A/N: Thanks so much for the feedback! It's really awesome! Enjoy the update.

A few days later...

He hadn't seen Tony all day. It normally wasn't something for Steve to be concerned about, because the man had a tendency to disappear into the lab for extended periods of time, but he didn't like it when it went this long. Especially here lately, with Tony acting strangely and Steve becoming pretty sure that the man definitely was having flashbacks and reoccurring memories. He just liked to check on him. So, with a large mug of coffee in hand as a peace offering, Steve headed down to the lab, and was delighted to see that Tony hadn't locked him out this time.

"Hey," he put the mug down and glanced around, blinking when he saw a few sparks in one direction. He turned, even more surprised to find the Iron Man suit out, and Tony doing what looked like a routine tune up on it.

Tony blinked, pausing for a moment and flipping his protective helmet up to see Steve. "Oh, hey," he said and then got back to work, itching to get this done. It had been too damn long since he'd been in this suit, and after weeks of wishing, he was finally able to get back in and fly the thing.

"Uh..." Steve stepped closer. "What're you doing?"

"Bruce didn't tell you?" Tony said through the mask, his voice muffled, "I'm cleared for flight. Nothing too fancy, he says, but as long as I can at least take her out for a while, it's fine with me."

Steve opened his mouth to speak, but Tony caught him to it.

"Ah, no complaining from you, Cap. You know it's safe when a doctor clears it."

Steve swallowed his concern then, for the sake of avoiding an argument, and just nodded. Okay, so he wasn't too happy with Tony taking off to the skies, or Bruce not talking to him about it first. He was pissed about that. But he did know that Tony was probably the happiest, at least this Tony, in the skies with his suit.

He was still pissed.

Tony finally looked back to Steve after a moment, scowling at the expression on his face. "Oh, come on. Don't look so pissy," he rolled his eyes. "A little flying isn't going to kill me."

"I know!" Steve snapped without meaning to, before he let out a long sigh. He told himself not to get angry towards Tony right now, because that never helped anything, and also because he knew this might be good for the other. The genius was probably feeling cooped up in this tower so maybe some flying would help. Right?

He still worried, though.

"Just," he huffed. "Just be careful, you know?"

"I'm always careful," Tony replied back automatically, though that smirk of his settled across his mouth as he looked over the last couple of things on his suit. Almost done now, thank god, he thought.

"Besides," Tony went on, "I've got Jarvis looking after me. Right, J?"

"Precisely, sir."

"See?" he grinned at Steve. He nodded to himself and pressed a button on a control panel near his desk, and robot arms gathered the assortment of armor parts, following the genius to a metal linen rectangle area of the lab and the arms, from the right, left, up, and from the floor began assembling the suit on Tony's body. Piece by piece.

Tony looked amazed; something Steve didn't see often, especially associated with his own tech. He was probably marveling at all the improvements he'd wanted to make had happened without him even knowing. Once the chest plate connected with the arc reactor, it hummed to life just as his helmet HUD turned on.

"Jarvis? You up and running?"

"Yes, sir. All systems are a go."

Steve watched as Tony checked over a few more things, and then suddenly, the man was taking off right in the middle of the lab. "Tony..."

"See ya!"

A flash of red and gold went by and Tony was suddenly off, causing Steve to run after. "Tony!" he was yelling. "No flying in the house, it's a rule!" But it seemed as if the other couldn't even hear him. Steve finally just gave up and shook his head, a small laugh escaping from his lips.

"Jarvis, open the shoot!" Tony called out, and a hole literally opened within the wall, spiraling out to create a pathway. With that, Tony shot through the hole and Steve could hear him whooping in joy as he took to the skies. He rolled his eyes. That wasn't any different than any other time Tony had been taken away his privileges to use his suit.

"Well, he sure didn't waste any time." Bruce remarked from behind him.

"He's been planning this from the day he got home from the hospital, no doubt."

Bruce nodded in agreement, and turned to Steve, boring his gaze to his. "How are you holding up?"

"Well enough." Steve said bluntly, his tone dripping with a challenge to continue to pester him. "He's safe, healing. What's there to be upset about, right?"

The scientist just sighed sadly. "Yeah. Right."

Two things that should have occurred to Tony before he took off 20,000 feet into the air: a.) he was no medical doctor and therefore had no idea if amnesia would affect his flying, and b.) if he had an attack, he'd fall to his death.

Okay, so they had crossed his mind, he just ignored them. The problem was that he had a piercing headache, and he was now swooping up and down in an uneven path. He had to keep it together, because if he got lower than seeing distance, then Steve would see, and Steve knows when Tony isn't flying well. He gritted his teeth and told Jarvis to maneuver him even higher.

"Sir? Our trajectory path is-"

"Did I program you to argue with me? Go higher!"

Steve left the lab before he completely bit Bruce's head off. He made his was upstairs and into the main living area, where Clint and Natasha were watching a movie.

