Chapter 29: Reprise Chapters: Who'll Stop The Rain
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Tony was a mess.
Steve watched as the younger man paced around the room they were in. First, Tony was on one side of the room. Then, he paced over to the other side. Then, he was back in front of him, by the door, by the wall, back over to the door, beside the chair, then back to the other side of the room.
He couldn't keep still.
Tony also chewed on his skin. A habit Steve never had but it became noticeable. Tony looked relentless as he gnawed on his WOULD NOT STOP MOVING HIS BODY.
It got to a point where Steve wanted to grab him and make him stop.
"Your father is going to be fine Tony. He just got himself all worked up." Howard wasn't injured. His mental state and his stress levels were a different story. Steve tried to comfort Tony as he paced the room but his words didn't even register.
Tony continued to pace. Obidiah was out there and it haunted his mind. Steve spoke to the police that flooded the Stark Mansion. He was told that Howard shot his business partner but he wasn't killed. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were present but the police were still involved.
And Obadiah was where? Steve didn't get a clear answer on where he ended up. He figured that was half the reason why Tony was incoherent. Howard was being looked at by the family doctor. He had been under a lot of stress and after the ordeal in the garage Howard was completely out of it.
Steve watched as one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents approached Tony.
"Anthony, how are you holding up?" The man asked him the question quietly and Steve simply observed. He remembered the agent from his welcoming party. The man's name was Phil. He had vintage cards for him to autograph and he was one of the only people at the party that spoke to Tony. Steve remained silent.
"Do you know what happened?" Tony asked the man as he stopped his movement. Phil nodded his head and turned to Tony.
"Your father confronted Obadiah Stane. He shot him, but your mother interfered with the shot. I heard he was wounded but he wasn't there when I arrived."
"Where did he go?" Tony's expression was vacant. Phil looked over in Steve's direction. He didn't notice that Steve was in the room when he entered. He smiled at him the moment he did.
Steve acknowledged Phil but he continued to just listen and observe.
"One of our agents took him away from the area. But that agent hasn't checked in with Fury or anyone else so I'm not sure what happened to him."
"GREAT. So he could be anywhere." Tony glanced over at the nearest window. Steve noticed the fear in Tony's expression. Tony didn't have the cocky demeanor that he normally had. His body language was off and Steve knew that he was afraid.
"I'm sorry that's all I know at this point." Steve watched Phil as he hunted for something in his jacket pocket. He brought it into the open and showed the object to Tony.
"I don't think you held onto the other card I gave you. I really mean it Anthony if you ever need a friend or just someone to talk to I want you to have this.."
Steve stared as Phil took Tony's hand in his. He gave him his card and Tony stood dumbfounded. Steve's attention turned to the floor of the living room. He was bothered.
"Uhh not one but you give me TWO business cards?" Tony flipped the card over and actually read it.
Steve did not like the smile Phil had. He thought that he gave it more thought than he should have, but for some reason Steve felt annoyed. Luckily, the family doctor came into the living room. Steve was relieved and he got up from his seat. Tony went straight to the doctor and bombarded him with questions.
HOW'S MY DAD was the question that was answered first.
"Your father is fine. You can go see him now if you'd like. He told me specifically NOT to tell you anything more. So have a good evening, I will see myself out." The doctor started to leave and Tony watched him go. He looked at Phil and then he looked at Steve.
"UHH no way in hell I'm going in there. My dad is probably going to kill me." Tony cringed and he started to clench his fists. He just had to do something with his hands.
Steve already decided that he was going to talk to Howard. He turned away from the two and he headed the other way. Steve didn't want to be around their business card, thing any longer. He took off and Tony's eyes followed Steve.
UH Whut? Tony was shocked to see Steve just take off like he did. Tony had to follow. He tried to catch up.
"AY YANKEEeee. Hang on! Don't go without me." Tony waved goodbye to Phil and then he ran up beside Steve. Tony shoved the business card into his pocket and he tried to catch a look of Steve's face.
He wondered what his deal was.
