Roughly unbetaed. Forgive me, it's 3:30AM here in Ohio and I'm dying my hair because it's a disgusting mix of black and red (I can't mix dye very well)

Phil Coulson was dead.

They had to listen to Fury scold them for their loss, their lack of teamwork, and he confessed S.H.I.E.L.D's plans for using the Tesseract to build weapons. It was painful to hear but the truth often did. He explained the Avengers Initiative, the plan to bring all of these powerful people together to create an unstoppable team.

Tony walked away, refusing to hear anymore, and Steve couldn't help but follow him.

xXx

Bruce groaned out loud, clawing his way up from the darkness into consciousness. It was a slow, agonizing struggle that sent ripples of pain through his recently changed muscles. His body was screaming to rest, to heal, but he didn't' have time. The others...what had happened to the others? What had he destroyed? Who had he killed? The last thing he could remember-

Bruce hissed at the migraine eating at his temples. The last thing he remembered was Natasha's panicked face and sharp voice, her pleading for her life. What had he done wither her? He couldn't remember, he couldn't remember anything. He felt like he'd been run over by a whole line of buses, more than usual. There were no physical bruises or mark but he could feel them beneath his flesh. The ache was practically in his bones.

Bruce tried to pry his eyes open but all he could see was the sun and gravel. He dragged his hand up through grit and metal, forcing himself to move until his palm laid flat beside his hand. He squinted at it curiously, slowly flexing his fingers into a fist. There was the barest hint of scent on his skin, something not his own.

"Clint?" he mouthed silently, letting his hand relax.

Bruce could feel the man's hair in his fingers, he'd held his head and laid him down on the ground. He'd touched his face.

"Mate."

Was that was Clint was? His mate? Hulk's mate? Their mate? Whatever he was to him, he was dear and needed. Clint was out there somewhere, still struggling, still needing him. If only he'd stayed on the Hellcarrier...where was the plane? Hell, where was he?

"You fell out of the sky."

Someone was there.

Bruce found the strength to sit up.

xXx

Steve found Tony in Banner's pseudo cell room, the one they'd had Loki trapped in. He was staring out at the swirl of the sealed floor, a pensive look on his handsome face. The super soldier seemed to have managed to sneak up on him. He leaned against the railing and silently watched, observing his lover's profile with a critical stare.

How old was he? Steve had never bothered to ask just how old he was. He'd never asked about a lot of things. He'd never asked what school he'd gone to or how long he'd been there. He'd never asked how bad Howard had actually been. He'd never pushed to know what had happened in Afghanistan Tony was taken, he didn't know what had caused him to create the Iron Man suit.

There was a lot of things Steve didn't know about Tony. What he knew for sure was that he could see every long year his lover had lived etched into the lines of his face, hanging on the breadth of his shoulders like a different kind of heavy armor.

Steve had been so sure they'd had more time together. He'd believed they all had more time. More time to plan, more time to talk, more time to get to know each other. Being frozen for seventy years had really thrown of all sense of an internal clock. He could time his moves in battle but the bigger picture was still fuzzy. He'd worked out the rust with Whiplash and that mission in South America but not having Tony at his back made him weaker, kept him off balance. He'd neglected those closest to him, first Tony and then Phil. His carelessness had cost him Tony's trust and Coulson's life. He'd been a friend, so rare to come by in this time, and now he was gone.

Loki was trying to take it all away, bit by bit.

"Was he married?" Steve dared to ask.

"No" Tony winced "There was a...a cellist, I think."

"I can't believe he's-" the blonde bit off his sentence, heart aching.

"He was half in love with you, you know" Tony stated without any real reason "He threatened to take me out super secret spy style if I ever hurt you."

"Damn it, Phil" Steve's smile was weak "I wish I'd known him better. He was a good man."

"He was an idiot" Tony scoffed, finally looking up at the soldier.

"Tony, please" Steve scolded like a proper boyfriend "He was our friend and he's dead. The least you can do is show some gentleness."

"Gentleness" the brunette spat the word like it was poison.

"And just why is he an idiot?" Steve pushed away from the railing, slowly making his way along the girder toward the billionaire "Because he believed? Because he did his duty?"

