Ageing Superhero

[Evergreen]

((wow guys! so many responses. this time i won't respond to them all personally, but it makes me feel so great to know you're enjoying this fluff! and now more fluff with a hopefully in-character tony stark. haha. i'm getting more comfortable with stark's voice. who knows maybe i'll do a stark fic at some point?))

PART FOUR

Although the medication eased his symptoms slightly, Steve still slept fitfully, wavering between a light, troubled doze and a deep sleep haunted by nightmares. Most of his nightmares revolved around being found in the ice and perhaps it was the chills he was truly experiencing, but he could swear he was back in it, frozen.

“Steve… C’mon now. It’s time to wake up for a little while.”

He awoke with a start as he felt someone shaking his shoulder and he scrambled to get up, not used to having anyone around unless there was some sort of emergency. He stood uncertainly and then had to sink to his knees, coughing painfully and deeply for what felt like forever. As he was coughing, he realized it was Emma who was there and the events that led up to that moment came back to him as did the embarrassment of her seeing him like this. She kneeled in front of him, placing a water bottle in his hand before she scooted so she sat next to him, rubbing his back as his muscles clenched and spasmed from the fit he was having.

“It’s okay. It’ll pass,” she soothed as slowly his coughing became less overpowering and he managed to gulp down water to calm it.

“Sorry,” he panted out, his voice hardly more than a whisper.

“Don’t be. Let’s get you up.” She grasped his arm and tried to help him stand, frowning as she realized that unlike the last time she helped him, he really was incapable of using any of his own strength.

“I… I cad’t.” He searched her eyes for reassurance and she simply squeezed his hand.

“We’ll just hang out on the floor. No biggie,” she reassured, although he could sense her nerves. “I’ll be right back. I guess I don’t have to tell you to stay put.”

He forced a small smile, which became genuine as she stood up and pulled the blanket from the couch, draping it over his shoulders and touching the top of his head affectionately.

It took a few minutes before she returned and she sat down next to him, rummaging through her bag and handing him a cough drop. “It’ll help your throat.”

He didn’t argue, although he held the lozenge without putting it into his mouth. “Ahh tissues huhh?” he whispered, knuckling his nose as it misbehaved. Soon he felt a blissfully soft cushion in his hand and he raised them to his nose, his chest rising up and down as he awaited the volley of sneezes. As his cold worsened, though, the build-up was becoming increasingly drawn out. Through his itchy, watery eyes he could see Emma looking concerned but he couldn’t say anything before they finally came. Hih’IGTSCH. IKTSCH. He barely had time for a gasp. Hih’EHKTCH. KTSCH. TCHH’ngg. The congestion felt like it was swelling beneath his sinuses and he felt his cheeks ache from the pressure. Hah’EHKTSCH’oo. TSCHOO. TSCH’uh. Huh’NGTSCHH’oo. Ngg. A small groan escaped and he had to press his hands to his face, afraid if he didn’t counter the pressure his sinuses would explode.

“Bless you. Maybe when you can walk, we should get you into the bathroom so you can breathe in some steam. It will help.”

“Ogkay,” he agreed, honestly willing to do just about anything to dissolve what felt like a rock that was plugging up his sinus cavities. When the doorbell rang, he tried again to get up, his brow furrowing in frustration at his inability.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it. Sit tight.” With that, she stood and strolled to the door, where she greeted someone softly. He heard the door close before a man spoke.

“So where is my favorite superhero?”

Even in his fever fog, Steve could make out Tony Stark’s voice. As the man entered dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, Steve rubbed at one eye. There was no way Tony was here.

“Well don’t you look pathetic?” Tony asked him with a faint smile.

“Why…” he paused, ducking his head down as he coughed, which thankfully only lasted a minute.

“Why am I here?” Tony suggested, forcing his expression of disgust to morph into a blank stare. As Steve nodded, Tony pointed at Emma. “She called Pepper, who then called me and offered to do all sorts of things if I came and helped out, including dressing up in a very sexy nurse costume if I did happen to catch your disease.”

