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As long as he lived—and Tony Stark planned on living forever, if not longer—he would never forget the expression on Steve Rogers’ face when he handed over the keys to the man’s motorcycle. He had never before been so grateful for one of his father’s obsessions. He couldn’t have known, as a kid growing up with that bike on display at home, that one day he’d actually have the chance to give it back as a gift to the man. Or, for that matter, a chance to fall madly for the man.
Tony headed back into the elevator, tapping out notes with his stylus into his tablet so as not to waste time on the long trip up to the top from the garage. He had only been settled behind his desk for about twenty minutes when Jarvis interrupted his train of thought.
“Sir, there’s a news report just coming in that may be of interest.”
“Jarvis, I’m a little busy right n—“
The flat screen turned on anyway, to a local television station where a news chopper had just captured a car accident in midtown. An accident between a garbage truck and a taxi. Though right in the middle of the intersection lay what used to be a motorcycle. A familiar motorcycle.
His phone rang. “Sir, the number is private and blocked, but showing up in my databanks as—”
“S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Tony growled. Eyes fixed on the news report, he picked up the phone. “I know,” he said. “I’m leaving for the hospital now.” He hung up. Ground transportation would be useless, especially in that part of town. The helicopter would take time to prep. Thankfully, he had the suit.
Iron Man soared through New York City, speeding single-mindedly toward the hospital, spooking a few pigeons he passed along the way. His footsteps were heavy as he marched through the halls, right past the desks of employees who jumped up to try to stop him. Super strength came in handy, though, as he stormed through closed doors and pushed aside security officers. There were already some members of S.H.I.E.L.D. standing guard outside the curtain; Tony didn’t let them stop him either.
Steve lay in a hospital bed, cuts and bruises bringing color to an otherwise pale face. “How bad?” Tony grabbed at the chart clipped to the base of Steve’s bed. He skimmed it, trying to make sense of it when his head was spinning with worry.
And Steve, hearing this, pulled himself out of slumber, though somewhat reluctantly. “Tony?” His handsome blue eyes took an extra second to focus. “You came.”
Tony forced a smile as he looked up. “Hey there. Of course I came.” He rounded the bed and put his hand down on the pillow.
Turning his head, Steve nuzzled against the cold, metal fingers and wincing slightly. “I got into a little accident out there.”
“I heard. Good thing you were wearing a helmet… and that you’re practically invulnerable.”
A laugh made Steve wince again. “Still managed to crack a rib.” He took a deep breath and shuddered at the pain that caused.
“Anyone else and they’d be dead. I saw what happened to your bike.”
Steve closed his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“It was a gift. Your choice if you want to total it.” That wasn’t what Steve wanted to hear, his eyes wide. “That was a joke. Don’t worry. I’ll get it fixed up.” It was a mangled wreck now and not all parts would be original. Unless he were able to track down some suppliers with authentic parts. There were few such parts out there and even fewer places willing to part with such parts… but that was part of the fun. “First, though, we need to get you fixed up.”
“My patient needs rest, Mr. Stark.” A doctor said, throwing open a curtain and closing it behind him, stepping over to the other side of Steve’s bed. “He needs to stay here and rest if he’s going to recover. I can prescribe—”
Steve gave the doctor a weak smile. “Drugs don’t work on me, Doc.”
The doctor frowned, took the chart from Tony, scribbled a few things, clipped it back to the bed. “All the more reason you need your rest. And you can’t get that with a superhero bothering you.”
“I can’t get that without him here.”
The doctor looked entirely unconvinced, but he left and sent in an RN after him to quickly take Steve’s vitals. Tony stripped out of the suit so he could settle onto the bed without weighting it down. He was careful as he sat down, not wanting to hurt Steve further. But Steve made room for him in the bed and immediately rested his head on Tony’ shoulder. “A few more hours and I’ll be healed.”
“Mmm.” Tony rolled slightly to the side, pulled out his smartphone.
“Oh, Tony. Can’t you spend just three hours not working?”
In a huff, Tony replied, “Fine.” He slid an arm around Steve and stroked his shoulder. “Except you know I get fidgety when I can’t work. I’m already nervous about all this. And today I really needed to complete that next test of the hydraulic system for the—”
“Tony, can’t you work on helping me fall asleep?”
With a smile, Tony set the phone down.