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Captain America was kissing him.

Wait, WHAT?

Not possible. No, this was like... this was... this guy... he's... but... this is Captain America! The man from the time period of "Guy + Guy + any form of love = EVIL". This was not happening... Okay, yes it was. And Tony would be damned if he let the situation go to hell. However, fate had another idea, because just as he was just about to start kissing the Captain back, the blonde pulled out and went as if to stand up.

Fuck you, Fate.

"I- I'm sorr-rry, I don't know wh-why I did that I mean-"

Tony being Tony, he wasn't going to let this happen. It was take-control time. He grabbed Steve's hand, stopping Steve in his tracks. The Iron Man suits might be what makes Tony an Avenger, but they sure weren't his only source of strength. Just because he was a normal (albeit concieted) human being underneath the metal didn't mean he was a weak human. "Sit back down."

"But-"

"Now, damnit." Steve had a look on his face of pure terror. He had been prepared for this, sure, but when he finally kissed Tony his brain just decided to short out, like an overloaded circuit. All his thoughts out the window, he had panicked, but now Tony was slowly bringing him back to reality. He didn't know whether he had decided to sit back down next to Tony or whether he had pulled him back down and forced him into it. Either way, it didn't really matter. He ended up sitting next to the dark-haired billionaire again.

"Tony, I-"

"Shut up." Tony meant what he said. He wanted Steve to shut up, so, damnit, Steve would. To get him to do so, Tony kissed him. Now their roles were reversed; Steve couldn't believe this was happening, and Tony was the one initiating. This time, though, Fate decided wisely to go bother someone else. Fate's work here was done.

Oh my gods... oh my gods... holy SHIT holy SHIT this is so CRAZY but wow he's a good kisser-

JARVIS interrupted Tony's thoughts. "As it seems, sir, SHEILD has taken control of their security cameras again. Would you like me to reoverride them?"

"Not necessary, JARVIS," Tony sighed, pulling away from Steve, "If they see us, they see us, no big fucking deal. None of this is world threatening, life threatening, or potentially harmful to anyone but my sanity, and seeing as how the majority of my sanity is an artificially intelligent supercomputer in my watch, I think it'll be okay."

"But Tony-" Steve interrupted.

"Look here you, I know you're going to say something like "What are the others going to think?", but honestly I don't give a shit and besides I think a certain redhead already knows..."

At this remark Steve went understandably red in the face. "Before you cut me off this time, I have an explanation for that."

Tony smiled, "Do share."

"I just needed confirmation... you know, that it was okay to feel like this... like... well you know..."

Tony took Steve's hand, tracing patterns on his palm. "I know, I know, it's the forties mentality... Was it hard to break?" He turned his head to look into his crush's light blue eyes.

Steve nodded. Tony could still see a little bit of that deep seated fear of this whole venture not being right hiding in his eyes, so he took this as an opportunity to kiss him again, a comforting kiss, the kind that spoke a billion words without a single noise made. "Tony..." Steve said, their faces still only inches apart, "I was scared. When they were shooting at me and I couldn't pull the lever right when you told me to... when I was just barely holding on to the Hellicarrier, I wasn't afraid for myself. I was so much more scared for you... I would rather have fallen off the Hellicarrier to certain death than to let you down and let you get beat to a metal mass in those blades down there."

Tony didn't know what to say to that. He'd never had anyone tell him that they would rather have let him die in his place than let him die... Normally, he didn't have anyone to fight alongside anyway, just him against his enemies, and his enemies would gladly kill him at every chance they had. But now... this was all different. He had a team to fight with. Natasha, Clint, Bruce, Thor... and Steve. Steve, who would gladly die in his place than let Tony die. That was... odd, by Tony's standards, but yet it felt so right, because now Tony was getting that feeling, like he would rather die than let Steve die. Because now Tony had something, somebody to fight for, something to live for, to look forward to...

Steve spoke again, shaking Tony out of his reverie. "I told Natasha because she was the only one I thought I could talk to about it, being a woman and all, and I know she has the same feelings for another on this ship... Have you seen her look at Clint? Anyway, I knew she'd seen a lot of the world, being from Russia and traveling the world and all, and actually I learned she's not all that mean, once she starts talking to you. But she told me it was perfectly okay here in America... Not everyone approves of it, but most people either don't care or are okay with it. It was so relieving, because I... I..."

"What, Steve, you what?"

"I... I love you, Tony. I've been in love with you since you first spoke... You sounded so much like your father when I first heard you, but then the more you talked the more you sounded like an independent person... And that's why I love you, you're independence from your father, you do what you like and you don't take no for an answer from anybody." He ended his little speech with another kiss, and they stayed like that until it became necessary for them to breathe. They planned on just sitting together and talking until the Hellicarrier had arrived in New York, but apparently the other Avengers had other ideas, because at the same time, Tony and Steve's phones went off.

The text was from Natasha, and read as follows:

We can't take anymore of this bullshit from Fury. Avengers, assemble at jet dock 6. We're going on ahead, orders to stay here or no. Something's going to happen, soon, and if we don't get there ASAP the world might end. Literally.

"Well," Tony said, "It's off to battle for us."

Steve nodded, already in soldier mode, "To battle."

Oddly enough, while they were just about to stand up and go to the room where the Avengers' uniforms (and Tony's suit) were, their phones went off again. Tony looked at his and nearly threw it at the wall in anger. I am going to kill Natasha, I am going to kill Natasha...

Steve just grinned. Not because of the text, because quite frankly that made him mad too, but because of Tony's childish expression of rage. It was kind of cute, he thought.

Anyway, the text that was sent exclusively to the two of them that made them both a little pissed was also from Natasha, being the snarky chick she is. That means you too, lovebirds.

Tony and Steve didn't find that very funny, and discussed just how inappropriate that was on the way to the uniform room. As Tony suited up, part of his brain regretted not being able to watch the Captain change into his spangly outfit, but a rather unused part of his mind told him to shut up and stop being so dirty-minded for once.

Tony was happy. It felt good to be back in the (now repaired) suit again, this time not being battered around in oversized fanblades. That, and he knew that he had someone to fight for.

Well? Any good? Sorry if it's a little short, writer's block is a bitch. Still, please review! The review button is lonely! Press it and I'll give you MORE cookies!