The whir of the plane was the only thing keeping him awake.

Steve still had his shield strapped to his arm, his weapon weighing just a bit heavier than usual. He was exhausted and truly at his limits, his muscles turning to Jello the longer he sat there. Back in South America he'd felt like he could run over water to get back to the states but now...now he could barely keep his head up. His face was caked with dirt and sweat but he didn't bother to wipe it off. He couldn't even find the urge to change clothes let alone clean his face. He hadn't spoken a word other than an order in two months, having nothing to say to anyone that didn't involve keeping them alive. The men had been great soldiers but their enemy had been fierce. At some point the regular footmen had started to feel like lambs led to the slaughter.

The plane was made for more than one, seats lined the back for more than a dozen men. The platoon, or what was left of them, had stayed at home base. He'd gotten most of them back but a few had fallen to those beasts. Fuck, those beasts...fearsome creatures with the bodies of panthers and teeth like sharks. They'd torn through men like butter but their biggest strength had been their stealth and speed. The mission had been a simple one. A scientist in South America had been creating mutated creatures for sale across the world. That scientist had been taken out by a S.H.I.E.L.D. sniper, but those creatures had escaped before the agent could destroy them properly.

By the time Steve had arrived with his small army the beasts had already devoured two villages.

It had been a bloody mess. Steve had been forced to track the creatures down one at a time, crunching through jungles for hours at a time before he even spotted one. When his men had gotten tired he'd pressed on, driven by the need to be back home.

Steve shook his head, dislodging images of blood-stained leaves and the pale eyes of those demons. He brought his shield up and pressed his forehead to the edge, clenching his eyes shut. Tony. He started filling his head with images of his lover, pushing out all the wrong and blood for some sense of comfort.

Steve thought of Tony all warm and willing, waiting for him back home. He thought of the way Tony tasted like coffee both morning and night, he thought of the beard burn that came after the man kissed his neck, how he felt inside him. He remembered the ever-present passion in Tony's eyes, the way he touched Steve with an absolute certainty and control, the way the genius's personality sometimes completely dominated his own.

Steve grit his teeth and concentrated, imagining himself back at the Tower in their bed. After a moment he could almost feel the warm weight of Tony's arms around him, the plush mattress beneath him. God, he'd give anything to be there right now. He'd prayed every morning to stay safe and whole, just waiting for the day when he could get back on the plane and leave the country.

He wasn't sure if he could do a mission like that again, not without Tony.

The plane jolted as it landed. Steve got to his feet once the engine cut out, the hatch door unlatching automatically and starting to lower. He trudged the length of the hall, heading down the ramp with heavy feet. He looked around, finding himself in the middle of a nearly abandoned airport. The sun hadn't bothered showing itself yet, he figured by the slight lightening in the east sky that he had more than an hour before he'd see it.

Fury was standing a few feet from the edge of the ramp, looking pleased to see him and holding a few files in his hands.

"Captain" the director nodded "A job well done. I admit I got worried when those things scattered, but you kicked some serious ass."

Steve blinked at him, forearm bulging behind his shield.

"You're back just in time" Fury held out the file, the manila surface branded with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo "I have a proposition for you."

The soldier remained silent as he took the folder, staring down at the words Avengers Initiative with a solemn expression.

"It's a new project" Fury explained "A plan to assemble the greatest team of super heroes this world has ever seen. They'll need a leader, Captain, and I want it to be you."

Steve dropped his shield on the cement, tossing the file in after it.

"Tony" he rasped, the name sounding foreign on his lips after all this time.

Fury faltered, smile fading when he realized the genius was still at the forefront of the soldier's mind, "Of course Stark will be involved."

Steve's jaw clenched.

Fury hurried to explain, "We want to bring him in as a consultant. He's invaluable to this project."

The soldier swallowed thickly, trying to get his voice back, "I want to see Tony."

"I know you do, Captain" Fury tread carefully "But we need to get you to the Hellcarrier as soon as possible. There's an immediate threat, we need to brief on-"

Steve snarled, grabbing the director by the collar with both fists. He picked the man up off his feet, little red aim lights flashing across the captain's body from the guards not twenty feet away. In that moment he didn't care, all he wanted to do was beat the cause of that mission to a pulp. And right now Fury looked as good as any other warm body.

