I'm not sure if people are reading this story but thats ok, im kind of in love with it so i will just keep writing it.

Monday dawned and Tony packed his stuff, taking care to keep Steve's picture safe. He did not want to have to explain why it was ruined, not that he actually cared about a stupid picture...yeah who was he kidding, he fucking cared. But he never got to give the picture back. Steve never showed up to school, odd but not out of the ordinary. Kids got sick, it happened. Tuesday and Wednesday were the same, none of the facility told him anything, not that they would if they had known anything, it was widely known that Tony couldn't stand Steve. Thursday was marked again by Steve's absence and Tony started to get worried. It wasn't like Steve to miss a full week of school, ever, but especially not with football season going on. Friday came and Steve was still absent. Tony's worry was pushed into overdrive. He was having a hard time concentrating, for someone that supposedly hated the boy, he was thinking about him way too much but he couldn't stop. Steve wouldn't be allowed to play in the game that night and that meant something was wrong. Steve never missed a game. Tony had seen that kid on his deathbed but still drag himself to school on game days and he hadn't been quarterback back then.

When the day ended, Tony didn't even bother dismissing his last class. He was up and out of his seat before the bell rang, the door shutting behind him just as the clang rang out.

The teachers' lounge was empty and Tony had to wait. He was antsy, though he really didn't understand why. What did he care if the one student he was trying desperately not to like was absent, it happened all the time. Except it didn't! Not where Steve Rogers was concerned. An entire week out of school was unheard of for him and Tony didn't like it. He hated when things messed with the status quo and with Rogers out, and a week's worth of homework stacking up, the kid would need some tutoring soon. That idea freaked Tony out even more because other than Bruce, he was the only other person in the school that could tutor him. That meant extra hours with Steve fucking Rogers. Tony wanted to pull his hair out. He couldn't fucking catch a break. He wanted to make sure Steve was ok, but that didn't jive with his "I fucking hate your fucking face" attitude he had spent so many years building up. With one run in with Steve, it was all starting to crumble away. It had been a week since he had last seen Steve but Tony could still feel his hands, the way they held his jaw firm but not painfully so, the way fingertips ghosted over broken skin, raw and painful yet the feeling of Steve's touch had wiped the pain away. Tony's cheek and jaw still tingled at the idea of Steve's touch. Hands so soft and delicate you would have never known he was a quarterback.

"Tony!" Thor's voice boomed through the staff room, and made Tony jump. Natasha laughed.

"Jumpy today Stark?" She asked as she took her seat.

"No!" Tony said, slightly defensive. "Just wasn't expecting a sneak attack."

"HA!" Tony glared at Clint.

"We didn't sneak up on you Tony. What's going on in that head of yours? You have the "Dingo ate my baby," crazy look in your eyes." Bruce said, eyeing Tony wirily. Tony hated how that guy could get in his head with just a look.

"What? Oh...no...nothing. Just...confused is all. I have something to give that kid Rogers and I haven't seen him in what...a week?"

"Are you worried about Steven?" Thor asked and Tony felt all eyes on him.

"No!" Tony scoffed, "I just hate holding onto things for long periods of time without a good reason. If Rogers has decided that he's going to blow off his senior year it's no skin of my nose." That was perhaps the wrong phrase for him to say because it instantly transported him back to the parking lot. Shaking his head, his rambling continued without missing a beat, "I mean really, if he's not going to show up, it makes my life easier, it just means I don't have to suffer through looking at his stupid face in my class every day. Means my last class of the day will..."

"TONY!" Natasha shouted and Tony stopped his rambling to look up at the scary woman.

"Sorry, what?" He really needed to go home, take some tech apart and calm his damn nerves.

"Steve's mom died Friday night." Tony's eyes went wide and he could feel his legs going weak. Steve's dad was dead, he knew that based off the picture he had and now his mom was gone too?

"How?" Was all Tony could manage without everything falling apart right in front his friends. He was starting to crack, could feel the polished mask of hatred crumble and he needed to get out of there fast.

