Thank you for reading this story! I'm basically letting it write itself, and although I was planning on a 10,000 word fic, it's looking like it will be longer hahaha (ie. I've already written 9000). This story is categorized, as you know, under romance and humour, but there will be some angst in the next few chapters. One person left a comment actually hoping for some angst, so here you go!

"Jesus Christ, Tony, you can't do this to me! I thought you were going to take me more seriously after what happened to you. Why, why do you have to make my life so difficult?"

Tony moved away from Steve and lowered his voice, "C'mon, Pepper. You know this has nothing to do with you. I HATE having Fury on my ass all the time. There are just some places that don't need security, press and paparazzi following me inside. I saw a chance for a bit of freedom and I took it."

"But why didn't you answer any of my messages?"

"I figured Happy would tell you."

"Happy is supposed to have the week off, Tony." Pepper sighed, and her voice was sad when she continued, "Humour me for a moment, okay? Imagine I was the one who was kidnapped? What if I had almost died? And what if YOU were the one to blame? Because you thought 'what's the harm in letting her have just ONE night to herself?'"

"You know I don't blame you for anything that happened to me, Pepper. If it hadn't been that night, those guys would have found another way to take me, and even more innocent people might have been involved."

"Tony...I know," her voice wavered slightly, "but no matter how many times you tell me that, I still can't forgive myself. And if I let it happen again, I don't know what I'll do."

Tony sat down in a plastic chair and shook his head, "Hey...hey now. I'm sorry, Pep. I wasn't thinking. You're right, I should have told you where I was going, it's just"

you don't trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, don't be an idiot."

"But you don't trust me to keep it to myself, do you? You think I've become so paranoid that you'll never have any privacy. And I can't even blame you for that. I mean, l even encouraged Fury to find you a bodyguard!"

"I tend to forget that you only act in my best interest."

She let out a choked half sob, half laugh, "You DO do that. A lot."

"I know, I know, I'm a selfish bastard. Look, I'll really try, okay? I mean, it'll take a bit of getting used to having the physical incarnation of a Greek God trailing me everywhere, but things could be a lot worse. He could be a total eyesore."

"TONY." Her voice was scolding, but he could still hear a hint of laughter.

"It's the truth! But listen, I'm safe, okay? I'm at my children's hospital. I used to visit these kids all the time before, and I really wanted to come back without any attention this time. I'll be back at the mansion in a few hours, okay?

Pepper sighed again, "Okay...just promise me you'll be safe? And tell your bodyguard that I will kill him if he lets anything happen to you."

Tony chuckled, "I'm pretty sure he's already terrified of you, Pep. Bye, love."

He ended the call and stared at the screen of his phone, feeling like a complete asshole. The truth was, he was probably just as scared as Pepper, but he was the only one dumb enough to act like nothing had changed.

Tony closed his eyes, remembering that night, feeling his stomach lurch just at the thought of it.

It had been a night like any other, but Tony had felt invincible. How long had it been since Whiplash was out of the picture? Only a few months, but that hadn't even mattered. He was practically on top of the world, and the only thing holding him back was his growing involvement with SHIELD.

He had convinced Pepper to let him sneak off, just for a few hours, and he had driven himself to his favourite old pub, where he spent many a joyful evening in his late teens before the attention had shifted from his father to himself. Development in L.A had expanded exponentially during that last two decades, and he hadn't realized that his old haunt now lay in one of the seedier parts of town. He had been overjoyed to find Maurice, the pub manager, inside and doing well despite being in his eighties. Tony had spent the evening reminiscing with Maurice, and Tom, the old barkeep, and he ordered round upon round of drinks for everyone at the bar.

There were very few times in Tony Stark's life where he felt like he could live free from the burden his father had left on his shoulders. Free from the terrible ache he felt when he missed his mother. Free from the sad and horrific things he had witnessed after his parents death. That night, he had allowed himself to go back to a time where his ignorance and naivety had shielded him from the sadness that would soon envelope his life. He forgot about his frustrations, his anger, his disappointments, and just lived.

