Now let's find out what the good Cap is thinking. Also I've been equal parts busy with work, sick with the flu, running contests on a pony game site, and fighting with a wisdom tooth who's trying to be born.

I went back and decided to chop the chapter in half after saying I wouldn't. Because I just don't like long chapters. I didn't change anything else.

Avengers: Astounded
Part 2: You Sent us Back in Body Parts
Chapter 10: Some Type of Disease

He could hear… something. He wasn't sure what but it was something. Quietly, he slipped out his bedroom door and followed the hall towards the elevator. As he neared the source of the disturbance, he slowed. He peeked around the corner just in time to see Tony shoving Fluffy through an open vent.

"Go find Steve." Tony hissed lowly to the cat as he placed the vent screen back on.

Steve ducked out of the way as Tony ran past and hopped on the elevator.

"Jarvis…" Steve asked once the elevator was closed and on the ascent.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Has Tony been doing that all week?"

"Yes, sir has." Jarvis answered without hesitation.

Steve shook his head slowly and crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. He should have seen it coming. Honestly. It had been getting ridiculous how many times the cat had gotten into the vents. And Tony hadn't been able to find the spot where Fluffy had been sneaking in. Because there wasn't one. "He hasn't… hurt the cat in any way?"

"No." Jarvis answered quickly. "Sir has been careful with the cat. Dum-E keeps a close eye on the monitors when he's in the vents."

Steve rolled his eyes. "So Dum-E's freakouts are fake?"

"Very."

Steve sighed and shook his head. Ridiculous. How old was the man? 12? "Then I better get the cat."

"That would be advisable, before you take too long and U accesses the security cameras to find you."

Steve pushed away from the wall and turned. He couldn't help but smile as he headed towards his room. "He really is something."

"Yes he is." There was a hint of laughter to the AI's voice.

"Can you not tell him I know?"

"Unless sir needs to know, this hasn't happened."

Steve smiled again as he reached for the doorknob. "Thanks, Jarvis."

"Are you angry with sir?"

Steve paused and shook his head. "No. It was… sweet… in a weird Tony Stark kind of way."

"Sir does tend to do things differently."

Steve saved the cat from the vent, again, and headed up to the workshop. He'd play along. But he really wanted to subtly convince Tony not to do it anymore without letting him know he was caught red handed.

"He did it again?" Tony said without looking up from his desktop.

"Yeah. He did it again." Steve set the cat down as Dum-E rolled over and turned to Tony. "Come on."

"What?" Tony glanced up.

Steve crossed his arms and gave him a stern look. "If I'm going to play babysitter for the cat and bots again, you're going to watch a movie with me."

"Bot." Tony corrected, holding up one finger. "There's only one who needs babysitting."

"Good." Steve said with a nod, turning to look over at the bot. "Dum-E can pick the movie."

The bot perked up immediately and raced over to the TV. Fluffy puffed up his tail and bounded over behind him.

"You will regret that."

Steve glanced back at Tony and shrugged. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be fine. Just come on." He waved him over. "Movie night."

Tony let out a long, loud, overly dramatic sigh. "But I have stuff to do! I'm busy!"

"Jarvis?"

"Sir is lying." Jarvis answered quickly.

"Jarvis!"

"Good." Steve smiled. "Movie."

Tony jumped up and pointed towards the wall. "First, meet Thang 2. We finished her this morning, after you left."

Steve glanced over at the identical pink bots standing beside each other. He momentarily wondered which the new one was. Tony had tied bows on them in identical spots. "Hello Thang 2." He waved the pink bots over. "Come watch a movie with us." He looked back over at Tony. "You're not distracting me. You're watching a movie with us." He grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him over. "What did you pick, Dum-E?"

"Short Circuit." Tony whined as Steve pulled him towards the couch. "That's what he always picks."

"He has a favorite movie." Steve smiled and patted the bot as he sat down. "That's so cute."

