It's been a few months since Tony's breakdown, and Steve wants to say everything is perfect, that things with Tony are amazing, and couldn't be better. That, of course, isn't true. Certainly, things have improved. Slowly, Tony is opening up more each day. His "I love you, too" comes out a little louder, and once in a while he'll even say it first. On those occasions, his face is always riddled with apprehension, as if he thinks it could upset Steve. Instead, the super soldier just grins and gives him a kiss.

Obviously Steve can see Tony is still scared, still nervous about the idea that Steve could leave him. But Steve knows he never will. He could never hurt Tony, let alone leave him. Sometimes, when Steve comes home from a run or sparring practice with a teammate, he'll find Tony slumped against the bar, or sulking in his room. Sometimes he's a little drunk, but usually he's just clutching the glass, looking at it in deep concentration. This has been happening less frequently, though, and with less severity.

They both still have their issues with insomnia, but even that seems to be improving. When they are up at night, Tony has stopped being as quiet, and he's started telling Steve stories again. Once in a while, he'll even tell Steve stories about Howard. In these stories, Steve can see the hurt the older Stark had caused his son. One day, Steve asks a question he thinks Tony might get upset about, but he has to know.

"You said once," Steve starts, as he's lying next to Tony on a couch in the workshop, "that you didn't understand why your father had called you his 'greatest creation,'" Steve can feel Tony tense against him, but he runs a hand through his hair to calm him down. "You said you thought that was me. Why?"

Tony is still for a moment before answering, and Steve even starts to think he's fallen asleep.

"He never stopped looking for you, which you know. I'm sure you've heard about the dozens of expeditions he launched over the years. He always said there was 'some variable he was missing.' When he wasn't working, or out on an actual expedition, he was trying to figure out where you'd crashed. He had this map in his office, and it was covered in pins and scribbles. He'd looked everywhere. He truly had.

"Needless to say, he was pretty desperate to find you. You were all he talked about when I was little. I think he intended for you to be a role model of mine," Tony pauses here, flushing. "And you were. I had dolls and trading cards and posters. All the good stuff. My dad even made me a replica shield out of some spare junk metal he had. That was one of the only things he ever gave me, thoughtfully at least.

"You have to know, he was extremely proud of you. He had had a hand in developing you alongside Erskine. Oftentimes, I didn't see that same pride when he spoke to me, or of me. He missed graduations, speeches, dinners. He scowled at an 'A-,' and that's only if I could get him to acknowledge my report cards at all. He had all the time in the world for you, and none for me," Tony clears his throat and turns to face Steve. "I think he wanted me to be more like you, honestly. Sure I was a genius, and he loved that, but I was also the nerdy kid getting shoved into his high school locker when he should have been in middle school.

"It's all pretty reasonable, too. You were the hero of his generation. He saw that for all his intelligence, all he got was money, fake friends, and loneliness," he laughs at this. "Hell, that's all I got for it, until I got you. So, long story short, he never had time for me, never cared about what I did. But he had time for you, time to care about where you were. I mean, I guess that's why," he finishes.

Steve is quiet for a minute, and he rests his chin on the top of Tony's head. He isn't sure how to address some of what Tony has said about him, but he does know he can assure Tony that he's important.

"I think your father," he calls him Tony's father, since he clearly wasn't the Howard he knew, "also had trouble opening up, and showing his emotions. This is something I also think he passed on to you with his award winning grin, charisma, and hair," he teases to lighten the mood, and the older man laughs a little. "I think he was extremely proud of you, and didn't know how to show it. You probably even intimidated him, a little. At fifteen you were already on his level, academically.

"He shut you out, because he didn't know what else to do with you. But, I think you were truly his 'greatest creation,' to him. He knew you'd be able to carry on his legacy, and build it higher than he could have ever imagined. You're right that he came from a generation where I was a hero, where men like me were the ideal. And along with that came the idea that men were big, strong, emotionless soldiers. He tried to be that way, it seems, after I disappeared; the Howard I knew had been a genius playboy.

"I think he saw a lot of himself in you, and I do, too. I think it scared him. I think you're right, too, about how he wanted you to be better than him, and to have a happier life," Steve pauses here, before continuing with what he also thinks must be said. "And if none of that is true, if he truly had no idea how amazing you are, then that was his loss, because you are his greatest creation. I can't imagine life without you, and I don't want to."

Tony looks up at Steve, and Steve sees any appearance of fear, doubt, and anxiety disappear from his face.

"I love you, Steve Rogers," he says confidently.

"I love you, too, Tony Stark," Steve says back. "And I'll stay right here with you."

"Forever?"

"Forever."

A/N: Alrighty! That's the end for now! I would really love to know what you think, if you could just leave a little feedback. Positive or negative. I mean, as long as it's constructive.

I have a few one-shots I'm going to post throughout the week, so check back in :)

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