Steve was in a rush all of a sudden and he was super quiet. Tony was about to ask but Steve already had the door to his father's room opened. ACK! Tony winced and followed him in.
Tony saw his mom, she looked like a nervous wreck. Then he looked over at his dad.
His dad looked like his normal grumpy self. But he was in bed with a blank and distant look on his face.
"Howard. I knew that I should have stayed." Steve started to speak but Howard just shook his head.
"It wouldn't have mattered because I would have done the same thing." Howard wanted Obadiah dead and that was all there was too it.
He couldn't even turn his head in Tony's direction. Tony noticed it immediately and began to feel very small. He could tell that his father would only talk to Steve, but he tried his luck anyway.
"Dad, are you ok?" Tony asked as his face fell into a frown. He hated himself for what happened and Tony knew that it was all his fault. Howard's expression snapped from non existent to angry as soon as Tony spoke.
He saw the pissed-off look his father got and Tony backed up slightly. Howard was so frustrated it felt like his brain was on fire. His jaw clenched. It didn't help that he had been drinking and he had no idea how to explain the situation to his wife. Was he ok?
No. He was far from ok. He knew that he had to keep himself together. Obadiah threatened and sold Tony to the highest bidder? Howard didn't take that shit lightly.
That meant more security for Tony YET AGAIN. Which meant his son would act like a damn child YET AGAIN. He knew that Tony wouldn't listen and he wouldn't respond to any attempt he had in order to keep him safe.
His only hope was Steve. But Howard absolutely hated to have his friend stuck in the middle of his family BULLSHIT. Howard just sighed and grabbed his forehead with his hands.
"Tony, you are so exhausting." He said his thought out loud and he meant every word.
Howard's comment really hit home. Tony could feel the tears as they pooled around his eyes.
Steve looked in Tony's direction. Tony wiped at his face with his wrist and he went for the door.
"DO NOT leave. Tony we need to have a conversation. I need you to listen to me because Obadiah is coming after you. I need everyone here to understand what is going on so I can keep you safe." Howard waited for Tony to return and focus. Tony wiped his face again and he took a few steps toward the bed.
"I'm going to tell them everything Tony. I don't want to hear a single word out of you. Got it?"
Tony looked at his mother. She sat on the chair beside the bed with a very lost look on her face. Tony just covered his face with his hands. He wanted to fucking SCREAM HIS HEAD OFF. He didn't want his father to tell his mother and Steve everything. Didn't Steve already know? It was an absolute nightmare.
Tony felt sick to his stomach as he roughly wiped away one of the tears that slipped down his face.
-
The very first meeting of the "West Coast" Avengers had just adjourned. Everyone left the brand new meeting room except for Tony. He had his roster of members in digital format right in front of him and he stared at it.
Clint Barton and Bruce Banner were Tony's first draft picks out of everyone from the original team.
Tony was still a bit mad at Thor for doing as he pleased with his younger self, he was indifferent about Natasha being on his team because she and Steve really worked well together, and of course he wasn't going to pick Steve.
That was a no-brainer because the entire point of separate groups was for them to no longer work together. Why did Tony dwell on that at that moment? He had no idea.
But, he hadn't seen Steve in quite a while. Days? Weeks? He wasn't sure. Tony didn't try to communicate with him in any shape or form after the conversation with Thor. He ditched him. Tony wanted to keep him at a distance anyways. His emotions were too strong for the man and Tony was constantly overwhelmed by his presence. What a great way to start out a relationship. Tony laughed at himself and he scratched at the side of his face. Tony frowned. He just TOOK OFF on Steve. He stormed out and didn't look back. He set up shop at a new location and focused on that.
Tony was in hell because he had to sleep ALONE all the time and he hated that. He didn't know what to do in order to not look like an asshole. He was also in hell because…
He missed Mr. Stars and Stripes.
He took in a deep breath and spoke to Jarvis.
"Hey Jarv, When did I last see Steve?"
"Two weeks ago today sir." Jarvis gave him the amount of time and Tony closed the screen of members. He tossed the file from his sight.
