Howard was right about Jarvis forgiving him almost instantly. When it was time for him to be driven back to SHIELD, Jarvis had come along. He had packed countless covered dishes for him to eat later and was currently sitting in the back seat of Howard's car as he described all the wonderful things about the townhouse. He mentioned the property value, the square footage, how he loved that it was smaller than the mansions and therefore easier to take care of, and Jarvis's favorite part was that the press didn't know about it.
"There are too many bricks for my liking." Tony muttered as he looked out the window. It was true. The lines of connected buildings were all made of the same hideous red bricks. To make matters worse all the sidewalks in the area seemed to be brick as well. It was all too excessive.
"I suppose so but I think it gives the neighborhood a rather rustic feel." Jarvis said as he continued to list off the benefits of living there. "There are five bedrooms and five bathrooms, three of which are full bath and the other two are half bath. All the rooms have been perfectly decorated, by me of course. The one time I let your father decorate he tried to put up curtains with a checkered pattern."
"Hey," Howard said quickly, cutting in. "They were great curtains."
"They were an abomination." Jarvis said as he shook his head. "I swear, I almost quit right then and there."
Tony rested his head against the window of the car. Everything seemed fine now, they had all calmed down and no one brought up all the yelling or the things that were said. It was like all three of them had collectedly decided to forget about it, which was a bit of a relief but also a disappointment. He didn't want to bring up any of the things he had said, but he also felt that he should say more. It was alright though, if he wanted to talk about it then SHIELD had already hired him someone to talk to.
"I'm going to take you shopping." Howard said calmly. "You need new clothes."
Tony raised an eyebrow as he watched the car slow down as it approached the SHIELD building. "Right now?" He asked slowly.
"What? No, not right now. I have a few meetings with a few lawyers and then I have to deal with some reporters and then I have to finish the prototype for the thing." He said, pulling into the parking garage. "But definitely soon. You need clothes that fit you."
Tony frowned and looked down at his hand-me-down SHIELD coat and only slightly rumpled sweatpants. "These fit." He said.
Howard groaned loudly and shook his head just as the car stopped in an empty parking spot. "No, son. They really don't. They're too large and baggy and it just looks ridiculous." Howard said. They all climbed out of the car and walked towards the elevator. "You're on my side, right Jarvis?"
There was a small moment of silence as Jarvis looked at Tony carefully, not even glancing at his clothes but scrutinizing his face. He must have been satisfied with what he saw because he relaxed slightly and nodded.
"Of course, Mr. Stark. Perhaps Anthony would benefit from a visit to your tailor." Jarvis said smugly. "After all, clothes do make the man."
Howard chuckled as they all piled into the elevator and headed up. Tony thought he should say something. Apologize for the yelling, thank them for breakfast, ask them to never come back, ask them to come back soon, Tony had no idea what he wanted to say. But he was tired, needed a nap, and wanted to figure out what was going on in his head.
Once the elevator doors slid open he walked quickly down the hall towards his room. It's wasn't necessarily that he wanted to get away from them, it was just that he found their false cheeriness and ability to pretend like nothing had even happened a bit disconcerting.
It was also a bit worrying as well. One moment Tony was screaming in the middle of the street about all of the dark thoughts that clouded his mind and within an hour Howard is driving him home and calmly tells him he needs new clothes. It didn't seem quite right.
"So, shopping?" Howard asked as they reached Tony's door.
Tony shrugged. He wouldn't necessarily mind getting new clothes, all the clothes he had ever had were bought for him and no one would know how they fit him until he put them on at home. He was nervous about spending more time with Howard. He didn't trust him, didn't like him, and couldn't forgive him. A breakfast and apology doesn't make up for the thirteen years Tony waited.
"It's probably not the best idea right now." Tony said as he walked into his room. "I'm pretty tired right now and things have been confusing. I just need a break."
Howard's face fell slightly and his eyes darkened, but he nodded slowly. "Of course, you definitely need a break. You've been under a lot of stress lately." He said calmly.
"Well, if we're going to be leaving soon." Jarvis said, smiling at the two of them. He raised the covered dishes and nodded. "I'll just go find a fridge to put these in for you."
