Chapter Text
"-- Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark!"
The shout was accompanied by the blinding flash of the second guy's camera. Tony didn't flinch, but why the hell did they have to make those bulbs so bright? It was overkill, really.
"Sorry boys," he called, without bothering to pause, pushing open the mansion door and stepping through. "Another time."
He leaned against the closed door and breathed out slowly.
"Tony?" Steve was suddenly there, his hands landing on Tony's shoulders and sliding up to cup his skull.
The worry made Tony smile wanly, and he covered Steve's hands with his own, enjoying the feeling of warmth that went with the gesture. "I'm fine, Steve. Just tired of the reporters dogging my every footstep when I go outside."
It had been a month since they'd discovered Tony had developed scales. In the interim he'd gradually gotten more and more of them, and Steve had been quietly gleeful about that. Something about it seemed to reach deep into the core of his lover and reassure him. Tony found it a bit mystifying, really, but didn't question it. The bond between them continued to deepen, too. They couldn't actually share their thoughts, but they came damned close, sometimes, at least as far as Tony could tell. It was kind of maddening to feel like he understood words when all it was was the emotion that would have been behind them, had they been spoken.
They did have to be in physical contact, skin-on-skin, for it to be quite so clear, and they had to want the 'reading' as Steve called it. Tony had been amused by the term when he'd first heard it; it was apt, even in a technological and scientific sense. Tony was kind of glad that he didn't just have Steve in his head constantly. That seemed like it would be distracting in the extreme. He adored Steve, but there were some lines that didn't need to be crossed.
There was also the matter of the less intense sharing that seemed to continue unbroken throughout the days and nights. They were attuned to one another now, in ways he couldn't have imagined a year ago. Tony was still finding that part a bit distracting, what with the way he'd gotten inappropriately aroused by Steve's lust a number of times over their relationship. Pepper and Jarvis had rolled their eyes and ignored it. Rhodey had ribbed him for weeks the first time, and still made the occasional comment about it.
"Come on, Pepper and Jarvis are waiting in the kitchen." Steve pulled him back out of his thoughts with an amused huff and leaned in to drop a kiss on his forehead. It sent a shot of affection through Tony and warmed him, and had the side effect of making a bit more of the tension fall away and his smile more genuine. Steve really was the best thing that could possibly have happened to him, and Tony did his damnedest to make sure Steve knew it, too.
"Where's Rhodey?" Tony let Steve put a slightly possessive arm around his waist and steer him away from the front door and foyer.
He'd been researching a new artifact he wanted to go after. The war was starting to draw to a close, if his instincts were to be believed, and that meant it was a good time to start making the switch back away from objects of military importance -- read importance to HYDRA or the Germans -- and to things he could publish in Marvels, again. This thing, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, sounded like the perfect balance between the two: something exotic enough that he could publish it easily, something he didn't want the Germans to get their hands on, and also not an object Fury had sent him after. It was also far simpler to publish, since that meant it was not classified five times over.
"Gone to check on the airship, according to Jarvis," Steve answered easily, having apparently anticipated the question. "He said something about long periods of storage not being good for aircraft."
"And he was right," Tony replied as they entered the kitchen and Steve pulled away to take his seat. "Pepper. Jarvis."
"Tony," Pepper caught his eye, "you're looking harried."
"Reporters were hounding me again. Nothing serious." Tony replied airily, waving away the concern as he sat down in the open chair next to his lover, absently noting that there was a mug of coffee waiting for him. "It's not like I got shot at or anything."
Steve gave him a look. "That's a possibility?"
Pepper snorted indelicately. "Tony has this inexplicable ability to turn any situation into a gunfight."
"Hey! That's not my fault! I can't just reach into my enemies' pockets to make sure they're not packing." Tony protested. "And, anyway, don't you want to know what I've found?"
"Well," Jarvis demanded, "tell us, then."
"Right." Tony took a deep breath and did his best to organise his thoughts. "The artifact is known as the 'Pearl of the Indian Ocean', and not very well known outside of southeast Asian literature. It took me a long time to get the right translations of the right books. Even then, it doesn't come up often, and is referred to as a jewel without parallel. A pearl the size of a man's fist."
Pepper raised an eyebrow at him. "Valuable even on its own. But there has to be more to it if you want to mount an expedition to find it."
Tony grinned broadly, feeling his excitement start to bleed over into Steve. "Well," he told Pepper, "there are a bunch of conflicting rumours, as with any artifact, but the general consensus is that its wielder can influence others' thoughts and even the physical environment around them. Other sources claim it can unlock some sort of mystical power in its wielder, some that it grants wishes, and then there are a few even crazier accounts that say it's sentient, and will take over whoever holds it in their hands, manipulating them, rather than the other way around."
The idea made Steve look like apprehension was starting to color the excitement he felt, but Tony was more focused on Pepper and Jarvis. Both of them were nodding like that was exactly what they'd been expecting to hear.
"Sounds like the perfect thing for Marvels' next title," Pepper told him.
Jarvis sighed. "The perfect thing to get him killed, you mean," he grumbled. "That kind of thing isn't going to stay a secret for long, even if we can get a hold of it without Tony getting himself hurt. And then we'll be targets for every petty thief and German spy in the history of both Wars."
That was a valid point, but Tony had never really shied away from that particular kind of danger in his life. "We already are, Jarvis, old bird," he pointed out. "Problem with being famous."
"So when do we start?" Pepper asked, her eyes bright.