Tony was eventually able to pick himself up off the floor though he still had to use the wall to brace on; he stared at his reflection in the mirror for a long time. His right eye was a throbbing dark purple, his lower lip had also split a little on the right side and the blood from his nose was mostly dried now. After cleaning up very carefully all that remained was his black eye, a small cut on his lip and several bruises all over his body- nothing a long sleeve shirt and pants couldn't fix. He pulled on a clean pair of boxers and a fresh white t-shirt and slowly stepped out into the master bedroom. Ty was nowhere to be seen and no sounds suggested he was close- Tony never wished he had JARVIS as much as he did right now. He crawled beneath the comforter and sunk into such an exhausted state it couldn't even be called sleep.

After waking up Tony remained in bed for a good hour before getting up and finding Ty watching the news on the couch where he'd obviously slept. He noticed Tony immediately and stood up; the brunette considered trying to bolt to the door but three doctorates in engineering would slap him in the face if he honestly thought he could make it before Ty clotheslined him.

"Tony I-"

"Don't."

"I'm so sorry Tony, I just got jealous last night."

"Fuck off Tiberius."

"I deserve that."

The blonde took Tony's face in his hands and kissed his cheek before pulling him into an embrace. Tony whole body tensed and Ty eased him onto the couch where he kept his arms around him and curled his toned body around the smaller mans. Leaving the two cuddled comfortably together.

"I'm so sorry Tony. You know how much I love you. When I think about how much I need you I can't even control it when I think of you leaving."

Ty gently ran his fingers through Tony's hair, planting kisses on the top of his head every so often as they stayed that way. Tony absentmindedly drummed his fingers against the arc reactor as he listened to Ty speak softly about possible modifications on the Iron Man suit. This everlasting moment made Tony want to think it was worth it, worth staying with Ty. His good was so great but his bad was unbearable as evident by the purple and yellow welts on his body and the nauseous burning sensation that still lingered. But at the end of it all Tiberius was right- Pepper had left, Rumiko, Veronica, Marianne and so, so many others- his own father never even smiled at him, Steve had given up too- no one would stay for him, nor should they. Tiberius Stone is the only one who gave him a second chance, the only one who would stay.

It was well into the afternoon when Tony's phone rang; Fury demanded his presence on the Helicarrier. Tiberius kissed him and came up with several reasons for him to stay (all very tempting) but Avengers business always came first.

"Stark!" Tony had barely gotten through the door before Fury started hounding him.

"I know, I know, I should've been here like yesterday."

"Just sit down."

"I'm the only late one, where are the others?" He asked taking a seat.

"There are no others on this one, it's a very classified sting and I only need two. Usually I'd send Barton and Romanov but both are otherwise occupied so this mission is yours and Rogers'."

The two men nodded and reviewed the files given to them, nothing extravagant- just a drug ring overseen by the Mob but probably run by Kingpin. Easy work for two of the highest profile super-heroes of all time (well according to Tony Stark and People Magazine anyways.)

So easy in fact, that neither of them even showed up to the warehouse in full gear, Cap was wearing his uniform but the cowl was down and his shield was strapped to his back rather than his arm and Tony could access Extremis should the need arise. The two of them climbed into the catwalk that ran around the parameter of the inside of the warehouse- dark, hidden and good view- the best place to be according to Clint and who were they to argue? They settled in behind some crates after planting the bugs that allowed effortless entry into any and all conversations below.

Tony had never had a hard time being near Steve save for those first few encounters but now looking at the man made his whole body ache as he recalled how badly their last meeting ended for him. If Ty found out he was alone with Steve he might not make it out so unscathed this time

"What happened to your eye?" Steve's jaw set tight as he stared below.

"Training, I got a little too into it."

Liar.

"Oh, that's a hell of shiner."

"Yeah, I've seen worse on you." Tony grinned.

Steve smiled and ducked his head before looking over at Tony, his gaze stayed on Tony for a long time.

"What?" Tony shifted a bit.

"Nothing, I just miss you."

"I uh…I miss you too, Steve. A lot actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Don't. Do not do this Tony. Don't drag him down with you.

"Ty was pretty stoked to meet you too; talked about it the whole night."

"Oh….. Yeah he seems protective of you."

That was the understatement of the millennia.

"He's something else." Tony couldn't help but smile at the ridiculous words coming out his own mouth.

"You know, after you left….I had a hard time. But everything, it was all worth it if you can look me in the eyes and tell me you're happy right now."

Tony stayed silent as he stared into those deep ocean blue eyes, so far from Ty's icy ones.

"Of course I'm happy, Steve. Happier than I've been in a while." Tony smiled the smile it took 40 years of loneliness to perfect.

Things were quiet, easy. Until one of the moronic thugs found one of the bugs on the inside of a crate, then they started storming the whole damn place. Steve was fighting a few of them off when another flipped Tony over the railing sending him crashing onto the concrete ground floor.

"Tony!" Steve pushed off the guys trying to hold him and jumped over.

Strapping his shield to his arm, Steve lifted Tony up and ran for the exit as he pulled his gun out and shot behind them to keep distance. Steve secured Tony onto his motorcycle and sped towards Avengers Tower.