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1. Steve had no idea where it all started.
But he guesses it all started when The Winter Soldier Bucky walked out on him.
And then he ended up in a hospital, battered up but still willing to fight.
And then for some strange reason—Steve suspects some cosmic-universal power conspiracy—Tony Stark is leaning by the side of his hospital room’s open door with his arms crossing over his chest. Steve is quite hazy with the details but he can remember Tony talking animatedly, with his hands making gestures in the air like a magician trying to conjure magic (which is funny for him since later on, he discovers that Tony detests magic) saying things like “Congratulations, Spangles, you just burned S. H. I. E. L. D. to the ground and I mean literally” “How many Hydra asses did you kick?” “Guess there were some snakes on the plane, yeah?” which ended up with Tony a giggling mess, Steve never really got the context.
It took a few seconds for Tony to recover from giggling and proceeded to walk towards Steve’s bed. He sat at the edge of the right side of the bed and said, “I know you’re looking for him.”
Just to play the innocent chicken, Steve asked “Looking for who?”
“The Winter Soldier. James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky. Your best friend. Ring any bells, Spangles?”
Steve really had no idea what kind of impulse drove Tony to offer him his help and he really had no idea why he said yes to the offer.
He guesses he needed a friend.
2. Later on, the Avengers were called for duty. Tony offered up his tower as their headquarters to which Clint nicknamed it as the Avengers Super Cool Frat House (to which, then, Clint got slapped in the head by Natasha). They were a team again and Steve felt on fire again.
After some ruined public and private property and some alien guts stuck to their clothes and armour, Iron Man landed right beside the Captain and asked, “Hey Cap, how about some food?”
A few minutes later, all the members of the Avengers are seated together in a diner eating some burgers, fries, pancakes, milkshakes and coffee. They were all tired and hell they all looked tired, but they all had that satisfied glint in their eyes. Thor was at the end of the table recounting the earlier mission like an old English narrative from fairytale book. Bruce looked like he crawled out from a dumpster with his torn-up clothes. Clint and Natasha were whispering to each other “probably super spy stuff” says Tony.
As for him, he was content with all of his teammates together in one table while seemingly enjoying the comfort of each other’s company. Even Tony, who he thought he could never possibly relate to and never be friends with, is seated right beside him and slightly leaning towards him while relishing in his burger.
Steve really had no idea how it all started—having a meal with his teammates at the end of every mission became a tradition, a tradition which carried on for years.
3. When Bucky came back to his life, it felt like all the other things were just in his background and all his focus was on his best friend. As funny as it was, although Steve and Tony were both looking for him they were not aware that Bucky was looking for Steve too.
Bucky caused a ruckus in the lobby of Stark tower, demanding to see Captain America which prompted the tower’s security, an alarm then was then relayed to JARVIS. Tony was the one who told him that Bucky was in the tower which was then supported by a live video feed of the lobby shown right in front of him. A feeling which he can only describe as adrenaline rush was what drove him to run from the top floor to the elevator and from the elevator to the lobby. Lo and behold, there Bucky was with his loose hoodie, sweat pants, trainers and a cap. The next thing he knew they were embracing each other.
Much later on, Bucky says he was compelled to be in Manhattan because he saw Captain America on the television and it said that he was the leader of the Avengers and he was living in Stark tower. Tony instantly unashamedly coddled him like a scientist-on-a-loose, inspecting his metal arm and waxing poetic about the many faults in its engineering. Steve thought it would annoy Bucky but much to his surprise, Bucky just raised a brow, shrugged and said, “Like father, like son, yeah?”
It took quite a while for Bucky to regain all of his memories as Bucky in the 40’s and as the Winter Soldier. It was a painful ordeal which was slightly pacified by the easy atmosphere emitted by the rest of the Avengers (even Natasha). Tony, the futurist and the pop culture extraordinaire, took Bucky under his wing and introduced him to the year 2014 by inviting Steve with them to see the sights and watch some movies with questionable scientific sources and context. And, of course, Star Wars.
