Archive of Our Own ^beta

Taking out his pencil and starting to draw the first line, Steve realized, once again, that sometimes he missed being in the Second World War. 

No, that sounded bad. What he meant was he missed the simplicity. Knowing the world around him. Knowing the people and what he was supposed to do. 

That didn’t mean that everything had been easy back then, of course not. He’d seen one of the worst wars there had been after all. The nightmares still woke him up now and again.

It hadn’t been as easy as some people nowadays seemed to want to paint it but Steve had at least known the rules. 

Waking up in the 21st century had been disorientating to say the least. Starting with technology that seemed far fetched even for a science fiction story, Steve had trouble even grasping the immense shift society had made. And some of it was brilliant in Steve’s view.  Like all the rights people now had, that women were allowed to do much more, that there was no discrimination written down against skin color in the laws and that people who liked the same sex weren’t prosecuted for it anymore. 

Still, he got overwhelmed with all of it. Got overwhelmed when small-minded people thought he would be a racist and a homophobe just because he was born in a different century - as if it had been any less true that people were people and had to be respected, no matter their skin color, gender or preferences.

And then, of course, there had been aliens and gods. Or at least aliens claiming to be gods. There had been portals in the skies and flying robots and despite the strangeness of it all, Steve had felt a little more home, because that was something he understood - having a team that fought together and trusted each other. The camaraderie. 

Moving the drawing pad a little closer, Steve was barely aware of what he was drawing, too caught up in his thoughts. 

After taking the bike Tony Stark had fixed for him on a six week trip, he’d moved into Stark Tower.

If he’d thought waking up in the 21st century or even driving around the country had been disorientating, he needed a new word to describe how it had felt to step into the elevator and be greeted by a bodiless voice who knew everything about him.

By now, almost six months later, that novelty had worn off - at least a little. He didn’t internally freak out anymore when Jarvis talked to him. In fact, he liked to talk to the AI, who was at least as brilliant as his creator. Jarvis never made fun of him or found it surprising if Steve had questions about something that, to most, seemed normal. The calm British voice would explain in as much detail as Steve wanted and then offer books or articles for even more research.

It also helped that, even though it was still not going smoothly whenever they weren’t fighting the villain of the week - or Jeff, who did not want to understand that his teleporting, giant, polka dotted flamingos were, in fact, a danger to society - he and his teammates had started to talk more. 

Okay, that also sounded worse than it was. Clint and Natasha were still gone more days than they were at the Tower, as Clint was still struggling with being mind controlled by Loki and Nat stuck by him. 

At least they had moved into the Tower after one too many altercations between Clint and some stupid SHIELD agent. Steve was still not sure how Tony had managed it but having heard the story from Clint, Tony had broken into his and also Nat’s SHIELD approved quarters - either a very brave or a very, very stupid thing to do - and relocated all of their possessions. Then he’d stormed into a training session of theirs, berated their colleagues and then handed both of them their ID cards and told them to not be late for dinner. 

Probably the most surprising thing had been that they had come that evening and actually ate with them without attempting to murder Tony. That hadn’t even changed after the spaghetti incident. 

That first evening had been a Thursday and ever since, the Avengers had spent their Thursday nights eating takeout and watching movies, working themselves through Steve’s list and continuously expanding on it. 

Bruce, who had accepted a position at Stark Industries and moved into Tony’s Tower reluctantly but also immediately, now seemed almost more at home in the Tower than Tony himself. It was a beautiful thing for the sensitive doctor who only let his more sarcastic and friendly side show when the other genius was in the room. 

For Tony though, it was a troubling thing, wasn’t it? At least it was something that troubled Steve, whenever he saw Tony fidget on their common floor.

That wasn’t the Tony Stark™ that walked in front of the press or Congress to tell them it was his way or the highway and either way he would win. It wasn’t Tony, who sat on the floor of his workshop, talking to Dum-E as if he were a child or the Tony who could lose himself in a project or talk to Bruce with stars in his eyes.

Tony on the common floor was almost skittish. As if he wasn’t sure he was welcomed in his own home that he selflessly had opened up to all of them when he didn’t have to. 

When asked, he’d say it was for selfish reasons, or that he just did it because they would be able to function better as a team if they lived close together and that he was not willing to move into a SHIELD-issued apartment. 

That could be part of the reason of course - Steve couldn’t even fathom Tony in one of the small gray rooms SHIELD had put him into after defrosting him. 

Leaning further over the drawing, Steve started on the shading.

Then again, he remembered the text he’d got the night he’d moved back into that depressing small room. 