"Watch it twenty times and see how cute it is then." Tony grumbled, crossing his arms and falling down on the couch beside him.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuuuuuck…" The word was hissed, abused, and stretched into his ear. Fingers slipped down his sweat slicked chest, fingernails digging into the muscles. His hair was yanked back, forcing his head up. Blue light illumined Tony's dark eyes for a moment before…

Steve opened his eyes. It was dark save for the blue light of… Steve glanced down. The mechanic had fallen asleep in his lap. Again. Steve prayed the man stayed that way. He'd be mortified if Tony woke up.

Beside him, Dum-E beeped suddenly.

Steve glanced over. "What?" He whispered softly.

He beeped again, louder.

"Shhh!" Steve held up his hands, trying to quiet him. "Jarvis, is something wrong?"

"No, Captain Rogers. Dum-E became concerned for you."

"Concerned?"

"You were… making noises… while you slept."

"Oh… uh…" He patted the bot. "It's alright buddy. Just… dreaming. Nothing's wrong."

"As I tried to explain."

Steve smiled and patted him again. "I think I fell asleep during the movie."

Dum-E moved up and down in what Steve learned was a nodding manner. Then he turned and pointed his arm at the TV.

"You want to watch it again?"

Dum-E nodded.

Steve glanced back at the other bots, all at their charging stations. "Shouldn't you be charging?"

Dum-E hunched down.

Steve shook his head and smiled. "How about we watch the last half of it? Do you know when I fell asleep?"

Dum-E nodded and turned to the TV.

"Keep the volume low so we don't wake up Tony. He needs to sleep more than us."

"Captain Rogers, you really shouldn't humor him. Dum-E, as soon as it's over, go to your charging station. I don't want to have to inform sir you ran your battery out. Again."

Steve smiled as Dum-E pressed himself closer to the couch.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Over the next week, Steve had succeeded in keeping Fluffy out of the vents without letting Tony know he found out. It became an easy, comfortable routine. Whenever Steve wasn't fighting villains with the Avengers or working for Fury or visiting Peggy or in the gym, he was with Tony in the workshop. Most times Tony would be working on some project or another and Steve would sketch or play games with Dum-E. When it got late, Steve would put on a movie and the bots would join him. Most nights, Tony would too.

There was the little matter of his new dream sequences. Every night. Like every night he slept on Tony's couch. Which was every single night.

Steve sighed and rubbed at his eyes. He stifled a yawn as he stepped into the kitchen. They had stayed up later than he meant to last night. Tony had been in the mood to watch some incredibly stupid movies. He smiled as he reached for the coffee pot.

"Hey!" Clint popped up behind him.

"Good morning, Clint."

Clint slid around and leaned on the counter. He frowned for a moment, clearly pouting because he hadn't been able to surprise Steve. "Dude. Man. Where've you been?"

Steve shrugged as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "I've sort of been helping Tony with something in his workshop."

"Oh no!" Clint gasped in mock horror. "He's leeched into your brain! He's turning you into one too!"

Steve took a sip as he turned to glance at the archer. "One what?"

Clint shrugged and crossed his arms. "Whatever Tony is."

Steve smiled and took another sip. "Have you seen Natasha?"

Clint glanced at the hall. "TV room." Then he jumped up and ran from the room.

Steve shook his head as he emptied his cup and set it in the sink. Maybe Clint did have a point. Maybe he was spending too much time with Tony. Or not. He turned to walk down the hall and slowed as he heard voices.

"This is appropriate attire for everyday use?" Thor asked loudly.

"Um… maybe…" Natasha answered. "Not mine."

"Those colors are horrendous together."

"She is an idiot."

"I will not contest with that."

Steve walked up behind them, staring at the screen. He leaned against the back of the couch. "What are you watching?"

"Friend Steve!" Thor smiled brightly at him and then glanced at Natasha. "We are watching Project Runway, yes?"

Natasha smiled briefly and nodded.

Steve tilted his head as he watched the women on the screen parading around in… he wasn't quite sure what. "What is it?"

Natasha glanced back at him for a moment before looking back at the screen. "Wannabe fashion designers compete in challenges."

"They create really awful designs." Thor added.

Natasha nodded. "Yes. They do."

