A/N: This chapter picks up right where the last chapter left off.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers!


Chapter 7

Tony sits next to his bathtub and turns the water off, shivering as the cold marble of the tub caresses his bare skin. He sets his Stark Pad next to the tub on a shelf he had installed after nearly electrocuting himself in what he refers to as "The Blow Dryer Incident." The genius stands and sticks his big toe into the water before sliding down, groaning at the feeling of the warm water on his sore skin.

The engineer sits at the bottom of the tub and leans against the tile wall, relaxing his muscles and sighing contently. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath thinking over the last few hours . . .

Discounting today, there's been no trouble from the dark haired man since he left with Thor for Asgard over a year ago. It's weird, but maybe Thor's right? Maybe the God is willing to change himself. In addition, who could be powerful enough to control Loki? The man isn't an easy enemy to outsmart and Tony knows that first hand. Loki said that something big was coming . . . but what?

"Sir." Jarvis waits a beat. "Sir!"

Tony jerks, causing water to slosh out of the tub. He opens his eyes—when did he close them for that matter?—and blinks rapidly, glancing around his bathroom.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir, but your heart rate was lowering and you were beginning to enter slumber."

The billionaire's eyes widen. "Thanks JAR. I think it's time for a nap now." Tony climbs out of the water and pulls the plug, allowing the liquid to drain. He grabs a large, fluffy red towel from the rack next to the tub and pats his body dry before working on his hair. In the middle of drying his hair, Tony swears. "Oh shit. Hey Jar, can you let Steve know that I made here alright?"

"Certainly sir."

Tony walks into his room, tossing his towel onto the bed. He picks up his phone and moves it to the nightstand before crawling underneath his covers, not bothering to clothe himself. The billionaire lies on his side and gives a satisfied sigh as his mattress sinks to accommodate his figure.

"Sir, Captain Rogers states that he is glad you made it back alright. He wants to inform you that the team will arrive ten minutes later than scheduled because Master Barton wants to stop for chimichangas."

Tony snorts before smiling to himself and closing his eyes. Last night, he fell asleep in Steve's arms and he'd give anything to feel that strong, warm body pressed against his again. He lets out a slow exhale before falling into a dreamless slumber.


The genius awakens hours later. The sun is high in the sky and there are no annoying birds (or Clint's) chirping outside his window. Tony never felt more satisfied than when he punched birdbrain in the face. He was only able to get twenty minutes of sleep, after five days of no rest, before that asshole woke him up. Steve had made him apologize, but it was worth it. Clint hasn't done it since. He rolls over onto his back, yawns and stretches. He sinks back into the mattress and closes his eyes, willing himself to return to sleep. "JARVIS, would you be a dear . . ."

"Already begun, sir."

Tony smiles when he hears the coffee pot he had placed on top of his dresser for his own convenience start up. Pepper thought it was a waste of space, and boy, was she wrong. After a few moments, Tony sighs and reluctantly crawls out of bed. He slowly walks over to his dresser and grabs a pair of boxers before pulling them on. He goes to his closet next and pulls out a black tank top and his favorite pair of gray sweatpants. The billionaire dresses, smelling the rich aura of freshly brewed coffee.

"Hey JARVIS, where's my suit," he asks as he moves back to the dresser and switches off the coffee pot.

"The Iron Man armor that was damaged in this morning's battle is waiting on your usual table in your lab. Shall I have the proper equipment for repairs waiting for you as well?"

"Go for it. Just make sure that Dummy doesn't knock anything over."

"I shall do my best, sir."

Tony grabs the coffee pot handle and pours a generous amount into his mug. Placing the pot where it belongs, he takes a hearty sip of his coffee, sighing as the liquid warms his body. He slips his feet into an old pair of sneakers, grabs his phone and heads for the elevator, calling the device to his floor and having it take him downstairs.

The elevator doors open and Tony walks into the complete silence of the common room, which is unusual seeing as Clint lives here. The genius wanders into the kitchen deciding to make himself breakfast consisting of toast and a few of those plumcots that Steve introduced to him.

The engineer walks over to the breadbox, which is resting on the counter next to the fridge. He sets his coffee mug on the counter and opens the box, pulling out two slices of whole wheat bread (which Steve insists is so much better than white bread) before popping them into the toaster. He opens the fridge and grabs two plumcots, peeling off the stickers and quickly washing the fruits off under the tap. He takes a bite from one and sets the other on a paper towel.

Tony glances around the area again before sighing, curiosity clinging to him. "JARVIS, where is everyone?"

