cxpt‌

IT WASN’T THAT HE DIDN’T trust logan. oddly enough, he trusted the kid a lot more than he trusted stark and that was saying something considering where they were. the last time he’d been in the city he’d ended up getting hurt and had to be dragged to the tower for treatment. he hated having to leave like he had. if anything he would’ve preferred to have stuck around and explained things to logan. but with stark being who he was and with their fight in siberia still fresh in his mind, the last place steve wanted to be was in stark tower. “you don’t see me running do you?” he took one last look around before returning his focus to the kid in front of him. as long as he didn’t have to worry about running into stark he’d be more than comfortable with listening to whatever logan wanted to tell him. but the instant he felt like stark was there? he’d run and this time he wouldn’t return.

“for a REASON, logan.” his team was doing things that wouldn’t be looked upon with anything other than disdain. the last thing any of them needed was someone breathing down their back or worse, hunting them down because of the work they were doing. but logan wasn’t like that and he needed to at least hear him out before leaving the city again. “oddly enough seeing you doesn’t set off RED FLAGS. i trust you, logan, and i know you wouldn’t give me away to tony.” an admission he normally wouldn’t have made but given their situation he figured it would at least help ease the tension he could feel starting to rise. “i’m sorry for leaving the tower like i did. i couldn’t risk being seen by stark.”

              ❛  ─ to be fair steve, i didn’t see you running last time either. went to go get food at YOUR request, came back, and you were gone.  ❜  the wolf responds rather BLUNTLY. not that he didn’t understand the soldiers need or rather want, to flee, but those were the facts. there was no point in sugarcoating it.  ❛  he knows you were there. wasn’t particularly THRILLED about it, but what can he do, really? throw an adult-sized tantrum?  ❜  

       the wolf elects to not add that that had already been done, nor did he feel it necessary to tell steve that he hadn’t been in new york, for weeks at that point. wasn’t a story the wolf was particularly keen on sharing at present, nor the hateful words spewed, or the way in which tony looked at him like he had broken some sort of familial obligation.

              absently, the wolf walked past steve, with a nod and stares out the window at the darkened scenery, before clearing his throat.  ❛  ─ call my being here, MORBID CURIOSITY. i wanted to make sure that you were okay… all things considered.  ❜  he states, while glancing over his shoulder.  ❛  your battle with tony, eventually the both of you will have to man up and figure it the hell out before everyone else suffers for your stubbornness.  ❜

chrisheavans:

#Masterpiece

cxpt‌

a transmission from @lycanstark with the following message:
don’t panic.

“…” That was like telling him to panic, that there was a problem and that he couldn’t react in a way that he might’ve normally reacted. Logan wasn’t someone to blow things out of proportion like that and hearing that from him had him wondering just what was going on. Had Stark returned? Did he know that he’d been in the tower? Or was he looking for him now that he had once again returned to the city? Siberia had been a nightmare and he still regretted leaving Stark behind. But Logan was staying away from all of that and Steve had made a point of not dragging him into their fight. He just couldn’t quite figure out what it was that he couldn’t panic about. And looking around he didn’t see anything that he should be worried about, either. “What’s going on, Logan. You don’t just say that and expect someone not to panic.”

              OKAY, SO THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE WRONG CHOICE OF WORDS. too late to take them back now.   ❛  ─ OR and this is a radical thought, but, you could listen and not do exactly what you’re doing right now.  ❜  the wolf comments, before heaving a sigh, while following steve’s movement of looking around with his eyes. did tony know that he’d drug the soldier to the tower? yes. did they get into a knockdown drag out of a fight over it? also yes. was tony now looking for steve? fuck if he knew, he’d left, and hadn’t been back since just because he wanted to let tony sweat it out.   

