Thank you to everyone who read or review the last chapter. This is the final chapter of Tony Stark is Not a Relationship Expert.

I just want to take a moment to thank everybody who has stayed with this story even though it went from a short story, by my standards, to something approaching 50,000 words. This story or rather series was really me getting into the MCU for the first time and getting outside of my Star Trek and Ugly Betty comfort zones. It was fun trying something completely different.

Also, thank you to everyone who has left kudos, added the story to your favorites, or who are following.

A special thank you goes to Grayson Steele, who was the beta for most of this story. Honestly, at times she felt more like my cowriter than just my beta by helping me get scenes just right.

Continuity note: In the MCU supplemental comic to Captain America 1, they had Bucky and Steve growing up together in an orphanage. However, it seems like that piece of cannon was recanted in Winter Soldier with one of the flashback sequences making it seem as if Sarah Rogers died when Steve was closer to adulthood and Bucky still lived with his own family. Anyone who is familiar with my writing knows that I love my characters to be a little bit on the screwed up side (I write a lot of stories about Vulcans in therapy). I believe that a Steve who lost his mother at a young age and grew up in the 1930s version of the New York child welfare system is more interesting and therefore I'm going to go with that character history.

Chapter 8: Happy Endings (or as happy as they can be with Hydra in the picture).

May had Steve beneath her and remarkably he was almost breathing hard. She watched a bead of perspiration begin to form on his brow as she continued to successfully pin him down. It had only taken just over an hour to get Steve to this point. May felt quite proud of that.

He was 10 times stronger than the average man which made him roughly three times stronger than her. Theoretically, it should be impossible for her to win in a sparring match against him, but she had more experience. If she counted the years of training with her mother throughout her childhood, she'd been training in various martial arts and self-defense techniques for over 40 years. Sometimes experience was the only thing that could help you survive when your opponent is stronger than you and a foot taller for that matter.

Of course, her recent experience with Centipede soldiers had helped immensely. They were definitely in Steve's league if not as well trained. They also couldn't think for themselves which made them slightly easier to deal with. However, they could punch.

It helped that she was familiar with his fighting style. This was far from the first time they'd fought each other. It had been a routine occurrence during her time as his neighbor. It was one of the few things that helped Melinda continue to function while she was under the impression that Phil's death was permanent. He was much more of a street or maybe she should say playground fighter than her, but she could tell he'd been practicing in her absence. Melinda can see pieces of Natasha style intermingled with classic Steve techniques. She knew the younger woman's moves as well.

At the same time, this was the first time that Steve didn't hold back. Before he'd thought she was just ex-military and former law-enforcement, now he knew who she really was and what she was capable of. She hasn't had a fight like this for – well, not since the final fight with Ward, but then again that didn't count. There was nothing fun about that one. Her matches against Agent Triplett came close to this, but it still felt like he was trying to prove something.

With Steve, there was no purpose except as an outlet for aggression and maybe a training exercise. Needless to say, she had a lot of anger that she needed to work out. She was angry at Stark for telling Phil the truth. Angry at Phil for obviously not returning her feelings. She was even upset with Audrey just because. She was furious at Marcus Daniels for fixating on the Portland cellist before Melinda had a chance to tell Phil that she cared about him. She was even mad at Clint for probably convincing Phil to never, ever, ever date a fellow agent or friend again.

Unfortunately, none of those people were available to physically vent on - just Steve. She was beyond pissed that he couldn't manage to keep Stark away from here. She was angry at herself for telling Stark the truth and angrier still for allowing herself to be so emotionally vulnerable in front of anyone. But she wasn't angry at herself for being in love with Phil, only for falling in love with someone who could never love her back.

She needed to feel something and pain was the only option. The pain caused by every blow Steve inflicted on her took the place of the pain in her heart. Every hit she landed on him allowed some of the anger to flow out of her and lessened the burden on her heart. Anyone else would be covered in bruises right now. Steve had a few, but she would have more and his would likely be gone before he finished a glass of water.

