Just Steve

F O R T Y - O N E

There are lots of inconvenient times to find yourself attached to an unmovable object. You imagined that kid in elementary school would have loved to detach himself from metal the street lamp he had touched his tongue to in the middle of winter. You would also have bet your life savings that Prometheus would have jumped at the chance to separate himself from that rock Zeus had tied him too. Previously, you might have judged them for the various stupidity or poor choices that had landed them in their respective situations. But as you sat there, trapped in the hospital bed by the IV and various other wires attached to your arm, chaos ensuing around you, these people started to become your heroes. 

The tubes ran up from you forearm, connecting to a monitor and a bag of some unknown clear liquid. You figured it was just water but it no longer made much difference to you what substance was being injected into your body. What really mattered was that your best friend had your boyfriend pinned against the wall. What mattered was that your best friend looked like he was going to tear your boyfriend apart and that you were currently too tied up to get in the middle of them, not to mention still in a considerable amount of pain. While Steve had been showing considerable restraint, a feat he had most likely accomplished for your benefit, you could see him visibly losing his patience and knew that at any moment if Peter kept pushing him he would begin to fight back more violently.   

The two were shouting at each other, each sentenced punctuated by another shove from Peter and a defensive glare from Steve. Neither of them were paying you any attention as you struggled to intervene, unable to get up from the bed. With every second that passed, the beeping sound of the heart rate monitor continued to escalate as you stared both horrified at and exasperated by the sight in front of you.

"Oh don't even try to deny it, I found the copy of the updated contract in Tony's office with your name on it!"

"Guys-"

"Lay off Peter! I already told you I didn't ask for a new contract!" Steve forced Peter off of him.

"No you're the one that needs to lay off!" Peter shoved him back sending Steve's head ramming into the wall.

You began to call out loudly for what felt like the hundredth time, staring wide-eyed at the Steve sized indent in the wall behind him. Only, both of them continued to pretend you didn't exist, a fact that was becoming increasingly annoying given it was you that they were fighting about in the first place. 

"Can you both just calm d-"

"After all of the shit you've pulled with her I can't believe that we're back to this! All of this time and you're still trying to break her fucking heart!"

"Peter please-"

"You want to talk about breaking her heart?" Steve huffed out angrily, glaring furiously at your best friend. "Take a look in the mirror, Peter and you'll know exactly whose to blame for that."

Oh no. This was not good. This was very, very not good.

"She's been a mess for the past month while you've been out there, doing God knows what, completely ignoring your supposed best friend." Steve continued to argue. "I already broke her heart once and I meant it when I swore I'd never do that again. You were the one that didn't seem to care about that at all, not me."

Even from your sidewise view of the two you could see the flash in Peter's eyes.

"Steve, that's not-"

"Turn this around on me, all you want. It's not my name on this fucking contract." Peter slams the papers into Steve's chest, the once tidy papers nothing but a crumpled mess. Some are crushed in Steve's hand, others lay scattered on the hospital floor. "I kept your secret last time, God knows why. I'm not making that mistake again."