So, yeah, this chapter is based on a Captain America comic I read months ago (I believe it was Captain America: Man Out of Time) but I didn't re-read it before writing this chapter because I knew I'd be tempted to copy it word-for-word. I just took what I remembered about the comic and put my own spin on it. So credit for the original idea goes to whoever wrote the original comic (Wikipedia is NOT helping me on this) and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Steve Rogers is not oblivious. In fact, he's usually good at figuring out people's character and intentions; who to trust and who not to trust, things like that. However, if you flashed a bright red neon sign in front of his window that read – in capital letters no less – "THIS IS A DATE" and bought every billboard in the City of New York and changed them to read – in capital letters, once again – "STEVE ROGERS, TONY STARK IS TAKING YOU OUT ON A DATE TONIGHT" Steve still probably wouldn't have gotten it.

Who could blame him, though? He grew up in a time where homosexuals were sterilized, lobotomized, and euthanized and, "bisexuality" wasn't even a word in the dictionary yet. For a guy to openly date another guy back then was unheard of. Most relationships that deviated from the sexual norm were carried out in secret; behind closed doors. Gay men would buy prostitutes for the night, then go back to their wife and kids like nothing happened and go back to their picture-perfect lives. That was the reality of Steve's world. Not to mention that he thought he was the only one in the world who felt things for both sexes. So, to think that a man would openly take him out on a date, in front of the eyes of the judgmental public was ridiculous in Steve's mind, especially someone who had dated as many women as Tony. (Oh, yes. The S.H.I.E.L.D. file did include details on every public relationship Tony had. In fact, oddly enough this is where the lines of redacted text were in his file.)

So, in Steve's mind, this was just a friend (He only met Tony once, should he consider him a friend?) taking another friend on a nice night out. Nothing else. Even if he did feel slightly attracted to Tony, there was no chance there was anything more behind this night. None. Just two friends going off to spend a night on the town. Completely innocent and normal.

Ah, isn't living in denial great?

So, while Steve wallowed in denial, he didn't really have time to think about just how they were going to pull this off. After all, Steve couldn't leave the building. He found out after he got off the phone with Tony that he could leave the floor. There was just a problem with the elevator's control panel where you had to hold down the "close doors" button while pressing the button for the floor you wanted to go to. (They were going to fix it, but eventually, everyone got used to the small annoyance to the point where they didn't even notice it anymore and since the maintenance guys weren't under pressure to fix it, they let it slide by the wayside.) Apparently, this had been explained to him before, but he hadn't been paying attention. At the time, he was more concerned with switching between thoughts of how handsome Tony was and his general alarm at being attracted to someone else. Being able to escape in the event of a fire wasn't the first thing on his mind.

Even though he was given more space to roam around, Steve still couldn't wait to go out with Tony. He felt like a caged animal and he was constantly on guard for any S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with ill-intentions. Just getting to leave the building for five minutes would make the night unbelievably amazing. Not that it needed to be amazing, because this wasn't a date.

Why am I so convinced this is a date? Steve thought to himself. He was quickly supplied with an answer of because I want it to be. Which was followed up by I'm in love with Peggy.

Sixty-five years. Steve winced at that thought. He still couldn't wrap his mind around that. He had just kissed Peggy five days ago and yet now she was an old woman who had moved on with her life at this point. She founded S.H.I.E.L.D., she married, she had kids… She had moved on, why couldn't he?

Five days. Steve couldn't argue with that point. Even if it had been sixty-five years for her, it had only been a few days for him and you can't get over someone in a few days, especially someone like Peggy. That was his biggest struggle in dealing with his attraction to Tony. It wasn't his confusion about his sexuality or the concern for his own sanity. It was the overwhelming feeling that he was betraying Peggy. He still loved her; cared about her and every time he thought about Tony, it felt like he was doing something wrong by her.

Steve sighed. He needed to push all of that aside. Tonight, he was going out with a friend and they were going to have fun. He should just focus on that for right now.

