I had been peacefully sleeping, which was difficult to do in the uncomfortable cots the infirmary had. It also wasn't easy due to the arm bandages I now donned, due to the fact if anything rubbed against them I'd be in intense pain. There were more worries in my mind, like the fact half the helicarrier was in ruins, Brianna was trapped down in the basement, and I had yet to get any answers concerning my mother's illness.

The absolute worst thing about being in the infirmary, however, was that the lab was right down the hallway. Tony and Steve had been arguing more often than usual, their fights starting over stupid things Tony said or clueless Steve having no idea what he's doing. They found any reason to fight, and it was beginning to get on my nerves.

They were acting like children more than heroes.

"Have you been drinking Stark?" I heard Steve's voice growl out from down the hall. I sighed after realizing sleep was not going to be an option any longer.

"No, I have not been drinking." Tony replied shortly. "I still am." I let out an unhappy sigh as I stood up, carefully stretching as I went to stop their bickering. Bruce was sitting in between them, doing his research as usual while Tony took a sip from his drink. Steve continued to glare at him, and as he opened his mouth to push Tony's buttons again, I spoke up.

"Don't say anything, either of you." The attention was drawn over to me; I figured I looked beyond irritated, because for once Tony didn't have some smart ass retort to throw at me. Steve looked at me, annoyed, which is the first time I've ever seen him look at me like that before. In his hands was a manila folder, which he was clenching tightly.

"I need to talk to you." He looked me in the eyes, and gave me a look I'd never seen him give me before. He looked completely betrayed. I frowned as I followed him out, wondering what was on his mind. As soon as we were down the hall, he turned on me. He looked towards my feet, trying to think of what to say.

"Steve, what's wrong?"

"I thought you were different." He stated suddenly as he looked back up. "How could you lie to me about the folder?" He flashed me the folder; they were the case files on my mother that I'd left in my room. I stared at it with wide eyes, before looking back at Steve. I remembered how he defended me from Fury, and immediately felt guilty. I had meant to tell him and explain the situation, but I'd never gotten to it. Things had been happening at such a fast pace, the folder had completely slipped my mind.

"Look, Steve, let me explain-"

"I know you need time to mourn for your father but that didn't give you the excuse to lie to Fury or me; I'm starting to think he has a reason to distrust you." No one had brought up my father since it had happened, and I felt a heavy feeling of guilt settle over my heart. I looked at Steve with a stone cold glare, crossing my arms as the guilt was replaced with annoyance. How could he even bring up Fury right now?

"I don't have the time to mourn." I muttered in response to Steve, who looked surprised at the response. He began to frown, shaking his head and sighing. "What do you want me to say Steve!?"

"Nothing at all. If you'll excuse me." He replied softly, nodding his head before walking away without another word. I watched as he left, unable to think of anything to say. There was an urge to cry tugging at my heart, but I held back the tears and replaced it with frustration. It felt as though I'd been broken up with, even though we hadn't had an official relationship in the first place.

I didn't feel like being alone anymore, everything weighed down on me more if I wasn't distracted, so I opted to head to the place Steve would rarely show up to.

I walked into the lab, taking a seat beside a very focused Tony. I still had no idea what him or Bruce did in this lab, but I knew it must've taken quite some brain power. Their intelligence was something I was jealous of, but things involving science never truly struck my interest. After Tony had written down a few details on the piece of paper lying next to him, he swiveled his chair to face me.

"Any reason Cap's got his panties in a twist?"

"Nothing worth discussing." I let out a sigh and let my head slam against the desk, drawing Bruce's attention.

"We should go for a walk." Tony stood up, walking over and handing his notes to Bruce. "Handle this for me will ya, big guy?" Bruce smirked a bit, nodding at Tony before continuing on with his own work. Tony motioned for me to follow him, which I complied with. Maybe Tony could aggravate me and I'd be rid of this depressed feeling. I'd much rather be irritated with Tony compared to this heart breaking feeling…

I had lost the trust of not only the man I knew I loved, but my childhood hero. He had trusted me, and I had let him down. He had defended me, and I proved that I didn't deserve his trust.

The silence was comforting for a few minutes, Tony cracking a few jokes about Steve being an overprotective girlfriend and such. The mere mention of Steve only happened to bring back the guilty feeling however, and it managed to make me feel even worse than before. Maybe Tony wasn't as blunt and insensitive as I thought he was, for he stopped talking until we were standing in front of the training room.

Wow, I hadn't figured I would end up here; I guess when I was upset I was just too used to going here for comfort. I could heart heavy panting and the sound of a punching bag being throttled; I looked at Tony, and without a sound he guided me away from the cause of my pain and back towards the lab.

"You could do better you know."

