Tony slowly sank into the blistering hot bath, cringing every inch of the way. Once fully submerged he had to angle himself to rest majority of his weight on his shoulders and upper tailbone to avoid additional and unnecessary bouts of pain, keeping his garbagebag-clad cast out of the water as best he could. He let out a pained sigh and shut his swollen, tear-reddened eyes. It had been eight years since his father passed away. Eight agonizingly long years of enduring Obadiah's... Tony couldn't bear to think about it. He just wanted it to go away; just wanted to will the pain to stop.
The water turned cold before Tony dragged himself from the bath and wrapped himself in a terry cloth robe. He paused in front of the mirror, inspecting his black eye, bruised cheek bones, and marked throat. He was a mess, a horrid, pathetic mess. Obadiah loved to go for his face, so long as suspicions were low; a constant reminder that Tony had nothing to be proud of, especially not his looks. Tony knew his midsection probably looked worse than his face and didn't care to see it reflected back to him.
He engaged in self-talk, reminding himself that it wasn't always this bad, and that it couldn't always be this bad. It was just a matter of time, Obadiah wouldn't wait forever, and eventually Tony would be able to undermine his father's old business partner's holdings in the company. Any moves made before then and he risked losing everything. Tony already felt like he had nothing, that he'd lost everything once before, and the thought of losing whatever he had left terrified him.
Tony retired to the penthouse on the top floor of the tower, having lost all energy required to transport himself anywhere else. Sleep would be a sweet relief from the waking world, and he wasted no time in disappearing under the covers and shutting himself down.
The months that followed were tough, Steve had known they would be. Stark Industries' weeding out process wasn't as normal as one would expect, and once in a while they would throw a proverbial 'monkey-wrench' into an employee's station simply to see how they would react. Steve had seen so many people fail the test and he had feared for when it would come his way. He had calmed his mind and had told himself that there was no way they could test every single new employee in those three months, but if it came to him he'd just have to wait and see because every reaction that he saw until that point was all spur of the moment –pure relex.
Sure enough his day came, alright. But it wasn't just him, the entire assembly line started to go down -something had gone severely wrong with the equipment. Steve was right there when it happened; a massive chunk of one of those huge machines had started to topple over after part of it blew out. One of the wires holding it secure snapped free, the last two starting to do the same. Steve grabbed them firmly and started pulling the thing back to its rightful position, fighting against the momentum caused by the minor explosion inside the mechanism.
Many of the people on his line had panicked but he didn't, feet planted as firmly in place as he could make them, as he felt the thing dragging and pulling him along. "Get out of the way! Everyone on assembly 23 evacuate! Single file toward the exit!" He shouted at the line as he strained to keep everything sounding calm and collected. He was, of course, exactly that except for the fact that this thing was getting harder and harder to hold off.
The panicked crowd immediately listened to the shouted orders; it was a semblance of order and control in a situation that scared the hell out of them. Steve was going to order someone to help him though a few guys from the other assemblies hopped over rapidly to help him hold off the massive metal machine-turned-hammer until everyone was safely out of the way. After it was clear they let it fall.
Steve gasped and looked at the two guys on either side of him with a slight laugh, all three astonished though the two looking at him were more admiring than anything else. His supervisor hurried to him, "Rogers, you alright? Did you break something?"
"No... no I don't think so." Steve moved several muscles before wincing, "Might've pulled something..."
"Alright, get to the nurses and have yourself checked out." The man laughed and shook his head, "What the hell Rogers? Where did you come from?"
Steve smiled and walked out, still a little dazed from the incident. Clearly that hadn't been his test but that sure as hell was good enough to keep him as an employee. He didn't think he'd have to worry much about being surprised at all.
'We rock at dawn on the front line
Like a bolt right out of the blue
The sky's alright with the guitar fight
Heads will roll and rock tonight
For those about to rock! We salute you!
For those about to rock! We salute you!'
Tony imperceptibly nodded his head to the music; ACDC had always been one of his favourite bands, as he completed the micro-weld on his latest circuit board. He placed the burner and needle point back on the steel work desk and dragged the weld goggles over his forehead before inspecting his work. Perfection –it was always perfect, because that's what Tony Stark did. He smiled to himself, proud of this prototype product.
