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cap_ironman2008-12-02 09:43 pm
kijikun.livejournal.com) wrote in cap_ironman2008-12-02 09:43 pm
Entry tags:
All That Remains (15/?) (Steve/Tony|R)
Title: All That Remains (15/?)
Previous Parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8 Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kijikun
Rating: R (NC-17 overall)
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Betas:ani_bester, pandanoai
Warnings: Spoilers through "Fallen Son", references to an institutionalized childhood
Timeline: Marvel Time is always kind of flexible, so we're setting this somewhere in the first half of 2008. Secret Invasion does not exist in our universe. Nope, never happened. .
A/N: As always, con-crit welcome. Fan art always welcome as well.
New Fan Art: Art bydorcas_gustine. Check it out. ^_^
It was as if the last several weeks had been the calm before the storm. Or the inhale before the world started screaming again.
It wasn't just that California was on fire. Again.
Even the explosives discovered at the Silicone Valley plant hadn't been the worst of it.
Tony had barely gotten the situation under control with China. The Chinese government did not look kindly on a Shield agent killing two of their 'diplomats'. Thankfully, the Shield agent in question was no longer a Shield agent, and the diplomats had been double agents. Still, Tony was going to have a long talk with Sharon Carter if he could track her down.
Tony had all of a minute to think about heading home when the alert went over the Avengers’ emergency line.
Preliminary reports had Magneto tearing up parts of LA. Tony had been to the part of L.A. in question and privately thought it wasn't that much of a loss.
Carol and Wonder Man were on the scene first. Tony remembered she'd been in California checking up on the Initiative kids, helping with the fire. Simon seemed to go wherever Carol was these days.
He'd been two minutes out when Carol sent out that it wasn't Magneto but someone using tech to mimic his powers. And had a flare for capes.
He knew the Avengers -- which he had to remind himself he was not technically even a member of anymore and Ms. Marvel was the team leader --would be able handle it, but old habits die hard. Plus part of him missed just being able to go into a battle without worrying about ramifications or political outcomes. No shades of grey here, just a kid that thought he was the new 'Master of Magnetism'.
"Magneto would be proud of me continuing his great work!" The kid proclaimed during the battle.
Tony was pretty sure Magneto would not have approved of a 'flatscan' taking his name and most of his costume. There had been a robbery at a fashion museum with an exhibit displaying superhero and villains' fashions. The only thing stolen? The only thing stolen had been one of Magneto's old costumes.
Halfway through the fight, Tony realized he was hesitating at taking chances he normally would have leaped upon. He twisted to avoid some falling rubble, when something smashed into his chest.
Maria--
Tony fell hard, the crumbled remains of a BMW resting on top of him.
*You okay, Tony?* Carol didn't even glance his way as she asked.
*Nothing broken. There's a reason I wear armor.* Tony told her, pushing the car off him. He suppressed a wince. Okay maybe he'd spoken too quickly but sometimes it was hard to tell between bruised and broken ribs.
His chest plate was dented slightly. It would had to have been a 80s BMW of course. Damn German Engineers and their steel cars. "Do you know how hard it is to get dents out of this thing?" he asked wannabe-Magneto.
"You'll have much more than a dent when I'm through with you, Iron Man!" The kid cackled.
Tony rolled his eyes behind his faceplate. "Everyone always says that."
"If you're going to pretend to be Magneto, you could have at least studied his speeches. He was more of the monologing type, then the cackling jab sort of villain," Simon pointed out.
Another car was picked up and hurled towards Wonder Man. Tony winced, not only in sympathy but because he was probably going to wind up paying for most of the property damage.
Ms. Marvel took him out a few moments later, grabbing his cape while he was distracted with Tony and Simon and forcefully throwing him to the ground. The kid was knocked out cold.
The civies and police seemed to rush in a few minutes later as if on cue. Tony sighed and started towards one of the police offers. He hated this part.
"We'll handle the clean up, Tony." Carol told him, touching shoulder. "And I'll deal with the police, I'm the leader of the Avengers remember?"
"It's fine. I've had more practice at this. I've already called in Shield for a pick up of the 'master of magnetism' over there." Tony told her. "I'm sure you and Wonder Man have more interesting plans for your evening."
Carol scowled at him. "Me and Simon don't have kids," she pointed out. "And you took a pretty big hit."
"It was just a car." Tony protested. Then he smiled slightly, knowing she couldn't see it. His ribs hurt like hell but if he went at top speed he'd be home before Maria went to sleep. "If you have any trouble, let me know."
Carol promised she would.
Tony moved away from part of the crowd so he could get airborne, when someone called out to him.
"Hey, Iron Man! Iron Man! Can I have your autograph?"
A dark haired young man with oversized glasses waved at him from the edge of the crowd. "Sorry, I make it a matter of policy not to sign autographs while working."
"Sure, sure. I understand. We're lucky to have a hero like you around," the man said smiling a little too widely.
Tony felt vaguely uneasy. "Thank you for the sentiment. If you'll excuse me…" He started to turn away. He wanted to get home to Maria and Steve, not deal with a fanboy. He was rather surprised he had any fans these days. Even with the sympathy Maria seemed to have provoked in the hero community, Tony knew damn well people still blamed him for the death of Captain America.
"Of course. Busy night, huh?"
Tony kept himself from sighing. "You could say that. You should head on home, sir."
"You bet." The words sounded cheerful enough.
Tony turned his back completely. He'd told Maria they'd work on the ship model that night, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen.
"I'm going to destroy everything you own."
Tony jerked his head around. The words at been so softly spoken that if he hadn't had the amplified hearing of the suit he wouldn't have heard it. "What did you just--"
"I said, I'm going to just head on home," he said, still smiling. He even waved at Tony before disappearing into the crowd.
He hadn't heard what he thought he had. He couldn't have.
Tony told himself that he was just tired, even has he ran the image of the man against every database he could access. He matched nothing in the Shield, FBI, and CIA databases and Tony started to run it against DMV records when he made himself stop.
Carol gave him a questioning look, but he shook his head and took off. He suddenly had an urgent need to see Steve and Maria.
***
Steve couldn't believe he'd gotten Maria to bed without a meltdown. She'd been subdued at dinner, and he knew she was disappointed. Hell he was disappointed, though he really didn't have a right to be. Tony was probably doing very important things, and it wasn't like Steve could just call him and check.
He was supposed to be dead and Tony was going through a lot of trouble keeping his secret for him. He should be grateful not annoyed because Tony wasn't home for dinner. Maria was the one with the real right to be upset. She was a child and she didn't - couldn't- understand things like 'the fate of the world'.
