Author: Trilies
Genre: Romance, friendship, a powdering of angst and comfort
Word length: 1973
Sypnosis Coming home after being kidnapped and almost dying, Tony Stark greets a friend who's apparently missed him... and who shows this by insulting his intelligence and decisions regarding the company.
Rating: PG-13 for a bit of swearing and mentionings of sex
Yaoi/Yuri/Pairings: Tony Stark/Zexion
Notes: Hey look! It's Tri's favorite crazy a** pairing! Man, what is with me and these two, I swear.
The Heart in Shades of Blue
Terrorists, almost dying of thirst, building unheard of weaponry in caves, the media having an orgasm at his new plans for the Industry-
Just another day in the life of Tony Stark. That doesn't stop him from being dead tired.
Running a hand through his already messy hair, the millionaire sighs, and fumbles for his keys. Perhaps he shouldn't have shooed Pepper away so quickly. He's quickly learning just how much of a pain in the a** it is to do everyday things with one hand, thanks to his other being in a cast. The keys are just right in his hands when the door to his house suddenly swings open, and standing in the doorway is a familiar figure.
The two of them had met a few years back, in a crowded nightclub. He'd been as much of a playboy as he'd ever been, of course, and had thought himself firmly straight. Then an enigmatic, attractive young man with an emo haircut had slid up to him on the dancefloor, all cocky little smirks and whispered words. Most people say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but for Tony it was his mind. Instead of layering on compliments on 'til the point it was sickening, like most people did when trying to get Tony's attention, the guy actually had the gall to correct him on some of his weapon designs, apparently just because. Curiousity piqued, Tony had dragged him to the side for enlightening conversation... A 'few' drinks later, and his mind had been much more interested in imagining how this mysterious little genius would look without clothes, on his back, and moaning. Having just as much to drink, the other man had apparently thought the same thing, because the next thing Tony knew, they were in his house, trying to get rid of each other's clothes while at the same time fighting for dominance using their mouths and the occasional hand.
Most people would have thought that the short, thin man would have been easy to get on the bottom, but Tony would just have laughed if anyone told him that. Sure, the other man was short, ridiculously so, in fact. Even his hands were just a little bit feminine, soft and small. But Tony knows well, now, from experience that his friend is a fiesty lover. Even during their first time, he had been trying to steal control from him, directing Tony's kisses with his hands firmly holding the sides of his face, refusing to stay beneath the taller man for any longer than a few seconds, and always contributing more than enough to keep the night interesting. Even when Tony had gotten him on his back and had his legs wrapped around his hips as he pounded into him, the other man had still tried to control him: a hand on the back of his neck while the other clawed at the sheets, eyes always open, even just at slits as he watched him, controlled gasps in the form of orders- Tony had made it his own personal challenge to break that control the first time, something he accomplished when he had rolled onto his back just to surprise him, and had made a grab for the stiff organ between them. The image of him throwing his head back and moaning atop of him still always gets Tony aroused, even now.
Of course, like most of the nights he had spent with another person in his bed (all of which had been women until that point), Tony had assumed that it would end up a one night stand. He was proven wrong not more than a month later when he saw the same mysterious young man talking with a bigwig of another company right outside of one of Tony's meeting rooms, dressed more professionally than when the two of them had first met. Remembering the intelligence in that young head, Tony had dragged him into a conversation about technology... And from there, the relationship had boomed.
Tony doesn't have a lot of close friends, partially because few can stand his personality and tendencies, and partially because there are even fewer intelligent people who can stand him, especially ones who aren't trying to steal plans or money. The stranger, however, had genuinely seemed more interested in simply talking tech with him... and sex, especially when he had slyly prodded about Tony's sexual prowess drunk. Tony had decided to indulge him and prove him just how good he was sober, dragging him to his car. So yes: it was a friendship tied together with technology, sex, and the same dry humor and sarcasm they both seemed to possess. After a while, thanks to their similar personalities, they'd bonded even closer, becoming the perfect combination of 'friends with benefits'.
Initially, Tony had been given a false name, but after a while and lots of demanding, he'd finally found out his friend's real name:
Zexion.
"Did you crack your skull open while you were captured?" the shorter man snaps, his visible eye narrowed in aggravation. Tony just ignores him for a moment as he steps inside, which only gets on Zexion's nerves even further. "What are you thinking? It's obvious to everyone that Stark Industries' biggest products are weapons." The door is shut behind them while Zexion follows Tony to his couch. "You're going to drive yourself into the ground at this rate. Stark, what happened out there?"
"Oh, kidnapping, almost dying, the mandatory life's epiphany, you know," he replies, practically collapsing onto his couch. "So how was your day?"
