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This chapter was going to come later, but I decided to just go with it. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

(Tiny bit of Pepper/Tony in this one)

You'll Never Walk Alone

Chapter 3: A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young

"So, how did it go today?" Pepper asked as she walked into the Stark Penthouse with at least ten shopping bags on her arm. Tony stood at the kitchen counter fixing himself a strong cup of coffee since the sun was beginning to tuck down behind the New York City skyline for the night.

"I should ask you that question. Are there any stores left with merchandise? Or did you drain them all for the most minimalistic person in all of America?" Tony turned, coffee mug in hand, and walked towards Pepper as she sat the bags down on the floor. They shared a quick hug, and a longer kiss, before she smiled and turned back to the bags. Seeing as she was about to share her purchases that Tony couldn't care less about, he quickly murmured something about the lab and headed in that direction before she could pull out the first item.

"Tony," she called after him and waited for him to rid his face of the wince she knew was there before he turned around. "You were supposed to be watching him today."

"He's fine! Spangles was, is, and always will be the poster child for morals and manners."

"Uh huh. Where is he then?" Pepper questioned slowly, hoping JARVIS would answer sensing that the billionaire didn't know where Steve was.

"He's..." Tony began to fumble and moving his hand around dismissively.

"Captain Rogers is in his room, Ms. Potts," JARVIS answered.

Pepper glared at Tony, before picking up her bags and heading out of the room.

Pepper Potts brushed a long strand of hair behind her ear as she eased herself down onto the bed of Steve Rogers. She pulled one leg up, tucking it close to her as the other one hung off the side so that her toes would brush the warm floor. She looked at the other occupant of the spacious bed. It nearly swallowed the little boy sitting in front of her and she made a mental note to speed up the process of buying a smaller bed until they figured out how to get Steve Rogers back to his adult self.

For the time being however, she watched the young Captain pull on small grey socks over his feet as he sat in the middle of the large piece furniture. "You really don't like the cold, do you? It's already ninety degrees in here," she playfully jabbed while making a show of fanning herself. "Are you sure you won't be too warm?"

He tugged the second sock up on his ankle before shaking his head. "No, Ms. Potts. I like to be warm," he answered while fiddling around with the folds in the discarded blanket between them. Pepper could tell he wanted to say something else by the inaudible workings of his mouth, but he was either too embarrassed, respectful, or a combination of both to keep going so she gently encouraged him with running a hand through his short blonde hair, taking note of the heat radiating between the tufts, and asking, " What is it, sweetheart?"

He snorted, the corner of his mouth raising slightly while a shade of pink colored his cheeks and the tips of his ears. She'd always been a bit motherly towards him and the rest of the Avengers, so it didn't seem so condescending when she used the term of endearment, but it didn't stop him from being a bit self-conscious. He tugged on the wrist cuffs of his dark blue longed-sleeved shirt. "N-nothing, Ms. Potts. It's just...just all of this," he motioned to himself first then the mounds of shopping bags stacked in the corner where the older woman had brought them in. "You didn't...shouldn't have went to all this trouble for me, ma'am. My mom won't...I mean wouldn't..."

Pepper, a bit heart broken at the small boy's trouble differentiating between childhood and adulthood, quickly took control of the conversation. "Steve. I've already told you to call me Pepper. I can deal with Ms. Potts okay, but ma'am is unacceptable," she smiled as he nodded in what she knew was a 'yes ma'am' in his head. "As far as doing anything for you, I think I'm doing Tony the biggest favor. Just imagine what having a naked Captain America running around here would do to his ego?" Both knew it was her way of telling him money wasn't an issue, but Pepper understood that it was hard for someone to live through the Great Depression and not be worried about monetary value. "Now, under the covers. Come on. Even superheroes need sleep."

"Does Mr. Stark know that?" Steve asked as he shimmied under the blankets Pepper held up and tucked around him once he laid down.

"You're better at listening to me than he is. Well, all of you are, really. Sometimes even Natasha."

"I think he hears just fine, ma'- Pepper. It's just following anything you say that poses the problem."

Pepper smiled and laid a hand on his shoulder. She felt heat again, but she was warm as well, and decided that she would ask JARVIS to turn it down a few degrees when she left. "Yeah, we're working on that aren't we? So, what'd you two end up doing today while I was out?"

"He worked on something important in the lab, said it could help me...well, you know...grow back, or however that works. I watched him for a little while, but then Mr. Stark said I could go draw and watch some show on TV that Mr. JARVIS played for me."

"Oh, what, uh, what show was it?"

"I don't remember...Binky something, I think? Please, don't tell him. He seemed to think I would like it and I think...well, I think that I was starting to annoy him in the lab because I didn't understand what he was doing, so I don't mind watching what Mr. Jarvis plays."

