Teachers make all the difference
It was a peaceful summer break as far as Steve was concerned. Nothing too extravagant , and enough little things happening for it to not have been too was the perfect relaxing break he had needed before he had to manage a handful of raging teenagers again.
Steve has been teaching history since almost three years now. Waking up after 13 years, shield had made sure to be kind enough to let Steve be what he wanted to be. He missed Peggy, he missed Bucky but this was his second chance at making a difference and he was not going to waste it. So Steve chose this time around to make a difference by teaching, educating the young minds who would be the future. As captain America Steve has had a lot of experience with children and has also learnt patience. He thoroughly enjoyed his day job . Shield had made sure to keep his identity a secret, everyone knew captain America but no one knew Steve Rogers and that worked out great. He had to occasionally go help out in the superhero fashion when things came down to it ,but it kept him sane knowing he could do both at the same time.
His motorcycle was his best friend, of course apart from clint and Natasha , courtesy of shield. School was only a good 5 miles away from his apartment. It was just a cozy little place, nothing extravagant and Steve absolutely loved it. He was mentally prepared to dive back into academics , even though he has enjoyed the break, Steve needed to work or he was never at peace with his mind.
Pulling up at the parking lot, Steve parked his motorcycle and walked through the front office to pick up his class schedules and student list for the new year. Going through it, there was one name that did not seem familiar, Anthony Edwards Stark. Must be a new student then , Steve smiled to himself and walked on to his first class which would begin in ten minutes. Which meant he had ten minutes to get his desk in order.
Just as the bell rang , the students started to pile in, most of them greeting Steve and smiling . He waited till everyone had taken their seats and scanned the class to re familiarise with all the faces. Spotting the new kid immediately, a sharply dressed brunette , with brown eyes and eyelashes of an angel sitting in the far right corner with . He let his eyes sweep across the class just one last time and smiled
"welcome back guys! Hope you all had a good summer." He received a few happy responses and some not so happy about being back in school. "Right, so before we begin the lecture for today ,I was hoping we can learn a few things about our new student here" Steve said pointing to Anthony who looked slightly uncomfortable, but quickly composed himself smiling at everyone and stood up.
" Hey. I am Tony. I am originally from here but was in boarding school up until last year. I am looking forward to enjoying the remainder of my schooling here" he said flashing his teeth and sat back down after a few cheers of "welcome Tony!" "oh man you have so come to wrong place then!" Steve just shook his head amused and turned the page in his book.
Halfway through his lecture, Steve noticed Tony looking unimpressed and tried to make his voice more upbeat because he knew history was not the best subject but he intended to make it as fun as possible , especially to the new one's so they can develop interest faster. But it did nothing to change the expression on Tony's face. The bell rang soon enough and with a small home work assignment the students were off to attend their next class. Steve looked up just in time to notice that Tony was the first one out of the class. He smirked to himself shaking his head .
All in all Steve's first day was a good one. But something was off and he couldn't quiet place a finger on it. Over the next few days, Steve was already back to his routine. Grading papers, home works and what not. Until he came across one particularly well written paper especially for a bunch of sixteen year olds who wanted nothing to do with history. It was well worded and had all the right arguments. Turning the page back front to look at the students name, he was shocked to see it was Anthony's paper. That came as quiet a shock especially after how disinterested Tony had seemed in his past few classes. Piling up his papers into a neat stack, Steve left for the coffee break to meet Dr. Banner the school's best physics teacher.
"Steve! Looks like we are back in this hell hole huh?" Bruce said sitting down at one of the cafeteria tables putting down his tea and I joined him with a coffee. "How was your summer?" he asked smiling as he adjusted his glasses. "I have to say that it was rather pleasant, how was yours?"
"been busy, applied for a grant for my research on radiation. It's been a difficult time, but pushing through it." Steve was always impressed with how hard working Bruce was, not only was he truly intelligent he also knew how to stay humble and work hard.
"How have your classes been going Bruce?" he smiled "same old, same old. Although there is this new kid , Anthony . Quiet the genius if I may say so."
"Really?" Steve asked feeling a sense a pride bubbling inside him even though he had no idea why this was affecting him. He had known Tony only for a few days now, but he was not sure what or why this boy was special.
"Yup, from what I have heard he's been doing exceptionally well in other subjects as well. Seems like we may finally have one student we can make a difference with. But there is something off of about the child, he doesn't listen in class but yet is so bright I don't know how to help him." That caught Steve's attention, feeling somewhat better about the fact that Tony had not just been disinterested in his class but in all others as well. Steve had been going out of his way off late to get that boy's attention in class but to no avail.
"I graded one of his papers just now, and I have to say that boy can go places." Bruce hmm'd and took a sip of his tea. A shrill bell signifying the end in break time and they were off to their respective classes with a wave goodbye. Just as Steve rounded the corner to his classroom he suddenly found himself with an armful of a certain brunette as he crashed into him sending his books flying around them. Steve caught him to stabilize him before he could hit the ground but Tony flinched ,even if it was just a slight flinch , it was definitely there and Steve immediately let go of him frowning.
"Shit." He said matter of factly as he quickly tried to grab his books from the floor.
"Language" Steve chastised as he picked up the last book that had fallen by his feet and handed it over. It read advanced mechanical engineering and Steve could do nothing but wonder why a kid was reading a college level book.
Tony pursed his lips and it was just adorable in a forgive me kind of way "sorry, thanks" he mumbled and was off to wherever he was headed to in a hurry.
The next few days Steve could do nothing but think about two thoughts that just kept spiraling back to him no matter how hard he tried to distract himself. And of course both were about Tony. One, why did Steve think a sixteen year old was adorable? and two, why had Tony flinched ? Of the two the one that disturbed him the most was his off late need to protect Tony from whatever had frightened him hard enough to flinch that day. And this lead to the first thought again ,why were these feelings surfacing for the brunette? And then the thought cycle began all over again. So Steve spent the next week trying to subtly observe Tony in class or his interactions with his friends to notice if anything was off that warranted that flinch.
Three weeks later, Steve had finally given up , as he realized Tony was just a regular kid, a popular one at that and quiet a bit of genius. So it surprised him when Steve found said genius sitting outside the gym on a bench with none of his friends with whom he was always in non-stop chatter with. As he walked closer Steve noticed the slight hunch in his posture and his left arm loosely wrapped around his abdomen . Tony's head snapped up as he heard Steve's shoes scuff on the floor and he immediately straightened out letting his arm fall onto the bench and grinned at Steve.
"Avoiding gym class, Mr. Stark?" Steve asked as he approached the boy
"More like gym class is avoiding me" he said sheepish but still flashing a smile.
