The Engine is Eternal
Tony fixed things. Tony fixed things that others thought couldn't be fixed with things that by all rights shouldn't have been able to fix them. Not that it mattered to Tony at all because he liked a challenge and the more chalenging the item in question was to fix the more fun Tony had. The Tail End of the train was a much better place with Tony there to fix things for them. They had things now that they'd never had before and while none of it was ground breaking the thing's Tony built made life better for all of them.
He'd even managed for a time to pick up some sort of audio signal from the upper cars and for awhile they'd had music. Sweet music that filled one of their cars with its joyus sound. Eventually the radio had broken and Tony hadn't had the parts needed to fix it or make a new one. That didn't stop him from trying of course and the other passengers had been more than happy to bring him anything they thought might be usefull.
"You have the largest collection of wires and junk I've ever seen." Steve said as he climbed in their small cabin.
"If this was all junk you wouldn't let me keep it." Tony replied without even looking up from his work. Steve didn't even bother asking what it was the other man was working on. He'd find out when Tony finished or when he got stuck and began to complain.
"It's almost time for another rations delevery." Tony grunted his focus already back on the project infront of him. Steve sighed and rolled his eyes. Tony had been like this since the two of them had first met and he was well used to the other man's antic's by now.
"If you come and eat with me I promise to do something special for you at light's out." Steve whispered into Tony's ear. Tony blinked before a lopsided smile crossed his face. "You promise?" He asked as he twisted around on his stool and leaned into Steve's chest. Steve smiled and leaned his head onto the one beneath his. "I never said we'd be having sex."
Tony snorted and tilted his head back. "While I do admit that I'm quite fond of that particular activity I'd settle for anything from a neck rub to cuddling." Tony admitted and in response a large hand wrapped around the back of Tony's neck and squeezed.
"I suppose that I can manage both of those." Steve said as he put a bit more pressure into the grip he had on Tony's neck. He could feel the tense muscles under the other man's skin and he knew that Tony was sore from being bent over his work for so long. "I may even be able to work that kink out of your back."
Tony made a pleased sound as he climbed to his feet and let Steve lead him towards the front of the End Cars. There were already several people waiting and as time went on more would join them. The wait didn't bother either of them in fact more often than not those with children or the elderly found themselves in front of the couple. Letting those that needed the protein bars more than either of them did was something that they'd be doing till their dying days. So long as there were others that needed the food more than they did then the both of them would keep moving back in the line so others could move forward.
When the guards arrived with the protein blocks nothing seemed out of the ordanary. Mostly they were silent but a few could be seen asking questions. This resulted in several people turning to point at the pair.
"What do you think they want?" Steve asked as nerves began to chew at his stomach. The guard's asking about people could be both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes someone was lucky nough to be moved up in the train. Most of the time however the guards talking to people seemed to result in the loss of said persons arm.
"Maybe, they're looking for a new artist or something. Isn't that want they always want. Someone who can dance or sing or act?" Tony replied as his eyes darted between the guards. He could only hope that they weren't here for Steve. God, don't let them be looking for Steve. Tony knew that his lover was a wonderful artist and that he deserved a life of ease in one of the forward cars but Tony was selfish and didn't want the other man to leave him behind.
Cold dread filled both men as the guards grew nearer to them because as they grew closer it was getting easier for them to hear what they were asking.
"The one with the brown hair. He fixes things. Makes them good as new." An older woman said as she took her food from a guard.
Tony's stomach dropped down through the bottom of the train and he turned to look at Steve. The blonde's face was whiter than the snow outside. He was shaking his head and mouthing "no" over and over again. Tony gulped and reached up to place his hand's on Steve's face. Tony pulled the other man's head down so that they were staring eachother in the eyes.
"Steve, it's going to be okay." Tony reassured. "I promise that everything is going to be okay. I'll tell them, no and then they'll get mad and skip me." The words were a lie because it didn't matter what Tony said. If they wanted you for the upper cars then you went to the upper cars. If you were extremely lucky then you got to take your family with you. More often than not however if they took someone then that person went alone and wasn't seen or heard from again.
