Sorry for the delay. I know it's been a long time, but life's gotten busier. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 6
Tony heard every single word of the argument between Steve and Clint from the kitchen, and smirked. Steve was so naïve. Clint was obviously in love with Steve, and Steve was just as much in love with the archer, but Clint didn't want to admit it, and Steve didn't even realize he was in love with him. So much drama! It made him want to spend time around Steve, just so he could see how this went on. He did always love watching those soap operas.
When he heard the elevator ding shut and start moving up to what he assumed was Steve's floor, Tony grabbed his sandwich and headed out to the room that the argument had occurred in. Clint was still there, his head bowed, and his shoulders slumped.
"What's up, Legolas?" Tony asked, a little more worried than before. Clint jumped, obviously not realizing that Tony was there until right then. Weird, because Clint always knew where everyone was, no matter what.
"You heard everything, didn't you?" he asked sullenly, and Tony smiled. That sounded a little more like the Clint he knew and loved to make fun of.
"Yup, I had a bit of a revelation while I was listening to your jealous ramblings." Tony looked straight into Clint's miserable eyes. "You're totally in love with Steve, and you don't know what to do with yourself." Clint almost flinched, and Tony knew that things were bad for the archer. "Well, don't you worry about that, I'm going to help you get together with him. I am, after all, the love guru."
A small smile lifted Clint's lips a bit, and Tony took that as a good sign. "First step, don't get jealous every time Steve talks to a guy. You do that, you're digging your grave. Steve doesn't fall in love easy. Me, I fell in love at first sight, and I'm going to stay that way. Steve probably doesn't even know that he could be in love with you. He's from the forties, and they weren't known for being tolerable of same sex relationships." This thought made Clint go pale. He probably hadn't even considered that.
"I didn't think of that," Clint said softly, confirming Tony's assumption. "He'll probably hate me if I ever tell him how I feel!" he moaned, dropping his head into his hands. Tony patted his back awkwardly, unsure how to deal with an emotional breakdown.
"I don't think that's your problem, Legolas. You obviously don't know Steve very well, or you'd know that he doesn't have a discriminating bone in his body. The only people he doesn't like are the Nazi's, and Fury. The Nazi's are obvious, and Fury is Fury, nobody likes him. You happen to be neither, so you're safe from Steve's dislike." Clint relaxed enough to let out a chuckle, and Tony's smile broadened.
"Okay, so he won't hate me. What about just now? He completely snapped." Tony held in his chuckle at the irony. Clint had been the one snapping, and Steve had merely been responding in kind, and Tony would happily point that out to him.
"He was hurt, anyone could tell from his voice if they tried. You were jealous of whoever he ate dinner with, and took out all your pent up feelings of unrequited love and anger on him. He was hurt that you were thinking of him like that, and then you bring love into the equation and he didn't know how else to react." Clint looked guilty, which wasn't surprising. Tony had just told him that it was his fault that Steve blew up.
"So he'll never forgive me now! I took out my jealousy on him, and now he doesn't even consider us friends anymore!" Tony was getting tired of the moaning and groaning act his friend was showing.
"Suck it up, buttercup," he said briskly. "He didn't mean what he said, he was angry. Anger is the perfect time to say things that don't mean anything. Trust me." Tony stood up, brushing off the imaginary dust from his pants. "Now, I'm going to bed, but if I know you right, you'll go and think up all of these horrible 'what if' situations, and each one will stress you out more and more until you can hardly think straight, and when you see Steve again, you'll be crazy, and angry, and hurt, and he won't realize why. So for the sake of your future relationship with Spangles, you will go to sleep, and not worry about a thing. And if you do worry about something, just realize that you fell for him for some reason, and it probably was for his kindness. So go. Now. I'm tired." Tony pointed to the elevator, a stern look on his face. Clint laughed softly, but stood and obeyed his orders.
"Good night, Tony, and thanks for your help." Ha. Help. They both knew that Clint would stay up all night worrying despite the advice that Tony gave him. That was just how he was.
Tony waved, eating his sandwich at last, and then pulled out his phone. It was only nine o'clock at night, Harry had to have been awake still, and wouldn't mind if he called him. Well. Tony hoped he wouldn't.
"Hello?" Harry's voice drifted from the phone. Thankfully, he sounded completely awake, if not a bit distracted.
"Hey, it's me. Your wonderful, gorgeous, and unfortunately bored lover. How's life?" There was a pause and then a chuckle.
"Great, my wonderful, gorgeous, and hopefully-not-so-bored-now-that-I'm-here lover. What's going on?"Tony sighed dramatically, a grin on his face at his lover's words. He knew he wanted that man for a reason, and humor definitely played a part.
