Inner Demons

Steve awakes with a jolt. He looks around startled and confused at first. He rises from the simple easy chair he had sit down in earlier. His white t-shirt clings to his well formed muscular body. He could kick himself for falling asleep during his watch. Though the nightmare is still fresh in his mind. The predominate thought still in his head is that he has to find Bucky and save him. Somehow he just has to do it. Steve knows it won't be easy, but he also knows it isn't impossible. After all… didn't Hawkeye reform the infamous Black Widow?

Steve spares a quick glance in Natasha's direction. She is sound asleep in one of the two beds. Sam snoozes contentedly in the other. Steve runs a hand through his lengthy blonde locks. His hair is damp as is the rest of him from sweat. He knows he can't run at this hour so instead he opts for a shower.

He peels his soaked white t-shirt off and starts the faucet then turns it over to the shower. He steps inside and winces as the icy cold water hits his sculpted torso. He can't run, can't punch a sandbag, so the cold shower is his last resort. One would think that he'd want nothing to do with the frigid temperature after being frozen for nearly seventy years but here he is… ice cold water pouring down the front of his body actually comforting him by numbing his senses. Odd as that might sound, but it helps him focus.

Anger had been a dominate feeling for Steve not long after he had discovered the truth that he was now living in the twenty-first century. Anger at S.H.I.E.L.D. for lying to him at first… then anger at himself for being so careless. Then the sorrow would hit and he'd remember how he left everyone behind. Peggy, his friends… The Howling Commandos… everyone he ever knew. These feelings warred within him up until the self-proclaimed God of Mischief showed up… then Steve felt needed, really needed. But he had wondered if he was enough to stop Loki while he was going toe to toe with the self-proclaimed god in Germany.

Steve was nearly out of breath after fives minutes of hard hand to hand combat while Loki hadn't broken a sweat… even after Stark hit him with his repulsor rays. Anger… Sorrow in loss… and Self-doubt. These were Steve Rogers' demons. He countered them by joining S.H.I.E.L.D. after he and his fellow Avengers had managed to subdue Loki and stop the Chitauri invasion. Steve thought he was doing the most good as he'd run out and complete his missions… usually with Natasha tagging along pestering him about going on a date with this or that girl. Their banter was playful and oddly, endearing to Steve. He now wonders why he never simply just asked her out on a date.

Steve sighs then as his thoughts return to his past… no matter what, he would never regret taking the nose-dive into the ice. He had saved the world from the villainy of Red Skull and then again in New York from the chaos that was Loki. Captain America needed to be strong, superhuman… Steve Rogers, however, was just a guy from Brooklyn.

Steve shuts the water off and dries himself down with one of the hotel towels. He then realizes he had left his bag with all of his clean clothes out in the main room. So Steve wraps the towel around his waist and makes his way out into the darkened room. He could cuss at the fact of how he left his bag over by the small table on the other side of the room, so he makes his way slowly over to it. He stops when he hears Sam shift in the bed.

Steve shrugs it off… if Sam were to wake up and see him naked save for the towel, he wouldn't care. After all he had been in the Army and the men practically did everything together including shower even if it was in make-shift stalls. But if Natasha were to wake up and see him… well, Steve would probably die of embarrassment. Back in his day, men and women didn't see each other in any state of undress unless it was to get intimate.

Steve finds his bag and opens it. He pulls a few garments out… a white t-shirt, some dark blue boxer briefs, and a pair of dark grey sweat pants. He then stands… and suddenly a hand grabs his left wrist and bends his arm back as a blade is pressed to his throat. Steve drops his clothes and grabs the slender wrist with the blade then spins around as he yanks his left arm down breaking free of the hold easily thanks to his increased strength. His eyes soften as he beholds Natasha.

"What are you doing?" He whispers a bit heatedly. Natasha just smirks as Steve holds her close. He then remembers how very undressed he is and steps back.

"Just keeping you on your toes, Steve." She replies silkily and gives him a slow down-up with her eyes. Steve feels his face flush as her eyes study him and her smile grows. "Get some sleep. I'll take over watch now." She then says and moves to let Steve pass after he gathers up his fresh clothes and enters the bathroom. He comes out, now fully dressed, but stops as he sees Natasha standing there nearly nude from behind wearing lacey black panties and a matching bra. She is stepping into her form-fitting black S.H.I.E.L.D. agent uniform. She turns to smile at him as she zips the front up from her crotch to just under her breasts. Steve swallows a lump in his throat and points to the bed.

