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Tony glared at the screen feeling a little ridiculous about being so bothered. He wasn’t aging and hadn’t been for quite some time. Not only was he not aging but he also wasn’t dying properly, as in he wasn’t staying dead. Really this should thrill him but in actuality just bothered him. Perhaps he should get Hank to look at his files, Don had been looking into it but well Don apparently hadn’t had Tony problem with mortality. He was more than a little peeved that he couldn’t find a reason for why he wasn’t aging, the not dying thing too was bothersome.
“Tony you’ve been down here for hours,” Steve reminds him as he comes striding into the room. “You promised Hank you would rest if he let you out of the infirmary.”
While not aging and not dying correctly were nice on some levels, pain and injury still accrued as today’s brush with doom-bots had proven yet again. He was healing faster then he should but not enough to be actually noticeable to most other people. “Steve I’m fine. My ribs are taped and I no longer have a concussion. Look around I haven’t done any heavy lifting or construction, I’m being good, so just let me be.” Tony mentally winces at the slight bite to his tone, he must be more frustrated the he thought.
For a moment Steve looks hurt before he crosses his arms over his beautiful chest and levels a glare at Tony. “Tony how long has it been sense you slept?”
“Low blow,” Tony thinks and starts shutting down the system because Steve is in mother hen mode with him, staying up now will be a personal affront to America. “Okay Cap,” Steve says standing up. “Do you want to read me a story or give me a glass of warm milk before you put me to bed?”
Steve rolls his eyes but there is a small flush to his cheeks, “Ha ha Tony. Watch out or I’ll decide to take you seriously one of these days.”
Tony’s own chuckle lacks mirth and Steve gives him a quizzical look so Tony summons up a small smile. He walks past him and out of the workshop calling over his shoulder, “Good call on the sleep Steve it’s been a couple of days.”
“Tony!” Steve shouts and Tony can hear his quick steps to catch up. “I know you’re a grown man but sometimes I wonder how you’ve managed to stay alive this long.”
“You’ve met Jarvis right?” Tony teases and tries not to think about the number of times he’s died, it’s in the double digits.
()
The whole not dying thing has actually been pretty easy to hide. People pretty much assume that he just has an excellent dermatologist or that he’s like Cher or Steve Martin. He wonders how long it will be before people who aren’t him start to notice. He suspects that Jarvis knows, the man changed his diapers and knows more about him then Pepper, and Don knew so maybe Thor knows but other than Don he’s never told anyone. Deadpool however seems to know something because he keeps trying to get Tony to join a club he’s called “The Too Awesome to Die Club.” He kind of wishes he’d told Steve though but hind sight is twenty/twenty or something.
Tony comes back to life Steve’s cries still ringing in his ears in the cold dark of a mortuary, he can tell by the smell. He pants as well as he can with his jaw sewn to his septum, for a full minute while he tries to get his bearings and tries to calm his stomach. The mouth former makes the task more difficult and totally isn’t necessary now that his teeth have grown back. His head is still spinning despite the fact that he’s barely moved and he tries to force his stubbornly uncooperative body to at least let him turn head when he vomits. He chokes on the formaldehyde that is inside every part of his body and makes him burn.
Tony is grateful that he losses consciousness before he dies again.
The Iron Avenger losses count of how many deaths it takes before he’s actually able to move. The formaldehyde in his veins and organs have been mostly forced out of his body in any way they could make themselves. He probably looks a sight covered in blood, chemicals, and busted stitches. The glue that was holding his eyelids together has come away and after the mouth former the cotton under his eyelids is the first thing to go. His eyes, like the rest of him, hurt and he is profoundly grateful that this room is so dark he can’t see. Well it’s not so much a room as storage locker that has almost no air left in it.
Tony tries not to breathe much as he makes his feet kick against the door. The whole of his body feels disconnected except for the constant burning pain and it’s probably the adrenalin brought on by panic that actually enables him to kick open the door. He’s grateful that he can’t actually feel the torn muscles. When he actually breathes it burns and the chemical smell is awful. He’s probably going to die again soon but he needs to be out of here before that happens.
Tony collapses onto the floor when he manages to scoot himself out of the drawer. It’s completely graceless, a sprawl of limbs that twitch, shake, and are in general uncooperative. In the dim light he can see a chemical shower and makes that his first objective once he has some control again. It ends up taking an army crawl but he gets there and the water is literally agony and ecstasy all at once. The water helps though and he feels more alive than dead when he stumbles away from it. He pulls open cabinets and drawers until he finds scissors to cut the string holding his mouth closed it bleeds sluggishly but that’s fine with him.
