And then we were two (Tony stark's daughter fic)

Things Tony Stark hates

It was ironic, how you could live with someone, hear them, speak with them, and truly have no idea who they were. What was even more so was how much you could learn in the silence. Tony had spoken a dozen or so words since they'd crashed, yet in those days Steve was sure he'd learned more than in all the time they'd lived in the tower.

Some of the main things Steve learned were things Tony hated. Tony hated wet clothes. Full stop. He whined and tugged at the things the rest of the day, shooting Steve accusing glances as he watched him standing, knee deep, in the river, waiting for a fish to get near enough.

"You can quit scowling any time now," Steve huffed. "You're dryer than I am."

Tony glanced up from where he'd begun absently sifting through pebbles and made a face.

The sun was beating down at them, the height of the day, and Steve stared for a long moment as it burnished the man's curls, the wind tousling them teasingly. Tony looked unimpressed but, of course, said nothing.

"You could come out here and help?" Steve suggested.

Tony shook his tshirt at him as if he were telling him off and turned away. Tony hated being in wet clothes.

Tony didn't like salmon. He ate it, beggars can't be choosers and all that, but it was clear from the faces he made, he hated it.

Steve wanted to draw those faces. He watched him fondly and shook his head. "When we stop tomorrow I'll set up a snare, maybe get a rabbit, alright?"

"Boy," Tony struggled for a moment and kicked at a rock in frustration.

Steve didn't know what he was trying to say but nodded anyway. "Knowing you, probably," he agreed as if Tony had asked a question.

He glanced back down and poked petulantly at the fish in his palm. Tony hated salmon.

Tony hated not getting his point across. That shouldn't have been surprising, not really. Tony was brilliant and, near as he could tell, was used to people not understanding because they didn't know what he was talking about, not because he couldn't speak. In the time since he'd gone silent Steve had quickly begun to see just how much of his chatter was bluster and misdirection. Tony was like a magician, sending people looking for what they already believed of him, rather than to see the man beneath the layers. Steve was looking now...

He smiled gently and stood to bury the mess left from their dinner, a habit of covering his tracks ingrained in him from his time with the commandos. He missed them more than usual lately and he could only guess it was the current circumstances. Away from the city and civilization the earth was just the earth. Mountains grew and eroded, plants and animals alike, but on the whole there was always the same sky, rivers gurgling past, trees to sit beneath. It made him feel like he might walk through the tree line and see Howard swooping in to pick him up all over again, laughing about his mission and how many people were going to have his ass for it.

"Come on Tony, we have to keep going," he sighed. "This way, alright?"

The pair wondered back into the forest, still following the river.

By the end of the day Steve would learn a new hatred of Tony's.

At first he'd thought he just didn't want to get wet again. It was why he ignored the sounds of frustration and distress he heard when he informed him in no uncertain terms that the path they were on was impassable and they had to cross the bridge just behind them.

Tony's scowl implied everything he couldn't say about what he thought of Steve's bridge. It, of course, wasn't actually a bridge, not in the typical sense of the word. Still, it bridged the gap between one side of the river and the next which was precisely what they needed.

Steve was halfway across before he realized Tony wasn't coming. "Stark, move your ass!" He ordered in what Bucky had always called his captain voice. "Look, you aren't going to fall, alright? Shit even if you did it's not like you'd melt! Come on!"

Tony's eyes flitted from Steve to the water rushing past beneath him and actually whined.

"Come on, you're not going to fall in," Steve rolled his eyes. "Even if you did you'd dry." Howard had been very vocal about how weak he considered not being able to swim so he was certain Tony knew how. He continued on, certain he'd follow eventually.

Tony continued whining and whimpering, even as he grudgingly followed. He kept saying the same word, over and over again. "Mad. Mad. Mad."

"I know you're mad, Stark!" Steve snapped as he stepped off the log and whirled to face him. He realized his mistake a moment too late.

Despite the distance between them Tony startled badly. For a horrible moment, the kind of slow motion you believe is only a Hollywood construct until you've lived it, he teetered, eyes wide and frightened. Steve felt himself start to move, try to reach out, but it was just too far. Tony hit the water with a shriek.

"Tony!" Steve shouted as he charged into the river. The water was murky, their feet and the rushing water swirling sediment as it always did. A foot caught his eye and his hand snapped out, curling around Tony's ankle. Steve yanked him back harshly, too harshly, and felt the ankle give way. If they were not under water he would've sucked in a sharp breath but he couldn't, he hoped Tony wouldn't.

Steve yanked Tony to his chest and kicked hard off the soft mud that was the riverbed, kicking desperately to get them to the surface. Tony was sobbing, trembling against his chest as they left the water.

It was another moment where Steve wished he knew what was going on behind those wide, terrified, whiskey brown eyes. Tony seemed unable to calm down. Even after they made it to shore he couldn't stop shaking.

"Tony? Come on, sugar,come on, look at me?" Steve begged. "Look at me?"

Tony's eyes weren't focused. He wasn't there with him, though Steve didn't know where he was.

The sun beat warm down on their heads, breeze blowing through their wet clothes enough to chill them, but Tony wasn't aware of any of it. He wheezed for air, as if he were drowning, someone holding him below the surface.

Steve enclosed him tightly in his arms and began rocking back and forth. "I gotcha. I's alrigh' Tony," he whispered, his native brooklyn accent taking over in his worry, "I gotcha. Jus' breade, Hunny. Stay wit' me punk..."

Tony began to relax against him, a trembling breath leaving him at last. "Breade?" He teased.

Steve let out a shaking laugh, full of relief, and shook his head. He rested his cheek atop Tony's dark hair and chuckled. "Shut it, Stark."

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Hi peoples!!! Here's another update I hope you enjoy. Please read on for explanations that will pertain to this and future chapters!

So one thing about Captain America that drives me a little insane is he's constantly like "I'm just a kid from Brooklyn" yet he doesn't sound like he is at all!! And a classic "new yahkah" lol accent was legit my first accent love soooo yeah. When Steve gets stressed or feels strong emotions he will be slipping into his native accent. I stayed up till two hyper focused on learning the classic details 😂 (thanks brain) so hopefully I have written it well. too bad I'm not just saying this story because it's kinda difficult to turn into written form.

Anywhooo...besides the accent explanation there is more! I have recently binged all of Falcon and the winter soldier (obsessed!) and while I'm still refusing to acknowledge end game (Tony Stark is life and deserves better!) I need some Sam/Bucky in my life! So I know I have done zero lead up to it, I'm going to do my best to be sure it makes sense and doesn't feel random, but yeah. Expect Sam and Bucky to make appearances in the coming chapters. That is all ✌🏼