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[gotup]

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[gotup]

At this point, Steve's not going to correct him; the scene is done, and he's only giving Tony orders because he knows from past experience that it's the only way to get him to do anything. He sits down next to him, the mattress dipping under his weight, and cards his fingers through Tony's hair, lightly stroking his head. He doesn't offer anything else yet, but he keeps an eye out for the signs of subdrop.

[myheartglows]

Half his face buried in the pillow, Tony sighs contentedly and nuzzles into Steve's strokes. He languishes for a time, floating like the bed beneath him's a cloud, until he raises his eyes to Steve, vulnerable and contrite. "M'sorry," he whispers.

[gotup]

"You don't have to apologize." Steve cups his cheek in his hand. "You were just being you, that's all." And it's true; thinking about it, the first two times had been too easy for the Tony he knows. Testing him and pushing his boundaries seems like the man he's familiar with. It just means that it's not going to be easy for Steve, that's all. And that's pretty much the story of his life, isn't it?

[myheartglows]

Tony nuzzles into that, too, drawn to the comfort and enough layers peeled back to seek it. "M'diffcult," he agrees, thinking of Pepper, with a twinge of sadness.

[gotup]

"Not in a bad way." Well, sometimes in a frustrating way, but Tony's fragile right now, and Steve knows he has to be careful with what he says. Besides, despite the occasional urge to throttle him, Tony's prickly, stubborn nature is one of the things that attracts Steve to him. He likes a challenge, and Tony is every bit of that and more. "Anyway, I think you probably got more out of that than you would from what I'd planned." Steve sounds a little rueful. "We'll save the blindfold for another day."

[myheartglows]

Tony nods. His arms, bent around the pillow, otherwise lie limp. Briefly he furrows his brow before he asks, "D'you like this?" Simple, base concerns flock free without their normal filter.

[gotup]

"I do," and Steve's a little surprised to hear himself actually utter the words. "Not sure I'm real good at it, though." He chuckles self-deprecatingly. "It's hard, but it's worth it. I'm scared of screwing up or just...not being good enough, not being able to come up with ideas for you." That's probably too many words for Tony to process right now. "But I like the moments like this. I don't care about getting off on the power or anything, I just- I like it when you trust me to take care of you. To help make you better." Steve idly smooths a thumb over the wrinkles in Tony's brow. "Might make you do the next session in the gym," he cracks. "Put you through a real workout."

[myheartglows]

Something clicks, a connection made. It eases the tightness around Tony's eyes, which lower to Steve's knee. A smile flickers at the joke. "This can work. Righ'? We can make this work."

[gotup]

"It'll work," he assures Tony. "Might not be easy sometimes, but we can do it." Mostly not easy on his emotions, but he'll be damned if he ruins a perfectly nice moment by mentioning that. That's his own problem to work out somehow. "Just gotta communicate."

[myheartglows]

Obedient, Tony nods again, eyes distant. Gotta communicate, he echoes. "We can talk after?" he suggests slowly. "M'not really with it righ' now. Gimme ... gimme a lil'."

[gotup]

"I didn't mean right now," and there's a certain amused tone to his voice. Steve's seen this enough to know that Tony, normally so eloquent (or at least loquacious), can barely string together a short sentence when he's in subspace. "It's okay, Tony. All you gotta do right now is relax."

[myheartglows]

"Mmmkay," Tony hums and burrows into the pillow he's loosely hugging, the arm on bottom stretching up and out from beneath it, getting comfy. "Tha' sounds good."

[gotup]

He leans down and tugs a blanket up over Tony, making sure he's tucked in, then reaches over and grabs his tablet from the nightstand to catch up on a bit of paperwork (or maybe play a level or two of Angry Birds). Steve keeps one hand on Tony's head, sometimes stroking, sometimes just a reassuring weight, but always present.

[myheartglows]

When the clock reads close to nine, over an hour later, Tony breathes in, waking with a reluctant groan. His senses catch up one by one until he freezes, caught between bringing attention to himself and pretending that Steve petting him while he lies in Steve's bed is no big deal. Maybe he can doze and vamoose while Steve is taking a piss or something.

[gotup]

Unfortunately, Steve notices Tony stirring, and he looks down at him over the edge of his tablet. "Enjoy the nap?" he asks casually, letting his hand slip down to Tony's shoulder so it's slightly less weird. "You need anything?"

[myheartglows]

Tony purses his mouth. So much for that plan. "Uh, my dignity back, please," he replies, voice rough with sleep and a pleasant soreness radiating from his biceps. He remembers exactly why. He always remembers everything. Tony sighs and tries to prepare himself for the talk he knows will soon follow but dreads it all the same.

[gotup]

"Tony, I think you lost your dignity when you walked out of here wearing my Snuggie," he retorts dryly, though his lips curve into a smile at the memory. Steve doesn't think that what Tony does is undignified, although he understands why he might see it that way. If the internet is right, there are a lot more degrading things he could be doing for him (and, wow, he wishes he could forget that search).

[myheartglows]

Tony's mouth quirks up. The humor helps. "Hey, I thought you of all people would understand a desire to show my patriotism. I wore that Snuggie proudly."

[gotup]

Steve just snorts. "On your - what do the kids call it? Walk of shame." He grins and slides down so he's reclining next to Tony on the bed, propping himself up with an elbow. Sorry, Tony, there's no escape anytime soon.

[myheartglows]

Tony raises an eyebrow at Steve from across his own arm and the accosted pillow. "Careful, Grandpa, your age is showing. I used to be one of those kids and now I'm past forty."

[gotup]

"You're right, that's practically ancient." His tone is deadpan. "I must look decrepit next to you." Never mind that the bicep that's resting on the bed, flexed slightly from his bent elbow, is about as big around as Tony's head. "Gonna turn to dust and blow away any day now."

[myheartglows]

Tony's smile grows warm. He hasn't snuck a glance at Steve's body, not in that evaluating way, but rather kept to Steve's eyes or the blankets. He drops his gaze now, too, with the conversation before he fell asleep replaying in his head. "Not all of us can age as prettily," he remembers to say before too long passes.

[gotup]

"I always just assumed it was your skincare routine, honestly." He grins at Tony. "Lots of moisturizer." Although he should probably pretend that he hasn't spent more time than is strictly necessary looking at him - glances snuck out of the corner of an eye, quietly watching when he thinks nobody else is looking.

He's quiet for a moment, then offers up a non sequitur. "You think I had it too easy up till now or something?"

[myheartglows]

Tony frowns, thought process derailed. "Uh, no? Participating in history's most bloodiest war and waking up in a new century with all your buddies dead I imagine to be pretty rough."

[gotup]

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder." He gives Tony a Look. "I didn't mean on a large scale, I meant how you were acting earlier." Although he suspects Tony knows that and, predictably, is giving him a rough time. Again.