The 0-8-4 Disaster (one-shot)
for @a-storm-cloud: your wish is my command ;)
It had been a normal SHIELD mission; retrieve the 0-8-4, don't open it, and wait for pick up. Nothing should've gone wrong, but Tony.
It's always Tony.
"What is that?" Tony asked Steve and Natasha as they walked into the tower carrying the box that held the 0-8-4.
"We don't know, " Steve shrugged snd sat it down. "SHIELD is picking it up in a few hours."
"Don't open it, Stark," Natasha said sternly as she walked away to find Bruce. Thor was off world still and Clint was on a solo mission.
"Don't they give you any information when they ask you to pick things up?" Tony circled the box.
"Yeah." Steve rsised an eyebrow. "They said it's an 0-8-4. Alien. Unknown. Probably dangerous to mess with it. I don't need to know anything else. "
Tony wasn't as easily convinced though, and the more seconds passed as he stared at the box that had been sat on the living room table, the more his hands itched to open it.
"Well, what if we just--"
"No, Tony."
"But--"
"No."
Too bad Tony wasn't known for taking commands too well, and swiftly his hands were on the box and opening it before Steve could stop him.
Before them stood a tiny black rock. It looked normal, frankly. So normal that Steve and Tony shared a look of confusion.
"Are you guys sure you picked up the right thing?" Tony snarked.
"Positive," Steve pursed his lips, unamused.
"Well, wonder what it could do if it looks that normal?" Tony mused aloud. "What's the worse that could happen?"
Steve wanted to tell him that the building could collapse on top of them, or it could be an alien bomb that could destroy the whole city, or maybe it was some kind of portal--the possibilities were endless. Yet, there was something warm about being in the presence of the stone.
There was something warm swirling in his soul at Tony's childish curiosity.
There was something. So he didn't say anything, and Tony reached out and grabbed the stone.
The stone burned in Tony's hands, and Tony tried to let it go but he couldn't. Steve tried to help, but there was no use.
"What's happening?" Steve yelled.
"I don't know. I don't--it's trying--I can't stop it," Tony shouted frantically. He shook his head a few times, but then he looked right at Steve. "I'm in love with you."
The stone stopped burning and dropped from Tony's hand.
“What?” Steve said quietly.
“What?” Tony repeated owlishly.
“You just said you’re in love with me...”
“It was the stone,” Tony shrugged, but it was clear his shoulder’s were tense. “It made me say it. It was like I couldn’t stop myself.”
Steve furrowed his brows. “Do you think it just latches on to the person nearest to the one holding it? Jarvis?”
Jarvis answered in that polished yet dispassionate way of his. “My algorithm to determine romantic relationships lead me to the conclusion that, based on Mr. Stark’s interactions and heart rate, Mr. Stark is in love with you Captain Rogers.”
“I need to fix him,” Tony said, clearly startled. “He’s obviously broken. We need another hand--NATASHA!”
Natasha walked in calmly, a raised eyebrow in place. “You know, shouting is one of the main signs of hysteria, Tony.”
“No time for jokes,” Tony practically growled at her. “We need you to pick up the stone.”
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch the 0-8-4?”
“Lecture me later--we need you to pick it up,” Tony rolled his eyes impatiently.
Steve looked at Natasha, confusion and anxiety whirling in his heart. “Please,” he asked gently. Whatever she saw in his eyes convinced her, and suddenly her scream was just as loud and anguished as Tony’s had been.
“Don’t fight it,” Tony coached her. “Just let it do it’s thing.”
Natasha glared at him, but followed his instruction.
“I’m in love with Bruce,” she said through clenched teeth. The stone fell from her hands.
It was clear that it had nothing to do with proximity.
“My algorithm has determined that Miss Romanoff is telling the truth. Her heart rate spikes when she is around Mr. Banner, and--”
“We get it Jarvis,” Tony glowered at the ceiling.
“I’m never touching anything again that you two want me to without knowing why first,” Natasha glared at them and walked away. Steve didn’t blame her; he knew how private she was.
“Tony...” Steve didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t sure how to address the elephant in the room. But he wanted to.
“Don’t, Rogers,” Tony grit his teeth. He couldn’t look him in the eyes--he’d been ignoring any changes in his emotions towards Steve for so long that he wasn’t even sure how to accept them.
Steve paused to reflect on his own emotions for a moment; after a few seconds, his face froze in determination. Tony didn’t want to know what conclusion he’d drawn.
“You’re stuffy, and bossy, and annoyingly self righteous,” Tony rambled as his only shield. Steve leaned forward, but Tony ignored him. “You always think you’re right--”
“I’m in love with you, too,” Steve said.
It was at that moment that Tony realized that Steve had picked up the stone. The stone hadn’t burned him, because he wasn’t trying to deny the truth.
“My algorithms say that --”
“Shut up, Jarvis,” Tony and Steve said simultaneously.
They both smiled and their hearts were as warm as the core of the earth.
