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“Tony? Don’t freak out, but Steve’s in the hospital. He got in a fight and…” Natasha’s worried voice rang out from the phone. Tony felt his heart stop and his breathing grow heavy, unable to form coherent words. “Tony? Are you there?”
“Y-yeah.” He stuttered out, already racing towards his car and practically flinging himself into the driver’s seat. “How bad? How bad is it, Nat?”
“He’ll be fine.” She said simply, but something in her tone made Tony severely doubt she strongly believed that. He was silent for another moment as he started the car and sped down the road. “Tony, you’re panicking, aren’t you?”
“No.” He lied, feeling his chest already closing up and trying to hide his labored and heavy breathing. “I’m fine. I just… I need to get there.”
“Stark, calm down.” Natasha commanded in that scary way that always seemed to be able to convince anyone to do anything. Except not today. There was no way in hell he could calm down. “It’s Steve. He’s always fine.”
“He’s never been in the hospital for this before.” Tony whispered, swallowing hard. “The doctor? Yes. The hospital? No.”
“He…He…” Natasha seemed to be searching for some reassuring thing to say. Something, anything that might assuage Tony’s fears. “Just get here, okay?”
“Like hell I wouldn’t.” Tony grumbled before hanging up the phone and continuing to speed towards the hospital. He tried to calm down before he got there, not wanting Steve to see him in this state.
When he arrived at the hospital, he burst through the doors and glanced around wildly for Natasha. He caught sight of her red hair within moments and jogged over to her. He bit his lip and looked at her with worry in his eyes.
“You look like hell.” She said bluntly, looking down and shaking her head slowly. She didn’t exactly look her best either. Her mouth was set into a deeper frown than usual and her eyes were filled with a tiredness that only came with worry. “Tony…I didn’t…I didn’t tell you everything.”
“What? What do you mean?” Tony asked nervously, wringing his hands together and trying to disguise his choked up voice. “What the hell did you keep from me?”
“He…He…They stabbed him, Tony.” She whispered, her eyes glistening with tears a bit before she cleared her throat and pushed them away. “He’s in surgery right now. They’re making sure his vital organs are all okay.”
“No…” Tony murmured, everything seeming to go dead quiet as he took in Natasha’s words. ”He can’t…No!”
“Tony, calm down.” Natasha tried to coax the boy back down from his rage and upset She placed a hand on his arm and he smacked it away.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me, Natasha?” He was practically growling now, his vision blurred with tears of anger and sadness.
“I didn’t want you freaking the fuck out anymore!” She hissed. “You were already in a panic. I didn’t need your dumbass crashing the damn car due to your freak out.”
“I..I…” Tony seemed to crumple then, averting his eyes. “I’m sorry… I just…Oh god.”
Natasha grabbed his arm and led him to sit down in one of the chairs. He sat down shakily and placed his head in his hands. His breathing had gotten even more labored than before somehow. Natasha placed a hand on his back.
“He’s going to be okay.” She said softly. “It’s Steve. He’s always okay. He may be small, but goddamn if he can’t take a beating.”
“He’s never been fucking stabbed before, Tash.” Tony said, trying to keep his voice from shaking too badly. “He’s…He’s already got so many health problems…What if they messed up one of his organs or something?”
“You can’t afford to think like that.” Natasha said, her voice still soft. “He could and probably will be totally fine.”
“You don’t get it...” Tony mumbled. “He doesn’t… I never told him…”
Tony was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat. He looked up and saw Bucky there, looking just as worried as the other two.
“How is he? Can we see him yet?” Bucky asked, sitting down next to Tony and glancing over between the two of them.
“Not yet…He’s in surgery right now.” Natasha explained as if it were obvious. Tony looked up at her and cocked an eyebrow. Had she told Bucky about the stabbing before him? “I knew he’d take it better…” She mumbled.
Tony sighed, dismissing it and letting Natasha fill Bucky in. He tuned it out, not really giving a shit about either of them. All he cared about was Steve right now.
