Work Text:
Howard sat at his worktable, staring down at a disassembled HYDRA weapon. He didn't get it; he didn't understand a damn thing. He was one of the brightest mechanical engineers in the world, and he felt like a child looking at a transistor for the first time. He was going to be sick. He grabbed a wrench from the table and with a sudden, jerky movement, threw it across the room.
"To hell with him!" Then he picked up a screwdriver and threw that as hard as he could. Howard didn't need Steve Rogers. He was wealthy and handsome and he never had any problem getting who he wanted, when he wanted. He didn't need some kid from Brooklyn distracting him from his work.
And to prove it, he'd have a night on the town: a couple girls, a lot of alcohol, and maybe some dancing. That was exactly what the doctor ordered.
He'd show Steve. He'd show him.
****
The pub was crowded, but Howard didn't mind. He scanned the room until he found what he was looking for: a table full of women looking very bored. He walked over and smiled. "Hello, ladies. Mind if I join you?"
A few of them rolled their eyes, but most of them giggled. And after a bit of back and forth, where he managed to mention (twice) that he was rich, they let him sit with them. He bought wine, lots of wine, and flirted outrageously with the ones who seemed receptive.
By hour three, he was slightly tipsy and had a lovely lady on each arm, a blonde and a brunette. The blonde (Bianca?) suggested they go upstairs for some privacy.
"Oh, yes, let's," said the brunette, Rose.
"Well, I certainly can't say no to two lovely ladies such as yourselves." He paid the bartender and they went upstairs, giggling all the way.
Once they were in the room, the girls undressed and he had to follow their lead. He didn't want to offend them.
God, he loved women. He loved their mouths and their breasts and how wet they got when they were aroused. Howard couldn't even remember why he took up with Steve who was all hard muscle and overpowering strength. Steve with his stupid goofy grins and clear blue eyes…
No. He turned his attention back to the girls.
Rose pushed him onto the bed and climbed on top of him. He kissed her, hungrily, and slid a hand between her thighs to fondle her. She was so soft, so wet. She moaned into his mouth and moved against his fingers.
"My turn," said Bianca, impatiently.
Howard broke the kiss with Rose, and turned his head to Bianca, who kissed him. This was right where he wanted to be. Bianca pulled back and stretched out on her side to watch them better.
He rolled Rose underneath him and she fondled his dick. After a few minutes, she growled in frustration, not that he was any happier; he wasn't even half hard.
Too much wine, he thought. He must have had too much wine.
Howard smiled, even though he didn't feel like it. "Don't worry ladies, there are other ways of enjoying ourselves." He slid down and buried his face between Rose's thighs. He used his mouth and his fingers until she was exhausted and happy. Then he did the same to Bianca.
"Should I try again?" Rose asked, looking skeptically at his dick.
"Don't bother, I had a nice enough time without it. Why don't we go back downstairs and have a few more drinks?" He kissed her, then Bianca.
They hastily threw on their clothes, he wrapped an arm around each of their waists, and they went back downstairs.
Steve rarely went to the pub, even though the rest of his men did, so Howard wasn't expecting to see him. But there he was at the bar, talking animatedly with Barnes. Howard froze in his tracks, all the while his brain was screaming at him to melt into the crowd. But it was too late because Steve looked up and their eyes met. It felt like his stomach was trying to tie itself into knots. Steve's eyes widened in shock and… anger? Hurt?
A lump rose in Howard's throat and he thought that he should smile or turn away. Something. Anything. But he was rooted to that bit of floor and he couldn't take his eyes off Steve. Not even while Steve turned and stormed out.
His arms fell to his sides and he ignored the two women at his side. Howard's only thought was that couldn't let Steve go. He was half way across the room when Barnes grabbed him by the arm and glared at him. Barnes was furious about something, but he didn't care. He had to get to Steve. He jerked out of Barnes' grasp and rushed out onto the street.
He looked around frantically and thought he saw Steve heading towards the path that cut through the woods to camp. He ran. "Steve. Steve, wait!"
