin marks," He answered. Steve's eyes almost fell out of his head.

"Really?" Steve began looking intently at Tony. Tony snorted, he was never going to find it like that. Instead, Tony got up, turned around, and pulled down his trousers.

"Tony!" Tony recognised the outraged voice of his mother. Tony yanked his trousers back up and spun to face his mother.

"I got bit by a bug and I scratched it, turned nasty," He hurriedly explained, "I've got a cream for it though, it's fine"

"Fair enough, I trust you," His mother smiled kindly, and then lifted her shopping bag, "I bought stuff for banana splits. Who's your friend?"

"This is Steve, he was going to stay at school over the holidays, but I wouldn't let him," Tony said, Steve jumped to his feet and smiled.

"Let me help you carry your bags," Steve moved over and took the bag from Tony's mother, who almost swooned. Tony rolled his eyes. Trust Steve to make him look bad.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This chapter is short and split into two pieces oops. After the first part, I suggest you listen to Birdy's cover of Skinny Love! **

**I also apologise for how late this is! I meant to write it last weekend, but my weekend ended up being messier than planned -messy weekends, waaaaaaay- so it didn't get done. If I'd written it on that weekend I probably would've cried, seriously, alcohol+me= a seriously unclassy girl.**

* * *

"So your dad isn't coming any more?" Steve confirmed. Tony nodded, his father had emailed him, emailed him, that morning to tell him he had a work thing.

"But it's Christmas in two days!" Steve exclaimed. Tony shot up, could it really be the 23rd already? He checked his phone for the time, it was almost four in the afternoon.

"Time for my Tiny Chat with the group," Tony changed the subject and pressed the on button for his advanced laptop, it booted up in seconds.

"Do you want me to leave?" Steve asked, already picking his things up from Tony's bed.

"No!" Tony snapped, probably psychotically, he tried again, "No, you're one of us now, stay," Tony opened his web browser and logged in to the Tiny Chat site. Steve sat next to him, watching curiously.

"You've used a computer before?" Tony asked, noting Steve's face. Steve shook his head.

"Only what we've done in class," He admitted. Tony's heart almost broke, how could someone associated with him be so technically ignorant.

"Helllllloooo!" Clint's voice rang through on the speaker, as his and Natasha's picture flickered up.

"Something's changed between the two of you," Tony said instantly. Natasha, emotionless Natasha, blushed.

"She's my bitch now," Clint grinned smugly. Bruce's picture appeared in time for him to see Natasha brutally shove Clint off the chair.

"Good afternoon," Bruce blinked, obviously unfazed. Finally, Loki and Thor appeared.

"Mother has invited you all to join us in the skiing lodge in the New Year before school starts again, in Austria," Loki said straight away. Everyone nodded assent, then moved on.

"So, Loki, Natasha's my girl now," Clint said with raised eyebrows. A strained smile stretched over Natasha's face. Loki admittedly didn't look entirely crestfallen.

"She won't be for much longer if you don't stop talking," Natasha said through a gritted smile, Clint intstantly fell silent.

"So, what do secret societies actually do?" Steve asked, Tony froze, stumped. What did they do?

"Drink?" said Clint.

"Smoke?" Loki added.

"Go to parties!" Thor grinned.

"We do all that anyway," Tony pointed out, so what actually changed? Clint shrugged, obviously not bothered.

"Maybe this senior year will tell us at some point," He suggested.

"Is anyone else coming skiing, Loki?" Bruce asked.

"Dearest Jane," Thor boomed, somehow managing to still look innocent. Loki flinched at the noise.

"Yes, Thor's Jane, and Thor's Jane is bringing Darcy," Loki rolled his eyes, "I wanted to bring Amora, but Mother still can't get over that she set fire to our drapes last year. What she doesn't know that it was Golden Boy over here." Loki jerked his head towards Thor, whose face instantly fell. They all knew about Loki and Thor's home situation, Thor was favourited over Loki, causing small rift between the pair whenever they went home.

