Lunacy Fringe by The Used

Tony closed his eyes tightly, trying to focus more on the pattering of rain on the windowpanes instead of the murmuring blond before him. Why exactly did Steve have to be one of his coworkers and incidently his only real friend aside from Pepper? The man was practically his childhood hero and this definitly wasn't fair by any means.

"Did you hear me?"

"Yes," was all Tony could whisper, feeling all the old aches and pains return to him, "yeah." He sounded so weak.

He'd gone through all of this with Pepper and he still wasn't fixed from that rocky road. He and Pepper had been together in a relationship for the better portion of three years and things never went well for Tony. Things never worked out, leaving him to recover with nights filled with booze and endless girls.

"Tony?" Steve asked quietly, gently touching his arm. The billionaire jumped, obviously startled and looked at the super-soldier sitting before him. His angular face was lit eerily by the glowing arc reacter.

"What?" came the weak question from his didn't want to hear him say those three, toxic words, but he did.

"I love you, Tony." Steve murmured sincerely. "I really do."

Tony wasn't sure he wanted to know that...it felt like he'd break any moment. He could not respond to the Captain.

"I...I can't."

And the pair were left with only the sound of the storm for a long while.

"Why can't you, Tony?"

"Just..." he felt the air trap in his throat, "Steve, I'm not good for you."

"How?" Steve only pulled the fellow Avenger closer to him.

"It's like I'm crazy, you know?" Stark murmured into the soldier's chest, "I think it was my childhood that screwed me over." He began to ramble. "One bad relationship after another..."

"Tony..."

"Don't give me that patronizing tone," he quipped weakly to the taller man, "everyone loves you, you're Captain fucking America, Steve Rogers. You're a poster-boy and you know it. I'm not even close to being capable of a relationship, everyone shows that to me."

"Then let me show you differently."

Steve's lips came down on Tony's sheer warmth and strength poured into the billionaire as well as passion and love. He only looked into those blue eyes, illuminated by the machine in his chest.

Left in the darkness, eery glow and pitter-patter of the rain, Tony had decided that maybe he did want to know.

A/N: Not too good, but I'm feeling rusty. Tried to incorporate plenty of the song itself in there. Very angsty.