Sentinel/Guide AU for starkingenuity

[starspangledspandex]

Things have been going remarkably well between them. Even if the beginning was somewhat rocky, their compatibility was obvious and not just to them. Steve was old-fashioned and though his instincts made it clear what they wanted, he did things the "right" way. There were dates and gifts and just general wooing. They talked about it and they were ready.

He smiled at Tony, watching him as he worked and couldn't stand it anymore. "Tonight," he said, then added, for clarity, "We should bond tonight."

Maybe not the most romantic proposal but he figured he shouldn't smother Tony in it anyway or the man would get sick of it. No the rarity made it special.

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[starkingenuity]

Tony's glance at Steve was appreciative. He hadn't really looked at men the same way that he looked at women, but he wasn't blind. That broad chest, those muscles, that tight waist-- Tony was more than attracted to him. If Sam hadn't been there... Well not much would have been done for a few long moments. He knew better than to start anything sexual given than he was prone to try to go back into bonding heat.

"Here. Coffee," Sam said, getting up to fetch the cup just to give the pair a few minutes.

Tony immediately set his hand on Steve's arm, eyes scanning for extra bruises. "Not to boost your ego but you were amazing."

[starspangledspandex]

He smiled at Sam's offer of coffee but he was busy examining his Guide for any major injuries. He looked tired and well, like he was in an explosion, but all in all it was still just his arm that seemed injured. It was a major relief to the Sentinel.

Steve smiled lightly, still exhausted, and said, "Well I'm glad you think so. I didn't have a lot of options."

[starkingenuity]

There was little Tony wanted more than to curl up with Steve and hide, but that was not the sort of person either of them was. "What's the next move? We're in trouble if that was SHIELD. They're going to disgrace and discredit you."

And probably him too. They might make their failure to bond something of a spectacle too.

Tony looked down at the wide hands in Steve's lap.

"Banner and the Wonder Twins-- We have to get to them."

[starspangledspandex]

"We can't go home," he tells him, shaking his head slightly. "They'll be waiting for us. They'll have it under surveillance."

Steve hesitates, then stands to flip on Sam's television to the news and he's as unsurprised as Tony to find their names being smeared across the news. He's the one painted in the worst light. The older man is there too but he imagines that Stark Industries's PR department is doing what they can to minimize damage in that department.

...and besides, it's nothing new that Tony Stark is doing something out of line. Captain America though? Oh boy, is that a story. Their bond, thankfully, isn't mentioned in any of the footage that they watch before Steve turns it off.

"That's our first move," he tells him. "Natasha is more likely to come and find us. Banner... they're going to have him watched, Tony and I don't know if setting the Hulk off is a great move. It might be better to keep him on the sidelines."

[starkingenuity]

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled very slowly. Shit. "You're right. When did that become a thing?" he teased just before Sam came back into the room with the paper. Their faces were all over the front page. None of this boded well.

So were they just suppose to wait here for Natasha? That seemed unreasonable. There was an assassin out there. There were infiltrators into SHIELD.

And Steve had a testing regimen to get them fully bonded!

"I really hate this," Tony frowned. "I don't have my armor... They'll be watching my bank accounts--"

Sam cleared his throat. "I want in. Whatever is going on out there-- Count me in."

[starspangledspandex]

He doesn't necessarily mean wait here for her but he expects her to show up at some point. She might even show up with other people on their side. He has no idea. He does know that they shouldn't stay in one place for too long. It's just asking for Hydra to find them.

"I know, me too," the Sentinel says, because he much prefers when Tony has the armor, even if his arm is injured right now.

Steve turns to Sam with a frown. "It's going to be dangerous."

[starkingenuity]

Sometimes it still surprised Tony that people were actually willing to help out. He was so use to doing everything but himself-- Even with Steve, sometimes, he forgot that he could team up.

He was quiet as Sam agreed to join them, no matter the danger. It was for a good cause. For a friend. He and Steve shared this moment that Tony equated with some sort of armed forced solidarity and then stood as the door shut behind him.

"Always have to look after you boys," a familiar voice said and Tony instantly relaxed.

[starspangledspandex]

Sam shrugs slightly, "Captain America needs my help. I think that's a good enough reason."

Steve smiles, nodding, relieved that he has found a friend so loyal. He's also glad that Tony isn't freaking out about Sam's existence. He's sure he's mentioned him but sometimes the details kind of disappear. He's certainly never meant to hide him or that he's a Guide.

He turns as the door shuts and he smiles again, "You're late."

[starkingenuity]

Tony had never been jealous of other Guides before. It was that lack of a complete bond that put him on edge. Someone else could come along and scoop Steve up. Like Natasha. Sam was safer. Sam had lost his Sentinel. It was extremely rare for bonded Guides to rebond. Perhaps that was another reason Tony was scared. He could have no one else. He wanted no one else.

