Tony Stark had always firmly believed that in order to survive any amount of time in a museum one needed to consume large quantities of alcohol and be prepared with an excuse to leave early. He'd never imagined in a million years that Captain America, Steve Rogers, would be leading him all over the place to so many museums/art galleries/touristy spots. Or that he'd actually enjoy it. Without the alcohol. Sitting with Steve in the limo Tony couldn't help but grin at the obvious enthusiasm his friend was still bubbling over with as he asked Steve what the verdict was on the latest trip.

"My favorite Art Museum to date." Something warm filled Tony as he looked at Steve who was grinning back at him.

It was hard to even begin to count the number of museums Steve had taken him to visit and he couldn't help but voice the thoughts out loud before leaning back in the seat. He could feel his muscles relaxed as his eyes closed; his brain for once wasn't running a million miles a second and there was nothing he was worrying about. But nothing could have prepared him for the increase of warmth surrounding his body as Steve Rogers moved into his space, closing the distance between the two of them to nothing and he felt his breath stolen by the other man.

Blank. Tony Stark's mind was completely blank. His eyes opened slightly to stare at Steve's face and the expression of complete intent, care and fondness. There were so many emotions that were flying across the supersoldier's face and Tony wasn't sure he'd ever be able to place them all. He'd never kissed another man before. Never. Self-declared playboy and he'd only chased after the opposite-sex. He had only recently wondered if his feelings for Steve were simply a deep friendship or maybe something more...then he'd almost died again and ended up severely injured.

Tony's mind flew into action, flying through everything and analyzing it all.

Steve's lips on his own weren't repulsive, didn't cause him to cringe or feel disgust. He had no impulse to pull away or shove the other man. Instead he kind of wanted to drag Steve closer because he couldn't think of a time when he'd ever had someone so completely focused on him in such a way. Pepper was the closest that he could think of, but he'd known her for so long that the relationship had almost seemed to naturally progress into something more than friends. But she hadn't kissed him like the world was ending and he was the only thing keeping her alive. Hadn't kissed him like she wanted to crawl inside him and never leave. As though he was everything right in the world because Tony was probably everything wrong in the world and she'd known that.

Steve kissed with everything he was, everything he had and filled it with so many promises of more. Tony gasped. And then he was looking into those blue eyes that were staring at him and he belatedly realized he'd not responded. Carefully his uninjured hand came up to Steve's neck and he pulled him back towards his lips. This time Tony was an active participant, trying to find a connection and trying to quantify his feelings. The feelings he'd been trying to figure out if they were something more…if Steve was something more to him than a friend. He would not allow this to be a fling, a one nightstand. He couldn't. Steve Rogers had rapidly become something stable in his life and a guarantee that everything would still be standing at the end of the day. Tony could recall few things in his life that were completely stable. If he was going to pursue this he couldn't play with the other's emotions or his own.

While they kissed he could feel Steve's arms slowly snaking around his body as the supersoldier effortlessly moved him into his lap without breaking the kiss. He could feel those muscles moving slightly with the little effort Steve had needed and knew the other man had unparalleled strength when it came to your average human. And Tony was your average human and he was finding that he quite enjoyed that superhuman strength.

Tony allowed his mind to analyze his feelings, reactions and thoughts. He looked back at their interactions and without even thinking about it his mind went over possible concerns. Would this work out? What was the likelihood of it going pear-shaped? Was he going to ruin Steve Rogers? Would he destroy that boy from Brooklyn? Would this be that final nail in his coffin of the things Tony Stark has fucked up?

Could he actually risk putting himself out there again? After he blew it with Pepper?

But he was Tony Stark and his results were indicating that he did feel something. That Steve meant more to him than just a friend. That this wasn't a one nightstand situation. Steve Rogers cared for him, protected him and fought for him. He went against others for Tony and he'd never forget the look on the other man's face when he'd almost been hit by a cab. Or all of the times he'd woken from being injured. The look that came with the realization that the Arc Reactor was necessary for Tony's life and that it had stopped working. Steve never left him alone when he had to go into SHIELD Medical because he knew that Tony needed reassurance that he'd be ok.

That warm feeling in his chest. He rarely experienced it and not anything so noticeable. Steve moved away from his lips and trailed down to his neck giving Tony a chance to breathe. He could hear soft murmurs from the other man, but instead of working his hardest to understand them he instead looked at what he was feeling. What was that feeling? His mind went over experiences that had produced it.