"And why would that be the case?" Steve asked rearranging the papers in his arms but trying to subtly make sure Tony was not injured in gym . But Tony just shrugged and said "I may be a little bit accident prone " and pursed his lips like the other day and threw up his hands as if to say 'what can you do about it?'
Steve was a little alarmed at hearing that, cause that may have just confirmed an injury that Steve was suspecting based on how he was sitting before Tony noticed him.
"so the best way to avoid gym is by sitting out in the hallway?" Steve said and Tony defensively picked out a hall pass for the nurse from his pocket and showing it to him said
" there's a reason it's called a hall pass Mr. Rogers." Steve had heard from the other professors just how much of a smart mouth Tony can be but this was the first actual non class based conversation Steve had had with the boy and was finally starting to understand what they meant by that.
"That is a hall pass to the nurse, not a pass for lingering in the hallway is it? Is there a reason you are not at the nurses office ?" Steve asked and tony glared at him slightly
"There's nothing the nurse can do for it" he said
"and what exactly is this thing that the nurse can't help you out with?" Steve was suddenly curious and not just about the injury but about why Tony didn't want to go to the school nurse.
"one of the boys may or may not have landed on top of me" Steve cringed, at the thought of someone falling on the already small framed brunette. It was getting frustratingly hard to get any straight answers from Tony, so Steve decided to play the professor card, "yeah, let's go . Up you get" he said motioning for Tony to get up. But tony just stared at him blankly "why?" he asked as if Steve had said the most bizarre thing . " we are going to the nurse" Steve said but just as he reached forward to pull the boy up, Tony shied away from his touch and got up on his own.
He shuffled back a few steps from Steve "I can go by myself" he said irritated and walked away before Steve could say anything. And Steve didn't see Tony in class for the next three days.
"I am telling you Nat this kid is just different. He is a genius, and even though he's been in this school less than a month he's already one of the most popular kid in this school."
"Steve, what's going on? Why is this kid from school all of a sudden so important to you?" Natasha said, and that was just it Steve didn't know why.
"I…don't .."
"he's sixteen Steve" natasha said gently but it still hit him hard. Even though Steve knew it was wrong he couldn't stop himself from feeling these things.
A doombot came swinging at Natasha as she ducked and Steve flung his shield hard into it severing it's neck from the body. One of its arms caught Steve along his cheek drawing blood.
"All I am saying is, be careful. It can be dangerous." She said severing a bot on her own.
"More dangerous than these aliens?"
"Oh, most definitely"
Steve sighed , shaking his head trying to forget about Tony and concentrate on the doombots.
Steve thought after their conversation in the hallway and with Tony not showing up in his classes, there was something definitely wrong but the next day Tony showed up to class happy as ever even answering some of the questions Steve threw at the class. Except today Tony was the last one to leave after the bell rang and just as he walked by Steve's desk he blew a low whistle at Steve and said "looks like you are the one that needs the hall pass to the nurse huh Mr. Rogers?" he said pulling out the slip from last week and handing it over to Steve. For a second Steve was confused as to what Tony was referring to and then Tony pointed to the cut along his cheek and Steve made an "ah" sound clearly surprised that Tony had been the one to start a conversation this time. Tony grinned at him ,winked and shuffled out the door.
He shook his head in amusement as he went back to stacking the papers he had collected from his students when he suddenly realized something. If Tony still had the hall pass, then it meant Tony hadn't actually gone to the nurse the other day. He had lied to Steve.
"are you sure you want to take up the responsibility of caring for twenty teenagers ?"the principal said raising his eyebrows skeptical as ever.
"It's a museum,they are teenagers. They are going to be bored ,there's not much trouble they can get into" Steve tried .
"That's just the problem, they get into trouble when they are bored." Well can't really argue there Steve thought.
"I have a couple of friends willing to help me out , I think it will be good for the kids. History is as it is a dry subject. They need a change sir." The principal sighed "okay, but I am going to need consent forms from the parents" and Steve grinned and shook his hand "thank you sir"
Steve sat down at one of the seats at the front of the bus, once all the kids had boarded and he was startled out of his thoughts five minutes later when someone sat next to him.
"You know Mr. Rogers, it would be nice if you could share with the class how you gained super healing abilities" and then Tony was looking up at him expectantly and Steve panicked. There had been many days when Steve had come to class with bruises and cuts post battle but no one had ever noticed that they were gone just as fast as they appeared.
"Excuse me?" Steve said trying to play dumb , and Tony gave an exasperated look before reaching up gently running his finger across Steve cheek where the cut had been just three days ago.
"How did this heal so fast?" he asked again, but the look in his eyes was so pure and the curiosity on his face so genuine all Steve wanted to do was just tell him the truth.
"unlike some of us, I actually went to the doctor" Steve said trying to divert the conversation and focusing on Tony.
"Yeah but a doctor can't magically heal a cut either." He retaliated and Steve just wanted to hide from this boy rather than try to answer his questions.
So he casually shrugged and said " I have a great metabolism I guess" he said
"Huh." It was clear Tony was not satisfied with the answer but Steve was just glad that this conversation was over at least for now. Tony just sat there lost in his thoughts for the rest of the trip and Steve thought it was better to just keep quiet rather than giving the kid more incentive to ask questions. They arrived at the museum twenty minutes later and Steve got down to find Natasha and Clint waiting for them at the parking lot .
"looks like the fossil has finally arrived home" Natasha smirked and I gave her look that said shut up not here. She just stuck her tongue out at me and walked over giving me peck on the cheek.
Once everyone had gotten off the bus, Steve introduced Natasha and Clint to the kids "ok guys listen up, this here are my good friends Clint and Natasha, they are here to make sure you guys don't go crazy" and the crowd groaned as they realized that there was going to be supervision.
"Don't worry guys we are actually here to make sure Steve here doesn't drive you guys crazy" Natasha said and high fived Clint and the crowd cheered.
"Okay , let's go guys"
Clint got along with the kids so easily , if he didn't look older people would have thought he was just part of the group. Natasha and Steve were leaning on a wall watching the kids swarm around the exhibits
"So is that the special one?" she asked as she pointed to Tony with her chin.
"How did you know?" Steve asked not really surprised , Natasha knew everything .
"he's been throwing glances at you every now and then. He's cute , your boy toy."
"Don't call him that." Steve snapped and Natasha was studying his face intently and Steve just stared ahead avoiding her gaze.
"He is quiet the smart alec, I'll give you that" Clint said walking over to Steve to lean against the pillar.