“Hey, Stark?” Bucky said, pulling Tony out of his mild trance. The brunette looked up at the other with a curious look. “Steve… Steve really… He cares about you a lot. He never shuts up about you to me, talking about how amazing and smart and funny and perfect you are. I just thought you needed to know that.”
“Thanks. I could use it.” Tony said, a sad little smile playing on his lips. He buried his face in his hands again before asking, “He…Does he know how much he means to me?”
“Yeah. Yeah, he does.” Bucky confirmed. This helped one of Tony’s main fears. The fear that Steve would never know how much he-
“You’re here for Steve Rogers, yes?” An unfamiliar voice asked. Tony glanced up at a doctor whose face gave away nothing. It was completely neutral, not filled with positive or negative feelings. Natasha confirmed for them that they were there for Steve. “He’s recovering in the ICU. Unfortunately, I can’t let you see him at the moment. Family only and I’ve been informed that he has no living relatives.”
“Let me see him.” Tony blurted out, standing up immediately. He narrowed his eyes and drew his mouth into a thin line. “I swear to God if you don’t let me see him…”
“I can’t break the rules, Mr. uh…” The doctor trailed off, providing Tony the opportunity to smirk.
“Stark.” He said simply, nodding towards the sign above the door. “As in, son of Maria and Howard Stark. The whole reason this fucking hospital is even running. Now let me see him.”
“I can’t…I, uh…” The doctor stuttered, clearly at a loss for what to do. He glanced around and murmured. “Mr. Stark, if word gets out that I let you see him…”
“My father will make sure it’s fine.” Tony finished for the doctor, bouncing on his heels. He could feel anxiety bubbling in him. “Just let me see him.”
“Only you.” The doctor said simply, glancing between Natasha and Bucky. “The other two stay.”
Tony looked over at the others, biting his lip. They both nodded and Natasha gestured to the door.
“Go see him. We can wait.” She said gently. “You…You need to see him more than us. We understand.”
Bucky nodded and smiled at Tony, clapping a hand on his shoulder. He looked into his eyes seriously.
“You’re a good guy, Stark.” He said. “Steve…Steve really… Oh, just go talk to him yourself if he’s conscious.”
Tony nodded and sighed before following after the doctor. He was so focused on getting to Steve that he barely noticed the flurry of doctors and nurses shoving him around. When they got to the ICU, he took a deep breath as he was led to the room.
“Now, be warned. He doesn’t look that good right now.” The doctor said as he stood in front of the door. “He took quite a beating and is just waking up from sedation. It’s likely he might not even remember this encounter.”
“I don’t care. Just… let me see him.” Tony insisted, his teeth digging into his lip as he waited. The doctor nodded and opened the door, ushering Tony in slowly before shutting it behind him. Tony slowly and quietly walked over to where Steve was laying down. “Hey.”
“Tony?” Steve asked softly, his voice weak. Tony nodded and looked Steve over, frowning. He was bruised and cut and hurt in every way possible it seemed. His left eye was black and shut and he had multiple cuts on his face.
“Oh, Stevie…” He said softly, feeling his eyes prick with tears. “Who did this to you? I’m going to kill them, I swear. I’ll murder them.”
“Tony, I’m fine.” Steve croaked out, coughing a bit. “I don’t want you fighting my battles for me, okay? I couldn’t forgive myself if something happened to you because of me.”
“Steve…” Tony said with a shake of his head. “I can’t…Seeing you like this hurts me. I want to…”
“What? Avenge me?” Steve asked with a raise of his eyebrow, wincing a bit at the action. “Listen…I’ll be fine and I’ll avoid fights for awhile, okay? If it makes you happy, I’ll try to be safer.”
“I…” Tony sighed before reluctantly nodding. “Please, Stevie. I can’t…I can’t see you like this again. I don’t know what the hell I would do. I’m already having the hardest time of my life right now.”
Steve didn’t answer. He just reached over slowly and entangled Tony’s fingers in his own. He leaned back and rested against the pillow.
“Do you want to sleep? Should I go?” Tony asked softly, not wanting to disturb Steve if he needed rest.
