A few months later...
Life in the Tower was anything but ordinary. Never a dull moment with the craziest roommates imaginable.
But Tony accepted the company. Despite his public image, he could be a little difficult to get along with, but with this new team they had just formed out of the blue, he was starting to enjoy it.
Maybe a little too much.
"Ok, Katniss, get out of the stupid vents, the guys are almost done with your room!" Tony rolled his eyes as Clint exited the ceiling in a not-so graceful way.
Last night was a party, to say the least, what with Thor and Loki leaving for Asgard for a while. Clint, thinking he could handle 1000 year old ale, pushed himself way past the limit.
"Ow..." Clint groaned on the floor, feeling nauseous and sore. "I should not have tried to arm wrestle Thor."
"Well, life is full of regrets. Trust me." Tony did not glance up from his tablet as he stepped over Clint's body.
But he did stare when Steve came through the room, clearly having just finished working out. The super soldier was drenched in sweat, his gray Under Armor shirt hugging every muscle on his broad shoulders and thin torso.
"Hey guys..." Steve greeted them as he washed his hands and face, getting ready to make some breakfast.
Clint whistled, not to Steve, but to Natasha, with not a hair out of place.
"Hey, hot stuff." Natasha pecked Clint on the lips, who turned to putty when she walked off.
Tony could not fathom how Clint Barton, the goofiest smart-ass in the world (and that's saying something, since he was always a smart-ass) could capture the heart of one of the hottest and most badass women he has every gotten the pleasure of knowing. They were very entertaining to watch.
As she helped Steve prepare breakfast, Bruce quietly entered the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"Good morning, everyone."
"Morning, Bruce." Steve politely replied.
"How's the room?" Tony asked, making Bruce blush. He did not like all of the attention on himself.
"Quiet as a mouse. I prefer the ocean over the rainforest, though. Sometimes the animal noises and thunder makes me a little nervous."
Poor Bruce was a light sleeper, and Tony, not wanting to have too many episodes with the Other Guy, made a promise to help him with whatever he needs to sleep peacefully through the night.
"JARVIS?"
"Sir, I have already changed the settings to Doctor Banner's room to the peaceful sound of waves on a quiet night. No surprises whatsoever."
"Thanks, Buddy."
Bruce sighed as he put his coffee down. "Tony, thank-you so much. I haven't gotten this much sleep in a long time. I-"
"Let's leave the romantics out of it." Tony winked. "Anything for my teammates."
"Well, I'm just glad there's no army of aliens attacking the city. These past few months have been nice." Bruce recalled. It was nice having a secure place to live with a warm bed and people he could trust.
Later that day, Natasha got a call from Fury, saying she and Clint were needed on a top secret mission in an unknown to the public location, and Bruce was needed at SHIELD HQ for a debriefing on a new scientific breakthrough he was leading.
That left only Tony and Steve.
And for some reason, that made Tony a bit uncomfortable.
These past few months have been hard for him. Not only getting used to having people running around the Tower, but Steve...well...
"Well, Cap, I guess that it's just you and me." Tony stated as casually as possible after everyone left.
"Yeah..." Steve paused, looking at his shoes. "I'm going to-"
"I think I love you." Tony blurted out with no thought whatsoever.
Steve did not know how to react. Even he had started to notice Tony giving him more attention than the others. How Tony would always make sure to include him in every conversation he was having. How any time Fury needed the two of them to for a press conference, Tony would find ways to extend their time together by going to see a movie or walking around Central Park. Heck, Tony would even offer to get up early some mornings and Steve would jog alongside Tony and just enjoy the company.
"Me?" Steve finally responded. He blushed, clearly unsure of what to say. "Tony-"
"Before you say anything." Tony held up a hand to stop him. "I know I can be a jerk, and I have the reputation of being a playboy, but this is different." He shook his head. "I can't sleep...I'm a piping hot mess. But with you...I want to be better. You make me want to be more." Tony walked slowly towards him. "Steve?"
"Is it too old-fashioned to say that I've kinda had a crush on you since I first saw you in the suit? When you saved my life in Germany?" Steve's face was getting redder. He laughed. "Tony...I love you, too."
Tony could not stop himself. The tension over the past few months have been too much to bear. He pulled Steve into a kiss, a careful one, as if he was unsure how far to go. But when Steve opened up wider, Tony took the invitation and inserted his tongue into the man's mouth.
Pulling back for air, Steve looked at Tony with those puppy dog eyes that made Tony fall head over heals. He brushed Tony's wild hair. Tony closed his eyes and let out a sigh.