"For taking on Loki alone" Tony replied flippantly, taking strides along the grating "He was out of his league. He should have waited, he should have planned. Aren't you always going on about strategy and all that?"

Steve huffed when the man passed by him without a blink, wishing they were better already, "You act like this is the first time you've lost a soldier."

"We are not soldiers" Tony exclaimed, turning to reveal the wetness of his eyes. Steve felt his heart soften, the man really did care he was just hiding it. He always hid his heart behind sheets of metal and sharp wit, but the soldier could see it. His heart was breaking too, his will to fight flaring just behind the restrained tears.

Tony swallowed, pressing back the hurt in his chest, "I'm not marching to the tune of Fury's fife."

"Neither am I" Steve assured him.

The man's dark eyes held mistrust, "Enough so to jump up and run when he calls."

"Fury's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does" Steve took a step closer, letting his fingers skim down the man's bare arm "Tony, we can't do this right now. We need to put everything he's done behind us and focus on the mission."

Tony shook his hand off, "I have half a mind to pack you and the suit up and get the hell out of here."

"I am not your property" Steve spat, the muscles along his neck and shoulders going stiff as he held himself in check "You can't pack me up. The world needs my help right now and not even you will stop me from trying to protect it."

Tony's gaze strayed and fell on the far, lower wall. There was a heavy bloodstain there now, seeping into the cement in a horrible mocking pattern. Coulson was gone. There was everything he could have done, anyone could have done, but there had been so much going on. He hadn't given a thought to the agent's whereabouts let alone his safety. Damn that infuriating, pathetically brave man. Bravery was a death sentence. Trying to be a hero got you killed.

"I need to keep you safe" Tony shot back just as sharply "I may not have dragged you out of the ocean but I'm sure as hell going to keep you out of the ground."

"I know you think I need to be protected, but not from this" Steve protested "Maybe...maybe I still need time to adjust to all this. To the new weapons, the politics, the way the government runs itself now, but not forever. I've relearned everything from you, Tony, you've helped me understand so much. But I need you to be there with me just a little bit longer. This is my territory, this is what I know. Let me show you that I'm not helpless."

Tony's chest heaved in a sigh, lips pursing briefly, "I wouldn't do it if I didn't love you."

Steve vividly remembered the way Tony had flirted with Bruce, the things he'd said in front of everyone. Loki's taunts about him being a whore for the Stark family, a product of their genius, a piece of industry, a mindless sheep of a soldier. His pride and his heart still hurt from it. The buzz in his temples was gone but the spite in his heart was there, the need to hurt Tony just as badly as he had done to him. He'd come home from a war zone only to be greeted with hostility, humiliated and belittled in front of all of S.H.I.E.L.D. To have everyone find out about them in the worst way possible...

Steve scoffed, arms crossing over his chest, "Only if it's convenient for you."

Tony turned and started to walk away, the soldier felt his heart drop in the pit of his stomach. He could feel himself losing everything they'd worked for, everything they'd made together.

"Don't you want this anymore?" Steve managed to ask, choked up at the thought that whatever they had was slipping through his fingers. Tony stopped, hand reaching out to grasp one of the guard rails. His fingers tightened around the metal, a tension creeping into every inch of his back. The blonde longed to see his face, to read his eyes, to find out just what he was thinking.

"When I was born...Dad gave me this stupid blue teddy bear. It was blue all over, down-soft, white belly, and it was probably the perfect gift for a baby" Tony began, letting his weight rest on the railing "But it was different because it had this symbol on it's stomach. This stupid, cheesy red and white circle with a star in the middle."

"Howard gave you a bear...with my shield on it?" Steve inquired softly, hoping he didn't stop talking.

"Along with all the war stories to go along with it" Tony drawled lazily, lost in his memories "Every night I slept with that toy and I listened to Dad talk you like you were a god. And soon enough...you became one, at least to me."

"Tony..."

"I was a lonely kid and you were this shining beacon, you know?" Tony's head dropped, eyes clenched shut tight "I got just as obsessed as him. I called the bear Roger, for God's sake. That shield was safety to me. I slept with him every night...kind of wishing he was you."

