A/N: Don't own anything Avenger related…wish I did…
Holding Back Chapter 2
Steve was beginning to stir and lets out a big yawn causing his paci to pop out of his mouth and be quickly caught by Clint before it could hit the floor. He rubs his eyes with a fisted hand before pulling the soft toys tighter to his chest and slowly opens his eyes to find Clint sitting on the floor in front of him with a soft smile holding his paci in his hand.
Steve takes a gasping breath as his eyes go wide with fear before they begin to pool when he feels someone calmly running their hand through his sweaty hair whispering soft words trying to calm him.
"Hey Stevie, did you have a good nap bud?" Bruce coos as he continues to run his hand through Steve's hair.
Steve doesn't answer but keeps staring at Clint who turns to look over his shoulder at Tony with concern. Tony moves over to sit next to Clint on the floor and surprisingly Natasha joins them on Clint's other side.
"Stevie do you know who we are?" Tony asks gently.
Steve's nods his head before shyly hiding behind his toys making every one smile at him.
"Good boy" Bruce replies.
"Sweet Heart, hey….you're not in trouble okay, can you tell me who this is" Tony asks pointing to Clint.
Steve's big blue eyes peek out from behind the toys to see who Tony was pointing to and whispers, "Birdy"
Clint lets out an odd sounding squawk much like a bird causing everyone to chuckle at him and Steve to giggle….yes giggle.
"Okay funny guy, what about her" Clint asks smiling at Steve.
"Prit-ee red…prt-ee, prt-ee, prt-ee" Steve says with a blush before hiding his face behind his toys again. Everyone looks over at Natasha who just raises her eye brow and gives them a knowing smirk, "what, he's not wrong and if that's my identifier I can handle that" Natasha says as she dramatically flips he hair back over her shoulder which causes Tony to just roll his eyes at her and Steve to giggle behind his toys.
"Okay, we've established that Nat is pretty and Clint is birdy but what about Bruce?" Tony asks as Steve looks up from his toys to look up at Bruce who is smiling down at him, "big green…roar" Steve says giving the roar a little extra child like growl behind it, of course this causes Bruce to blush before he reaches down to tickle Steve's ribs causing him to giggle loudly.
"Big green huh….you're a silly billy" Bruce says still tickling Steve as they all enjoy hearing his child like giggles. "I'm 'ot a 'illy b'lly, I'm S'eveee" Steve tries to say around his giggles,"S-st'p….no 'ickles" Steve tries to say with random bursts of giggles, but Bruce does stop as he leans down to drop another kiss on Steve's head.
"Okay wise guy, who's that then" Bruce asks pointing to Tony.
"Tin man" Steve answers with a warm smile as he hugs his toys tightly, showing in his own way he loves his new toys.
Clint laughs and gives Tony a friendly pat on the back, "Well he's got you there Tony, he seems to recognize us in some way while he's in 'little' headspace which is good" Clint says as he hands the paci back up to Bruce.
"Stevie, we are going to be arriving home at the Tower soon, do you want to change out of your uniform" Tony asks.
Steve shakes his head no and hides behind his toys again, "not spos'd to….w-wait….in r'm"
His words came out muffled behind the toys but everyone was sitting close enough that they heard him anyway and look at each other in confusion.
"Why's that buddy….can you tell us…we won't get mad we promise" Bruce asks as he has resumed running his hand through Steve's hair as the other runs up and down his covered arm.
"Pop-eye s'd so…h'vta h'de…ta'k sh'ld way" Steve whispered as his eyes begin to pool again.
"My apologizes sir, we are ten minutes out from the Tower and I have received word that Director Fury and Agent Hill are waiting for Captain Rogers" Jarvis informs the Team and upon hearing Fury's name Steve curls into himself even more and begins to tremble. The Team finds this reaction very telling and no one likes it at all. No one on the Team knows how littles were treated in Steve's time but now there are whole communities to help find caregivers to match up with a little and stores that openly sells supplies with no amount of shame or prejudice, just extra precautions need to be put into place in case someone suddenly drops into little headspace, hence Tony's 'ELK' bag. Watching Steve's reaction makes the Team wonder what has been said or done to Steve before waking up from the ice and then once he was in SHEILD's hands.
