Title: Tony Stark: Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist, Fanboy and Screw Up

Author: Ambereyedwolfchild

Summary: Tony has been summoned to a press expo in Japan for the weekend and, while he's gone, the Avengers find a video of his 12th birthday. It's not as cute as they think it will be. Started funny then went angsty then fluffy… Steve/Tony, Stony, etc. Don't like, don't read.

Pairing: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

Status: Complete.

Story Length: 3253 words.

Disclaimer: I, sadly, do NOT own the Avengers.

A/N: I'm not gunna lie, I've not even seen the entire Avengers film, just the first half, not to mention I wrote this on holiday with no internet access and therefore no research. Expect not only a blatant disregard to canon but also some completely ridiculous historical inaccuracies, because I don't know when video cameras were invented and, if I'm completely honest, don't even care. So enjoy, or don't, and leave a review either way :)

Ellen x

Tony Stark: Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist, Fanboy and Screw Up

It all started with hide and seek. Which was entirely Clint and Natasha's idea. So really this whole mess was their fault. They had all been sat around the lounge of the newly named 'Avenger's Mansion', which was actually just the Stark mansion with a new lab built for Bruce and some training rooms for the others. Tony had been forced to go to some press expo in Japan, he'd been adamant he was far too busy to go but Pepper had insisted and, as everyone knows, Ms. Potts is a force to be reckoned with. As it happens Tony and his constant experiments kept the Avengers busier than they thought. If he wasn't sending them off to fetch some stupid thing that was 'absolutely vital to the success of the experiment' then he was enlisting their help in catching whatever the bloody hell he'd accidently made sentient. Well he claimed it was an accident but who the hell accidently creates a sentient sandwich toaster? Especially one with wheels and an aversion to anything but bagels and wheatgerm bread. Who even eats wheatgerm?

Anyway, long story short they were bored…really really very bored. So when Clint and Natasha had given them the choice of hide and seek and strip poker Steve and Bruce had, for the sake of their modesty and self respect, chosen hide and seek. After an intense game of rock, paper, scissors Natasha had been chosen to count to exactly one hundred and thirty seven, because it is a mansion after all, and the others had run off to hide. Forty minutes later Steve had been found first, hidden in a wardrobe on the first floor and Bruce had been dragged out from under a bed in one of the spare rooms. But no one could find Clint. It was hardly surprising, the man did seem to have a tendency to tuck himself in tiny spaces but after checking every nook and cranny they had no idea where he could be.

They convened in the kitchen, ignoring the fridge's obnoxiously loud humming that seemed to be a butchered version of Jessie J's Domino, and decided that they were done looking and Clint would be proclaimed winner whenever he emerged from the nest he'd made. Another half an hour later and the archer came into the lounge. Natasha was trying in vain to explain Glee to Steve and Bruce was trying to subtly steal the bowl of popcorn that was sat on the sofa between the soldier and the assassin. "You will not believe what I found." He didn't seem to care that the others had abandoned him in the game.

Natasha swung to face him, "Where the hell were you hiding? We looked everywhere!"

Clint looked unfazed at the attack, "I was in Tony's room."

"You went in Tony's room are you suicidal?" Bruce asked, looking as if someone had just told him the earth was flat or the sky was green or that America's next top model had been cancelled.

"Yes, not the point. I was snooping around and found this!" He brandished a video tape at them. "I thought it was weird 'cause he's like the poster boy for technology so I picked it up and look…" He flipped it over to show them the label, "Tony's 12th birthday."

"Wait, are you telling me you found Tony Stark's kid videos?" Natasha grinned, "We are SO watching this." Despite the fact that Steve was desperate to watch it, a little Tony would be the cutest thing ever, his wholesome gentlemanly morals demanded he respect Tony's privacy so he objected.

"No guys, we can't. You wouldn't like it if we found yours would you?"