       ❛  considering the fact that you’ve been almost IMPOSSIBLE to track down since you bolted from the tower, i kind of just assumed my being here, would set off some red flags ; so that was me, ATTEMPTING, to defuse the situation before it got out of hand.   ❜   the wolf then pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb, letting out a heavy breath. he’s not exactly the BEST at communicating. clearly.  ❛   i’m so thrilled that it worked. not.  ❜

cxpt‌

it honestly didn’t surprise him that there were weapons out there meant to stop him. they’d probably been created to stop bucky should he get out and cause trouble, but he knew that they’d also work on him thanks to the fact they had a similar serum running through his veins. what did surprise him was the fact it had been used against him. he’d thought that with the downfall of shield that weapons like that would’ve been destroyed. then again they’d been tracking down caches of alien tech so it shouldn’t have surprised him that a weapon like that fell into the wrong hands. at least he’d found someone who could help him. steve hadn’t been too keen to be in stark tower given what happened in siberia, but as long as stark wasn’t there he knew that he wouldn’t have to worry too much about being reported. the last thing he needed was ross breathing down his back more than he already was. especially as he was trying to do good in keeping the alien tech out of the wrong hands.

“i ALWAYS do what i think is right.” listening to the other, he knew that maybe he hadn’t handled it as best as he could. he honestly thought he’d been protecting stark from the things he’d read in the file. there were times he wished he hadn’t gotten it given just what he’d read. but in the end he knew that the information was something he needed and that in time he did need to tell stark. the last thing he’d wanted was for stark to find out like he had. but zemo — he’d used all of that against them in an attempt to destroy them because of what happened in sokovia. he’d succeeded, of course, and steve just hoped in time they might be able to repair that rift. whatever was coming for them they’d need to face it head on and this rift could make that fight difficult. but to heal the rift meant talking and at the moment neither he nor stark were in a good place to talk. though something told him that logan might not give either one of them any choice. especially with the talking to he was currently getting. “and i honestly did think i was protecting him from the information i read in that file. but as i told him in the letter it wasn’t him i was protecting. it was myself. and i know it wasn’t the best way to handle it. i never wanted him to find out like that.” hopefully the other actually UNDERSTOOD that.

the letter wasn’t something he’d been planning at the time, but he knew that it was the only way he could show stark that he meant every single word that had been written. growing up the written word meant more than the spoken word and he wanted his friend to understand that he never wanted him to find out and that in the beginning he had thought he was protecting him. “maybe. i don’t know any more. the team has always been stark’s and not mine. it probably doesn’t make a lot of sense.” but it was how he’d always seen things. unfortunately, steve knew logan made more sense than he wanted to admit. it was definitely something he was going to take back with him when he returned to romanoff and wilson.

“no, no you’re right. i never should’ve allowed him to be blindsided like that. a good team leader doesn’t do that to his team.” it wasn’t easy for him to admit that but he knew the other was right. he’d been wrong to keep that from stark and zemo had used that to his advantage. they’d both been idiots, they’d both been stubborn and in the end the team had suffered for it. the planet had, as well, but neither of them were going to think about that. there were still bigger things that they needed to worry about and focusing on the little things wasn’t going to do anyone any good. “you’re right, though; we both thought we were doing the right thing and we were both wrong,” steve told him, shrugging his shoulders. he hated admitting that but he was the sort of person who could when the time came to it. and unfortunately, the time had come for him to admit that. “and we were both idiots,” he agreed, chuckling along with the other. another thing he’d never thought he would admit; that he’d been an idiot. but what more did he have to lose?

@lycanstark​

              ❛  ─ I WISH I WASN’T RIGHT. if that makes you feel any better…  ❜  the wolf admits. as much as it might have seemed as if logan had laid it all on steve, as blunt as humanly possible ( as was his way ), he found no pleasure in being right. not this time.  clicking his tongue to the back of his teeth, logan shakes his head, while making an expression that indicated that he was currently experiencing some sort of inward turmoil.  ❛  do you realize how much i hate standing up for my father? i mean, truly, honestly… I CAN’T STAND IT. makes me feel like i need to spend the next damn week in a shower.  ❜  everyone knew, where logan’s feelings about his father were concerned, there was very little love loss. but in this situation, he also, couldn’t find FAULT in the patriarch’s actions ( but at the same time, he also couldn’t find fault solely in steve’s either ).

