Note: So I suck at writing Thor. I am sorry, Thor. You deserve so much better!

Chapter warnings: Violence, sexual situations, awkward elevator rides.

Public Displays of Affection:

Protecting You

The first time he met Tony Stark, Steve had considered the man dangerous. He was headstrong, cocky, way too full of himself, and rushed headlong into situations without all the proper information. Steve knew why Fury had rejected him as a potential SHIELD agent. SHIELD was not the army, but it was military enough. Steve knew how to follow orders. He fit in just fine. Tony was far too used to being on his own, and too accustomed to having people trip over themselves to accommodate him to be a soldier.

This, of course, had not changed in the year since they had met.

"Is this about the Mutant Registration Act?" Tony's voice came clear through their radios, and Steve could only purse his lips in annoyance. They were in the midst of a conflict, and Tony was still so chatty. "Because if this is about MRA, then you might want to watch out for the reporters. It's not going to look good if they start headlining us against Xavier."

"Xavier's the bald guy in the wheelchair, right?" Of course, if Tony was talking, Clint was only a step behind.

"The telepath." Natasha was curt, as always. Steve had hoped she would be on his side, keeping the conversation focused on the mission, but she was not a soldier either. Actually, none of them were. Steve was alone in that aspect.

"That guy scares the shit out of me," Clint declared. "Hey, Stark. You're rich. You and him… same circles?"

"Ah… no. One time meeting me was enough to scar that man for life, I'm sure."

"Guys, we've got incoming," Steve cautioned. By incoming, he meant there were cars. Flying cars. Some of them had people in them. "Thor!"

"I shall save them," Thor announced, and he was flying, catching the vehicles that were occupied.

"Uh… shit. Cap?" Tony sounded truly concerned. That, in turn, had Steve instantly on edge. Tony worried was never a good sign. "Daddy came to play."

Steve winced. This really was not their fight, he had to admit. But with the X-men still ten minutes out, there was little choice but to attempt some damage control. Usually it was just the Brotherhood, a bunch of hapless young men and women with too much time and anger. They could cause a lot of damage, true, but the one to really look out for rarely made an appearance.

"Shit. Magneto's here?" Clint griped. "I should have stayed in bed today."

"Yes, and Tony needs to get the hell out of here," Natasha remarked. "Stark."

"Get to a safe distance, Tony," Steve ordered. For once in his life he hoped Tony listened.

"Lovely sentiment, but as I said… he's here."

Something cold and heavy settled in his gut.

"Tony?" he looked up, needing to know where Iron Man was right now. "Where are you?"

There was no reply from Tony. Steve searched the city line frantically, searching for explosions. That was always a good sign for Iron Man's location.

"I've got him in my sights," Clint said tersely. "Up a block from you, Captain. Bank roof. I'm taking the shot."

"Do it!" Steve snapped, already running. There was no way he could get there in any short amount of time. Thor was busy saving the people in the cars, and their other resident flyer was trapped on a roof with a guy who could rip apart his exoskeleton with a thought.

It took him awhile to get to the building. Only a block away, it should have taken him less than sixty seconds, but a guy twice his size sent him slamming into a brick wall. That hurt… a lot. But Steve had motivation, and he was up on his feet and throwing his shield before the man could hit him again.

The blow sent the big man staggering, but his recovery time was absurdly short. He was raging forward even as Steve caught his shield on the rebound. Steve knew his limits fairly well, and he knew another hit from that guy would take him out. Fortunately, for as strong as the man was, he was not all that fast.

"I have no quarrel with you." Reasoning with these people never worked, but he was willing to try anything. "We don't have to fight."

The man just laughed in his face and swung again. Steve moved the shield in time to catch the worst of the blow, but it still sent him tumbling down the street. Thank heavens for accelerated healing, because that hurt like a bitch, as Tony would say.

"Tony?" he tried again. "Tony, come on."

"I'm working on it, Cap," Clint said tersely. "Bastard keeps knocking my arrows aside before they can get close."

"Is he okay?" He ducked a swing, jumped over a parked car, and took off toward the bank again.

"He's still alive. I don't know about okay."

Something struck him from behind. Steve hit the ground hard, less hurt than angry, though he could have ruptured something, and his anger still would have outweighed the pain.

Clint suddenly whooped through the headset. Steve and his attacker looked up in time to see a large green body leap off the roof, something fluttering in his arms.

