Chapter 13

From the moment FRIDAY informed Tony the chopper with Pepper had landed on the roof, he felt antsy under his skin. There was one person who knew him better than anyone, and she had just crashed his little bubble of contentment. He could pretend all he wanted, but she always knew when he bullshitted people and called him up on it.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Pepper with her red hair, black pencil skirt, white blouse and blinding smile breezed into the kitchen, "vacation time is officially over." Then her eyes landed on him. "Oh, for God's sake, Tony!" Her gesticulation alone was enough to express her exasperation with him. Yeah, he got it. "FRIDAY told me you're alright. Can you not be trusted to stay five minutes without an injury?"

Tony stood his ground with a blinding smile of his own as she crossed the space and enveloped him in a careful hug. Pepper knew better than to squeeze him tightly. She lived constantly in a paranoid state of mind, thinking he was hiding all kinds of injuries under his clothes. Most of the time, she was right. Like now, but maybe mental pain didn't count.

"Are you ok?" Pepper backed away slightly, placed her palm carefully to his right cheek and inspected the left side of his face. Her worried eyes rooted him to the spot. Yeah. It was the attention that was killing him. No one ever cared for him like Pepper did. She did it instinctively and never gave a rat's ass about who else was around.

"I'm fine," Tony mumbled quietly, reluctant to be the center of attention any longer.

She stepped back with a long sigh which he could interpret pretty well. She didn't believe a word he had told her, and she would let him have it later when they were alone.

"Miss Potts," Steve said somewhere over Tony's shoulder.

"Oh, you, Mister, you don't have the right to even look his way. Your only redeeming point is that you protected him in Manhattan." Pepper's voice had taken on a sharp tone.

Tony smiled fondly. He had missed her. Pepper didn't back down from anyone. Now he knew that she wasn't scared even of Captain America. "You're too hard on him," Tony muttered quietly and stilled in surprise. What the fuck had possessed him to say that? He should not be defending Steve.

"So," Pepper held the eye contact with Tony a second longer than was comfortable for him and then addressed the rest of the Avengers, "as I said. Vacation's over. From now on, we start to do some good PR and gain some points from the civilians. Step one, live TV interview with the two gentlemen who started this mess."

Tony released a breath of relief. That was something he could do in his sleep. Give him a good host with whom he could flirt a little and talk some sense into, and he was a happy camper. Charming the pants off the public was his forte. Steve's not so much. So, it would be on his shoulders.

"We can do that," Tony assured Pepper confidently.

"Good. Step two, Captain America and the rest of the Avengers signing the Sokovia Accords on live stream television two days from today."

Tony could picture their future from now on. They'd be in the forefront of the interviews everywhere. All of them would be separately spending days on TV stations and basically not seeing each other at all. Only in times of crisis. He would miss them. Some of the Avengers more than others, but overall, he was used to their presence.

"You two have to be together everywhere," Pepper continued, though, and Tony's heart skipped a beat because she looked at him and over his shoulder at Steve. "Show the people you've gotten over yourselves and the Civil War won't happen again. Ever."

Tony watched her measure each and every one of the Avengers separately with her glare. "Because if you do this and a few months from now end up fighting against each other again - then we'll be having a serious problem. And I'm not talking about a public relations nightmare."

She was used to those from Tony. He almost smirked, but stood there fascinated by her words instead. "People will never again see the heroes in you. They will only see the monsters who repeatedly broke their promises. You are moving on very thin ice here; every mistake counts. Tony made the UN pardon you. Don't throw it in his face by doing something stupid."

Tony stood there in embarrassment and avoided everyone's eyes. She didn't have to spell it out to them. He didn't want any gratitude. Looking at Pepper's face, he saw her throwing a glare at Steve behind him. Oh, she wasn't a fan of Steve at the moment.

Tony broke the silence spell over the room when it finally looked like Pepper had finished her speech. "Honey, I missed you," he smiled lopsidedly with a warm feeling in his chest. She stopped murdering Steve with her stare, and the tension disappeared from her back.

"Who did that to you?" Pepper asked softly and nodded towards his face.

"Me, and gravitation if you want me to be precise. I fell onto the workbench and it didn't back down at all. Can you believe it? Obviously, it hasn't heard about the wiser-one-retreats-first rule."

"I saw the video. Are you ok?" Oh, she meant the spider robots attack.

Pepper was still worried. Tony inhaled in defeat. That woman was a saint. She deserved the whole story. "I had a mild concussion from our afternoon accident; repeating mild. Two Tylenols and I felt fine. However, my newest project was not cooperating with me yesterday, and I fell on my face." Tony pointed behind himself. "Captain Nightingale and FRIDAY checked me out. I slapped some butterfly bandage on it like a big boy, got back to work and voilà. I conquered the world. I'm fine," he stated dismissively.

"Ok." Pepper put her briefcase on the table and revealed a stack of papers. "Let's start with the easier members of the team. Natasha?"