Steve rubbed the back of his neck. I'm the last person that should be yelling at Tony for missing dinner, he thought remembering how many times he'd missed dinner and other thing he'd planned with Sharon.
That didn't keep him from crossing his arms and frowning when Tony came in around eleven. "Tony," Steve started, and then paused, trying to work out how to say something without coming off like a bitter housewife. "Something came up I take it?"
Tony nodded. He looked tired with dark circles under his eyes. His cheek was bruised, and suddenly all Steve could think about was Carol telling him how Tony had wanted to die. He headed for the kitchen and Steve followed close on his heels.
"You name it, it came up." Tony told him without much humor. "Remind me to write your ex-girlfriend a thank you note for almost starting an international incident." He set up the coffee marker with practiced motions, and Steve was half sure Tony probably had his eyes shut.
Steve bristled at the implied jab at Sharon. "I'm sure whatever Sharon did it was because she thought it necessary. Not everyone can have your wider view of sacrificing ones values for political proposes."
God, Steve wanted to pull the words back as soon as they left his mouth. He dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck ashamed at himself. He lifted his eyes to Tony but didn't apologize.
Tony's shoulders went tense and he leaned heavily against the counter. "I wasn't saying she didn't do the right and necessary thing." Tony ground out. "But I would have appreciated it if she'd given me a heads up. She hates me, you know that? Thinks I kidnapped Maria." He gave a sound almost like a laugh. It sounded almost like someone that had swallowed ground glass had tried to laugh -- and Steve knew what that sounded like.
Steve took a hesitant step forward. He reached out to touch Tony's back but stopped with his hand hovering just above the fabric of his Shield uniform. "I hate you in this uniform."
"Join the club." Tony’s voice was hoarser than it had a right to be, Steve thought.
Another time, another place and Tony would have said those words with a laugh and a smile. Steve slid his hand over the ridges of Tony's spine. "Sharon can be a little impulsive at times. And she doesn't hate you. I don't think as many people hate you as you think, Tony."
Tony slumped against the counter. "It just takes one." He shifted then winced, bringing a hand to his ribs. "I wanted to be home for dinner. I promised Maria we'd work on that model tonight."
Steve had heard that tone of voice from Tony before, the one that pleaded with Steve to please believe me. "You'll make it up to her." He moved his hand to Tony's ribs, just below where Tony had touched. Tony winced again but didn't pull away.
"I don't think they’re broken. Extremis will take care of it," Tony said quickly. Steve could hear the underlying don't worry about me in his words.
"What happened?" Steve asked, mostly to distract himself from visions of Tony trying to get himself killed. He didn't understand why Tony constantly seemed hell bent on killing himself -- if it wasn't by drink it was some supervillain that Tony wouldn't back down from even when his armor was damaged and his face plate was bashed away --
Steve almost retched as the image of Tony lying under him, his face swollen and a mass of bruises while Steve held the shield ready to bring it down and -- oh god -- Tony had wanted him to kill him. He had to close his eyes and move closer to Tony, so he could feel the reassuring heat of his body. He wanted to shake Tony, to scream at him, because it never occurred to Steve even when for that split second he had wanted to bring his shield down and end it -- it never crossed his mind that Tony wanted to die rather than keep fighting Steve.
"Some kid got a hold of tech that mimicked some of Magneto's powers. He threw a Beamer at me," Tony sounded amused for a moment. "Carol took him down by his cape while he was too busy trying to make witty quips. I'll probably have to pay for it -- the car that is. Might be easier to give the owner one of mine. It's not like a drive them anymore, or have any time to work on them."
Tony loved working on his cars. Steve knew that. He’d seen him in his garage tinkering for hours, taking apart an engine so he could rebuild it strong, better, and faster. How long had that been going on? Why hadn't Steve seen it before they'd been at each other's throat of how little Tony had to lose, of how little joy he had left in his life? No wonder he was upset about missing his and Maria's time together -- it was probably one of the few things Tony got to do just for the joy of it. "You should have gone to a doctor." Steve told him, turning Tony around to look at him.
"I'll heal." Tony told him, his hands coming to a rest on Steve's hips. "I -- " He stopped and closed his eyes.
"What?" Steve prompted, gently feeling along his ribs. They didn't feel broken but they were probably bruised.
Tony shook his head and rested his forehead against Steve's chest. "I love you."
Steve framed Tony's face with his hand and lifted his chin. "I -- " he started then kissed Tony. He ran his tongue over Tony's bottom lip seeking entrance, and Tony's mouth eagerly opened under his. He wasn't sure why he couldn't say the words. It should be easy. It seemed easy enough for Tony, and this thing between them-- it wasn't something that could get them arrested or discharged. It should have been as easy as kissing Tony.
He let one hand glide down Tony's body, using his thumb to tease Tony's nipple through the fabric of his shirt before going lower. He wrapped his hand around Tony's hip and pulled him closer. Tony made a sound into Steve's mouth then started to suck on the tip of Steve's tongue.
Tony's stance widened to allow Steve closer, his own hand fisting in the cotton of Steve's t-shirt. Steve loved how they never had a problem communicating on this level. Even when their brains were making a mess of things, their bodies knew the perfect frequencies. It was why they worked so well together both on and off the battlefield. Steve canted his hips towards Tony's, and the friction made them both shiver.
"F-fuck," Tony whimpered when they pulled away for air.
Steve growled. "Yes," he agreed, then surged forward for another kiss. He pressed Tony back further but pulled back slightly at Tony's wince.
"Don't worry -- don't stop," Tony told him, tipping his head back to give Steve his throat. "Just my ribs."
"Not going to let you hurt yourself," Steve told him. He lifted Tony at the waist and sat him on the kitchen counter. It was just the right height for Steve to stand between his splayed legs. "We probably -ah - should move to the bedroom."
Tony scooted forward and wrapped his legs around Steve's waist pulling him snuggly against Tony's groin. "I'm good like this." He grabbed handfuls of Steve's shirt and tugged.
Steve couldn't help but grin at Tony's eagerness and he reached for the zipper of the damnable Shield uniform.
"Tony? Steve?" Maria's voice came from the kitchen doorway.
That was why you didn't have sex in the kitchen with a child around, Steve remembered suddenly. That's why he suggested the bedroom. He flushed pink and was very thankful to whatever god was listening that they were still mostly dressed.
Tony dropped his head to Steve's shoulder and muffled what had to be a laugh. When he lifted it, he sounded almost normal. "Yes, Maria?"
"What are you doing?"
Steve was almost too mortified to move away from Tony or to turn and look at Maria. Tony laughed softly then pushed at his shoulder slightly and jumped down from the counter top.
"We were kissing," Tony told her sounding much calmer than Steve felt.