"What, couldn't convince Tony to come out of the lab?" Clint yawned.

Steve sighed as he walked passed them to head outside. "He went out flying. Got cleared for it, I guess, and-" he paused, blinking at the strange look on Clint's face. "What?"

"He was cleared for flight?" Clint sat up, one thing on his mind. If Tony had one of those memory seizure things, he would fall right out of the sky! "Uh. Shit."

Steve looked puzzled. "Shit...?"

"Sir, it is inadvisable to-"

"I just said don't argue," Tony interjected as he pushed the suit higher; ignoring what the AI was rambling at him.

Bad idea, bad idea! His mind screamed at him as his headache just about split his head open. Don't you dare pass out and fall out of the fucking sky, Stark.

The higher he went, the worse his head got. For a second, his vision tunneled and he was spiraling downward again, and Jarvis was still yelling at him.

"Sir, sir! Should I take over on auto pilot? Sir?"

"Yes," he gasped, opening his eyes again.

Clint swiftly ran down to the lab, cursing Tony for all he's worth of doing something so incredibly stupid. He tapped into the communication system and called, "Iron Man, do you copy?"

"Yeah...I think I'm gonna come down now."

Tony's voice sounded strained. "Memory thing?"

"Didn't think a flight would cause any memories, but uh...not working so well."

"Get your tin can ass down here before I have to explain to your husband why you went ka-splat on the sidewalk." Clint said, worried for his friend.

"Explain what to his husband?" Steve snapped from where he stood in the doorway, arms folded over his chest. What the hell had Clint just said?

Clint spun around in surprise, eyes widening when he saw the super soldier standing there. Oh. Shit. "Uh..." he sort of laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

Steve gave him an expectant look. "Clint..."

Clint swore under his breath as Tony called out from the comm, "Clint, please tell me that wasn't Steve."

"Oh, it's Steve alright." The captain gritted out. "Tony, what's wrong? What's happening?"

"Uhh...faulty system?"

Steve walked over and muted the comm, so that Tony couldn't hear them. "What's going on, Barton?"

"Nothing!" Clint insisted, shrugging his shoulders. "Just, yeah, faulty system like Tony said, you know. He should be back soon, so..."

Steve stared. It was clear he didn't believe the other, but he sighed and backed away. "Alright. Well... That's fine, if you want to lie to me. I'll just ask Natasha to get the truth out of you..." he acted as if he was leaving

"NO!" Shit, no. Nat was scary when she wanted to know something!

"Then tell me what's going on!" Steve said, exasperated. He felt like he was literally being shut out by an invisible door day by day. "Obviously something is wrong. And not with the suit. So what's wrong with Tony?"

"Who said anything is wrong with Tony, he's fine. Look, he's flying and everything. I don't know where you're getting this-" Clint said meekly. Oh, yeah. He was just so great at this. You need someone to keep a secret? Call Clint Barton, because he's awesome at it. But he knew he couldn't tell Steve. So he wouldn't. Not exactly.

"Is it his head? Memories or whatever?"

"Um..."

"I know he's remembering things, so don't bother denying it. I just need the details, so please..."

Eyes shifting left to right, he put his hands out in front of him as defense. "Hey, you're going to need to talk to Tony about this shit. I'm under strict orders."

"Clint? Goddammit, Clint!" If Tony could, he'd have punched something. But he couldn't because his supercomputer was controlling his limbs as they flew steadily back to the Tower. Too steadily. Tony's flying style was "wild" as Pepper used to describe, but Tony prefers creative.

He'd bet everything Steve knows that too.

His headache was better, but it felt like if he lost concentration, he'd lose touch with reality again. He had to stay awake. He had to stay away because god fucking dammit Steve will be worried and he really doesn't know why he cares at all about how Steve will feel. He has an impulsive need to protect him, and Tony took it as his pride taking a hitch, yet now it seems like...he really cares.

You don't need anyone, Tony. It's the next mission and nothing else. Half the time he wished his own motto wasn't true. And he must've hit his head harder than he thought in the accident because Tony Stark did not admit weaknesses to himself. I hate this.

"Clint, dammit, don't you get how important this is?!" Steve snapped angrily, but then suddenly Tony was back, suit having automatically dropped back in through the chute. It began to disassemble, revealing a very pale and woozy Tony Stark.

Clint took that as his opportunity to leave and he quickly sprinted for the door, ignoring the glare Steve shot in his direction. Whatever. He was getting out of there before things got even uglier.

"Tony?" Steve finally approached him, sighing as he took in his appearance. "Hey. Are you okay?" Tony looked at Steve blearily, trying to focus his vision. It was blurry and fading. Until it clicked that who exactly it was standing in front of him; tall, blonde, and very scornful. When it did click, he opened his mouth to say, "I'm fine," and instead what came out was, "I'm tired...and you're kinda cute when you're angry."