Tony didn't wait for his turn and made himself scarce. He didn't have any doubts Pepper would find him in his workshop later. After all, she was allowed inside. Tony threw a glance over his shoulder, and his heart skipped a beat again. Steve was looking after him with eyes full of sorrow.

"Boss-"

"I know, honey," Tony murmured softly, very aware of Steve's sharp hearing. "Let's not start a discussion now." The last thing Tony wanted was his AI accidentally revealing to the whole room how much his existence reacted to Steve's puppy dog eyes.

FRIDAY waited until the elevator door had slid shut behind him and then started again. "I didn't want to inquire about your health, Boss," she informed him imperially. Her tone sent a clear message about being offended. "You repeatedly shut me down when I pointed out the situation. I have learned my lesson."

True. Tony hadn't heard her ask in almost- Well, he couldn't remember. "Sorry," he muttered.

"I wanted to inform you that King T'Challa is on the line and he's patiently waiting for your response."

"What?" Tony squealed. "Let him through."

"You are on speaker, Your Majesty," FRIDAY stated imperially and then finally shut up.

"It was a pleasure to talk to you, FRIDAY," was the first sentence from the king of Wakanda, and Tony wanted to facepalm and disappear somewhere to Siberia and never come back. The elevator stopped at the right floor, and Tony exited to his workshop.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Tony could almost palpably feel FRIDAY's pleasure. Damn teenage girls!

"Your Majesty," he skipped into the conversation with ease. Even though T'Challa was Tony's friend, he couldn't drop the formal title. "Forgive me. I didn't know about your call. If I had, you sure as hell wouldn't have had to wait on me."

"Let's not be formal, Tony. I am sorry to disturb you at this time. I hope you are in good health."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It looked worse than it really was." Tony knew the king and probably the whole world had already seen him nose-diving into the concrete and Captain America protecting him. "What can I do for you?"

"I was officially invited to the United States to bear witness to the signing of the Sokovia Accords by the Avengers."

"On the press conference the day after tomorrow. I know. Pepper's here, and she's coaching us about the PR circus."

"Is it too forward of me to ask if you could offer me accommodation, my friend?"

"No, not at all." Tony hid his astonishment quickly. The last time T'Challa was in the country for an official event, Zemo had killed his father with a bomb. "You're always welcome here. I will warn Sam to not cross paths with your security detail."

"Thank you, Tony."

"Don't mention it. You can come whenever you're ready. FRIDAY will let you go through the security system of the Tower."

Steve stood in the opened doorway of Tony's workshop. The first sight that greeted him was Tony, seated in his chair, his head resting against Pepper Potts' stomach. He looked nothing less than miserable. The love of Tony's life was gently cradling his head and running her hands through his hair.

Steve didn't understand why FRIDAY had opened the door for him without Tony's consent or any acknowledgment whatsoever. It didn't make any sense. Not that Steve extensively thought about the reason. The sight of Pepper and Tony together made his heart stutter; it hurt like a physical blow.

"Boss, Captain Rogers is here," FRIDAY informed the quiet room.

The spell was broken, and Pepper stepped back. Tony straightened his shoulders, almost like the moment had never happened. His eyes were walled behind a determined mask. "What can I do for you?"

"Shield," Steve's dry throat croaked. He hoped he was making sense, because his vocal cords couldn't string together more than one word.

"I informed Captain Rogers about the improvement on the shield and that it was ready for extraction," FRIDAY hopefully explained things better for all of them.

"Yeah, sure." Tony leapt to his feet and grabbed the object in question from his workbench. The quick motion made it look like he couldn't stand Steve's presence any longer than necessary. The hastiness of such an action hurt Steve just as much as looking at Pepper comforting Tony. It drove down the most obvious point - it would never be Steve in her position. He would never have the right to do the same, no matter how much he wanted it.

In a matter of seconds, Tony was standing in front of him and handing him the shield. Of course, he wanted Steve to leave as quickly as possible.

"Thank you," Steve whispered softly, voice strained under the weight of his hurt.

"You're welcome."

Steve still stood there, like a statue, three heartbeats later, still looking into Tony's eyes, feeling like an idiot. It would never be the same. They couldn't go back to the times they had before the Civil War. This was the first time Steve saw Tony having his mask down, and it wasn't in front of anyone from the Avengers. Tony didn't trust them. And he definitely didn't trust Steve.

Steve gave him a small nod. He shifted his eyes to the redhead. "Ms. Potts." Steve still had some manners, after all. Then, he turned and started to leave. It was too ambitious of him to think he and Tony might repair their friendship. God, friendship?

"Steve?"

Steve stopped in his tracks and looked back at Tony. "Yes?"

"You had that kicked puppy look." Tony indicated towards his own face with his hand. "It's not really attractive on a national icon."

