prodigalsonreturns | Pollen, America and some rather poor choices || closed rp || warning: adult

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ic,
who: steve

Pollen, America and some rather poor choices || closed rp || warning: adult

As far as battles went, the one that the Avengers handled on Memorial day hadn't really been anything of note. There had been evil scientists (as there so often were), and talk of fear pheromones and taking the city by dusting everyone with an easy-to-disperse air-borne chemical agent similar to pollen, but the team had managed to track the men to their operating labs and contain their experiments there before any harm could be done. Experiments that were, it seemed, rather a ways off from inducing mass-panic as it did little more than coat the outside of the armour and Steve's uniform with a fine coat of a rather bemusing shade of blue powder which was easy enough to clean off with a spray down provided by Dummy when he returned.

He had, from a brief discussion with the good Captain before he settled into his workshop properly, discovered it apparently hadn't even needed to be washed off skin, it simply seemed to fade away. Phil had slated both of them for bio work-ups within the next 24 hours, but as there seemed to be no immediate adverse side effects, they all sort of agreed it was on a 'when you've got a moment have JARVIS do a read out' sort of scale as opposed to a 'your skin is evaporating get to SHIELD' issue, which had, unfortunately, been somewhat of a real concern after the time in Malta.

So, assured in another day of saving the world, hip hip hooray, Tony had settled behind the four screen array and sunk into the mess of upgrading the output of his thrusters. It wasn't until fifteen, thirty minutes later that JARVIS announced he had a visitor, and he looked up with mild surprise as Steve pushed his way into the room. It wasn't as if Steve was a stranger to the workshop--instead, the other Avenger often spent time holed up on a stool in the corner reading a book or drawing while Tony worked, but it was rare that he came down this soon after a mission--preferring to do the by-the-book briefing that Fury and Coulson so desperately desired.

Perhaps his terrible influence was finally taking effect. Or maybe Steve had simply done the reports quickly. Or perhaps he'd forced Natasha to do them instead of scaring everyone else by looking at them. Tony could hope.

"Evenin', Cap," :He greeted with a smile flashed toward Steve, that quickly vanished as he latched on to the exact point where he needed to make changes, "What can I do you for?"

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Science has always been a big part of the criminal element regardless of intelligence level. From munitions to bombs to devastating chemical compounds meant to melt skin or turn the brain to mush, it was all rooted in the basics: Have A, combine with B, get C. It must the product of advancing technology, the way that each breakthrough in the field brought a new level of destructive mayhem to the fore. And sometimes it wasn't all shock and awe, either.

The raid on the labs of the latest 'Evil Scientist Bent on World Domination' - it was a working title, one of several Steve's mind helpfully labeled the kooks and crooks his team ran up against - reveled another layer of just how depraved man could be. Which really shouldn't come as much of a shock as it always did when it seemed to happen every other day; some new threat that SHIELD got wind of and sent the Avengers to take care almost too late. Sometimes they got lucky, like with this lab, and caught it early but there had been a time or two when it had been the by the skin of their teeth - A day late and a dollar short was all to familiar but they made it work.

There had been explosions and equipment smashed, and some rough and tumble over tables that held beakers and questionable bins of a powder-like substance that was supposedly the chemical that was the threat they'd been sent to neutralize before. Most of it was destroyed which left everyone involved either covered in the stuff - a nice shade of blue was good on curtains, not his skin - or luck enough to just get it on their boots when the dust settled. Steve was glad that the majority of those that got covered were the bad guys. Thankfully it seemed that only he and Iron Man had been lined head to toe with the stuff and Tony, thankfully was safely inside that suit of armor of his.

The clean up was left to junior SHIELD agents and his team recalled to HQ where they were all debriefed both as a group and individually. Steve dismissed the team as soon as the initial interviews were over with a line about seeing to the paperwork early and hoping that the rest of his team did the same. Most of them, he knew, would put it off until the last minute leaving him to go around to collect it piece by piece and mostly without the need to break out one of his speeches about teamwork, share responsibility, and efficiency. Natasha was probably the only one that actually listened to him with half an ear and that was mostly out of amusement. His team was full of jerks but he wouldn't have them any other way.

They all ended up, more or less, back home which happened to be Tony's actual home which he opened up to housing his teammates. Clint and Thor didn't stay long, preferring to leech post-mission adrenaline out painting the town red. Steve hoped there wouldn't be any property damage this time around. Natasha, as she was wont to do, disappeared into her room then out door, or maybe the window this time, and probably wouldn't be back until sometime tomorrow unless the team was needed for another mission. Doctor Banner was still at SHIELD most likely sequestered into one of the open labs trying to decode the chemical composition of the powder in an effort to figure out why it wasn't the Hysteria Drug they'd been expecting.