There was an embarrassed tone staining his voice now, his cheeks flushed dark red.

"The only reason I don't have him is because when I was seventeen he fell apart at the seams" Tony released the railing, fists clenched until they turned bone white "And I fucking cried over it."

Tony finally turned, eyes red, lips pulled in a sneer, "So don't tell me how I feel, you son-of-a-bitch."

Steve rushed forward, hoping to touch the man somehow, but Tony jerked away again. It was like he couldn't stand to be touched, like he couldn't bare it. What had he put his lover through? What had six months done to Tony's self-esteem? His self worth?

"You still have your phone?"

The question caught him by surprise, but he nodded.

"Then listen to the God damn messages!" Tony barked, shoving him in the shoulder to get him to back up a few steps "Listen to them and then tell me I don't love you."

Steve let him go, seeing no other choice.

Defeat weighed on his shoulders more heavily than heartbreak weighed on Tony's.

xXx

Clint pulled at the restraints around his wrists as hard as he could, muscles bulging and flexing obscenely as he tried to get free. A fuzzy, tunnel vision had overtaken him and he was trying to shake it but it was sticking. He tested his strength with every pull and breath, forcing his body back under his control. He could still feel Loki's nails raking across the surface of his mind, feeding him orders, urging him to obey. The god's voice was commanding him to get to his knife, get to bow, and slaughter every person on the plane. God, his head hurt.

"You're going to be alright."

Natasha's voice was far away, rippling.

"Can't..." Clint panted, tossing his head back against the bed they'd strapped him to. He couldn't think, he could only struggle and pull and fight it off. He needed something to ground him, he needed help. He was afraid he couldn't do it by himself.

Natasha's face loomed in front of his for just a moment, leather fingers sliding along the column of his throat and squeezing. He arched up, straining against the touch, she tightened her grip in punishment. He wheezed, air struggling to get into his desperate lungs.

"Think of me" Natasha rumbled over the god's seductive tone, drowning it out. The squeeze of her hand brought him down, forced him to concentrate on what he needed to.

Clint shut his eyes, bringing up everything he could of his best friend. Fiery curls, smooth sweet skin that smelled like gun oil, leather and danger and everything he'd wanted in a woman. He could remember their last kiss, the heartbreak, the relief of finally knowing what he wanted in a partner. She'd been the most dominant lover he'd had, the last one he'd ever take, and she had been breathtaking.

"Now think of Banner" came the unexpected demand, he jerked up on the restraints "Come back."

Clint went boneless against the bed, wrists slack in the cuffs. Bruce...yes, he could remember him. The remaining remnants of Loki fought against the thought of the scientist, trying to twist it around and corrupt it with the god's face-morph trick. He'd tried to make him believe it was Bruce but he never could. The two were worlds apart.

Loki forced information out of him by raping his mind, tearing the info out in chunks only to leave frayed bits of him behind. He'd made him kiss him, touch him, submit to him like a monster. He did it for fun, for destruction. Bruce had attacked him in self-defense, he did it to keep himself safe and out of the government's clutches. The scientist had been terrified of being captured again, of being tested on and hurt unrightfully.

When Bruce had driven his arm up his back it had turned him on, but when Loki had done it it had only made him sick.

"Mate."

Clint's eyes snapped open, the tunnel expanding out and clearing until he could see everything clearly. His muscles flexed less urgently, fingers loosening, head lolling back as the fight drained out of him.

"You were under a long time" Natasha slowly released his throat, waiting a moment before pouring out a glass of water for him "You need to level out. It's going to take time."

"You don't understand" Clint inhaled shakily, blinking away the last of the fog "He...he took me out, played with me and...stuffed something else in."

Cool fingers danced across his forehead, carding through his sweat soaked hair. He pushed into it, taking the innocent comfort.

"Do you know what it's like to be unmade?" he rasped.

He found her eyes, her expression passive, "You know that I do."

"How did you get me back?" Clint asked, still breathless "I tried...but I couldn't shake him. How did you get him out of me?"

"Cognitive recalibration" Natasha brought the rim to his lips "Drink."

