Author's Note:

This chapter contains smut. I also just want to say that with the way things are going for this story, there are only a few (maybe 2 - 4) chapters left in the story. I hope you all have been enjoying the story so far.

Now back to your regularly scheduled update. Enjoy.

There are many things that Tony Stark is willing to and not to do. One of the things he is willing to do is to protect those he cares about. He doesn't like to see the people closest to him hurt, that's mostly why he spends copious amounts of hours locked in his lab to make sure that the team has their equipment up to tip top shape in order to minimize any casualties or injuries. Well, that and sometimes he locks himself in his lab to escape some of the harsh realities or unnecessary conversations people want to have with him, but that's not the point. What Tony is not willing to do is sit back and relax knowing that those things that hurt Steve are still out there. That he wasn't going to let go so easily, because once again, he cares about those closest to him.

He looked down at the sleeping form of Steve, whose head was rested neatly and gently in his lap, a small smile on his face. His fingers flowed through his blonde locks as he slept, making sure the soldier was as comfortable as he could be. It was a breakthrough that Steve was willing to let Tony get this close to him despite all that has happened, but it was even more touching that he trusted that Tony wouldn't hurt him. Of course, there was still going to be tension; though it's very understandable and Tony is willing to accept that. Things are not going to be the same in their relationship, despite knowing that he's with the real Tony, the trauma he experienced with the doppelganger is too much to forget. It's detrimental, is what it is, but these are the sacrifices Tony is willing to make; he's willing to take things slow and work his way up to get Steve to trust him completely again, of course it's not fair to him, but he's not going to push Steve into anything he isn't comfortable with. He's somewhat ok with him flinching if Tony hugs him, or makes any advances on touching him, he's going to have to work on accepting that maybe Steve might not be as affectionate, but that's ok, these things take time.

He sighed and looked down, noticing how peaceful Steve looked, how absolutely young and stunning he was. He smiled and leaned down, placing a soft kiss on the side of Steve's head. From after his breakup with Pepper, he was so convinced that he was incapable of loving anyone, that if he got into another relationship he would be the reason things wouldn't workout. As his fingers continued to run through Steve's hair, and his gaze was locked on his sleeping form, he felt this burning sensation in his chest. It wasn't the type of burning sensation where you were in pain and it was hard to breath, no, this was completely different. It was the type of sensation in your chest where you look at someone and realize, that without a shadow of doubt, you truly care about the well being of this person. You realize this feeling that begins to flutter closer to your heart is radiating warmth, you find yourself smiling, you feel your breath start to hitch and a sigh escapes past your lips and the sudden realization hits you; you're in love.

Yes, Tony Stark, is deeply in love with Steve Rogers. The man out of time, the guy who spent 70 years encased in ice, lost everything close to him, the man who struggled to work modern technology, and the guy who was the only one capable of dealing with Tony's shit. That was who Steve Rogers was to Tony. He was more than the iconic superhero Captain America, who everybody adored and looked up to. As a kid, Tony was also someone who looked up to Captain America, he practically was his entire childhood. His father always told him about the tale of Captain America, and Tony ate those stories up as a kid that he, too, ended up becoming a fan of the great man. However, Captain America and Steve Rogers are two different people, and Tony always realized that. Where as a kid he never got to know the man behind the mask, but as an adult, that's what Tony got the chance to do. He got to learn all about Steve Rogers, and it's safe to say that he's so happy he got the chance to learn more about the guy, because he absolutely loves everything about him.

He retracted his hand from the blonde's hair, letting himself stretch and release a sigh of content as his joints popped and cracked in a way that soothed him. He lifted Steve's head off his lap, gently placing it onto the couch. He walked as quietly as he could towards the door to his lab, the kitchen his only destination he had in mind right now. He needed some coffee in his system as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stifled a yawn. He was emotionally drained from staying up all night and watching over Steve, the soldier wanting the genius to stay close to him. He was debating on sleep at the time, but decided against it just to make sure that he was awake incase Steve had a nightmare and needed him. So far he slept peacefully through the night, the genius making blueprints towards his latest Iron Man suit as he watched over his lover.

