A/N Just a little diddy on how Buffy and Tony's relationship grew over time. I can write more if you like this one.

Buffy opened her apartment door and was surprised to find Iron Man standing there. She looked at the suit suspiciously as it barged past her. Tony parked it and walked out of the suit, flopping down on her couch. "Well hello to you, too." She quipped.

"Have you ever had a panic attack?" Tony asked.

Buffy shut the door and walked over to stand in front of Tony, glancing over at the Iron Man suit just standing in her living room. "Um…."

"I'm talking full blown, out of nowhere, can't breathe, heart racing type deal."

"Does retreating into your own mind and going completely comatose count?"

"No."

"Ok, then I've only had one…. Maybe two in my life."

"Why did you have them?"

"Uh…." Buffy sat down next to Tony. "Well, I had just given my boyfriend my virginity and he lost his soul. I had that panic attack just after I figured it all out and realized that I had killed the man I loved and I would have to shove a stake in his heart to finish the job."

"Damn. That's pretty heavy."

"It gets worst. I really did kill the love of my life. After months of mental torture and him killing off my friends, he got his soul back just before I was going to kill his soulless half. And I had to shove a sword in his heart because if I didn't, the world would've been sucked into hell. I ran away to LA, changed my name, hid from my friends and family, ended up in a hell dimension with other runaway kids…."

"How old were you?"

"Seventeen. Did you just have a panic attack?"

"Yes."

"And you flew all the way here…. Washington DC…. from California to ask me if I'd ever had one?"

"Yeah." He said it like she should've expected him to fly across the country in his Iron Man suit just to ask her about her panic attack history.

She sighed. "What triggered it?"

"I was signing an autograph for these kids and the boy asked me how I got out of the wormhole…. I don't remember too much. I broke his crayon."

"Was the battle in New York your first major fight?"

"No."

"Was it the first major fight where you sacrificed yourself fighting an alien race?"

"Yes. Why? Did the aliens do something to me? Did the wormhole do something to me? Jarvis hasn't noticed any anomalies…."

"He wouldn't, really. It's completely a mental thing. Tony, I think you might be dealing with PTSD."

He blew out a breath and shook his head. "I've fought battles before."

"But not where you actually died."
"I didn't die."

"You kind of did. I think the Hulk started your heart back up." Tony blew out another breath and sat back. "I'm not an expert on this, but I know what it's like to go through it…. Dying and coming back to life."

"Talk to me about it?"

His scared voice made him seem like a young kid and she couldn't help but feel for him. "You remember I've told you that I've died twice, right?" He nodded. "That's not something you just get over. The first time…. I was sixteen years old. It scared the hell out of me and I acted out. I almost got my friends killed because I never dealt with what happened to me. The second time…. I was gone for about three months. My friends thought I was in hell and they wanted to save me, but I wasn't. I was happy wherever I was. I guess you could call it heaven. And then suddenly I wasn't anymore. I spent months after that screwing a vampire that I once hated and allowed him to hurt me before my friend Riley finally snapped me back to reality."

"So basically, you don't deal with major traumas very well?"

"Not in a healthy way, no."

"So I shouldn't ask your advice?"

"Probably not."

Tony nodded. "Hey, have you heard about this guy the Mandarin?"

Buffy nodded. "He's all over the news right now. Fury says it's the government's problem right now, so S.H.I.E.L.D.'s not going after him just yet."

"Good to know." Tony stood up and walked back over to his suit.

"Don't do anything stupid, Tony."

He smirked. "Who me? Merry Christmas, Summers." He got back into his suit and walked out.

A few days later Buffy was watching the news. Tony's friend and one-time bodyguard, Happy, had been hurt in a blast claimed by the Mandarin. The news crew was waiting outside the hospital where Tony was with his friend. "We're awaiting the arrival of Tony Stark. We're hoping he'll give us his reaction to the latest attack." Tony walked out and the reporters swarmed toward him. "Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark! Our sources are telling us that this is another Mandarin attack. Anything else you can tell us?" Tony ignored the questions and walked toward his car.

"Hey, Mr. Stark! When is somebody gonna kill this guy? Just sayin'."