There is actually a suit and a smaller bag hanging up, likely what he was met to be dressed in if the label is anything to go by, so Tony takes advantage of the clothing. He actually recognizes the tie that’s inside the bag as one that Steve gave him as a kind of gag gift years ago. Tony had requested to be buried in it like he threatened Steve he would and apparently Pepper decided to adhere to his wishes despite its garish design. He wraps the tie around his left hand and uses it to open the door on the way out.
Finding the security office is laughably easy and the conveniently snoring security guards makes whipping the footage and corrupting the backup child’s play. He only feels a little bad about stealing the hat and forty bucks from Brian Davis recent father or twins. He’ll have to make sure the guys doesn’t get fired for this or something. He uses the other security guards internet on his phone to request a cab before slipping it back into the man’s pocket.
It takes until the cab arrives for Tony to decide where he’s going. Really it’s the sound of Steve wrecked voice echoing back through his mind that makes the decision for him. He wonders if he’ll even make it because his body is succumbing to the poisoning again. He knows he looks a mess and the cabby keep shooting his worried glances and asking in broken English if Tony needs to go to the hospital. Tony shakes his head because he hasn’t quite gotten his voice to start working again yet. He gives the man the entire $40 which is over tipping by a bit but Tony is aware he looks like a corpse and can’t small much better.
Once inside the building he makes his way up to Steve’s floor via the crotchety old lift because he knows he won’t make it up the stairs. He doesn’t get an answer from knocking the first time and he regrets really having anything to break in with. But he’s Tony Stark and this is an old building, mostly dead or not the door is no match for him. Steve isn’t at home but he was clearly here recently so Tony writes him a note on the blank page of the sketch book that is laying on the counter. Then he goes and finds the darkest most out of the way place in the apartment to succumb to death once more.
()
Steve has had the day from hell and it’s not even noon yet. Actually this whole week has just been awful and he thought it had peaked with Tony’s death. Today was meant to be Tony’s funeral and it was likely for that fact that Steve hadn’t been able to sleep the night before. He tried watching television and listening to music but everything had reminded him of Tony. He tried to draw but the blank page stared at him mockingly for an hour before Steve gave that up to and got dressed for a run. The run had been good, calming even, and he’d been on his way back home when his phone started to ring.
It had been Pepper who was nearly hysterical explaining that Tony’s body was missing. Steve hadn’t even gone home, just took a cab to the funeral home to find out everything they knew and then called the appropriate people he knew to look into it. He went and told Jarvis himself, who for a moment Steve was sure looked relieved. After an impromptu Avenger’s meeting Steve had left Carol to deal with the press until Steve had time to shower and dress appropriately.
Despite how warn out the felt he could still tell right away that his door had been tampered with. He wondered momentarily if it had been Natasha coming to check on him before disregarding it because if it had been her he wouldn’t have been able to tell. He opened his door carefully but nothing happened and nothing seemed out of place. Carefully he entered and shut the door to his apartment before venturing further inside. Everything was as he left it at first glance until he noticed his sketch book that he’d sloppily left on the counter.
The sketchbook was about half full ad contained sketches of New York life and his friends. If someone were to count they would notice that there were far more pictures of Tony then of anyone else. The book hadn’t been moved but it wasn’t in the same condition Steve had left it in. There was shaky almost unreadable script on the page and the pencil just haphazardly left there. He squinted at the text and then had to reread it again. “Steve, I should have told you before, sorry. I’m not dead, just wait for me to wake up come back and I’ll tell you what I know. Please don’t do anything until then. TS.” There’s a small rendering of the Ironman helmet after it that lacks much of the shakiness the words have.
Steve, for lack of actually knowing what to do does nothing for a good five minutes. His phone buzzes in his pocket breaking his shocked stupor. It’s a text from Sam asking if Steve wants company and Steve finds himself closing up the sketch book to hide the words away before he answers. He doesn’t want to see Sam who wasn’t particularly fond of Tony especially if he is having some sort of psychotic break. After the reply is sent he drops the phone on the counter rather than taking it with him before retreating to his bedroom to finely strip out of his jogging clothes.