“I hope you’re not mad,” Emma said softly. “I can’t get you up on my own, and I knew if I had help it would be easier to take care of you.”

Steve wasn’t sure how he felt about Tony’s presence. On the one hand, he felt relieved to know he wasn’t stranded on the floor. On the other, he wasn’t sure how Tony would behave or if he’d bring this situation up for years and years on end. As he looked at Emma’s anxious face, though, he shook his head. “Gnod mbad,” he confirmed.

“Well, I guess the first order of business is getting you off the floor. Do you want the couch or bed?” Tony asked as he clenched and unclenched one hand. Steve knew that Tony still wasn’t comfortable being around germs. “Hello? Earth to Captain. I’m not getting any younger here and oh…”

Tony stopped talking as Steve buried his face in another tissue, bracing his body as best he could against the floor. This time the build-up wasn’t as taunting and the sneezes came freely. Hih’IGHTSCH’oo. EHKSH. KSNGHH… KTCH. CHH’tch… Huh’GTSCH’oo. GTSCHH. TSCH.

“Jesus Christ,” Tony said, folding his arms over his chest as he looked down at Steve. “I’m assuming the fit on the phone wasn’t a one-time deal. That’s… Strange. I wonder if when they were doing all kinds of interesting things to you one of those these was making your nose hypersensitive to irritants. I’d be curious to find out.”

Emma cleared her throat uncomfortably and when Tony looked she blushed. “Sorry… I just… Can we get him to his bed?”

“Oh sure,” Tony said sarcastically. “I’m doing all the heavy lifting… Pun intended. And you’re just gonna follow along.”

“Hey,” Steve warned, shooting a stern stare at the snarky Stark. “Please for by sagke be gnicde to her.”

“I’m only kidding, Cap. She’s cute. Clearly delusional not to have picked me in that interview, though. I mean yes the super soldier saved your life specifically, but I saved everyone’s lives and last time I checked everyone included you,” Tony said dramatically as he knelt beside Steve, who tried to snort in amusement only to have it spark another itch.

Hih’KTCH’uh. TSCHH. Tony backed away and wiped off his shoulder. Hih’IGTTSCH. TSCHH. KTSCH.

“Does he do that often?” Tony asked, looking at Emma.

“Yeah. Poor thing.”

“Poor thing my ass. Poor us. At this rate, he’ll infect the whole damn city.”

Tony was smirking, which disarmed Emma from any response as she realized that he was only kidding. She then turned her attention to Steve who was sitting with the tissue steepled over his nose, a few irritated tears collecting at the corners of his eyes. Hah’KTCHOO. He sneezed forcefully, which caused him to cough again.

“Bless you,” Tony begrudgingly stated as soon as Steve regained control, and he knelt by him again.

“You gonna vomit, sneeze, cough or do anything else that will compromise our friendship when I pick you up?” he asked.

Steve shook his head and Stark picked him up, clearly holding his breath as he walked him into his room. Emma ran ahead of them and pulled the covers back. After Tony placed Steve down, he took a few steps back and let out his breath. Emma pulled the covers over Steve, pushing back a few strands of Steve's hair.

“How’re you feeling?” she asked.

“A little winded, but I’ll live,” Tony interjected with a smirk.

“Fide,” Steve whispered unconvincingly, shivering beneath the covers.

“If this is fine, I’d hate to see what shitty looked like,” Tony mused, re-approaching the Captain’s bed. “Why didn’t you call someone? Pepper told me she sent Emma over without you knowing, and from what I’m seeing you wouldn’t have survived on your own.”

Even in his weakness, Steve became slightly defensive. “I always survive, Tony,” he said flatly, turning his head away.

“Easy there, Captain. I was just saying…” Tony paused, glancing back at Emma who was watching Steve with a mixed expression of sadness and concern. “I was just saying I would have come… If you had asked me to.”

Steve turned his head and looked at him, shock evident on his face. “Really?”

“Yeah, but I don’t blame you for not wanting me. I wouldn’t want me either if I had her… Hell, I do have her… Or I have Pepper. Funny how a woman can make things tolerable.”

