The following morning, Steve woke early, still feeling exhausted due to his uncomfortable sleeping position. He tilted his neck cautiously, working out the kinks, and yawned before turning his attention to Tony. For once, the other was actually awake before he was. He learned from Tony that a doctor had already been in to see him, and that the papers had already been signed for him to leave, so Steve gathered their things, and in a moment, they were heading home.
Steve slipped the door open when they arrived, allowing Tony through living room was occupied by the entire team and Pepper, and they fell into silence as the pair stepped through the door. Steve smiled encouragingly at them and squeezed Tony's shoulder gently, looking down at him. "You see? Everyone is here for you. We all care about you, and we're all going to make sure that this goes as smoothly as possible until things get better. And, of course, if you need anything, you can always call me," he added, smiling crookedly.
Tony turned to look at all his friends, then stared at the floor guiltily. "Thanks for doing this, guys," Tony mumbled. "Sorry to put you through all this..." He looked up to meet Steve's eyes, finally feeling calm as he took his hand. "So-what's the plan?"
"Well, I pretty much explained everything major at the hospital, so...I guess that's up to you? We've got the beginnings of some schedules worked out, but aside from that, you're still able to do whatever you want. Someone just has to be there with you," Steve explained with a light shrug. "So, what is the plan?"
Tony sighed. "Shower. Definitely shower." He looked around at everyone, who stared back casually. "Do I need an escort?" he tried to ask with humor. Most on the team rolled their eyes and got up to mosey around the tower. It was clear that Steve would be on shower duty. "Hope you like your rooms!" Tony yelled down the hall to the quickly disappearing feet. When they were out of sight, he scrubbed his face with his good hand before clasping Steve's again and heading towards his room. "Thank you, again," Tony whispered, leaning against Steve.
"You really need to stop saying that," Steve replied as he draped his arms around Tony. "Saying thank you implies that I'm doing you a favor or a service. I'm not. I just want you to be happy," he mumbled into his hair.
Tony smiled so wide it hurt. "You're amazing, you know that?" Tony looked to the side at Steve in wonder. When they got to Tony's room, Tony pulled them down on the bed so they were side by side, but holding hands. "So...I've been thinking," he starts. He's so nervous, his hands are sweating. "I'dmaybeliketotrybeingwithyou," Tony let out, all in a rush. "I mean-if, if you want that. Of course, I understand, if that's not what you want, and especially with me and everything that's going on, and I don't even know how you feel, but I just wanted to say that I really like you, and I trust you, and I'm willing to try more, if you are into that," Tony said, way too fast. He was blushing furiously, but he felt good about letting it out.
Steve stared at the ceiling, smiling like a dope. He allowed his eyes to slip shut before turning his head to look at Tony. When he realized that Tony was blushing, his smile grew until it pinched in his cheeks, and he let out a breathy laugh. "I'd like to try that, too," he replied quietly, still laughing a bit. "I'd like that very much." He squeezed Tony's hand, still grinning like an idiot. Especially after his talk with Pepper, Steve really hadn't been expecting anything like this out of Tony, but he couldn't lie and say that he wasn't absolutely thrilled.
Tony squeezed his hand back. "Good," he whispered, rolling over into Steve's embrace. He was still achy from the injuries he'd sustained, and the pain meds the doctor had him taking weren't helping keep his head clear. He was content to just lay here with Steve, but he knew he needed to make himself presentable and talk to the team about what happened. It wasn't fair to throw this at them and then pretend nothing was wrong. "I guess I should talk to the team..." Tony whispered into Steve's collarbone, loving the delicious warmth on his face. Steve nodded against Tony's head, and he sighed, dreading that conversation. "Shower first, though. I'm disgusting." Tony made a face when he started to peel off his clothes. Steve had brought him some sweatpants and a T-shirt, but everything was sticking to his skin.
"Disgusting is a pretty harsh description," Steve noted, busying himself with gathering Tony some clean clothes to avoid any awkward encounters as he prepared for his shower. "Dirty, perhaps, but not disgusting. And let's not kid around, I could use a decent shave, at the very least." He shrugged, placing Tony's clothes on the counter, and scrubbed at his chin thoughtfully as he stared at his reflection. "Rules are rules, as unfortunate as they are. I've got to stay in here the whole time, so..." he trailed off, glancing at Tony, but looking away nearly as quickly. It certainly wasn't that he didn't want to look. He simply didn't think it was right. He felt his cheeks heat up at the thought and turned quickly, distracting himself with getting the shower running.
Tony smiled at Steve's blush. "Well, now you can officially see me naked." Tony laughed at Steve's expression. "It's ok, Steve. I'll just, uh..." Tony gestured to the shower and Steve nodded, turning around. Tony turned too and hopped in, being mindful of his injuries and his stitches that were still tender, but allowed to get wet. He groaned under the hot water, only then remembering Steve was there, and he giggled at the thought of the expression on Steve's face. He cleaned himself up and turned off the water, the room full of steam. He grabbed the towel Steve had hung by the shower and wrapped himself up, stepping out to see Steve sitting on the toilet, fully clothed and reading a magazine. "Hey...I'm done," he said awkwardly.