TS: You have to be fucking kidding me. Get your ass to the Tower, Rogers or the next alien invasion you’ll have to fight without me and the green bean.

As it had been Tony who had flown a nuke into space, knowing full well there was a big chance he would die, and he was also the man who both the Hulk and Bruce Banner preferred to all of them (and because Steve hated that room), he’d moved the next day.

That he still hadn’t apologized for his arrogant assumptions that Tony wouldn’t be the man to lie down on the metaphorical barbed wire without even flinching was weighing heavily on Steve’s conscience.

His trust had paid out, even if Steve had taken the better part of the last six months to come to terms with the space and casual wealth he was surrounded by.

Just accept it, Steve. Bruce had told him three months ago, sipping on his tea. Tony has no idea what money means to people who’ve never had it. To him it’s just something he uses.

What Steve observed - in a way a friend would, not in a stalkery way! - was that yes, Tony did use his money and a lot of it, but almost next to nothing was for him, personally. He drove fast cars and wore designer clothes when he was in front of the press or his board of directors. In the Tower, he often walked around in band t-shirts and stained pullovers and jeans. 

He bought gifts and decorations for all of their floors but his own walls were eerily barren, as if the genius never spent any time there. 

Sure, he used a lot of money for his inventions and his workshop but those he did as his job and for the good of humanity in so many cases, not just the Iron Man armor. 

In short, Tony, more than anything else in this strange century, was a mystery to Steve. 

The press still wrote about the man as if he was an incorrigible playboy who drank his nights away and had a lady with him every night. 

As far as Steve was aware, there had been not one person up to Tony’s floor aside from Pepper Potts - who clearly was more of a sister to Tony - and Colonel Rhodes - who openly declared being Tony’s brother in everything but blood. 

(Steve had been up to Tony’s floor one time but that was neither here nor there.)

Steve hadn’t seen Tony drink even a drop of alcohol ever since he moved in and even when they were at functions, he either had something nonalcoholic in his glasses or didn’t drink them. 

He’d asked Nat about it one night, who told him Tony had been sober ever since his kidnapping in Afghanistan, aside from one time he fell off the wagon. According to Nat, who didn’t give any specifics, it had been a bad time for Tony. Having looked up the articles and videos, Steve had to agree. Whatever had been going on, Tony had clearly been suffering.

The press, obviously, hadn’t seen it that way. And they still didn’t see the changes Tony had done, even after reforming Stark Industries.

Let them think what they will, Steve. Tony had told him after one press conference in which Tony had fiercely protected the Avengers and just made self-deprecating jokes when they had started to attack him.

Steve, as co-leader of the Avengers, no matter that no one outside of the Avengers seemed to want to know that, was worried about his teammate and co-leader.

Which was totally normal and nothing special at all! He’d do this for everyone in his team. This had nothing to do with the intrigue he felt whenever Tony walked into the room. Or how different the genius's eyes looked when he laughed. 

Nothing at all.

“Earth to Captain Lovestruck.” 

Blinking, Steve looked up from his drawing which, not that surprisingly was of Tony— tinkering in his shop with the beautifully concentrated frown on his face and the tip of his tongue between his lips. 

Clint sat in front of him, an almost evil smile on his face. 

“Why don’t you just go down there and tell him that you have the hots for him?”

“I-”

“You can also just fall to your knees in front of him. I’ve heard-”

“Clint!”

The archer’s smile widened. “You could also ask him on a date, you know?” 

“I don’t…” Steve didn’t finish his sentence as he’d been sure Clint would interrupt him. Which he didn’t. 

“You don’t what? Like him? Because Cap, yes you do. Do you need us to stage an intervention? I’m sure if I ask Bruce-”

“Please keep me out of this.”

Turning around, Steve had to admit that he hadn’t even realized Bruce was with them in the kitchen. Which made all of this even worse.

“Ah, come on, you don’t believe they would make a cute couple?” Clint asked, raising an eyebrow at Bruce.

“I believe they are both grown men and can decide on their own-”

“We’re talking about Captain Obvious and Oblivious Man here, Bruce. Do you really believe-”

“-I believe in not putting my nose where it doesn’t belong. Didn’t you want to ask Steve what he wants to eat tonight?”

“That’s so boring! Skynet, you’ll help me with an intervention, right?”

“If there should be a need for an intervention, Mr. Barton, I shall be happy to help all residents to reach their full potential.” Jarvis’ tone was almost amused.

“Hah! That was basically a-”

“I believe we need to start with your habit of using the ventilation system to spy on other residents before addressing anything else.”

“Hey!”