The response is immediate. "Mistress Romanov and Doctor Banner are asleep on their respective floors. Master Thor and Master Barton are at Shield Headquarters, and Captain Rogers left minutes before you awoke saying he wanted to check on an old friend."

Tony's betting that he's going to check on Maxie. There's a donut ship in Harlem that the woman adores and visits every morning. Even though the battle was early enough, he still hopes that she wasn't around. The genius makes a mental note to stop by Kristyn's soon just to make sure she's alright. "Thanks JAR," he responds as his toast pops out of the toaster. Tony grabs a paper plate and places the toast and the plumcots onto it. He also grabs and paper towel and his coffee cup and walks down the stairs to his lab.

He reaches the door and punches in the code for his lab. He walks inside his workspace, and is greeted by Dummy, who chirps happily from the corner. He hears the robot roll towards him before running into a table. Tony rolls his eyes fondly, and walks over to one of his tables where his suit is waiting in pieces. The engineer sets down his breakfast and picks up his helmet, glancing over it with a serious expression. He sets the helmet down and takes a bite of his toast.

"Sir, I want to make you aware that Miss Potts has landed JFK International Airport and should arrive at the Tower in approximately forty-five minutes."

Tony sighs. He's going to have to deal with Pepper eventually, and he was hoping it would be later. Unfortunately, it can't be helped especially when Pepper is determined to chew him out. "Thanks Jar. Keep me posted."

"Of course, sir," is the response.

The engineer sighs, looking down at his damaged armor and takes another bite of his toast. He has a lot of work to do.


Tony is so absorbed in working on his suit that he barely hears his phone going off. He turns his welding torch off and pulls the mask off his face. He fishes his phone from his pocket and checks his messages, noticing he has one from Steve. Funny, he didn't know that the all-American boy knew how to text. It reads, 'I just got off the phone with Fury. He wants us to report to base this evening for a briefing.'

The genius responds: 'Oh great, just how I wanted to spend my night.'

'You're telling me.'

'Did he say anything about Loki?'

'No, but Thor's still at base, and hopefully Loki's starting to remember something.'

'Speaking of remembering, I didn't know you knew how to text.'

'I may be from the past and very confused, but I'm not slow. Clint showed me.'

The engineer snorts. 'Thankfully, he didn't teach you that God awful text speech.'

'What?'

'Whre u typ lyke dis n no1 undrstnds wat ur sayin.'

'. . . I can't understand your accent.'

The genius grins and bites his lip. 'Did you just make a SpongeBob reference?'

'Yes, Yes I did. That weird show is one of the few things that can calm down Bruce when he's angry and by now I've probably seen the entire series.'

'He sure does love that show.'

'Hey, you know what they say: never get between a man and his love for a talking sponge.'

Tony laughs and smiles down at his phone. He really enjoys talking to Steve. Not only can he be himself around the man, but the blond has the ability to make him forget about everything horrible that's going on and make him focus on the wonderful things in life like cheesecake, Frank Sinatra, and the sound of Steve's carefree laugh when he understands a post forties reference.

'You make me so happy,' he types and sends before realizing what he confessed. Tony stares at his phone, horrified and willing the message to return. Moments later, his phone vibrates and he eagerly checks the text.

'You make me happy too. So much. You light up my world like nobody else.'

The billionaire smiles, his heart beating quickly and stomach fluttering. He reads over the message again before furrowing his brow. 'Did you just quote One Direction to me?'

'Yes . . . the song was just on the radio and it's really catchy! I thought it worked.'

The genius smiles again. 'It does, you big dork.'

'Hey, being a dork never stopped me before.'

Tony laughs aloud again and grins. He's about to reply when Steve sends another message.

'Hey, are you coming to dinner tonight? Clint's not cooking so it will actually be good.'

Tony snorts. Clint's one of those people thinks he's a master chef when in reality he could burn cereal—and has. 'Well since the threat of a hospital visit is omitted, I'll be sure to make it. I just have to work on some armor repairs first. Remind me?'

'Sure. I'll come down and get you when it's ready.'

'Sounds like a plan. See you soon!'

'See you.'

The engineer sets his phone down, trying and failing to suppress another grin. He likes Steve—he likes him a lot and Tony really needs to make a move before he drives himself insane. Unfortunately, there's never been a good time. Okay, that's a lie, but every time something is about to happen between them, there's some kind of interruption. Tony doesn't know about anyone else, but he really wants to kiss Steve.

Tony turns back to his tools and the damaged armor. Before he can even think about getting back to work, JARVIS urgently states:

"Sir, Miss Potts is in the tower and—"

"Tony!"

