The great Tony Stark was currently limping his way to the showers at SHIELD headquarters. The suit had protected him enough but the impact from a Hulk would damage just about anyone no matter what they were wearing. He sighed frustrated at having to actually work the shower; he was so used to just stepping in and everything working for him. Yup, he was definitely a spoiled brat but did he care? Not one bit, he was Tony Stark, he had ever right to be pampered. He knew that once he got home he wasn't going to do any actual work until he felt like it, which would cause a huge piss match between him and Pepper, which is just what he needed. The genius thumped his head against the wall gently, sighing in frustration. He just saved the world but he knew he wasn't going to get a break, he was lucky he was even being allowed to shower.

After scrubbing all the grime and sweat off he just stood there in the warm water, contemplating the days events. Thor was currently arranging things with Loki and the Tesseract, Banner was packing his things and getting ready to move in with Tony…and Steve, Tony had to slap himself for the way he thought about that man. Steve, Captain America, the man his father always went on about was obsessed with finding. Hearing all the things about the Captain was enough to make him idolize him as a young child but he never realized what his father's deal was until he actually met him.

He was a good man; no…he was a saint. He was someone the cruel world did not deserve, someone Tony didn't deserve.

Tony glared at the wall, mentally screaming at himself. Why was he thinking like that? He and Steve were strictly co-workers, sort of. If you can consider both being an Avenger being co-workers then yes. Back to his original train of thought, Steve's face was the first he saw after he was quickly awoken by the Hulk. Those baby blues had looked so worried, so sad. It had shocked him and it was that look and the closeness that made him ask if anyone had kissed him. He honestly wouldn't have minded if the captain had. Tony shook his head and turned the water off, shaking his hair out he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked back into his little room. His clothes that he'd been wearing under his suit were washed and sitting folded on the most uncomfortable cot in the world. He dried off and began dressing himself when there was a slight knock on the door and it slid open.

Standing there in the door was the man he was trying to keep off his mind. Steve Rogers appeared to be freshly cleaned up as well and was looking quite nice in a flannel button up shirt and blue jeans.

"Hello Captain, can I help you?" Tony pulled on his smooth playboy persona and pulled on his shirt, noticing how the super soldier gave him a once over.

"I just, I wanted to tell you that…" He was choking on his words like he did the first time he spoke with Peggy. Why was the cocky billionaire able to do this to him?

"I was really worried about you; I thought I was going to lose another great soldier again." Shit, did he word that right?

"How many times do I need to tell you we're not soldiers?" Tony sneered and stood there awkwardly in the middle of the room, starring back at Steve who looked like he was going to die of embarrassment.

Yeah, he screwed that line up. "Right…" He trailed off and stared at his feet.

"Is that all Captain? I need to go and meet up with Banner and discuss his living accommodations" He sighed maintaining his suave aloofness.

"I want to take back what I said…about you not being a real hero. I…I see now I was wrong. The way you went right for the nuke without any guidance and ignored just how risky and life threatening it was…I just…I want to say I'm proud and you proved me wrong." He looked right in Tony's eyes. Tony was having trouble keeping up the act and keeping himself off of Steve.

"Thanks Cap, I had a great role model." He pat the man on the shoulder and then swerved around him and out of the room. If he'd been there any longer he'd proclaim his desire and everything would begin to crumble. Now was not the right time to deal with things on such a deep emotional level.

Steve gaped off into the room after Tony left, did Tony mean him? No…there was no way. Maybe he could have, he was Howard's son and he must have heard stories. As far as he knew though Howard didn't care that much, so the stories couldn't have been that spectacular. He shook it off and decided to put in the back of his mind, he needed to get out and see the new world before he could worry about these kinds of things.

They all stood in the park, standing around Thor and Loki. Loki was cuffed and had a muzzle of some sort on. Thor had said they were going back to Asgard so Loki could pay for his crimes and then Thor would return when he could. They all wished Thor goodbye and watched them disappear with the Tesseract. Natasha and Clint went off on their own to reminisce on old times and relax for once in their lives. Tony watched as Steve climbed onto his motor cycle and drove off. He sighed and turned around to face Bruce.

"Ready to live the live of luxury?" He sighed and headed out towards his car, signaling the doctor to follow.

"Sure, I'm apologizing in advance if the other guy breaks any valuables."

"Oh don't worry about it; you've done a pretty good job of controlling him haven't you?" Bruce shrugged.

"Not completely, but sort of." Tony forced a smile.