Steve laughed. "Why are you watching it then?"

"We like it." The duo said together.

He shook his head. "Natasha… can you spare a moment?"

Thor patted her shoulder. "Go. I will catch thee up when thee returns."

She punched him in the arm and jumped up. She offered Steve a brief smile as they walked down the empty hall.

"I miss you." Steve said softly, bumping into her gently. "We spend less time together now that we're living together."

She bumped back against him. "You should join us sometime."

"Join?"

"Thor and I." She said. "We watch TV down here almost every night."

He stopped and turned. "You do?"

She stared at him blankly for a moment. "How have you not noticed?"

Steve shrugged and looked down at his feet. "I've been… occupied… during the evenings."

She nodded slowly.

He glanced back up at her and shook his head. "You watch TV with Thor every night?"

"When we're not busy." Natasha said, nodding. "It intrigues him and Jane's not a big TV watcher. She doesn't own one. He likes watching it with someone. He asks lots of questions. Lots of questions." She repeated.

He smiled and shook his head. "Asgardian God of Thunder and he spends his evenings watching TV."

She laughed. "Well, you've been keeping yourself pretty busy. Upstairs."

He shrugged and looked away. He swore he could feel her smirking at him. He changed the subject. "I was going to visit Peggy. Care to join me?"

She shook her head. "I have plans. Why don't you ask Tony?"

"No." Steve said flatly. "Tony's weird about Peggy. He gets really stiff and overly polite. Her and Howard… they were good friends. I think it weirds him out."

Natasha nodded slowly. "Yeah… his father's the problem."

Steve rubbed at the back of his neck and looked away. "What are you doing? Not watching TV all day with Thor, I hope."

She shook her head. "No. I have a training session with Clint."

"A training session?" His eyes lit up. "Shouldn't we all do that together?"

"Eventually."

Steve frowned. "Why not now?"

She tilted her head slowly and pursed her lips. "Clint's still sensitive."

"Sensitive?" Steve cocked an eyebrow. "Clint?"

She punched him. "Next time, big guy. Go play with your grandmother."

Steve snorted. "Don't say that!"

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Have you seen the movie Short Circuit?" Steve leaned back in his chair as he asked. He had arrived a few minutes prior. They already exhausted their normal pleasantries and before she launched into some other tangent, he was honestly curious.

Peggy tilted her head slightly and nodded. "It's been a long while. But yes. I liked the sequel better."

"There's a sequel?" He didn't know that. He wondered if Dum-E knew about it. Though, he could imagine Tony keeping it a secret.

She nodded again. "Old movies, though."

He shrugged and picked at a piece of fuzz on the arm of the chair. "I'm behind."

She laughed and nodded. "Sleeping for 70 years will do that. But why the sudden interest?"

"I've been watching a lot of movies recently."

"That's nice." She said with a genuine smile. "That you have time to."

"Yes, it is. But…" He sighed and shook his head. "It's just… it made me realize… how pathetic I am."

"Pathetic?"

"Yes. Pathetic." Steve said with a nod. "Tony's robot arm thing Dum-E… he has a favorite movie. I don't." He said, pointing to himself.

She stared at him blankly. "So what?"

He rolled his eyes and threw up his arms. "It's just weird! A robot has a favorite movie. A robot. This whole…" He laughed loudly and shook his head. "I like him, though."

"Tony?"

"No." Steve shook his head. "The robot. Dum-E. Well…" He paused, tiling his head. "All of them actually. They're fun." He tried not to play favorites. He really did like them all. But Dum-E certainly was different. "And Tony chases them around, threatening to sell them to colleges and factories and firing them. But he never would."

Peggy smiled and patted the phone on her nightstand affectionately. "How many are there?"

"At the moment?" Steve smiled. "5."

"At the moment?"

Steve nodded. "The one he just finished is supposed to be the twin sister of the one he made… maybe a month ago."

"Do you have a picture? I'd like to see them."

Steve nodded and pulled out his phone. He was fairly certain he had a picture of Dum-E and Fluffy together. Actually, he was sure he had lots of Dum-E. But all the rest… "Do I have a picture of all the bots?"

