1940
"The formula will improve everything about you, from your physical strength to your strength of will. Tell me, Steven, did you enjoy school as a child?" Dr. Erskine asked, smiling. The final preparation was almost complete. They were just waiting for Howard to give the all-clear.
"I didn't pay much attention in school. I was trying to earn enough money for my mother's medical care," he admitted, looking down. It was still a fresh pain, the death of his mother, even though it had been a few years. Bucky's parents had taken him in, and then they'd gotten their apartment together. Now he was off training and Steve was about to be a guinea pig.
"You will find it much easier to learn, after the procedure. Your brain will improve as much as the rest of you does. I told you that everything is magnified. The brain is not exempt to that magnification," Erskine informed him.
"Does that include emotions?" Steve asked suddenly, worried. He didn't want to feel worse than he already did.
"The good will be better, the bad worse. But they will also fade more quickly over time. Besides, this is a war. You will not have time to dwell on past sorrow. Now, are you ready? Stark is giving his final speech, then it is our turn," he replied. Steve nodded.
2015
For the first time since he'd come out of the ice, he had time to relax. The world was at peace, or at least rebuilding. No new threats had shown up in the last few days, and he was ready to finally have a second to catch his breath. It was not meant to be.
"There you are, Cap. Have you been hiding or something? Bruce and I need your help lifting heavy slabs of metal. We're building a cage for the green guy, just in case," Tony called from the doorway of Steve's new room in Stark Tower. He was already regretting giving up his apartment in Brooklyn. This was not worth it.
"What kind of metal would even keep him inside, other than vibranium? And I know you don't have vibranium, Stark," he protested.
"Come and see for yourself! It's a close second place; adamantium. Heard of Wolverine? The mutant with the metal claws? Yeah, that metal is adamantium, and it's almost as indestructible. It will take Hulk hours to get out of this cage. But first we have to build it. Which means we need you and Thor to hold up metal slabs so we can weld them together," Tony replied.
"You've already recruited Thor?" Steve asked, resigned. If Thor had agreed, he no longer had a choice. He'd said a long time ago that he was a part of this team, and if half of his team was already involved, he pretty much had to be there. Too many fights broke out when he wasn't there to mediate.
"He's waiting downstairs with Bruce. I was nominated to get you," Tony informed him smugly, knowing he'd won.
"As long as Clint stays far away from this project, I'm in," Steve relented. Things took twice as long when Clint and Tony were in close proximity to each other. There was too much joking around and too many explosions for anything to work the way it should. Usually it would take Natasha and Steve both to gain control of the situation, and Nat was out on a mission in some other (classified) country.
"Birdbrain isn't even in the building. I think he went out to lunch with some poor girl he knew from before. Kate something," Tony told him, leaning against the wall of the elevator. "There is no danger of explosions today unless Thor is messing with the weather while we work."
That had also happened once. Clint had spent an entire morning explaining 'trolling' to Thor, and when they were testing Stark's new equipment Thor thought it would be fun to try it for himself. The resulting explosion had leveled the gym area, and the damage had taken three weeks to be repaired. Clint had found that his wifi password changed daily for a month, and was usually a new insult Tony thought up on the spot.
"I don't trust that," he muttered, following Tony out of the elevator and into the room they were apparently lining with adamantium. The floor was already done, and he could see that Thor was working hard on getting one of the walls done. Bruce was welding two pieces together while Thor held the one in place. Tony gestured to the wall across from them and Steve easily lifted the first two pieces into place.
Three hours later, the room was done and Steve had a lot of questions about the different qualities of metals. He wasn't sure adamantium would hold up to the Hulk's strength, because it hadn't felt all that hard to him. He made his way back to his apartment and took out his barely-used Starkpad to look it up. He then spent the next three and a half hours reading about different kinds of metal and their uses. He retained most of the information too, and managed to shock Tony with his knowledge three different times.
After that, he spent a long time on his Starkpad learning different things. It started with the metals and turned into different art techniques that he hadn't gotten to learn in school. Once he'd mastered those, he started looking at the different designs that Tony had worked on. JARVIS was only able to give him a small selection, since most of them were Tony's private files, but they were very interesting. From there, he went on to learn all that he could about engineering.
He didn't realize that others had taken notice of his interest until new books started showing up in his room. The first one was on his desk one day after he came back up from the gym. It was a pretty simple text on the mechanics of a car that took him about a day to read and memorize. The next day, it was a book about computers and their progress through the decades. Each day brought a new book and new little bits of knowledge. There was a note with the latest one, and it made Steve smile.