"We don't know, I guess she had been sick for awhile. No one has seen Steve since he left the game with an officer, last Friday." Bruce was looking at him funny. Tony felt sick, Steve's mom had been sick for a while, and he never knew. Steve never let on that anything was wrong at home. Even if he did, it wasn't like Tony would have noticed. He had been too busy hating the kid for circumstances beyond a 17 year olds control. Tony was an asshole.

"Are you ok?" Natasha asked. Tony nodded, turning on his heels he dashed out of the lounge as fast as he could without alerting his friends to his major freak-out. Though he didn't think he had done a very good job. He had practically run to his car.

Tony could relate to Steve if only a little bit. Steve had appeared to have a good relationship with his mom, from what Tony remembered and he clearly loved and missed his father. Tony felt confident in assessing that Steve had grown up with loving parents, something Tony had not been so lucky in. However, like Steve, Tony had lost both his parents when he was 17. He well remembered the pain that went along with that and the feeling of emptiness at being handed off to his godfather.

Before he realized it, he had hacked the schools system and gotten Steve's address. He could show up with the excuse of giving the boy his missed homework, and offer at least a little support. Instead, he found himself sitting in his car a half a block down from Steve's house just watching. There was a light on in the highest window, it put Tony in mind of an attic, but he saw no movement, no one left the house and none of the lights in any of the other windows flared to life. Tony sat there for what felt like a few hours watching over the house, debating whether or or not he should get out. He wanted so badly to say something to the boy.

Apologizing was not something Tony was accustomed to, but even billionaire geniuses had been known to eat a pile of crow every now and again, and Tony was definitely eating crow. Everything he had ever assumed about Steve Rogers had been false. This kid, from the other side of the tracks had not had an easier life than Tony had; he had just chosen to make what was given to him better. He had not let the hardships get him down or stop him from achieving what he wanted. Tony wasn't going to allow him to start now either. It was dark before Tony had decided to get out of the car. He walked the half block, papers clutched tightly, jacket collar turned up against the sudden gust of wind the October night had provided. The clouds obscured the moon and blotted out the stars as he walked down the sidewalk.

Faster than he had wanted, Tony found himself knocking on the door of the Rogers' house. He honestly was not expecting anyone to answer, after a few minutes of waiting, he turned to leave. The sound of the door opening stopped him and he turned around to look at the person who has answered.

Steve stood in the door, blue eyes rimmed in red, and cheeks blotchy and tear stained, his typically styled sleek blond hair stuck out at odd angles and had a slightly greasy look about it. Steve was normally a very well put together young man, but the man that stood before Tony, in a pair of baggy sweat pants no shirt and a blanket held none of Steve's usual casual personality. The man that stood in front Tony was a broken man. He was no longer a boy; he was thrust into the cold truth of a harsh world, a world that was no longer on his side. Steve was alone in every sense of the word and he looked like he wasn't faring very well.

"Mr. Stark?" Steve said, sounding as confused and broken as he looked.

"Yeah, sorry. I heard about what happened, you know current events, and me I kind of suck at them so...I'm really sorry to hear about your mom. Just ahh...Figured I'd stop by, give you your homework and offer my condolences. Not like you actually care about that. It's not going to make you feel any better and really why would it? It's not as if I can go back in time and change anything, believe me, I've tried. God stop me I'm rambling." Tony quickly shut his mouth.

"Why? Why do you care?" Steve asked, closing his eyes against the pain that flooded his heart at having Tony Stark, his high school science teacher standing on his doorstep. Tony had been tormenting him since he had met Steve. He didn't understand why the teacher put so much time and effort into making Steve's life hell or why he derived such pleasure from seeing a student almost breakdown and cry.

There had been a few times where Steve had been close to tears and had had to remind himself that Tony Stark was a self-centered egotistical jerk and that Steve hated him. The problem was, Steve did not hate Tony at all. In the rare glimpses Steve got, when Tony wasn't paying attention to him, he got to see the kind of heart the man had. Tony Stark was brash and crude but he would take the time out of his day and help a student that did not understand the science he taught and even the math that he didn't teach. Tony cared about his students, but he didn't care about Steve and that hurt. Because a small part of Steve hero-worshipped Tony for the way, he acted toward the other students, even if it wasn't directed at him. A small almost hidden part of Steve might be willing to admit to a small amount of love and attraction for the man. Tony Stark was gorgeous, he was smart, and he was nice to everyone but Steve.