"Tony…" I groaned, not wanting to hear this speech. "Don't do this to me. I don't even want to think about love or romance right now." He stopped walking, grabbing onto my hand and pulling me to face him. His eyes scanned my face for a moment, the serious expression on his face shocking me.

"You could live with me, you know. I could get you a job at Stark Tower, give you a roof over your head, I could give you anything you want." It was the first time in my mind that I registered the fact Tony might have something for me. That maybe his relentless teasing may have a deeper meaning for me that his newfound need to start a fight with Steve over anything and everything might've been because of jealousy. "I could give you the world, anything you wanted. Anything you needed."

"But you… You're not…"

"I'm not him." Tony let out a frustrated sigh, running his fingers through his hair. "The amazing Tony Stark finds himself a decent girl and she's in love with a super soldier. Do you feel guilty enough to love me yet or should I keep going?" He had a playful smile on his face now, patting my shoulder. "No worries, kid, can't help how you feel and who you like, right? I'll be sure to be more assertive with the next woman."

"Tony." I grabbed his hand, stopping him from going. I had a million things I could've said to him, but at the moment none of them seemed to be the right thing. When I thought of love, only Steve came to my mind. I couldn't lie to Tony and say I saw him in a way I didn't; it wasn't in my nature to do so which is why the situation involving Steve seemed to slowly grow worse. I couldn't use words to explain to him how I felt, so instead I used actions.

I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around Tony's neck and hugging him. I heard him chuckle softly, his arms encircling my waist as he hugged me back. I wanted to apologize to him, I wanted to ask him how he ever gained a crush on a ditz such as me, and I wanted to inform him that someone much more intelligent and charming was made for him. That certainly wasn't me.

I was the simple, hard working girl who wanted nothing more than to settle down with a man and raise a family. The life I had envisioned for myself in the future didn't fit with where Tony's life was going, and I wouldn't dare attempt to tear him away from all his hard work. We weren't meant to be; our lives were on different paths and my heart belonged to another. He was Tony Stark, sure enough he wouldn't be stuck on me long (I was still wondering why he was interested in the first place), and when he found a girl to settle down with, hopefully she'd be the right one.

"Thank you, Tony." I managed to whisper. "But I… have a few things I need to do before the days out."

"Understood, mother nature." Tony mockingly saluted me as he released me. "If Captain fails to realize what a hot soldier he's got, my bedroom door is always open. Remember that." Figuring that was the most romantic thing I'd ever get out of Tony, I couldn't help but smile as he walked back to the lab.

I took a deep breath as I walked down the hallway, wondering what I could possibly say to him to make him listen. Steve was kind, that was true, but it didn't mean he liked to be lied to. He wouldn't forgive me if I didn't have a good explanation, and coming clean about all of this... Maybe the only way to make him understand was to explain my life to him, to explain what I had discovered. Steve was no fool, and I could only hope he'd detect my sincerity.

I lingered by the door way and watched him for a few seconds; his movements were relentless against that poor punching bag. It dawned on me that maybe he was suffering too, but to what degree? Was he as upset as I was, or did he just feel annoyed at being lied to?

"Steve…" His arms dropped as soon as he heard my voice, but he didn't turn.

"Hello, ma'am. If I could request something of you… could you please allow me to be alone?" I could already feel my heart begin to crumble as I leaned against the doorway for balance. It had never crossed my mind that he'd tell me to leave, nor that he'd treat me as though he didn't know who I was.

"I know you're respectful, Steve, but I'm not. And we need to talk."

"I don't believe there's anything left to talk about, ma'am."

"Stop calling me ma'am, goddamn it!" Steve slowly turned around, an unreadable look on his face as he began to undo the wrappings around his hands.

"Then I'll leave you to your business." He began to walk towards the exit but I stopped him, placing my hands firmly on his chest. Even though I knew I didn't stand a chance if he actually tried to push past me, I was doing what I could to stop him before I got to speak.

"Not until we talk."

"I… need time." Steve backed away from my touch, looking down. "If you want we'll speak tomorrow, here, but after that…"

"I understand." I moved out of his way, biting my lip as my eyes began to tear. What kind of thing was I getting into? No matter how hard I tried to push, he wouldn't move. No matter how hard I tried to prove my case, he'd just reject me. Tomorrow would be my last chance to prove to him that I cared about him or else… Him and I would have no future together. "But I need you to think about one thing."

He didn't answer but I heard him stop walking.

"Why don't you read what's in my father's case file, in Fury's room. Maybe it's against your morals to lie and steal, but I only did what Fury had done to me."

I walked into the training room, grabbing a pair of bandages to wrap around my fists. I needed a way to keep my mind from him until tomorrow; maybe the punching bag could take my mind off of things until tomorrow.

Hope was the only thing I have left.