Third Time's The Charm

The second time was elevated and completely out of anger.

Tony was down in his lab as per usual when Pepper made her way down hauling a very uncomfortable-looking Steve behind her.

“Look, Miss Potts, I-”

“Save it, Steve. I'm sick of this fighting between you two. It's time I did something.” Pepper shot back furiously, yanking open the door to the lab.

“Sir, Miss Potts and Mister Rogers are here.” JARVIS informed Tony over his earpiece. He was welding at the moment, so it was necessary he was able to communicate with his AI properly.

“Send them out, JARVIS, I have- Hey!!” Tony cried out upon being grabbed roughly by his ankle and hauled out from under whatever contraption he was currently working on on his crawler. He jumped up and immediately starting shouting when he saw it was Steve.

“What the hell, Rogers?!”

“Don't start, Tony. I asked him to do it.” Pepper snapped. Her look rivaled Natasha's and instantly shut Tony up. Not because of her look, but because he knew to shut up when Pepper used that tone. It said, 'Shut up or I will be the one to drop you out of a window this time. And I know how to disable JARVIS.' And here he thought he had specifically told JARVIS to remind him to change the AI's security settings.

“You two have been fighting nonstop since you met each other and it's driving everyone crazy!” Pepper threw out her arms as if to emphasize her meaning of 'everyone'. “I'm surprised JARVIS hasn't piped up about it yet!”

“Correction, Miss Potts. I've told Master Stark about everyone's unsettling feelings towards his and Mister Rogers' daily spats.” JARVIS intervened in his usual monotone but matter-of-fact computer voice.

“Even the damn AI, Tony! Steve!” Upon being called out, Steve stood at attention. He knew better than to interject at the moment. Tony, however, didn't care.

“Oh, so I'm instantly the bad guy here?” Tony roared at her. “Do you have any damn idea what I have to go through with him?! Always hounding me about my habits!” His hand flew out towards the Captain in an accusing manner.

“Tony, that's enough.” Steve said suddenly in his 'Captain voice', not liking the way the other man addressed Pepper. He sure as hell wouldn't interrupt anyone else, but Stark was a different matter entirely. He took a half- step in front of the woman, half-shielding her in case the situation got out of hand. And he had a feeling that it quickly would.

“Oh, yes,” Tony snarked coolly. “Playing the hero as always, Captain.”

“Tony, I'm warning you,”

“About what?!! That the oh-so-loving-and-would-never-hurt-a-fly Captain fucking America would dare hurt someone else??” he knew Steve would, though, if only to protect someone – even from themselves. But Tony was too enraged to care. He stepped closer to Steve, hands balling and then unballing only to repeat the two-step pattern.

“Don't.” Steve's tone was one hinting punishment. Rightfully deserved punishment, but punishment nonetheless.

“Dammit Tony, would you just listen for once?!” Pepper shrieked, fearful at what the two would do to each other. She had her arms in front of her to shield herself quickly if necessary. Tony ignored her.

“Don't what, pretty boy?” he said venomously, puffing out his chest against Steve's. His brown eyes aflame and staring up into equally fiery blue ones. His anger silently boiled at the fact that he was so much shorter than Steve; his ego just wouldn't take it – couldn't take it. The playboy had no idea what the hell what he was doing – it was like the thinking and reasoning portion of his brain had been severed from the rest of him – but his hands moved of their own accord.

The two men once again locked lips for the second time in two months and they were completely oblivious when Peppers squeaked loudly. She stood there red-faced for a few seconds, composed herself, and then turned heel and nearly ran out of the room. She had JARVIS lock it once she was back up in the main room and away from the overwhelming air of sexual tension, actually able to breathe.

Instead of pushing each other away, though, the two clawed each other closer. A table slightly shook as Steve forced them against it. He pushed as much anger as he could into the kiss, into Tony. And Tony pushed back. When they broke for air, they did so for only a moment before they were attacking each other with their mouths again. They bit at each other's necks, lips, and jaw bones, quickly moving on to shoulders. Tony shivered and growled when Steve bit down rather hard on the side of his neck, but Tony repaid him with a flourishing bruise at the junction of Steve's neck and shoulder.

Steve could have sworn he heard his shirt rip somewhere along the way but he couldn't tell for sure. Meanwhile, Tony was briefly thankful (somewhere in the corner of his rapidly fading mind) that JARVIS knew better than to record this. However, the two quickly banished most of their coherent thoughts when they decided to try and tear at each other's clothes; Steve actually managing to rip Tony's shirt off with ease.

The inventor was just about thrown onto the top of the table by the super soldier. In response, he wrapped his legs in a vice-like grip around the other's hips. He snarled when Steve forced his arms off of him, fingers digging into his biceps, and Steve's mouth nipping around his arc reactor. It was a strange sensation. Not painful, but not exactly pleasant. The Captain was just about to – literally – rip Tony's pants off when JARVIS's voice suddenly sounded.

“Sirs, Director Fury is requesting an emergency meeting at once. Baton Rouge is being held hostage by mutated amphibians.”

Steve growled and peeled Tony's legs off of him. He stormed out of the lab and up the stairs without a backwards glance, leaving Tony winded, pissed off, and unbearably horny on top of the lab table.

Notes