A/N And here we are! As promised, the next story in my Time Travel Changes Everything universe where Steve is Tony's son. This is the one where the world finally learns the truth about who Steve really is. This one turned out a little differently than I originally planned, but I think it turned out pretty good. I hope you guys like it! :)

For anyone who needs it, the list of stories in this universe and the recommended reading order is available at the bottom of my profile.

The Truth Comes Out

In Tony's world, press was inevitable. It had surrounded him pretty much all his life, the few years when he was off the grid being the only exception. Now, more than ever, Tony knew he would become the target of the media. He wasn't just a famous businessman anymore. He was a worldwide hero. He was a member of an elite team that had saved the world.

All six of them were plastered all over the front page of every newspaper, and were the top story on every news channel for weeks after the Battle of New York. Even when newer stories finally bumped them off of the front page, The Avengers still weren't absent from the news, written, visual, online, or otherwise.

It wasn't that bad really. At least not a first. It was the best press Tony had had in years. Surprisingly, it was all, for the most part, positive. He and the rest of the team were being lauded as heroes. Everyone loved them and were grateful for what they had done to protect the world.

Eventually, though, the facts got old, especially in light of the six of them seemingly (read: literally) disappearing off the face of the planet for a full month after the battle, meaning all attempts by the press to find any of them to interview, failed. The story about the six individuals who banded together to save the world from aliens began to get stale, but the media wasn't ready to put to rest the biggest, most popular story there had been in years. So the rumors started. When the facts ran out, the speculation began.

Stories full of theories ranged from speculation and supposition about their backgrounds and personal lives, to the government affiliations they possibly belonged to and their current whereabouts. The media dug as deep as they could into each of them, finding everything possible, which, in a few of their cases, wasn't much.

They knew who Steve was, or at least the Steve that the forties knew. They had no idea who he really was, and they also didn't know how he was still alive so many years later. The media knew pretty much nothing about Clint or Natasha who were carefully hiding behind covers upon covers, aliases upon aliases, and the full might of SHIELD's ability to keep all information on them classified top secret. Like with Clint and Natasha, the media knew almost nothing about Thor. They knew he was an alien from another planet, but that very fact prevented them from finding out any other information about the thunderer.

They knew enough about Bruce as he had been the subject of the media before when the Hulk was first created, but they didn't know much about him since or his current location. Then there was Tony, who the media didn't even do any research into as they already knew everything about him. Or so they thought.

However, the fact that some of them (Tony and Bruce) were old news, and the lack of information on the others meant that those particular lines of reporting petered out quickly, which meant the media needed to find something else to fixate on. Unfortunately for Tony and Steve, they quickly became that something.

Thanks to the team's little trip to Asgard for a month, followed by their fairly quiet return home, it took the media a while to figure out that not only had Tony turned back up after his post-battle disappearance, but so had Steve. And the minute the press found out that Steve was living with Tony in what was quickly becoming dubbed "Avengers Tower," the rumor mill took off in full force.

Most of the papers believed that Tony was trying to help the out of time Captain adjust to the present, while others thought perhaps their shared connection with Howard Stark had made them close friends.

However, there were also the tabloids, which always had to go as outrageous as possible. The crazy theories ranging from Steve somehow being Tony's illegitimate brother (which Tony had no idea how they could possibly think that was plausible considering Steve had been Howard's age in the forties) to Steve being Tony's biological father with Howard having raised Tony in honor of his heroic, deceased friend. The tabloids seemed to completely forget about the fact that not only did Tony bare a strong resemblance to Howard and have his intellect, but that Tony was also born years after Steve's "death."

Those things, while stupid, unfounded, and somewhat annoying, weren't all that big of a deal. Tony had had way worse tabloid stories about himself in the past and these were actually somewhat entertaining and a little funny in their outlandishness. However, it was when a different theory emerged that Tony finally drew the line.

He walked into the kitchen where Steve, Pepper, and Rhodey were all sitting at the table eating breakfast.

Tony slapped the tabloid in his hand down onto the tabletop, the headline "Iron Man and Captain America Dating?" glaring up at all of them.

"That's it. Time to come out," Tony declared.

Steve snorted and nearly choked on his coffee as he started laughing uncontrollably. It took Tony all of two seconds to realize how his words sounded and he glared at his son.

"That's not what I meant."

Steve just continued to laugh and Rhodey and Pepper had to duck their heads and bite their lips to keep from joining him.

"I meant, it's time to come out with the truth."

"That's not what you said," Steve forced out as he tried to gain control over himself.

Tony picked up the paper and slapped Steve's shoulder with it. "It's what I meant and you know it, Smart Aleck!" Tony snapped good-naturedly at his completely unabashed son.

Tony tossed the paper back onto the table and turned to Pepper, his face becoming serious again.

"I want you to pick a reporter, whoever you think is best. I'll give them the story. In private. No cameras, no extra press. I'll give as much of the story as I want and answer only the questions I'm willing to answer. Nothing more and nothing less. And I'll be going alone... unless Steve wants to come with me," Tony turned to look at Steve who had stopped laughing.

"I'm not really one for the press," Steve said. And I'm not sure I can relive that story again so soon, remained unsaid, but Tony still heard it.

"I know. You don't have to come, but you can if you want. It's completely up to you," Tony said.

"I'll think about it," Steve hedged, staring into his coffee.

Tony nodded and looked back at Pepper.

"I'll find the right person and get it set up," she said.