Looking through his closet of S.H.I.E.L.D.-provided clothing, Steve picked out the nicest outfit he could find, which ended up being a white button-up shirt and black pants. The pants fit okay enough to where he felt like it wouldn't be noticeable that he wasn't wearing a belt, but the lack of a tie made the outfit feel a little too casual for him. He had no idea what Tony had planned, so he didn't want to be underdressed. Then again, he had no idea how much the style had changed, so maybe it was safe to go without the tie. Was he overthinking this? Probably. Was this still not a date? Definitely.

Tony said he'd be coming around six. That left Steve with a lot of time to kill. Agent Wylie came to check up on him a couple of times but didn't stick around long. One of the times he asked Steve what he and Tony were talking about the night before. Steve knew the agent had been listening in on that conversation, so he had to wonder whether he was asking because he wanted to hear whatever was said up front, or because S.H.I.E.L.D. knew Tony was coming and wanted details just to be prepared. Since Steve didn't know the later for a fact or whether they would be cool with it if they did (probably no to both) he just kept his answers vague, much to Wylie's clear displeasure.

Other than that, everything was boring and uneventful. He walked around the building a few times and he drew a few rough sketches using a pencil he found on the ground and paper that was just randomly in the middle of some empty office space. (He made a mental note to ask what that was later.) He didn't draw anything, just some random shapes, and objects as a warm-up exercise. It wasn't much, but it passed the time.

Despite his anticipation for seeing Tony throughout the whole day, a big ball of anxiety burst in his stomach when the clock struck the magic hour of six. He didn't know the reason for it, but the emotion spread throughout his entire body at an exponential rate. He had to keep reminding himself that this wasn't a date and he was foolish to think otherwise until Agent Wylie showed up at his door.

"Commander Hill sent me to get you," he said when Steve opened the door. "Stark is here, and he's not taking no for an answer until he at least sees you." Steve nodded and followed Wylie out the door and into the elevator.

The anxiety hadn't ceased spreading. In fact, it had only gotten worse. His only worry was now that he was going to get Tony into trouble. While he may have joked about it on the phone, it was a real possibility that S.H.I.E.L.D. could have Tony thrown from the building the second he asked to take Steve out into the public. It was clear they wanted him to adjust slowly, but personally, Steve didn't want to take things slowly. He wanted his freedom. He wanted to decide for himself what he could handle and couldn't handle. He wanted to see what the world had become in his sixty-five-year absence, and right now Tony was the only one offering that to him. It might be selfish, but he wanted to take that opportunity, even if it ended up getting both him and Tony in trouble. In his mind, it would be a hundred-percent worth it.

The anxiety started to retreat, though, once he got off the elevator and Wylie led him to a room off to the side of the lobby where they found an exasperated Hill and a smug-looking Tony. In fact, it started disappearing as soon as his eyes landed on Tony. He tried not to smile as he took in the other man's appearance. He looked a little paler than when he saw him last, but nothing too alarming. The three-piece suit looked a little warm for August, but it was undeniable how good he looked in it. Sexy, even. Steve shook his head a little bit to get rid of the thought as Tony held out his hand for him to shake.

"Good to see you again, Steve," Tony said as Steve took his hand.

"You too, Mr. Stark." Tony's hand was very rough and calloused, Steve noticed as the handshake came to an end. Despite that, it felt good to hold Tony's hand in his and this was still not a date!

"Call me Tony, Steve." Tony had a rather sweet-looking smile on his face. It distracted Steve so much that the most he was able to get out were a small "alright." Luckily, Hill's abruptly interjecting voice brought him back to reality.

"I still don't think this is a good idea," she said.

"Relax," Tony said. "I promise you, Steve will be fine. I won't take him anywhere crowded or that would upset him and if you don't trust me, you can track him, right?"