Not together. The phone's display read. You should show her the one you drew.

Steve shrugged and stood up. Why not? It was a good a time as any. It was why he brought it. He walked towards the door where he'd conveniently hidden his bag under his jacket on a chair. He opened the bag and pulled out a sketch book.

Peggy had watched his movements with silent intrigue. She squealed loudly and clapped her hands together when she saw the book. "You're finally drawing again!"

He ignored her enthusiasm and opened to the first page.

She snatched it from his hands and studied the drawing. It was of Dum-E, with Fluffy curled up asleep at his base. The next was the same, with Fluffy stretched over Dum-E's arm. The third was what looked Dum-E and the cat playing with a pile of tools. And the fourth was all the bots with the cat. Steve pointed them all out by name and their sort of functions. He pointed out That Thang and Thang 2 and the story behind their creations.

And Peggy lost it. She was howling with laughter as she stared at the pink bots on the page. "He said that? He told his vacuum cleaner not to get pregnant?"

Steve was laughing so hard he couldn't answer. He simply nodded.

"So…" She said a while later, after they had both settled down and regained their breath. "Where's Natasha today?"

Steve ran a hand through his hair, smiling. "Busy with her boyfriend."

Peggy didn't say anything for a moment. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Boyfriend?"

Steve nodded. "Clint."

"They're dating?" She asked too slowly.

Steve nodded again. "I'm pretty sure. She hasn't actually told me yet. But they way she talks about him and they're always hanging all over each other…" He shrugged. "I don't know why they keep it a secret."

Peggy shook her head and held up her hand. "Just a second. Rover. Call Natasha for me." She pressed the phone to her ear. "Nat, dear. How are you?" She paused. "That's what Steve said." She paused again. "Yes, he's here. That's why I called. He's convinced you're secretly dating your friend Clint."

Steve's eyes widened. It was a secret! She hadn't told him so it was a secret! He didn't expect Peggy to ask her. Not so blatantly and in front of him.

Peggy laughed. "How have you not told him?"

Steve slouched down in his chair. Maybe it would just suck him in.

"It never came up?" Peggy laughed loudly. "That's a horrible excuse." She smiled and shook her head. "Okay. Rover, she wants to talk to Steve."

The phone flew over and hovered in front of Steve's face. He glared at it and grabbed it. He let out a sigh as he pressed it to his ear.

"I'm not dating Clint." Natasha said quickly over the line.

"Yeah." Clint yelled. "That's gross, dude." There was a loud crash and Clint screamed. "Damnit, 'Tash."

"Pay attention!" She said evenly.

"You're the one on the phone." Clint grumbled, barely audible over the line.

"I can talk and still kick your ass."

There was a loud thump and Clint groaned. "Dude!"

"I'm not dating Clint." Natasha repeated.

Steve smiled as he leaned back in the chair. "If you say so."

"I'm secretly a lesbian."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Sure." Was she really that ashamed of Clint? He couldn't be that bad.

"Secretly?" Clint laughed. And then a louder thump and a louder groan were heard over the line.

"Yes. Secretly." She said firmly. "Seduction is one of my tools."

Steve paused, thinking. Was she serious? "You're not seriously…"

"Yeah." Clint yelled. "Slut."

"Work." She insisted. "It's an act."

"An act?" Clint laughed loudly.

"I fooled Tony once."

Clint laughed sharply. "Yeah, Tony's hard to flatter."

"I fooled you." There was a slam and a bang before she continued. "I keep it secret because it's no one's business."

"And you don't want the guy you're working over to know you're faking it." Clint said with a laugh. "On second thought, tell them. They'd probably get into it more."

"Steve, we can talk about this more later. I have an archer to kill."

Steve stood up and turned his back on Peggy. He took a step towards the door. "Just… why?" Why didn't he know? How didn't he know? Like the thing with Thor… was he really that oblivious?

"Born that way." She answered.

"No, no." He shook his head and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I mean… why didn't you tell me?"

