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Steve poked at his food, doing his best to give the impression he was just finishing up rather than just moving the same scraps of egg around his plate for the past hour. A white bakery box, picked up from the donut shop on the tail end of Steve’s morning run, sat next to his plate. He took a sip of his orange juice and debated making himself a third omelet, his foot tapping all the while.Finally, Tony stumbled into the kitchen with an empty mug and a yawn, just as Steve knew eventually he would. No coffee supply lasted forever, especially when Tony was the one drinking it. Steve resisted the urge to jump up, instead pulling the box closer in anticipation while Tony fiddled with the settings on the coffee machine.“Morning. Long night?” Steve asked. He found he was nearly crushing the box and loosened his grip before turning to Tony.Even exhausted and covered in grease Tony was a sight to behold. There was something about the way he moved, fluid and graceful. His soft brown eyes were filled with intelligence and humor. He could give Cary Grant a run for his money.“Mmmm. Just finished the new upgrades on your suit, little tweaks, nothing paradigm changing. I might have added a shield recall system. You should come check it out later.”“Sounds great.” Steve said, before casually holding the box open to reveal a single donut. “Want it? It’s the last one.”The donut was a chocolate glazed, Tony’s favorite. Steve had made sure to rescue it before Thor and Bruce got to the donuts this morning. He’d made something of a habit of it after finding out Tony could be coaxed into eating one in the mornings.Tony constantly came up with new ways to improve the team’s gear on top of providing them a home. There seemed to be only so much Steve could do to return the favor. If he could make Tony the least bit happier and healthier, he’d consider it a victory. Just that would be enough for Steve.Gorgeous men and women hung off of Tony at every public appearance; he wouldn’t be interested in a lonely old soldier like Steve.Tony scratched his stubbled cheek as he appeared to consider it, one hand half way reaching for it. Suddenly he blushed, his cheeks turning a color Steve had never seen before, and turned away.“I’m set, just here for a top off.” He gestured with his mug to the coffee machine before pouring a cup.“Ah, okay, I just thought—never mind.” Steve flipped the lid closed, fighting to keep his disappointment and confusion off his face. “You sure?”“No, it’s fine, you eat it. God knows it’ll just disappear in that bottomless stomach of yours. If I didn’t know what the serum did to your metabolism, I’d wonder where you put it all,” Tony said as he backed out of the kitchen, passing Clint on his way.“Yeah, okay,” Steve said, but Tony was already gone.He tossed the box on the table and gathered up his dishes. Every time he thought he made progress with Tony, something changed and Steve was left scrambling to adjust. He wondered if Tony did it on purpose.“Ooo, donut,” Clint said, eyes gleaming.“You can have it.” Steve dumped everything in the sink and headed for the gym. He knew where he was with a punching bag. “Next week we’re probably going to want to move on to weapons training.” Steve caught the locker room door before it closed and followed Tony in. Clint and Thor filed in after him. “It might give us an advantage to be familiar with everyone else’s weapons.”Tony glanced sidelong at him before rummaging in his locker. “Ending the work out early?”Steve stripped off his sweat soaked shirt. “I got in some time before drills.”“What of my training? Mjolnir may only be wielded by those that are worthy,” Thor said, loosening the ties on his braces and his chest plate.“I know, we’re gonna have to work around that. Still it wouldn’t hurt for you to learn how everyone else’s gear works.” Steve turned to Clint, who was in the middle of kicking off his pants. “Think you can give everyone a few pointers on how to handle your bow?”Clint snorted and stuffed his clothes in his locker. “Sure, but you’re not going to master it with just a few practice sessions.”