*gasp* I've updated in less than a week! I'm so proud of myself. I have the next few chapters skeleton-ed out, so updates SHOULD come quicker, at least for the next little bit. But I'm starting school again in a little more than a week, so we'll see how long that lasts. ;)

I recognize I've been neglecting Steve a little bit. Here's this chapter in payment. Or apology. However you want to see it.

Steve had just broken the third punching bag of the night when the door opened behind him. He didn't turn to address the entrant, only moving on to begin punching the fourth bag. The footsteps he heard behind him were loud, confident – a stride he recognized from Tony – Stark. To his knowledge though, the man had never come into the gym before; he'd simply provided the funding and the means to create it and the modifications for each member of the team and then stayed out of the way.

Stark's tread stopped after a moment, and Steve knew the man was several feet behind him, but he didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say, and besides, Stark had been the one to approach him. He could be the first one to speak.

"I see you're taking my instructions to heart," Stark said behind him after a brief pause when it became clear Steve wasn't going to say anything.

But, once the billionaire did speak, Steve stopped punching. His ma had raised him better than someone who would be rude just because he wasn't feeling too happy. His excuses ran out when the other man began to speak, so he resigned himself to his fate of having to have a conversation with the brunette. So, he turned and gave the man his full attention.

"Instructions?" Steve repeated, not sure what the other man was talking about.

Stark nodded toward the bags that had ripped open and strewn sand across the floor. "I'll find a material that works for you, you know," he told him. "These are just prototypes, so you're doing me a favor, seeing what works and what doesn't."

"I see," Steve said, even though he didn't really understand why it was important to the man.

"I think I might try a polyester weave similar to seatbelts," Tony said thoughtfully, frowning as he considered this in his head.

"Was there something you needed me for, Mr. Stark?" Steve said with as much politeness he could manage, though an undercurrent of annoyance ran through his words that he wasn't quite able to hide. The man didn't look perturbed by it, though.

"Ew, firstly, just call me Tony," he instructed with a grimace. Steve tilted his head, impatiently waiting for Tony – Stark – to get on with it.

"See, the thing is, I fully support you beating the shit out of some punching bags," Stark explained, raising his hands in a sort of gesture that said "don't blame me". "Trust me, I've been through my own coping mechanisms for the shit I've been through, and yours is far healthier than some of the ones I have partaken in, trust me."

"So what's the problem?" Steve prodded with irritation.

Stark grimaced. "It's not that you're doing anything wrong," he said, "It's just that I do know exactly how much force it takes to break these things, and I've heard enough of Howard's bragging to know how much you're exerting yourself." Steve raised an eyebrow, waiting for the other man to get to the point.

"So, that being said, I don't know what else you like to do, but do you want to get out of the Tower for a bit?" Stark questioned, seemingly apropos of nothing, leaving Steve feeling caught off guard.

"What?" he said confusedly.

"Yeah, we can do whatever you want," the man said easily, though Steve detected a hint of strain in his shoulders, like he wanted to duck his head and bring his shoulders up around his ears. "I know there's an art exhibit at the Met, and you like art. Or there's a really good pizza place on Fifth…or even if you just want to grab a hot dog in Central Park. I just figure getting out of the Tower would be fun."

"Why?" Steve asked suspiciously, searching for and trying to figure out whether or not the billionaire had an ulterior motive. He had to – he just didn't know what it was. And that made him nervous, not knowing.

Stark shrugged, seemingly without a care but still looking nervous. "Even I get tired of being in the Tower for days on end," he admitted.

"But why – you?" Steve questioned, still watching the man carefully. "I would've thought you'd send…someone else."

Anyone else, really. Stark didn't give the impression that he would care about anyone who didn't directly influence his paycheck or all of the benefits that came with it. Besides which, Stark wasn't his soulmate. He saw no reason why the man would be reaching out to him – not unless he wanted him for something. He didn't know what. But he knew that everyone else on the team was trying to get to know everyone else more, including him, and if Stark was trying to get him to accept them, he would have told one of them to come talk to him today. But he could think of no good reason the man himself would invite him out of the Tower.