Steve and Bucky spent a lot of time in Tony’s workshop—Tony continuously improving and tinkering with Bucky’s metal arm and Steve sitting on the side with his pencil and sketchbook. And after all the improvements made on the metal arm, Bucky grips Tony’s shoulder with his non-metal hand and says, “Hey Tony, I just wanted to say thank you for everything.” To say that Tony looked surprised is an understatement, he looked positively like a startled puppy. With a smile on his face, he replies “Anything for you and Spangles, Barnes.”
Steve looks up from his sketching and is caught by Tony’s eyes and his wide, happy smile.
Steve really had no idea but for some reason, his whole world just became nothing short of perfect.
Bucky is back. The team is doing great. And Tony is...
What does he say about the man who got them together, gave them all a home and a reason for sticking together?
What does he say about the man that said he would do anything for his best friend?
What does he say about the man that said he would do anything for HIM?
4. The present was now a pleasant routine for Steve—a jog in a morning, breakfast with the team (or the people who are not on a mission), sparring with Clint, Natasha and Bucky and quietly sketching in a couch in a corner of Tony’s workshop. If he was honest to himself, he would say that he spent majority of his time in Tony’s workshop, the rest he would spend near Tony or in the vicinity where Tony was in. He never really entertained his honest thoughts but then Natasha chimed in with her keen observations.
It was early in the morning and Steve was busy cooking for the team in the kitchen when Natasha comes in wearing a large grey shirt (with no visible pair of pants) which Steve swears he saw Bucky wearing yesterday. They exchanged some sleepy “good mornings” and Natasha sits on the counter drinking a glass of orange juice. The trademarked Natasha Romanov interrogation started off like this:
“So, Steve...”
Steve looks over his shoulder and at her. “Yeah?”
“So you and Stark, huh?”
Natasha now has his full attention. He stops fiddling in the stove and faces her fully.
“What about me and Tony?”
“You might be fooling the rest of the world with your I-am-Captain-America shtick, Rogers, but always remember: you can’t ever fool me.”
“That’s crazy! I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”
Natasha finishes her juice with one gulp and stands and says, “Your teenage crush on Stark has got to end, Cap. He may have been a playboy in the past but when it comes to you he is as oblivious as anybody who thinks he doesn’t deserve you.”
As if in admission of his surrender, his once-tense shoulders now slumped and he gave out an audible sigh.
“Funny, because, I’m the one feeling like I don’t deserve him.”
“You know, Cap, you shouldn’t waste your time saying that to me. I can’t believe I’m telling you this—you’re such a bunch of hormonal teenage boys, really—but you deserve each other. I think it’s high time you make a move.”
“You think so, Nat?”
Natasha nods and smiles. “I am never wrong, Steve.” And then she walks off but before she disappears from Steve’s sight, she says, “And I’m sleeping with your best friend!”
Steve really had no idea how everything seemed to boil down to this moment: Steve following Natasha’s advice and making a move. He came in Tony’s workshop looking nervous and jittery with Tony barely noticing these things. He asks him out like the stuttering mess that he was. Tony asks, “Go out? Like out out?” Steve answers, “I’m asking you out on a date, Tony.”
Tony, after staring at him like he was going crazy and gaping like a fish out of water, said yes and then they went on a date. Then they went on several more. Then they had their first kiss at the end of the second date. Tony tasted like avocados and jalapeños (because they had Mexican food for dinner), a taste that was left in Steve’s tongue like a brand for weeks.
5. A year after their first date, Tony gives Steve a gift. It was a simple wrist band made of gold titanium alloy—the same material that the Iron Man suit is made of—which was less than half an inch in height and barely a centimeter in thickness. Tony takes hold of Steve’s hand and pushes the band down to his wrist. Then he brings the band, now surrounding Steve’s wrist, to his lips and kisses it.
“Promise me you'll never take this off.”
Steve, for the lack of a better word (while being stunned by Tony’s romantic gesture), was simply speechless. So, with his other hand, he grabs the back of Tony’s neck and brings his lips to his in a clash of teeth and tongues.
After the torrid kiss was broken, which left them gasping for air, he says
“I promise. I love you, Tony.”
Now, it was Tony’s turn to be surprised.
But then he regained his composure back and said,
“I love you too, Spangles.”
6. It all came spiraling down on a seemingly normal day at the tower.
Thor was out with Jane in New Mexico and Bruce decided to pay Betty a visit. Natasha and Clint were both out on a mission and Bucky was training under the new S. H. I. E. L. D. with Director Coulson personally supervising his training as an agent. So Tony and Steve were left alone in the tower.
