How It Started{starker}

Chapter twenty-nine:

Tony and Peter, we're sitting in the living room. Everyone else had left or was doing some other thing. Peter was simply laying on top of tony. Snuggled into his chest. He knew that tony was just dying to ask him a million questions. So with a sigh, he sat up.

"ask."

"Huh?"

"Tony I can physically see the cogs turn in your head with a million thoughts running through a second"

"..."    " yeah okay"

Tony sat up, the pair crisscrossed from each other.

"Why did you get into a fight? I mean, you are still aware of your super spider senses and all that spidey..stuff you know? You have most likely serious hurt him. Not that he didn't deserve it. But peter you have to be careful with other people. It takes one idiot to connect the dots. Someone with superhuman strength?"

Peter at this exact moment was wondering if tony was his boyfriend or his dad. He had no idea what to say. He knew he had inhuman strength. He knew he had to be careful. He just didn't want to hear it.

"He said you wouldn't settle. for me. Because I was some nerd."

Peter stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He shrugged his shoulder and walked into the kitchen.

Tony, still sat on the couch, processing everything. Eventually, he got up and followed into the kitchen.

"Wait wait wait wait."

"You almost killed a kid because he said you weren't good enough for me?"

Tony was leaning against the kitchen counter. In complete confusion but also found humour in the situation.

Peter paused, then nodded.

"Yeah. Pretty much."

Tony then chuckled, which brought an unintended smile to peters face. Then Tony said: "God I love you".

....

....

Well. That put some tension in the air. Not that the pair haven't heard those words before but, not like this. They haven't said it to each other.

Peter turned to tony. He had this look on his face. Cheeks slowly turned bright pink. Then he smiled. It was a sight. Tony slowly walks over to Peter.

" I love you"

He put his hands on his face and hip.

"I love you"

Tony was smiling like an idiot while peter just stared at him.

When Peter didn't react in the next ten seconds, tony started to feel anxious. Was he too forward? Was Peter uncomfortable? Did he not love him..? Tony's smile faded away. His cheeks went back to normal. His hands were removed from Peter. Tony stood for a couple of seconds and then walked away.

Peter wanted to scream. He wanted to grab Tony and kiss every inch of his face, but he didn't. He let him walk away. He was frozen.

Tony ended up in his workshop, tears in his eyes. Trying to find anything to tinker with, break, build, anything. He just needed to distract himself. District himself from the sheer heartbreak he is feeling. This gut feeling is making him dizzy, sick even.

Then Mr America walks in. Oblivious to what's going on, not being able to see Tony's face.

"Hey, how did your talk with Peter go?" Steve asks as he picks up some random object and fiddles with it.

Tony throws his spanner down with a bang.

"Great. Fucking fantastic"

"What happened?" Steve asks with his super-serious captain voice.

"Well-" Tony turns to Steve with the tears just about to stream down his face, which is very clear.

"Had a nice little conversation. Told him I loved him. He stood there, steve. Never said a fucking word. Stood there and. He just."

Tony couldn't finish the sentence. He was full-on sobbing into steve, that had walked over to him when he started talking.

Steve had sat them down on Tony's couch. Tony had his head on steves shoulder, crying. He could barely breathe. It just, hurt so much. Steve had one hand rubbing Tony's back, the other in his hair.

He was stuck for words. What do you tell a man that's just been heartbroken?

◇

Hours had passed. The pair is still on that couch. Bear in mind, that this couch was made for small people(tony). So Steve, being 6'1, didn't fit on this 5'11 couch. As much as the 4 inches makes. Small builds.

But he stayed anyway. No matter how uncomfortable, he stayed for his friend. Steve was laying down his head on a pillow, feet dangling over the edge. With tony wrapped up on himself, blanket over him, on Steve's chest.

Steve decided about half an hour into Tony's sleep that he was going to stay here as long as he needed. Either it is an hour or ten. He would stay. That's just the type of person he is. Always been, always has.

Bucky came in, looking for Steve. Surprisingly enough, found him.

He confusingly walks over to the lair, on the couch. He opens his mouth to ask, but nothing comes out.

Steve smiles at his lover boy's confusion.

He barely audibly whispers, knowing bucky will hear,

"Tony told Pete he loved him, but Peter didn't say it back."

Bucky made an "ohhh" type of face.

"Is he okay?"

Steve looked at the man on his chest and sighed.

"Not sure buck, but he needed someone today, you know?"

Steve and Bucky had complete trust in one another. This is why bucky didn't come blazing in wondering why tony is on his man's chest. He knew it would be for a reason.

Bucky understood. The feeling of comfort of just having someone. Then it hit him.

"What about Peter? Has anyone checked up on him?"

Steves's eyes went wide. He didn't even think about that.

"No, it slipped my mind. Do you mind?"

Steve silently asked bucky to check in on him.

"I just about have my hands full," Steve says with a sly smirk.

"Yeah yeah, whatever jerk" bucky leans down to ruffle steves hair and give him a small kiss on his head.

◇

Bucky silently walked up to Peter's door, he listened for a second. Just in case, never know what you could walk in on. He heard nothing, so gave it a knock. He waited, a couple of seconds. Gave another knock. Then Peter answered.

Peter opened the door with his eyes red swollen, he couldn't even look bucky in the eye. staring at the floor, he choked out;

"yeah?"

bucky never said a word and grabbed him into a hug. Peter once again started crying into his chest. a common occurrence it seems.

"Oh Pete"

That was all bucky said, what could he say? Bucky wasn't a wordy man. He did better with actions, like hugging. He walked Peter back into his room and they both looked into his bed.

"Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna put on some Alice because that movie is amazing, shame I never saw it when it came out" buck gave Peter a smirk which made him smile" then we are going to watch a million other movies until we run out, sound good?" Bucky said all this while getting him and Peter comfortable in bed and turning the tv on.

"Yeah," Peter said softly as he leaned into Bucky and focused on the movie.