Tony turned to face the reporters. "Is that what you want? Here's a little Holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin. I just didn't know how to phrase it until now. My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you. I know you're a coward, so I've decided that you just died, pal. I'm gonna come get the body. There's no politics here; it's just good old-fashioned revenge. There's no Pentagon; it's just you and me. And on the off-chance you're a man, here's my home address: 10880, Malibu Port, 90265. I'll leave the door unlocked."

"Oh, Tony." Buffy shook her head. "I said don't do anything stupid."

Buffy opened the door to her apartment and wasn't surprised to see Tony standing there. He grinned at her. "Summers."

"I told you not to do anything stupid." Buffy said, stepping out of the way to let him in. "You blew up all of your super suits."

Tony shook his head. "Not all of them. Just the ones in LA."

"Is Pepper ok?"

"Well, she's got super powers suddenly. I'm working on a way to get rid of them because she doesn't want them."

"I asked Fury to let me step in and help, but he said S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't let me."

"It's ok." He plopped down on her couch. "How's work?"

"It's…. Work." She shrugged. "We go on missions, save some people, and come home."

"Do you ever want out?"

She cocked her head in confusion at him. "Out?"

"Of being the Slayer. Of being a hero. Do you ever want out?"

Buffy sat down next to Tony and sighed. "There was a time when I hated what I am. It can be exhausting…. Fighting and dying for a world that shows you no thanks."

"So that's a yes?"

"No."
"Plot twist."

She chuckled. "I honestly don't think I would even if I could."

"Why?"

"Because it's part of who I am now. Are you thinking of giving up being Iron Man?"

"I don't know."

She reached over and tapped Tony's chest piece that powered his suits. "Can you take this out without dying?"

"Uh…." He scratched his head. "I think so, yeah. I haven't wanted to take it out before, but now…." Buffy nodded. "Why? You don't think I should?"

"No. I think if you have the chance to get all of that shrapnel out of you and not have to stay alive using this metal thing in your chest, you should do it. It'll make life a little less complicated for you."

"Why do I sense a 'but' in there?"

"But…. I think taking that chest thing out won't stop you from being Iron Man."

"Why?"

"Because it's just a piece of equipment. It's not what makes you Iron Man."

"Uh…. Kinda is. It powers the suit."

Buffy gave an exasperated sigh. "You flew a nuke into a wormhole into outerspace to save innocent people. You sacrificed yourself for the greater good. People who do things like that don't usually put down the hero mantle very easily."

"I told Pepper I would."

"I think Pepper will understand she's in love with a hero."

"You're good to talk to, Summers."

"Thank you."

"Are you hungry? I'm starving. Let's go get some food." Before she could answer, Tony was on his feet and moving towards the door.

Buffy followed him out, grabbing her jacket off the hook by the door. Forty five minutes later, she was seated across Tony in a private dining room at some fancy restaurant with a menu in her hand and no language skills to interpret it. Tony watched her goggle at the menu for a few minutes before ordering one of everything on the menu.

"We can share it." He took her menu and handed it over to the waiter.

"What's this about Tony?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, I'm not hitting on you. I just…. Want to get to know you. We're teammates, after all."

"Ok. Well, what do you want to know?"

"Well, I know where you grew up and I know about Sunnydale…. I know about Slayer HQ…. Tell me about you."

"Uh…. Where do I even begin?"

"How old were you when you found out you were…. Special?"

"I was fifteen. I was sitting on the steps of my high school waiting for cheerleading practice to start when this old guy walked up to me and told me I was a Vampire Slayer."

"Did you believe him?"

"Would you believe some random old guy telling you that vampires are real and you're destined at fifteen years old to fight them until you die?"

Tony chuckled. "No. Of course not."

"He managed to get me on a patrol and showed me my first vampire."

"And you just accepted it?"

"Hell no. I was popular and shallow. I wasn't ready for that kind of burden."

"And yet…."

"And yet my nature wouldn't let me turn my back. And neither would Merrick. He was kind of relentless in his push to make me a Slayer."

"Why did you burn down the gym?"

"It was full of vampires. I had no other choice."

"What did you parents think about it all?"

