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It had officially been three days since Tony had locked him—and everyone—out of his room, and Steve wasn't having it. He was pretty sure that the genius had been getting used to his new form, though Bruce was still trying to find some sort of cure... He knew that he was getting used to Tony's new form. The scales used to feel strange, but now it just felt weird not having that tail of Tony's wrapped around him.
"Come on, open up," Steve demanded, thumping his fist against the door. So far, he'd been able to give Tony his space when he needed it, but now it was just getting ridiculous. Jarvis assured him that Tony was perfectly fine, not hurt at all, and was still requesting that he needed his space.
"Tony," Steve called again, "if you don't open up I'm going to have to knock this door down. Three days is too much. I'm worried, the team's worried, and I'm here to get an answer."
"Please, just go away," Tony called back. He sounded so pitiful that it broke Steve's heart. "I'll be down in a couple days, I swear."
"Tony... just let me in. I swear, I just want to make sure you're okay, and I can tell that you're not," Steve said, resting his head against the door. He'd tried so hard in the beginning to make sure that Tony felt safe and comfortable until Bruce could figure out a cure.
The soft click let Steve know that the door was unlocked. Turning the handle, Steve wandered into the darkened room. He could see the distinct red glow of the giant heat lamp that Tony kept turned on whenever he was in the room. Steve knew that his boyfriend preferred snuggling up against him instead, which was why it was so worrying that Tony was locking himself in.
"Is something wrong?" he asked quietly, wandering to the other side of the bed. Tony was currently curled up on the ground, tablet in hand, looking miserable. His eyes looked so sad, so large and yellow...
"Darling, I would've been here if you just let me in," Steve murmured, kneeling down beside his boyfriend. He was beyond surprised when, upon reaching a hand down towards his shoulder, intent on comforting the human-turned-naga, Tony swatted his hand away and glared at him.
"Sorry," Tony whispered, looking guiltily up at Steve. His ears were pressed back, and he looked more like a kicked puppy than anything.
"What's wrong?" Steve whispered, noticing something was off with the scales along Tony's back, down near where his tail started, where scales met flesh.
"It... it itches," Tony mumbled. His face was bright red with embarrassment, almost as dark as his scales. "But if I try to peel it, it hurts... a-and it's so much easier to stay still if I can."
Steve glanced back to the weird-looking scales. "You're... shedding?"
"I'd prefer molting over shedding but... yeah," Tony said, sounding defeated. He rested his head on the ground, whining. "I want this to be over, Steve, I don't know how much longer I can take this."
"How can I help?" Steve asked, settling down beside his troubled genius. "How can I make things better for you?"
"Can you bring me a smoothie or something?" Tony mumbled, moving a bit closer so that he could press his face against Steve's lap. "This really sucks."
Steve sighed, rubbing his fingers through Tony's hair. If he was part cat instead of part snake, he would've been purring, Steve could tell. While Tony napped against his lap, Steve went back to observing his boyfriend's scales. They'd all been tainted with a cloudy look, which was unusual, but he wasn't sure if that was wrong... Perhaps snake scales looked like that when they were shed—molting.
Regardless, there was a large gathering of skin right along his hips, in the shape of Tony's back, shoulders and face. God, that must've hurt, to have half the skin on your face peeling off. Hopefully Tony understood what was going on, because Steve couldn't even imagine what it must've been like for him at the moment. As supportive as he tried to be when watching after Tony, he knew that he'd never be able to truly understand what his lover was going through.
"Steve," Tony mumbled, turning his head so that he could look up at the blond. "Can you come sleep in here, Steve? I don't like being alone, but... I'd understand if you don't want to stay. This is disgusting, and I wish I could just rip it all off already, and—"
"Shh," Steve murmured, pressing a finger to Tony's lips. "I don't know how many times I'm going to have to tell you, I don't think you're a monster like you've been telling me for weeks now, I still think you're the most beautiful man I've ever laid eyes on, and as long as you want me here to help you, I will. I can get you through this, Tony, I can. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it."
"Starting with a fruit smoothie?" Tony asked, looking doe-eyed up at Steve.
"Of course I can," Steve whispered, tilting Tony's head up some as he leaned down to give his genius a kiss. "How long has it been since you've eaten?"
"...four days, I think? Maybe five?" Tony mumbled. His tail was flicking as he scooted closer to the heat lamp when Steve stood up.
"Tony! I've told you that you need to keep eating properly," Steve scolded lightly, shaking his head with a slight smile. Tony may not make the best decisions, but Steve still loved him. He'd make sure his genius stayed fed.
"It's not my fault... the thought of food makes me sick, but I think something liquid might help," Tony said. "You know, with the skin peeling off and all."
"I'll be back, darling, I promise." He scurried over to the door. "Fruit smoothie and some water... I'll tell the team that you're okay, you should be down in a couple days, but... they don't need to know what's going on, not if you're uncomfortable with that." Taking Tony's lack of response as an 'okay,' he added, "I'll be back as soon as possible."
It wasn't bad enough that he was half-snake right now, but now he was molting? And it was so fucking uncomfortable, too. And now the last thing that Tony wanted to happen had happened—Steve knew. He didn't want Steve to have to see him like this, on the ground, vulnerable, in pain. Well, not pain anymore. It was just so uncomfortable to have such a large mass of skin slowly peeling off of him. It made his insides hurt and constrict in ways that he hadn't been expecting.