He obeyed, glad to taste even water again.

"You were aware the whole time?" she asked, making sure he took enough before she took the cup away.

"Some of it" Clint confessed "Probably only when he wanted me to see it. When I was close to you guys, or telling him something...I got close to breaking through a few times, but he had a tight grip on me."

He paused, brow creased, "Recalibration?"

"I hit you really hard on the head" Natasha explained, ducking her head to hide her smile.

"So you're the reason the back of my eyes are on fire" Clint managed to tease, though the pain was real "Thanks."

The spy nodded, leaning forward to start working on the restraints. She seemed to have deemed him ready to be released, pulling the straps free. Her icy fingertips brushed the back of his wrist, testing them for any tenderness.

"Nat" Clint began, trying to read her face through the mask she was putting up "How many agents did I-?"

"Don't" Natasha cut him off sharply "Don't do that to yourself, Clint. That was...Loki. This is all monsters and magic and nothing we were ever trained for."

He didn't look away, "Did that bastard get away?"

"Yeah" she admitted "Don't suppose you know where."

"Didn't need to know" Clint thought of the table, the offices, the lack of detail "Didn't ask."

She got up and went to the door, obviously disappointed he didn't know more. Clint sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, wincing as every muscle protested. He took the water himself and drank up, soothing his rough throat. How long since he'd eaten? He couldn't remember.

"He's going to make his play soon, though" Clint stated firmly "Today, most likely."

Natasha's jaw ticked beneath her skin, determination written all over her face as she watched the guards walk by idly, "We have to stop him."

"Yeah" he put the cup down, wiping his mouth off with the back of his glove "Who's we?"

"I don't know" Natasha whipped around, curls framing her deceptively sweet face "Whoever's left."

Clint made a show of considering it, "Well...if I put an arrow through Loki's eye socket I'd sleep better, I suppose."

"There's the Barton I know" Natasha sat down beside him, getting a huffed laugh out of her friend "You've even got some color back."

"But you don't" Clint didn't want to push but there was a strain on her face that he couldn't help but notice "I've never seen you sweat before but here you are pale around the gills. You're a spy, Nat, you've always kept your cool. And now you're hoisting the banner and calling for battle? You've never been a soldier. Why the sudden war cry?"

He looked her over, "What did Loki do to you?"

"Nothing" Natasha replied too quickly, fingers digging into the leather across her thighs. She opened her mouth a few times, trying to speak, but couldn't seem to get the words straight.

"Natasha?" he breathed, letting their shoulders touch.

"I have something to protect" Natasha kept her eyes on her gloves, watching her knuckles redden against the material "I have someone I need to get back to. She's counting on me to win this and I'm sure as hell not going to let her down."

"Pepper?"

Natasha cocked her head, ringlets hiding her eyes, "Who else?"

Clint reached out to grab her hand but she was too quick, fingers grasping his wrist and holding it. He looked up, she was glaring at him.

"Banner" was all she said.

"It just happened" Clint took his hand back, forcing her to let go "I went to find him and he was just so...God damn it, Nat, I can't explain it, okay? Don't make me try."

"I wish you had told me."

"I couldn't" he explained "No one could know. I promised him."

She raised a brow at him, "It's rare for you to put someone above me."

"I'm entitled to have some secrets, aren't I?" he sounded much too bitter "Sorry."

"No, it's fine" Natasha seemed surprised "I'm glad you have someone."

"I don't actually have him" Clint flopped back on the bed, pressing his gloved palm to his eyes "It's complicated. We haven't actually done anything."

"Too bad" she sighed flippantly "He's handsome."

"Isn't he?" Clint laughed, a sincere sound this time "He's like a German sheppard."

"You sure can pick 'em" Natasha smacked his knee "Good job on the giant, green, rage monster."

"A sexy, green, rage monster" Clint shot back, batting her hand away with a smile "Where is he? Is he here? I remember hearing him."

Natasha's smile faded, replaced by tight-lipped worry, "He...he fell out of the carrier, Clint."

Clint shot up, eyes impossibly wide, "What the hell, Nat, you couldn't lead with that?!"

