Unveil My Unsightly Heart

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Fanfiction
Title: Unveil My Unsightly Heart
Author(s): Mizzy
Date(s): 28 May 2013
Length: 43,021 words
Genre: slash fanfiction
Fandom: The Avengers (2012), Iron Man (movies), Captain America (movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
External Links: Unveil My Unsightly Heart (story, AO3)
Unveil My Unsightly Heart (art, AO3)

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Unveil My Unsightly Heart is a Steve/Tony story by Mizzy. It was written for the Cap/Iron Man Reverse Bang 2013. The story is based on fanart by LePeru which includes a color cover and 3 illustrations with monochromatic coloring.

Summary: Looking over an old prototype helicarrier for its future viability as a base for the Avengers should have just been a routine day full of bickering and non-adventure for Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. But when they're catapulted into an alternate universe – where their alternate selves are married and battling with a mysterious threat – the two are forced to get over their differences in order to figure out what's going on, before it's too late. Because there's more going on than meets the eye, and Steve and Tony falling in love might just be the most dangerous thing that can happen. Not just for one universe, but for all of them… [Iron Man 3-compliant.]

Recs and Reviews

Color cover by LePeru. The left side of the cover shows MCU Steve and Tony walking through a door in an abandoned old prototype helicarrier. It turns out the door isn't a door at all but a portal that sends them to an alternate universe where they are intercepted by guards who work for Commander Stark, an alternate Steve Rogers. That part of the image alludes to the boundary between their realities being breakable like a window or a mirror with the right top corner looking like smashed shards of glass, revealing a broken pocket watch which connects the left side of the cover with the right side. The pocket watch belongs to Tony in both realities and features in a key moment of the story. Both the glass shards and the pocket watch chain bleed over into the image on the right side of the cover, which shows alternate Tony sitting in the dark on the stairs, clutching his heart. The shirt under his hands is bloody and indicates that something is wrong with his heart. In the story, alternate Tony does have a heart problem but the blood in this context refers to evil!Steve's plan that MCU!Steve has to thwart.
In which Commander Stark is insane, Alternate-Tony is more emotional yet proves to be equally insane in the end, there is a post-apocalyptic world tied to the portal and energy, and there are lots and lots of dick jokes that Steve doesn't approve of but actually find quite hilarious. Also, the last chapter here with the team interactions is the best.[1]

My god, can Mizzy write. It’s Tony/Steve [...] And at the start of the fic, Tony and Pepper have broken up offscreen [...], which is definitely not my thing. Even so—there’s a mission they do for S.H.I.E.L.D., where they go through a portal, and (sort of) meet AU Tonys and Steves, all of whom are married except the viewpoint characters. It’s apocalyptic and doomed and heartbreaking and hopeful, and some hysterical penis jokes are just kind of shoehorned in there. I couldn’t stop reading [...] and now I’m rec’ing it…So you can judge for yourself, right, whether you want to read this or not? For those who want more than my subjective raving, please note it contains IM3 spoilers, and is as far as I can tell liberally laced with comic canon characterization.[2]

I (also) stayed up too late to finish reading this because I couldn’t stop, but it was totally worth it! I can't really say what I enjoyed most – I loved Steve through all of this: his distrust of everyone in the universe as much as his awkwardness about the hugging situation – and also Tony for being delighted over turning Steve into an ally to annoy Fury and... every other conversation they had, really, you are my Master of Dialogue. And I loved how you filled the story with so many details, like the pocket watches and the Maria nanobots that kept returning. Also, ‘It is practically masturbation’ filled me with so much glee (as did ‘moresome’, like, uhhh, yesss.) And the ending for their alternate selves, oh my God, that was beautiful and sad and I really should stop thinking about it because it makes me kind of heartbroken and soppy at the same time. (The ‘I won't live without you’ bit got to me.) But Steve’s awesome limerick and the reaction of the other Avenger’s made me smile again, so… So. Uhh. I just wanted to let you know that I love you and this story very much.[3]

Wow, this is really awesome. You do great stuff with world-building and characterization. I love how alt!Steve's insanity wasn't obvious at first, and sort of crept up on the reader from one scene to the next. And the differences and similarities between the two Tony's. Everything just worked so beautifully.[4]

Your Steve is the cutest Steve. There's a million and one thoughts of his I want to quote because gosh, what a darling. And this was so suspenseful! When it was revealed what was actually going on I just kind of squirmed in my seat and had to put my phone down and get ahold of myself because it was so just so *good*. [...] Also: for purely shallow reasons, the Steve on Steve fighting action was much appreciated. And also the fact that Rogers took Tony's last name because 'Steven Stark' is the most beautiful alliteration I've ever heard. :')[5]

References

  1. ^ vucizalis. AO3 Rec, 16 June 2013. (Accessed 23 June 2013)
  2. ^ indigostarblaster. Mizzy fic!, 14 June 2013. (Accessed 23 June 2013)
  3. ^ a nonny. AO3 comment, 31 May 2013. (Accessed 23 June 2013)
  4. ^ marinarusalka. AO3 comment, 29 May 2013. (Accessed 23 June 2013)
  5. ^ kehinki. AO3 comment, 29 May 2013. (Accessed 23 June 2013)