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“You were supposed to be taking care of him!”
Someone was yelling but Steve couldn’t tell who it was. He knew he recognized the voice but it sounded off… too emotional maybe? Struggling to open his eyes, Steve wondered where Sam was. Steve was sure Sam had left the hospital because there was no music playing in the background. No, there was just yelling welcoming Steve back to consciousness. It wasn’t hard to prefer the music.
“We all had things to do that day. I kept him safe as best as I could. And it isn’t like you should be throwing stones.”
Steve turned his head to see Natasha in the hall. He watched her cross her arms in front of her and glare at whomever she was talking to. Staring at the back of a man’s head, the familiar shoulders and hairline partially blocked by the window blinds, Steve was surprised to see Stark. How had Stark known where he was? Why was he even visiting?
“It’s not like you asked for help with the Mandarin,” Natasha accused, her tone biting.
“I had that completely under control,” was Tony’s flippant reply.
Steve couldn’t tell from his bed, but he was sure Natasha rolled her eyes.
“What are you even doing here, Stark?”
“Well let’s see, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s gone caput and Captain America’s in Intensive Care.”
“Which you know how exactly? We kept the lid on his condition pretty tight.”
“Oh please.” Tony shifted his weight. “You know perfectly well that JARVIS and I monitor what goes on down here in D.C. I have to keep track of you all to make sure no one does something stupid and gets themselves stabbed by some crazy god.”
“As opposed to telling everyone where you live and inviting a mad man to blow up your home, is that the kind of stupid we’re talking about?”
“Oh Agent Romanoff, I knew you cared.” Tony turned to look at Steve, who received a half smile when Tony realized he was awake.
Steve shifted slightly to give Natasha and Tony a small wave. He wanted them to stop arguing and hoped that if they came into his room, they would keep their voices down.
“Well look who’s up, no worse for wear, huh super soldier?” Tony strode into the room, sat on the nearest chair, and propped his legs up on the side of the bed. Natasha followed him in, but stood near the door.
“What are you doing here, Tony?” Steve nearly fumbled over the name. In his head Stark was always Stark, but with his visiting the hospital, calling Tony by his first name seemed to make more sense.
“What? I’m not allowed to visit? It’s not like we don’t keep in touch?” Tony turned to Natasha and continued, “We totally keep in touch. I got him the newest Stark phone, not even up for sale yet. He figured it out in like ten seconds.”
“I’m not an idiot,” Steve grumbled; to him, Tony sounded too proud.
“Didn’t say you were, cupcake,” Tony supplied as he turned back. “I did think it would take you a little longer, but once someone, not me, put Angry Birds on your phone, you were all set.”
Steve rolled his eyes. They’d only been together a few minutes, but sometimes putting up with Tony wasn’t easy. And Steve still didn’t understand what had prompted the visit in the first place. Sure, he and Tony texted sometimes, but they weren’t really friends.
“You know, I’m kinda tired, Tony. So, if you wanted something…”
“Tired? You just woke up! Besides, you’ve slept for years. You don’t get that excuse for at least another decade, injuries aside.” Tony paused and took a breath. “I want to get everyone back together… you need somewhere to go with S.H.I.E.LD. out of the picture. Pepper’s already snatched up your lovely Agent Hill.”
“No,” Natasha said before Steve could even open his mouth. “I’m not going back to New York any time soon.”
“And I have to find Bucky.”
“Oh.” Tony took his feet off the bed and sat up. “Huh. Ok. I thought maybe you two would come back with me. And that you’d,” Tony pointed at Natasha even as his eyes stayed on Steve. “Pass the welcome onto Hawkeye. Not that I couldn’t, wouldn’t, invite him myself. But I figured there was a better chance of your seeing him first.
“It’s really nice of you to offer Tony, but we can’t right now.”
“Yeah, yeah, got it. No problem. Well then… I guess I’ll just get out of your hair. I had Happy drive me down here… wanted to make sure no one broke such a precious artifact. You know that whole ‘you break it, you buy it’ routine…” With a strained laugh, Tony got up.
“You don’t need to leave, Tony. You just got here,” Steve protested. He hadn’t thought his rejection would cause the older man to rush out.
“No, I’ll just get out of your hair. Trust me, I have plenty to do. Pepper keeps me busy you know? Well you know.” Tony gave Natasha’s shoulder a small nudge. He received an amused smile in return. “Always another board meeting to go to or something to invent. I’ve actually been working on a new suit. The specs are pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.” Tony was at the doorframe then, next to Natasha. “Don’t know if you know, but I kinda destroyed all my suits a little bit ago.”
