The Bitter Suite

Chapter Three

Stark half crashed into the hospital wearing the suit and everything still. "I need some help here!" he shouted, holding Steve's broken body as best he could. Doctors quickly moved over, bringing over a gurney and a load of IV's. Tony dropped his friend gently onto it, grateful to be able to lay him somewhere he wouldn't get hurt any more. He had been terrified the whole way there that he was doing more harm then good to Steve.

"What happened?" he was asked briefly.

"There was a motorbike accident, he's lost a lot of blood." Tony answered, "We need a special Doctor, erm I need to get to a phone please." He noticed the suits in the back ground lurking, and breathed a sigh of relief when he realised that Pepper must have called in advance.

"Everything is under control Mr Stark." He was promised by some nameless, faceless suit, and he was taken to some waiting area grey and colourless. Hours he sat there drinking flavourless coffee, while Steve was fighting for his life in surgery a few rooms away. It tore his heart out to be so helpless, waiting for the Doctors to do what they do best.

Slowly the rest of the team arrived, first Tasha and Barton, then Banner. They all took a seat, without saying a word after seeing Stark's face. All waiting with mutual concern on their faces, they hadn't known the guy long, but he was family. Not one of them wanted him to be hurt, every one of them would give their life for him.

Lastly Pepper walked in hand in hand with Agent Coulson. Phil, Tony reminded himself with a great effort. The pair of them had gotten engaged a few months ago, he'd been very jealous at first. Wanting to keep Pepper all to himself, worried about losing the best friend that he had. Eventually he had come to accept her choice, and seeing how happy they were together he gave his blessing. He had even bought them the expensive diamond engagement ring she was wearing. When he had thought Coulson dead at Loki's hands, he had been terrified at how she would react. In one way he was glad that Fury had lied to them, so he didn't have to see her soul crushed at the loss. That hadn't stopped him from ranting and raving, and Steve and Banner having to hold him back before he got his hands around Nick's throat. They had shoved him out the room very quickly as he had hurled abuse at the older man. Not that any of them had been happy at the way they had been used.

The agent was still leaning on Pepper a lot, after all the stabbing had been less then two days before. He shouldn't really be up and around, but he had too much respect (and a massive man crush) for Steve Rogers for him to lie in a hospital bed while he fought for his life. He was wearing the suit he normally did, but it was creased in a way he would normally never allow, and his calm face was marked with sweat marks and pain from the effort of being up. "Is there any news?" Coulson asked, painfully lowering himself onto a chair.

Stark shook his head, rubbing his tired eyes. Working it out quickly from the battles, and Fury and the party was this his fourth day straight without sleep, or fifth? Pepper came over to him, and nudged his leg. He lifted his head slowly, tiredly to see what she wanted. "Come with me, now." She said matter of factly.

It was a testament to just how exhausted he was, that Stark just followed her without arguing. When she got him far enough away from the others to not be over heard, she turned on him. "Now tell me what's going on, and tell me the truth this time." She demanded.

Tony swallowed a few times, "I can't tell you."

"Since when have we ever had secrets?" Pepper snapped, "How long have we known each other now?" She expected his usual answer in years, hours, minutes and seconds, she didn't get it and that worried her even more.

"Too long for you to fall for me lying to you" Tony sighed, "But this is personal, really personal and not just about me. I don't mind you being ashamed of me, I'm used to it, but I don't want you thinking any less of Steve."

Pepper screwed her eyes up, "Just tell me!"

Tony signed, "We had a fight, and it's my fault that he is laying in there dying!" His hands clenched inside the suit, needing to hit something so badly. To blow off a little of this restless steam and to try to forget the dark thoughts clouding his mind.

"What on earth could you two fight about that could cause this? You are being foolish Tony." She answered.

Tony looked into her eyes, full of pain and concern, "He told me he loved me."

Pepper blinked, and then took it in her stride, it wasn't the weirdest thing she had heard in her time working for Stark." Okay and you answered?"

"Nothing, that's the problem, Steve, he poured his heart out to me, he was stinking drunk and I just stood there making jokes about who he might have a crush on. Then he told me he loved me, but it was wrong for him to feel that way. I guess being gay was a big thing back in the 40's." Tony snapped, "And then I let him go, knowing he was in no state to drive! I should have pulled him off that bike, blown up the tires. SOMETHING other than just standing there like some cheap prom date." He punched his fist through a wall, causing the plaster to shatter and fall off in clumps. Not the mention the gaping hole he left behind. Leaving the nurses staring at him and muttering. "I will pay for that!" he said loudly.

"He will, just send the bill to Stark Tower" Pepper promised. When it all went still again, and the nurses had left she turned back on him. "Stop beating yourself up about this, you went after him. You dragged his body from the wreck site to get him help. If it wasn't for you he'd be bleeding out alone in the middle of nowhere. You gave him a chance to survive, a chance to live. Let's hope he takes it. You can't blame yourself, because if he was that jealous of watching you with all those woman at the party, he would have wrecked out whether you had argued or not, okay?"

Stark didn't answer, too full of guilt.

"Although I never took Steve for being gay, I guess you really can never tell." Pepper commented.

"I just feel so helpless." Tony complained, "If he was a machine I could fix him."

"This really has you wound up doesn't it?" Pepper asked, "Is this something I need to know?"

"I AM NOT GAY!" Tony exploded.

"I never said you were, I think you protest too much Mr Stark." She answered.

"Ms Potts, with the greatest respect you have no bloody idea what you are talking about." He snapped.

They were interrupted mid fight by Tasha coming over, she realised she was in the middle of something, but carried on anyway. "He's out of the operating room, and resting. He's not out of the woods yet, but they think he will be fine in time. He just needs sleep, they put him in some sort of medical coma to heal."

Stark sagged in relief, leaning against the wall half closing his eyes to hide the tears he was so close to shedding. "I need to see him." He said simply.

Pepper stopped him, "You are going nowhere until you go home, take off that suit, shower and get a few hours sleep. There's nothing you can do here, Steve won't wake up for a while yet and you've been up since before I left for DC. You need rest, you won't be any good to him if you pass out here and lose control of that suit. You can go home, and still be back here before he wakes up. He will never know you were gone."

"I will know, and that's what matters, I'm not going anywhere!" Tony snapped.

"Do I need to ask Banner to bring the other guy to drag you out?" Tasha asked, squaring up next to Pepper. Both stood there arms folded, taking no crap.

"FINE" he snapped, and blasted out of the hospital building. Minutes later he dropped back into the mansion allowing Jarvis to remove the suit. Wearily he headed to the bar and poured himself a stiff drink. He'd had more then enough earlier, and was still fairly unbalanced even after all the coffee, but he needed something right now anything to ground himself.

"Sir? Your exhaustion levels are extremely high." Jarvis commented.

"Shut it Jarvis, before I take you to pieces you piece of crap. You are all ganging up on me. I do not need looking after, I'm a grown man." Tony snapped downing the drink, and two more besides. He slammed himself down at his desk, flicking his shoes off, as he carried on drinking.

He replayed the argument over and over again in his mind, thinking about what he should have done to stop it. The thought of losing Steve was more painful then he had expected although he was unclear to exactly why or how the man had crawled into his heart so easily. He tried dissecting the reasons behind it, but didn't come up with anything logical to why. His head drooped and the glass tumbled from his hand onto the carpet.

"Sir?" Jarvis tried again.

"Yeah." Tony muttered sleepily.

"I detect that you are very close to falling asleep, and I suggest finding a more suitable place."

The computer gained no answer as Tony's eyes closed fully, and he fell into troubled dreaming.