"Does he have Tony?"

"No!" Clint was laughing. "That son of a bitch got Magneto!"

"Is Tony okay?" he demanded again.

"Ah… can't tell yet. Nat. The Captain could use a little help."

"I'm kind of busy. This kid is obnoxiously fast."

"I'm okay right now."

"Yeah… you need to get on the roof. I got your six."

Grateful beyond telling, Steve took off running again. The big guy shouted behind him, but he did not follow. Steve was vaguely aware of something large falling—Clint must have tranquilized the guy—and then he was in the bank, blowing past frightened citizens, and taking the steps three at a time.

"I lost sight of Stark," Clint announced almost casually. There was worry there, a tension in the words. "He disappeared when I was covering your ass, Captain."

"I'm on my way to the roof now," Steve replied, gripping the rail and launching himself up another half flight.

It was a stupid endeavor, he realized by the third floor. He was going to exhaust himself trying to climb a sky scraper. So he startled a few more office workers when he burst into a room filled with cubicles. It was a little awkward and strangely surreal when half of the employees were suddenly looking at him. These people were in a building where a man with unbelievable powers had just been attacking an Avenger, and they had no inkling of anything beyond that moment's paperwork.

"Um…" he managed to find a smile that probably did not look completely frantic. "Could someone direct me to the elevator?"

Silent fingers pointed, and Steve quickly found the lifts. He had to wait a few seconds before it pinged to the third floor, but it was still less time than it would have taken for him to climb seventy flights of stairs.

If it was uncomfortable being in the office, it was downright aggravating when someone stepped into the elevator after him. He turned and frowned, and his fear for Tony shoved aside any concern he had for being polite.

"If that file means you or someone else will not die in the next ten minutes, then feel free to hit any button but the top floor," he snapped. The poor sap who had dared join him in the elevator cringed and generally looked horrified.

"Uh…"

"I'm kind of in a hurry," Steve said bluntly. "Can it wait?"

"I… yeah. Sorry." The man hopped out of the elevator.

"Thank you," Steve managed a weak smile and hit the top button.

He supposed he should feel so lucky that the elevator stopped only twice on his way up, but Steve was not feeling patient. Maybe it was faster than the stairs, but he felt better when he was physically in motion. (Fortunately, no one else attempted to join him, although he got a lot of startled stares.) In the end, it only took about two or three minutes to reach the top floor. From there, he found the roof access. The door was locked, but he blew through it like it wasn't, and he was back in the stairwell.

He never had to go out on the roof. Half a flight down, out of his armor, looking rather like he had fallen down that set of steps, was Tony, curled up on the landing. Steve's heart leapt into his throat. He couldn't tell if the man was even breathing.

"Tony!" he dropped the shield and reached for the crumpled form. "Oh my god, Tony!"

"Ngh…" Steve heaved a sigh of relief at that pained sound. Tony was alive. Not looking good, but he was alive. He grunted, paling when Steve helped him sit up. "For the record… Magneto's an asshole."

"X-men are here," Natasha announced. "Can we go home now?"

"See if you can round up Banner," Steve replied. "Let's get the hell out of here."

"How's Stark?"

"Anything broken?" Steve asked warily.

"You mean aside from the suit?" Tony grunted. "I think… yeah, no. Maybe."

"That sounds good," Clint said wryly. "Potts is going to kill him."

Steve would have ordered an ambulance, but he knew better. Tony's dislike for medical facilities was no secret. He would pitch a full on fit if he knew a trip to the hospital was being planned for him. Fortunately, he had his own doctor on staff. From the sounds of Natasha's breathing, she was going to need one too.

"Head on home, guys. Natasha, get your ribs checked out—"

"Who said anything was wrong with my ribs?"

Steve did not dignify that with a response. "We'll meet you there."

He turned his attention to Tony, who was looking a little green.

"Can you walk?"

"Oh, absolutely," Tony dredged up a wan smile. Steve frowned, shifting his arm at Tony's back and earning a warning look. "If you attempt to carry me, I will… I don't know. I'll make your room a shrine to Hannah Montana. And Justin Bieber. Maybe throw in a poster of Fury, just to creep you out."

"You're making a reference I don't get, Tony," Steve said gently. "If you faint, I will carry you. Bridal style."