Sometimes, Steve really loved Jarvis. 

“We thought about burgers tonight, what do you think, Steve?” Bruce asked, ignoring Clint who was pouting at the camera in the far corner. 

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea.” Tony loved a good burger and ate at least two whenever they ordered them from his favorite burger place.

“When will Tony be here, Jarvis?”

“Around 6pm, Captain Rogers.”

“Ah, asking about your husband, Steve, that’s-”

“Will Nat be back by then as well, Jarvis?” Steve asked, trying to ignore Clint’s grin and the blush rising in his cheeks.

“She’s already back on her floor, Captain.”

Glancing at the clock, Steve thanked Jarvis and packed his utensils together. He had about an hour then to pack everything away and proofread the report he’d written that morning.

Even writing those had become a lot easier with Jarvis’ help for misspellings and modern terminology.

They all knew that Tony was almost never punctual, still Steve walked back onto the common floor at 5:55pm, making sure that if the genius was punctual, he would see a friendly face. 

Steve didn’t know what the genius’ schedule had been today but guessing by experience, he would have been in meetings with the board or other investors. There was no reason for Tony to be out all day otherwise.

“Did you ask Tony what he wants for dinner, Jarvis?”

“Of course, Captain.”

Nodding to the camera, Steve sat down and waited. 

Forty-five minutes later everyone else - aside from Thor, who was still off planet - had been waiting for almost the same amount of time for Tony to show up. The delivery would be here any minute now and Tony almost never came this late whenever they had burgers.

Ignoring Clint, who was already snacking on Doritos, and his own growing hunger, Steve was about to open his mouth to ask Jarvis for an update, when a shrill alarm sounded.

Jumping to his feet, Steve’s hand was already reaching for the shield that wasn’t strapped to his back in the comfort of their own home.

“Jarvis what-”

“Sir’s signal was just cut off abruptly. I can’t reach him through his phone, the ear piece and I have lost connection to the trackers as well.”

Hearing Jarvis, a computer program, sound worried would have concerned Steve in any case. Listening to the fact that Jarvis had lost contact to his creator like this was bone chilling. 

“EMP?” Natasha asked, already a gun in her hand, even if Steve wasn’t sure why she had taken that with her while wearing a cozy sweater and equally cozy pj pants. Then again this was the reason, wasn’t it?

“I fear so, Miss Romanov. If the EMP was strong enough to destroy all of the trackers as well as his ear piece, I have to express concern about the state of the Arc Reactor.”

Opening his lips, he got cut off by Bruce, who jumped up himself, where he’d sat still on his chair when the alarm had started. 

“Bruce what-” He started but the other genius didn’t stop to explain himself. 

“I’ll come to the Quinjet!”

Steve, still frozen like a fucking amateur just stood there - at least until Nat pushed him in the side, all of them rushing towards the elevator to get to the Quinjet - where they could change into their suits.

“What do we know?” Nat asked, seemingly ignoring that the elevator was moving palpable faster.

“Sir had stopped at the Stark Mansion at 4:38 pm and stayed on the property ever since. I lost contact three minutes ago.”

“What was he doing at the Stark Mansion?” Nat asked, and although her expression didn’t seem to change there was a new kind of urgency to her voice.

“He visited his parents' Mausoleum, Miss Romanov. Sir does this every year.”

“Who knows about that? Clint asked, rushing out of the elevator even before Steve, his eyes narrowed.

“Miss Potts and Colonel Rhodes.”

“Then how-” Steve started, already ripping his shirt over his head when Nat interrupted him.

“It’s December 16th.”

Looking over to her, Steve recognized the date as he saw her expression. It had been in one of the files he’d been handed. Howard and Maria Stark had died on December 16th, 1991 in a car crash.

Of course, Tony would visit his parents' grave on their anniversary. He’d had an infamously bad relationship with Howard - something Steve had taken a few too many weeks to understand - but as far as Steve knew, Maria had been a good mother to Tony. 

It wasn’t all that different from his own parental relationships - not that that was in any way important right now. 

“Someone was waiting for him there?” Clint asked, already mostly clothed in his suit. But it was his voice that made it clear that this wasn’t Clint. This was Hawkeye.

“Risky, wouldn’t it be?”

“No.” Nat too had already switched into the Black Widow suit and behavior. “I think the manor is the least protected place Tony visits.”

“That is correct, Agent Romanov. The manor has state of the art security but even my systems there are limited and the Mausoleum is barely covered at all. There hasn’t been an attempt to desecrate it in 11 years therefore Sir did not include it in the remodeling of the security systems.”

