Avengers: Astounded
Part 2: You Sent us Back in Body Parts
Chapter 14: Slip Out the Back

Natasha sat, her back to him, at the kitchen counter. Her shoulders were slouched as she leaned over her cup of coffee. She held it with both hands and inhaled deeply. She let out a loud sigh and her head dipped lower. She looked… broken.

"Natasha." He said softly as he walked up behind her.

She jumped slightly and looked over at him as he sat down. She stared at him, as if seeing through him for a moment. It was an eerie feeling. He'd never seen her so… human. "Steve." She practically whispered his name. "I didn't hear you." She said slowly, frowning.

"Yeah, I got that." He smiled and leaned towards her to bump against her shoulder gently. "I was thinking about going to the hospital."

Natasha shook her head slowly and looked down at her cup. "There's still no change." She said softly. "They've been running tests since he woke up from the coma two days ago."

"He was in the coma for four days." Steve said, leaning on the counter. "Maybe he just needs more time."

She shook her head. "The toxin can't be identified. Whatever it was left no trace. It was out of his system before he made it to the hospital."

"That doesn't mean it's hopeless."

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. He had never seen her cry. He briefly wondered if she ever had before. "Steve… how can an archer shoot if he's blind?"

"I've been working on that."

They both looked up as Tony appeared in the doorway. He was looking at Natasha and Steve got the feeling he was avoiding looking at him.

"Using echolocation and spatial recognition." Tony continued on. "Like bats. In a way."

"Like bats?" Natasha repeated, her eyes widening.

"How long have you been working on this?" Steve asked.

Tony walked around them to the coffee pot, still not looking at Steve. "Since he woke up and said,

'Hey! I'm blind.'" He poured himself a cup and turned back around. He looked at Natasha as he took a sip.

Natasha leaned on the counter. "Do you think that could work?"

Steve leaned back and shook his head. "Don't give up on him so fast."

"I'm not." Tony said. "I'm trying to give him a way to still do his job."

"But it could just be a matter of time." Steve insisted.

"Well… then all I've done is wasted my fucking time." Tony said sourly. "So until then, I'm going to fix this."

"Why do you have to fix him?" Steve asked.

"Because I'm the only one that can." Tony snapped. He stalked off towards the door.

"Tony! Wait!" Steve jumped up to intercept him. "I was going to go visit him. Why don't you come with me?"

"I'm busy." Tony still wouldn't look at him.

"Bullshit." Steve said. "You haven't gone to see him once. Why not?"

Tony glanced back at Natasha, who was paying close attention to her coffee then. "Because it's my fault." He hissed lowly. "Because I was avoiding you."

Steve stumbled back as Tony pushed past him. Tony felt guilty? He had no idea. He sighed and shook his head and sat back down beside Natasha.

"Tony!" Natasha called

He turned and popped back in the doorway. "Yeah Nat?"

"Keep me posted and let me know if I can help."

Tony shrugged. "Whatever."

Natasha breathed out a long breath and got up. She picked up her cup and headed over to the sink.

Steve watched her for a moment and shook his head. "You know… you really are hard to read."

She glanced over at him and smiled slowly. The smile quickly faded as she set her cup in the sink and walked back towards the counter. "What's going on with you and Tony?" She asked, leaning against the counter towards him.

Steve cleared his throat and leaned back. "Uh… what makes you... think… something's wrong?" He asked slowly.

"Because of the blizzard that just walked through here." She said, cocking an eyebrow. "That was cold. You two get in a fight or something?"

Steve looked away. "Or something." He mumbled.

"What something?" She pressed.

Steve considered for a moment. It's not that he didn't want to tell her. They had become close friends over the last year or so. It's just… with Clint in the hospital… He shook his head and blurted it out, "He kissed me."

Her eyebrows rose. He wasn't quite sure if that was a good response… or not.

"And I must have messed it up…" Steve continued on. "Because he's either avoided me completely or given me the cold shoulder ever since."

"When?"

"It's… been a few days." He answered slowly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Steve sighed. "Because it happened at the party."

"Oh…"

"Before." Steve said, looking at the countertop. He ran his fingers along the top and bit his lip. "I took him upstairs for coffee… Pepper thought he was a little drunk… and he was talking and I let Peggy get into my head and then he… uh… grabbed me… and I messed it up."

She smiled and pushed off the counter. "Go get your keys."

He stopped and looked up at her. "What?"

"Let's go for a ride." Natasha said. "Somewhere more private."

"Private?" His eyes widened. "You don't think Tony…"

"No, I don't think Tony would." She said, pointing up. "But someone else might spy if it pertains to him."