"Incentive to stay awake," Tony said, gripping Steve's arm and clinging when they stood. He was actually a bit more stable than Steve expected him to be, carrying most of his own weight though he shook like a leaf in a tornado.

There should have been another snarky comment after that, but Tony just clenched his jaw and grabbed at the handrail, taking the stairs cautiously. He seemed determined to do it on his own. It was a pride thing. Steve understood and held back, close enough that he could still catch Tony if he fell.

The silence was more worrisome than anything else. Naturally there was the missing armor, but that had been Magneto. Steve could guess what had happened to the suit. He had two guesses as to the reason behind Tony's reticence and pale shakiness, and neither was an option he liked.

"Hey," Steve gripped Tony's elbow as they reached the broken door at the bottom of the stairs. "You okay?"

"Sure." There was another of those thin smiles. "I'm actually pretty sure he didn't break anything. Except the suit. He did a bang-up job on that. And I'm not one to throw around compliments, but he was very thorough in his destruction. I've never seen metal just… melt like that. Without a pretty decent heat source, I mean."

Steve had seen this before in other men. He had some not-so-fond memories of himself like this just after watching Bucky die, and again after waking up from the ice. It happened when a person had to face mortality—specifically their own.

If it was anyone else, Steve might be concerned that he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. However, this was Tony Stark. This man had been blown up and placed in captivity. His response to that had been to build himself armor and blast his way out. This was not a man who freaked out when faced with his own potential death. Not easily anyway.

"Is it too vindictive to hope the Hulk beats the snot out of Magneto?"

Steve hid a smile and pressed the L button on the elevator panel.

"Magneto got away from him," Clint piped up, reminding Steve that their conversation was not completely private. "Speaking of Banner…"

"Dr. Banner is most distraught," Thor's voice boomed through the headset. Steve winced. Maybe Tony could fix that. "Perhaps if he were to see Anthony is alive and well, he would be less angry."

"Oh, uh…" That seemed… incredibly unwise. Hulk could crush any of them without much effort. Perhaps not Thor so easily, but Steve could admit he would never want to be in the way when the Hulk came running through. Outside of his armor, Tony was, physically speaking, the most fragile member of the team.

"What's the deal?" Tony demanded. Steve looked at him guiltily. The man looked exhausted and strung out, and Steve was about to ask him to run back into a battlefield.

"Thor thinks Banner will calm down some if he sees you're okay," he admitted.

"Well, tell him to meet us on the street," Tony said, and it sounded so reasonable when he said it.

"Excellent!" Thor hollered. "Dr. Banner! Anthony Stark shall meet us on the ground presently!"

"I don't know if this is wise," Steve muttered.

"Relax, Cap." The elevator door opened on the twenty-sixth floor, and Tony smiled at the shocked pair that started forward and stopped upon seeing two such familiar figures inside. "Going down?"

"We can wait," the woman said flatly.

"Good."

As it turned out, meeting the Hulk was the best choice they could have made. Steve was a little dumbfounded, but he really should have known by now. Both Banner and his alter-ego had a soft spot for Tony. Were Steve a jealous man, he would have problems with that. Admittedly he was a little envious of the way Tony just let Hulk manhandle him. (Okay, there was not much choice to be had in the matter, since one did not argue with the big guy.) Tony did tease him a bit.

"This is a little weird, buddy," Tony remarked. It was amazing how gentle Hulk could be when he wanted. His hand did not quite wrap all the way around Tony's torso, but it was a near thing. Needless to say, Tony's feet were not even close to the ground, but he had no apparent problem with this. In fact he was grinning, ducking playfully when Hulk's big fingers dragged at his hair before poking mournfully at the glowing circle of light in his chest. "If you start climbing a building with me, I'll have to make a King Kong reference. Since you're obviously the Beast, that would make me Beauty, and while we'll all agree I'm very pretty, Thor's hair is much better suited to the task."

Hulk grunted and glared at him. Tony patted his wrist comfortingly.

"Let's go home, okay?"

Another rough grunt, and Hulk pulled Tony up against his chest, clearly not prepared to let go anytime soon. It was… kind of sweet. Steve realized this was the second time he was comparing Tony to a doll, but apparently he was not the only one around who thought the billionaire was cuddly.

"So very awkward," Tony muttered. "Bruce, buddy. Hulk, what are you—oh crap."