"I don't have people for everything," the billionaire snarked. "You can't buy friends – I tried that in college. Funny enough, the only friend I got was one who refused to take my money."

Steve was taken aback by his comment. "You want to be friends – with me?" he turned the idea over in his mind, but it just didn't compute. He'd done nothing to extend any kind of sign that he would be interested in becoming friends with anyone, but especially with the man he had snapped and snarled at on the helicarrier so many weeks ago. How could the man think he was someone to approach like this?

Stark looked even more uncomfortable than before, faced with Steve's blunt statement. "Sure," he said, too casually. "Why not?"

"Tony, I don't know how most of your friendships work, but we haven't exactly been nice to each other," Steve said, hardly noticing that he'd called the man by his first name.

Stark simply waved a hand at this comment. "Really, it would follow my track record," he said. "My best friend, Rhodey? The very first thing he said to me was calling me a 'stupid fucker who wouldn't know logic if it bit me in the dick'." He grinned at whatever expression must have been on Steve's face at that. "Direct quote, that. To be fair, I had just berated him – a stranger – for the way he was carrying his books. I still hold that I was entirely fair in my judgement…I mean, he had his smallest book at the bottom of the stack. Basic physics says no to shit like that.

"And then my other friend Pepper? Well, I mentioned that one already. Took several days for my eyes to go back to normal after the pepper spray." He grinned at the memory, this smile seeming more real than any Steve had seen thus far. Then his smile dimmed a bit as he looked back at Steve.

"Look, what we said to each other in the first twenty-four hours or so is water under the bridge, as far as I'm concerned," Tony said. "It was a stressful situation for everyone."

"But – why me?" Steve pressed, searching for signs of artifice. This honesty truthfully just made him uncomfortable, sure that there was a hidden agenda in the brunette.

"Look, I've seen how you react when the rest of them try and include you," Tony said. "You don't want to be a part of their soulmate bond, but you don't want to tell them – I get it. I don't know why, but I'm sure you have your reasons. And considering that I don't care about the whole soulmate thing, and we're certainly not soulmates…" he shrugged at Steve's surprised look. "You can have someone to talk to whom you know doesn't have some sort of hidden agenda to get you to accept everyone and whatever other hippie peace-love-everyone bullshit everyone else seems intent on trying."

"And you're the perfect candidate for the job," Steve said dryly, and he didn't mean for it to come out like a statement, but there it was.

"Oh, hell, no," Tony said emphatically with a quick shake of his head. "Definitely not the best. But – the only one, at the moment."

Steve looked at Tony, not denying this, but neither confirming it, even though he knew it was true. He was very lonely. But, his best friend and lover was gone. He had a right to be.

But, with Tony being the one to offer the hand of friendship…it was, admittedly, a relief that it was him, someone he knew didn't care about the soul bond and he could just be – friends with. No other expectations than that. It felt like a load he hadn't realized he'd been carrying was lifted off his back. He hated expectations – that he could or couldn't do something, or he had to act a certain way because of who he was.

But Stark – Tony – was a billionaire, and he had grown up in the limelight. And he still remembered that realization he'd had on the helicarrier – that Tony's arrogance was a mask for all of the pain and trauma he'd been through. Steve wasn't rich – or at least not as rich as Tony, but no one was – but he realized then how similar he and Tony really were.

That realization at the forefront of his mind, he managed to give Tony a smile. Tight, and small, but still real. Still – trying.

"I've heard a lot about deep dish pizzas," he offered. "Haven't tried one of those yet."

Tony fairly beamed at him. "Well, Steve, you're in for a treat."

Tony wasn't sure, exactly, what had possessed him to go downstairs to offer the hand of friendship to Steve Rogers, of all people.

Well, that wasn't quite true. Jarvis had kept him informed every time a punching bag broke, and Tony had come to that realization about Rogers using his full strength, which – well, like he'd told the blond, it wasn't bad. It was just indicative of the storm going on inside him that he unleashed every time he raised his fists.