He showers on automatic and dries off before pulling on jeans and tucking in and undershirt. Steve’s going to get a shirt out of the closet, has just opened the door in fact, when he sees him. The sight of Tony just collapsed lifelessly on the floor of his closet is just too much and he slams the door shut before stumbling backward. He end up on his bed feeling so overwhelmed because Tony had died in his arms not three days ago. He’s breathing too hard and he feels light headed as he wonders if he’s snapped and is having delusions of grandeur or if that’s really Tony’s body in his closet.
It gets to be too much and he goes back to the closet and opens the door and Tony’s still in the same place. Steve’s on his knees and reaching out before he knows it. His unsteady hands reach out for the cold skin of Tony’s neck and, like he knows there won’t be, there is no pulse. He pulls his hand away trailing it over Tony’s cold cheek and then between one second and the next Tony gasps for breath, chest heaving, and his eyes flickering open. For a second he looks panicked but then his eyes land on Steve and he’s calm.
“Hey this is the best thing I’ve woken up to in a while,” Tony says and he’s grinning at Steve in a way that only looks slightly faked.
Steve who is at a loss for words makes a noise that he will never on pain of death admit to. He puts his fingers back on Tony throat and feels the steady beat under his fingertips. Somehow unable to trust that he reaches for Tony’s wrist and feels there.
“Wanna listen to my chest while you’re at it?” Tony teases.
Steve just blinks at him dumbly, “You were dead… very dead. I held you and your heart… and you…”
Tony frowned in concern, “Steve you know plenty of people who were dead and are now running around like it didn’t even phase them. Hell I’ve been dead before, more times then you know about sure, but you at least know of that one time.”
Something inside Steve seizes in distress and he’s pulled Tony to him before he can put much thought into his actions. Tony is warm but still cooler then Steve who always runs a little hot and he smells like chemicals. Tony shouldn’t smell like that, he should smell like metal, grease and fine cologne not chemicals. He breaths in again and is able to find the smell that always under everything else is just Tony and something breaks the dam on all he’s been holding inside for ages.
“Oh God Steve don’t cry,” Tony says his voice a little breathy because of how tightly Steve is squeezing him. “They have a special place in Hel and Hell I’m sure for people who make Captain America cry.”
“What about for making Steven Rogers cry?” Steve manages to gasp out though the tears.
“That place is even worse than the one for Captain America so please stop I don’t need even more reasons to be in the special hell.” Tony begs.
Steve snorts weakly and pulls Tony closer so that the man is practically in his lap. He tangles his fingers in Tony’s hair and horribly rumbled clothes. “I’m not even sure you’re real so just humor me Tony,” Steve requests and it’s horribly muffled because he’s basically saying it into Tony’s jacketed shoulder.
Tony swallows thickly feeling guilty and worried. Guilty because he could have saved Steve this pain if he had just told him about his strange immortality and worried because Steve was doubting his own reality. Not entirely sure what to do Tony wraps his own arms around Steve and squeezes back. “It’s alright Steve I’m here.”
Steve eventually pulls his head out of Tony’s shoulder and says, “You need a shower you smell like a morgue.”
“Ah yes that’s a side effect of having been in one for an extended period of time,” Tony says and relaxes his hold on Steve. “I suppose I should get up and call Pepper to tell her the good news. The press is going to have a field day and she and Rhodey are both going to attempt to throttle me.”
“You can use my shower,” Steve offers abruptly. He really doesn’t want to let go of Tony let alone let him out of his sight for long enough to shower.
“Thanks but I’ll have to just put back on this suit.” Tony says. “Also putting off Pepper is a very bad idea and I need to talk to Jarvis.”
“You can barrow some of my clothes, they’ll be a little big on you but you should be fine,” Steve says and barely keeps himself from clutching Tony closer.
“Oh um sure,” Tony responds hoping his tone doesn’t betray exactly how off balanced he feels. “I’ll just wear whatever you can dig up.”
Steve very reluctantly untangles himself from his best friend and Tony only moves slightly faster. Once they are both standing it becomes mildly awkward because Steve hasn’t moved out of the door way and won’t stop staring at Tony. Tony himself is completely thrown by his behavior but pastes on an easy teasing smile, “I swear I won’t vanish if you take your eyes off me.”
The smallest amount of color rises on Steve’s cheeks before he composes himself and steps aside. “Just promise me you will burn that entire suit,” Steve says.