"I'm just going to go to bed now. If something bad happens then kiss me-ummm… I mean wake me up." Steve says quickly and fumbles over his words. God, he really doesn't know how to talk to women! Steve's face is so red as he just shuts up and quickly crawls into bed. He puts his back to Natasha and tries to bury his face into the pillow to hide himself. He can smell her flowery scented shampoo lingering still upon the lumpy pillow so he flips it. Damn! It still smells like her hair.

Steve can feel his heart racing like he's just ran a marathon. He steadies his breathing and begins to calm down. Then he feels the bed shift and suddenly one of Natasha's slender arms snakes around his waist. Steve cringes at the contact.

"It's okay. I don't bite… unless you want me to." Natasha says softly and Steve can hear the smile in her voice. Did she just make a joke?

"If you're expecting something more… than I'm sorry, Natasha. I can't." Steve says meekly. He knows it sounds lame and he probably just blew his chances by being so 'old-fashioned'.

"It's just that…" Steve starts after a pause. "It's just that I have to get to know a lady first and if she is the right one… then, yeah." His voice sounds so vulnerable and small. Not at all like his usual tone and it makes Steve feel small and weak again.

"I'm not expecting you to 'do' me right this second, Steve Rogers. I'm just showing you a bit of comfort. You've been through too much recently and that warrants a hug." Natasha whispers and presses herself closer to Steve. Her smaller body molds to his back as she nuzzles the back of his neck with her nose and forehead. Steve sighs. The touches and grip is actually quite soothing, but his thoughts turn to Bucky once more. He just has to find his best friend and save him, but he can't do that if he's lost himself.

"Holding is fine." Steve says with more surety and then shifts to face Natasha. He closes his eyes as he does so and draws her into a hug. His large arms wrap around her slender waist and hold her closer as her legs entwine with his. He feels the smooth skin of her back and the lacey fabric of her underclothes on his arms as well as the press of her ample chest into his hard muscle. He tries really hard not to think about any of that. Instead he just focuses on his breathing as he rests his chin on the top of her head. As he lets her warmth envelope him, Steve finds his mind actually starting to clear and becoming calmer. He soon drifts off into a deep sleep.


"Waky, waky… eggs and bacy." Sam quips as he shakes Steve awake. The blonde man blinks a few times to clear the sleep from them and then realizes as he shifts that he is the bed's only occupant. He looks around and wonders where Natasha went.

"The lovely Ms. Romanoff went out to acquire us some breakfast." Sam then says and Steve gets up. He notes that Sam is fully dressed, so Steve grabs same jeans from his bag and puts them on after removing his sweat pants. He tucks his white t-shirt in before buttoning and zipping the pants up. He then grabs another shirt, this one is a deep blue that makes his blue eyes shine. He completes the ensemble by pulling on his leather jacket. He slips his socks and shoes on and is ready. He and Sam check to make sure they haven't left anything in the room as they finish packing then take their stuff out to Sam's car. Natasha comes up with a cardboard carrier with three coffees and a mid-sized brown paper bag in hand.

"The coffees are fresh, surprisingly." She says and hands the bag to Sam who immediately takes out a pastry, a large cinnabun, which he promptly devours.

"Man, these are good!" Sam says through a mouthful. He hands the bag to Steve who retrieves one of the sweets as well and eats it swiftly. He is ravenously hungry thanks to his high metabolism. He then pulls out a second one and inhales it as well.

"Save me at least one more." Sam says.

"Natasha?" Steve offers the lovely redhead the bag.

"I already ate mine." She replies and so Steve hands the bag to Sam after taking out a third one. Sam then eats the last one and after they finish their coffees, they start back out on I-95 bound for New York City. Steve feels more comfortable now with Natasha riding behind him.


After a few hours and a couple of pit-stops, they arrive in the Big Apple. The trio park in the parking garage of Stark Tower and head inside. Steve tells the receptionist who he is and she makes a quick call up to Stark's penthouse.

"Mr. Stark says come up. Just take the elevator and JARVIS will take you to the penthouse." The woman says with a very friendly smile to Steve. Her cheeks flush slightly as Steve thanks her. They then make their way to the elevators.

"I think she likes you. Perhaps you should ask her out on a date." Natasha suggests with a smirk to Steve as they enter the lift.

"You know what… I should go out on a date." Steve starts then looks squarely at the woman he has grown closer to. "How about we go out tonight. Take a break from all this serious stuff and… I don't know… get something to eat and catch a flick." Steve then suggests. He notices Sam smiling behind them as his dark eyes flit between the two.

