A/N: I would like to thank Larkcale, NerdyKat, VulpeculaNight and anybody else who offered their input from .com.

Without their help, I don't think I would have ever finished and gotten to a point where I'm satisfied enough to post this story.

As always, I own nothing. I just like to play with the characters for fun.

Fair Warning that Howard Stark is an Abusive Asshole... I don't think I've gotten too descriptive but if that is something that is potentially triggering, I'd say read with caution. Please take care of your own mental health. Only you know what is good or bad for your health.

With that said, Please enjoy!

Several months since the attack on New York, life was beginning to return to normal for the citizens of Manhattan. Stark Industries had donated several million dollars to the relief effort and SHIELD had provided some of the manpower in assisting the victims who had been displaced by the tragic attack. The Avengers, on the other hand, had helped to clear the rubble and repair the countless ruined buildings. Meanwhile Tony had repaired Stark Tower, renamed it Avengers Tower and outfitted the floors below his penthouse with 5 apartments – each tailored to his teammates' style.

With Bruce finally convinced by Tony's persuasion in the form of 'Candy Land,' which really refers to his ten floors of R&D, his own lab, as well as a shared lab with Tony for joint projects. Steve was the next to move in after he toured America on his motorcycle. Thor then agreed to stay with Tony as well (which also meant Jane and Darcy moving into the Tower).

Clint's first day back on the Helicarrier had been awkward at best and violently confrontational at worst. Despite Director Fury making a general announcement and sending out an official notice that Clint had been mind-controlled and was not being held responsible for his actions, there were agents who didn't agree with Fury's decision. He had been attacked several times by groups of agents who had lost friends due to the attacks Clint led while under Loki's control.

In the beginning, believing he deserved everything the agents did to him, Clint often allowed the other agents to 'get the drop on him' before he offered up any sort of self-defense. The only reasons he fought back were his finely-honed instincts or Natasha. The first few attacks had only been stopped because Natasha had physically intervened.

One of the more memorable times, he had been sleeping in his quarters when several agents had broken into his room: they had attempted to strangle, stab and smother him all at the same time. After that incident he began living in the ventilation ducts, creating a nest of blankets and keeping a cache of weapons with him; every night changing the location of his nest to make it harder for people to find him.

After hearing that the rest of the Avengers had joined Tony living in the Avengers' Tower, Clint, who was sick of being constantly on alert and hiding when he was on the Helicarrier, decided to take Tony up on his offer to stay at the Tower. Natasha followed Clint's lead, not wanting to leave him alone.

Tony had been in his lab, located one floor above his penthouse, for several days working on upgrades for his suits, as well as upgraded weapons for his teammates. The rest of the team was lounging in the common living room (where the Hulk had smashed Loki into the floor) while Steve and Pepper were making spaghetti & meatballs for lunch.

Pepper glanced up at the team as she stirred the pasta sauce and took a quick head count. She huffed in mild aggravation when she noticed Tony was missing from the group.

"Can somebody go get Tony out of his lab?" Pepper asked, "He's been in there for days," she added, in a tone that suggested she had already tried and failed to pry him away from his lab several times.

They all exchanged quizzical looks at Pepper's statement. Clint paused the video game he was playing with Thor, Bruce looked up from the scientific journal he was reading and Natasha looked up from the trashy tabloid she was skimming. This was the first time since the team had moved in that Tony was MIA. Over the last week and a half, since the entire team had moved in, Tony had been flitting around like a kid on a sugar high showing off the Tower's improvements to the team. The Tony they knew was loud, obnoxious, and hyper, always with a sarcastic, wisecracking quip.

"He forgets to eat when he's holed up in his labs like this," she added, with a frown.

"Yeah, I'll drag him out if I have to," Clint chuckled. He got up and went to the elevator. The doors opened automatically, courtesy of JARVIS. Clint entered the elevator, "Tony's lab, JARVIS," he said as the doors closed.

"Right away, Master Barton," JARVIS responded and executed the order. When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Clint walked out into the room and approached the glass wall. He attempted to input his security code but was denied access.

"Hey, JARVIS, can you unlock the door for me?" Clint requested.

"I am sorry, but Sir has requested that he be left undisturbed until he says otherwise. He has temporarily deactivated all security access to the lab for an undetermined amount of time," JARVIS responded.

"But you have override capabilities right?" Clint questioned.

"Only in states of emergency according to my protocols," JARVIS answered, "Notifying Mr. Stark that lunch is served is not one of my emergency protocols," he added with his signature dry wit.

"I see… well then…" Clint shrugged then went up one floor and into the air duct. He crawled around until he found the air vent leading into Tony's lab and smirked. He carefully removed the vent cover then silently dropped down with all the stealth of a SHIELD assassin. As he stood up out of the crouch he landed in, he spoke, "You know, deactivating my security code was pointless."

Tony jumped and swore as he turned to look at the assassin, "Damn it, Legolas! Don't sneak up on a man working with a welding torch! I could have fried myself!" Tony chastised, "How the hell did you get in here anyways?" he asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Clint smirked, "Pepper says you need to come out of your lab and eat lunch. You've been holed up in here for days."

"It hasn't been days!" Tony argued.

"Actually, Sir, it has been three days, 16 hours, and 22 minutes since you entered the lab," JARVIS supplied.