The genius looks up and sees Pepper standing in the doorway, features twisted with fury. Her clipboard is clutched so tightly in her hand that the engineer thinks the wood might snap. The joy slips off Tony's face and he braces himself for Pepper's wrath.

"We need to talk now," Pepper demands, her face red with anger. She quickly moves to her boss's side and slaps her clipboard down on the table.

Tony doesn't want to deal with this. He wants to work on his equipment. "See, now's not a good time, Pep. I'm in the middle of trying to repair my suit."

"No, you're going to talk with me whether you like it or not," She responds through gritted teeth.

Tony sighs and looks at Pepper with a nonchalant expression, watching as the woman clenches her fists, nails digging into her palms.

"Natasha filled me in, what the hell was that back there?" Pepper asks trying to keep her tone calm. She's failing.

Tony shrugs. "We got control of the situation."

"But you didn't have to throw yourself in the middle of the attack, you could have been killed!" Pepper shrieks, slamming her left fist against the lab table.

"It was either: me throw myself in the way, or watch Clint, Natasha and Steve burn. Did she mention that when she "filled you in"?" Tony declares looking directly into Pepper's eyes. He knows he's being cruel, but fuck it. "My suit can withstand any temperature, well almost any temperature, but they would have been ash."

"Do you really have to be so reckless all the time?"

"Hey, I get results and that's all that matters."

A look of surprise flashes over Pepper's face before twisting into rage. "Anthony Edward Stark, are you out of your fucking mind? Results aren't the only thing that matter!" She screams her patience with the other man finally cracking. "You see this is the reason why we didn't work out! You have no regard for the feelings of those around you! Hell, I don't even think you care about yourself! You only care about petty little things like results!"

The shock of Pepper's words floods over Tony, his mind going blank and his features neutral. Pepper realizes what she just blurted. The tension and anger drains from her body as she registers Tony's shocked silence. "Tony," she begins guilt washing over her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean—"

"Get out," he breathes.

"Tony, can we just—"

"Pepper!" Tony snaps, watching the woman flinch. He closes his eyes and balls his hands into a fist. The engineer takes a deep breath before opening his eyes. "Just leave, before I say something that we're both going to regret."

The redhead moves as if she is going to say something else but instead shoots Tony a look of regret before picking up her clipboard and leaving the lab.

Tony sighs and sits heavily in his lab chair. He halfheartedly nudges his tools, before grabbing his screwdriver and throwing it against the wall, starling Dummy. He sits back down onto his chair. He rests his elbows on his knees and places his head in his hands. He closes his eyes and listens to the sounds of Dummy moving towards him. The genius feels a robotic claw against his shoulder and he lets out a choked sob. "Fucking hell . . ."


"Tony?" a familiar voice calls quietly.

"Steve?" Tony croaks from the corner, laying on the floor and barely hanging onto consciousness. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Are you okay? It looks like a war zone in here," Steve asks, referring to the machine parts, broken glass, and various items thrown all about the area.

". . . I'm fine . . ." He hears the soldier's footsteps approach his form and watches the other man kneel next to him out of the corner of his eye . He feels the blond gently removing the broken bottle of scotch from his hand, and setting it off to the side. Tony opens his eyes and winces at the bright light. Unfocused dark brown eyes met blue ones. "How did you . . .?"

"JARVIS."

Tony scoffs. "Figures." He sighs as he starts to sober up. A few bottles aren't enough to get him drunk, just tipsy. "How long have I been down here?"

"A few hours at best. I was going to come down in an hour or so to remind you about dinner, but JARVIS helpfully suggested I should come now."

The billionaire bites his lip and ignores the throbbing at the back of his head. "Help me, up?"

Steve gently helps the other man into a standing position steadying him when he starts swaying. The Captain leads Tony over to one of his lab chairs. He helps the other sit down, watching as the brunet slumps against the table.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" the blond asks crossing his arms.

Tony pauses then sighs. "Pepper and I had a fight."

"I'm sorry."

The genius shakes his head. "Don't be. It isn't your fault."

"I know," the soldier responds. "But, I'm still sorry it happened."

Tony swallows. "Yeah, um, thanks." He pauses. "Hey, can I tell you something?"

"Of course," Steve says a concerned expression on his face. He unfolds his arms and leans against the lab table giving the genius his full attention.

The engineer takes a breath. "You know that Pepper and I used to be a thing right?" Steve nods. "When we broke up after the whole issue in California, she said that we didn't click anymore. I agreed with her. I mean, honestly we were better friends than we were a couple and she was always in more danger as my partner, so . . ."