It was the only warning Steve had before Hulk turned and took off down the street. Two big bounds, and Hulk launched himself off the wreckage of a smashed bus to a nearby building.

Thor was laughing heartily, but Steve was fairly certain his heart could not take much more of this. That was his Tony, kept safe by the whim of the Hulk, who had never been particularly careful with anything he touched.

"Come, my friend," Thor wrapped an arm around Steve's back, to which he nearly responded by punching him.

"My god, Thor!" he complained instead. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Anthony is safe," Thor said. It was a little disconcerting how the demi-god could speak straight to the heart of the matter. "I shall take you to him now."

The hammer was swinging, and they lifted off. Flying with Thor was nothing like flying with Iron Man, Steve decided by the time they touched down at Stark Tower.

Hulk landed a few seconds later, dumping Tony on the floor proudly. By some miracle Tony seemed perfectly all right, if a bit shaken. He laughed, and if it was a little too reedy sounding, a little hysterical, well he was justified.

Steve was not overly surprised when the man disappeared into his workshop. He tried to join him a couple times and was ignored just as completely as if he was not there at all. Tony was focused on his work and even Banner, with all his science jargon, was incapable of drawing him into conversation beyond the project at hand.

A week, Steve swore. He would give it a week, and then he would physically drag Tony out into the real world, where people he cared about were waiting.

Tony must have figured out his deadline, because on the sixth night he emerged.

Steve was sleeping when it happened, but he knew anyway. At around three in the morning his bed dipped, and he startled into wakefulness. Heart pounding, eyes wide, he searched the darkness frantically.

"Hey," Tony's voice was a balm on frayed nerves. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Hey yourself," Steve murmured. "What are you doing here?"

That sounded so much worse out loud than he meant in his head. He could almost feel Tony's flinch.

"Sorry," Tony mumbled. "I just… I can go—"

"No, don't," Steve reached blindly, instinctively knowing that he would catch Tony's wrist. He let his fingers curl around it, feeling warm, slightly damp skin twitch beneath his touch. "I didn't mean it like that. I've been worried."

"What for?" Tony gave way easily when Steve pulled him down. There were no protests when Steve wrapped around him, burying his nose in freshly washed hair and pressing his mouth to Tony's temple.

"You locked yourself off for six days," Steve reminded him. "Or hadn't you noticed?"

"Six days," Tony echoed faintly. "Really?"

"I was worried you might starve too," Steve sighed. "Fortunately you'd eat whatever I put on your workstation."

"You brought me food?"

"You thought Jarvis was cooking you dinners?" It would have been more disturbing hearing that Tony did not know he had been in the lab if he had not already witnessed this fact multiple times. Well, it was still upsetting, but Steve was not so shocked.

"I… don't remember eating, actually," Tony sighed, and there were lips on his chin, stretching up until Steve turned his head to meet the kiss. Hands smoothed over his chest, along his side, and down his back. By the time Tony's fingers swept along the curve of his ass, Steve was groaning. Tony chuckled softly, hooked a leg over his, and brought them flush together.

Touching Tony was nothing new. Getting undressed and under the covers was not actually all that uncommon in the past couple weeks. This was, however, the most aggressive Steve had experienced Tony being. Not to say the man sat back and let things happen, but he was not usually so quick to shove Steve on his back and straddle his waist. Steve was thinking it was odd, but his brain was firing straight to his crotch at the moment. It was much easier to just reach up, fist his hand in Tony's hair, and shove his tongue into Tony's mouth.

If there was another thing Tony was good at, it was kissing. Steve could not profess to a lot of experience outside of this relationship, but he knew what he liked. And kissing Tony was amazing.

"God," Tony groaned, pulling back briefly to nip at Steve's ear. "You should do that again."

Steve smirked because, truly, there was nothing quite so ego-boosting as Tony Stark falling over himself to have whatever Steve was offering. Curling an arm around Tony's waist, he rolled over and dove back in. The low whine that reached his ears was proof enough that this had been a good move.

Their clothes were gone, tossed wherever, and Steve took a moment to marvel over the planes of Tony's face, softened by the dark and the blue glow of the arc reactor. Tony was not patient, hips pushing insistently when Steve carded a rough hand through his hair and kissed him again.