"Nothing. Just helped my buddy with some relationship problems. You know, I could be a therapist, I'd rock. I do rock. I'm frickin' amazing! Do you know how lucky you are to have me? Just saying." Tony didn't mean to sound so cocky, but honestly, he couldn't lie about his own awesomeness! It would be wrong!
Harry was full out laughing now, and not in a mocking way. "I do now. Although, I wouldn't suggest going into therapy. I'm pretty sure that you would emotionally scar the patients instead of help them." Tony scoffed, but the smile on his face was obvious even through the phone.
"Only a little bit. It would be their own fault for having weak constitutions." Harry laughed again, but then the laugh faded into a sigh. Tony immediately asked what was wrong. His Harry shouldn't be sighing heavily like that when he was on the phone with Tony! It wasn't right.
"Nothing, really. I was just looking around me and wondering why there are so many people who need therapy in the first place. Why does life have to be so hard on people that they need to pay lots of money for a person to listen to them. It just doesn't make sense. I don't like it." Tony sighed himself. Depressing conversations made him, well, depressed.
"Because life sucks. Simple as that. There's no such thing as a perfect life. Everyone's got some problem they have to deal with, and sometimes, they can't deal with it. That's why therapists are in such high demand." Harry gave another sigh, and Tony moved onto happier topics. They talked for about an hour before Harry finally told him he had to go to bed. Tony went to bed that night feeling uneasy, but didn't know why.
O.O
The next morning, Harry woke to find that not only was he not alone in his apartment, but that the intruder happened to be the same woman who had shown up at his door the day he and Tony had gotten together. The woman was standing over him, a gun in her hands. It wasn't currently pointing at him, but he knew that it could in the blink of an eye.
"Fury wants to see you, Mr. Potter. I suggest you do so without problems." Harry whipped out his wand and silently cast immobulus on her, his eyes cold. Her eyes were wide with shock and fear, but Harry didn't care. Who did she think she was, breaking into his house, a gun in hand? This was going too far, even for Fury.
"You tell your boss that I have nothing to say to a man without honor or respect to people who have done nothing but help him. The only reason I've let you live is because I don't believe in killing without reason, and you are simply the messenger. If Fury wants to talk to me, he can come to me himself, without his gigantic ego taking up space in my house." With that said, Harry stood, nothing but a pair of sweats on his lower half, and lifted her with a quick wingardium leviosa that he used to drop her outside of his house. As soon as he'd strengthened the wards even more, he took the freezing spell off her and went to the kitchen for some food.
Within the hour, Fury was at his door, a look of irritation on his face. Harry smirked, waiting for the man to knock, but Fury just stood there, looking expectantly at the door. Finally, when he seemed to figure out that Harry wasn't just going to let him in, he yelled, "Potter! I know you're in there! Let me in!" Harry sighed, but decided that complying would be the best choice. He knew that Fury had a temper that could blow up at any time.
As soon as the door was opened, Fury shoved his way in and started pacing in Harry's front room. Harry watched, irritated. "Fury, I want to make a deal with you. I want you to stop harassing me. In return, if there's a major crisis that has millions of lives put on the line, I will help. I will need all the details of the crisis, and will judge whether my help is necessary. Agreed?" Fury folded his arms across his chest, evaluating Harry with his one eye. Harry didn't fidget. This wasn't the first time he'd been under scrutiny. And it wouldn't be the last, he knew.
Finally, Fury said gruffly, "Fine. But some information is classified. I can't just hand it over to you," he sneered. Harry rolled his eyes. Why was this man so difficult? He was like a mix of Snape and Kingsley, only more manic.
"Whatever. As much info that you can get me, I want it. But that's not important right now. I just want you to promise, on paper, that you won't abuse this deal. Because either way, I really don't get anything out of it. You're the one that gets me as a part-time Avenger. Very part-time," he warned with a glare. Fury glared back.
"Potter, there are thousands of crisis' daily that could use your help. Part time isn't an option. The Avengers need you on every mission." Harry gave him an unimpressed look. Fury amended his statement. "Most missions." Harry glared. "Fine. Part-time. But I don't control when major crisis' occur!" Harry rolled his eyes once again.
"Fury. I understand this. But as soon as you call me in on a stupid mission that the other, full-time and capable Avengers can handle, this deal is over. Got it?" Fury thought over it before nodding. Harry sighed in relief. "Good. Now get out of my house, stop putting cameras out there—they don't work anyway, I hack them—stop sending agents to my house, and don't have anyone spy on me—I know there was someone following me last night. Agreed?" Fury had a sour look on his face but nodded and left the house. Harry grinned once he was gone, knowing that he had a little bit of freedom. Yes, he'd have to fight at some point, but if he was able to decide which were worth his time, he really wouldn't have to fight that often. Now he could visit Tony's tower!