"Is there anything I can do? I don't like feeling... useless," Steve murmured. Tony hated it, whenever he looked nervous and scared and so much like a little kicked puppy it just made Tony want to hug him until he didn't feel like that anymore.
"You already got me a smoothie... and you're keeping me company," Tony pointed out, holding up the smoothie. "This is humiliating, Steve. If I could just rip it all off right now, I would."
"And I don't think that you should hurt yourself because of this... Bruce is still looking for a cure, as you know," Steve pointed out. He always seemed to be able to say what Tony needed him to say. Tony slid closer, flexing his scales in a way that let the molting continue in a non-painful way.
"What if I'm stuck like this?" Tony asked, trying to sound like he was just throwing the question out there. He couldn't let Steve know just how much it terrified him to think about having to be stuck as a... a freak. And while Steve had insisted that he wasn't going to leave, he'd said that while they still hoped that there was a way to turn him back.
"Then we'll deal with it," Steve said. Those fingers felt magical as they ran through his hair. "It's been weeks, Tony. If I was going to leave you, don't you think I would've done it by now?"
"No," the brunet mumbled, pressing his face against Steve's lap so the super-soldier wasn't able to see his expression. "If anything you're only staying with me out of pity—"
Steve's sharp inhale sounded like a punch to the gut. "You really think I... I pity you? Tony, darling... I don't know how many times I have to love you for you to understand it. I don't know how many nights I have to stay here with you at my side, how many times I have to hold your hand, how many times I have to kiss you or do something for you until you realize how much I care about you."
The words registered in Tony's brain, but he had to keep them away from his heart. It would hurt less when Steve did decide to leave him. So instead of arguing, he just nodded and didn't fight back when Steve gathered him up in his arms.
"Darling, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me," Steve murmured, pressing kisses to the top of his head. "Can I move you up onto the bed? Will that hurt?"
"It won't hurt," Tony assured him. In fact, letting his tail rub against the ground may help the molting... Gripping the super-soldier's chest as he was lifted up, Tony made sure to purposefully drag his snake-end across the ground as Steve hoisted them both up onto the bed. He laid on his side, watching Steve settle down adjacent to himself. Steve put a hand on his side, trailing those gentle fingers of his down along his skin and scales. It felt so nice that he couldn't help but smile.
It wasn't until Steve scooted closer and kissed him when Tony realized that his lower half, his freaky snake half, had wrapped around Steve's legs.
"Sorry," he said instantly, attempting to pull away. The blond just scooted closer, pressing his face to Tony's chest.
"Don't move away," Steve mumbled, pressing kisses to the skin around the arc reactor. "You know that I don't care that you're half snake. It doesn't bother me. It was surprising in the beginning, I have to admit, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest. You're the only one who's bothered by it. And I don't want to sound mean, but there's a good chance that Bruce won't be able to find something... You might need to get used to looking like this."
"I don't want to," Tony sighed. The scales on his face still felt so new, and they tingled when Steve kissed his forehead. It... tickled, almost. "I just want to be human again."
He hadn't been out of the tower since the incident. The media knew about it, of course, since everyone seemed to have a cell phone, and far too many videos of Tony had already leaked across the internet. It was the last thing that Tony wanted to face, though he did hate having to let his team go out alone into battle. (That was why he was working on a new suit, not that he'd told anyone about that.)
"And I hope that you can be human again too, because that's what you want," Steve said, keeping an arm firmly around his waist. "But even if you're not able to be human again, I need you to understand that I don't think of you any differently, and neither does the team. We still love you, and we still need you. And nothing's going to change that."
"What if I hurt you guys?" Tony whispered. He knew that coral snakes were poisonous, and he was worried about what might happen if he accidently hurt one of them. While he'd never do it on purpose...
"You won't. And if you accidently do, we'll figure it out, Tony, I promise," Steve insisted. He looked... fidgety. "Can I hug you? I don't want to accidently hurt you... I don't know how much you can move right now."
"Come here," Tony said, smiling fondly at his boyfriend as the blond curled up against his chest. He didn't look like he minded the tail that wrapped around him, anchoring him in place. He really didn't want the super-soldier to leave, but he didn't want Steve to stay if he was unhappy, either. While he seemed happy enough, having his head pressed to Tony's chest.
"I love you," Steve murmured. "I don't know if you believe that or not, but your appearance doesn't change how I feel about you. I've cared about you for a long time, before we even started dating, but this doesn't make me love you any less."
It was hard to listen to, but logically Tony knew that he needed to stop telling himself that Steve would leave, not when his boyfriend was so insistent on making sure he listened. Instead of answering, he just tightened his grip on his lover and pressed his face to Steve's hair, breathing in his scent.
"I know," Tony whispered. He was a genius, after all. "I love you too, Steve. I know it isn't easy... staying here, with me, even though I know you care about me... I'm sorry I'm not handling this well."
"Tony, of course you're having problems with this. That's understandable. I don't blame you for having problems with this—it's directly affecting you. Your body is different than it used to be, and I understand that it's going to take you some time to get used to it, especially if there isn't a way to change it," Steve said calmly. "One day you'll realize that the team does care about you a lot more than you know, and I think you're beautiful no matter what you look like."
"So the scales don't scare you?" Tony asked. He totally wasn't getting teary-eyed. Not at all. "Sometimes when I look in the mirror I scare myself."
"You don't scare me." Steve sounded so honest. "I've missed you... you've been locked in here for days, alone. You don't have to be alone." Steve leaned up to kiss him. "You never have to be alone again."
For the first time in a long time, Tony actually believed him.