The elevator dinged and he made his way towards the kitchen, the smell of bacon wafted through the air under his nose as he got closer.

"Alright, who's cooking?" Tony announced his presence in the form of a question upon his arrival. He looked over at the stove and saw Natasha, a plate full of eggs and pancakes, accompanied by a small glass of orange juice resting next to her as she busied herself with cooking the bacon in the pan. Behind her were Bruce, Wanda and Clint, their plates mirroring the one next to her, but they were already digging into their food.

"Well, hello there chef Romanoff. What's on the menu today?" Her head snapped to look at him and he saw her lips curve upwards into a smile.

"Good morning to you, too, Stark. Just decided to cook everybody some breakfast." She replied. She turned off the stove and placed the bacon onto the plate, nestling up next to the eggs. She grabbed the plate and the glass of orange juice and held them out for him to take. "I was going to have JARVIS tell you that I made you breakfast, but since you're already here, might as well join the rest of us." He smiled and took the plate and glass from her, making his way over to the table and sitting down at the end of the table next to Bruce, who smiled at him as he sat down.

"It's nice to see you finally joining us for breakfast, Stark. Usually you're down in that lab of yours doing who knows what." Clint joked. Tony chuckled lightly, sipping his orange juice and giving a content sigh at how refreshing it tasted.

"You're right birdbrain, but I stayed up all night with Capsicle. It was a rough night for the guy." Tony admitted, stabbing his eggs with his fork and bringing them to his mouth. Wanda hummed in response, a small nod of her head for confirmation. The chair next to Clint was soon occupied by Natasha, who only had a cup of coffee to accompany her.

"Poor Steve." Natasha says before taking a sip of her freshly made coffee. Tony hums in response, not really wanting to say much more about the subject. In fact, what could he say? Sure he could talk about how things have been rough for the super soldier, or how traumatized he really is. The more he thought about it, the more his appetite seemed to disappear as he let out a heavy sigh and dropped his fork on his plate.

"Something on your mind, Stark?" Clint asked.

"You could say that." He replied.

"Do you wanna tell us about it?" Bruce chimed in. He stared at his plate for a few seconds before turning his gaze onto his teammates, who looked at him and waited patiently for his answer. He didn't exactly know where to start; there were a lot of things to say really, but trying to create a sentence was proving to be a difficult task. Should he start off with what happened in the lab, or should he try to express how annoyed, frustrated, and perturbed he truly felt. Should he talk about how fucked his relationship is now, and how downright unfair it was? Should he not mention those things at all, and just label it off as nothing? He could feel a wave of word vomit scratching at his throat, climbing its way out, and before he knew it, that's when all the words just came pouring out.

"I fucking hate how everything turned out to be. Why did it have to be Steve? Why couldn't it have been me?" Nobody said anything, they just looked at him with sad smiles on their faces. They understand where he was coming from; without any hesitation they would have taken his place in a heartbeat, even Wanda, who was the part of the cause as to why Steve is the way he is. "I can't touch him, if I try to he flinches from me. If I try to come anywhere near him he whimpers and flinches, he thinks I told him that if he loves me he should kill himself for me; which, by the way he almost did. How do I handle that? I mean, he came down to the lab and we've made some progress, but things are never going to be the same for Steve and I, hell, things are never going to be the same for Steve. I just wanna bubble wrap him and protect him, but that's a horrible idea."

"Tony," he heard Clint call his name softly, the archer's sad eyes looking straight into his, "I know you don't want to hear this, or maybe you do want to hear it and it's hard to believe, but really I don't think Steve needs protection. I think he just needs you to be there for him." Tony couldn't stop the urge to roll his eyes, which in return, caused Clint to chuckle softly in response. "Told you weren't didn't wanna hear it."

"It's not that I don't wanna hear it," he sighed loudly, "it's just I don't want to hurt Steve. I don't want to force anything onto him. That's not what our relationship is based on; it's based on communication, trust, love, and I want him to remember that I share these things with him. I want to earn Steve's trust so that I can be there for him. I don't want to do anything he isn't comfortable with, because that's not love."

