Hi guys! As you may or may not know, I am the HUGEST Iron Man fan. Period. No competition please.

But Anyway, I was just bothered by the fact that everyone thinks he's a snotty rich kid who only cares about himself. Actually, he's really sweet. (Don't ask me how I know that, it's a really long strange story you won't believe in the least. He is also very, very, hot!) He's just heavily opinionated and has a few social problems. (PLZ don't judge.) This is how he proved himself to his companions.


Under the Armor
Chapter 1: I Could Just Cut the Wire

Steve sighed deeply, letting the musty air rush into his lungs. He had sat himself on a chair on one of the smaller porches, branching off the living room of the tower. The sky was a deep grey, the sun filtering silver light through the heavy clouds. The rain poured lazily, as if it couldn't decide whether to stop or keep going. Steve's sketch pad lay discarded on the floor beside him, along with a small pencil box. He had given up drawing the city a while ago, instead deciding to listen to the vivid music of the rain. It wasn't until a small clap of thunder rolled over the clouds he decided to go inside. Steve quickly swiped the sketch pad and pencils from the concrete floor, and tucked them under his arm. The door swung shut behind him, and he gazed absentmindedly at the empty living room, illuminated by the grey light of the clouds. The rain started to pound harder on the windows, making a steady; pitter patter pitter patter; echo halfheartedly through the empty room. Steve sighed again, growing restless of the deafening silence. It wasn't until he heard a very loud crash from a few floors down that he moved, taking cautiously to the elevator. He thumbed the button to the 37th floor. The lift rolled slowly down, and the doors dinged open. Steve stepped surefootedly into the room, spotting Tony fiddling in an upset manner with a confusing lump of red and gold metal and wires.

"What happened this time?" Steve asked, a small smile appearing on his face.

Tony snorted, looking up from his machine. "The usual." He muttered casually; indicating the small kitchenette that had been installed into the lab. Beside it a pair of small robots whirred, hastily cleaning a large mess of orange smoothie. it had become common for one of the robots to make a slip, or forget to put the lid on the smoothie machine.

"Fair enough." Steve muttered, glancing at the mess. "Why don't we go see a movie or something? You've been in here for days."

Tony snorted again, looking back at Steve. "Since when did Captain America have concern over me?" He asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow with a cheesy grin plastered to his face.

Steve rolled his eyes. "What about that new Star Trek movie?" He inquired casually before looking expectantly at Tony. Tony jumped from his seat, and rushed to the elevator like a kid that had eaten too much caffeine. "I take that as a yes." Steve said to himself, and then strolled towards the elevator where Tony impatiently waited.

When they finally found themselves at the lobby; Steve insisted that they walk, because Tony's choice of car would attract attention, and the theater was only few blocks away. After a lot of coaxing and a little bit of bribing, they finally started to stroll to the theater. They quickly found their seats, Steve trying to hide how comfortable he felt sitting down there. It reminded him of before he joined the army, when he would sit in the theater and watch the news or one of the old movies. He smiled to himself, cherishing the memory. The movie felt like it had whizzed by, and they soon found themselves leaving the theater, trooping back to the tower through the rain and puddles. The two wondered the long way back, taking in the open space of the area around them. Tony and Steve where almost to the tower when it happened. Steve was crossing the road, and a car came barreling towards him. It wasn't showing any signs of stopping. He was paralyzed, and the world seemed to go in slow motion. The car seemed to inch towards the crosswalk, but Steve felt everything freeze up for some reason. Then he felt it. He was pushed violently out of the way, and the world sped past him again. He crashed into a relatively deep puddle, saving him from getting any bruises. But the second he touched the water, he pushed himself up again, and whirled around. Tony was sprawled in the rain, blood gushing from his side and arm. His eyes where squeezed tight, his teeth gritted. It took Steve a minute to realize what had happened. Tony had pushed him out of the way. Tony had taken the hit. He felt the world blur and slow down again. Someone was screaming for an ambulance, others crowding around in a silent shock. Steve was shocked. Soon the ambulance arrived, making quick work of carting Tony to the nearest hospital. He managed to wrangle a seat in the ambulance, but his mind was elsewhere.

"I've seen men worth ten of you." Steve had shot at Tony angrily. "And I've seen the footage. The only thing you fight for is yourself. Your not the guy to make the sacrifice play. To lay down on the wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire." Tony mocked back.

"There's always a way out isn't there?" Steve smirked. " You know you may not be a threat, but you had better stop acting like a hero."

Now that memory kept ringing through Steve's mind, bouncing back to bite him over and over again. They had never gotten along. He regretted ever trying to not know him now. He had always looked at Tony as a selfish man.

"Your not the guy to make the sacrifice play"

Bouncing back again. Steve had never hammered this far into the rock face. He had never gotten so far past Tony's thick shell. He had always hidden any care with a smirk or a sarcastic comment. And he had a rough enough history to know that sometimes, things like that where needed. He didn't want other people to suffer his pain, even though the people close to him had suffered enough of it to know how painful it was. Steve put his head in his hands. Tony was not selfish. Tony cared.