"Darcy?" Bruce perked visibly, ignoring the rest of Loki's words.

"Yeah, dark curly hair, glasses, you know, huge bo-" Natasha's elbow connected with Clint's mouth before he could finish the sentence, and he went flying off his chair yet again.

"You've broken it!" A muffled groan from Clint drifted up. Natasha leaned over to look, then came up looking alarmed.

"I have as well, see you guys soon," She said hurriedly, then the laptop screen was slammed down.

"I've got an experiment going, I should be off," Bruce said politely.

"It's the holidays, Bruce!" Tony insisted. Bruce shrugged, then with a wave he disappeared too.

"We too must go, Loki is to show me how to fly!" Thor's everlasting smile didn't disappear, but a small smirk appeared on Loki's face.

"No Thor, he's goin-" Tony begun.

"Bye!" Loki shouted, then their screen went black. Tony shrugged, Thor would find out anyway. He closed down his laptop and pushed it away, then turned to Steve.

"I can't go to Austria," Steve said instantly.

"Why not?" Did Steve hate him, or maybe he felt intimidated because he couldn't ski?

"It's fine if you can't ski," Tony smiled softly. Normally he'd be rude, but something in him was stopping him from being rude to Steve.

"I have no passport," Steve said quietly.

"Pardon?" Tony said, perhaps he'd misheard Steve. Everyone had a passport.

"Never needed one, so I never got one," Steve mumbled.

"Then you need one, now," Tony said bluntly.

* * *

Christmas day came around quickly, and by midday Tony was sat surrounded by wrapping paper, next to Steve. Tony's mother had even managed to get Steve plenty of presents, after grilling Tony as to what he wanted. As a result, Steve had gained more art supplies than he could ever need, sports gear, a top of the range punching bag, and one passport.

"What's all this sports stuff? Did the child do something right?" A gruff voice said from behind Tony. One that he'd recognise anywhere, his father's.

"No Dad, it's for Steve," Tony said, without turning around. Steve instantly jumped to his feet.

"Mr Stark," Steve smiled and held out his hand. Now Tony turned to face them, just in time to see his father smile with shock.

"Big lad aren't you, what did you say your name was?" Tony's father asked.

"Steve, sir," They shook hands, and Howard looked ready to collapse.

"Strong handshake, call me Howard," Now Tony's father was beaming.

"You play sports, son?" Tony almost choked on his own saliva, his own father had never called him son.

"Yes sir," Steve replied, "Just about everything."

"Football team?"

"Varsity," Steve blushed, and let Tony's father guide him onto the sofa.

The pair talked, about just about everything, as if Tony wasn't there. More than once Tony's father implied he'd rather have Steve as his son.

Tony watched them for an hour, not once trying to cut into the conversation. After that, he slid out of the room, unnoticed.

He'd had plenty of his sucky Christmases, he'd been hoping this one with Steve would be better, but it definitely took the crown as being the worst.

* * *

Tony lay in bed, wide awake. For once, sleeping drugs weren't making him sleep. He'd thrown nearly all the plush cushions from his bed in frustration.

It was only 11, but Tony wanted sleep to come. He wanted the day to be over. Light streamed into the room, making Tony look towards the door. Steve's stood hesitantly in the doorway.

"Can I come in?" He asked. Tony grunted, but nodded his assent anyway.

"Your dad seems nice," Steve smiled. Tony grunted again.

"You don't know him then," Tony said back.

"I think if you just-" Steve begun. That was when Tony snapped, he'd trusted Steve to be on his side, to prefer him to his perfect father, to only be his. Instead, he'd watched as Steve bonded with Tony's father in the way that Tony never had.

"Just fuck off Steve!" Tony shouted, then rolled over, so he couldn't Steve. There was no sound, then Steve simply left, the door quietly clicking shut behind him, because even when Steve was hurt, he was still considerate.