"Nobody asked you, Jay!" Tony quipped.

"What have you been doing down here anyways?" Clint asked as he wandered around, peaking at the various half-finished projects laying around the lab.

"It's a surprise… sort of a 'welcome to the tower-slash-team' thing… actually yours is almost done…" Tony smirked, "I just need to run some final tests…" he added as he picked up his soldering iron. Tony reached for his solder but came up empty, "Uh… Hey, Katniss, do you see a spool of solder somewhere?"

Clint looked around and saw that one of the robotic arms had the spool of solder in its pincers while another was unwinding it from the spool. "Uh… yeah, your robots are playing with it," Clint smirked, trying not to laugh as he went over and pried it out of the bot's pinchers. As he walked back over to Tony, he rewound the solder around the spool, then held it out for Tony to take, "Here you go… hey are those Nat's wrist gauntlets?" he added as he glanced over Tony's shoulder.

"Huh? Oh yeah… just put the solder down for now…" Tony responded, as he pretended to double check the wiring. As soon as Clint put down the spool Tony snatched it up and began to solder the wiring in place. Clint quirked an eyebrow at Tony's odd behavior but said nothing.

"I noticed that her gauntlets didn't last very long and don't pack that much of a punch… I also added a few other things that might be handy…" Tony said as he finished soldering. He then screwed on the cover that protected the wiring & mechanics for both gauntlets. "Do you think she'll like them?"

"Yeah, what else can they do?" Clint asked, curiously.

"You'll just have to wait and find out when I give it to her," Tony answered.

"Fine, be that way," Clint teased, rolling his eyes, "Now it's time for lunch… and I promised Pepper that I'd drag you out of here if I have to," Clint smirked, "Do you really want me to drag you out, or will you come on your own?"

"Alright, alright!" Tony agreed, "Jay, while I grace my teammates and Pepper with my presence, I want you to take Prototype ELF 2.0 and run those tests we talked about. If everything works within Stark Industries Standard Parameters, start the final manufacturing process," he added as he put the gauntlets in a pre-wrapped box with a bow.

"Of course, Sir. Have you finished retrofitting U with the necessary equipment to perform the tests?" JARVIS asked.

"Of course. I did that last night," Tony said as he entered his security code into the glass panel to unlock the door. Clint followed Tony onto the elevator. When it stopped on the common living space, they exited the elevator.

"Oh good, just in time," Pepper smiled, "Everybody have a seat and Steve and I will dish," she added.

Everybody took a seat at the dining table, with Tony seated at the head and the seat to his left open for Pepper. In the kitchen, Pepper dished out the noodles and sauce onto plates as Steve carried the plates out and handed them out to his teammates. However, when he tried to hand Tony his plate, Tony didn't meet him in the middle as his other teammates did. Steve furrowed his brows and tried to make eye contact with Tony, who wasn't looking at Steve.

"Uh… Tony, you wanna take your plate?" Steve voiced.

"Yeah, uh… no. I don't like to be handed things… just put it down," Tony said nonchalantly.

"Okay…" Steve confusedly agreeing, as he set Tony's plate down on the table. He looked around at his other teammates to see if they caught Tony's odd reaction. Either they weren't paying attention or they knew and just never said anything about it.

It wasn't the first time Steve noticed that Tony wouldn't take something from somebody, unless it was Pepper. She seemed to be the only one who could hand him things. The first time he noticed was when they were at a public event and every time somebody tried to hand Tony something to sign, he never took it from the person. He would sign the photo or whatever the fan had, but he'd never take it from their hands. At another event, when the Governor of New York was presenting The Avengers with a 'Key to the City,' the Governor tried to hand the key to Tony but Steve had to step in as it was starting to become awkward when Tony wouldn't put his hand on the key. There were other smaller incidents (almost too small to even call them incidents) where somebody tried to hand something to Tony and he refused or ignored the person.

Lunch went on as Steve contemplated his teammate's strange quirk. Soon they were finished and Tony got up to help Natasha clean up the dishes (as it was their turn). Steve lifted his plate as Tony came around and tried to hand it to him, however Tony ignored him and picked up Clint's plate from the table.

"Uh… Tony… my plate?" Steve questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Hands are full Spangles, just put it down and I'll come back for it… or maybe Natashalie will get it if I'm busy… so just hold your horses," Tony said flippantly.

Natasha rolled her eyes at Stark and took Steve's plate from his hand. Once they finished clearing up and washing the dishes, Tony went over to Natasha.

"So, Natashalie," Tony smirked, "I couldn't help but notice that those gauntlets of yours are awesomely badass, but they don't last very long… and they're only single purpose…" Tony started.

"What's your point, Stark?" Natasha asked, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"My point is that I have a gift for you!" Tony exclaimed as he handed her the wrapped box.

"And it's not even my birthday…" Natasha retorted as she took the box from him. She took off the lid at Tony's prompting and looked inside, "Um… you're giving me my gauntlets?" she asked rhetorically, "It's not a gift if you steal something from somebody and give it back to them wrapped in pretty paper, Tony," She added slowly in a fake sweet voice as if explaining something to a child.

"Those are not your gauntlets! I made those from scratch… and they're way cooler than your old ones. Try them on for size," said Tony. Natasha put them on and moved her wrists around to test her range of motion.

"They fit nicely, but they do feel a bit heavier," She said after a minute.

