Male Tony Stark and His Many Secrets (Avengers, M)

[Arc Reactor]

Tony Stark had more secrets than Natasha Romanoff had about her own past. The only difference was, people knew that the red headed assassin concealed things about herself to the public, whereas when it came to the billionaire with the inflated ego, everyone just assumed that they knew everything they had to through gossip magazines and flimsy news stories that paint him as a lousy, rich drunk. Not that he cared, of course. In fact, he preferred people to not know that he wasn't a selfish piece of trash. That way, they could never catch him vulnerable. 

But above all of the regular, sentimental crap, Tony definitely appreciated the fact that no one, not even the Avengers, knew about his severe allergy to dust. He had kept that one little, frankly embarrassing, part of him hidden away by keeping the Compound absolutely spotless. Of course, it wasn't really him cleaning the place with a duster, so he kept his staff well paid and happy. This was one thing that he never failed to do because he didn't think he could survive having a massive sneezing fit in front of everyone just because of a few measly dust mites that were left on the shelves. 

He hadn't had an allergy attack ever since before he met the Avengers and even then, having Pepper find him sneezing his face off in the lab after stumbling through a dusty closet to find a part for his pet project wasn't entirely the best feeling in the world. Also, the problem with him was that once he started sneezing, he couldn't stop. 

So when Steve, Clint, and Bruce suddenly stumbled into the Communal floor carrying boxes upon boxes of dusty, old things, Tony nearly spilled his coffee and began to mumble some excuse about Pepper and SI before beginning to stand up and hastily escape. But Steve caught his arm, the other cradling the dusty box, and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't go anywhere yet, Tony. SHIELD sent these down. They found a bunch of stuff from the '40's in some closet and I want to look through them with you. I bet there are some old photos of me and Peggy and Howard. Stay." 

Tony bristled internally at the mention of his father's name, but he knew that that was going to be the least of his problems. He already felt his nose beginning to itch and his eyes starting to water from having the antiques so close to his face. But Steve was insisting and he loved his boyfriend. He could live through this small malady if it meant making him happy. He just had to keep from sneezing. 

What could possibly go wrong? 

The three carrying the boxes plopped them down on the floor, causing a layer of dust to float upwards. Not gonna sneeze, not gonna sneeze. Tony recited as he sat down gingerly on the couch, as far away from the boxes as possible. Natasha, uncharacteristically interested, decided to bound up next to one of the boxes and fish something out of there. "Ooh wow, look at this." She chuckled, holding up a raggedy stuffed monkey. "Stark, your name is stitched on the bottom of the foot. This was yours?" 

He remembered that monkey. He had been five when it had disappeared and he had been upset for days because he thought he had lost it. He remembered Howard telling him to grow up and forget about "that useless toy." Turned out his old man had had it with him all along. Tony nodded and without any warning, suddenly had a pile of dusty faux fur on his lap when Natasha threw it at him. 

Waves of prickly sensation began flowing through his sinuses. He blinked back tears as they formed in the corners of his eyes. Not gonna sneeze, not gonna sneeze, not gon...gonna...sne.. "Heh'ngt choo! Ngt choo!" He had reached up to pinch his nose between his thumb and forefinger and luckily for him, over the bustling and excitement of the things in the boxes, no one noticed his two stifled sneezes. 

But his nose still itched like crazy. 

In fact, his whole concentration was dedicated to not sneezing again because he knew that the second he let go of the restrain, he would launch into an uncontrollable fit. He set the monkey aside on the other side of the couch and spared quick, violent rubs on his nose, keeping the tickle at bay. 

"Yes! I found it! Tony, look at this!" Steve flopped down next to Tony and laid the engineer's head down on his lap. Tony smiled up at his boyfriend. He loved it when Steve did this. It made him feel so safe. 

But that safety quickly dissipated when his boyfriend opened up the photo album from the 1940s. Every page was coated with dust and it flew upwards every time Steve flipped the page. Tony scrubbed at his nose, happy that the Captain was oblivious as he poured over the pictures, pointing out himself, old friends, Aunt Peggy, and Howard. "Heh..." His breath hitched involuntarily and he quickly clamped his mouth shut before anything else could escape. 

Not gonna sneeze, not gonna sneeze. 

"Oh my God! Tony, is that you?" Steve resembled an excited child as he pointed out a worn picture of a cute, little boy with fluffy hair hugging the same stuffed monkey to his chest while snuggling his face into its head. 