Tony smiled and walked over to kiss her on the cheek. "I knew there was a reason I loved you."

"Because I make sure you never have to do anything yourself?" Pepper teased.

"Exactly," Tony said in the same tone. "You complete me."

)()()(

The reporter Pepper ultimately chose was a newspaper reporter by the name of Claire Williams. She was dressed in slacks and a nice top that complimented her figure but still looked professional. Her brown, shoulder-length hair was down and curled slightly, giving her a pretty but professional appearance.

They met in a neutral location away from her office and the tower. For Tony, her office wasn't an option. There was too high a chance of there being prying ears listening in on their conversation in a building full of nosy news people. The tower was off limits as well simply because he didn't want her there. Tony was very particular on who he let inside the tower at all, much less in the living areas of said tower.

Steve had stayed behind at the tower, not wanting to leave his father to take care of this on his own but also finding it hard to work up the courage and emotional strength to make it through the story yet again. Tony had understood completely and convinced Steve to stay behind, even as his son had prepared to make himself go along as moral support for Tony.

"Why don't you stay here," Tony said as he leaned against the door frame of Steve's room.

"No, I'm coming with you," Steve said as he pulled a pair of slacks out of his closet and laid them on the bed before turning back to find a suitable shirt. The jeans and T-shirt he was wearing didn't exactly go with the suit his father was sporting.

Tony pushed away from the door and stepped farther into the room. Steve paused in his wardrobe rifling and turned to Tony.

"I know you don't want to do this," Tony said.

Steve shrugged. "Neither do you."

"You're right. I don't. I don't want to go through this again and I'm not really sure I want the world to know my personal past... my pain." Tony reached out and cupped Steve's face in his hands. "But I do want the world to know who you are. I want everyone to know you're my son."

Steve grabbed Tony's wrist and squeezed. "I want to go with you to support you."

"And I'm grateful for that, but you don't have to. It's okay."

Steve's gaze dropped to the floor, his eyes conflicted.

"Steve," Tony said softly, his thumbs gently caressing Steve's face until his son met his eyes again. "Stay here."

Steve nodded, his eyes full of gratitude. "Thanks, Dad."

Tony smiled and softly kissed Steve's forehead. "I'll be back soon," he said and squeezed the back of Steve's neck before letting him go.

Steve nodded and picked his slacks up to hang them back in the closet.

Now Tony was sitting across from Claire Williams in a nicely furnished office, in an office building SI owned, located about halfway between Claire's office and Tony's tower. Miss Williams sat quietly, a legal pad in her lap and a pen in her hand, waiting. There were no recording devices of any kind and she had kindly turned off her phone.

Tony could immediately see why Pepper had chosen her. Unlike most reporters Tony had had the misfortune to come into contact with, Claire wasn't a rabid, pushy, parasite. She was curious, that much was obvious, but she didn't attack him with questions. After the initial greeting and niceties, she remained silent, waiting for him to speak first, then letting him tell the story however he wanted, and at the speed he wanted, while she took notes, only speaking to clarify anything she didn't understand. Once he was finished talking, she asked him a few questions, but also respected his choice to not answer some of them (especially those pertaining to his late wife) and didn't push for more information than he was willing to give.

Tony glossed over the parts about his wife's death, only offering the bare minimum of details, not willing to let the world dig too deeply into that pain. He also kept the parts about the time travel, the super soldier serum, and his and Steve's connection to SHIELD as vague as possible.

The next morning when the story was published, Tony was relieved to find an accurate and truthful version of what he had told her. The front page headline read: Stark: A Tragically Beautiful Story. Beneath the headline, and above the story, was one of the few good pictures the press had gotten of him and Steve after the battle. Steve was in his uniform and Tony in his armor, both sans helmets. They were facing each other talking about something and Tony had one hand resting on Steve's shoulder. They were a bit worse for wear after the fight, but they were also smiling widely, probably at some joke Tony had made. Claire hadn't spun the story or skewed it in any way. She had written a poignant, but factual article that told the story in an almost beautiful way while also respecting Tony's and Steve's privacy as much as possible. Tony liked it so much, he saved a physical copy of it and had Jarvis save a digital copy.

By that afternoon, every newspaper, website, radio station, news channel, blog, social media site, and pretty much any other form of mass communication had picked up the story, albeit not as beautifully as the original. Soon it was worldwide knowledge. Tony Stark had a son, and if that wasn't news enough, the son was none other than Captain America.

Tony was quickly inundated with calls from people asking questions and trying to set up interviews. The paparazzi swarmed him and Steve anytime either of them left the tower. The world was fascinated with the story. It was like something straight out of a movie. Fortunately, Tony and Steve didn't have to leave the tower very often, and when they did, they could usually make it to a car without too much trouble. It did limit their freedom a bit, but they knew, eventually, things would calm down and go back to normal.

Well, as normal as life ever got for them, anyway.

A/N Well, that's it. The world knows now. What do you think? Let me know! :)

I still have a lot of story ideas for this universe so be on the lookout for future stories in this universe, both one-shots and multi-chapter stories. Some featuring Tony and Steve, as well as some Loki-centric story ideas, and some featuring the whole team too. I'm also thinking about doing slightly alternate versions of Iron Man 3 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier to fit in with this universe. Is that something you guys might be interested in? I don't know when any of these stories will be written, but I still have a lot of love for this little alternate universe I've created so it's not over by any means. Until next time! :)