Clint smirked, "I wouldn't care, I was a bloody brilliant child, and don't forget that Tony would watch and mock us if he found one of ours so it's only fair. Y'know… in a general, grand scheme of things type way."

Bruce grinned, "I'm with them, sorry Steve, they'll be hilarious. Don't pretend you don't want to watch them just as much as us."

He did, he really did. Because Steve's really sort of kind of madly in love with Tony, and has been for a while. He knew it was stupid and if he could fall out of love with Tony he would and watching his adorable kid videos really wouldn't help that at all.

By that time though Clint had already set up a video player and plugged in the first tape. They weren't dated, just chucked in the box, so they would just have to try and work out how old Tony was from the footage itself.

There was a moment of snow on screen as the video loaded before it switched to a shot of a lump in a duvet, only faintly visible in the light creeping around the curtains over the window. The camera turned to show a woman with a mischievous smile and a small mountain of wrapped packages. She hit the switch beside her and the lights in the bedroom flickered on, showing a tuft of black hair out of the top of- "Is that Captain America bedding?" Clint was staring at the telly in disbelief.

Bruce grinned, "I think it is. That's adorable!" Steve stared at the screen, feeling like his heart was about to melt when a little head, unmistakably Tony-even without the signature goatee, poked out and blinked blearily. He looked no older than 10 when ruffled with sleep and when it registered that there were presents he shoved back the duvet, instantly awake. The woman sat down on the edge of the bed, dumping the gifts between her and Tony.

"Happy birthday sweetie." She smiled, eyes sparkling. The sentiment was echoed by a voice that Steve recognised as Howard's, it must've been him with the camera. The little Tony began to bounce up and down in a way that was eerily reminiscent to when older Tony was explaining something unbelievably complex and clever. There was a moment of calm before Tony leapt into the presents with gusto, picking up the first one and tearing the wrapping paper to shreds in his hurry to open it. The pattern continued until the last present- wrapped in a different paper to the rest.

This time it was Natasha that interrupted, "I didn't even know they made Captain America wrapping paper." There was a chorus of "Shush!" from the others as Tony carefully, painstakingly, unwrapped the parcel, making sure he didn't accidently rip the paper. Inside was a box and, at first, they couldn't see what was inside but, after looking up at his parents with awe struck eyes, Tony showed the camera what it was.

It was a Captain America action figure, shield and all, and Tony dithered from a moment, obviously trying to decide whether to leave it in the package. It seemed that the temptation was too much to resist and he opened the box, setting it to one side as he hugged the action figure to his chest. For the first time they heard little Tony speak. "This is the bestest present EVER."

Steve thought his heart was going to explode. When the young Tony had said 'bestest' it had been obvious that the future Avenger had a lisp. A very pronounced, very cute lisp. Looking around he saw that all of the other Avengers were staring at the screen, identical expressions of 'Ohmygodthatissocute' on their faces. Even Natasha, who was scary at the best of times, looked like she wanted to scoop him up into a hug and cuddle him to death.

The video stopped and skipped to a later point in the day, showing Tony's birthday party. This time it was Tony's mum holding the camera, as Howard was too one side talking animatedly to a crowd of little kids, about the same age as Tony was before. The camera panned around, following Maria's line of sight as she looked for her son. She walked into the house, the same house that the Avengers were in right now, climbing up a flight of stairs and looking around for the birthday boy. She went to a room at the end of the main corridor on the second floor; one that Steve knew was now kept locked, and pushed open the door.

Tony was sat on the bed, arms round his knees and the Captain America toy in one hand. Now that the room was properly lit, with sunlight streaming in through huge floor to ceiling windows, you could see that the room was strewn with Captain America memorabilia. There was even a replica shield leaning against one wall. His face was buried in his knees and when Maria sat on the end of the bed, camera forgotten in one hand, he looked up and his eyes were rimmed red and sparkling with tears. His eyes immediately narrowed and he shouted at her, voice wobbly but still strong, "GET OUT. GET OUT OF MY ROOM. GET OUT OF MY LIFE! LEAVE ME ALONE. I HATE YOU AND I HATE DAD AND I HATE EVERYONE. I JUST WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE." She stood up to leave but turned around again before she reached the door, "Sweetheart…" she didn't get to finish the sentence as the action figure, so prized that morning, was thrown at her. His aim was off and it hit the door instead, bouncing off leaving nothing but a scratch on the door. Maria quickly left, shutting the door behind her and leaning against it. There was a sigh of "Oh Tony." and the screen went dark as the camera was switched off.

