Hello everyone! Welcome to my new story Latch, I hope it turns out as great as I had originally imagined. It's my first Stony so bear with me.

Remember, I do not own The Avengers (though I wish I did) or any of the characters (again wish I did). As always Read and Review 'tis a golden rule in the FF community, that and I want to know what you think so far. Feel free to correct any of my mistakes I won't take them personally, rather I'll try to correct any and all that I see. Next author's note won't be so long, promise.

Now for the warnings!:

Language, because you really can't have Tony and censorship in one sentence unless a "does not know" is tacked on in front, eventual love making, if by any chance you clicked on this story without realizing what you were getting into I AM WARNING YOU NOW, so if you DO NOT LIKE IT DO NOT READ IT, this will be your first and last warning! I do not want to open my email and see a lot of flames concerning sexual relations, flame me for my writing not my open-mindedness, some spoilers regarding Iron Man 3, Thor II, and Captain America II, which again, I do not own. It's rated M for a reason and I just gave you a TON of reasons.

Now for the good part!

Tony Stark doesn't cry, he's decided that from a young age - he simply refuses to lower himself to the standards of a regular human being.

Besides, he was anything but regular.

The iconic reactor in the center of his chest was his lifeline; the contraction kept him alive, but was such a double-edged sword that even acknowledging it left him, sometimes, in a cold sweat. It brought back memories of a darker, more unpredictable time. He'd always wondered what would have happened had he just let the shrapnel kill him.

Tell us how you really feel, Tony.

Regardless of what he thought about tears (or emotions in general), there had still been a couple of times where he couldn't help but cry, to 'lower himself' as he called it, or feel.

A moment, that sticks to his memory like tar, had been at his parent's funeral.

He'd never had a strong, loving relationship with his parents. They'd always either dismissed him or were too busy to pay him any attention- common rich-kid phenomenon. It wasn't as if he hadn't tried; he threw tantrums, broke things, acted out at parties (basically he was a little brat)- all in order to get, even a morsel of a response from his mother, or Howard. He couldn't help but love his mother, even when she had no other choice but to ignore him; he was a mother's boy after all, but his father... his father had had two moods around Tony: Angry and Apathetic. Tony still wasn't sure which one he'd hated the most.

The only time Howard Stark was ever truly animated was when his son brought him up. Steven-Grant-Fucking-Rogers, Captain America, the Man in Red-White-and-Blue - pick a title. Jesus Christ, it's as if Howard couldn't talk enough about that man's greatness. Every-time he recalled Steve, it was as if he were experiencing the second coming of Christ, or like the Heavenly Gates opened and out flew the angel, the perfection that was Steve Rogers! (So maybe he was exaggerating, but he was using hyperbole for dramatic effect.)

As a kid, he ate that bullshit up; he couldn't wait to talk to his dad about Steve. In a strange way, it brought them closer together- to see his father so excited to talk to him (even if it wasn't about them) fed that stupid need for attention. He wouldn't admit how many Halloweens he dressed up as Captain America (he was an impressionable kid.)

After having met the man, he realized how much of a fantasy world both his father and he had been in. Steve wasn't the supernatural/superhuman being his father painted him out to be. He wasn't even that tall. Tony wanted so much to make such a good first-impression, though (left-over admiration from his childhood, he supposed). If he could make Steve proud, in some weird way, he could make his father proud.

What stupid idea that had been. He still wasn't sure if Loki's influence had been that strong, but no matter the cause, by the time they met their boiling point they were ready to rip each other's throats out. He knew a tension had been building the moment they stepped foot inside the lab. The things they had both said were incredibly insensitive and meant to strike, hard, like the tail of a scorpion. And strike they did, Tony hadn't known he had been filled with so much venomous rancor against Steve. What surprised him, however, was the fact that Steve's (obvious) misconceptions about him could cut so deep; he would have never guessed the other man could be so nasty.

But where was he? Oh right, his dead parents.

Tony had sat in the very back of the church that morning, keeping his head hooded and his fingers crossed over each other as if he were praying. In actuality, he was holding his hands as hard as he could so they wouldn't shake. He looked so hard at them, willing them to stop shaking, to leave him alone... if he could just calm down.