"Oh," she sounded puzzled about something.
Steve turned around just in time to see her regard Tony with a questioning look. "Is that the same kind of kissing Franklin says is gross that his parents do when they lock their bedroom door?"
And that was probably more about Reed and Sue Richards’ sex life than Steve ever wanted to know.
Tony turned a little red. "Uhm, sort of. Why don’t we just -uhm - get you back to bed," he said hurriedly. "I'm sorry I got home late, I know I told you we'd work on the ship." He took Maria's hand and started leading her back to her bedroom.
When Tony rejoined Steve later in their bedroom they both burst out laughing, collapsing onto the bed. "I think our parents just got revenge on us," Tony said as he caught his breath. "At least she didn't catch us in bed. I don't think she would have bought the 'wrestling' excuse."
Steve turned bright red. "Oh." Okay, he'd never really put that together before, but it wasn't like he sat around thinking about his parents having sex.
Tony just barely contained another wave of laughter and kissed Steve's chin. "And that would be one of the reasons I love you," Tony told him. "You make me laugh."
Steve hit him in the face with a pillow.
***
Anyone that had known Tony Stark for years would have found the scene unfolding in his office surprising. Not because Tony was eating lunch in his office, or that it was a lunch date with a pretty blonde with big blue eyes.
But because Tony was currently finishing what appeared to have been a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and drinking from a juice box. Plus, Pepper never thought it possible to get Tony to stop for lunch, something always seemed to come up. It looked like what everyone was saying was true; Maria had been good for Tony.
"I think without a doubt that is the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich I've had," Tony was saying. "You pack this lunch all by yourself?"
"Jarvis helped me in some of the preparation," Maria said between bites of her own sandwich. "There are cookies for dessert. We made them this morning."
Tony laughed as he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Maria's ear. "You're very lucky. I'm not allowed to touch anything in the kitchen, let alone the oven."
Pepper smiled. Tony looked so -- happy. "That's because you've blown up three microwaves and set a toaster oven on fire. I'm honestly surprised you can work a coffee marker, Tony."
His head came up quickly, and she watched his eyes widen in shock before a wide smile crossed his face. "Pepper!" He got to his feet and crossed the room pulling her into a hug. "I didn't know you were coming today."
She hugged him back, wondering what she'd been thinking. She'd missed this. She'd missed Tony. He was the closest thing she had a family and they could have been supporting each other through loss instead of trying to handle it alone.
"I thought I'd make it a surprise," she told him when he stepped back. He looked as handsome as ever, if a bit more careworn then the last time she'd seen him. "I didn't mean to disturb your lunch date."
Pepper looked over at the little girl, who was looking her over with a carefully blank face. The papers had said she was from a lab and speculated that Tony had taken her in out of pity or guilt. As Pepper looked at her she knew for certain what she'd already suspected… there were really only two men Tony would take in a child for. And Maria wasn’t black.
Tony shook his head. "It's fine. We were just about done."
Maria titled her head to one side and Pepper couldn't remember being looked at so intensely by a child before. It was like she was trying to gauge if Pepper was safe or not. She looked at Tony. "Is she a friend of yours?"
Tony nodded, placing a hand on Maria's shoulder. "She's one of my oldest friends," he told her. "Maria, this is Pepper Potts. Pepper, this is my daughter Maria."
"It's very nice to meet you, Maria," Pepper said, giving the girl a smile.
Maria gave her a tiny smile back. "It is nice to meet you as well." She looked up at Tony. "You have lots of friends, Tony."
Pepper would have laughed -- because it was true -- but she knew Tony well enough to know that he wouldn't believe it.
"Not really but I'm glad you think so, genius," Tony told Maria. He looked back at Pepper and smiled. "Did you come just to say hello or was there something you needed, Pepper?"
"I wanted to talk about taking my job back --" she raised an eyebrow. "I assume I still have a job -- you know how I hate job hunting."
Tony’s eyes darted towards Maria, then back to Pepper. She wasn't sure what the gesture meant. "I told you could take as much time as you needed. You don't have -- with everything that happen I'll make sure you never lack for money. It's the least I can do for you and H--" Tony cut himself off and looked at the wall behind her head. "I can't imagine you'd really want to work for me again."
"You'd imagine wrong." Pepper crossed her arms. Maybe it was her fault for asking Tony to make the decision she couldn't. He'd always been quick to blame himself for things whether it was his fault or not. Sometimes -- sometimes she missed the man he'd been before the armor.
"Plus you've been giving Anna and Helena fits. I can't imagine anyone else being able to get you into a meeting on time. I'm honestly surprised this place hasn't fallen apart while I've been gone." She ticked off things on her fingers. “Though it's good to see you have someone else making sure you eat regular meals." She smiled slightly looking at Maria.
"Anna and Helena?" Tony asked, giving her a blank look.
Pepper laughed and covered her eyes with her hand. "You never bothered to learn their names did you… Tony ---" she laughed again and shook her head. "I really want to come back to work, Tony."
Tony sighed. "Alright but…" he turned to Maria. "Maria, I need you to go upstairs to the penthouse ahead of me and Pepper. Okay?"
Maria nodded, and he mussed her hair affectionately. "Good girl. We'll be up in a moment."
Pepper watched her leave by the private elevator and shook her head. "I can't get over how much she looks like him." She smiled slightly at Tony's look. "Tony I've know you for years. There isn't a long list of people whose daughter she could be."
"The fewer people know, the safer she is." Tony said sharply. "So please, whatever you think you know -- keep it to yourself. Nothing can be gained by her or anyone else knowing."
"Does Jarvis know?" Pepper asked folding her arms.
Tony rubbed a hand over his face and nodded. "He guessed before he even met her. He named her too. I really have no idea why he's putting up with all this. Raising another kid for the Stark family isn't in his job description."He dropped his hand and straightened before Pepper could tell him the obvious -- because Jarvis loved him. "If you really want to still work for me there something very important you need to know about."
He gestured for her to follow him into the elevator. Pepper guessed that he wanted to make sure no one could hear what he was going to tell her.
Pepper nodded, prepared for Tony to say almost anything.
Anything but what he said.
"Steve Rogers is still alive."
***
"Why does Pepper know so much about Tony?" Maria asked, after she landed her back flip.
Steve smiled slightly. Pepper had been back to work for three days and Maria was still adjusting to how much of a constant presence Pepper was in Tony's life. Hell, he'd forgotten and there were times he did feel a little jealous.
"Curve your back a bit more as you go over," he told her, patting her shoulder. "Your landing is solid, though. And because Pepper and Tony have been friends long before I even knew him."