"I'm sure you weren't annoying him, honey. He just gets caught up in his work. Don't worry, though. I have some other things to talk to Tony about, so it'll be our little secret."

"Did you read Capsicle a bedtime story?" Tony questioned around the toothbrush in his mouth as he walked out of the bathroom and saw Pepper finally walk into the room.

"Well, if I did, at least one of us would actually be watching him."

Tony immediately stopped brushing his teeth and tried to let out a curse from around the toothpaste in his mouth. He walked back into the bathroom to spit in the sink. "He told you, didn't he? Well, it's my fault, really, for thinking Captain America could keep a secret," Tony called over his shoulder, then rinsed his mouth. He walked back into the bedroom to see Pepper leaning against the dresser with her arms crossed. "Look, I was busy in the lab trying to figure out how to change him back and-"

"So you left him to his own devices while you tried to figure out everything Dr. Banner's already taking care of?"

"Don't let JARVIS hear you say that."

"Too late, Sir," the operating system cut in and prompted Tony to twist his face into a 'I told you so' expression.

"See. JARVIS watched the little patriotic symbol and he got by just fine. You need to apologize."

"But I didn't ask JARVIS to watch him. I asked you."

"Then shame on you. Why didn't you take him with you?"

"And let the press get a hold of this? That's the last thing he or any of this team needs. Clint and Natasha are out on assignment, Thor's in Asgard, and Bruce is out working on a way to get Steve back to his normal age. You were the only one left."

"Well, Spangles and I don't get along when he's ninety-five. Taking away ninety years isn't exactly going to change that. Besides, I'm not good with taking care of kids. Not my thing."

"Tony. I didn't ask you to watch Steve because I thought you could work out your differences, or so that you would become the world's best babysitter. I asked because despite still having his memories, he's still having trouble differentiating between them and what's happening now. Did you know he had a full blown panic attack the other day on the elevator, because it reminded him of being frozen," she demanded, coming to stand beside him by the bed. Tony looked a bit taken back by the news and silently shook his head while sitting down on the edge. "Tony, he's five years old again with no serum advantages, no other family except this makeshift one, and whether or not he admits it, he's scared to death - something you might understand," Pepper kept going as she sank down on the bed beside him. "So that's why I asked you to spend time with him, because out of all us, I thought you would be the one who could help him the most."

Tony leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and ran his hands through his hair before quickly standing without saying a word.

"Where are you going?"

"The lab. I have things to work on."

Three o'clock in the morning found Tony Stark hunched over some sort of equipment he was tampering with. A third of the fresh cup of coffee from an hour ago sat cooling in the mug off to the left and he made to reach for it without so much as glancing away from his work, but a small, rather raspy, "Mr. Stark?," came from the doorway and startled him. His hand knocked over the mug, spilling the contents all over the circuit board with tiny sparks flying in protest. Curses flew from his mouth as he righted the cup and stood back from the sputtering machines. Once they settled, he turned his head back towards the door with a glare, but it instantly vanished when he saw bright, blue eyes peeking around the frame looking worriedly at him.

"You give Barton and Romanoff a run for their money when it comes to sneaking up on people, Captain," Tony muttered wiping up the coffee with a rag before motioning the boy to come in.

"Sor-," Steve began to rasp out, but cleared his throat. "Sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to startle you."

Tony winced at the boy's hoarse voice. "That's some croak you got there, Kermit," but the boy looked at him confusedly as he walked over. "Another cartoon. But thanks for the interruption. I needed some fresh coffee anyway."

"Why aren't you asleep," Steve asked, and if he rubbed at his throat neither of them mentioned it.

"Everyone knows I keep odd hours. I think the real question is why aren't you asleep?" Tony countered as he grabbed his mug and made his way towards the kitchen.

"May I...come with you?"

"Well Stars 'n' Stripes, it's a free country as you keep reminding me and you fought for it, so you decide."

Tony didn't slow down or turn around for an answer, but when he heard soft pitter-patter behind him, he made sure to take the stairs.

Steve sat on the counter where Tony had placed him once they were in the kitchen. His legs dangled mindlessly off the side as he watched Tony make himself another pot of coffee, trying to figure out how the device worked. The billionaire attempted to explain it to him, but Steve wasn't really following. However, he hadn't wanted to annoy the man like earlier so he just nodded along.

"...now, we wait for it to brew," Tony said as he turned his attention back to the boy who's hand was working over his throat again. "Do you want some milk or something? I could uh...we could put it in the microwave to make it warm."

"Oh...okay. I guess so."

Tony made himself busy with pouring the milk and heating it, while Steve tried to cough softly into his hand. "So uh, you never answered my question, Cap. Why aren't you asleep?"

"I just couldn't," Steve dismissively answered when the microwave beeped after a few seconds. Tony retrieved it and handed it to him. Steve sipped at it, melting into the heat and the instant soothing of his throat.

