Supernova (avengers x-reader)

Avoided

    As soon as you enter the kitchen, Tony spots you from his seat at a table and hurries out of the room as if his half-eaten breakfast had suddenly come alive, saying something about an experiment he left running in the lab. That was the first strange occurrence.

    Over the next few days, you notice more and more how Tony seems to be avoiding you. At one point, you find him in the common room lounging in an armchair.

    "Hey, Tin Man, want to go a few rounds on COD?" you ask, holding up a controller.

    "Oh! ________. Sorry, I have... stuff to do. Down in the lab. Very important, earth shattering discoveries to make." He quickly scoots around you and hurries down the hall out of sight.

    The strangest thing, however, was how his attitude towards you would do a complete 180 when you were on missions. He wouldn't let you out of his sight if he could help it. Every time they would split up, he would request to partner with you. In every battle that you fought, he would be right behind you, protecting you and watching your back. This dedication to you was the last straw. With their eye in the sky constantly trained on you, the others had some very near misses, so you decided to cut the crap and confront Tony about his strange behavior, both for the others' safety and your sanity.

    You finally managed to corner him down in the labs. You entered the room and knock on the doorframe to get his attention.

    Without looking up from his microscope, Tony say, "Finally! Bruce, how long does it take to get coffee, buddy? You've been gone for the better part of forever."

    Bruce, who is sitting across to room and tapping away at a screen, replies, "Tony, I got back ten minutes ago. Your coffee is right next to you and probably stone cold by now."

    "Really?" Tony looks up from his microscope. "Then who's at the... oh." He swivels in his chair to see you standing just inside the doorway with your arms crossed and an amused look on your face.

   "Bruce, could I talk to Tony in private for a few minutes?"

    Bruce glances between you and Tony and, realizing that this could get awkward, quickly agrees and leaves the room.

    "So! How can I be of service?" Tony asks. He smiles in attempt to throw you off, but you can tell that he's nervous as he picks up a pen and begins to hastily jot down notes from his microscope.

    You lean against the wall and level a piercing glare at the side of Tony's head. "Listen, I don't know how else to go about this, so I'll just say it as plainly as possible." Tony stops writing, but he still doesn't look at you as you're voice starts out calm, but slowly begins to rise with anger. "You've been avoiding me for several days now. You refuse to even give me the time of day. In fact, the only time that you actually spend any time with me is on missions, and then you blatantly endanger our friends by not taking your attention off of me for even a second." You're now pacing back and forth, running your hand through your hair in frustration. "Are you trying to drive me insane?" You turn to Tony and wait for him to offer an explanation.

    Tony stares at you blankly for a few seconds, a hint of panic in his eyes as he tries to form a response. He shakes himself out of his stupor and begins to jot down more notes. "Well, you see... I..." He sighs and leans on the table for several moments, his hands splayed, before slowly turning to face you with the sad resignation of a man who has accepted the fact that there is no escape from his current situation.

    "I'll tell you everything. But first, I'm going to need a sample of your blood." His face is a mask of complete seriousness as yours screws up in confusion.

    "What? Why?" you ask. "How does my blood pertain to this conversation in any way?"

    Tony holds up his hands in an attempt to placate you. "I realize that this isn't making any sense, but I need to be sure about this before I can explain. I swear, from the bottom of my shrapnel-riddled heart, just give me some blood and a few days and I'll explain everything."

    On top of your mounting confusion, Tony's vagueness is now making you afraid as well. "Again, why do you need some of my blood? Do you think that there's something wrong with me?" You think back over the last few days. You can't remember doing anything strange, but an outsider's perspective might have caught something that could account for Tony's avoidance of you.

    "Other than the whole 'former agent of Hydra' thing? No, I think you're good." He gives you a small smile, testing the waters. Luckily for him, your confusion has distracted from your original anger and you no longer feel like biting his head off.

    "Why can't you just tell me why you've been avoiding me?" You're frustration is beginning to build up again.

    "I promise, I'll tell you everything in a week. And in the meantime, I'll try my hardest not to avoid you. And... I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately." He seems to mean it.

    You hesitate. Every ounce of you wants to continue your interrogation, but you force yourself to be patient. Tony's as stubborn as they come and if he doesn't want to give you an explanation, he won't, no matter what you do. You finally nod with a resigned sigh and Tony calls Banner back in to extract the sample.