Please shower this chapter with comments! I fucking loved writing this TBH
Steve has never been more thankful for the Burger King that was situated directly in front of the hospital that his mum works in, because as much as Steve dislikes burgers - and fries, and anything that is deep-fat-fried-in-heart-attack-oil - having the Burger King there made it a lot easier for him to take it across to the hospital for Tony, as somewhat of a peace offering to the young teen.
He has bought two cheeseburgers, and fries, and two milkshakes and even if Steve doesn't like burgers or fries from fast food industries, he would eat them so that Tony didn't eat alone or Tony could just have them both, he didn't care. Anyway, Steve likes milkshakes and he hopes that Tony likes milkshakes, and he really hopes that he isn't lactose intolerant because that would really make things shit.
Also, Bucky lied. Cheese burgers cost way more than 2 dollars, and the extra fries and milkshakes rounded the cost to 15 dollars - including his bus fair. Steve was just glad that he had that extra cash that Reta gave him last week after doing her shopping, and the spare change from all the Christmas gifts he had bought for the gang. It would be worth it though, Tony looked sad and he didn't want anyone to be during this Christmas period.
Steve hides the fatty food In his backpack, hoping that the insulation with hopefully stop the food from getting cold as he starts to walk towards the hospital after exiting Burger King. He places the milkshakes carefully in his bag, hoping not to jostle too much. He has his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his old jacket, a ridiculous - but made with love - knitted beanie on his head with a matching scarf around his neck, both bright with a rainbow of colours.
"Steve. What are you doing here?"Sarah asks in a rushed tone whenever she spots her son stalking down the hallways, peering into random private rooms as subtle as someone who is over 6 feet tall can. She's rushing to get to the otherside of the hospital, with notes clutched in her hand that are crucially needed.
"Um, I'm looking for someone."Steve admits, watching how his mom walks by him with a raised eyebrow, almost walking backwards so that she can still speak to her son."I'm visiting someone."
"A friend? Is everyone okay? James? Clint?"She asks worriedly, stopping for a second just to show her worry for her sons friends. Both James and Clint were already getting into somesort of trouble, ending up just as bashed and bruised as her son who looks a bit better than what he did two days ago. The bruising around his face was fading and the stitches slowly but surely healing, the only thing was his broken nose that would heal soon enough.
"Everyone is fine Mom. Go back to work."He basically shoos her away with a gentle and reassuring smile. She nods, already turning so she can start rushing down the hallway once again, allowing Steve to breath a little easier. It didn't take a genius to know where Steve got his kindness and good nature from, it was knitted into Steve.
Steve lets out another breath, deciding to keep looking for Tony's hospital room. He kind of wishes that he knew his last name, it would make things so much easier and maybe then he could ask one of the nurses what number Tony's room is, but then again maybe they wouldn't give it to Steve because he isn't family nor a friend, they're strangers, kind of, they talked that one time so maybe they're now acquittances.
Cautiously - mostly because he doesn't want to be spotted by a doctor or nurse that could escort him out of the building - Steve is peering into one of the private rooms on the floor that his Mum is stationed on. It's in a ward where it is mostly occupied with patients that have been in serious accidents that have landed with in comas, or have severely damaged an individual.
It makes Steve frown because was Tony in this ward because of whatever that blue glow in his chest is? He wonders how that happened, and what the blue orb is exactly - because Steve might go to a public school but he's sure that it's not just a random ass magical blue orb in Tony's chest - and how it functions in Tony's every day life.
Spotting the familiar soft dark hair, Steve has to bite back a smile of success as he raps his knuckles against the wood of the hospital, peering through the mesh like window as Tony looks up in confusion from whatever the hell he is obviously fiddling with. Steve wants to let out a coo, Tony's hair is sticking out in odd angles and his coffee brown eyes are wide in confusion as he looks at the door, nose scrunched up whenever he notices it's Steve.
"Come in,"He calls, giving Steve a motion to come in before going back to what he's fiddling in. Steve opens the door with a smile, shutting the door with the heel of his foot as he looks over at Tony. The teenager is sitting crosslegged on his hospital bed, a - universal - screwdriver in his hand and tongue darted between his lips as he fiddles with what Steve can identify as Tony's heart monitor.