“No.” Steve insisted, holding tighter to Tony’s hand. “Come here.” He pulled Tony onto the bed with him, scooting over very carefully. “Lay with me.”
“Okay.” Tony said immediately, waiting for the blond to move over enough that he could lay down next to the other. “I don’t want to hurt you though. Tell me if I do.”
“You’ll be fine.” Steve said softly, placing their entangled hands on Tony’s chest. Tony sighed and closed his eyes.
“Hey Steve?” He whispered after a moment of just taking in how comfortable and content he was.
“Hm?”
“You know right?” He asked, sucking in an anxious breath.
“Yeah… I know.” Steve replied softly, squeezing Tony’s hand reassuringly. Tony let out a soft sigh and smiled.
“I was worried you didn’t…” Tony whispered, feeling his stomach churn at the thought. “I was worried I would lose you and you would never know.”
“I did too.” Steve said, his voice thick. “All I could think about as they rushed me over here was that… maybe… maybe I would never get to tell you. Maybe I would never get to hear you say it.”
“I…” Tony began, taking a deep breath. He’d never said it before, not to anyone other than his family. He wasn’t the type to…fall in love. “I love you, Steve. And I’ll tell you all the time so you never have to worry again.”
“I love you, Tony.” Steve returned very quietly. “I always have and always will. I’ll never stop reminding you either.”
“Go to sleep, Stevie. You could use it.” Tony said, leaning over and very softly kissing at Steve’s cheek. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Okay.” Steve agreed as he closed his eyes. Tony did the same and felt himself smiling as he drifted off into a comfortable sleep.
He awoke later to the sound of familiar voices talking quietly near him. He used his free hand to rub his eyes as he woke up, glancing around. He caught sight of Natasha and Bucky who both held knowing smiles on their faces.
“Told you he knew.” Natasha smirked, sitting in one of the chairs. Tony rolled his eyes and tried to shift slightly without disturbing Steve. “I’m always right. Buck and I called you two being lovebirds a couple months back.”
“Yeah well…” Tony shrugged, unable to hold back the smile on his face. “I guess it takes one of us almost dying to get Tony Stark to admit to being in love.”
“I guess I’m not obligated to give you the whole dating my best friend talk.” Bucky said with a soft smile. “The whole ‘hurt him and I’ll kill you’ thing is pretty futile for you, huh?”
“No, you definitely don’t.” Tony agreed, glancing over lovingly at Steve. “It hurts me to see Steve in pain.”
“Tony?” Steve murmured as he stirred a bit at the sound of his name. He opened his eyes slowly, catching sight of Bucky and Natasha. He flushed a bit and looked down. “Uh, hey guys.”
“Don’t act all shy. We’ve known forever.” Natasha teased, shaking her head fondly. “You two do a terrible job of hiding your feelings.”
“Especially when you never shut up about a certain jerky genius.” Bucky added, smirking.
“Oh shut up, you two.” Tony interjected. He looked over at Steve whose face was still bright red. He loved that blush, relishing in it every time he saw it. “Can’t help that we’re in loooooooooove.”
“You two are sickening.” Natasha said with an exaggerated scowl. “All that honeymoon phase shit makes me want to dry heave.”
“Yeah? Guess you’ll vomit then.” Tony said with a devilish grin before leaning over and kissing Steve on the lips. It was slow and filled with love, their lips moving in perfect sync. It was arguably the best kiss Tony had ever had.
“I’m suing you two for emotional damage.” Natasha grumbled, making her way towards the door. “We’ll leave you two to suck face. Hope you feel better, Steve.”
“Bye guys!” Steve said happily, his cheeks flushed and his tongue running over his lips. He turned towards Tony once the two were gone and smiled. “Maybe we can do that more?”
“Oh, all the time.” Tony agreed before leaning in to steal another kiss. He smiled against Steve’s lips, feeling happiness course through him. He ran a hand softly through the boy’s blond locks and sighed happily. Maybe Steve was hurt and would take awhile to recover, but he would be there every step of the way. He would make sure the other felt completely loved and taken care of.