       with a sigh, the wolf fixates his eyes towards a random spot on the wall, before clearing his throat.  ❛  … i’m sure you’re wondering why i brought you here, to the tower, of all places. and it’s really simple… you needed help and here, i knew they could give that to you, a lot better than most could so ─ HERE YOU ARE.  plus as an added bonus, tony is out of town, so there’d be no need to explain anything… at least, not right now anyway. we both know, eventually, he’s going to find out. when that happens, i’ll handle it.  ❜   it was his way of saying that he didn’t want to be ‘ drug in the middle, ’ without outwardly admitting that.

              ❛  ─ YOU AND I HAVE HAD OUR FAIR SHARE OF ISSUES. but at the end of the day… i guess i care enough to not let you bleed out in a dark alleyway. why and in what context, i’m not sure, so don’t ask. take that, however you choose, steve.  ❜  logan pauses, eyes flicking back towards steve, while he tightens his jaw briefly and looks him over. he couldn’t quite put his finger on why he had felt it was necessary to make that last statement, though he knew enough, to feel slightly awkward about it.

       logan then, without another word, stood from the chair and moves it back to its former location in the room. the wolf turned his back on steve, heading towards the door, before taking pause just in the doorway ; glancing back at the man.  ❛  just be careful out there. next time, you may not be as lucky as you were today.  ❜ he says simply. they both knew, when steve was healthy enough, the soldier would BOLT ; not wanting to risk being in the tower when and if tony was to return early.  ❛  ─ regardless of whatever may become of your friendship, with tony, or what you may think about me… you have an ally in at least one stark. for what it’s worth. ❜ 

@cxpt​

cxpt

being surrounded by docs he knew would report him back to stark wasn’t his idea of fun. if anyone he would’ve preferred being on the streets, waiting for the serum to actually heal his wound. except a part of him knew it wouldn’t. he’d felt it when it embedded itself into his side; it wasn’t going to heal until the damn thing was removed. a part of him knew that he would’ve bled to death had logan not found him and maybe that was what he deserved. he’d had his life, he’d died and been given an extension, one that he’d tried to use for good. maybe bleeding to death was what he deserved. steve wouldn’t have told logan that, though. there was something about the kid that had him thinking that maybe he wasn’t like stark after all. not that he knew just what sort of person stark had become. for the longest time he thought he knew his friend. instead, he’d found out that the man he called friend was willing to kill someone out of revenge. it wasn’t something he liked to think about. not when he’d given it all up to work in the dark, to continue doing the things they used to do as a team. maybe DEATH was the only thing left for him to embrace.

he didn’t know just how much time had passed until he found himself moved to yet another room. it was different from the last and while there were machines still hooked up to him they weren’t like the ones before. he also felt like the serum was finally starting to kick in again. it wasn’t something he could actually explain. he knew when it worked and he knew when it didn’t. and when that slug entered his body he knew almost immediately what had happened. “thanks,” he muttered, moving to get comfortable. “someone got their hands on some hydra munitions. i think they were created to stop me,” he explained, wondering if maybe he shouldn’t have told logan all of that. steve knew he was still a stark and while he wasn’t certain where they stood with each other he didn’t want to give any of them any ammunition to use against him. but he couldn’t help but wonder why he was here in the first place. why had logan dragged him in here?