"Well that's a start. Don't worry about breaking things, I'm a billionaire." He laughed and got in the drivers seat. "I've programmed Jarvis to alert me when you go green so I can lock down the most important things. So go nuts whenever you want really." He sped off back towards his house. "Well, that'll go into affect once Stark tower is rebuilt. So…you know what, go nuts because I need that thing torn down so I can restart. Hulk smash to your hearts content!" He chuckled and gave his mischievous look. Bruce just smiled and shook his head. "Aren't you just happy you decided to move in with me now?"

"Well, I'm definitely not going to stay with Fury. I mean, look what it does to Natasha and Clint. No thank you…" He laughed dryly and watched out the window. "I can't believe just yesterday we saved the world." Tony wasn't sure how to react.

"It's an odd thing really, don't worry though. There's going to be a lot of controversy over whether or not we should be allowed to do so. I don't quite understand why it's a question or why people don't like it. I mean, the police obviously can't do it on their own. SHIELD is a government group, we keep them safe. I've done it tons of times, so has the Captain." Bruce nodded in agreement.

The rest of the car ride was silent as they headed back to Stark tower. Tony was trying hard once again to not think about the star spangled man with a plan and was failing miserably.

Pepper was waiting at the entrance for him and Bruce with a smile on her face.

"Mr. Banner, welcome." She greeted and shook his hand.

"Please, Bruce is just fine and it's nice to be here." He smiled and followed them inside. "How long do you think it'll take you to rebuild?" They rode the elevator to Tony's lab.

"Oh…depends, I can have a design within...two days perhaps. Demolition won't take long if you're helping out. So, two weeks tops." Tony sighed and stepped out of the elevator and towards the glass doors. He typed in a code to the panel and opened the door. "Wake up kiddies, Daddy's home." All his robotic friends greeted him hello and in a way 'sniffed' Bruce.

He smiled and laughed softly at all the robots. "They're like small children."

"Yeah, sometimes. Jarvis set Bruce Banner into the system please."

"Yes sir,"

"You can take a seat here on the spinning chair. That's my special spinning chair, feel special." He sighed. "Seriously," He added and gave Bruce that serious face he managed to pull when he was being a smartass. Bruce chuckled and sat down and watched as Tony brought up the blue print of the tower that was now standing. As he was going to start redsigning he paused, "Wait...I have an idea." He wiped it all clean. "Jarvis, get Pepper down here please."

Steve drove all around New York looking at all the new sights. His mind was able to wander and drift as he drove with the wind blowing his face. He was deep in thought as he drove past some of the places that were still the same. His mind drifted from memories to thoughts of Tony and it was rather frustrating. He did feel like his relationship with the man was sketchy, they were mostly friends but not very close. The least they could be was better friends because there was no way Steve's other day dreams would come true. Hell, Tony was with Pepper who loved and cared for him and knew him way better than Steve. He had to pull over so he didn't crash while in the midst of complicated thoughts. He looked up, and laughed quietly. Somehow he'd managed to pull over in front of a pub. He got off his bike and headed inside for a drink, he knew he couldn't get drunk so driving after this shouldn't be a problem.

He stepped inside and found a stool, he ordered himself a drink and spaced off, lost in his thoughts. He was there for a good amount of time, drinking away and losing himself in his thoughts.

He should just go to Tony; no…he needs to keep distance for a while. He's probably busy with his tower, Banner and his job in general. The avengers were set to meet up again in a month, what the hell was he supposed to do for a whole month? How was he supposed to handle a month away from his friends? He paid for his drinks and walked on out of the establishment and got back on his bike. Driving around he decided he couldn't do this on his own. Before he knew it, he was back at SHIELD.

Steve walked up and smiled for the security man. Hard to mistake who he was really. He was let in easily and headed inside to see Fury.

"Mr. Rogers, what are you doing back here?" He looked at him skeptically with his one eye.

"I don't know what to do with myself Fury. I have nothing outside of here, obviously. I probably can't live on my own because of all the technology I don't understand." Fury stood there for a moment just looking at Steve.

"Well, Captain. I think I have a place for you that you might actually enjoy. There's a place in Brooklyn that was built a few years ago upon your discovery and thawing. It's a home for World War II veterans and those who knew of you. They're all rather old but they're still kicking and there are even some other war veterans there that heard about you and just veterans in general. I'm sure they'd love to have you there to talk with the men. They will probably give you a nice room. How does that sound? I can set up something for you." Steve gaped for a moment, surprised at hearing this.

"Yes sir, that'd be great. Thank you." He smiled.

"Know this Captain; I don't normally help with the heroes so realize how much this means." He nodded.