"Oh," Maria said in a way that made it clear she didn't understand at all. "Will you show me how to perform some of those defensive moves you and Tony do?"
"Maria, you don't need to know any of that," Steve assured her. "And you are still a little small to perform some of them." She'd been on him to teach her since she'd seen him and Tony in the gym. The problem was, Steve was afraid of hurting her more than he was her ability to pull off any of the most basic defensive moves. He'd never worked with someone so young before.
There had been children in the Avengers' Mansion at times, that was true. Though none of those children had ever expressed interest in sparring and neither Cassie nor Franklin's parents would have approved.
Steve was pretty sure Tony wouldn't approve.
Maria frowned slightly. "But --"
Steve shook his head. "I'll talk to Tony about it, but we both know he's going to say no."
"He needs someone to protect him," Maria protested.
Steve sighed and knelt down in front of her. "Maria, sweetheart, Tony needs you to be safe and happy. He can take care of himself -- despite what Jarvis and Pepper say."
That got a smile out of her. "Pepper and Jarvis only say he doesn't remember to eat or sleep."
"Okay, that part is true," Steve laughed, and tugged gently at her braid. "Go work on the balance beam -- " he stopped mid-sentence.
He thought he'd heard -- he listened closely and heard it again. Not Jarvis or Pepper -- neither of them would be so stealthy. And Carol, Jan, and Hank wouldn't feel the need to be. A glance at Maria's face told him she was listening too -- and if she could hear what he was hearing -- Steve shook his head. That was a thought for another time. Rising to his feet, he signaled to Maria to stay put.
Steve made his way to the door and very softly ordered the lights off. Moving quickly, he grabbed the intruder and pulled them through the door, slamming their back into the wall. "Lights." He called, and found himself face to face with someone in his uniform. No -- not his but one very similar and god he'd know that shield anywhere so -- "Bucky?!"
His captive sneered and twisted violently, trying to get free, but Steve had him pinned too well.
"I knew Stark was sick but this is beyond just sick."
"You know I'm really getting tired of people thinking I'm a skrull or LMD," Steve sighed. "Bucky, it's me. I know it's hard to believe but it is me. Now stop fighting!"
"Steve Rogers is dead!" Bucky growled. He tried another move to get free but Steve had taught him that move. "I can't believe I trusted Stark while he had -- you -- stashed away some place."
"Steve?" he heard Maria say behind him in a soft frightened voice.
Steve didn't take his eyes off Bucky's. "It's alright Maria. No one is going to hurt anyone today. Bucky is just a little confused."
He tracked Bucky's gaze leaving his and looking past his ear towards were Maria was standing. "Jesus he lets you around the kid?" Bucky sounded disgusted. "I should have pulled her from here when Sharon found out about her."
"Bucky --" Steve growled in warning.
"Don't worry kid, we'll have you out of here and with people that can really take care of you soon," Bucky told her, and it possibly sounded reassuring in his head but his voice was cold and sharp.
"No! I - I don't want to go anyplace else. Tony said I didn't have to. Steve said I didn't have to. I don't want -- " He could hear her feet on the mat coming towards them.
"You are scaring her," Steve hissed and turned his head towards Maria. "He's not talking you anywhere. I promise. You get to stay here with me and Tony. "
When his back hit the wall he knew it had been a mistake to take his eyes off Bucky -- another thing he'd taught the younger man… He caught Maria moving towards but gestured for her to stay put.
"I don't know what you are, but there is no way I'm leaving her here. Not if Stark's fucked up enough to make you or let something wear Steve's face," Bucky growled, and bared his teeth at Steve. "I knew he was obsessed with Steve -- tell me does Stark call his name when he fuc--"
"James Buchanan Barnes, that is enough!" Steve roared, in a neat quick move he had Bucky pinned to the ground. "I am Steve Rogers. Someone switched the bodies out in the morgue and dumped me in the Hudson. It took me weeks to get my memories back but I am Steve."
Bucky shook his head. "You can't be. Why would -- why would you be hiding here in Stark's home. He's responsible for your death."
Steve tightened his hands on Bucky's arms. He frowned then sighed, there was one way to make Bucky believe him. "When we found the first camp -- even Fury got sick."
Bucky closed his eyes for a brief moment. "I still don’t believe you," he snarled. "But I won't take the kid. That's what you want isn't it?"
"You can believe whatever you want," Steve felt as sad as he sounded. How could Bucky not recognize him? Very carefully he let Bucky up and got to his feet.
"You should have told us when you came back -- do you have any idea what Sharon's been going through?" Bucky demanded. "Let's say I do believe you -- you've got a lot of fucking nerve."
Steve half ignored him and gathered up Maria who was shaking like a leaf in anger and fear, her fists clenched against her sides. He was sure she wanted to try and take down what she must see as a threat to Tony. "Shh, it's okay. Bucky isn't going to take you and he isn't going to hurt Tony. I promise." He stroked her hair and she clutched at him as if his strength could keep her there.
Bucky was watching them with a mixture of emotions playing across his face, like he couldn't decide if he wanted to attack Steve again or just scream.
"Yes, I should have told both of you. I'm sorry for hurting you both, but I had to figure some things out for myself before I could see people. I'm sorry," Steve said honestly, wishing he could make Bucky understand.
"You don't seem to of had a problem seeing Stark," Bucky snapped.
"Tony was different," Steve told him as he straightened away from Maria. She clung to his hand but had stop shaking. "But I should have told you and Sharon if no one else."
Bucky crossed his arms, his eyes darting back and forth from Maria to Steve. "She's going to be pissed at you and Stark about this, Steve," he said with sneer.
Steve almost said 'let her'. "Don't tell her," was what came out instead. "Bring her here, let me talk to her. I don't want my -- state of living -- to be public knowledge yet, Bucky."
"Maybe." Bucky turned towards the door. "I'll be in touch with, Stark. And tell him to change your goddamn override codes."
"I don't like him," Maria said after the door slid closed behind him.
"Right now, I'm not all too fond of him myself." Steve squeezed her hand gently. "You were very brave, Maria, and you followed commands excellently. I'm proud of you."
If anything would calm her down it would be praise over her behavior. He didn't want her to think this had been a test but if she knew she'd done a good job -- at least she wouldn't be panicking.
Less than a minute later Tony burst through the door. "I got here as soon as I could --" he was almost panting, his hair stuck to his forehead with sweat. He wasn't wearing the armor but that was most likely because he knew the threat was already gone. "I'm so sorry. I should have gotten here sooner." The words weren't spoken to him but to Maria.
"She's fine Tony, we both are." Steve assured him. "Bucky wouldn't have hurt her."
Tony was beside her and hugging her. Maria hugged him back, gripping the back of his shirt. "He could have taken her."
