Tony was stubborn. He knew it. Everyone knew it. It had gotten to the point that most people hand-waved his antics away and just let him do whatever he wanted. That was very helpful in situations like these. And that was the reason he had a line to Steve's location within a week of him leaving.

Tony wasn't about to let Steve get lost in the chaos of random Shield missions. Even if Steve had been a fully formed adult from day one, everyone needed someone to look after them a bit. He still needed Pepper to remind him to eat actual food and sleep actual sleep occasionally. This was basically common courtesy.

It wasn't that hard to figure out which Shield building Steve was working out of at any given time. The problem was that they just kept moving him around. They must not have been letting the man rest, because he was never in the same place for more than one night. Super soldier or not, that would catch up to a person. Shield was going to break their new toy if they weren't careful. So Tony had to do something to give himself a bit of an in.

Tony was sitting in his lab, thinking about blowing something up, when his phone rang. A phone call was never a good thing these days, so it immediately set him on edge. Pepper usually dealt with all the SI calls, then relayed the info to him another way. And when she did call, she had her own ringtone. This was a basic bell.

"Jarvis, who is calling me?" Tony asked, staring at his cell like it was going to explode.

"The call is coming from a secure line. Most likely from Shield," Jarvis replied. Tony snatched up the phone, answering it without waiting. If this ended up being a random agent, he was going to be pissed.

"Hello?" Tony greeted casually, leaning back in forced relaxation even though no one could see him.

"Tony, what the hell?" Steve's voice sighed on the other end. Tony let out a relieved breath.

"Hey Steve, what's up?" Tony asked, smirking as he crossed his legs and propped them on his table. "Did you like my gift?"

"I broke it with my shield."

"What! It was a top of the line drawing tablet that I souped up to be untraceable and have a battery life of a month on a single charge. Why did you go all Rambo on it?" Tony spluttered. See him try to do something nice again.

"It was a random electronic device left on my bed when I came back from a mission. I just reacted," Steve defended. "I didn't know it was from you until I saw part of your company logo on one of the pieces."

"Damn, Rogers. A little jumpy, are we?" Tony scoffed. He hoped Shield's security was better than that, although he'd found ways around it.

"I just got back from a mission where a ton of things that looked like that were blowing up all around me. I wasn't going to take any chances," Steve sighed, and Tony could hear how tired he sounded through the phone. He felt bad that he had probably dug into Steve's extremely limited downtime. "I'm sorry."

"Wait, why are you sorry?" Tony asked in bewilderment. He was about to apologize himself.

"You gave me something nice and I broke it. What did you say it was again?"

"A drawing tablet. It's a way to sketch digitally, instead of having to carry around a bunch of pencils and paper. I know it's not the same, but it's a nice alternative when you're moving around a lot. And no need to apologize. I should've given you a heads-up."

"How did you know I was moving around a lot? And how did you know where to send this?" Steve asked. Tony didn't respond, but that was answer enough. "Tony."

"I just wanted to check up on you, you know? And this doesn't have anything to do with-"

"Tony!" Steve hissed, cutting off his words. Tony wasn't going to actually say age, at least not using that term.

"Whatever. I just wanted you to know there was someone who gave a damn about where you were and what you were doing." That sounded way too mushy. What was happening to him? He needed to say something snappy to keep up his street cred.

"Oh. Thank you," Steve said softly, ruining whatever Tony could come up with. "You really don't have to, but thanks."

"I don't do anything I don't want to do. You know that," Tony huffed.

"Right. Well, I can pay you back for this tablet when I get back, although it might be a while," Steve offered.

"Nah, it's fine. I expensed it to the company," Tony waved off.

"It sounds really nice. I wish I'd gotten a chance to use it."

"I can have another one sent out tomorrow."

"You really don't need to do that. I probably wouldn't have been able to figure the thing out anyway."

"Sure you could have. You're a secret genius, remember?" Tony teased. "Besides, I pretty much only sent the thing for selfish reasons. If you draw on that, you can send me the pictures."

"Really?" Steve scoffed.

"You still owe me a drawing of my tower. I gotta make sure your skills stay on par."

"Of course," Steve chuckled. "Well, I've got to go. We're wheels up in twenty."