“BUCKY,” was the only thing he could tell him. for the most part it was true. he’d thought he was doing the right thing by protecting tony from finding out bucky had been responsible for killing his parents. instead, he’d only made things worse. add that to the accords and being a fugitive wasn’t such a bad thing. “after dc i was given bucky’s file from russia. in it were some things that i’d kept from stark,” he explained, moving to sit up even further. this story wasn’t something he’d been able to tell stark because he thought he was doing the right thing. instead the only person he was protecting was himself. and now he was going to be telling someone who could use it against him. “zemo had a video, though, and he showed that to stark. with bucky and myself in the room. he asked me if i knew and of course i can’t lie to him.” what happened next wasn’t something he’d ever forget. especially with his best friend stuck in cryo in wakanda. but logan didn’t need to know that. “he tried to kill bucky and i couldn’t let him do that. i wasn’t going to kill him; just stop him from using his suit.” but stark hadn’t known that at the time and he was certain they’d both have scars from that day. “bucky’s my best friend and the only one i have left from my old life. there isn’t much i wouldn’t do for him.”

@lycanstark​

              in all honesty, logan wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of there being weapons floating around that could completely HALT the healing factor ( whether they were designed for the sole purpose of taking down steve or not ). though he really didn’t have much time to actually ponder such thoughts for far too long ; thankfully. while the soldier recounted his side of the events, all logan could think to do, was move closer and LISTEN. he had said he wanted to know after all, so he’d spare judgment ( for the time being anyway ) and just take it all in. absently, the wolf drug a chair over, before straddling the seat and drapes his arms over the back ; his full attention remaining on steve. 

       ❛ ─ my father is a piece of work, but if there is one thing i know without a shred of a doubt, it’s the toll losing just ONE parent takes on a person… but to lose both in one sitting? that is unfathomable, and in so many ways, that LOSS molded him into not only who he was before you knew him ; but it also guided him into the man he became. ❜ he pauses, staring directly at the male before him. it was funny. steve, for much of the time he’d known the man, had an unspoken ‘ bigger than life, ’ persona about him ( mostly thanks to everyone else ) but in that moment ; he was just a MAN. ❛ you did what, at the time, you believed to be the right thing. i can understand that, but tony is a big boy, you should have honored your friendship with him and told him what you knew before getting blindsided. ❜ the wolf adds while resting his chin absently onto his forearm and shrugs. 

               family relations wasn’t exactly the strongest trait in the stark family tree, but, there was still a sense of protectiveness surrounding it ( that, logan knew to be a fact ). ❛ perhaps things would have been different if he had heard it from a friend. maybe you wouldn’t be lying in this bed right now, with the son of a man you regarded as a friend, as your only companion. ❜ the wolf states, eyes shifting up as he ponders that for a moment or two, before rolling his shoulders dismissively. 

       ❛ ─ or i could be shooting smoke out of my ass right now, and everything would have been EXACTLY THE SAME, but at least then he would have had a chance to react in his own way… rather than by BLIND emotions alone. ❜ there’s silence for a prolonged moment or two as the wolf fixates absently towards the floor, his thoughts traveling away briefly. ❛ i guess what i’m trying to say is, neither of you are solely at fault for what happened… YOU were doing what you felt was right and tony was, as i pointed out, BLINDSIDED. it’s a difficult situation. ❜ the wolf hums slightly, shifting in the seat. ❛ ─ you’re both idiots. ❜ he finishes, a curl then tugging at the corners of his lips.

@cxpt

cxpt

“i know.” he knew just how lucky he was that logan was in town. in all honesty, he hadn’t expected him. when he’d picked that particular alley it was in the hopes that either his team would find him or possibly stark. of course, stark was the last person he wanted to see him like this, but at least the other would offer to help him before berating him for the things he’d done since siberia. it may not have been the best scenario but at least it was better than bleeding out there in the streets of new york. steve had hoped the SERUM would’ve worked but given the fact he was still bleeding meant whatever had hit him was still embedded in the wound. and it meant that logan would have to go digging to get it out. “or the serum has been turned off because of whatever they used to hurt me.” steve hadn’t been too keen on telling him about that but logan was his only shot at surviving this. which meant he might have to explain that there were munitions out there that made the serum ineffective at healing wounds.

