tony is in an abusive relationship, and steve isn't okay with it
set before iron man; no powers, steve is a regular person but still ripped
tw: abuse
~NO POV~
Steve lived in a shitty apartment. He had neighbours screaming or.. doing other things, way too loudly all the time. He learned to mind his business, learned to just live with it. He was working as hard as he could to leave the apartment and get a better place to stay.
He was all for helping people, though. So maybe, if things got bad enough, he'd try helping. But this was New York and most people hated nosy neighbours.
So for a while, he ignored his neighbours.
One night, he came home late. It was two in the morning, he was tired and all he wanted to do was sleep. But then he heard a glass shatter on the wall of the apartment above his, and at first he thought he was dreaming.
But then he heard the voice of a guy and it sounded like he'd been crying. Now he was too worried to be sleeping.
So he took the elevator to the second floor, walked down the hall and knocked upon the door. A brunet opened up, and Steve asked about the things he'd been hearing.
"I think your ears are playing tricks on you." Sweater zipped up to his chin. "Thanks for caring, sir, that's nice of you, but I have to go back in."
Steve wanted to say something, to ask him what was really wrong, but he couldn't.
"Wish I could tell you 'bout the noise but I didn't hear a thing."
The smile on his face was way too fake. There were footsteps behind him, but no one was there.
"Are you sure?"
He said, "It must have been the wind."
"Must have been the wind?"
"Must have been the wind."
Must not have been the wind.
The night after, Steve was laying on the floor of his room, cold concrete on his back. No, he just couldn't shake the feeling. He couldn't intrude cause he knew he didn't have all the facts, but he couldn't bear the thought of leaving him.
The fake smile, the timid voice, the messed up hair that looked like someone had pulled on it, hard. The sweater zipped up so far that surely there was a bruise beneath it. The small cut on the brunet's face, the trembling of his hands.
There was something so terribly wrong, and Steve couldn't shake the feeling.
So, when he heard the shouting again two days later, he took the elevator to the second floor, walked down the hall and knocked upon the door. The brunet opened up, and Steve asked about the things he'd been hearing.
"If you're not safe, say it was the wind." He whispered.
"I think your ears are playing tricks on you." Sweater zipped up to his chin. "Thanks for caring, sir, that's nice of you but I have to go back in."
Steve waited for him to say it, staring at the bruise on his left cheek.
"Wish I could tell you 'bout the noise, but I didn't hear a thing."
Steve wanted the brunet to say it so badly because that meant he had the okay to help, in whatever way he could. He'd find out how.
He said, "It must have been the wind."
"It must have been the wind?"
"It must have been the wind."
"It must have been the wind."
Steve walked away with a nod, determined. The brunet sounded sure the second time he said it, and that meant Steve could help. Even if he just met this man, he'd help. He'd do something, anything, to make it better.
He thought of a plan and waited a night, hoping his long-shot idea would work. He had to help the brunet. He was far too gorgeous to be hiding himself, restricted and beaten by someone who deserved jail time.
So Steve aimed his boombox at the roof, playing Lean on Me, just so that he knows he can lean on him. And when he hears the words, he hopes he'll be okay.
Steve aimed his boombox at the roof, playing Lean on Me, just so that he knows he can lean on him. And when he hears the words, he knows exactly what he'll say.
Almost immediately after, he heard someone shout to tell the downstairs neighbour to shut up. He heard light footsteps and a door close, and before he knew it, the brunet was at his door.
The sweater wasn't zipped up so far, and his throat was red, bruised and his hair was messy. The bruise on his face was darker and there was a newer bruise on his jaw now. The brunet was crying, eyes red.
"Promise I'm not playing tricks on you." Steve smiled. "You're always welcome to come in."
The brunet walked in timidly with a sad smile.
"You can stay here for an hour or two if you ever need a friend."
"The noise-"
"We can talk about the noise when you're ready, but till then, I'll say it must have been the wind."
"Must have been the wind?"
"Must have been the wind."
"It must have been the wind."
