Tony Stark-⎊-Oneshots

Storms

When Tony was little, he was scared of storms.

Thunder and lightning made him want to run and hide in his mother's arms. But his mother wasn't always there. And there wasn't always any other place to hide.

His father had chided him for it. For God's sake, it's just light and sound, he yelled at Tony. They can't hurt you.

Taking his father's words to heart, Tony told himself he wasn't scared. It was Mr Bear who was scared. Mr Bear, a plush toy gifted by Aunt Peggy, was smaller than himself and needed his protection.

When storms came, Tony rushed to bed so he could hold Mr Bear's face against his chest, and cover Mr Bear's ears with his hands.

Now Mr Bear couldn't be scared. He couldn't see or hear the storm anymore. He was in Tony's arms and nothing could harm him.

***

The Sanctum was deathly quiet when he burst in through the front door. Wong greeted him at the entrance hall, warning him to leave.

"He's not well," Wong said to him. "I know you're worried about him. But he can't - "

Tony pushed past Wong into Stephen's quarters.

When Stephen was ill, the Sanctum's defences were down. Wong could only do so much, and if the visitor was someone who had been granted Stephen's permission to enter, he could do nothing at all.

Tony found Stephen curled up in his bed. His whole body was trembling, wracked with unimaginable pain.

He laid down beside Stephen and called his name. Stephen finally opened his eyes to look at him.

And there it was:

The storm.

Lightning and thunder and all the stuff of nightmares, brewing behind his eyes.

Fear overcame Tony. He gently pulled Stephen closer to him, so the other man's forehead rested on his chest.

Then he covered one of Stephen's ears.

It's just light and sound.

They can't hurt you.

Not while I'm here.

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