After dinner, Tony had decided it was time to set up a meeting with the rest of the team. He knew this day would come so he wondered why he was so nervous. The Avengers were his second family and he hoped they would be as supportive as Bruce had been. He knew Steve was probably just as nervous. They had enjoyed a nice quiet dinner. No dancing this time but still just as pleasant. Tony could get used to this. Still one thought was plaguing his mind and that was Steve's relationship with his father.
Howard Stark had spent the rest of his life trying to find Steve. He had come close several times but never found him. He had given up his family and had spent most of his money to search for captain. As result, Tony grew up without a father and had tried to hate every part Captain America because he had known Howard better than Tony ever could. This thought began to weigh heavily on Tony's mind. He was jealous that some random, scrawny kid from Brooklyn would be the center of his father's world. The thought began to piss Tony off.
"JARVIS set up a conference call with the team" he shouted. Steve looked up at the rise in Tony's voice. In his mind he had thought he and Tony had had a very enjoyable evening but he had also seen Tony's distraction face. He wondered what was on his mind. He figured it wasn't the idea of coming out to the team. Something else was on his mind.
"Hey Tony, why are you calling so late man?" Hawkeye's voice announced over the line. "Natasha and I had just gone to bed." Hawkeye was annoyed.
"Well excuse me! Some of us actually work around here!" barked Tony.
"Tony calm down. I apologize for Barton's poor manners" said Natasha. "I'm sure it is something important."
"Well go on and tell us" said the archer.
"Will you just let him speak Mr. Fancy Bow" came Bruce as he got on the line. "How are you doing Tony? How is Steve?"
"Yeah how is Spangles doing?" Natasha and Clint said together.
"I am almost healed up guys and Clint my name is Steve or Captain America. Take your pick but I would greatly appreciate it if you would refrain from calling me that" Steve said politely.
"Can we just move on please" remarked Tony. Steve turned to look at Tony. His voice had become cold. "The reason I am calling is to set up a meeting with you guys to uh…discuss something. It is a private matter but it is better to be said in person. That reminds me, has anyone heard from Thor?"
"Sorry I am late for this conversation. I did not have a signal where I was earlier" said a deep voice.
"Welcome back Thor. Where have you been the past few weeks?" asked Natasha.
"After I returned from putting Loki in Hell, I took Jane for a trip to Greece and Rome. I had missed her" the demi-god replied.
"Wow she's a lucky woman" said Natasha in a sarcastic tone. She was jealous because she and Clint had never really gone somewhere just to relax and get away from the world. They had just stayed in New York.
"Okay everyone back to me please. I'm trying to make this short." Tony had become annoyed now. He did not see the point in small talk. "As I was saying, I would like to arrange a meeting for all of us tomorrow night. Just come to my place and I will have JARVIS fix you assholes something to eat."
"What's with secrecy dude?" Barton asked.
"I will explain everything tomorrow. Just be sure to show up."
"I'll be there Tony" said Bruce. He knew what the meeting was about but Tony sounded like he could use some support.
"Yeah count me in but can I leave this jerk at home" Natasha joked.
"Hey that's Mr. Jerk to you missy and if you're going I am going" he snapped.
"I vow to be there as well Anthony" said Thor. Tony hated when he called him by his full name.
"Be here at 6. Now I'll let you jerks get back to your lives. Have a marvelous evening."
"Bye Tony. Bye Steve. Have a good night" the team said in unison.
"Cut it JARVIS" said Tony with a wave of his hand. Steve looked up at Tony and saw his brow start to frown. He was not happy.
"Hey Tony, you alright? You seem distracted" noted Steve.
"Well thank you Captain Obvious. You are too observant" he smirked.
"Come on Tony, talk to me" begged Steve. He was starting to get concerned. "I don't want you to just stand there and start being a jerk." Tony began to rub his forehead. He didn't feel like having this conversation now but it was already too late. He sighed and sat down in a chair facing the captain.
"You said you wanted me to talk about my father right? Well not before I ask you this question. How well did you know him?" Steve was taken aback by the abruptness of the subject. He hadn't expected Tony to mention his father anytime soon. He tried his best to remain calm.
"Well he was friends with Peggy and he made all my team's equipment. He made my shield for me. Uh…he was a brilliant man. He was ahead of his time I guess. We weren't all that close. He was there when I needed a friend but it was only that. Why do you ask?"
"So you weren't like best buddies or anything?"
"Bucky was my best friend Tony. After he died, I really didn't make a connection with anybody other than Peggy. His death scarred me." He noticed the expression on Tony's face go from serious to nearly angry. "Where are you going with this Tony?"
"My father fucking searched for you the rest of his life and you weren't even that close" Tony said harshly as he repeated Steve's statement. "He gave up being a husband and a father and you all didn't even have a close relationship. What the fuck is up with that?" He started to get angry. Steve paused. A look of concern began to form.
"He…he looked for me?" He was surprised. He didn't think Howard would have done that; Peggy and the colonel perhaps but not Howard.
"Yes you dumbass! He gave up everything and spent the rest of his life trying to find your frozen ass!" he began to shout.