Now on his own, away from everyone, Tony let himself cry.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey there! Long time, no post, I know. I've had some serious writers block and twice I've debated possibly deleting both my current fanfics and discontinuing them. I've decided to stick it out if you guys can handle sporadic updates. It may just be because I've recently had several exams and been quite stressed, but we'll see. I hope you guys enjoyed this!**

**I decided not to write properly about the holiday as it is mean to be based in a school, but if anyone asks I'll write about what happened on that little trip ;)**

* * *

Tony had definitely learnt something from his father for the two weeks that the man was home.

Alcohol did help!

Now, it might just be the bottle of whiskey Tony had consumed, but the world was definitely spinning faster today. Tony could barely keep up! It kept moving and moving, then Steve appeared, then disappeared, and then he came back. Tony began to question if he was spinning or the world.

Maybe it was both.

The next time he, or the world, went round, Tony saw Steve putting out an arm, he definitely looked angry. Steve disappeared, but Tony jolted to a still. The movement made his stomach feel funny, not that it mattered much.

"Tony!" Someone shouted. Tony looked up, and there was Steve! Beautiful Steve!

When Tony thought about it, he knew he was meant to be angry with Steve, he just couldn't remember why.

"Steve!" Tony exclaimed. Steve reached down to offer Tony a hand up, not that Tony knew where he was anymore, but for some reason Tony's hand wouldn't touch Steve's, it just kept going through it. Steve looked angry, and sighed. The world started moving again, then Tony was aware Steve was carrying him, seemingly effortlessly.

"I love you Steve," Tony smiled, he tried to focus his eyesight on Steve, but that apparently wasn't going to happen.

"Shut up, Tony," Steve grunted, "This is the third time this week I've pulled you off that roundabout. It's a childrens park, and you are drunk. Sorry, James, will you get the door?"

Tony's mind worked out the last bit wasn't for him... unless he was actually called James.

"Am I James?" Tony decided to check, just to be sure.

"No, and we're going to the airstrip, we're meeting the others in Austria," Tony was put on a cream leather seat, then belted in, "I managed to find someone to pack your bag, and if you don't sober up, I'm going to hit you." Steve sounded decidedly angry to Tony, so he stayed silent.

Tony's mind slowly drifted to ice cream... he'd really like some now he thought about it. Chocolate maybe.

"Can we stop for ice- I'm gonna puke,"

"Pull over please James," Steve said coldly. James obliged, Tony felt an arm sneak over his waist and fling open his door, it let brutally cold air in. Tony undid his seatbelt and practically jumped out of the Range Rover, the acidic taste of vomit already burning his throat.

Sadly, Tony's father had obviously not thought the part after drinking through.

* * *

Steve balanced the unconscious Tony over his shoulder, and pulled his suitcase along in his other hand. James Hogan, Tony's long suffering driver, was carrying Tony's suitcase for him.

Steve recognised Bruce stood by the front of the plane, talking to who Steve assumed was the pilot.

"Bruce?" Steve called out. Bruce turned and waved, apparently unfazed by the pair's current situation. Steve closed the difference between them and grinned.

"Didn't know you were flying with us?" Steve said.

"Yeah, it was a last minute thing. He's like this again?" Bruce nodded at Tony.

"Again?" Steve's heart flipped, he didn't know everything about Tony, it seemed.

"He got like this a while back, never publicly of course, around the time his father started some new project," Bruce explained. Someone came and took Steve's suitcase, and the pilot gestured for them to board the jet. Bruce shuffled nervously.

"Not a flier?" Steve asked sympathetically. Bruce shrugged.

"It's less the flying, more the pressurised small space suspended in the air by engines for the next eight hours factor,"

Steve formed an 'O' shape with his mouth, then proceeded to climb up the steps into the luxurious private jet.

* * *

Tony's head hurt.

Like, really hurt.

And someone kept prodding his stomach. Tony batted the hand away, he didn't want to get up right now.

There was movement, but the prodding had ceased, so Tony could handle that.

Then the cold hit his face, causing him to bolt upright into a sitting position.

"What?!" Tony snapped. Steve stood at the foot of the bed, holding an empty cup and wearing a stony look.