Steve dropped down to his own knees and wrapped his arms around them both. "Over my dead body."
Next
Previous Parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8 Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14
Author:
kijikun Rating: R (NC-17 overall)
Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Betas:
ani_bester, pandanoaiWarnings: Spoilers through "Fallen Son", references to an institutionalized childhood
Timeline: Marvel Time is always kind of flexible, so we're setting this somewhere in the first half of 2008. Secret Invasion does not exist in our universe. Nope, never happened. .
A/N: As always, con-crit welcome. Fan art always welcome as well.
New Fan Art: Art by
dorcas_gustine. Check it out. ^_^It was as if the last several weeks had been the calm before the storm. Or the inhale before the world started screaming again.
It wasn't just that California was on fire. Again.
Even the explosives discovered at the Silicone Valley plant hadn't been the worst of it.
Tony had barely gotten the situation under control with China. The Chinese government did not look kindly on a Shield agent killing two of their 'diplomats'. Thankfully, the Shield agent in question was no longer a Shield agent, and the diplomats had been double agents. Still, Tony was going to have a long talk with Sharon Carter if he could track her down.
Tony had all of a minute to think about heading home when the alert went over the Avengers’ emergency line.
Preliminary reports had Magneto tearing up parts of LA. Tony had been to the part of L.A. in question and privately thought it wasn't that much of a loss.
Carol and Wonder Man were on the scene first. Tony remembered she'd been in California checking up on the Initiative kids, helping with the fire. Simon seemed to go wherever Carol was these days.
He'd been two minutes out when Carol sent out that it wasn't Magneto but someone using tech to mimic his powers. And had a flare for capes.
He knew the Avengers -- which he had to remind himself he was not technically even a member of anymore and Ms. Marvel was the team leader --would be able handle it, but old habits die hard. Plus part of him missed just being able to go into a battle without worrying about ramifications or political outcomes. No shades of grey here, just a kid that thought he was the new 'Master of Magnetism'.
"Magneto would be proud of me continuing his great work!" The kid proclaimed during the battle.
Tony was pretty sure Magneto would not have approved of a 'flatscan' taking his name and most of his costume. There had been a robbery at a fashion museum with an exhibit displaying superhero and villains' fashions. The only thing stolen? The only thing stolen had been one of Magneto's old costumes.
Halfway through the fight, Tony realized he was hesitating at taking chances he normally would have leaped upon. He twisted to avoid some falling rubble, when something smashed into his chest.
Maria--
Tony fell hard, the crumbled remains of a BMW resting on top of him.
*You okay, Tony?* Carol didn't even glance his way as she asked.
*Nothing broken. There's a reason I wear armor.* Tony told her, pushing the car off him. He suppressed a wince. Okay maybe he'd spoken too quickly but sometimes it was hard to tell between bruised and broken ribs.
His chest plate was dented slightly. It would had to have been a 80s BMW of course. Damn German Engineers and their steel cars. "Do you know how hard it is to get dents out of this thing?" he asked wannabe-Magneto.
"You'll have much more than a dent when I'm through with you, Iron Man!" The kid cackled.
Tony rolled his eyes behind his faceplate. "Everyone always says that."
"If you're going to pretend to be Magneto, you could have at least studied his speeches. He was more of the monologing type, then the cackling jab sort of villain," Simon pointed out.
Another car was picked up and hurled towards Wonder Man. Tony winced, not only in sympathy but because he was probably going to wind up paying for most of the property damage.
Ms. Marvel took him out a few moments later, grabbing his cape while he was distracted with Tony and Simon and forcefully throwing him to the ground. The kid was knocked out cold.
The civies and police seemed to rush in a few minutes later as if on cue. Tony sighed and started towards one of the police offers. He hated this part.
"We'll handle the clean up, Tony." Carol told him, touching shoulder. "And I'll deal with the police, I'm the leader of the Avengers remember?"
"It's fine. I've had more practice at this. I've already called in Shield for a pick up of the 'master of magnetism' over there." Tony told her. "I'm sure you and Wonder Man have more interesting plans for your evening."
Carol scowled at him. "Me and Simon don't have kids," she pointed out. "And you took a pretty big hit."
"It was just a car." Tony protested. Then he smiled slightly, knowing she couldn't see it. His ribs hurt like hell but if he went at top speed he'd be home before Maria went to sleep. "If you have any trouble, let me know."
Carol promised she would.
Tony moved away from part of the crowd so he could get airborne, when someone called out to him.
"Hey, Iron Man! Iron Man! Can I have your autograph?"
A dark haired young man with oversized glasses waved at him from the edge of the crowd. "Sorry, I make it a matter of policy not to sign autographs while working."
"Sure, sure. I understand. We're lucky to have a hero like you around," the man said smiling a little too widely.
Tony felt vaguely uneasy. "Thank you for the sentiment. If you'll excuse me…" He started to turn away. He wanted to get home to Maria and Steve, not deal with a fanboy. He was rather surprised he had any fans these days. Even with the sympathy Maria seemed to have provoked in the hero community, Tony knew damn well people still blamed him for the death of Captain America.
"Of course. Busy night, huh?"
Tony kept himself from sighing. "You could say that. You should head on home, sir."
"You bet." The words sounded cheerful enough.
Tony turned his back completely. He'd told Maria they'd work on the ship model that night, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen.
"I'm going to destroy everything you own."
Tony jerked his head around. The words at been so softly spoken that if he hadn't had the amplified hearing of the suit he wouldn't have heard it. "What did you just--"
"I said, I'm going to just head on home," he said, still smiling. He even waved at Tony before disappearing into the crowd.
He hadn't heard what he thought he had. He couldn't have.
Tony told himself that he was just tired, even has he ran the image of the man against every database he could access. He matched nothing in the Shield, FBI, and CIA databases and Tony started to run it against DMV records when he made himself stop.
Carol gave him a questioning look, but he shook his head and took off. He suddenly had an urgent need to see Steve and Maria.
Steve couldn't believe he'd gotten Maria to bed without a meltdown. She'd been subdued at dinner, and he knew she was disappointed. Hell he was disappointed, though he really didn't have a right to be. Tony was probably doing very important things, and it wasn't like Steve could just call him and check.
He was supposed to be dead and Tony was going through a lot of trouble keeping his secret for him. He should be grateful not annoyed because Tony wasn't home for dinner. Maria was the one with the real right to be upset. She was a child and she didn't - couldn't- understand things like 'the fate of the world'.
Steve rubbed the back of his neck. I'm the last person that should be yelling at Tony for missing dinner, he thought remembering how many times he'd missed dinner and other thing he'd planned with Sharon.