The first time that he could recall was when Steve had brought him along to Coney Island and Steve couldn't contain his excitement. Telling stories about growing up in Brooklyn and various experiences he'd had with amusement park rides. Steve's face had been full of longing, excitement and bittersweet happiness. He'd grinned at Tony then, wrapping his hand around his wrist and pulled him towards the line for the Cyclone. Tony had allowed himself to be swept up into the other's enthusiasm and stories. He'd wondered at the warmth filling his chest for most of the day. Not once had he thought of the breakup with Pepper.

Steve's hands were everywhere all at once, their bodies as close as they could be with Tony's injuries, the touches from Steve were light, careful and hinted at so much more. Then his lips were back on Tony's and he didn't hold back the moan that escaped as he struggled to focus on his current mental task.

That feeling was almost always present when Steve was around. This time the gasp that escaped Tony's mouth wasn't due to the soft lips currently paying close attention to him. Tony genuinely cared about Steve Rogers. He cared about Steve as a person, a teammate, a friend, a confidant, a companion…it went beyond all of those previous designations he'd applied to Steve Rogers. The feeling was stronger than what he'd had with Pepper. It went a little further. With Pepper he'd tried to make it work, had tried to force something that wasn't truly there on the level it needed to be. He loved Pepper. He'd die to protect her because she meant so much to him and had been there for him through so much. He wouldn't ignore that feeling he'd had; she'd been the first person he'd honestly loved, but they didn't fit together. She'd been pulled in far too many directions when it came to Tony Stark. Maybe Steve was the right one? Tony had in some dark corner of his soul believed he belonged by himself, that he didn't deserve for someone to actually care for him and want to be with him; for someone to love him. It's what made it so much easier to have flings and shamelessly flirt with others because in the long run it wouldn't matter and fun was fun, right?

The strong hands touching him, caressing him…holding onto him as though he was the most important thing in the world belonged to Steve Rogers. Someone he'd never thought of having a relationship with. He'd never really entertained the idea of a male partner. Tony wasn't entertaining that thought right now either.

He was committed to making it a reality.

"Steve." It was husky and desperate. Tony sighed as he could feel Steve noticeably pulling back, pushing all of that pent up emotion and feeling back in order to focus on Tony.

"Tony." It was said softly and those blue eyes were staring into Tony's once more. Completely focused on him. There wasn't even a question that every part of Steve Rogers was focused on Tony Stark.

"Why?" he needed the answer more than anything. Needed to know why someone so good and perfect and pure wanted someone like him. Someone who had the blood of millions on his hands. He could never save enough lives to make up for that past. He would try his hardest. Steve had always worked to do the right thing. He'd never profited from destruction like Tony had. Tony was tainted, stained beyond compare.

Steve stared at him and clearly took the question to heart. He was honestly giving it thought instead of just saying whatever he thought Tony wanted to hear. It was refreshing. "I think it might go back to watching you with that nuke on your back." Now those blue eyes were unfocused, back to the moment he was speaking of. "I'd never been so wrong in my entire life. Part of me in that moment was angry that I had been wrong because it should have been me giving up my life. The life I shouldn't have even had. I should have died during the War and you shouldn't have been in that position. But you were and you didn't even hesitate. I realized it was something other than friendship when I was down in the workshop watching you interacting with Dummy. You were…grounding him from watching The Iron Giant because he'd sprayed you with the fire extinguisher while you were testing an Iron Man upgrade. He slumped and you got this resigned look on your face before having JARVIS turn the show on. You called him a spoiled brat. I didn't put a name to those feelings for a little while longer…" he trailed off thinking of the interaction with Pepper at her office. He was not admitting to that. Nope. Not touching that conversation with a fifty foot pole.

"Uh…" it was so eloquent that Tony wanted to pat himself on the back for such a clearly brilliant response. Honestly. "You do realize I was covered in grease and foam. Plus talking to bots is considered slightly…insane. Right? You realize this?" Tony raised an eyebrow at Steve having no idea the picture he painted with the mused hair.

Steve's fingers itched to do several things to the man on his lap. He wanted to get a hold of a pencil because he needed to capture this on paper. Possibly make it into a huge picture for his room…or maybe he could eventually keep the actual person in his room?

"So?" he watched Tony's face, a face he could draw from memory alone, as he thought about his response. "I'm down in the workshop all the time, Tony. I saw you when Peter caused that bag of flour to hit the floor and explode covering both of you. I've seen you sick, injured, happy, sad, angry, sleepy, as a child and everything in between. Why would I care if you were covered in anything? And talking to your bots? Dummy attacked and threatened Director Fury today before hitting the emergency button to get someone's attention. I can't see how talking to him or any of your bots is insane. They're very…human in several ways and clearly care for you." He shrugged slightly before reaching up a hand to touch Tony. "I don't think you're going to talk me out of my feelings, Tony."

