"I said no."
"Tony, you know that this is a right thing to do."
"Again, no."
Tony was standing behind his desk at his workshop. He was hammering some machine, either fixing it or trying to brake it into pieces, it was hard to tell. Steve was standing in front of him in some distance, trying to reason with him.
"Steve, I pay people to do that, there is no need for me to go there," Tony said in slow voice like he was explaining something to a demented person.
"No, you will go there today."
"I will go next year."
"You can't run from this forever, Tony."
Tony put the hammer down, trying to control his breath. Steve was starting to get on his nerves. Why does he have to interfere? It's not his business. Slowly Tony picked up the hammer and punched the machine again.
"Go away, I'm busy," he snapped, not looking at the blonde.
"No, you're not. I can already tell when you are busy, and when you are just pretending to be busy so people will leave you alone," Steve said in a calm voice.
Tony growled impatiently. Steve saw right through him. But still, Tony continued to punch the machine, a little bit faster, pretending to be busy.
"Just please go away, okay?! Before I hurl this hammer at your empty head..." he added in low voice, muttering the last words to himself.
"Still heard that."
"Then feel warned."
"Tony, I..."
Tony slammed the hammer at his desk. The sound was sharp.
"NO," he repeated in harsh voice. He planted both his hands at the desk, leaning over. His shoulders were shaking. Any second now and he will loose it.
"Tony.." Steve said softly.
"I.. I don't want to go there Steve, okay?! I don't want to.." his voice was breaking. He clenched his fist, painfully digging his fingernails into his palms to focus on something else.
Steve went behind the desk, embracing the brunet. He draw him closer to him as if he wanted to protect him. Tony didn't protest.
"We will go there together, okay?"
"... Okay..."
It was the anniversary of Tony's parents death.
my story behind the fic - after his parents' funeral Tony didn't go to visit their graves. Not a single time. He payed the undertaker to maintain the graves, sent flowers and cemetery candles every year, but didn't go personally. Why should he if he strongly believed that his parents didn't care for him. After receiving the box from Fury which belonged to Howard and watching the tape where his dad admits that Tony is his greatest creation, he still refused to go to the cemetery. He told no one about the recording and still claimed that his dad didn't give a damn, mostly because saying the truth would mean admitting to being mistaken. And now Tony feels guilty and that's another reason why he doesn't want to go there. And Steve, being Steve, tries to help Tony cope with his problems. Yes, after some time Tony told Steve about the recording and even showed it to him. It was a precious moment for them both~
