The drive home was somber and quiet. Which was rather surprising to Steve, he had expected more yelling and berating from the furious genius.
Tony Stark limped back to the car after a few minutes and he grumbled while opening the door and forcing himself inside. He sat down with his head in his hand and an obvious look of pain spread over his features. He didn't say anything more to Steve, only motioned for him to drive and leaned his seat back with a groan.
Steve pondered, wondering if he should say something to him, anything at all. He wondered if he should argue about taking boys suit, but inside he knew that even if he tried it wouldn't do any good. Tony wouldn't listen to him in this state, or perhaps in any state ever again.
As hard as it was, Steve knew that he was going to have to accept that, whether he wanted to do so or not. There was nothing else that he could do, not anymore because Tony had made his position clear.
Arriving at the Compound, Steve watched as Tony hauled himself out of the vehicle without speaking to him. It seemed he was not interested in lecturing him anymore. Steve watched as the man stumbled and frowned at the sight.
Unable to watch Tony struggle, Steve jumped out of the car and hurried around it to catch him before he fell face first into the dirt.
The genius crashed into him and rested against him for a moment before he froze. That was when Steve remembered that maybe it wasn't a good idea to let the man get that close to him.
Tony looked up at Captain America, blinking as his discombobulated body rested against the other man. He knew he likely had a severe concussion, and somehow he doubted that running to Peter Parker's rescue helped his physical condition any. He felt sure that his blood pressure must have skyrocketed.
It took a minute for Tony to register that he was still leaning against Steve's chest. As he pushed the man away with his hands against his abdomen, he blinked again in shock feeling the mans ribs beneath his shirt.
"What the?" The murmur tore from the disoriented man's throat as he stared up at the original super soldier.
"Ah," Steve didn't respond but he shook his head, and Tony found himself glaring weakly at him.
"Have you not been eating? Don't you have like a souped-up metabolism or something? What's wrong with you?" He hissed in a dry voice. "Good grief, I knew your clothes looked weirdly loose but I didn't realize... I can feel your ribs," the man swore.
"Can you?" Steve inquired, shrugging his shoulders.
"You used to be a wall of pure muscle, how are you even still alive?" Tony shot. "How do you expect to save the world when you're slowly killing yourself?"
"I'm not killing myself," Steve muttered with disdain in his voice.
"You are!" Tony yelled, swearing again and shaking his head as pain shot through it. A groan escaped his lips as he clenched his fists. "Can't you admit that you're not perfect like my father was so convinced you were?"
"I'm not perfect," Steve admitted without resistance. "I never said I was, I never claimed to be, I'm not perfect."
Tony found himself blinking in shock, looking up at the man with skepticism.
"You didn't have to claim to be," Tony muttered, taking a step towards the Compound. Dizziness struck him hard and he almost fell before Steve grabbed his shoulder again and steadied him.
"Let's get you inside, Tony," Steve sighed, helping the man into the Compound and towards the medical wing.
The silence stretched between them and Tony wondered if there was even anything else that needed to be said.
He was shocked at Steve's condition, despite the fact he currently felt as if his entire being were in a daze and a fog. It was hard for him to even focus let alone process how bad Steve Rogers mental and physical state had to be.
The other Avengers made their way into the Compound and Tony knew that he didn't have to bother chewing Captain America out for leaving. The team would do that for him without his prompting, or Clint would give him that disappointed scowl that he had been perfecting.
The man had begun to take on the role of team parent in Tony's mind. He wasn't sure if that was weird or oddly appropriate since he was the only member of the team that actually had children that Tony knew of. Maybe it was a fitting role for the archer.
Tony could feel his mind drifting farther away from him and he finally allowed it. He let himself drift off into sweet nothingness and hoped that for once his subconsciousness wouldn't have any nightmares to terrorize him with.
Awaking with a start later that evening, Tony ran a hand across his face as a deep groan tore from his throat. He could hardly remember the others taking him to bed. He did recall that the doctor had declared he needed bed rest and pain medication, and to wake up every couple hours as was standard for head injuries.
Clint took the first watch, then to Tony's surprise Natasha had. It made him wish that Pepper was there with him, even though he knew it was likely that would never happen again.
If this entire mess with Steve hadn't occurred he might have been able to fix his relationship with Pepper. The Accords could have split the difference as he hoped, things could have gone back to the way they were with Pepper even if it didn't fix anything else, but he knew he was hoping for too much now.
As he stood up out of bed he felt dizziness overtake him the moment his feet hit the floor. A low groan escaped his lips as he walked into his kitchen for a glass of water, and to contemplate over his most recent in his string of nightmares.
It looked like Peter Parker was destined to be at the center of his dreams for the foreseeable future. Tony regretted getting him involved in all this now more than he ever had.
Tony thought over the day and what happened. A sigh tore through him at the memory of the kid's kicked puppy expression when he took the suit away from him. Maybe it had been cruel to send him off in an 'I survived my trip to NYC' shirt and Hello Kitty PJ bottoms, but in a way, Tony felt justified.
A nagging in the back of his mind also threw up Steve Rogers' remarks about his decisions, reminding him that it could be a huge mistake, and he cringed. Worry jolted through him at the idea that taking away Peter's suit made his life more hazardous and his thoughts drifted to Charles Spencer.
