Somebody That I Used To Know - Stony

Chapter Ten

"What's wrong with you, Cap?" Sam asked as he walked into the kitchen.

Steve looked up from his bowl of oatmeal and sighed. He didn't realize it was that obvious something was up.

"It's nothing, just thinking." Steve answered, trying to dismiss his concerns.

Sam sat next to him and raised a brow, "About what?"

Steve pushed his bowl away and ran a hand through his hair. Steve looked up at Sam and saw that Sam's eyes were still watching him.

Steve sighed again. "Just thinking about Tony and Nat." He vaguely replied.

Sam groaned, "No offense, Steve, but it feels like I'm talking to a sloth. Talk to me. I'm here to listen."

Steve closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I don't wanna say I'm jealous... but that's what it seems like. I just don't understand how they connected again so quickly. I know Nat didn't do as much wrong as I did, and that her and Tony had a special bond, but still. It hurts to know my journey for forgiveness won't be as easy..." Steve rambled.

Steve dragged a hand down his face. "I just really miss him." He admitted in a mumble.

Sam let out a breath and stretched, "You're right. It won't be easy for him to forgive you. But if you really care, it won't matter. Because in the end, if he forgives you, it'll be worth it. And it'll feel so much better, knowing you put work into receiving forgiveness."

Steve let a small smile spread on his face, "You're right."

Sam chuckled, "I know I am. I'm amazing. But you gotta get off your depressed ass and do some work. Talk to Nat. Ask her for advice. She knows Stark way more than I do. Probably more than anyone of us."

Steve nodded, "I will, thank you."

"Any time," Sam says while patting Steve on the back before leaving.

~*~

Steve sat on the couch in the living room, waiting for Nat to come back from Tony's floor. It felt like hours before the elevator doors opened, and Natasha walked out.

"Hey Steve," She greeted.

Steve didn't respond, his throat suddenly dry. Romanoff noticed of course, and sat down next to him.

"What's going on?" She questioned.

"I need your help," Steve admitted, not looking at her.

"With what?"

He sighed and met her worried gaze, "I need help making amends with Tony."

Nat's eyes widened, suddenly nervous.

"I don't know, Steve. I mean... I just made peace with him. I don't know where he is at with forgiving you. But I don't want to push him." Natasha rambled.

Steve bit his lip, "But-"

She cut him off, "Steve. I don't think you understand how broken he really is. He has nightmares about what happened. He has anxiety attacks, he's sleep deprived. He's not okay."

Steve felt his heart shatter even though this was no surprise to him. It still hurts knowing it's true.

"But doesn't he have Pepper? Why isn't she doing anything?" Steve scrambled to find answers.

"Steve. Pepper left Tony."

Steve didn't know he could feel worse. Pepper left Tony. If Steve remembers correctly, him and Pepper were going through a rough patch at the time everything went to ruins. Maybe the fall out of the Avengers was just too much for Tony.

"Nat... I- okay. If you can't help me make amends with him, can you at least give me advise? How do I go about doing this?" Steve asked.

She paused for a moment before nodding her head with a small smile. Steve brightened up a bit and look at her expectantly.

She laughed a bit, "Okay, first. Be persistent but also not invasive of his personal space. For example, next time you see him, try to make conversation with him. Nothing too deep, maybe just a simple hello. Ask him how his day was. Stuff like that. This will test how comfortable he is to you. If he's surprised but still talks back, then whenever you see him again, do the same thing. You keep this up until he is comfortable around you so he won't have a anxiety attack when you go to apologize to him.

However, if when you first talk to him and he seems on edge, cut it short with a small smile and an excuse to leave. You'll have to start a little behind if this is the case. You'll have to just wave at him, or give him a smile whenever you can. Once he seems used to this, then go back in for the 'hello.'

It's not going to be easy making things right between you two, and it'll take a long time, but that's to be expected. It just depends on how much your willing to put into it." Natasha explained.

Steve took in everything she said. It all made since and it seemed easy enough. Except for one thing.

"What if he doesn't expect my apology?" He questioned.

Nat sighed, "If that happens, see me again. I'll give you advise depending on how Tony says he feels to me. You can also come to me if your having any questions along the way. I'm here for you."

Steve smiled softly, "Thank you. God, it seemed so easy for you and Tony to be friends again."

She chuckled, "Yeah, well, it's always been like that between the two of us. We've always had a soft spot for each other."

"That's true," He agreed.

Natasha stood up from the couch and turned back to Steve, "I'm gonna go meet up with Clint for our training session. He gets cranky if I'm not on time, and you know how annoying Clint is when he's cranky.

Steve laughed and waved her off. When she was gone he got up from the couch as well, and went to his room. When inside, he lied down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

He felt tears form in the corners of his eyes. He tried to blink them away, but they just fell down his face. A sob breaks through his lips and he puts a hand over his eyes. His body shakes with each sob.

'This has to work,' Steve thinks,

'Cause I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't.'