“We were kept aware of your situation, Stark,” Natasha said when Steve just nodded. Yes, Steve had been told of the attack on the President and how Tony and Iron Patriot had saved the day. There had been something with Pepper too; Steve had been relieved to know she was alright. They had met a couple times after the battle of New York and at Coulson’s funeral; she seemed like a nice lady.
“Oh, uh, actually Tony, since you mentioned it…” Steve grimaced. “I actually need a new cell phone. The last one went into the water with me…”
“Say no more. I’ll get one to you asap. Well then.” Tony lifted his hand to give Steve a poor salute. “Captain, Agent, until next time.”
When Steve was sure that Tony was far enough away he couldn’t eavesdrop, Steve asked Natasha, “Did that seem strange to you?”
“With Stark, there is no strange. I think he’s probably just trying to figure out if he still fits in. After the Mandarin, you know he got the arc reactor taken out?” Steve nodded; he’d read S.H.I.E.L.D.’s reports on the surgery. “And he and Pepper have moved back to a purely work related relationship. And you know…” Natasha stepped forward to put her hand on Steve’s ankle. “We were all worried about you.”
“Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be sorry; just be better next time. I don’t worry well.” Natasha gave Steve a firm squeeze. “So, don’t make me do that again.”
“Yes ma’am.”
--stevetonyfest--
“Sometimes, I think I want to turn the clock back to before…”
“How far back you thinking, Cap?” Tony handed Steve a cup of coffee.
Taking a moment, Steve took a deep breath in. Coffee was so much better in the 21st century then it was when he was a kid and it was a million times better than anything he managed to get in the army. “Not that far back…” Steve admitted after he took a long draw from his mug. “I can’t really decide. But I would like to go back for the last couple months. Trying to find Bucky… it’s like every time Sam and I get close, he’s gone again... I can’t keep losing him over and over.”
For a long moment, Tony didn’t say anything. Instead of talking he got the coffee pot and topped off Steve’s mug and then got the milk out of the fridge. Once his own glass was deemed perfect, Tony said, “Maybe you should let him come to you.”
“That’s what Sam said.”
“Sounds like a smart guy.”
Steve let out a huff. “Don’t make me laugh; I’m venting here.”
“Oh, sorry.” Tony made a face before sitting down on a barstool.
Steve shook his head. He remembered how before the Battle of New York, pretty much everything Tony said drove him crazy. Now it seemed, that everything just helped with the weight on his shoulders. They had continued their texting after Steve had been released from the hospital. With his Stark phone in hand, Steve was sure Tony had known where he was at all times and it was nice to keep in contact. Picking up a spoon, Steve fiddled with it for a second before stirring his coffee, even though he’d added nothing to it.
“I know Bucky saved me a couple months ago. He had to have. No one else knew I’d fallen into the water; no one else would have been able to get to me in time. It had to be him. I just wish he hadn’t run away after.”
“A lot of us… we’re good at running. We don’t want to face what’s right in front of us.”
“Yeah, what don’t you want to face, Tony? You have the world in front of you and you can do anything.”
“I didn’t say I was running. Not now at least. I ran a lot.” Tony leaned back on his stool and ran a hand through his hair. “I ran from my father, from his legacy, from the bottle. Even with the crap that’s gone down, even with the nightmare, becoming Iron Man has helped me actually stand still.”
“I always thought I was running to something. I drove Bucky nuts when we were kids; I was always getting into fights, trying to prove myself. I ran headfirst into war, not always thinking about the consequences.”
In the past couple months, Steve had visited Peggy three more times and each time was worse than the last. Her memory was failing worse than before. She didn’t even always recognize Steve when he saw her. It broke his heart more each time.
“I ran after Bucky without thinking of the team.”
“We’re not a team,” Tony said with a sigh.
“No, not now we’re not. We’re too scattered. When you invited us back, Natasha and I should have said yes. Well, I can’t speak for Natasha, but I should have said yes. We could be great together.” Steve finished his coffee and pushed the mug away. “Sam’s great. You’ll really like him. He’ll be a great addition.”
“If you say so, Cap. I trust you.”
“And I have to trust that when Bucky’s ready to be found, well he’ll make himself know. Eventually he has to stop… I don’t want to keep running either.”
Pushing his bar stool back, Steve stood and moved a half step closer to Tony. “Please tell me I’m not crazy for this,” Steve said as he put his hand on Tony’s shoulder.
“If you’re crazy for wanting to kiss me, then I belong in a padded room for wanting to kiss you.” Tony gulped. “I mean, if that’s what-“
Tony didn’t get to finish his thought before Steve leaned forward and pressed their lips together.
“Maybe we’re both crazy,” Steve mumbled against Tony’s lips as they kissed.
“Maybe we are,” Tony agreed.