The blurry Steve reached out to him, looking less mad and more concerned than anything, and that's when he realized the floor was rushing up to him very fast. But Steve's voice was so loud in his head there was no memories. It's like his focus latched on to the sound of Steve and Tony was incredibly grateful for that. Thank you, subconscious, for remembering how wonderful Steve's voice sounds. Wait, what? Why...?

"Tony, for God's sakes, speak to me or I will call Bruce down here!"

"Um...faulty system?" he said meekly, and Steve was angry with him again. Oops.

"Don't give me that," Steve said angrily, letting out a slow breath. "Look, Tony, I just…. I'm not stupid. I know you're remembering things, and what happened out there wasn't a faulty system or whatever."

God dammit, why was Steve so stubborn? Tony rubbed at his face, trying to think clearly, before he shook his head. He didn't say anything at first and it just seemed to make Steve even angrier. Shit. "Look, you-"

"Don't lie to me, Tony. Please," the other man interjected, the anger that was in his blue eyes just a moment before replaced with desperation. "I'm trying to help you and make sure you don't get hurt. Can you not understand that?"

"Steve," Tony swallowed thickly, "I know. I know that. You have to understand me-"

"I can't understand you if you don't even tell me what's wrong with you!"

"Whoa now let's not jump to conclusions here. Who said anything is wrong with me?" Tony demanded, his automatic verbal defense kicking in. Yeah, okay. He wasn't actually hiding his issue very well. At all. Probably because Clint was an awful liar. At least to Natasha and his close friends. Tony, on the other hand, was a grade-A liar. So why was he failing so badly at keeping it together?

Because the new Tony tells Steve everything, a little voice whispered to him. Bullshit. He propped himself up on his elbows and avoided Steve's piercing gaze. Right now, And being the insomniac he was he found this odd, he wanted to sleep.

Steve rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Tony," he tried again, trying his very best to stay calm. "Please, I'm not saying something's wrong with you, but just…" he trailed off. Yeah, actually, there was something wrong. He couldn't remember Steve, couldn't remember their fucking marriage, and that was definitely something wrong! But he didn't say that right then. "It's killing me to watch you try to hide these things. You're a good liar, Tony, but keeping things from me has been something you haven't done in a long, long time, whether you remember it or not."

God, he was just so tired and wanted to be left alone. He stood up. "Steve," he muttered, not even knowing what to say to that. "Can you just… not do this right now? Come on."

Steve's teeth gritted. No, we have to do this now. Right now. I can't wait much longer or I'm going to go insane. "Fine, Tony. You want to be this way, you go for it. Just know..."

"Know what?" Tony muttered. "That you're not going to be there when I come crying to you when I fuck up something?"

"No. That I will be there. Because I love you, Tony, and that's something you seem to be ignoring. I didn't stop loving because you woke up and you were different. I didn't stop loving you because you don't love me back. So yeah, I'll be there when you need me. Even if you don't deserve it." Steve's eyes were bright with emotion, and he could feel his heart clench with his mixed emotions. Anger and guilt settled within him, but it needed to be said. A lot of things needed to be said, actually, but they had to take baby steps, right?

He expected for Tony to give him a smart ass comment back or at least say something, but Steve was met with silence. Tony was just staring at him, an odd expression on his face. "Look-" he started again, but it was then that Tony seemed to have something to say.

"Uh," Tony rubbed a hand over his face. What the fuck was he supposed to say to that? Because Steve was right, he didn't love him back; he couldn't remember how to love him back... and hearing someone say that they'd actually be there when he needed them was just strange. It wasn't a thing he was really used to, to be quite honest. "Okay." He finally said when nothing else came to mind. "Thanks."

Thanks.

That's all he was going to say? Steve stared at him, now being the one not knowing how to respond. "Well," he finally sighed. "You're welcome?" He pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out another slow breath. "And I hope you know that I really mean all of that, too."

I don't deserve it, though. I think I lost that privilege a long time ago."Yeah. It's just weird to me."

"What's weird?" Steve asked, frowning.

"People promising to stay with me even after I've been a complete asshole. Which happens often, I mean, look at me. I am an asshole, I know that. And when I found out that you were married to me the first thing that popped into my head was, 'why in the hell would this guy marry someone like me?' I still don't know the answer. So I want to ask you a question. Why? Why me? What possessed you to do such a stupid thing like fall in love with me?"

Steve looked like he wanted to reach out and hug Tony, but he was too wired to accept it, and he took a step back. Steve caught him anyway. With his strong arms around him, Tony went limp in his hold; too tired, way too tired to care.

Steve slid his arms around Tony and let out a breath. God, how long had it been since he'd been able to do something as simple as hug him? "How can you really explain why you love someone?" he whispered, shaking his head as he held him a bit tighter.

A/N: HERE, HAVE A HEAPING BOWL OF FEELS. Yeah. Wow. You know how many times I just want to have them kiss already? Instead we have hugs. Those are good too. Review, favorite, yadda yadda. Thanks for reading and keep a look out for more chapters!