That didn't keep him from crossing his arms and frowning when Tony came in around eleven. "Tony," Steve started, and then paused, trying to work out how to say something without coming off like a bitter housewife. "Something came up I take it?"
Tony nodded. He looked tired with dark circles under his eyes. His cheek was bruised, and suddenly all Steve could think about was Carol telling him how Tony had wanted to die. He headed for the kitchen and Steve followed close on his heels.
"You name it, it came up." Tony told him without much humor. "Remind me to write your ex-girlfriend a thank you note for almost starting an international incident." He set up the coffee marker with practiced motions, and Steve was half sure Tony probably had his eyes shut.
Steve bristled at the implied jab at Sharon. "I'm sure whatever Sharon did it was because she thought it necessary. Not everyone can have your wider view of sacrificing ones values for political proposes."
God, Steve wanted to pull the words back as soon as they left his mouth. He dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck ashamed at himself. He lifted his eyes to Tony but didn't apologize.
Tony's shoulders went tense and he leaned heavily against the counter. "I wasn't saying she didn't do the right and necessary thing." Tony ground out. "But I would have appreciated it if she'd given me a heads up. She hates me, you know that? Thinks I kidnapped Maria." He gave a sound almost like a laugh. It sounded almost like someone that had swallowed ground glass had tried to laugh -- and Steve knew what that sounded like.
Steve took a hesitant step forward. He reached out to touch Tony's back but stopped with his hand hovering just above the fabric of his Shield uniform. "I hate you in this uniform."
"Join the club." Tony’s voice was hoarser than it had a right to be, Steve thought.
Another time, another place and Tony would have said those words with a laugh and a smile. Steve slid his hand over the ridges of Tony's spine. "Sharon can be a little impulsive at times. And she doesn't hate you. I don't think as many people hate you as you think, Tony."
Tony slumped against the counter. "It just takes one." He shifted then winced, bringing a hand to his ribs. "I wanted to be home for dinner. I promised Maria we'd work on that model tonight."
Steve had heard that tone of voice from Tony before, the one that pleaded with Steve to please believe me. "You'll make it up to her." He moved his hand to Tony's ribs, just below where Tony had touched. Tony winced again but didn't pull away.
"I don't think they’re broken. Extremis will take care of it," Tony said quickly. Steve could hear the underlying don't worry about me in his words.
"What happened?" Steve asked, mostly to distract himself from visions of Tony trying to get himself killed. He didn't understand why Tony constantly seemed hell bent on killing himself -- if it wasn't by drink it was some supervillain that Tony wouldn't back down from even when his armor was damaged and his face plate was bashed away --
Steve almost retched as the image of Tony lying under him, his face swollen and a mass of bruises while Steve held the shield ready to bring it down and -- oh god -- Tony had wanted him to kill him. He had to close his eyes and move closer to Tony, so he could feel the reassuring heat of his body. He wanted to shake Tony, to scream at him, because it never occurred to Steve even when for that split second he had wanted to bring his shield down and end it -- it never crossed his mind that Tony wanted to die rather than keep fighting Steve.
"Some kid got a hold of tech that mimicked some of Magneto's powers. He threw a Beamer at me," Tony sounded amused for a moment. "Carol took him down by his cape while he was too busy trying to make witty quips. I'll probably have to pay for it -- the car that is. Might be easier to give the owner one of mine. It's not like a drive them anymore, or have any time to work on them."
Tony loved working on his cars. Steve knew that. He’d seen him in his garage tinkering for hours, taking apart an engine so he could rebuild it strong, better, and faster. How long had that been going on? Why hadn't Steve seen it before they'd been at each other's throat of how little Tony had to lose, of how little joy he had left in his life? No wonder he was upset about missing his and Maria's time together -- it was probably one of the few things Tony got to do just for the joy of it. "You should have gone to a doctor." Steve told him, turning Tony around to look at him.
"I'll heal." Tony told him, his hands coming to a rest on Steve's hips. "I -- " He stopped and closed his eyes.
"What?" Steve prompted, gently feeling along his ribs. They didn't feel broken but they were probably bruised.
Tony shook his head and rested his forehead against Steve's chest. "I love you."
Steve framed Tony's face with his hand and lifted his chin. "I -- " he started then kissed Tony. He ran his tongue over Tony's bottom lip seeking entrance, and Tony's mouth eagerly opened under his. He wasn't sure why he couldn't say the words. It should be easy. It seemed easy enough for Tony, and this thing between them-- it wasn't something that could get them arrested or discharged. It should have been as easy as kissing Tony.
He let one hand glide down Tony's body, using his thumb to tease Tony's nipple through the fabric of his shirt before going lower. He wrapped his hand around Tony's hip and pulled him closer. Tony made a sound into Steve's mouth then started to suck on the tip of Steve's tongue.
Tony's stance widened to allow Steve closer, his own hand fisting in the cotton of Steve's t-shirt. Steve loved how they never had a problem communicating on this level. Even when their brains were making a mess of things, their bodies knew the perfect frequencies. It was why they worked so well together both on and off the battlefield. Steve canted his hips towards Tony's, and the friction made them both shiver.
"F-fuck," Tony whimpered when they pulled away for air.
Steve growled. "Yes," he agreed, then surged forward for another kiss. He pressed Tony back further but pulled back slightly at Tony's wince.
"Don't worry -- don't stop," Tony told him, tipping his head back to give Steve his throat. "Just my ribs."
"Not going to let you hurt yourself," Steve told him. He lifted Tony at the waist and sat him on the kitchen counter. It was just the right height for Steve to stand between his splayed legs. "We probably -ah - should move to the bedroom."
Tony scooted forward and wrapped his legs around Steve's waist pulling him snuggly against Tony's groin. "I'm good like this." He grabbed handfuls of Steve's shirt and tugged.
Steve couldn't help but grin at Tony's eagerness and he reached for the zipper of the damnable Shield uniform.
"Tony? Steve?" Maria's voice came from the kitchen doorway.
That was why you didn't have sex in the kitchen with a child around, Steve remembered suddenly. That's why he suggested the bedroom. He flushed pink and was very thankful to whatever god was listening that they were still mostly dressed.
Tony dropped his head to Steve's shoulder and muffled what had to be a laugh. When he lifted it, he sounded almost normal. "Yes, Maria?"
"What are you doing?"
Steve was almost too mortified to move away from Tony or to turn and look at Maria. Tony laughed softly then pushed at his shoulder slightly and jumped down from the counter top.
"We were kissing," Tony told her sounding much calmer than Steve felt.
"Oh," she sounded puzzled about something.