"Three months" Steve spat, white teeth bared in an attempt not to throttle the man "You told me I'd only be away from him for three months. I've spent six in that God forsaken country and now I. Want. Tony. And you are going to take me to him."

Fury relented.

xXx

One day, one night...that's all he had. Someone would come to pick him up tomorrow morning.

Steve stumbled into the living room, still a little bleary-eyed. He needed a meal, a shower, and a nap. But what he needed most was in here asleep on the couch. He walked over and plopped down on the footstool, cracking a smile for the first time in half a year. Theh soldier set the shield at his side before leaning forward on his knees, folding his hands beneath his chin. Steve quietly observed his lover, eating up every detail like a starving man.

Tony was so handsome. The man was dozing quietly, slumped on the couch but still sitting up. A pair of crimson safety goggles were perched on top of his unruly mess of hair, the dark locks just a little longer than he remembered. His usual work-tank was nearly black with old grease, the glow of the arc reactor easily cutting through the grime. Brown gloves covered his limp hands, his jeans ripped wide open at the knees to reveal work-raw welts. There was a half-full bottle of dark liquor on the table, the glass beside it empty except for some dregs and ice. There was a flush on his lover's tan cheeks, the alcohol warm in his system.

From the dark circles under his lover's eyes, Steve believed the man had crashed after one of his week-long work binges. Damn it, he even looked a few pounds lighter. He should've known this would happen. Hadn't he promised the genius all that time ago that he wanted to be there for him? That he would always be there to pull him out of the lab and make him eat and sleep?

More guilt piled on top of his heart, quite the heavy weight in his chest.

Tony started to stir, lashes fluttering against his cheeks as he struggled to wake up. The first glimpse of his lover's dark eyes made Steve's heart flutter, reminding him for the thousandth time how much he'd missed being home. He started yanking off his gloves, discarding them with a scowl for getting in his way. The soldier slid to his knees in front of Tony, parting the man's knees just a bit more so he could fit between them. He glided his hands up the corded thighs, letting his thumbs trace the bulge of muscle for the first time in too long.

Tony grumbled under his breath, rolling his head to try and shake off sleep.

"Tony?" Steve whispered.

Tony finally realized he was there, he could feel him tense beneath his palms, "Steve?"

"Yeah" the soldier smiled, heart clenching at hearing his lover say his name "I'm back."

Tony sat up, looking at Steve like he was a hallucination. The genius reached out and touched the other's face, just a brush of fingertips across the golden stubble on his cheek. Steve was about to tell him how much he missed him when a fist came at his face, his hand reacted on instinct and blocked it. The soldier lowered her his lover's fist, shock written across his haggard face.

"You look like shit" Tony ripped his fist away.

"You just tried to punch me" Steve couldn't believe it "What's wrong with you?"

"That's kind of what happens when you leave for half a year!" the genius kicked the other man's chest, getting the other to move enough so he could get up and off the couch "Where he fucking hell have you been?"

"Can you tone down the language?" Steve slowly rose to his feet, still feeling off his game "Just take a breath and tell me what's wrong. I left you a note."

"And you think one note makes up for six months of not answering my calls and texts?" Tony snarked "Nice deduction, Sherlock, you want to try again? Because it fucking doesn't!"

Steve scrubbed his palm across his face, "I was on a mission, Tony, you knew I couldn't answer my phone. I kept it on me, like you asked, but it stayed turned off."

"I knew it" Tony sounded even angrier now "And who suggested that?"

The blonde's brow furrowed, "Well...Fury, but-"

"I knew it!" he barked again "That's why I couldn't triangulate your position. If that phone is off the best I can do is get your hundred mile radius. You even left your CTB behind."

"I wouldn't take your suit into the middle of a jungle" Steve assured him.

"Why? Not good enough?" Tony shot back, arms crossed across his chest"You just didn't want me to find you. You didn't want me on your stupid top secret mission."

Steve barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, "Do you know how childish you sound right now? Of course I wanted you there, but the situation was urgent-"

"Newsflash, Cap" the genius whipped around, striding toward the window "Everything's urgent these days."

A pain shot through his ribs, Steve nearly doubled over. The beast he'd killed at sunset had tackled him pretty good, some of the bones in his chest had cracked on impact. He braced himself on the coffee table and slowly sat down on it, clenching his teeth to keep from making a sound.