I'm running out of ideas for new topics, Rogers. If you want more, you're going to have to actually come talk to me. -TS
He and Tony hadn't had a serious conversation since the Chitauri invasion, and Steve was almost dreading it. They'd both said a lot of things they didn't really mean in the heat of the moment, and he knew Tony wasn't going to want to acknowledge it. In his months of living in the tower, he'd discovered that emotions were avoided when possible. When he and Pepper had split up, none of them had seen Tony for a week. They knew Rhodey came to see him because he'd stopped in to introduce himself before going to find Tony, but they had no idea how long he stayed for or what he did to get Tony back on his feet. At the end of the week, Tony was back to being his (slightly annoying) self, and Rhodey was back to wherever he spent most of his time.
"You know, the two of you would get along just fine if you gave each other a chance," Natasha told him one evening after she'd returned. "He spends all of his time down in that workshop, but each one of us know him better than you do. You know all of us. He is part of this team too, Steve."
"I know. I just can't help feeling like he doesn't actually want me around. His father apparently spent all of his time looking for me, and now I'm here... Tony has every right to resent me. I would, in his place," he replied.
"I think you'll find he doesn't resent you at all. He resents Captain America. Like the rest of us, he's learned that Steve Rogers is not the same as Captain America. Now it is your turn to realize that Tony Stark is not Howard Stark," she said with a small smile that Steve didn't understand.
"I know he isn't Howard. They're nothing alike," he protested. She nooded.
"Exactly. So give this Stark a chance and let the past stay behind. The future needs you now," she stated, leaving him alone to process that.
The next morning found him in the workshop with Tony, listening to him explain his latest project in detail that he was actually following thanks to the books he'd been reading.
"Why did you give me all of those books?" he asked when Tony took a break to make more coffee. It was the one thing the bots were apparently not allowed to do in his workshop. ("Have you seen Dum-E with a fire extinguisher? No way am I letting him near my coffee machine!")
"JARVIS monitors all of the internet searches in the tower. When he told me you were reading up on science and engineering, I thought I'd lend a hand with information that is actually accurate and not whatever some novice was posting online. I figured you'd want the facts and not the fiction," Tony replied with a shrug, passing Steve his own mug of fresh coffee.
"I appreciate that. When I was being prepared for the serum, Erskine told me that everything about myself would be amplified, mind and body. Not only did I get strength, but I got the capacity to learn and retain more knowledge. There was never really time to test that before, but everything has been quiet lately. Thought I'd give it a try," Steve admitted.
"And what conclusion have you come to?" Tony asked, interested. He hadn't gone back to his suit, paying full attention to what Steve was saying. It was unusual, but Steve liked having his attention.
"He was right. It's a lot easier to remember things now, and I have an easier time understanding things I had no clue about back before the serum. I never would have understood any of this, back then," he admitted. "I was a different person before the serum."
"I wonder if we would have gotten along, before. You probably would have hated me," Tony said quietly.
"The only people I hated were the bullies. If you spent time antagonizing people who had it worse than you, then I would have hated you. Otherwise, we would have gotten along just fine," Steve assured him.
"I didn't insult anyone who wasn't a reporter of some kind. The paparazzi drove me crazy, and I probably would have been sued a few times if it wasn't for Pepper. She has always been good at getting me out of trouble like that. But the people you'd be talking about, I actually worked to help. Quietly, out of the public eye. That's what the Maria Stark Foundation is all about," Tony told him.
"See, we would have been fine. What brought this on, anyways? We're friends now, and I'm not that different," Steve asked, frowning slightly.
"Oh, nothing. It's just a thought I've had for a while now. You know that my father idolized you. You were his first project that succeeded. After you, he knew he wasn't a failure. Made it easier for him to succeed on other things, new found confidence. That was his favorite story to tell." Tony had moved back to his suit and was dismantling the arm he'd just put together. "Now, show me what you learned."
Over the course of a few weeks, Tony and Steve bonded over engineering knowledge. Tony was teaching him mechanical skills, and they were working on fixing Steve's old bike. He'd had to fight to stop Tony from making "improvements" on it, even though some of them sounded fairly interesting. The last thing he wanted was his last remaining possession from the forties to explode, though. He still remembered when he and Bucky picked it out.
