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]

It felt so very right so Steve didn't have to apologize. "Everything's in reach," Tony whispered, proving it by pulling lube out from under one of the many pillows. He had a lot of it stashed around. Just in case.

Tony took charge and did the honors, not that Steve needed any fluffing. The Sentinel was so hard that if Tony wasn't on the verge of bonding heat, he might have actually been nervous about it. A furtive kiss followed as he prepared his lover, his soon to be bondmate.

They were ready, the steady blue beam of light in the center of his chest seemed to throb in anticipation and Tony threw his arms over his head with his eyes locked on Steve.

His body was set and spread open. And slowly, slowly he lifted his chin.

[starspangledspandex]

"Good," he murmured, taking the bottle from the man's hand and he kissed him while he stretched him open. He groaned against Tony's lips when the man strokes him, happy and content and so very ready for this to finally happen.

The Sentinel's blue eyes watched his Guide and he smiled as he slid into him, a small groan escaping his lips. He didn't waste any time leaning down to bite and claim his Guide. How could he? Tony was perfect for him. Absolutely.

[starkingenuity]

Neither thing hurt, though both were uncomfortable. Tony whined, thighs flexing and fingertips pressing into the backs of shoulders he shifted his hips to get comfortable and tilted his head further back to accommodate the Captain's head.

He could feel the surge of hormones, the sudden heat and the tug of it, but he could feel Steve. Tony closed his eyes, the pleasure never coming. He could feel Steve's heart because of the muscle pressed to the hilt inside of him but he could not feel it in his veins.

It took another moment before the Guide knew something was wrong.

The heat kept building. He was roasting. There was no relief. No bond. No connection. Why?

They were so obviously compatible!

The heat became pain as Tony had no way to ease up on that flash of hormones. It wouldn't kill him but it did hurt enough for him to cry out. "Stop! It's not working!"

[starspangledspandex]

Steve was confused first because he knew the bite should have done more for him. His hips moved once or twice but the movement was less instinct and more just an attempt to kickstart it.

The Sentinel's response was less hormones and more a reaction to the bond that was supposed to already be forming. He knew something was wrong before Tony even said it. He could feel the heat of the other man and it was uncomfortable, even for him.

He didn't understand. Why? They even ran the numbers, just for form and they couldn't possibly be better. It was the pain in Tony's voice that made him move, pulling back with his forehead creased and horribly upset.

Not only did the bond not work, he had hurt his Guide and he gave Tony an almost panicked look, this wasn't supposed to be happening, "I... I don't know what to do."

[starkingenuity]

Slow, deep breaths served to reduce the pain until it was a whimper and the hormones that had been racing through his system flushed themselves out as he managed to slowly sit up.

"First time jitters..?" But he knew it wasn't. He couldn't forge the bond inside of his Sentinel and he was terribly afraid that it was his fault. His hand pressed against the blue glow of the arc reactor and he tried not to weep.

It wasn't taking. He had entirely too many emotions right now and all of them said that he was a failure. The tears were just as hot as his skin.

It never occurred to him that the issue might be Steve. That the serum to make him resistant to needing a Guide and to zoning might stop him from accepting a bond.

[starspangledspandex]

The Sentinel wasn't taking this any better than Tony. He didn't understand. They were compatible. They were definitely getting along. They did everything right. He clung to Tony a little as the man sat up, shaking his head and reaching up with shaking hands to brush his thumbs along the older man's cheekbones.

"I don't... I don't know," Steve murmured. "I don't think so. I want this." He would go so far as to say he needed it whether he was supposed to be resistant to the idea or not. He tried to rack his brain, tried to reason out what might be wrong and really couldn't come up with anything.

However, he was the one that was modified here. He was a super Sentinel. Surely they would have mentioned... but no, even Erskine wasn't completely sure what the side effects would be or if it would even take. He was fairly certain that Tony reacted properly.

"I... should get some tests done," he said finally, quiet as he eyed the Guide. "They never really understood the serum or what it would do."

[starkingenuity]

The serum.

Then it wasn't his damaged heart. Or the palladium poisoning. Then again, he was still recovering from that. "It could be a combination-- I've been sort of terrible to my body. It's constantly surprised that my liver hasn't shut down," he joked without really feeling like he was joking at all. His whole body was still trembling.

