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Steve raced to the medical floor as quickly as he could, bowling over no less than three interns who had been (carelessly, if you asked him) lingering around in the open spaces he’d been trying to pass through. The last he was pretty sure wasn’t even actually an intern and may have been more like Sam or even one of the more recent additions to the team, but that hardly seemed consequential in the moment.
He'd been called in while on a brief mission that thankfully only had him a couple of hours away, but it hadn’t made the trip any less daunting. “Tony’s headed for the hospital,” Pepper had explained, “Collapsed in our meeting, I don’t know – “ She’d been trembling over the phone, and Steve could hear it in her voice and picture it all the way to her fingers. It didn’t take much to rattle Pepper Potts, but whatever did meant the Avengers took it seriously.
Especially when it came to Tony Stark.
The elevator doors opened to medical, and Steve spotted immediately the only thing that presently actually mattered. Tony, prone on a bed, surrounded by their ex-spy teammates, the medical staff currently assisting the brunet, and the small collection of equipment attached to him in various locations.
Tony was sitting up, at least, although he appeared considerably more nonplussed than he even normally did when he was forced to wait for treatment. Steve hesitated to move himself into the space, trying to parse exactly what might have happened.
It was Natasha who thankfully noticed him hovering along the perimeter of the small throng, and saddled up next to him by way of greeting. “Appendicitis,” she explained, as though that made much sense. When Steve continued to simply stare at her, she licked her lips. “You know, the appendix gets inflamed, risks bursting, has to be removed. Tony of course – “
“I know what appendicitis is,” Steve countered quickly. “I don’t know what it means for Tony right now. Isn’t he a bit above the age range?”
“Ah.” There was at least a hint of mirth in Natasha’s countenance, which meant that the condition wasn’t the death sentence it used to be. It also meant Tony was probably safe, especially if he was already out of surgery and looking sour over in his bed. “In that case – it’s still technically possible, apparently. And Tony was ignoring the symptoms over the last couple of days. Pep said he had mentioned a stomach bug, but they threw that out the window when he collapsed in the middle of his board meeting.”
“Yeah, that was when she called me,” Steve aligned. Two or three desperate hours ago, before he’d told the Secretary of War where he could shove it before hightailing it back to New York faster than a pigeon on a fallen hot dog. Nobody had thought to update him since then, but he figured they knew he was on the way. “Is he okay?”
“Oh my God, Ladies, calm down!” Nat halted anything she might have said, choosing instead to pull a slow turn back around to stare behind her. Steve found himself angling so that he could also peek around her, eyes widening as he took in the sight of Tony on the bed, clinging almost desperately to the hospital gown that one of the nurses had been trying to pull to the side.
“Mr. Stark,” she tried gently, though with the way Tony’s features twisted she might as well have snarled it at him. She seemed kind, hair kinked with age and body rounded with the wear of a well-lived life. Steve could see the patience in her gaze as she laid a tender hand against Tony’s arm and spoke quietly. “We need to change the dressings. I promise we aren’t trying to do anything untoward.”
Tony looked skeptical, though his grip on the gown loosened slightly. Now that Steve was paying closer attention, he could see the haziness of his scrutiny, and the slight slack of his jaw that implied he wasn’t fully functioning cognitively. He shot a questioning eye to the redhead next to him, and this time she smirked.
“He’s going to be fine,” Nat finally continued. “He just woke up about 5 minutes ago from the surgery. They use the good stuff for that, apparently.”
“I am not an available man,” Tony announced in confirmation. Steve could hear the snort Clint barely smothered as he pulled out his cell phone to begin documenting.
“Of course not,” the nurse humored him, sounding immensely more magnanimous than Tony’s glowering should have afforded him from her. “We just need you available enough to get these dressings changed. You think that would be okay, darling?”
It seemed to have done the trick, because the brunet nodded after a brief hesitation and relinquished his hospital gown enough for the woman to pull it forward and reach underneath. She worked hastily with the assistant nurse who stood mutely next to her, watching Tony’s expression. He continued to remain sour, nose crinkled as he oversaw the treatment.
“My partner is gonna be so mad at you,” he finally said matter-of-factly, letting his slowed gaze turn back to the woman’s face. The word partner slurred, although Steve suspected it was supposed to have been emphasis instead and had gotten caught by the slowness of Tony’s tongue. It gave the statement an air of petulance rather than gravity. “He’s gonna be mad you’re touching me there.”
“Tony,” Steve finally called, unable to let the man keep digging himself a more embarrassing hole. Clint was still recording after all, although the way Tony’s eyes lit up when he noticed Steve approaching didn’t seem to discourage the behavior.
“Steve! Hey, you made it gorgeous, welcome back.” The bright smile that accompanied his greeting was radiant despite Tony’s mood just moments before, and Steve felt his head ducking gently as a shy grin graced his own face. Tony took that as an opportunity to lean over towards the nurse, suddenly friends again. “Don’t tell Steve. But he’s actually gorgeous. I love it when he lets me put my face in his chest.”