"Tony..." Steve grit out "Can we just...not fight right now? I'm tired and I have to leave tomorrow."

Tony's shoulders tensed up, showing off his frustration as he spat out, "Again?"

Steve gave up on words, managing to get back to his feet to walk over to the window. He wrapped his arms around his lover from behind, pressing up against him and seeking his warmth. The soldier pressed his mouth to the steady pulse, one hand drifting up to cover the arc reactor. It hummed in greeting, thrumming in flutters beneath his fingertips as if it had missed him too. Tony struggled briefly but couldn't break free, decidedly looking out the window and not at the soldier.

"I told him to brief me tomorrow morning with you here" Steve gladly breathed in the scent of grease and sweat, he had missed it desperately.

"Don't bother" Tony glared at the captain's reflection "I don't want to be apart of your special boy club. I have a lot going on. Stark Industries is setting up three new self-sufficient towers within the next two years. I don't need Cyclops and his bullshit organization mucking it up."

Steve sighed, "I don't want to argue."

"Too bad, that's exactly what I'm in the mood for you."

"Tony-"

"You're the one who walked out on me for half a year! I haven't even seen your face!"

Steve squeezed him tighter, pulling him as close to his body as he could. He felt like Hell warmed over and he knew he stank like mud, the dirt on his face and neck making him itch. He couldn't do this right now, he didn't have the strength.

"I haven't seen you in six months either" Steve tried not to let his voice break "Can you just...come to bed with me?"

Tony's lips thinned as he thought over how he wanted to play this. He wanted to admit everything to Steve, he wanted to confess about how he had told Fury that they were a set and the soldier had went and proved him wrong. He wanted to admit his hurt feelings, he wanted to tell him about all the voice messages and the lonely nights. He wanted to admit that his life had a Captain America shaped hole in it that just hurt every single day. Being away from Steve had been one of the most painful things he'd ever experienced, like having Obi betray him all over again but over the course of six months.

Tony wanted to tell Steve that those first nights had been so lonely and worry-filled that he'd given up sleeping in their bed in favor of working through the moonlight.

But the man's touch still made him melt, he couldn't resist the warm kisses on his skin. Tony needed a few good hours of sleep and the only way he could get that was with his soldier. Maybe, just for today, he could bury all that raw hurt and leave the fighting for after dinner. Or they could skip the fighting and he could just tell the truth. He could rip open his heart and scream, leave himself bare for the captain.

You abandoned me. I thought we were a team, I thought you wouldn't leave without me. I just got you back, you can't leave me behind.

Tony pushed back into him, blanketing the hand on his chest.

"Take a shower" he intoned "You reek."

Steve pulled away with an exasperated sigh, "Tony..."

"I'll be in bed waiting."

The soldier watched the other walked toward the stairs, relieved.

At least for today they could pretend everything was perfect.

xXx

Peter had never sewn a day in his life but all of a sudden he was freakin' Mary Poppins.

Peter had a hoodie jacket spread out on his lab, patterned fabric laying in swathes around his knees. He'd swiped spools of thread and needles from the corner market, the design clear in his mind. His fingers worked swift and true, not once stabbing himself as he laced it all together. He'd withdrawn a good chunk of his scholarship money into cash, he'd hit the store today to get all this fabric. It was half-finished at the moment. He didn't know whether it had to do with his new found spider-like abilities or what (and wouldn't that be cool? Magical spider knowledge!) The hoodie was the hardest part, the skinny spider logo was taking twice as long as the white webbing pattern had. It wasn't easy but it sure as hell looked badass.

Peter had picked up a pair of yellow goggles and long, black, fingerless gloves as well. The Converse he'd bought were orange and white, lacing all the way to his knees and loose enough to tuck his pants in. He would look a little Shadowrun/cyber punk/hipster chic afterward, but it was a great image.

The outfit he had in his mind screamed tough punk.

Peter was still baffled that the Tony Stark had given him free reign to a thousand dollars. The moment he'd seen the amount his mind had shot into overdrive, designs for a super suit flicking through his head like book pages. He'd sketched it out a hundred times, filling two notebooks with all the bits and pieces he'd wanted. But when he'd settled on a design and wracked up the materials, he realized it would cost way more than he could squeeze out of the school.