"Mr. Rogers!" Ms. Potts was waving at him while holding onto Tony like she was about to drag him somewhere "can we go to the astrophysics section?" she said pointing between herself and Tony and Steve was about to say no and tell them to stay with the group but pepper beat him to it " it's just one floor above us, we will stay right there until you guys come up as well. Please, we have already seen this stuff." and Tony was looking at him ready to pout , so Steve said "okay but if you guys create any trouble…." They were out of sight before Steve could finish that sentence.
"You do know what is going to happen once they hit the floor on top right?" Clint said and Steve raised an eyebrow "they are horny teenagers Steve, do I really have to spell everything out to you?" he said patting him on the arm and walking over to a group of kids who were pointing at something.
"Steve-" Natasha started but he cut her off "Clint is right. It's none of my business anyway."
Steve was now unknowingly sulking, he knows he has no say over it. Tony was exactly what Clint had said, a teenager. And teenagers need to explore . And it really was none of Steve's business what Tony was took almost another twenty minutes before the rest of them were done with this floor and Steve almost sighed with relief. That relief was very short lived however when pepper came walking out of the elevator looking pale and nervous. She walked straight up to Steve ignoring her friends on the way and leaned up on her tip toes and said in a rushed whisper "Mr. Rogers something is w-wrong with Tony. He says he can't breathe and I tried to help him but I don't know what to do anymore can you please come with me?" already tugging on Steve arm and pulling him towards the elevator.
Steve froze for a second his heart skipping a beat and Natasha gave him a slight nudge to snap out of it.
" What do you mean he can't breathe? What happened?" he asked as he followed pepper towards wherever Tony was. Pepper hesitated for a moment and fidgeted nervously before she said "we were kissing in the men's room and the next thing I know Tony says he can't breathe and I told him I will call for help but he said it would be okay , and that I shouldn't. So I tried to help him but I didn't know how and then I came to get you." Steve's rational part of his brain knew he shouldn't have a fixated on the word kissing, but it registered in his mind like a permanent stamp. He followed pepper into the men's room and what he saw tore his heart apart.
Tony was on his knees , gasping for air his fingers clutching at the collar of his shirt . A layer of sweat covered his forehead and his hair was sticking to it. Steve took large quick strides over to Tony reaching out to touch him but Tony jerked back at the touch and his gasping intensified as he shook his head no.
"Okay, okay" Steve said raising his hands up in the air " Tony hey, look at me." he spoke as calmly as possible. Steve had a pretty clear idea of what he might be dealing with here. But just to make sure he waited till Tony looked at him "do you need a hospital?" and Tony shook his head no again and Steve asked again " do you have any allergies?" another headshake. And that confirmed Steve's diagnosis. He turned to pepper and said "Ms. Potts why don't you head out and let Natasha know that Tony is going to be okay? And ask her to bring us a water bottle in a little while, yeah?" he said and pepper immediately said "I..I don't want to leave him. Is he really going to be okay?" she said trying to reach out to Tony but Steve stopped her hands gently "he will be okay. I promise. But the rest of them are going to be worried so please go tell them that we are fine." She hesitated for a few seconds and left quietly.
"Tony. I need you to take deep breaths okay? In and out. Come on you can do this." Tony simply shook his head no the panic taking over.
"Yes you can. You are having a panic attack. It's going to be okay. There is plenty of air in this room all you need to do is breathe okay?" he said squatting down completely to Tony's eye level so he could look at Steve. "Look at me Tony, come on, there you go" he coaxed his hands itching to wrap around the boy. "I am going to touch your hand , is that okay?" he asked but made no movement to do so until Tony shakily nodded his head. He reached over and gently grasped one of Tony's wrist and tugged it free from its hold on his collar and placed it on Steve's own chest "follow my breathing, do you feel that? In and out okay? let's do it together come on sweetheart." He said as he took exaggerated breaths and Tony slowly picked up on it trying to match his breaths to Steve's. "There you go , just like that. You can do this" he coaxed and after a couple more minute Tony's breathing was finally somewhat relaxed and he plopped down onto the floor heavily listing towards the wall his one hand still held against Steve's chest.
"Better?" Steve asked his own heartbeat finally slowing enough to focus on other things like the awkward way Tony was listing. Tony only just nodded , still not saying anything. He still looked slightly frightened .
"I am going to help you sit up against the wall okay?" Steve said and Tony nodded again . He released his hold on Tony's hand and wrapped an arm around his midsection to pull him upright so he could completely lean against the wall but Tony gasped as Steve's hand made contact with his midsection his hands trying to push him away but Steve quickly maneuvered him into a sitting position before letting go.
He didn't comment on it just yet, knowing it had something to do with the gym injury and sat himself down beside Tony a small gap between them. Five minutes later and someone knocked on the door, and Steve didn't miss the way Tony tensed up before he informed "it's just Natasha." She walked inside and gave a small smile to Tony, handing a small water bottle to him. He took it with shaky hands and drank most of it in one gulp. Steve shared a look with Natasha and she nodded and left.
"So, astrophysics exhibit is code these days for making out huh?" Steve said as he tried to ease the tension a little.
"It depends , on what your definition of making out entails." He said
"What happened tony?" Steve asked
"I don't know."
"Is this the first time?" Steve pushed and was met with silence and that answered it.
"Do you know what triggers it?" again silence so Steve decided to try another angle
"How is your injury?" Steve asked knowing that Tony can't deny it anymore.
"My metabolism is apparently not as high as yours"
"Is there someone you can talk to -"
"No!"
"if you need to talk , I am ready to listen-"
"I am fine"
Steve sighed, this was going nowhere and Tony was becoming more and more defensive by the second.
"I am going to call someone to come pick l-" Tony sprung so fast up off the wall that not even Steve's serum enhanced reflexes could have expected it.
"I am fine! Seriously. It won't happen again! You don't have to call anyone" and Steve just stared wide eyed at Tony's reaction and Tony finally added a "please" and turned his eyes down not wanting to look Steve in the eyes.
"okay." Tony's eyes snapped up in surprise as if he hadn't expected Steve to give in so easily.
"On one condition" Tony groaned about to argue but Steve held up a finger " let me have a look at that injury of yours" he said pointing to Tony's midsection. And Tony took a step back "it's fine, I told you there's nothing you can do for it . Let's just go back to the exhibits."
"Anthony-"
"Its tony" he interrupted "okay, Tony. Just let me have one look make sure you are okay and we can pretend this never happened"
"No. And since when do you have a medical degree?"
"Either you let me have a look to make sure you are okay, or I am calling your parents to have a chat about your incident today."