"Orange juice, breakfast and painkillers are on the table, I'm headed out," He said, then he left.

Tony groped around the end table next to him for his phone, once he'd got that, his next task was getting out of bed.

With the greatest effort, Tony managed to lift his lower body off the bed. The cold air hit him instantly.

"Fuck this," He grunted, swung his legs back into bed and wrapped himself in the duvet.

Friends and skiing could wait.

* * *

Three weeks into the new term at school, Steve had been doing a bloody good job of ignoring Tony, partly because Tony had only emerged from his room to attend his advanced maths, mechanics and physics lessons. No one dared say anything because of Tony's father; which was a constant source of amusement for Tony.

A knock at his door pulled Tony from his stupor, he hadn't been drinking recently, because he hadn't been sleeping.

Turns out it sucks having to ride out a hangover fully conscious. Whoever was at the door was clearly impatient, as they barged in.

Tony glanced over and saw Steve's huge frame filling the doorway. He looked worried, with slight irritation slightly littering his face.

"Yes?" Tony smirked. Steve took this as his cue to come in, closing the door firmly behind him.

"Let me see your ass," He demanded. Tony's heart went into overdrive, he'd never seen Steve be so confident in himself, or say anything ruder than sugar.

"Well, Steve, I don't know what you had in mind but-" Tony played it cool, only to be interrupted.

"Not like that, just show me your butt cheek," Steve's voice didn't even waver. Tony suspected it was about the brands, it had happened to all of them.

Tony got up and turned away from Steve, then pulled his trousers and boxers down. Steve must've only taken a quick glance, because he said 'pull them up', seconds after Tony had pulled them down.

"So you've all got one?"

"Yep, don't ask where it came from. I woke up, there it was. Why? Got cold feet? It's too late to leave now," Tony grinned and flopped back down onto the bed. Steve winced.

"Still can't sit down?" Tony asked sympathetically, remembering his own week of agony. Steve nodded hesitantly, obviously reverting back into his normal shy mode.

Tony got back up off the bed and headed into his bathroom, checking the time as she did so.

"You're going straight to bed now?" He called out to Steve, knowing his blonde almost-boyfriend went to bed every night at half nine. Tony found what he was looking for, one black box and a tube of cream. He took them back into the luxurious bedroom.

"Drop your pants," Tony grinned, waving the black box.

"What is it?" Steve frowned.

"Strong local anaesthetic, the only one I've got left. I'll inject it into you, and you need to get back to your bedroom quickly because otherwise you're going to lose the feeling in your leg and you won't be able to walk," Tony opened the box and pulled out the shot.

Steve paused, then turned and shrugged his pants down, so the only flesh exposed was the burnt part.

"That looks nasty," Tony frowned, gently prodding the red hot flesh. Steve shrugged.

"Something must've happened, I don't know," He replied. Tony pushed the needle in just to the side of the brand, Steve took in a sharp breath.

"Sorry," Tony said.

"Are you even qualified to do this?" Steve asked, but Tony was already pressing down on the plunger.

"I injected seven of these into my own ass if that counts," Tony grinned, swinging back up to his full height, trying to play down the fact he'd been worryingly close to Steve's perfect ass.

"...I suppose," Steve pulled his pants back up and turned to Tony, "Can we talk? About what happened over Christmas."

"I could probably squeeze you in at some point," Tony's stomach flipped, no he didn't want to talk about it, "Just not now."

Steve's perfect face frowned, "Why not now, we've got-" Steve crumpled, his leg giving way underneath him.

"That's why," Tony grabbed Steve under his arms and helped him get to his feet., "You can't back to your room now, crash in my bed." Steve hobbled the two steps to Tony's double bed, and practically dived onto the bed.

"What about you?" Steve asked, rolling himself over. Tony almost laughed, pure, innocent Steve, so worried about everyone but himself.

"Couch is good," He smiled at the picture of the strong teenager lying helplessly in bed, "Night Steve."


End file.

Avengers, Humor, Romance