Even during working hours, this is where he preferred to be –in his workshop, with all his tools, toys, and gadgets. Away from people. With the removal of that irritating cast the week before, Tony had been quick to vanish into his shop, months behind his innumerable projects both personal and work related. He was fairly certain he was safe from any more breaks for a while, in Obadiah's own words, he couldn't keep the 'golden goose' injured for too long. Which meant that it was time to crank out some new designs.
JARVIS cut the music, "Sir, there's a call for you on line one. Something about a catastrophic workplace accident."
Tony sighed, nothing short of irritated. "Thank you JARVIS, patch it through."
"As you wish, sir." JARVIS' voice blinked out and the telephone line was linked to the room's speaker system.
"Tony speaking."
The voice that came over the speaker was rough, and Tony surmised that it was probably one of the foremen or lead hands in the plant. "Mr. Stark, there was a catastrophic failure in motorized CNC on assembly line 23-"
Tony cut him off, "So why are you talking to me about it?"
The man on the other line seemed unfazed, "It was the craziest thing. This new kid on the line leapt into action like some kind of superhero. He jumped onto the machine and grabbed the stabilizing cables, one of which had already snapped, and single handedly held the machine in place. The damn thing was toppling, could've killed half the assembly crew. He even barked orders to get them under control and out of the way."
Tony was silent for a moment –that was an impressive feat, especially for a new recruit. 80% of them were fired during their first term. "I'll repeat myself this once, why are you talking to me about it?"
"It's the same kid who won the 'Recruit of the Month' award these last two months. You're supposed to present the award to the employee personally, and we're getting a plaque together to commemorate his efforts today. It's important for staff morale to see you engaging with them, and see the company congratulating extraordinary behaviour. I'd like it if you came in and did your job, that's why I'm talking to you about it."
"JARVIS, drop the call." Tony stood up from his work bench, shedding the goggles and welder sleeves and dropped them onto the bench. "Notify the office that I'm coming in, and get me the whereabouts of this employee. And a name." Tony left the shop for a quick shower and shave, and departed for Stark Tower –the last place he really wanted to be that day.
Tony was immediately bombarded upon his arrival, several of the board executives had clipboards in hand, the media was outside waiting for the scoop on the workplace hero, and Pepper was there to fend them off. She quickly curtailed the media, leaving them behind at the door, and assured the execs that Tony would attend to the board issues once he was finished with other matters.
She quickly ushered him down the halls toward the infirmary. "Where in the world have you been?" She asked him sternly, "You're ages behind in the board room."
"Not at all unusual, and I'm sure you've been doing a fantastic job," Tony replied easily.
"Here," Pepper handed Tony a folder, ignoring his shirk of responsibility.
"What's this?" Tony took the paper files and started flipping through them.
"It's Steve's file. There's the three months of 'Recruit of the Month' awards, and an additional bonus for winning that recognition for every month of his probation. We also have his re-sign forms for permanent employment, as well as a raise and promotion in honour of his heroic efforts today. You should also inform him that he will be receiving a commemoration plaque in his honour."
"Wow, that's a lot of recognition for one guy." Tony didn't even blink an eye at the name –there were hundreds of people in New York with the name Steve.
Tony pushed open the door to the infirmary, letting himself in to the first aid room's assessment center, only to find the assessment still in progress. The attending on-site physician had Steve's shirt over the back of the waiting chair, and was looking over the man's musculature to ensure the absence of sprains and strains.
Tony nearly choked on his own surprise, it was so palpable. Steve was Steve Rogers, his Steve Rogers from high school. And now here he was, an outstanding and highly recognized up and coming employee at Stark Industries. A hundred questions bombarded his mind, how had Steve been, was he still mad, what should he say, what would Steve say, did he apply here on purpose –and asking any of these did Tony absolutely no good when he was already face to face with the other man. The other very well built and well kept man... with his shirt off.
Tony cleared his throat, "Steve, good to see you alive and well." Really? That's all you have, after all of these years?