"Sure, why not after all." Natasha replies with a smile of her own as she looks at Steve. His eyes go wide at first then he gets himself under control. It worked! He asked a beautiful woman out and she said yes. The elevator starts up then.

"Welcome to Stark Tower, Captain Rogers… Ms. Romanoff… and guest." JARVIS says from the ceiling. Both Sam and Steve start at the sudden voice.

"JARVIS, this guest is Steve's new friend, Sam Wilson." Natasha says unfazed by Tony's A.I. butler.

"Very well then… welcome to Stark Tower, Mr. Wilson."

"Nice to be here… JARVIS." Sam then says as he looks up at the ceiling curiously. He then looks at his two friends and whispers, "Is that some guy that Stark pays?"

"That's JARVIS… he's Tony's specialized A.I. program. He pretty much runs things to the point that Stark would be completely lost if he didn't have it or Pepper Potts to look after him." Natasha replies coolly in her matter-of-fact tone. Steve chuckles at that because she is right.

"Don't tell him that though. I will but he might not like you if you say it." Steve then says to Sam.

"I get ya." Sam replies then looks up at the ceiling again wearily. Soon they find themselves on the penthouse floor. They walk into the large spacious and modern looking lounge area were there is a bar… and Tony Stark is there, fixing himself a drink as the trio walks up.

"Hey, Captain! Welcome back. And Natasha… you're looking as lovely as ever." Tony greets as he sees his two fellow Avengers approach. "Who's the new guy?"

"This is Sam Wilson. He helped me take down the Hydra forces at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters in D.C." Steve says as they walk over a thick glass area on the floor. Sam looks down at the pair of craters showcased beneath his feet. He then looks up and tips his head up at the mention of his name.

"Figured a rich guy like you could afford to get your floor fixed." Sam says commenting on the craters.

"That's a reminder of how the Hulk put the God of Mischief in his place." Tony replies after he sips at his drink. "What's your poison? I wanna talk about this Hydra ordeal over some drinks." Tony then asks.

"A sweet red wine if you got it." Natasha says simply.

"I'll just take a beer, whatever brand you got." Sam says smiling at the offer.

"Same here." Steve says then sighs as he and his two friends each take a seat at the bar. Tony serves them.

"So what do you do? Ya know, how'd you help take down the Hydra plot?" Tony then asks of the new guy.

"I flew a special winged suit called the EXO-7 Falcon. Plus I laid down some suppressive fire since I was the air support and all." Sam replies then sips his beer.

"EXO-7 Falcon suit? My company made about a dozen of those. Some got taken down in the Afghan quagmire. The rest were scrapped. Do you still have yours by chance?" Tony then asks as he looks at Sam curiously.

"Unfortunately, Steve's old army buddy-turned-assassin clipped my wings." Sam says with some distain.

"Hmm." Tony then gets a look on his face and one can just tell the wheels are spinning. "How about I make you a new pair?"

"That'd be awesome!" Sam says hopeful as his face lights up at the prospect.

"I'll throw in a few new bells and whistles for ya too." Tony then says and smiles. The billionaire then turns to Steve.

"Where's your shield, Cap? You usually don't go anywhere without it." Tony then inquires. Steve sighs sadly.

"I lost it." Steve says and frowns. Natasha takes his left hand into her right and gives a gentle squeeze. Tony's brown eyes note the gesture.

"Well then good thing I put a tracer in it just incase you went off and repeated your heroic sacrifice bit again." Tony says then downs the last of his tumbler glass's contents. "JARVIS, activate Program: Little Bo Peep."

"Yes, sir."

"Little Bo Peep?" Steve asks skeptically.

"Lost her sheep and didn't know where to find them." Tony then says with a satisfied smile as he looks at Steve expectantly.

"Captain America's shield is located, sir."

"Excellent!" Tony exclaims happily then turns around and makes a dramatic flinging outward gesture with his arms and the floating holo-screen behind the bar lights up with a map of the world displayed. Tony then uses his fingers to zoom in on Washington D.C.

"There it is. In the Potomac River." Tony says as he points at the blinking silver star on the display. "I'll be back in a jiffy." Tony then says and makes a motion with both hands like he is parting a curtain. A door opens along an adjacent wall and his latest suit is revealed… the Mark 43. Tony then does a pulling motion with his right hand as his left goes sideways and the suit breaks into several pieces that rocket away towards the four. Those pieces fly around the bar area to avoid colliding into anything then resemble upon him. In less than thirty seconds… Iron Man stands before the trio.