Tony slipped his hand into the other's without thinking. He felt a little foolish but he was giving off mental warning to the spy. His Sentinel. His.

Wisely, Natasha kept her distance. Unwisely she decided to mention that Tony was going to be a liability and should lay low here.

[starspangledspandex]

Steve glanced briefly at Tony when he slipped their hands together and he caught his Guide glaring daggers at Natasha. Did he feel threatened by her? He frowned slightly and then decided it was probably just instinct. Their bond was still broken and no amount of words would probably reassure the man.

He listened to the quick rundown of what was going on. Project Insight was a Hydra ploy. It made a hell of a lot more sense with that information. It also needed to be stopped.

"She's right," Steve murmured, knowing that Tony was going to protest, but what could he do without the armor?

[starkingenuity]

"I'm a liability?" Tony arched an eyebrow up at Steve, knowing he wasn't being fair with his outrageous levels of sensitivity at the moment. That did not mean he wasn't hurting... Most of that was because of his injured arm, however.

"You're hurt," Sam said, taking Tony by the good arm. Yes, the other Guide protested He didn't really like to be touched. "But you can be our eyes. That stuff they say about you on the news...that's true right?"

Tony wasn't sure if he was being placated, but Sam had a point. He couldn't do a lot of tinkering, but he had JARVIS in his back pocket. Literally. He could provide the other three with information. "Do you have scotch?"

Sam glanced at Steve. "Some--"

"Fine. I'll do it. Go have fun storming the castle."

[starspangledspandex]

His Sentinel frowned at him. Tony was being unreasonable here. He knew that without the armor he was in danger. He could get him and Steve both killed, if the Sentinel was more focused on protecting his Guide.

Steve agrees with Sam. It would be nice to have someone watching from a distance and who better than Tony? He shrugged at Sam at the question. His Guide tended to have a few drinks. Right now he wasn't worried about it. Tony had his vices but the world was kind of in danger.

"Thank you," he said, leaning in to give the man a brief kiss. He moved to collect his shield and the rest of his uniform. He looked like a mess but it would hold. "Let's get moving."

[starkingenuity]

Nothing was ever easy but they had a job to do. And that job, right now, was to stop HYDRA's infiltration of SHIELD. It wasn't exactly going to be a cake walk, but Widow knew how to get them in and Sam had a few old tricks up his barely there sleeves.

He filled Steve in on what happened to his partner, to his Sentinel, and why he had hung up the wings in the first place. That at least would explain why Sam wasn't the threat to Tony's bond and claim as Natasha was. The Black Widow hadn't bonded...

And she didn't think she actually could anyway. The Red Room had done terrible things to her...things she was not willing to fill anyone in on at the moment.

It didn't really matter at the moment anyway, not when they were taking fire just getting close to the SHIELD HQ. Or when Tony's voice came over their earpieces. "Hate to break up the fun you're having...but they had hellicarriers. Three of them. They're doing bad things with my babies, Cap."

[starspangledspandex]

No, it wasn't going to be easy but Steve was the sort of person that believed in the impossible. He would take down Hydra or die trying, just like seventy odd years ago. This needed to be over.

Steve listened to Sam's story and offered his own with Bucky, though they never intended to be bonded. They never considered that he might be a Guide anyway and he didn't know that he would pick Bucky over the connection he had with Tony anyway. Things were perfect with Tony.

"Project Insight," Steve said, scowling as he took out multiple agents. "I had words with Fury about it. How do we take them down?"

[starkingenuity]

"You need to take out the information core. Cap, it looks like they are preparing to... Okay that's not good. They're going to take out targets across the world. You need to break at least one's core or they're going to be able to triangulate and take out a few million people."

Of which he was just one.

Tony very much liked being alive thank you.

But that meant that Steve would have to go alone while the others created a diversion. And he would get his chance to decide what he wanted... Tony, or the person that spent most of his life taking care of him.

[starspangledspandex]

"On it," he acknowledged, taking off at a sprint for the nearest carrier. They were only just lifting off and Tony didn't want to know about the jump he pulled off to get on board. It would be his little secret.

He focused on the mission instead of the voices in his ear. Anything that didn't immediately affect him was easily filtered out. He fought to the core and there he was, standing in the way.

Steve swallowed, staring back into eyes that didn't recognize him. "People are gonna die, Buck. I can't let that happen."

Apparently it didn't matter, it didn't trigger his memory. He was just a target and as much as Steve hated it--they fought. He needed to bring down the carrier more than he needed a reunion with a friend that didn't remember him.

After putting the man in a chokehold, he climbed back up the tower, only to feel the shock of multiple bullets rip through him. The Sentinel forced himself to keep going and he stumbled with the last one, sliding down by the switchboard. His mind was on Tony. His Guide. No question about it.

...and he would die if Steve didn't get up to break this damn thing, so he did.

