The next morning, Tony wakes up alone, smiling at his recollection of the previous night.
He steps into some slippers and heads downstairs to the kitchen.
"Hey."
"Morning."
Steve is sipping tea, leaning against the counter.
Tony grabs a mug and starts pouring himself some coffee.
"You guys are adorable," Steve states smoothly. Tony nearly drops his mug.
"What?"
"You and Bruce."
Tony sips his brew.
"Oh. Yeah. Um...thanks?"
Steve smiles.
"No problem."
He gives the engineer a friendly pat on the chest, then freezes when he sees Tony's knuckles turn white around the handle of his mug.
He frowns.
"You okay?"
Tony swallows and nods, his hands shaking. Steve plucks the mug out of his hand and puts it down before the man drops it.
"Did I-I'm sorry, I thought the new reactor didn't hurt?"
"I uh...I switched it out."
"Oh. Why?"
"The other one...burned out."
"Huh. Didn't know they did that."
Tony shrugs.
"No did I, Steve."
The soldier spins around and Tony looks up to see Natasha peering up at them over a bowl of oatmeal.
"How long have you been there??"
She just grins.
"You seen Bruce?" Tony asks.
"Yeah, he's on the balcony.
The engineer nods.
"Thanks."
But Natasha stops him at the door.
"You gotta stop, Tony."
"I have, literally no clue what you're talking about."
"You're lying. Just..." her lashes flutter and she thinks of what to say, knowing she can't stop him from doing anything.
"Just know that you don't deserve it. Any of it."
Tony wrinkles his brow in faux-confusion.
"If you say so. I'm gonna...go now?"
The woman's grip on his bicep falls away, and she merely nods.
Bruce is leaning on the wide concrete railing of the balcony, and Tony appears beside him.
"Hey."
"Morning, beautiful."
Bruce blushes.
"You sleep well?" Tony asks.
"Yeah. You didn't, though."
"Nope. Did I?"
"Yeah, you were crying out in your sleep."
"Oh. What did I say?"
"I-" Bruce's features darken.
Great, I've already cast a shadow over the day, Tony thinks.
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أدب الهواةIn which Tony is the basket case we all wish we were allowed to be TW for: - self harm (graphic) - mentions of sexual assault - mentions of suicide This is not for the faint of heart. If the right people are reading this right now, that means it...