"Yeah, that's because they can do more than just Taser somebody," Tony explained, then told her how they worked and all the gadgets he added to the gauntlets, "You're amazing at what you do. Your hand-to-hand combat skills and shooting skills are seriously badass, but I figured it would be beneficial to have a few long range weapons, other than your guns, that you could use to take out multiple targets at once, before you get surrounded… and I figured with as much as you and Legolas hang out, and his penchant for tall buildings, it would be nice if you could have your own zip line."

"Thanks, Tony. I really appreciate it," Natasha said, the corner of her mouth barely quirking up into a smile.

"You're welcome. Later I'll set up the practice range with some life-like test dummies for you to run some controlled tests. I couldn't really run a full scale test since they wouldn't fit my wrists," Tony mentioned.

"Sounds good… Thanks again," Natasha said as she took off the gauntlets and placed them back in the gift box. As soon as Tony left for his lab and Pepper returned to her office, Steve spoke up.

"Okay so is it just me or has anybody else noticed Tony's aversion to taking things from people?" Steve asked Bruce, Natasha, Clint, and Thor. All four answered in the affirmative, but none knew the cause.

"It's just one of Tony's quirks… At first I thought he did it for the sake of being annoying or something, but I think there's something deeper there," Natasha replied, "Even when I was undercover as Tony's assistant, if I had anything for him to sign or something, I had to put everything down on a flat surface before he'd even look at it… and if there were no flat surfaces, I had to hold it steady while he read over the document and he still wouldn't take it from me," she added, "If I had something that required a signature… He doesn't sign things with a pen. He uses his thumb print. When he made Pepper the CEO, she signed with a pen and then Tony signed via a thumb print. Once I learned that all of the documents that required Tony's signature were done by a thumb print and that he didn't like to be handed things, I realized he instituted that policy to avoid being handed a pen to sign… it's even company policy for all documents to be presented in this hard backed folder that has an inkpad embedded in the folder, so he doesn't even have to be handed an inkpad."

"That's strange. Has anybody ever asked him about it?" Steve asked.

"No, people just sort of accept it as one of his eccentricities. As far as I know, nobody's ever questioned it and he's never volunteered a reason," Natasha replied.

Steve nodded in response then left the room, wandering the Tower. He found himself in the Avenger's private gym when he stopped wandering. Steve went into the locker room and changed into a pair of long shorts and a tank top. He wrapped his hands with tape then went back out into the gym. Steve set himself up in front of the punching bag and began to throw jabs and crosses against the swinging bag.

As he found his rhythm, Steve just could not get this odd little quirk of Tony's out of his mind. He wondered if there would ever be a situation where Tony would take something from him if it were dire enough. Steve was so lost in thought about what could have possibly caused this odd little quirk he forgot his own strength. With his next right cross the bag tore off the hook, landing across the room. Steve was glad in that moment Tony had bothered to invent a material that could withstand a super strength beating and not spill sand all over the floor.

As soon as Tony entered his lab, he could see U shooting exploding arrows at a target and DUM-E was putting out the flames with a fire extinguisher as Butterfingers filmed the whole thing. Tony chuckled and shook his head at DUM-E's penchant for operating the extinguisher.

"Are you boys having fun over there?" Tony asked as he got to work on an armored suit for Steve. It wasn't head-to-toe armor like the Iron Man suit. It was thinner, more lightweight and flexible to match the Captain's fighting style but would still offer better protection than his current Captain Spangles suit offered.

All three robots whirred happily in response to Tony's question while DUM-E twirled, sending fire retardant all over in a circle around himself. "Hey, DUM-E, watch where you're pointing that thing!" Tony chastised just as Steve came into the lab.

"So what are you working on?" Steve asked, letting his presence be known to Tony.

Tony startled a bit, thinking that he had locked himself inside his lab again, but quickly recovered, plastering on a smile. "Presents for the team… I'm working on yours now while U and DUM-E finish up the testing of Legolas' new toys," Tony answered, seemingly casual. He then ignored Steve for a few minutes while working on the armor. Steve crossed his arms, feeling a bit awkward and out of place in Tony's lab.

"Is that really what you came here to ask?" Tony finally asked, his tone laced with skepticism.

"Yeah… you've just been up here for days… I was curious," Steve half-lied as he watched one of Tony's bots, that had been modified to shoot arrows, wheeled over and whined. He continued to watch as Tony interacted with the bot as if it was alive.

"I know, you don't like the mods… Jay, are the tests done? Can I get U back to normal?"

"Yes, Sir. The tests have been completed and they were successful within the stated parameters," JARVIS replied.

"Great! Did you hear that U? Back to normal!" Tony chuckled then set to work at removing the bow from U's modified arm. Steve sat next to Tony and picked up a tool Tony had set down and looked at it. A few minutes later Tony reached for the tool but came up empty. He looked away from U and saw Steve was holding the tool. "Uh, I need that. Put it down," Tony said.

"Oh, sorry… here, I was just looking at it," Steve said holding it out for Tony to take. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Just put it down, okay?" Tony said, slightly annoyed.

"Uh… okay…" Steve said as he put down the tool. Tony snatched it off the workbench and continued to work on U's arm. "Why wouldn't you take it from me?" Steve asked.

"I told you at lunch, I don't like to be handed things," Tony replied without looking up from his work.