“Does anyone else visit the Mausoleum aside from Tony?” Steve asked, his hands already balled to fists at his side, his suit snuck all around him and the shield strapped to his back. 

“No one aside from the gardeners and caretakers, Captain, and I already ran everything on them. There are no irregularities and all of them are employees of Sirs for at least eight years.” 

Before Steve could answer to that, Bruce burst through the door, a metallic box clutched in his hands and a backpack slung over one shoulder. He didn’t wait for any of them, instead the genius ran directly into the Quinjet.

“First to the Mausoleum?” Clint asked, rushing after Bruce.

“Yes.” As long as they didn’t have any other hints, they would go to where Tony had been taken.

Because none of them had thought about what today was. What it would mean to Tony.

“Jarvis, did you find anything when you looked through the traffic cams?” Nat asked, not even pretending Jarvis needed any of them to tell him what to do to look for his creator. 

Steve might still not know much but he knew that Colonel Rhodes, Pepper and Jarvis had been the only ones continuously looking for Tony when he’d been kidnapped in Afghanistan. 

“No, Miss Romanov. I presume the EMP took out the closest in the area. There is also a chance that someone on the inside created a distraction by shutting off the traffic cams in a square mile radius and also shutting off all the traffic lights.”

“Sounds like an inside job.” Clint agreed, while Bruce paled even more.

“Jarvis, do you know-” The genius started, a slight tremor to his voice.

“As far as I could determine only the traffic cameras and traffic lights shut off, Dr. Banner.”

Slumping down a little, Bruce nodded. “Okay. Okay, that’s good.”

Steve might barely understand what the Arc Reactor was, but he knew enough to know it kept Tony alive. Would it even have a chance if the EMP would have been strong enough to kill all electricity in a square mile radius?

“Any threats against Stark Industries, the Avengers or Tony personally?” Nat asked and Steve froze.

“Nothing unusual, Miss Romanov. Miss Potts and I are currently reevaluating the threats that came in in the last few months but there is nothing that sticks out.”

“How many…” Steve started but was not able to finish the sentence.

“There have been 187 serious threats against Stark Industries, 76 against the Avengers and 14 against Sir personally.”

“How many more that you didn’t count as serious?” Clint asked, his fingers wandering over one of the exploding arrows Tony designed for him. 

“4812, Agent Barton.”

It was like a gutpunch, forcing all of the air out of his lungs.

“Why wasn’t I informed?” He barely recognized his own voice. 

“They were referenced in the monthly Tower security report, Captain Rogers.” Jarvis answered, sounding a little miffed, but before Steve could say anything to that - and he had no clue what he would have said - Clint already started the landing.

The scene of the kidnapping was not as gruesome as it could have been. Then again, the beautiful flower bouquet had been obviously used as a weapon, its flowers and petals strewn all around it and sticking to the blood droplets and the small pool of blood on the floor before Maria Stark's name plate. 

As if whoever had taken Tony had jumped him while he’d stood in front of his mother’s grave.

Had he stood there like Steve had stood in front of his own mother’s grave? With tears in his eyes and lost in memories and grief? Had he even known what happened when someone attacked him from behind? 

As far as they could tell, he’d been knocked out before he could do much more than use the flowers intended for his mother’s shrine. 

Steve knew very well how fast Tony could start his blasters. How fast he could be if he wanted to be. 

But he hadn’t had the time to react, had he?

They looked close to half an hour for anything, but aside from Clint finding their point of entry there was nothing usable. It didn’t help Steve any that Bruce grew more and more worried, his hands clawing around the metallic box with a light tint of green in his eyes. 

None of them were happy when they boarded the Quinjet again. When they got confirmation from Pepper that no threat was sticking out. 

“It’s either all of them or none of them.” She said, nothing but fury in her voice. “Jim is still unreachable but he’ll call as soon as he can.”

Because apparently this was a horrific kind of normal for them.

As they had no lead, nothing to go with, they flew back to the Tower, which seemed even colder without his creator. 

“Let’s go through all the threats again and make a list of Tony’s enemies.” Nat said, pushing a Stark Pad into Steve’s hands.

“I’ll start with the list of all of our enemies and let Jarvis cross reference?” Clint sounded both eager to do anything and already defeated. Steve might have barely any enemies in this century and Bruce only one, as far as Steve was aware, but both Clint and Nat would have a lot of them. 

Too many in fact.

They regrouped in the living room of the common floor. Their food was cold by now, not that they cared.