[starkingenuity]

Tony didn't feel it, but he also didn't have to. Steve had stopped responding. "Rogers, god damn it, report!" But nothing. Tony ripped his earpiece out and pulled on Sam's leather jacket. He couldn't really drive a motorcycle with one arm but he didn't have much of a choice. "What is it with military guys and motorcycles?" he asked himself, stealing Sam's bike just a little too easily. He could barely hold on with his injured arm but he had to get...somewhere.

He didn't really know where, but he hoped his half of a bond would guide him.

Up on the falling hellicarrier, Steve was faced again with his old friend and his enemy. And for a moment, just a moment, Bucky remembered. Something had clicked in all of the mindlessness he generally operated under.

[starspangledspandex]

"I'm not going to fight you," he told Bucky, because he was done. He was exhausted and he finished what he was here to do. His shield fell through the ship as everything creaked and groaned. "You're my friend."

He could take a few more punches if it meant Bucky would remember and he could see the moment where he hesitated, where the man thought he knew, then the helicarrier fell out from under him.

Steve fell, hitting water and mentally called out for Tony, sorry beyond words that things were ending this way.

[starkingenuity]

When Tony arrived at the place on the shore where Steve lay, it was in time to see the last of the hellicarrier disappear in to the Potomac and a figure running off into the distance. Tony didn't bother to go after him. He didn't really care about Bucky Barnes or the Winter Soldier. He didn't care about the bike that was kicking up rocks as he jumped from it and sprinted towards the prone figure on the ground.

Steve was still breathing, and that was the only thing that Tony cared about. He vaguely remembered waking up to see Steve's face laying over him after his face plate had been ripped off and the Hulk roared at him to stir him after the fall from the vortex.

He remembered, however, locking eyes with the gentle blue above him and that their heartbeats had synced.

Tony knelt on the rocky beach over Steve now, their roles reversed, and lightly nudged their noses together. "You better wake up, Steve Rogers, or I will go down after you."

[starspangledspandex]

He heard the voice, vaguely, almost like part of a dream and it was hard to claw himself out of the darkness, but his instincts told him he needed to go to it. His Guide. Was his Guide safe? He forced through the pain and ache shooting through every inch of his body to blearily open his eyes.

The Sentinel's hand scrapped across the ground and he groaned in pain, spitting up even more water. His eyelids flutter as he scrutinized his Guide for injuries. He wasn't forming words very well right now.

[starkingenuity]

"Shhh," Tony breathed, feeling heavy in his chest as he leaned over Steve to press his forehead briefly to his shoulder. He let out a relieved sort of laugh, not really happy, just getting out all of that pent up energy.

His head was swimming as he told JARVIS to get them some help and the sat beside Steve until they were both collected.

Tony stayed by Steve's side during his recovery. No one could locate Bucky and Banner swung by to continue testing. He'd been told that all of SHIELD's secrets were released... Including Steve initially being a Guide... And all of his finances. And his stocks. And half of his plans and--

There was a lot of mess to clean up.

But Tony didn't leave Steve's side.

[starspangledspandex]

His eyes stayed on Tony the entire time they were on the beach. He was so sure he was dead before this that he was concerned if he closed his eyes he wasn't going to wake up again. He mumbled a handful of things, mostly apologizing for this and probably for the failed bond as well. 'I love you' is mumbled out as well.

When he wakes up in the hospital, he feels a little better but he's still tired. Of course, given his injuries that's probably to be expected. He hears about everything going on and he doesn't care. He's a Sentinel now and that's all that matters. He assumes that Pepper will take care of some of the PR.

"Should you go?" he asks a few days later. "I'm pretty boring just laying here."

[starkingenuity]

"Bout time I get involved with something boring," Tony insisted, clicking off the television. He didn't really want to hear all of the new things that kept getting dug up. It was depressing. It made him angry. He needed his full focus to be on his Sentinel.

Yes. Sentinel now. No matter what he might have started out as. Tony was a lot of things but he didn't do Guide on Guide.

"I am more worried about depriving you of my face for too long."

[starspangledspandex]

His senses were very certain that he was a Sentinel. As far as what Banner and FitzSimmons have dug up, science seemed to agree. They just need to figure out how to hook the two of them together properly and hopefully sooner, rather than later.

"I think I'll be alright," he told him with a small laugh. "It'll be that much sweeter when you come back."

[starkingenuity]

"Would you leave me?"

The question ought to not be a startling one, but the intensity of Tony's eyes and the whole demeanor he had had for months now since they had discovered their intense compatibility probably would account for some of that. He had been aloof. This had been something he wanted, but it wasn't always romantic. They were more like friends... Friends that were sexually attracted to each other, sure, but not much else.

Not until this whole bonding thing had gone South. And now?

Tony was acting decidedly more attached. More affectionate. Perhaps even needy. It was just weird.