1938
"Come on, punk. It's your eighteenth birthday. This is the coolest one on the lot, and if we don't get it while we can afford it you'll regret it forever," Bucky told him. He was right and Steve knew it.
"Don't be a jerk, Buck. I just don't know if it's a good idea," he replied. He'd already made up his mind. He wasn't leaving without that bike. But he could make Bucky think he was against it, and maybe they'd get a better price if it looked like he wasn't going to take it.
"Hey, if it's really not what you want for your birthday, we can go to that art store you're always talkin' bout. No big deal," Bucky said easily, wrapping an arm around Steve's waist. Steve leaned into him instinctively, loving the way he always felt safe in Bucky's arms.
"You know I want it. I'm just not looking forward to giving Mom a heart attack when she sees it," Steve admitted, much to Bucky's amusement.
"Everything you do puts her towards an early grave," Bucky teased. "What's a motorcycle compared to the fights you get into?"
They bought the bike and drove it back to Steve's house that very day. They kept it in top condition together, and Steve took it with him when he finally got accepted into the army.
2015
The first call into action came almost a year after the Chitauri invasion. They were all at the tower having dinner, finally getting along as a team. The alarm was one that none of them, not even Tony, had heard before, and it had them all running for the respective weapons to face whatever would come through the kitchen door. Instead of some horrible enemy, they were face-to-face with Phil Coulson.
"Someone has built mechanical predators, and they are attacking downtown right now. It's time for you to show the world that the Avengers are still around," he told them calmly, as though he hadn't just come back from the dead.
"What the fuck?!" Tony shouted, glaring at the agent.
"You'll have time to ask questions and yell later. Right now, innocent people are dying from robot lions and panthers. Whatever you have to say to me will still be valid when you're done," Coulson informed them all. It took the combined effort of Steve and (surprisingly) Natasha to get the others out of the tower and on the way to the threat.
"He just appears after being dead and we're seriously letting him get away with it?" Clint snapped, firing an arrow through a mechanical lion's head.
"We're not letting it go. We're just prioritizing," Natasha said in her deadly calm tone that meant 'stop arguing or suffer'.
"Speaking of prioritizing, think you could give me a hand here Birdbrain? I'm surrounded and can't get off the ground," Tony called through the comms.
"I've got it," Steve answered before Clint could come up with some insult to sling back. Their fighting in the middle of a battle was not needed that day.
"Spoilsport," Clint muttered.
"There are plenty of others, Barton. Take your pick and shoot," Nat told him, following her own advice. They could all hear Hulk having fun a few blocks over, and Steve could only hope that he was only smashing the animals.
It went fairly quickly. When the person controlling the animals realized they weren't going to survive the Avengers, he retreated and left the remaining animals behind. Without somebody to control them, they were harmless. Tony begged until Steve let him bring one back to the tower with him to be studied. As promised, Phil was still waiting for them when they got back.
Steve had never seen Clint and Tony so angry, and he was privately glad that the anger was not directed at him. The only one who seemed genuinely happy to see Coulson was Thor. Natasha retreated to her room within the first five minutes, and Thor followed shortly after. Steve stayed for the whole meeting, watching as Clint stormed out to the balcony and Tony took the elevator down to the workshop.
"You could have picked a better way to tell us, you know. Or even just sooner. It's been a year," he said quietly.
"It wasn't my choice to stay hidden. It wasn't my choice to come today, either. Fury thought it would be a good idea for you to see me and realize what SHIELD is capable of. His words, not mine. Is there a reason you're not shouting at me as well?" Coulson replied.
"I figure they've said everything there is to say plus some. Tony had some insults there that I'd never heard before. I was a little impressed," Steve admitted. Coulson just nodded.
"You'll be seeing me quite a bit more, I think. Fury intends for me to take up the role of liaison between the Avengers and SHIELD. The last guy only lasted a week before he gave up. I've been paying attention to details like that. Just because I haven't been here doesn't mean I don't care. Please don't think that's the case," he said quietly.
"I know how Fury is. His secrets have secrets. I can't say I'm even surprised to see you, honestly. It was only a matter of time before he threw some new shock at us, and I'm glad it was something good. You're a good man, Coulson," Steve stated carefully.
"A better man than me would have found a way to tell you all sooner," he protested.
"And face Fury's wrath? I doubt it. I know I wouldn't have," Steve said with a smile. When Phil left, it was with the assurance that he wouldn't be keeping any more secrets from the team.