Blue eyes snapped over to the doorway, he'd thought he noticed it open but wasn't sure until he heard it click shut again, and of course the sound of the other man's voice. In those few seconds his heart nearly stopped, there was Tony. He was very well aware that he must've looked like a deer in the headlights, eyes bugged open and mouth gaping just enough to be noticeable. "Uh... uh hi, Tony." 'Wow, you are a smooth man, Rogers. Smooth- Shut up me.' The statement from his old classmate made him wonder, Tony might've thought him dead? Or had hoped he'd never see him again. That was probably more likely, Tony had all the resources in the world, he could probably find Steve easily. It was a matter of wanting to and obviously he didn't.
"Hi," Tony answered casually. He didn't miss the shock on Steve's face. It had been far too long since Tony had seen those bright blue eyes, and it felt longer still since he'd seen anything other than wrath on that perfectly sculpted face. It made his heart flutter in his chest, only to have the harsh reminder that he'd royally screwed it up knot his stomach in reply. Tony wished he could apologize to Steve, wished he could spill his guts and that it would erase his mistakes. Maybe then he could ask Steve for help. But his pride would have nothing to do with that plan in the least, not to mention the slim chances of Steve forgiving such a transgression.
Steve swallowed nervously and felt his cheeks heating up as he realized the first time Tony saw him again was when he was topless and another person feeling up his muscles and checking his body over. He was fairly happy that the check had already been done on his legs and he'd been permitted to put his pants back on, that didn't make him less embarrassed, especially when the doctor briefly grazed a nipple while checking his chest. It was too weird see Tony so close after all that time. "How are you?" He finally asked, feeling like something needed to be said.
"Never been better," Tony lied through his teeth. Steve had always been quite good at picking up on a lie, but Tony had always been quite good at lying. Almost as though on cue, his weak arm acted up, and Tony switched the folder over to his right hand to keep from dropping it. It took time to build up muscle strength after removing a cast, and Tony knew he'd already strained it by burying himself in his shop.
"Yeah, that's good..." Steve noted immediately that Tony hadn't actually bothered to make conversation, just curtly answering Steve's small-talk questions but never asking any in return or trying to keep the conversation going. 'Guess I shouldn't expect anything else...' He thought sadly, 'I did freak out on him last we spoke, last thing I had said to him was 'I'm not talking to you' so I guess he's sticking to that? I don't know. This is so awkward. Say something, Steve! Anything, just... stop being so tense and weird.' Of course nothing came to mind.
"I see we're at no shortage of social awkwardness, so I'm just going to breeze through this," Tony lifted the folder up, showing it to Steve, and opened it once more. "For Steven Rogers, this certificate is to commemorate you on a job well done. Welcome to Stark Industries, and we wish you all the best in the future, Employee of the Month." Tony lifted the first sheet and placed it on the medical table next to Steve. "Another one here, 'For Steven Rogers, this certificate is to commemorate you on a job well done'. Second month of employment, and Recruit of the Month." Tony placed the second certificate on top of the first. "You're on a roll here, Steve, it's quite impressive," Tony commented with a smirk.
"Thank you. And... I'm sorry for the awkward... I didn't expect you to walk in on this." Steve looked down at the certificates but somehow felt like he was being hit in the face. Tony was in a hurry to get away from him, he could tell. But what about his arm? Why had it been broke at the start of the opening ceremonies? And the way he was limping and the sunglasses inside? Steve was almost certain that those sunglasses were hiding something, the front of the room couldn't have been that bright and Tony was that much of a douche that he'd wear them to say hello for two seconds. He watched Tony carefully, his heart skipping in his chest as he gazed at the brown eyes that used to pull him in. Why had he been so stupid? Why did Tony have to plan something so awful like that club in Paris? Everything had been going so well...
"Employee of the Month for the third month running, congratulations and all of that," Tony placed the third sheet on top of the previous two. "And as a congratulations on achieving recruit of the month for all three of your probationary months, here is a bonus cheque for you, based on your training wage, for an additional one thousand hours worked. And we have your permanent contract here, adjusted to give you a raise and promotion based on your performance, so if you could just sign here:" Tony extended the paper and a pen for Steve.