"I umm...I just..." Seeing Tony speechless was something Steve would have to preserve in his memories for all of eternity. Tony was normally so smooth and full of himself.

"I lost my parents when I was 17 too." Tony said, deciding on the truth. "I may not know exactly how you feel, but I know some of it. The pain of knowing that you're on your own, the sorrow of being handed off to a godparent that has probably not been around most of your life or the fear of being turned over to the state because you aren't yet 18."

Steve swallowed around the lump in his throat. He was not going to be turned over to the state thankfully because he did have the odd godparent he had never actually met.

"I still don't understand why you care Mr. Stark. You hate me." The words felt like ash in Steve's mouth. He knew Tony hated him, but giving voice to it, saying it aloud, hurt more than he had expected it to. He never looked at Tony as he spoke; there was already too much pain in Steve's life. He didn't need his teacher making more.

Steve missed his mom, but he knew it had been coming. She had gotten sick after stabbing herself with a needle at the hospital she worked at. The hospital had paid a substantial amount of money to him for her death but it did not make life easier without her. It had only been a week and he had fallen apart. She would be so mad if she could see how he was behaving.

"I...I don't hate you Steve. Pretty far from it actually." Tony said, his head bowed. He was not going to explain everything, but he needed Steve to know that he didn't hate him. "I hated the idea of you, but not you." Steve was looking at him funny.

"The idea of me..." Steve said, and Tony noted the hint of confusion in his voice. Yeah, that really wasn't that shocking. It was a really stupid reason to hate someone, but he might as well explain.

"Did you know I was 15 when i graduated from high school?" Steve nodded, he did know that actually. He may or may not have goggled his teacher.

"Well, I was only 11 when I started, I was way too smart to be there but I needed the diploma before MIT would take me. My dad would not let me be home schooled. Said I needed socialization." Tony shook his head and laughed darkly.

"Why..." Steve took a deep breath and opened the door wider, "why don't you come in. Something tells me this isn't a conversation to be had in a doorway on a cold night."

Tony hesitated but only for a second before he is moving past Steve and into the warm house. "Wise beyond your years, Rogers." Steve stopped short, just about to close the door.

"What did you just say?" Steve was frozen looking straight through the door.

"Ummm..." Tony wasn't sure what he said or how it could have caused that kind of reaction.

"My mom used to say something like that to me. Anyway..." Steve shut the door, pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders and lead Tony through to the living room.

"Right, anyway," Tony said, once he was seated on the couch. Steve sat down on a chair across from him. It was weird being in Steve's house, seeing Steve disheveled and sad. The kid was always so well put together, his face bright with a permanent smile fixed on.

"Where to begin... God this is not something I talk about much. Guess I'll just jump right in. My parents were not what you would call loving. I'm pretty sure they only had me because they needed someone to take over Stark Industries at some point. So as soon as they could, I was sent to boarding school." Tony's face was somber; he hated talking about his childhood.

"I was always getting into trouble because the classes just didn't hold my attention. I was too smart, all that bullshit." Tony waved away the excuse, it had not been the only reason he got in trouble, but the only one his parents were willing to accept. "Anyway, they pulled me out of that boarding school and put me in high school boarding school because that was the only place they could put me. I was still getting into trouble but for different reasons, the subjects still didn't hold my attention but I had learned to sit still in the class and do the work assigned. I was too small to hold my own in high school and while I was smart, I was rather dumb too." Steve snorted at that. He could believe that.

Tony smiled, Steve maybe in mourning but at least he could see the comedy in what Tony had said. The truth was, Tony was rather dumb in a lot of things. No one was willing to call him on his stupidity though and so he had learned that he could get away with it.

"Yes well...My smart mouth found the radar of the school jock and football captain." Steve's eyes went wide; he knew where this was going. He didn't really need Tony to finish the story but he wasn't about to interrupt him.

"So, long story short, because really going into the agonizing details, is something better left for a shrink that gets paid insane amounts of money and not a 17 year old boy talking to a teacher. I was bullied, heavily in high school. Hammer used to stuff me in lockers, yes, I was that small. He would steal my clothing during gym, talk about embarrassing. He would make me do his homework and all sorts of other things."