"Do you feel better now?" Steve asked as she rested on top of him. He was barely out of breath and that was probably only because of how long they've been fighting. He was shocked that she hadn't tired out before now. Usually she could only last about a half an hour going against him, but it seemed different today.

"You let me win?" She asked annoyed. That would explain so much.

Before he even answered, she smoothly made her way to her feet. This training room reminded her of the one in the old apartment complex in Georgetown. Although, she hope there were no cameras. She was still mad at herself for having sex with him in the training room. SHIELD surveillance aside, anyone could've walked in. Actually, anybody did walk in. Part of her believes that Steve knew Stark was there the entire time, but she would never ask. That was an unspoken ground rule in their relationship. They never asked questions that they knew the other person would not or could not answer. It was one of the reasons why they got along so well.

Steve sat up before replying, "I would never let you win. I actually thought the techniques I picked up from Natasha would help." He shrugged giving off that 'I'm just an innocent guy from the 40s' air.

She knew it was a façade. He may be from the 40s, but he was not that innocent. He was too wary having seen too much ugliness. He'd done things that no one should have to do to survive. Innocence disappears when you lose your mom at all too young an age while living through years of economic hardship and war. It happens when you lose your best friend during said war. Steve may be unaware certain aspects of the world, but he hasn't been innocent for a long time.

"I used to train with her." May said making her way to the water cooler in the room. It was one of the few luxuries the Playground had. This place was older than Providence, although recently retrofitted. She thinks that it might've been a factory in a previous existence.

"That makes sense." Steve gave her a towel. "Is that why you always refused to meet her?" He'd asked her to have lunch with Natasha several times over the last two years, mainly to get Natasha to stop trying to set him up with half of SHIELD, the female half. The fact that she tried to set him up with Peggy Carter's niece was over the line. She should've at least gone with her grandson. Actually, never mind. That would be even more awkward considering Melinda now knows said grandson is Agent Triplett and that Steve really had slept with one of his grandparents.

"She didn't come to Phil's funeral." Melinda answered curtly. No one else could get that much from her.

"You're upset that she didn't go to his funeral? To the point that you couldn't have a cordial lunch with her?"

Melinda doesn't answer him. She just finishes her water and goes straight for the punching bag. Steve wordlessly follows behind and holds the bag for her. She should rest, but she can't right now.

"You see, this is why we were sparring. You don't do emotions like a normal person. You either have to punch something or fuck somebody, but there is no way you will talk about it. Unfortunately, sex is not an option right now." That almost sounded like a joke.

"So, you're letting me beat the hell out of you instead." She almost smirked at Steve.

"It's not like it's going to hurt me." She knows that. Handcuff marks and rope burns usually disappear within an hour of 'play time'. Hot wax barely leaves any marks at all. No matter how hard they go at it, he's never had bruises, well, none that were still there in the morning anyway. She couldn't even give him a hickey. Actually, she could and did, but it was gone in less time than it had taken to make it.

"Your masochistic tendencies could be dangerous in the hands of the wrong person." She worried about him. He was still too trusting at times and if you were going to let someone tie you to the bed, it was a bad quality to have. Of course, as strong as Steve is, if he didn't want to be restrained, he wouldn't be.

"Lucky for me, I keep picking the right people."

"And Stark is the right person?" Yes, she's asked this question in email, but you can't read body language in an email. It's much harder to lie in person.

"Yes." He blushed a little which considering everything they've done together is rather endearing. "Though we haven't done too much 'playtime' yet. It reminds him too much of the kidnapping. Also, I enjoy having him listen to my orders for once. I swear the only time he really listens to me is during sex." She shakes her head.

"You're okay without it?" She asked with a hint of concern.

"I feel like I'm less likely to..." Steve stammered. Melinda thought he probably wanted to say something along the lines of he feels less likely to hurt Tony because the man is similar in size and therefore doesn't feel the need for handcuffs or to always be the sub. But he would never say that out loud so she would.

"Hurt him if you lose control?" She punches the bag extra hard as she speaks.

He punches the bag himself a few times before responding. "Yes," Steve tells her eventually. "But not because I think you're weaker than me. It's more like I know better now. I told you about the first time post transformation with the chorus girl, Mandy. She had bruises for a week and it wasn't like I was being rough. But that never happened with you so…" Steve trails off, returning to his punching bag.