Steve woke up to find Tony not beside him in bed and presumed that he was still awake in the workshop. He got dressed and got out from their room making his way towards the workshop.
But then suddenly, without any warning, the glass windows of the living room shatter. When he looks up from shielding his face with his arms, he saw what once was a part of the living room wall was now a hole making the tower exposed to whatever it is that was attacking them. The alarms were blaring out loud and all he thought was I've got to get to Tony.
But before he could possibly spring to action, his wrist band (the one that Tony gave to him on their first anniversary) suddenly lights up, displaying a series of numbers that suspiciously looked like coordinates. The next thing he knew, a series of metal chunks came flying out of nowhere and zoomed towards his direction. He felt helpless without his shield so he thought he would just try his best to knock these metal chunks off. But the metal chunks didn't seem to attack, instead, it attached to him piece by piece until his whole body was covered in it. His forearms seemed to have gauntlets and his legs seemed to have boots. He did not realize what was happening until an HUD flashed before him and JARVIS’ voice rung in his ears, “Good morning, Captain Rogers.”
God, he was in the Iron Man suit.
“Jarvis?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Why am I in the Iron Man suit?”
“My prime directive is to protect Captain Steven Grant Rogers, authorized by Anthony Edward Stark.”
“Oh.”
“Any disturbance in the tower or in any vicinity that you are in, Captain, will trigger the alarm currently located on your left hand wrist. There are currently hostile subjects approaching your location, Captain, I must advice you to relocate yourself to safety immediately.”
Too late, though, the hostiles were here and even though Steve never had any training piloting the suit, JARVIS seemed to do it for him. He aimed his repulsors towards the alien hostiles trying his best to imitate how Tony manoeuvres during missions and fired. All it took was a few minutes until Steve was able to subdue them and thought of Tony again.
“JARVIS, where is Tony?”
“My vitals sensors detect him in the workshop, Captain. He appears to be unconscious.”
Steve had to surpass the rubble and the blocked paths to get to Tony. When he arrived in front of the entrance of the workshop, he quickly punched in his override codes and went in. Tony was unconscious and there was a small gash in the right side of his forehead. Steve checked—his arc reactor was still in good condition and there seemed to be no serious physical damage evident in his body. Half of the workshop was in total disarray and the concrete wall that once was in front of him was now reduced to a gaping hole.
“I’ll get you out of here, Tony. You’re gonna be okay, I’ve got you, baby.”
With Steve’s one arm supporting his shoulders and the other supporting him in the back of his knees, he carried Tony out of danger and flew them towards safety.
7. When they received word of the attack in the tower, S. H. I. E. L. D. immediately flew Clint and Natasha back from their mission and situated Bucky as a standby backup in case the attack goes haywire. But a further attack never begun, so they remained in the HQ for the meantime. There were some confused looks among the people in the HQ when Iron Man flew in carrying its default pilot bridal style. For one second, Bucky was worried that Steve never made it out of the tower but then worry turned to surprise when Iron Man suit landed and was revealed to have Steve piloting it. Then the moments became a blur since Tony’s medical intervention needed to be quick.
Now, Bucky and Natasha are sharing a cup of black coffee and sitting right outside the room housing Tony in bed and his ever vigilant boyfriend Steve sitting in the seat beside the bed. Bucky even found it amusing how the room was totally transparent, a fact that made him excited at the prospect of Tony waking up soon because he has so much blackmail material on Steve. (Steve being all sappy like the stuff of those harlequin romance novels.)
“We can’t just ignore the fact that Tony gave him an Iron Man suit.”
Natasha smirked. “It’s for emergencies only.”
Bucky faced Natasha and pouted. “But I want one!”
Natasha then snickers. James’ antics will never get old. “Good luck on that, James. You need to get into Tony’s pants first.”
Bucky look like he was seriously considering it, to which Natasha answers with a raised brow. Then, Bucky shakes his head, holds Natasha’s hand with his metal one and says, “Nah. I’ve got you for that. Besides, they deserve each other. But first, I gotta make sure I get this recorded so that I can show Stark later, this would be hilarious and wha—OW!”
Natasha slaps him in the head.