"Dad wasn't ever around. He wanted to spend his time with his secretary du jour instead of his family. And when he was around, he just yelled a lot. Mom…. She tried to be understanding, but she had a teenage daughter who's grades suddenly plummeted and who kept coming home at all hours of the night, sneaking out, getting into fights, and then getting expelled from school."

"You never told them?"

"I eventually told mom. Her reaction was…. Well, not a good one."

"Did she ground you?"

"Kicked me out."

"Harsh."

"To be fair, it was a lot to unload on her all at once." The waiter came back with their drinks and she waited until he had left before she continued. "I ran away to LA. Became another faceless person in the crowd."

"Did she look for you?"

"Every single day of the three months I was gone."

"Did she believe you about the vampires and stuff?"

"Eventually." She laughed. "At one point she showed up on my patrol with snacks."

That made Tony laugh. "Snacks? Really?"

"That was the kind of mom she was. She brought goodies to cheerleading practice and sometimes to the games I was cheering at, she was at all the PTA meetings until I ruined that with my antics…. She was a good mom."

"You were…. What…. 19 when she died?"

"Twenty."

"I was twenty one when mine died."

"Car crash, right?"

"You've done some homework."

Buffy shrugged. "We're teammates."

"Yours was complications from a brain tumor?"

"Yes. An aneurism."

"Do you remember the last thing you said to her?"

"That I would see her later."

"I was mad at my mom for choosing to go with my dad instead of staying home with me for Christmas. I don't remember exactly what the last thing I said to her was, but it wasn't nice."

"Do you wish you could change that?"

"Every day."

"What about your dad?"

"What about him?"

"Were you two close?"

"No. He was always pushing…. Wanting me to be different…. I think he hated that I wasn't like him."

"From what Steve tells me about your dad, you two are a lot more a like that you think. You're a cocky genius billionaire playboy philanthropist and that's all words you could use for Howard Stark according to Steve."

"My dad thought the sun shone out of Rogers' ass. The man never shut up about him."

"I think if you'd known your dad when he was younger, you would've liked him."

"Maybe."

"At least your dad was around. Mine didn't even call until months after my mom had died. And even then it was just to ask if she'd left him anything in the will. He talks to Dawn every now and then, but I haven't spoken to him in years."

"We should start a club. The Stark-Summers Daddy Issues United Federation."

Buffy laughed. "Sure. We can make t-shirts and have field trips to places we wished our dads had taken us."

The waiter appeared with the first of the appetizers and conversation ceased for a few minutes while they set the food down. Tony recommended things to Buffy and she tried them, making faces at the ones she didn't like. Their banter came easy to them. Tony liked her quick wit and that she was smarter than she let on. Buffy liked that Tony could give as good as he got. By the time they got back to her apartment, they had discovered an easy friendship between them.

"We should do this more often, Summers." Tony said, standing near the door as he was getting ready to leave. "I had fun."

"Me too." She smiled at him. "I promise I won't tell anyone that you're actually a really good man deep down."

"I appreciate that."

"If you decide to have that chest thing of yours taken out, let me know."

"Why?"

"Because I want to send you an embarrassing bouquet of flowers."

Tony smirked and shook his head. "In that case, I'm never telling you." He winked at her and headed out just as Steve was coming out of his apartment. "Hey, Cap." Steve looked at Buffy in confusion as he shut the door behind him.

It became a regular event with Tony. He would randomly show up and take Buffy out for dinner. Sometimes it would be dinner in an entirely different city. Either way, over the next year, the two of them became really good friends. Tony spent enough time with her to realize that she had developed feelings for her partner, but she hadn't realized it yet. Or she was studiously ignoring them if she had.

Steve, however, had realized his feelings for his partner. That had been plain as day throughout Dawn's graduation ceremony weekend. Tony had gotten the feeling that Rogers was upset he had shown up to celebrate Dawn's big day. And he'd caught the Captain a number of times watching Buffy with a goofy grin on his face. At one point, Tony had taken Buffy shopping and when they got back to the penthouse, Steve had gotten flowers and was making dinner. Unfortunately, Tony had already taken Buffy out for dinner so Steve had lamely declared the flowers were for Dawn at the ceremony the next day and then stubbornly ate the entire meal he'd prepared because he'd "made it for himself since he knew Buffy would be eating with Tony."