"Nightmares?" Tony questioned and the way the cup of milk stilled by the boy's mouth for a fraction of a second gaveTony his answer, well partially.

"Sort of."

"Sort of?" Tony shot back with a confused expression as Steve suddenly sat the cup down beside him.

"Thank you for the milk, Mr. Stark. It was really good," Steve hurriedly spoke as he shimmied off the counter. He made for the hallway but Tony snaked an arm around his belly to stop him. Unfortunately, that was the wrong move apparently as the milk that the older man had heated was regurgitated all over his shoes by none other than Captain America.

Tony and Steve froze. Well, mostly Tony. He kept his hands on tiny, wracking shoulders while staring repulsively at the vomit on his shoes. It wasn't until a shaky, raspy voice broke him out of his disgusted trance.

"M-Mr...St-stark...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I didn't-" But Steve was suddenly caught off guard by a hand going to his forehead.

"How long have you been sick?"

"I-" But the small boy was cut off again.

"JARVIS. Report."

"Temperature elevated. Oxygen levels show slight distress, Sir."

Tony nodded once, kicked off his ruined shoes as effectively as possible, and picked Steve up under the armpits to carry him at arms length to the bathroom. Once there, he hesitated only a fraction of a second. "Are you going to be sick again?"

"I dunno. I...I don't think so."

"Thinking and knowing are two drastically different things in this situation, Rogers," Tony replied before deciding to set him down on the bathmat in front of the tub just in case.

"Mr. Stark, I'm really so-" but apparently the third time was the charm, because the older man cut him off once more by sticking a thermometer that seemed to appear out of nowhere in his mouth and gently lifting his jaw to close it.

"Drop the mister, Cap, alright? And don't apologize. You're making me sick," he teased quietly while pulling out his cellphone and sending a text to Banner. He received, "Be there as soon as I can," as a reply before the thermometer beeped. He tucked his phone back in his pocket, took the thermometer, and made a tsk sound.

"100, Spangles. Gettin' a little hot for Pepper were ya? Hands off, she's mine."

"I wasn't-" Steve started to flush.

"Kidding. What else," Stark pondered, rifling through the cabinets.

"Huh?"

"Where else are you sick, hurt, or whatever?" He clarified as best he could while pulling out a small medicine bag that he vaguely remembered Bruce and Pepper showing to everyone as the location of a back up inhaler and some children's medicine that might be needed.

He turned back to Steve, bag in hand, but the boy was swallowing and running a frail hand across his belly.

"Steve?"

The only answer he received was a gag before he found himself supporting a vomiting five year old hunched over the toilet. Awkward would be the only word that could describe Tony Stark the first few moments, but as time went on and Steve's retching turned to teary-eyed, trembling, dry heaves, he found himself propping the small boy on his bent knee, one arm keeping him from pitching forward into the bowl, the other rubbing Steve's spine. Finally, Steve collapsed back into his chest, too exhausted to do anything but try and take deep breaths. Tony stretched for a washcloth on the counter and wet it in the sink, before sitting down on the ground and leaning against the wall. He raised his hand to wipe at the kid's mouth, but when he turned back Steve's head rested against his shoulder, entire body limp in the billionaire's lap with an unfocused gaze and breathing a little raspy. Slowly, he wiped the boy's face without so much as a flinch from him and dropped the washcloth beside them. Turning back, he ruffled Steve's hair slightly before gently patting the side of his face.

"Hey, you with me, Steve?"

The small Captain blinked and shifted his gaze to Tony's. "H-Howard?"

Tony felt all the air leave the room and had an inclination to reach for the inhaler in the medicine bag beside them. "Shall I wake Ms. Potts, Sir?" JARVIS asked in the silence that lingered, but a tiny hand was grabbing at his shirt and he turned his attention back on the boy.

"N-not quite, Capsicle. Decidedly better offspring than the original," Tony replied softly, ignoring JARVIS and stiffening even more as the Captain's hand fisted his shirt then touched the arc reactor.

The boy jumped at the contact, but his eyes found the older man with clarity. "Tony?"

Stark was silent, but the way that Steve's body curled towards the man holding him prompted Tony to respond with, "The one and only, buddy, but you hurt my feelings not taking my word for it. Instead, you need this thing as proof," and he tapped the only part of the arc reactor that wasn't covered by a little hand.

"I like it," was the whispered response he received as if that alone should make Tony appreciate the piece in his chest that much more.

"Thank God, you approve. I don't know what I would've done if Captain America didn't endorse the thing keeping me alive," Tony countered instead. "But I'll tell you what I don't like. Said hero throwing up on my shoes and if you apologize again for doing it I'll make sure you watch the rest of the Pinky and the Brain series you hated."

Steve fidgeted, head burying slightly more into Tony's shoulder, "Pepper wasn't s'pose to tell you. Our secret."