"Yeah, but why?" Steve questioned.

"I just don't, okay? Leave it at that… everybody else does. Just accept it as fact and move on," Tony said annoyed, "I'm a multi-billionaire, I'm allowed to be eccentric and have some odd little quirks."

"I think it's more than that… I've seen Pepper hand you things all the time," Steve pointed out.

"That's because she's Pepper. She's been with me for years, decades really. There used to be a time she couldn't hand me things either," Tony argued.

"So do you think there will ever be a time the rest of the team and I can hand you things?" Steve asked.

"Don't know but not any time soon… you, maybe never… no offense," Tony said as he finished returning U to normal, "There you go buddy, all normal."

U whirred happily opening, closing and twirling his pinchers. Tony chuckled as U rolled off. A few minutes later U returned with a bottle of Tony's favorite Single-Malt Scotch in his pincers and whirred excitedly, holding out the bottle to Tony. Tony took the bottle from U who then took off again only to come back with a small glass tumbler filled with a couple of ice cubes, holding it out for Tony. Tony grinned and poured some Scotch in the glass then took it from U's pinchers. Tony gave U the bottle of Single Malt back to U.

"Go put that back, and don't drop it! It's expensive," Tony ordered, then took a sip from his glass. U did as instructed then rolled back over to Tony whirring happily and almost trying to nuzzle against his side. Tony chuckled as he drank his Scotch and lazily ran a hand along U's arm.

"So… you'll take things from your robot but not your teammates?" Steve asked hesitantly, after watching Tony and U interact.

"I built U, Dum-E and Butterfingers from scratch. One of their functions is to bring me things, so of course I take things from them," Tony said as if it was obvious.

"I still don't get it… are you doing it just to be an ass or is there an actual reason?" Steve pushed.

"Just drop it, okay?" Tony seethed.

"No, I'm not just going to accept it, not unless there's a good reason… if you're just doing it to be annoying…" Steve started to say.

"There's a good reason, Captain Perfect," Tony snarled, "You wanna know why I don't like being handed things? Fine. But don't tell me I didn't warn you…"

"Okay… warn me?"

"Yeah, Howard was a drunken asshole-bastard," Tony started, seething at his father's name, "When I was a kid, he was barely around… he was either at board meetings, in his lab, or searching for you. When he was around, he was drunk off his ass and always in his lab," Tony explained, "One of my first memories is of dear ol' dad coming home from a long trip. Apparently he had been searching for you… again," he continued.

"I learned later from his notes that it had been a spectacular failure. So he was already drunk when he walked in the door and he kept drinking. I was in a corner of his lab tinkering with some electronic I had taken apart. He didn't notice me until hours later. He was blackout drunk and so angry. He threw his several empty beer bottles around in anger, some landed in my direction," he said wryly, the corner of his mouth rising in a hint of a smirk, "When I started crying, he told me 'Stark men were made of iron and they don't cry,' then he threatened to hit me if I didn't stop crying. He had this broken beer bottle in his hand… he told me to shut up and clean up the mess he had made while he shoved that broken bottle into my hands," Tony recalled, his eyes glassy with a far off look, like he was back in the time he was describing, "My hands were bloodied and Jarvis had to pick glass out of my palms for what seemed like hours."

"How can JARVIS pick glass out of your hands?" Steve asked, confused.

"Not JARVIS, Jarvis. Edwin Jarvis… he was the family butler… he was more my dad than Howard ever was. He took care of me as best he could," Tony answered, "There were a few more times I was in the wrong place at the wrong time… being on the receiving end of a few bottles thrown my way after an unsuccessful attempt at finding you."

Tony downed the rest of his scotch then walked over to his liquor cabinet. He grabbed the bottle U had brought him earlier and went back to his work bench. Tony poured himself another drink, downed it quickly, and then poured himself a third glass before continuing.

"When I was 4, I built my first circuit board…" Tony started.

"Wait, so the thing with the broken bottles happened before you were 4 years old?" Steve asked incredulously.

"Yeah… first time I think I was around 2… maybe closer to 3," Tony confirmed, then continued with his story, "Anyways, I showed my circuit board to my mom first, she took pictures of me with it… then I went to show Howard in his lab… he looked it over, pointed out a few flaws in the design, broke it, then handed it back to me, telling me to do better. I was devastated and I started to cry but Howard yelled at me that 'Stark Men are made of Iron' and if I didn't stop crying he'd 'give me something to cry about.' So I stopped crying and started building my second circuit board…"

Steve was shocked to hear that Howard would do that to his own son. DUM-E 'looked' over at Tony, sensing through JARVIS that Tony was upset. DUM-E whirred and rolled over to Tony, joining U at Tony's other side, nuzzling his arm against Tony's side. Tony placed a hand on each of his robots, taking comfort from their affections. "After that anything I was proud of, Howard would point out the flaws, and hand it back broken… after I built my first engine when I was six, he had went out searching for you again," Tony continued, "I was working on the plans for DUM-E when he finally came home… I was always fascinated by robotics and he took a lot of planning. I wanted to create a robotic assistant," Tony added, petting Dum-E's arm affectionately as Dum-E whirred some more and twirled his pinchers.

