Everyday Superhero

"Order! Order!"

Steve Rogers's firm tone followed by the repetitive banging of a gavel jerked Tony Stark from his reverie. It was the first day of senior year and, with that, the first student council meeting. Tony was already regretting running for senior class president.

He didn't mean to win. Not really. He just did it to mess with the All-American Golden Boy™. How was he supposed to know that Rogers was running for student body president instead of senior class president?

Tony sighed. It was going to be a long year.

Looking around the table, Tony noticed that the rest of the class officials were settling down under Rogers's commanding gaze. The class secretary, Pepper Potts, was seated at Rogers's right hand, pen poised to record the meeting. Tony briefly caught her eye, but she quickly turned away, nose in the air. Tony rolled his eyes. Pepper had been his on-again/off-again girlfriend since freshman year and, based on her reaction, he guessed they were off…again.

Sitting next to Pepper was Peter Quill, the junior class president and class clown. Tony didn't much mind running into Quill at parties—the kid was good for a few laughs here and there, but the charm wore thin after a while. Gamora, the junior class vice-president, was seated on the other side of Quill. If school gossip was correct, then Gamora and Quill were about as on/off as Tony was with Pepper. As Tony studied Quill and his tight-lipped companion, he mused on the saying "opposites attract."

The sophomore class president and vice-president were unfamiliar to Tony. The two girls had been freshmen the previous year, so, naturally, they were beneath Tony's notice. If he remembered correctly, their names were Carol Danvers and Maria Rambeau, although he couldn't remember which was which.

As student body president, Rogers sat at the head of the table, while the student body vice-president, Thor Odinson, sat at the opposite end of the table. Thor and Rogers were co-captains on the Marvel High football team and had run in the student elections as running mates. Even at eighteen years old, Thor was a beast of a man, with thick, muscular arms, a chiseled jaw, and shoulder-length blond hair. Tony once called him Point Break, only to find that Thor had no problem being physically aggressive off the field. Now, Tony only used the moniker among friends.

"Stark."

Once again, Steve Rogers's voice intruded upon Tony's intentional tune-out of the meeting.

"Stark!" he yelled again.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yes, dear?"

Something jabbed Tony's side. He looked over, only to be met with the disapproving stare of his best friend, James "Rhodey" Rhodes.

Come on, man, he mouthed silently to Tony, who did his best to look at least somewhat ashamed, if only to appease his friend and maybe to get back in Pepper's good graces. Homecoming was in a month and, if her current facial expression was any indication, he'd have to get his act together if he didn't want to go stag. So, Tony removed his feet from the table and tried to focus.

"As I was saying," Steve forced out through gritted teeth, "since we won't have freshmen class reps until after they hold elections, we have our work cut out for us this month. We have the homecoming pep assembly, the game against Wakanda Prep a.k.a. the Panthers," this got a whoop from Thor, "and, of course, the dance. Funds are low, so each class needs to work out a way to raise money. Understand, Stark?"

"Yes, sir," Tony said in an attempt to be serious, but he couldn't help adding a mock salute.

Rogers clenched his jaw but ignored the insult. "Coulson."

Phil Coulson, class treasure and Steve Rogers's own personal fan-boy/stalker, nearly bounced out of his seat when his idol said his name. "Yes sir, I mean, yes…Steve?"

"You're in charge of the treasury, so it's up to you to stay on Stark, Quill, and Danvers. Make sure they pass on whatever their respective classes raise, you got that?"

"Sure thing, Mr. President," Coulson nodded, with an awkward grin. "El presidente," he added, wiggling his eyebrows.

Steve's stiff smile turned sickly. Tony groaned inwardly.

Yes. It was going to be a long year, indeed.

The moment Tony arrived home, he made a beeline for the workshop. The first day back to school was always taxing—the need to be charming and live up to the expectations of others was exhausting. The Tony Stark he was in public was just a mask that got him from one day to the next, but in the workshop, he could finally be himself.

Not that he was alone. He was rarely alone. So, he wasn't surprised when he opened the door to the workshop to find Bruce already elbows-deep in the robotic engine they'd started building together over summer vacation.

"Hiya, buddy. How's it hangin'?"

Without looking up from the mess of metal before him, Bruce groaned before smirking in that particular way of his—with only half of his mouth, just as he only afforded Tony half of his attention. "I'm not answering that," he replied, before using his mouth to hold a screwdriver, freeing up his other hand.