"Yes sir, thank you." He smiled and headed back out ready for something calming to do.

Tony was standing off to the side, starring up to the top of his building. He hated the fact that he had just built it and made it spectacular for it to be destroyed in the battle and have to rebuild. He was going to make it better though, there's always room for improvement on just about everything, except for him…he was perfect. That thought made him smile triumphantly, he was just too funny to himself sometimes.

He and Bruce had had an amazing epiphany while in the midst of creating the new tower's blue print. It was a long tiring talk with Pepper but it was worth it, because in the end he had won. Tony was actually somewhat proud of himself for wanting to do this; hopefully the others liked the idea too.

Pepper had finished talking to the men in charge of the dumpsters and headed back over to him.

"I hope this isn't very messy. If things get too chaotic you know we could be neck deep,"

"I'm well aware of that and I'm always neck deep in shit. It wouldn't be the first time everyone hates me for something I do. Bruce has got this though, he's got it so deep in his head that there's no way the other guy can forget it. It'll be fine, I promise." He smiled as reassuringly as he could then jumped slightly when he heard that loud roar and the pummeling began. "I'm so happy we got everything moved. Well, why don't we go and let the big guy have some fun? A nice lunch perhaps?" Tony smiled his winning smile and headed to the garage for a car.

Steve pulled up in front the two story building. Looking it over a few times he took a deep breath, got off his bike and headed inside. There was a reception desk in the corner. The place smelt of leather and old men, but he didn't care. The young man at the desk looked up from whatever he was doing and smiled at Steve. He had shaggy dark hair that he flipped to the side and big child like green eyes. He didn't look very old, 18 at the oldest.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"Hello, I'm Steve Rogers I believe a Mr. Nick Fury called…" He smiled politely. The young man gaped for a moment and then nodded.

"Captain America, yes he did. Excuse me if I start rambling but it's not everyday one gets to interact with a real hero." Steve smiled bashfully and shook the young man's hand.

"It's quite alright,"

"So, I suppose you're curious as to what's going on." Steve nodded and followed the young man out of the lobby and the hall to the left. "We will be very happy to give you a room and care, this place was built in your honor. We would really appreciate it if you would sit in with the veterans at the daily meetings and perhaps visit each individually in their rooms."

"I would love to," He smiled genuinely. "So what's the layout of this place?" He asked as he followed the man into an elevator.

"We have elevators on each end of the building for the residents to use so they don't strain themselves too much, the staff used the stairs. Rooms and meeting rooms are on the top floor while the gym and dinning hall are on the main floor. Your room is up here with the others. I promise there's nothing too complicated in the room, most of the people here can't work today's technology either." He chuckled and smiled a childish smile which Steve couldn't help but return. The elevator dinged and opened to wider hallway with doors on either side. "You're room is all the way down here, so if you'll follow me. Mr. Fury had some things sent here for you to use just in case you didn't know." Steve shook his head and looked all around.

"You said there was a gym?"

"Yes, some of our veterans like working out and keeping in shape. Guess it was lodged into them well when they were in their prime. We have a pool, boxing ring, and little track around the gym for them to walk on. Feel free to go in and use it whenever you want." They stopped in front of the last door on the left, "Here's your room. Get comfortable and settled in, lunch is in 15 minutes. There's a bell that rings to signal meals. If you don't make it to a meal you can always go to the kitchen and ask for something. Well, nice to meet you Mr. Rogers." He reached out for a hand shake and smiled like a small child. Steve smiled back and shook his hand.

"Thank you, I never did get your name."

"Oh, it's Andrew. All of the veterans call me by my full name but I usually go by Andy." He smiled and fidgeted with the end of his shirt. Steve smiled.

"Alright, well it was nice to meet you Andrew. Thank you for showing me around. By the way, not to seem rude but how old are you?" He raised his eyebrows and watched Andrew chuckle.

"I'm 17 sir, I'm on break right now and start my senior year of high school in a little over a month. I work here on weekends and after school during the school year."

"Oh wow, how nice of you to work here."

"It's really fun and its nice to come here after dealing with all the people at school for 8 hours."

"I'm sure it is, well thank you again" He smiled warmly and went into his room, looking around. There was a full sized bed in the right corner with a night stand next it with a small lamp on it. There was a little closet over on the right side of the room and a little bathroom next to that. There were two windows that were allowing the midday light in. He sighed and flopped down onto the bed. He didn't realize how exhausted he was and how much he missed a real bed until he'd lain down. Steve sat up though, now was not the time to nap. He stood up and decided to look in the closet. There was a small duffle bag in the bottom of the closet with SHIELD stitched in white. He picked it up and lugged it to the bed, curious as to what Fury sent over.

