[ In those eleven hours, Steve manages to sleep a little.
For the first hour, the grief over Peter is what's most overwhelming. So much so that Steve feels a little numb. It's still hard to imagine that this is reality and that he isn't about to wake up from some terrible dream.
Throughout the night, a couple of times, Steve wishes he could just lay down next to Tony in his hospital bed and hold him, but Steve knows that doing so would be more for his benefit than Tony's, and he decides to stay in his seat instead. Still, he thinks, Tony is here. And Steve stares at the way he's holding his hand — a hand that's smaller than it used to be, but still warm and alive and attached to Tony's beating heart — and that very real physical and visual presence brings Steve a comfort he hasn't felt in a long time.
Eventually, he falls asleep for about three hours, before he wakes up again in the morning. Bruce comes in at one point to tell him the types of nutrients they need to get into Tony's body, and how he shouldn't do much more than drink water and they won't give him any solid foods for a while. Steve mostly nods his way through it.
It isn't until Tony starts to stir, that some semblance of alertness returns to Steve's eyes. He feels the way those fingers curl softly around his and Steve's gaze follows their hands up to Tony's face. ]
So are you. [ Slowly, Steve lets himself smile again, even if it's just a little. ]
no subject
For the first hour, the grief over Peter is what's most overwhelming. So much so that Steve feels a little numb. It's still hard to imagine that this is reality and that he isn't about to wake up from some terrible dream.
Throughout the night, a couple of times, Steve wishes he could just lay down next to Tony in his hospital bed and hold him, but Steve knows that doing so would be more for his benefit than Tony's, and he decides to stay in his seat instead. Still, he thinks, Tony is here. And Steve stares at the way he's holding his hand — a hand that's smaller than it used to be, but still warm and alive and attached to Tony's beating heart — and that very real physical and visual presence brings Steve a comfort he hasn't felt in a long time.
Eventually, he falls asleep for about three hours, before he wakes up again in the morning. Bruce comes in at one point to tell him the types of nutrients they need to get into Tony's body, and how he shouldn't do much more than drink water and they won't give him any solid foods for a while. Steve mostly nods his way through it.
It isn't until Tony starts to stir, that some semblance of alertness returns to Steve's eyes. He feels the way those fingers curl softly around his and Steve's gaze follows their hands up to Tony's face. ]
So are you. [ Slowly, Steve lets himself smile again, even if it's just a little. ]