He had been so terrified the other day. Magneto had torn apart the Iron Man armor with ease. Had he wanted to, he could have ripped every bit of metal from Tony's body. The arc reactor, the magnet it powered, even the shards in his body. There was some lingering bruising around the arc reactor, proof that the threat had been made, and it was horrifying beyond anything Steve could otherwise imagine. Just the thought that he could have found Tony on that roof with a hole in his chest, torn flesh where any other metal may have shredded through, was enough to make him shudder.

The reactor's light glowed faintly through the hand Steve placed over it. He wanted to press it down, ensure that it would never leave its unlikely home there in Tony's chest. He kissed Tony again to avoid saying this aloud. If the man did not want to talk about it, Steve was not going to force it. But he could touch the reactor and know that, for now, Tony was safe.

Tony was going unusually pliant beneath him. Steve first noticed in the halfhearted, barely there kissing. Then Tony's hands slid without purchase along his arms, one falling over Steve's hand on his chest, the other dropping to the bed. Steve thought he was losing him to sleep, but when he pulled back, Tony was blinking at him, eyes half-mast and looking straight through him.

Everything slowed, and Steve noticed that any arousal Tony had been displaying before was suddenly… just not there. A little horrified, wondering just what the hell he had done to cause this drugged response, Steve pulled back.

"Tony?"

Blinking, moving sluggishly, Tony reacted finally when Steve caught his face. They stared at each other, Tony looking confused, Steve just tremendously relieved.

"Are you okay?" Steve demanded. "What just happened there?"

Tony exhaled, low and long and utterly calm. He looked uncertain but not fearful. Steve tried to calm the frantic pounding of his heart. Everything was fine. Tony was safe. Tony was reaching for him, cool hands skimming over his shoulders without much pressure. He was acting like Clint had the time they had to sedate the archer after he had been shot in the side and proceeded to refuse to allow any doctors near him. (Come to think of it, most of the team went a little touchy around medical staff.)

"Tony?"

"Umhmmm." Tony blinked. Blinked again. Focused. "Oh. Hi."

"Yeah, hi," Steve frowned at him. "Mind telling me what just happened? You were with me for a while there…"

The confusion was back, and Tony looked around as if the room could provide the answer. He cast his gaze down, and realization flooded in. Steve bit back a grateful sigh as those eyes snapped back to meet his.

"I… have no good explanation for this." A forced smile. "I swear that's never happened to me before."

"What did I do wrong?" Steve demanded. "If I did something that triggered—"

"No!" Tony caught at his shoulders, finding purchase this time. "No, you didn't. You didn't do anything wrong."

That was really hard to believe, but Steve let himself be coaxed down to lay beside Tony. The need of before, the sexually charged fervor, was gone. Steve wanted nothing more than to gather Tony to him and hold him, protect him, never let anything bad ever happen again. That was impossible, he knew, but here, in the dark in this bed, he could pretend it was so.

"Can you just…" Tony squirmed and twisted in Steve's admittedly restraining hold until he relented and let the other man adjust himself. Tony shuffled over, claiming Steve's arm as a pillow and tugging at his hand. He felt the faint hum of the arc reactor beneath his palm again, and he did not bother keeping the surprise from his face. But Tony wasn't looking at him. He pulled close and held Steve's hand over his chest and exhaled in a tremulous sigh.

"Tony," Steve breathed, unable to find the power in his gut for more volume than the barest whisper.

"Don't," Tony tucked his nose against Steve's neck. "I don't—please?"

Cold fingers tightened over Steve's pressing down until he gave in and curled around Tony and held fast. It was strange feeling hard metal beneath his hand while in bed with a body of flesh and blood, but for Tony it seemed right. Everything about this man was computers and technology and fast-paced living. Even the arc reactor put out energy, glowing on while Tony breathed, just another part of him that never slept.

"Okay," he sighed. "It's okay."

"Next time," Tony muttered. He looked punch-drunk, sprawled on his back, half clinging to Steve, the rest caught in a state of relaxation, the likes of which Steve had never seen in Tony. "Seriously. Sex next time."

"We'll see," Steve said gently. "Get some sleep."

So they fell asleep, both breathing easily, Steve's hand pressed flat over the arc reactor. Somehow, his hand remained there until he next woke, three hours later.

TBC...

Aaaaaaand a villain from X-men. Yup. Sigh. (Oh, and remember that elevator scene in the second Spiderman movie? You know the one. I was totally channeling that scene when it occurred to me that even Captain America might have a difficult time running up the many steps of a skyscraper.)