"I'm…" Tony floundered. This was new territory. "I don't know what I'm doing. I'm going to fuck this up…I just know it and then it'll destroy the Avengers and Coulson will kill me and Fury will get that knowing look on his face because that Cyclopes KNOWS I fuck everything up—" he was rambling and mentally screaming at himself to shut up because Steve was staring at him. "I have no…idea what I'm doing here. I've actually never—" finally his mouth stopped moving, hallelujah, with silence now filling the limo. But it was too late because Tony Stark's insecurities, those annoying things he tried to keep hidden, were out in the open now.

Steve was staring at him in surprise which quickly gave way to genuine pleasure. "You've never had a male partner before?" he asked softly and it made him want that much more to drag Tony closer. But he had to be careful of the injuries the other man had. Steve knew about Tony being a playboy, but all along he'd assumed that Tony had both male and females in his bed. That he'd never be able to measure up to that.

"No." Tony was trying not to let it show that he was on shaky and unfamiliar ground…that it had left him struggling to figure out what he should be doing and didn't that sound pathetic? Honestly…it couldn't be that different or he'd have heard something along those lines. But Coulson and Clint's relationship wasn't a template he wanted to use at the moment. Those two were…different.

Steve felt that little bit of nerves, of tension he'd been harboring under the impression that Tony would be disappointed in him for not being as experienced as previous partners, vanish. Tony not knowing everything was such a nice change of pace. He'd been struggling so hard to figure out where he fit in the world, trying to understand the changes in interactions, roles and technology that he'd forgotten what it felt like to be the one who had the knowledge. The answers. The person who knew what was going on without having to question it. He'd had to keep his interest in males a secret in his time while being pushed towards discovering his interest in females. Peggy had been the first female who had truly captured his attention, but she wasn't completely like all the others in his time. His interest had really been peaked when she'd punched his fellow soldier out. Truthfully Steve had been worried that with Tony's experience he'd feel overwhelmed. "Is there something wrong?" Steve needed to be sure because the usually confident Tony Stark was nowhere to be seen; instead a slightly confused one sat on his lap.

Those dark eyebrows pulled down in thought, "Is this going to make things awkward or something? This isn't going…you do know I have a horrible track record for relationships, right?" his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. This was just pathetic. He was Tony Stark. This should not be awkward. It should be easy. Charm. Confidence. The right words and actions. Cut and dry. But this wasn't the same. It was new.

"Don't overthink it." Steve leaned forward, kissed him carefully before leaning back and staring at Tony's face. "Just…be Tony. That's what caught my interest to begin with. Don't change. I know you; I want Tony Stark."

Steve couldn't place the look that stole over Tony's face before the other man had fisted his free hand into the front of his shirt, pulling himself closer to Steve. "Just be Tony? I can do that." And Tony Stark took control of the kisses, his free hand not letting go of Steve's shirt and he grinned into the kiss when he sensed the surprise in Steve. It wasn't hard to be Tony and when Tony wanted to he could be incredibly selfish. He wanted this and he was going to go for it. Awkwardness be damned.

Steve glanced sideways at the clock, 4:02am, before he looked around the silent floor. No one was around. Tony was still standing in the elevator, eyes drooping slightly, waiting for Steve to grab his medicine. JARVIS took them to Tony's floor and they stumbled along towards his room. He placed the bottles on the bedside table with the bottle of water before turning around to see Tony by this dresser without his shirt. The Arc Reactor cast a blue light around the dimmed room. It was a beautiful shade of blue and to him almost made Tony seem otherworldly. Though considering when he'd been born almost everything about Tony seemed otherworldly.

He closed the distance letting his hand rest on top of it carefully and was mindful of how important that circle of light was to Tony's existence. Tony was watching him and he leaned down to drop a soft kiss on his lips. "Thanks for getting them to let us stay late; I loved the Met."

"What kind of person would I be if I didn't use my fame and wealth for such a good cause?" Tony grinned smugly. "It might as well be worth something. I believe Coulson would agree that making Captain America happy should be everyone's first priority."

"Get some sleep. You need it so you'll heal quicker. Goodnight." He turned towards the door before glancing back to see Tony watching him with a curious expression on his face. The door shut behind him and he headed towards his floor. That had reminded him of something that had gone too long. He waited until he was safely in his room.