"Who knew the great Tony Stark was capable of falling in love." Natasha joked. Tony rolled his eyes, but a small smile made its way onto his face.

"Yes, it might be surprising but Tony Stark does indeed have a heart."

"Wow, you learn something new everyday." Bruce said, earning him a playful shove from the genius. It was times like this where Tony appreciated the Avengers, who he happily calls his family. Yes, they were family to him; he doesn't actually know when he considered them that, but it's nice to know that they were always there for each other. Sure they may argue, bicker, have disagreements, but nonetheless, they cared about each other and always helped each other when they needed it. It was touching to see how close they got, and Tony cherishes them all, but they didn't need to know that.

"I think you should tell Steve." Wanda suggested. He raised his eyebrows at her in confusion.

"Tell him.. What, exactly?"

"How you feel. Maybe if you told him how this situation makes you feel, you could also reassure him that you won't push him into anything he is uncomfortable with." Wanda explained. He pondered for a moment. It wasn't a bad idea, really, it was totally logical that if he talked to Steve about this and told him how he felt about everything, then he could reassure him that they would go at his pace, not Tony's.

"You're right," he agreed, nodding his head and getting out of his seat, "I'm going to go and talk to Steve right now." They all smiled at him and said their goodbyes, but before Tony completely disappeared, he turned back around and shouted, "thanks for the wonderful meal, Romanoff!"

The ride back down to his lab was silent, giving him time to brew and fester in his thoughts. He hoped he didn't say anything that would set the soldier off; granted he's said a lot of things that had set Steve off when they didn't like each other, but this is different.

Before he knew it, the elevator dinged, signaling its arrival towards his destination. He stepped inside and everything was just as he left it, all except for the currently awake super soldier on the couch. He smiled at the sight of Steve's messy hair swept in different directions, the only indication that he might have just woken up.

"Morning sleepyhead." He said. Steve stretched and turned his head towards Tony, smiling as the brunette made his way over towards him.

"Morning." He said softly. His smile never faltered even as Tony sat next to him; it's as if yesterday's talk seemed to have calmed down the nervous tics and uncomfortable feelings festered within himself. He elevated his feet onto the armrest of the couch, his back rested against what little of the couch was left as his head lay gently in Tony's lap, his face looking up at him. The genius ran his fingers through Steve's blonde locks once more, a content sigh escaping the soldiers lips. "I missed you."

"I was only gone for a few minutes, babe." The soldier chuckled at his response, shaking his head and continuing to smile, blue eyes staring into brown ones.

"I know that, but I mean I missed you when I was… Ya know." And of course Tony knows what he means, how could he not? He was the one who found Steve practically hanging on to his life by a thread. He won't forget how close he was to losing him, how his head bobbed around as he carried his body. He couldn't, and wouldn't, ever forget that. "I know I'm traumatized, and I'm willing to admit that, but I miss spending moments like this with you. And I'm sorry we can't be as close as we were, I know it must suck."

"Don't," Tony said softly, a sad smile on his face, "don't ever apologize for that. What happened to you was unfair, and I completely understand how you feel. I will and would never do anything like that to you. I love you, Steve. I'm willing to start all over again and take this at your pace. I'm willing to wait as long as I need to until you're comfortable in our relationship, and until you can trust me again."

"Tony, I do trust you." He spoke quietly. The soldier took it upon himself to lean upwards slightly, catching the genius off guard as his lips were captured by the blonde. He could feel Steve's smile widen as he kissed back, a gentle hand placed on his cheek before they broke away. "I know it's going to be hard adjusting to the way I'm acting, but we can get through this, right?"

"Of course. Anything you want and don't want me to do, just tell me and I'll listen. I promise." He watched the soldier nod in agreement, but his eyes weren't focused on him at all. They looked past him and directly up at the ceiling, the smile that was once prominent on his face was now gone, his lips formed in a straight line. A heavy sigh came out of his nose and he sat up, his back facing Tony. "Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry if I did."

