Chapter 2
tony spent the break between his last undergraduate and his first graduate semester at his family’s mansion in hawaii. howard and maria even showed up, for christmas at least, and rhodes flew in some time between christmas and new year’s.
their time on o’ahu was cut short when the boy fainted in the middle of the living room and was held at the hospital for three full days, hooked up to every device one could imagine.
upon waking out of unconsciousness, tony saw his best friend cry for the first time in a long time, since shortly after he’d told him about his illness. he sprung from the bed to throw up in the adjacent bathroom, not making it completely but nevertheless not bad for being thrown into wake just seconds before.
they had a nurse clean the bathroom floor while james helped tony change into an mit sweater despite the warm weather outside. tony didn’t object. the teenager’s spine was very prominent, and his back still bruised almost black from the fall two days back. the tears returned to rhodes’ eyes.
“come on, it’s okay rhodey. i did get up by myself, didn’t i?” said tony with a slight smile but james was in no such mood.
“you know tony. i kind of envy you. you’re the one who gets to be gone when it’s over.”
and tony didn’t know what to say to that, so he just had james put his head on the bed next to where he was lying and streaked his hair in circling motions.
“i talked to the pilot, our flight’s leaving tonight.”
tony rolled his eyes. “we’re not leaving, there’s two weeks left.”
“your mom wants you to spend them on the mainland, where house care is close by in case of an emergency. besides, she wants you to get settled in ahead of the semester and not rush into anything right now.”
the diagnosis had been nothing new. tony was to take things slowly, maybe even slower than he already was taking them. chemo was yet unspoken of. however, the teenager did have to try eating more, he was ten pounds underweight once again, and he had only just gained fifteen pounds 3 months before.
“well, i’m not going to malibu.”
“she figured, we’re flying out to boston and she’ll stop by when she’s got a meeting with the board next week.”
things had changed that way since tony’s diagnosis. his mother invested a lot more time into seeing him. who could say they saw their parents more in college than in high school?
howard was distant, as if thinking his presence or touch could break tony easily, which with his 100 pounds seemed fair. but the billionaire did hug his son a lot more than before.
rhodes had taken the liberty of packing tony’s things up before showing back up at the hospital that morning. and so they went straight from the clinic to the beach to enjoy their last day on the island, tony with a month’s worth of a drug they hadn’t yet tried but that would keep the sickness at bay, hopefully.
tony always wore his distinctive white fleece jacket over everything, ashamed of the bruises all over his body but also cold as shit most of the time. james lay out in the sun with the smallest of swimming trunks one could find, and returning from a swim he even brought in two girls that were probably as old as he was, four years older than tony.
that afternoon tony lost his virginity in one of the countless hotel rooms that lined waikiki beach. the girl’s name was olivia, and she too cried upon seeing the boy’s back after sex.
yeah, tony had that effect on people who got close, so he usually didn’t let anyone.
the boy slept for twenty hours straight when they landed in boston early the next morning. he had two days until his mom would get lunch with him, and tony was a bit relieved that he wouldn’t be watched regarding his eating habits, because eating made him feel a lot sicker than hunger did.
he was also freezing his balls off but that was besides the point.
steve was surprised to see a single tiny trembling frame at the beach when he returned from a wind surf session.
“looking good out there,” a confident voice said and steve chuckled before changing into sweats and a puffer jacket a few feet away.
“thanks. what are you up to?”
“freezing my balls off and taking things slow,” tony said with an amused tone to his voice.
steve walked over with all his things and sat down opposite tony in the sand in order to put on socks and a pair of sneakers.
“hey you’re that new counsellor in engineering right?” the teenager had heard a few girls talk about dr. rogers before and after class, and how his schedule was always full because everyone was trying to make a pass on him.
“yeah, i’m steve,” the tall blonde said before reaching out to shake tony’s hand. “you go to mit?”
“yes,” tony shrugged. “i’m in aerospace engineering. name’s tony by the way.”
“good to meet you tony.” steve took a blanket out of his gym bag and wrapped it around his shoulders before shifting into a more comfortable position. he liked to sit a little after his sessions and stare out into the sea. “so, you’re taking things slow?”
“yeah but hey, i shouldn’t be using your counselling during the semester break, right?” tony raised his eyebrows, not knowing what he was doing.
“it’s not like i’ve seen you in my office since the school year started,” steve said and took a bite from his protein bar.
“i don’t like talking about my problems.” he raised his pitch a little. “oh mr. rogers, my mom’s a drunk and my dad expects me to take over his company although-“ tony managed to stop himself before he said that he was dying. he’d gotten way too comfortable making jokes about death.
“well, tony. there are no ridiculous problems. life can get too much for anyone at some point.”
“yeah, you’re right.” he pulled his socks a little further up. “your appointments are always booked to the top by horny college girls though.”
steve chuckled in response because he didn’t know how else he could react. and if he was being honest, tony seemed ever more so attractive than all of the girls he’d had appointments with over the last semester.
and tony, with his sober way of speaking and mature world view did tickle something in him he hadn’t felt in a while. and in all fairness, to steve’s knowledge tony had to be at least eighteen or nineteen.
tony noticed that steve was looking at him with interest sometime during their much too touchy talk for his liking, and upon that he started to speak more slowly, directing most of steve’s attention to his mouth and hair.
and he noticed steve’s shift in body language too, and it felt weird because steve had to be at least seven years older than tony and yet the teenager’s heart was beating loud at who he saw in front of him.
“do counsellors get counselling too?”
“sometimes, yes. as i said, anyone can be pushed down at some point.”
oh no, suddenly tony’s vision blurred and he felt about to pass out. and coming to think of it, he hadn’t eaten yet and it was late in the afternoon. “hey, do you know what time it is?”
steve thought it weird that tony was cutting him off like that suddenly, and also that his voice suddenly seemed shaky. “it’s four in the afternoon, why?”
“oh nothing. i should probably just catch my bus soon. i don’t like to be home too late.”
“don’t worry, i can take you,” steve said with such clarity in his voice that tony nodded in response.
“do you live alone?” the counsellor asked a few minutes later when he was driving tony back to his apartment.
“yeah, got an apartment right after i didn’t have to stay on campus anymore.” things weren’t looking up for tony, he’d barely managed to climb into steve’s pick up truck. thankfully the beautiful blonde didn’t realise for he was busy securing the surfboard at the back.
“so what year are you in now?”
“i’m starting grad school in two weeks,” tony said with a shrug.
steve breathed a mental sigh of relief with the thought that tony must at least be 21 then. and tony was relieved to be saying that because steve now definitely thought he was old enough to have a good time.
the counsellor dropped tony off in front of the luxury apartment building he lived in after a few minutes.
“hey, i was thinking, maybe you could teach me how to surf when the weather’s a bit warmer?” and also if i’m not dead by then, tony thought.
“sure, why not?” then steve told him he’d be surfing every day this week, and that tony should just come by when he wanted to and they’ll exchange phone numbers then.
when each got home, they both read up on whether staff and students were allowed to date.
never had it gone this fast for either of them, and tony thought that surely now he would get more sick, because that is how life goes.