Technology at its Finest
"Hey, Rogers!"
Steve turns as Tony calls for him, giving the engineer a chance to catch up to him down the hall. Tony gets to Steve's side and gives him a smile, though his mind is elsewhere, and it seems Steve can tell right away.
"What's got you now, Tony?" Steve asks, shifting his weight and crossing his arms over himself, hands gripping his upper arms. It's a stance Tony has seen so many times before. It's Steve's I'm listening but I don't have time for this stance.
"I need to borrow your super soldier senses," Tony says. "Five minutes. Maybe ten."
Steve raises his eyebrows and moves his hand to his hips. You have more of my attention now, this pose says. God, Tony could write a book about each and every one of the other Avengers' body languages. All of them except Nat. She's really good at playing things close.
"It's for Bucky," Tony adds. And that's when Steve drops both arms to his sides and nods. Tony's got him. Full attention, no denial, no backing down. Bucky is Steve's weak spot.
Bucky is starting to become Tony's weak spot, too.
"What do you mean?" Steve asks, still confused even as he's following Tony to the elevator down to the lab. Tony doesn't even have to ask him. "Is Bucky okay? He's been getting headaches. Did Hydra do something to him?"
"You know, he thought the same thing," Tony hums, hitting the button for the labs and running his palm along the bar in the elevator. "I don't think that's it, though. And I think you can help me crack it. Before the poor guy goes nuts over it."
Steve sighs and leans back against the far wall, holding onto the bar at either hip. "He's been a lot snappier than normal lately," he says quietly. "Or just really quiet and withdrawn. Nothing in between."
Tony nods, stepping out of the elevator before the doors finish opening and leading the way to the newly refurbished lab. It's not finished. There's still projects he needs to finish. He hasn't rebuilt DUM-E, but it's looking better.
"Yeah, because it's affecting his sleep, his health, his mood. Everything. I got bad headaches when I was younger. Granted, mine were my own fault. Hangovers and the like, but I understand how badly they can affect everything about you. Have a seat."
Tony gestures to a stool as he comes to a stop by a table. Steve watches him, but sits readily enough.
"So, you think heightened senses have something to do with it?" Steve asks.
"In particular, your heightened sense of hearing, yes," Tony says. "See, Bucky gets these headaches at a certain time of day in certain places in the Tower. His apartment and the commons. Those two places, I'm very aware, have exterior lighting because of the levels they're on. Certain floors have exterior lighting to discourage nightly visitors. It's all security purposes."
Steve nods. "No, I've seen the lights. I always wondered why we couldn't see them from inside, because they're pretty bright."
"That's the glass on those floors," Tony says. "Dampens the light. Plus, the angle of the lights helps. I designed it myself."
"You what?" Steve leans forward, resting one arm on the table next to him. "You're not an architect."
"No, but I'm an engineer," Tony hums, raising an eyebrow at Steve. "I worked with a team, but it was largely my design. I think I had two others who ever touched the blueprints, and that was to make sure my handle on the physics of the actual building weren't off base. I'm trying to make a point here?"
Steve raises his hands. "Sorry. I'm just- I didn't know you designed it. I'm- I'm impressed."
Tony pauses, turning to look at Steve fully for a second. He clears his throat. "Thank you. That's… surprisingly validating. I don't know why."
"It's nice to have friends compliment your work?" Steve offers with a smile.
Tony nods slowly, then looks away. "That must be it. Thanks. I-" He clears his throat again. "Anyway, I've got one of those lights with me. They don't sound like anything to me, but they emit a frequency that I'm wondering if you and Bucky can hear. Would you mind if I turned it on and you told me if you heard a difference?"
Steve shrugs. "If it could help Bucky, yes. Go for it."
Tony hums and moves away for a second, coming back pushing a cart with a large floodlight style fixture on it. He stops it next to Steve, then hands the Captain a pair of protective glasses. "Put those on and close your eyes," he says. "I don't want your eyes to mess this up."
Steve takes the glasses and nods. "I get it, I think?" He puts the glasses on and watches as Tony puts on his own pair.
"Eyes closed," Tony repeats, and Steve does. "You can't hear anything out of the ordinary right now?"
Steve shakes his head, frowning. "Just the lab."
"Alright. Here goes." It's quiet for a second, then Tony clears his throat again. "Three. Two. One."
Tony turns on the light and watches Steve. He has to squint a little because of the light, but he can still see the look of confusion that comes over Steve's face. His eyebrows knit together and the rest of his face pinches. After a moment, Steve shakes his head and puts his hand to his head.
"Turn it off, Stark," he pleads. His voice actually sounds pained.
Tony turns the light off quickly and watches as Steve's face slowly relaxes. He watches Steve breathe slowly, exhaling shakily and shaking his head.
When Steve pulls the protective glasses off and finally looks at Tony, there's a look of shock in his eyes. "That hurt," he says, surprised. "You didn't hear that?"
Tony shakes his head. "Just the regular buzz. It's… mildly annoying, but white noise. Comforting after a while for me actually, but then again-" He gestures around at the lab.
Steve takes a breath in through his nose and lets it out with a heavy sound through his mouth. "No, it's bad," he says. "It's this low, heavy, painful whine. The longer it went, the more my head wanted to throb. Why haven't I heard that before?"
"I have a theory about your and Buckaroo's serums," Tony says. "Yours left you stronger. That much is obvious. He can hold his own against you, but if you actually fought him, you could drop him. Unless." Tony looks at Steve and smirks. "He's got more stamina than you. He can fight and run longer and farther. He can tire you out and then take you down."