"Yes," Hill confirmed with a nod. "Alright, Rogers, come over here and give me your wrist." Steve did she said and stepped closer to her while holding out his right wrist. Hill slid the thin, silver bracelet around it and the device beeped as she clicked it shut. "There is a tracking device in this bracelet. It can only be opened by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, so don't bother trying to take it off. With this, we will be able to find you anywhere on the planet. If you're in danger, press the button on the side and we'll be right with you." Steve stared skeptically at the device on his wrist.

"Thank you," he said as if he had a choice about wearing it in the first place. He ran a finger over the smooth surface of the bracelet. It wasn't metal, but whatever material it was made from didn't seem easily breakable either. As he continued to stare at the thin, restrictive band on his wrist, Tony put a hand on his shoulder. Steve tried not to overreact to the touch.

It means nothing. Steve had a feeling he was going to be saying that to himself a lot tonight.

"If that's all, Commander Hill," Tony said. "I think Steve and I will be off now."

"No, that's not all!" Tony ignored her, turned, and started walking out the door. Steve followed closely behind him. "We want Captain Rogers back by ten, and…"

"I'll keep that in mind," Tony called over his shoulder as he and Steve left the second-in-command of S.H.I.E.L.D. standing angrily in the dust. Once they were out of the building, Tony turned to Steve and smiled.

"How have you been, Cap?" he asked.

"Good," Steve said. "Well, better now that I can actually breathe fresh air."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call the air fresh," Tony said. "But I guess you can't be too picky when you haven't been outside in… Well, it's good to be outside, right?"

Steve finally took his eyes away from Tony and gazed at all the sights around him. Yes, things were very different from what he remembered. The buildings were bigger, the air was murkier, and he was right in assuming the style hand changed. Men were wearing t-shirts and jeans, and women had on tank-tops and shorts so short they were probably better classified as underwear. In comparison, he and Tony looked extremely overdressed, but that wasn't the point, though.

In other ways, it was still the same New York he had known all his life. The streets bustled with an endless number of cars, buses, and cabs. People filled the sidewalks, all going about their daily business. That much at least hadn't changed. The sights might have changed, but the smells, the sounds, the atmosphere… The city still had its character and it served as a comfort to Steve. New York was still New York. Time hadn't changed that and probably nothing ever could.

"It looks different," Steve finally said. "But it's still the same. Steve turned to Tony and saw that his lips were still slightly quirked up.

"It's the city that never sleeps," Tony pointed out. "It's always changing."

"But that's still the same, right?" Tony's smile broadened as he stepped towards Steve.

"Good point," he said. "So, you ready to see more of it?"

"How much more of it?" Tony smirked.

"How about all of it?"

Although they couldn't fly directly over New York City, they still got an amazing view of it through the airplane's windows from a distance. It was breath-taking. The sky was slowly getting darker, changing to a deep, dark blue color. The clouds were as soft fuchsia-pink, and the lights twinkled gold and reflected beautifully off the water. It was picture-perfect, and it made Steve wish he had something to draw the scene with. As soon as the city was out of view, though, Steve turned his attention back to Tony who was smiling.

"So, what do you think?" he asked.

"That was incredible," Steve said. "I don't think I've ever seen the city like that."

"I know what you mean," Tony said. "It looks different this far out and high up."

"And lit up," Steve added. "I really wish I had something to draw this with." Tony raised his eyebrows.

"You serious?" he asked. "You draw?"

"Yeah." Steve looked down. A small, barely noticeable chip on the edge of the table suddenly became very interesting. "I have since I was a little kid."

"That's something you don't see in the history books," Tony remarked. "How did you start?"

"It was mostly something to do," Steve said. "I couldn't go outside as much as I should have or wanted to. My mom had to work to support us. My friend, Bucky – my best friend – he came over to see me as much as he could, but a lot of times I was by myself. Drawing was a good, fun way to pass the time and I ended up getting pretty good at it. At least, according to Bucky and Peggy. I don't really think I'm that good…"

"Really?" Tony said. "Well, I think I'll have to decide that for myself."