"Stevie….buddy can you look at me" Tony coos rubbing Steve's arm through the blanket as they slowly watch his blue eyes pop out from over the Hulk toy.
"There you are sweet heart...such a big boy" Tony tells Steve who nods in agreement.
"We won't let anyone hurt you okay….when we arrive at the tower Bruce will take you straight up to your apartment and help you get cleaned up and changed out of your uniform and into some comfy clothes…okay"
Steve looks up at Bruce for a minute then back down to Tony, nodding his head, "M'kay"
"Steve baby, do you want to take your toys and blankie with you" Bruce asks.
Steve nods and begins to put two of his fingers in his mouth again but is stopped by Tony causing him to whine, "it's okay buddy, just not the fingers…they're still yucky hmm…Bruce has your paci"
Steve gives Tony the cutest frown, causing Clint to chuckle at why he can't have his fingers then looks up at Bruce who is holding his paci that he easily slips back into Steve's mouth.
"Good boy" Bruce coos and drops a kiss on his forehead making Steve smile around his paci.
"Sir if everyone would like to return to their seats we will be landing momentarily" Jarvis interrupts.
Tony, Natasha and Clint all take their seats across from Bruce and Steve watching as Bruce tries to get Steve to sit up for a brief moment while the QJet lands at the Tower.
"Stevie, bud you need to sit up now like a big boy just for a minute, okay…then we'll get you inside and all cleaned up" Bruce tells Steve as he helps him sit up, a toy still tightly held under each arm as Bruce arranges the blanket across Steve's shoulders.
"Good boy" Tony says from across the QJet as both Clint and Nat give him gentle smiles. Steve blushes lightly and a small smile can be seen from behind the paci.
Once Jarvis successfully lands and powers down the Jet, Natasha presses the release button to lower down the ramp. The Team begins gathering their equipment including Steve's shield and files out onto the Tower landing pad leaving Bruce and Steve to bring up the rear, till they stop in their tracks seeing Director Fury and Agent Hill waiting for them at the entrance door and begin walking towards the Team.
"Thank you Dr. Banner but Agent Hill will take care of the Captain from here" Fury informs the group as Steve lets out a whine from behind his paci and clutch the Hulk and Iron Man toys closer to him causing Bruce to wrap his arm around Steve's waist pulling him closer to him.
"Sir…I don't think that's a great idea" Natasha tells Fury.
"I really don't care what you think Agent Romanoff… Agent Hill" Fury bites back at Natasha surprised at his tone and harshness.
Everyone watched frozen in place as Agent Hill approaches Steve who is now whimpering loudly till Agent Hill is standing in front of Steve holding her hand out.
"Steve what were you told?" Agent Hill asks her voice cold as she holds her hand out in front of him to get his attention. The Team watches in shock as Steve spit out his paci into Agent Hill's hand then makes a production of dropping it on the ground and grinding it into the ground under her boot in front of him, Steve's blue eyes pooling with tears as he slowly hands over the blanket and toys to Bruce, tears clearly ready to fall.
"What's going on...he's a little and currently in little headspace, why are to taking his toys and blanket from him, it's just going to hurt and confuse him, why are you doing this?" Bruce growls loudly trying to hold the Hulk back.
"He is no longer your concern Dr. Banner" Director Fury answers sharply.
"The hell he's not, he needs to be cleaned up, fed and cuddled….what's wrong with you guys?!" Tony demands as he inches closer to Steve's other side not liking what he is witnessing.
Agent Hill leans in to whisper to Steve, "Have you been a bad boy Captain…you know what happens when you've been bad"
Steve whimpers and begins to tremble, the tears finally pool over and run down his face.
The very sound sets the Team in to action. Bruce and Tony pull Steve way from Agent Hill's grasp and surround him protectively as Clint and Natasha move to stand in front of them as an added barrier.
"Damn you Fury…I want you and Hill off my landing pad and out of my Tower now." Tony demands.
"Stark, you don't understand, he can't be allowed to drop….it's too dangerous for him, you, the Team, everything SHEILD has built, damn it no one is supposed to know about this side of Captain America" Fury demands.