"The Hulk fell out of plane, not Banner" Natasha reassured him "He's probably lying in a crater somewhere, unconscious and perfectly fine. No one's looking for him right now."

"I need to find him" Clint started to get out of the bed "He's going to be alone and-"

"There's no time for that" Natasha pulled him back down, shaking her head "We need you here."

Reluctantly, Clint obeyed.

xXx

Steve tucked himself away in one of the abandoned hangers, keeping out of sight as much as he could. He leaned against a smooth expanse of wall and pulled his phone out, frowning at it's blank screen. He hadn't messed with it in months, he usually just let Tony do it or had JARVIS handle it. Could JARVIS reach his phone? Would he still do things for him even though he and Tony were fighting? He'd certainly helped him break in to see Loki, this couldn't be much different.

"Uhm" Steve began uncertainly "Phone...on?"

The display lit up beautifully, mimicking the arc reactor blue that shined from Tony's chest.

"Welcome back to your phone, Captain" JARVIS chimed from the device "You have fifty-six missed calls and seven voice messages."

"Wow" the blonde's brow creased "Only seven? I thought he'd be more upset than that with the way he's been acting."

"I believe he became discouraged, sir" there was an unamused tone to JARVIS's voice "Shall I play them for you in chronological order?"

"Yes, please" Steve replied, putting the phone to his ear so he could properly listen.

"Commence playing all messages from Anthony Stark."

JARVIS sounded solemn, and he had every right to be.

"Hey there, pretty boy" Tony sounded sleepy, like he'd just woken up "I don't get up in time for breakfast and you skip out on me? Rude much."

beep

"Sup, Spangles? I just got out of the lab and I realize it's Thursday. Sorry for kind of dropping off the face of the Earth like that. I just started a new project and I think you're gonna like it. I'll tell you over dinner, babe, call me when you get back from your...whatever you're doing."

beep

Steve's chest heaved in an exasperated sigh.

"Hey asshat, I've been looking for you. But hey, I'm neglectful enough, I can't judge. I won't ask JARVIS where you are, I'm just going to get back to work. Make sure you're eating" Tony's voice softened "Jesus, I never thought I'd say that."

beep

"So I asked JARVIS where you were and I found this fucking note. A note, Steve, what the hell? It says you'll be gone for months? Are you kidding me?! You better call me back!"

Steve could feel his heart breaking in his chest, like spider-web cracks along glass.

beep

"I can't trace you! I can't find even a blip of you on the radar! You are officially off the grid, you bastard!" it sounded like Tony was pacing breathlessly "I'm going to hunt you down, I swear it. Then I'm going to drag you back by your ears and tan your ass red for leaving in the first place!"

beep

"I can't find you" Tony sounded drunk and on the brink of tears "I don't know where you are and I don't know why you left. Why can't you just come home? I...fuck, I can't do this."

beep

Steve dropped down onto the floor, bringing his knees up to his chest to bury his face in them. He barely managed to keep the phone to his ear, listening to his lover's broken words only brought barbs of pain to his already aching chest. Tears managed to seep past his clenched eyes, wetting his cheeks.

"S-Stop" Steve begged quietly "Stop playback, JARVIS."

"I'm sorry, sir" JARVIS replied remorsefully "I must...insist."

"Pick up your phone, Rogers" Tony really was drunk this time, choked up with tears that he could only cry when he'd had a few too many drinks "I said: Pick up your God damn phone! You better pick up now or I will kill you. You said you wouldn't leave me, you swore you'd never fuckin' leave me and I promised you I'd be there too."

There was a long pause.

"Are you having fun out there, being the goverment's puppet again?" Tony broke off, something like a sob echoing over the line "I hate you, Steve. I fucking hate you."

There was a shaky inhale, "Steve..."

beep

"Tony?" Steve forgot himself and called into the phone, growling in frustration before shoving the thing back into his pocket. Still streaked with tears, he jumped to his feet and started out the door at a full sprint. He pushed past anyone who got in his way, smacking his shoulders off sudden corners and denting the metal.