So he hatched a plan, the seeds sewn the moment Captain had told him how impressed he was with his skills. He could fight, he knew he could, so why not make some money off it?

Peter's stomach growled, he paused to rub his heel across his belly. He had been too busy wrapped up in his material to get anything to eat. That was a need that wasn't going to be neglected very long. He paused in his work, laying aside the needlework to rub the stiffness from his shoulders. He groaned softly, rolling his neck and pressing his fingers deep into the muscle.

Though he just now had gotten started on it, this suit had been in his dreams for weeks.

Too hot lips covered his own, scarred hands drifting under his shirt and up his chest...

Peter shook his head sharply. That had crowded in on his dreams as well, the after-image of that mysterious man lingering in his mind. The whole thing would've been forgotten but for those eyes, dark and full of something like anguish. A tortured life, but a lively life. It was something Peter found himself wanting to be a part of, a craving to know and feel more welling up inside him.

The teen raked his fingers through his hair, wondering just what the hell he was getting himself into. First the mysterious man, then Stark's expectations (which still blew his mind), and now he was planning on throwing himself head-first into prize fighting. He didn't know if it was something in the air or not, but he was getting edgy.

Something was going to happen, everything was going to change.

xXx

Bruce watched the child skitter out the window, he slumped against one of the support beams in the hut. He dropped his bag with a sigh, the cramp in his stomach told him he just lost his dinner money.

"You should've got paid up front, Banner" he grumbled.

There was a rustle of fabric behind him, adrenaline spiking through his veins. His watch didn't start beeping but it was close to it.

"You know" the voice was soft, a woman stepping out into the light "For a man avoiding stress, you've picked a hell of a place to settle."

Bruce slowly turned toward her, regarding her with caution. She was lovely and clean, her skin pale and her hair stained the color of blood. She was a refreshing sight in this war-ravaged filth.

"Avoiding stress isn't the secret" he replied, mirroring her steps to keep his distance.

"Then what is?" the woman raised an eyebrow "Yoga?"

"You brought me to the edge of the city, that's smart" Bruce ducked his head to peer through a window screen, he could smell the fear on the men out there "I assume the whole place is surrounded?"

"No" the woman discarded her shawl, sprawling it across one of the worn chairs "It's just you and me."

"And your actress buddy?" Bruce gestured to the window the child had crawled out of, brow creased "Is she a spy too? Do they start that young?"

The woman pursed her full lips, "I did."

He messed with his fingers, there was something dark about this encounter and it was putting him on edge, "Who are you?"

"Natasha Romanova."

Bruce stilled, remembering the 'Nat' Clint had mentioned in their visit.

"Have you come to kill me, Ms. Romanova?" the doctor inquired softly, a weak smile twisting his lips "Because that's not going to work out for everyone."

"No" Natasha said decisively "No, of course not. I'm here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Two visits from S.H.I.E.L.D in three months, that's a new record for me" Bruce slipped, remembering at the last moment that Clint hadn't reported his whereabouts.

Natasha's brow furrowed, "Two visits? Has another agent come to see you?"

"I had a brief encounter with an Agent Barton" Bruce lied through his teeth, reaching out and letting his fingers graze the top of an old baby's cradle "We only a spoke a few words...then I got away."

The woman's fingers clenched on her folded arms, "You ran into Agent Barton? Strange. I heard he reported you MIA."

"I never stay missing for long" he rocked the cradle gently, watching it sway "Fortunately...no matter how much the world shuns the Other Guy, someone always needs me."

"We need you to come in."

Bruce glanced up, "No."

"Doctor" Natasha insisted "We're facing a potential global catastrophe."

Banner managed to laugh, "Well...those I actively try to avoid."

The agent pulled out her phone and brought up the picture she'd been sent, laying it on the table as she sat down, "This is the tesseract. It has the potential energy-"

"-to wipe out the entire world, I know" Bruce cut her off "And no, I'm not coming in to study it. I'm sure the scientists you have are fine."

Natasha looked disturbed to have her information thrown back at her, "I don't think you're aware of the situation."

"Clint told me all about your situation" Bruce smirked when her jaw ticked, he'd obviously hit home "Yes, Agent Barton informed me of the tesseract and it's hiccups. I can't help, I'm sorry."