"that's harassment. Besides good luck talking to my parents since they are dead!" Steve's head snapped up from guilt for not having done any back ground check on Tony. He knew most of his students and their immediate family well enough but Tony was the new kid and Steve hadn't had a chance to meet with his family on any school occasions yet.
"Tony I am so-"
"Save it" he said before walking around Steve and out of the men's room.
After that one dreadful incident in the men's room Tony had refused to pay any attention to Steve no matter how subtly Steve was trying. He had felt awful about the last part of their conversation but was just as worried for Tony, panic attacks especially multiple ones did not just happen at random .There was always a deep seated reason for it and to think that Tony had suffered one had Steve's heart rolling in turmoil. The only information he got on how Tony was doing was from pepper, his girlfriend or whatever it is that they are, when she came to thank him after class the next day for helping Tony out and had said that he was feeling and doing much better. Steve was happy , he really was but he couldn't help but think something bigger was going on here.
The next day took a turn when Tony stayed back sitting in his chair as the class cleared out after the bell. He didn't say anything, so Steve just went back to grading his papers . After five minutes of silence Tony cleared his throat and Steve asked "something I can help you with Mr. Stark?" Tony just looked at him ,he seemed like he wanted to say something but didn't know if he should. So Steve did instead
"I am sorry about your parents , I didn't know."
"You called me sweetheart" he said suddenly
"What?" Steve was now genuinely taken aback . " the day before, when I was having ….when we were in the men's room you called me sweetheart. Professors don't call their students sweethearts." And Steve had to swallow and just look at him having absolutely no idea what to say to that.
"Pepper says I have to apologize for the way I behaved , I am sorry." Again , Steve was taken aback. This kid had a way with Steve's emotions and he had no idea.
"just doing my job" Steve said and the expression on Tony's face immediately fell but Steve didn't understand why.
"Tony…" he looked up expectantly "just know , you can always come to me if you need help, with anything." Steve was surprised Tony even let him finish let alone that he actually seemed to be seriously considering it.
"I'll be seventeen in three months" he said and Steve had to raise his eyebrows in question "I liked it when you called me sweetheart" he mumbled
"you were kissing pepper just the day before." And Steve knew, he knew it was the wrong thing to say , he knew he should have instead said 'no Tony, this is not like that, besides I am eight years older and you are sixteen, a child'
"I…didn't …I.." he stuttered and Steve cut him off "pepper is good for you" and Tony's look of betrayal will probably give Steve nightmares that night but he knew he had to do it.
"Tony…" Steve sighed wanting to explain why it was wrong , why it wouldn't work
"It's ok" he said in a small tone for the first time showing vulnerability.
"Don't you have a class?" Steve asked because he just couldn't look at the saddened look on Tony's face anymore. He knew he was being rude but Tony is just a teenager. These feelings will just pass on just as fast as they had come for him.
"I am not in the mood for gym" ah.
"That's not how school works" but Tony held up a neatly folded piece of paper "I have a nurses note excusing me from gym"
"I see you finally went to the nurse huh" Steve said as he signed an assignment and graded it.
Steve wasn't sure how to handle Tony, all these days he had only seen one side of Tony a very defensive sixteen year old, who was very smart for his age and seemingly acing the social skills among his peers. But there was a certain vulnerability to him today that Steve was just mostly taken aback, surprised or rather just didn't know how to respond to a vulnerable Tony without it bringing out the feelings he had for the boy which was not okay.
"Pepper wrote it for me ,she has excellent penmanship" Steve's hand froze on the sheet and he carefully thought out what he wanted to say next
"I am still obligated to report any incidents to a students guardian." He said gently knowing how strongly opposed Tony had been to that idea the last time.
"I don't want you to" he said looking down .
"Give me one good reason not to" Steve said still not looking up from his papers
"Because there is nothing -"
"Anyone can do about it. I have heard that before. Try something different." Steve deadpanned
"because It didn't happen in the gym" Steve dropped the pen he was holding and his eyes snapped up to glare at Tony at this new information but Tony still wouldn't meet his eyes.
Steve got up from his desk and walked over to Tony leaning against the bench behind him "Tony"
He still refused to look up , "look at me when I am talking to you Mr. Stark" and Tony's eyes snapped up at the authoritative voice
"I am going to give you three options , one- you can let me call your guardian. Two – I tell the school counselor and you can talk to her or three – you let me asses this injury of yours , and we can see about if you want to talk about whatever it is that is going on either with me or with anyone that you are comfortable with."
Tony hesitated for a few moments his eyes darting up to meet Steve's.
"Its really not that bad. I'll show you. Just don't call anyone." And Steve sighed in relief and went around the desks to shut the door just incase Tony didn't feel comfortable. He walked back as Tony quickly unbuttoned his shirt and let it hang from his shoulders.
Steve had to close his eyes for several moments to control his breathing, his nostrils flared in anger thinking about how Tony had been walking around like this was nothing for the past few days. His entire left side was mottled blue and green . The edges turning yellow as it slowly healed.
"How did this happen?" he growled and Tony retreated a step back and Steve had to remind himself to calm down.
"Someone really did slam into me, just not at gym class."
"You need a x ray" he said as he gently traced his hand along the mottled skin feeling for broken ribs and Tony whimpered in pain. "Nothing is broken" he said slapping Steve's prodding fingers away and he began buttoning up his shirt.
"And since when do you have a medical degree?" Tony gave him a spectacular glare for that.
"Tony, you need to wrap your ribs okay?" you don't have to go to the hospital, just go to the school nurse and she will wrap it for you." He still didn't look convinced so Steve added "you will even get an actual note excusing you from gym" and Tony cracked a smile at that.
"Can you do it?" he asked and Steve sighed considering just lying to Tony that he had no medical experience whatsoever even though shield had given him extensive lessons to manage almost all situations. Instead he asked "why do you not want to go to the school nurse?"
"because she's kinda scary." And Steve laughed relief flooding him as he realized the stupid reason why Tony had been refusing to see her. It was also the first time Tony showed his childlike side and Steve decided to just do it himself. He asked Tony to stay put as he slipped out into the hallway and walked to the nurses station to ask for the wrap. Truth be told Steve did understand what Tony meant by the nurse being kinda scary once he saw and felt pity for the kids who had to see her. It was rather funny , she was a large women about 5 ft 9 inches and wore a glare on her face like a permanent tattoo.
"Thank you, Mrs. Rishah" Steve said as she handed the wrap over to him. Steve was walking back to his class his mind an absolute mess of everything Tony had just shared with him that he didn't notice Bruce until he smacked straight into him sending the papers he was carrying askew.