"And you say I am bad about talking about my feelings." She glares just a little at him. "Have you talked to Stark about this?"

"Yes. I learned my lesson after avoiding him for the two weeks after we slept together. We are much better at talking things out now." Melinda frowned at that.

"I distinctly remember you saying that you had sex on the stairs before actually talking to each other."

"We did talk things out, eventually. It was a very long flight back from Los Angeles after we dropped you off." Stark and Steve actually flew out with her to rejoin the team, but she refused to let Stark meet with Phil. It was the wrong time for an emotional confrontation. Phil had too much to deal with already. Instead she was left with another special phone and instructions to call if things got too bad. She'd used said phone to start a search for Fitz and Simmons, not even bothering to tell the other party what they were planning with Cybertek. Considering Simmons and Fitz were still alive, she felt she'd made the right call.

"What did you actually talk about?"

"A lot of things. Apparently, Tony does care about me and I'm not a Pepper substitute." Melinda knew that was one of his greatest fears.

"That was obvious. No one schedules that many meetings with the head of the EPA without some sort of ulterior motive and you were his ulterior motive." She smirked.

"At the time, I didn't realize that I was the reason why he was spending so much time in DC. I didn't look too hard at the fact that he was spending so much time at my apartment. I just thought he hated hotels."

"I don't know about that, but he still owns his childhood home in the city. He spent his summers here growing up according to his file." She informed Steve.

"I realize that now. I have this unfortunate tendency to see the worst in Tony's sometimes."

"Or maybe, you've had so many bad experiences with love that you don't see the good things when they happen. If you do that all the time, you'll miss out on what could be."

"Someone should take her own advice." Steve mumbled under breath.

"We talked about going forward and being a couple, although were only living together right now out of necessity and security. I do sleep in my own bedroom some nights."

"Probably because he's pulling on all nighter in the lab." She snickered.

"Maybe. He's also okay with me trying to find Bucky."

"How many times did you have to assure him that you're not sexually attracted to your best friend?" She looked at Steve pointedly.

"Only twice, but I think he was more reassured by the fact that Bucky was definitely a Kinsey zero."

"I knew having you read about Kinsey would be beneficial."

"Tony would even be okay with you coming with me." She just rolled her eyes. Steve has been trying to get her to give up on rebuilding SHEILD. He is really angry with Fury for going behind his back to salvage parts of the organization.

"You know I can't. I made a promise to look after him. To rebuild. To make SHEILD the place it was supposed to be. To make sure it doesn't become corrupted this time around."

"Even if he rejects you?"

"Even then. I'm participating in the rebuilding for me not Phil, but my love for him is a big part of it. I love him even if he can't - even if he won't love me back. Real love is not dependent on reciprocation. Real love is unconditional. It expects nothing in return. It is selfless."

"What happens to that love if you could get something in return?" She turns around at the voice. She curses herself for not hearing Phil's footsteps, but then again it was Phil Coulson. Just because he was never technically trained as a specialist doesn't mean that he doesn't have certain skills - like the ability to catch an opponent off guard.

"Could you give us a couple of minutes Captain Rogers?" Part of her doesn't want Steve to leave, but she knows they need to speak to each other. At the very least, Melinda wants to know what he meant by his earlier question. She was too afraid to read too much into it.

"I think at this point you can call me Steve. I did sign the cards for you afterwards, but…"She groaned. The bloody cards were a very sensitive subject, for multiple reasons. It was as bad as Lola after Maria towed her a way. Thankfully, Stark brought her back.

"I still can't believe he did that to my cards. They were in mint condition. Do you have any idea how long it took me to collect all of them?" Phil asked turning to her.

"26 years." She groaned internally having heard the story multiple times by this point.

"26 years and he put blood on my cards. He didn't even offer me a replacement set. One of those cards was given to me by my father right before he died." Finally, Phil got to the real reason he was so mad about the cards. This she could understand. It wasn't about the cards as much as it was about his father.

