And so ends the second part of the three part story. Four more chapters after this. Can't believe this is almost over.

Steve sat on the bed, head in his hands. Tears falling from his eyes, blurring his vision. Tony stood in the doorway, arms folded across his chest, his face in a similar state. An expression of confusion marring his features.

How had life come to this? It had been so good for so long. Too good really, if Tony was being honest. He and Steve had started out so well. It had worked between them, had somehow been so easy. But now...

The last two weeks of Steve's high school career had not been the smoothest. Coming out at prom had had both good and bad side effects. Steve had suffered some unwanted name calling at the hands of some people he had considered friends. His status in the popularity food chain had slipped, but he hardly cared about that. He had even gotten into a few fights because of it.

Logan was always there, an ever watchful eye. Always willing to come to Steve and Remy's rescue should they need it. Even with everything going on in the world people still found time to hate someone for something that neither concerned them nor affected them.

It hadn't been all bad though. Steve had been stopped in the halls by several people, thanking him for coming out. Praising him for his bravery. Steve didn't feel brave. The thought of how he came out still made him sick. Remy and he had patched things up. It hadn't been easy. Steve had turned his phone off and refused to open the door to anyone the weekend after prom.

He had cheated on Tony by kissing Remy back. He had felt trapped. He couldn't push Remy away, not on the dance floor with everyone watching. But he should have figured out a different way to stop the kiss.

Remy had grabbed him the Monday after prom and begged forgiveness. He had apologized over and over. Even Logan had asked Steve to forgive Remy. Steve didn't like holding grudges and in any case, Remy had no idea that Steve was off the market. It wasn't Remy's fault that he had cheated on his boyfriend. Steve had forgiven Remy without a second though. Forgiving himself however was a different story.

He pulled away from Tony for a while, while he tried to understand everything that was going on in his head. It was hard to see his friends so in love with each other like Scott and Jean, Hank and Jan. It painful explaining to everyone that he and Remy weren't an item.

He had worked out his issues and talked to Tony about the ones he could explain. Tony had seemed understanding. He hadn't tried pushing Steve, not since the first night after prom.

Steve had woken with a fat lip and black eye and about a million texts and missed calls from Tony. Steve hadn't returned a single one. He had waited to talk to Tony for almost a week. The class he had with Tony had seemed to drag the week that he avoided the man he loved. He had kept his head down, never met his eyes in class and never offered anything other than the assignments.

They relationship had taken a hit that night and Steve had been unsure how to fix it. Tony was understanding though and Steve was happy he had him.

Graduation had gone off without a hitch, Steve and his friends; Remy, Logan, Emma, Sam, Hank, Piotr, Scott, Jean and Wanda had all been handed their fake rolled up paper diplomas and told the real ones would come in the mail. They had all changed the tassel from one side of the mortar board to the other and they had all thrown their hats as high into the sky as was humanly possible when told to.

Steve was officially done with high school and he was so happy. His friends were going off in all different directions. Jean and Scott had had to put their plans on hold due to an unexpected gift, turned out; Scott didn't pay too much attention in health class and hadn't remembered how babies were made. Steve felt bad for the couple but it was a passing feeling.

Hank was off to MIT thanks to his brains, Tony, and Dr. Banner's recommendations. Logan and Remy who had a real heart to heart, were both headed out west to California for college. Steve wasn't totally sure about the nature of their relationship, he and Remy hadn't fully patched things up. Eventually he would be able to explain things but until then, he and Remy stayed a good arms length away from each other.

Emma was off to some college in the Pacific Northwest, Sam had decided he wanted to be a pilot so he was doing flight school and Piotr and Wanda were staying in Boston and going to the local schools. Their little band of friends were breaking up and while that made Steve sad, he was happy to be starting a new chapter. He would be in New York with his aunt, cousin and best friend. He was going to miss Tony but he was hoping they would be able to see each other on the weekends. It was only about a four-hour drive give or take traffic. He hadn't really talked to Tony about it, but they would figure it out, Steve was sure.

His friends started leaving right after graduation, Remy and Logan being the first two to leave. Remy had found Steve at the foot of a park bench drawing and talking to Tony. He was no longer a student at the school, he was free to be friends with Tony, he just couldn't be in a relationship. It had caused Remy to falter though, knowing the last encounter he and Steve had had with the teacher. Steve could understand Remy's hesitation. If anyone asked, and Remy of course did, Steve informed them that he and Tony had started a tentative friendship after the incident at the prom. It was a good cover and got Remy to stop asking. Neither of them wanted to relive that night. Remy had hugged Steve and kissed him on the cheek and that was that. Logan had waved from the front seat of Remy's car and they were gone.

Steve was the last of his friends to leave. Class started in early September and he needed to be in his dorms at the end of august.

His birthday came and went like a shadow in the night. Not a word said, not a thought, just a day like any other. He and Tony had hit a hard patch. Steve was 18 and wanted to go out with his boyfriend but Tony was always busy, never around or unwilling. Steve had let it slide, they had gotten so used to hiding. It was just easier some days, but the days he spent with Tony were less and less and Steve knew something was wrong.