Whoaaa it had been a while. He was about to ask Jarvis to call Steve.
Before Tony could open his mouth Jarvis spoke again.
"Sir, you have an incoming call from Captain Rogers. Shall I put it through?" Tony's jaw fell open. Huh. What were the odds of that? Tony thought for a moment and then he smiled.
"Yeah. Put the call through." Tony gripped the desk that he was propped against as a screen opened up in front of him.
He saw Steve and Tony looked off elsewhere. Oh boy.
Heeyyyyoo Tony wasn't sure how the conversation would go. It had been TWO weeks since Tony had his temper tantrum. Tony knew he was in trouble.
"Hello Tony."
"OH hey Steve!" Tony waved and gave the best smile he could conjure up. MEH. He tried to look sincere but Steve kept an indifferent facial expression.
"How are you?" Steve asked as Tony scoffed. Steve always asked him that damn question.
Tony didn't answer he just smiled a big smile again. Steve got straight to the point.
"I felt something yesterday. I started to feel some intense bursts of emotion and it was totally out of nowhere. Did you feel anything?" He wasn't sure how to explain what he felt but he did his best. Tony decided to be a smart-ass as he responded.
"I felt a number of things yesterday. But thanks to Thor and Dr. Strang-o, I can't tell if it's my emotions or the other me. Soooo I'm not sure what to tell ya."
"Knock it off. Tell me what you felt." Steve knew that Tony felt the same things that he did. He knew that he had to have felt something. Tony crossed his arms and gave it some thought.
"First, I felt really afraid. I was in a common place talking with familiar people so I had no reason to be afraid." He shrugged and took a moment to look at Steve. Tony looked over at the door and then continued his thought.
"Then, I felt really sad. After that I guess I felt lonely. I had nobody in my bed beside me and I felt like an asshole because I just took off on you. BUT then again, I felt like it was all justified because YOU of all people are not supposed to be ok with what Thor did." That was Tony's half-assed apology and the explanation for his behavior.
Steve just shook his head.
"Tony, I'm not ok with what he did. I just understand that he did the best he could do to fix a situation that he did not create." OH WHATEVER! Tony rolled his eyes and refused to listen to Steve's reasons.
"FINE. Whatever. We'll just live our lives feeling the emotions of ourselves in other dimensions. So tell me Steve, what did you feel yesterday?" Tony held a tone that clearly MOCKED the soldier on the screen.
He was not happy about the situation at all. But apparently he had to just deal with it so Tony was annoyed. Steve ignored Tony's RANT FEST. He just carried on and answered the question.
"I felt confused and nervous. I guess I felt afraid as well. Well, I mostly felt worried." Steve tried to think of a better explanation to the emotions he felt. Tony huffed and started to tap his foot on the ground.
"Is this an actual conversation we are having? Do you not GET how fucking crazy you sound?" ARRGHHHS AUDAODHWFHA! UJOAIDY*QWY *$!&)$! Tony needed to scream. He was like a kettle about to boil over.
Steve just laughed at him. Tony chomped at the bit and Steve was very amused. Ugh Tony noticed that smile. He rolled his eyes again as Steve spoke up.
"Tony I miss you. Even though you are being annoying." Steve admitted with a small laugh in his tone. Aw how sweet. Tony stared off into space. He knew that he was being a pain in the ass.
"I miss you too.." There was a silent moment between the two. Tony was still set in his ways of being right and Steve no longer cared.
"Tony, when am I going to see you? I kinda need to see you at some point."
He smiled. OH Steve KINDA needed to see him? Well he was busy with his new group of super friends so..
Tony acted indifferent and raised his shoulders.
"I dunno. We officially have these separate lives now so, I'll try to schedule you in."
"Gee thanks." Steve did not like that idea at all. He knew that Tony probably told a joke. But he did ditch him for a few weeks so Steve re-thought that idea. Hmmmmmm Tony decided to change the subject. Steve listed off the emotions of his other self and Tony finally gave what he said some thought.
"What do you think is going on in the other dimension? DO YOU THINK Mini-me and this other you are just as in love and happily devoted to each other as we are?" Tony made another joke about their wonderful relationship and Steve smiled.