“I’m not expecting anyone to. The basics are good enough for now.” Steve put his own stack of folded clothes away and headed to the shower. Then he noticed someone was still lagging behind. “Tony?”Tony pulled awkwardly at the collar of his shirt, giving Steve sickly smile. “Why don’t you guys go ahead? I’m actually gonna go a few rounds on the elliptical.” “No, I really can’t. As much as I’d love to show off my swim trunks and washboard abs. I’ve got a thing, for R&D, the latest Starkphone upgrade,” Tony babbled, slowly backing away from Steve.Steve frowned at the frantic edge to his voice. “What—”“And Paperwork! So much paperwork I haven’t signed yet—Pepper will kill me if I don’t get on that, drag my corpse to board meetings for all eternity, you know how it is.”Tony was gone before Steve could get another word in edgewise. Steve paced the length of the floor in front of the elevator. Tony hadn’t come up for breakfast at all the past week, or rather he had, but it was only when Steve wasn’t there. He hadn’t come to team training sessions either, though Thor mentioned seeing Tony in the gym a few hours before.It was becoming clear that Tony didn’t want anything to do with Steve, as painful as that was to admit. He knew he didn’t have a chance with Tony as anything more, but he’d thought…well, he’d thought they were becoming friends.Steve was going to satisfy himself with being Tony’s friend, but even he could admit to himself that he might have been treating Tony a bit differently than the rest of the team. There was no way someone as smart as Tony didn’t notice that.It probably made him uncomfortable. Steve’s heart twisted. He never wanted that.Steve slammed the elevator call button.He needed to apologize and make sure Tony knew Steve wasn’t going to let it affect their professional relationship.“Tony, I wanted to apologize. You’ve been avoiding me and I think I understand why,” Steve said, marching into Tony’s lab.Tony looked up from the circuit board he was working on. “I’m not avoiding you.”“You don’t need to lie to me.” Steve shook his head. “You never show up for breakfast when I’m around. You don’t come to the training sessions. You couldn’t be more clearly avoiding me.”“That’s completely ridiculous. I’m not –”Steve interrupted, forging on ahead before Tony could deny it again. “My feelings are my own problem and I’m sorry for making you feel like they were yours.”Tony straightened up. “Wait, feelings?”“Yes, my feelings! Why are you making this so difficult? I know you’ve cottoned on to my—my crush, but I’m trying—”“Donuts!”Steve blinked. “What?”“I was avoiding your donuts!” Tony shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. “Happy? Can we talk about those feelings of yours? You called it a crush?”“I think I’ve made myself clear enough.” Steve crossed his arms. Tony was hiding something. “You can’t just be avoiding me because you didn’t want to eat donuts.”Tony turned away to fiddle with something on his work table and then sighed. “Not everyone burns through calories like a wildfire in California.”Steve frowned. “I don’t…”“I’m saying I put on a little weight! Okay!? A guy my age can’t have donuts for breakfast every morning and not expect to lose a bit of definition.” Tony shoved his hands in his pockets.“Oh.” Steve’s shoulders slumped as he flooded with relief. He almost wanted to laugh. Tony, one of the most beautiful people he’d ever seen, was worried about gaining weight.“Oh? It’s embarrassing! Never mind you and Thor, even Clint is ripped! How am I supposed to take my shirt off in front of you guys?”Grinning a little he asked, “So you really weren’t avoiding me?” Then his smile faded as the reality of what he revealed settled in. “I meant what I said. My feelings are my problem. I’ll try not to make it weird for you.”“Maybe I like it a little weird.” Tony smirked; his eyes alight with challenge before suddenly turning away. “Though I won’t blame you if you decide to rethink that crush of yours. I’m not exactly relationship material these days.”Steve took hold of Tony’s shoulders. “Tony, it doesn’t matter. A little extra weight isn’t a big deal.”When Tony didn’t respond, Steve pulled him close, allowing him enough room to pull away if he wanted, but Tony just leaned into his touch. Tony’s warm presence was a satisfying weight against Steve’s chest.“Do I really seem that shallow to you? You’re the kindest, smartest, funniest man I know and a few donuts aren’t going to change that about you.”“It’s not just about looks, you know. I’m not completely vain.” Tony mumbled into Steve’s chest before pulling away. “I’m supposed to be going out there and saving people. How can I do that if I’m carrying around a spare tire?” Tony covered his eyes with a groan. “I already couldn’t live up to you and now this?”It was hard to believe someone as amazing as Tony felt like he had to compare himself to Steve. He always seemed so confident.“You work harder than anyone else. You’d never let this affect you in the field. Besides, you accomplish so much more than I ever could with your technology and the charities you support.”Tony peeked out from between his fingers. “Don’t sell yourself short. You really inspire people to step up and make a difference. You even make me want to be a better person.”Steve cupped Tony’s cheek and leaned in for a kiss. “I guess I’ll just have to keep inspiring you.”