"I would draw you something right here, right now," Steve said. "But I'd need a pencil and paper first." Tony bit his lip as he scanned the area of the cabin.

"I think we have some around here somewhere…" he said. "JARVIS, do we have any papers and pencils anywhere around here?"

"In the top drawer of the cabinet behind you, sir." The first thing Tony did once Steve got on the plane was to introduce JARVIS to him. He had explained that the disembodied voice was an AI (artificial intelligence) that he created himself. You could ask JARVIS almost anything and the AI would respond within a few seconds. The concept both amazed and terrified Steve at the same time; amazed because he couldn't believe that Tony had created something so complex and sophisticated as a computer that could think on its own, terrifying because he couldn't believe that technology had advanced to a point where people could create intelligent life out of thin air. He could only imagine what horrible things someone could do with that. Luckily, Tony had probably anticipated a reaction like that and decided to introduce JARVIS to him ASAP before the AI scared him half to death. Steve couldn't be more thankful for that at least.

Tony had gotten up and retrieved a yellow legal pad and a couple of number two pencils. He gave Steve an apologetic shrug as he set the items down on the table.

"Sorry," he said. "This is all we've got."

"That's okay," Steve said. "I can work with this." He pulled the pad close to him and flipped it around, so it was horizontal. Somewhat hesitantly, Steve brought one of the pencils down to make his first mark on the page. He noticed right away that the pencil he was using felt harder and smoother than he was used to. However, he quickly adjusted and began drawing the scene that he had just seen moments before through the plane window. After a few moments of silence, Tony spoke up again.

"Do you mind if I put some music on?" Tony asked.

"Music?" Steve questioned.

"Yeah," Tony said. "It's not going to break your concentration or anything, right? It's not a long flight, but it might be nice to have a little background noise."

"Music is fine," Steve said. "It won't bother me."

"Alright, good," Tony said. "JARVIS put on my random mix and keep the volume low. I think both of us would appreciate that."

The music that could be heard coming out of the plane's speakers. Thankfully, it wasn't one of the louder songs on Tony's playlist, but it was still very different from what Steve was used to hearing. It seemed to be entirely composed of guitars and drums and sort of an overall unusual sound to it. Eventually, Steve had to ask.

"What is this?"

"Uh, Radiohead, I think?" Tony said. "Why? You don't like it?"

"No," Steve said. "I think I like it? It's just… Very different. A lot of things are. Something I just have to get used to."

"You sure?" Tony said. "Because I can turn it off if you want."

"No, keep it on," Steve said. "Maybe in a song or two it'll grow on me."

"Alright," Tony said. "Just so you know, the plane lands in half an hour."

"Half an hour?" Steve questioned. "Where are we going?"

"I can't tell you." Tony smiled and lifted his glass to his lips. "It'll ruin the surprise," he said before taking a sip.

Steve had to admit, he was decently surprised when the plane touched down in Washington D.C. He wasn't sure what Tony's plan was, but he could already say the man went above and beyond all expectations for a date – let alone a platonic outing between friends.

They went straight from the airport to a large complex of buildings east of the Washington Monument. Steve had heard of the Smithsonian institution before but had never seen it for himself. (Mostly because, sadly, the most Steve ever got to see of this country during his days of traveling around selling war bonds were the backstage areas of several theaters and the insides of numerous hotel rooms.) When he and Tony got out of the car, he noticed that the place was a bit more deserted than it probably should be.

"Are we allowed to be here right now?" he asked Tony. "It doesn't look like anyone's here."

"Oh yeah," Tony said. "I made a few calls, got them to stay open a little late for us. It's closed to the public right now, though, so there's no chance of getting spotted and recognized by a huge crowd."

"Mr. Stark," a voice called out as the two men approached the door. A museum employee – a tall woman with short, curly, black hair – stood there waiting for them. Tony raised his hand in greeting and picked up the pace. Steve followed him closely. When they caught up to the front door, Tony walked up to the woman and shook her hand. "It's wonderful to meet you, Mr. Stark."