All the members of the congregation looked up and ahead to the portrait of his parents, showing them at their best. They had proceeded to the burial grounds, Tony lingering behind. They walked slowly, the drums beating almost to the rhythm of his heart. As they stopped and lowered both the caskets down, Tony held his breath, this was really- it was really happening.

They'd asked him if he wanted to say something. He looked down into the dark holes, the bright white caskets glinting in the poor light of the gloomy day. He shook his head quickly, feeling as if he were about to throw up. Mom... Dad!

It wasn't until everyone was gone that Tony fell to his knees, and pressing his face close to the freshly made mounds, he cried. He sobbed so hard it felt as if his lungs would eject out of his mouth. He felt sick, he felt lost. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

Tony hadn't cared much for himself after that. He kept up appearances, made sure that Stark Industries would prosper and that his genius shined through. But he became arrogant, he knew he could do anything, get anything (or anyone) he wanted, simply because of his last name. It became easier to deal with his parents' death if he had one foot in alcoholism and the other with the many partner's he's had over his lifetime.

And then the event in Afghanistan happened and he wasn't able to sleep at night.

Pepper happened and he was finally able to stop being promiscuous.

Steve appeared and he was starting to second-guess everything he'd ever learnt about himself, Steve, and just how intensely wrong Howard had been.

Loki happened and he wasn't able to put his tools down in fear that if he slept he would never wake up.

Killian and the entire Extremis/Mandarin thing happened and he really didn't care if he slept or not just as long as he didn't wake up the next day.

So far, the fates wouldn't grant his wish. Bummer.

On the subject of tears, he could only recall a second time when he did cry. It's a bit embarrassing to admit this, but it was when he broke up with Pepper.

To him it seemed that Pepper was already expecting the break up. Not a tear was shed on her part (or at least, not any that he could see), while he tore half his lab apart with those angry little suckers, streaming down his face; not only were his cheeks wet, but his eyes stung, and as he calmed down from his tantrum (but continued crying) he wondered if this so called lowering was just his body and mind's way of telling him he was human.

As the days progressed, incredibly slowly, he pondered what it would be like to reenter his little wine, women, and fun attitude. Of course, something like that was expected from the playboy side of Tony Stark, but… he was in the way.

He would never admit this to anyone, and the only reason he began to acknowledge this was because 1) he may be impulsive, he may even be aggressive at times, but 2) being professionally in denial was taxing, and he wasn't feeling charitable today. He could only admit this to himself however, being hyper-self-aware didn't mean he had to tell the world of his discoveries.

There were many reasons why Tony Stark broke up with Pepper. Many of them revolved around their waning connection. He'd been infatuated with her the first time they met; she was a gorgeous woman, with a smart posture, and incredible sense of direction. He was impressed she'd been able to 'resist his charm' and even more impressed she could keep up with his shenanigans. However, infatuation turned into affection, and for a second there he thought he'd had something, but instead, it had just been another misstep.

He'd be lying, however, if he said there wasn't another (prominent) reason he broke up with her. Though he was not physically cheating on Pepper, he felt like he betrayed her somehow, for-for caring for someone else while in a relationship with her. Though that thought was sickeningly comforting, it still did not lessen the pain of seeing the only woman he could really rely on walk out his door and become his co-worker once again.

Taking all that into consideration, it was no wonder he spent his fatigued days in a sleeping-pill-induced coma and his nights in a drunken-inspired stupor. It was a dangerous combination, and he knew it, it's just that he didn't give a shit; to put it frankly.

Someone was slowly rousing him from his sleep; all these thoughts slowly receded to the most remote corners of his consciousness, lingering only a fraction of a second.

"I was paying attention; we were talking about the robot incident down in Brooklyn, right?" Tony said, waking up with a jolt, to the empty conference table around him. There were few people minding the stations, yet his team was nowhere to be found, plus it was pitch black outside. "What the hell? Where is everyone?" Tony asked to no one in particular, until a navy blue, silver-starred, red-white-and-blue shielded individual crossed his line of sight- and no, of course his heart didn't do a somersault in his chest.