Steve had given the brunet an ice pack and put a blanket on him when the man fell asleep on the sofa. He wondered what his name was and what had happened to him, how he let himself get hurt.
It wasn't until someone aggressively knocked on the door that he found out.
"Hi, can I help you?"
"Where the fuck is he?"
The blond man barged into the apartment and saw the brunet sleeping on the sofa. He'd woken up upon hearing the loud footsteps and scrambled to get up, terrified.
"Get the fuck out of my apartment." Steve yelled. "Excuse my language, but get the fuck out."
"That's my-"
"Property." Steve raised a brow. "No? He seems like a person to me, so you can't just barge in and demand to have him back like he's an object. I suggest you walk out of here before I throw you out."
The blond looked at the taller, muscly blond. He was fit to be a soldier, and that scared the man, so he left.
"I'll fucking get you, Stark."
The brunet's face paled, and the blond was gone, and Steve stood confused before locking the door.
"Stark?" He asked. "As in... Tony Stark?"
"Please. You can't tell anyone."
"Of course not." Steve sat down on the sofa, patting a spot for Tony to sit down.
"I-"
"We can talk about the noise when you're ready, but till then." Steve reiterated. "I'll say it must've been the wind."
"Must've been the wind."
"Must've been the wind."
The week later, Tony had finally spoke of the wind. He figured Steve deserved an explanation after he let Tony stay, rent-free.
"That man is Tiberius Stone."
"The Viastone guy?"
"Yeah." Tony sighed. "He was supposed to be my partner, so SI and Viastone could become partners in business. My father wanted it, and he beat me into making sure I would. But then Ty found out and took me away from them, providing for me when my money was cut off."
"He looks a lot older than you."
"He's twenty-four."
"And you are?"
"Nineteen."
Steve drew back a breath. "How long were two you together?"
"We left when I was eighteen. He moved me here and said it was low-key enough for me to hide, and then he left, saying we didn't have to be partners. He came back every now and then to take care of things, and I fell for him, because no one had taken care of me like that."
"And then the wind."
"He started hitting me two months ago. He pretended it was an accident, but then realised he could get away with it and blackmail me. So I let him." Tony's voice sounded weak, like he was about to cry. "But then you gave me a way out."
"I'm not going to force you into doing anything. You can live here rent-free until you get a job and, when you're stable enough financially, then I'll help you find somewhere to stay, somewhere Stone can't get to you."
"You don't have to." Tony said softly. "I was planning to leave and just go back to my dad. He'd keep me away if I promised to help out with the company."
"No one is hitting you, whether it's your father or Stone." Steve said calmly. "You don't have to stay with me, but I'm giving you a choice. Another way out. If you ever feel unsafe, you can leave. But give this a chance."
"Maybe I will." Tony smiled.
Tony's stuff was brought to Steve's apartment the next week, with Steve barging into Ty's apartment, knocking the guy out cold and taking everything he needed. He threatened to press charges, but the Stark in Tony came out and he said the Stark name would always be more powerful than the Stone name.
Regardless, Steve and Tony had told Ty's parents about what their son was really like. Ty was cut off this time, and they paid Tony a compensation fee. It wasn't for silence, but as an apology for Ty and Howard.
Steve was sad when Tony left, but he never mentioned it. When he saw Tony in the news for starting a clean-energy company of his own, he was proud of the brunet regardless.
Three months after Tony left, Steve found out the name of the new company.
"It's called Rogers Enterprises." The brunet declared. "Named after the man who saved my life. I wouldn't have been able to do this without him. Steve, if you can see this, thank you, for everything."
The next night, Tony was at his door, saying he was falling for Steve, despite his fear of being hurt. He said he would risk it all to be with Steve, and Steve couldn't help but kiss the brunet and treat him right.
They were together privately, and when Steve was ready, it was public. And not a single person had anything to say about it, except from Tiberius.
Who was arrested and brought to light about his abusive tendencies. And then so was Howard, and Tony got everything from the wretched man. He won.
He couldn't help but be grateful for the wind.
well this was short (im used to 5000+ word chapters now)
love it anyways ig
stony !!
cinnamon <3