The Iron Captain

Chapter nine

 "Steve! Cut it out!" Tony complained as the blond locked his head in his arm. "Say uncle." Steve taunted. Tony ground his teeth, trying to find a way to slip out of the headlock. "Say it or I'll screw up your hair." The soldier threatened, enjoying the feel of power. "You wouldn't dare." The other man growled.

  Steve placed his fist in front of Tony's face, and slowly made his way to the man's perfect hair. "Wait! Uncle! Uncle!" Tony pleaded, and Steve released the man, who glared at him. The blond simply laughed, and Natasha walked in on the fun.

"Well, looks like you two are having a fun time, 'training'." She put air quotes around the last word, causing Steve to laugh even harder. Tony shoved him hard, and the super soldier fell onto the ropes.

  Natasha sighed, happy for the two friends. She could only hope it would stay that way. But Mr. Stark always gets what he wants. Clint entered the room a moment later, and kissed his fiancée hello. Steve made a mock gagging noise, and Tony chuckled. "You two are in good spirits today. What's up with that?" Clint asked, making his way towards the boxing ring.

  Steve shrugged, wiping his forehead with an already wet cloth. "Just a good day I guess." Tony caught Steve looking at him, and winked. Natasha held her breath, hoping Clint would remain clueless to the scene.

"Alright, well you two have had your fun, now it's our turn." Clint entered the ring, and reached a hand out to help Natasha. She let out a breath, happy to know her lover was still a bit clueless.

  "Come on Tony; let's let the two love birds have some fun." Steve flipped out the ring, and Tony followed after. The two laughed at nothing, and Natasha watched with curiosity. "I wonder what's gotten into them?" Clint asked, stretching his arms. The woman shrugged. A thought passed through her mind, and she shuddered. Just don't let it be what I think it is.

 "Alright Tash, you ready?" Clint asked, stretching his arms behind his head. Natasha cast one last look back at the laughing couple, and shook her head. "As ready as I'll ever be." she smiled, and pounced.

~*~

 "Mr. Stark, you're home early." Jarvis's voice rang through the empty lab, and Tony smiled. "Yeah, and I brought a friend." he ushered Steve in, who looked in total awe at the work before him. The large machine was tall, much taller than Tony had described. It was painted a navy blue, with white stars on the side. Steve traced his hand across the smooth metal, and a button beeped at his touch. He jumped back, as a punching bag immediately sprung from the side.

 Tony smiled as he watched his friend inspect the gift, and laughed at his sudden surprise. "I made the chain out of adamantium  Thought you might be a little sick of replacing your punching bag every time,” he joked, and Steve gave him a strong hug, lifting him a bit, and the man gasped. "Thanks Tony, this is the best gift ever." He muttered into Tony's shirt, and Tony smiled. "There's a lot more to it, let me show you."

 Steve placed Tony back on solid ground, and the genius went through the machine, showing the different settings, the different training modes, and the built in coffee machine. "Also, I hope you don't mind but I bought you your own gym- this machine is pretty big, and I didn't want it getting damaged by some rookie." Tony explained, dusting off a smudge on the paint. 

 Steve sighed, looking over once more at the gift. "Tony, you really shouldn't have." He ran a hand through his hair, just in complete shock that Tony would do this for him. The man waved his hand dismissively. "Consider it a really late birthday present."

 Steve looked up and smiled at the playboy, who smiled back. Steve hugged Tony tightly, and wanted to thank him a thousand times over. It was absolutely perfect, and it was the best gift he had ever received. Tony's phone began to ring, and he thought about ignoring it.