"You fell asleep in the middle of the meeting." Steve said, letting his surprised eye-brow lower to its normal position, "since Fury couldn't wake you up- amazing feat by the way- we decided to let you sleep." He stood at a comfortable distance, taking in the state of the other man. He'd looked so peaceful in his slumber, now that he was conscious again, his face had regained the sort of animation you would expect from someone like Tony.

"I guess I did." Tony said, looking around again to make sure his eyes hadn't deceived him; as he did that, a sharp pang in his neck made him flinch, bringing his hand to the pain. He massaged the area, wondering how had managed to pass out so hard.

"I figured you would be in a little bit of pain. You can always bunk in one of the rooms if you'd like- ride it out. See, we're over the Pacific right now and it's pretty dark. Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton as well as myself and Doctor Banner are bunking here so-

"Let me stop you right there Capt'n; you seem to forget that I'm the patriarch of a multi-million dollar suit that could kick your ass in battle," Tony said, letting his momentary pain influence his incredible ability to incite some form of argument with the other man. "Or did you forget," he continued, "about today's incident?" Tony mocked.

In truth, he probably should have kept that comment to himself; leading the Avengers wasn't a pissing contest- everyone had bad days, even a super-soldier. It's not like Tony could do a much better job. Steve knew how to command them, Tony was more of a radical element; he could lead if he had to-but only then.

He'd hadn't meant to insult the man (at least, not really), but of course, Captain Rogers was fooled by Tony's ability to dissemble anyone around him. So he took offence, his face turning unbelievably hard, and his eyes darkening ever so slightly, the only implication that he was really angry, was by a large vein on his throat, throbbing violently against his red skin.

"Though I am incredibly grateful for your help, Stark, I do not appreciate you rubbing my mistakes in my face." Captain said coldly; Tony swallowed hard, as Steve's intimidating stare made him take a step back. Before he could so much as say 'sorry', Steve was already gone; his temper left a series of cracks on the ground as he stomped off.

Only Stark could make his blood boil this way (or freeze really), if any other member of the team had made that comment he would have let it slide, put a smile on his face, and brushed it off as a joke. But with Tony, he simply couldn't. His ego was still a bit hurt from what he believed Tony thought of him, coupled with that knowledge it magnified any criticism Tony had of him into a full-on attack, on not only him, but who he was as an Avenger.

Tony sighed as he watched Captain's retreating back (and side). He looked out to the large window on the Helicarrier, rubbing his face with his palm and sighing again, it was dark… but the idea of staying on the Helicarrier, with every inch of space monitored by one of the many hack-able cameras, repulsed him.

He was about to call his suit when he saw the only face on the plane that didn't hate his guts.

"Bruce!" Tony waved, catching the distracted doctor's attention.

"Hey Tony, it seems you beat me in the unofficial sleeping contest." Bruce said, his brown eyes excited- Tony envied him, he'd just taken a nap and he felt worst for wear. "You were even able to sleep through Fury's screaming, amazing feat by the way." Bruce congratulated, echoing Captain's words.

"So I've heard." Tony said, wondering if he really had been so out of it, that not even Fury's annoyingly booming voice could wake him from his death sleep.

"So, you staying the night?" Bruce asked, sitting down in the chair next to Tony, offhandedly placing a pencil in his mouth.

"Was just thinking of hauling ass, Rogers said we are over the Pacific, though." Tony said, thinking the distance over. "Even if I were to fly top speed in the suit, I would only make it to New York in roughly two hours, and right now I'd rather not move." Tony said, remembering the pain in his neck and rubbing it again, wishing he'd leaned against the chair, rather than the table. "The desk had seemed like a cloud when I boarded the ship, now my neck is in a killer knot." That and the arc reactor had bruised one of his lungs. He'd originally lain on the table with his suit on (somewhere in between his sleep and wakefulness, he must have ordered Jarvis to pack it up and send it on its merry way).

"You should stay; I was playing a math game with Cli- Agent Barton; I wanted a more formidable adversary." Bruce said his tan cheeks tinted pink with the thought. Of course Tony noticed and of course he would pound him about it later, but his minuscule (yet still very present) moral compass told him not to push it right now. "Or at least that's how Thor put it. He's there as well, but isn't much of a mathematician." Bruce finished, putting the pencil behind his ear, and waiting patiently for Tony's reply.