"Hang on Tony. Do not get mad at me! He shouldn't have done that. He should not have let my 'death' affect him like that. I had no idea he looking for me."
"Why can't I get mad? I mean my whole childhood was ruined because of him! He died trying to find you. All he would do when he came home was go to the basement and drink while trying to come up with new ways to find you. He was obsessed! Why shouldn't I be mad Steve? Tell me…why shouldn't I be mad?" he said approaching the soldier.
"Because you are projecting your anger towards your father onto me and that is not fair to me!"
"Oh forgive if I am a little unsympathetic. I grew up without a father because of you! Just leave me alone! I'm so pissed I can't even look at you! This is why I do not want to talk about my fucking father!"
"I did not bring this up. You started this conversation." Steve stood up and got in Tony's face. "I am not responsible for your father issues! I thought you had made that clear but I guess you forgot. I am going to bed. You obviously need to work on these daddy issues. I refuse to be the target of your hatred." Steve was getting angrier as well. He thought Tony had pushed the thoughts of him being accounted for out of his head and he felt hurt that he would just attack him like this. "Your father was a good man but he was not perfect and I am sorry that he chose to live his life that way but I am not going to let you bully me into feeling guilty!" Steve then stepped back and headed towards the door. Once he returned to his room, he began to cry.
Tony just stood there and watched Steve leave his room. He went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer. He started to drink it then disgusted with himself poured the rest down the drain. He did not want to end up like his father. He began to let Steve's words sink in. Fuck, he thought. Steve was right. He still had issues with his father and had unleashed his anger out on Steve. He had promised he would never do that and already he had failed.
He too began to cry. He was mad at his father and now he was mad at himself. He needed to make things right. He knew if he didn't he wouldn't be able to sleep and he desperately needed the sleep. He took a deep breath then took the elevator down to the fourth floor. He opened the door to Steve's room and heard Steve crying.
"Steve where are you? Steve look, I came to apologize. Where are you?"
"Get away from me!" said Steve as he started to dry his tears. He didn't want to Tony to see he had been crying.
"Steve I am not going to go anywhere until I have made my apology. I would prefer that I talk to you face to face but if you want to continue moping around in hiding then by all means continue." Tony heard the bathroom door open and a somber looking Steve slowly walk out. He looked tired and his face was red.
"What do you want Tony?" He noticed Steve put on his blank military face. He looked questioningly at Tony as if he was ready to not believe any words that came out of his mouth.
"Steve you were right. I have unresolved father issues. Lately it has been bugging me a lot more these days and I do not know why. I guess because you remind me of him and since you are here everday, I guess those thoughts are just more frequent."
"Are you suggesting I should leave?" asked Steve.
"No not at all. That's not what I want. Ugh that didn't come out right. I'm just a little upset that you got to know him more than I ever did. Okay I am a lot upset. I took my anger out on you and I never meant to do that. I feel bad because I told you I would never do that and here I am already screwing up." Steve walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down. He processed Tonys' words. He knew deep down Tony was being sincere.
"Have you ever thought about trying to remember some of the good things your father did? He had a genius mind just like you and believe it or not you share a lot of the same traits whether you like it or not."
"I can't remember any of the good times. There might be one or two in my head somewhere but they have probably been buried by all the bad ones."
"I can tell you some of the good things he did if you are interested. It is time you learned about the positive things he did. You clearly know all of the negative things he did."
"Yeah I would appreciate that. I am so sorry Steve. I didn't mean for this to happen. I don't like seeing you cry. It hurts me to know that I can make you cry."
"I wasn't crying" Steve said trying in a vain attempt to cover up the tears.
"I call bullshit on that one." He approached Steve and sat down on his knees so he could be face to face with Steve. "Now do you accept my apology?" Steve looked at the brunette and a small smile escaped his lips.
"I already have. Just please don't hurt me like that again. I feel that sometimes you do not know what you are capable of."
Tony smiled and placed a kiss upon Steve's lips. "I love you Steve. I don't know how you put up with me."
"That's what people do when they love someone and I love you so therefore I put up with you." Tony laughed and got into Steve's bed. The captain climbed in next to Tony and held him. Tony clung to Steve as if he were about to disappear. Steve put his arm around Tony and held him even closer. The two were an unbreakable force. Their love for each other was intense. Both knew there were going to be even more tough times but they showed no fear.
"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Tony asked as he softly rubbed Steve's perfectly toned chest.
"A little bit but as long as you are there I will not be afraid. I have been waiting to tell them for some time now and I think once we tell them I will feel better. I want you to feel proud of me, proud of us. I want to show to the world how much I love you Tony."
"Same here Steve. I was kind of harsh with them earlier wasn't I?"
"They'll get over it. I am not even sure if they noticed." Steve kissed the top of Tony's head and began to rub the side of his arm.
"Let's get some sleep. I am tired and tomorrow is going to be a long day" said Tony. Steve nodded in agreement and asked JARVIS to shut off all the lights. He went to sleep smiling. They had had their first major argument and had survived. Steve was now even more confident in their relationship. He said a silent prayer to the God up above for bringing Tony into his life. The two fell asleep and dreamed of nothing but each other.