The detectives and staff at the precinct were cowering in the briefing room despite the majority of them being completely innocent; some of them had never even watched online movies illegally. They were all more than aware that any second now Captain Fury would storm through that door and release his wrath of holy thunder upon their heads. Tony and Stark shared a look from across the room as even their rivalry couldn't withstand this kind of tension. Any kind of solidarity was positive.

"WHICH MOTHERFUCKING ASS LEAKED THE PROGRESS OF THE JENSEN CASE?!" The captain's voice echoed into the room milliseconds before he kicked the door open and strode inside. He slammed his fist down onto the podium and peered around the room, his eye resting on each employee in turn. The accusation was placed against each and every individual in that room without exception, "Let's start with Stark and Rogers since they were the primary detectives on this case. So, gentlemen?"

While Steve was floundering with his words Tony stepped forward and filled in his whereabouts. There was an easy alibi to excuse him from being interrogated. Meanwhile, Steve got redder in the face and began shifting on the spot.

"I was with Barton all night," Tony gestured across to the shorter detective, "He needed help on a stakeout and since me and Rogers weren't making much progress on the Jensen case I offered."

"I was with him all night." Clint chimed in with a nod at Stark.

"Checks out," Hill was typing furiously at her tablet, "He would have been with Barton at 11:48pm when the information was leaked to the press." Tony smiled at her gratefully.

"Steve?" Fury asked without much conviction. Rogers was the best detective they had in New York and twice as dedicated than any other officer. The idea of him actually leaking information to anyne was practically laughable. In fact, some staff at the back were stifling a chuckle at the thought of Steve doing anything that wasn't 100% by the book.

Tony saw the tall blond stumbling to talk so stepped in to defend the man. He didn't know why he felt the need to help him but something in his core pulled him to intervene, "C'mon, Captain. We all know goodie two shoes would never-"

"Silence, Stark. We need Rogers' statement."

Flushed as a beetroot, Steve opened and closed his mouth several times in a display of hesitation that nobody had ever seen from the man. A slight wave of doubt accompanied the raising chatter of rumors as people, for the first time, had to consider that Steve Rogers may have not kept information prevalent to the case confidential. For the first time, people hypothesised that there may be more to the man than first assumed.

"It-It wasn't me." The man declared in an attempt to fix the damage done to his rapidly decreasing reputation. "I didn't do anything."

"There, the man said it." Tony said, raising an eyebrow at his Captain. He still couldn't figure out why he was again sticking up for Rogers so much since they had only partnered up once.

"Shut up, Stark. Where were you, Rogers?"

He released one last exhausted sigh before looking squarely at Captain Fury to block out the reaction of all his colleagues and friends. His tongue was clumsy as though his body was fighting him to prevent him making this revelation, "On the night in question I was at a friend's house… all night."

"Doing what? What does your 'friend' do?"

If his face could get any warmer they'd be able to turn off the building's heat and instead warm the office from his cheeks alone, "Me and this man… engaged in sexual relations."

Every single head in the briefing room snapped around to stare at the confessing detective. It may not have been a confession over the leaked information but it certainly was a nugget of information that many of the employees in the room found more interesting. Under the weight if their gaze Steve lowered his head so his gaze could follow the gaps in between the tiles. He wasn't ready to see the judgement in their eyes. He thought he already knew what he'd see: disappointment and disgust at the precinct's most successful detective being homosexual.

"And can this individual confirm your whereabouts and lack of contact with the media?" Fury asked, his disposition unchanged and his tone unflinching. This caused Steve's gaze to shoot up in a mix of surprise and confusion, "Well? Can he?"

"I believe so, Sir." Rogers responded gratefully. He always forgot that in this day and age it was no longer a character fault to be a gay man anymore. The other detectives and staff would undoubtedly follow Captain Fury's lead of acceptance and support.

"Very well then… I'll go and contact this man."

As everyone slipped out the room Steve couldn't help the small smile that grew across his face.

Steve was low-key hiding in the evidence room when he heard the door open and a couple of people walk in. He ducked down behind the shelves in order to avoid confrontation; he had only revealed his sexuality mere hours ago and, despite a majority of support, the large man still feared the backlash of such an announcement. He listened carefully to the conversation as many people came to the room in order to get some privacy for secret conversations. Steve only prayed the individuals were not about to start gossiping about him.

"Tony!" A voice hissed in a whisper, "Did you know about it?"

"About Rogers? No, of course not." Stark defended himself against Clint's questioning.

Steve frowned and slowed his breathing to avoid detection. Whatever they were about to say about him he was emotionally ready. He steeled himself in case he would have to jump up and defend himself like he had done countless times in his life.

"Oh, I just thought because…"

Without being able to see, Steve already knew the dark haired man was rolling his eyes, "Yeah, I know… but just because I'm pretty open about my sexuality doesn't mean I know everyone else's business. It's such a stereotype that all non-straight people know each other!"

"Hey! Look, I'm sorry. Just… Everyone knows you've got with every person within a 20 mile radius of your apartment…" Clint justified with a semi-apology in his eyes.

"25, actually… but not Steve. I had no idea he liked guys. We've never had the kind of relationship where we sit and talk about our sex lives." There wasn't really need for him to explain his awkward relationship with the other detective. From day one, Steve and Tony had never seen eye to eye. Steve was silently nodding along to that statement, "Actually, we've never really talked about anything outside of a case. I barely know him."

The men wrapped up their conversation and left the room leaving Steve ducking out of sight. Slowly he rose and clicked his back from the awkward angle. He sighed and continued sifting through the files he had been browsing. He knew Detective Stark had a reputation for sleeping around and being a ladies man but he didn't realise he liked men too. Steve worried that it was because people viewed him as being old fashioned and conservative that prevented Stark from divulging this. He always felt out of the loop when they all did fun things or hung out together. He was always unaware of them doing things until he saw them posting about it on social media during the night. Even though he only had a close relationship with Natasha he wished they included him more. The thought that his team didn't actually like him broke his heart slightly.

He shook himself out of his pity party and tried to regain control over his emotions. They were only colleagues after all and what did their opinion of him matter anyway?

The large man snapped the folder shut, slipped it under his arm and marched out of the room.