"Gotta get me one of those 'cause that is seriously bad ass!" Sam says in awe with a grin as he admires the suit. Iron Man then blasts off and rockets out of the entry way to the outside balcony. He then zooms down the coast towards the Capital. The flight takes less than an hour and Iron Man follows the directions on his Heads Up Display to pin point Cap's shield as they fly over the river.

"It's on the bottom, sir." JARVIS says simply and Iron Man dives head long into the brown waters of the Potomac River. His scanners use echo-location to ping the debris field still strewn on the river bottom. He moves towards the shield's location with caution. Turns out it is wedged under some structure that was part of one of those Super Heli-carriers. Iron Man sets his feet down and dead lifts the jumble of metal. He starts to sink into the mud but his repulsors fire and he manages to shift the debris enough to the side to free Cap's shield. Iron Man picks it up and holds it one handed so that it doesn't catch the water or air to cause drag then rockets away… bursting up through the river's surface and zooming through the air homeward bound. It takes longer to get back though.


As soon as Iron Man left, Pepper entered the lounge area.

"Hello, Steve… Natalie… and who are you?" Pepper then asks as she strolls up to them. Steve introduces Sam to the lovely woman with strawberry blonde hair. They shake hands.

"It's awful about S.H.I.E.L.D. going under… and now they are declaring all Agents as terrorists! I told Tony to offer you two a place to stay if you managed to show up. We are more than welcome to have you. In fact, we've been busy taking a few former agents in. Maria Hill now works as head of Security here in the Tower." Pepper says to the trio. "You're welcome to stay as well, Mr. Wilson. Any friend of Steve's is a friend to Tony and I. Speaking of Tony… where'd he get off to?"

"He located my shield which I lost while fighting…" Steve starts then pauses and sighs sadly.

"He took off to go retrieve it for Steve." Natasha finishes.

"That's nice of him." Pepper says then sighs. "Though that rascal couldn't have picked a better time to run off… I was hoping to discuss some details of our wedding… like when does he actually want to have it for one." Pepper then complains.

"He finally popped the question?" Steve asks genuinely surprised.

"Yep, not long after that whole Mandarin fiasco." Pepper says then smiles and shows off her very lovely and very large engagement ring.

"Congratulations." Steve says first then Sam and Natasha say the same thing.

"We should all go out for dinner tonight and catch up." Pepper then says with a friendly smile.

"We'd love to but you see… Natasha and I… we made plans." Steve starts but quickly finds himself stuttering.

"Well, we could take a rain check and go out tomorrow, Steve." Natasha says as she gives the shy soldier a reassuring look.

"You sure?" Steve asks tentatively.

"I'm sure. Besides, as soon as Tony gets back he'll insist on taking us all out to dinner, knowing him." Natasha replies as she gives him a nod.

"So… you two are dating now?" Pepper asks as her blue eyes dart between the Super Soldier and the former Spy. A small smile lights up her face.

"Well…" Steve starts again but stalls trying to think of what to say.

"It'll be our first real date. Though we did spend a lot time together recently." Natasha finishes and Steve is thankful. He is a bit too shy to talk openly about this just yet.

"That's good to hear." Pepper says with a wider smile now. "Natasha, right?" Pepper starts and looks to Natasha to confirm the new name. The redhead nods then Pepper continues, "She's a good woman for you, Captain. Now Tony won't be able to ogle her anymore."

"Ogle you?" Steve then asks a bit puzzled as he looks at Natasha. He wonders if she tried anything with Stark then.

"He practically undressed me with his eyes, no offence Pepper." Natasha then says flatly though some annoyance comes through.

"None taken… I'm used to his wandering eye by now. After all, I'm the one with the ring on my finger." Pepper says and her smile returns quickly. Steve shrugs. Things have changed so drastically since he went under the ice, but if Pepper is willing to stick by Tony with all his faults then who is he to judge?

Pepper then shows them to the living quarters on the lower floors of the Avengers section of the Tower. She tells them that they'll go out an hour after Tony comes back which JARVIS informs will be around seven o'clock given Tony's current rate of speed. So Steve, Natasha, and Sam have plenty of time to unpack, shower, and get ready to go out for dinner. Pepper had told them to dress nice, but nothing too formal.