Emma looked pleasantly surprised and smiled as Steve turned to look at her. He smiled weakly in return.

“If she’s willing to hang out with you when you’re utterly disgusting… And yeah maybe she finds the incessant sneezing cute or maybe she thinks you’re sweet when you’re vulnerable but you’re sweaty and snotty and gross in my opinion—but like I was saying, if she’s willing to be here, you’ve got a keeper.” He cleared his throat as he realized just how long he’d let himself be honest. “Okay, feelings time is over in the group today. I’m just gonna go watch some TV because if I leave now Pepper will only give me half of her surprise. Come find me if you need me… Or, y’know, sneeze really loud or something.”

Steve laughed softly, managing not to cough after he did so. “Thagks, Tody.”

“Uh huh, whatever,” Tony said as he exited, calling out an afterthought once he was out of the room. “You won’t be saying thanks if I get this plague from you. I’ll demand a mini muffin basket for recompense. I mean, I can't justify spending my money on them, but they're mighty delicious."

Again he laughed, but this time thick coughs erupted after. Once he was done, he let himself groan softly.

“Sorry for hib,” Steve whispered as Emma approached and sat gingerly at the edge of the bed. “He cad be… Oudspoked.”

Emma smiled at him. “It’s okay. I needed some help. I was hoping Pepper was back in town, but obviously she’s not since she sent Tony.”

“I jusdt dod’t wadt you to be udcobfortable... I cad stay awagke ” Naturally, he yawned promptly after that claim and Emma patted his hand.

“It’s okay. I was nervous around you at first, and I’m sure I’ll be nervous around Tony, but I think I’ll make it.”

“You’re gnod nervous aroudd be adymore, righdt?” he asked, smothering a cough in his blanket.

“Only a little. A good kind of nervous, I promise. I just don’t want to overstep any boundaries while I’m taking care of you. If you ever want me to leave, just say the word.”

He reached for her hand and gave it a small squeeze. “I dod’t thidk I will.”

She held his hand for a moment, but as he yawned again she let go and smoothed his blanket. “You should sleep,” she said softly. “I’ll check on you a few times to make sure you’re okay.”

The room was already beginning to look unfocused as his eyes began to shut and it became harder to open them. Soon he relaxed entirely, and Emma waited for a couple minutes, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest before she took a deep breath of her own and exited his room to spend some time with the infamous Tony Stark.

TBC

[Prongs]

Cap's sneezes

And omg yes Tony is perfectly in character!!!!

[everest]

Loooooved this part. So much. I think you've really nailed the characters, so there's no reason to be worried about that. You've done such a good job with this story, I can't even... gahh. Love.

[ID2006]

Are you trying to kill me... I can't wait for a Stark fic from you! I can just imagine Stark stuck with this and Pepper still being gone, or not. I love Stark fluff... and Cap fluff... and whoever you choose to torture next.

[VividBubbles!]

Tony's here! And do I sense a hint of contagion? Possibly maybe hopefully? Emma is so lucky! And "maybe she finds his insessant sneezing cute"? Yes, yes we do. Absolutely. Adorable. More soon!

BYE!

P.S. Who else wants to see the new Spiderman movie? At first I was skeptical but now... well, it might actually be good.

BYE! Again.

[Dye]

Oh god yes TONY <333 dhsafakdfgdfsg So perfectly in character

and Cap is perfect, as always. <33333

@Bubbles; I do! Love snarky Spiderman. XD

"You've found my one weakness! It's small knives!" XDDDD

[Evergreen]

((thanks guys! okay, so i leave for england in two days for six weeks. i'm gonna try to squeeze out a part that sort of ties this all together so i don't have to leave you all hanging, but if not you can expect updates in mid to late August. i know i'll have at least one more part up before i leave))

Part Five

“What’d you do? Read him a bedtime story?” Tony asked from the couch as Emma entered and sat down in a chair near him.

“Haha,” she remarked dryly.

“So why didn’t you choose me?” Tony asked, stretching his arms and leaning back on the couch.

