I really hope everyone is liking this story. I know its a subject that some have issues with, with the underage and teacher part of it.

I want to thank the few people that have reviewed, I really enjoy reading what you have to say about my story.

Ch 3

Monday came faster than Steve would have liked but he couldn't stop time so he followed the rules of it instead.

School was not a place he wanted to be but he knew he needed it anyway. He was a senior and he couldn't afford to slack off. He needed good grades and a football scholarship if he had a hope of going to college. He had applied at NYU and was really hoping life would smile upon him.

"Rogers!" Summer's voice rang through the hall making Steve groan. He couldn't stand Scott, he was a tool and no amount of niceties would change that. "Where in blazes have you been?" Scott asked, as if taking a week off from school after your mom died was illogical. "Logan had to be quarterback Friday, we still won but it's the principle of the matter." Steve rolled his eyes; Scott and Logan hated each other and had no problems making their hatred known. They were both after the same girl and that had been enough to break up what had been a very long friendship. Steve thought both men were stupid, Jean Grey was a bitch and treated everyone like shit. The countless times Steve had told Logan to go for someone else...Steve shook his head.

"I'm back now Summers, Logan won't get to play QB anymore." Steve said shutting his locker and walking away.

"Thank god." He heard Scott say as he rounded the corner and ducked into his first period. Math with Dr. Banner, wasn't one of his favorite subjects but he did alright. He liked art the best but he wasn't able to take that class because it wasn't a main player when getting into college. Instead, he was in advanced math and science, he took Russian, English lit and physical education. He was behind in all of his classes now and he would have to work really hard to get back to where he was. He was not looking forward to that.

He had stayed up most of the weekend to work on the physics work Tony had dropped off but he had still only gotten through half of it before his brain and stopped working. His brain had stalled at particle theory and it had been unable to re-engage no matter how many times he read the theory. He would have to ask for help. The idea scared him, if he was being honest. Yes, Tony had said he would be willing to help but he was still on unsure ground with the temperamental teacher. It had only been a few days since his last encounter and it had been an odd one to say the least.

The math class when by relatively painless, he was given his makeup homework, and pretty much left alone. Everyone in the school knew what happened and they chose not to talk about it. He was thankful for that. P.E. was mindless drills running back and forth, it was boring but it allowed Steve's body a workout it badly needed. His break for lunch came after Russian, that was an easy class for Steve and Mrs. Romanoff was easy to work with. At least he wouldn't have trouble catching up in her class.

Lunch was a time of day Steve dreaded, he truly wanted nothing to do with the rest of the student body. He honestly hated all the kids on the school. They were so shallow and stupid and today, Steve didn't feel like being nice. Instead, he turned around, and headed to the one place he never thought he would go.

Knocking on the door labeled Math and Science, Steve was met with a shocked and confused looking Dr. Banner.

"Mrs. Rogers, what can I do for you?" Bruce asked, Steve rarely sought out teachers, but mostly because he never needed to. He had never had an issue in his classes before.

"I'm looking for Mr. Stark, He told me to come see him if I needed help on my make up work, when he dropped it off on Friday." Bruce's eyebrows disappeared into the floppy mop of salt and pepper hair on his head.

"Tony...Mr Stark said that?" Bruce asked, he knew better than anyone how Tony felt about the boy in front of him. Tony offering to help Steve catch up was beyond out of character and Bruce was worried that Tony was starting to see what had taken Bruce all of five minutes. If he was...Bruce didn't want to think about that.

"He's typically in his classroom during this time. He's got planning this period. You could check there."

"Thanks Dr. Banner," Steve said running down the hall. He'd wasted too much time, he needed Tony to help him.

Tony's classroom wasn't all that far away from the math and science department so as he reached the door, Steve slowed to a walk, trying to catch his breath. He was worried about how the interaction with his teacher would go. The man had plagued his dreams in more ways than one for the better part of four years and Steve had cursed himself every day for not being able to ignore the way he reacted to the teacher.

There was no reason for Steve to feel the way he did. Had anyone else treated him the way Tony had, Steve would have knocked them out, but Tony was different. Steve clung to a kind of blind hope where his teacher was concerned, that one day the man wouldn't hate him, wouldn't treat him with such disdain. Friday had been the day he had waited so many years for, but he wasn't sure if what had transpired on Friday night in his living room, would transcribe to his school life. Steve knocked on the door and held his breath. He could see the shorter man sitting at his desk, a cup of coffee in one hand and talking animatedly with the other hand, to no one.

The sound of the knock at the door startled Tony and he spun around mid sentence, forgetting about the cup of coffee in his hand and spilling it all over himself and his desk. He was about to kill the person at the door, until he looked up and noticed who it was. Steve gave a small wave and Tony had to fight down a smile. He had offered to help Steve with anything, but he had never expected Steve to take him up on the offer. Cursing under his breath about his spilled coffee, he waved Steve in and went to his small closet to change his shirt.

