A/N: I know I have other fics I really need to update and this was originally supposed to be a one shot, but I took the advice of a good friend and turned it into a chapter fic. Anyway, I'm super excited for this story and can't wait to share it with ya'll!

A/N 2: The events of this story take place a little over a year after the events of the Avengers

Parings: Steve/Tony, past Pepper/Tony, and hints of Thor/Jane

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers nor the song featured.

Chapter 1

Beginnings are hard.

Whenever there's a problem, whether you're the one experiencing it or not, people always say "start at the beginning." The funny thing about beginnings though—is what exactly classifies as the "beginning?" Birth seems like a good place. You could also count the very first day of school, first A on a test, first kiss, first driving lesson, first time being treated as an adult, the list goes on forever. Sure, with this story, we could start at the end—it'd be a hell of a lot easier. However, with the events in this tale, it won't make any sense if we start at any other point.

So, here goes nothing.

My name is Tony Stark . . . and this is the story of how I died . . .

An alarm blares out early on a Monday morning, startling the calm air of the city. A hand reaches out from underneath a cocoon of sheets hitting the offending object until it ceases making noise. The hand retreats back under covers as the owner prepares to return to slumber.

"It would be unwise for you to continue, sir."

"Can it, JARVIS, I need my beauty rest," Tony says while trying to get comfortable again. "This is the first solid sleep I've had in days and I would very much like to continue, thank you."

Pause.

"Sir, Miss Potts is on her way."

Tony flips the covers off his body. "Fuck," he sighs. He scrambles out of bed only to become tangled in the sheets and crash in a heap of flailing limbs on the floor. The genius quickly detangles himself and sprints to the bathroom. "Estimated time of arrival?"

"Fifteen minutes, sir."

"Shit!" Tony exclaims. He runs around his room in a rush somehow managing to squeeze in a quick shower, preparing a brief case, dressing himself (kinda) in his usual dark blue suit, manage to fly downstairs and gulp down a mug of coffee all before Pepper pulls into the driveway.

Pepper climbs out of her black Audi S5, clad in a form fitting gray suit jacket, matching pencil skirt, and black kitten heels. She closes the door and locks it behind her. She quickly walks to Tony's front door, keys in hand, only to have the door to open for her. She smiles, silently thanking JARVIS. "Tony," she calls.

"Kitchen!" he responds.

The redhead makes her way to Tony's kitchen, pausing in the doorway. The man looks a mess: his hair sticking out everywhere, clothing in disarray, even his socks didn't match! Pepper places her fist over her mouth trying to hide an amused smirk. "It looks like a hurricane hit you."

Her voice startles Tony causing the man to jump. He places a hand over his arc reactor. "Pep! You scared the shit out of me!"

Pepper rolls her eyes and walks over to Tony. She sets her clipboard down on the counter and attempts to make the other look presentable by smoothing out his clothing and straightening his tie.

The billionaire allows Pepper to fiddle with his clothes. "Remind me again why I have to go to this meeting?"

"Because Fury would have your head if you weren't present."

"Can't you go for me?"

Pepper sighs. "Tony, I'm too busy running your company, remember? Besides, they want Iron Man, not his assistant."

"You're more than just an assistant," Tony protests.

"That may be, but you still need to show up." Pepper finishes fixing Tony's clothes to the best of her ability. "Everything will be alright. Okay?"

Tony frowns. "Fine," he says, clearly not happy about going. "I refuse to play nice though."

"Tony," Pepper began.

The billionaire slides away from Pepper and pointedly looks away, hoping he wouldn't see the look. The one that said: "Tony, I am tired of your bull."

Pepper draws in a breath as if she wants to say something but sighs instead, knowing this is the best she is probably going to get out of the man. Besides, she knows what the other is trying to do. He is trying to get her to keep talking until it gets to the point where there was no way he could possibly attend the meeting. Knowing Fury, Tony not showing wouldn't look good, especially since this a mandatory meeting. Pepper knows that while the rest of the team has long accepted Tony, she knows it won't take much for Fury to take him off the team. Pepper sighs again and looks at Tony, who is clearly pleased with himself. "Fine," she says. "Now, let's go, you're going to be late."