"Well that ship kind of got blown out of the water on that line of bullshit….SHEILD was here long before Steve was pulled from the ice Director, you will not put all that on his shoulders and make him deny a part of himself to make you all look good" Clint growls out, "Now I do believe Stark asked you all to leave"
"Agent Romanoff" Fury growls making Natasha feel like she is being given an ultimatum.
"I stick with my Team Director, but I will send in the mission report tomorrow for SHEILD's records" Natasha informed Fury holding her place next to Clint.
Fury sighs, "Very well but this isn't over, just keep him in the Tower till he is back to normal understand….let's go Agent Hill" Fury orders and turns back to the entrance to the Tower, his leather coat flapping in the wind as Agent Hill quickly scampers after him as she takes one last look over her shoulder at Steve, her discuss and disappointment clearly on her face.
Bruce and Tony take hold of each of Steve's arms and carefully guide him off the landing pad and into the elevator followed by Natasha and Clint.
"Damn" Clint growls, "I may be neutral but even I know you're not supposed to do that to someone that has already dropped into their headspace, it can cause long term fear and distrust"
Clint looks over at Natasha who is very still and very quiet, two things that do not bode well for the recipient of her anger. Jarvis stops the elevator on Clint and Natasha's floor so they could head off to their separate apartments and get cleaned up and changed.
"We'll be in Steve's apartment guys if you need anything" Tony tells them as they step off the elevator and Jarvis puts it back into motion till it stops on Steve's floor.
"Okay buddy, home sweet home" Tony tells Steve who is still clinging to Bruce when he notices the toys are back in Steve's arms and being clutched tightly to his chest.
Tony exits first then Bruce walks with Steve to the door, "Jarvis unlock Captain Rogers's quarters, override Alpha 1" Tony calls out.
The lock clicking open echoes loudly in the empty hallway as Tony opens the door entering into Steve's quarters followed by Bruce and Steve. Tony and Bruce are quick to take in how sparse the apartment is before moving on to Steve's bedroom. Bruce gently settles Steve on the edge of the bed while Tony continues into the in suite bathroom and once again Tony notices that Steve only has the bare necessities for adult Steve and nothing that Tony can see for little Stevie.
"This will not do" Tony mumbles to himself as he starts the water going in the bath tub.
"Jarvis"
"Yes sir" Jarvis replies.
"Start a list of items that little Stevie needs and a separate list for adult Steve as well"
"Of Course sir"
"For little Stevie, bath toys, bath soaps, fun towels, sleep clothes, maybe some footie pajamas and underoos in his size and play clothes, soft but fun and silly t-shirts and shorts, they may have to be special ordered Jarvis to fit his size"
"Of course sir"
"Also play toys Jarvis, like Legos and blocks, cars, stuff animals, story books, lots of crayons and coloring books, sippy cups, plates and silverware, and a toy chest, that should get him started and we'll see what we need from there. Place that order Jarvis for immediate delivery please" Tony tells Jarvis.
"At once sir, I will inform you when it has arrived." Jarvis informs Tony
"Thanks J"
When Tony has determined the bath was ready and finding no toys hidden anywhere he lets out a deep sigh and plasters a smile of his face and head back into the bedroom where he finds Steve still cuddled up with Bruce.
Tony goes to kneel in front of Steve, "Hey buddy, its bath time you ready to get all cleaned up and into some comfy clothes"
Steve looks up from Bruce's shoulder and nods his head.
"Good boy, come on here we go" Tony coos to Steve as he directs Steve into the bathroom and between Tony and Bruce quickly strip him out of his uniform and help him into the warm bath water.
Steve looks up at Bruce and Tony with a big happy smile, "warm" then without hesitation slaps his hands down into the water causing it to splash…Steve giggles and does it again and again, "warm 'ony…warm"
Tony and Bruce can't keep themselves from laughing, "that's right buddy warm water, you like that huh"
"Yep" Steve says popping his 'p'.
"God he is just too damn cute" Bruce whispers to Tony, "how Fury could deny him this is just down right cruel"
"I know Bruce, there still a lot of unanswered questions, but let's get this water bug washed up and into bed then we can figure the rest out" Tony tells Bruce hoping that he can keep a firm grip on his other half.
