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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[starspangledspandex]

"I have a lot of time to make up," he grinned and it wasn't quite as cheerful as normal. All those other thoughts were still at the back of his mind. He was, after all, the one that was going to go insane if they didn't fix this.

Steve didn't really want to consider that his first time either. He raised an eyebrow at his Guide's rambling. "I think that would be a little strange," he told him. "I like only having one of you."

[starkingenuity]

"Limited edition pressing," Tony agreed. "One of a kind. And I'm yours. Don't forget that." Even if it went bad, Tony would be there. Almost dying twice in the last two years did make him remember how precious it was to keep on breathing. Finding a Sentinel after years of believing that it was just pointless to will himself over to another person was precious too. Tony was going to hold onto that as best he could.

It would take two days for Steve to get a call to come down to DC. Banner and FitzSimmons were ready for him. "As much as if really love to bounce some ideas off of Mister Stark," the young Scot said over the phone, "we really ought to run controls without him. We should only need you for a few days at this stretch. And as soon as possible if you will, Captain."

[starspangledspandex]

"Oh I won't," the Sentinel promised. "Just so long as you remember you're mine." Even if the world was shocked that Tony Stark was finally settling down, he didn't have any doubts in that department. Sometimes you just knew.

"Give me two hours," he told Fitz. He didn't like going without Tony but he understood the man's concern. Steve could call a Guide from pretty far if he was in duress. He could sense Tony from a fair distance as well.

"I'll keep you updated," he promised, drawing Tony into his arms so he could kiss him.

[starkingenuity]

"Every hour on the hour," Tony insisted before he sent Steve away and kissed him twice more for good measure before he went to watch the quinjet leave from the roof. He hated it when Steve was away. They tended to sleep apart because of propriety on Steve's end but that didn t mean that they didn't spend much of the rest of their time together. This was like Steve going on missions that Tony couldn't follow him on.

It sucked.

He texted Banner to tell him as much and then sent him a kissy-duck faced picture because he loved Bruce like a brother.

FitzSimmons was there to meet Steve with big smiles and handshakes. They looked like they wanted to hug him...but they ignored the urge. "Right this way. Fitz will get you hooked up to the machine."

[starspangledspandex]

"If I can," he agreed, packing quickly and heading for the Quinjet. It might take him two and a half hours to fly there but he figured that was pretty timely. He was pleased that SHIELD seemed to be doing pretty well for itself again and he trusted that Hydra was out of the equation.

Bruce promised to have the Sentinel back as quickly as he could but he wanted to be as thorough as possible while Steve was free.

He tilted his head in greeting and shook both hands he was offered. "Which test is this?" he shook his head, "Or rather, what are you looking for with this one?"

[starkingenuity]

"Oh, you know," Fitz said, having to crane his neck to look up at Steve. "Just the use." Shortening 'usual' to 'use' with his accent was cute...and nerdy. He was trying too hard to be cool. Tony would have eaten this little boy alive. It was a good thing that Steve had come alone. "We'll do a base line and then we'll draw some more blood and see if we can't try to zap it into behaving."

Steve would likely know what 'base line' meant. Stress testing a Sentinel was dangerous. Especially one like Steve.

[starspangledspandex]

Yeah, Steve wasn't terribly impressed but he was used to Tony and the Guide was something else. Fitz hardly registered on his radar. He rubbed his fingers briefly at his temple and followed the man toward the machine.

"Do you have restraints that will hold me?" he asked, just in case. He would probably be alright but he didn't want to think that and something terrible happen. Sentinels could be finicky about pain, if Fitz was being literal about the zapping.

[starkingenuity]

A sheepish looking fanboy of a scientist nodded. "Doctor Banner produced them for himself." They wouldn't hold the Hulk, but made out of vibranium, like the shield, they were going to keep Steve in place. "Just.. Well, it's not going to come to that. We don't expect it to at least! A few easy tests and...poof! Done!" Or so he hoped. So he really, truly hoped.

No more wanted to see Captain America succeed like SHIELD did.

"But you might want to take your shirt off first..."

