Steve found the Stark Tower a little unnecessarily large.

Tony, always one to keep his word, had invited Steve to the tower for an evening, Of course it was nice, but far too... extravagant for Steve's taste.

"Cap!" Tony greeted him at the door, "Come in! Come in!"

"Mister Stark," Charlie greeted him, as she walked by, "Mister Rogers."

"That's my lovely secretary, Charlie," Tony explained, "More of a personal programmer, really. I always imagined secretary as more of a job for a blonde, anyways."

"I find that slightly offensive," Steve frowned.

"No, not because they're blonde," Tony rolled his eyes, "It's a personal thing. I can't really explain it. Speaking of other things I can't explain, I've created the coolest thing you could possibly imagine. Watch this. JARVIS?"

"How can I help you, Mister Stark?" a voice echoed from seemingly nowhere.
"Play us a song," Tony called back. A melody played in the room. Tony wiggled his eyebrows at Steve.

"Very impressive," Steve chuckled.

"Go on! Give it a go," Tony offered.

"I don't think that'd be a very good idea," Steve hesitated.

"Oh, come on!" Tony pressured, "It'll be fun! Just one go!"

"Oh... Alright," Steve allowed, facing upwards, as if the AI were some god, looking down on him, "Um... JARVIS?"

"How can I help you, Mister Rogers?" JARVIS asked.

"He knows me?" Steve turned to Tony, astonished.

"You didn't think I'd show him off without programming him to recognize your voice, did you?" Tony chuckled.

"Alright, um... Stop this song," Steve commanded.

"Shall I have Miss Bradbury make you some soup with extra hot sauce, Sir?" JARVIS asked.

"No! He didn't say soup very strong! He said stop this song," Tony corrected.

"My apologies, Sir," JARVIS said, the music coming to a halt.

"Sorry," Tony shrugged, "I'm still working out a few kinks."

"It's still very impressive," Steve reassured, "Where did you ever get the idea for something like that?"

"Come on," Tony led him further into the tower, "There is more I want to show you."

Steve followed him down some stairs, coming into what must have been Tony's lab. The lighting was fair, but there was one shadowy room towards the back that caught Steve's attention.

"What's back there?" he wondered. Tony gave him a mischievous smile and flicked on the lights.

Within the room stood a single metal suit, painted a hotrod red with a bit of yellow thrown in as well. He stopped and stared at it, confused. Never in his life had he seen the device, but it was somehow familiar.

"What is it?" Steve wondered.

"It's a suit," Tony explained, "Capable of so many things, Cap. Some of them I'm still trying to get used to. Here, come take a look at the lab footage." Tony led him over to a counter, holograms popping up to be the screen. Videos simultaneously flashed across the screen and Steve caught snippets of as many as he could. Flight, withstanding water pressure, calling functionality. It seemed to have everything.

"That's... That's fascinating," Steve grinned, slightly, "Tony, it's genius."

"I do think so, too," Tony nodded, "Have you taken into consideration what I said when we last spoke, Cap?"


"We discussed a few things," Steve reminded him.

"About how you would make an excellent soldier," Tony clarified.

"It has passed my mind a time or two - Why do you ask?" Steve inquired.

"What I have to say is going to sound mad," Tony took a deep breath, collection his thoughts, "But... Steve, I believe we are superheros."

"What?" Steve blinked.

"Now, here me out!" Tony held up his hand, "Ever since I could remember, I've had these dreams... Dreams about a team of heros - The Avengers, they were called. Me, well... I wasn't very different, but you were a soldier from the War, hyped up on this serum. You were the country's idol - Captain America, they called you. You had a shield like this," Tony dug into a box and produced a circle of metal, the paint on it looked more recent than his stories gave credit to, "Vibranium. Incredibly rare. And a spangly outfit like this," Tony grabbed a paper from his desk and shoved that in his hands as well, "Does not any of this seem familiar to you?"

"You've completely lost it," Steve widened his eyes in alarm. The truth was, a very small part of him wanted to believe it, but... The likelihood of such an idea was preposterous.

"No, I just..." Tony practically pleaded, hoping he'd say he understood, "It's just..."

"Perhaps, we should reschedule that drink," Steve offered, calmly, "Where... Where shall I put these?"

"Keep them," Tony mumbled, "I made them for you, anyways."

"All... right, then," Steve nodded, "I'm just going to show myself out, then..."

Tony didn't hear him. He was too busy glaring at a machine part, clenching his fingers into fists. How stupid he'd been... To think that his fantasies could have ever been any more than that. He picked the item up and hurled it at the wall, screaming. Steve held the items to himself, backing away slowly at first and then running as fast as he could.

Tony knelt on the ground, clutching his head. Everything he'd done... Everything he'd built. I didn't mean anything. Without that life to back it up - Without that hope - it was all just junk.
JARVIS informed Charlie of Tony's condition and she went to go coax him out of the lab and into his room to try and get some sleep.

|<.>|<.>|<.>|<.>|<.>|<.>|

Steve sat at home, staring at the picture. The outfit was a bit - What had Tony called it? - spangly, but for some reason, Steve found himself wanting to try it the longer he looked at it. Sitting at his computer, he opened up Abra-Tek to program a new outfit. The application called for a title of the uniform. Without a second thought, Steve typed in the words

Captain America.

It did have a nice ring, didn't it?