Steve left it alone, hoping whatever was wrong would fix itself or go away, but it didn't. They still spent time together but it was different. It wasn't like spending time with a boyfriend it was just spending time with a friend. The intimacy started to slow until it was almost nonexistent.

Steve would go to kiss Tony and he would wiggle out of the embrace. The touches, the sideways glances, all disappeared. Steve was left confused and worried and above everything hurt. He had tried to bring Tony out of whatever funk he was in, but it didn't work and Steve had reconciled the hurt and sadness and found a deadness within himself.

"Hey Tony?" Steve asked from the bedroom. He was leaving for New York the next morning so he was finishing the small amount of packing he had to do at Tony's. A few of his things had been left at his boyfriend's through the year.

"Yeah?" Tony asked from the kitchen where he was fixing their dinner.

"Where is your bag? I want to finish packing the car." Tony was going to go with Steve to see the campus and help him get settled.

"Ummm...I need to talk to you about that." Steve closed his eyes against the flood of pain. He had expected this, but it didn't make it any less painful. "I umm... I can't go, I have some work here that needs to be handled this weekend." Steve just nodded. He knew Tony couldn't see the nod but he didn't bother acknowledging the words. He wasn't sure he could make his voice work and instead finished packing.

The bag was packed and left at the foot of the bed for the next morning. Dinner was silent and painful; Steve's heart hurt because he knew what was coming. He just didn't know which one of them was going to drive that final nail into their relationship.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked after he finished cleaning the dishes, Steve was sitting on the couch drawing. Steve just stared at him, his blue eyes round and sad. Tony knew he had been acting odd the last few weeks. He'd been preoccupied with a few things with Stark, Obie had been double dealing under the table and Tony was needed to take over the company and he wasn't sure how he could be with Steve and run Stark industries so he had been pulling away.

"You're kidding right?" Steve said, a flash of anger crossed his featured before his face shut down. "Nothing is wrong Tony, nothing at all." Steve went back to his drawing and Tony turned to leave the room, the snap of the pencil stopped him. Steve's face was blank but the state of the shattered pencil and the torn page in the sketch book told a different story.

"I don't like being lied to Tony and I hate being made to look like a fool." Steve said standing to his full height. He had always been taller than Tony but it was only in his anger that Tony understood how significant three inches could be.

"I didn't... I wasn't..."

"Why won't you come with me tomorrow?" Steve asked as if it were the simplest question in the world.

It wasn't.

Tony wanted to go so bad, he really did. He wanted the world to know about Steve, but he couldn't do it. He was scared of what could happen with the media and Obie and how Steve would react to everything. It was easier to push Steve away.

"I told you, I have some things to do. The new year starts soon and I have to set up my classroom and..."

"You are a liar Tony Stark. You are a coward and a liar. Why won't you just tell me the truth! Why are you so unwilling to admit our relationship? I want you to come with me to New York, I want you to meet Bucky and Sharon as my boyfriend not my dickhead teacher. I want you."

"What do you want me to say Steve?" Tony shouted. "I can't do this! I can't keep this up." Tony said more to himself than to Steve.

"You should have figured that out before we started this." Steve yelled. "If I'd known you wanted to keep me hidden away, pretend we were friends and nothing more, I would have never... I won't be hidden away, not anymore."

"I don't want to keep you hidden away." Tony said. It was the truth, he didn't want to keep Steve hidden, Steve didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve any of it. "How about we go to bed and we talk more tomorrow before you leave?"

"Okay," Steve said, his voice empty. They crawled under the covers Steve pulling Tony tight against him. Tony loved having Steve pressed against him. Tears leaked silently from Tony's eyes soaking the pillow under his cheek. He listened as Steve's breath evened out and let the flood of emotions break.

The alarm rang bright and early waking Steve from a restless night. Tony wasn't in the bed and Steve's heart dropped.

"Hey," Tony said handing him a cup of coffee.

"Hey," Steve said startled.

"Thought you could use some caffeine." Steve nodded taking a sip. His eyes felt like sandpaper and he wasn't excited about what he was about to do.

"Is your anonymity really that important?" he asked Tony making the brunette pause.

"What?" Steve knew Tony heard him and understood.

"Is it really so important that you would have me hidden away for the rest of my life?" Tony looked down at the carpet, but said nothing.

Tony looked at the man that sat on his bed and felt his heart die. His anonymity wasn't that important, but Steve's was. Why couldn't he just say that. Why couldn't he tell Steve that he was doing this to keep him safe? To keep him away from what was happening with his company and with his life. All Tony wanted to do was keep Steve safe. Tony had cried so much the last few days, he was shocked to feel the tears on his cheek; he half expected the well to be dry.

Steve stood from the bed abruptly, his eyes were dry now, the tracks the tears had left evaporating, his features a mask of hardness and determination. The movement startled Tony and he looked up, meeting the blue eyes.

The keys were out of Steve's pocket before Tony could register the act and the key to his house dropped on the floor. Steve grabbed his bag looked Tony in the eyes and walked out. The front door slammed shut and Tony fell to the floor sobbing.

**ducks behind Steve's shield** DO NOT KILL ME!