Tony watched as he walked away. Howard stared at him and Tony felt like curling away and hiding from the dark expression on his face.
"I'm sorry. I really wanted us to get along." Howard said calmly. "Just promise me you'll take care of yourself, let these people help you. No matter what your opinions are of me, you truly do have friends here."
Tony nodded. "Right. Thanks."
He turned to enter his room and closed the door quickly behind him. Tony almost felt bad, for leaving without saying goodbye, but he was tired and confused and just ready to escape. He ripped off his coat and his shirt and immediately walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower with water as hot as he could handle. His back and neck ached, his head was pounding, and a nice hot shower would do him good.
He just let the water wash over him and his mind wander. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. He didn't really expect Howard to bring him back. As ridiculous as he knew it was, he assumed they would just leave him somewhere. Why were they so insistent on keeping him, on making him believe that they were going to help him?
Tony quickly washed away the sweat and dirt from his hair and began rubbing at the sore muscles on his back. The cuts from a few weeks ago were healing, the thin, pink lines of skin were still quite large, but smaller than he had originally feared. Usually beatings with that metal rod Mesman loved so much left him with horrible, jagged scars that didn't appear to be likely to fade.
Once he was warm enough and clean enough he climbed out of the shower, pulling on a clean pair of sweats and a shirt and looking at himself closely in the mirror. He was definitely putting on weight. Not that he was overly small and fragile before, but his arms used to be a tad too thin and he had just seemed lanky. Now his muscles were becoming more defined and his cheeks were filling out a bit. He was definitely a bit tall, just by a few inches, but noticeable. It was amazing what a month of healthy eating could do.
Tony shook the excess water from his hair and walked out into the main room. He froze instantly. Steve was sitting quietly on Tony's bed, head down as he stared at a pie in his hand. Tony had to stop himself from screaming. This was the first time he had seen Steve since the disaster that was IHOP, since his talk with Thor had opened his eyes. Steve just looked so beautiful just sitting there, staring down at a pie and wildly tapping his foot.
"What are you doing?" Tony asked quickly.
Steve's head snapped up and his eyes widened. "Oh, well I came by and wanted to talk but you were in the shower so I just waited." He said. "I hope that's alright."
Tony looked between Steve's panicked face and the pie he was holding gently. Steve stood up and walked up to him, carefully holding out the pie like a peace offering.
"I made my ma's special rhubarb pie. I remember that you liked the rhubarb at IHOP and I remembered telling you about baking sometimes." He said, smiling slightly. Tony reached out and took the pie. The pan was still a little warm and it smelled delicious. "I also came to apologize."
Tony's frowned. "What are you apologizing for?" He asked slowly. It couldn't be good, he hadn't done anything wrong. The only thing Tony could think of was Steve apologizing for being friends with Howard and not telling him, but they had moved past that.
"Yesterday, when we went to IHOP I thought you were uncomfortable around me. I figured you'd feel better if I left you alone." Steve said and gave a small smile when Tony rolled his eyes. "I shouldn't have just left like that. I was confused and just wanted you to be okay. So I made an apology pie."
Tony looked back down at the pie in his hands. It was incredibly kind and Tony's heart warmed at the thought of it. Steve was fine, Natasha and Clint hadn't hurt him like they threatened to, he wasn't angry. Tony wanted to laugh at the idea of thinking he had done wrong.
"It's fine. Thank you." Tony said, grinning as Steve's smile brightened and widened. "I actually thought you were mad at me."
"No. I wasn't mad at you." Steve said. His features hardened briefly as he broke eye contact and shrugged awkwardly. He was nervous, Tony had no idea why but he could see the tension in his features. "I… care about you. A lot. You're my best friend."
Steve's eyes found Tony's again and a deep red blush burst from his cheeks and down his neck. It was the same adorable blush he had whenever Tony asked him what he was drawing. Tony never could stop himself from smiling whenever he saw it.
"Okay, then. I forgive you." Tony said. He walked around Steve and sat down on his bed. Steve hadn't brought plates or forks or anything to actually eat the pie with, just the pie itself. "Do you want some pie?" He asked slowly.
"Yeah." Steve quickly nodded and rushed forward to sit down next to Tony on the bed.