He was still in heat. His body was crying out for that joining. He was fairly sure that every Sentinel in a hundred miles would know but he couldn't keep himself calm.

"I think.. I think I should get Banner."

[starspangledspandex]

He didn't find it especially funny either so it was a good thing that it wasn't really much of a joke. Steve could feel Tony calling but for sitting right next to him? It was faint, too quiet, and that worried him. However, he knew other Sentinels might come looking and he would defend what was his. He wasn't letting anyone have his Guide.

"I think that's a good idea," he agreed, forehead still creased and eyes heartbroken. If they couldn't bond... Steve didn't even want to think about it. He heard the stories of Sentinels without Guides. They were horrible. Most of them either got really sick or went insane or both. Some fell so deep into fugues they never came back out.

Steve was fairly certain the serum might drag it out longer but eventually he would succumb. He didn't want that to happen. He didn't want his Guide to watch it happen either.

[starkingenuity]

"JARVIS?"

"On it, sir. I will send a jet for Doctor Banner. May I suggest transporting yourself to a hospital?" The AI's suggestion was a sound one. He could ready Tony's biometrics with hardly a scan and if he was mentioning the need for immediate care, immediate care was what he would get.

He got up slowly. His closet seemed so far away.

"Steve, I'm going to need some help here. Don't let the heroics to to your head."

[starspangledspandex]

The mere suggestion that Tony should go to a hospital was alarming. JARVIS would have never suggested it unless it was necessary and Steve pressed his lips together, standing to step out of the nest.

"No problem," he told the other man, offering his hand to him and he added quietly, "I'm sorry."

[starkingenuity]

None of this was Steve's fault and Tony told him so, sweat dripping down his neck. He needed the help dressing, which would have been utterly humiliating if it was any other person by Steve doing it.

The hospital was close by at least and after a heavy dosing of neutralizers in the air and to his system, Tony felt like he was able to breathe again.

[starspangledspandex]

He helped Tony get dressed carefully and dressed himself quickly, hovering around the man as he gets him down to the car. He drives a little too fast on the way and they're ushered into a private room without hesitation. Steve sits, staying out of the way, while the nurses fuss over the Guide.

Steve doesn't miss the looks that are sent his direction. They're judging him. Questioning him. Wondering what kind of Sentinel he must be and the worst part is they know his face, probably as well as Tony's. He can already hear what the magazines are going to say about this.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, once they were left alone.

[starkingenuity]

"Less like I'm going to explode," Tony said, still shirtless from the exam. He pushed his palm against the reactor and exhaled very slowly. "We have a few hours before our specialist arrives." Not the Bruce was even a fully licensed medical doctor. Tony still trusted him more than most. "We'll get you some Sentinel Viagra, an electromagnetic converter, and try this whole thing again."

Tony was not giving up on this. He could still feel Steve, a full blast of him. He wasn't sure why nothing was working.

[starspangledspandex]

"Good," Steve murmured, watching Tony as he pressed his hand against his chest and trying not be disheartened about this whole experience. He was hoping this was something simple, something that could be easily fixed and he was terrified that wasn't going to be true.

"That exists?" he asked, though he supposed he wasn't surprised. "Is this... sort of thing common?"

[starkingenuity]

Steve was so remarkably innocent that Tony reached up to cup his stupid face in both of his hands to kiss him. The affection was there. The preparedness to move onto the next phase of their relationship was there. Tony could even let the silly remarks go without too much of a tease.

"There... I don't know. Maybe. India is doing incredible things with big pharma lately," he said, relenting. "There's always a solution. We have to find it."

[starspangledspandex]

He returned the kiss gently, lovingly even. He cared so deeply about Tony and he knew the man did in return. He just didn't get why this was happening. He was fairly certain that Tony was being vague in his answer on purpose but he wouldn't call him out on it.

"I'll try anything," he told him earnestly, blue eyes meeting his Guide's and they're somewhat sad. This should have been a happy day and it was ruined.

[starkingenuity]

Steve was still such a good man, one that Tony could not help but appreciate. The kiss was perfect. The started bond tried to connect despite the hormone shots keeping the bonding heat from starting. He didn't understand it. His whole body wanted to become one with Steve, each and every piece--

Maybe it was his punishment for his hubris. Maybe it was everything he had put his body through.