"Howard came in, already sloppy drunk. I made the mistake of showing him the schematics I had drawn up. Howard laughed at the idea of a semi-sentient robot. Told me it would never work, ripped up the schematics and handed the torn up pieces back to me," Tony said darkly as Butterfingers rolled up in front of Tony and placed his arm on Tony's thigh. All three robots were whirring and nuzzling Tony, 'sensing' his distress from JARVIS, "After that, I never showed him any more schematics. When I got into MIT, Howard would come about once or twice a month to check on me. For the first year, I'd show him my completed assignments and he'd just point out all the flaws and tear it apart, then hand the broken pieces back to me. I finally built DUM-E when I was 17 as one of my final projects. I had created the first truly AI robot and Howard didn't care. He just pointed out everything wrong with him. DUM-E's codes and voice recognition software were primitive but it was the best available at the time, and I had upgraded the existing software to be better than what was on the market… but I…" Tony stated, hesitating on the last word before continuing, "It didn't matter," Tony commented as his robots whined in response to his demeanor.

Steve was horrified by what he was hearing so he watched in fascination as the mechanical arms seemed to be experiencing emotions.

"After that first year at MIT, I just stopped taking things from anybody. Didn't matter what it was," Tony explained in a slight daze, as U, DUM-E, and Butterfingers all nuzzled and whirred comfortingly against Tony.

"Howard did all that?" Steve questioned in disbelief.

"Yeah, he did… Howard was a bastard… never told me he loved me… never even told me if he liked me," Tony confirmed.

Steve sat feeling awkward for a few minutes, watching Tony and his three bots comfort each other, "Um… is it me or are those robots expressing some kind of emotion? It looks like they're trying to comfort you or something…" Steve asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, they're connected to JARVIS and JARVIS is advanced enough to understand and express emotion, which he passes on to DUM-E, U and Butterfingers," Tony explained, glad for the change of subject, "They're like little kids, they know I'm upset but they don't understand why. They know I need comforting though."

"And… you uh… find them comforting?" Steve asked.

"Of course. They're like my kids. I poured my blood, sweat and tears into making them. I gave them life."

"Then why do they have such demeaning names?" Steve asked.

"Well, I finished DUM-E when I was 17, like I said. This was before JARVIS and the voice commands weren't perfect. He didn't always recognize my commands, which is one of the flaws Howard pointed out… I called him 'Dummy' in frustration and suddenly he responded to my commands. He took it to be his name. So I named him DUM-E… U was my second bot and I swear he's ADHD…" Tony explained.

"What's ADHD?" Steve interrupted.

"Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It means he's got the attention span of a flea and he bounces off the walls metaphorically… although sometimes literally. I didn't have a name for him yet so I kept shouting 'Hey, You' at him to get his attention and it just kinda stuck…" Tony chuckled, "Butterfingers got his name because that's exactly what he is… he's always dropping things. I've tried fixing his code, I upgraded his software, replaced his hand… Butterfingers just seems to like dropping shit," He added, "but I love them… I might threaten to donate them to random colleges or libraries, but they know it is all empty threats…" Tony smiled, "Oh and DUM-E has an obsession with fire extinguishers… he loves being on fire duty… even though he routinely douses things with fire retardant when there's no fire… I think he's paranoid…"

"Can robots be paranoid?" Steve questioned.

"Yeah, mine can… I sort of have a habit of setting things on fire accidentally so I guess he has a reason to be paranoid… and U keeps trying to make me smoothies but he just ruins the blenders, or adds inedible things to it, like motor oil or lubricant," Tony chuckled, "One time I got a smoothie made of motor oil, bolts, kale, and bananas."

"How do you accidentally set things on fire?" Steve asked, shaking his head and lightly chuckling.

"Well… for example I had to create a new element for my arc reactor and I built a particle accelerator in my workshop, in Malibu. When I started to turn the beam to get it to the new arc reactor core it started slicing through the concrete walls… and the flammables cabinet… which is made of metal… and contains flammable things… there might have been a bit of a fire… DUM-E took care of it," Tony explained.

Steve chuckled, "Only you, Tony… So since you created a new element what did you name it?"

"Starkadium… it tastes like coconut and metal," Tony answered.

"You've tasted it?"

"Yeah, it's sort of a side effect from the reactor… but I'd rather taste coconut and metal than die of Palladium poisoning," Tony answered.

"Yeah, that makes sense…" Steve agreed, then realized what Tony had just said, "Wait, you were dying?" Steve asked, clearly shocked.

"Yeah, of palladium poisoning. I thought I just covered that? That's what the old reactors ran on… my veins were turning black from the poisoning… Rhodey called it a high tech crossword puzzle," Tony answered, "Starkadium is the only good thing my father did for me… he discovered it, but didn't have the technology to synthesis it."

"Oh… well, I'm glad you're not dying…" Steve said awkwardly, "Um… so I know you have a thing for nicknames… you know, Capcicle, Legolas, Katniss, Point Break… but why 'Natashalie'? I don't get that one," Steve asked, trying to change the subject again.

"When I was dying of Palladium poisoning, Fury ordered Natasha to go undercover as Natalie Rushman from Legal at Stark Industries. I had just made Pepper CEO of SI and Natalie from Legal came over for me to sign my company over to Pepper. Since Pep was now CEO, she couldn't still be my PA so I hired Natalie from Legal as my PA. Then I found out she was really Agent Natasha Romanoff of SHIELD. I tried to fire her, but Fury wouldn't let me… then she and Pepper became friends and ganged up on me," Tony explained, "So Natasha plus Natalie equals Natashalie."

