Chapter 1
15/7/2016 8:46am
"Tony?"
It was a cold fall morning in New York, the soft chirping of birds offering a rare hint of serenity in the busy city. Steve Rogers stood at the door of the bathroom, watching his boyfriend hunched over the toilet seat. This had been going on for months now and it was getting concerning.
"Are you sure you're okay? You could call off the MIT lecture, I'm sure they'd understand-”
"I'm fine Rogers. I've had worse, trust me"
He motioned towards the glowing circular arc reactor that rested in his chest, one of the things that kept him alive for years. Steve was somewhat thankful for it, or more so the idea of it popping into Tony's head in a cave in Afghanistan. Then again, he kind of hated it. It limited Tony in ways Steve could never know.
"I know but-"
He was cut off by the brunette man wiping the bile from his mouth and standing up.
"Steve, I'll be fine, it's just a cold."
Tony's reassuring smile softened Steve's anxieties, enough to make him pause and let go of his concern.
Tony staggered carefully over to the bed, sinking into the mattress with a heavy sigh of relief. Along with the constant nausea, he’d been dealing with odd abdominal pain and the strangest weight gain he couldn’t explain. It was all so out of character for him, and the uncertainty was starting to gnaw at him. Something wasn’t right, and Tony had a feeling it wasn’t just a simple bug. He'd intended to go see Bruce at some point to make sure he wasn't slowly dying of cancer.
"Are you sure?"
He zoned back into the conversation, refocusing his attention on Steve.
"Yes Cap of course, I said I'm fine."
Steve trusted his boyfriend's word, still slightly unsure of his answer.. He knew that Tony wouldn't seek out medical help by himself if he required it.
"I do need to get to the airport however so we should cut this short.”
Tony stood up in an attempt to kiss his boyfriend, falling short and having his knees give out for a split second.
"Are you-?"
Tony brushed him off and steadied himself.
"I'm fine Rogers, how many times do I have to say it?."
Steve nodded and let go of Tony, understanding that he shouldn't pursue the issue any further. Before he left him to head out the door, he pushed a kiss to the man's lips.
"Let's go old man stop being a slowpoke"
Tony was back to his usual, annoying self, grabbing the blonde by the arm and dragging him out the door.
As he followed, Steve couldn't help but feel like something was off.