Steve stood in front of Tony, his face smoothed over and void of any emotion. He was clad in normal cloths, jeans, a white shirt and his signature brown leather jacket, but the dog-tags made Tony want to scream, hit something, maybe hit Steve himself, but all Tony really did was stare.
"So, you're really going." Tony broke the silence, making a point to glance at the dog-tags and the bags slung around Steve's shoulder before he bowed his head, making a shadow cover his face. "I knew I wasn't enough to convince you not to. I never am."
"You know I have to do this, you know I promised this to myself." Steve kept a straight face, observing Tony as if he was memorizing every plane of his boyfriend's body. "It's my duty as a person to contribute and this is the only way I know I can do it right." Tony wasn't talking anymore, and that might be the worst part of it. He was quiet, more reserved ever since Steve told him that he was going to go to Iraq. It broke Steve's heart, but he had an obligation, a responsibility.
"No, Steve, it's not. It's not your responsibility." Tony had replied quietly, his head still bowed. "You're nineteen. It never will be." They both knew Steve might not come back, everyone did. Tony knew that someone might just knock on his door after months of waiting for his lover, and tell him that the blonde eyed man he had kissed under the rain was dead and unfound.
Steve would've liked it better if Tony had just snapped at him instead. It would have been easier, dealing with an angry Tony, because then, he'd get angry too, and that was a territory that they both knew very well. But instead of screaming, punching, or raising hell, Tony had turned to quiet stares and distance, slowly building up the walls Steve had taken years to kick down. Even Bruce was alienated, not even getting the witty comment when he comments on Tony's equations.
It was like Tony had an off button and had just flicked the switch, melting into the teenager with the blank eyes and the bowed head. Clint had crowed about that once, had said, "Finally, someone turned the motor mouth off." and received no reaction but a nod, like Tony was agreeing to his testament. Clint couldn't go anywhere near him without Natasha after that.
It was silent after that, a resigned silence, before Steve moved forward, planting a kiss on Tony's unmoving head, before turning around and walking out. Steve felt his heart clench painfully, but he kept walking, and just when he was about to reach out for the doorknob, Tony finally said something that made Steve want to stop and run back into his arms.
"You're leaving, leaving me alone. Like he did, like Howard. It's funny, how the two people who I loved the most in this godforsaken world, decided I wasn't good enough for them to stay." He paused, his quiet, resigned voice coming back after a full moment. "I'll miss you, you know." His voice had cracked, but he continued, "And even though you think I'm not important, I'll say it anyway. I love you."
And Steve finally left.
Months later, Tony gets a letter. He's dead.