Chapter Three: Dorks and Fights and Doctors, Oh My
The next morning, Tony woke up to the sound of chaos ensuing. Kids were running around crazily. When Tony got into the kitchen, fully dressed, he saw Steve holding baby Natasha while he was making both breakfast and filling brown paper bags for the kids' lunches. Tony immediately went to help him.
"Hey, why didn't you wake me up? I could have helped." He took Natasha out of Steve's arms and handed her to Thor, who was eating cereal. "What can I do?"
"Uh, you can get the kids who are going to school served their cereal. And make sure they are all dressed. When I'm done here, and I almost am, I'll go change. And maybe while I do that, you could help Peggy and Darcy get ready. Then we can walk the kids to school and take a short walk. Is that okay?"
Tony nodded and got to work. Before long, they were at the school. Steve led the group inside and walked to the front desk. The older woman who sat there smiled at him and waved at Peggy, who was in Steve's arms. She waved back, a big smile on her face.
"Steven, Margret, it's nice to see you. Oh, you brought the whole lot, and then some." She smiled at all the kids and then spotted Tony. "Hello, I'm Mary Ann. You must be the people Steve is having over for the week. He said it would be nice for the kids to go here during your stay. Is that right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"So, I'm going to need their names and ages and we will put them in a class with other kids their ages. How does that sound?" The sweet old lady asked.
"That sounds great, thank you." Tony said politely.
~~Stony~~
Steve and Tony walked down the sidewalk, Peggy and Darcy were in front of them and Steve was carrying Natasha. Steve pointed out buildings and other things as they walked. He was showing Tony around town, so he knew where everything was. Nobody was out on the streets, which was something new for Tony. He was so used to heavy traffic all day, every day. After a few blocks, Peggy asked to go into a building. Steve agreed with an eye roll. Tony asked him what it was and Steve ignored the question. The girls were already inside and Tony held the door open for Steve and Natasha when they got to the door.
"Movies? It's a movie theater?" Steve nodded. "You come here often?"
"Yeah, usually it's just with Peggy. We come while the other kids are at school. They understand and I did the same with them when they weren't in school." He began to look around, as if searching for something.
"What's wrong? What are you doing?" Tony asked, slightly confused.
"Looking for the girls. You really are new to this, aren't you?" Tony frowned and also began to look around.
"Well, yes, but Darcy never runs off. She's never had anyone to run off with."
Suddenly a man that was about Steve's age interrupted them. "Looking for someone, retard?" He asked Steve. Tony was now putting Natasha, who Steve had given to him when they entered the building, on the floor in her car seat.
"Peggy, what were you thinking? Girls, we were worried. I'm sorry, Jack, won't happen again."
"You're right, it better not happen again, dork!"
"Hey, don't call him a dork!" Tony shouted, slightly shocking the man.
"Who's this? Did you finally come out of the closet, fag?" The man asked Steve, who just turned to face a furious Tony.
"Tony-"
"How can you just let him call you names, Steve?! This jerk deserves to be talked back to!" He started towards the man, a fire burning deep in his eyes that suggested he wasn't truly present in the theater. His eyes looked far away, thinking of other people who made him angry. Steve put his hand on Tony's chest, stopping his advance toward Jack, the man provoking Tony's anger.
"Tony, stop. It's not a big deal. Let's just go home. The girls are scared; you're scarring your sisters."
"Yeah, Tony!" Jack yelled, trying to piss him off even more. "Run home and have a girly fight with your pillow. Steve's used to all this, and much worse! I've done much worse to him, and that's just me. Right, Stevie?!"
"Let go of me!" Tony shouted at Steve, and Steve dropped his arms from their hold on Tony in shock. "You have three seconds to run, asshole! One, two, three." And Tony lunged.
~~Stony~~
"I can't believe you did that." Steve said when Tony woke up.
They had managed to get home, Tony heavily limping from an injured leg. He'd duked it out with Jack and got hit bad, but not as bad as Jack. Tony and Steve had made a quick escape. They had the girls carrying Natasha's car seat with her in it and Steve practically carried Tony home and put him in his bed. Jack had gone to the hospital, but Doctor Greenburg had called Steve to tell him that Jack would be okay. The family friend, and family doctor, would be coming over soon to take a look at Tony and meet him as well. As soon as work was over, Doctor Greenburg offered to pick all the kids up and bring them home.
"Why would you even do that? I don't understand." Steve said to Tony, looking genuinely confused.
"What do you mean? I thought that you said you think of me as a friend? Well, friendship works both ways. I don't let jerks like him talk that way to my friend. No matter what. I don't like people who hurt others, physically or emotionally. I know it has to hurt, I've been through that kind of crap." The last sentence flew out of his mouth before he could stop it.
Steve's eyes widened. "What?" But then the front door opened and the sound of feet poured into the house. All the kids were talking, and Steve knew that Tony was finished talking. He sighed and slipped off the edge of the bed, where he'd been seated, and into the hallway. Tony heard him yell something about doing homework and then all he heard were kids. A moment later, Pepper, Bruce and Loki entered the room with a panicked look on each of their faces.
"What happened?" Loki asked as Pepper ran to the edge of the bed and climbed up to lay next to Tony. Bruce came and sat where Steve had been a moment before.
"It's okay. I'm okay. I just got into a little fight with some mean guy, that's all. I'm alright, guys, seriously."
"You don't look alright." A man's voice said from the doorway. Tony looked up to see Steve standing next to a doctor. He assumed it was Doctor Greenburg, the man Steve had told him about.
