I Need a Hero

Tony drove too fast to get there, tore through doors and shoved people aside, doing everything but sprinting to finally get to Bruce, panicked and winded but his eyes were filled with hope. "Where is he? Is he alright? Did he ask for me, what?" He asked frantically, gripping his shoulders in his mildly panicked state.

"Tony, relax, calm down," Bruce said, holding his forearms and gently lowered them back to his sides. "He's in the same place you left him, just like he was before," he assured.

"Has he said anything? Did he ask for me?" He repeated, more urgent this time. Bruce folded his lips, the rest of the hall still bustling with people, Thor off to the side leaning against the wall with Clint frowning at Natasha's iPad, reading Fury's debriefing of what they knew of Steve's situation. Natasha had her head leaning against his shoulder, absolutely exhausted. Tony glanced over them, suddenly incredibly grateful but without the words to say so. He turned his attention back to Bruce.

"Tony, he hasn't said anything," he explained nervously. "He, he understands what we're telling him. If we ask him to sit up he will, if we ask him to stand up he does but he won't say a word."

"Has anyone tried-?"

"Of course we did. He won't respond. He keeps his head down and looks at his hand like we aren't even there," he explained. "I tried, we all did. Even Pepper tried." Tony shook his head, staring at the floor, thinking.

"Is, is there something wrong? Is his head alright or-?"

"There isn't anything physically wrong from what I saw in his CT scan we took a few days ago," he sighed, at a loss and incredibly stressed. "Honestly, that's the last thing I have on my mind. I think getting him back to normal and figure out how the hell someone reversed the damn serum is more pressing." He was snappish, jaw flexing. He took a breath. He always looked so much older when he was stressed, the nearly premature gray in his hair standing out as well as the fatigue in his eyes through his glasses. "I'm betting he'll talk to you," he said, calmed again. "Considering." Tony nodded, taking a breath and trying to cope with all this. His arms itched to hold him, longing to see him.

"Can I see him now?" He asked, swallowing. Bruce licked his lips..

"Just go slow. He's a little jumpy," he acknowledged. Tony turned, understanding in his expression and tried not to sprint to Steve's room.

"We're gonna get caught!" Steve hissed, smiling at him. Tony grinned, lips swollen, hair mussed from Steve's fingers.

"No we're not," he assured, kissing his neck again. "Fury's got Natasha busy in Jersey, Barton's shooting his little Robin Hood heart out, Bruce is in the middle of a breakthrough and we won't see him until something blows up and Thor's on some weird alien conference call with his dad and Loki. We're fine."

"We're in a supply room…canoodling," Steve said, hushed. Tony barked a laugh, giggling into his chest.

"Yes we are, and you love sneaking around just as much as I do," he whispered, lips brushing his as he spoke, pressing him closer to the counter. Steve nodded, letting lust win out over reasoning and kissed him again, holding tight to his waist. Tony groaned a little, careful to be quiet so Steve didn't panic again. They were lost in their world. Tony was engulfed in his arms, his own wrists locked around his neck and tugging at his hair. He tasted incredible, the smell of his skin and aftershave filling his mind. His body was buzzing with heat and desire to stay this close to him.

Steve's shirt was rucked up so he could get to his stomach and he wasted no time taking advantage of the situation. He carefully put his hands on his stomach, feeling how hard and tight his body was underneath this soft skin. He wondered if the rest of him was really this perfect.

He kissed at his neck, barely sucking his skin to listen to him gasp, so unused to the treatment and Tony couldn't get enough of it. His blushing, his fumbling and accelerated heart rate. The way he wet his lips before he talked to him sometimes and those precious dimples that came out when he gave that sweet embarrassed smile when Tony told him unbearably gorgeous he was; he was absolutely addicted to him.

Steve moaned softly and he smirked against his mouth, smug.

"You like getting me flustered way too much," Steve gasped. He giggled.

"Maybe…" He hinted. Steve grabbed his waist, kissing him hard and chuckling when Tony yelped. "Oh, come on, that's not even f-"

The door opened and both men froze.

Thor flicked on the light, humming happily, pausing when he saw them and smiled. "Afternoon," he said brightly, moving to the other side of the counter, reaching up into a cabinet.