"I am so sorry! I really am , here let me help you" Steve said putting the wrap aside and helped Bruce pick up his papers.
"Are you alright?you seem rather distracted?" Steve considered telling Bruce about Tony and his injury but he remembered how Tony was so against telling anyone so he simply said "yes, yes sorry I was just lost in my thoughts." Bruce smiled at him, "careful ya? Don't want a beef like you slamming into sixteen year olds. They would probably be hurting a lot more than I am" Steve smirked and picked up the wrap again just waved to Bruce, "I'll see you at lunch" he said grinning
"Here , remove the shirt and hop up on my desk " Steve said unwrapping the bandage, Tony without a moment of hesitation did as told. He lifted his arms up so Steve could wrap around his torso, wincing as Steve tightened it.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Steve asked as he worked.
"no"
"Okay, that's okay. But if you ever need to , I am here" he said as he secured the wrap with the pins.
As Steve threw the carton box away, Tony sat swinging his legs on his desk. He watched as Steve cleaned up and then finally looked at him "do you really think pepper is good for me?" he asked with a hint of sadness. Steve couldn't resist , he reached up to swipe a thumb across his cheek but instead he straightened out the collar on Tony's shirt and said "what I think is a fifteen year old should be kissing other fifteen year olds. I thought you were a genius" he smiled at Tony dropped his hand and took a step back. Tony frowned "I am going to be seventeen !"
"same holds good for seventeen year olds"
Steve had to distract him from this conversation before it could hurt him more so he quickly asked "what class do you have next?" Tony checked his watch and hopped off the desk gathering his books and his bag
"Physics" he said and walked to the door, just before he left he turned back and said "Mr. Rogers ? thanks." And Steve smiled at him and nodded.
Bruce was waiting for Steve with a tray of food at the cafeteria. It had been a troubling two hours as Steve fought with his thoughts about Tony so this was a welcome distraction. He walked over sitting down and placing his own tray on the table. "hey , you look troubled. Teenager problems?" Steve asked as Bruce gave him a weary smile.
"you can say that" he said and Steve waited for him to explain as he took a bite out his sandwich. "you know Tony stark?" And Steve's mind did a flip annoyed that this kid was everywhere.
"Yeah, of course"
"Have I told you how much of a genius that kid is?" and Steve nodded letting Bruce continue as he chewed on his food. "Anthony Edward stark. Ring any bells?'
It did ring bells, a very specific one . One that Steve did not want rung.
"Howard stark?" and Bruce nodded seriously as he watched Steve take in the information. A confirmation Steve never thought would ever be true. Because Howard's little boy died in the car crash with his parents 15 years ago. Steve was there for the funeral. A year after which Steve had crashed his plane into the pacific.
"How are you sure?" He asked careful not to give away too much emotion on his face.
"A Few months ago, a bunch of guys showed up . Called themselves shield." Steve almost spit his sandwich out. "they told us , the board members , that Howard's son tony was alive and was kept under witness protection for his own good. They told us it was a need to know basis and only between us board members." Steve rubbed his hand over his face taking deep breaths
"Then why are you telling me now Bruce?" he asked afraid to hear the answer.
"I found Tony and his two close friends pepper and Rhodey at the back of the compound while I was looking for some samples to show the kids under the microscope, during the third period." Steve's head immediately supplied – physics, Tony had told him before leaving his classroom after missing gym.
"Tony was having a panic attack and it took us almost a half hour to calm him down." Steve was having enough trouble keeping up with everything and adding this just made Steve's head spin.
"Pepper mentioned that this happened at the museum and how you were able to calm him down a lot faster." Steve just nodded not able to say anything.
"We decided to put you on the need to know list, when pepper and rhodey told us that he was warming up to you. He is a tough shell to crack. His defense walls are up high . We wanted someone to be there for him if he needs it." Steve was still speechless worried for the boys health.
"Is he okay? Where is he now?"
"math class" he shrugged and Steve nodded.
"do you know what triggered it?"Bruce shook his head in negative "his friends said when he didn't show up to physics they went looking for him and found him like that."Steve wanted to know about the injury, ask more questions but first he needed to talk to Fury.
Fury owed him all the answers, not Bruce.
"How the hell did you think you could keep this from me?" Steve said interrupting a meeting and throwing a photo of Tony on to the table in front of fury.
Fury just sighed , and Natasha pursed her lips. Clint for the first time had no expressions on his face and this irked Steve even more.
"Did you guys know?" He asked Natasha and Clint
"Steve , you have to understand…" Natasha started .
"Bullshit! tell me Natasha" he said staring her down "is this why you said it was dangerous?" And her lack of reaction was a clear enough answer.
"Sit down Steve, you obviously want answers." Steve angrily sat down on the chair opposite to fury glaring at him "Howard was my best friend, I went to the funeral , you were there too. Tell me how this is possible."he demanded
"Obadiah Stane , Howard's business partner , found Tony on the site of the crash. Took him away, for fear of someone coming back to finish the job. What Obadiah didn't know is we kept tabs on him as well and watched him raise Tony as his own. Tony was in boarding school because Obadiah thought it would be better to keep him away from his father's company as he believes someone who is after the company is who was responsible for Howard and Maria's death."
"Why was I not made aware of this?" Steve growled his patience wearing thin.
"three years ago when you were pulled from the ice, we reached out to Obadiah and asked him to bring Tony over because we knew you could protect him . But Obadiah refused , he didn't want to trust any of us with Tony. It took us tremendous effort to convince Obadiah to let tony come to school here. But his one condition was to not tell Tony who you were , because he wanted to protect the boy from every danger that comes from being associated with us."
Steve took deep breaths as he forced himself to accept the explanation.
"Tony was injured a week back and he refused to tell me what happened and only admitted that it had to do with something outside of school, I need to know. Was he attacked? Is he being targeted by someone?"
Steve asked the gears turning in his head as he tried to put pieces together.
" We are not aware of any such situations , but we can have team look around." Steve nodded
"Steve … you have to understand that one clause we made with Obadiah is that he doesn't know any of this and that includes anything about the real you." Natasha said gauging his reaction .
"How can I lie to him?"
"You did it all these days, it wont be any different." Steve shook his head "everything is different, that boy was everything to Howard."
"do it for Tony's safety" Natasha simply said. Steve could do nothing more but agree.
