Tony woke up to the familiarity of an empty bed but was surprised him was the the hastily written note on Steve's pillow.
Went down to the gym. Made coffee and fed Sylvia before I left- love you.
The soft smile that played on Tony's lips lasted as he stretched out and stayed in bed a few extra minutes. The inventor made his way down the hall and was surprised by the tiny noise that came from the nursery as he walked by. He turned his head to see Sylvia lying in her crib looking right at him and smiling, she recognized him and wanted his attention, she saw him as an important part of her life like Steve. Now, Tony Stark has built advanced armor that can blow up tanks and fly, he's saved the world countless times, he had more money that he'd ever know what to do with and everybody knew who he was. Not one of those things was a cool as what just happened.
On the couch, Tony had Sylvia in his lap so his abdomen would support her without him having to make a conscious effort. Turning on the TV Tony was greeted by various collages of
Captain America emblazoned across the screen with words like "scandal" and "theories" being thrown around by senior correspondents of bullshit. Deciding it much too early to deal with this he flips over to Max & Ruby not because he has any particular emotional investment in the show but because it was Sylvia's favorite. Safe to say she has no idea what's even going on with the show so Tony has a feeling its the rabbits she likes.
"Sleepy already, kiddo?" Tony mused as he noticed her eyelids dropping.
He shifted himself so he was laying on the couch with Sylvia on his chest with her head next to the arc reactor- Steve had told him how much she likes the hum of it. Tony took the opportunity to rest his eyes for a minute, its been a while since he could take a nap without being on constant vigilance for Tiberius' mood.
Steve was starting to unwrap his hands when Natasha approached him after their usual morning workout together, she had a look on her face that already had Steve itching to retreat while he still had all his limbs.
"Steve."
"Hm?"
"You've been acting like you killed someone and then hid the body in your garage."
"That was...specific."
"What's wrong?"
Steve chewed his lip and stared at her for a long minute trying to decide what if anything to tell her about last night. He wasn't exactly proud of it.
"I um, me and Tony we- I think-"
"Timid doesn't look good on you, Rogers." Her eyes hardened, she wasn't going to drop this.
"I kissed Tony last night." Steve couldn't even make himself look his friend.
"And now you feel like you've betrayed James."
He slowly lifted his eyes to meet Natasha's and where he was expecting anger he saw warmth. A pitiful little nod was the best he could do to answer that statement.
"You know, when I met James he lived believing that you had been dead for years. And continued to do so for many more after. What you're going through is what he went through too. Then finally he made the choice to keep living, he had committed himself to misery for so long and it took him a long time to realize that. And you know what he did?"
Steve couldn't form the words so he just kept staring dumbly.
"He let himself move forward and he met me. Not under the most desirable conditions mind you but he stopped living as a ghost and he fell in love again. His wounds started to heal and he was finally mending back together after so long. You can love more than one person without loving the first any less, Steve. I know without a doubt that James would be furious at you for stopping in your tracks like you have, for refusing to be happy. You meant more than anything else in the world to him and still do, he didn't spent a lifetime protecting you and sacrificing for you to just give up. You can't die with him Steve- he'd never forgive you for it."
She ran her hand down his jawline in a comforting motion that made him feel like a little boy.
He smiled and could see Bucky in head- teasing him for being insane enough to be so self-sacrificing and miserable by choice. Like when they were young and he'd gladly take a beating. The thought of Bucky still left an aching in his chest and probably always would, but for the first time it felt like the wound wasn't still spilling blood into him, like the scar tissue was finally starting to form on an invisible wound. Just for a second Steve let himself believe it would always hurt this bad and he wasn't past being fixed. Bucky never gave up on him and it felt like an insult to his husband to give up on himself now. Bucky really wouldn't ever forgive him for accepting defeat so easily and Steve never could take Bucky being sore at him.
After hugging Natasha tightly and kissing her cheek Steve took the elevator up to his floor. The doors slid open and what he walked in had to have been divinely created because there was no other explanation for the joy blooming inside him that chased away the ice and the pain and left misty eyes in their wake the moment he saw it. Tony was ungracefully sprawled out on the couch, dead asleep with Sylvia also zonked out on his chest.
The next day there would be more than only one framed picture on Steve's nightstand.