Omg everyone, I am terribly sorry for the long wait. But you know school and finals and other things happened so I was pretty busy. Hope you enjoy!

Dinner that night was unbearably painful. As the night went on, it just got worse for Steve. Tony would joke and laugh with the other Avengers while Steve sat somberly to the side, looking down at his plate of food without an appetite.

He felt Bruce giving him concerned looks, and Natasha was carefully scrutinizing him. He ignored them and kept his head down, continuing to stare intently at his food as he sullenly moved it around on his plate. Finally, it was Thor who decided to speak up.

"What is troubling you Friend Steve? You seem terribly unhappy." Thor asked in that genuine and open way of his, getting right to the point and not wondering if Steve wanted to talk about it or not.

Steve made sure to keep his face expressionless as he looked up from his plate of food, shrugging lackadaisically. "I'm fine. I'm just… not hungry." Steve answered, and then immediately wished he had thought of something more believable because now all of the Avengers were looking at him with dubious expressions. His friends knew that because of the serum, Steve's metabolism was extremely fast and he was hungry nearly all the time.

"I mean, I'm not really feeling that great right now…" Steve added, trying to amend what he previously said. "I have a headache and—"He stopped his phony excuses mid sentence when Natasha abruptly cut him off.

"Seriously Steve, what's going on with you? You've been moping around ever since Clint got hurt, don't think I wouldn't notice."

"It's nothing, really." Steve said, trying to ignore Natasha's probing eyes that seemed to be gathering data and observations about him. Suddenly he felt a hint of claustrophobia, and the room suddenly seemed too small a space to hold the heavy weight of his teammates' analytical stares. He stood up to leave and grabbed his jacket, murmuring something about seeing them later back at the tower.

The room went silent as Steve whisked out, and the last thing he heard was a sarcastic comment from Tony about Steve being a stick in the mud and no fun at team gatherings.

It began to rain as Steve walked through the parking lot to his motorcycle, and he miserably lifted his jacket over his head to shield himself from the droplets. He had a million thoughts swirling around in his mind, and almost all of them had something to do with Tony or a feeling of guilt. He didn't need Tony. It was the best for the team and for Steve to just forget about the crush he had on Tony and move on. He didn't need Tony Stark.

He repeated this little mantra over and over again in his mind until he thought he had convinced himself. What he had forgotten was that convincing the mind was one thing, but convincing the heart was another matter entirely.

xxx

The next day Steve had fully planned on getting up early and going for a morning run without any distractions. However, a certain teammate wasn't having any of that.

"Is your headache gone? Are you feeling better now?" Natasha was leaning against the counter looking shrewdly at him, sounding sardonic and not at all actually concerned.

It took everything in Steve not to blanch and stutter a lame response. He took a moment to compose himself of the unexpected appearance of Natasha at this ungodly time in the morning, and then evenly replied.

"Yes, why I do feel quite better now. I took some medicine last night, and I think that helped."

"Mmm." Natasha responded, looking at him with suspicion. She looked like she was going to add some sort of interrogation tactic to get more information out of him, but then settled for reminding him that he could always talk to them about anything he had on his mind. Steve was about retort that everything was fine and nothing was bothering him, but Natasha had already brushed past him and out of the kitchen.

"Enjoy your run," she said curtly before turning the corner and disappearing from sight.

Steve mused over her words as he walked out of the tower and began jogging towards Central Park. He wondered if maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to confess how he was feeling to someone and get some of the guilt off his chest. He imagined how the conversation would go, but knew he wouldn't be able to follow through because it sounded so pathetic, even in his own mind.

Captain America getting distracted in a battle because of wanting to protect his crush, who, incidentally, was completely and utterly able to take care of himself. It was downright embarrassing for Steve. He was literally created to be the perfect soldier, and that was the reason he was on the Avengers in the first place. How could he be a perfect soldier or the leader of Earth's Mightiest Heroes if he couldn't even stay focused during a simple battle?