Tony opens his mouth to argue, but at Pepper's glare, he decides against it. He closes his mouth, grabs his briefcase, and follows the redhead outside. Pepper unlocks her car and slides into the driver's seat. She starts the vehicle, buckles her seatbelt, and waits while Tony sets his briefcase in the back before climbing in next to her. Tony buckles up just as Pepper puts the car in gear and pulls away from Stark Tower. She glances at Tony, who already looks bored. It was only a matter of time before he started complaining. The redhead decides to turn on the radio.

'This is the end'

Tony smirks and turns to Pepper. "Adele? Really?"

'Hold your breath and count to ten'

"I can't control what the radio plays, Tony."

'Feel the earth move and then'

Pepper slows the car to a stop at the red light and glances at Tony. "Besides she's a great singer."

'Hear my heart burst again'

Tony snorts, but says nothing.

'For this is the end

I've drowned and dreamt this moment

So overdue I owe them

Swept away, I'm stolen'

The light changes to green and Pepper puts the car back in motion.

'Let the sky fall

When it crumbles

We will stand tall

To face it all, together

Let the sky fall

When it crumbles

We will stand tall

To face it all, together

At sky fall

At sky fall'

Tony turns his head to the right and rests his cheek against the window watching as the city slides by.

'Sky fall is where we start

A thousand miles and poles apart

Where world's collide and days are dark . . .'

The car slows to a stop and Tony is startled awake. He didn't even realize he fell asleep. The genius rubs his eyes and yawns as the door unlocks. He stumbles out of the car and grabs his briefcase from the back.

"Will you need me or Happy to pick you up?" Pepper asks.

"Nah," Tony replies. "I'll make Shield bring me back. It's been a while since Coulson and I have bonded anyway."

Pepper grins. "Play nice."

"I'll try." Tony smiles before closing the door and waving Pepper off. He turns toward the Shield building and frowns. He walks inside hoping this meeting won't take forever. After all, he is Tony Stark and has more important things to do.

"Nice of you to join us, Stark," Fury greets as Tony arrives into the meeting room. The one-eyed man is standing at the head of the table, with Hill and Coulson flanking him on either side. Next to Hill is Natasha, who is sitting beside Thor. Next to Thor is Bruce, followed by Captain America, an empty chair, Hawkeye and finally Coulson. Everyone, minus Coulson, Fury and Hill, was clad in their civilian attire. "You're late."

Tony shrugs. "Eh, what else is new?" The billionaire walks over to the table and slides into the available seat between Captain America and Hawkeye. Tony sets his briefcase on the table. "Hey Stevie," he says to the Captain.

Said Captain frowns and glances at Tony. "Didn't I tell you not to call me that?"

Tony grins. "Yes, but when have I ever listened to anything that you've told me."

Steve snorts and Fury clears his throat. "If you don't mind, Mr. Stark, I would like to proceed with the meeting."

Tony cringes. "Oohhh. Could you not call me 'Mr. Stark'? I'd much prefer Tony."

"Don't test my patience, Mr. Stark," Fury responds.

The genius was about to respond, but decides against it. The sooner this meeting is over, the sooner he can get back to his lab.

Fury waits a beat, before continuing. "As you are aware, the New York cleanup effort was finally completed yesterday with Stark Industries fronting the bill—"

"Yeah, why am I fronting the bill again?" Tony interrupts.

"Because you alone caused sixty percent of the damage on our side," Fury responds daring the other man to speak up. When nothing happens, Furry moves on. "You lot worked well together against the Chitari last year, but it's not enough. In the event that the Avengers are needed again, you guys are going to need to strengthen your bond, which is why the entire team is moving into Stark Tower."

The entire team protests, the loudest shouts coming from Tony.

"Fury you can't do that!"

"I can, I will, and I did."

"That's my space, okay, mine. As in, for me, alone!"

Coulson pipes up. "Miss Potts already approved the transition—"

"Pepper?!" Tony exclaims. "I can't believe this! She betrayed me!"

"Everyone, sit down and shut up!" Fury barks. The team hesitates before resuming their seats. "Good. Now, all of you will be moved into the Tower by the end of the week and that's final. Dismissed."

"Tony, wait up!" A voice calls.

