Chapter Three: Move-in Day
"You sure you're up for this?" Tony asked for what must have been the millionth time in the duration of the car ride to the retirement home. Steve forced himself to smile and nod. Tony was just trying to look after him.
"Yeah. I want to talk to her before I go."
"She might not remember who you are."
"I know."
"And getting upset will only make her upset."
"I got it."
"Okay." Tony didn't sound too certain.
Still, as Happy pulled into the parking lot, Tony did his best to put on a smile. They climbed out of the car and started in the direction of the doors. Once inside, the receptionist recognized Tony and smiled.
"Here to see Peggy?"
Hearing her name come from someone else's mouth shocked Steve for some reason. He shivered. Tony glanced at him, concern written plain across his face. Steve forced himself to straighten his posture and nodded.
"Yeah. And I've brought my...ah...uncle."
Steve disguised his laughter as a cough. Despite the fact that Tony called Peggy "Aunt Peggy," being called an uncle seemed so bizarre. Tony was twice his age and knew a lot more about things than Steve did. Even so, had Steve been able to live out the life he had been on track to live, he would have been Tony's uncle for all intents and purposes.
"Your uncle." The receptionist didn't seem to believe him.
"Sure." Tony answered firmly. "He and Peggy were...you know…" He clicked his tongue meaningfully. "You know, back in the forties when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth."
"Uh-huh." The receptionist stared at Steve like he had lost his mind.
"This is Captain America." Tony finally blurted out.
Steve rolled his eyes. He had been expecting that.
The receptionist's eyes widened. "Oh, of course. Right. Yes. Peggy has talked about you before we just…"
"Thought I was dead. Yeah, I get that a lot." Steve wanted to complete the conversation as quickly as possible.
"Can we see her now?"
"Of course. I'll let her know that she has company." The receptionist picked up the phone on her desk and nodded towards Steve and Tony emphatically.
Steve followed Tony through the narrow, poorly lit hallways that led to Peggy's room. All around him, elderly men and woman went about their day-to-day business. He couldn't help but look around and remind himself that had things been different, he would have been one of them. He would have been the old man cackling over a game of checkers; he would have been the woman scowling down at the newspaper and complaining about sleazy politicians. There was a small twinge of regret at the pit of his stomach.
"Here we are." Tony's statement snapped Steve out of his thoughts. Instead, he focused on the fact that they were about to walk through the door to Peggy's room.
It was surreal.
Peggy was old, to be sure, but she still looked like Peggy. She still had those two big, beautiful doe-eyes that Steve had never been able to resist, her hair was still curled around her face, and her mouth was still curved into that tight-lipped smile that made Steve smile whether he wanted to or not.
Steve held his breath and hoped that Peggy would recognize him.
Her eyes flicked over to him for a fleeting moment.
Her stare was full of recognition.
This was it.
Steve grinned.
"Tony."
Steve's grin evaporated.
"Hey, Aunt Peggy." Tony approached Peggy's bed and plopped down into one of the chairs next to it. Steve followed after him awkwardly. Peggy didn't even look at him as he sat down right next to her.
"How are you today? Are you enjoying this weather?"
"Yeah, it's great." If Tony was bothered by the fact that Peggy had not even acknowledged Steve, he was amazing at disguising it.
Peggy clucked her tongue. "Just like your father. You know, on days like these he would go right down to the dock and rent the first fishing boat that he could find. He would throw the most lavish parties on the most disgusting boats. Oh, we would all go, of course, and it was a great deal of fun, but I was always terribly worried that Howard was going to fall right into the water and we would be stuck on that gruesome boat forever."
Steve chuckled. "I remember those parties. I saw him fall in once. Bucky and I had to jump in after him. The water was freezing. I thought his mustache was going to fall off in one clump of ice."
Peggy's eyes darted over to Steve. She smiled a beautifully sentimental smile before returning her attention to Tony.
"Wait." Tony turned around to look at Steve, his mouth crooked into an amused smirk. "You had to rescue him? He always told me that he was a great swimmer."
"Great swimmer?" Steve echoed with a laugh. "No. It was like we were pulling a cat out of the ocean. I thought he was going to claw Bucky's face off."
Steve risked another look at Peggy. She was staring right at him. Her entire face had contorted into a look of pure shock. He squirmed in his seat and tried to smile at her.
"Tony," Peggy didn't look away from Steve. "You...you see him, too?"
The tone of pure disbelief was damn near heartbreaking. Steve's smile gentled.
Tony looked from Peggy to Steve uncertainly. "Who, Steve? Yeah, I see him."
"Steve?" Peggy's voice had dropped down to a whisper. She reached out a hand hesitantly. Steve reached out his own hand and allowed her palm to run over the back of his hand. Her fingers tightened around his wrist.
"Steve." She whispered again. "You're...alive?"
"I'm a little surprised, too." Steve assured her softly.
"Oh Steve." Tears welled up in Peggy's eyes. Steve forced himself to continue smiling. "It's been so long."