"And now, they are the reason why Earth is still here. I'd say that makes them even more valuable. And they're signed." She shook her head.

"Yes, but…" Phil started, but he was interrupted by Steve.

"I'm going to go find my boyfriend now." Steve was already out the door before either of them could replied.

"Now that Steve is gone, you can tell me that it's better if we stay friends." She thought it might hurt less if she said it first. She just wanted to get this out of the way so she could try to move past it.

"It is better that we stay friends. We are trying to rebuild this organization. I have to... we have to set a good example for the other agents." The logical part of her knew this was the right thing, but her heart still hurt. However, she was a professional and she would push the pain down. It would do her no good.

"I know…" Her words are cut off by his mouth descending onto hers. She'd kissed him once before. It was for a mission. People don't pay attention to you if you're making out. The spark was there last time even though she tried to deny it, but this time he was trying to tell her 1,000,001 things with every movement of his lips and flick of his tongue. She had never felt so much in a kiss before.

"Just because it's the wiser course doesn't mean we should take it." Phil whispers as he reluctantly pulls away.

"I don't want to take it either." She moves in to kiss him again, but he pulls back.

"Maybe you should." She frowns at him as he steps back a little more. "You need to know everything before we go any further."

With that, he pulls her out of the training room and down the corridor to the supply room near his quarters. Before he even opens the door to the room, she knows what he's going to show her. However, she follows him inside of the room anyway. Just like last time the walls were filled with those strange drawings. She was relieved to see there wasn't anything new. It was five days since his last episode. The one that prompted her to call Stark.

"Phil, I know about your episodes. It's why I contacted Stark. We're trying to find someone to help you."

"You know?" He looked so relieved realizing that he wouldn't have to deal with this alone.

"Yes. I know what I'm getting into. I know what we're getting into and we will get through it all together." She kissed him and this time he didn't pull away.

"We will figure it out, I promise." She whispered against his lips. It was a promise she intended to keep.

Steve knew May would be upset with him for leaving the way he did, but she and Coulson needed to talk with one another. He stood just beyond the door for a minute. It's not his fault that his enhanced hearing capabilities allow him to listen in on a conversation happening on the other side of the wall. He just wanted to make sure that he didn't need to defend May's honor afterward. Not that she would let him anyway even if something like that was needed.

Not that the couple spoke to each other very long before leaving the room. Steve didn't follow behind because that would be inappropriate. Besides at that point he'd heard enough to believe that things would be okay.

He would talk to her afterward. The base wasn't that far from Arlington. He and Tony didn't have to leave right away despite being exhausted.

Not that he was physically exhausted even after their prolonged sparring match. He will not confirm nor deny that he allowed her to win because she was one of the few who could hold her own against him. Actually, she was better than before. A year of being back on active duty was good for her in that regard.

Steve was psychologically exhausted from the time he'd spent with his exes' grandson. He could see little bits of Peggy and Gabe mixed together. It simultaneously felt good and horrible.

Good in the sense that two people he cared about deeply found each other and love in a world that didn't always appreciate their relationship. Even better that they lived long enough for that type of prejudice to decrease. The horrible part was that he hadn't been able to be a part of it. Their grandson, who is his biological age, was another reminder that the world had gone on without him.

Change and progress wasn't all bad. If he and Tony were an average couple, they could walk down the street holding hands without being arrested, in this country anyway. The paparazzi which is bad enough now, would be ridiculous once their relationship went public, but it wasn't like the old days. Considering his codename is Captain America, his going to places like Russia or much of the Middle East would be problematic regardless of his sexual orientation.

He would never have met Tony if circumstances weren't what they were. By being awakened in 2012, he was able to live as his true self. Tony was the main thing that made the present bearable. Tony eased his grief over everything he'd lost and made him grateful for everything he'd gained in return. It was Tony who made him see the good stuff.

If he was being honest, he wasn't thrilled that May was staying, but Steve genuinely did want her to find happiness with Phil. He'd seen how miserable she was during the first six months of their acquaintance. Those two needed each other.