Steve turned around just in time to see her regard Tony with a questioning look. "Is that the same kind of kissing Franklin says is gross that his parents do when they lock their bedroom door?"
And that was probably more about Reed and Sue Richards’ sex life than Steve ever wanted to know.
Tony turned a little red. "Uhm, sort of. Why don’t we just -uhm - get you back to bed," he said hurriedly. "I'm sorry I got home late, I know I told you we'd work on the ship." He took Maria's hand and started leading her back to her bedroom.
When Tony rejoined Steve later in their bedroom they both burst out laughing, collapsing onto the bed. "I think our parents just got revenge on us," Tony said as he caught his breath. "At least she didn't catch us in bed. I don't think she would have bought the 'wrestling' excuse."
Steve turned bright red. "Oh." Okay, he'd never really put that together before, but it wasn't like he sat around thinking about his parents having sex.
Tony just barely contained another wave of laughter and kissed Steve's chin. "And that would be one of the reasons I love you," Tony told him. "You make me laugh."
Steve hit him in the face with a pillow.
Anyone that had known Tony Stark for years would have found the scene unfolding in his office surprising. Not because Tony was eating lunch in his office, or that it was a lunch date with a pretty blonde with big blue eyes.
But because Tony was currently finishing what appeared to have been a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and drinking from a juice box. Plus, Pepper never thought it possible to get Tony to stop for lunch, something always seemed to come up. It looked like what everyone was saying was true; Maria had been good for Tony.
"I think without a doubt that is the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich I've had," Tony was saying. "You pack this lunch all by yourself?"
"Jarvis helped me in some of the preparation," Maria said between bites of her own sandwich. "There are cookies for dessert. We made them this morning."
Tony laughed as he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Maria's ear. "You're very lucky. I'm not allowed to touch anything in the kitchen, let alone the oven."
Pepper smiled. Tony looked so -- happy. "That's because you've blown up three microwaves and set a toaster oven on fire. I'm honestly surprised you can work a coffee marker, Tony."
His head came up quickly, and she watched his eyes widen in shock before a wide smile crossed his face. "Pepper!" He got to his feet and crossed the room pulling her into a hug. "I didn't know you were coming today."
She hugged him back, wondering what she'd been thinking. She'd missed this. She'd missed Tony. He was the closest thing she had a family and they could have been supporting each other through loss instead of trying to handle it alone.
"I thought I'd make it a surprise," she told him when he stepped back. He looked as handsome as ever, if a bit more careworn then the last time she'd seen him. "I didn't mean to disturb your lunch date."
Pepper looked over at the little girl, who was looking her over with a carefully blank face. The papers had said she was from a lab and speculated that Tony had taken her in out of pity or guilt. As Pepper looked at her she knew for certain what she'd already suspected… there were really only two men Tony would take in a child for. And Maria wasn’t black.
Tony shook his head. "It's fine. We were just about done."
Maria titled her head to one side and Pepper couldn't remember being looked at so intensely by a child before. It was like she was trying to gauge if Pepper was safe or not. She looked at Tony. "Is she a friend of yours?"
Tony nodded, placing a hand on Maria's shoulder. "She's one of my oldest friends," he told her. "Maria, this is Pepper Potts. Pepper, this is my daughter Maria."
"It's very nice to meet you, Maria," Pepper said, giving the girl a smile.
Maria gave her a tiny smile back. "It is nice to meet you as well." She looked up at Tony. "You have lots of friends, Tony."
Pepper would have laughed -- because it was true -- but she knew Tony well enough to know that he wouldn't believe it.
"Not really but I'm glad you think so, genius," Tony told Maria. He looked back at Pepper and smiled. "Did you come just to say hello or was there something you needed, Pepper?"
"I wanted to talk about taking my job back --" she raised an eyebrow. "I assume I still have a job -- you know how I hate job hunting."
Tony’s eyes darted towards Maria, then back to Pepper. She wasn't sure what the gesture meant. "I told you could take as much time as you needed. You don't have -- with everything that happen I'll make sure you never lack for money. It's the least I can do for you and H--" Tony cut himself off and looked at the wall behind her head. "I can't imagine you'd really want to work for me again."
"You'd imagine wrong." Pepper crossed her arms. Maybe it was her fault for asking Tony to make the decision she couldn't. He'd always been quick to blame himself for things whether it was his fault or not. Sometimes -- sometimes she missed the man he'd been before the armor.
"Plus you've been giving Anna and Helena fits. I can't imagine anyone else being able to get you into a meeting on time. I'm honestly surprised this place hasn't fallen apart while I've been gone." She ticked off things on her fingers. “Though it's good to see you have someone else making sure you eat regular meals." She smiled slightly looking at Maria.
"Anna and Helena?" Tony asked, giving her a blank look.
Pepper laughed and covered her eyes with her hand. "You never bothered to learn their names did you… Tony ---" she laughed again and shook her head. "I really want to come back to work, Tony."
Tony sighed. "Alright but…" he turned to Maria. "Maria, I need you to go upstairs to the penthouse ahead of me and Pepper. Okay?"
Maria nodded, and he mussed her hair affectionately. "Good girl. We'll be up in a moment."
Pepper watched her leave by the private elevator and shook her head. "I can't get over how much she looks like him." She smiled slightly at Tony's look. "Tony I've know you for years. There isn't a long list of people whose daughter she could be."
"The fewer people know, the safer she is." Tony said sharply. "So please, whatever you think you know -- keep it to yourself. Nothing can be gained by her or anyone else knowing."
"Does Jarvis know?" Pepper asked folding her arms.
Tony rubbed a hand over his face and nodded. "He guessed before he even met her. He named her too. I really have no idea why he's putting up with all this. Raising another kid for the Stark family isn't in his job description."He dropped his hand and straightened before Pepper could tell him the obvious -- because Jarvis loved him. "If you really want to still work for me there something very important you need to know about."
He gestured for her to follow him into the elevator. Pepper guessed that he wanted to make sure no one could hear what he was going to tell her.
Pepper nodded, prepared for Tony to say almost anything.
Anything but what he said.
"Steve Rogers is still alive."
"Why does Pepper know so much about Tony?" Maria asked, after she landed her back flip.
Steve smiled slightly. Pepper had been back to work for three days and Maria was still adjusting to how much of a constant presence Pepper was in Tony's life. Hell, he'd forgotten and there were times he did feel a little jealous.
"Curve your back a bit more as you go over," he told her, patting her shoulder. "Your landing is solid, though. And because Pepper and Tony have been friends long before I even knew him."
"Oh," Maria said in a way that made it clear she didn't understand at all. "Will you show me how to perform some of those defensive moves you and Tony do?"