"I don't think so. If I'm linked to the other one's emotions then I've felt everything but a happy devotion. In fact, I think the other me has serious depression. Just like I had when I first woke up." Tony frowned. He didn't know that Steve was depressed when he was unthawed. He caught onto it later on after they met, but he thought the soldier was always right as rain. Subject needed to be changed ASAP.
"How in the hell can that other Steve NOT be happily devoted to my younger self?" Yeah Tony didn't like that. Steve laughed again and he dropped his head. He didn't want to answer that question. Steve knew the reasons. He could feel the reasons in his body every time at certain times of the day. Tony didn't need to know that information in Steve's opinion. It was just between him and his younger self. Access DENIED.
"Mini-me's emotions are KINDA all over the place."
"Wow. That's such a shocking discovery Tony." Steve was sarcastic as fucccckkk. Tony laughed and flipped him off.
"UGH SEE. THAT'S WHERE I GET CONFUSED! Is it our emotions or theirs?"
"We'll never know.." Steve had no idea but he wasn't upset over it. He was actually intrigued. He couldn't wait to know when his younger self felt at home, or felt the emotions that he felt about Tony. Steve knew it was still a long way away from being a reality.
But, it was bound to happen.
"Ok, well when you fall in love with me in another dimension call me and let me know."
"Will do."
There was another moment of silence between them. Tony looked up at the screen. He coughed against the side of his hand to break up the awkward silence.
"I'll be at your apartment tonight."
"Ok. I'll be there too. Bye Tony. I'll tell the others you said hello."
"I said hello?" Tony grinned and Steve just hid his smile and ended the call. He disappeared from view and Tony's smile lowered.
Wahhh he missed him already.
-
The younger Tony had to listen to his father tell his mother and Steve everything that he knew about Obadiah. Tony's face burned the entire time he stood there and listened. He wanted to scream but he was all choked up.
His mother looked like she wanted to die, and Steve said nothing.
Tony absolutely hated his father because he dropped all his dirty laundry on the floor for everyone to see. But, Tony now knew that Obadiah planned to make a move against him.
A developed plan made sense to Tony even though he hated the predicament he was in. He felt exposed and his father held a very disgusted look on his face. Worst of all Tony felt ashamed…Tony had to make a commitment before he was free to leave the room. He committed to his father's demands and he had every intention to stick to it. He promised his father he would behave, and he would do whatever he wanted when it came to being protected.
Tony left the room with a fog in his head. A shameful fog that refused to go away. Tony needed to hide in his bedroom. After Tony left the room Steve finally spoke. He had to give Howard a piece of his mind. In Steve's opinion it wasn't right to make Tony feel bad about what had happened.
"Your son was being abused. It obviously went on for a long time and it might appear consensual but you're wrong to think that he wanted any of it. Howard, I think you are going about this situation in the wrong way."
Howard looked up at Steve. Steve challenged him and he had NO IDEA the amount of hell Tony had created.
"I don't know what else to do in order to keep him safe. He's not. He doesn't think like you or me. It's impossible to help him and it's HARD TO EXPLAIN."
Howard was tired and he was angry. His head screamed for sleep and his body ached.
It was all too much for him. Steve did his best to speak his mind and not upset Howard.
"You isolating him and demanding for him to do as you say is not going to work Howard. He's obviously not built to follow rules. I can see that and I'm just getting to know him. I think you should sit this out. I made a promise to protect him for you and I will do so.." Steve turned his back to the two and he left the room. Nothing was up for discussion in Steve's opinion. Howard and Maria watched the soldier leave the room and they looked at each other. It was hard to argue with Steve Rogers. He made his decision and left them to think about it.
Tony had to wait outside his room while the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents INSPECTED and searched his room. They added locks and alarms to his windows. He already felt suffocated. Tony watched them attach the alarm and he sighed.
At some point Steve came into his line of sight. He had to pass by him to get to his bedroom which was down the hall from Tony. Tony tried to keep his attention locked onto the wall. His chest ached and his face started to heat up again.