"JARVIS. I think you know what I want to see."

"The Arc Reactor." It wasn't a question. "I will give you a shortened version. As you should be aware Mr. Stark was held captive for three months in Afghanistan before creating the first prototype of the Iron Man so as to destroy the Stark Industries weapons and to escape. Prior to this he was injured by a Stark Industries missile when the convoy he was riding in was attacked. This left him with shrapnel in his chest that began to make its way towards his heart. Were it to reach there it would shred his heart and kill him. Dr. Yinsen operated on him in the cave Mr. Stark was held captive in. This occurred while he was awake and without any medication. The end result was that Dr. Yinsen utilized a magnet to keep the shrapnel from his heart and Mr. Stark was hooked to a car battery. Eventually he created the first version of the Arc Reactor that gave him enough power to eventually escape, be found by Col. Rhodes and returned to the United States. He then created a better, improved version of the Arc Reactor.

"It was six months later that he received a push in the right direction to create a new element to replace the palladium core that he had discovered was killing him. The Arc Reactor in his chest came from that moment. Mr. Stark has several at any given time on the off chance that something happens to the one in his chest. Without the reactor working he has no chance of survival." JARVIS' voice trailed off and Steve felt a weight in his chest. What if the next time something happened they were too far away from the nearest replacement? They needed a way to have a replacement nearby and safe, but Tony would never let SHIELD anywhere near it. If he was unconscious he wanted one of them around at all times until he woke up.

Steve had read the file that SHIELD had on Tony Stark. It was blunt. There was a personality profile from prior to Tony fighting with the Avengers for the first time. It was clearly inaccurate as it stated he was a narcissist. Steve disagreed with that; Tony wouldn't constantly throw himself in the way of harm or death if he was a narcissist. Maybe to some degree, but Tony wasn't completely. At least to Steve he didn't appear that way. "Thank you JARVIS. I needed to know. There has to be some way to make sure we can have one closer by if something happens."

The AI was silent at first, "You're welcome, Captain. Sir needs someone to look after him at times. Though from my understanding of the information I have been both provided and given most people need someone to help look after them."

A small smile flitted across his face as he walked towards his dresser and began going through the motions of preparing for bed. Months ago he was heartbroken; a soldier out of time who had missed a date. Now he was an Avenger who belonged to a truly unconventional family with someone he had fallen in love with.

Tony Stark stared at the ceiling and let his mind wander. He'd thought after Pepper that maybe he wasn't cut out for an actual relationship. That it just wasn't something meant for Tony Stark. On some level he'd been ok with that, completely ready to accept that fact and move on with his life. Then he'd stumbled on to Peter Parker or rather he'd tripped into the street and Peter had saved him. Now he had an adopted son; someone who called him dad and who worried about him. Who would ask him questions and who he could teach how to build an engine. He'd come to realize that he loved Peter, that he truly thought of the other as a son and on some level he was glad Loki had turned him into a child. It had given him something he hadn't realized he'd wanted or needed. It had never occurred to him that he would form an attachment that quickly.

He was Tony Stark. Howard Stark's son who was heir to Stark Industries; a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. He was Iron Man and member of the Avengers. In the long list of titles, some self-proclaimed and others given, the title of Dad had never factored in. He'd seen a future of casual encounters with women and dodging them in the mornings after Pepper broke up with him. Except he ended up not having time for even that. His entire life had moved towards Iron Man, Avengers, spending time with Clint, Natasha, Thor, Bruce, Coulson, Steve, Peter, SHIELD members coming and going, working on his clean energy project for Stark Industries and other technological creations that he dreamed up. There were occasional events he attended, but there was usually another Avenger present or Steve needed rescuing because he did not know how to deal with aggressive women who wanted a chance at Captain America. Or kept trying to grab his ass. Though the last one Tony had found great amusement in…the look on Steve's face was priceless after all.

But now he was looking at pursuing a relationship with Steve Rogers. His senses had been filled with the other man, his thoughts overwhelmed and it wasn't normal. He was turning into a sap…maybe someone had drugged his water. "Hey, JARVIS?"

"Sir?"

"You don't think I'm going to destroy a national icon, do you? I mean I can't break Captain America, right? That isn't a thing…it's not possible?"

If an AI could sound exasperated then JARVIS was well past that stage, "I have the utmost faith that you will not destroy Captain Rogers. He appears to be quite resilient."

"Still…I fuck up almost every person I try to have a relationship with. Just look at Pepper…that should have been harder to ruin…"

"I would strongly suggest seeking the confidence of another human, Sir. I have no experience with conflicting emotions or attractions."