There was no way he could be the cause of another bright young boy's death, it couldn't happen. No, it wouldn't happen.
Irritation shot through him and he shook his head. After all, what did Steve Rogers know about the kid? He had met him for such a short time. He had fought him and dropped a trailer on him. He couldn't have cared about the kids' well being then, though Tony knew if the man had wanted to hurt Peter he would have.
Still, he couldn't escape the gnawing feeling that something might go wrong with him. That perhaps Steve was right, given the circumstances.
He contemplated going and checking on the kid, but pushed it from his mind and reminded himself that from now on he needed to keep his distance from Peter Parker. His interference in the kid's life had put him in more danger than he had ever been in. As long as Tony was hovering around, Peter would likely continue to act out on his dreams of being an Avenger.
Tony wasn't sure what he had been thinking, involving the kid at all. He should have known with the kid's heart that he would want something more than old ladies and churros, but it was another mistake on a long list of them.
He tried to shrug it off as he looked down at his glass. He almost wanted to it with something stronger than water but decided the steady pounding in his head from the concussion was enough pain. There was no need to add a hangover to his current headache.
"How are you feeling?" The voice should have surprised Tony, but he was getting used to having people in his personal space again since moving to the Compound.
Who it came from, however, did surprise him a little. Steve Rogers was one of the last people he expected to be sitting in the kitchen and for the first time in weeks willingly speaking to him.
He eyed the tired gaunt looking man warily for a moment before responding. "I'm managing," Tony forced, frowning a little.
"Glad to hear it," came the soft response.
"Why did you venture over to this wing?" Tony ventured, curiosity getting the better of him.
"I was worried about you," Steve responded, shrugging his shoulders. "You did get hurt because of me and I feel bad about that, I wanted to be sure you were alright."
"Thanks for the sentiment," Tony droned with a sigh.
The super soldier didn't say anything else. He sat there staring down at the counter in front of him for a while. At least that's what Tony thought until he noticed a sketchbook in front of the man and realized he must have been drawing before Tony came in.
"You could have come to my room to check on me," he remarked offhandedly.
Steve nodded a little, picking up his pencil and fiddling with it. "I asked F.R.I.D.A.Y if you were awake and she said you weren't, so I decided to wait here."
It should be touching that the man had settled into the area and was willing to wait for Tony to emerge. He was kind enough to let him rest, but Tony still felt cold, and it made him feel a little sick to his stomach that that was all that he could feel.
He wondered if it would ever go away, and he was beginning to wish it would. All this fighting with Captain America, a man who had been his friend, was starting to wear on him. It was even beginning to leave him feeling a little more depressed than before.
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try one more time to reach out to the super soldier, to end this ridiculous fight.
"So are you any good?" Tony questioned, walking closer to the man and peering over his shoulder at the sketchbook.
Steve leaned to the side a little so the genius could see, not bothering to hide it.
Tony had to admit he was impressed with the mans' skill as he studied the almost flawless drawing of Avengers Tower.
"I'm selling the tower, you know," he said, quirking an eyebrow upward.
"I know, that's why I drew it, it's a bit nostalgic."
"I thought you said that it was big and ugly?" Tony tested, glancing at the man beside him.
"It grew on me," a soft smile played on Steve's face and he shook his head a little. He glanced up at the billionaire a moment before he flipped the page and showed him. "But I did draw the Compound too," he added.
Tony blinked and stared at the drawing of the Compound. In and of itself the drawing was remarkable, but what was most impressive to Tony was the sight of the Avengers also on the page. Steve had tied them into the portrait, training, talking, being so painfully them that it could have been an actual photograph.
"That's... really good, great actually," he cleared his throat a little, "nice job, Cap, didn't know you were that good of an artist."
"Thank you," Steve responded.
Tony found he wanted to say more, but the conversation while relaxed was a little awkward. Not to mention his headache was coming back full force from standing too long. He tried his best to shake it off but it was persistent.
"Maybe you should go lay down, you don't look that great, Tony," Steve said, and for once Tony had to agree.
"Yeah, see you, Cap," he muttered before turning and walking back for his room.
Anything was better than where they had been before, so maybe this short awkward conversation was a start. That in and of itself was enough to help Tony rest a little bit easier.
Authors Note:
So, uh, I bet you guys thought I died huh? Haha, I didn't. I had a major bout of writers' block that I can't promise won't come back, a lack of motivation and inspiration to write, and then National Novel Writing Month appeared and I dedicated all of the creative energy I had (or didn't have) into that as I tend to do every November.
I do apologize for the massive delay, I always hate it when writers vanish for ages, but now I understand why they do. I will do my utmost to refrain from disappearing for so long again though! I want to get on a regular posting schedule after the holidays so we'll see how that turns out! Either way, it's good to be back, I've been rewatching some of the Marvel movies which helped fuel my creative energy a little bit.
I'm not sure how much longer this story has, but I do know that I have a few ideas for different ones when it's complete, so if you want to take a look at my profile and vote in the little poll I have there, it would mean a lot! I have my preference on which I want to write, but I would love opinions. =)
Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and stay tuned for more as soon as I'm able!