"Oh. Right, yeah. Um, stay safe, I guess? And don't let them work you too hard," Tony stammered, not wanting the call to end. The guilt of Steve dealing with all of this alone was gnawing at him.

"I'll be fine," Steve assured him. "And thanks again for… thanks."

"Anytime, Rogers. And I mean that. If you want to call or anything, don't worry about the time zones."

"New York is a long way from Tunisia, I guess," Steve murmured, and Tony couldn't keep the grin from his face. Had Steve willingly told Tony where he was headed?

"Well, I look forward to receiving your call."

"See ya, Stark."

"Later, Rogers," Tony replied, waiting on the line until Steve hung up. That went a lot better than he'd anticipated, especially with how they left things off in Steve's old apartment. Maybe there was hope that they could develop some sort of friendship. But Tony could worry about that later. He had another tablet to set up.

"Hello?"

"I don't even know how to turn this on," Steve grumbled. Tony perked up from where he'd been lounging in bed, avoiding getting up for the day.

"Well, that doesn't sound right. Not for a handsome guy like you," Tony teased.

"Tony," Steve whined, sounding more like a kid than ever.

"Hold down the button on the side for a few seconds. The screen should come on," Tony instructed, taking pity on him. He didn't want to annoy Steve too much and make him hang up. "Then take the stylus on the side and use that to click buttons and draw."

"The what? And what buttons?"

"It's the little stick attached to the side. That's your pencil. And the buttons are digital," Tony explained. Was this what it was like teaching your kid things as they grew up? Not that he was raising Steve or anything.

"This is too complicated. I don't think I can deal with this right now," Steve sighed. Tony could hear him setting everything down and moving away from it.

"Everything okay?" Tony asked, feeling a nagging twinge in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't like Steve to give up on something so quickly.

"Yeah, just a bit of a headache. No big deal."

"I didn't think you could get headaches. Isn't the serum supposed to take care of that sort of stuff?"

"The serum is why it's only a headache," Steve chuckled.

"What the hell does that mean? What happened?" Tony demanded.

"It was nothing. I just got hit in the head a little bit is all."

"How little is a little bit? If it happened to me, would I be in the hospital or the morgue?"

"Well, it wasn't you, so it doesn't matter. I'm fine," Steve brushed off.

"Are they at least giving you some time off to recover? Because you can stay at the tower if you want. I have plenty of room," Tony offered. Although if he got Steve back in the tower, he wasn't sure he'd let him back out.

"Thank you, but that's unnecessary. There's nothing for me to recover from."

"And let me guess, they have you going out on another mission tomorrow?" Tony hissed.

"Tonight, actually," Steve murmured.

"Steve!"

"Tony, it's fine."

"It's not fine!" Tony argued. "None of this is fine."

"Tony, I can't- I gotta go."

"Wait-"

"Sorry," Steve whispered, before the call disconnected. Tony resisted the urge to throw the phone across the room. Now Steve definitely wouldn't be honest about how he was doing, if he even called at all anymore. Even though Tony was well-intentioned, it was still too pushy in Steve's opinion. Tony couldn't blame Steve for bristling, since all this kind of came out of nowhere. But Tony was used to being impulsive and passionate, so it wasn't out of the ordinary for him to jump into things with reckless abandon. He just hoped Steve gave him another chance.

"Hey Tony."

"Hey Steve," Tony replied. It had been a week since Steve had called and Tony had almost given up hope. He was still surreptitiously tracking where Steve was being sent, but it wasn't as good as actually hearing his voice and knowing that he was okay.

"I'm sorry about the other day. I know you were just worried about me and I do appreciate it, but-"

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed," Tony interrupted. He was the one at fault here.

"I understand. I just can't hear it right now. It's difficult as it is, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it," Tony mumbled. If Tony started questioning things, Steve might have to as well. And he might not like the answers he gets.

"I think I figured out the tablet though," Steve said quietly.

"See, I knew you had it in you," Tony replied, accepting the segue for what it was. Steve was still willing to talk, just not about what he was doing for Shield. Tony could accept that. For now, at least. "What did you draw?"

"I saw this old barn on the side of the road the other day. It was pretty nice, before it blew up," Steve mumbled.

"I bet," Tony chuckled.

"I wasn't sure how to send it to you. If you even want to see it, that is. It's fine if you don't," Steve said quickly.