Steve knew that his subconscious was partly to blame on his instinct to help Tony, more than just his plain infatuation for the man. Steve thought that if he could save Tony's life then maybe Tony would actually appreciate him. He knew it was stupid, but he couldn't seem to let go of that small strand of hope. Steve hated how vulnerable and servile Tony made him. This is why Steve had made it his goal to avoid Tony and let this infatuation for the man pass. Steve thought himself to be a pretty dedicated guy, and when he made a goal, he stuck with it.

xxx

When Steve returned to the tower, he was welcomed by the sight of Tony, Thor, and Clint playing Mario Kart, with Bruce and Natasha quietly watching. Clint and Tony seemed to be neck and neck for first and second, while Thor was attempting to figure out the buttons and seemed to be in last place.

"You freaking idiot, you hit me with a green shell! How come my green shells never go where I want them to?" Clint exclaimed, shoving Tony with one arm while his eyes remained fixed on the screen.

Tony grinned as he crossed the finish line in first place. "Darling, it's all about aim and finesse, which I know aren't your strong suits."

The archer glared at him as he finished second, letting out an irritated retort, "Yeah? Well let me get my bow and arrow and see if I can't hit a well-aimed shot to your—"

"Hey Steve, welcome back," Bruce interrupted quickly before Clint could finish his sentence. The three players whirled around to look at him, and the previous tension seemed to ease.

"Hey Gramps, you wanna play?" Tony asked jovially, his warm brown eyes mesmerizing Steve and causing butterflies in his stomach.

"Uh— no. No thanks, I'm good." Steve forced out, trying to stop his stomach from doing loop-de-loops.

"Oh come on, at least play one round. The whole team is here!" Clint added coaxingly, wiggling the extra controller.

Seeing no other option, Steve grudgingly agreed. "Fine, I guess. I'm kind of sweaty from my run though…" he tried one last excuse for means of escape, but his teammates weren't having any of that.

"As if we haven't been subjected to your sweat before, for God's sake, we live with you! Now get over here," Tony said bossily, rolling his eyes. Steve walked towards them and caught the controller that Clint tossed up to him, and then deliberately sat on the other side of Thor, farthest away from Tony as possible.

Luckily, Steve already knew the rules and how to play, because he had joined Clint and Tony a few times before. They ended up playing multiple rounds, and by the 6th or 7th race, Natasha and Bruce left. Clint or Tony won every time, and Steve, though he knew how to play, still didn't quite have it mastered like those two. He usually got 5th or 6th, but poor Thor was still getting last place every time.

"I do not understand this Midgardian game! It is broken! I am forced to be a tiny man with a red hat, and this vehicle that he drives must be slower than the others!" Thor yelled in frustration, throwing his controller on the ground.

"Hey big guy, be careful with that, " Tony said as he reached over Clint and picked up the controller, checking for damage.

"I am done with this awful excuse of entertainment." Thor said angrily, standing up. Steve reached out and grabbed his arm, before Thor could storm off.

"Hey, play one more race and I'll help you," Steve said gently. Thor considered for a moment, before crossly sitting back down and taking the controller back from Tony.

"Okay Friend Steve, explain to me how to play this Midgardian foolery." Steve told Thor a brief description of the rules and pointed out what each button did, ignoring Clint and Tony's sighs of impatience.

"Alright are you ready?" Steve asked, and Thor nodded, his face set in a look of determination.

The race began, and Steve continued to give Thor advice whenever he struggled. Tony and Clint zoomed past and were leading the race as usual, but Steve was intent on making sure Thor finished this round in a good mood.

"No you need to hold the button down in order to drive… yeah, there you go." Steve said, and smiled as Thor started to get the hang of it.

"Yeah it's a little difficult at first, but you'll get it." Steve encouraged. "Hey press gently on the buttons, so you don't, you know, break the controller,' Steve added with an undertone of concern when he noticed that Thor was not taking his incredible strength into consideration as he aggressively participated in the game.

"I am pressing gently!" Thor argued, but nonetheless did lighten his touch on the fragile controller, which improved his playing.

When the race ended, Thor had a massive smile on his face. "Look, Friend Steve, I did not get last place!" Thor looked so incredibly proud of himself that it caused Steve to let out a genuine smile without realizing it.

Luckily, Thor didn't realize that Steve had purposely gotten last place in order to make him happy. And he didn't need to find out.

They stood up and Steve was about to start cleaning up, when Thor startled him with a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you!" Thor said joyously.

"No problem," Steve responded weakly, quickly losing much needed oxygen.

Thor let him go, and with a smile still on his face, left the room to go do whatever he does in his free time.