His heart was pounding in his chest and some sick and horrible emotion made his stomach clench. He ran faster, his lungs protesting the exercise. He wasn't sure how, but somehow he caught up to Steve just as he entered the woods.
Howard grabbed him by the back of the shirt and Steve, Steve whirled around and the next thing he knew he was shoved up against a tree. He was shoved up against a tree with Steve pressed against him.
Steve was angry. Steve was furious. He knew he should be afraid, but it was Steve and his dick was so hard that it hurt, and he needed to explain why he had done what he had.
"I'm sorry," he panted. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Steve, I'm sorry!"
Steve, whose hands were fisted in his shirt, leaned in so close that their noses touched. "I can smell them on you. "
"I’m sorry. Please, I'm sorry." His voice was shaking and he didn't know what he was doing. "Please, Steve. *Please!*"
"I can smell them all over you." There was something dark in Steve's eyes and his voice was deep and soft.
Howard moaned softly; if he were an animal, he would have bared his throat. He sobbed Steve's name.
And just when he thought he couldn't bear it any longer, when the tension was becoming too much, Steve…
God, Steve's mouth was hot and hungry and angry. Steve was devouring his mouth and ripping at his clothes. All he could do was respond in kind until enough skin was bare and they were rutting against each other.
"Steve, Steve, Steve…." He couldn't keep his hands off Steve, couldn't help moaning into his mouth and rubbing against him.
And Steve was brutal, there was nothing gentle left, just heat and lust and want and take. Howard didn't care. He gave it all. He gave everything. His mouth felt swollen and bruised and the tree was scraping the skin of his back and ass. And it was the best sex he had ever had.
He whimpered when Steve broke the kiss, but it was only to… God, Steve sucked and licked his own fingers until they glistened with spit.
They burned going in his ass, but the pain was no worse than the bruising bites Steve was trailing along his neck. Marking him. Steve was marking him: marking his skin and finger-fucking his ass. He didn't think he should want this so much. That he should enjoy it so much. But it was *Steve.*
Steve who was doing this to him. Steve who let out a low groan as he came all over Howard's belly and chest.
"Oh. Oh," he said, clenching around the fingers in his ass and jerking, as he came.
For a few minutes, all he could hear was the sound of his pulse in his ears.
Then Steve stirred, licked his lips, and took a deep breath. "Are you… Are you all right? Did I hurt you?"
There was something wrong about Steve's voice. He blinked slowly and hissed when Steve removed his fingers.
"I did hurt you!”
Guilt, it was guilt. He leaned back against the tree, wincing as his back stung. “Fine. ‘M fine.”
“I shouldn’t have been so rough. I-I don’t know why I was so rough.” Steve was staring at him in horror
“Steve, I’m fine,” he said, his words slurring together from exhaustion.
“We should really get you back to camp. We can have one of the nurses take a look at you.” Steve put an arm around his waist. “I’d rather be safe than sorry. Come on, Mr. Stark.”
And just like that, he went cold. He tensed and shoved Steve away. “You bastard.”
“What—What did you do that for?”
“I don’t need your help. What I need you to do is leave me alone.” His voice shook and he clenched his hand into fists. “Go back to camp, Steve. Just… get out of here!”
“I don’t understand.” Steve took a step closer.
Howard laughed bitterly. “That’s the tragedy, isn’t it? You really don’t understand.” He leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. Everything hurt. “Leave me the hell alone.”
“But…”
He could hear Steve take another step. “If you come any closer, I will punch you in the mouth, I mean it." Even if it meant a broken hand. Something in his voice must have convinced Steve he was serious.
“All right. I—I’m sorry.”
Howard listened to Steve walk away. When he was sure that Steve was gone, he slid down the tree into a sitting position and covered his mouth with his hands to keep himself from screaming.
He couldn’t have been sitting there long, when he heard the sound of footsteps. “I told you to leave me alone, Steve.”
“I’m not Steve.”
Howard opened his eyes and looked up. Wonderful. Barnes.