This time when Rhodey showed up, he pulled Steve aside before going down to see Tony and fix things for him. Steve had never had an actual conversation with Rhodey before, so he was curious to see what the man wanted and maybe learn more about his friend.
"Listen, I can't be here for more than a day or two this time. That won't be enough time, I'm pretty sure. Last time we talked, he told me that you guys were finally getting to know each other?" he asked. Steve nodded. "Then there's something you need to know. For all of his talk about hating Captain America because of his father, he never really hated you. You were his first crush, and I honestly don't think that ever went away with time. You're all he talks about when he calls me anymore."
Of anything he could have been expecting Rhodey to say, that was not it. "What are you saying?" he asked carefully.
"I'm saying that if I can't manage to fix him in the two days that I'm here, you should be able to. I just know that Tony would never tell you about this. Now that you know, you can react accordingly," Rhodey answered. "Try not to break my best friend too badly, if that's what you choose."
"I would never hurt him," Steve said automatically. Rhodey grinned as Steve realized just exactly what he was saying. But even as he opened his mouth to correct it, he realized that he really did mean it. He would never hurt Tony, because he cared about him far too much.
"If I don't get down there, he's going to get suspicious. Don't tell him that I told you, okay?" he said in parting, not waiting for an answer.
Two days later found Steve just outside of the workshop, trying to figure out what he could even say to get this particular conversation started. How did one confess that they'd fallen for their best friend? And what if Rhodey was wrong? But he didn't have very long to think about it before the door was opening and Tony was just staring at him and waiting for him to walk in or walk away.
"You going to just pace out there or actually come in and be helpful?" Tony asked, lips twitching in amusement. He seemed to be doing okay.
"Depends on what you're working on that you need me to be helpful for," Steve answered with a small smile. "If it involves explosions or potential injury, you're on your own."
"I was thinking of ordering takeout and watching a movie. I'm done down here for a while. Nothing I've been doing has worked out anyways. I can't concentrate," Tony said quietly.
"It was a shock. We all mourned him, I know. But isn't it a good thing that he isn't really dead?" Steve asked. Tony shook his head.
"When he was gone, it was something that I'd accepted. He was in a better place, one less person to worry about. Now he's back, and it's made me realize that we could lose him all over again. We could go through all of that pain again, for real this time. If he dies again, there's no way to bring him back. Did you know that? It can only be used once. I read the files back when they first designed it," he replied. "So no, it's not a good thing. Not to me. I can't lose someone else, Steve. I just can't."
"But you're not losing anyone. You're gaining someone back. We're all still here, and you know we're going to protect him. Doesn't matter how angry everybody else is at him, they don't want to see him die again," Steve assured him. Tony just shook his head. "Alright. Takeout and movie sounds good to me."
"Can we talk about something else? Anything," Tony said quietly, locking the workshop behind them. "I'm so tired of thinking about that."
"Sure. I actually came down here to talk to you about something specific anyways," Steve agreed. Tony's eyes narrowed nervously.
"This is because of Rhodey. I knew he talked to you about something. You should know that he is a lying liar that lies," he said quickly, his eyes not quite meeting Steve's.
"You know exactly what he said, don't you?" Steve asked, amused. If he'd been looking for some kind of proof that Rhodey was right, this was it.
"He can't keep things from me. It took less than ten minutes for him to tell me exactly what he said to you. So whatever you've been planning to say, however you were wanting to let me down gently, just don't. I don't want to hear it," Tony replied, looking at the floor.
"And if I wasn't going to let you down at all? He might have told you what he said, but I'm guessing he didn't mention what my reply was," Steve stated.
"Getting my hopes up is just cruel. I didn't think Captain America was cruel. This is not the good kind of surprise, Steve," Tony grumbled, jabbing at the elevator button angrily.
"Would you stop and just look at me for a second?" Steve demanded, exasperated. When Tony finally did, he didn't waste any time with words. He pushed him against the wall and kissed him, putting all of his emotions into the kiss to prove to Tony that he really meant it. He was relieved when Tony kissed back, because he hadn't been sure of the reaction this would cause.
"Okay, maybe you were being serious. You should do that one more time to make sure," Tony said quietly when they stopped to breathe.
"I will do that many more times," Steve assured him, just as the elevator arrived. "But in private, where people can't just walk around a corner and see us. Because the things I want to do aren't appropriate for an audience."
"I like the way you think, Rogers," Tony said with a grin, pulling Steve into the elevator. "My room it is."