"Makes sense…" Steve said, "Um… I promise I won't tell the others what you said about Howard…It's not my place or my story to tell. And I hope someday you can trust all of us the way you trust Pepper," he added, "I know I'll do what I can to try and earn that trust."

"Yeah, sounds good Cap," Tony acknowledged.

"Well, I'll let you get back to work," Steve said as he left the workshop.

After Steve left Tony's workshop, he went down to the parking garage where his bike was parked. "JARVIS, where is Howard Stark buried?"

"Mr. Stark is buried at the New York City Marble Cemetery, plot number 350, located on East 2nd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue. The cemetery entrance is located near 58 East 2nd Street," JARVIS replied as Steve straddled his motorcycle, "Might I also suggest you wear a helmet before venturing out, Captain Rogers?"

"Why? I've never worn one before," Steve replied, confused.

"Indeed, and it has been noticed by various forms of media. Whether you like it or not, Captain Rogers, you are a role model and not everybody is as… shall we say durable… as you are," JARVIS explained.

"Right… I assume there's a helmet I can borrow then?" Steve asked.

"There is. If you would look to your left, there is a cabinet. Inside you will find helmets of various styles and sizes," JARVIS directed.

Steve got off his bike and walked over to the cabinet JARVIS indicated. When he opened the doors he saw many colorful and wildly patterned helmets. As Steve examined the different choices, he found a simple black three-quarters helmet with a lightly tinted retractable face shield.

Steve got back onto his bike and secured the helmet on his head and lowered the face shield. He started the engine with a turn of the key and drove out of the underground parking garage. He drove down Park Avenue, past Grand Central Station. He followed Park Avenue to the light at 36th Street and turned left. When he got to 2nd Avenue, Steve turned right and then turned left onto East 2nd Street. He easily found a place to park near the gate. Steve took off the helmet and hooked it to the handle by the chin strap. He fed the parking meter before going into the cemetery.

He quickly found plot 350 and noticed it was a double grave stone for Howard and his wife Maria. Steve crossed himself, as any good Catholic would, then stood silently for a minute as he gathered his thoughts.

"Hello, Howard… It's me, Steve," he finally spoke, then let out a slow sigh, "I wish I could have met Maria… I'm sure she was a lovely woman. I've met your son, Tony," he continued, "He'd probably hate to hear this, but he reminds me so much of you. It's hard sometimes. I had an interesting talk with him today about you though… it seems the father he grew up with is not the man I remember," Steve added, his voice rough with emotion held in, "He told me about how you would search for me and then come home drunk… how you never seemed to be proud of his accomplishments… how scared he is to be handed things because of the things you did and said," Steve said quietly.

"I wish I had been around… maybe if I was things would have been different… at the very least I could have smacked some sense into you… You'd be proud of Tony today… He's a hero… he's got himself a great dame and good friends… I wish I had been there while he was growing up… I don't regret stopping Red Skull, but I still wish I could have been around. My disappearance, and presumed death, apparently affected you greatly… so much that you ignored your son," Steve continued, "I wish you were alive today to see the man your son has become. The Howard Stark I knew would be so proud of his son. I miss your friendship… half of the Commandos had passed on by the time I woke up from the ice… and I've been too scared to seek out the others who are still alive," Steve said, his voice still rough with unshed tears, "Oh… Howard… too bad there was no such thing as GPS in the 40's… would have made finding me so much easier I bet," Steve joked wryly, "Well… I better be headed back… Good-bye, Howard," Steve said as he gently touched the gravestone as if resting his hand on Howard's shoulder in a gesture of friendship.

Steve left the cemetery and rode his motorcycle back to Avengers' Tower, feeling better than he did when he had left. There was nothing he could do to change the past, but he could be a friend and change Tony's opinion.

Once Steve parked his bike in the underground parking garage of Avengers' Tower he had an idea. "JARVIS, do you know where Ms. Potts is right now?" Steve asked.

"Ms. Potts is currently in her office on the 45th floor," JARVIS replied.

"Would it be okay if I went up to talk to her?" Steve asked.

"I believe she would like the excuse to take a break from her work," JARVIS answered.

"Um… I assume you know what Tony told me, in the workshop?" Steve asked rhetorically, "Does Ms. Potts know? Is that something Tony shared with her?"

"Indeed. Ms. Potts has been with Sir for many years now, in one capacity or another. She was his Personal Assistant for about 17 years and has been his girlfriend for the last two years," JARVIS confirmed, "There is very little, if anything, they have not shared with each other."

Steve stepped into the elevator, "Then can you please take me to the 45th floor?"

"Of course, Captain Rogers," JARVIS replied as he made the elevator ascend to the 45th floor, "Ms. Potts' office will be straight ahead after the elevator doors open. I have done the curtesy of notifying her secretary that you are on the way up to visit with Ms. Potts," JARVIS added.

Soon, the elevator arrived and JARVIS opened the elevator doors. Steve stepped out of the elevator and walked up to the secretary's desk.

"I'm here to see Ms. Potts," Steve said.

"Of course, Captain, go right in. She's expecting you," the secretary smiled flirtatiously.