"Too long."
"Well," Tony interjected. "This is extremely awkward. I think that I'm going to go; let you two catch up a little bit. I'll see you next Sunday, Aunt Peggy."
Peggy didn't look away from Steve as Tony left the room. Steve didn't look away from Peggy.
"How are you here?" Peggy finally asked.
"I...I don't really know." Steve admitted. "Tony could probably explain it better than I could. I went under the ice, I guess I got frozen, and then someone found me. Now I'm here."
"How long have you been…?"
"A few weeks." Steve felt guilty for not visiting Peggy sooner. "I would've come sooner, but Tony was trying to get me up to date with everything and I've been applying to schools, and -"
"Steve." Peggy smiled and shook her head. "You don't have to justify yourself to me. But...school?"
"Yeah, I'm going back. Seems like something I should do."
Peggy smiled. "Oh, I sympathize for teachers everywhere."
Steve laughed. "I won't be that bad."
"No, I don't think that you will be." Peggy agreed. "You have always been well-behaved. Except when blonde women corner you in a bunker."
Steve let out an amused sigh and hung his head. "You can't still be mad about her."
Peggy smirked slightly. "Count yourself lucky that they won't allow me to carry weapons in here."
"Aw, Peg," Steve smiled. "Come on. You've lived a life; you got married, had kids...raised Tony. You can't still be worried about what's-her-name."
"Lorraine."
"Peg." Steve persisted, still smiling.
"I know, I know. I have lived a life." Peggy conceded. "I just wish that you could have lived yours."
"I'm going to try to start doing that from now on."
"Yes, but…" Peggy looked away. "I do wish that you could have lived your life with me."
"Yeah, me too."
"Hey, Steve? I don't mean to be a buzzkill, but dorm check-ins are in about an hour and Happy says traffic is really jamming up. If you want to make it in time to avoid a late fee, we need to get going." Tony popped his head into the room with an apologetic frown.
"Oh, right." Steve hung his head. There was never enough time in the world to spend with Peggy. "I should get going, then. I...ah…" He glanced back at Tony awkwardly for a moment before smiling at Peggy sheepishly. "I love you, Peg." He ducked down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Peggy stared up at him for a moment before a smile broke across her face. "I love you too."
Steve wished that he had been able to hear those words long before he had gone under the ice for sixty six years, but it sounded just as good now as it would have sounded then. He grinned down at her for a moment before following Tony out of the room.
"So…" Tony seemed to be struggling with the phrasing of a question that Steve just knew was coming. "Are you guys...I mean...not that there's anything wrong with...but...you don't exactly look…"
"Tony." Steve put him out of his misery by interrupting. "It isn't like that."
"Thank God." Tony sighed. "I thought that I was really going to have to start calling you my uncle."
"Okay, I'll just need you to fill out these forms and get them back to me sometime by the end of the week. Here is your key." The RA offered Steve a key. Tony swiped it out of her hand before Steve could even reach for it. Steve rolled his eyes.
"I'll be making a copy of this." Tony said with a grin. Steve just chuckled.
"Why's that?" They began making their way through the crowded residence hall. Steve was carrying all of his bags. Tony was overseeing the process.
"What if you lock yourself out?"
"Isn't that what the RA is for?"
"Yeah, like SHIELD is going to let a stranger keep a key to your room. You could get murdered in your sleep."
"Why would anyone want to murder me? I don't even work for SHIELD."
"I don't know. Maybe to cut you open and figure out the super soldier serum. You might not work for SHIELD, but you're on their watchlist. You can be damn sure that you're on other watchlists, too."
Steve chuckled. "Why would anyone want to watch me? I don't do much."
"I don't know. Some people think you're special."
Steve cast Tony a sideways grin. "Do you think I'm special?"
Tony snorted and rolled his eyes. Steve grinned to himself.
As they approached the room that Steve had been assigned, they found two guys standing outside of the doorway. One of the guys was significantly younger than the other one - probably the college student. The other guy was smiling from ear to ear.
"Who are you?" Tony demanded. He didn't really have Howard's social graces.
The younger guy furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. "Russell. Are you Steve?"
Tony looked from Russell to Steve, his eyebrows knit and his mouth set in a frown. "No, that's Steve. What are you doing here?"
Steve set his bags down and pushed Tony aside gently. He stuck out his hand. "Hey man, I'm Steve. Sorry about Tony, he's -"
The older guy pointed at Tony, his face lighting up. "I knew it! You're Tony Stark!"
Tony let out a heavy sigh. He looked ready to call security on the poor guy. Steve cast him a stern look. Tony sighed and afforded the guy a completely fake smile.
"I'm sorry about him. Again." Steve said, nudging Tony with his shoulder. "He's had a long day. I'm Steve. Are you - ah - do you go -?"
The guy grinned. "Nah, I'm Russell's brother. Sam Wilson. Nice to meet you."