"Wonderful, you're getting sarcastic with me," Zexion mutters, crossing his arms and frowning. Now that he's quiet, Tony gets a better look at him and is surprised. Most of the time, Zexion always looks his neatest and best. Now, however, his hair is just slightly more messy than usual, his button-up shirt devoid of a tie and actually unbuttoned. And perhaps he's just hallucinating, but those slacks look as if they've been worn consecutively... Hmm. It seems he's gotten the guy worried. That has to be some sort of cosmic feat. "I don't suppose you plan on telling me what caused you to practically slit your own throat?"
Not giving Zexion information he finds to be important often results in a cold shoulder and one hell of a bitchy attitude, so Tony ponders for a moment how to explain. "I met some one," he finally says, voice quiet and serious, something which manages to wipe away the look on Zexion's face. "He told me something which I won't be able to just wipe away so easily, and sacrificed his life to get me out of that hole. I guess I had a... change of heart." The sentence makes him smirk somewhat as he rubs over the bump in his clothing, an action that Zexion doesn't miss. Frowning in confusion and fascination, he comes closer and kneels in front of Tony. Carefully, he bats away Tony's hand and begins to unbutton his jacket, and then the shirt underneath. As the glow of Tony's 'heart' hits Zexion's eyes, there's a moment of silence and fascination: Zexion with what's keeping Tony alive, and Tony with how the light makes Zexion's dark blue eyes so impossibly bright, giving him an ethreal look.
"A wound to your heart," Zexion murmurs, the blue glow still washing over his face. "You shouldn't even be alive but this..."
"I shouldn't be alive, but I am," Tony tells him firmly as he grabs one of his hands, causing the other man to jerk up to look at him with an almost startled look on his face. "Don't you think there's a reason for that?"
All the years that Tony's known Zexion, the other man has always been cool, collected, untouchable in a way. Nothing ever seems to catch him by surprise, and he always seems to be one step ahead of almost the entire world. That's why everything Tony had planned to say quickly drops away at the look on his friend's face. For once, he looks confused, afraid almost, and the effect makes him look younger, as if he's just some poor teenager in an unfortunate situation. In his surprise, Tony let's go of Zexion's hand, and the other instantly snatches it back, standing up. The odd expression is wiped clean from Zexion's face as he jerkily looks to the side, a tight frown appearing on his lips. It's an awkward moment for both of them, before Zexion finally offers Tony a hand. "Come on. You're obviously a wreck after all of this. I'll help you to bed."
Whatever was up with that foreign expression, Tony supposes it will just have to wait for tomorrow, because Zexion has a point. Grabbing the offered hand, the two of them together manage to get him on his feet. It's obvious from the way that Zexion isn't looking at him as they walk to the bedroom that he's not staying the night, but Tony won't have any of that. The second he's on his bed, he uses his grip on Zexion's hand to pull the other man down onto him. There's an aggravated yelp, and then Zexion is glaring at him while sprawled on top of his body. "I'm not in the mood, Tony," he says, a dangerous warning in his tone, but Tony just shrugs it off.
"I'm not asking you for sex," he snorts, adjusting their positions so that he can kick off his shoes without kneeing the other somewhere. "Just stay the night."
"Than I can sleep on the couch."
"That'd be uncomfortable, and besides, you'd just ditch me. I want you here."
"How little you trust me."
"I trust you just fine, or else I wouldn't have given you the key to my house. I mostly just want you here."
"Then you're selfish."
"Obviously."
Zexion apparently doesn't have a comeback for that, so he just lays there, propped up by his elbows and on top of Tony. Finally, he grumbles under his breath and pushes himself off of the other, only to lay down besides him. "How deplorable," Tony hears him mutter. After a few minutes, however, his breathing is slow and deep, one hand resting gently by the piece of metal which merges with Tony's body. Sure of Zexion's sleep, Tony carefully pushes himself up and stares down at his friend. Frowning, he recalls all of Zexion's expressions: the coy smirks, the way his eyes narrow intensely when he's working on a project, the many looks of aggravation, that unexpected confusion, the inhuman beauty he'd possessed not moments ago...
Staring down at Zexion's peaceful face, Tony almost has the feeling that maybe he should be doing something here, maybe kissing him, except not in the fiery way the two of them are so used to. It's an awkward thought, and he hesitates.
Meeting Yinsen has changed his heart, melted away some of the selfish darkness which lurked there. He wants to change his life, wants things to be different... But somehow, just leaning down and gently kissing Zexion like he's something precious seems too far, too drastic, even as Tony thinks how fascinating and beautiful that would be, odd thoughts for his normally distant, logical mind. He wants to see more of Zexion's expressions, those foreign emotions that are hidden underneath the surface. He wants to kiss the other man tenderly, but at the same time fears that sort of intimacy. The decision tears at him...
His hand jerks for a moment, heading for Zexion's face before Tony stops himself, and quickly lays himself back down, forcing his brain to shut down, to go to sleep.
Such a step is too large, too much for his heart, just for today, just for now. Perhaps someday, it will be different, and his heart will be strong enough...
But he still doesn't know if that means Zexion's own heart would welcome such a change either.
