Despite the split between the heroes, the Avengers House still did exist, and was still used by those who actually had a brain when Steve and Tony fought over the accords.
That being said, a few people still lived there. Some would just drop by for a few days to visit, make nice, keep the peace, catch up after a spell or two.
Tony didn't live there, clearly, but he did visit often. Those who were still welcome would try to have a dinner party every Friday night, and Tony never missed a single one. Sometimes even those who lived far would make it down to their annual dinner party. The food was always exquisite, so it was worth it.
So it was a regular Friday of Peter coming to Tony's place after school, getting cleaned up, and the two going to the Avengers house together. It was a ritual. A routine. But this Friday afternoon was different.
When Peter had finally made it to Tony's place, the car in the driveway wasn't there. And the door was locked. Usually that wouldn't be a problem, since Peter had a spare key, but he forgot it at Aunt May's. So he couldn't get in.
He then whipped out his phone and had a quick convo with Tony.
So Peter sat down on the front porch steps, opened Subway Surfers, and waited for Tony to come home.
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Tony and Stephen had finished their sandwiches hours ago, usually Stephen's lunch breaks weren't this long but he could make an exception.
The two had been talking about anything they could talk about, and after that, still have more to say.
But suddenly, Tony recieved Peter's text and remembered their evenings plans. It wasn't like he was cutting their date short, but something in him wanted to stay. He'd never felt that before with anyone else. The urge to talk to someone all day, into the hours of the night. And not wanting to sleep, or blink, or miss a thing. Tony was more to himself on personal affairs, but Stephen brought out a side of him where he felt like he could say anything and not be judged, and not in a way that Stephen was his therapist or anything.
He almost didn't say anything. He wanted to stay in the aroma of fresh sandwiches, listen to Stephen's voice and the bustling people of New York, and most importantly, he didn't want to lose sight of Stephen. He didn't want to lose sight of his green eyes, of his beautiful hands resting on the table before him, of his lips and how they curled into a smile when he looked at Tony, of his hair that he could perfectly run his hands through. He didn't want to go. He felt like a little kid, hiding somewhere in their friends house so he didn't have to go home.
But alas, Tony had plans, and Stephen had patients. After all, they did spend over three hours together when the original plan was forty five minutes. The two bid eachother goodbye, turning a tense handshake into a cute but, rather awkward, side hug. Both of them wanted more, but for the first time in awhile, the men who went after what they wanted, were to flustered to make a first move.
So Stephen got back to work, and Tony drove home to find Peter still on his door step, waiting patiently, his foot tapping. "Oh hey Mr. Stark! I uh, looked under the mat and there was no spare key so I kinda jus', decided to set up camp." He said, standing up and grabbing his back pack, a smile spreading across his face at the sight of Tony.
"Ya know kid, there are more places to look for a key. Such as," Tony began to say, reaching under a table and grabbing the key stuck to it slightly. "Under a table, or a plant."
Tony stuck the key back, and then pulled out his own key, unlocking his front door and letting Peter in first. Peter skipped past him, heading straight to the bathroom, he hadn't realized how long Peter had been waiting, let alone how long he was with Stephen, which seemed like minutes was actually a few hours. It was much different than any other date he had been on.
But Tony did his best to keep Stephen out of mind for now, he had to focus on seeing the remaining Avengers, or what ever you might call the split up bunch. He had heard that Thor was coming to the dinner that night, so Tony was making sure everything was better than usual. It was rare Thor came, especially with a plus one.
So Tony and Peter freshened up, and drove upstate to the Avengers house, and eventually made their way in. He let peter go off and chat with the other heroes while he made sure everything was okay with the caterer that evening. Once he had everything lined up, he went to join Peter with the other heroes.
To his delight, they were joined by Thor, Bruce, and Rhodey. Everyone who could come, was there. Which was a shock for Tony, usually it was just Rhodey, Peter, and Bruce joining Tony on Friday evenings. Seeing foreign friends was a rarity.
Tonight was not like any other Friday night, Tony then realized.
He then saw in the corner of his eye, Loki come from the bathroom. He hadn't realized that Loki was Thor's plus one, but it made sense now.
"Hey who invited Loki? I'm not sure how welcome he is, he tried to stab me once." Tony said to the group.
"Oh please, Stark." Thor replied. "He has stabbed me multiple times. Shape shifted into a snake once to do so," He continued to explain. "He was all slithery and shifted and went NYAH and," Thor descriptively went on to describe one of the many occasions Loki had stabbed him, his facial expressions truly implying the message he was giving.
"Okay that's great, thank you for sharing. He can stay just," Tony sighed. "Keep him away from the knives."
Tony then was silent, taking a seat and observing everyone in the room. He watched as Thor snaked an arm around Bruce's shoulders, giving him a kiss on his temple. The smaller man smiled at Thor, and for the first time in awhile, their affection didn't bother Tony in the slightest. He had no jokes. No witty comments. Just thoughts of Stephen doing the same to him.
He had slipped into his mind, thinking about the soft, hesitant hand pats he had gotten from Stephen, the sparks that had surged through him, until their was a loud snapping in his face.
Rhodey snapped in Tony's face until he drew his attention. "Tony, dude, they've been like. Kissing eachother for five minutes and you haven't said a thing. What is up with you man?" Rhodey asked, a confused expression painted on his face.
"Ah yes," Thor said, pulling away from Bruce, his lips a little swollen. "Tony usually has something to say about our Public Display of Affection, and I simply suggested to Bruce here," He continued, patting Bruce's chest. "Too see how long we could go without Tony making a joke. But Rhodey, you are absolutely correct! Something is up with Stark.
Tell us everything."
"Well, well really there isn't much going on." Tony denied, a coy smile sliding onto Peter's face. He then nudged Tony, wanting him to share about his date with his new handsome doctor.
"Okay okay, well I hired a new personal doctor." Tony admitted.
"That's it? Really? There has to be more to it than-." Rhodey began to say, interrupted by Tony.
"And he's really great-."
"Your new doctor is a man? Okay there we go Tony has a crush on his doctor. Do you think he'd be okay with the last name Stank?" Rhodey finished, chuckling at the nickname.
"His last name is so much cooler than mine so even if we, okay why does this matter." Tony said exasperated, realizing he had admitted to thinking about marrying Stephen. It was so soon. So dumb. So unlike him. But it seemed right.
"Well, Tony, I think you should confess to this man your undying love." Thor said, a smile.
"Or your undying fidelity." Loki added, twirling a knife between his nimble fingers.
"Hey what did I say about the knives. Put it down." Tony said, avoiding Thor's advice.
"Tony." Rhodey started, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I've never seen your head so in the clouds about someone. I say make a move, and make sure he's okay with being Dr. Stank."
"Okay, yeah Rhodes, will do." Tony said, his head shaking a little bit.
Oh boy, what had he gotten himself into.
"Five dollars he confesses by the end of the week, ten if they kiss." Bruce interjected.
"Lets not bet on my love life okay?"
"No promises."
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hi this chapter took forever and i'm really proud of it so HERE thanks.