Hey guys, here's chapter three^^ wrote it really late yesterday night, so I hope there aren't to many mistakes. And thank you so much for all your comments; they really encourage me to write on!

Chapter 3

They insisted to keep Tony in hospital for three more days, before the doctors finally gave their ok that he was well enough to be sent home to recover.

However, he still had to stay in bed for at least one more week and was not allowed to do anything that included heavy exercising. This meant that he wasn't allowed to spar, work in his laboratory or be Iron Man in general.

So all in all, this week was going to be one of the most boring ones in Tonys life.

The problem was that with five other superheroes in the house, it was almost impossible for Tony to break any of those rules. His teammates made sure that he stayed in bed like a good little boy and although they all kept his company from time to time, he was still bored.

The nights were the worst. Due the lack of activity during the day, Tony had no requirement for sleep and so he just lay in bed, trying even the most pathetic things to fall asleep. But even counting sheep didn't help and so Tony remained in bed, wide awake and bored as hell.

There was no one there to entertain him, his teammates were all fast asleep, but he wasn't able to sneak out into his lab either because he had an odd feeling that if he tried, Natasha or Clint would somehow appear out of nowhere and drag him back to bed. The two master assassins had made some indications that they had set up something that would tell them if Tony tried to get into his lab.

After the first few sleepless hours, Tony had enough. He couldn't take lying in bed a moment longer, so he carefully got up and sneaked out of his bedroom. If he was to spend a sleepless night, then he would at least do so while reading or watching TV or doing anything besides lying in bed without any use.

Tony quickly made his way to the living room; maybe he would find something to entertain himself here. He looked through their film collection and Clints video games, but none of them caught his eye. After fifteen minutes he was ready to give up, maybe he would find some way to get into his lab after all.

He was already back on his feet and heading for the door, when he suddenly heard footsteps in the hallway. He froze at the spot, carefully listening as the sound came closer. If any of his friends were to notice that he had left his bed, they would be furious and make sure that he wouldn't be able to leave it again.

"JARVIS, lights out", he mumbled and instantly darkness surrounded him. Only a few moments later, the door to the living room was pushed open. Tony held his breath as a tall figure stood in the doorframe.

…..

"…Tony? What are you doing here?"

It was Steve. Tony let go of his breath. Oh great, just great. From all the people that lived in this building, it had to be Steve. As if he hadn't been confused enough already.

"How the hell did you know that it was me?" the billionaire finally asked.

A warm chuckle came from the other man in return, it gave Tony Goosebumps.

"Tony… you're glowing"

It took Tony a few moments before he understood and looked down on his chest where the Arc reactor sat, emitting a soft bluish-white glow. Of course, how could he forget?

Steve was still laughing as Tony shot an angry look toward his chest.

"Well, looks like the times where I was able to play hide and seek in the dark are over. JARVIS, lights on."

When the ceiling lights illuminated the room again, Tony finally had a good view on the person standing in front of him.

Again, only one thought shot through his mind: Steve looked adorable. He looked absolutely adorable in his sweatpants, his wide white shirt, his hair ruffled from lying in bed, his blue eyes clouded with sleep… adorable, just adorable.

The familiar warm feeling Tony desperately tried to avoid filled his stomach once more. He couldn't help it; his body was reacting on its own. He was sure that his cheeks were flushed and his eyes held this unwelcome puppy stare.

Tony quickly shook his head, the last thing he needed now was Steve seeing those emotions shimmering in his eyes. He had the odd feeling that Steve could somehow read him like an open book. Steve may not be the smartest one there is, but when it came to people he had this strange gift of understanding them. Maybe this was why he is such a good leader.

"You shouldn't be up at this time; it's in the middle of the night. You need your rest" Steve continued as he slowly walked over to stand in front of Tony.

"Same goes for you, doesn't it Cap? I'm here because I'm bored since I haven't really done anything useful during the day. What's your excuse?"

Steve looked taken aback and quickly turned his gaze toward the floor as if he was ashamed of why he was here.

"I…. It's nothing.. . just a little nightmare…", he finally answered.

Tony nodded. Nightmares. Yeah, he sure did know about those. He has had them often enough himself.

He would dream of the time he spent as a prisoner inAfghanistan, he would see the dark, engulfed caves he had been kept in, the unbearable pain that was caused by the tentative machine in his chest, Yinsens face…

All these things came back during the night, crawled through his mind and heisted his sleep. At least in some nights.

It had gotten better in time, now the nightmares would only come back occasionally.

But Tony could imagine that Steve had a lot more to deal with.

Being awaken in a whole new time, a whole new world after fighting and almost dying in one of the most horrible wars humanity had ever seen must be a really unpleasant experience.

Tony has had lots of things he could distract himself with after his captivity in Afghanistan. After all, he still has had a place to return, a home.

But Steve, he was lost in this unfamiliar world with nobody to turn to and nowhere to be. The place he had once called home had changed so much and all his friends and family were long gone.

It was something that made Tonys heart ache, it made him wanting to protect Steve, to give him a place to stay, to be someone he could hold on to….

But no matter how desperately Tony wished to be all this for Steve, it would never happen. He was too afraid. Afraid because he was really bad when it came to comforting others. He usually acted like a total jerk when he had to be there for someone else. Maybe because he only had bad experiences with such things himself.

And also, he was afraid that if he came to close to Steve, the other one would eventually discover his hidden feelings.

So he remained distant, avoiding all those things he knew that were there, although he pretended that they weren't.

Steve helped with that, keeping all his problems to himself, not wanting to burden anyone with them.

But there were moments, moments like this one, were they were unable to not see what was going on. Where they simply could not pretend…

"Well, if that's what it is, then I know just the thing for the two of us to do."

Steve looked at Tony again, a surprised look on his face. He then opened his mouth, probably to argue with Tony, to tell him that he should go back to bed, but Tony simply cut him off.

"Listen, Cap. You can't sleep, I cannot sleep – so what's the point in trying? So instead of pretending that we could both go back to sleep, how does this sound: let's watch a movie together, after all you have a lot to catch up."

The words had emerged from Tonys mouth before he could really think about it. Shit! Not good. This was exactly what he actually tried to avoid, spending time with only Steve Rogers himself, while they both were at an emotional breaking point.

But all his doubts vanished immediately, when he saw the small smile that was now on Steve's lips.

"All right. Pick a movie. I'm really sick of not understanding all the references you make", was all the blonde man said before he propped himself on the couch in front of the T.V.

Tony blinked a few times before he quickly pulled himself together and joined Steve.

"Alright Cap. Let's see… JARVIS? How about we start our little movie night with 'pulp fiction'."

"As you wish sir.", came an immediate response and few seconds later, the T.V. screen went on as the movie started to play.

But Tony didn't really notice any of this. All he could look at was Steve's face, the confident and relaxed smile he wore…

Two minutes into the film, Steve turned his gaze at Tony once more.

"Thank you Tony. I really appreciate it." He then gave him one of the warmest smiles Tony had ever seen, before he turned his attention back on the movie.

Tony however continued to stare at Steve, eyes wide open. So there he was, sitting close to the person he loved dearly while risking that Steve could discover those feelings he had for him. And all that for a smile, for the smile Steve had just given him.. Tony slightly shock his head this was ridiculous, this was stupid…..

…..

…. Stupid, yeah, maybe, but totally worth the risk.

End of chapter three, chapter four will follow soon