"Fury needs you to-"

"What?" he snapped "Eat it? Poke it?"

"Find it" Natasha corrected him, leaning forward on the table "It's been taken by someone named Loki. It emits a gamma signature too weak for us to trace. There's no one who knows gamma radiation like you. If there was, I'd be talking to him."

"Why did they send you and not him?" Bruce inquired, wishing Clint had made the trip. It had only been a few months but he was already craving the younger man's company, a shameful secret he only indulged in his dreams. The night they'd shared...it made his knees week. He hadn't been that close to someone so alluring in an eternity, the lack of fear in the archer a breath of fresh air. They'd made that silly promise to see one another again, a child's pinky swear. Despite his instincts to push the man away to keep from hurting him (like he'd hurt everyone else), he couldn't stop himself from waiting for the day that promise was fulfilled.

Clint's absence was like a terrible ache in his chest.

Natasha didn't reply.

The watch on Bruce's wrist flashed warningly but didn't make a sound, "Where's Clint?"

"Why does it matter to you?" Natasha was deliberately cool " We at S.H.I.E.L.D. will deal with Agent Barton's condition. The tesseract is the only focus you need to worry about."

"His condition?" the doctor could think of a thousand terrible things that could've happened to the archer "Exactly what kind of situation did you put him in?"

Natasha sat back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest, "It's none of your concern."

"It's all of my concern" the watch started to beep, his heart picking up it's pace "What's happened to him?"

"It's being taken care of, I assure you. Doctor-"

"Tell me!" Bruce slammed his hands down onto the table, and through his haze he saw the woman whip a pistol out from under it. She pointed it right between his eyes, he didn't even flinch. All he could see was green and Clint's smile, bright in the candlelight and free. He'd gotten the agent to open up, to laugh, and he had found himself doing the same. The first person he'd felt connected with since before the accident...and now they were being ripped from him.

"Do it" Bruce hissed through his teeth, a tinge of green showing along the back of his hands and beaming from his eyes "I. Dare. You."

Natasha watched him with wide eyes, assessing what to do.

"Where's Clint?" Bruce's voice still had an edge to it "I won't ask again."

"He's been taken" Natasha replied, the gun holding steady "The same man who took the tesseract brainwashed him. Right now...Barton's on Loki's side."

Bruce pulled away, cursing under his breath as the obnoxious ringing of his watch echoed through the hut. He rubbed the device and clenched his eyes shut, putting his back to the woman as he forced the Other Guy down. Words like mate and hawk were threading through his mind, the low growl escaping his lips from his other half.

"How did he do it?"

Fuck, he barely sounded like himself.

"I've been told he has a staff with some unique qualities" the agent slowly lowered the gun "He's taken Clint's mind completely."

Bruce rubbed his thumb over the watch's cool surface until it stopped beeping, "Is there any hope of recovery?"

"We believe so" Natasha hesitated "He's my friend. I'm not going to let some alien take him from me."

"He's lucky, then" the doctor took a few deep breaths "To have friends like you...it probably comes in handy. You can call off your dogs, I just wanted the truth."

Natasha touched the comm in her ear, "Stand down."

Bruce breathed deep, trying not to react when the heavy scent of man receded.

She looked the older man over carefully, reading him as best she could while she took the comm out to keep their words secret, "Did you sleep with him?"

Bruce turned back to her, jaw clenched tight to keep from saying anything nasty, "No."

Natasha tried not to let a nervous laugh escape her lips, "So why do you care?"

Bruce remember the feel of the man's hearing aid in his hand, the sound of their mingling laughter, the taste of him on his tongue. Why did he care?

/He's the first person who didn't want to cage me/ Bruce dropped his eyes to the floor /And he didn't pity me. He talked about the Other Guy like he was...a hero./

"I have my reasons" Bruce looked up, she looked suspicious but unsure "When do we leave?"

Chapters may come every week and a half, but I'm trying to be steady. Most of my work will be done on weekends, so I promise to keep the updates frequent. The wait between prologues is the norm now. Some reviews may not hurt *hint-hint* Nah, I'm joking, do what you want you lovely readers

PS: Peter's suit? There's a link for the pic on my profile, it's on the everfallenverse tumblr