Steve charges into his office, slamming the door shut on the way in. He had probably broken the hinges but he didn't care. Not now, not anymore.
With a cry he shoves all the stuff of his desk sending it all crashing to the floor. He kicks his desk over, landing it on its side. He picks up his chair and throws it at the back wall. Pictures and his notice boards fall to the floor loudly.
Steve lowers himself to the floor, sitting amongst all the devastation. He drops his head into his hands and cries. The front wall of his office is made of glass and he knows people can see him, that they are watching. He cannot bring himself to care.
Sergeant James Barnes, his best friend, is dead. Killed because of him, because of his mistakes. He made the call that sent Bucky out there, the call that lead to his death. He didn't pull the trigger, but maybe it might as well have been him. From the Academy to where they were today, it had felt like they had known each other their whole lives.
What is he going to say to Bucky's sister? How was he going to tell her? He couldn't get anyone else to do it.
His computer's screen flashes oddly from where it lays on the floor, drawing Steve's attention. /Are you alone?/ the screen reads.
Steve laughs weekly, shifting the screen upright on the floor. "Yes" he says.
/Wrong/ pops up on the screen under the previous message.
Steve doesn't understand. He looks around his room, eyeing the mess he had made.
/You are not alone, Captain/
/You are not alone, you have me./
"Thanks, Tony" he says quietly.
Steve lays down on the floor with a sigh.
Tony was a brilliant hacker who near on two years ago broke into their system to give them leads on a high stakes case. He said that as soon as he was done helping them on the case that he was done, but he stuck around. Steve was glad he did. Tony seemed to only contact him these days and it gave him a sense of pride that the genius favored him. They don't know who he is, other than he calls himself 'Tony', and they certainly have no clue where he is. He leaves no trace of his presence in their systems.
Tony had somehow managed to bug the place three months after he first made contact, making it so they could just speak out loud and he would hear it, that they wouldn't have to type. It was amazing. They had searched the building high and low to no success. They couldn't work out how Tony had done it.
"One day I am going to find the bugs you put in my office, you know that right? I'm going to find out how you did it" he says looking up at the screen.
/Maybe :)/
Steve laughs, it is a better laugh this time, more real. "You don't think I could find them?"
/You are probably one of the few people who could./
/But I am not worried/
"Oh?" Steve says.
/Yeah, you'd miss me too much, Captain/
"Yeah… I would" over the time Tony had been hacking into their system the man had endeared himself to him. He may have never met the guy in person but he feels close to him.
/Go home, get some rest/
"I Can't" he says, nearly chocking on his own words.
/Yes you can. You need it. Nobody would judge you for it, they'll understand/
"I know, I know." Steve takes a deep breath in. "I need to inform Bucky's sister of what happened." His eyes are burning again.
/Grab the notebook to your right. Find a pen or something/
Steve does what he is told. He rolls over, grabs the book and a nearby pen, and he lays it open in front of him.
/Draw a rectangle. A small one, but big enough that you can draw in it./
He draws the rectangle and looks up for his next instruction.
/Draw another one inside the other. Same proportions. Kind of like you are making a boarder./
/Good./
/Draw a little triangle underneath the rectangle, point up, not base. The point should touch the rectangle/
Steve stares at the screen a moment before continuing, he thinks he knows where this is going.
/Now draw a smiley face in the inner rectangle./
Steve laughs at the image drawn in his book.
/You have drawn me. Handsome right?/
"Oh very" Steve says.
/Now, rip it out carefully and put in your pocket/
"Tony… what?" he says, but he does what he was told.
/So I can be with you when you visit your friend's family./
/… In a way/
"Thank You, Tony" he says quietly, blinking back the tears threatening to fall again.
/Anytime, Steve. I'm here for you/
The screen goes black.
Steve wipes the tears from his face and picks himself off the floor. He smiles, feeling the very slight tug of the piece of paper siting in his shirt pocket.
The End
Notes: For my Cap-Iron Man Bingo Prompt "AU of your choice" [N1]
I have a MoodBoard that goes with this... but I can't put it up on this site