Hi all! Just popping in for an update before I leave for the day. I can't wait to read your reviews from the previous chapter when I get home!

After his shower, Tony went down to his lab, completely ignoring his suit, and instead reading the dozens of old science journals his father had left him. Tony knew he had been a complete dick to Pepper these last few days, but he felt excessively moody and irritable and couldn't seem to control himself. He turned to the one man who might understand him: his father.

A wave of nostalgia had slapped him across his face as he took in his father's scribbles and musings. He used to only associate the man with a father who was never there, a father who was drunk and often cruel. Tony had hated him for a long time. Yet, ever since he had uncovered his father's research into the new element Vibranium, Tony began to see his father in a different light. He realized his hatred for Howard Stark was limiting to his work. Here in these journals, his father had written down and played with hundreds of ideas that Tony had never even contemplated. Living in this time of massive technological advancement was ideal for Tony, but he had failed to realize just how much living in a certain generation could massively alter your perspective. His father had been full of ideas about the future of technology, and what he could accomplish when those advancements came. True, some of his ideas were extraordinarily kitschy and could probably end up looking like props from the original Star Trek series, but many were full of potential.

He's been sitting in his lab, reading these journals for about two hours when Jarvis interrupted, "Sir, Mr. Bruce Banner is on the line. Should I let the call through?"

Oh right, the blood test anomaly. Tony pressed his fingers into his tired eyes and nodded. He turned towards one of his computer screens and saw Banner looking grimly at him.

Tony bypassed general courtesy, "Just give me the bad news and get it over with."

"Well, your Potassium levels are still low, Tony, have you been eating the right foods?"

Tony thought about the last time he actually ate and his stomach grumbled loudly when it finally realized he was paying attention to it, "Er..."

"Of course you aren't. You know you have to start eating right. You might have been able to handle your diet before the OP, but now you have to be more careful."

Tony shrugged, feeling like a petulant child but not doing anything to stop it, "What else?"

Bruce sighed, "Well, your ALT/SGPT and CPK enzymes are elevated. That's normal after trauma to the heart, but they shouldn't be so high now that it's been nearly two months. And just like I said last time, you clearly have Anemia and it looks like you haven't done a thing about it. All these problems can go away with the right diet and activity, Tony."

Tony looked away from the screen. "Is that all?"

Bruce sighed again, "I've faxed Pepper your test results. If you won't listen to me, maybe you'll listen to her. Goodnight Tony." Bruce ended the call without another word.

Tony felt angry all over again. In another lifetime, he could see himself being really good friends with Bruce. He was one of the few who could speak the same language as him, and he was clearly a decent guy, but all the same...

He pushed away from the work table and didn't even bother to put away his father's things before leaving his lab. He sulked up to his room, swallowed down a few aspirin and lay down face first into a pillow, knowing that the next day was going to be just as bad as this one.

Predictably, it was the next day and Tony felt like shit. He wanted a day to himself to just stay in, order pizza, and draw up crazy ideas with JARVIS.

Nick Fury would have none of it, but what could he do? He was back at headquarters in New York, so it's not like he could march over and force Tony out of his house.

Tony was in the middle of designing a stylish pair of night-vision goggles that could pass as sunglasses, when JARVIS spoke up, "Sir, a Mr. Steve Rogers has let himself into the building using a valid entry code, but my scanners don't recognize his facial signature. Should I let him enter the living space?"

Tony waved Jarvis off, "Go ahead, why not?"

"I can think of several reasons, sir. The first being that your state of undress may render the stranger somewhat repelled. "

Tony looked over at the massive floor length mirror that reflected the room, and he remembered that he hadn't showered or shaved in two days.

"Shit!"

"Indeed, sir."

"Jarvis, lead Steve to the kitchens and stall him for twenty minutes."

Twenty-one minutes later, a freshly groomed, nice-smelling Tony stark strolled casually into the kitchen wearing his sleekest bathrobe. Oh yeah, thought Tony, you've got this, hot stuff.

Despite his grand entrance, Steve was facing away from him, leaning against the countertop in front of a pot of tea (where the hell did he find a teapot?) and talking animatedly to Jarvis.

Tony took a moment to take a mental image of Steve's ass in those pants, before he spoke over Jarvis, "Don't pretend like your stories are interesting, Jarvis."

"On the contrary, sir, I only begin one in the hopes that you will come in and interrupt me before I finish," the AI responded dryly.

"Ohhh, watch the sass."

"I know the way you like it, sir."

Steve watched their interaction with delighted amusement on his face, cracking up at Jarvis' last line. "That's quite the mouth you have on your butler, Mr. Stark."

Tony wanted to say the exact same thing about Steve, but there was such a thing as being too lecherous. Instead he said, "I spend most of my time with robots, I might as well make it interesting for myself." Tony shrugged, playing it off like that kind of genius programming was no biggy.

Steve shook his head, "I'm really amazed. I mean, I knew of artificial intelligence, but this takes it to a whole other level. Jarvis is remarkable."