“What?” Emma sputtered out, nervously shifting in the chair and tucking her feet beneath her. “I mean… I really am grateful, Mr. Stark… It’s just…”

“I’m just joking, kid. No hard feelings,” Tony said with a grin. “I mean, I’m sure you’d understand if you saved all of Manhattan and I chose your friend.”

Emma felt herself blushing and shifted again.

“Okay, okay, I’ll drop it. I really am just giving you a hard time and I know Cap will make me pay for it if I keep it up.”

She fiddled with her bracelet, not replying until the silence became unbearable. “So… Are you hungry? I brought a few things for Steve, but I can fix you something.”

“Well now we’re talking, Emma.”

And with that the ice was broken and Emma felt relieved as she stood over the stove, heating up a griddle for grilled cheese.

“That’s some expensive cheese you’ve got there,” Tony remarked from behind her as she began to cut up some fresh Gruyere.

“Yeah. It’s worth it, though,” she said softly.

“So tell me, how much did you spend on groceries for our Captain?”

“Not that much,” she argued automatically.

“That much, huh? You must really like him,” Tony observed, walking over and taking a small piece of cheese. “Don’t worry. He likes you, too.”

“Really?” she asked before she could help herself from looking excited.

Tony laughed and popped another piece of cheese in his mouth. “Yep. So you don’t have to spend your whole paycheck on him.”

She felt herself blush and nodded, staying silent as Tony sat down at the bar next to the stove. She fixed the sandwiches and began to toast the baked bread she had picked up. The moment of truth came when she set the sandwich in front of Tony who sniffed it dramatically first. “You’re a waitress, right?”

“I went to a couple years of culinary school.”

He nodded and then took a bite, hesitating and then giving her two thumb’s up. He opened his mouth to respond when he heard a thick cough from behind him. “If you infect this sandwich, so help me God I’ll kill you,” Tony warned, grabbing his plate and slipping past Steve to eat in the living room.

“Feeling any better?” Emma asked as Steve sat down at Tony’s place.

“Yeah,” he croaked out, although truth be told he still felt awful.

“You hungry, hon?”

Hih’ITSCHH. TSCHH. “Yeah, I could…” TSCHOO. TSCH. TSCH. “I could eat,” he said, turning all the way to the side and gripping the counter. TSCHOO. KTSCH’oo. KTSCH. TSCH. He rubbed his nose, but after not blowing it for hours, it was still itchy. KTSCHH. TSCH.

Emma watched as his expression stayed overwhelmingly dazed. As he sneezed again back-to-back, she handed him a paper towel.

In the midst of blowing his nose, he sneezed once more, a harsh ATSCH that dissolved into the fruitless nose blow. It did ease the itching in his nose, however, and he straightened, holding the paper towel loosely in his hand.

“Bless you… Are you okay? That was… A lot of sneezes.”

“I’b fide. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Why don’t you go lie down and I’ll bring you some soup. Do you feel up to having half of a grilled cheese with it?”

Steve rubbed the back of his neck. “You have soupb, too? I should really reiburse you.”

“It’s no problem, Steve. It wasn’t that much,” she argued.

“Yes. It was.” Emma turned and looked at Tony who set his empty plate down. “Come on, Em. You like him, he likes you… This is painful to watch. Really. You’re trying to impress him, and he’s trying to impress you. Steve, Emma spent a ton of money on this cheese, which is phenomenal but grossly overpriced. Emma, Steve feels like shit, but he wants you to think he’s fine. There. I feel my work is done. Pepper will be pleased.”

Both Steve and Emma stood there in shock until Tony grabbed another piece of cheese and clapped Emma on the shoulder. “He’s all yours, chef. You’ll be hearing from Pepper, Cap, if a mini muffin basket is in order. Feel better, rest up, eat an apple, yadda yadda, blah blah. Now talk to each other honestly and stop trying so damn hard.”

Tony exited as dramatically as he entered, and as the door closed Emma gave a nervous laugh. “He’s… Interesting.”

“Yeah,” Steve echoed. He hesitated before he stood up and approached her bag of supplies, beginning to take out each item. “This is a lodt of stduff, Ebba. How much was id?”