Trying to breathe though the stone cast around his chest, trying to squeeze the remaining air out of his lungs, Steve was petrified. By now it was the middle of the night and he could do nothing, as he had no skills whatsoever in finding their enemies.

What they needed right now was Tony.

Steve needed Tony.

Needed to know he was safe. That he was-

“I just received an email with a link to a video hidden in the Dark Web.” Jarvis' voice ripped Steve out of another spiral.

“What-”

“It’s of Sir. He’s alive.” 

How could the voice of a computer program be so expressive?

“Show us.” Nat ordered, taking a step closer to the massive tv screen they had in the common floor.

“Yes, Agent Romanov.” Jarvis sounded almost reluctant. 

The TV screen flickered on, showing Tony bound to a chair, the right side of his face was blood red, thanks to an open gash on his right temple.

“Cinematic.” Clint commented, taking a step closer as well, hands grasping an arrow.

The room behind was gray raw walls. No window, nothing that would have given Steve a hint where it was.

“Jarvis, can you-”

“I’m sorry, Dr. Banner, the signal is pinging through too many satellites for me to locate it but I’m already working on a solution.”

“Thank you Jarvis.” Bruce said, a forced smile on his lips, even if the green tint was already marking his skin. 

For a moment longer nothing happened, then a black clad person, probably a man, stepped forward, throwing a bucket of water over Tony. It must have been freezing cold by the way Tony flinched back.

“Asshole.” Clint mumbled, venom in his voice. 

Blinking twice, Tony looked around, his brilliant eyes meeting the camera head on before looking back at his kidnapper. There was no fear in his face or posture now. No hint at pain or even the slightest bit of discomfort.

If Steve hadn’t watched Tony so closely. If he didn’t see the way his shoulders were still too tense, no matter how he tried to appear unbothered.

“Seriously?” Tony asked, boredom provocatively loud in his voice. “You do know what I did to the last people who wanted me to work for them right?”

“Yes, I’m aware, Stark. You’re here for information.”

“Not that I’m going to tell you anything but what are we talking about here? Stark Industries trade secrets, national security or my skin care routine?”

“This is not about you, Stark.”

“It isn’t? Are you sure? Because it sure as hell seems like it.”

“This is about me.”

Something cold slithered into Steve’s stomach, taking the last bit of warmth with it.

Tony looked at him, before a horrific smile split his lips, showing his blood stained teeth. “Oh please, tell me you haven’t planned to beat me up in front of a camera to make me spill our secrets so that you can join the Avengers.” The disbelief in his voice cut even worse than the smile. “You do know they barely let me in, right?” 

“Tony.” Bruce whispered beside Steve and he couldn’t help but agree with the plea in the other man’s voice.

“Yes, because you are the Merchant of Death. I’m better than you.” The kidnapper hissed, leaning forward. “You’re just a cash cow.”

“Not just a cash cow, darling, I’m also the life of the party and the inventor of their gadgets. Speaking off-” 

The video flickered and Tony was on the ground, obviously beaten up worse and with a gag in his mouth. Instead of fear, there was a taunt obvious on his expression, even now, laying on the ground and staring up at the man who was beating him up.

Kicking Tony in the ribs one last time, the man turned around, clearly looking up at the camera, even though the mask was covering his whole face, not even showing his eyes or mouth. 

Watching the scene, Steve would have given everything he had to switch places with Tony. Would have given everything he had to be there, to be able to stop the attack and protect Tony, who, even now, looked mildly inconvenienced at the most.

“I’m better than him. I’m smarter than him.” The kidnapper yelled, rage obvious in his voice. 

Tony, although gagged, made a noise that could have been nothing else but contempt.

The kidnapper flung himself around, to kick Tony again. Instead of finally shutting up, Tony yelled something through the gag that Steve couldn’t make out. 

He was kicked once more for his effort and Steve wanted to go down to his knees to beg Tony to shut up. To not taunt the kidnapper even worse.

“If you want someone competent on your team, text me.” The kidnapper turned back to the camera. “I know you’ll have to look, but don’t waste too much time. Not even Stark would be able to find me.”

Then the feed cut off again.

Staring at the dark screen, Steve didn’t know what to do, a scream stuck in his throat, choking him. 

“Great, it’s a crazy stalker fan.” Clint huffed, his hands balled to fists at his sides and his shoulders so tense, it belied his uncaring voice.

“More of an anti-fan.” Nat said, glaring at the dark screen. “Jarvis, do you have anything on the kidnapper?”

“No. Analyzing the audio it’s clear he has a sound filter over his voice, Agent Romanov.” 

“He’s good.” Bruce said, still clinging to the metal box on his lap. 