Steve couldn't help but smile back at Sam. His smile was contagious. His eyes radiated warmth and his posture was casual and easy. Steve liked him already.
"Ugh," Russell mumbled, picking up a duffel bag and casting Sam a dirty look. "Can't you do anything but stand there and talk to people?"
"Hey. I just got home from a tour with the damned air force. I deserve to stand around and talk to people."
"You were in the air force?" Steve asked. "Where did you serve?"
"Hey!" Tony interjected. "Why is that kid going into your room? Kid, that's Steve's room! Steve, he's going into your room!"
Steve hung his head and smiled. "I know, Tony. That's his room, too. He's my roommate."
"What?" Tony stared at Steve in horror. "Your roommate? You can't have a roommate! Do you really think that SH…" Tony looked at Sam for a moment before pulling Steve aside and lowering his voice to a frantic whisper. "Do you really think that SHIELD is going to let you live with a complete stranger? For all we know, he could be working for the KGB! He could be scoping out the room and daydreaming of ways to kill you."
Steve rolled his eyes. "You're being dramatic."
"You're being stupid."
"We can't all be geniuses."
Tony huffed. "Fury is going to be -"
"Furious?" Steve cracked a smile. Tony couldn't help but smile back.
"I'm going to stop by every once in awhile to make sure you're alive." Tony said. He made it sound like a threat. Steve knew that it wasn't.
"I'm going to miss you too, Tony."
"Yeah, well," Tony was clearly embarrassed by Steve's comment. "Come on. Let's get you moved in. You'd better hope that your roommate didn't take the good bed."
"I'm sure they're both equally fine, Tony." Steve laughed, picking up his bags and following Tony into the room.
In hindsight, Steve should have realized that Tony would inherit his father's dramatic flare. That did not stop him from being surprised when he walked into his room and was greeted with a setting that looked like it belonged in a science fiction movie.
Steve knew who to blame at once. "Tony."
"Consider it a going-away present."
Steve shook his head. "I can't accept all of this."
"I can!" Russell announced loudly. He had already made himself at home, sitting in a massive beanbag chair and flipping through the channels of the colossal TV mounted on the wall. Steve turned to face Tony.
"Looks like your roommate has spoken." Tony said triumphantly.
"At least let me pay you back."
"No way, this is a present."
"You furnished my entire room. That's hardly a present."
Tony shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Yes, well…"
Steve waited for him to finish. He knew that Tony wasn't always able to speak as freely as he might like to. He must have inherited that trait from his mother.
"Most of the kids here have a family to do this sort of thing. I just thought that since you…" Tony cleared his throat awkwardly. "Anyway, I thought that someone should do this for you."
Steve smiled. Tony may have been terrible at communication, but that didn't make his actions any less thoughtful. Sure, Steve might not have chosen the exact dorm setup that Tony had created, but Tony had clearly put a lot of time and effort into it. It was much more than Steve felt he rightfully deserved from Tony.
"Thank you."
Tony averted his eyes to the ground. "Uh-huh. Well, I should get back to the office. If I don't, Pepper will - uh, she'll just have it too easy. I like to challenge my employees."
"Of course." Steve could barely bite back a smile.
"Don't forget that I'll be checking on you. Making sure you're not on drugs."
"Looking forward to it."
"Right. And don't even think about skipping your classes. I have the password to your student account. I'll be able to see all of your grades."
"Yes, Tony."
"And I'll be keeping in touch with the police department. I'll have them out looking for a drunk super soldier every weekend. I'll know if you decide to join a frat." Tony was walking backwards down the hallway towards the stairwell, casting Steve a comically stern look. Steve couldn't maintain a straight face.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"And don't forget to eat fruit every once in awhile."
"Sure."
"And please call me or Bruce if you have trouble with your homework. There's no point in suffering in silence."
"You got it."
"And maybe try to -"
"Goodbye, Tony."
"Bye, Steve."
They exchanged small smiles before Tony finally ducked down the stairway. Steve turned around and returned to his room before he followed Tony out of the dorm. It was best to leave their goodbyes as they were. Neither of them were particularly good at expressing themselves adequately, after all.
Instead, Steve returned to his room. Maybe Russell and Sam could teach him how to use half of the technology that Tony had put in his apartment.
I DID NOT CRY WHEN TONY WAS DROPPING STEVE OFF, SHUT UP. Okay, yes I did. Only because I genuinely believe Tony would be so cute and considerate and caring to compensate for the fact that he probably had to be dropped off by his nanny when he went to college. Anyway, enough of my sadness. Steve is at school. And hey, he met Sam! That's exciting, isn't it? I think it is.
As always, any likes/follows/reviews are much, much appreciated. I'm trying to move this story along as quickly as possible, but I'm also in the middle of editing a novel that I wrote. As in, a 400 page behemoth of a project. Woof. But! Getting notifications for this story snaps me out of that mindset and reminds me to take time to have fun and write something much less rigorous. So. Do your part. Make those notifications happen.
I hope you're enjoying!