The couple looked at each other, Tony's eyes wide, Steve's terrified, but neither could move. "Uh, um, hi, Thor," Tony stammered. The Asgardian shot them another smile, digging through various water bottle sizes to locate the one he had in mind. "H-how'd the stuff go with your dad?"

"Father is still insistent on keeping Loki confined rather than speaking to him. I'm unsure whether I will be successful in my endeavors at this juncture, but I won't give up. Despite his claims Loki is still my brother and deserves to be listened to. If only he'd speak to me…" He shook his head, taking down the bottle he'd been looking for. He shook his head with a sad smile. Tony and Steve exchanged another glance.

"Well, uh, good luck with that," Tony said with a reassuring smile, still not moving.

Thor cocked his head, as if finally realizing something. "What are you two doing in here, anyway?"

"Sparring," Tony said immediately. Steve nodded vigorously, still blushing furiously. "I was uh, showing Captain Rogers what martial arts is," he explained.

"Ah," Thor said, having no idea himself what the exercise was. "I'd also like to learn some of your Midguardian fighting styles if you have the time."

"Sure, I'll let you know when it opens up," he nodded, still smiling.

"Best of luck, Captain," Thor smiled, stepping out of the supplies closet whistling.

The two finally relaxed, unwinding a little. Steve smacked his arm.

"Ow!"

"Not gonna get caught, huh?" He hissed. Tony shrugged.

"I can't be right all the time, can I?" He offered, grinning crookedly. He continued to look at him, glaring. Tony wilted. "Oh come on, I'm cute, right?" He asked, nuzzling his nose. Steve sighed, smiling again.

"Come here."

He was sitting on the bed, not looking up when another presence entered the space. He stared down at his hands, shaking a little in his thin gown. He was still bruised and purpled and stitched, on his side against the pillows to avoid harming the injuries on his back further.

Tony's heart was beating too fast, elated that Steve's eyes were open, even if he hadn't been speaking. It was enough to outweigh his guilt for not being here when he woke like he'd sworn he would be.

He gingerly sat down on the bed near his feet, watching his face for some kind of recognition. He didn't find any. "Steve?" Nothing. He licked his lips, trying again. "Steve, baby? It's Tony," he said softly. He might as well have just stalked to nothing. "Can you hear me?" He reached out to him, the tension in the air so thick he was suffocating in it. Steve whimpered, wincing away from his hand. Tony retracted it immediately, watching him with watery eyes. He couldn't even touch him. "Okay," he forced, nodding. "It's okay, I won't touch you."

He sat there for a few more minutes, listening to Steve breathe with his ragged lungs. "It's okay," he assured, still looking at him. "You don't have to talk to me, baby. You don't have to talk to anyone until you want to. But…but I want you to know that you're safe. We're trying to find out who did this. Everyone's working around the clock some way to help. We're gonna fix this, alright?" Still nothing. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up. Bruce thought I should get out of here for a minute and…and you woke up without me. Haven't hardly moved…" He laughed ruefully at his hands. "My luck, though, huh?" His eyes misted again, throat swelling at the silence.

He stayed where he was for hours, silence resounding through the room save for the faint beeping of Steve's heart monitor, waiting. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for, but Steve couldn't be silent for the rest of his life, could he? But Steve remained in the same catatonic state, staring blankly at nothing, expression and eyes void of any and all emotion. Tony sighed, moving to stand, obviously unwanted or unnoticed. "Right, well, I'm gonna go try and eat something or choke down the god-awful coffee in the cafeteria, if you-"

He froze.

Steve had reached out, putting his hand on top of Tony's eyes shining as the sun filtered through the blinds. Tony smiled a little, turning his hand over to hold his. "You don't want me to go?" He shook his head a little. Tony was grinning. He knew he shouldn't be, Steve was still hurt and not speaking but…but it was something. "Okay," he nodded, sitting back down, scooting a little closer so he didn't have to stretch. "I'll stay. I won't leave you."

A/N: Sorry it took so long, guys. Real life and all that haha. Have a good St. Patrick's Day and stay safe!