Steve was nearly dying over the thought of Tony being right there, completely nude and joking about it, and he shifted at the sound of Tony's groan, biting his lip and looking for anything to use as a distraction. He spotted a magazine and went in for the kill, deciding that it would suffice. He'd worked so hard to bury himself in the article that he honestly had, and he jumped when Tony finally spoke up. He lifted his gaze, regretting it nearly immediately when he was met with the sight of Tony fresh out of the shower. He fought down the blush he knew was on its way and smiled a bit, rubbing at his neck out of habit. "Right, uh...Right." He nodded once and stood, moving to grab the clothes that he'd sat out, and turned back to pass them to Tony, still unsure of how to handle himself. Steve truly wasn't as much of a prude as people expected him to be, but that didn't make him any more or less experienced in handling intoxicatingly attractive, soaking-wet, nude bruncettes.
Tony full out laughed at the way Steve was acting, but took the clothes. He grabbed another towel and headed back into his bedroom, Steve in tow. He hastily dried himself and pulled on the gym shorts and white t-shirt Steve had grabbed. He shook his head like a dog and droplets flew, making Steve smile. Tony threw his wet towels back into the bathroom, and flopped down on the bed. "What should I say to them?" Tony asked quietly, his voice muffled by the bed.
Steve walked back over to the bed and sat on the edge, turning his head to look at Tony. "Well," he began, letting out a heavy breath, "I've already told them the very basics, but I'm sure hearing some details from you would be a little bit nicer. My version was also very speedy, so they might not fully grasp what's going on, aside from the events at the hospital. Anything else you say is completely up to you. I just feel like you should be the one explaining what's going on."
Tony nodded. He took Steve's hand, dragging himself up from the bed. "Alright". He pulled Steve down the stairs with him, and found everyone had congregated again in the living room, quietly chatting with each other. The room fell silent when they saw Tony approach. Tony suddenly felt extremely anxious. But these were his friends, they wanted to help him! He swallowed his fear and gripped Steve's hand tighter. "Hi" he started with, and Natasha raised her eyebrow and him while everyone else gave him a questioning look. "Thanks for um, being here. I know this is kind of like, huge, and obviously surprising, and um, yeah. I uh...I don't really know what to say here..." Tony rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, blushing a bit. "But I realize that I uh...I need help" Tony admitted quietly. At this, Bruce stood up, coming up to put his hands on Tony's shoulders.
"We are here for you, Tony, okay? We want to help you, and we would never make you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. We just want you to be okay. We love you." Bruce pulled Tony in for a hug, and Tony smiled.
Following Bruce's lead, the rest of the team came up and surrounded Tony, giving him their support. "Thank you," Tony whispered, looking down. Realizing that Tony had said his piece, the team dispersed, leaving just Tony and Steve together.
Steve stood off to the side for the majority of the gathering, simply watching how things were going. He found himself smiling each time Tony did, and folded his arms across his chest as a way of keeping himself from moving to his side. When the others had gone their own ways, Steve simply watched Tony for a moment before finally crossing over to him. "Now, why am I under the impression that you're not okay?" he asked, tilting his chin up gently.
Tony tried to squirm away from Steve's gaze, but failed, refusing to meet his eyes. Tony sniffed, and then pulled himself into Steve, the shaking taking over his body as his anxiety came free. "I-I didn't think it would turn out this way," Tony whimpered. "I feel so stupid." Tony buried his face in Steve's chest and let the tears fall. "I'm so, so sorry this happened," Tony wailed. He felt on the verge of a panic attack.
Steve nuzzled into Tony's hair, placing a light kiss behind his ear. "There's no reason for tears," he mumbled, wrapping his arms around him. "Realistically speaking, no one was really planning on any of this." He allowed his hand to slide across Tony's back comfortingly and remained quiet. After a moment, he pulled back to look at him. "And don't call yourself stupid. You are not stupid by any means. But hey, if you were, I'd love to be as stupid as you. Maybe I'd be a billionaire, too." He smiled half-heartedly, looking down. "Okay, that one was bad. I'm trying, here. Honestly though, Tony, even though things seem rough right now, you're in the best position you've been in a while. You have friends looking out for you, and you're getting the assistance you deserve. So please," he said, cupping Tony's cheek, "please don't cry. Don't be upset. Instead of focusing on what's happened, look at what's happening. Things are changing, Tony. And it's getting better every day. No regrets. Not anymore."
Tony snorted out a laugh at Steves attempted joke, despite his mood. He nodded, but couldn't stop the shaking. He pulled Steve down onto the couch, laying his head in Steve's lap. "I guess things have been better...sort of." Tony sighed and nuzzled his nose into Steve's knee, yawning. He was exhausted when he returned from the hospital, and now, after his anxiety attack, he felt like he was going to pass out any second.
Steve's hand automatically fell to Tony's hair once they hit the couch. He grazed his fingers through it and zoned out until he heard Tony's yawn. Snapping back to attention, he looked to Tony. "If you're tired, you should sleep," he commented.
"Mmmnot tired," Tony mumbled into Steve's stomach, turning to inhale his scent. Truth be told, he was about three seconds away from passing out right there. "Tell me a story," he whispered, grasping for Steve's free hand and shutting his eyes.
"A story," Steve repeated, giving Tony an amused look. "Hm." He stayed quiet, thinking, then laughed softly, beginning ridiculous stories from his childhood. He figured that the war stories had been told enough. After the third story, when he was certain Tony had fallen asleep, he fell silent, admiring the other. Shortly after, he leaned his head back against the couch, allowing his eyes to close.
Ok so, I think that this chapter is kind of just a filler because it needed to happen but nothing interesting actually occurred. THAT BEING SAID, next chapter-we will incorporate more stony, and have a scene with someone from the team (I'm thinking Bruce. Because Bruce has been through shit.) I'm not super please pleased with this chapter but I think the next one will be better. PLEASE REVIEW!