He had to get to Tony.

xXx

Tony jumped when the door to his storage unit rattled. It was the only barrier between him and the rest of the ship, his personally sealed work station. He had all his tools and his suit (however damaged it was) in here and as long as it stayed within his sight it was protected. The door clanged again, he stepped back and tightened his grip on the tool.

With a cry, the door collapsed on itself and flew across the room.

"Jesus!" Tony dropped the torch, dodging away from the debris. He was about to go for his suit when he realized just who was bursting in through the door. It was his soldier, wet-cheeked and desperate looking. Tony didn't have time to brace himself before the man ran at him. For a moment he was sure he was going to get tackled but Steve dropped smoothly to his knees, clutching his waist and squeezing him tight. The brunette huffed as the contact nearly took the breath out of him, hands automatically coming up to clutch the other's thick shoulders.

Steve was muttering apologies into his stomach, tears still staining his cheeks. He looked too heartbroken to be reprimanded so the genius just clung to him, letting him break down in front of him. He basked in it for a few moments before the soldier released a genuine sob, a sound that actually made him sick to know he caused.

"I don't deserve you."

Steve sounded absolutely broken.

"Stop" Tony dropped to his knees as well, cupping his sweet baby face to wipe away the tears with his thumbs "Shut up right now. Don't you ever say that again."

Steve shook his head, "What I did to you was-"

"I didn't even tell you what you did" Tony admitted, eyes burning with the need to shed his grief "Before you left, when Fury told me I wasn't apart of the Avengers Initiative, I told him if he wouldn't take me he couldn't have you. I said we were a team, that you wouldn't go without me. And when you went...I..."

"What you must've thought of me?" Steve shadowed the hands on his face, trying to smile through the ache in his heart "I left because we were a team. I know you hate being tied down and I couldn't bear the thought of you resenting me for...for tying you down. I accepted it, Tony, I did. I wanted you to keep being independent and I didn't think I could do that by dragging you down to South America. I didn't want my shield to eclipse Iron Man in any way."

Steve turned his head, blindly kissing the inside of the other man's wrist, "God knows I will do anything for you. But making you feel weak is not one of them."

"Damn it, baby" Tony husked, pulling him into a too-strong hug "What did you think I was so angry about? I thought you were leaving me, I thought you were leaving me...behind. I know it sounds stupid, but you left so fast I didn't know what to think..."

Tony steeled his jaw, pulling away to press their foreheads together, "You made me weak by leaving, you dumb ape. Without you, I don't have a shield."

Steve crushed their mouths together, sloppy and desperate but perfect nonetheless. He ate at the billionaires mouth, remembering the taste of him with a light-heartening glee. It had been too long since he'd kissed him out of pure love, much too long since he'd truly tasted him. There was a smear of blueberry juice upon his mouth and the ever present metallic tang under his tongue from the reactor and the constant inhale of Iron-Man-suit dust. Tony wiped away the rest of his tears, hiding his own as he kissed the soldier back with just as much need.

The small computer in his pocket, the one he used to interact with JARVIS in a hundred different ways, chimed. Tony barely broke the kiss, no more than a breath from his lover's plump lips as he pulled it out to look at the screen.

"God damn it" Tony hissed under his breath "I knew it."

Steve sniffed, trying to rein himself back in, "What is it? What did JARVIS find?"

"That staff was giving off more than low levels of gamma radiation" Tony pushed up on his knees, tugging on the other's elbow to try and get him to stand "There was another wave, lower than that and constant. J didn't pick it up because it was so small it practically mirrored the lengths, widths, the whole curve was a mirror."

The blonde's brow pinched, "So it was there the whole time?"

"Hasn't your head been hurting, sweetheart?" Tony's voice was a low whisper, fingertips trailing across the blonde's temple "Mine has."

"Yeah" Steve recalled the buzz in his ears, the pain creeping into the back of his head "It was this pressure, almost constant. Like needles."

"I think that was this" Tony waved the device, showing the encrypted data "I think Loki was messing with our minds. The things I said..."

"There was a grain of truth, but the words just spilled out" the soldier finished "I didn't mean it, Tony."

