This is Our Design

The Evening Passes, A Rose Petal Falls (Part 2)

I didn't get as much work done as I'd hope, but as soon as we're back in San Diego, I'll continue plotting.

Thank you for the comments, votes, and patience!

Enjoy!

"So who do you want to be with after seeing him—Bucky—again? Trust me when I say this Steve, a polyamorous relationship is not what I'm looking for!" Despite his bold words, Tony was a hair's width away from plunging into a deep abys. The emotional courage he normally felt collapsed under the weighted palm Steve placed on his thigh, insecurity taking its place.

            "Honestly," the blonde choked, ", I don't know...."

It was cold enough to know that somehow, even in vain, Tony would remain with Steve until he made his decision; with the wind blowing relentlessly, making the deciduous trees cry out in shivery chimes, our conflicted blonde was an anchor for the genius to tie himself to until things blew over. Paired with the assurance of sincerity for whatever Steve decided for himself, the anticipatory breath was nothing short of a dry exhale—promise less, a teaser. And for the lonesome days since Tony caught his boyfriend laying the love on thick—without any visible remorse—on another man, what familiarity stayed stuck, except for that same beautiful smile?

Loki confronted him in the hallway on Thursday. He was wearing Robert Cavalli jeans and a green cardigan, which paired beautifully with his emerald eyes. Underneath was grey a V-neck tucked into his jeans, fastened tightly with the required leather belt that every male was required to wear at Avengers high. He sauntered close to Tony, leant on the lockers as carefree as a cat.

"Steve's an idiot." The pale beauty said. He gave Tony a once over, from the blemished white sneakers he wore that day, to his grass-stained jersey. Tony supposed he was the tramp here, compared to the lady.

"Oh," he breathed, ", I know. And you know?"

"I heard the news from Thor, Thor heard it from his stupid friends," Loki rolled his eyes when mentioning the Warriors Three, "and his friends were forced to listen to the gossip coming out of Peggy's mouth during journalism." Tony cursed. "So, you can imagine the risks of letting this escalate, right? From here on, it is hearsay. Peggy will publish that article—pictures too."

"Pictures?!" Tony inhaled sharply, scanning the eggshell tiles to direct his fury at. Peggy was the school's head journalist—the editor of the paper—and her enemies were always looking for a reason to block anything she tried to post.

"Three of them."

"I got to stop her. I have to stop her." Tony dragged his focus from the floor to look at Loki, who gracelessly avoided eye contact. "When will she publish the paper?"

"Game day."

 "Okay. Okay, I can work with that. It's just three days from now." But who would he talk to within those three days that would be able to convince Peggy not to publish her "article"? Who—in this prejudiced school—would give Tony the time of day with the big game coming up and homecoming right around the corner? With the amount of patience he harbored, he doubted anything could get done with one thousand other things on his mind either.

Steve and Bucky included.