"No! No, you didn't say anything wrong it's just… Yesterday was really hard for me, but you're treating me like everything is fine. I don't know if I should say thank you, or be worried. It's all confusing." He admitted. He wasn't planning on telling Tony how he felt, but it was hard to resist. There was this nagging feeling in the back of his mind, screaming at him to voice his thoughts, but he wanted to ignore it. He wanted to ignore how uncomfortable he was that everything seemed normal, even though it isn't.

"What do you mean?" Another sigh escaped through Steve's mouth this time. He ran a hand through his hair, turning around to face the genius.

"It took a lot of courage for me to come down here, and I still feel uncertain as to whether I made the right choice or not. Some people would want space after they think their other half told them to kill themselves out of love, but…" He trailed off, lost in his thoughts as he tried to grasp for the right words to say without upsetting Tony. "What I'm trying to say, is that I'm ok with you putting boundaries on our relationship to not set me off, but at the same time I want you to cross those boundaries and just love me."

It was very confusing for Tony, to say the least. He was confused as to why Steve might think that he's not loving him. He's told the man he loves him, has come to grips that he finally loves someone after the whole Pepper fiasco, and he's even showing it. But why would Steve think anything different?

"Tony," he heard Steve call his name, breaking him out of his thoughts so he could look into the soldiers eyes as he spoke, "I know how much you love me. You've shown me, and even expressed how much you love me, but I know you're trying to sacrifice things for my happiness. And I don't want that. Just look at how close we're sitting right now." He averted his eyes to look at their positions. He noticed how close they were, how close Steve was to him. Their knees were practically touching each other, their bodies within close proximity, and if he moved his hand just a little bit, he could hold Steve's hand.

"I'm not going to lie to you and say that I'm not uncomfortable, but I can't let what happened to me control me. I won't let what happened to me control my love for you." He could see a small fire of determination come to life in Steve's eyes as he spoke. "I want you to touch me, I want you to hold my hand, I want you to run your hand up and down my thigh and make me shiver, I want you to kiss my neck and whisper sweet things in my ear, I want all of that Tony. I know it sounds crazy, and I'm traumatized, but all I see is you. All I see is my Tony, the man I love."

His breath hitched and was caught in his throat, his vision blurred as tears started to form. He quickly wiped them away with the back of his hand, not wanting to cry in front of Steve. The soldier only giggled and reached out to grab Tony's hand, kissing his palm before entwining their fingers, and then kissing the back of his hand.

"I love you so much, honey. I want you to make love to me, please?" He was at a loss for words, something unusual for the brunette. What could he possibly say in this moment, there was just an empty space where a sentence should be forming inside of his head.

"What if I hurt you? What if you get uncomfortable?" Tony spoke softly.

"You won't hurt me, you promised. Only you know how to touch me the way I like, and I promise I won't get uncomfortable. I trust you, so please make everything better." Tony nodded his head and got up off the couch, pulling Steve with him. They walked hand in hand towards the elevator, the sound of Tony's racing heart the only sound in his ears. Could Steve hear it too? No, if he did he would probably have said something by now, but he was still nervous about this.

They stepped in the elevator, and the brunette pushed the button to his floor. He felt his hand being squeezed by the soldier next to him. When he turned his head, he already saw Steve smiling at him, so he reciprocated the action, and in a soft voice, just barely above a whisper he asked, "can I kiss you?"

"You can do whatever you want, honey. I'm all yours." Tony's smile widened and he slowly leaned in. He placed his lips gently against Steve's, moving his body so that he was in front of the soldier and had his back pressed up against the elevator walls. The kiss started slow, hands roaming until Steve's found their place on Tony's hips, and Tony's found their place around his neck. Things started to heat up a bit, small, soft moans emitted in the elevator, Tony's hands running through Steve's hair, his teeth biting his bottom lip, and his tongue swiping across the same spot, asking for entrance. The soldier obliged, mouth opening and letting Tony's tongue dance with his, allowing the shorter male to dominate the kiss. They could feel a tent in both of their pants, excitement coursing through them. Steve pulled back from the kiss and threw his head back, letting out a groan as Tony grinded their clothed erections together.

"Oh God, Tony do that again, please!" Steve begged, his breathing ragged and his voice needy. The genius smirked.