Everything was going smoothly, Steve had come to terms with what he had been told. He kept his distance from Tony, not engaging in any unnecessary conversation . Tony even seemed to be doing really well, he was always surrounded by his friends . The three of them had become kind of inseparable actually and it was nice to know Tony had someone looking out for him. Steve often found Tony lurking around hiding in the corridors every now and then during gym class but did nothing more than smile and tell him off for doing it again in the future.
Tony also seemed to have gotten over his infatuation with Steve, which Steve was very happy about but was heart broken inside knowing he cannot , just cannot feel for Howard's boy in that way.
Steve was on a mission one day when it all came crashing down. The peace he had finally after months together found. Just like that , it all went to hell. Natasha and Steve were at a subway station on an undercover mission to track down a mad scientist who threatened to blow the place up if the government did not fund for his crazy experiments. Normally this wasn't the kind of things shield bothered with but the scientist was talking about contacting aliens from a third world and just like that it had become shields problem to deal with.
Natasha and Steve were posed as couples , standing arm in arm , but were actually casing the area for the mad man. They had been given orders to bring him back to base, so they can find out what aliens he had been in contact with and what danger it was going to bring to earth.
"Mr. Roger's! Oh my God, I do not expect to see you here!" Steve turned in time to see pepper along with a grumpy Tony come towards them waving her hands as if she was excited.
"Well, hello to you too" Steve smiled "hope you guys are having a nice weekend" he said as small talk.
"Who's your frie-" Tony started "oh hi Natasha" he said clearly surprised not expecting to see her.
"Hey, what are some cool kids like you doing here in the subway?" she asked casually as her eyes swept around the area behind them and caught onto something.
"ugh. Pepper is making me go to the art exhibit downtown" he said making an irritated face to which Natasha gave a distracted "that's nice , you kids have fun" she said trying to urge them towards the approaching train. The sooner they were out of here the better.
"Where are you guys headed?" Tony asked not budging his face not leaving Steve's so Natasha said "I need to use the ladies room, you guys talk. I'll be right back okay Steve?" she said pulling Steve closer as she gave him a lingering kiss before whispering "target at 12 o clock" and Steve nodded subtly knowing she was going to chase him down. Steve stayed put , as Tony frowned at them both.
"We were just headed out to a friends place" he shrugged , "that's cool. Nice seeing you here" pepper waved at him
"Tony let's go, the train is here" she said as she turned and boarded and turning around only find that Tony hadn't followed her. "Tony! Come on!" she shouted
"just a sec!" he shouted back
"So you and Natasha are together?" Tony asked bluntly, and before Steve could answer Natasha screamed in his ear through the comm link "code black in 3 .. 2.." Steve did not have time to think before reacting , everything happened so fast, the doors on the metro closing as pepper was screaming for wrapping himself around Tony and pulling him to the ground covering as much flesh as possible and the loud boom that shook the entire station as the bomb exploded . The blast was very close to where Tony and Steve were standing , and they were both thrown a large distance colliding with a wall on the far end and falling to the floor. Steve only remembered gripping Tony as tightly as possible , and the intense sudden pain he felt at the back of his head as it collided with the wall and then just blacking out.
He came awake to a blinding headache and a voice that was screaming something "Steve! Wake up please . Please be okay"
"Tony, hey you need to let go of him , he's going to be fine okay? He needs medical and so do you come on , let go honey, he's okay"
"No! No! He doesn't look like he is going to be okay, omg he's bleeding , Natasha he is bleeding everywhere!"
"Tony , come on buddy, focus on what I am saying …." And Steve just blacked out again.
The next time Steve came to , it was much more pleasant. The healing factor in the serum taking care of everything. "hey" Steve turned his head to find Clint perched on a chair beside him.
"Hey, what's the body count?" he rasped as he sat up and Clint handed him a water bottle. He drank greedily and placed the bottle down.
"19 , so far"
"Natasha?"
"interrogating the mad man" he nodded
"Tony?"
"shield medical, he was alert and conscious when we found you" and that's when Steve realized he was on a shield base.
"What about the girl? Pepper? is she okay?"
Clint nodded "the blast shook the train a little, but no one inside it was injured. An agent is driving her home as we speak." Satisfied for now Steve got up and stretched testing his muscles and bones .they were mostly fine, just incredibly sore. He looked down and saw his clothes were completely ruined and singed. Clint pointed to the far corner of the makeshift bed and Steve found his captain America uniform laid out. He thanked Clint gratefully as he stepped out so Steve could change and clean up.
He quickly made his way over to where Natasha was interrogating the man. And stood beside Clint behind the glass watching her break him. It was mesmerizing to watch Natasha work, she had a way with her words that would tear anyone apart .
"Excuse me captain?" Steve turned to see an agent approach him "yes?"
"There is a Tony stark in medical and is refusing treatment. He says he needs to make sure you are okay sir. He seems terrified and hysterical."
"Go, Steve. We will handle this lunatic." Clint said and Steve didn't need to be told twice as he took off in a jog towards medical. He could hear the arguments as he got closer
"I I-I need to see him please, there was …there wa-s so much blood pleas-se"
"Mr. Stark , you are injured, please sit down."
"But …but there was blood everywhere, he was bleeding a lot just tell me please , is he de..dead?" Steve took that as a cue to barge into the room taking in the scene , Tony was sat on the edge of the bed two people looming over him ,one holding an oxygen mask as he tried to coax it on Tony but he wouldn't allow it even though it was clear he was in the middle of a full blown panic attack. Steve wasted no time in sinking to his knees in front of Tony
"Tony? Here , hey! I am fine" he said slowly raising his arms out towards Tony so as to not scare him and it would have been almost comical the way Tony froze if not for the situation . Steve held perfectly still letting Tony process his presence and then Tony was flinging himself at Steve holding on for dear life .
"Steve! Are you okay? There was so much blood and you were not waking up. I tried but Natasha didn't let me near you . And they to-took you away." Steve carefully but firmly pushed Tony back so he sitting on the edge of the bed again as he let tony hold onto his arms " breathe tony, it's okay. I am fine." And Tony was nodding his head jerkily. "can you breathe for me?" Tony looked like he was zoning in and out of reality still processing things. " Look at me Tony, come on just like the other day yeah?" but Tony's breathing was not calming and he was still gripping Steve's arms in a death grip and Steve's heart was breaking as he gathered the boy into his arms lifted him and sat on the bed with him on his lap.
"I got you sweetheart, you just need to take a deep breath. Do it with me , do you feel my heart?" he said gently pushing Tony's head against his chest feeling Tony shake in his arms.
"What are his injuries?" Steve asked the two doctors standing beside them "we don't know yet sir, he wouldn't let us touch him."