“I’ll give you a ride back to camp.” Barnes held out a handkerchief and turned his back.
Howard slowly rose to his feet, using the handkerchief and his tie to clean himself up. When he was straightened out, he stuffed them in his pocket. “I’m ready.” His voice sounded rusty.
“Truck’s this way.” Barnes gave him an appraising look. Then Barnes took off his jacket and handed it to Howard. “You look like hell, Stark. You need a doctor?”
“No.” He put on the jacket, then headed in the direction of the truck, limping slightly.
Neither of them said anything until they climbed into the vehicle and Barnes turned the ignition. “You and Steve, you need to be more careful.”
Howard tensed and looked out the window. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Barnes snorted, put the truck into gear, and accelerated quickly. “Me and Steve have been friends a long time, Stark. I know him. Besides, I ain’t stupid. And neither are most of the men at camp. You’ve been sniffing around him for months and he lights up like a firecracker whenever your name’s mentioned. Someone’s gonna find out and the only one who’s gonna get hurt is Steve.”
Howard wondered when he became so indestructible. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the breeze on his face. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over. We’re over.”
“Hmm.” Barnes didn’t seem convinced; Howard didn’t care.
He must have fallen asleep at some point during the ride because the next thing he knew, Barnes was shaking him gently. He opened his eyes and looked around until he realized they had stopped. “Thanks for the ride back.”
“Least I could do. Need help getting to your tent?”
He waved away the offer and started to take off the jacket.
"Don't. You can give it to me tomorrow."
He nodded. “Goodnight, Barnes.”
“You, too, Stark.”
Howard actually considered going to his tent and collapsing into bed, but after an internal struggle, he decided to curl up on the bed in his workroom. It was bigger and it was less likely he’d be seen.
He didn't want any uncomfortable questions. He did his best not to limp, in case someone did see him,. Thankfully it wasn't very far. The door to the workroom wasn't locked, but he thought, in his anger, maybe he forgot. He should have known better. He opened the door and Steve was sitting at his worktable.
He bit back the sudden urge to cry.
“Steve, I’m tired. All I want to do is take a shower and get some sleep. Whatever it is, it can wait.” He went over to his trunk and opened; there was clean underwear in here somewhere.
“I didn’t understand.”
Howard closed his eyes and sighed. All right, so they were doing this right now. “It doesn’t matter, Steve. You were right. We’re supposed to be helping each other out. It’s supposed to be fun. And now it isn’t. No harm done.”
“You’re wincing.” Steve’s words were almost accusatory.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” He still couldn’t look at Steve. Couldn’t see him sitting there, confused and hurt. “It was fun, there were no promises, no declarations.”
“That’s a lie.”
He didn’t hear Steve move, hadn’t realized it until he felt Steve’s rough fingers against the nape of his neck. He struggled to keep still when all he wanted to do was turn and bury his face against Steve's chest. God, he was weak.
“I didn’t know,” Steve whispered, stroking his neck and running his fingers through his hair. “I’ve never had a girl or a guy. I thought… I thought you were just playing with me. And I… I was scared.”
Howard was trembling; he wanted so many things. “Why?”
“In my neighborhood, guys like me don’t get happy endings. We just get beat up a lot. I’m still scared, but I’m not gonna run away anymore.” Steve took a deep breath. “Howard.”
He gasped and tried to tell himself that it didn’t mean anything.
“Howard,” Steve whispered again. “I’ll go if you want me to.”
“It’s not that easy! Don’t you see, you’re right. Guys like us don’t get happy endings!” Steve kissed the nape of his neck and he bit back a moan.
“Important stuff always takes hard work, Howard.” Steve put his arms around Howard’s waist and held him from behind.
He could pull away. He could say things that would hurt Steve, that would destroy everything. But in the end, he leaned back against Steve’s chest and turned his head for a kiss.
“Howard.” Steve smiled.
“I’ll ruin you,” he said, but smiled back and parted his lips for another kiss.
Steve kissed him. “Naw. I think you’ll make me better.”