"What the fuck are you doing?"Steve asks in panic, his eyes widening as he watches Tony pull at wires and fiddle with screwdrivers. The heart monitor is there for a reason, still connected to Tony but deemed useless now as it lays on the bed in front of Tony, dismantled into pieces. He's taking off his hat and scarf, shaking it from snow.
"Fiddling,"Tony replies, licking his lips as he works."It kept making this annoying beeping sound which was driving me up the fucking walls."Tony mutters, wiping the back of his left hand over his eyes to wipe away some tiredness that was making his eyes droop, but he wasn't going to give in to sleep.
Unlucky enough, he didn't sleep as long as he hoped he would last night, waking up sometime between 1 in the morning and 2 and started to fiddle with every bit of equipment in his hospital room, including touching up the television so that it broadcasted British television and to the heart monitor so that it would just shut the fuck up.
"It's supposed to make that sound, Y'know."Steve can't help but to laugh, the concern still relevant in his voice but laced with a sort of fondness that seems to wipe right over Tony's head. The teenager blindly reaches out for this glasses that rest on the hospital side table. Steve rushes to grab them to aid Tony, handing them to the teenager who thanks him silently with a nod."The beeping is to tell people that your heart is still beating and that you're alive."
"Yes I know that, Captain Obvious."Tony rolls his eyes the minute that his glasses are perched on his nose."But I'm telling you that it was annoying as fucking hell, especially when it's the only thing you hear for 8 days straight, 24 hours a day. So I'm changing it."
"Changing it? To what?"Steve asks curiously because he had no idea you were able to change the sound that came off of a heart monitor, actually, he's pretty sure you're unable to change the sound.
"I don't know yet."Tony mumbles, scrunching up his eyebrows as he focuses on all of the bits and bobs in front of him. Sarah will have a heart attack if she sees that Tony has dismantled the one thing that is telling them Tony's heart beat is regular and not missing any beats, but Tony is making sure that he does this as quick as possible so that Sarah doesn't find out, well she will eventually but not right now.
"This is damaging hospital property-"
"What is your purpose being here?"Tony finally looks up, with a raised eyebrow and his lips pursed into a straight line."Is your sole purpose in life to tell me that I can't do this or that I can't do that? Because honestly, honey, If you're supposed to be some goddamn guardian Angel you're doing a hell of a shit job."
"I-"Steve pauses, looking at Tony whose face is scrunched up in some sort of sourness, mixed with an emotion that the teenager is trying his hardest to mask, but damn these fûcking medication, making his moods all loopy."I came to apologise, to introduce myself all over again."
"You came to apologise..."Tony's voice trails off, eyeing Steve who offers Tony a kind smile, one that could not be forced or fake. There's just something in Steves voice that makes Tony want to trust him, to believe him that Steve came back to apologise because never has anyone ever come back to apologise to Tony for doing something. Tony is always the one to apologise, because he's always the one in trouble.
"I did,"Steve says."C-can I sit down?"He asks hesitantly, motioning towards the chair that is sitting beside Tony's bed, covered in pieces of blue paper. Tony nods his head with a little sound, watching behind the glass of his glasses as Steve gently picks up the blue prints, neatly shuffles them before setting them on the table in front of Tony's photo frames.
Steve can't help but to notice the fact that Tony wasn't wearing a tank top like he was last time that he saw him, but now instead wore what looked like an extra thick hoodie which unfortunately so, still made it possible for the blue light to seek through. Tony catches onto Steves lingering stare, suddenly feeling self-conscious to the Arc reactor as he curls over himself and angles himself away from Steve.
"No, shit, I didn't mean to stare, I'm sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable? I-I've just never seen anything like that before and it's really fascinating a-and different, but in a good way, I hope because maybe it's not a good thing for it to be glowing-"
Steve panics, the words just tumbling out of his mouth as he speaks, trying his best to not look at Tony because for fuck sake, he came all of the way here to apologise to Tony for freaking out due to the blue orb and now he's back, in the Same place freaking out about the blue orb and still with no apology.
"Dude, it's fine. It's fine."Tony reassures, his voice softening as he speaks but not meeting Steves eye."If it stops glowing, it means it stops working, if it stops working, the magnet won't stable the shrapnel that is aiming for my heart meaning that I'll die a very slow but painful death."Tony says as if it's the most simplest of things to spill from his mouth.
"Y-you'd die?"
