Three hours of testing later showed Steve was as perfectly healthy, or at least as healthy as he had been in the 1940's before the serum which was note very.
With each new thing Bruce named off Steve seemed to get smaller and smaller, his large personality sinking to the size of a fly as he was faced with every ailment he had thought left behind 70 years ago.
When he walked out he was dragging his feet head hanging like he was ashamed.
Beth stayed to talk to Bruce for a few minutes "I don't understand" the doctor said scratching his head "it's like the serum was deactivated, or never even given to him"
She tilted her head to the side a little "do you think it could have worn off?" the man shrugged "it's been 70 years though he was frozen the formula could have been wearing off" she bit her lip "they made a new serum with his blood you think with the notes and some of mine you could make another?"
Bruce slumped heavily into his chair and rubbed his eyes "it's possible" when he looked up she was already bearing her arm "then do it"
20 minutes later he had a pint of her blood and she had described everything they did to her when they'd given her the final treatment.
When she walked out of the lab she looked up as if she could see him "jarv where is he?" she asked "in bed ma'am" she sighed and turned toured her room.
She found him curled up in her bed for all intents and purposes looking like a depressed sweet roll, just a glimpse of his hair visible above the blankets.
He didn't react as she walked inside and closed the door "hey" she said but didn't expect a reply, the bundle of blankets rolled tighter "you Wanna talk about it?" she approached on silent feet and saw him curl tighter "no" he muffled from the blankets.
Standing close enough she saw he looked tiny in her large bed, curled into a fetal position like he could block out the world if he curled tight enough and had enough blankets.
He didn't seem to expect her to lay down behind him on top of the blankets and throw an arm over him pressing her nose against his hair to inhale the sweet lavender scent of him; he'd been using her soap again.
She felt him uncurl a little and turn his head to look at her and she smiled at her awestruck expression.
He had doe eyes like this, big and blue, she would say vulnerable but Steven g Rogers was anything but vulnerable even if he was smaller.
She reached out to trail a finger over his cheek bone face propped on her other fist "what are you doing?" he looked genuinely surprised and she rose a brow at him in what tony had come to call her 'why are you asking stupid questions' look.
"I was up late last night so I figured I'd come lay with my radiator boyfriend and get some sleep" she liked the way he blushed every time she called him her boyfriend of babe or even when she called him Stevie sometimes, this time was no different.
He ducked his head slightly muttering about not being that warm she shrugged "either way I am that cold so share" she tugged at the blankets and wormed her way beneath them.
He didn't seem to might when she slid her arm around him again tucking his head under her chin so she could bury her nose in his hair.
That was the last time he let her hold him.
Over the next week he began to drastically pull away from her, sliding away when she reached out for him like he hadn't seen her, but she knew he did because he would always look at her guiltily when she finally got him to look at her.
Bruce was no closer to creating another serum and JARVIS was barely making any headway on decoding the machine.
Each time he denied her touch it felt like a dagger being shoved that much farther into her heart, so she started to bury herself in her work when he absolutely refused to let her be near him.
Not that there was much work for her to do other than sign papers and redesign her suit in ways that would be too difficult clunky or dangerous and shed scrap the idea.
Any of the times she managed to get him to sit down and watch a movie with her he either sat on the very opposite end of the couch or in a different chair entirely, shed barely pay attention to the movie, to busy glancing at Steve, hands itching to touch him and smooth his hair like had become habit.
Long story short she was miserable the last straw was when she reached over him to grave something out of the fridge and he jerked violently away from her whole body going stiff and she reacted like she had been burned.
She let out an aggravated breath slamming her hand and incitingly coffee cup on the counter, causing the cup to break and stab at her palm spilling coffee across the counter.
"what the hell is your problem!" he looked at her surprised by her outburst which it was surprising since she never rose her voice, he'd never seen her like that.
"I don't have a problem" she narrowed her eyes at him "then why is it every time you think I'm going to touch you you react like I have the plague?" he furrowed his brows at her "what are you talking about?"
She pointed to the fridge "just now when I was reaching for the milk you acted like I was trying to get you in a choke hold and for the last three days you've acted like you barely tolerated my presence"
He turned as if to walk away "I don't know what you're talking about" and she bolted in graving him "you're not walking away from me this time Steve" she was momentarily surprised by how little he weighed as she picked him up and sat him on the counter hands placed firmly on either side of him so he couldn't escape.
"You're going to tell me what it is that's bugging you or I swear to god Steve you won't like the consequences" his face went red this time with anger and he got in her face just as much as she had in his.