"Are you Anthony Stark?" One of the guards asked as he took hold of Tony's arm and turned him around so that they were face to face. His grip was so tight that Tony was certain he was going to bruse.
"Yes."
"Your presence has been requested by Mr. Wilford. We need you to come with us."
Tony opened his mouth and tried to reply only to find that his throat had closed up and whatever words he'd been planning on saying had been trapped.
"You can't take him." Steve however had retained his ability to speak. "He belongs here with me."
The guard spared Steve a glance before turning his gaze back towards Tony. "You are to leave evrything here. New things will be provided for you."
Having said all he was going to say the guard turned and started to walk away. It was clear that Tony could either walk along with him or be dragged.
Brown eyes wide with panic darted between the guard and Steve. Tony's throat clicked as he tried and failed to get his mouth to work. "Can't I at least say good-bye?" He finnally managed to ask.
The guard ignored his question and kept walking forward pulling Tony along when he was far enough ahead. Tony's arm twisted painfully as he was dragged along. Steve was only a few steps behind them. Brown and blue met panic making both of them wild.
Perhaps thats why Steve did what he did next. There was oviously no thinking involved when Steve hit the guard from behind. The man toppled and let go of Tony's arm. The reaction of the other guards was immediate. Hands wrapped themselves around both Steve and Tony both and began pulling them away from each other. That didn't stop the pair from trying and failing to hold onto wachother however.
"I love you." Tony said as frustrated tears ran down his face. He just barley managed to lean forward and place a soft kiss on Steve's lips before he was pulled away completely.
"Always. I'll always love you." Steve shouted as he was pulled back. Tony could barely make out the tears running down the other mans face in the growing chaos. Angry shouting was begining to fill the car and Tony knew that in a matter of moments a full on fight would start. Only Tony wouldn't be there to see it or to help fight it. He wouldn't be there to help his lover or his friends. As the door between one car and another opened and closed Tony could only help that no one was hurt too badly.
He could only hope that no one died for a lost cause.
ooo
Hours later, or what felt like hours later, Steve sat alone in the cabin that he'd been sharing with Tony for what might have been forever. They'd come and taken Tony and all Steve had to show for his efforts was a black eye and a bruised jaw. The food he'd been standing in line for had never made it to him or any of the others who had tried to help Steve fight through the guards so he could get to Tony.
So not only did he have nothing to show for his efforts other than a bruised face but he'd gotten other people hurt as well. It didn't help that the rest of the car hadn't gotten their food either because of him. The worst thing though was that no one was mad at him. No one blamed him for those that would go hungry. They didn't blame him for all the other injuries.
Instead everyone was sympathetic. They were all trying to make him feel better about what had happened. They were all trying to help him because they knew what happened to those that left just as well as he did. They understood what he was going through to some extent.
Steve's hands clenched infront of his face as he looked up and out of his cabin. He could see his friends on the other side of the car grouped together and talking. Bruce was patching up the others. They'd fought just as hard as he had to get to Tony and none of them had been any more sucessful than he had been.
Steve wasn't going to stand for it however. If there was a way to get Tony back then he was going to find it. He'd do whatever it took to bring Tony back where he belonged. Even if it meant he had to lead the revolt himself.
ten Years Later
Steve stood facing the styleized W on the door infront of him. Mr. Wilford was behind that door. The man who had taken Tony was within arms reach all Steve had to do was open the door and walk through. Then he'd be able to demand answers. He'd be able to ask where Tony was because he'd been in every car on the train and he still hadn't found the man he loved. The man that had been taken from him a decade ago.
Tony had to be here because he hadn't been anywhere else and Steve refused to believe that he was dead. Because if Tony was dead then what had he started this revolt for? What had Bucky and Phil died for? What had the others been injured for? If Tony wasn't here then why had there been guards at the door?