Steve heard all of that. Tony wanted to hurl himself off a bridge.
GAHH he wondered, WAS HE GOING TO STOP? Tony kept his gaze AT THE WALL. He begged for the Yankee to walk by but of course he stopped beside him.
He had no idea what to say to him. Well, Steve knew exactly what to say to Tony.
"Follow me.." Steve said as Tony stood stiff. Uhh wha? He looked into his bedroom and then he watched Steve walk away. Tony scratched the back of his head and then he followed. He followed at a slow pace and then he jogged a bit to catch up.
Awkward. AWKWARD HELLA AWKWARD..
Steve led Tony down to his father's work shop. He punched in the code and the door unlocked.
"Your father added something for me down here. I want to show you how to use it.." Steve walked down into the shop and Tony followed like a little duckling. The shop was all re-modeled and shiny. Tony saw his Hydro-suit and he stared at it for a moment. Steve tossed some boxing gloves in Tony's direction. Tony caught them and hugged them to his stomach.
HEH? What the hell…
"It's really hard to protect someone that doesn't follow rules or orders. So, you are going to need to learn how to defend yourself. Your father and mother are too emotionally attached to your situation with Obadiah to keep you safe. Understand?" Steve explained his point as Tony looked down at the gloves. They were heavy and bulky.
"So, you are Captain Unattached to the situation. You're going to be helping me? Is that what I'm gathering here?"
"That's correct. I want to teach you how to fight. Let's get the gloves on."
Tony needed an actual outlet. It was obvious that he was confused, scared, and angry about his situation and Steve figured a physical activity was best way for him to get the negative thoughts out of his system.
He always went for a run, or used the punching bag when he felt angry and frustrated.
Tony only seemed to do things to hurt himself. He chose to get drunk in his room, use drugs, argue, and ask to kiss people he had just met. Steve was no dummy. He caught on quick to Tony Stark's behavior.
He watched as Tony strapped the glove to his right hand. He struggled with the laces and Steve walked over to him. He secured the laces on one side and then he helped Tony with the other glove.
Tony tried not to stare at him. Steve was so close to him it became hard to breathe. Ugh his eyes traveled around Steve. They stopped at his collarbone. He caught a glimpse of it when Steve tightened the laces and Tony determined it to be his current favorite thing on the planet.
He wanted a photo of the perfectly defined collarbone. Tony started to chew on his bottom lip and he thought about some things..
"Are you angry too? Or disgusted like my dad obviously is.." Tony forced his eyes from Steve's collarbone and he stared at something else.
He focused on his lips.. Steve caught on that Tony stared at him. He looked at him and released the glove.
"I'm not angry with you. Your father is just overwhelmed right now. He's not disgusted."
"No. WRONG. He's disgusted. He fucking hates me.." Tony started to glare so he dropped his eyes from Steve's lips. He wanted to touch his crisp clean shirt.
"Don't worry about what your dad thinks right now. He's being a dad." A dad that had no idea what to do. Howard did the best he could but everything had blown up in his face. Steve took notice of the way Tony stared at his shirt and he tried to ignore it.
"Well Yankee what do you think? About me.." Tony held his breath and hoped to get some sort of reaction out of him. Tony glanced up and he saw Steve's small smile.
"I think you are courageous. You're very smart, funny, and you're.." Steve trailed off and busied his hands. He stopped there and he tied the left glove in a better knot. He didn't want to say anything else. Steve was on a mission to stay on neutral ground.
"And? I'm what?" Tony needed him to finish that sentence. Tony chewed on his bottom lip again.
Steve's eyes focused on Tony's lips. Tony couldn't breathe anymore. His little heart started to swell with encouragement. He was curious to know what the end of that sentence was but he couldn't ask him again.
Steve shook his head and changed the subject.
"Are you ready? I have a boxing bag you can hit or you can try to hit me." Steve stepped back a bit and pointed in the direction of the bag.
Tony looked down at the bulky gloves and became lost in thought.
Chapter END
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