Panic immediately seized the blond, and he turned his wide-eyed stare to the nurse who had likewise turned her attention to him with such bemusement that he wished he’d just stayed silent and invisible in the background. Even worse, Clint’s phone was now pointing at him, the other blond just barely managing to keep his face looking something like neutral. Steve attempted to glare daggers at him, but he doubted it was effective when he could feel the heat on his cheeks running all the way down the back of his neck.
“Thank you, Tony,” he managed instead, “that’s very… flattering.”
This time Natasha snorted, and Steve pushed through to stand on the opposite side of Tony as the nurse. If he could be useful, maybe she wouldn’t keep studying him with such knowing amusement.
“That a Stark-only privilege, Cap?” Nat asked without mercy, loud enough for Tony to undoubtedly hear and leaving Steve to wish further that the ground might simply swallow him down.
And Tony – Tony had the nerve to giggle. “Shhhhh,” he whispered. “Stark only. He doesn’t even have to shave it. So pretty.”
Skip the swallowing and just send him straight to hell, if this wasn’t already it.
Clint was choking on his own laughter now, trying his darndest to keep his phone steady. “Bruce is going to love this,” he managed, and turned the phone back to Tony’s face.
“Bruce is so pretty too,” Tony commented idly, although it brought some relief to Steve to know that he could at least be indiscriminate in his lack of inhibition.
“And what about me?” Clint called, unhindered by the withering glare Steve tried to toss his way. The nurses did not help by giggling quietly under their breath as they worked. Tony stuck his tongue out as his response, though, so Clint answered in kind but kept filming. “Fuck you too, buddy.”
If the genius was offended, he didn’t show it as he rolled his head – lazy over his shoulders, as though it weighed more than he expected – to get a better look at Steve. The blond tried to offer a smile, and took Tony’s hand in his own.
“We’re glad you’re okay, Tones,” he confessed, thumb gently rubbing over the calluses of Tony’s palm. Soft eyes lingered there as well, as though Tony was just now recognizing the enormity of the scare he had given them.
“Was I not okay?” he asked, mouth going slack while he struggled to lock onto Steve’s gaze for confirmation. “Oh no beloved, did I scare you?”
“Beloved?” Nat asked, clarity beginning to show on her face as she joined Steve’s side. The blond shot her a slightly panicked look, but she ignored it in favor of covering their hands with her own. “Tony, is this why you mentioned not being available earlier?”
Tony’s expression matched Steve’s as his focus centered on the redhead. “Don’t tell him!” he hissed, “Don’t tell him I said that!”
This time Steve used his hand to cover the genius’s mouth soft but steady to stop him from speaking any more. “It’s fine, Tony, I’m sure it’s all fine, isn’t it guys?”
Please understand this tone I’m giving you, he pleaded silently.
But it seemed neither Clint nor Natasha could resist the opportunity to goad at least just a little further. “Oh no, what if he’s upset, Tony?” Clint offered, while Nat patted their hands in hers with a practiced sympathy.
“Do you think Steve’s gonna be upset I let the cat out of the bag?” Tony finally asked, quiet and innocent enough that Steve couldn’t even find it in himself to be too upset except for the victorious smugness rolling off the ex-spies.
“I promise everything is all right, darling,” he finally offered, letting them revel in their discovery as he wrapped his arms delicately around Tony. The nurse, ever still so kind, gave him a brief and subtle nod and gathered her belongings with her assistant before giving them some distance.
“He can start drinking water when he starts to seem parched,” she offered gently, and Steve nodded thankfully for the distraction.
So they may have been doing something a little more than friends for the past couple of months, and they may have been avoiding telling their friends and colleagues simply to avoid the haranguing. The way Clint and Natasha were looking at him now were reason enough, although thankfully Clint finally put his phone down, and Nat remained silent even if her opinion was as loud as a scream on her face.
Honestly, with all the dark thoughts that had clouded Steve’s mind on the flight over, being able to hold Tony in his arms without worrying about the repercussions suddenly felt freeing. It didn’t matter so much anymore if everybody knew if it mean he could do this, be here for Tony when he needed him.
“That’s good,” the genius allowed eventually, as though he had been considering Steve’s reply. “He’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Yeah. It was definitely worth it.
Tony’s lips smacked thoughtfully as he snuggled into Steve’s embrace and the soldier reached over to where a small glass of water was waiting, straw already prepped. Natasha turned the cup so that Steve could offer it properly to Tony. “You thirsty?” he asked him quietly, lovingly. Because he could, and he could revel in the equally pleased and loving nod from his partner. “Go ahead and suck here then, babe.”
Tony blinked at him. “Your penis?”
“Argh, I should have still been filming!”
Well. Steve could take small victories.