And the wrong idea popped into Tony's head, he swung his feet over the side of the bed and headed towards his door. Once in the elevator he pressed the correct button.

"Perhaps it would be in your best interest to wait until a more decent time of day?"

But Tony was striding down the hallway and knocking on the door. There were curses, stumbling and finally the door was jerked open. Clint stood in front of Tony Stark with ruffled hair and a pillow crease on his right cheek. "What the fuck, Stark? Do you ever sleep?!"

"I'm not going to break Steve, am I?"

Clint blinked at him, looked down the hallway past Tony before looking back at the man standing in front of him and tried to bite back a curse. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Because look at what happened with Pepper! And all those other women!" Tony scowled at the wall behind Clint, "Everyone knows I'm a fuck up, Barton. I know you read that file Fury had on me saying that Iron Man was recommended, but not Tony Stark. You're the only one in this Tower in a somewhat stable, normal relationship. And before you say it Thor is not even from Earth!"

A sigh escaped as Clint stepped out into the hall and shut the door behind him, "What brought this about?"

"I might be attracted to Steve, but this has never happened before. I've only had flings with women in the past and then a somewhat stable relationship with Pepper. Which I managed to fuck up." Maybe taking all of those medications on a decided lack of sleep was not good for his brain-to-mouth filter. But you never learned anything if you didn't seek out the knowledge or get hands on experience. Sometimes something blew up.

"Months of this dancing around each other." It was muttered under his breath and Tony stared at him.

"You superassassins freak me the fuck out. Have you found a way to tap into my mind? Because let me tell you that is a place no one wants to go. No one!"

Clint scrubbed a hand down his face, "This should involve alcohol. Lots of alcohol." It was said mournfully, "Just don't do what you did with all of those women. I'm pretty sure Steve isn't a one nightstand kind of guy. Did you make a move on him or something?"

"No." it was petulant, "He made a move on me."

A laugh escaped the archer in front of him, "Captain America made a move on Tony Stark?" he was grinning now. "Oh to have been a fly on that wall."

"It was in a limo."

"Backseat action, way to go Cap." Clint leaned against the door and stared at Tony. "And you didn't see it coming?"

"Never in a million years." Tony sounded vaguely embarrassed about his lack of perception.

"First guy to hit on you or something? With all that intelligence I would think you could put two and two together and get that Steve was interested."

"I'm stupid, Clint. I'm a genius, but I must be stupid."

"Maybe you've just never found a guy you were interested in…Supersoldier must be your type." He smirked now and patted Tony on the shoulder. "Sometimes being oblivious is the only problem. Though if you break Captain America I think Phil might come after you." He grinned.

"Taser. Supernanny. Drool." Tony muttered, "I'm already injured…" a sigh escaped now. "I don't know where my mind has been lately…this is just sad."

"Go to sleep. You've suffered severe injuries. You actually need rest like the rest of us humans."

"Yeah, yeah." Tony waved him off and started off down the hall; he paused, "Thanks, Clint."

He didn't say if it was for the fact that Clint hadn't really made fun of him or if it was due to helping him understand the situation. It was probably for both.

"You're welcome, Stark. I expect a few enhancements to my bow when you're back to 100%." Clint stepped back inside the bedroom and moved to the bed.

"What did Stark want?" Coulson's voice rang through the darkness.

"He wanted to know if he was going to break Captain America. Apparently Steve made a move on him in the backseat of a limo."

And sound Coulson made caused Clint to snicker, "Why me? Why now?" it was sad, mournful even. "Director Fury is not going to like this at all. The paperwork will be astronomical."

Just in case I completely screwed this whole chapter up I wanted to clarify this because I've been building up to the actual Steve/Tony relationship for several parts in this series.

Instead of going the more usual route that Tony has always been Bi (because I think with Tony he is just attracted to who he is attracted to...I can't really see gender mattering) I wanted to stick a little closer with what we saw of Tony in the movies with him being a playboy with women and then show that Steve has known it doesn't matter what gender the other is as long as he has feelings (just in his time that wasn't something you expressed openly). The Tony I'm writing (diverging from canon as this is an AU even in the movie-verse) has just never thought about a male partner, he just hasn't found one that actually caught his interest as he has always chosen women partners so why change something that works? Had he been aware he would have noticed the attraction to Steve sooner, but was instead focusing on everything else going on.

If there was something that was confusing for this chapter just let me know...I will clarify/fix it with better wording.