Steve wandered down to Tony's workshop, knowing it was where he would be. He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest. With a small smile, he watched as Tony hurried about his workshop, so engrossed in his work, so confidant in his own abilities.

"Hey," he said when Tony looked up and noticed him. Tony minimized the screen he was working with. He walked across the room and planted a kiss on Steve's lips.

"Hey."

"You coming up soon? It's late." Steve tried not to let the worry he was feeling about his boyfriend show in his voice or his eyes. Tony nodded and placed a hand softly on the Captain's forearm.

"Just gonna finish up a few things. I'll be there soon. Promise." Tony offered Steve a reassuring smile, which Steve returned hesitantly. He kissed him chastely before returning to his work.

Steve went up to their bedroom and laid himself down on the enormous bed. Seriously, it was far too large for just two people. Steve was positive that at least four people could sleep on that bed and not even notice that they weren't sleeping alone. Tony had been working so hard lately, that Steve had been feeling increasing lonely. It had seemed to the super soldier that he never saw his boyfriend anymore. He was always in the workshop, working on whatever it was his project of the hour was.

He waited. For half an hour, he lay in bed quietly, hoping that Tony would come up soon. There were, of course, things he could do to occupy his time. But Steve still didn't like modern technology. And all of Tony's gadgets were worse than anywhere else, since he was at the forefront of new technology.

Finally Steve lost hope that Tony would show up before he fell asleep. A stray thought crossed his mind. What if the genius was doing this on purpose? What if he just didn't want to see Steve anymore? Steve inhaled deeply to stem the tears that were welling up in his eyes and rolled over onto his side.

With his eyes shut, he imagined Tony: his smiling face, and those beautiful eyes. He missed the man so much. It was strange to think that in little over a year since he had come out of the ice, so much had changed in the Captain's life. He had initially thought that nothing that would come out of the change in eras would be good. But then came Tony and everything he thought he knew changed.

And now it seemed that Tony wasn't there any more. Without him, what did Steve have? A ramshackle apartment in the bad part of town, living a utilitarian lifestyle, only coming in contact with others when Nick Fury came to his door demanding that he help save the world. Not that he would do it anymore if he and Tony broke up. Tony was there first. The rest of the Avengers were his friends first. He would "lose the kids in the divorce", as the saying went.

As a single tear slipped down Steve's cheek, he felt a body lie down next to him in the bed and a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around his shoulders.

"I'm so sorry," Tony whispered into his ear, his voice breaking. Steve let himself believe that it was because he missed Steve as much as Steve missed him. "Things got complicated down there. I couldn't leave without threatening national security."

Steve took a deep breath, his body shaking as he did so.

"Steve?" Tony asked cautiously. He tried to stop it, but all the things that he had been feeling rushed out of his mouth without regard to what Steve wanted to reveal to and hide from Tony.

"If we break up, I'll have nothing. You'll still have everything. All of your friends, all of your money… That playboy philanthropist lifestyle that you had before you met me. But I'm all alone in this world! I only have you! You're it for me." He wanted to say more, but the sobs racking his body prevented him from doing so.

"Steve!" Tony said, sounding shocked and concerned. "Why would we break up? What's happened?" He put a firm hand on Steve's shoulder and rolled him over to look him in the eyes.

Seeing his lover looking so concerned about him made Steve cry harder.

"I never see you anymore! You're always working! There's nothing I can do about it, but all I want to do is be with you!" Steve gasped for air, trying desperately to breathe, but his body dictating that he cry instead.

Tony reached a hand out and wiped the tears from Steve's face. Steve avoided eye contact. He felt guilty for feeling these things, but he needed answers. His body was still shaking. Tony wrapped his arms around the soldier and held him tight against his chest. He gently pressed his lips against the top of his head.

"Oh, baby, it'll be okay. I promise. I'll make it work." Steve sobbed into Tony's chest, not allowing himself to believe a word of it. Until he made a change, Tony's words were empty. And as much as he hated how much he needed this narcissistic man, Steve let himself be held firmly against his chest. He was treasuring the moment, knowing that it could very well be the last time that he felt the man's touch.

"I'll work less," Tony said. "I swear. I'll make you breakfast in the morning. We can go the park! We can go see movies! Tell me what you want and I'll do it! Just don't leave me!" Steve choked on his tears, his face pressing harder into Tony's chest.

"But what good will it do? Even if you do all those things, it doesn't change the fact that I'm alone. Without you, I'm nothing. But without me, you're still fantastic. You're still Tony Stark." Steve felt Tony's chest contract and his face burrow into the top of his head.

"No, Steve," Tony said in a choked voice. "You don't understand. I need you. More than you need me. Without you, I'd go the same way that my father did." He stopped and hot tears dripped down onto the top of Steve's head. "Yeah, I'm Tony Stark. But who the hell cares? I made my fortune designing weapons that were used against my own country! If I had died in Afghanistan instead of becoming Iron Man, who would have missed me? No one. It's not because of the arc reactor that I'm alive right now. It's not because of the suit. It's because of you, Steve. It's because you believe in me. And I can't imagine living without you."

"Then why have you been ignoring me?" Steve demanded, pulling away from Tony and finally looking him in the eyes. He was angry. If Tony had felt this way all along, why hadn't he showed it? Why had it had to get this bad before something was done about it? "Why don't you ever dote on me the way you used to? I loved you! I put all I had into loving you! But you never gave me anything in return! So tell me now why I shouldn't walk out the door right now and never come back."

Tony stared at Steve in stunned silence.

"Give me one good reason," Steve said, his voice hard.

"I was wrong, Steve," Tony said quietly. "But I swear to you, the only reason I was in my workshop so much was because I was trying to make you a ring."

Steve frowned. He didn't know what to think. A ring? Why would Steve want a ring?

"I wanted to make us a pair of rings that would have a tracking devices for us built in. I wanted to always know that you were safe, and vice versa. And it had to be perfect. It couldn't just look like a science ring. It had to be simple, old fashioned. Something that you would wear without feeling like the technology was smothering you."

Steve looked at his boyfriend lovingly, nearly forgetting why he had been so furious just moments before.

"Why, though?" he asked. "What sparked this sudden interest in safety? And why rings? Why not bracelets? Or built into our suits?" Tony looked down at his folded hands.

"I was going to propose," he said quietly. Steve looked at the other man in shock.

"W-what?" he asked incredulously.

"I was planning on doing it tomorrow morning at breakfast. I prepared everything tonight. JARVIS was going to put it together while we were still sleeping, and you would wake up to a beautiful breakfast in bed, with a ring in the middle of your hash browns."

One final tear fell from Steve's eye.

"Yes."