"I am not permitted to speak on sir's behalf at this time." Jarvis said. "But privacy is a very important matter."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Do you really think Tony has Jarvis spy on us?" Steve asked as he pulled the key out of his ignition.

Natasha hopped off the bike and straightened her jacket. "No, I don't. I just wanted to go for a ride." She smiled at him. "And tease Jarvis a little."

Steve rolled his eyes and laughed and followed her inside the coffee shop. They ordered their drinks and went outside to sit at one of the tables. So Steve started at the beginning. About suspecting Tony liked him a bit too much, about talking with Peggy, and about… other details he wasn't over fond of talking about.

Natasha leaned back, squinting a bit in the sunlight. She let out a breath and nodded. "I think you should take her advice." She finally said.

Steve tilted his head. "What?"

"Grab him and kiss him." She said nonchalantly. "He did it."

Steve glanced down at the table and fiddled with his empty glass. "But… he's Tony Stark. He doesn't…" He trailed off with a sigh.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Straight guys don't kiss other guys." She said. "At least not completely straight ones." She shrugged. "He has to be attracted to you. It's hard to accidently jump someone."

"But he's so…" Steve sighed and shook his head. "I've never… really dated anyone." He admitted slowly. "I was…" He smiled. "Much shorter and scrawnier when I was younger. Girls didn't want a date they could step on." He leaned back and laughed softly. It hurt a lot when he was younger. But that was a long time ago. Technically, a very long time ago. "And then the war… and I spent years trying to get into the army. And then… all of this." He gestured to himself. "Happened and…" He shrugged. "There wasn't any time for dating. Until Peggy… and well that didn't work out."

She was silent for a moment, like she was waiting. "Oh? Is that it?" She asked, tilting her head. "So?"

"So… he's Tony Stark." Steve shook his head. "He… he gets around. And I… don't…"

"It's nothing to be ashamed about. It was a different time. And now…" She smiled. "You should tell him."

Steve frowned at her. "Tell him what?" He asked slowly.

"Tell him about your inexperience. He'll love that."

Steve covered his face with his hands and groaned. "This is so embarrassing."

"No. It's not." She said in a serious tone. "Get over it. Or get over him."

"It's that simple?"

"Yes."

Steve sighed and got up. "Fine. I'll think about it."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

He was sitting in the hospital bed. He was smiling and laughing and waving his arms around animatedly. If it wasn't for the… Steve's eyes settled on the wide bandage wrapped around the archer's head, covering his eyes. And Steve could understand Tony's guilt. If he hadn't turned off his communications, if he hadn't gone to his room to sulk… he should have been there when it started. But he was the one to drag Tony off. He was the one who pushed him into the elevator. He should have stayed. He shouldn't have listened when Clint said he could hold the tower by himself. He should have stayed. But his mind was only on Tony. He had been worried the man might do something reckless… He should have stayed.

"I should have stayed…" He mumbled without realizing it.

Natasha turned and Clint stopped laughing. "Cap. Nice to see you too." Clint said with a wide smile on his face at his joke.

"Sorry." Steve said, shaking himself and stepping into the room. "I didn't mean to… interrupt."

"You're not." Clint said. "Uh… have a seat. If there is a seat. Is there?"

Steve nodded and grabbed a chair to pull it closer.

"I'll take that sound as a yes."

"Oh. Yes. Sorry." Steve apologized.

Clint tilted his head and shook it. "Stop apologizing."

Steve sat down and leaned back in his chair. As with each visit he made, he didn't know what to say. He usually just sat there, listening to everyone else talking. He was the Captain. He should have some comforting words. Or something. He let that fall to Natasha.

Natasha cleared her throat and reached over to elbow Clint. Hard.

"Ouch! Hey!" The archer whined, rubbing his arm. "Injured here."

She stared at him. "Your arm is fine."

"Come on, Tasha." He whined louder. "I don't wanna get all emotional. Can't you just tell him?"

She shook her head. "No."

Clint sighed, crossed his arms, and leaned back. "Fine. Cap, you know I don't blame you, right?"

Steve nodded, and then remembered that wouldn't work. "Yes."

"Do you really?" Clint asked in a more serious tone.

"I'm the Captain." Steve sighed and shook his head. "I shouldn't have left you."

"Yeah, I heard that already."

"Well… it's true." Steve insisted, leaning forward. "I should have stayed with you."

"I'm a big boy Cap." Clint said with a smile. "Besides, you thought we cleared the tower."

"We all did." Natasha added.

"That big one appeared like out of nowhere." Clint said loudly. "And Hill was fucking awesome."