Instead of standing around and waiting for May to return, he went to find Tony. His JARVIS enabled wristwatch directed him to the hangar where he found Tony sitting in Lola again screaming into one of his special encrypted phones.

"Fuck you and Patches. I'm getting damn tired of the secrets. I don't even need your confirmation. You work on getting my new science baby free and clear of immigration and the military and I will take care of having Stephanie run the blood work on the other science baby. I actually trust her." Steve would be willing to bet that Tony was speaking to Maria. He was rubbing his temple in a certain way that usually indicated he was being forced to speak with the woman. Since Tony was using earbuds, he wasn't close enough yet to hear the other side of the conversation to verify it.

"You and the pirate have kept a lot of secrets from me, but this is fucking unforgivable. If I didn't think you would screw us all over, I would hand you over to Senator Ward and his military cronies on a silver platter." Tony screamed.

Senator Ward was the one calling for the counterespionage task force and for Talbot to be in charge of it, at least he was before the Canada incident. He also made Steve's Senate hearing quite uncomfortable. There was something about the guy that made Steve's skin crawl.

"If I wasn't able to fix the Palladium poisoning problem, were you and Patches just going to let me die without knowing…" Tony stops speaking abruptly when he finally notices Steve standing beside the car. He quickly pulls Steve down for a kiss.

"You better be happy Stevie bear is back and I'd rather make out with him than yell at you." Tony said turning his attentions back to Maria.

"Stark, it was a matter of national…" Steve barely heard Maria say before Tony hung up on her.

"Why were you screaming at Maria this time?" Steve asked concerned as he slid into the car after Tony moved over.

"Because you can take the spy out the agency, but you can't take the agency out of the spy or something like that." Tony kissed him again. It was probably a distraction to keep Steve from asking more questions. It worked. "It doesn't matter. It looks like you and Agent Scary had fun, although hopefully not too much, at least not when I'm unable to watch."

"If you keep joking about this, I'm going to think you're serious." Steve deadpanned.

"I'm serious. Very serious. You don't think me seeing a woman who is half your size have you on your knees and in complete submission is an utter turn on? Add Director Agent to it and it is my ultimate wet dream. Of course, I think you reading the phone book is sexy, but I'm biased." Tony's mouth was on Steve neck trying again to give Steve a hickey that would make it to morning.

"They still have actual phone books?"

"I'm not- I have no idea. I don't think I've used one since- undergrad I think. And that was - Stephanie was pregnant with Agent Peggy Carter Junior when I was an undergrad. Although, if Maria is telling the truth, that means…" Tony trailed off with a panic look on his face.

"Tony what are you talking about?"

"So why did Agent Scary stop beating you up?" Tony asked with the sole purpose of distracting him.

"I'm only allowing you to change the subject because I trust that you will tell me eventually." That earned him a kiss from Tony.

"And I'll give you a blow job or maybe your other favorite job and I don't mean hand job." The thought made blood rush to critical parts of Steve's anatomy. Tony always did this to him.

"We stopped fighting when Agent Coulson-I mean Director Coulson came in and asked to speak with her and I decided to come find you."

"I'm having trouble with the new title too, but I trust him a lot more than the pirate." So did Steve, but he didn't want to tell Tony that. "At least Director Agent gave me enough of a clue to figure out the truth."

"He neglected to tell you that he was alive." Steve said playing devil's advocate.

"He was under orders. You neglected to tell me that Patches is still alive and spying. Right now, I'd like to find him and punch out the other eye. Did the pot and kettle analogy exists when you were growing up?" Tony snarked.

"I'm not that old. I didn't say anything because I was asked not to. It was for his protection." Steve defended himself.

"It was the same thing in Agent's case even though I'm not happy about being kept out of the proverbial loop. It doesn't matter. Hey JARVIS, can you tell me if Director Agent and Agent Scary are making good use of the parallel bar? Apparently, she has a penchant for that."

"That was only the one- they already left the gym before I came here. I'm not sure where they were…" Steve spluttered before he was cut off by JARVIS.

"They are both currently in the supply room adjacent to Director Coulson's personal quarters. Would you like me to pull up the feed from that room?" The AI asked.