Finally, his sympathy and even empathy had gotten the better of him, and he could resist no longer that pull that dragged him to Steve. He wanted to help the man. No, he wasn't changing his mind on the whole soulmate situation – he had no intention of ever revealing the dual identity of Tony Stark and Iron Man. It's just – he knew that Rogers was intentionally keeping his distance from everyone else, showing no interest in joining their bond, for reasons as yet unknown. And he had no intention of trying to push him toward them, either – that was Rogers' choice, not his. But he couldn't just leave him alone and clearly suffering.

He hadn't honestly thought that Rogers would accept his invitation – not that day, anyway. He'd thought it would take more persuasion and more time to convince him that his offer was genuine.

But Rogers surprised him yet again – even smiling at him, and dear Lord that was attractive and he should definitely do it more – with his acceptance and immediate action in getting cleaned up and dressed. He wore what Tony called in his head "incognito Cap", which really didn't work because baseball hat and nerd glasses did not a disguise make. Not when you had the shoulder-to-waist ratio of a Dorito, anyway – people tended to stare at that amount of attractiveness in a single body.

But he went with it anyway, and surprisingly people actually did stay away from them, like they were just a couple of normal guys in New York. Tony supposed it was the attitude of it that really made the difference.

And now, they sat in a tiny little pizzeria with all five types of deep dish the place offered as well as some classic New York style. Rogers could certainly pack away a lot of food, and Tony would be unsurprised if there were no leftovers by the end.

Rogers had relaxed as they ate, simply picking up one piece of pizza after another and quirking a smile at all of them once he got a taste. They were little, reserved smiles, but it was something and Tony accepted it gladly.

The conversation stayed completely away from tense topics – the soulmate issue with the rest of the team, World War II, and anything to do with Avenging at the top of the list (and yes, Avenging with a capital 'A', because it was different) – and Tony was honestly sure that that's what helped.

"Dammit," Tony finally sighed after he'd lost count of how many slices of pizza he'd consumed. He slouched back in his chair, exhausted and feeling the sleepiness that rose with a food coma. "I can't take another bite. The rest is on you, Blondie."

Steve raised an eyebrow at the nickname, and then kept it raised as he stared around at the rest of the pizza around them – the equivalent of three entire large pizzas, which had to be placed on the tables around them to accommodate them – and gave Tony a dry look.

Tony flapped his hand at the man. "Oh, don't give me that look – you know you can."

"I really don't," Steve said mildly, taking another bite. "I've already eaten two pizzas."

"Oh, stop fucking bragging," Tony begged, tipping his head back like it would help him get more air. "I only ate one and I'm pretty sure you're going to have to roll me out of here. Pepper would be so proud – I never eat this much. She's always trying to fatten me up."

"She, ah – thinks you don't eat enough?" Steve questioned with polite curiosity, taking a gulp of his Coke.

Tony groaned and lifted his head to look back at Steve. "Oh, she'll never be happy," he complained, but there was an undercurrent of fondness there that showed how close they really were. "Apparently twelve cups of coffee and half a bagel is not a day's worth of food. But, I haven't died yet, so I hold out that she's wrong."

Steve frowned at this information, but didn't say anything about it, instead choosing to take another large bite of his pizza.

At the silence, Tony tilted his head and gave the blond a dazed little glare. "Oh, spit it out, Steven. I know you've got something to say. You forget that I'm a genius, and I notice everything, remember?"

"It's not my business," Steve started, and Tony cut him off with a snort.

"Past experience shows that friends are supposed to get on my ass about everything, so you're really going to have to stop with the politesse to be able to keep up with them."

Steve laughed softly, more an exhalation of air than a real laugh, but it was something, and Tony cheered inwardly, looking at the blond expectantly as he waited to hear what the man had to say.

"It's just that I had to eat more than that when I was smaller," Steve explained quickly. He took another sip from his drink. "So you really do need to eat more. And it needs to be more balanced. Just because you're not sick now doesn't mean you won't get sick."

Tony gave a huge sigh, and then regretted it when he almost threw up at the movement to his stomach.

"But Steeeve, I have so many other things to do with my time," he whined.

"Oh, like what?" Steve said skeptically with a raised eyebrow. "You really think your inventions take precedent over basic body necessities?"

"You've clearly never seen me spend an entire week in the lab, with nothing but protein bars and coffee," Tony dismissed. "Showering and shaving doesn't even happen – Pepper gets angry."