"Maria, you don't need to know any of that," Steve assured her. "And you are still a little small to perform some of them." She'd been on him to teach her since she'd seen him and Tony in the gym. The problem was, Steve was afraid of hurting her more than he was her ability to pull off any of the most basic defensive moves. He'd never worked with someone so young before.
There had been children in the Avengers' Mansion at times, that was true. Though none of those children had ever expressed interest in sparring and neither Cassie nor Franklin's parents would have approved.
Steve was pretty sure Tony wouldn't approve.
Maria frowned slightly. "But --"
Steve shook his head. "I'll talk to Tony about it, but we both know he's going to say no."
"He needs someone to protect him," Maria protested.
Steve sighed and knelt down in front of her. "Maria, sweetheart, Tony needs you to be safe and happy. He can take care of himself -- despite what Jarvis and Pepper say."
That got a smile out of her. "Pepper and Jarvis only say he doesn't remember to eat or sleep."
"Okay, that part is true," Steve laughed, and tugged gently at her braid. "Go work on the balance beam -- " he stopped mid-sentence.
He thought he'd heard -- he listened closely and heard it again. Not Jarvis or Pepper -- neither of them would be so stealthy. And Carol, Jan, and Hank wouldn't feel the need to be. A glance at Maria's face told him she was listening too -- and if she could hear what he was hearing -- Steve shook his head. That was a thought for another time. Rising to his feet, he signaled to Maria to stay put.
Steve made his way to the door and very softly ordered the lights off. Moving quickly, he grabbed the intruder and pulled them through the door, slamming their back into the wall. "Lights." He called, and found himself face to face with someone in his uniform. No -- not his but one very similar and god he'd know that shield anywhere so -- "Bucky?!"
His captive sneered and twisted violently, trying to get free, but Steve had him pinned too well.
"I knew Stark was sick but this is beyond just sick."
"You know I'm really getting tired of people thinking I'm a skrull or LMD," Steve sighed. "Bucky, it's me. I know it's hard to believe but it is me. Now stop fighting!"
"Steve Rogers is dead!" Bucky growled. He tried another move to get free but Steve had taught him that move. "I can't believe I trusted Stark while he had -- you -- stashed away some place."
"Steve?" he heard Maria say behind him in a soft frightened voice.
Steve didn't take his eyes off Bucky's. "It's alright Maria. No one is going to hurt anyone today. Bucky is just a little confused."
He tracked Bucky's gaze leaving his and looking past his ear towards were Maria was standing. "Jesus he lets you around the kid?" Bucky sounded disgusted. "I should have pulled her from here when Sharon found out about her."
"Bucky --" Steve growled in warning.
"Don't worry kid, we'll have you out of here and with people that can really take care of you soon," Bucky told her, and it possibly sounded reassuring in his head but his voice was cold and sharp.
"No! I - I don't want to go anyplace else. Tony said I didn't have to. Steve said I didn't have to. I don't want -- " He could hear her feet on the mat coming towards them.
"You are scaring her," Steve hissed and turned his head towards Maria. "He's not talking you anywhere. I promise. You get to stay here with me and Tony. "
When his back hit the wall he knew it had been a mistake to take his eyes off Bucky -- another thing he'd taught the younger man… He caught Maria moving towards but gestured for her to stay put.
"I don't know what you are, but there is no way I'm leaving her here. Not if Stark's fucked up enough to make you or let something wear Steve's face," Bucky growled, and bared his teeth at Steve. "I knew he was obsessed with Steve -- tell me does Stark call his name when he fuc--"
"James Buchanan Barnes, that is enough!" Steve roared, in a neat quick move he had Bucky pinned to the ground. "I am Steve Rogers. Someone switched the bodies out in the morgue and dumped me in the Hudson. It took me weeks to get my memories back but I am Steve."
Bucky shook his head. "You can't be. Why would -- why would you be hiding here in Stark's home. He's responsible for your death."
Steve tightened his hands on Bucky's arms. He frowned then sighed, there was one way to make Bucky believe him. "When we found the first camp -- even Fury got sick."
Bucky closed his eyes for a brief moment. "I still don’t believe you," he snarled. "But I won't take the kid. That's what you want isn't it?"
"You can believe whatever you want," Steve felt as sad as he sounded. How could Bucky not recognize him? Very carefully he let Bucky up and got to his feet.
"You should have told us when you came back -- do you have any idea what Sharon's been going through?" Bucky demanded. "Let's say I do believe you -- you've got a lot of fucking nerve."
Steve half ignored him and gathered up Maria who was shaking like a leaf in anger and fear, her fists clenched against her sides. He was sure she wanted to try and take down what she must see as a threat to Tony. "Shh, it's okay. Bucky isn't going to take you and he isn't going to hurt Tony. I promise." He stroked her hair and she clutched at him as if his strength could keep her there.
Bucky was watching them with a mixture of emotions playing across his face, like he couldn't decide if he wanted to attack Steve again or just scream.
"Yes, I should have told both of you. I'm sorry for hurting you both, but I had to figure some things out for myself before I could see people. I'm sorry," Steve said honestly, wishing he could make Bucky understand.
"You don't seem to of had a problem seeing Stark," Bucky snapped.
"Tony was different," Steve told him as he straightened away from Maria. She clung to his hand but had stop shaking. "But I should have told you and Sharon if no one else."
Bucky crossed his arms, his eyes darting back and forth from Maria to Steve. "She's going to be pissed at you and Stark about this, Steve," he said with sneer.
Steve almost said 'let her'. "Don't tell her," was what came out instead. "Bring her here, let me talk to her. I don't want my -- state of living -- to be public knowledge yet, Bucky."
"Maybe." Bucky turned towards the door. "I'll be in touch with, Stark. And tell him to change your goddamn override codes."
"I don't like him," Maria said after the door slid closed behind him.
"Right now, I'm not all too fond of him myself." Steve squeezed her hand gently. "You were very brave, Maria, and you followed commands excellently. I'm proud of you."
If anything would calm her down it would be praise over her behavior. He didn't want her to think this had been a test but if she knew she'd done a good job -- at least she wouldn't be panicking.
Less than a minute later Tony burst through the door. "I got here as soon as I could --" he was almost panting, his hair stuck to his forehead with sweat. He wasn't wearing the armor but that was most likely because he knew the threat was already gone. "I'm so sorry. I should have gotten here sooner." The words weren't spoken to him but to Maria.
"She's fine Tony, we both are." Steve assured him. "Bucky wouldn't have hurt her."
Tony was beside her and hugging her. Maria hugged him back, gripping the back of his shirt. "He could have taken her."
Steve dropped down to his own knees and wrapped his arms around them both. "Over my dead body."