Tony turns to see Steve walking up towards him. He pauses and waits for the other man to catch up. "Hey Cap," he said with a small smile. "What's up?"

Steve stands next to Tony and fidgets for a moment before taking a breath. "I just . . . wanted to make sure you are not too mad about, you know, having us all move in . . ."

The shorter man scoffs and shakes his head. "Fury could have asked, but I don't mind too much." He grins.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Tony responded, grin still on his face.

Cap looks like he is about to say something else but decides against it. He smiles at Tony and says, "I guess I should go pack."

The billionaire nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"It was good seeing you, Tony."

Tony was going to brush the other's comment aside, but Steve seems so genuine, the billionaire finds himself saying: "You too . . . Stevie," he adds with a smirk.

Steve frowns. "Don't call me, Stevie."

Tony shrugs. "Alright, would you prefer . . . Cap? Capsicle . . ."

"I'd prefer Capsicle over Stevie any day," the other says in a neutral tone, but Tony can see the slight upturn of the corner of Steve's mouth.

"Whatever you say, Spangles," Tony says. He bites the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from laughing outright at Steve's startled look. "Tell the others that Happy will be by in a few days to pick all of you up. Later." He gives the soldier a small wave before turning away as Steve's confused goodbye reaches his ears.

Over the course of the week, the rest of the Avengers slowly move their belongings into the tower. Thankfully, there's enough room in the tower for everyone to have their own floor. Tony still isn't sure how he feels about having the others around. Sure, the team got together a number of times since the whole event over a year ago, but hanging out for a few hours is completely different from having everyone around all the time.

Tony isn't sure he's ready for that transition yet.

Since the others have arrived, Clint has broken three vases, Bruce has hulked out twice, and everyone learned the hard way that Thor prefers wander around buck ass naked. And it doesn't help that Steve all but drags Tony out of his lab, claiming that the engineer should be present for their first meal as a team, which was a disaster. It wasn't a fun start, but maybe things will get better over time.

At least, that's what Tony is hoping.

On the eight day of the Avengers "lifelong sleepover," as Clint dubs the team having to live together, everyone was sharing a nice breakfast that Steve made. Well, he had originally been making breakfast for himself, but everyone else wandered into the kitchen and demanded food, and like the good captain Steve is, he ended up making everyone breakfast.

JARVIS whirls to life right in the middle of Clint and Tony arguing about which decade to catch Steve up on first and says, "Sir, I have a message from Director Fury."

"Tell him to shove it, JARVIS, I'm in the middle of something important," Tony responds.

"Tony," Steve sighs. "What if it's important?"

"Come on, Cap, it can't be that important. He did only leave a message."

"Tony."

"Just answer the message, Stark," Natasha quips.

The billionaire sighs. "Alright, JARVIS, what does he want?"

"I'm faxing the message to your office as we speak, sir."

"Excellent," Tony responds, standing from the table and heads for his office, quickly grabbing the fax and returning to the kitchen. He sits back down at the table and reads over the message with a frown.

"Dude, is Fury's message that bad?" Clint asks right before shoveling a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

"I guess it depends on how you look at it," Tony responded. "To sum it up, Fury wants us to do some team bonding."

"Why?" Natasha asks.

Tony shrugs. "Who knows? He probably wants us to strengthen our friendships or something like that."

"Oh!" Clint pipes up. "If we're "bonding," can we go to Costco? I think they're having a sale on lard!"

"What's a Costco?" Steve asks a confused look on his face.

"It's basically a super store. They have a little bit of everything you could possibly need," Tony explains. He snickers. "A super store for a super solider."

Natasha face palms while Clint snorts. Steve still looks confused.

Tony rolls his eyes. "You'll see what I mean when we go. I'll call Happy."

After the team finishes breakfast, they decide to return to their rooms and get ready for the trip. Bruce suggests that everyone should meet in the living room in one hour with the others chiming in their agreement.

Tony exits the elevator that opens up on his floor. He walks into his room and closes the door immediately taking off his pants and flinging them in the direction of the hamper. He walks over to his closet, whistling a tune, and opens the double doors. Quickly choosing a black AC/DC shirt and a pair of faded jeans, he closes the closet and tosses the items onto his bed. The billionaire strips off the rest of his clothing and drops the items on the floor. He stretches and pads over to the bathroom, pausing at his wall length mirror to puff out his chest, flex, and wink at his reflection.