"I'm sure," Steve said dryly, and took another bite of pizza.

And after that, it became something of a tradition with them. Just about every other day, they went out to investigate more of the foods that New York City had to offer. It not only helped Steve feel more comfortable in the city that had once been his home, but it also helped soothe any worry that Steve may or may not have about Tony giving his body enough to eat.

Oh, it was by no means perfect. The two of them still argued – not with as much cutting vitriol as that first time on the helicarrier, but still enough that they sometimes had to take a break and stay away from each other for a few hours. Steve would go punch some bags, and Tony would get lost in the haze of the workshop for a bit. Later, they would pretend it had never happened and all would be right again.

Sometimes though, it wasn't the arguments that separated them. Sometimes, Steve would get this look in his eyes, like he was lost, and he would pull away. If someone tried talking to him, he would get surly and dismissive, and it was better to leave him alone then.

So it made it all the better when Steve would approach Tony, wanting to go out somewhere. Tony would always accept, because he cared about the guy, okay? He could admit that. Steve was his friend. And he didn't like seeing his friends upset. So what if he had to push some of his SI projects to the backburner for a few hours, if it would get that awful distraught look out of Steve's eyes? He was doing a service to the country, really.

And it really did help, he could tell. With each outing – he very carefully did not call them "dates", even in his mind – Steve opened up a bit more. Sadness still outlined his eyes, of course, but that was to be expected.

And he came to a realization one day, three weeks after that first pizza date outing, that he was Steve's only friend now. Steve didn't really know anyone else. And wasn't that a depressing thought?

He didn't know what to do with that realization, though. He'd basically promised not to push the guy towards his soulmates – he couldn't go back on that now, nevermind that the most likely and suitable friends were the others on the team. He had a sum total of four real friends: Rhodey, Pepper, Happy, and Steve. He might have counted Agent, but he was never really sure where he stood with that guy. Mostly, he was just Pepper's soulmate and so he accepted him. And Bruce…well, Bruce was sometimes his Science Bro, but Tony was pretty sure he was only doing that to get close to Iron Man. He wasn't sure he could really be considered a "friend".

And the thing with all of Tony's friends – he'd basically made them his friends by attaching to them like a particularly stubborn octopus and refusing to let go until they accepted it and attached themselves to him, too. Thus, he didn't know how to make friends. Not really. So he wouldn't have the first clue how to help Steve out with it.

Still, he determined to try. And he would start with Pepper, because she was the best and she was closest and most available.

Plus, who didn't love Pepper?

It didn't work out how Tony had hoped.

Oh, it wasn't that they disliked each other immediately – or even at all, as far as Tony could tell. It's just that Pepper became very…distracted.

Everyone had gathered for dinner again. Tony had invited himself along, mostly so that Steve would have someone there he was comfortable with. And because Tony was going, and he knew Steve was going, he made a faux-casual invitation for Pepper and Agent to join as well. It would get Pepper getting to know the team, too, which was perfect because she was in charge of their PR and would know how each of them worked.

Agent had begged off, needing more sleep as he'd been so busy the past couple of days and his still-healing body couldn't take it. Tony didn't know what Agent would be doing that would be so strenuous, but he didn't ask, too glad that Pepper had agreed to come anyway as long as she was able to finish her work in time.

When she appeared on the common floor, Tony greeted her at the elevator with a quick kiss to the cheek.

"Looking ravishing as always, Miss Potts," he remarked, taking in the usual pencil skirt and the button-up that was low enough to reveal her almost-complete soul mark.

"Just doing the usual rounds on the Board members," Pepper smirked.

"Ah, that explains the shirt, then," Tony laughed, walking with her toward the dining room. Pepper tended to wear shirts that revealed her mark when she was meeting with particularly frustrating individuals – many of them were old fuddy-duddies who were uncomfortable with the apparent reminder that she was part of a triad bond, and typically forgot exactly what they were arguing about when met with the plain evidence. It was one way that Pepper was not ashamed at all of using her body to her benefit – it wasn't a sexual usage, but just a very strong and clear reminder that she wasn't to be messed with.

"I'll hold off on talking shop till after dinner, though," Pepper decided. "But we need to talk about the updates on the new Starkphone."

