"For a private jet, the ride sure is bumpy," Steve ground out between clenched teeth. He was holding onto the armrests of his seats with an iron grip as the plane jerked every few seconds.

"I can't do anything about turbulence," Tony shrugged, staring at his companion who was sitting across from him. About twenty minutes into their flight, they'd hit a patch of bad weather. The pilots weren't concerned and neither was he, but Steve was struggling. The first jolt had reawakened the pain from his injuries, so Tony couldn't really blame him for his sour mood. And his whole experience with plane crashes.

"You mean you haven't invented a weather machine yet?" Steve huffed, curling one of his arms around his midsection.

"It's next on my list, but I haven't gotten around to it," Tony chuckled. "Remember, I offered to carry you in my Iron Man suit and you declined."

"I don't think that would've been better. Definitely colder," Steve muttered.

"I can go out and try to stabilize the plane from underneath."

"No, it's fine," Steve sighed, slowly letting go of his armrest. "It's not so bad." Of course that was when the plane decided to bounce them again and Steve couldn't hold back his moan. Tony couldn't sit back and do nothing any longer. He unbuckled the seatbelt Steve had insisted he wear and moved to the seat next to Steve. Steve gave him a curious look, but Tony ignored it, grabbing Steve's free hand and holding it firmly.

"Pepper's been working with a few art museums in the city. She's always doing stuff for Stark Industries, so she barely has time for hobbies, but I nagged her to not burn herself out. Although, I doubt that would ever happen to her. She's like the Energizer Bunny."

"The what?" Steve mumbled, flicking his eyes to the window as a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. Tony slid the cover down, guiding Steve's eyes back toward him.

"Like a battery that doesn't quit. She always gets on me about not getting enough sleep, but I never see her do it either. Anyways, how would you feel about going to some of them? They may not be your exact style, but you probably appreciate all different kinds of art. You seem like the type."

"Uh, I guess?"

"That's a good activity for relaxing. I can even grab a wheelchair and push you around in it," Tony teased.

"You are not pushing me around in a wheelchair," Steve scoffed, sounding very offended.

"You're right. I'll program a robot to do it."

"That is never going to happen!"

"Why not? It shouldn't be too hard to figure out. A little code here, soldering there. It's probably a lot easier than most of the things I've made."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

"I mean, I guess I could just hire someone to push you, if you'd prefer that human element. Look at you creating jobs. Your humanitarian efforts know no bounds."

"You're ridiculous."

"But you love it. And look," Tony said, lifting up the window cover again to reveal calm skies. "Almost home." Tony could see Steve finally letting go of some of the tension that had been keeping his muscles taut the whole flight.

"Thanks for distracting me," Steve mumbled, shaking his head in embarrassment. "I don't usually have a problem with flying. I was just on a plane more often than not, going from mission to mission."

"Distraction? Don't know what you're talking about," Tony waved off. "Maybe I just wanted to hold your hand. Ever think about that?"

"Not being on top of my game has me out of sorts," Steve continued, apparently wanting to talk instead of going along with Tony's lighthearted conversation change attempt. "The idea of not being prepared if something happened right now is a bit stressful. I don't even have my shield."

"I know it might not help right now, but don't forget I've got your back. That didn't end once we left the hospital," Tony reminded him. He made a mental note to ask Fury about the shield the next time they talked. Even if they tried to withhold it from Steve until he went back to them, Tony wouldn't let that slide. His father had made the thing, so he should get to decide who had it. And he chose Steve.

"It does help. It means a lot," Steve said sincerely. "It's hard letting myself depend on another person, since I know how badly it can end. But I think maybe I should try. Doing things on my own obviously wasn't going as well as I thought."

"There's no shame in that. My life would probably crumble if I didn't have Pepper and Rhodey propping me up along the way. And Happy. And, in the effort of full transparency, I started counting on our talks as well," Tony said seriously. Steve looked surprised by that. He had to know that he was worth more than what he could physically do for someone. Just another thing Tony was going to have to teach him.

The rest of the flight went by smoothly, with Tony and Steve chatting about normal things. It felt like their chats on the phone had and Tony was glad that they could go back to that easiness. The drive from the airport had been a bit slow, but Steve had looked at him warily when he suggested a helicopter. His head kept bobbing up and down like a little kid's along the way and Tony resisted the urge to take a video of it. Steve was reaching the end of his rope and probably wouldn't appreciate it.

The relief was palpable for the both of them when they finally pulled into the garage of the tower. Tony's body was sore from sleeping in the uncomfortable hospital chair, even though it had only been a couple days. He was used to high thread counts and mattresses that cost more than most people's mortgages. Tony didn't even want to think about what Steve had been sleeping on for the last month. That was all going to change now.

"Change your mind about that wheelchair?" Tony asked as Steve slowly pulled himself out of the car.

"Just for that, I think I'll take the stairs," Steve threatened, although he made no move toward the stairwell. He must've really been putting on a show for everyone in the hospital because he looked dead on his feet at this point.

"If you even think about it, I'll take every stair out of this building," Tony warned, hovering next to Steve as he hobbled over to the elevator.

"That would probably violate a lot of codes," Steve mumbled, running a hand down his face.

"Let them come after me. I love a good fight," Tony smirked, happy that Jarvis automatically had the elevator ready for them to climb on. This was his private elevator, so they didn't have to worry about getting stopped on other floors. They were headed to the top.

"I bet you do," Steve murmured, closing his eyes as he rested his head on the side of the car.

"Come on, stay awake for just a little bit longer," Tony cajoled, poking Steve in the arm.

"I'm awake," Steve sighed as he slumped even further down. Tony situated himself on Steve's side, propping him up a bit. The kid was damn heavy, but Tony could handle it. It would've been a lot easier with Iron Man though.

Tony eased Steve out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened, almost dragging him down the hall toward his room. There were guest rooms and of course the accommodations were top tier, but they didn't seem good enough at the moment. Tony wanted Steve to be completely comfortable. And he knew how amazing his own bed was.

"Here we are," Tony announced as he sat Steve down on the edge of the bed. Steve was blearily looking around, rubbing his eyes as his blinks got slower and slower. Tony took advantage of his state and bent down to pull his shoes off.

"What?" Steve mumbled. Tony was suddenly terrified, wondering if Steve had gotten to this point on missions but still had to push through. If he had, it was nothing short of a miracle that he'd survived. Tony could probably take him out without much effort. Maybe even Bruce without the Hulk.

"Just lay down. Don't worry about anything else," Tony directed, gently pushing on Steve's shoulder until he laid down on his side on the edge of the bed. "My plan, remember?"

"Okay," Steve whispered, swinging his legs up onto the bed. Tony grabbed the pulled back blankets and draped them over Steve's body, taking great care to make sure he was fully covered. He wasn't tucking him in per se, but it was damn close. What had he become?

Tony's brain was telling him to leave the room and go get a drink to decompress, but his body had other plans. He found himself walking around to the other end of the bed and climbing on, stretching out next to Steve. He was just going to wait until Steve was fully asleep, then move to one of the guests rooms to get his own rest.

One day, Tony was going to admit to himself that that plan never really worked out that way. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, lulled by Steve's deep, even breaths.