She sighed. "It's not like I did it maliciously. I just…"

There was a loud bang. "Ha! Missed me!" Clint shouted in triumph. And then he groaned.

"A few years ago…" She said softly. "You were living in a time that wasn't so accepting."

"So you assume I'm…"

"No." She interrupted quickly before he could finish his thought. "But we've never talked about your opinion on homosexuality."

"Oh don't say it like that!" Clint whined loudly. "Can't you just say gay? Like, hey! I'm gay! No big deal."

"Steve, Clint's gay."

Steve smiled. "I heard."

"Natasha!" Clint snapped.

"You just said it." She snapped back. "Look, Steve." She said in a softer tone. "You needed a friend. I wanted to be that friend. I didn't want to chance that for anything."

He let out a sigh and shook his head. "You could have told me."

"I'm sorry."

He closed his eyes and rubbed at his forehead. "I'm sorry I didn't make you feel comfortable enough around me."

"You've never made me feel uncomfortable, Captain." She said honestly. "Never."

"So what changed?"

"What?"

"Today." Steve said softly. "Peggy calls you and you blurt it out?"

"Exactly." Natasha answered. "Peggy called and asked me to. Peggy's a SHIELD operative. I've known her for a long time."

"Oh…"

"Don't, okay?" She said with a sigh. "Understand. You went from a time where it wasn't acceptable to a time where it's… at least more acceptable. Overnight. It's just one of those things that's a lot to process. And you…"

"A lot to process?" Clint interrupted loudly. "The fuck, Tash? You're gay. So what? Who gives a fuck? You shouldn't…" His words were suddenly cut off.

"Are we okay?"

Steve smiled and let out a laugh. "Yes."

"Good. We can talk later."

"After you kill Clint?"

"Yes. You can help me hide the body."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

After Natasha's revelation, their visit died down. So when they were cut short by giant slime blobs attacking the capitol building, Steve wasn't the least bit upset. A little grossed out, but not upset. He was actually a bit relieved to get away from Peggy's prying eyes.

"Oh this is disgusting!" Clint whined loudly, shaking droplets of… whatever it was on the floor. "I don't even WANT to know what we're covered in."

Thor wrinkled his nose as he slopped some off. "It is rather vulgar."

"Hey! Watch the carpet!" Tony snapped. "Jarvis, get the Thangs up here. I don't want to give the smell time to sink in. Anyone needs me, I'll be in the shower."

"Me too." Clint sprinted towards the elevators, squeezing past Tony.

"Stay out of my shower." Tony called after him.

Clint stuck his tongue out.

Thor watched them for a moment before following. "I think I will be heading up to my room as well."

Steve crossed his arms and glanced up once only he and Natasha remained. "Jarvis, we can't all run our showers at once, can we?"

"No, not all at once." The AI answered. "But I am monitoring the water levels on all floors." Jarvis added. "It should be fine, if you two would be willing to wait few minutes. Sir has altered his course to his workshop. His suit offered more protection from the foreign substance than the rest of you. He has offered to wait. Though removing his armor is proving rather… messy."

Steve and Natasha looked at each other and smiled. "We'll wait." They said in unison and then laughed.

"I will let you know when Clint and Thor have finished."

"Thanks. I'm going to go… peel this… off." Steve said, gesturing to his uniform.

Natasha nodded. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

Steve stepped carefully around the pink bots as they appeared in the hall. "Sorry." He offered them a smile as he tried not to drip anymore on the floor. A few minutes later, he headed back down to the kitchen, wearing what he had on that morning. He found Natasha in the kitchen, changed as well and making coffee.

She wrinkled her nose as he stepped up beside her. "I think you got a little too close to them."

He laughed. "That last one was trying to kiss you."

She made a gagging noise.

"Guess that means they were boys."

She glared at him sideways a moment before punching his arm. She pulled two cups out of the cabinet and filled each with the bitter liquid. She slid one in front of Steve and picked hers up.

Steve stared at the black liquid for a moment. He cleared his throat. "How did you know?"

She looked over at him.

"That you were… gay?" He whispered the word.