"I know" he smoothed back his lover's soft locks, trying to smile assuringly "Me either. I couldn't stop myself. I tried but I just wanted to hurt you like you'd hurt me. I thought it would make me feel better but all it did was make me sick inside."

"I'm sorry" Steve echoed, the same thought echoing in his mind.

"Me too" Tony stole a quick kiss, tasting his lips just once more "You're more than an experiment, by far."

"And everything about Howard..." the soldier swallowed thickly "I was just being an ass. It was wrong of me to even think let alone use it as a weapon against you."

Tony faltered, "You didn't have a dad?"

"He ran out on us when I was a kid. My mother was too heartbroken to get out of bed for more than a month" Steve confessed, eyes drying up "The suit is yours, Tony, it has nothing to do with your father."

"It has everything to do with dad and you know it" Tony laughed breathlessly "But this explains why you were so rough with Banner earlier. I've never seen you snap on someone so...well-meaning before."

Steve wet his lips, "About Bruce-"

"Later" Tony pecked his lips "Right now we need to focus on Loki. We can fix us later."

Steve struggled to pull himself together, scrubbing away the rest of his tears on his shirt sleeve. His heart glued itself back together. It was a fight, like trying to pull on clothes when you were too tired to even stand up. He shook his head sharply, bracing a hand on the floor as he eased back onto his knees. Steve Rogers had broken down completely and it was time for Captain America to take over.

"Loki's going to need some kind of power source, a strong one" Steve managed to grit out, mind grinding into a semblance of working order "You need to make a list of-"

"He made it personal" Tony cut him off, eyes bright with sudden realization.

Steve shook his head, "That's not the point."

"That is the point" Tony stood suddenly "That's Loki's point. He hit us all where we live, why"

"To tear us apart" the soldier was a little slower to stand "He was pretty adamant about that. Every time he spoke he was trying to draw lines between us."

"Divide and conquer, yeah, it's great" the brunette was pacing now, fingers raking through his hair "But he knows he has to take us out to win. That's what he wants. He wants to be beat us, and he wants to be seen doing it."

Tony gasped softly, eyes widening, "He wants an audience."

Steve nodded encouragingly, "Right."

"Germany was previews, this is opening night" Tony rambled "Loki is a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the sky with his name plastered on it, he-"

Steve cocked his head pointedly, "That sound familiar."

"Son of a bitch" the billionaire stated in wonder, pausing just a second before shooting toward his work station.

Steve snagged his arm, "Tony, wait-"

His words were cut off and swallowed by his lover's eager mouth, calloused hands cupping the angles of his jaw to force him to comply. Steve wrapped his arms around his waist in return, pulling him against him eagerly. He only got a moment of the man's complete affection before the kiss broke, an insufferable grin twisting the Stark's clever mouth.

"He's going to Stark Tower" he pat the soldier's cheek "You suit up and assemble the team."

Steve tightened his grip, "We shouldn't separate."

Tony kissed him again, slower this time and much sweeter. Steve's eyes drifted shut, savoring the contact like a starved man until once more his lover took it away from him.

"No, please" Steve whispered, eyes still closed "I can't be away from you. I just got you back."

"Look at me" the blonde obeyed the command in an instant "Are you listening?"

Steve nodded slowly, arms still strong around his lover's body.

"The world needs Captain America right now, not Steve Rogers" Tony informed him as gently as possible "Just like it needs Iron Man."

"Right...right" Steve clenched his eyes shut, forcing himself to let the man go "I'll go find Widow and Hawkeye. He'll be back to normal by now."

"Good" Tony wiggled out of his grip "Go. I need to get the suit fixed to fly."

Steve slowly backed out of the room, only ripping his eyes from his lover when he absolutely had to.

They had a mission to complete.

Wow, that took me an insanely long time to write. Sorry, I started a Boondock Saints/Walking Dead crossover and the whole break up and EVERYTHING. This fic just reminds me of him and some of the ideas I had were because of him and that's frustrating. But I just proved this story is so NOT dead. I really am sorry it took me so long, I love you guys

BTW: That speech of Tony's was inspired by a photoset on the fic's tumblr. You can find the link to that blog on my profile page. So to the creator of that, I salute you and you're brilliance