Evil Author Day: Fallout

Title: Fallout
Author: Ladyholder
Fandom: The Avengers (2012)
Pairings: Tony/Steve
Word COunt: 1146
A/N: set in my Tony is a Werewolf ‘verse. Yes, I know those are normally Challenge fics.

 

 

 

 

“Billionaire Playboy Despoils National Icon!”

“Is Captain America Gay?”

“Should Steve Rogers Continue to be Captain America Now That He Has Come Out?”

“Tony Stark Pressured and Blackmailed America’s Living Symbol Into His Bed.”

“Catholic Church Mulling Excommunication of Captain America!”

“Was Captain America’s Famous Crash, in fact, a Suicide Attempt?”

The chorus of headlines flicked across the screen, almost too fast to be understood by the average person. Too bad Steve could read that fast. How the news of their relationship had gotten out was obvious. The pictures had come from one of their recent dates.

Due to who they were, private rooms were de rigueur, a way to try to eat like a semi-normal person while out. The photos flashing across the news had apparently been taken from just outside their room. By the quality, they had come from a cell phone. He and Tony had been sharing kisses over dessert and never noticed.

So far JARVIS had determined the phone belonged to a restaurant employee.

Needless to say, Tony was in the process of buying the restaurant so he could find the person in question and fire them. Pepper was actually on board with the idea, but couldn’t allow SI funds to be used for personal vengeance. Tony was fine with that and had peeled the funds out of his own accounts.

Steve just wanted to get the record straight.

“Tony, please sit down and let’s figure out how we’re going to present this,” Pepper demanded.

“How is SI’s PR department spinning this?” the Were asked as he paced around the room.

“By saying that your personal life has not and does not affect SI’s ability to be the number one tech company on the planet,” Pepper explained.

“Yes sir,” the PR nitwit his former girlfriend had brought with him chirped. “We are thinking that you and the Captain need to do some form of a publicity event. Maybe something like Barbara Walters.”

Tony glared at the twit and pulled the growl he wanted to let loose back in. “No. We aren’t going to interview with Barbara Walters.”

”Tony,” Steve reached out a hand to carefully run it down his lover’s back. Touch grounded the Were and it was no hardship to put his hands all over him. Sighing he leaned into the shorter man, soaking up his own comfort. As Captain America, the soldier was very used to publicity events. Even ones he, personally, found distasteful.

Scrubbing his hands over his face, Tony turned towards his mate. “Then who?”

Pepper looked very pleased with herself and Tony eyed her with alarm. When the CEO of his company looked that happy with life putting his life on display, it boded ill for anyone (read him) in her way. After all, she liked Steve. “I’m thinking of the View.”

Tony winced. The ‘ladies’ had raked him over the coals several times in the last six months over his behavior as Ironman. They hadn’t been impressed with him or his new habit of saving the world. And the less they had to say about what he had done with SI, the better. Every time they got it into their collective heads to be bitches about him on-air, the stock of his company jiggled minutely.

Steve winced as well. He had caught the show in question and had spent an hour being incredibly pissed at the shows’ hosts as they rehashed all of his lover’s past exploits. What had hurt the most had been how they had dismissed all the good Tony was doing now. Tony was just grateful that the soldier had missed most of the other times they had taken potshots at him over the years. At any rate, none of his teammates had been thrilled with the show.

It was if the years turning his life around since Afghanistan meant nothing when there was some juicy gossip to rehash.

“Given how hostile they have been towards him in the past, what makes you think this will be a good idea?” Steve asked the PR guy bluntly.

Signing, Pepper’s employee nodded, accepting his point. “It is a lot more in line with how Mr. Stark operates than Barbara Walters, Captain. No matter how much they don’t like him. But sir, they do like you. And that is something to consider. Besides, Mr. Stark has already stated he won’t do an interview with anyone from Fox or CNN.”

“Oh, goodie,” Steve muttered softly. “The View then. And just for 10-15 minutes. Not the whole show. We can have a press conference beforehand,” the soldier looked at his lover for his agreement.

“Here at the Tower, Pep. Please. I don’t want to tramp all over New York if we can help it,” Tony offered. His CEO nodded and the PR guy took that as a dismissal and ducked out of the room on swift feet.

“David will get the events set up. Barring any last minute Avenger stuff, he’ll get you the dates and times for the events. Meanwhile, I would suggest that the two of you run around the city an be seen by all and sundry,” Pepper directed.

Tony stared at his CEO in surprise. “You want me to go play around town?”

Pepper nodded ruefully. “Yes, I do.”

“Well okay, then!” Tony rubbed his hands together in glee.

“We aren’t going to any red-light districts, Tory.” Steve tried to lay down that law right away.

Stark snickered softly. “No, I won’t take you to the places I know like that. I’m thinking that there are some museums we need to go to.”

“Museums?” Steve asked. “Tony you hate going to museums.”

“I hate going to modern art museums where they try to pass off junk as art. Dummy can and has made better stuff than what most of them have in their inventories,” Tony said in disgust. “But classical stuff? I like that. And the Smithsonian isn’t that far away. The whole thing is stuffed full of some really neat stuff.”

Pepper looked at Tony in wonder. The Were looked back at his former girlfriend and shrugged, expression rueful. With as much exposure to art as he had endured as a child, he had definite opinions on what art way. He just let Pepper choose art for SI because he didn’t care what artworks hung on its walls. When there was something he wanted he either went through anonymous brokers ore he just bought it. Furor be damned at the secrecy.

“What about going out to restaurants around town? And we sit out in the public or semi-public areas and not in private rooms?” Steve offered.

”That could work as well, Captain,” Pepper agreed.

“Okay, we can do that,” Tony agreed. “How about the Met and then dinner somewhere nearby?”

The smile Steve gave him was tender and sweet. “I would really enjoy that.”