Hey Stranger

Draw

A week passed and everything started looking up. All of steves swelling has disappeared, all that remained was some faded scars and the damned casts. All he wanted to do was run, walk even, but nope not for another week.

Tony would go between working in the lab with Bruce and spending time with steve, Natasha was gone for most of the week, she wouldn't say why so he knew she was on a mission. She tiptoed around him now and it drove him crazy, they all did.

To escape the constant coddling and worrying from them, steve would draw. The New York skyline, pot of flowers, his bedroom, the stark tower, and tony. Most of them were Tony.

He flipped through his notebook and stopped on one of his favourites, he'd been in the lab with Bruce and tony just to have some company. Tony was leaning over his desk, jotting down notes and calculating math things steve didn't understand. His hair ruffled and he was wearing one of steves sweaters.

He examined it a bit before looking out the massive window to his right. It was nothing but darkness outside save for some lights flickering off in buildings around the city.

All he could think of was darkness, the darkness that swallowed him every time he was knocked out in that dark windowless room. He sighed and tried to get those images out of his mind but the thoughts invaded him.

So, he started drawing until he drifted asleep sitting upright in his bed.

•••

"Okay, I'm gonna wrap this up quickly and head out" Bruce said and put his glasses up on his head.

Tony nodded from his spot across the room and ruffled through some scattered papers all over his desk, "sounds good, I'm probably going to do the same."

Bruce walked over and handed him what he knew he was looking for, "here," tony took it and started jotting down more notes, "steve seems kind of.." Bruce had trouble finding the word, he didn't want to say depressed because he didn't know him well, "does he seem different to you?"

Tony looked up to him and frowned, "what do you mean?"

Bruce sat down, "I mean I don't know him very well, but I know what happened to him. I just want to make sure he's doing okay"

Tony paused and thought about it, "I think he's okay," he piled all of the papers on his desk, "I'm sure he's about ready to break out of those casts." He chuckled but Bruce didn't.

"Ya, ya... I think he might just want things to go back to normal. No more hovering or coddling—"

"Bruce" tony stopped him, "he's okay, he's gotten better over the past week and he'll be fine by the next" tony stood up and started walking out, "see you tomorrow buddy"

Bruce just sat there wondering if he was right to think that, all he thought of was, if that had happened to me, I would hate being coddled.

•••

Tony made it inside of steves room— thought it was practically both of theirs— he noticed that lamp next to steve was still on but steves was sound asleep, notebook and pencil resting on his lap.

"Steve?" Tony said quietly to make sure he's asleep. When there was no response, he changed quickly and walked to the side of the bed where steve rested. He moved the notebook onto the nightstand without taking a glance at it, and got him to a more comfortable position.

Steve shuffled slightly, but didn't wake up. Just before tony was about to turn off the lamp, he finally noticed steves last drawing. He picked it up slowly and examined it.

A windowless room with a man dangling in chains from the ceiling. His head hung to his chest and he bled from the gashes littering his body. His legs were drawn awkwardly as if broken and tony realized 'this is what they put him through'. He examined it some more and noticed a large table against the wall, next to it, a figure, drawn completely in black with his hands behind his back.

Tony flipped the page, hoping he wouldn't find another, which he didn't. Instead found a picture drawn of him. Normally he'd admire it, but the horror of his last drawing left only one thing lingering in his head, "he's not okay"