Tony only chuckled, jaunting across the room to join his science bro.

For a while, they worked together in companionable silence until both of their stomachs were rumbling. Then, a pizza was ordered, tools were put away, and hands were washed. The pizza arrived shortly thereafter, and both boys retreated to the kitchen to enjoy their cheesy meal.

As they ate, they talked about the first day back, their classes—the ones they shared and the ones they didn't—and Tony described, in great detail, the agony of the first student council meeting. He had just finished telling Bruce about the latest hiccup in his relationship with Pepper when his friend's head snapped up.

"Speaking of girls, did you see the new girl?"

Tony dragged the back of his hand across his mouth, wiping the grease from his face and swallowed the mouthful of pizza he'd been chewing, nearly choking in the process.

"New girl? What new girl?" he sputtered. "And since when were you aware that girls even existed?"

Bruce tossed a crumpled-up napkin at Tony, hitting him in the face. "What are you talking about? I dated Betty for, like, most of sophomore and junior year."

Tony sighed dramatically. "Oh my goodness, who even remembers that? And who cares? New girl. Details. Now." He snatched up the crumpled-up napkin and threw it back, but Bruce ducked, and the ball went soaring past his head.

"Red head, Bette Davis Eyes-meets Lauren Bacall-meets Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice-kinda vibe."

"So, a teenage femme fatale? Sounds promising. Name?"

"Natasha, I think…" Bruce looked past Tony, squinting as he tried to recollect the new girl's name.

"Na-ta-sha." Tony stressed each syllable, liking how the name rolled off his tongue. He liked it even more when he said the name while envisioning the girl Bruce described. His musings were cut short by a sudden realization.

"Hey! Why didn't you tell me at lunch? You trying to get a head start or something?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. "First of all, I didn't see her before lunch. She was in my Russian lit class, which I have last period. Second…" his face fell slightly, "I highly doubt someone like her would ever look twice at someone like me."

Tony watched as Bruce became overly interested in his half-eaten slice of pizza, picking at it instead of finishing it. He sighed.

"Come on, little buddy. Don't say that. Of course, she would. If I was a girl, I'd be all over that," he said, vaguely waving his hand at Bruce.

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, totally. If I was a girl or gay, pfft, that'd be it. You and me, buddy."

Bruce snorted and finished off his pizza, the ghost of a thought lurking behind his eyes. He grinned slowly. "Really? Gay? Somehow, if you were gay, I don't think I'd be your type."

This time, it was Tony who asked, "oh really?"

Bruce smirked. "I don't know. There's definitely something between you and Rogers."

Tony nearly choked. "Me? And Rogers? Steve Rogers?" His eyes went wide. "You take that back! Take it back! Take it back, now!" He abandoned his pizza and lunged at Bruce, playfully swatting at his friend.

"I mean, you gotta admit, there's definitely some kind of tension there," Bruce continued in-between laughs. "But now I know for sure. There is tension. Sexual tension."

"That's it!" Tony threw his hands up in the air and stalked off towards the workshop.

"Hey, man," Bruce called out after him. "Where ya going? You just had a major, therapeutic breakthrough. We can't stop now."

"If you don't take it back," Tony shouted, still marching towards the workshop, "I'm going to rip that robot apart with my bare hands."

Behind him, he heard a loud bang! followed by a series of small crashes as Bruce was undoubtedly tripping over himself to stop Tony. By the time he caught up, Tony was already in the workshop, waiting for his friend with a wide grin plastered on his face. They spent a few more hours hard at work before calling it a night.

With Tony's parents out of town, yet again, Bruce had an unspoken invitation to stay the night—one that never expired and was always accepted. Instead of sleeping in his bedroom, both Tony and Bruce sprawled out on separate sofas in the living room. Bruce drifted off first and was greeted by dreams of red curls and green eyes. Tony followed closely thereafter, and just as sleep claimed him, he whispered a single word:

"Natasha."

A/N: Just a heads up, this story is not exclusively from Tony's POV. The story alternates between multiple POVs, and almost all major and minor MCU characters will appear in some capacity. Thank you for reading. Comments are welcomed, appreciated, and encouraged!

*Song Inspiration: "Everyday Superhero" - Smash Mouth