There were many things most people didn't know about Captain America. His memory sucked, for one. And while his inability to operate a toaster might be Internet legend, it wasn't commonly known that Rogers actually really enjoyed technology.

Not like Tony, who pretty much had a borderline fetish at this point—but also not like Thor, who found most tech 'largely superfluous and verily confusing'.

Steve—Steve was interested in a wide-eyed fascination kind of way.

Tony knew this because he'd caught Steve admiring the microwave once or twice (or five times). He also knew, from a mildly amused Jarvis, that Steve sometimes spent hours asking the artificial intelligence things. Best of which included questions like 'what is it like up there in the ceiling?' and 'what's porn? Tony and Clint keep talking about it.'

(Honestly, it didn't take a genius to figure out that pornography = porn. Tony was torn between laughing and sighing in deep exasperation when Jarvis told him about that one.)

The downside came when Tony had to make some of his more interesting inventions safer—the one time Steve had managed to burn off half his hair in a plume of flame from Tony's improved stovetop had been emotionally and physically scarring. Tony had, as a result, been forced with against his will to make everything Steve-proof.

It was like having a kid. Or what Tony imagined having kid to be like, that is. He didn't know much about kids—it wasn't like he had any, or anything.

"Knock on wood," he muttered aloud. His voice echoed depressingly in the empty elevator. Even Jarvis didn't said anything, snarky or otherwise. Perhaps he was looking up the phrase.

After all, it wasn't like Tony had much wood just lying around. It would probably confuse the AI to hear him reference wood, maybe Jarvis would assume it was a euphemism—because, let's face it, half of what came out of Tony's mouth was a euphemism for something—

For God's sake. Tony gave himself a mental shake, like how he'd imagine a dog would shake off water. He wasn't even superstitious.

Oh well. Even if some blonde woman did show up at his door tomorrow with a baby in hand, asking for a paternity test, it wouldn't be the first time.

Tony shut his eyes for a second. Downside to being Tony Stark: there were so many things floating around in his head that he was far too good at avoiding difficult topics. So many projects, problems. Designs.

And that was the easy stuff.

"Sir."

Tony opened his eyes. The metal doors were open before him. He hadn't even felt the elevator stop.

"Miracle of modern engineering," he murmured to himself, only half sarcastic.

"Thank you, sir," said Jarvis from overhead and Tony snorted.

"You're becoming better company than a real person, you know that?" At the moment, talking to Jarvis really was a more appealing prospect than apologizing to Rogers or—God forbid—going back to the mother hens.

"Was that a roundabout way of complimenting yourself, sir?"

"More or less," said Tony, a gust of cool air hitting him in the face as the glass doors to his lab slid open. He surveyed his mess of a workshop thoughtfully.

Pepper had once called it an incorrigible mess, way back at the beginning before she figured out Tony was the type to take words like 'incorrigible' as compliments. Looking at it now, he had to admit it was an incorrigible mess. But it was his mess, and that was what counted.

And although Tony's favorite project would always be his suits, he had plenty of things to work on scattered about.

A few tables were in a perpetual state of disarray (well, everything was, but these were especially so). He hadn't gotten a chance to sort out—aka disassemble—his crutches yet, now that he didn't need them. Might as well reuse the metal, right? Plus, they even had sentimental value.

Tony smiled at the memory. He'd cracked Clint over the head with them once. Clint had deserved it. Sneaking into his air ducts, just like Natasha, except with the intent of pranking rather than spying (for the most part).

The rest of the tables were covered in arc reactor parts. He was always working on ways to improve his arc reactor. Not like he had a choice, really, not with those pieces of shrapnel slowly working their merry way towards his heart.

Tony walked past those tables without giving them too much thought. He was here to find something for Cap, after all, not wallow in angst and self-pity.

A new table—a whole new train of thought.

Another more fun project he'd been tinkering with lately was the newest line of StarkPhones—and the next line after that, and the next. Never let it be said that Tony Stark didn't think ahead; at least, in terms of business matters.

Tony stopped in front of one table. A labyrinth of metal plates and welders and big screws and tiny screws, indecipherable for anyone but himself. He ran his fingers over a few models contemplatively.

Jarvis made an impatient sound. "Sir?"

"You always seem to know what I'm thinking, Jarvis," murmured Tony, picking up one of his StarkPhone 4.2 prototypes reverently. The latest model.

"I believe that is an integral part of my programming, sir."

"Mm-hm," he said, turning the phone over and weighing it in his hand before nodding to himself. "Jarvis, where's our good Captain now?"

"Hey," Tony called as he walked into the one and only gym the Stark Tower had to offer—and which he had set foot in exactly once. "Capsicle? Stars and Stripes? America is in danger, your beloved country calls—"

"Ha, ha." It took Tony a good thirty seconds to identify the man in the corner as Steve Rogers. Sure, there were a limited amount of perfectly proportioned supersoldiers in the Stark Tower. But…

Steve actually looked tired, for one. Exhausted.

"What do you want, Stark?" he said, stopping the treadmill. What was he doing on there? Steve hated treadmills. He was always going out for runs in Central Park and doing other typical New Yorker things that made Tony want to barf.

Tony realized a little belatedly that he was staring.

"I—I wanted to give you this," Tony stumbled over this words, something he thought he'd outgrown in high school. He tried to make up for it by presenting the StarkPhone with customary flourish.

Steve took the phone, turned it over in his hand, and nearly crushed it.

"Hey!" Tony protested. "Don't hold it like that!"

Steve loosened his grip obligingly with a half smile on his face. "Are you really trying to bribe me?"

"No, no, no, no, no," said Tony emphatically. "Call it…a friendly gift. A bridge between worlds." He made a vague gesture between the two of them. Rogers looked mildly amused. "A laurel branch? Is that a thing?"

"An olive branch?" The Captain snorted. "You're not too good at this whole 'peace' thing, are you?"

"You're smiling, aren't you?" Tony grinned. So maybe Rogers did have a sense of humor.

"Maybe," Steve acknowledged, turning over the StarkPhone in his hands. "Tony, you realize I don't know what to do with this, right?"

"I mean, Jarvis can teach you. Or I can," Tony offered, surprising himself. He did feel guilty—and somehow the fact Steve hadn't tried to force an apology out of him made him feel even more so.

"Alright." Steve looked painfully hopeful at this laurel, olive, whatever branch.

It should have made him feel better, but instead Tony felt an uneasy sensation in his stomach, like something heavy was rolling around deep in his gut..

He didn't deserve to have this fight just dismissed, the terrible things he'd said ignored because of a gift. Isn't that what Pepper had always said (and he'd always ignored?)

And yet Captain America seemed to accept that measly form of apology, even to expect it from him.

"Tony?" Steve looked concerned.

Tony said something he'd never, ever said before, and never, ever thought he'd say.

"Maybe we should talk."

A/N: Hope the beginning of Tony's character development made sense...sort of. (This chapter was actually supposed to be a lot more serious than this, so...whoops.)

I'm so sorry for the long wait. I must have rewrote this chapter 5 times and still am not satisfied, but I do have most of the next chapter written, so that should be out soon. Thank you all for the reviews, follows, and favorites :)