Steve looks up at Bruce and Tony, "B'uce, wash?" Steve asks holding up the washcloth he had grabbed that was floating in the water.
"Alright you little rascal alright" Bruce says smiling down at Steve as he kneels next to the tub, grabs the bar of soap to lather up the washcloth and begins washing Steve starting at his back then moving to his neck, shoulders and chest. While Bruce is taking care of Steve and getting a giggle out of him every once in a while, Tony slips out of the bathroom to rummage through Steve's drawers for some soft warm clothes to change him into. Tony finds some boxer briefs; soft sweat pants and rather large t-shirt that even Steve would swim in and lays them out on the bed next to the two toys and blanket from the QJet. Next Tony dug into Steve's closet to only find a few things like a couple button up shirts, khaki pants and one dark suit and tie combo. Tony dug deep into the closet thinking Steve had maybe hidden his 'little' supplies but found nothing, Tony even looked under the bed, in the bedside table and the bottom of the chest of drawers, nothing.
Now Tony wanted to cry.
"Jarvis, pull up the Adult Steve list please"
"Of course sir"
"Order 10 pairs of boxer briefs, 10 under shirts 5 white and 5 in various colors, 5 pairs of loose fitting jeans, 3 polo shirts various colors, a package of white and black socks, 3 pairs of shoes and at least one of them needs to be top of the line for running. That should be enough to get him started and we'll fill in the holes later, any questions on sizes use the measurements from his uniform specs, thank you Jarvis"
"Of course sir, I will let you know when the packages arrive sir"
"Thanks again J" Tony tells Jarvis as he hears more giggling coming from the bathroom when he sees Steve with a towel wrapped around his waist and one around his shoulders run out of the bathroom with Bruce chasing after him and jumps up and begins bouncing on the bed.
"Hi 'ony…'ook s'eaky c'ean…B'uce sa'd so" Steve tells Tony giving him a happy grin as he finds his Iron man toy and gives it a good cuddle.
Tony looks at Bruce who is dripping wet from Steve's bath and chuckles at the poor man.
"Aw…did Bruce get you all cleaned up buddy?" Tony asks Steve.
"Yep" Steve answers popping his 'p' as he begins to rub at his eyes with his fist.
"You ready for another nap, hmm? You've had a very busy day today" Tony notices Steve's eyes are starting to droop.
"Mmmmhmmm" Steve nods his head as he lets out a big yawn.
"Okay bud, let's get you dressed and cuddled up in bed so you can take a nap, hmm" Bruce tells Steve as he keeps rubbing at his sleep eyes, "M'kay B'uce" Steve says as he crawls down the bed to sit at the edge so Bruce can begin getting him dressed in his boxers and sweats while Tony pulls the shirt over his still damp head pulling his arms through and giving him a tickle along his ribs as he pulls the shirt down.
"No 'ickls 'ony" Steve says around his giggles.
"No tickles….no tickles….oh no Bruce" Tony pulls back gasping.
"Wha?" Steve asks looking at Tony and Bruce his blue eyes going wide.
"Stevie doesn't like tickles" Tony sighs, "I guess I'll have to give them to someone else, it's a shame I hear Bruce give really good tickles"
"No…no 'ive 'ickls way" Steve says giving Tony and Bruce the most adorable pout with those big blue eyes.
"But Stevie said he didn't like tickles" Tony tells Bruce who releases a dramatic sigh.
"Me like, me like" Steve calls out holding his toy close to his chest.
Bruce sighs again, "If you're sure" Bruce pounces on the bed and begins tickling Steve up and down his ribs again, causing the man to squeal and laugh.
"Jarvis please tell me you are getting all this?"
"Do you really need to ask sir?" Jarvis replies back to Tony.
"Cheeky…has Barton been giving you sass lessons?" Tony jokingly asks his AI, laughing as he watches his two best friends, both looking so relaxed and free of their personal burdens and demons.
"I don't know to what you're referring to sir, but I do enjoy my interactions with Miss Potts on occasion" Jarvis replies.