"Of course, there are cameras everywhere." Steve would not expect anything less of a secret facility to be used in the event of SHIELD's fall.

"Not as many as you would expect, but maybe Agent Director had something to do with that. Actually, I installed this one."

"You put a camera in a supply closet? When did you have time to put a camera in the supply closet?" From what May told him, Tony was with Coulson for the majority of his time at the Playground before Steve's arrival. He doesn't know why Tony flew ahead when they could have driven together. Of course, this way they won't have to wait for one of Tony's drivers to pick them up a few miles away and take them back to DC.

"After Director Agent shot me, but before I called Pepper. Actually, I was working on installing the camera while I was talking to Pepper. You know I'm an excellent multitasker."

"Why did you install a camera in there? He shot you?!"

"Only with your favorite type of gun." Tony said before magnifying an image on his tablet which finally allowed Steve to notice that there was something on the wall other than green paint. "That would be the crazy symbols that sort of resemble a diagram, but not quite. I think they're ancient alien hieroglyphics of some type. Of course, only Mister God of Thunder may know for sure."

"Have you gotten in touch with Thor?" Steve raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend.

"Not yet, but it is good to have a sample. Besides, it will be easier this way for Agent Scary to monitor Director Agent or for her to make a sex tape. Did she just unzip Agent?" Tony pointed to the screen. She really was unzipping Coulson. Steve quickly shut down Tony's program. Their friends deserved some privacy.

"I really don't think they're going to go that far. I mean they have a lot to talk out first." Especially considering that she called Steve out for doing the same thing earlier.

"How soon did you guys start sleeping together after you actually became friends?"

"That's not the same- it was an arrangement."

"How long Capsicle?"

"Two weeks, but that's counting from the time that we really got to know each other." He finally confessed. "But this is different."

"Says the guy who couldn't even make it to the bed our first time, our first time that matters anyway. Good thing you decided to be on the bottom that time because the stairs would have killed my back." Tony quipped.

"We did talk things out eventually."

"And for some reason you're still staying with me despite my superhero lifestyle, lack of interpersonal skills, and propensity to mainline coffee when I'm on a creative bender." Steve responded by kissing Tony again.

"I have the same lifestyle which makes it a lot easier to understand or explain when one of us ends up missing a date." He also didn't have to worry about Tony being kidnapped by super villains because the man could defend himself. Also, they would most likely be chasing after Tony for their own reasons and not because of Steve.

"I consider beating up bad guys together a date, especially when there is sex afterward or at least pizza. Actually, I consider anything a date if there's sex afterward." Tony joked.

"I'm not going anywhere." He pulled Tony into his arms.

"Even if it turns out I have a 27-year-old kid due to being too ignorant to know sleeping with a 20-year-old when I was barely a teenager was a bad idea?" Tony asked a little too innocently.

"Considering my ex has a 27-year-old grandson, I think I would be okay with it. But this is hypothetical?" You couldn't always tell with Tony.

"Which has to be awkward considering I went to kindergarten with his mother and her mother just happens to also be your ex. You know if you had come back 20 years earlier, you guys could've had a hell of a threesome. You would've been their really young boy toy." Steve smiled sadly at that.

"I never slept with Peggy, just… Tony stop trying to distract me. Explain!" Steve said exasperatedly.

"Can I blow you instead? Actually, never mind. Sex in this car is what led to this whole situation in the first place. What was I thinking? I was 14. A child at 14. Howard would have killed me. Pepper may still do it. Do you think Howard…" Tony starts to exhibit the first stages of a panic attack. This worries Steve because Tony hasn't had panic attacks for a while.

"Tony, just breathe. It's okay. I doubt Howard would have killed you whatever you did. What did you do?"

"I might have a 27-year-old kid." Tony stated without a trace of his usual humor. "And Fury and Hill knew because Big Brother required all agents to put their DNA on file because that's just how the Triskelion rolled before you wrecked the place."

"Tony, you're a genius and while I'm pretty bright I'm not following you right now. Clearer sentences."