Tony thought it over and wondered what the harm would be. He was due for some clean, intellectually-engaging fun.

"Of course."

And with those words it was how, eventually, the entire team ended up playing against the two masterminds.

"Not fair!" Barton exclaimed pointing an accusatory finger at Tony, who just grinned wickedly as he collected his prize (imported chocolate, yum!).

"It is indeed fair." Tony said popping a chocolate in his mouth. So the score was this, Tony was winning with twenty well nineteen chocolates, Bruce was behind him by only two, surprisingly the silent Captain was behind Bruce by three, Natasha was behind him by one, Thor by six, and Clint by seven. (Tony had thought that the questions had been too easy, so he'd added some more, uh. MIT-level math questions to the mix to make things interesting.)

"I've never even seen this symbol before." Barton complained looking at the math problem on the holoscreen.

"'Tis a theta young Barton, the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet." Thor explained as his brain struggled to find the answer, he too had not meddled deeply within arithmetic; his brother was more suited for that… which gave him a great idea.

"It's also used as a replacement for the missing angle of the triangle in trigonometry." Bruce elaborated, helping Barton out as much as he could.

"Got it!" Tony and Captain exclaimed at the same time. They locked at eyes briefly before they both sat down.

"So what's the answer?" Barton asked eagerly.

"Ha-ha very funny, figure it out or forfeit one of your chocolates, or I should say, your only chocolate." Tony said devilishly, popping yet another delicacy in his mouth. He didn't know where Bruce had gotten these sweets from, he frankly didn't care, he only knew that it made his taste-buds dance.

"You know that makes us even right?" Bruce asked Tony, who just shrugged.

After what seemed like a long time (and everyone else already had their own solutions) Barton dropped his pencil and stared solemnly at the screen.

"Did I ever mention that I was raised in the circus and math was not a priority?" Barton asked eyeing his last piece of candy when his phone rumbled in his pocket.

From: Brucey

To: Barton

C=72 ;)

With a poker face, that had taken years to master, he looked down at his own answer of 0.6781 and erased it, replacing it smoothly with the 72.

"Alright are we done? Will you give up your chocolate and lose?" Tony asked, with an impish smile on his face.

"Nope." Barton said his poker face still in place; Tony raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"So since both you and Captain got the answer at the same time, one of you will have to forfeit two candies if the other is wrong." Bruce said.

Tony rolled his eyes, confident that he would be keeping his eighteen chocolates. The Captain sighed, the game was fun, but if it pitted him against Tony he'd rather not deal with it.

"Well C=72." Tony said placing his answer on the center of the table for everyone to see the complicated math problem solved with an equally amount of complicated routes. "I agree." Captain said placing his paper delicately beside Tony's, their route for finding the answer had been identical and Tony bubbled up at the thought of sharing something with the man.

"Who else got 72?" Tony asked, as he basked in the glory of obtaining five more candies. Since both of them got the answer, both of them got the candy with an added bonus of three each.

Bruce and Clinton raised their hands as Natasha cursed, and Thor looked amused, still pondering over his great idea.

"I don't know how you did it Barton, but I will find out." Tony threatened. They stood up to switch seats: Tony still in the kings chair, now next to him Captain, who tried to sit as far away as the chair would let him. And Tony would deny it until the day he died, but that stung like a motherfucker.

"Comrades, I have come across an idea that would make this joyous congregation even more enjoyable!" Thor boomed, a 1,000 watt smile on his face.

"Oh yeah? What is it?" Tony asked, still trying not to feel like a kicked puppy.

"We should invite my brother! He is extremely advanced in the art of arithmetic, I think he would be a most formidable adversary, even for your superior intelligence young Stark." Thor said as if it were the greatest idea ever.

There was a resounding "NO!" from every other member of the team. Tony actually choked on his saliva as he inhaled.

"Why not?" Thor asked sulkily.

"Um, your brother doesn't have a very good track record Thor, sorry but no." Tony said picking the pencil back up and moving on to the next slide. "It's not like you can talk." Captain murmured, making Tony halt his hand from the monitor as he turned his head to look incredulously at Steve.