But just as the night was drawing to a close, at least half a dozen thugs, armed with assault rifles, had barged their way into the building, shooting Maurice dead, and three others right in front of him. They had made their deal simple amid the screams and shouts that sounded from every direction

"You don't come with us, and everyone else in the bar dies."

Tony, who moments before, had pressed the silent panic button he installed on his phone, quickly held his hands above his head, "Easy guys, I'll come with. No one else gets hurt."

He looked down at the now lifeless form of Maurice before a sack was placed over his head, and his body was roughly searched, his phone and wallet tossed. His hands were bound, and then he was being dragged out of the bar, and shoved unceremoniously into a car. The tires screeched as the car took off at full speed, and Tony rolled pathetically over the seats and onto the floor, unable to stop himself with his hands tied. He gave a shout when the car turned at full speed, and his head slammed against something hard and metal. His head throbbing, and tasting blood in his mouth, Tony couldn't keep track of where they were going. Suddenly the car screeched to a halt, and he was grabbed out of the floor of the car and thrown to the ground, his already bleeding head slammed hard into the concrete.

He threw up all over himself before the sack was lifted off his head, but his vision was blurred and spinning. He was dragged over to a wall and he heard, "He's all yours."

A low chuckle, and the clicking of boots against pavement was all he heard before he was kicked roughly in the stomach. He doubled over, wheezing and coughing up blood, and a moment later a cloth was shoved into his mouth he was being lifted up, strong hands gripping his collar.

Tony detected a thick German accent when the man in front of him spoke"I must thank you, Mr. Stark, you have made my job incredibly easy."

The same pair of hands ripped open his undershirt, and, with hardly any warning, Tony's arc reactor was being taken forcibly from his chest.

"Leave him," the cold German voice spoke again.

A moment later, Tony heard the screech of tires as a pair of cars took off, and he was left alone, dying. A moment before he had lost consciousness, he thought he heard sirens in the distance, but then the pain in his chest and the pounding in his head had overwhelmed him.

A firm hand gripped his shoulder, and Tony started, leaping to his feet, his heart beating fast.

But then concerned blue eyes were looking into his, and he remembered where he was.

"Are you okay sir?"

Tony tried his best to smile at Steve, "Yes, I was just distracted by a thought. C'mon, let's go cheer up some amazing kids.

Steve lay in his bunk, reflecting on one of the most surreal days of his life. He had no idea what to make of Tony Stark. He knew of him before this week, of course, Stark weaponry had been a staple in the military after all. But he held only a vague idea of the man behind the weapons, a man that seemed to think himself above everyone else, and probably for good reason. The files he read about Mr. Stark before taking the job as his bodyguard, seemed to reinforce the idea of an aloof, filthy-rich playboy, but Steve had tried to absorb as little bias as possible. When a man served his country the way Tony did, Steve wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

His first impression of Stark hadn't helped. Much like his file had made clear, the man truly held little respect for authority, and Steve's conversation with Miss. Potts had been revealing to say the least. But the very same man had a children's hospital named after him, and had 'Iron Man' make wacky balloon animals and perform magic tricks to the kids inside. Steve had watched this man spend his entire day, tirelessly making sure that each kid in that building had a smile on their face before he left, with a promise to come back soon. No man, who's every action was self-serving, would have done that.

And boy, did Mr. Stark have a lot of charm, something he envied ever so slightly. Charisma just wafted off of the man, but how much of it was genuine? He seemed to flirt with everything. Of course, Steve had little to no idea how to flirt, but his observations of Stark had been overwhelming. He was going to have to get used to the idea of Stark flirting with him. At first he had been completely taken aback, but when he saw Stark interact with the hospital staff, and virtually anyone else Stark seemed to like, he realized it was something positive and harmless. Knowing this didn't seem to translate to his body, however, because he could still feel his ears going red just thinking about it. But it was important that Stark continued to like him. As director Fury has said, Steve was not only the best man for the job, he was the only man for the job. And Steve would be damned if he let either of them down.