Because he cared about Buffy and wanted to see her happy with the right man for her, Tony had decided to set up blind dates for her. Over the next few months, he found willing guys to go on a date and then after the initial meeting, he paid them to act like the worst version of themselves they could think of. He almost felt bad about it, but every time Rogers had been there to console her. Which had been the plan all along.

He was on the phone with Buffy now after another one of the bad dates. "Calm down, Summers. It couldn't have been that bad."

"It was horrible!"

"Listen, I should call him and…."

"I should punch you in the throat."

"That's a bit harsh. Look, I'm really sorry. I thought he was a good guy."

"Well, you thought wrong. He was a jerk. Call me old fashioned, but I don't think you should spend the entirety of a date talking on your phone and then walking away to take yet another call when the check appears."

"He ditched you before the check got there and made you pay?"

"Yes, I had to pay!"

"Ok, just…. Calm down. I'll reimburse you for it."

"You're damn right you'll reimburse me."

"Maybe he was just having a bad night? I swear Pepper promised he was a decent guy. I'll talk to her."

"I'm done with the blind dates, Tony! No more. They suck. Every one of them has been awful. And you can't tell me that Pepper picked this guy out for me. She has better taste!"

"I can't argue with you there. Look, just go take a long, hot bath. Relax. I'll talk to Pepper and see what went wrong. Maybe you can get Cap to keep you company in the meantime."

"Ugh!" Buffy hung up on him.

"I really should tell her what you're doing." Pepper said as Tony tossed the phone on the coffee table. She'd been sitting on the couch behind him listening to his end of the conversation.

"I'm trying to help her."

"If she and Steve were meant to be together, then they'll find their way to each other. You can't force it, Tony."

"I'm not forcing it. I'm giving it a little nudge. There's a difference."

"I think having Natasha take Buffy to that horrible club was forcing it. You've probably scared the poor girl into never going out with Natasha again."

"To be fair, I didn't think Romanoff would take her to a club like that! I just asked her to take her somewhere to remind her how good she had it at home with Rogers." Tony sat down. "It's been two years since they met and it's obvious to everyone but her that they're head over heels for each other."

"Just stop meddling, Tony. They'll get there on their own."

"Don't do anything stupid." Tony mocked as he watched the news footage of the three Helicarriers crashing into the Potomac and shook his head. The headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D. was in ruins. He was on his way to DC to make sure Buffy and Steve were ok. He knew they would've been in the middle of it all, so he'd hopped on his private jet.

Once he got there, no one could really tell him anything. Buffy's and Steve's apartments were boarded up with warning tape and padlocks. Natasha's phone was cut off and Fury was dead. Maria Hill either didn't have her phone or it was cancelled. No matter. He headed back to his car and got in.

"Jarvis, I need you to find Buffy." Tony said.

"Searching all DC records for the past seven days."

"Add in Steve Rogers. Might narrow down the search."

"Yes, sir." A few moments later, Jarvis said, "I've located a purchase made by Miss Summers' mentor, Rupert Giles. A townhouse in Alexandria, Virginia. Miss Summers and Captain Rogers are listed as tenants. Shall I send the directions to the car?"

"Yes."

Forty-five minutes later, Tony parked in front of the two-story townhouse in a quiet, unassuming neighborhood. He grabbed the bouquet of flowers, candy, and stuffed bear he got for Buffy and headed up to the front door and knocked loudly. He could just make out voices echoing just inside the door when Buffy opened the front door.

She looked…. Terrible. Bruises blossomed in an odd array of colors in various places. A bandage on her collarbone peeked out from the v-neck of her shirt. The way she stood indicated that she was hurting in her abdomen and was trying to keep the weight off of it. According to the medical records he'd had Jarvis hack into, she had been shot three times: twice in her shoulder and once in her stomach. Not to mention the multiple lacerations and minor broken bones from the crash.

Rogers didn't look like he was faring much better. His medical record had said he'd been shot in the thigh and the shoulder. The gash on his cheekbone was healing nicely. The bruises matched the colors of Buffy's.