Steve showers then gets ready by dressing into a nice pair of khaki slacks and a dark red dress shirt gets buttoned over the white under shirt, both of which get tucked into his pants and he puts a dark brown leather belt on and his nice dark brown dress shoes. He runs a hand through his hair applying a little hair gel to keep his golden hair tame. He finds himself thinking about Bucky again. Steve sighs.

"I'm going to find him… and bring him home." Steve says to his reflection. Determination sparkles in the Captain's bright blue eyes at his words… his promise.

Steve then pats some cologne on and heads out of the room provided to him. He heads to the lounge area on the penthouse floor and waits for everyone else to gather. He looks at his watch and notes the time. It's almost half past six and Tony should be back by now. He looks around then huffs to himself. He has to talk to the ceiling.

"JARVIS, is Tony back yet?" Steve finally asks.

"Yes, Captain Rogers, He returned nearly twenty minutes ago. Shall I inform him that you wish to speak to him, sir?" JARVIS says in his cool British voice.

"You don't have to, JARVIS. Just let me know when he's ready to leave, please." Steve then says. He doesn't want to trouble Tony unless he absolutely has to. Steve doesn't stand alone for long though… for Natasha approaches and Steve's eyes widen. She is dressed in a lovely red dress with a wide black leather belt/corset around her slender waist. The dress hugs her curves sinfully yet has flowy material across her bosom and the front of her skirt which is slit up to the top of her thighs on either side. Her black heels click against the glass floor and her crimson lips curl up into a smile as she notices the look on Steve's flushed face.

Her fiery red hair is straight but curls at the ends loosely and the left side is tucked up and held in place behind her ear with a gold hair clip. Her appearance reminds Steve of when Peggy entered the bar on that long ago evening dressed in red and looking beautiful. Now here's Natasha looking just as lovely if not more so and Steve can't help but swallow.

"Sam's right… Stark could've got the floor fixed." She says once she is at his side. Steve chuckles recalling Sam's comment from earlier.

"True… but his ego knows no bounds." Steve says and smiles at her. "You look… stunning, Natasha." Steve says a bit flustered as he then averts his eyes bashfully.

"It's okay to look at me, Steve. Really. You're not crass like Stark… or most men in fact, so it doesn't feel… slimy…" The former spy starts. "It actually feels nice to have you look at me appreciatively." She smiles at that and Steve gets a hopeful look in his bright blue eyes at her words, but before he can say anything further…

"Well, we're all here… except for the demi-god and the archer." Tony says as he and Pepper walk in with Bruce right behind. The scientist greets Natasha and Steve. "Where's the new guy?" Tony then asks as he looks around for Sam.

"Mr. Wilson is almost ready, sir." JARVIS answers.

"Good… when he's done tell him to wait by the north elevator then let me know when he's there." Tony says before turning to his gathered friends.

"Of course, sir." JARVIS replies then.

"Now, where were we? Oh yeah… We're all together again save for Thor, who is in London, and Barton… who is… well, where is he Nat?" Tony says then falters before asking Fury's former lapdog about the archer's whereabouts.

"He had gone to London to check up with Thor just before the Hydra takeover." Natasha says flatly.

"Perfect. Call him ASAP and tell that Hawk he needs to get his tail feathers to New York. If he doesn't have the money for a plane ticket then I'll send my private jet… hell, I'm just going to send it so let him know… please." Tony says then finishes with an innocent smile. Natasha rolls her eyes at the man child and steps away to make the call. She winds up leaving a voicemail considering that London is six hours ahead of New York's time zone. As soon as she rejoins the others, JARVIS informs Tony that Sam is waiting by the elevator as instructed.

"Time to eat!" Tony then says and they head off for the north elevator. They stop after descending a few floors and pick Sam up. Introductions are made between him and Bruce as they continue down to the lobby.

A chauffer awaits them in the parking garage with the black stretch limo and they all pile in. Sam is excited while Bruce looks a bit nervous. The scientist then notices how Steve and Natasha are sitting close as well as how Steve sneaks peeks at the gorgeous redhead every so often. It brings a comforting smile to his face, but he says nothing.

They soon find themselves at a nice steakhouse in lower Manhattan. Everyone chats catching up on what has happened since the Battle of New York. Tony commandeers the conversation talking about the Mandarin incident. Natasha adds tidbits about how they tried to track the signal but it was constantly repinging off other servers and rerouting from various broadcast stations which kept everyone chasing their tails at S.H.I.E.L.D. and that's when Bruce asks about this Hydra infiltration.