"Thank you, Mr. Rogers."

Steve grinned, his dimples showing, "You're very welcome, Jarvis."

Tony just looked at Steve. Well isn't that just the most adorable thing ever, he thought to himself. He made a note to show Steve some of his more impressive tech later, before he realized that he had probably been staring a Steve in silence for far too long.

The blond didn't seem to notice, however, and instead he gestured toward the counter, where two small cups stood in front of the teapot, "I hope you don't mind, Mr. Stark, but Jarvis said I was welcome to anything in the kitchen, and I couldn't help but notice your amazing store of tea. I actually found my favourite brand and flavour in there, something I haven't been able to find for years now, and I couldn't resist making a pot."

Tony eyed the teapot with trepidation. He was a coffee lover, with a taste for espressos. Pepper had once tried to get him on the tea bandwagon, claiming it was better for him, but the stuff she liked tasted like sewage. He had given tea an extra wide berth after that.

But the fruity aroma wafting from the teapot was already drawing him in, and before he could protest, Steve was pouring him a cup as well.

The liquid was a very light shade of pink, and Tony took a sip, his taste buds lighting up.

Steve must have seen the expression on Tony's face because he smiled again and said, "Its nice isn't it? It's a white tea infused with pomegranate. It's very good for the heart."

Tony looked up at that, his brow creasing. How much did Steve know about his condition? He decided to probe, "How much do you know about me, Steve?"

Steve looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"I can only assume that Fury sent you a file on me before you took the job, and I'm sure that file said some things that don't make me sound like the ideal employer."

Steve set down his tea and took a deep breath. He was going to have to word this carefully. "Well, I was an army captain. I had to know enough about your weaponry in order to help train my soldiers. I was in Afghanistan with my team when you were kidnapped by the terrorist cell and I lead the second search."

Tony looked pained as he shook his head. "This is a problem for me. I hate being known for my weapons legacy. I was so ignorant. I had no idea of corporate responsibility and what could happen if my weapons got into the wrong hands."

Steve held up a hand, "I also know that the United States military had a beef with you. Once you found out about the corruption in your company, you terminated your contract with us. You made my bosses quite angry when you didn't allow us to reproduce your Iron Man suit, not to mention you ruined two fighter jets when you failed to register the suit in our airspace."

Tony grinned slightly, "oops."

Steve suppressed a grin himself, "Needless to say, the army wasn't a fan of you. Me? I have a slightly different view on how things should work. I think firearms are a problem. They've become far too accessible and gun ownership in this country is given too much lenience. Being a soldier used to be a completely different experience. Now, you rarely see the faces of the people you kill. Mass bombing also isn't the answer. I'm for disabling the enemy, not obliterating them. Well, in most cases."

Tony looked at him questioningly, "All this coming from an army Captain?" Tony also wanted to ask how Steve became a captain so young, but he didn't want to get too personal too fast.

Steve grinned, "I'm good at what I do." There was a short stretch of silence before he continued, "When I was offered the job by Director Fury, I was also given your file. It wasn't flattering."

Tony looked down, nodding.

"But, what I read, was a man who took control of his life. He held himself accountable for his actions and he decided to make a difference in this world. You may not be a friend to the army, but you are more of a soldier that most of the guys out there. I read about a human being who's made mistakes, and who's brave enough to own up to those mistakes. You're not pretending to be anything you aren't."

Tony was still looking down, his brow furrowed, and Steve felt like he might have said too much. He reached out to put a hand on Tony's shoulder, and at his touch the man looked up. He didn't look angry, he looked grateful.

"Jarvis, send out an order for a year's supply of Steve's favourite tea."

"Yes, sir."

Steve held his hands up, "That's really not necessary Mr. Stark. Besides, I shouldn't be accepting any gifts from you."

Tony shrugged, "Then I'll keep it here. It'll give you more incentive to visit. C'mon, I'll show you around the place.

Notes:

In reference to the scene where Tony stalls Steve so he can beautify himself, It might seem a bit out of character for him to be so worried about his appearance, especially when he's so caught up in his own misery. I mean, the guy rocks sneakers and fan-boy t-shirts when he hits up the Grammy's, so he's pretty casual. But as I was writing this chapter, it occurred to me that Tony is in the process of developing a massive crush on Steve, and he probably hasn't had a crush like this since he was in high school. And when I was in high school and was crushing on someone, I had this compulsive need to make myself look more desirable (and I'm sure many can relate). Sometimes it was unconscious, sometimes it was done with a clear purpose in mind. I imagine that Tony, who's still somewhat emotionally immature, would revert to this kind of behaviour. Besides, it's fun to write a Tony who isn't always in control. I'll probably have Jarvis poke fun at him for it later xD

Oh and all that health lingo? I'm actually taking a nutrition science course, so the info is pretty accurate!

Please let me know what you think! More Stony to come in the next chapters :)