“He’s not-” Steve started but was interrupted by the mostly green eyes of the Hulk staring back at him from Bruce’s face. “It’s important to see this as it is. He’s good. Tony is better but Tony is not here.” There was a growl accompanying his voice now. “Jarvis, can you-”

“Most of my systems are working on finding the perpetrator, Agent Barton, but right now there is nothing I can give you.”

An hour later, Steve was ready to text that man - even if Nat was probably right that it wouldn’t be a good idea until they knew more. Because if they told him that they would accept him into the Avengers, he wouldn’t need to keep Tony alive any longer. And if they asked him - begged him - to release Tony, that would most likely enrage him enough to at least hurt Tony worse.

The last thing Steve wanted was to be the reason Tony got hurt more. 

But how long would he wait? Would he contact them again? And if he contacted them again, would he be hurting Tony more? Would it be to tell them that he’d killed Tony?

Balling his hands to fists, before forcing them open again, like he had time and time again in the last hour. Because he was useless. In this there was nothing that he could do. He barely knew enough to work a computer.

All they needed to solve this was Tony and it killed Steve to know that Tony already knew something that he had tried to tell them. Something so important that his kidnapper had beaten him up even worse for it and even had killed the feed during it, to make sure they didn’t get the information.

And Steve sat here uselessly. Like the old relic he was, lost in the modern world. 

“Steve?” 

Snapping up from where he’d been sitting, staring into nothing, Steve met Nat’s eyes. The green was a little darker than he saw them mostly when they were in the Tower. It could be because it was nearing midnight - but she didn’t seem tired. 

“I talked with Pepper. They don’t have anyone who is better than Jarvis. Their best hackers and programmers are working on it but… she isn’t optimistic that they’ll find anything.”

Staring up at Nat, Steve forced himself to nod. 

Of course, no one was as brilliant as Tony. Then again that had to be true for the hacker as well, didn’t it?

Tony had once told him that there were very promising people out there and he tried to hire them no matter their formal education because he could always teach them as soon as he had them in SI. He’d said that with a bright smile, explaining one of his programs, which was basically leaving data puzzle boxes all over the internet and waiting for people to find and solve them.

It doesn’t matter if you have gone to MIT or not. If you can code, you can code. I’d say it can even be hindering if you just do it how you’ve learned it. Tony had said, with a wink at Steve. As he had been really interested in that topic, Steve had wanted to ask more - but forgot everything after seeing that wink being directed towards him. 

“Can you teach yourself this level of knowledge on your own?”

Nat, who’d already half turned to go back to wherever she was at least trying to work, stopped and looked back at him.

“I mean Tony said… he said you didn’t have to but he went to MIT and he is a genius. Even if the kidnapper is a genius himself, could he teach himself that level of knowledge himself or would he need to have gone to school?”

“That… Jarvis?” Nat turned towards the camera, something she seldomly did.

“There are very good hackers and programmers out there who are self-taught but his style looks like he learned traditional codes, too, which suggests training.”

“Can you-”

“I am already looking for overlapping results and- Some codes look like they could have been inspired by a Stanford professor that- There is a 98.7% chance his coding process is based on the works of Professor Woulseif. Processing all students with the highest ranks.” 

“Look at the drop-outs too.” Nat took a step closer. “Cross-reference with anti-social behavior and complaints against any students who learned under him.”

“Processing, Miss Romanov. I will bring up their profiles on the tv screen as soon as I- I found six potential perpetrators.”

Jumping up from the chair, Steve rushed to the TV screen. It showed five men and one woman.

“They all showed genius level understanding of coding, have higher than average IQs and were reported for antisocial behavior.”

“Where are they working right now?”

As it turned out, all of them were doing well. One of them, who had been later diagnosed to be on the Autism Spectrum, was now even working for Stark Industries and had almost only positive feedback now that his behavior was understood as focused and not rude. 

“Can you find out where all of them are right now?” Nat asked, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

“That would be highly illegal, Miss Romanov, so I shall not tell you that I might or might not have hacked myself into their phones as we speak. Aside from Mr. Wright. He’s still working on finding Sir as well and hasn’t left the Tower since he came to work at 4:53pm. There is no illegal behavior to report. They are all at reasonable locations according to their GPS data.”

Swallowing, Steve ignored the massive breach of private information and instead tried to not crumble to the floor. 

For just a moment he’d thought they might have a lead. That they might be able to find Tony.

“Broaden your parameters to people with either or-”

“Already processing, Agent Romanov.”