A few plain white t-shirts, some jeans, sweat pants and sweatshirts and Captain America pajamas. He chuckled at the pajamas and put it all back into the bag. The super soldier perked up upon hearing the small chime of a bell that Andy must've been talking about. He waited for a few before heading out and going down the stairs just outside his room. Andrew was standing in the cafeteria and noticed him; he smiled at him and waved him over. He slowly walked across the room towards the small group of young staff members.

"Hello Andrew,"

"Mr. Rogers, this is Cathy, Olivia and Derek. They work here also. Olivia and Derek run the little sessions that we'd like you to attend." Steve, being the gentlemen he was, shook their hands and was polite to an extent that shocked the hell out of the young folks. "You can come eat with us for now if you like," Steve shrugged.

"Why not? I'll just go get my food and meet you in the staff lounge then?" Andrew nodded and smiled at him. "Alright then," He headed towards the line and grabbed a tray. He smiled at the women and the man serving food. It was chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes, corn, and peaches. He grabbed a milk out of the cooler and headed out of the cafeteria towards the door that had the sign Staff Lounge above it. He sat down next to Andrew and began eating his food.

"How's the food Captain?" Andrew asked teasingly taking a sip of his water. Steve nodded approvingly.

"It is actually quite good. I could get used to this." He laughed lightly and continued eating. The others chuckled as well. After a few minutes in Steve was suddenly questioned eagerly by the young people after they got the permission from him to do so. Steve felt like he was being worshipped and he honestly didn't mind it, he also enjoyed talking to them and telling his stories. They were all so eager and entertained; he couldn't help but be happy with them.

Tony drove slowly back into a parking lot near the site of Stark Tower. He and Pepper had been driving around all day, had eaten a nice quiet lunch and enjoyed some time at his beach house while Hulk had demolished the tower. There was nothing left of the great tower. It was all in the giant dumpsters that were being moved away slowly and the area around was being swept up. Bruce sat on the curb, he was sweaty and he looked exhausted. The men had given him a water bottle which he was currently sipping out of.

"Hey buddy, how was that?" Tony smiled down at the man who just glanced up at him.

"What he needed, but I'm exhausted. Please tell me we have a place to stay until the tower is finished."

"I'm Tony Stark and you're seriously asking if I have a place to say. You've got to be shitting me right now Bruce," Tony sighed in his serious manner. Bruce chuckled.

"I know, I know. I just had to ask." He sighed and heaved himself up. "Well, can we go back to that place? I could pass out standing up," Tony nodded.

"Happy has a vehicle waiting if you want to go now. I've got to finish things up here then Pepper and I will be there." Bruce nodded and pat Tony on the shoulder as he headed off to find Happy.

"After all this is cleared up give me a call. Thanks for the help," He handed him a wad of cash and clasped the man on the shoulder. Tony headed back to the limo and found Bruce passed out. He chuckled and slid in next to Pepper. "Didn't take him long to relax,"

"Well, I'm sure demolishing a whole tower wears a man out." She sighed. He nodded in agreement. "How long do you think this building could take?"

"Two weeks minimum, two and a half maximum. I would like it done by the time I see the others again so it's got to be done within in three weeks."

"So, tell me again why we're moving Stark Tower back to California?"

"It'll keep Avenger business away from it, the last thing I need is both towers destroyed. It's to protect it." He smiled.

"Well, I've got to hand it to you Tony, that's a pretty smart idea."

"It'll also keep you safe." He sighed and smiled at her. She smiled back, "Tell me I'm a genius, praise me, I do enjoy it."

"What am I going to do with Mr. Stark?" Pepper sighed and gave him that look. He grinned like a small child and relaxed back against the seat.

"Hogan! Burger first, then to the plane." While they started constructing the new tower, they were going to go back and stay at his Malibu home.

"Yes sir," Pepper shook her head and relaxed in the seat as well. At least he was consistent.

Steve slowly walked into a library looking room to see a giant circle of elderly men in the center. They all looked up at him and gazed wonderingly. He smiled and sat down next to Olivia. She was a young woman no older than 26 with short brown hair and a warm smile.

"Well, gentlemen I'm not sure if you know who this is but,"

"My starts, Captain America." A 90 year old man stood slowly on wobbly legs and walked over to Steve. He smiled and sighed, reaching out a hand to the super soldier. "I can't say how amazed I am to be seeing you again. I know you may not know me but I am one of the 107th infantry men that you saved. I still owe you so much for that." Steve held his hand tightly in his while the man gripped his as tightly as his feeble hand could.

