Hold Me Together

Two

"Do you love me Stephen?" Tony whispers.

The silence that filled the small room had a weight to it. Stephen had figured out a while ago that he loved Tony but he had also accepted that nothing would come of it because of one Steve Rogers.

"It's okay if you don't." Tony says quickly, his speech starting to slur as the painkillers started to put him to sleep. "I haven't done anything to deserve it. Just take up your time. You're nice to me because it's your job." He says, closing his eyes. "But I think I love you for real." He murmurs.

Stephen is silent as he can feel his heart hammer in his chest. Then he realized Peter was staring at him. Stephen opens his mouth.

"Peter-"

"I know." He says. "I've known for a while." He stands and Stephen noticed he had been silently crying. "I wish he met you first."

Stephen pulled him into a hug. "I'm so sorry Peter."

"Say it." Peter whispers.

"I'm sorry?"

"Tell him you love him." Peter says, lifting his eyes. "He needs to hear it from someone who means it."

"Peter-"

"Please, Dr. Strange?"

Stephen moves away from Peter and leans over Tony's sleeping figure and whispers.

"I love you Tony Stark." He says, biting his lip to hold back any emotion that threatened to spill over. He stands up straight and looks at Peter.

"Come get me when he wakes up or something happens."

Peter nods silently.

"This is my personal number. Do not hesitate to call if you need me." Stephen says, writing his number down on a scrap of paper and handing it over.

"Thank you Dr. Strange." Peter says and puts the number in his phone. "For everything."

"I only wish I could do more."

"I know the reason he hasn't left Steve yet is because of me." Peter says, looking over at his father.

"What do you mean?"

"If they got a divorce, Steve would have the military and a good chunk of the public behind him. He is the Army's 'Golden Boy' after all. You and I both know that Dad won't bring up the scars and bruises in court. He hates being seen as weak. Especially after all the work he put into the company."

Stephen sighs softly. He knew it was true. Tony had always been strong, never ever weak.

"What's going to happen when I go off to college? He could get killed. Or worse." Peter is shaking now. "It's not fair!"

"I know."

"He doesn't deserve this."

"Neither of you do."

"What am I supposed to do Dr. Strange?"

"I wish I could tell you..." Stephen says, feeling sick. "Peter, I think we are on a first name bases by now. You can call me Stephen."

"I just feel so helpless."

Stephen felt the same way and he absolutely hated it.

"Why don't we let Tony rest and go get something to eat? God only knows when he got a good night's sleep. You can tell me about the game. I think we can both use a distraction."

Peter looks back at Tony, then back at Stephen and nods. They leave the room and make their way to the cafeteria.

"So, did your school win?"