Before it had all seemed fun, watching a little happy Tony getting birthday presents but now it just seemed like a massive invasion of his privacy. Steve got up from the sofa and ejected the video, putting it back in the box and shutting the top with an air of finality. "Clint, go put this back. I said we shouldn't watch any of these, it's not fair to Tony."

Clint nodded, standing to get the box off the super soldier when a voice rang out behind them. "No, it's not." They all turned around guilty; the billionaire was stood, leaning against the doorway with a flat expression on his face. From a first glance he seemed calm but one look in his eyes and you could see the betrayal. Steve opened his mouth to apologise or explain or something but Tony just span on his heel, not staying to hear what they had to say. There were footsteps, climbing the stairs then a door slammed, echoing in the awkward silence that followed.

Clint stared after him, "Oh god…this is my fault. I have to go apologise." He started but Bruce laid a hand on his arm, stopping him.

"He's only going to listen to one person right now, and it's not you. If you go up there you're just gunna get your head ripped off and probably the nearest thing thrown at you." He turned to Steve solemnly, "Go and explain, try and get him to realise that we were watching because we want to know more about our friend, not because we want to embarrass him."

Without another word Steve ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time to reach the top faster. He sprinted down the corridor to Tony's room knocking and waiting for a response. There was no answer so he cautiously pushed open the door. There was no sign of Tony. A thought struck him and he walked back down the corridor, following the same path that Maria had taken in the video he had just watched, when he reached the door to Tony's old bedroom, the one he'd grown up in, he didn't knock, his need to check up on the man he'd fallen head over heels for much stronger than the gentlemanly morals that were embedded in him as a youth.

What he saw almost broke his heart. Tony was curled up on the bed, back to the door as he stared out of the windows. All of the posters were the same, if slightly faded, and the shield had moved, now hanging from the wall instead of leaning against it, but fundamentally it was still the room that Tony had sat in with his mother all those years ago. There was a moment of silence before Tony spoke, "If you're not going to leave me alone at least shut the door. I don't want the others coming up to gawp at me making a spectacle of myself again." Steve did as he was told then perched on the end of the bed awkwardly; he wanted to comfort Tony but didn't want to invade the genius' personal space any more than he already had.

"Tony… we didn't watch it to embarrass at you. We watched it because you're our friend and we wanted to know more about you. We didn't know…if we had we would never have watched it!"

There was nearly a full minute of silence before Tony spoke again. "That was the last thing I ever said to her." He sat up so he was facing Steve, unintentionally taking the same pose as he had in the video with his arms around his knees. "She went out the next morning and was hit by a car. She died on the spot. I told her to get out of my life, Steve. I told her I hated her. She cried herself to sleep that night. Howard told me. I upset her that much. She died thinking I hated her, and then Dad found the video still in the camera and he changed, he blamed me for her death. And it was my fault! I told her to leave and if I hadn't she'd still be here!" Something inside the genius broke; he buried his face in his arms hiding the tears that began to race down his cheeks. When he spoke again his voice was cracked and muffled, "Look just go. I know you want to. This must freak you out so much, all of this stupid Captain America stuff. I never even realised how much I had until now, until I'm faced with you actually seeing it… I just… you were my hero. Did you know that? Of course not." Tony looked up eyes locked on Steve's, "After mum died it was all I had… I used to think that one day you'd turn up and whisk me away and save me from Dad… then you woke up and when you first saw me you called me 'Howard'… I didn't know what to do so I started being a dick towards you and pushing you away. You used to look at me, all confused and I knew you were comparing me to Howard. But I'm nothing like him, I'm just a screw up. I've tried to be like him! I tried my whole life, but I couldn't do it and I let him down and I let you down. Then when you all moved in I was so scared you'd all realise how fucked up I am that you'd leave me so I hid it all away. I thought I got it all… I can't belie-"