Steve's guts twisted a bit more, his stomach bottoming out. Somehow, there appeared to be a lump stuck in his throat. "Don't worry." The rush of blood in Steve's ears and his galloping heartbeat made the words sound hollow, so he spared them both another second in each other's presence and walked out of Tony's workshop.

Once Steve was safely in the elevator, on his way up to anywhere that wasn't close to Tony, he could finally breathe again properly.

"Captain Rogers, are you feeling well? Your vital signs are elevated, and the anxiety-"

FRIDAY didn't have to finish her sentence. Steve hated lying to Tony's AI, so opted for the truth. "There is nothing physically wrong with me, FRIDAY." And wasn't that the blindingly obvious truth? Steve's heart might be breaking, but he was still telling her the truth.

"I'm going out, FRIDAY. I'll be having my phone on."

"As you wish, Captain Rogers."

Steve stopped by his bedroom to put the shield with the rest of his armor. He grabbed his sketchbook and pencils and then finally escaped the walls of the Tower that were slowly closing in on him with Pepper's presence on the premises. He ended up sitting in the park, working on a sketch of children playing with their Frisbee.

The repetitive sound of his pencil gliding over the paper calmed his nerves and allowed him to relax and process all his feelings. It was only this morning that he had felt like maybe they had a chance to change their tentative friendship, but it still gave him hope. His dreaded conversation with Tony went alright. Yes, Steve might have figured out he was attracted to Tony, but there had never been the question as to if he would act on the attraction. It would never happen. Then again, it didn't make any sense to him why he was so heartbroken that Pepper was in Tony's life again .

Steve put the sketchbook and pencil down beside himself and pressed his palms to his face. With a defeated sigh, he had to admit that there was a reason. A big, glaringly obvious reason Steve didn't want to see. A big, glaringly obvious reason Steve didn't want to feel. He was in love with Anthony Edward Stark, and he had torpedoed any chance he could have with the man long before Pepper Potts had stepped into the kitchen this morning.

Steve arrived later that afternoon when the Tower was buzzing with activity. Not the visible way, but for Steve's senses; he could almost palpably feel the change in the air. The only person nowhere in sight was, unsurprisingly, Tony.

"What's happening?" Steve asked upon stepping into the kitchen.

"Black Panther is on the roof," Sam clarified for him. "You're lucky you weren't here. We had a long talk about acceptable behavior with Mr. I-know-everything-better-than-you-and-my-friend-is-a-king. A LONG talk!"

Sam looked annoyed to the point of doing or saying something reckless. Steve sighed. "Well, he is a king."

"Who wears a cat outfit," his friend pointed out.

A quick survey of the room convinced Steve that the rest of the Avengers were equally annoyed, and some of them - scratch that, Clint Barton looked like he couldn't wait for the man to appear in the house. "Yes. But he's still a king. Unlike the rest of us. We should show some respect."

T'Challa arrived with his personal bodyguards as always. However, he didn't even have a chance to say hello to them.

"T'Challa!" Out of nowhere Tony leapt into the man's arms with the biggest smile Steve had seen on his person in a long time. Not the fake one but the sincere smile Steve missed so much. That hurt too.

"My friend," the king replied with a stoic mask, but he couldn't hide the affection in his voice.

The female guards of Wakanda's king didn't look surprised at the display between their leader and Tony, but the Avengers and Pepper Potts certainly were. It had been a long time since someone in the Tower had seen Tony act this openly with a living person and not his AI.

Steve had to admit he was jealous and most of all floored, because one part of his heart would always belong to Tony, longing for them to have something similar. Easy affection. Not tons of issues between them.

Eventually, Tony stepped back. Steve watched him so carefully he couldn't miss the inclination of Tony's head when he looked at the women behind T'Challa. "Ladies."

In the next second, Tony's attention was back with the king. "How was the flight?"

"Uneventful."

"God, don't describe it minute by minute. I could fall asleep in the middle of it. Come on."

Steve saw the fond smile on Tony's face. The easiness with which he talked to the powerful man. The king of Wakanda was a man of few words, but it didn't bother the billionaire one bit. They really were friends.

"Come on." Tony invaded T'Challa's space and, with a hand on the king's back, led him to the elevator. "I need to brag about my genius ideas. And I thought about some improvements to Black Panther's suit, if it's not a problem."

Steve overheard the rest of their conversation thanks to his enhanced hearing. Tony had found some time in his busy schedule to talk with T'Challa's scientists. They put together some ideas about making the whole Panther armor better with the use of vibranium.

Tony's selflessness made Steve feel nostalgic. More than anything, he wanted the same enthusiasm from Tony that T'Challa received. He would cherish those moments for the rest of his life.

"I feel like a third wheel," Clint stated with a thoughtful expression.

That statement described their situation perfectly. From the moment the leader of Wakanda had arrived, they hadn't been on Tony's radar anymore. Even Pepper Potts had been forgotten.