"I really hate bullies," Steve's voice was quiet, Tony almost missed the words.

"When I began teaching at Shield I expected to see what I experience. I always assumed that what happened to me was normal. Then I met this boy, he was popular and good looking, and he treated everyone with respect and kindness. He didn't bully people or let his status on the football team dictate who his friends would be or how he would treat the people that were beneath him on the popularity food chain. He threw my entire way of coping with what had happened to me, out the window. And it made me mad. I didn't and don't hate you Steve, I hate that you weren't the jock at my high school. That I wasn't lucky enough to have had someone as nice as you running the school."

"Of all the reasons you could have said, that was not one I ever expected. I'm sorry you were bullied. I was bullied in middle school. I was scrawny and sickly and it did not endear me to the masses. It was not easy, but then...It got worse."

"How?" Was all Tony asked, thinking about the picture Steve had drawn.

Steve took a deep breath, sharing time at the Rogers house had not been on his agenda for the day, but in for a penny in for a pound.

"When I was 13, I met a guy. I really liked him, thought he liked me too, and I couldn't have been more wrong. After that, I started bulking up. I never wanted to be that vulnerable again."

Tony looked up and met Steve's eyes. "I'm sorry," was all he could say. "I'm really sorry Steve. I was unfair to you and I shouldn't have let my anger at what happened to me cloud my judgement of you." Steve just shrugged what else could he say. He had pretty much just told his teacher his deepest darkest secrets and the teacher was still sitting there. He hadn't told anyone about Harge and he hadn't really intended to. But it was easy to talk to Tony for some reason.

"I don't blame you Tony. You didn't know any other way, I would imagine it was hard for you to see that not every high school stereotype comes true. No one here knows I'm gay, I didn't want a repeat of what happen, even if I could hold my own now better than I could. My mom and I moved shortly after the incident, but not because of it."

"You didn't grow up here?" Tony relaxed into the couch, their conversation was deep and sad but he wasn't feeling tense anymore. He and Steve actually had more in common than he had ever expected.

"Nope, I'm from Brooklyn originally. My dad passed away and my mom couldn't afford where we lived. She took a job as a nurse here in Boston because it paid better and the cost of living was less."

"No shit? I'm from Manhattan. I'm sorry about your dad by the way." Tony said, holding out the papers still clutched in his hands. "This got mixed into my papers last week and I wanted to give it back to you, but you never showed up." Steve took the paper, his eyes filling up with unshed tears. He had wondered what had happened to his drawing.

"I should be going now, it's getting late." Steve nodded and stood to walk his teacher to the door. "The rest of the papers are your make up assignments. I expect to see you in class on Monday Rogers." Tony said, sounding firm but the smile on his face was kind.

"If you need help understanding the work, don't hesitate to ask Steve. I'll help in any way I can." Tony meant it too. He had a lot of shit to make up to Steve for. The way he had treated the boy in front of him had been uncalled for. Tony hated bullies and yet he had become one himself. He was in a position of authority and had used that position to torment a boy that didn't deserve it.

Steve closed the door as Tony walked away. He did not however, move away from the door, even after he could no longer see Tony through the peephole. His head was swimming with thoughts of the conversation he had had with his teacher. He had come out of the closet to the one person he had never intend to. To the one person he was actually attracted to and the one person who had always shown Steve so much contempt. But he had also learned so much about that man. Tony Stark bullied, was not something he had ever expected, it was a hard concept to grasp but he could believe that that mouth had gotten him into a fair bit of trouble. Tony hardly ever thought about what he was saying before he let it fly from his mouth.

Steve's heart felt light, even with the weight of his mother's death on his shoulder. He would make it through life without her. Plenty of people did. He would not dwell on what was or could have been; instead, he would look at the world in terms of what will be. He would not suffer her loss, not anymore. He was stronger than that. He overcame his physical limitations and he so would overcome this as well. It would take a while, he was sure but he knew his mom and dad were together again, wherever they were, and he would see them again.

Review and I give snippets of the next chapter :)

~Jas