"H'lp 'ony" Steve cries out laughing as the tickle war continues on.
"Okay buddy okay…enough tickle monster, now is nap time, go on climb in get all cozy" Tony tells Steve and he and Bruce get the blankets all pulled up around him along with his two toys. Tony pulls out the second pacifier from the E.L.K bag and hands it to Bruce.
"Alright Stevie, you want your paci?" Bruce asks.
Steve nods his head and slightly opens his mouth for Bruce to place it against his lips so Steve can latch on before he buries his face in his toys.
"Good boy…such a good boy" Bruce coos as he begins to run his hands through Steve's soft blond hair.
Within five minutes Steve dropped off into sleep and hopefully will sleep for a while as Bruce and Tony quietly slip out of the bedroom to find Clint and Natasha sitting in Steve's living room waiting patiently for the two men to join them.
"You finally get him cleaned up and put down" Clint asks.
"Yeah he's down for now, not sure how long he'll sleep and if he will still be little or adult Steve when he wakes but we'll cross that bridge when it happens" Bruce states.
"Now that we know about this, I've taken the liberty of ordering a few things, he had nothing at least that I could find for his little self, it's no wonder he was using his fingers on the jet" Tony tells the Team sounding exhausted and frustrated that none of the Team including himself knew anything about this for months.
"Good, he should at least have the basics" Bruce stated in agreement as the stress of the situation was starting to creep up on him and the Team was noticing but remained quiet.
"Why don't we head to the common area and get some food, Jarvis can alert us if Steve becomes agitated or wakes up" Natasha recommends.
"Of course sir, the packages from both lists should be arriving within the hour" Jarvis informs the group.
"Perfect Jarvis thank you" Bruce comments.
"Of course Dr. Banner, I will alert you when Captain Rogers wakes or is in need of assistance"
"Okay, thanks J" Tony calls out, "I guess that's our queue to head on out my peeps" causing Clint to roll his eyes at Tony and Natasha to raise her eye brow as no one really wants to leave so remain seated, all worried about Steve.
Tony sighs, "Fine we'll stay here. Jarvis have the packages brought up to Steve's floor when they arrive and place the standing food order at our favorite Chinese restaurant to also be delivered up to Steve's floor as well please"
"Right away sir" Jarvis responds.
"So in the meantime, Bruce and I are going to get cleaned up and then I think we need to put our heads together and find out everything we can about littles in the 1930's and 40's and how they were treated so we have a better idea on what to expect moving forward with Steve." Tony recommends to the Team, "we can also unpack and put away all the items when they arrive so not to spook Steve if he is back to his adult self when he wakes, he may not be ready to talk about all this so we're going to have to play this cool and close to the chest for a bit"
Tony received agreements and head nods from everyone.
"Good, I for one want to change clothes, that little water bug got me good during bath time and I want out of these wet clothes" Bruce tells the team with a smirk as he heads out the door taking the elevator up to his floor, Tony follows shortly after to take a quick shower and change his own cloths before heading back down to Steve's apartment as Bruce arrives with an elevator full of bags and boxes from the 'Little Bit Store' and the Chinese restaurant.
"The packages have arrived sir" Jarvis informs Tony as he stares at all the bags and boxes surrounding Bruce.
"I see that Jarvis"
"Geeze Tony what all did you order?" Bruce asks as he hands Tony the bags of food to take into Steve's apartment and returns with Clint and Natasha to help unload the rest of the supplies from the elevator into Steve's kitchen, only to be met by the soldier himself standing there confused as he stares at everything and seemingly back as an adult self.
"Hey guys…um…what'd I miss?" Steve asks shyly rubbing the back of his neck.
"Steve buddy, how old are you right now?" Bruce asks.
"Um…27….why?" Then it clicks in Steve's mind and his eyes go wide, "no, no, no, no….you're not supposed to know….oh god" Steve sobs out and runs back into his bedroom slamming the door.
"Well that could have gone better" Clint comments causing everyone to huff at him and Natasha to cuff the back of his head, "What, I'm just saying?"
A/N: Okay here you go….hope you enjoy 'little' Stevie…Please remember to read and review...