Tony cracked a grin and looked back at his siblings. "Guys, why don't you go do that homework you must have. Let me be here alone with the doctor."
"But-" Bruce started.
"Out, all of you." Reluctantly, all the kids left the room. When Steve moved to leave too, both Tony and the doctor laughed. "Not you, Rogers. You can stay."
"I'm Doctor Greenburg, you can call me Greg. All the Rogers do, except Steve here, who is too stubborn." Steve blushed in embarrassment. "So, I heard you got in a fight with one of the toughest young men in this here town. Is that true?"
"Yes, sir. In my defense, I've only been here a couple days, and I didn't know he was that tough. He just seemed… bad."
"No need to defend yourself, boy. I heard the whole story, three times from three different people. I know the hard core facts. Now, let's take a look at the damage." A few minutes later Doctor Greenburg finished checking the areas Tony and Steve knew there were injuries.
"Have you been in fights before this one?"
Tony tensed and Steve looked confused. "What do you mean, Greg?" Steve asked.
"I saw a few scars and I thought maybe they were from fights. I didn't mean to be presumptuous."
Tony shook his head. "No, no fights before this one." His voice cracked though, giving him away to something. Steve frowned, and Tony cleared his throat. "So, what's the damage caused, Doc?"
"Well, there doesn't seem to be anything too bad, but I'm a little worried about your head. Mild concussion, you've got there. But, other than that, you should be fine. Just take it easy and we'll have Steve keep an eye on you, for your head. Does it hurt too badly? I could give you some medicine."
"No," Tony shook his head, even though it did hurt. "I'll be fine. I've had worse." He silently cursed himself; he just couldn't shut up today. An eyebrow was raised in question but then the doctor turned to Steve.
"You need to watch him for the next day or so, don't let him push it."
"No problem. I already planned on it, whether you told me to or not." Steve said, looking at Tony.
"Well, you boys have a good night and call me if you need anything. I'll see myself out."
"Thank you so much. Take care," Steve said. When the front door was finally shut, Steve looked at Tony. There were questions in his eyes and Tony inwardly groaned.
"Do you want to talk about it now, or in the morning?"
"Morning, please. Can we go make dinner now?" Steve smiled lightly.
"I can, you can stay here and rest. Doctor's orders."
"Nooo! Come on! He said nothing about making dinner being bad. I can help. Please? I can't just sit here in bed the rest of the night."
"Well, maybe if you're good I'll let you out for air later tonight."
"What am I, a dog?"
"No, you are beginning to act like a child, though. With all this whining and complaining, and not even about the pain. No, you're complaining about being stuck in bed; something most men, especially ones raising nine kids, would kill for!"
"I'm sorry." Tony said, and Steve sighed, ran his hand through his hair, and sat next to Tony on the bed.
"You got in a fight today for me. To protect me and my honor. Now, I have no idea why you would do that, but you must have had some kind of reason. I hope you will trust me enough to tell me, even if it's not today. But, until I have a reason not to, I have to thank you. And I have to care for you until you are better. It's the way I am, so you will just have to deal with it."
~~Stony~~
That night, Steve did let Tony out for some air. The kids were finishing up their homework and watching TV inside. So, Steve took the free time to bring Tony out of the bedroom to watch the sunset. They sat on the front porch, watching the sun go down.
"It's so beautiful." Tony said, pulling Steve out of his bubble of thoughts.
"It is, isn't it?"
"I wish I got to see this every day." Steve heard the longing in Tony's voice. And then he got an idea. He just had to wait until Tony and the kids were asleep. After forever, it was time for bed and Steve made sure Tony was settled in the bed before leaving to tuck the kids in. When he got back, he saw that Tony was still awake.
"Are you sure you don't mind sharing your bed with me? I feel bad, taking over your house and now your bed too."
"I don't mind, Tony. I already told you that, several times."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Now go to sleep. I just need to take care of something and then I'll go to sleep too, okay?"
"What do you need to take care of?"
"Don't worry. I'll be back soon; I'm not leaving the house. Don't you even try to get out of bed while I'm not with you. I will find out, and there will be hell to pay."
"Alright Steve. Goodnight, sleep tight."
"Don't let the bed bugs bite." Steve finished with a grin as he slipped out of the room. He didn't finish what he was going to do for a few hours. He got back in the room around one in the morning. And Tony was tossing and turning in the bed and seemed to be having a nightmare. Steve slipped into the bed and shook Tony, trying to wake him up.
"Tony? Wake up, Tony. You're having a nightmare." Finally Tony woke up and gasped for air. He pulled himself into Steve's chest, seeking comfort. Tears trickled down his cheeks and he wiped at them, embarrassed.
"Sorry, did I wake you?"
"No, I wasn't asleep. It was just a dream. You're okay."
"It wasn't a dream, that's the problem. It was a memory." But before Steve could ask, Tony was asleep. He was still clutching Steve tightly, but Steve didn't care. And, he realized, it brought that same weird feeling he only got with Tony. He thought about what it could be, what it could mean.
It could be him knowing that he was doing what his mom wanted and keeping an opened mind about other people. It could be him finally making a friend his age. It could be him knowing his family was happy. Or that he and his family was making Tony and his family happier than before. But… none of those things seemed right. And then, he realized what it was, with a shock.
He liked, maybe even loved, Tony.
So sorry this took so long to put up! I feel like a jerk, and I understand if nobody is reading this anymore. But summer's here, so I should have more time to write this and post it! :)