Tony held up his gifts, plastering on a giant grin to hide his concern for his friends. "Hey, Summers."

"Tony?" Buffy shook her head at him. "How did you…"

"Well, I brought these to the hospital for you, but they told me you'd left already. So I had JARVIS track you down."

Buffy took the flowers and the bear and stood back. He took it as the invitation to come into the townhouse. "Thank you. They're lovely." She said as she closed the door.

"Figured you'd like them." Tony turned and looked at Steve with a smile. "Captain."

"Mr. Stark." Steve said.

"Well, you two look like hell."

"You should've seen us a week ago." Buffy said, setting the vase of flowers on the mantel of the fireplace.

He chuckled as she fluffed them. "Sorry it took me so long to come by and check on you. I only just found out that you were in the hospital. So what happened?"

"His best friend shot us each three times and beat Steve to a bloody pulp all while we were in a crashing Helicarrier."

"And taking out S.H.I.E.L.D. with it. Bet Fury loved that."

"He helped us do it." Steve said.

"Hmm…. Shocking." He walked over to the open French doors at the bottom of the stairs. Another empty room. "Why is there no furniture here?"

"We literally just got the place. We haven't gotten to move in yet." Buffy said. "Not that we'll have anything to move in. All of our furniture in our old apartments has been seized by the government."

"You know you'll have a place to stay when my new Tower is finished in New York, right?"

"Didn't know that, no."

"There's a place for all the Avengers. Though…." Tony looked between Buffy and Steve. Their body language had completely changed since the last time he'd seen them together. They were more at ease with each other. He didn't miss the light, lingering touches between them. "I may need to knock down some walls between yours and the Cap's places. I hear that I lost the bet." At her confused look, he elaborated, "Your buddy Xander called to gloat."

"Yeah, I can't believe you guys put a bet on that."

"You can't? Really?"

"Ok, you I definitely can. Everyone else…. You're a bad influence on."

"Missed you, too, Summers." Buffy rolled her eyes at him. "So, do I get a grand tour?"

"There's not much to see." Steve said.

"And we're still just taking it in ourselves." Buffy added.
"You bought the place without looking at it first?" Tony asked incredulously.

"Actually, we didn't buy it. Giles did. We just got out of the hospital this morning."

Tony nodded, forgetting briefly that Giles had bought the place for them. He walked past them towards the kitchen, curious about his friends' new love nest. "What can I help with?"

"Nothing." Steve said at the same time Buffy said, "You don't have to."

He shot them a confused look. "You've got a lot to furnish."

"We're going to break into our apartments and get as much of our stuff as possible." Steve said.

"And we've got some savings that we can use to buy furniture." Buffy said. "It won't be much, but it'll be a start and it'll be ours."

She was so stubborn. "If you change your minds, the offer still stands."

"Thank you, Tony. It's really appreciated."

As if he would really let them waste their savings on something he could help them with. He turned back and grinned, ready to lay down his sneaky groundwork for taking care of the love birds. "At least let me buy you a housewarming gift. This is your first place together! It's a huge step that needs to be celebrated."

"And what would you get us?" She knew him too well. The tone of her voice said that she was definitely onto him.

"Well…." He looked around the kitchen and picked something at random. "How about a cookware set? That's an appropriate housewarming gift."

"Ok. You can get us a cookware set."

"Great! Awesome! Good decision because I was going to get it for you anyway."

"That's why I said yes."

"I knew you were smart." Tony clapped his hands. "You know, I'm going to go shopping for that set right now." He headed for the front door.

"You're leaving?" Steve asked.

"Of course I'm leaving. You don't have any furniture to sit on." Tony turned around and hugged Buffy, making sure he didn't cause her any kind of pain. "I'm really glad you two are ok. Life would be boring without you around to amuse me." He let go of Buffy and shook Steve's hand. "And I'm happy you two finally woke up and smelled the roses. You're good together."

"Bye, Tony." Buffy said, shaking her head.

As soon as he was in the car and heading down the road, Tony said, "Jarvis, where's the nearest Bed, Bath, and Beyond?"