Tony snickers to himself and walks into the bathroom. "JARVIS, turn the water on. You know how I like it."

"Of course, sir."

The shower automatically turns on. Tony steps under the spray and sighs as his muscles relax.

Ten minutes pass and Tony climbs out of the shower. He dries himself off before wandering into his room. The engineer drops his towel on the ground and dresses himself. He runs his fingers through his damp hair before sighing, grabbing his phone and wallet, and heading downstairs.

"Took you long enough, princess," Clint greets when Tony enters the living room. The archer, along with Steve and Thor, were waiting patiently. Well, Steve and Thor were waiting patiently. Clint was throwing popcorn at Thor and fidgeting.

"Piss off, Clint, you can't rush perfection," the genius responds as he flops on the couch between Steve and Thor. "And get your dirty feet off my coffee table. You'll mess up the glass."

Clint smirks and rubs the heel of his shoes against the table, earning a scowl and eye roll from Tony. The archer reaches into his bowl and tosses another kernel at Thor, grinning when the Asgardian catches the treat in his mouth and chews happily.

"This treat is most delectable," Thor says. "What do you Midgardians call it?"

"Popcorn," Clint answers. "You want some more?" At Thor's eager nod, Clint laughs and hands over the bowl, watching with an amused grin as the blond shovels a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

Tony bites his lip to prevent a grin from crawling over his face. He turns to his left and sees Steve sketching in his notebook. "Whatcha working on?" he asks startling the soldier, something Tony didn't think was possible. The other must have really been concentrating.

"Nothing important," the blond answers quickly.

Tony leans against Steve's arm trying to get a better view only for the solider to close the notebook and hold it away from him. The genius makes a noise in the back of his throat. "Stevie," he whines ignoring the frown on Steve's face at the nickname. "I just wanna see."

"No, Tony," Steve says gently an amused smile forming. "I'm not ready to show anyone yet."

Tony completely understands. He never shows off any of his work until he is certain that everything is as perfect as it can be. That still doesn't mean that he won't be stubborn about this. The engineer huffs and crosses his arms, giving the other a wounded look. This only causes Steve's smile to widen. Tony's eyes light up. "Hey! Idea! You should let me model for you!"

A faint flush blooms over Steve's face and disappears under the blond's deliciously tight blue shirt leaving Tony to wonder exactly how far that blush goes down.

Wait . . . what?

"Tony, I—I couldn't ask you to do that," Steve stammers out.

The billionaire shrugs. "Why not?"

"I'm sure you have much more important things to be doing."

"While that may be true, I could easily clear an afternoon for you," Tony says. "I mean, we are on a team together and we should, you know, get to know each other more even though we kinda already bonded maybe when we hung out all those times before. I mean, it's what Fury would want."

Steve's face fell. "What Fury would want?"

"It's what I would want too—I do," Tony says quickly, hoping he didn't give Steve the wrong impression. "I want it too. To get to know you more, that is."

Steve's blush brightens and he looks away. "Alright."

"Alright?"

Steve nods before shyly meeting Tony's eyes. "Yeah; it has been a long time since I've been able to work with subject and . . . I'd like to get to know you more too."

Tony smiles. "Then, it's settled! You free this weekend?"

Steve nods.

"Great! It's a date!" Tony doesn't realize how the words would sound until after they leave his lips. Judging by Steve's confusion and shock, he wasn't expecting it either. No one probably bothered to mention, "It's a date" is frequently used as an expression. Before either man could say something, Bruce and Natasha enter the living room.

Clint hops from his seat with a grin on his face. "Great! Everyone's here! Now, let's go! I want my goddamn lard!"

"What do you need lard for anyway?" Bruce asks.

"You don't need to know my reasons," Clint answers quickly. Natasha raises an eyebrow and smirks. Tony has a feeling she knows exactly what Clint wants to use the lard for. Then again, that girl seems to know everything about everyone. She's not called the best for nothing.

"Right," Tony says. "Happy should be waiting for us in the garage. Let's go!"

A/N: I just realized that this is my new story in over a year holy shit. I hope you guys enjoyed! Please rate and review! ^^