"Okay, can you hand over the oxygen mask , a cloth to wipe his face with and probably some scrubs. I'll press the nurse call button once we are ready for you." He asked them and they did as told understanding that Steve was asking for some privacy. Steve picked up the mask and held in front of Tony not wanting to force it on him. "Tony , sweetheart do you think I can put this on you? It will help you breathe better ,I promise" he said rocking back and forth slightly trying to calm him. Tony shied away from it hiding his face into Steve's chest.
"sweetheart , you need some help okay? Just let me help you please " he kissed the top of Tony's head ran a hand against Tony's back up and down. Tony slowly turned revealing his face again , Steve's breath hitched as he saw the tears trickling down his cheeks.
"can I put it on you?" he asked again gently bring the mask closer and when Tony didn't shy away again he held it up over Tony's nose and mouth feeling Tony resist the air flow " you need to relax okay? It's only there to help you. In and out , come on." He coaxed as he finally felt Tony relax against his chest. His breathing was immediately better and his grip around Steve's arms went lax against his body.
"There we go, good job. You did good" he said pulling Tony closer to him. Tony's breaths completely evened out in a few minutes and Steve eased the mask off his face. He carded his fingers through Tony's hair just holding him close. He wet the cloth in the bowl of water they had placed and wiped the grime and soot off Tony's face.
"you were hurt , I saw the blood. How are you alive?" Tony said his voice raspy from the oxygen
"I am fine, don't worry about me. They patched me up okay?"
"Why are you dressed like that?" he hiccupped lightly at the end of that question and Steve let go of Tony to reach for the water but Tony immediately latched onto him again not letting go.
Steve had completely forgotten that he was wearing his uniform, he didn't want to lie anymore. Tony didn't deserve it "I'll answer all your questions once we make sure you are okay." He said carding his fingers through Tony's hair again.
"You are captain America" Tony said instead
"there's the genius" Steve nodded kissing the boys head again. "think you can change into some clean clothes?" he asked picking up the scrubs and showing them to Tony. But tony wasn't listening to him.
"How?"
" we will talk about it later okay? I am going to tell the doctors to come back in, so they can check you over now" he said as he reached over to press the call button deciding that Tony can change after.
"Don't go" he whispered as he pushed closer into Steve's chest holding tight.
"I am going to be right here , not going anywhere okay?" and Tony nodded against his chest as the two doctors came back in and asked Steve let go of Tony so they could check him over.
"No" Tony resisted
"It's okay, I am right here. The sooner you let them do their job the sooner we can be done okay?" Tony slowly let go of Steve and he was gently pulled out of Steve's lap and onto the bed. He let the doctors examine him wincing every now and then when they touched a sore spot. Tony was mostly okay, a lot of bruises , a mild concussion and his left wrist was sprained. But what stood out the most starkly was the two hand shaped bruises on his torso against his pale skin where Steve had held him tightly when they had hit the ground. Steve knew he had to be careful, or his strength could do some serious damage to normal people.
"We can give him a mild sedative if required captain." One of the doctors was saying and that was when he noticed that Tony was stubbornly trying to not let his eyes close even though he clearly looked downright emotionally and physically drained.
"That wont be necessary, thank you." He told them knowing once the doctors were out he could get Tony to rest for a while. "I'll send a nurse with a shot of painkillers and we were told to release him after that in the care of Obadiah stane."
Tony stiffened at the name, clearly not happy and he crawled back towards Steve who opened his arms for him.
"I don't want to go with obie. I'll stay here with you. Did the doctors check you over? there was so much blood, did they see where it was coming from?" he was saying and Steve's shushed him wrapping a hand along Tony's head essentially covering his ears.
"Is he here?"
"He is on his way sir ,he was in California on business when we called him. Another 4 hours maybe"
"Okay I am going to let him sleep for a while, he needs to rest. If obadiah shows up let him know that Tony is okay and that he can take him home"
"Will do sir" and Steve smiled at them gratefully before they turned to go.
Carefully letting go of his hands over Tony's ears he guided Tony down onto the bed so he can sleep until obadiah arrives.
"Did they check you over? Let me see" Tony said pushing away Steve's hands and getting up.
"I am perfectly fine, no more blood okay? Just lay down for a little while. Close your eyes." He said his fingers brushing through his hair but Tony wouldn't have it .
"I am not going with obie." Steve only nodded his head not wanting to start an argument while Tony was this vulnerable.
"you need to rest, how about I step out and you change your clothes huh? Or do you want me to help you?" he tried to change the subject
"what injuries do you have? Let me see how bad it is" he said nervously and Steve realized that all this time all Tony wanted to do was make sure Steve was okay because he still hadn't wrapped his mind over the idea of Steve, his history teacher, was captain America. And the last time he had seen Steve, he had been probably bleeding everywhere and knocked unconscious.
"Okay , If I show you that I am fine will that give you piece of mind? And you can rest for a while after?" Tony nodded vigorously at that accepting it immediately. So Steve got up off the edge of the bed and to get some clothes he knew he had in his gym locker at the base, so he could take off his uniform.
"I'll go change into something else okay? Be right back" Tony panicked for a good 3 seconds before saying "kay. Come back fast though."
"How about you change as well?" he said pointing to the scrubs
"Uh huh" Tony said
Steve smiled and left the room , making a quick detour towards Clint and Natasha. He found them sitting at a table in a conference room. Natasha looked like she wanted to murder someone and her expression softened as she spotted Steve " hey" she called softly " how is he doing? He was a mess when I last saw him" Steve smiled " you can say that , he's pretty shook up. Saw me in my uniform" he said
"I know you did that on purpose" she grinned
"I couldn't do it anymore, he had to know" Steve sighed
"hmm"
"So what do we know ?" he asked
"Not much , turns out he isn't the master behind all this. Just a puppet" they had already suspected this, because this man had no real incentive whatsoever.
"Do we have a name?"
"Nada" Clint said
"Have you eaten?" Clint said pushing a half eaten sandwich toward him
"Uhm, think I'll get my own" Steve smirked
"Suit yourself. Is the kid okay? He was such a wreck Steve. How did he get involved at all?"
"I don't know…co incidence I guess. Just glad he is okay" Steve said " maybe you guys should drop by, he needs a few familiar faces." And they agreed
" we will bring you something to eat. How bad are his injuries? Does he need to stay in medical?" Steve shook his head " minor concussion, some bruises and a sprained wrist. Obadiah should be here in three hours to take him home"
"That's gonna be a fun conversation" Clint snickered
"Don't remind me" Steve said "I'll meet you guys in Tony's room in ten" he said and headed towards the gym . He slipped on some thing comfortable and made his way back over to Tony's room only to run into fury on the way.