"Likewise, Miss…"

"Whittaker," the woman supplied. "Vivienne Whittaker. Please, call me Viv." There was a flirtatious undertone to the way she smiled.

"Miss Whittaker." The woman's face immediately fell, but she was able to maintain a polite smile. "Thank you for letting us in after hours."

"Well, thank you for your kind patronage," Viv said. "It's not every day we receive such a generous donation."

"Well, my guest and I surely appreciate it." Viv then turned her gaze on Steve and suddenly the flirty smile was back.

"Oh, yes," she said. "It's lovely to meet you, too, sir, and your name is?"

"Steve." He stopped himself before he added "Rogers."

"Really," she said. "Is that what your girlfriend calls you?"

"Yes." The girl's face fell again. However, she put her disappointment aside and with a pleasant smile, turned to lead them through the doors.

"We don't normally do private tours this late at night," Viv said. "So, all of our eateries and the lowest level is closed. Our apologies for the inconvenience."

"No problem," Tony said. "We just wanted to have a look around. We don't mind."

"Well, excellent then," Viv said. "Then we can just jump right into the tour. Is there anything specific you wanted to see?"

While Tony was talking to the girl, Steve looked around the huge open space they were in. It felt like the future with it's minimalistic style and grey and white color scheme. Directly across from where they were standing there was a sculpture that appeared to depict a waving flag made from many small squares of reflective material.

"Steve." Tony's voice called him back to reality. He turned to see Tony standing there with an indescribable look on his face. It made Steve's heart skip a beat and a fluttering feeling to emerge in his stomach. "Is there anything you want to see first?"

This is not a date! Steve felt like he had screamed that in his mind for the millionth time that night. He tried to compose himself, but his answer still came out more nervous than it probably should have.

"I, uh, don't really know what's here," he said. "So, wherever you guys want to start…"

"Well, why don't we start on the first floor and work our way up?" Viv suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Tony said. Steve nodded in agreement.

"Alright," Viv said as she started down the staircase that led to the first floor. "If you'll just follow me, we'll start our tour with the first-floor east wing."

The tour was a little rushed given the fact that they were only allowed to be there so long, but Steve still enjoyed it, nonetheless. Some of the museum's displays showcased events Steve was already aware of, but there were numerous displays that covered the sixty-five years he missed. Everything from the end of World War II and beyond was covered. Well, probably not everything, but it was nice to get a sort of broad-scope view of what had happened in the time he was gone and physically seeing some of it would probably help his understanding when he went do dig deeper into some of these topics later.

They were walking through the last exhibit of the night – an exhibition of artifacts from every war America had fought in. For some reason, Tony wanted to do this exhibit last. That was alright with Steve. To be honest, he was glad to have saved this until the end. He was told by S.H.I.E.L.D. that the Allies won the war. They didn't elaborate on how they won it. Some of the atrocities committed in the name of victory shocked Steve to his core. If it wasn't for Tony's hand coming gently to rest on his shoulder, it probably would have been much more difficult to keep himself grounded.

"Hey." Tony leaned in close and spoke in a low tone so that way the tour guide wouldn't overhear. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Steve said. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Tony said. "You didn't look too hot for a second there."

"I'm fine," Steve assured once again. "I was expecting something bad anyways."

Although, nothing as bad as the instant deaths of at least 130,000 people.

"What about you?" Steve asked. "Are you okay?"

"Of course." Tony looked perplexed by the question. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just look a little pale," Steve said. "And warm…"

"…And this brings us to our last exhibit," Viv's voice said, capturing both men's attentions before Tony could respond. "Celebrating one of America's greatest heroes!"

She then led them to a medium-sized room whose lights had already been turned off for the night. As soon as they arrived at the threshold, Tony pulled Viv to the side and handed her a bill of unknown worth. Steve caught something along the lines of "give us a minute," but he let the conversation go over his head as he stepped further into the room. The lights came on automatically to reveal photographs and memorabilia all relating to Captain America.