Tony handed the pie over to him and Steve took it with a large, enthusiastic smile. As he looked down at the pie, his brow furrowed and he sighed as he realized everything he forgot. Steve continued to frown at the pie as he started humming.
"I guess we can eat it later." Steve said slowly. He stood up, handing the pie gently back to Tony. "I'll go get forks or something."
"Thank you, Steve." Tony said as he watched Steve walk towards the door. He turned around and smiled at him and Tony was starting to notice just how much Steve smiled and how he loved every single one of them.
"No problem. I just wanted to do something nice for you. You deserve pie." Steve said.
Tony nodded slowly, eyes dropping down to his hands and the delicious treat Steve had made for him. "Do you want me here?" He asked quietly, voice barely rising above a whisper.
The silence was only a few seconds long but to Tony it felt like it was running on for hours. He didn't look up towards Steve, but he knew he was still standing there. It was a stupid question, probably rude to ask, but he had to know. Tony had to know these people actually wanted him here, weren't planning on getting rid of him anytime soon.
"Tony, of course I want you here." Steve said. Tony heard his footsteps as he walked back up to him and dropped to his knees in front of him. Now that he was so close, kneeling down to be on his level, Tony could glance up quickly and frown at the devastation on Steve's face. "I care about you so much. I want you here close to me and I want you to be happy and I want you safe."
Tony looked away as Steve spoke. It was nice to think that Steve, and hopefully everyone else, really did want him here. He was hopeful, but not entirely sure.
"And Natasha and Clint? Thor?" Tony asked slowly. "Agent Hill and Coulson and that one guy who always brings me fresh sheets and that other guy who gets mad that I leave the lights on all night but never actually does anything about it."
Steve smiled as he sat and listened to Tony. "Can I hug you?" He asked slowly. Tony nodded. Steve's large arms wrapped around him gently and then he was engulfed in warmth, his face pressed against Steve's chest. "Is this okay?" He said. Tony nodded again. "They're all crazy about you. Coulson's working hard to get the people who hurt you so he will know that you'll be safe. Hill is running the whole department that's dedicated to taking care of you. I think Natasha's just as interested about what you want as you are. Clint likes to think you haven't seen any Disney movies so he's taken it upon himself to show all of them to you."
"I've seen Beauty and the Beast." Tony said, shrugging. "It was okay."
"It was decent enough, I prefer The Little Mermaid." Steve said. "We all want you here. The guy who brings you fresh sheets is always talking about how polite you are to him and the guy who complains about the lights, I've met him too. He doesn't do anything about it because he thinks you hate the dark. Everyone here adores you."
"So you guys are okay with me being here and messing everything up?" Tony asked, burying his face deeper into Steve's chest. He always smelled like vanilla and it was comforting.
He could feel Steve shake his head. "You don't mess anything up. You make it so much better and far more interesting." He said. "We all care about you. I care about you a lot."
"You care about me." Tony said. Steve nodded quickly. "Is it because I'm a masterpiece of a human being? I think I belong in museums sometimes."
Steve laughed. It wasn't even that good of a joke, but Steve laughed so it was probably the greatest joke Tony had ever made.
"I'll have to agree with you on that." Steve said.
Tony nodded and pulled away slightly. He felt relieved, as if Steve simply telling him that they wouldn't abandon him or get sick of him would make it all true. Steve waited, watching Tony's face closely to make sure he wasn't upset or anxious. Tony was grateful.
"Okay, I'm going to go get some forks now. Okay?" Steve said slowly. Tony nodded. "I'll be right back."
"I know." Tony said. Steve stood up and walked back towards the door. "Hey, Steve. If you see Natasha can you tell her I'm ready to meet with the person they got me?"
Steve smiled again, a bright and wide one that sealed in all the promises that they truly did care into Tony's mind. He nodded and walked out the door. Tony got up and placed the pie gently on the chair that still sat in the corner of his room. He went and sat back down on his bed, resting his head in his hands.
Everything was fine. It was okay. They cared about him, it would not be like it was before. They wouldn't hurt him, they wouldn't leave him, and everything would be okay. Tony believed most of it, but wasn't quite sure what he would do if it all ended up being a lie, a trick. He would be okay. He had to be okay.