The Iron Captain

Arc and Shield

Bon jour, my lovies, I thought it'd be a good idea to put up a little preview of my sequel- "What? There's a sequel?" Yes, yes there is. I'm putting this here so you guys all know that once you've finished crying over this baby, you can go and cry some more over the sequal. It does in fact take place after Iron Man 3, with a few, (sort of) spoilers, so I mean, it won't matter if you haven't seen IM3 yet, but still. It'd be nice of you to. Basically, this'll be the first chapter, but a peview nonetheless. Enjoy!

____

 Hey Steve, long time no talk. I thought'd I'd just tell you that things have settled down over here, and we all miss you. I hope you're having a good trip, see you when you get back. -BB

 Steve Rogers smiled softly at the text message, before returning the cell to his pocket. It had been about five months since he had left New York City to take a get away trip. So far, he had been able to see quite a bit. He visited a few national parks, and had gotten some amazing sketches done. The scenery outside of the city was breathtaking. Why he hadn't done this sooner was completely unknown to him.

 But there's a time for everything. He reminded himself, and retrieved his luggage from the conveyor belt. The blond looked around as he shrugged his backpack onto his other shoulder to distribute the weight better, and smiled. A British woman's voice spoke over the intercom of the airport, and Steve smiled as he listened. There was just one more thing he had to do before he went home, one more person he would have to see. She probably wouldn't recognize him, but that was alright. He just wanted to pop in, see that she was okay, leave her some flowers and then hop onto his flight and head home.

 Home, it seemed like such a strange word to him now, the thought of a bed waiting for him, a welcoming room, an empty room. He quickly shook his head of the thought. No, I need to just, do what I have to. He thought quickly, and pushed the thought of New York out of his head, and all things associated with it.

~*~

 "Please come home Steve, I need you. I can't sleep, not without waking up screaming and having no one there to help me through it. No one gets me like you... God no I can't do this." Tony groaned and scrubbed his face with his hands. "Shall we try again sir?" JARVIS asked, a tinge of worry to the AI's voice. "No, that's enough for today. I," The man stopped before he could finish his sentence. Before he could tell the truth about how he was feeling. "I'm going to get something to eat." he muttered, rubbing his eyes, and walking out of the lab of Avenger's tower, going to the kitchen, but knowing he wouldn't be able to stomach much more than a strong glass of alcohol.

 The nightmares had gotten a bit better, after all that had happened the past few months, but honestly, he couldn't deny it anymore. He missed Steve. He had been able to handle the nightmares better when Steve was around. He understood, he helped, but now, Steve was gone and Tony was alone. Tony being as stubborn as he was, he refused to seek any real help. He talked to Bruce, sure, but that didn't mean the man could help his friend. It was hard, and it was only going to get harder.

 He walked to the cabinet, and his stomach churned at the thought of him trying to eat anything. He had to try though, he was running out of energy. Coffee wasn't going to keep him going forever. The tired man sighed, and attempted to reach into the highest cabinet, having a bit of a struggle, and immediately Steve's face flashed into his mind.

 He would be able to get this, he was always around for this. Tony shook his head quickly, as if that could help shake the image of his past lover from his thoughts, but of course, he knew that was a ridiculous notion. Just like his denial that he was fine now, that he could handle the days, go through life and pretend like everything was fine. But it wasn't. He knew he had a heart now, because he could feel it shattering within his chest.