"Tony?"
Tony looked over his shoulders. Steve was standing some distance away, his posture tense.
"Come over here," Steve intoned gently. "It's dangerous to stand so far out."
That was when Tony realised he was standing right at the edge of the cliff, the waves of the Pacific beating against sharp rocks beneath him. Slowly he backpedalled from the brink until Steve held him by the shoulders.
"You OK?"
"Uh… yeah. Always." He shrugged and managed a look of mild annoyance. "It's courtesy to inform the host in advance if you're dropping by. You can't just show up."
"Why didn't you tell us what New York is doing to you?"
Tony's heart raced at the mere mention of "New" but steeled himself. Steve didn't miss the sudden loss of colour from his face.
"Did Pepper set you up to this?"
"We're your friends. We're here for you."
A muscle in Tony's jaw twitch and he lowered himself to the sandy ground.
"I want it to stop, Steve," he whispered. "The fighting. The wars. We can't be doing this forever."
He closed his eyes, shutting out the silvery specks of stars in the galaxy beyond.
"Just want it all to stop."