"Of course I do," Tony insisted. He was going to take whatever Steve was willing to give at this point. He talked him through the steps to send the pictures, which Steve figured out easily enough. About a minute later, Tony received a copy of Steve's drawing. "Wow, that's amazing."

"Really? I'm still getting used to all the different features on this thing. Paper is so much easier."

"This looks like you've been doing it for years. Pretty impressive, Rogers," Tony praised. There was just as much detail and passion put into this drawing as he did the others. At least he wasn't losing that spark in all the chaos.

"I don't know about all that, but thank you."

"I do, I'm a genius."

"And what has a genius been up to these days?" Steve asked, sounding a bit amused.

"Oh, you know, a little of this, a little of that. Signed a few billion dollar contracts, brought renewable energy to third world countries. Nothing interesting," Tony joked, flicking at a wire sitting on the desk in front of him.

"Sounds boring," Steve snorted.

"Just another Tuesday," Tony sighed. They chatted casually like that for what felt like no time at all, but in reality hours passed. It was just so easy that neither of them noticed. At least until Steve started yawning at the end of every sentence.

"The dinner wasn't too bad, but I'd love a hot dog right now," Steve mumbled, followed by another yawn.

"Think it's time to get some rest?" Tony suggested, even though he didn't really want the call to end. But he also wanted Steve to be able to sleep when he could.

"Probably. It is kind of late. Or early. I'm not sure," Steve replied, yawning again.

"Well, get some sleep. I'll be here the next time you're free," Tony assured him.

"'Kay. See ya, Stark."

"Later, Rogers."

"Is this a text message?"

Tony read the display on his phone with a smile on his face. Look at Steve, finally joining the 21st century.

"Yes, it is. Exploring the other features of your tablet, I see."

"I couldn't get a phone today. I think there is something going on with the signal out here. At least that's what they told me."

"Not a problem for my tablet, of course. Shield should hire me to revamp their systems. I doubt they can afford me though."

"Not everything has to be about money. You could help out of the goodness of your heart."

"True, but nah. Lol."

"Lol?"

"Avoid the text-speak. Got it."

"Pardon?"

"Don't worry about it. Got any new drawings for me?"

"Not yet, but I'm working on one right now. Just can't get the shading right."

"I'm sure it'll turn out great."

"That's strangely optimistic for you."

"No, I just know your work is that good."

Tony saw the typing bubble appear and disappear a few times without getting a message back. He made a note in his mind to compliment Steve more often.

"How are things back home? I mean, in New York."

"Boring, as usual."

"Boring sounds nice."

Tony wanted to type back that Steve could be at home in New York and bored out of his mind if he wanted to be, but he chose the opposite. That wouldn't be helpful though.

"Well, when you finally get a few days off, you won't have a chance to be bored. I'm going to reintroduce you to the city."

"Oh really?"

"Yep. I'll take you places you didn't even know existed."

"Sounds kind of overwhelming."

"You can handle it. I'll teach you how to have a good time, even if it kills me."

"And I can teach you about the places I've seen. I'm not usually afraid of spiders, but the ones in Australia do give me pause."

"Australia is like a whole different planet when it comes to the creepy-crawlies. I can send you some industrial bug spray if you'd like?"

"No need. I'm not there anymore."

Tony already knew that, of course, but Steve didn't need to know how closely he was being monitored. He just wanted to keep track, in case Steve really did get a chance to leave. No use wasting time on figuring out flights.

"Well, if you go back, just drop a line."

"Unfortunately the trend right now seems to be keeping me in colder parts of the world. Penguins are cute, but I'd rather see them in a zoo."

"New York is in the middle of a heat wave right now, but Jarvis has the tower nice and cool."

"Bragging is unnecessary."

"But it's so much fun."

"Clearly. Well, I've got to go. Video conference with the higher ups."

"Is Fury giving you crap? I can track him down and give him a piece of my mind."

"No, it's not Fury. Thanks for the offer though. I'm sure that would endear you to him even further."

"He loves me, he just doesn't want to admit it."

"Of course. Talk to you soon."

"You better."

"See ya, Stark."

"Later, Rogers."

"You're sending me pictures now?"

"I know they aren't as beautiful as yours, but not all of us have your artistic eye," Tony snorted, setting the phone on speaker as he tinkered with a gauntlet.