"Thank-you, Ma'am," Steve said, oblivious to the secretary's attempt at flirting. He walked into Pepper's office and saw the redhead sitting sideways with her legs crisscrossed up on a couch in the corner of her office.

Pepper had taken off her suit jacket and kicked off her shoes. She was wearing a blue silk blouse and black dress pants and she had taken her hair down from the French twist she had been wearing earlier.

"Hi, Steve. JARVIS told me you wanted to talk. Come sit down and make yourself comfortable," Pepper smiled.

Steve sat down on the couch bending one leg up onto the couch cushion so he could sit sideways facing Pepper. "I found out why Tony doesn't like to be handed things," Steve spoke softly.

"I had a feeling you weren't going to ignore that quirk of his," Pepper responded gently, "It's been like that for as long as I've known that man and I've known him a long time… almost 20 years now," she added.

"Wow, and he hasn't asked you to marry him yet?" Steve asked.

Pepper giggled, "This isn't the 40's Steve. We've only been dating for two of the 19 years I've known him. He was my boss for 17 years."

"Right," Steve nodded, "I couldn't help but notice that he takes things from you… how long did it take for you to earn that kind of trust with him?"

"Oh… geeze… um… It must have been… let's see I began working for Tony in 1993 and the first time I ever handed him something was in… 2000… so 7 years," Pepper answered.

"What did you do to show him that he could trust you?" Steve asked.

"I'm not sure exactly. I know it was probably a combination of things. The number of years I spent working with him, certainly played a factor. However, I also respected his oddities… as ridiculous as they seemed to me, I was sure he had a valid reason for feeling that way. At first I thought he was just a germophobe but then I saw his workshop at his Malibu mansion… the man has no concept of how to clean. The maids who came in three times a week were only reason the rest of his house was clean," Pepper explained.

"I think I had been working for him for about a week before I saw his workshop so the germophobe idea was tossed aside pretty quickly. I had taken enough psych courses in college to know that this 'quirk' was something a bit more deep-rooted than Tony just being an ass. I could see the look in his eyes when somebody tried to hand him something… it wasn't there for long, because he'd be so flippant about it with a quick witted comment. He's very good at distracting you from the important things about him," Pepper added.

"Yeah… I thought he was arrogant and reckless when I first met him," Steve responded.

"Yeah, that's what he wants you to think," Pepper replied, "He has this… bravado… a mask he wears in public or around new people. He'll test you in subtle ways. It won't seem like it because you'll be too distracted by his behavior to see it but if you can see past his mask, the arrogant, reckless, playboy who likes to play fast and loose… you'll see the man he is, that he tries to hide… He cares deeply but he doesn't like to show it because 'Stark Men are Made of Iron' and showing emotion is a sign of weakness," Pepper counselled, "And if he does show his real feelings, he'll brush it off with a joke. It's all a part of his finely honed art of distraction. It's like a magician doing a slight of hand trick. Now you see it, now you don't."

"So when he's acting like a jerk, he's trying to hide what he's really thinking and feeling?"

"Exactly. It's all about keeping you focused on how much of an asshole he is, so you don't see what he's really feeling," she answered, "It took me years to break through his shell. I could see he wasn't really an asshole, but it wasn't until he was had nearly died that he let me see through his bravado to see the man he was inside."

"So what should I do?" Steve asked.

"Give him time, and respect that he won't take things from you. If you need to give him something, set it down in front of him. He might not pick it up right away but he will. Or if I'm in the room, you can give it to me and I'll give it to him. He knows I won't give him anything that could hurt him physically or emotionally," Pepper suggested, "Also, don't push. One day, He'll surprise you and take something out of your hand that you weren't even intending to give him. At least that's how it started for me… If you have something you want him to look at, just tell him where it is and he'll go get it himself, instead of trying to hand it to him. He's willing to accommodate himself by fetching things, rather than allowing somebody to bring it to him and having that awkward 'don't hand me things' shuffle."

"So basically just respect his eccentricities and don't try to push him," Steve summarized.

"Basically. If you try to push him, he'll pull away faster than you can blink," Pepper warned.

"Good to know," Steve smiled, "Thank-you, for the advice."

"You're welcome Steve," Pepper smiled back, "Thanks for giving me an excuse to take a break," she added with a giggle.

"It was my pleasure," Steve chuckled as he got up.

Steve went back to his suite feeling better after talking to Pepper. He would respect Tony and his quirks without pushing him. Hopefully someday Tony would feel comfortable taking things from the team.

In the following weeks, Steve began respecting Tony's phobia. Steve would set Tony's plate directly on the table, rather than waiting for him to grab it and when it was Tony's turn to clean up the dishes, Steve would allow Tony to pick it up from the table despite his manners telling him to lift it up and meet Tony half way.

After a particularly hard fought battle against an army of doombots (the Fantastic 4 had called in the Avengers for an assist), Tony decided they all deserved a gourmet meal. Once everybody was cleaned up from the battle, Tony treated everybody to a night out to an Italian restaurant.

A few tables away from them sat a family of five. The two eldest children, a boy and a girl, had noticed the group of heroes sitting nearby and began begging their parents to let them go say hello. Steve had noticed.