Tony moved aside on the small bed for Steve to join him. It would be an impossibly tight fit but he needed that connection.

[starspangledspandex]

There were a hundred "maybes" it could be. Steve, by all rights, shouldn't be here and now. Maybe it was his time in the ice. Maybe it was their age difference. Maybe it was the serum or something that was already broken and that was why Steve was the only success to come out of the program.

It was impossible to tell right now. He didn't know if Bruce would have answers but he hoped that he would have some ideas.

Steve joined Tony on the small cramped bed without hesitation, wrapping his arms around his Guide and pulling him close. He still didn't understand. All his instincts were there. The urge to bite and bond was still strong though dampened, he imagined, by the drugs in Tony's system.

"We'll figure this out," he repeated quietly because he didn't have anything else to say.

[starkingenuity]

Tony slept. He had expended too much energy today and he was dead to the world for several hours. It did let him stop thinking. It made it possible to pass the time until Bruce showed up.

Thankfully, when he woke, Banner was not only arrived, but working with SHIELD on their little problem. The best minds (minus his of course) were on the case.

Tony couldn't help feeling shame at this. He was older than most Guides when they bonded but that shouldn't be a factor. Right? This felt like impotence.

[starspangledspandex]

The Sentinel didn't sleep. His mind was busy and racing. He wasn't suffering the same energy and hormone withdrawal, not technically. Steve was tense and wound up, jittery when people walked by them. He was sure it could be attributed to the failed bonding. He was also sure it would only get worse.

Any Sentinel could try to take his Guide from him without a bond. Logically, he knew Tony would never consent to it and was unlikely to leave him, but he was paranoid regardless. Sentinel instinct was strong for a reason.

He was alerted when Dr. Banner arrived but he wouldn't leave Tony. He needed some time of his own to relax a little more.

Bruce, on his trip, contacted who needed to know and then buried himself in bonding research. It was well documented at least because even two completely incompatible people could, in theory, bond. SHIELD had all the numbers on Tony and Steve and Bruce already knew compatibility wasn't a problem.

He visited as soon as he heard Tony was awake. "How are you feeling?" He asked, first and foremost.

[starkingenuity]

Tony had many answers to that question. He was afraid and alone. He was weak. He was confused. He ached a little. He was groggy. Bruce might not mind hearing about most of them but Steve was still right there and Tony had to bite his tongue until they were alone.

"I feel a little hungry," Tony joked. "Pizza was good but there was not enough of it. Please tell me you have a way of getting something better than hospital food...?"

He shifted. He had sweated against Steve in his sleep, likely from the neutralizing medication. He picked at his t-shirt.

"Oh right. Manners. How was your flight?"

[starspangledspandex]

No, Bruce wouldn't have minded hearing about any of it. In fact, it was more what he was looking for as far as an answer. However, he couldn't make the man answer him. He knew Tony and he knew that the man was incredibly private. It wasn't easy to get him to talk about his feelings. He would just have to trust that the man would tell him if there was something important.

"You'll be able to leave soon," Bruce told him. "They want to make sure the neutralizers get you settled down but it seems like they're doing what they should be."

He shrugged, "Quiet. I did a lot of research."

[starkingenuity]

"So what is it?" Tony expected answers and he expected them right that very instant. He was addicted to Google and to JARVIS and instant gratification was the only way to go. "Age, palladium, liver poisoning? Just tell me straight, Banner, and then tell me how to fix it."

It was a very Guide-like thing to do to take this as his own fault.

[starspangledspandex]

Bruce held up a hand, glancing between Tony and at Steve who has thus far been silent. He shakes his head slightly and said, "It isn't that easy but most research... finds that it's the Sentinel that most often causes difficulties, especially if you're having this kind of reaction."

He gives Steve an apologetic look and the Captain looks a little heartbroken. "Given Steve's history... it looks likely that it's on his end. We'll have to run some tests to be sure."

[starkingenuity]

Tony didn't look relieved. He looked more downtrodden than before. He looked afraid. If Steve had some sort of bonding impotence, what did that mean for them? Tony could be all right. He didn't need the bond, he just wanted it so very badly. But Steve? That was just asking for trouble. Sentinels without Guides didn't last. It was well known. Usually by the time they were in their twenties--

But Steve had been engineered to withstand fugues.

Tony's eyes drifted up to the blond. "The serum."