closing his eyes, he ignored the way the car moved throughout the city. each bump in the road jostled him but with his pain tolerance being what it was he could handle it. he could handle pretty much anything in terms of pain, though he could admit this was testing things. not that he would let logan know. steve had always made a point of keeping certain things from those around him and this was one of those things. those around him needed to see him as the strong soldier he was otherwise they’d all lose confidence in him. and a good leader wouldn’t allow that to happen. “okay,” was all he could muster. he didn’t even have the strength to open his eyes. not if he was going to make it inside the tower.

he heard the car enter the garage and opening up his eyes he knew just where they were; the tower. he’d spent a lot of time there fixing his motorcycle and being back there honestly was the last place he wanted to be. but if he was going to get over this he’d need not only logan’s help but the infirmary that he knew existed in the tower. of course, there would be the employees that still worked in the tower and he knew they were most likely loyal to stark. which meant they’d most likely report his location once they were free and clear. steve knew it was a risk for both of them but what other choice did they have? once he was on his feet again, he found himself leaning more and more on logan. “you may not be a soldier but you know how to command a crowd,” he pointed out, watching as he made certain no one would tip the authorities off about him being there. it was something he was grateful for; the fact he commanded the crowd. without him things would be much worse than they already were. sitting in the infirmary, he watched as one of the docs examined him. his eyes flickered around for logan, but with him gone he wondered if maybe going to him wasn’t such a good idea, after all.

@lycanstark​

              ALL THAT WAS LEFT TO DO WAS WAIT. the doctors would do what they needed to do to ensure that steve would be okay ─ in a manner of speaking anyway, and his presence would only serve as a distraction. everyone walked on eggshells around him as it was, which in most cases, he saw as a damn blessing… though in this instance, he needed to make sure that STEVE was their only focus. hours passed before he was approached, though he’d long since left the confines of his lab, in favor of standing outside ( the moon was barely visible, with exception of a sliver, but that was all he needed ; comfort in ways that no one could dare understand ). the doctor spared him a few short details, informing him that his fugitive would recover ─ which much to his SURPRISE brought a wave of relief washing over him. 

       with a nod of understanding, he clenches his jaw and heads back inside, before slipping into the room they’d left steve in to ‘ recover ’. upon entering, stands there for a moment, before coming up with a halfway decent thing to say, all things considered ; conversation wasn’t exactly his forte after all.  ❛ ─ the doc says you’re going to recover, probably a lot quicker now, that they removed the object embedded within your wound… ❜ he pauses, stepping forward as he clears his throat. ❛ your skin has a bit more COLOR to it now, definitely a good sign. ❜ as he stood there, the wolf questioned why steve’s safety had even mattered to him at all. it wasn’t like they were close, logan hadn’t allowed that, and the soldier had better things to do.

              for a bulk majority of his life, he’d kept EVERYONE at arms length, never letting anyone get too close to him. and yet, so far, he’d not only let steve in on his secret ( which he’d kept buried from everyone… even his own father ) but he’d also stuck his neck out for the guy in a time of need. this is seriously going to damage his ‘ devil may care, ’ image. ❛ why’d you do it? ❜ he asks abruptly, before realizing his mouth had opened, and stuffs his hands absently into the pockets of his jeans. ❛ ─ SIBERA. the reason you and tony aren’t talking, i’ve heard his side of things, albeit not from his mouth because we don’t have that sort of relationship… but seeing as i brought you here, and i know damn well tony is probably going to disown me when he finds out, i’d like to know your side of things. ❜

@cxpt​

cxpt

IT SURPRISED HIM TO HEAR LOGAN’S WORDS. even though he didn’t know about the relationship he and stark might’ve had, he at least assumed it would’ve been a positive one. then again, knowing stark the way he did maybe none of this should’ve surprised him. either way, he was relieved to hear that logan wouldn’t betray him, wouldn’t call his location in and force him to go on the run yet again. in his condition he wouldn’t get far and should anyone want to track him down they’d have an easy path given the fact he was bleeding. there was also the fact that logan mentioned things that roamed the city that would take full advantage of him in this particular state. “no, you don’t need a thank you for doing the right thing. but i’m the sort of person who will thank you for helping me.” right or not, steve would always thank someone for helping him out. though, a part of him wanted to know what the hell had happened between logan and stark to push him to a point where he’d help a known felon. later he told himself as he steadied himself on his feet. any other time and he wouldn’t have accepted logan’s help. but the arm around his shoulder made it easier for him to walk instead of having to constantly use the surrounding buildings.