The engineer offered a small smile up at his boyfriend, confirming that it was, indeed, him. He was too afraid to open his mouth. The tickle hadn't gotten worse, but it was still there, pestering his abused sinuses. The rest of the team quickly ran up to look at the picture themselves, all of them, even Natasha, cooing at the baby Tony. 

"Aww look at you. You know, I might just decide to forget what an absolute asshole you are if you let me pin this picture up on the fridge." Clint chuckled playfully, causing Tony to roll his eyes. He still stayed silent, his nostrils beginning to twitch. He reached up to rub them once more, but was interrupted when the faux, dusty, fur of the stuffed monkey assaulted his face. 

"You still look cute like this." Steve laughed, finding Tony's face again when he turned away. 

That was it. The tickle was too great. He couldn't hold it in anymore. So instead, he pushed the monkey away and brought steepled hands to his nose, making sure to turn away from his boyfriend. 

"I'm gonna... gonna sn...snee...NGT! NGT-choo! NGT-choo! Heh'NGT-choo!" 

He scrambled upwards, out of Steve's lap, and groped for the tissues that Bruce was handing out to him. His eyes were streaming now and he could feel Steve's concerned stare digging into his back. "Bless you, Tony." 

"NGT! NGT! NGT!" 

He felt a warm touch on his shoulder. "Stop stifling them, honey. It's not good for you." 

"NGT! Heh heh ISHOO! ESSH! HEH-ESSH! HEH-ESSHOO! Heh heh... hih..HIH..." The sneeze escaped him and Tony blew his nose roughly into the tissues that he had clamped around his red nose. 

"Bless you. Are you okay?" Steve rubbed his back as Tony exhaled shakily and nodded, folding the tissues over and then blotting at his eyes. 

"I..h..have a dust aller...allergy." He inhaled sharply, releasing a roaring "AAAEHHRSSSCCHEW!" 

"Gesundheit. Alright, I'm taking him upstairs. Can you guys clean this up and move it? Thanks. I'm so sorry, Tony." 

"ESSH! ESSH! Heh' ESSHOO!" 

Once upstairs in Tony's bedroom, Steve ordered his boyfriend to go take a shower. Tony managed to take his shirt and pants off by himself without the threat of sneezing, but once he was in his boxers, his face began to screw up, his nose scrunching in an effort to contain the sneezes. 

Steve immediately plucked some tissues from the box he had carried up with them and folded them over Tony's red, quivering nose tightly. "It's okay, baby." He coaxed.

"AT'TCHEW! ESSCHOO! II'TSHIEW! II'TSHIEEEWW!" 

Steve could tell by Tony's half closed eyelids and parted lips that he still wasn't done so he quickly discarded the soaked, used tissues and grabbed new ones. He massaged his boyfriend's nose through them, rubbing up and down slowly. "Come on." He whispered encouragingly. "You can do it. Just one more, baby. One more." 

"Heh heh heh...hih hih ih...Can't do it...HEH HIH..."

"Yes you can. Come on, darling." Steve rubbed more vigorously but this time, reached over and kissed the bridge of his boyfriend's nose lightly.

"HEH HEH IHHH AAAAASSHHHUEWWW!" The end of the sneeze was high-pitched and just slightly feminine. Steve couldn't help squirming restlessly.

"Blow." 

Tony cleared his nose thoroughly, still feeling a little sneezy, but relieved of the fierce tickle that had plagued him for so long. 

He felt strong arms embrace him and then warm lips press against his. "God bless you. I'm so sorry, Tony." Steve mumbled in between locking lips. "I didn't know." 

Tony moaned exhaustively, leaning into his boyfriend's touch. "I'm going to take a shower now, okay?" 

"Can I join you?" Steve smiled suggestively, much to Tony's amusement. 

"Sure big guy." He sniffed, entering the bathroom, Steve following behind. 

When the two came out, towels wrapped around their waists and hair damp, Tony felt incredibly relieved... and satisfied. 

"Hey Tony. Can we keep the monkey?" 

Tony sighed, but he knew if he wanted to keep his nose on his face, he would have to say no. "Not if you want me sneezing my face off." He said, not raising his eyes, disappointed that he couldn't make his boyfriend happy. 

"I wouldn't mind." Tony's head snapped up, surprised to find Steve smirking at him and then winking. 

Tony smirked back. Well this was an interesting development. 

 

 

[Shikee12.haley]

Please continue this was quite enjoyable