"Do you want to start something, Spangles?" Tony snapped, his heart beating fast and his chest feeling compressed, so that's what he thought of him?

"No, I'm just simply stating the obvious." Captain retorted, not even bothering to look at Tony's hurt expression.

"He's changed his ways young Stark, just for tonight if you could-

"I said no Thor! What part of that word don't you understand?" Tony shouted, getting out of his seat.

"The N and the O part." A new voice said, chilling every fiber of Tony's being.

Natasha was ready in an instant, both her guns pointed at all the vital regions of Loki's person, and Barton stood behind her his bow and arrow ready. Captain hugged his shield ready to throw it any second and Bruce was looking a little green around the edges.

"Peace, Peace." Loki said, raising his hands. He was in casual Asgardian attire, his usually hypnotic green eyes dulled to a light blue, and the usually malicious aura that came off him was absent.

"Let me explain." Started Thor, but Tony shut him up with a previously hidden repulsor, now pointed at Thor's chest plate.

"What are you doing here Loki?" Tony asked calmly, every nerve under his skin jumping at the chance to be used to strangle Loki.

"I was invited by my bro- by Thor to partake in this game of yours, I understand if you do not believe a word I say, but I do not wish to upset anyone further than I already have." Loki said, his tone sincere.

Was Loki even capable of sounding sincere? Tony thought as he judged the situation. "Thor says you've changed, is that true?" Tony asked, eyeing Loki with disbelief in his eyes. When he wasn't trying to take over the world, Loki didn't seem like that big of a presence.

"When I arrived on earth, though I was not under the Other's control, I was still very much controlled by him, my will, and even my judgment were impaired, I do wish to apologize, sincerely this time. I never meant to cause so much harm." Loki said, his voice never wavering and his eyes never twitching, if he was lying then he did an incredible job at it.

"Stark, don't believe him." Natasha warned, her gaze hard as steel; Barton stood behind her, his tendons straining against his taut skin.

"You're normally a good judge of character, unless you're judging me, what do you think?" Tony asked the man behind him. Captain was so close, he thought he could feel his breath on his neck, and surprisingly a coolness rather than heat radiating off his skin.

Captain sighed and yeah, he felt that.

"I think he's telling the truth." Captain said.

"What?" Natasha said at the same time Barton yelled "No!"

Bruce left the room then and not a second later Barton fallowed, his eyes never leaving Loki, his bow still pointed at him.

"I thought so." Tony acquiesced, lowering his repulsor and walking towards Loki, who was quite a bit taller than him.

Their noses were almost touching as Tony looked him steadily in the eyes.

"Try anything against my team and there won't be a nook or cranny in the universe for you to hide in, because I will find you and I will kill you." Tony threatened, noticing the slight bob of Loki's Adam's apple.

"Wouldn't be the first time I've heard that, I may be a trickster, but I am also a man of my word, I will not attempt anything against your team that would put them in harm's way." Loki nearly whispered, as he cowered underneath Tony's glare. Now that the 'evil guy' façade had worn off, Tony noticed that Loki was't as dangerous as he had once seemed. It didn't make him want to forgive him right off the bat, but it did indeed make him consider it for the future. As long as Loki truly was a man of his word.

After a couple of beats Tony brought him up to speed in the game and was surprised when Loki genuinely smiled.

A couple of moments later the two males that had previously run off returned, Doctor Banner still looked pissed as hell, but at least he was a tan- not a green. Natasha kept her gun on the table innocently pointed at Loki, who sat beside his brother and Barton who picked his teeth with one of his daggers.

Loki did indeed prove a formidable adversary, as round after round he butted heads with Tony Stark and Captain Rogers.

Soon, they were the only three left, everyone gathered around them looking intently on the math battle, momentarily forgetting that six months ago Loki was trying to take over the world.

"Got it!" all three of them exclaimed, slamming the papers on the table with identical answers. Tony was even perspiring at the effort, how did they get the answers so fast?

"This is never going to end, they're all too smart!" Barton complained, his bow long forgotten as he got into the game, Natasha was not so easily swayed, but even she saw the obvious changes in Loki.