“of course i would. i’m not about to leave someone behind. especially if they’d been hurt.” unfortunately, he’d left stark behind but he knew his team would figure out where he was and send help. it also hadn’t helped things that they’d tried to kill each other but he knew that stark would find a way HOME. eventually, he’d reach out to his old friend, he’d see if they couldn’t talk and maybe they could come to terms with what happened in siberia. steve didn’t think forgiving each other would ever come but they would need to come together should the problem thor told them about ever came to fruition. if they didn’t — he wasn’t too keen on thinking about that. not when he needed to get off the street and somewhere where he could see just how badly wounded he was.

“yeah, i will be.” the serum would start to stem the flow of blood but until it did he’d need something to help it clot. he knew he could bleed out if the serum didn’t do its thing. then there were the munitions out there that would kill him because of their ability to stop the serum in its tracks. this situation could’ve been much worse if that had been the case. instead, he’d been lucky that it wasn’t anything like that. looking over at logan, confusion was quickly etched into his features. “right, okay,” was all he could say, the hint of a smile pulling at his lips. once he took the shirt he applied pressure to his wound, ignoring the pain he felt. the last thing he wanted was to leave blood in logan’s car and hunkering down in the back seat he waited to see just where logan would take him. his question caught him off guard and steve wasn’t certain just how to answer that. he hadn’t been waiting for anyone. his team would’ve found him had he messaged him, but in all honesty he was waiting for the serum to kick in. “no one, actually. the serum would’ve eventually stopped the bleeding and i could’ve messaged my team.” it wasn’t something he’d wanted to do but it was what he would’ve done if it came to it.

@lycanstark​

              ❛ ─ right. ❜ he responds. the only reason he’d asked, was because when he’d stepped out of the shadows, it had looked like moment ( albeit a brief one ) that steve had been EXPECTING to see someone else. he didn’t blame him honestly. ❛ well, gauging from your current state of being, i’d say the serum wasn’t kicking in quick enough… you’re lucky i was in town. ❜ of course, he’s not questioning steve’s resourcefulness. the wolf knew damn well that the soldier wouldn’t go down without kicking and screaming ( metaphorically on the last portion. he couldn’t even imagine someone like steve, screaming ). he was a FIGHTER, thick and thin. absently, the wolf weaves in and out of the busy traffic, pushing the speed limits on his route to the tower.

       even if tony had been in new york, lately, his haunt was the compound upstate ; which meant that the wolf finally got a bit of distance that he desperately needed. though even when the engineer was around, they rarely ever spent any amount of time in the same room, in attempts to AVOID the inevitable. ❛ we’re almost there. ❜ he states minutes later, blinking out of his drifted thoughts, the wolfs grip easing off the steering wheel ; he hadn’t even noticed the that his pulse had risen. thrumming WILDLY in his ears at the mere thought of his father.

              when he’d parked in the garage of the tower, the wolf takes pause, before climbing out of the car and moves to help steve out. INFIRMARY FIRST. that was his main concern at present, then he’d deal with everything else, along with making sure that everyone kept their mouths shut ; which in and of itself would be an ordeal ( considering the loyalty some displayed towards his father ). ❛ ─ alright. i’ve got you. ❜ he states, once he’d helped the elder out of the vehicle, steve’s arm draped over his shoulder just like it’d been back on the street. onward they went, everything instantly becoming chaotic the second steve was recognized, though logan quickly took control of the situation. his own sense of command leaking forward in such a way that not a single person questioned him, nor did they dare to. once steve had been taken off his hands, logan goes to ensure that tony would be effectively left in the dark for the time being, before escaping to the lab. 

@cxpt​