The whole thing was surreal. No one ever expects to see themselves in a museum, and they certainly don't expect their exhibit to be dedicated "in memoriam." There were dozens of items locked in glass cases and numerous framed photographs lining the walls. Each member of the Howling Commandos had their picture on the wall with a small biography on a golden plaque underneath it. Steve skimmed through all of them, but his eyes lingered on Bucky's for just a moment too long.

Sgt. James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes (1917-1945)

Sgt. Barnes was born in Brooklyn, New York and was friends with Captain Rogers from a young age. A loyal friend and worthy ally, Barnes was killed in action in early 1945.

That stung. In fact, a part of Steve didn't want to believe it even though he had witnessed Bucky's death first-hand. He didn't really have much time to morn. He had tried going to that pub to get drunk (which didn't work thanks to the serum) but after Peggy found him there, it was pretty much go, go, go non-stop until he got frozen in the ice. Now, he had more deaths to grieve for than just Bucky's; more than any one man should ever have to grieve for.

When Steve forced himself to walk away from that display, his attention was grabbed by another photograph hanging on the opposite wall – a black and white candid shot of him, Bucky, Peggy, and Howard all gathered around a map. They were so invested in what they were studying that none of them had noticed that their picture was being taken. Steve's eyes were drawn to Peggy, who was pointing at something on the map and looked like she was mid-way through explaining something. Tears began to cloud Steve's vision. It just hit him right then and there that he would never see the Peggy he remembered and loved ever again. He didn't let himself break down into full-blown crying, though, and he wouldn't admit that the fact that Tony had placed his hand on his shoulder again might have been a huge help to that.

"You're not okay." It was clearly a statement, not a question. Steve shook his head.

"No," he said. "No, I am not." For some reason, he let out a pathetic little laugh following that statement.

"Look," Tony said. "I didn't mean to upset you, but I knew this would be hard for you, especially seeing all of this." Tony gestured around the room. Steve nodded but didn't say anything. Tony inhaled and exhaled a deep breath. "The main reason why I did this was that I knew S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to give you the sunshine and rainbows version of the past seven decades. It's a nice fable, but it's not the reality you need to hear. There are things in our past that we'd rather forget and while we've come a long way, we've still got a long way to go. I know you've lost a lot and me saying this doesn't make any of it better, but… You've got to keep moving forward. I don't mean forget the past or get over it or anything like that, but you're here now and there's no changing that. You're not alone, though. I'll help you with anything you need. I just want to move forward with you. Is that alright?"

The entire time Tony was speaking, his voice got hoarser and hoarser. By the end of it, he could barely speak. Steve stood there, astonished not only by the man's tenacity but also by the depth of emotion he displayed in those words. The fluttering feeling was back, and Steve made no attempt to stamp it out this time. In fact, he was embracing it.

"Thank you," he said. "For all of this. You didn't have to, but you're right. It's what I needed to hear."

Before he could stop himself, Steve found that he was wrapping his arms around Tony's waist. He expected Tony to try and push him away, so he was surprised when Tony returned the embrace. It was warm, and comforting, making Steve not ever want to let go.

At the same time Steve sunk down into that warm bliss, another cold, dreadful thought spawned in the deep recesses of his mind. One that made his stomach clench and fresh tears spring to his eyes.

I'm going to get Tony killed.

I feel like I made myself diabetic while writing this chapter. Like, seriously, it's like I pounded back an entire jar of marshmallow fluff in one sitting. If anyone else feels that way, I'm sorry. I actually know what that feels like because I did that once when I was six. Not a pleasant feeling, but you did enjoy the sweetness of it at the time.

Anyways, if you enjoyed this chapter, be sure to review and comment!

Remember kids, I pray for the wicked on the weekend! Mama, can I get another amen?

Originally posted to FFN on 6/22/18.