"Hey, I think we've got a couple of young fans who want to say hello… is it okay with everybody if they come over?" Steve asked the table of fellow heroes. Everybody subtly followed Steve's line of sight and glanced over to the table containing the bouncing children. Everybody agreed it would be fine so Steve caught the mother's eye and waved them over.

Steve could hear the mother tell the children that they were still inside a restaurant and that they were to behave themselves and to talk quietly so as not to disturb the other patrons. She then stood up and held her kids' hands as they made their way over to the large table, leaving her husband to watch the baby in the high chair.

"Hello, so sorry to disturb you all… but my kids are huge fans," the mother apologized.

"It's no trouble Ma'am," Steve smiled.

The little girl, who had long red hair, approached Natasha and gently pulled on the hem of blouse.

"Hello, Ласточка," Natasha smiled down at the little girl.

"What a lost… chat… ka?" she asked trying to pronounce the Russian word.

"It's Russian for little bird," Natasha answered, "What's your name?"

"My name Sarah," she answered, "I this many," she added holding up four fingers.

"That's wonderful," Natasha responded.

"You pretty," Sarah smiled, "I likes your hair. It like mine."

"Thank-you, you're very pretty too," Natasha complimented, "I love your hair as well."

Meanwhile the boy, who was older, stood between Tony and Steve unable to speak now that he was standing there. His mother nudged him and whispered to say hello.

"Hi, Mr. Stark… um… can you sign my Avengers notebook?" he asked as he held out the notebook with the whole team pictured on the front. Steve remembered posing in front of a blue screen with the team, Hulk included, for pictures to be used on Avengers merchandise. Before Tony had the chance to say anything, Steve spoke up, "Would you like the whole team to sign? We're all here."

The boy nodded 'yes' and Steve took the offered notebook from the boy while Pepper, who was on the other side of Tony, fished a Sharpie out of her purse for just such an occasion. Steve took the pen from Pepper and signed 'Steven G. Rogers – Captain America' next to his picture. He then set the notebook down on the table in front of Tony along with the pen.

Tony eyed the notebook and pen for a few seconds then picked up the pen and signed 'Tony Stark – Iron Man' next to his image and passed it on to Clint, who just signed 'Hawkeye' next to his picture before passing it on to Bruce.

Bruce signed 'The Hulk' next to the image of the green rage monster before passing it on to Natasha who signed it simply as 'Black Widow.' She then passed it over to Pepper, who handed it back to the boy.

"Wow! Everybody at school is gonna be so jealous!" the boy exclaimed, "Even the Hulk signed?!" He added when he noticed the Hulk signature, "But… Hulk isn't here…" the boy said confused.

"Actually I'm… uh… I'm… I'm the Hulk," Bruce hesitantly confessed.

"But Hulk is big and green," the boy said, still confused.

"I become the Hulk. He lives inside me," Bruce explained simply.

"Wow… that is so cool! None of my friends will believe me… can I get a picture with you and with Hulk?" the boy asked innocently. The mother looked at Bruce with slight alarm which increased with her son's request.

"Uh… It wouldn't be a good idea to let the Hulk out in here. It would scare people and I don't think the restaurant owners would appreciate their restaurant smashed by Hulk," Bruce explained.

"Oh, yeah," the boy nodded. His mother sighed in relief that Bruce was smart enough to decline while explaining why it would be a bad idea.

Sarah climbed up onto Natasha's lap while her mother was distracted and snuggled against Natasha. "Miss Widow, do you like to play Barbies?"

"I never had a chance to play with dolls as a little girl. I was learning to be a ballerina when I was your age," Natasha answered, "I wasn't allowed to play with dolls. I was only allowed to train first as a ballerina and then I was trained to be a…" she added, but hesitated unsure how to explain her training in the Red Room.

"To be a superhero?" Sarah asked, innocently.

"Yes… but I wish I had been allowed to play with dolls," Natasha replied.

"It's fun. I have a dolly that looks like you," the little girl said as she pulled out a doll from her mother's purse and showed it to Natasha. It was a Black Widow Barbie doll. Natasha remembered having to sign off and approve Mattel's rendering of the doll. "That's awesome. Do you have the other Avenger dolls?" Natasha asked.

"Uh-huh… but you're my favorite," she replied, "Can you go on your tippy toes like a ballerina?"

"I can, if I'm wearing my ballerina shoes," Natasha answered.

"Momma! I wanna be a ballerina like Miss Widow!" Sarah said, bouncing in Natasha's arms.

"You can call me Natasha," she told Sarah.

"That's a pretty name," Sarah smiled.

Sarah's mother finally noticed that her daughter was on Natasha's lap with her Black Widow doll. "Sarah, get off the nice lady's lap, please," she said with her 'mother' voice.

Sarah pouted, hugging Natasha once last time before Natasha helped the girl off her lap.

"Say good bye. It's time we let them get back to their dinner," the mother prompted. The kids said goodbye as their mother carted them back to their table.

Tony had noticed Steve's intervention to prevent that awkward 'don't hand me things' dance he usually has to do. Tony was happy that Steve put down the notebook and pen rather than trying to hand it to him. Tony had noticed Steve's efforts to stop others from handing things to Tony and accommodating his quirk by not handing him things since he and Steve had the confrontation.

I hope you enjoyed the story. Please feel free to leave a review (reviews are the best! They make me feel extra good about my work... please feed my muses with reviews... they're less likely to run away if they're fed reviews).