“Steven Rogers advocating waste I never thought I’d see the day,” Tony teases as he moves past. “Very well consider the suit garbage if you find it so offensive. Do all my suits fill you with such loathing, I always thought they made me look rather dashing, or is just this one in particular that has earned your ire?”
“I…,” Steve swallows before huffing out a self-deprecating laugh. “I actually picked that one out. Pepper, she had so much to deal with and she was so upset and so I offered to help. She had me meet with the tailor to pick the suit and it… god Tony I think if I see you in a suit again to soon I’ll make Jarvis donate your whole wardrobe to charity.”
“What would I wear to my meetings then?” Tony asks teasingly.
“I suppose you would just have to go ‘stark’ naked,” Steve says with a shrug.
Tony wrinkles his nose in distaste, “Really Steve, that was bad even for you.”
“Yeah but I’ve been having a bad week,” Steve excuses. “My best friend died in my arms while on our lunch date a few days ago. Then his corpse disappears from the morgue and shows up in my closet, only then the corpse comes back to life as soon as I touch it.”
“That part was purely coincidence I promise,” Tony says. “I would have come back whether you had touched me or not.”
“How do you know that?” Steve asks and he’s troubled to note the distress in his own voice. “Tony your human, only human, and you were dead. The medics told me so, Pepper, Sam, and everyone else told me you were dead and that nothing could be done.”
“Steve,” Tony says but gets no response as Steve grows more upset. He reaches out gripping Steve bicep with one hand and placing his other against Steve’s cheek and uses his thumb to wipe away the moisture there. “Steve I’m so sorry. Please don’t cry not when you don’t need to.”
“My best friend is dead,” Steve sobs. “No one has ever meant as much to me as he did. He gave me a home, direction, and support before I even knew who he was. After we lost the mansion I realized it didn’t matter because he was home. If we were the only two people left on the planet it would be terrible but I would be fine just as long as he was there with me.”
“God Steve stop you can’t mean that,” Tony says desperately as his eyes burn and his hands start to shake just like Steve is. “There is no way I can mean that much to you or any one after everything I’ve done.”
“I do mean it,” Steve states like it’s one of the Ten Commandments or the Declaration of Independence. “Tony Stark means that much to me.” Steve’s own hands come up and cover Tony’s own. “Losing him has ether driven me insane or you are an LMD, a skrull, or maybe some villain’s plot device, but any which way you look at it you can’t be a live and here.”
“Steve stop you’re freaking me out,” Tony hisses because it’s true. Steve’s not even really looking at him, he’s looking at Tony’s chest where the RT should be but has hopefully now been destroyed if it hasn’t been snagged my Reed. “Steve look at me,” Tony commands his grip on Steve going tighter. Steve isn’t looking up still and Tony swears. “Steve I can’t die… well at least not permanently, not anymore.”
Steve glances up and it looks like he’s hearing but he can’t understand. “Steve,” Tony tries again, “I’m sorry I should have told you when I first found out but I don’t really understand it myself, I’m honestly me and I can’t ever stay dead.”
“Why should I believe you?” Steve asks sounding hallow. “This could be just some story you’re telling me to get me to trust you.”
“Then break my neck or decapitate me, just you know try to put my head back on my body afterwards or it gets strange,” Tony offers exasperated. “That will at least rule out LMD and skrull for you as well as quite a few other things. I’ll skip the shower and we’ll go to the tower and I’ll show you the files that Don and I kept. I’d just hack the files from here but there on a secure server and you have to be physically be in the lab to access them.”
Steve is looking at Tony now his eyes wide, “You’ve been decapitated before?”
“Lab accident,” Tony says flippantly. “When you discover you can’t die you get a little less careful around heavy machinery.”
“Tony!” Steve gasps and his grip becomes bruising. “I don’t care if your immortal work safety is important.”
Tony rolls his eyes, “yeah I got that message but honestly Steve we fight super villains on a weekly basis.”
“Yeah well for the time being consider yourself benched.” Steve snaps.
Tony is about to protest but thinks better of it, “yeah I guess that’s fair. I suppose I’ll be everybody’s lab rat for a while till everyone’s convinced.”
Steve glowers but the red is already fading from his eyes and in another minute it’s unlikely any one will be able to tell Steve had ever cried at all. Carefully Steve grip slackens and he steps away. “You should shower, I’ll get you some clothes then you will explain this whole thing to me.”
“Aye, aye Captain,” Tony says with a mocking solute before slipping out of the small closet.