"So, the break up was mutual?"

Tony nods. "Yeah, it was, or at least that's what I thought up until a few hours ago. She came into the lab and we got into an argument and she says that my recklessness and disregard of others is why she broke up with me." He shakes his head. "I know we broke up months ago, but it pisses me off that she didn't tell me from the get-go! I mean, what, did she think I wouldn't be able to handle the truth?" He sniffles and looks away from the blond. "All she did is confirm what I already knew. I screwed it up, just like I do every relationship." Tony lifts his eyes and looks at Steve. "Am I a bad person?"

"Of course not," Steve responds honestly. Tony snorts. "I'm serious."

"Yeah, whatever."

The soldier sighs. "Have you talked to her since then?"

Tony's shoulders tense giving Steve his answer. "You should call her, Tony."

"I don't want to," the other protests. "Besides, she probably hates me now. I all but threw her out."

"I'm sure she doesn't hate you—"

"You don't know that," Tony says suddenly, cutting off the other man. "She hates me, I know she does. What if she wants to quit the company! The entire thing will collapse! Well, not the entire thing but a huge chunk of it will—"

"Tony—"

"And I'll be alone," he continues, ignoring Steve as if he didn't even speak. "Sure, I'll have Rhodey, Happy, you and the rest of the team, but Pepper is Pepper. There's never been a Tony without a Pepper no matter what state our relationship is in, I mean, she's always been there and now she won't be and— I used to call us Pepperony, Steve, and there will be no Pepper to my ony and this is awful and—"

"Tony!" Steve says forcefully, cutting off Tony's babble. "Pepper doesn't hate you and no one is going anywhere." His eyes scan Tony's face searching for some kind of answer. Placing gentle hands on Tony's shoulders, he steps closer to the engineer. "What can I do to make you understand that?"

"Don't leave," Tony answers immediately, his voice laced with fear. The brunet feels a wave of nausea, nervousness, and a hint of embarrassment wash over him.

"I give you my word, that I won't," Steve responds heartfelt.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Tony says in a shaky voice. He gulps, feeling vulnerable, which is something he hasn't experienced in a long time.

"I always keep my word," the Captain says.

His voice is so genuine that, despite his doubts, Tony can't help but believe him. He gulps and takes another shaky breath. The genius places his hands on Steve's chest, before sliding them up and burying his fingers in the blond tresses. "Steve . . ." He shakes his head before tugging the soldier down and bringing their mouths together.

Steve immediately returns the kiss, moving his hands to Tony's waist, and running his hands along the brunet's sides. The shorter man makes a sound of approval before arching upward and pressing harder against Steve's mouth. Steve nibbles at Tony's bottom lip and slips his tongue into the other's mouth, earning a groan from the billionaire. The blond moves his hands from Tony's waist, placing them under his thighs and lifting the other man off the stool. Tony wraps his legs around Steve's waist and grips the others hair tighter.

The soldier sets Tony down on a lab table without breaking their kiss the new angle getting a noise of approval from the brunet. The latter's hands slide from Steve's hair and find their way under the blond's shirt, running his hands over Steve's impressive abs. He tugs the offending garment upward until the soldier breaks the kiss to pull his shirt off and toss it on the floor somewhere before immediately bringing their lips together again. Tony places his hands on Steve's arms, running his hands along the toned limbs and moaning while Steve's larger and warmer hands make their home on Tony's lower back, occasionally moving to run along his hips and thighs.

The two remain in that position for an undetermined amount of time: licking, kissing, biting, grinding, groping. It feels like hours, it may have only been minutes, but one thing is certain: it feels right.

"Sir?"

Tony ignores is AI in favor of licking into Steve's mouth, tasting raspberry tea and something that's just Steve. The blond moves his hands from Tony's hips to underneath is tank top, gently running his nails against the engineer's abs causing him to squirm and whine against Steve's lips.

"Sir!"

The genius regretfully parts from the kiss, his lips brushing against Steve's with every word. "Not now, JARVIS, I'm busy," Tony answers breathlessly before reattaching their mouths together.

"Sir, I must insist!"

Steve pulls away from Tony, looking positively wrecked. His hair disheveled, chest panting, blue eyes blown wide and clouded with lust. Tony is sure he is in a similar state. "It could be important."

Tony detaches his hands from Steve's arms and runs his fingers through the other man's hair, attempting to smooth the blond tresses out. "Babe, nothing is as important as you." He grins at the flush that blooms over Steve's face. "You're so cute."

"Shut up," Steve says, trying to suppress the loving grin that's slowly crossing his features.