"She didn't tell me, but secret, huh? Something we're going to have to talk about, but right now I need you to tell me how you feel, Cap."

"Sick."

"If I've given you anything, it's better lessons in sarcasm. Be more specific."

"Hurts," Steve responded and just as Tony was about to chide him, he added, "Throat, head, stomach."

Tony's phone went off indicating a new text message and he maneuvered the phone out of his pocket. "Bruce will be here soon. He's gonna look at you and see what he can do to make you feel better."

Steve's only response was to bury himself further into Tony, and the older man's initial reaction was to buck up against the wall and keep his distance from the sick child in his lap, but something slipped out of the boy's mouth that neither of them wanted to identify as a whimper and Tony relaxed against the wall before properly scooping Steve up in his arms and holding him to his chest.

It seemed to calm the boy, his only movements being when he coughed into Stark's t-shirt and the older man only scrunched his nose up slightly in response and ruffled the kid's hair to calm him once more. They managed a silent few minutes with Steve resting somewhat contently and Tony tapping away at his phone, before the boy's voice was muffled by the billionaire's shoulder. "Tony...," and the way the 'y' was drawn on meant that there was nothing coming after it and the name was all the boy wanted to say. Tony recognized it for what it was, because he, too, had been a scared boy in a battle he felt like he was fighting alone and wanted nothing more than for someone, mainly his father, to take him from the battlefield.

If he pulled the boy closer, ruffled his hair more, none of it would be mentioned, because he didn't rock him, and not in a million years did he shush him, but he started telling him a story about one of his first attempts at flying with the Iron Man suit. One that ended up in a hilarious failure with embarrassing details that the man would never confess to under any other circumstances except this one. He even received a few muffled laughs that if he were any other person would be considered giggles, and he found himself smiling along as he narrated the story.

That's how they found them.

Bruce had shown up twenty-nine minutes after he had gotten word of Steve's condition and on his to way to where JARVIS was instructing him to go, he had met a worried Pepper.

"Bruce? What- Do you know where Tony and Steve are," she asked, immediately following him since he hadn't stopped.

"Bathroom. Steve's sick," he responded over his shoulder, hand working messily in his hair.

"What-," Pepper began, but was cut off by two things. The first was that Bruce stopped walking for the first time since entering the tower and held up a hand. The second was Tony's soft voice filtering out of the bathroom door they stood beside.

"...but then I'd go outside, pretend I was fighting beside Captain America with Howard looking on like he did when he talked about you. He even told me about this part. Pre-serum, I mean. Don't get all broody on me when I say this, but I use to like those stories the best, because it made me feel like I was better than you. Again, nothing against you really... Okay, a little bit against you. Mostly Daddy-O, though. But I gotta say, you really know how to kick a guy in the teeth without even trying, you know that? Getting sick like this...you were gonna die young weren't you? Guess Howard was right, we do have something in common."

Pepper gasped slightly causing Bruce to glance at her a moment. She waved him off as a memory came to her.

She sat beside Tony on the balcony of Stark Tower, gently cleaning off the blood from several scrapes all over his face. He hadn't paid much attention to her, eyes staring blankly at the city, mind elsewhere, but suddenly he managed to lock his gaze on hers. She noticed, letting her fingers slowly descend down his face, while she took in the feeling of having all of Tony Stark's attention on her. She smiled and it seemed to break something inside of him and he wavered his lips until they were in an unconvincing grin. He turned away from her once more, eyes back on the city but seeing it for the first time.

"What made you want to?" He asked.

"Want to what?"

"Love a man who was gonna die young?"

Her brow furrowed, and she made herself busy with wiping at his face again even though it was clean. "Why would you say that?"

"Howard always use to tell me I was going to die young with the way I lived my life. Tragically ironic, yeah, yeah, I know. But-"

"Tony... he didn't know that somebody would be able to take care of you the way I do."

Bruce's hand was suddenly on her shoulder. Pepper blinked, offered a smile, and was about to follow the scientist when she heard Tony's voice again. She grabbed Banner's arm and held up a finger signaling him to wait. He raised an eyebrow, but complied while trying to listen.

"...but you know what, Capsicle? All those people who thought you weren't ever going to make it in the army...they just didn't know that somebody would be able to look out for you like we do - the Avengers, I mean," they heard Tony say and if Bruce felt like their makeshift family just became closer, then he could only imagine what Pepper was going to do as she rounded the doorframe and stepped into the bathroom with a smile on her lips.

AN: I had planned on continuing with the team taking care of Steve, but the chapter was getting quite long so I cut it off here. Next chapter will probably be part two of this. Is that something you guys are interested in? Let me know if you are and any other thoughts. Thanks for reading!

Chapter Title Info: Song - A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young by Eric Church (Check it out. It's lovely.)