"I'm tired of you comparing" that, caught her off guard and she pulled back a little "Wha?" she said unintelligently "I know I'm not like I use to be but every time were in the same room I can feel you looking at me and comparing the way I am now to how I was and I know I should just accept the way I am that I had my run and now it's over, I get it I need to accept it because this is the way it's always been and I-"
She reached out and covered his mouth with her hand, saw the way he looked up at her shocked as she rubbed her head "no you haven't accepted it, you've been fighting, one battle after another even when you don't relised it and you're still fighting"
She looked him strait in the eye removing her hand from his mouth so he could breathe more freely "losing faith in your abilities, feeling your body betrays you. I know what it's like to lose faith in ever being able to lay in the grass on a summers day feel the heat of the sun on your skin and smell the cleanness of it without choking on your own breath"
Her hands clenched on the counter nails digging into her palms "I know what it's like, and as I look at you know I see you aren't giving up, you aren't losing faith, I know what that looks like, I use to stair it in the eye for years, and you haven't lost it"
He was staring at her eyes wide so she just ducked her head resting her forehead against his chest "I'm not comparing you Steve, I fell in love with you how can I" he paused for a moment she felt his breath stutter before reaching up to stroke her hair "but how can you love me? I mean look at me!" she shifted away slightly making her look at him and spread his arms as if to prove his point while he spoke.
"I'm a scrawny runt who loses his breath just walking up a flight of stairs! The man you fell in love with is gone" she sighed to herself shaking her head and put a hand against his chest "no he isn't, I fell in love with this, I fell in love with the man that hates bullies, the man who saved a thousand men in the dead of winter 20 miles behind enemy lines alone, I fell in love with the man that wouldn't stay down no matter how beaten he was, the one that put everyone before himself even if he was freezing starving or sick"
She looked him in the eyes again for just a moment before leaning in to kiss him the gentle press of her lips against his own warm and more comforting than anything shed ever felt before.
She pulled away after a minute and rested her forehead against his eyes closed for a moment "I fell in love with something that is more than a physical appearance" she opened her eyes watching as he opened his own and reached up to stroke his cheek smiling "there he is"
Steve smiled slowly at her "how did I ever get lucky enough to find you?" she shrugged "the way I remember it you didn't think you were so lucky when we first met"
He chuckled to himself "that's true" she smiled at him "but I grew on you" when he grinned at her it was just as stunning as it always was and took away her breath "like mold" she grinned and stole another kiss before stepping away letting him slide off the counter.
She looked at the mess her coffee cup had made and winced before looking at him "go find us something to watch while I clean this up" he smiled genuinely and nodded walking toured the main room "and Steve?"
He stopped in the door way to look at her brows risen "yeah?" she smiled at him calmly "please, don't pull away from me like that again okay? I'm not great when it comes to relationships, tell me next time if something's bothering you" he smiled slowly chuckling at himself.
"since the last attempt I made at a relationship ended with me a human glacier I'm not any better, but I will" with that he turned and went to the living room to find a movie.
One she had thrown away the broken mug and cleaned up the spilled coffee she walked into the darkened room and found Steve stretched out on the couch the beginning titles to a movie she recognized at the boat house beginning on the TV in front of it.
She smiled at the blonde as she leaned over the back of the couch to look at him "the boat house? I didn't know you were such a romantic" he glanced up at her and shrugged "looked interesting" she smirked and came around the couch.
He sat up so she could settle against her preferred side of the couch but seemed surprised when she turned and pulled him into her chest glancing dawn she saw him blushing and looking up at her "you don't mind do you?"
He shook his head and shifted until he was comfortable his back against her chest, legs drawn up slightly she smiled and wrapped her arms so they surrounded him loosely, holding onto her own forearm with one hand she noticed how small he was now.
Only a few weeks ago she knew she wouldn't have been able to hold him like this and decided to enjoy it while it lasted.
At some point in the movie she felt him grave her arm and looked down just as he leaned his head against her opposite one, tiny body relaxed, she bent her head just enough to nudge his hair with her nose like he always did to her and smiled when he tilted his head to glanced at her, a drowsy smile on his lips.
His brows rose when he saw what had to be a strange look on her face "what?" he asked and she just shook her head smiling softly she dipped her head to nuzzle his shallow cheek "just watch the movie baby"
She both saw and felt his face heat up when she said that and couldn't help her faint chuckle as she pulled him just a little tighter, careful she didn't hurt him by accident.
She truly did love this man, so much.
And he seemed to finally believe that.