That left the mansion pretty empty save for Steve, Tony, and the various machines and programs that kept the place running which was mostly JARVIS and the couple of robots Steve had seen helping Tony down in his garage on occasion. And that was fine by him. Steve was sociable when the situation warranted it and got along, for the most part, with his team, but he wasn't exactly a social creature. The team was still new and they were all feeling each other out, seeing where they fit together as both a cohesive fighting force and, Steve hoped, friends. It was a work in progress.

It also meant, being alone as they were, that Tony was the only one Steve could go to when he noticed something off.

He made his way down to Tony's lab, half stumbling and feeling that he ought to be panicking but finding himself oddly calm, and didn't bother knocking. JARVIS, ever helpful program that he was, let him in. Tony was working and for a second Steve felt incredibly guilty for intruding but then another wave of 'Not Right' swept over him and he decided that he'd apologize later.

"I'm...not really sure," He answered, confusion stealing across his features. "Do you think you could get JARVIS to run that scan? The one to check us out? I think -- I'm starting to suspect that the blue powder wasn't as benign as we were hoping."

When he'd first met him, Tony had been pretty positive Captain America was a dick. A dick with very few redeeming qualities who hated him and wasn't really worth the effort for, well, making an effort. There he was, on his high-horse where he very proudly looked down on the lesser, selfish men like Tony and passed judgment on them all. Of course, it might just have been Tony's insecurities and inadequacy issues showing through, but who was he to point out his own flaws when he didn't have to. He had the mainstream media and a hundred thousand people on youtube who took care of that on a regular basis without him having to lift a finger.

But anyway, Captain America, the dick. He really had seemed that way, and Tony had been quite ready to call the whole thing off--call up Pepper and convince her to give them another chance, reacquaint himself with the house in Malibu and all those miles of skin--when they'd actually had to go into battle for the first and he'd seen. Well, he'd seen Captain America literally throw himself in front of a speeding train to save a kid. And, you know--it's not like he wouldn't do the same thing. He was doing, was en route when Steve beat him to the punch, but--well, he's got iron armor and Steve just has, being Captain America. Some serum that makes him super strong and super fast but Tony can't help but think that behind that shield he seems pretty much flesh and bone. And even super strong bones can break and a gun can stop a super-strong heart as easily as a normal one.

So he'd been impressed, and begrudgingly decided that Steve earned his respect if not his friendship. And then Steve had the gall to be a reasonable guy once he'd settled into things, and Tony had been a goner. And so he'd started spending time with Captain America. One one hand the embodiment of everything that made the core of America-freedom and idealism and individuality and a steadiness that comforted and on the other, everything that was the modern United States: technology and innovation and immediacy and capitalism personified. They were strange bedfellows, but they made their friendship work and well, somehow, Steve had ended up knowing almost as much about him as Pepper, and he found he didn't mind.

He wasn't, exactly, sure when friends (and even, perhaps, best friends) became something slightly more intentioned, but one day he'd been looking at Steve and beyond his normal appreciation--because he was a red-blooded American man who fell somewhere quite near the 'well I'll try anything once and most things twice and an orgasm is great on both sides of the equation' end of the spectrum, and Steve was a sight for anyone's sore eyes--thought that he would like to see how the man looked first thing in the morning, or how he might like his coffee, or what Tony would have to do to make him curse and just how long Tony could tease him before he finally broke that control and took---

No, he wasn't entirely sure when it had shifted for him, but it had and there was little Tony could do about it now. Now he could sit and pine (and oh how he pined) for a man so straight arrows aspired to be him, and hope that whoever finally did win Steve's heart would be worth him.

It seemed, for all intents and purposes, that he was maturing. Dammit.

So, with that in mind, as soon as Steve's voice met his ears his attention was pulled nearly immediately from his work--and that was a feat in itself, Pepper would attest--to focus on the Captain. His eyes were blown wide and getting wider, so that there was only a slim line of that brilliant, piercing blue, and his face was flushed in a way that made Tony want a glass of water and some baseball statistics, hair ruffled out of its perfect sheen and looking for the world like--well.

Tony wasn't that much of a patriot in the strictest interpretation of the word, but if this was their icon, God Bless America.

But the confusion pulled him up short, and he swallowed, gathering himself and pushing off his chair, moving out from behind his desk and over to Steve, hand falling to the other's elbow to direct him, fingers curling over his forearm, thumb stroking once along the inside of the crease.

"Sit," he instructed, looking the man over again, this time trying for critically. He mostly--well, the loose fit of his slacks was proving to be his only redeeming factor. "JARVIS? Up and at 'em. I need a full bio read-out on the Cap here, with detail, please,"

"Of course, Sir," The voice replied, dry as ever, while Tony hovered protectively.

"What, exactly, are you feeling?"