Steve took a deep breath and reached out towards the door infront of him. His fingers brushed against the W and the door slid open without a sound. The car he stepped into was nowhere near as luxurious as the cars that rested behind it. Shadows covered the first half of the car while the other half was lit by a large spinning turbine. Blue eyes darted around the car taking in every detail. The bed near the door was unmade and the table that was for meals to be eaten at was covered in tools. What food was on the table had gone cold hours before.
The car was the type of mess that made Steve's heart lurch and ache in his chest. He knew this mess because he knew the man that had made it because Tony was a slob at heart.
"Tony." Steve whispered as he stepped into the car. "Are you here?"
There was no reply other than the sound of the spinning turbine. Steve's steps were careful as we walked forward. Some small part of him didn't want to disturb the silence while a much larger part of him was worried about any traps that might lay between him and the back of the car. There was nothing however to slow him down. There was nothing to stop him was his eyes caught sight of a pair of warn boots, familiar boots.
Steve broke out into a run then his feet pounding against the metal floor. A jolt ran through his body as his knees hit the floor.
"Tony!" Steve shouted as he wrapped his fingers around one cloth covered knee and waited. Seconds icked by and nothing happened and for a moment Steve feared that Tony hadn't heard him. Feared that Tony didn't even know he was there despite his touch. His fears were put to rest however when Tony scooted himself out from under whatever thing in the wall he'd been fixing. His movements were slow and stiff and when he finally emerged he blinked several times as his pupals dialated.
"Steve?" Tony asked as he looked at the man sitting beside him. His voice sounded tired and slow like he'd been sleeping and had just been woken up or like he'd been awake for an impossibly long time. "Is that really you?"
A smile wider than anything that he'd managed in years split Steve's face as he nodded. "Of course it's me. Who else would it be?"
Tony reached out a grim stained hand as if to touch the man by him. He jerked back however just before touching and the amazed look that had been on his face seconds before crumpled away and turned into utter misery. "No." Tony whined as he pushed himself back against the wall behind him tucking his hands between his knees once he was as far as he could go. "They promised to leave you alone. He swore that if I kept the engine going that you'd be safe. That all of you would be safe."
Steve's smile dropped but as much as he wanted to reach out and touch he held himself back because touching might not have been the best course of action at that moment. It was clear that whatever was going on wasn't what he'd thought and he needed answers. "What are you talking about Tony? Who promised?"
Tony whined again low in his throat, a truely painful sound, before answereing. "Wilford and the council promised that if I kept the engine runing that everything would be okay. Keep the engine running and everyone will live. Stop and they'll freze and die like the rest."
Tony's breathing hitched and Steve wasn't sure it the man before him was crying or having some sort of panic attack but it didn't matter. Reaching out Steve wrapped his arms around Tony and pulled him forward so that the smaller man was resting against his chest. "You've done everything you promised." Steve assured. "You've done so good Tony but they lied to you. They've killed so may of us in the past few days. What's the point of doing this if they're just going to go back on their word?"
Tony shook his head. "No, they promised. They promised. They promised." Steve winced as Tony kept repeating himself over and over. It was like a mantra but it wasn't true. The guards had killed dozens, if not more, of them over the years and had wiped out at least a thrid of their number so far that day.
"We can fix this Tony." Steve assured as he ran his fingers through Tony's hair. The brown locks were so dirty that Steve didn't worry about the grime on his fingers. Right now all he could do was focus on Tony. Tony could help them finish this. All Steve had to do was break him out of his stupor. Dirty fingers moved down to Tony's neck and dug into the cramped muscle resting under Tony's skin. The muscle's were so knotted that Steve was amazed that Tony could turn his head at all.
"I still owe you a neck rub." Steve said his voice quiet and gentle as his fingers bean to work. It didn't take long at all for Tony's body to relax under the familiar motion of Steve's fingers. It wasn't long before Tony's breathing evened out and his rambleing died down to nothing. Soon there was nothing but quiet between them. Quiet and the sound of the eternal engine.
Tony eventually blinked and turned his eyes up so that he was looking at Steve. "Steve is it really you? You aren't some sort of trick to fool me into doing what they want are you? Because they want me to use kids, Steve. They want me to use kids to replace the parts that I can't build anymore." Tony laughed. "I think their worried I'll lose more fingers."