"Do you really need a new Iron Man suit? What was wrong with the last one?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, but there is always room for improvement."

"I guess," Steve murmured.

"You good?" Tony asked, picking up on how tired Steve sounded. They mostly chatted over text these days, but when they spoke on the phone, he was hyper-focused on the tone of Steve's voice. Even if he wouldn't admit how he was feeling, his voice always gave him away.

"Yeah, it's just been a long day," Steve sighed.

"More like month," Tony muttered.

"Has it really been that long?"

"That it has," Tony confirmed.

"All the days are blending together. Talking to you is the only thing that breaks it up."

"Steve, I know you don't-"

"Could you just talk to me?" Steve asked quietly.

"About what?"

"Anything to fill the silence."

"You got it," Tony agreed. He wished he could do more.

"I might fall asleep."

"That's fine. I'll keep talking until you do."

"Thanks," Steve whispered. Tony talked about things going on with Stark Industries and general stuff at the tower. He pointedly kept away from the topic of Steve, since now wasn't the time to confront him about how he obviously wasn't doing well. That could wait until Steve was fully awake, but it was going to have to be sooner, rather than later. Steve couldn't keep going on like this. Even super soldiers crashed after a while.

"And that's why we don't use that brand of toilet paper in the tower anymore," Tony said with a light chuckle. The usual hum of acknowledgment from Steve didn't come. "Steve?" Tony could just barely hear the sounds of deep, even breaths coming through the other end of the phone. He wished he could reach through the phone and snatch Steve back into the tower with him. But he hadn't invented that yet, so all he could do for now was hang up and wait for the next call. Tony really hated this.

"Later, Rogers."

"Hey."

"Hey. Thought you were gonna call."

"Sorry."

"Everything okay?

"Yeah."

"Are you sure? I was looking forward to your next picture, but it never came. I've gotten spoiled."

"Sorry."

"No biggie. I'm sure you're just taking your time on it so it will be perfect."

"Yeah."

"Not very talkative today, are we? I'll try not to take offense."

"Sorry."

"Is that all you can say?"

"Sorry."

"Steve."

Tony was not about to freak out, because that wasn't the sort of thing he did. Maybe Steve just wasn't in the mood to talk today. They had exchanged at least a few texts every day since they started and occasionally it was just Steve saying that he was busy. That was probably all this was. But Tony's gut was screaming at him and it was rarely wrong.

"Steve?"

He didn't get an answer.

"Still no picture? The withdrawals are too much."

"I'm having to get my texting fix from Pepper. She's not a fan."

"Thinking about coloring my hair to match yours. You better stop me before we start twinning."

"Seriously Rogers, give me something."

"Let me know you're okay."

Tony was climbing the walls. It had been three days since his last conversation with Steve. Three of the longest days of his life. He was about to march down to Shield and demand some answers, no matter who he had to scream at.

For some reason, his earlier tracking methods weren't working anymore. It was like Steve had gotten on a plane and disappeared. And Tony really didn't want to think about that happening. Not again.

He should've done something sooner. Tony should've forced Steve to say no to Shield and come home. Even if he had to threaten to reveal his secret. Even if Steve never forgave him. At least Tony would know where he was and that he was safe.

Being the only person who knew the truth about Steve placed an immense burden on his shoulders. They both could claim that it changed nothing, but that just wasn't the case. It changed things in ways that Tony couldn't really explain. He just knew that he needed to make sure Steve was okay.

Tony was about to start coming up with a plan for what to do when his phone rang. He darted over to it, snatching it up before it even got to the second ring. If this was Steve, he was going to scream at him for a few minutes, before demanding his location and flying out in a suit. There were no other alternatives.

"Rogers, you better not have given me any gray hairs."

"Stark." Tony felt his stomach drop to the floor. This wasn't Steve.

"How bad is it?" Tony whispered, feeling his heart rate pick up every passing second.

"I'm sending the location to your phone," Fury replied, before hanging up. Tony didn't wait, running to the elevator to get to his suit. If Fury was calling him, it was bad. Was Steve even alive? Had Tony been sitting in the comfort of his tower while Steve lost his life? If by some miracle Steve was okay, this little deal he had going with Shield was over. Tony was going to bring Steve home.