[starspangledspandex]

"Good," he said, because Steve was just being realistic here. He didn't need to go feral and accidentally, severely, injure someone. He just wanted to be safe.

Steve quietly grasped the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head, folding it to put it aside as he did, then moved to sit down. "I hope it's that easy."

[starkingenuity]

"Just don't hold your breath." Zapping wasn't literal in this particular experiment but Steve was more or less strapped into a hamster wheel and worked out until he broke a sweat... And while that might have normally taken a long time, this machine could exceed his top speed and take a pounding.

While he was in there, Fifz' other half snuck in with a cup of tea and a grin. "How is it?"

"Brilliant, Jemma. Just look at him!"

"Oh, I am! Fascinating!"

Banner joined them, but only because he had Tony on the line. And Tony insisted on Skyping where he could see Steve. Overprotective? Probably.

[starspangledspandex]

This was a test he could do. Honestly, he appreciated that the zapping wasn't literal. There wasn't going to be any holding his breath while he was being pushed and worked out like this. It was a great work-out really and it made it obvious that Steve was very fit.

He was unaware that Tony was watching but it didn't really matter. It wasn't the first time the older man watched him run, nor would it be the last.

Steve was quiet and focused, following any instructions until the test was over. "How soon do you get results from these?"

[starkingenuity]

"Instantaneously," FitzSimmons said, one flowing into the other as they spoke. "This is just a base line. We're measuring your peak performance to tailor the additional tests to your stamina and metabolism."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Why?" he asked Bruce directly. "Why is that important?"

Banner would have to outline the following procedures, knowing Tony wouldn't like them. "We are going to try to trigger his Huide abilities to see if any of them are still there."

And that meant pain. A lot of it.

[starspangledspandex]

Steve knew this was just a baseline but some things took longer than others. He was still caught off guard by how much medical technology had grown. He was glad it meant they could basically get started immediately.

He frowned, deeply, at the explanation. He didn't have anything against Guides, of course, but he didn't feel like one. He was comfortable in his identity as a Sentinel.

"Alright, how?" Steve asked, even if he didn't want to know if his Guide abilities were still there. He understood why they needed to know and he did say he would do anything to figure this out.

[starkingenuity]

Steve's staunch believe in who and what he was didn't really help anyone, least of all himself. He had been sickly during his puberty and his Guide side never showed itself when others did. There was probably a good reason Bucky had always come calling whenever Steve got himself in trouble.

He might have called out without knowing it. And Sentinels might have heard it without really knowing what it was, malformed perhaps.

"You need to be on distress. I'm afraid that this is where the zapping comes in. It will be painful but not physically damaging."

[starspangledspandex]

His staunch beliefs were based on his reactions to stimuli. Based on his reaction to Tony. He might have been a Guide once but he was a Sentinel now. There were plenty of things that proved. Maybe his Guide bits were dormant but they weren't helping him now.

"It's also where the restraints come in," Steve said, because he was still a Sentinel, even he had latent Guide abilities and they tended to not be fond of pain if it came down to instinct.

[starkingenuity]

"Exactly. And, Doctor Banner--". Fitz turned those too blue eyes on the other man. He wasn't a Sentinel but the Hulk was. And sometimes the pain of Guides could trigger him. It had happened at least twice... Once with Betty and once with Tony. It was better not to tempt fate.

Once Banner had removed himself and FitzSimmons outfitted Steve in vibranium, the testing could begin. Their instruments were set to record delta waves produced by distressed Guides. Hopefully it would give them a jumping off point...

Especially because Steve could take a whole, whole lot.

[starspangledspandex]

He cooperated completely as they strapped him in and he nodded as Dr. Banner excused himself. They definitely didn't want the Hulk showing up today. Steve wasn't sure he could deal with that on top of the stress of not knowing what was wrong with him.

Steve could take a lot. FitzSimmons were getting a first hand look. His reaction was heavily and obviously Sentinel. It hurt like hell and it went quickly thanks to them having their baseline, but it felt like much longer to him. His growls died down into the quiet whine of over-stimulation as his eyes unfocused and he slipped into a very Sentinel based fugue, which could make things difficult with his Guide so far away.