"Sorry to bother you Mr. Stark, but you said, you'd help me if I needed it, and I need it." Tony simply nodded and pulled his shirt off, not paying attention to the fact that he had a student in his classroom. Behind him, Steve's movements stilled and Tony peered through the shirt that was halfway over his head. Steve's eyes traveled the length of Tony's body and he licked his lips as his eyes paused on the exposed flesh. Tony shivered slightly under the scrutiny.

"See something you like?" Tony asked pulling the shirt all the way down his torso and fixing his messed up hair. Steve cleared his throat and went to sit down at the desk nearest Tony's.

"I got halfway through the packet you gave me on Friday, but I'm having some issues with the more advanced theories." Steve said taking a seat and ignoring the coil of desire that had settled in his belly.

"Oh no problem, pull out the packet, we can work on it till the bell rings." Steve sighed; glad Tony hadn't pushed the uncomfortable topic of him without a shirt. Steve wasn't sure he was ready to deal with the desired he had for the man. He was a student after all, it was hardly appropriate to be feeling like that about a teacher.

The half hour passed relatively easy, as far as the science went, but Steve was so keyed up by the end that he longed for a dark hole to crawl into. He still had two classes left and one of them was Tony's. Maybe it had been better for him when Tony had hated him. Tony leaned over Steve has he wrote out a complex theory about the property of particles and how they worked with each other at different intervals, revolving around one another, each playing off each other at a different speed depending on what the particle was used for. The feel of Tony's chest softly pressed against Steve's back made goosebumps erupt on his arms. He was glad he was wearing a long sleeve shirt. Sighing, Steve packed his bag as the bell rang and left.

"Thanks for the help, Mr. Stark." Steve said shutting the door behind him, not bothering to see if there was a reply. Steve's day had not gone the way he had wanted. He had thought life would be easier if Tony had stopped being so mean to him, but he had found the opposite to be true.

He hardly paid attention in English, Mr. Coulson was going over some boring ass book, but it didn't really matter, Steve was too busy remembering how Tony had felt, pressed against him. He had Googled Tony a few years ago and learned a lot about his teacher, he knew his teacher wasn't exactly straight nor was he any stranger to random bed partners, but Steve couldn't help but wonder if Tony had been mildly flirting with him while he helped Steve. It didn't really matter, even if he was, because Steve was a student and Tony could get in much more trouble than just losing his job, if either of them actually acted on feelings. Despite that knowledge, Steve hoped Tony had. He would be 18 in a few months and off to college. Then maybe he could pursue his teacher without consequence.

Lost in thought Steve made it through both classes without really paying attention. He was almost out the door of Tony's class you when Tony grabbed his arm.

"Rogers, I've been calling your name, it's not polite to ignore your teacher." Tony's tone was one he was used to, the annoyed I hate you tone he had gotten so used to hearing over the course of his high school career. Steve winced at hearing the tone but Tony's grip on his arm was soft and he squeezed it reassuringly, a small smile on his face.

"Sorry sir, I didn't hear you," Steve said. Hanging back from the crowd.

"Yes, well as high up in the clouds as you head is, that's not exactly surprising." Tony said, walking back to his desk and gathering his things. "Want to explain to me what's got you all dazed and confused? You're usually so attentive in my class. Annoyingly so, really."

Steve shuffled from foot to foot not really sure what to say. It wasn't exactly like he could tell Tony what was making his space out.

"Just tired, I guess. I stayed up pretty late this weekend working on that packet."

"Well, that wasn't necessary; I told you I would help you. You didn't need to lose sleep over it." Steve just shrugged; he didn't really know how to respond. "Hey," Tony said, holding the door open beckoning Steve to walk through it. "You have football practice now right?" Steve nodded, following Tony down the hall towards the locker room. "Good, I'll walk you. Need to talk to Thor about something."

"So, who's taking care of you now that you're on your own?" Tony asked. It wasn't an easy question to ask, but he needed to know, if only to satisfy his own curiosity.

"My aunt Peggy is coming down from New York to sign the emancipation papers this Friday. The house is paid off and my mom's lawsuit and life insurance left me with enough money to at least live for the next few years, I'm making do." Tony nodded as Steve held the locker room door open for him.

"Well, it's not easy being on your own at 17, trust me, I know. If you need anything, you can call me." Tony handed him a small piece of paper with a phone number on it and walked away. Steve just stared at it.

"Rogers! Hey Rogers is back!" Steve looked up to find the whole of the locker room looking at him. He stuffed the paper into his pocket, waved at the team and went to get dressed down.

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*hugs and kisses*

~Jas