There were just some things that Steve thought he'd never quite understand and the kind of engineering the man behind Iron Man's mask did was one of them. Oh it had been explained, what JARVIS was and how the program worked, but Steve couldn't help but marvel at how life-like the artificial intelligence seemed. However, the childlike wonder he held for AI was overridden by the urgency in his situation.

"I'm starting to feel a little hot under the collar but I think that's just my immune system kicking into high gear to fight whatever's in that dust we kicked up at the labs." Steve moved further into the lab, heading towards his usual perch. Whatever made up that powder, though not what they expected when they raided, was enough of a problem to interacting adversely with the serum. There was no signs of heightened paranoia, but there was something terrifying happening to him.

"A little lightheaded too." He neglected to add that he'd stumbled his way here, hoping that it didn't mean anything crucial. This whole thing reminded him of the flu he'd suffered through as a kid without the nausea and shakes. "The antigen wasn't complete so this is probably not going to be anything good."

Tony was, as they came, a very tactile person. Not with everyone, but anyone who'd shared his bed could tell you he was free with his hands, and Rhoadey and Pepper had both been the recipients of Tony draping himself over them, or a hand or two on their arm or back respectively. So as soon as Steve was sitting properly, Tony's hands were on him, one of them moving up in that ingrained motion everyone to check a temperature--back of his hand pressed gently against Steve's forehead, and then again against his cheek, while his other stayed rooted against the long line of the man's neck.

He was flushed, that much was for sure, and Tony spoke absently, "Temperature read out too, JARVIS," which garnered him an 'Already recorded Sir, I'm nearly done with all calculations,'

He stepped back, slightly, from the kid's space, but not enough to break contact, taking in the slight tremors and that face twisted, just slightly, into fear. "Don't worry about it, Cap," He assured, doing a spectacular job of thinking too much about what a knee-jerk reaction he had toward Steve in any sort of discomfort. He knew he was a lost cause and he wasn't entirely ashamed to admit it, "JARVIS is pulling up a read-out now and we'll get you fixed in no time," a sly smirk and then, "We have the technology. We can rebuild him--"

It's a reference, Steve, he doesn't entirely expect you to get it.

When Tony's hands met his skin Steve was reminded of his mother; how she use to cup his neck and place the back of her hand to his forehead to check his temperature. It was an odd comparison, but the gentle touch was so much alike that for a moment he ached. The moment passed quickly and all thoughts of his mother was swept from his mind as a wave of something like liquid fire skittered across his nerves.

"I think I should be quarantined immediately," Steve groaned and leaned into those hands. The felt so cool against his feverish skin, an absolute relief to the heat that was burning through him. It took him a moment to process the action and when he had Steve couldn't bring himself to straight up, to pull away and apologize. He didn't. He couldn't.

Steve's eyes widen a fraction as he tipped his head back to look up at Tony.

"It's getting worse."

"I don't--" Tony began and then faltered at the sound of Steve's voice, because that low groan was doing something to him that was likely going to get him in all kinds of trouble. His hands moved really without any consent as Steve leaned into them--the one on his neck sliding up, just slightly, to frame the skin more fully, and the other turned, pushing back some of the hair from Steve's face.

He swallowed and tried again, "exactly have a quarantine built here. And besides, if you've got it and its spreadable, now I've got it. We might as well wait out whatever it is together,"

'You're readouts are ready, Sir,' JARVIS announced and Tony started, blinking hard and breaking his gaze away from those hazy blue eyes. But--the idea of moving away from Steve and touching him was certainly less than appealing.

"Give me the basics,"

"It seems the Captain has been exposed to a neuro-stimulant focused manly in the pleasure centers of the brain,"

"We were both covered in that stuff back at lab and it's been hours since. If it's transmitted by skin to skin contact then I've exposed several back at HQ as well." He should have been more careful, should have insisted that the team get checked out as soon as the debrief had concluded. There was no telling how many people he'd inadvertently exposed to whatever this was. "We have to get a message to them as soon as possible and maybe sealing off the garage from access as a temporary quarantine until we figure this mess out."

Except, by JARVIS analysis, it wasn't going to a simple matter of waiting it out locked in Tony's garage-slash-workshop and hoping that the people back at HQ would know what to do.

"JARVIS does that mean what I think it means?" Steve's cheeks, already rosy from the fever, darkened in embarrassment. "This stuff is making me doll dizzy?"

Oh God, he was blushing, Tony's patience was always tested the most when Steve blushed because there shouldn't be someone who was able to look as attractive from a simple flush, but Steve managed it, and dammit. Tony swallowed, and through a force of effort pulled both of his hands away as JARVIS replied.

"I am unaware of the colloquialism, but I can safely assert the drug has drastically increased the output from hormones regulating desire and pleasure,"

Tony could translate Jarvis' speak and he swallows, heavily. "JARVIS, what's the burn-through?"