"Stane is going to be pissed" he said
"I'll deal with it , sir"
"That child Is the heir to SI. I hope you know what you are getting yourself into." He said before Steve gave a single nod and walked away.
Steve knocked on the door, before opening it. Tony was still sitting at the edge of the bed , but he had changed into the scrubs that were much too large for him. He looked adorable to say the least as he battled with exhaustion his eyes closing every few seconds.
"welcome back Mr. Rogers" he smirked
" I see someone is feeling better" Steve said amused
"so captain America huh? " and Steve simply smiled
"That explains a lot actually" Tony said pulling his legs up and sitting Indian style on the bed as Steve sat down on the chair beside him.
"Like what?" steve asked happy that Tony seemed more coherent now, talking normally.
"The cut on your cheek that disappeared, the occasional absence from school . Thanks for that by the way ,the sub was such a dud! Oh and of course the muscles! " And Tony whistled low as a small blush crept up his face and Steve had to hide a smile at that.
"Well , you aren't a genius for nothing I guess" he said ignoring the last comment Tony had made. Steve could not encourage it and he didn't intend to. But today was hard day for everyone
"so you are completely healed now? Nothing is even bleeding anymore?" Tony said as he practically bounced on the bed from excitement his exhaustion momentarily forgotten.
Steve laughed "well, I wouldn't say completely gone jus-"
"I want to see!" he interrupted and Steve shook his head again in amusement. How did Tony go from being so vulnerable to this normal teenager again so fast.
Steve pulled the shirt he wore over his head in one swift motion and Tony for a second was stunned at the physique and his lips popped open with an audible gasp
"Woahhh" he said drawing out the word and leaned forward as if to touch but he pulled his hand back to himself unsure and Steve was actually very glad for that. He did not want to be reacting inappropriately to Tony's touch at the moment.
"Well, this is the worst of it. It stopped bleeding but it is really sore though" Steve said pointing to a long scar along the side of his torso that had been the source of "blood everywhere" as Tony had put it.
"So cool" he said still in awe
"hey tones! What do want to eat? We have –" Clint and Natasha basically just barged into the room and Clint made an amused face "uhm, are we interrupting something?" he said as he pretended to hesitate at the door. Tony turned a shade pinker which was actually not all that bad considering how pale he was just moments before.
"have you guys never heard of knocking?" Steve said jokingly
"Spies don't knock", Natasha said and everyone watched Tony's expression change from blushing to eyes bulging with excitement " wait, what?" he asked practically on his knees now.
"Well guess the cats out of the bag now, great going tasha" Clint punched her lightly on the arm and settled down on the foot end of Tony's bed and Natasha walked over to the little table that held all the medical equipment.
"We are super spies , or maybe you would know us better as black widow and Hawkeye" and that was it, if Steve had any hope of Tony resting it was all gone now and he groaned when Tony went
"Shut the fuck up, no way!" and Clint grinned from ear to ear happy at Tony's reaction to their superhero alternative.
"Language" Steve said
"Mr. Rogers don't be so hard on the kid" Nat said as she walked over with a syringe that had Tony crawling back towards the end of the bed.
"The nurse told me you refused the shot" she said gently "you must be in a lot of pain"
"Uhm, I am fine thank you" he said
"She's great at giving shots, trust me. She once stabbed me with a knife and I didn't even feel it ." and Tony raised an eyebrow alarmed " yeah , I am telling you ! She's that good!" now Tony looked amused but he still turned to Steve who gave him a confirmatory nod , and he finally nodded to natasha as he lifted an arm for her to inject "Steve you can put your shirt back on, we have seen it all" she said distracting Tony as he turned to look at Steve as he slowly put his shirt on knowing Tony will be watching and the longer he takes , the longer he will be distracted . Then a heard a "ow!" and he pulled the shirt on completely smiling.
"That was not so bad was it?" she said gently thumbing the area she had injected.
"It was okay" he replied.
"So , anyways" Clint started " we got food, do you want salad or cheeseburgers?" and Tony made a face at him as if to say ' are you dumb?'
"okay okay, here cheeseburgers for you, salad for the beef man" he said handing it out to them.
Steve ate quickly and threw the carton away before Tony was even done with half his burger mostly because he was too busy asking questions about their lives and what not which was all very well answered by an evasive natasha. Clint and Steve were just glad that she was doing all the talking.
"okay , so we got to go do some spy work now. We will see you later okay?" they said finally as Tony managed to finish his burger. Tony looked genuinely sad but he couldn't do anything about it.
Once they left Tony turned to him "don't you have important captain America things to do too?" he asked pursing his lips "you can go you know, I ll be fine" he said
"I actually don't have much to do , well there is one thing" he said looking at Tony
"What's that?" he asked
"Getting you to rest" Tony rolled his eyes at him
" I am serious , here come on lay down for a little bit okay? It's been a really long day physically and emotionally, and it's a school night!" Tony laughed out at that still not making a move
"I can't sleep" he admitted
"is it the pain? Do you want me to give you a mild sedative?"
"no!" he said immediately and then more gently he said " if I close my eyes I see the explosion and you unconscious"
"okay, tell you what. I'll stay here the whole time okay? Ill be right here. You just need to close your eyes for a little bit and you will be asleep before you know it."
"kay, I'll try but can you sit here with me on the bed?' he asked , and Steve immediately knew he was just milking it cause Tony's eyes were glinting with excitement
"Tony, just go to sleep."
"please" he pouted
"I am officially seventeen"
" you are still a minor. And might I remind you about a certain blonde named pepper?" Tony puffed his cheeks exhaling the air " pepper and me are just really good friends. We kissed once that's all"
"just this once. Please." He said and Steve glared at him
"I am eight years older than you. Did you know your dad was my best friend?" Steve tried another tactic hoping this would maybe put Tony off. Oh was he wrong .
"Really? You knew my dad?" and Tony was excited all over again. Honestly. It was like dealing with a puppy. So Steve gave in and moved to the bed and Tony shifted to give him space grinning and as soon as Steve settled in Tony latched on to him like a koala and Steve had to wrap his arms around him to keep him from falling.
"Please go to sleep" he said
"I am not a child"
"you are literally a child"
"Don't coddle me"
"Oh ,well okay then mister adult , why don't I leave you alone so you can get some beauty sleep"
"no! Don't go!" and Tony was laying his head on Steve's chest "I am sleeping I promise"
Finally! Steve thought to himself as he wondered what he had gotten himself into,his fingers gently carding through Tony's hair as his breath evened out.