Forcing his fists to open again, Steve tried to listen. Anything to keep his mind occupied. Anything to not think about Tony being hurt. Tony being alone. 

Tony being the one who would most likely take less than five minutes to figure this out because he was Tony and he didn’t only think outside of the box. He’d demolished the box and used the parts to further his ideas.

But how could Steve do that? He barely understood the box at all. He’d learned somethings from Tony, and although by now the genius had tried his best to explain it so that Steve understood it, he still had had to google some words and let Jarvis explain some concepts behind the things Tony was explaining, because the genius obviously couldn’t fathom someone didn’t know it.

What if-

“Are there other professors who learned under Professor Woulseif and are now teaching at Stanford?”

Nat turned to him again.

“If people copy the way they code from their teachers, a teacher who learned from him would have the same basis, right?”

“Starting an additional search.” Jarvis said, sounding to Steve, as if he was concentrating - even if Tony had explained to him that Jarvis didn’t need to concentrate like people did.

Then again, if it was about saving his father, Jarvis might be more human than even Tony understood.

“There is a Professor Lee, who studied under Professor Woulseif and is now teaching at MIT.”

“Are there-”

“Five students in the last ten years would fit the first set of parameters.”

The screen changed, showing five more pictures. 

Steve’s eyes immediately zeroed in on one man. He had dirty blond hair and hard, gray eyes. In the picture his smile was sharp and belittling. 

It was how Steve had thought Tony looked back on the helicarrier. 

“The most likely suspect is Matthäus Schwarz. He was a postgraduate under Professor Lee for two years before he was let go.”

All the other pictures vanished, now showing a vita of Matthäus Schwarz beside the picture of the man with the disgusting stare.

“When-”

“He was fired in late July 2012.”

Two and a half months after the Battle of New York.

“What can you tell us about-”

“According to his records, he was showing antisocial tendencies since grade school. He has an IQ of 141 and has worked for three companies since he was fired at MIT. One email explains, he creates a hostile workspace and is bullying other employees. There have also been sexual harassment complaints been filed against him.”

“Where is he right now?” Steve growled, his voice dropping low.

“I am not able to access his current location, he uses a scrambler or something similar, but I have his last known location.”

Five minutes later they had been in the air. The last known location was just a fifteen minutes flight away. And with Clint in the cockpit, it were barely ten.

Grabbing the shield closer, Steve met Bruce’s eyes. They were still brown, but they all knew it was just a question of time until Bruce wouldn’t be able to keep the Hulk back if they didn’t get Tony back fast. 

He was also still clutching the metal box, as if trying to anker himself with it. 

Nodding towards him, Steve opened his mouth to reiterate the plan to the Avengers, when Clint interrupted him.

“Fuck me, is that Tony?”

Storming out of the Quinjet, and not giving a single fuck that it hadn’t fully landed yet, Steve nearly fell when he took the turn a little too sharply, running alongside the side of the Quinjet. 

There, right in the bright headlights of the Quinjet was Tony, one arm pressing to his ribs, as if holding them together, and blood trickling from his temple. Smiling crookedly. 

“Hey there, soldier. I thought I would need to call a taxi but-”

Steve cut him off by throwing his arms around the genius and pressing him close to his chest.

Tony was right here. Right here in his arms.

“Are you okay, Steve?”

A wet laugh forced itself out of his throat. At least it was better than the sob stuck right behind it.

“Captain, might I advice to get Sir into the Quinjet and to secure the perpetrator?”

“Yes, I- where is your kidnapper, Tony?” Letting go enough of Tony to look at him took more out of Steve than he liked to admit.

“Oh, I’m sure he’s still unconscious.” Tony shrugged. “He might be decent at coding but has no clue when it comes to engineering. That reminds me, is-”

“Tony!” Bruce called.

Tightening his arms around Tony on instinct, Steve forced himself to step back. To let Nat and Bruce see Tony as well. 

“Brucey-bear, perfect, and you have the spare Arc with you. Just so you know, if I collapse it’s not a big deal, just-”

“Why would you collapse?” Steve asked, panic already rising even more.

“Ah nothing much, just overexerted my body with the Arc and- that’s not important, right now.”

“I disagree.” Bruce hissed, one hand already on Tony’s shoulder, and trying to peer into the geniuses bloodshot eyes. “What did you do?”

“Oh nothing much. I… oh that’s bad timing.” Slurring the last word, Tony would have fallen to the floor, if Steve and Bruce hadn’t already been holding on to him. 

Later, Steve would learn that Tony had been able, don’t ask him how, to short circuit the Arc Reactor when the kidnapper had allowed him to use the restroom and used it to basically electrocute Schwarz. 