"Nearly 24 hours Sir, though I would not recommend the Captain try to wait this out,"

"Elaborate, please," He cast a glance over at Steve and then shoved his hands further into his pockets to keep from reaching out and touching the younger man.

"The longer he puts off--release, the more toxins build up in his system, which will, unfortunately, reach a critical point and cause the Captain undo harm,"

Steve would like to have checked out of this conversation about two minutes back. Any relief he felt at knowing that whatever was in his system wasn't immediately harmful had been washed away by the growing embarrassment at just what was wrong with him. If ever there was a situation Steve thought he'd never be in this was it.

"How harmful?" He knew the minute the question was out of his mouth that he should have kept his mouth shut because it made seem even worse. Essentially he had to...get off or deal with some side effects that were bound to be painful. He really didn't want to do either but the former was definitely more appealing than the latter, just more mortifying.

It wasn't like he didn't do that sort of thing - he was a red blooded male after all - but the thought of someone else knowing that he did it, had to do it in order to work the drug through his system, made him want to take a swan dive back into the ice and sleep for another seventy years. And of all the people to be in the know it just had to be Tony Stark! The man was a walking advertisement for -- well, Tony wouldn't have a problem dealing with this if it had been him.

"Better question: Is there any way around that or is that the only course of action available?"

"If my calculations are correct, Captain, ignoring the build up will result in an overload of amino acids in your muscles that will overwhelm the serum. Cramping and soreness will be the least of your concerns--" JARVIS pauses as Steve asks his question and then, "I can begin running tests, but finding an antidote will not come quickly, Sir,"

"Thanks, JARVIS." There was no amount of enthusiasm but the gratitude was still there. The AI was the best chance he had of getting out of -- if JARVIS didn't come up with a better solution then this was going to get a lot more embarrassing for all involved.

Steve brought a hand up to scrub across his face. His brushed against Tony's and he froze. The heat hadn't ever really gone away but he'd been able to ignore it. Now? Not so much. Steve made a pained noise and curled in on himself.

Tony let out a low groan as Steve brushed against him, and stepped back, dropping his eyes and sucking in a breath.

"Ah, Steve--" He moved forward slightly, worried as the giant man seems to become years younger in his discomfort. "Hey--"

Doctor Erskine had told him how the serum worked, how it would change his body's genetic makeup in order to make him better. To make him more than he was before. It enhanced every single aspect of him in some way that pushed his entire being to the peak of perfection. Every sense clarified, every muscle toned and reflexes off the charts. This meant that when Tony came forward Steve jerked back, away.

There wasn't actual pain, he realized, but an ache so deep that it mimicked pain and left in its wake a clawing need that, thanks to JARVIS, Steve understood. Before he would have been bewildered and off-kilter but knowing what his body needed he read the flashing neon signs and wanted. If this was the product of the drug metabolizing then it was going to get worse.

"You -- I need to be quarantined."

"I can't just leave you down here to suffer in solitude," Tony protested, but he could take a hint and his hands found their way back into his pockets.

Steve gave a slight shake of his head. No, there wasn't any way he could be left down here among Tony's gadgets and doodads. Despite knowing what the blue powder actually did he couldn't be sure that was the end of it. There could be something worse in store, worse in a way that would have Steve and his enhanced strength doing some serious damage to some pretty sensitive equipment.

"Do the rooms lock down like the exterior of the house?" He figured if they did then he could be safely locked away while waiting for either JARVIS to come up with something or have the privacy he needed in order to take care of it himself.

"Ah, the workshop does, for when I'm keeping everyone out. We can--lock that down and we'll be confined in here." He replies, suddenly nervous because he's not going to leave Steve to go through this alone, but he's also not entirely sure he wants to watch Steve go through it, all the pain JARVIS had implied might happen right there at the front of his mind.

As if called by his thoughts the AI is speaking to both of them, though his words are for Steve, "Captain, formulating and constructing an antidote will take me approximately four hours,"

That, it seems to Tony, is an impossibly long time.

Four hours.

It wouldn't be a cake walk but it was something he could do. Would do because there was no way he was going to resort to exposing himself in more ways than one just to gain some relief. No. He could withstand fours hours of whatever happened easily.

"It's not ideal but probably the best place for me to be while JARVIS works on the antidote."

"JARVIS, go ahead and lock down the perimeter," He instructs, and, for a moment, thinks about telling the AI to notify SHIELD, but then second guesses, figuring Steve would likely prefer as few people to know about this as possible.

But then that leaves him here, faced with Steve who seems, apparently, convinced he's going to endure the next four hours in agony--

"There has to be something we can do--"

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Pollen, America and some rather poor choices || closed rp || warning: adult

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