Natasha smiled. "Sounds like someone has a little crush."

"Fuck you." He said, turning in her direction. Then he turned back to address Steve. "Is that why Tony hasn't come to see me either? Some weird guilt trip? Because seriously. Guys. I'm fine."

"You're not fine." Natasha said with a smile.

"Dude. No one asked you." Clint stuck his tongue out in her general direction. "So Cap, have you like talked to Tony?"

Natasha looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, smiling.

"He…" Steve said started slowly, looking at Natasha. "Does seem to be feeling guilty as well."

Clint threw up his arms. "That's bullshit! Because seriously, this could have happened to any one of us. Any one of us." He repeated. "Well… maybe not you." He added after a moment. "Who knows what affects you."

"That would be a very short list, I think." Bruce said, standing in the doorway. He looked tired. But he smiled at them and nodded at Steve.

"Yo." Clint said with a smile. "You waited a whole hour."

Bruce tilted his head and bit his lip. "I could go home. If you wanted."

Natasha punched Clint's arm. "Be nice. He's trying to cure you."

"He's lying!" Clint said. "He would never stop."

"Clint!"

"Yeah, yeah." Clint mumbled and waved him over. "Come on over, Doc."

"Lean forward." Bruce said as Clint did so. Gingerly, Bruce unrolled the bandage and removed it. "Lean back. Any change?"

"Nope." Clint said, blinking his sightless eyes. "Still blind."

Bruce frowned. "I'm going to take a closer look."

Clint shrugged. "I won't stop you."

Bruce pulled out a scope and leaned closer. He held open Clint's right eye and looked closely at it. After a moment, he switched to the other eye. "Damn. I just don't understand. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong."

Clint laughed. "I'm not faking for attention. I swear."

"That sounds like something you'd do." Natasha said.

"Tasha! I'm hurt!"

She smiled.

Bruce let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll get started on…" He paused for a moment and then shrugged. "Honestly, I'm out of ideas. I'll start over."

"Bruce." Steve stood up and reached over to grab his shoulder. "You look like you haven't slept."

"I haven't." He admitted.

"Dude." Clint snapped loudly. "Why didn't you guys tell me he looked like shit?"

Steve released him. He shook his head and waved his hands. "I didn't…"

"Go home, dude." Clint said. "It would be bad karma for me if you dropped dead from exhaustion. At least not until you fix my eyes."

Bruce rubbed at his forehead. "Maybe… for like an hour or two."

Clint sat up and leaned over in Natasha's direction. "Hey Tasha, think we get Fury to post one of his lackeys at my door? Like a guard?"

She laughed. "I think he could manage that."

"Good." He crossed his arms and looked at them sternly. "Then Bruce isn't allowed back inside this room until he doesn't look like shit." He briefly lifted his arm and pointed in Natasha and Steve's directions. "One of you two will have to approve him for me. Because I can't tell."

Bruce sighed and shook his head.

"Tash…" Clint continued on, clearly enjoying himself. "You should totally follow him and make sure he stays out of that fancy lab of his."

Bruce rolled his eyes and threw up his arms. "Fine. I give up. I'll go home and sleep."

"Lots of sleep." Clint warned. "I'm serious."

Bruce grumbled his way out of the hospital room.

Once he was gone, Clint burst out laughing and leaned back. "Oh that was awesome." He blinked a few times more than necessary.

Steve watched him for a moment. "I have to say… you're taking this… really well." He seemed so… normal.

Clint shrugged. "If I give up and let it get to me, it's all over. If I keep going on…" He smiled. "I'm not going to let them win."

"Who?"

Clint shrugged again. "Whoever. Whatever."

"Clint…"

The blind archer simply smiled.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Steve sat down at the small desk in his room. He touched the computer monitor and it lit up. "Jarvis…"

"One moment, Captain. Connecting to the satellites."

Steve leaned back in his chair. An image of Bucky appeared on screen, a live security feed. A welder's mask on his face and a blowtorch in his hands, he was repairing a rather large pipe. The video was fuzzy, but Steve knew it was him even without Jarvis' confirmation. Every day since Tony blurted it out, Steve had asked Jarvis to see him. Part of him felt guilty for spying. But… it did make him feel better. Watching Bucky, so seemingly normal, gave him hope. His friend was still here. He sighed softly. "Jarvis… how long did Tony keep this from me?"

"Sir asked me to locate Mr. Barnes roughly a month ago. I was able to finally locate him the day before. Sir kept the information for less than a day."

