One-shot Tony and Steve fluff and Steve!Whump. Not meant to be slash, but could be interpreted as you please. Enjoy!

(I do not own Avengers or any of the characters and I am not making any money from this story - just some good old fan fiction happening here.)

Pressure

"You look like shit," Tony comments as he wanders into the empty hospital room that Steve has taken refuge in. He was relieved to find some peace from the hectic pace of the hospital while his team gets check out after a difficult mission.

"Go away, Tony," Steve mumbles from the rolling laboratory chair he's collapsed in, completely exhausted. His uniform is bloody and torn, his head is tipped back and his eyes are closed.

"Why aren't you downstairs getting looked at?" Tony sits in the tall lab chair next to Steve.

"Tony," Steve sighs, never moving from his spot.

"Steve," Tony matches his voice to the tone of Steve's exasperated groan in an attempt to annoy the Soldier. Mission accomplished.

"I just need a minute," Steve mumbles.

"You've been up here for an hour," Tony points out.

"And I just need one more minute," Steve replies, eyes still closed.

"Okay," Tony shrugs and watches the second hand tick on his wrist watch.

"Stop counting," Steve frowns.

"I'll stop counting when you go down and get checked out," Tony counters.

"There's no point in getting checked out," Steve sighs and sits up a little. "I'll be healed up in the next couple days and there isn't anything they can give me to help with anything right now anyway."

"True," Tony nods. "But you should still get checked out."

"So they can just tell me what's broken. I already know what's broken. Trust me," Steve groans and leans forward in his chair, nearly pitching headfirst out of his seat.

"Whoa, easy there Turbo," Tony quickly stands and helps to steady Steve. "You should at least find a bed to rest in, not this ergonomic nightmare you're sitting in."

"The chair was sufficient," Steve braces himself on the counter of the lab. "Plus this room was dark and it was quiet."

"Quiet is so boring," Tony smirks, but quickly turns serious when Steve doubles over and nearly collapses to the floor. "Easy, Big Guy. How about we compromise. You come with me and I'll find you a room with a proper bed to rest in before you fall over and I won't haul your ass downstairs and make you get checked out."

Tony doesn't wait to hear Steve's response because he doesn't really care what he has to say. He helps Steve into the hall and finds a dark hospital room. Tony pokes his head into the room and finds that it's empty. Carefully, he helps Steve sit on the hospital bed.

"Body armor. Off," Tony points at Steve's uniform. "Let's go. Chop, chop."

"Tony," Steve grumbles and starts to lay down, but Tony grabs a strap on his uniform and hauls him back up.

"Nope," Tony shakes his head. "You need to rest and you can't rest with battle armor on. Battle Armor is not restful."

"I can't rest if you won't let me lay down," Steve complains while he unclasps his uniform and gingerly slips his arms out. Tony frowns as he spots multiple bruises and cuts on Steve's exposed torso.

"Now, was that so difficult?" Tony takes the top of the uniform and tosses it to the side of the room. Steve just shoots him a look before he lowers himself onto the sterile, firm bed.

"I think the chair was more comfortable," Steve groans as his body settles, but doesn't let Tony know how nice it feels to lay down.

"Well, at least you can lay down now," Tony flips on the light.

"No lights," Steve winces and covers his eyes when the bright fluorescent lights flash on overhead.

"Seriously, Spangles?" Tony frowns and flips the lights off. "You probably have a concussion."

"I'll be fine in a few hours," Steve gingerly rolls onto his back and sighs as he tries to get comfortable.

"You know, we really need to figure out something for this 'pain medication' issue you have," Tony sits in the chair next to the hospital bed and scans over the pamphlets on the side table.

"It's fine, Tony," Steve mumbles with his arm draped across his eyes, trying to block out the light coming in from the small window on the door.

"Have you ever tried acupressure?" Tony picks up a brochure on alternative medicine. "It's supposed to work wonders for people with chronic pain and other health issues by releasing endorphines," he quotes the pamphlet. "Maybe it would work on you since it's not an injectable medication," Tony immediately starts searching on his phone for more acupressure information.

"I don't think that will work," Steve replies.

"It might," Tony continues to research and Steve doesn't have the energy to continue to argue with the man.

Steve is finally starting to feel himself drift when a shooting pain pulses up his side. "What the hell, Tony!" Steve shouts as he jerks at the sudden pain.

"Relax. This is going to help. Trust me," Tony waves his hand at Steve while he presses his knuckle into his side.

"That's not helping to decrease the pain," Steve groans and attempts to push Tony's hand off of his injured side.