Steve automatically went tense his eyes darting down to where Tony hands were hidden between his legs. His free hand darted down and wrapped around one of Tony's wrists pulling the hand attached to it up into view.
It was Steve's turn to make pained noises when he saw the state of Tony's fingers. His pinky and part of his ring were missing. "You're hands." Steve croaked not certain if he wanted to look at the other. He'd always loved Tony's hands and to see that they'd been damaged in such a way was almost to much to bear.
Tony's eyes darted down to his other hand and he was slow to bring it out from where he'd hidden it. His other hand was missing two and a half. "It's not as bad as it looks." Tony whispered. "I can still work and so long as I can work you're still safe."
"But that's the thing, Tony. We aren't safe. None of us are." Steve's voice was pained but his words were true. "Help, us take over the train. You know the engine better than anyone else and so long as we have the engine then there isn't anything they can do to hurt us."
Tony took a deep breath and it wasn't hard for Steve to see the begining of another attack. Steve wrapped his fingers around Tony's shoulder and gave the smaller man a firm shake. "Don't Tony. We need you out here with us not sitting in a corner curled up and muttering nonsense."
Tony took a deep dreath and nodded. Some form of sense seemed to have made it's way into Tony's brain. "Okay, I'm not sure what I can do but I'll try. I'll try Steve."
Steve gave the other man a smile and leaned forward to press a soft kiss against a stubbled cheek. "That's all I've ever asked of you."
Steve shifted Tony so that Tony wasn't sitting on his lap anymore before he climed to his feet. Tony took the hand he offered and stood on shakey legs. It was more than clear that Tony wasn't as healthy as he should have been considering he was taking care of the engine. Wheather or not his current state of being was Tony's own doing or the doing of the people who really seemed to be running the train Steve didn't know. It was something they'd take care of after all this was over. Steve would see his lover heathly and as close to whole as possible.
"Now I need you to tell me everything you can think of about the people behind the scenes and about the engine. The more you can tell us the better."
Tony shuddered and took a deep breath. His eyes darted around the room as if checking that no one was there with them. Then he opened his mouth and began talking. Secrets spilled out of his mouth like water from melting snow. It was like someone had opened an infected wound and all of the infection was draining out. All the poison being purged.
Tony talked about how they'd dragged him the length of the train to meet with Mr. Wilfred. How he'd had no choice in fixing the engine and how the Council had formed after the old man had died a few weeks after Tony had arrived. How after that he hadn't had any choice in what he wanted to do not really.
The council had given him a choice. He either stayed on as the enginer willingly or they'd seperate the rear cars from the rest of the train and let the people that survived the crash freeze to death and then Tony could be the enginer anyways. Tony had agreed in a heartbeat. He could do many things but letting the people he grew up with and loved die like that was the one thing he hadn't been willing to do. So he'd stayed and started working on the engine.
The engine and its upkeep had quickly become Tony's life. He worked on it almost constantly and while he worked a council ran everything else. Once a year they'd met with him and talked about the engine's condition. What would Tony need to keep the train going and what did he want in return for doing it. Tony himself had never asked them for anything special for himself. What he'd wanted had been better food and care for the rear trains and he'd had to trust that the council would fulfill his requests because he knew that they were trying to get on his good side.
"They gave us more food on ocassion and once they sent us the clothes that no one from the front wanted anymore." Steve said, inturrupting Tony for the first time.
"I asked for as much as I could." Tony said, "I'm glad that they did even that little bit. I expected that they hadn't done jack shit."
"What else is there Tony?"
Tony took another breath and began again.
The engine was in worse shape now than ever before and Tony did little else now than keep fixing the things that broke. The problem was that supplies were running short and the council was having a hard time finding the things he needed. They'd laughed when Tony had suggested they take what was needed from the people in the forward cars. They'd been unwilling to risk upsetting the people that they'd turned into sheep. They'd come to him suggesting the use of children for the small spaces that neded constant fixing. Children from the back cars. Children from his home.