As the holoscreen switched to the next problem, both Captain and Loki gasped at its complexity.

"Finally, something you two can't do." Tony praised, as he completed the problem in record time, accidentally forgetting, however, the negative one tacked at the end.

"Done." Tony said smugly and laid the paper on the table, Bruce raised an eyebrow at the problem, catching the mistake quickly.

"Um Tony…" the Doctor tried to warn him, but Loki had already finished the problem correctly, leaving the other two to bite the dust. When Tony looked at his paper, he gasped noticing the incorrect calculation a second too late because the Captain had also caught on and was placing his paper delicately underneath Loki's.

"H-how… b-but… No!" Tony stuttered as Loki shoved him off his seat and took the rightful place as king (of the math game).

"Stark got owned!" Barton shouted, offering Loki a high five. The trickster was surprised and smiled, high-fiving the archer.

"Fuck off, Legolas." Tony said, as he dusted himself off.

"Language Stark." Captain warned, as he completed the next problem a second behind Loki.

"You too, Captain." Tony said as he crossed his arms and joined to spectators. Captain just shook his head, slowly losing his chocolates to Loki, who was already jumping from the excess sugar in his system.

The sun was rising, as Captain Rogers looked at his last piece of chocolate. Loki grinned mischievously, but as he stared at the screen, the iconic grin fell off his face.

"Ah… what is the meaning of this?" Loki asked the spectators behind him, turning back to the screen; he couldn't make sense of the randomly placed lines.

"Battle Tactics." Captain and Thor sighed at the same time; they looked like children in a candy shop.

"I was wondering when that one would show up." Tony mused, staring at Captain's furiously scribbling hand.

"That's not just!" Loki complained, looking over at Captain who held the piece of paper triumphantly over his head and laid it flat on the table. Tony and Thor eyed it, nodding in unison.

"Captain wins." Tony declared, as soon as he did, the Captain scooped up all the chocolate and ran away yelling "Mineeee!" The rest of the team (even Natasha) howled with laughter.

Loki looked shocked, his mouth agape, and huffed-crossing his arms.

"Maybe you should have listened better in school, brother." Thor teased, secretly handing him a piece of chocolate.

"What is the meaning of all this damn noise?" Fury boomed, stopping all the laughter and cheering. When he spotted Loki, he pulled out his gun and pointed it accusingly at the God. Surprisingly, Natasha and Barton aimed their weapons at the Director and, not so surprisingly, Thor pointed Mjolnir as if it were a shield.

"What is he doing here? And how come no one alerted me." Fury asked, surprised that his team had turned against him.

"We were playing a game and decided to settle our differences." Tony said tiredly, dismissing the Director with one hand.

"I do not want him on my ship again, understand!" Fury ordered, lowering his weapon - but not releasing it.

"Fine, whatever, Thor do your thing… Loki, I won't forgive you yet, but keep doing what you did today and I might." Tony said, walking away, not waiting for a reply.

He paused on his way to his suit when he heard a distinct sound of pleasure, following a tug in his tummy he wandered into the corridor and rounded on a door labeled Steven G. Rogers.

"Mmm, these are so good." Captain groaned, shoving another delicacy inside his mouth; he was already halfway through the stack, and would be sad when they were gone, but right now he had to keep eating as if his life depended on it. Tony's lower half was having a hard time controlling itself as Steve made those noises. He shook his head and moved away from the door again, to the path of his suit. He would deny this until the day he died, but right then and there he was incredibly aroused.

ooOOoo

"Who the fuck took all my chocolate?" Fury exclaimed as he noticed the empty crate.

So what did you think? Remember FF's golden rule!

[EDIT: 2/19/2015]

[EDIT: 10/21/2016: Some of you OG fans (if you come back and re-read it) will notice some very big differences. I had to back and edit this when I read over it a couple of days ago. I was 16 when I wrote this; I've learned (at least I think I have) a thing or two since then. I hope you still enjoy it, regardless. The story is still the same, but a lot of the nuances have either been replaced or expanded (I think for the better). Thank you to those who read and to those who will eventually read. This is on the first chapter, though. It's going to take a while to go through 100,000 + words :)]