"Oh, it's an inch lower. Here, this should be better," Tony replies as he reviews the information on his phone resting on the bed. "Give it a second."

"You're not a trained acupuncturist," Steve winces. "Cut it out, Tony."

"Or maybe it's a little to the left," Tony shifts his pressure and Steve's once tense body instantly relaxes.

"Uhhhh, that actually does feel better," Steve groans and Tony can feel his muscles relax under his hand.

Tony releases his hold and scrolls down his phone to find the next point. He presses his fingers to the sides of Steve's head. "This should help with the concussion." It's uncomfortable at first, but Steve soon finds himself starting to fall asleep with the gentle pressure.

"Hey, no sleeping," Tony snaps his fingers in front of Steve's face, startling him from his stupor.

"Sorry," Steve blinks.

"What else hurts?" Tony asks.

"Um, ribs? Just really sore all over," Steve grunts as he shifts a little.

"Hm," Tony hums and shuffles through the information on his phone. "Ribs. Ribs ribs ribs ribs ribs. Ah, here we go. Hold still."

Tony takes his thumb and presses into Steve's lower right abdomen.

"That really hurts," Steve hisses and jerks at the pressure.

"Just breathe through it. You should feel some relief in a few seconds."

Steve winces and tries to relax through the shooting pain. He's about to tell Tony to stop when a warm, relief washes over him. Steve groans when Tony shifts his touch up to his arm where his shoulder connects and presses.

"This should help you to relax," Tony presses his other thumb to the same spot on his other shoulder and Steve can feel every muscle in his body release and relax and his half-lidded eyes are having trouble focusing. "Feeling okay, Cap?"

Steve simply moans and sinks into the hospital bed that feels so much softer than it did a minute ago.

"Good. Let's work on that soreness," Tony scans the screen on his phone. "Here we go. I'm going to need you to roll onto your stomach, Steve," Tony starts to roll him over and Steve attempts to help him, but his body is so relaxed he's really not much help.

"Here we go. Come on, Big Guy," Tony grunts as he finally gets Steve to roll onto his belly. "Lets get this out of the way," He pulls the pillow out from under Steve's head and his face falls to the mattress, but he hardly seems to notice. "Geez, Cap. That last point really knocked you on your ass. Sorry."

Steve simply groans in response.

Tony shifts him to the middle of the bed and pulls his arms up near his head. He holds up his two hands and glances down to his phone, trying to imitate the stance the hands in the picture have. Once he is pretty sure he's got it, he presses his fingers into the muscles around Steve's shoulder blades. Steve gasps and his body tenses while Tony continues to press his fingers in.

"Mmmmm" Steve groans as his body releases the tension as the pain relief comes from the pressure point.

"Thanks, Tony," Steve mumbles with his face pressed into the bed, thoroughly relaxed and in a state of borderline intoxication as his body releases endorphins from the pressure points.

"No problem, Cap," Tony nods. "The guys will be amazed that I was able to get you to actually rest."

"The team," Steve suddenly realizes he never finished checking in on his team. "We should go check on everyone," Steve groans and rolls over with a great deal of effort.

"Nope," Tony pushes Steve back down. "You may be feeling good, but you're still injured and need to rest."

"The acupressure did the trick. I'll be all good until I start to heal in a few days," Steve drowsily starts to push past Tony toward the door.

"Down, Boy," Tony frowns and pinches Steve's shoulder. Steve stops mid-movement as he starts to roll up out of the bed. The pressure point causes him to freeze and his breath to catch. "Sorry, Cap, but you need to rest, whether you like it or not."

Tony continues to hold the point and Steve's body begins to loosen as he enters into state of tranquilization. The Inventor helps Steve to lay back down to the bed as his body goes listless. He casually scrolls down his phone for more information on the point he's pressing while Steve continues to try to fight the hold Tony has on him.

"Just relax, Cap. The team is fine. Just go to sleep," Tony follows the directions on his phone and presses the point harder and Steve's eyes roll back while his breathing begins to even out. "Hm, it's like a Vulcan neck pinch," Tony continues to read his phone while he keeps a firm hold on the point. "I'll have to remember this point the next time you go off on one of your little 'know better, do better' speeches."

Once Tony is satisfied that the Soldier is out cold, he pulls a blanket up over him and leaves to find the medical staff now that Steve is in a less objectionable state.

I actually have no real understanding of acupressure points and this is all completely made up to fit the story line. This is strictly a Steve!Whump story with no actual facts or real information on acupressure.