Steve gives the scientist the run down… how he and the Black Widow went on a rescue mission to save a S.H.I.E.L.D. sat-ship from pirates in which some data was retrieved by Natasha. How this data lead to Fury being attacked and killed (Steve makes a mental note to tell them later on about Fury not being dead… but for now the lie is necessary). Steve then talks about how he and Natasha went out on the lam and discovered a secret base located under the boot camp that Steve went to during World War II.

"It was surreal. Dr. Zola was… well, he was like JARVIS… a computer program. Apparently his consciousness, his mind, was uploaded into some computer system. There was a modern USB plug-in connected to it… which makes me wonder if that older version isn't the only version of Dr. Zola." Steve says with serious concern as he looks around the large circular table.

"Zola v3.0?" Tony quips with a chuckle. He had read about the Austrian scientist and how he used the Tesseract to power weapons and vehicles… even helped Red Skull experiment on human subjects. "Well, then I'm going to rework my firewalls tonight make sure this Zola guy can't hack in. The last thing we need is a Nazi knock off of JARVIS making things hell for us in the Tower. By the way… I've been thinking of renaming the building." Tony then says.

"Oh? You're going to call that eye sore something else… like Stark Ego or Tony's Ivory Tower?" Steve jests with a smirk which gets some chuckles from everyone but Tony… who just glares at the Captain.

"No Stars and Stripes… I was thinking of calling it Avengers Tower. You all are more than welcome to live there with me. I figure if we all stick close together then we can respond faster to global threats." Tony then says giving his spiel.

"It'll also make us easier to target." Steve points out using his Captain's voice.

"Hence why I have updated the Tower with new state-of-the-art defense systems." Tony replies with a smug smirk. Steve gives the billionaire a glare of his own. "Oh don't look at me like that, Cap. It comes in three levels… Security personnel, Non-lethal incentives, and 'stick your head between your legs because you gotta kiss your ass good-bye'." Steve doesn't reply or retort. He knows Stark is thorough but Steve has to find his best friend before the Captain can fully rejoin the Avengers in New York. Steve gives a tired sigh.

"Well, we don't have anywhere else to go. Natasha's exhausted all her covers, Sam is on the run, and I have helped make S.H.I.E.L.D. public enemy number one…" Steve starts then looks at Tony. "I can't speak for the others…" Steve adds and gestures to Sam before looking at Natasha then returning his blue eyes to Tony's. "But I'll stick around for a little while… then I'm going after the Winter Soldier."

"That's fine. The light will always be on for ya, Rogers." Tony then says with a curt nod of his head. Before Tony can say anymore, a trio of waiters arrive with their food. Tony is super excited to get his New York strip steak and steamed veggies (though he wanted steak fries but Pepper insisted on veggies to which he relented much to the surprise of Steve). Everyone else starts eating. Steve is hesitant at first as he thinks about Bucky out there probably going hungry…

"You need to eat, Steve. I can hear your stomach rumbling over Tony's praises." Natasha whispers to him as Tony goes on about how good his steak is. Steve smiles at that and slowly starts to eat. His sirloin is delicious, nice and juicy… cooked to medium rare. He soon clears his plate as his old army approach to eating kicks in.

"Was it any good, Rogers? Cause I don't think you had time to taste it." Tony quips as he watches Steve finish his meal before everyone else. Steve wipes his mouth with a napkin.

"It was delicious." Steve says politely.

"Feel free to get some dessert… this is my treat." Tony then says and his voice is friendly and nothing like his usual snark.

"You know what… I think I'll take you up on that offer." Steve says with a smile. When the waiter returns, Steve orders two slices of apple pie, a large banana split, and a chocolate milkshake to wash it all down. He enjoys his just desserts with a wide smile as Tony, and Sam, look on with a mix of surprise and jealousy.

"A hundred bucks says he can't finish all of that." Tony says.

"You're on." Sam jumps in and the two watch. Steve finishes his apple pie slices and nurses his banana split. Half way through it seems like the super soldier is going to throw in the towel to which Tony starts commenting about how Sam is going to lose the bet.

"You've got this, man. You've got this!" Sam says encouraging Steve on to the finish. Steve pushes through and polishes off his split, leaving not a lick of whipped cream behind. He then chugs at the last of his shake and Sam gives a triumphant 'horah' and fist pump at the sound of the large glass being emptied.

"You owe me a Benny, Stark." Sam says with a wide grin to the billionaire.

"So I do." Tony says a bit smugly yet he smiles at the drive that Steve showed to trudge through to the end. "Well played, Rogers. Well played."