"Yeah,"Tony shrugs his shoulders, screwing a screw back into place with his screwdriver."But that's unlikely to happen, it's more likely I'll die from untreated infection around the arc reactor than anything else, I mean I have a fucking hole in my chest, of course I'm going to get infected."
"That's...a lot to take in."Steve mutters, shocked by how monotone Tony is about the Arc Reactor - as Steve now knows it as - in his chest, practically keeping him alive and preventing shrapnel - from a fucking bomb? What the hell as his kid been up to? - from piercing his fucking heart."I was to introduce myself again. I'm Steve Rogers."
Tony is almost startled whenever he looks up to realise that Steve has extended his arm forward for Tony to shake his hand. He eyes Steves hand cautiously, looking for any threats before he musters up the courage to let his hand - which looks so small in comparison to Steves - Steves hand."Tony Stark."
"That's a beautiful name,"Steve admits, blushing whenever he realises what he just let slip. He sees the way that Tony admittedly starts to blush, turning his gaze away from the wonderful blue eyes as he smirks just a little.
"I know,"Tony replies coyly, indicating a laugh from Steve which is music to Tony's ears. Steves hand is so warm compared to Tonys, so soft but strong and so fucking huge. His hands were nothing like Tony's, whose hands were covered in little scars from years of fiddling with tools, small and always so damn cold. Tony is always so cold.
"Wait!"Steve remembers loudly, making Tony jump and for Steves hand to slip from his own, a frown appearing on Tony's face but wiping away quickly whenever he realises what he's doing. It goes unnoticed by Steve who is making quick work to gently take his backpack off his back and unzip it."I brought you a cheeseburger."
"Y-you what?"
"A cheeseburger, as a peace offering or whatever. You wanted one two days ago, and I know that was two days ago and maybe I should've came back sooner, but I still brought you one."Steve smiles, pulling the Burger King wrapped burger out of his backpack, along with the other and some fries.
"You actually got me a cheeseburger?"Tony says in shock, his brown eyes wide as he's handed the wrapped up burger."Steve, you didn't need to, I-"
"But I wanted to,"Steve smiles, looking over at Tony who stares in shock. Nobody has willingly bought Tony something in ages - other than Jarvis at his birthday, and Rhodey when it comes to pizza -, nevermind someone like Steve who is practically a stranger to Tony. He feels all warm.
"Thank you,"Tony smiles finally, a smile that is so little and Steve would have missed it if it wasn't for the fact that he was staring at Tony. He watches as Tony peels away the wrapper before making a happy found, taking a bite of the Cheeseburger with a delightful moan that really fûcking shouldn't make Steve squirm and look away.
"Fuck,"Steve curses whenever he reaches further into the backpack, grimacing whenever his fingers land in the coldness of the milkshakes that has now been spilt all over the bottom of his backpack, making it unbearably soggy and disgusting.
"What's wrong?"Tony says over a mouthful of food, looking over at Steve with wide eyes. He has his cheeseburger in one hand and a screw driver in the other, starting to close up the heart monitor.
"The milkshakes spilt all over my bag."Steve grimaces, pulling out his hand and shamelessly wiping his hand over the front of his backpack.
"Ew,"Tony scrunches up his nose, watching Steves actions."Take my backpack, it's over there."
"Tony, I can't just take your backpack."
"You're not taking it, I'm giving it to you."He rolls his eyes, motioning towards the backpack with his screwdriver hand."Go, take it. Throw that one away and take mine."He leaves no room for arguing, almost pouting at Steve to listen to him and waiting for him to get up. Steve groans as he gets up, once again the painkillers wearing off as he gets off of the chair. There's a bin the room which Steve opens with his foot, throwing the ruined backpack in.
"This one?"Steve asks just to make sure, trying his best not to bend to pick up the backpack and not extending his arms down.
"Yeah."Tony nods,"Just dump whatever inside onto the table."He instructs, already turning back to finish up the heart monitor, screwing down the back of it. Steve follows the instructions, dumping the clothes that was inside of it onto the table and not being able to help the grin whenever a pair of Tony's coffee themed boxers fall out,
Tony finishes with the heart monitor, turning it over so that the front is now facing up and Toby can fiddle for it to turn back on again. The screen lights up with green, and inside of that damn blasted beeping sound, a soft chime echos through the room with every beat of Tony's heart.
"That's better,"
I'll continue in the next chapter (;
Please tell me your opinions!
Votecommentfollow
Peace✌🏼️