Steve began to put the controllers away when he accidentally glanced Tony's way, in time to see the genius staring at him. Not expecting that, Steve began to feel flustered and quickly looked away, focusing on the task of cleaning the messy area.

Tony walked over and nudged him with his shoulder, his arm brushing Steve's as he put his controller away. Then Tony turned to face him, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow, leaving Steve painfully aware of how close they were standing, less than a foot apart.

"Why are you so nice?" Tony's question took Steve aback, and the look in Tony's eyes was both impressed and scrutinizing, as if looking for an ulterior motive. Steve realized that Tony was a bit more observant than Thor, and the whole getting-last-on-purpose act had not gone unnoticed.

Steve shrugged, and tried to stay cool, but was fully aware of the warmth settling on his cheeks. "It was nothing," he said casually, wishing Tony would leave because he was getting uncomfortable feelings again.

"Oh my God, Captain Boy Scout. You. Are. Not. Real." Tony said, enunciating each word. Suddenly, his hands shot out and cupped Steve's face, and Tony was mockingly inspecting where his hands were pressed against Steve's skin, as if to see if his hands would go through like they would on a ghost.

Steve felt his heart beating so fast he thought it might fall out of his chest, and just lay, pulsing, on the floor. It got worse when Tony took one of Steve's hands in his, and examined it in a similar fashion, muttering something about Cap being a different, nicer, species. He knew for a fact there was a full blown blush on his face now, but he couldn't do anything about it.

Tony stopped looking at Steve's hand and moved his gaze back to his face, and Steve knew there was no possible way for Tony not to notice Steve's bright red, flaming cheeks. He knew he was toast when he saw the small twitch of a smirk appear on Tony's gorgeous face.

Crap, Steve, why did you have to think gorgeous?

Tony's eyes sparkled with mischief, and his smirk increased to the point of almost looking predatory. He took a step closer to Steve, tapping a finger on one of Steve's burning cheeks, and even going so far as to press a hand flirtatiously against Steve's chest. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Steve was suddenly unable to form a single word, and hastily backed away, feeling the butterflies in his stomach turning carnivorous and devouring his intestines. Unfortunately, he backed straight into the Wii, sending it crashing to the floor. He looked down at the mess he made, and then heard Tony burst out laughing, stepping away from Steve.

"I'm sorry, that was a low blow." Tony managed, still laughing. "You know, with you coming from the 40's and the homophobic age and all that, sorry I just had to. Don't worry, I wasn't really coming on to you,"

Steve stood there, still speechless. What? Tony thought he was blushing because he was homophobic and that any contact with another man would send him into a flustered mess? Oh, God. The irony was about to swallow Steve whole.

Steve was about to correct Tony, and tell him that he wasn't homophobic at all (for obvious reasons), but then realized he would have no valid excuse to blush whenever Tony came within 10 feet of him. It was probably better to let Tony believe that Steve was homophobic, or at least "uncomfortable" with the idea of two men together, and then Tony would never guess that Steve actually had a crush on him.

Tony was still chuckling when he walked away, and Steve knew that he was probably going to tell Clint or someone the story of how he emotionally traumatized Captain America. Steve had a moment of panic of thinking about what if Clint told Tony the actual truth? Too many what-if's, and too many variables. It was best for Steve not to worry about what he couldn't control.

"Well, see you around, if you're not too busy helping old ladies cross the street and volunteering at the animal shelter, or whatever else it is that you do." Tony said teasingly when he finally walked out of the room, and left Steve numbly picking the Wii back up, his heart still beating fast, but the fire on his face finally receding.

According to his plan, Steve knew that he should be thinking of the best way to avoid Tony in the future, in order to protect his team and himself from pesky feelings and distractions. But all Steve could think of was the enchanting feel of Tony's hand against his chest, the gentle touch of Tony cupping Steve's face, and how if Steve had leaned in, Tony would've been close enough to kiss.

xxx

Guys, I'm actually really happy with how this chapter ended. I kinda had no idea where I was gonna go with it, but the ideas came as I was writing and it ended decently I suppose.

Please review your thoughts, or if you have any suggestions or constructive criticism! Love it? Think I could change something to improve it? Let me know!

Thanks!

(P.S: No, I am not giving up on my other story, Delights of Stark Tower, I just have some writer's block for that one. Feel free to check it out)