~Chapter Twenty-Seven: You're Either In It Or Finding It~

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Steve gradually walked the length of the launch pad sticking out from the tower, studying Tony noiselessly as he did so. It was nearing eleven and the temperature had dropped quite a lot... The billionaire had been silent since earlier today while Pepper stopped by to grab some things and of course, it worried his companions who were awestruck when the mechanic hadn't said a word at the supper table nor all day.

At first, they thought maybe it was just the fight with Nat that'd been bothering him, but when he wouldn't even speak to Bruce in the lab after dinner and didn't give verbal commands to his AI, well, it started to raise questions.

The supersoldier softly wrapped a blanket around Tony as he sat on the edge next to him. Stark looked at the blanket then pulled it closer as he stared out with glassy eyes, studying the well-lit city as he was thinking.

"Are you okay...?" The blonde man asked in a hushed, gentle tone as he too stared out at the megalopolis. He wasn't quite sure what Stark was feeling, the last relationship Steve had been in ended horribly (for understandable reasons).

The distraught playboy only answered with a soft-hearted sigh, biting his lip ever so scarcely before shaking his head a little bit. "Do you think I'm a bad person?..." The brunette asked, his tone unnervingly quiet.  Rodgers faltered a touch, blinking a few times as his brows furrowed a little, he'd never seen or heard Stark doubt himself.

"No... no, not at all Tony... Why would you ask that?..." He responded as he looked to his kind of boyfriend. Stark swallowed, his breakup weighing heavily in his mind.

"I'm just thinking about it, I mean, let's face it, Steven. I'm unspeakably bad at relationships. I mean, just look at ours..." The mechanic murmured as he again studied the town that went what felt like as far as the eye can see, his brown orbs now saddened and his face scrunched in some confusion.

The artist paused, if only for a moment before asking an, "Are you drunk?..."

"No-no-no Steve... I am... So unbelievably sober, it hurts. I'm just doing what I always do... I've been avoiding you without even realizing it because every time I get somewhat close to someone I get scared. I get terrified that I'm going to lose them, whether it's by my own selfish hands or by things like what happened months ago... So I force them away and I-I shut them out and I wrecked my last relationship because of it." The mechanic said honestly, catching his friend completely off guard.

Steve went to speak, he didn't want to be cold and he knew that Tony was still getting over his last break up but he didn't want to hear this... it troubled him. He didn't have to say anything because what the genius said next made his heart soar in a way.

"I don't want to mess this up... I don't want to mess us up, and I'm really, really trying hard to be around you more and listen and think about what you say more. I know you-"

"Tony..." Rodgers cut him off, causing the brunette to look at him mutely, eyes full of concern. "Tony... I like you just the way you are. I admit that some days are more difficult than others when with you, and it bothers me sometimes I really want to speak to you and don't know how because you are such an alien-brained genius that I can't tell if you can understand what I'm saying... But," He slid his hand under the blanket, taking Tony's chilled hand in his own.

"I would not change that for anything anyone could ever offer. I love how into your work you get, even when it causes trouble or means you can't make time for me for a couple of days or a week even. I love how blunt you can be, you never lie about something meaningful to me. You know what you stand for and what you want in life and I'll admit-" He chuckled,

"You could be a little more cautious about it but I love it all... The thing I love most though, the thing that reassures me that if one of us does something stupid, is that... you don't say anything. You process, you think about it, and-and you don't let it slip from your head until it is dealt with, even if it takes both of us to realize our mistake. You have walls up and I don't know if I can understand the feeling but I can understand why. You do what you need to, and take your time... Because... I don't mind waiting, and I will wait until you can see that you don't need to put walls up when you're with me." He gave his kinda boyfriend's hand a sweet squeeze and showed him a reassuring smile.

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