"Apparently, I'm not brilliant enough to avoid becoming a teen parent. The board is going to flip when they find out and the media is going to rip us all apart. We may have to come out of the relationship closet just to take the pressure off my kid. Fuck, I have a kid." Steve tried to rub gentle circles on Tony's back. He hoped the gesture was comforting to his lover.

"Didn't Stephanie get pregnant at 16? Isn't she considered one of the best neurologist in the country now? Things happen." He said trying to be reassuring.

"She gave birth at 16. And she got pregnant against her will while a hostage during a kidnapping, orchestrated by fucking Hydra."

'Okay, no one told me that,' Steve thought to himself. And it definitely wasn't in any of the files that he been given to catch up on what he missed.

"I'm going to be really angry when I hear the rest of that story, aren't I?" He asked quietly reigning in his reaction to focus on Tony.

"Like Bruce demolishing Harlem angry. I just hope you -just don't- I just hope that you don't break up with me because of this."

"I'm not going to break up with you just because you may have a kid you didn't know about." Steve would love to know how Tony figured this out in the last hour, but who knows. Maybe he came across a file in Director Coulson's office. Tony going through somebody else's computer systems would not surprise him at all at this point. Actually, Steve would be worried otherwise.

"You're sure? Because dating me is not easy. Not to mention we are going to be under extra scrutiny because you are going to be my first public boyfriend. And I mean actual boyfriend and not just a sex tape partner. It will get even worse when the tabloids get wind of my kid- my son who happens to be in a coma because of Hydra…" Steve's only response was to kiss Tony.

"It doesn't matter. We'll get through it. I'm not leaving you." Steve reassured again.

"You did not come back after the first time." Tony pulled away.

"I was planning to come back, I just needed to clear my head and then…"

"Hydra?" Tony supplied for him.

"Hydra." Steve nodded his head.

"Fuck Hydra! At least, it was easier to find you this time. It was just 3 miles of the Potomac instead of over a thousand square miles of ocean."

"I think it was Bucky who pulled me ashore." Steve has only vague flashes of memory of what happened after his fall from the carrier, but he is pretty sure Bucky helped at some point.

"That gives me one less reason to hate him. As long as he doesn't try to take you away from me." Tony buries his face in the crook of Steve's neck again.

"I love you. I want to be with you. You make me happy." Tony abruptly pulls back and looks Steve directly in the eyes.

"Did you just say that you love me?" Tony almost seemed surprised.

"I've said the words before."

"I don't think so. JARVIS?" Tony called out to his AI.

"Captain Rogers has said the phrase 'I love you' 16 times to you. However, according to biometric scans performed at the time, you were asleep all 16 times." The prompt response in the familiar voice emanates from Tony's wristwatch. Sometimes Steve believes that Tony's AI knows way too much.

"So you're not leaving me? Peggy has a grandson and a niece." It was ridiculous for Tony to think that he would leave him for a reminder of his past. Steve was ready to embrace a fresh start in the present – preferably literally.

"Too creepy." He smirked.

"Agent Scary?" Now this was a more serious possibility. The honest answer was maybe; if they weren't both in love with other people. They didn't live in that world though.

"She's probably having sex in the supply closet." Steve deadpanned.

"So that's the only reason why you're here with me?" His boyfriend had serious self-esteem issues. He blames Howard.

"Tony, her history with Coulson is what forced me to stop being terrified of my feelings for you. I didn't want to regret not trying the way she did." That was completely true. If it wasn't for her influence, Steve was not sure where he would be right now.

"Now you each have your happy ending. Or as happy of an ending as you can have with Hydra around." Tony smiles at him.

"I like to think of it as a happy beginning."

"Beginnings are good." With that Tony pulls Steve into a kiss. Whatever happens, Steve believes they will get through it together even if it does include Tony having a comatose 27-year-old son.

The end?

So, yes, technically, this was the last chapter, but this is the story set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so you know what that means.

Anyway, I would love to get your comments and/or kudos. Also, I would like to say for the record that the scene between May and Coulson in the supply room was written two days before episode 2.2 came out. There's a good chance I may have woke up my neighbor Wednesday morning when I was watching a certain scene for the first time. It just fit perfectly.