He'd refused and they'd beaten him and told him that he'd see it their way before long. Tony was holding strong on that front. When he requested adult help the council had laughed at him and gone on their way. Now Tony slept where ever he fell and even then he was always listening to the engine. Everytime the machine so much as stuttered Tony was up and checking things. It was getting to the point that Tony was having trouble doing his job he was so tired all the time. And because of that his work and the engine were begining to suffer greatly.
"When you can accept our propposal Mr. Stark you'll get your help." Tony snorted. "That's what they told me the last time we spoke Steve. They'd rather use children than send someone to learn from me or give up their things."
"They'd rather use children than find an adult for you to teach." Steve voice was disgusted. He'd have jumped at the chance to work at the front of the train if it had allowed him the chance to find Tony.
"I never said that they made sense Steve. I think they're all out of their minds."
"That's been clear since your story started. Probably too much Kronole."
Tony jerked at the sound of a new voice and turned so that he was facing the door into the car he and Steve were in. There were people standing in the car with them. People that he hadn't noticed entering. People that he knew but was having trouble putting names to.
"When did all these people get here?" Tony asked turning to look at Steve. His eyes had gone wide and his hands had started to shake.
Steve winced at Tony's general confusion and the nervousness that had entered his voice. "These are our friends Tony. They came with me to find you and to fix things."
Tony's eyes darted around the room and it was only Steve's hand that stopped him from bolting back in the direction that he'd come from. Big groups of people in the car with him was never ever a good thing for him. "I don't, I don't like a lot of people..." Tony's voice broke off as he began to take deep breaths. "There's too many people here."
"We can go back outside if needs be." A large blonde man said. The others nodded their heads none of them bothered. "We have time a plenty for our plan to begin."
"No, its fine Thor just give him a minute." Steve said. His thumb rubbed soothing circles into Tony's arm as the man took deep calming breaths. "We need to get this done. Are we ready?"
"Whenever you are Steve. We've patched ourselves into the system and the camera is ready to roll when you're ready to speak."
Steve nodded. "Give me five minutes to get him ready and we'll get started."
The group seemed to nod and as one turned and left the engine car. Steve turned his attention back to Tony. His breathing had evened out and he wasn't skaing as much. That was good because the brunette was going to need whatever calm he could get.
"Sorry, the only time there are that many people here nothing good ever happens. It doesn't matter if they're friends or not." Tony admitted trying and failing to look sheepish as he spoke.
"It's fine," Steve insisted, "You've been alone for a long time. They understand Tony."
"What's this about a camera?" Tony asked and Steve let him change the subject. There would be planty of time to talk about things after this was done and over with.
"We're going to adress the whole train. It's time that they know that they aren't in control anymore. The council may have been able to take back the water car but we have the engine now."
"They won't beleave you unless they see it." Tony said. "The council are a bunch of stuburn asswholes. I can help you there though." Tony said a sharp smile pulling at his lips. "The door you came through is only for people. The entire back of this car openes so they can bring the bigger pieces of equipment I need into the car."
Steve fought down the urge to whoop and pump a fist into the air above his head.
"You are the most wonderful person I've even known!" Steve exclaimed as he pulled Tony into a deep kiss. Seconds passed and then a minute and the pair were still liplocked. The kiss might have gone on forever.
"Kiss later lovebirds! We have a train to take over!"
The two of them jerked apart and smiled at one another.
"We're coming Barton." Steve yelled at the blonde man who's head was sticking through the doorway. "Are you ready?" He asked Tony his voice much quieter.
"No but it's either now or never."
ooo
"People of the upper cars you have been lied too. Mr. Wilfred has beed dead for nerely a decade and the eternal engine is falling apart. I ask you to rise up against those that lied to you. Rise up against those that would keep you blind to the truth. Help us make the train a better place for all its passengers."
oooooooo
Hope you enjoyed. I'll be adding more chapters soon. Nothing really resembling a plot seeing how I'll be skipping around a lot.