Steve blinked at the screen and shook his head slowly. Why? Because Tony wanted to fix him? Why? "Why didn't he tell me right away? Or even that he had you looking?"

"Sir was concerned, for you and Mr. Barnes. He didn't want to rush things."

Steve nodded slowly. He could understand that. He sighed and rubbed at his forehead. He didn't know what to do.

"Also…" Jarvis continued. "Sir has issues and was having issues when I located him."

He smiled. That he could definitely understand. "What do you think?" He said after a moment.

"About Mr. Barnes?"

"Yes."

"He appears fine." Jarvis answered. "He's not under any kind of duress. He's functioning. But he has already ran. If pushed before he's ready, he could do it again."

Steve nodded again.

"He knows where you are. He'll come to you."

Steve wished he felt so sure. It was hard, knowing he was close. Metaphorically. Because technically, Alaska was pretty far from New York.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Two more days had passed. Steve had no more run-ins with Tony. Bruce was sleeping more, as promised. But he still spent all his waking time at the hospital. Clint was in good spirits – still in the hospital – but in good spirits. And there still wasn't any change. And Tony still hadn't been to visit him.

He'd been watching TV with Thor. Some show about models that he wasn't paying attention to. Thor was attempting to ask him questions, but Steve didn't have the answers. Thor sighed and turned the TV off. "It is not the same." He said, standing up. "Without the Lady Natasha."

Steve smiled and nodded. "Yeah. It's not."

"Care to spare with me?" Thor asked with a smile.

Steve stood up and shook his head. "Another time."

The Asgardian nodded and turned. "I'll… catch thee later then."

Steve crossed his arms and glanced up. "Jarvis… where is Tony?"

"Sir is in his workshop, Captain Rogers."

"Don't ask him, please!" Steve said quickly. "But… do you think I could go up there?"

"Sir has been working non-stop for several hours."

Steve didn't hide his disappointment. "So he's busy?"

"Yes. But he could use a break. He tends to forget to take them when he's working alone."

Steve nodded slowly to himself as he headed up to the workshop. He took a deep breath and entered his access code into the keypad. The door slid open and he breathed out, not even realizing he had been holding it. At least Tony hadn't locked him out. Not yet. Or else he just hadn't remembered to. Steve stepped inside and paused.

Tony was bent over a big, metal monstrosity in the center of the large room. He had a screw driver in one hand, a level in the other, and a wrench held between his teeth. There were stains on his white tank top – Steve guessed grease or oil – and part of his hair looked slicked back by the same substance. U was beside him, holding a tool box. Butterfingers was on the desk near them, working on something smaller. The Thangs were zipping around, vacuuming and cleaning every surface in the place.

And Dum-E was off to the side, holding a video camera. He rolled closer and stuck the camera in front of Tony, trying to record what he was going.

Tony slapped him away with the level. "Um-E! Groay!" He said around the wrench in his teeth.

Steve smiled. He missed this. He really missed this. How sad was it that he'd become so co-dependent in such a short time? "Tony." He said softly.

The wrench clattered to the floor but he made no other movements right away. His chest rose and fell deeply, as if he were panting like a dog or something. Or just panicking. Yeah, he was probably panicking.

Dum-E began beeping really loudly and fast. He rolled over, practically bouncing on his wheels. He set the camera down on the floor and reached out to grab Steve's shirt. He gave it a tug and beeped again.

Steve smiled and petted him. "Hi, Dum-E."

Dum-E released him, pointed towards the TV, and grabbed him again.

He laughed softly. "Later. I promise."

Dum-E released him again and rolled over to the couch. He picked up Steve's sketch book and held it up.

Steve shook his head. "No. I'm not here for that. I'm here for your daddy."

Tony dropped the screwdriver and level. U set the toolbox down and bent down to pick them up. Steve started towards him and Tony turned. He held up his hands and backed away slowly. "Look… uh… I knew eventually this would happen. Though I thought it would be sooner. But with the sightless Hawk…"

Steve smiled. "Stop talking."

Tony tilted his head to the side, talking fast. "I don't know what came over me. It was an accident."

"Shut up, Tony."

"I didn't mean to attack you."

"Tony." Steve stopped in front of him. "Stop talking." Steve reached out and touched Tony's cheek with his fingertips. He followed the line of his jaw and hooked his thumb under Tony's chin.

Tony swallowed and his breath quickened, but he made no other movements. And his eyes were locked on Steve's throat, his chest, his arms. Anything but his eyes as his gaze fluttered about.

Steve tilted Tony's head back, forcing him to meet his gaze. He smiled as he closed the distance between them and touched his lips to Tony's.

