Avengers Texts

Tony's POV

"Oh," he heard from Steve as he stood up, but he was already halfway upstairs. "JARVIS, just so you know, if there isn't coffee when I get up there, i'm disabling you,"

"Of course, Sir," JARVIS remarked and Tony swears to God he sounds so fucking proud, and he really should reprogram the thing to be less sarcastic.

When he reached the coffee maker, the last bit of Italian Roast had just dripped into a pot.

He drinks the entire pot all at once, in six long swallows, and sticks it back under the percolator as soon as he's done.

"Wow," Clint says, but where the fuck did he come from, leaning against the doorway looking languorously evil and smug. "That amount of muscle control is impressive. Can you do that with an entire liter of Sprite?"

"College," Tony offered as an explanation. "Also, yes." There's other things he can swallow too, with his gag reflex beaten into submission in his teens, but he wasn't going to mention that.

"Bet you were a hit at frat parties," Clint said, and he sounded actually impressed. Like, really, Tony is Iron man and a billionaire and this is the thing that impresses him?

...Well, yeah, it's pretty cool.

"Mhm," Tony shrugged, because he forgot what was just said and his brain needed more coffee fuel. It's not used to sleeping for a whole eight hours at one time.

When Tony paid attention again, he was alone but for Steve, who was sitting on his counter with an adorable grin, just staring at Tony like he's the bees knees.

"Um. Hey, Cap,"

"Morning, Tony," oh God, why is he still cheerful?

"...Hi?" He said because he's an idiot and Steve is too cute. "Where'd everyone go?"

"They went to breakfast. Didn't you hear Clint?"

"Nah. Guy never hears me either," which, as soon as he said it, Tony internally winced, because Clint was deaf and that was an unintentional joke.

"They left. Something about iHop,"

"Did they take Thor?"

"Yeah, and Loki, to supervise him,"

Tony thought about Thor at iHop for a minute.

"That sounds terrifying. That why you're here?"

"I wanted to go catch up with Buck- Moron's still with Fury-"

"Shit! Shit! What day is it!?"

Tony racked his brain. Sam texted him before he fell asleep on Steve that Bucky would be completed tomorrow which means tomorrow is today and Steve cannot see Bucky.

"What? Why?" Steve asked with concern. "It's Tuesday,"

"No- It's fine. But you should go to iHop, you don't have to keep an eye on me,"

Steve looked almost bashful, like he actually had been waiting for Tony to wake up and that was too cute to be acceptable. No.

"I'm gonna head downstairs, work on a flyer texting program for my favourite Falcon,"

Steve laughed a little and started to leave.

"You sure you don't wanna come?"

"Uh huh," Tony nodded, not looking at Steve's hair falling over his face. He wasn't looking.

"Okay,"

"Alsosorryforfallingasleeponyou," he called as he ran downstairs. Nobody to bother him down here... Just JARVIS and Dum-E. The way he liked it.

Except.

Except for the supersoldier sized dent in his couch.

And the way he could totally see Steve sitting on his counter, because that man was a counter sitter, God help him, and every time he brought Tony food he sat all up in his work.

And he felt like maybe it was a little empty without Steve's presence.

But that was ridiculous.

People don't make Tony feel like that, like he needs them. People don't matter.

People can't matter.

People are bad for you, you always ruin them. Pepper left for a reason. Don't get attached to Steve. Don't need him. Please, for the love of God, Tony, don't need him. Don't do this to yourself.

But the fact remained that the couch looked bare and the counter looked naked and the lab seemed so much colder than before.