Steve snapped, his eyes were glowing with blue fire. "Shut up Tony." The other man shut his mouth suddenly, shocked by the anger in Steve's voice, "Don't ever talk about yourself like that. You are not weak and you're not a screw up. You're the strongest, smartest, most amazing person I know. You've put up with so much from everyone and your stupid father hurt you. You have every right in the world to be like this. I'd have given up long ago. I wouldn't have been strong enough for half the things you've done; you built a machine to keep yourself alive in a cave, you fight for what you believe in and what you love every single day and have to fight the press in the process. Everyone is always putting you down and you never show any weakness. Don't you ever call yourself a screw up Tony. You're anything but. I feel honoured to have been your hero and I only wish I could have saved you because I may have been your childhood hero but you're my hero now. Not because you're Iron Man, or because you're Howard's son. Because you're you. Because you build machines just to keep your hands busy and manage to make them sentient, something most scientists and engineers only dream of, without even realising. Because you refuse to sleep or eat but god forbid any of us don't look after ourselves or you'll have JARVIS babysit us for a month. Because you fight crime, run a company, design new technology or improve old technology and still manage to answer every single letter sent to you by awestruck kids. Because you're Tony Stark and you don't answer to anybody. Never forget that."

As Tony just stared at him, almost unable to comprehend what the blonde man was saying, Steve gave into his instincts and pulled him into a loose hug, gentle enough so that he could pull away if he wanted to. Tony collapsed against him, like he was the only thing keeping him anchored, and buried his face in the blonde's neck, still shaking slightly. They sat like that for what felt like hours but could only have been minutes before Tony pulled away, not letting go of his death grip on Steve's shoulders. Tony closed his eyes as he tried to steady his breathing but opened them again when he felt Steve rest their foreheads together. Steve had his eyes closed and Tony could feel the soldier's breath ghosting across his lips, making them tingle.

Tony doesn't dare close his eyes again, afraid that he'd lose the moment forever. Steve rested their foreheads together and Tony wondered if he tried to... to kiss him, if Steve would pull away. Probably he concluded, but perhaps he could risk it. Tony pressed their foreheads together just a little harder, before tilting his head, and before he could get a reaction he pressed a small chaste kiss against the blonde's lips, before pulling back and resting their foreheads together again, eyes closed, scared of Steve's reaction. Would he push him away? Be disgusted? It was so gentle that Steve almost missed it, his heart leapt into his throat and he turned his head just slightly, holding the dark haired man tighter when it felt like he was going to try and get away. Slowly, terrified of screwing this up, he pressed his lips to Tony's, their breath mingling as he became completely trapped in the moment, never wanting it to end. Tony pulled away reluctantly, he had to breathe even if Steve didn't, and he struggled to hide his stupid grin. This was more than he ever hoped for, more than he ever thought he'd get with the super soldier. Steve could see Tony's lopsided grin creeping up on him and he said, voice low and breathless (regardless of what Tony thought the kiss had stolen his breath, too), "Tony Stark." He hoped he wouldn't regret this, "I think I love you." And he hoped that Tony didn't pull away.

Tony's stupid, lopsided grin grew even more, "Good. Because I think I might just love you too."

A/N: I don't even know what just happened. It started off as a light, cheery fic and then went all sad and angsty and then fluffy again. My only defence is that it's really late and like 40 degrees and my brain has overheated. I really don't like this, but it's my first Avengers fic and I just need it out of my system so I can write the other Avengers ideas I have.

So yeah… review?

Ellen x