Tony wriggled and placed his hands on Steve's chest.

Steve immediately pulled back with a sigh. "What? Did I mess up again?"

Tony frowned. "Mess up again?"

"The elevator." Steve breathed out. "You pushed me away and ran."

Tony turned slightly and laughed. He rubbed at his forehead and shook his head. And he was laughing.

Steve looked down at the floor. Yeah, he messed it up. Fantastic. And he didn't even know how. Maybe he wasn't… rough… enough... He shook his head slowly.

"You didn't do anything wrong." Tony said with a sigh. He was facing the wall as he spoke. "The elevator was… fucking hot. And just now…" Tony looked up at the ceiling and shook his head.

Steve looked up and dared to smile. "Then what's wrong?"

Tony closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What do you want from me, Steve?"

Steve considered for a second. What did he want? What he wanted was Tony. But he thought that was too… serious to say. Last thing he wanted to do was scare the man off. So he settled. "A date."

Tony glanced sideways at him. "What?"

"I want you to go out with me." Steve said, shuffling his feet a bit. "Dinner and a movie. Unless that's too cliché."

"You want to date me?" Tony asked slowly.

Steve stood up straighter and nodded. "Yes."

"I don't date well." Tony said.

Steve smiled. "I don't believe that."

"Just ask Pepper."

"Don't bring her into this. I'm not Pepper."

"State the fucking obvious." Tony muttered. "I like what we have now. Well… what we had before this happened." Tony said, running a hand through his hair. "What if this ruins our friendship?"

"You're still friends with Pepper."

Tony rolled his eyes and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Didn't you just say not to bring Pepper into this?"

Steve was still smiling. "Look… you don't have to make up excuses." He said, shaking his head. "You won't hurt my feelings or drive me away. If you're not interested, just say so."

Tony rubbed at the back of his neck, looking unsure. "I…" He started and then stopped. "It's a bad idea. We live together. We work together. We…"

"Tony, look at me."

He turned.

"Are you attracted to me?"

"Yes." Tony said without hesitation. "And don't look so pleased with yourself." He added bitterly.

He was. Steve was very pleased with himself. He smiled and dipped his head. "Then think about it. Tomorrow night. If you're answer is yes, met me in the garage at 5." Steve turned and headed for the door. When he reached it, he heard Tony's voice.

"5 is too early, grandpa. Make it 7."

Steve smiled as the door slid open.

"Wait!" Tony said loudly.

Steve paused and turned.

"Uh… if I say yes now… will you stay and… uh… watch a movie with Dum-E?" Tony asked.

Dum-E suddenly beeped and rolled over to the TV, knocking over the table in the process.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Dum-E! No! Don't turn it on! Dum-E! Stop it! He didn't even say yes!" Tony dove over the back of the couch and wrestled with the bot. "Give me the remote! Now! NOW! Jarvis, turn it off! You cannot pick the movie, you stupid waste of metal!"

"Sir, you might actually be surprised by what he picked."

Tony stopped fighting with the robotic arm and looked at the TV. "Twilight?" He stood up and shook his arms. "Oh fuck no. Why is that in my database?"

"Pepper." Jarvis answered.

Tony rolled his eyes and Dum-E turned and pointed at Steve. "No, Dum-E. Don't blame Steve. Steve doesn't want to watch Twilight."

"Actually… I may have told him I did." Steve said, walking towards them.

Tony gawked at him.

Steve shrugged. "It's popular. It was like… a thing."

"Maybe with the tweenies a couple years back."

"Tweeny?"

"Young girls."

"Are you calling me a girl?"

Tony considered for a moment. "Yes. Dum-E, turn the movie on and pick up the table. Steve, sit. U, pick up all the tools and put them away. Dum-E, you left the video camera on the floor. Pick it up before it gets broken. And then you all can watch the movie with Steve."

"Tony."

Tony ran a hand through his hair and pulled it away quickly. "Okay… yeah… see? I'm going to jump in the shower." He glanced at Steve. "I'll be fast, I promise. You stay. Stay." He held up his hands.

"You want us to stop the movie?"

Tony shook his head. "I've seen it already."

Steve smiled.

"Shut up."

Steve turned away and laughed as the movie started up.

Tony returned, cleaned, and sunk down on the couch, sitting at the other end. He leaned back with a sigh. And promptly fell asleep.

Dum-E beeped and Steve hushed him. "Shhhh. It's fine. We'll make him watch it with us again. We'll have a Twilight marathon."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Author's Notes: Oh poor Clint! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU?! But on the other hand… XD Dum-E is happy. His parents are back together. XD