A/N: I am so so sorry it's taken me this long to get this out! Tumblr has eaten my freakin' life lately! Here it is though and hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to get out.

Also, I realize that some things are drastically different from what actually happens in the comics but I am really only familiar with the movieverse and I've been winging it with a little Wiki knowledge. Obviously some of it's going to be embellished.

Thank you so much to everyone who is reading and reviewing this!

It's been nearly four months since Tony finally told Steve how he really felt and since then, the Captain has practically moved into the penthouse. Not that Tony minds at all, of course. They've settled into a routine that's comfortable for both of them. Steve still tries to adjust to the new technology of a modern world but he's learning with Tony's help. There's a lot of times that Steve sits with Tony in the workshop, watching him work on new equipment while his lover explains to him the best he can what it does and why it does it. It's overwhelming but interesting to Steve but a lot of it's still alien to him.

At this particular moment, Tony is playing around with one of the arc reactors that he uses in his chest and Steve is next to him, watching all the little gizmos inside move like clockwork.

"You never told me why you needed this," Steve says. "All I know is that he keeps you alive."

Tony smiles faintly, glancing quickly at his lover. "I was on a trip in Afghanistan to introduce a missile when we were attacked. There's a piece of shrapnel buried in my chest but the reactor keeps it from reaching my heart. It also powers the suits."

"You made it all the way back from the middle east without this?" Steve sounds incredulous.

"Of course not," Tony sighs. "I was captured by a terrorist group with another scientist. He hooked me up to a battery to keep me alive and together we created the reactor. The terrorists promised us freedom in return for a Jericho missile but we knew they'd never keep that promise. Instead, we built the first Iron Man suit but once it was discovered what we were really doing, they attacked again. Yinsen didn't make it out but I did."

Steve can hear the sadness in Tony's voice and he stands, stepping behind Tony and sliding his arms around his lover's waist. He doesn't know what to say because he knows very well that people can't forget the things they see as a result of war. He presses a kiss to the back of Tony's neck and then rests his forhead to the back of the other man's head. "If I could thank him for saving your life then I would. If he hadn't I wouldn't have you now."

Tony leans back against Steve with a small smile. "I guess you wouldn't. It was...probably the hardest thing I ever had to deal with, losing that man after he'd saved my life. I just hope he knows how grateful I am."

"I'm sure he does," Steve replies. "How could he not? Look what you've done since then. You're a public icon."

For a moment Tony doesn't say anything, finding it hard to swallow what Steve has just said. He might be a public icon but sometimes that didn't make things easier. After all, there was something coming that was going to change the course of all their lives. He just hopes it doesn't tear them apart.

Tony tilts his head back so that he can press a soft kiss to Steve's jaw, lips making a trail along the smooth skin. "I need to talk to you about something."

Steve leans back, looking down at his lover and nodding. "Okay, what's up?"

"Nick Fury contacted to me and gave me a sort of project. There's a superhuman that's kind of on the fringe right now. He needs some guidance and Fury thinks I...that we can help him out." Tony says, touching the hologram screen so that a profile comes up. "His name is Peter Parker but people of the city better know him as Spiderman."

"Spiderman? The alleged vigilante that terrorizes New York?" Steve asks with a small smile.

"Been reading the rag mags, have you?" Tony teases but he sighs. "Fury says that he's lacking in self-discipline and his aunt and girlfriend are in trouble. I said I would take the job, is that okay?"

Steve nods. "Yeah, if you think it'll help. Are they moving in here?"

"Not in the penthouse but in one of the apartments below that way they'll be behind the securtiy." Tony explains, leaning back against Steve once more. "Are you sure that you're okay with this?"

Steve nods, kissing Tony's cheek gently. "Go for it."

Tony's startled of sleep by a nightmare and he feels his body is covered in a light layer of cold sweat. Steve's arm is flopped over his waist and he gently slides out from beneath it, trying not to wake his lover. The dream has him shaken and he is shivering. Slowly, he pads across the room and into the large bathroom, sitting on the edge of the tub to get his mind in order.

Tony had never dreamt something so miserable. He'd dreamt that he was at odds with Steve, fighting against him in something that was obviously very important. Even if it was just a dream, it has shaken Tony to the core. He sits in the bathroom for a few moments but eventually returns to the room. He can't go back to sleep and watches his lover for a few moments before slipping from the room once more and heading down into the lab.

It isn't long before Tony hears Steve coming down into the lab. He must have woken to find that Tony was no longer present in the bed and worried. Steve always worries when Tony ends up in the lab at night. When Steve enters the lab, he steps up to Tony and opens his mouth to speak but Tony doesn't let him. Instead, he cuts him off with a soft kiss to the mouth.

"I'm okay," Tony reassures him. "Just a bad dream..."

Steve nods, smiling softly. "I love you, Tony. I love you so, so much."

Those words force the dream to the back of Tony's mind and he smiles. "I love you more..." He teases.