She stared at him blankly for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Because I like girls more than I like boys."

"Always?" He asked slowly. "Or did it just happen? Did you meet someone that changed your mind?"

She tilted her head and studied him for a moment. Steve fought back his impulse to squirm until she answered. "My first girlfriend…" She started slowly. She shook her head and glanced down. "She was my first relationship. We were 14. We just…" She blinked her eyes and shrugged. "We connected. After her… I dated a few guys. But I just like girls better. I'm not against the idea of dating a guy, if I met one I could stand. So the proper term is bisexual. But I like lesbian better."

Steve nodded slowly. "What happened with…"

She cut him off with a sharp look. "That is something we will not talk about."

Steve nodded again. "Of course."

She took a sip of her coffee and turned around, leaning against the counter. "So why all the questions?"

He shrugged and looked away, pretending to fiddle with the container of sugar.

"Just curious?" She prompted.

He nodded.

"I'm here if you need to talk."

"Yes Phil." He muttered. "Hey… that's not where the Dr. Phil references come from is it? Coulson?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Dr. Phil is a TV psychiatrist. He has a talk show."

"Oh." Steve finally took a sip of his coffee and grimaced. He heat was nice. And he liked the smell. But the bitter taste always got him. Even with sugar and cream, he still couldn't stand it.

"I'll record an episode so you can have a frame of reference."

Steve nodded. "Let me know when you and Thor watch that bad design show again. I'll join you."

"We record it too." She said. "Actually… Thor records a lot. We'll probably have to talk to Tony and see if the storage capacity can be increased."

He smiled and laughed softly. He could imagine asking Tony to fix the cable box. They'd end up with one that flew around and talked. Or one that exploded.

Natasha bumped against him after a silent moment and dipped her head. "I'll try to be more… open about… my personal life… with you."

He sighed. "Is it that hard?"

"Yes." She said solidly. "It's not you. It's me. I'm not an open person. I don't share."

"Except with Clint."

She smiled and shook her head. "I've been with Clint a while. He saved my life. He's my brother." She shrugged. "Metaphorically. But I didn't come out to him. He only found out because he barged into my apartment once when… I was…" She paused for a moment. "Entertaining a date. Very enthusiastically. I wasn't able to talk myself out of that one."

Steve's eyes widened at the implication but he said nothing. He pushed his coffee away, giving up on trying to drink it. Instead he grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and drank half of it. "You should tell them. The team."

She shook her head. "I'm not giving Tony that."

Steve considered a moment before shrugging. "Yeah. That's probably a good call." They were silent a moment. "So is Clint…" Steve started slowly.

She sent him a glare. "If you knew anything about me, you wouldn't finish that question."

"Fine." Steve said with a smile. "I will ask Clint myself."

"No you will not."

"No." He agreed. "I won't."

"Excuse me, Captain Rogers and Miss Romanoff." Jarvis interrupted. "I do apologize for the interruption."

"You're not." Steve said with a smile.

"Is it safe?" Natasha asked.

"It is." Jarvis answered. "Clint and Thor have finished and there is sufficient hot water left for the two of you."

Steve tossed his empty bottle in the recycling bin. "What about Tony?"

"Sir has already vacated the premise."

"He left?" Natasha asked as she put the empty coffee cups in the dishwasher.

Steve sighed and shook his head. "Where'd he go?"

"He has gone to pay Coronel Rhodes a visit." Jarvis answered.

"Does Rhodey know?"

"He will shortly." Jarvis answered slowly. "Sir has already broken into his home."

Natasha tilted her head slightly, looking over at Steve. "He couldn't have waited?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "No. He's Tony Stark. He can't wait for anything."

"I'm already working on a solution to the problem."

"Problem?"

"Larger hot water tanks and increased pipes, on all upper floors."

Steve laughed. "I don't think showering was our problem."

"Oh sir informed me that it was a big problem." Jarvis said. "He told me to divert all my resources to fixing it at once. Before he got home."

Natasha shook her head and Steve smiled.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Author's Notes: THERE! NOW IT'S NOT SO LONG! And I feel better.