But of course, he had also electrocuted himself, obvious, when the doctors found the electrical burns on his already horribly scarred chest. 

Bruce, who had applied first aid - especially for the Arc Reactor, changing the device that kept Tony alive, hadn’t shown any surprise seeing the scars all over Tony. 

As if it was common knowledge that Tony had been through what seemed to be horrendous torture. 

While Steve had been sitting at Tony’s bedside, trying not to lose himself in rage or panic, Clint and Nat had stood guard at Matthäus Schwarz’s bed. The man, although injured badly, would survive.

It was good, as he would be able to answer for his crimes because of that. Still, Steve had not been happy to hear that he would most likely recover before Tony would.

-o0o-

“Hey there Captain.” 

Waking up in a heartbeat from his light slumber, Steve was already leaning over Tony before he registered the voice as Tony’s.

Looking down into warm brown eyes, he couldn’t help but blush when he saw the teasing smile on the genius’ lips.

“A little jumpy, Steve-o?”

Sitting back and taking the time to exhale slowly, Steve realized he was still holding Tony’s hand. 

And worse, he was not willing to let go.

“Steve, you okay?”

Looking back at Tony’s eyes, now worried, Steve smiled. “I’m fine, Tony, I do get jumpy if one of my team is hurt though.”

“Oh please, this is nothing.”

“You do know that makes it worse, right?”

“Actually it doesn’t, because it means I survived worse.” Tony moved a little, his expression tightening, but that was the only hint Steve could see that Tony was in pain.

“Let me call the-”

“No, I’m sure they have used me enough as a pincushion as it is. In fact-” He sat up, some color draining off his face. “What does it take to bribe Captain America to get me out of this hospital? I’ll give you anything.”

Swallowing the inappropriate answer already on the tip of his tongue, Steve grabbed the warm hand in his own a little tighter.

“You’re hurt, Tony. You need to stay in the hospital.”

“I really don’t.” Tony said, leaning a little forward, even though it must hurt. “Did you know that the most common reason for people dying in hospitals is medical errors and malpractice? It’s the third-leading cause of deaths in America I believe, so it would be safer for me to be in the Tower than in this deathtrap.”

“I have kept close watch over the proceedings, Sir. You are safe as of now.” Jarvis interjected, his voice sounding out of Steve’s pants pocket. 

“Et tu, Brutus?” Tony whined, before smiling again. “Good to hear your voice, Jay.”

“I would love to say the same, Sir, but you are already trying to guilt Captain Rogers into helping your escape so I can’t say that honestly.”

“Lie to me then, baby.” Turning his eyes back to Steve’s, there was something more honest now in his expression. “I really need to get out of here, Steve.”

“Tony, I-”

“Please.”

Looking into the dark brown eyes, Steve felt his resolve crumble.

An hour later, Bruce had agreed that they would be able to keep an eye on Tony in the Tower - they had also gotten Pepper’s approval - which was the only reason Steve and Bruce took Tony home.

No matter what Clint had said, when he’d heard that.

Watching Tony now, sitting on his couch, propped up by pillows and demanding he wanted his burger as a breakfast because it wasn’t his fault he got kidnapped, Steve couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

“He’s going to be fine.”

Looking at Nat, Steve saw the warm, amused smile on her lips. “You know, I believe Captain Obvious needs to do a little more to make Oblivious Man realize his feelings are returned.”

“What?”

“You heard me, Steve.”

Opening his lips to tell her he wasn’t interested in Tony like that, he froze.

Nat, took a step closer to him, cocking her head slightly to the side. “Oh yes, Captain Oblivious. Obvious Man over there is just as bad as you are.”

“I…” Looking away from the amused green eyes to Tony, who was currently arguing with Jarvis which beverage he needed aside from coffee and blanched.

“You… I… No, Tony-”

“He’s in love with you, Steve, as you are in love with him. At this time it’s a toss up if either of you or the press will find out first and I was tired of waiting.”

“Staring at Nat, who barely said anything that wasn’t worth her time, Steve wanted to deny it because surely she was wrong.

Then again, he might be stupid, but not enough to tell the Black Widow she didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Tell him, Steve, or Clint will do it, and he will not be as gentle as I was.”

“He wouldn’t-”

“Hey, Iron Ass, you know how I always call Cap Oblivious? You’re-”

“CLINT!”

(The first time, Steve told that story, it was at his and Tony’s engagement party. The banner, who had been ordered by no other than Clint, of course, displayed the words Captain Obvious and Oblivious Man finally got engaged.)