Instantly, he pulled out his phone and called Tony. The man answered quickly despite it only being eight in the morning, and Harry immediately started telling him about the deal he'd made. Tony was a little unsure. "Fury's relentless. Give him an inch, he'll take a continent. Soon you'll be in on every mission. Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Harry was touched at his concern.
"Yeah, I'll survive. Plus, I have a stronger will than him. If he steps out of line, I'll step out of the deal. Simple as that. I've been used, and I know when it's happening. I'll keep him in line. Don't worry." Tony cheered up at that, and immediately invited him over. Harry grinned. "That's why I called you. I'm coming over right now!"
Tony offered to send him his limo, but Harry wanted to walk. He didn't live too far away, and he needed the exercise. Working with computers meant spending lots of time indoors, and no time outside. Plus, without Quidditch he had no way of keeping in shape.
As he was walking toward the tower, he saw Steve up ahead. Grinning, he ran to catch up with the man. "Wotcher, Steve!" he said, patting the man on the back. Steve looked at him in surprise, his former expression of confused anger melting into delight.
"Harry! How are you?" Harry smiled as they talked back and forth, both heading to the same place without noticing it.
"Why were you upset earlier?" Harry asked, watching Steve's expressions closely. Steve scowled, running a hand through his hair.
"Last night, my friend who lives in the same building as me got angry at me because he saw us eating dinner and thought, for some strange reason, that I would fall in love with you. I don't know why he was spying on us, or why he thought that, but it made me really angry that he would think that of me! I mean, what made him think that I would fall in love with you after meeting you once? And you're a man, and I'm not interested in men, and yet he just snapped at me!" Harry snorted, feeling like now was probably the time to voice his thoughts from last night when Steve had said that the waitress wasn't the one for him.
"Steve, I don't want to say something that might ruin your relationship with this man, but it sounds like this guy's jealous. He doesn't want you to fall in love with another man because he wants you to fall in love with him." Was that too blunt? Harry didn't want to tell Steve something and then find out that the other man didn't feel this way at all. But at the same time, Steve seemed a bit oblivious.
The look of astonishment on Steve's face worried Harry. Maybe Steve was homophobic? These thoughts were corrected when Steve's voice was slightly hopeful. "Really? You think so?" He must've heard the hope as well because surprise was the next emotion on his face. "I mean, why do you think that? He doesn't like me that way. We're just friends." That sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
"Look, I don't know the guy, but from the way you're saying that he reacted, it sounds like he's in love with you. And from the way you reacted to him reacting to seeing us together," wow, that sounded better in my head, Harry thought dryly at Steve's momentarily amused face, "I'd say you at least like him back. But I don't really know all the details. How about you watch him closer, and think about how you feel around him, and then decide for yourself whether you like him or not."
By now, they'd both arrived at the Avenger's Tower, and when they both headed for the door subconsciously, they paused to look at the other. Steve spoke first, asking, "Why are you going to the tower?"
Eyebrows drawn in, Harry said, "Well, I'm here to see my boyfriend. Why are you going to the tower?" Steve looked at him in surprise before slowly stating that he lived there. Both paused again, before shrugging and going inside.
As they entered the building, Steve asked, "Who's your boyfriend?" Harry smiled a bit sheepishly.
"Uh, you probably won't believe me because he's a bit of a celebrity, but I'm dating Tony Stark." Steve sputtered, looking at him in astonishment.
"You're dating Tony? What? When did this happen? How long have you been dating? Isn't Tony straight? JARVIS, isn't Tony straight?" Steve asked the room in general, and Harry was excited to see the AI that his lover created.
"Mr. Stark is bisexual, Mr. Rogers. He also says to tell Mr. Potter to come up to his floor." Harry grinned and waved at a camera in the corner of the ceiling.
"Hi, Tony, hi, JARVIS! I'm so glad to meet a real AI! I've tried to make a few, but I'm really only a programmer in the barest sense of the word, and haven't achieved anything close to you. Can you tell me about how you were made?" he asked as he moved with a stunned super soldier at his side to the elevator. JARVIS went on to talk about his creation process while Steve just watched in awe as Harry easily carried out a conversation with a computer as if it were a human being.
"Oh, by the way, why do you live here, Steve? Aren't the Avengers the only ones who live here?" Harry asked after a lull in his conversation with the AI. Steve blushed slightly and shrugged.
"I'm kind of Captain America."