"I am happy to have saved you; I'm surprised you're still kicking to be honest."

"You and I both Cap'n." He chuckled. "These young folks do a swell job at taking care of us." He smiled warmly at Olivia who smiled back. Steve nodded and helped back to his seat. "That right there my friends is a true gentlemen, and a true hero." Steve knew that if he was a girl he would be a blushing mess, hell he probably was when they started clapping for him. They went around to each one and they told their stories. Steve conversed with several of them and laughed about many memorable moments in the war. Then, he told his story. Not every little thing but how he went from being a small puny boy from Brooklyn to the super soldier he was. The whole room was silent as he spoke. After he finished that same veteran stood and slowly walked over to him.

"Peggy Carter had this with her for a long while before she went back over to England. She handed it off to this place, which she established. I've always been fascinated with drawing and your sketches were inspirations of mine. Don't worry, I haven't drawn anything or messed anything up. It's been preserved in a drawr." He chuckeled and handed the book over to Steve. He nearly broke down upon taking the small book. Steve opened it up just to be sure and there it was the sketch of the monkey. He trembled as he tried to keep from crying as he looked through his sketch book.

"Well everyone I think that's enough for today. Thank you Captain for sitting in with us." He nodded wordlessly and looked up at the man who gave him the book.

"Thank you, so much for this. I can't describe just how much this means to me. Thank you," He gasped and smiled, "I can't say it enough." The old man smiled and nodded and followed the others out.

Steve walked back to his room and kept himself there for the rest of the night, only leaving to have dinner. He didn't say much this time, simply listened to the young ones talk. His thoughts weren't really there anymore; he was back in the 40's reliving everything.

He went back up to his room after saying good night to the staff. He pulled on the blue pajamas with a cartoon version of him and his shield all over it.

He had no problem falling asleep that night, the bed was 100x's more comfortable than the beds at SHIELD. He slept for a good few hours before the nightmares shook him awake. Cold, dark, ice. Peggy…have to get back to Peggy. So cold, can't move. Consuming darkness, terror. Tony's limp body falling too quickly from the sky, not coming back to life. Tony's not waking up, can't lose him like Peggy.

"Tony!" Steve shot up awake and terrified in his bed; he was shaking all the way to his core. He was cold but sweaty. He grabbed his sketch book off the night stand and flipped through the pages, looking over his old drawings. He calmed himself down and sat up. The bed was horizontal to one of the windows. He scooted closer to the wall and lean against the glass. He pushed the curtains back and looked out into the night, gazing up at the moon. As he slowly began to drift off again he remembered the gym down stairs. He was sure they didn't mind him being there. Steve climbed out of bed, stripped out of the pajamas and pulled on the sweat pants and one of the t-shirts. He slowly walked out of his room and down the stairs. He walked through the cafeteria and down a hallway before coming across a glass door that led into the gym. Steve sighed as he headed over towards the boxing ring. Thank God, there was a punching bag hanging up. This wasn't the gym at SHIELD so he should probably just be a tad gentler with the punching bag. He found some tape over on top of a cubby box area. Steve worked himself to a sweat all through the night his mind lost in the dark memories.

Tony refused to go to sleep; the nightmares would just switch to the events of the battle or dreams of Steve Rogers. He couldn't handle either of those. He continued plinking away with meaningless projects and designing possible weapons and add-ons for the tower. He sighed and rolled across the room on his chair towards another desk. The video Coulson had given him to study was still there. He picked it up and pressed play, watching his hero fight and save the world back in the 40's. He sighed and paused it, just starring at the freeze frame. Tony took the video and his drink up and out onto the balcony. He leaned over the edge and continued watching the video. His Dad was justified with his obsession, even if it cost them a lot and Tony had to try so hard to compete with him to make his father proud. He looked up into the night sky and sighed, he wondered where the Captain was now, probably not sleeping he knew that for sure. He'd been asleep for 70 years, he'd slept enough. Unlike Tony, but they were now haunted by the same thing. Those horrible dark memories that they were stuck with, maybe they could bond over that. Then again Tony had a hard time bonding with people. "Doesn't play well with others," He chuckled to himself. He spent the night drinking and embedding that video into his memory while under the same moon as his hero. Sure it was cheesy but it's what kept him going ever since they released the Captain from his icy prison.

There's the first chapter! I was trying really hard to not make it too corny. Feedback is appreciated, I promise it gets better just bare with me.