“Not that much… Wait… No! Don’t look at that,” she cried out as he stumbled upon the receipt.

“Sevedty ode dollars?” He set the receipt down and looked at her in surprise. “Why did you sped so buch?”

“I… I wanted you to feel better,” she said quietly. “It’s not a big deal… Why are you looking at me like that?”

Steve felt his mouth get dry and his heart rate increase as he felt the overwhelming urge to kiss her. Instead of kissing her, though, he went with the second best option.“May I hug you? I jusdt dod’t wadt to ged you sigk.”

Emma laughed and nodded. “You really don’t have to worry about getting me sick. I’ve already been exposed to it, and if I get sick you’ll just have to play nurse.”

He cleared his throat and smothered a few coughs against the back of his hand, feeling even more nervous as she wrapped her arms around his middle, looking up at him as he let out a small shiver. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I jusdt…” he looked into her eyes and felt his heart pounding in his ears. “I dod’t kgnow how to do this adymore.”

“Do what? God, your heart is racing. What’s wrong?” she asked, placing a hand against his chest.

“I’b jusdt… I sord of wadt to kihh’TSCHH. TSCH.” The first sneeze caught him completely off guard and he directed it into the open air behind her, his body shaking as each sneeze wrenched its way out. He didn’t have enough time to pull away from her and so instead he pulled her closer, one arm around her and the hand of his other arm covering his mouth. KTSCH. TSCH. TSCH. He held his breath and felt relieved as the itch in his nose died down. “I’b so sorry!”

Emma looked up at him and smiled. “Bless you.” When he met her eyes, she held eye contact, waiting to make sure he was done sneezing before she leaned her head up a little more. “If you were saying what I think you were, then… Me too.”

His smile widened at that and he felt like he was moving in slow motion as he gingerly touched her cheek, brushing his lips to hers. She opened her mouth slightly and locked her lips with his. When he pulled away, she looked confused until he turned away, choking out another apology as his body ruined yet another first for them. Their first hug had been ruined by his sneezing and now their first kiss. Hah’TSCHH. TSCHH.

“Aw, bless you,” Emma murmured with a giggle, rubbing his back lightly as the next three came like clockwork. KNGTSCHH. GTSCHH. TSCHH. This time he couldn’t keep the rest at bay. KTSCHOO. TSCHOO.

“Sorry,” he said once he faced her again, his cheeks red.

“Don’t be. Let me fix you something to eat.”

He sat down at the bar again and watched her as she began to cook the grilled cheese. Because he was watching her so closely, he noticed as she froze and then her head bobbed forward twice, the first sneeze completely silent and the second followed by a soft exhale.

“Bless you?” he said questioningly and she turned to look at him.

“Thanks.”

“Are you…”

“No, I don’t think so. Just a sneeze,” she reassured, although as she went back to cooking, she realized just how fuzzy her mind felt.

TBC

[VividBubbles!]

Muahahaha! Is Emma getting sick? Did I actually sense a hint of contagion, just for the wrong person? Oooooh! I feel poemey. I shall write you a poem about how awesome this is!

Evil, evil Evergreen,

Why must you,

be so mean?

Cap is sick,

and now maybe Emma?

This seems like,

a big dilemma.

Well, for them,

but not for me,

because I like it,

when they sneeze.

So, evil, evil Evergreen,

please continue,

being so mean.

Eh, on the spot writing. Not my best, but eh! Continue soon!

BYE!

Edited June 28, 2012 by Bubbles!

[ID2006]

I llllllloooooovvvvvvveeeeee you <3

[matilda3948]

Oh wow!!! I just saw the movie a couple days ago so now I can fully appreciate just how awesome this story is. AWESOME!!!

[sneezychick93]

I love this story! Captain America was my favorite Avenger movie! I love him so much! He's so cute sick

[jezebel215]

So... I haven't seen the Avengers yet but watched Captain America last night (and Thor this morning) and am positively dying to go see the move (plan for tomorrow....)

this is incredible.

and Steve is, as always, delectable.

[Katie bear]

Oh god this was just too precious!!! Please please pleeeaaaase continue!