"Do what? You mean this?" Another sound of pleasure escaped past his lips as the genius grinded against him more, his hips slowly thrusting forward against him. Steve pulled him close, leaning his head to the side as Tony started to bite and lick his neck while he rutted against him. They barely registered the elevator ding that signaled their arrival onto Tony's floor, their mouths detaching from one another so Tony could quickly lead them to his room.

Once the door opened and closed, Tony wasted no time in stripping himself and Steve of their shirts, pushing Steve back onto the bed and climbing on top of him. He went straight for his neck, letting his teeth rack over the flesh, creating hickeys that would disappear by morning. He licked downwards, tongue trailing down from his neck to his defined chest, altering its path to the left, licking over his hard nipple. The soldier arched his back in response, and Tony smirked.

"Someone really likes that, huh?" He saw Steve nod, and it widened his smirk. "Well what if I did this?" He let his tongue lick the hard nub once more, but his right hand tweaked his other one, causing the soldier to arch once more, his erection grinding against Tony's again. It drived Tony crazy the way Steve always lost self control because of him. He remembers how when they first started intimately touching each other, how hard it was for Steve to not fuck Tony right then and there, the way he growled and shivered, the way he pushed Tony up against the wall every time they kissed, the way Steve took control. Now the roles were reversed, and Tony was the one in control this time. He switched over to licking Steve's right nipple, tongue flicking against the hard nub and his fingers pinched and tweaked the other.

"Tony," he heard Steve groan his name, causing him to stop what he was doing and look up, "I wanna… Can I… Can I blow you?" He bit his lip to suppress a moan as his cock twitched in his pants. Any normal person wouldn't have asked, but Steve wasn't a normal person. Well, he was normal, but he was kind and considerate in bed before he became a little more rough, but his touches were still full of love and care. Tony nodded his head and rolled off of the soldier, letting his back rest against his bed as Steve moved on top of him. He watched in awe as inexperienced fingers fumbled with his belt and started pulling down his pants, his breath hitching as his erection was released from his boxers shortly after. He reached out and ran his hand through Steve's hair, biting his lip when the blonde wrapped his hand around his shaft and slowly stroked up and down. He let out a hearty moan once he felt the wet sensation of Steve's tongue around his tip, his cock entering the soldier's mouth.

"Holy fuck, Steve," he groaned, lost in pure ecstasy due to Steve's mouth. Steve held down Tony's hips so he wouldn't buck as he went down on him, hallowing his cheeks on the way down, sucking hard enough to draw out loud moans from the genius. Tony arched his back off the bed, letting pleasure take control of his body as Steve's surprisingly experienced mouth drew him closer and closer to the edge. He admits that the guy is a great kisser, despite only having kissed one person, but the fact that he was here, right between Tony's legs, sucking him off expertly as if he's done this before shocked him. "S-Steve wait." He managed to say. The pressure on his cock subsided, and a pop could be heard. He looked up, and the sight in front of him made him both blush, and turn him on more.

Steve's eyes were glazed, darkened by lust. A string of saliva connected from the tip of his dick to Steve's lip, and he could vaguely feel his hot breath against his member. It sent shivers down his spine, and made him throb more. Steve smiled and licked his lips, his eyes staring into Tony's.

"See something you like?" Steve asked. Tony nodded his head slowly, watching the way Steve stood up off the bed, his fingers dipping into his pants and pulling them down. His boxers soon followed, and he was mesmerized by the sight of Steve naked in front of him. As Steve laid down next to Tony, the genius crawled on top of him, littering his body with kisses on the way down.

He grabbed the back of Steve's knees and held them up, lowering his face towards Steve's entrance. He released one of his legs, bringing his hand closer towards his entrance and teasing him with his index finger. He could visibly see the soldier stiffen, making him look up.

"Sorry, we don't have to do this if you don't want to." He said, placing a chaste kiss on Steve's thigh.