[starkingenuity]

"Hadn't expected that. His baseline is so obviously into the Guide range--"

"Probably best not to bring in Doctor Banner."

"We need to get a Guide in here--"

"Fitz. This isn't exactly-- We are working on very classified information here!"

"So no Guide--?"

"No one that has clearance--"

"Mister Stark?"

"Mister Stark!"

Well at least one of them was pretty excited. Tony, however, he was less excited. It would take him half an hour to suit up and get down to DC. He literally crashed through the roof to get to Steve and wrenched his arm trying to peel off the armor to get his hands on his Sentinel.

[starspangledspandex]

They unfastened him from most of the chair restraints. They had left on the ones to keep him in the chair, just in case. They didn't want him falling out of it. Just, less stimuli tended to be better and a bunch of vibranium at pressure points was probably bad.

Half an hour was a long time to be fugued, especially with his senses screaming at him thanks to the zapping and he whined quietly every once in awhile. He knew Tony was there even if he was gone and he keened slightly, instinctively turning into the hand that found his face.

[starkingenuity]

Steve was in deep. It was hard to wrap his head around it but a single touch left him chilled. He wasn't angry at the two scientists mooning over them. He knew that this was part of what had to be done. He had accepted that.

When Steve barely blinked at him, Tony literally shook off the rest of the suit and placed both hands on either side of the blond's face. His would have been easier if they bonded and Tony actually broke a sweat looking for Steve in those hazy blue eyes.

"Come back to me. You can't do this until we've bonded. All bets off after that. But at least give me a bond. Please come back, Cap."

[starspangledspandex]

His eyes fluttered and it was difficult, it took time, but slowly his blue eyes started to focus again. It was difficult for the Sentinel to fugue and even more difficult to pull out of it, but it spoke to their compatibility that Tony was getting anywhere at all.

The haze in his eyes quietly gave way to confusion and he blinked slowly, forehead creasing as he tried to wrap his head around Tony being here. His attention shifted, tiredly, to the room and then down again to his restraints.

"Tony?" he finally asked, voice a little slurred. He was still trying to shrug off the fugue but talking was a good sign.

[starkingenuity]

And there went his strength. Tony grinned, still sweating, and sank to his knees between Steve's thighs, pulling the blond's head with him so that they could press their foreheads together. His long lashed eyelids fluttered shut and he held onto Steve with all of his might.

FitzSimmons creeped up on them from both sides, speaking again like one person. "So... It's really very interesting. He didn't call at all. No Guide reflex, nothing. Which is.. Which is pretty strange. Strange? No, Fitz, it's more like impossible. But he didn't do it!"

They dissolved into an argument with each other and left Tony to breathe a sigh of relief. "You're bad for my health."

[starspangledspandex]

The Sentinel's hands were shaking, just a little, as he came out of the fugue. They were very rare so it was always disorienting to return to himself. He wasn't even hearing FitzSimmons as they jabbered. He was just trying to focus on Tony so he would stay out of the fugue.

He smiled weakly, "We can't... all be perfect."

[starkingenuity]

"Maybe you can't, but at least you have an image of perfection in front of you," Tony teased as he leaned up to kiss slack lips. "But now is not the time for hero worship. You have to pick up the slack, soldier. It looks like we have some more work to do."

He was going to be staying. Banner could try to throw him out but it wasn't happening. In fact, while Steve rested and regained his strength, Tony was going to march on up there and tell the other scientist that he was being brought into the super special science corp or he was going to take all of his toys and go home.

[starspangledspandex]

He laughed lightly, though it was brief, and gently tried to return the kiss. It wasn't terribly well done but Tony understood. He closed his eyes and nodded, because they were going to knock out as many things as they could.

Steve wasn't particularly fond of that last test. It felt too much like actually being tortured.

"I need a couple hours," he told him which his Guide knew anyway. So, with Tony's help, Steve made it to a cot that was basically set up in a closet but it was quiet and he was exhausted, so it took almost no time for him to fall asleep.

He was unaware of the discussion going on in the science lab. Ultimately it was Bruce that acquiesced so long as Tony didn't try to interrupt any of the tests. They needed the results, no matter how unpleasant the tests could be.