Day 2 Cuddling

The bagpipe blared in the distance as Steve watched the casket being lowered into the ground. It was a chilly November day. Dark gray clouds painted the sky and the rain poured down upon them.

The day had been a somber one, Darcy Lewis and Eric Selvig had flown in from New Mexico for the funeral. Darcy had given an interesting eulogy that had made people laugh and Steve found a sense of peace in it.

He hadn't known Jane at all, and he was sorry for that. Darcy had assured them that she would not want them to mourn her passing. Thor had, after his few days of mourning, decided he would give Jane a warriors send off and had been drunk most of the time since Tony had woken up. Tony had only been awake two days, so Steve didn't feel the need to worry about Thor. He still had Bruce watching over him, though The Hulk had become more accepting of other people being around Thor.

The funeral was small and intimate, Tony figured it was more to keep Bruce from going green. Tony still wasn't sure he understood the shift in Thor and Bruce's friendship, but it worked for them. Who was he to question it.

Tony didn't stay around much after the funeral. Since Morrigan, he hadn't felt all that social. The only person that had unlimited access to him was Steve. Steve had taken advantage of the access and rarely let Tony out of his sight.

They hadn't talked about it yet, about the reasons Morrigan went after Tony. Why, when she had gone after the significant others of the men who had rebuffed her, she went for Tony. It was true that Tony was in love with Steve. Had been for years. Longer than he had actually even known the big blond.

Tony had grown up listening to stories of Steve. Had seen pictures of Steve and seen the movies. He had grown up knowing Steve Rogers as Captain America, as a hero. He had fallen in love when he was only five. Dressed up at Steve for Halloween, running down the hall pretending to kill Nazis.

The stories his dad told were nothing compared to the legend himself and Tony had been unable to leave his boyhood crush behind. Morrigan had gone after the loved ones, that meant she had thought Steve loved him. Tony could only hope to get that lucky.

The wake was held in a lower level of the Avengers Tower. It had really only been The Avengers, Darcy Lewis and Eric Selvig. Fury and Hill had been at the funeral but had left the rest of the group to give Jane a hero's send off in peace. Tony had ducked out fairly early. He hadn't been sleeping all that well, and he had decided that tinkering in his lab was the best way to take his mind off of the exhaustion that was starting to set in. Plus Thor's idea of a hero's send off was to get drunk. Tony had been sober for a few years, with the help of Steve. He wasn't about to give into temptation.

Tony sat at his desk working on a prototype armor that could be called to him whenever he needed it. Steve's crack about not being anything without his armor still stung, even after they had both apologized and moved passed the hurtful words that Loki's glow stick had caused. But getting captured himself had spurred his desire to make the tech.

Something in the shadows caught Tony's attention and he looked up. A person walked out from the darkness.

"You didn't really think you could be rescued so easily did you?" Morrigan asked as she glided closer. The blue lines of the electric cage went up around him and Tony was stuck.

"Jarvis!" Tony yelled, trying to get his AI to respond, needing to alert the other Avengers to Morrigan's escape. "Jarvis! Get Steve, Jarvis!" No one responded.

Morrigan laughed. Cold and high pitched, "I won't be as nice this time. In fact, I don't think I'll bother keeping you around at all."

Tony was lifted off the ground, an invisible force wrapped around his throat and he started to struggle for breath.

"I've had enough of you midgardians. Always getting in the way. Always spoiling my fun." The force around his neck tightened more. "I should have just killed you when I had the chance."

Tony was shaking, his last few moments of life would be spent in his lab. He wished he could see Steve, maybe tell him he loved him. He could hear Steve calling his name.

"Tony. Tony. TONY!" Steve said, shaking the man who lay prone on the floor. He was thrashing in his sleep, gasping for air.

Steve had been in his room, getting ready for bed after the wake. It was late in the day, but not late enough that Jarvis had woken him with the distress call. Tony woke gasping for breath, clutching at Steve's arms.

"Tony, its Steve, you're safe. I got you." Steve said bringing Tony to a sitting position in front of him.

Tony's movements slowed as he realized what was happening. "Steve?" He asked looking at the man before him.

"Yeah, yeah Tony, its me. I got you. You're safe." Steve ran his fingers through Tony's hair, hoping to calm the man. His brown eyes were wide with fear.

Tony flung himself at Steve and wrapped his arms around his neck. He willed himself not to cry but he couldn't get the shaking to stop. The dream had been so real. He had really and truly believed that Morrigan was there. He would still feel the force around his neck.

Steve wrapped his arms around Tony and picked him up. The floor was not a place he wanted to spend the night and he wasn't about to let Tony out of his sight. Thankfully Tony had spent enough nights down in his lab to warrant a couch.

Steve made to place Tony down but the grip around his neck strengthened.

"Don't leave." Was all Tony asked.

Steve didn't respond, he simply sat down on the couch with Tony on his lap and held him. Steve didn't know what the dream was about, Tony would tell him if he wanted. It didn't really matter to Steve if Tony ever told him, in all honesty. He was just glad Tony was there with him and that he could help Tony through whatever he was going through.

Steve understood nightmares. He had had his fair share after being awaken from the ice. Oddly enough it hadn't been the ice or the cold that bothered him. It had been the death of Bucky that he relived over and over that gave him the sleepless nights.

A soft snoring told him Tony had fallen back to sleep. Steve sighed, grabbed the blanket that lay across the back of the couch and laid them both down lengthwise on the couch. Tony was still in his suit from the wake, but Steve was in his sleep pants. Steve tucked Tony into his chest. The grip around his neck hadn't loosened, even in sleep and Tony's nosed pressed into Steve's chest. The stress of the day was pulling at Steve and he let his eyes slide shut.