Mr Jellyfish

Tony sets aside his tools and moved to the sink to wash up. He had been working long enough to warrant a break. After washing his hands and toweling them dry he moves to his workshop's couch.

"U?" he calls out to the bot, "Let try this again, okay? Coffee." U wurrs in understanding and heads of to the kitchenette.

Tony sits down on the couch with a relieved breath. Pulling up a projection he opened up Twitter and started browsing through his feed. At some point U came by with his coffee that yet again had a hit of oil to it. But U was learning, one day he will get it.

He stops at a tweet by Steve.

Steve had retweeted a picture of a jellyfish, and added the caption "Sometimes I wish I could be this".

Tony feels cold pool in his chest and his heart sink right to the floor in a sicking drop.

Jellyfish were one of those odd things in life. No nervous system or brain. No thoughts. Just a weird squidgy sea stomach that floats thru life without a care. Without thought or feeling. Brainless and totally free of the burden of consciousness.

His heart clenches painfully at the thought that this is what Steve would want for himself. That everything was getting too much, that everyone was asking so much that Steve would want not to feel anymore. He couldn't imagine losing as much as Steve has or going through half of what he had during the war alone.

He was not going to let this stand. Tony jumps off the couch and runs out the workshop. He was going to make sure Steve knew just how much he love him, just how much he means to everyone. Hopefully make him feel better. "JARVIS? Take me to Steve please?" he says as he gets into the lift.

"Certainly, Sir" JARVIS responds and the lift goes up.

The lift stops at their penthouse. Tony exits the lift quickly and sets about finding Steve.

He finds Steve in their bedroom, wrapped up in blankets on the bed watching Major Payne.

Tony hops onto the bed and wraps his arms around Steve. He presses little butterfly kiss over his face, neck and shoulders.

"Not that I am complaining... at all." Steve mumbles, taking his eyes off the screen to look at Tony. "But what is this all about"

He pulls Steve tighter against himself. "I just want you to be happy, Sweetheart" he says, pressing a kiss to the man's forehead.

Steve looks up at him and smiles, but he can see the strain and concern thinly veiled underneath. "I am happy" he says.

"Steve..." He starts, but he isn't sure how he wants to go about this. He knows how tightly Steve can clam up about things when he gets the mind to do so. "I hope you know you don't have to hide from me. I love you"

"And I love you" Steve responds, giving a quick glance at him movie. "But I'm okay. You don't need to worry" Steve stops the move with the remote.

Tony runs his finders through Steve's blond hair comfortingly. "Honey..."

Steve gives him a weird look. He grasps Tony's hand from his hair and holds it firm in his lap.

"It's okay to not be okay. Okay?" Tony says, giving Steve's hand a squeeze. "I know it's hard. And so many people look to you for strength and an example. But you're not alone"

Steve sighs and shifts the face Tony full on, "What is all this about, Tony?" he asks quietly.

Tony pauses. Might as well get right down to the point. "Your comment on the Jellyfish you retweeted on Twitter?" he says. He feels his heart clench mentioning it.

"What about it?" he asks. As if it was nothing.

"Steve, I can't imagine how hard things are for you. All that you been through...- It-..." Tony brakes off and takes a deep breath. "I hope that you know how much you mean to me, to the team. That yo-"

Steve stops him with finger pressed to his lips. If this wasn't so serious he would be half tempted to lick it.

"I think something was lost in translation here." Steve says. "Tony, what do you think I meant by the jellyfish?"

"Well... you know..." He says, not quite sure how to put it delicately. "I thought given what jellyfish are... that you meant that you want to be brainless and totally free of the burden of consciousness."

Steve blinked at him slowly. He can see the horror building on his face. "Beautiful, ethereal and full of light" he says.

"What?" Tony says, confused.

Steve's face goes bright red with embarrassment. "They are just so beautiful. Like growly water fairies. So beautiful and light... like if-..." he says quietly, almost as if to himself alone "if you could have elfin fish"

"...Oh" Tony says. "So... light and pretty". He can believe this...

"Yeah..." Steve confirms.

Tony starts laughing, from the ridiculousness of the situation and the giddy feeling that Steve was okay. Steve joins him. They fall against each other, laughing pulling each other close.

They calm down not long after. Both grinning, curled up together amongst the blankets.

In the peaceful quiet, wrapped up together, Tony runs through everything again. He finds one thing that rubs him wrong.

"You're already 'beautiful, ethereal and full of light', honey" He says. He has never seen anyone as beautiful as Steve. And not just physically... more than physically. There was something about Steve's his positivity and optimums that made him glow. Made him lighter than anyone who he had ever met. Particularly he doesn't think he has seen anything better than Steve's smile. The way he just radiates joy and his eyes seem to shine.

"... Don't you feel like that?" Tony asks, hopping that it wasn't true, that he misunderstood again. That Steve knew how wonderful, how beautiful, he was.

"No? Yes. No. ...I mean." Steve fumbles over his words. He makes a gesture with his hand that Tony doesn't know what to make of. "Well, kind of." Steve says with a sigh.

Tony stares at Steve in concern.

"But not in the bad way" Steve quickly adds, as Tony is the one who needs comforting here.

"Not in the bad way?" Tony repeats skeptically.

"I mean, I don't know..." he says. "I just meant that tweet as... well, I don't know, goals or something..."

He doesn't think Steve needs to set goal on how much more wonderful he has to be. Steve could almost trademark being wonderful in his opinion. Tony sighs and rests his chin on top of Steve's head. "What am I going to do with you?" he asks softly.

"Love me?" Steve says with a smile.

"I already love you, Steve" he says, shifting to kiss Steve softly. "And I don't plan on stopping"

"I love you too" Steve says against his lips before returning the kiss.

The End

Notes: For my Fluff Bingo Prompt "Comforting Hug" [B2]