"Why do you know that?" Steve asks.
"I've been running diagnostics on everyone through the training holos," Tony says, waving his hand. "But when it comes to your senses, I think he might have gotten a little bit stronger. At least in the hearing. And I, unfortunately, gave him an apartment on a floor with a full set of those lights. You go through those floors, you aren't affected because they're outside and the walls dampen the sounds enough for you. His ears can pick it up even through the walls."
Steve's eyes went wide and he looked at the light. "You mean he's hearing that every night?"
"Every night he's actually in his apartment, yes," Tony mutters. "He's been sleeping a little better lately, but that's because we changed his sleeping arrangements."
"Oh? Is that why he wasn't there when I went to grab him for a morning run today?"
Tony gives Steve a smile and nods. "Yeah, sorry about that. I've been trying to figure this out. Helen can't find anything with Bucky that's wrong, so I thought it had to be environmental. First thing I did was change his environment."
"Where's he sleeping now then?" Steve asks.
"The penthouse," Tony hums, pulling the cart back and taking it away from the table they're at. He tucks it away in the corner of the work space and returns to Steve, only to find the other man staring at him with an eyebrow raised. "What?"
"Bucky is sleeping in the penthouse?"
Tony nods. "Yes. And?"
"With you?" Steve adds.
Tony groans and looks at the ceiling for a moment. "He sleeps on the couch. I offered him the bed and I'd take the couch, but he won't have it."
Steve nods slowly, still watching Tony. Tony furrows his brow, watching Steve a second before he has to ask.
"What?" Tony growls. "You're giving me this look like you know something I don't and that actually bothers me."
Steve shakes his head. "It's nothing," he says. He stands up, bringing his hands back up to his head and grimacing slightly. "God, Buck has been hearing that every day?"
Tony shrugs. "I guess?" He picks up a small bottle and tosses it at Steve before turning to a set of notes on the table. Steve catches it and turns it over in his hands before looking at Tony with his brow furrowed. "Hulk grade painkillers," Tony offers. "If you need it. They didn't work for Bucky, but maybe they will for you. That, or go lie down in the dark for an hour and drink water. I am sorry about that. I didn't think it would actually hurt your head, too. I just wanted to know if you could hear it."
Steve shakes his head and sets the bottle back on the table, smiling softly. "I'll lie down," he says. "What are you going to do about Buck?"
"I'm having all the lights replaced," Tony says, not looking up from the notes he's taking. "I'm also moving Bucky to a different floor later this week. Just in case these ones do it, too. I don't want to risk it. The poor guy has been miserable."
"Stark?" Tony hums at Steve's voice. "Tony."
Tony lifts his head and looks at Steve. "Yes, dear?"
Steve sighs and rolls his eyes. "Why are you working so hard at this?" he asks. "Not that I don't appreciate it. And I'm sure Bucky does. He's not really used to people doing things for him. He doesn't ask for help when he's hurting, so to see that he even reached out is surprising to me."
"He didn't reach out," Tony says. "I walked in on him passed out from one of the headaches and I've been working on figuring this out ever since. I got him to go see Helen and get scanned. I've been running diagnostics on him and the building. I've been running every possible scenario. It all led to this."
"And why so much effort?" Steve asks, crossing his arms and holding onto his elbows over his chest. "For one man you barely know?"
Tony looks down at his notes, taking a breath. He'd hoped he wouldn't have to talk to Steve about this. Of everyone out there to talk with about Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers was not someone he wanted for this conversation. He's actually a little afraid of Steve's reaction.
"I'm just trying to help a friend," he offers quietly.
Steve shakes his head. "You don't do this much for one person."
"I used to do things like this for Pepper," Tony says with a shrug.
"You were dating," Steve says.
Tony flinches at that. "Were."
Steve sighs and Tony sees the way his shoulders sink and his expression softens. He looks away, unsure for a moment. It's a rare sight for the great Steve Rogers, to be unsure, to waver. Tony's one of the few who gets to see it, but then, Tony's really good at tripping people up. He's not proud of that; he's just good at it.
"I'm sorry," Steve says finally. "I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm just saying, you're really dedicated. That's not something I see from you for someone you've just met."
"He's been here for a few months now," Tony says softly, looking back at his notes. "We've been getting to know each other. And if he's your best friend, I know he's worth helping out."
He waits, wondering what Steve will say next, but it's quiet for a long moment. Finally, Tony looks up and meets Steve's gaze. Steve's watching him with a soft frown on his face, worry in his eyes.
"Tony, I just want to make sure you're both being careful," Steve offers. "Is there more going on here?"
"In what way?" Tony asks, raising an eyebrow.
Steve shakes his head, looking away. "I don't think Buck is into men, Tony."
There it is. And how astute of the geriatric superhero, Tony notes. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, sitting up straighter and staring straight ahead.
"He helped me," Tony murmurs softly. "I'm helping him. That's all."
Steve hums again, unconvinced, but he doesn't say anything else. Tony's grateful for that as Steve taps his knuckles on the table and heads out of the lab. He doesn't know if he can keep up with this right now.
Because Steve's hit the nail on the head. Tony's been slowly developing feelings for a man he's pretty sure only sees him as a friend, and that's okay. That's fine. He's read the history books. He knows Bucky was a lady killer. He gets it. But that doesn't change what he feels.