Steve signed as instructed then handed it back his brain not really kicking into gear and recognizing all of the promotions and things he just received. He was busy thinking about Tony, glancing at Tony's arm, "Are you okay?" He shoved his stupid pride aside, something had happened and Tony was being strange, way stranger than he remembered. Of course, the few years that had passed could definitely change a man, Steve was different too, but Tony was way too different. Something had happened.
Tony looked like he'd just been slapped in the face. Fear briefly flickered across his eyes, mirroring the thoughts whirling through his mind. Did Steve know? Was he worried? Did he still care? Was it that obvious? Tony fought for composure, and tried to dismiss it, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"
Not that it was his place to ask but concern overpowered social normalcy and he spoke up. "You were hurt back in the opening ceremonies," he wanted to add 'I saw you limping' but decided against it, "Carrying that stuff looks like it's a chore, did you hurt it again?" He looked at Tony's arm, hoping he wasn't pushing his bounds too far.
"Oh that?" Tony spoke quickly, almost nervously, "That was just an unfortunate tennis injury. I was playing against Obadiah –I'm sure they introduced him during one of the orientation seminars; he's this huge, ape of a man. Anyway, I tripped and landed stupid. So: cast." Tony prayed Steve bought it, that Steve didn't see right through him, didn't notice the rapid and rambling reply. Of course, praying would work a lot better if he actually believed in something.
It was bullshit, it was all bullshit and Steve could see it immediately. Someone was hurting Tony, the man wouldn't show fear like he'd been doing if he had nothing to hide, if had actually hurt himself playing tennis. But Tony didn't want to tell him and if Steve knew anything about these kinds of things, and he'd had a few experiences, he'd learned to never push it. Pushing a little was okay but pushing until something broke was never the right answer. So for now he'd let it go, at least a little bit. The doctor looked between the two and hit a few keys on his computer, "I'm be printing a muscle report, I'll be back in a moment."
"Sure thing," Steve smiled as the man left then looked up at Tony with gentle eyes, "Well if you ever wanted to tell me more about the tennis match, I'm more than willing to listen." He had a feeling the 'someone' hurting Tony would be that ape of a man, the big bald one that he'd gotten a bad feeling from during orientation.
Tony could've wrung the man's neck. He hadn't changed one single bit: he was still the soft-hearted, caring person he'd always been. It was heart wrenching, knowing that he'd lost that, that he'd messed that up. And Steve was still offering to help, and he saw right through it and didn't push it. It was a small consolation to know that Tony hadn't destroyed that in Steve, and for that he was grateful. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." He didn't want to shut Steve out, he wanted the exact opposite –but he couldn't bring himself to expose so much.
Steve could see the discomfort in Tony and knew he'd made the right choice in not shoving the situation off a cliff by asking further. His curiosity and need to help people could get him into hot water sometimes, and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin a chance to get closer to Tony. Of course, seeing Tony now, the genius was very much so not a people person, not actually. It'd take a while before he could say anything. "Are you the one who has to give these to me or is this because I saved a few people?" Steve gestured toward the rewards he'd been given, hoping it'd be a decent change of subject and a little lighter.
"Well when you say it like that it just sounds like a pain in the ass," Tony scoffed, but he was smiling. "I personally present all of the major awards issued to employees. Stark Industries is a big place, and I'm usually only down on the factory for the recruit awards –employee of the month awards are companywide, and usually go to someone on the research team." Tony cursed himself for business talk –it was habit, but it was so impersonal, and the absolute last thing he wanted to talk to Steve about. "Anyway, I should get back. Congrats again, keep up the good work." Tony gave Steve a curt wave and a nod, and proceeded out of the first aid room, passing the returning doctor on his way.
"Alright, thank you. Bye Tony." Steve watched Tony leave the room, left sitting there with more questions and concerns and a small pile of rewards for his efforts. He looked down at it and smiled a little, Tony had to present these things himself, Tony had to approach him and congratulate him for a job well done possibly every three months or so. That was more than enough incentive for him to do his best. The better he did the more rewards he'd get and the more often he'd have to see Tony. Maybe then, during one of those other times he'd be able to say more than 'hi Tony', maybe an apology would finally leave his mouth for over reacting and being a child.
Zafona's Notes:
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