"Ugh," Tony complained as they stepped into the dining room, where everyone, barring Bruce, was already gathered, though only Clint was sitting down yet. "Yeah, don't spoil my appetite. Eat now. Talk later."

Pepper laughed as Steve turned to them with a small smile of greeting on his lips. She was about to say something – to Tony or to Steve, he wasn't sure – but then she froze, eyes catching on something past Steve's form.

"Oh," she breathed.

Tony turned to see what had caused such a reaction that Pepper of all people would be diverted from what she was doing or saying, and saw Pietro staring at her with much the same reaction as her. His eyes were darting from her chest to her face, eyes wide, and for once his form was completely still.

Tony understood when he looked back at Pepper, and saw the filled-in mark on her chest that they'd just been discussing moments before. There was a silver lightning bolt encased in a white Gemini symbol, set against a pale blue background. He looked back at Pietro, and now that he was looking for it, he saw Pepper's mark peeking out of the half-unzipped jacket the younger man was wearing.

"I'm Pepper," Pepper blurted, walking closer to close the distance between her and the white-haired boy. Her steps were uncharacteristically hesitant.

"Pietro," he said, Sokovian accent thick as he blinked, clearly trying to wrap his mind around what was happening. Wanda, standing just behind him, was grinning happily, gaze darting between the two of them. Tony was sure that his expression wasn't much better.

"Pietro," Pepper repeated, smile breaking out on her features. "You met Phil a couple of weeks ago. We've been looking for you."

"I've been looking for who I met, too," Pietro admitted, smile spreading as her happiness seemed to infuse him with confidence.

"Come downstairs!" Pepper half ordered, half invited. "He'll be so happy!"

"Okay," Pietro agreed without a second thought.

"Here," Bruce said from the counter next to the entryway into the dining room. "I already packed some up for Agent Coulson – I'll grab some for you two as well."

"Thank you," Pepper said to the other man, taking Pietro's hand in her own. "Come on. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Tony couldn't even be upset at this turn of events.

Tony was very happy for Pepper, Steve could see. And he couldn't even blame the guy – he was happy for her, too. And Pietro. And Coulson. He certainly hadn't expected to see soulmates meeting each other tonight.

"I take full credit for what just happened," Tony announced, though Steve was the only one who was paying attention to him, the others turning back into their own conversations after Pepper and Pietro had left.

Steve raised an eyebrow, more amused than put off by the billionaire's smug comment. "Oh? Why's that?"

"Because I invited her to dinner!" Tony said insistently, like he didn't understand why Steve hadn't picked that up already. "They wouldn't have met tonight if I had left her in the clutches of SI paperwork!"

"Hm," Steve hummed in understanding. "But, they live in the same tower. It would've happened eventually."

"Yes, and I have been trying to find Pep and Agent's third for years, Steven; do not take this from me!" Tony warned, pointing his finger at him to emphasize his point.

Steve raised his hands in surrender, quitting teasing the other man for the moment. He sat down beside him as everyone else began to sit down, Bruce sitting on the other side of Tony. Clint was sitting across from him, with Wanda beside him and Natasha on the other side. He saw out the corner of his eye as he reached for the bread basket, how Wanda pressed a quick, chaste kiss to Natasha's cheek. For what reason, he didn't know, but it caused a sudden well of sadness to sit heavily in his stomach. It was such a simple gesture – not necessarily romantic, but not really platonic. He missed having that kind of relationship with someone – with Bucky.

"Hey, Cappuccino," Tony nudged him gently with his elbow. "Stop hogging all the rolls – pass 'em this way."

Pulled from his thoughts, Steve obediently passed the basket to Tony, after taking one or two or five. Tony gave him a radiant smile, much too enthusiastic for some bread, but Steve wasn't judging. Bruce made good dinner rolls.

"Thanks, Cap," he said, taking a couple rolls before he passed the basket to Bruce.

"Cappuccino?" he repeated a few moments later when he realized what Tony had called him. He raised his eyebrow at the smaller man next to him, but Tony only shrugged and bit into his roll, giving him a beatific smile.

Steve thought it was kind of beautiful.

Awww.