"Sir," JARVIS begins again. "Director Fury is calling an emergency meeting at the Helicarrier. Attendance is mandatory."

Steve and Tony exchange a grim look. The billionaire has a sinking feeling that this meeting isn't going to end well. "Alright, JARVIS, tell everyone to suit up and—Clint's back right? If he is, have him fire up the Quinjet. Cap and I will be there shortly."

"Right away."

They slowly detangle from each other. Tony hops off the table, and tries to fix his appearance while Steve grabs his shirt and pulls it on. Regardless of their efforts, the others would probably know what they were up to anyway and the brunet could care less. Steve's wonderful and attractive and Tony finally made his move.

The billionaire leads the way out of the lab with Steve in tow. Tony pauses in the doorway before whirling around to face Steve. He grabs the other man's shirt before tugging him into another kiss. The genius pulls away after a few moments and grins at the surprise on Steve's face. "For good luck."

"Right," Steve agrees distracted. "Good luck, right."

Tony lets his hands fall from Steve's shirt. He bites his bottom lip before grabbing Steve's hand and dragging the man upstairs.


The flight to Shield Headquarters doesn't take long, once everyone managed to assemble. Natasha was late, claiming she had important business to attend to, but Tony suspects that she was finishing her favorite Russian soap opera. Everyone who hadn't changed into their uniforms before meeting were forced to change on the jet, which only has two bathrooms—one for the guys and one for Natasha, who claims that she doesn't want to share her private space with a bunch of smelly men.

Tony completely understands.

Fortunately, the rest of the team were already dressed in their respective uniforms, giving Tony the chance to shamelessly make out with, and grind against a half-naked Steve in that bathroom before Clint banged on the door and said, "Hurry up! I need to let this massive shit out before we get there! I can't properly deal with Fury if I'm backed up!"

That was a definite mood killer.

The Avengers arrive on base moments later, converge with Thor, and hurry to the conference room where Fury and Agent Hill are waiting impatiently. Tony glances around. No Coulson in sight, which is something unusual seeing as Coulson is always there . . . even when he's not wanted.

Fury sighs heavily and places his hands on his hips. "Good, you're all here. Take a seat," he says, gesturing to the table. The team quickly takes their places. Usually they would argue about who sits next to who, but there's a time and place for everything.

"Loki has been completely corporative," Fury begins his voice firm and authoritative. "His claims of being compromised have been verified by experiments conducted with Thor's supervision and Loki's permission, of course." The Director opens his mouth to continue, but is interrupted by the door opening, and Coulson's figure slipping inside.

"You're late, Agent," Fury scolds.

"Sorry, sir. I had to take five showers because I woke up completely covered in lard," Coulson responds, briefly glancing at Clint.

The archer slouches further in his seat and places his fist over his mouth to hide a grin. Tony shakes his head with disbelief. That explains why Barton needed all that lard and why he was at Shield earlier in the afternoon. If the genius had known, he would have bought out Costco's entire supply.

Fury gives Coulson a look of disbelief before shaking his head. "Regardless, now that you're here, we can officially begin."

Coulson nods and takes the seat next to Hill, sharing a quick glance of acknowledgement with the other agent.

Fury clears his throat. "Now, our chief psychologist has been working closely with Loki for the past several hours, and his memory has been returning albeit slowly for a God, according to Thor," he pauses. "Fortunately, we have uncovered the identity of the person controlling Loki though we have not uncovered their motives."

"Well," Clint proclaims impatiently. "Who is it?"

The Director opens his mouth to answer, but is cut off by a thunderous explosion that shakes the entire Helicarrier. "What the—!" he exclaims before another explosion blows out the wall of the conference room, sending the occupants flying to opposite sides.

Tony hits the back wall next to the door and groans, muscles tense and alert. He blinks rapidly trying to remain conscious. He can see a blurry blond heap moving in the corner of his vision and hears a figure slump next to him.

"You alright?" Steve inquires.

"Yeah, of course, I mean who doesn't like getting thrown against walls at eight p.m.?"

Steve snorts and moves to stand before his entire body freezes. A figure steps onto the carrier via the gaping hole in the wall, surrounded by smoke and flames. Tony glances between the foreign person and Steve, the latter's eyes alight with recognition and his mouth falling open. "Cap, you know him?"

"It's Red Skull," he breathes, not taking his eyes off the man. Tony's eyes widen.

Skull scans the room before settling his gaze on Steve. He sneers. "Hello Captain."


A/N: AHHHH! Hello plot! So nice to finally see you! XP I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you think!