"I was so afraid you would say no." Tony confessed, kissing Steve's hand. "I thought, since well, being-"
"Old-fashioned?" Steve sighed. "These days are much different...I'm learning to just be myself, throw caution to the wind. That's one thing I've always admired about you." He pulled Tony into another gentle kiss. "You are my number one. You make me feel safe in this strange new world I've been thrown into."
"God, you are so cliche..." Tony laughed. "I love it!" He kissed Steve again. "So now that we're being open and honest here, I might as well tell you, I think Natasha and Clint already know."
Steve froze. "They do?"
"Yeeeeeeah...JARVIS just sent me a text saying that they breeched his security cameras again...and here I thought living with spies would be cool."
"Well, I've got nothing to hide. I love you, Tony."
Tony replayed those words in his head, finding it hard to believe it was real. "I love you too, Steve."
Next week when everyone came home, no one was shocked in the least that Tony and Steve were basically a couple now.
"Are you serious?" Tony whined. "Am I that obvious?"
"All you two do is gaze into each other's eyes." Natasha smirked. "When you think no one else is looking."
Steve was beyond embarrassed, while Tony was just trying to figure out how he got so lucky to not only get the man of his dreams, but also have the smartest and slyest group of people on his side.
He was one lucky man.
Steve woke up to another nightmare, one that he could not shake. So he decided to wander the halls of the Tower. Things looked so much more different at night. He heard the faintest of noise, so he decided to investigate.
He found himself coming up to the lab where Tony spends most of his time. A handprint scanner was next to the door. Steve thought it would not hurt to try, and was surprised it lit up green with his name popping up. The door unlocked, and he entered.
And he thought the helicarrier was impressive.
He owes Fury $10.
The lab was spacious, with lots of equipment and tools of such thrown everywhere. There was no method to the madness, and computer screens and holograms were showing so many numbers and letters, Steve was almost sure it was an entirely new language.
"Tony?" Steve called out. He could barely hear himself think over the music. The blaring rock was almost too much. But Steve was polar opposite of Tony, the scientist. The engineer. Steve was an artist, who preferred drawing and reading. There were so many books that he had wanted to read, but now the list tripled since he has been under for so long. And-
"Tony?!" Steve was worried, seeing Tony on all fours in a suit that was falling apart all over him.
Tony turned, scared out of his mind. "Cut the music, JARVIS."
Silence echoed.
"Steve? Are you ok? What are you doing down here?" Tony struggled to get out of the suit.
"Here, let me help." Steve helped Tony out, and Tony let out a wave of raspy breaths.
He was shaking.
"Tony? Look at me. Tony?" Steve crawled onto the floor, making eye contact with Tony. "I'm right here. Tony, it's ok. I'm right here."
Tony refocused his vision for a second, before blinking rapidly and staring at Steve. "Steve, are you ok?"
"Tony, I'm fine. You are safe. I am right here with you." Steve gently put his hand on Tony's. "I'm right here."
Tony worked on his breathing, closing his eyes, meditating for a minute. Steve waited patiently.
"Woo! Sorry...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Had a moment, there." Tony shivered and clapped his hands together. "JARVIS?"
"Heartrate is normalizing, Sir. Nothing to be concerned with. Perhaps we shall take the rest of the night off?"
"Yeah, sounds good. Night Buddy."
"Goodnight, Sir."
"Come on, let's get you some water." Steve helped Tony up slowly and led him to the kitchen. After a couple of minutes, Tony was perfectly fine.
"Steve..."
Steve looked up from his fingers, coming back to the present.
"It's three o'clock in the morning. You don't get up till five. What's wrong?"
"I'm fine, Tony." Steve thought back to earlier. "Just had another nightmare..." Tears welled up in his eyes.
"Hey, hey, it's ok. You're fine. What is it that's got you so upset?" Tony soothed. Who knew we would both have mental breakdowns on the exact same night?
It took Steve a second to respond, which felt like an eternity to Tony.
"It felt so real...I thought I had lost you. I know it hasn't even been a year since the Battle of New York, but I keep having this sinking feeling that something worse is coming...and in my dream...it did. But I couldn't understand it. I didn't know what it was. I was alone..."
"I'm right here." Tony reassured him.
They had come up with this saying with each other a while back when they both realized each of them had some PTSD. Being heroes is no easy job. And it can leave invisible scars that are hard to heal. But together, they can overcome anything.
Steve took Tony's hand and kissed it. "I know."