"No, no I wanna do this it's just… Different, being on this side." It was cute how Steve blushed when he spoke about being the bottom, it made Tony smile and kiss his thigh again. "I-I"m ready when you are." He nodded his head and casted his gaze downwards again, rubbing his finger against Steve's tight entrance. He leaned in closer, retracting his finger, his hot breath making Steve shiver in response. "Tony, what are you… Oh! Ooh!" He moaned when he felt something wet enter him. Tony's tongue worked wonders inside, licking his walls and lapping against his hole, making the soldier a moaning mess. He pulled back shortly after giving Steve a rim job, his body leaning over him and pulling back a drawer he knew contained his bottle of lube. He popped the cap and squirted a small amount in his hand, coating himself first before placing a wet finger back at Steve's hole.

"This might feel uncomfortable." He warned. He slowly pushed his index finger inside, causing Steve to arch his back and clench around him. His toes curled and his head was thrown back, his cock twitching in response.

"Oh, fuck, Tony!" He moaned. He reached down and wrapped a hand around himself, but it was swatted away by the genius. He whimpered and looked up, noticing the smirk plastered on Tony's face.

"Be patient, my dear Captain." He moved his finger slowly at first, enjoying the way Steve's face contorted out of pleasure, the way he bit his lip to suppress his moans, and the way his cock twitched in response to his ministrations. A second finger was added, and then a third, he could feel how Steve's hole was stretching to accommodate his fingers, and he absolutely adored how Steve swore and begged him for more. It turned him on how Steve reacted to what he was doing, and it only increased his urges to want to just take the Captain right then and there. He took out his fingers, listening to Steve whimper at the loss before he pressed his tip against his hole, rubbing it up and down ever so slowly to tease not only the blonde, but himself as well.

"Please." Steve whispered.

"Please what? Tell me what you want." Tony teased, his tip sliding inside just a little bit before sliding right back out.

"Please fuck me, Tony!" He chuckled softly, repositioning himself to get as comfortable as possible before he slowly, ever so agonizing slowly pushed himself inside of Steve. He groaned and bit his lip at how tight he was, how his walls were clenching and constructing his cock as he entered. He stilled as he buried himself all the way in, but Steve already started moving just a few seconds after, signaling that he wanted Tony to move. He obliged, pulling out slowly before pushing in once more, using every bit of self control to not snap his hips hard against Steve and risk hurting him.

"Harder!" Steve begged. The brunette let out a shaky breath as he heard the soldier beg for him to increase the intensity of his thrusts. He moved closer, body flush against the soldiers, holding his hips and his thrusts got harder, his balls slapping against Steve's ass. He watched Steve reach down and grab himself, jerking himself off in time with Tony's thrust, and it excited him more. His pace quickened and so did the speed of Steve's hand, the blonde a moaning mess under him. Suddenly, his back arched and he wrapped his legs around Tony's waist, squeezing just hard enough that bruises might be left on him, but he didn't care. Tony smiled wide as he hit Steve's prostate.

"Tony, I-I'm gonna-", Steve started, but it was reduced to nothing but a groan against Tony's lips when the genius leaned down to kiss him. He wrapped his unoccupied arm around Tony's neck, deepening the kiss as pleasure pooled around his stomach, his balls tightening, the burning ache of release swirling rapidly as he was pushed closer to the edge. With one last thrust, Tony moaned against Steve's lip, burying himself inside the blonde, filling him up with his warm, thick seed, Steve following shortly after as he came over both of their stomachs. They pulled apart, Tony's head resting against Steve's shoulder, both participants panting as they came down from their high.

Tony pulled himself out of Steve, the soldier whimpering at the loss as Tony stood up and went to the bathroom. Steve listened to the sound of running water from a faucet before Tony came back with a damp washcloth. He sat down at the edge of the bed, pressing the cloth to Steve's stomach, cleaning him up first before attending to himself. He walked back into the bathroom and washed the cloth once more, letting it sit on the edge of the counter once he was done. He made his way back to his lover, Steve snuggling up close to his side, his head rested close to his arc reactor.

"I love you, Anthony Edward Stark." Steve whispered, eyes falling shut. Tony smiled and placed a soft kiss on Steve's head, wrapping his arm around him and holding him close.

"I love you, too, Steven Grant Rogers." Tony placed one last kiss on Steve's head before he, too, closed his eyes and fell asleep next to the love of his life.