Steve and Natasha were almost done with the bout of sparring that usually ended their routines when a hologram suddenly bursts to life in between them. He barely managed to keep himself from falling on his ass, jerking away from the unseen threat before his mind caught up with his reflexes and remembered that he’d moved into the Tower with it’s resident genius and his tendency to ignore the danger of startling the super powered people around him.
Natasha didn’t startle at all, just dropped out of her ready stance and smirked at Steve. Typical.
“What the hell, Tony?”
“Why exactly is Captain America taking the subway? I distinctly remember that you own a motorcycle. Did the whole apple-pie-american-tour thing, right?”
Steve cursed his fair skin as he felt his ears heat with embarrassment as he finally took a better look at the hologram and realized that it was apparently a news story speculating on his trip out to Brooklyn the day before. It seemed the tabloids thought he had a lover stashed in his old stomping grounds or some such nonsense. As if he’d ever do such a disservice to anyone he was actually dating as to hide them away like a shameful secret. He hadn’t thought taking the subway was going to cause such a stir. Modern tabloids were so much more invasive than what he’d been used to before the war. “I um… I don’t… Well, you know… Washington.”
And Tony clearly didn’t know judging by the obvious confusion on his face. “What does Washington have to do with you being on the subway?”
If Steve had been alone, he probably could have derailed the conversation onto something else - Tony was easily distracted as long as he didn’t smell blood in the water - but the smirk on Natasha’s face that there was no way she was going to let him get out of this even before she opened her mouth. “Yeah, Steve… Why don’t you tell Tony what happened to your bike?”
She was completely unruffled by his glare.
“Okay, I admit it, now I’ve got to know.”
Steve sighed and ripped the tape off his hands with his teeth, trying to think of a way to say it that didn’t make him sound like a reckless idiot. He’d already been lectured by Sam and Hill. And for all that Nat thought it was hilarious, she’d alternately praised his ability to think on his feet and scolded him for not considering the long term consequences.
Finally, he sighed and squared his shoulders. “I threw it at a quinjet.”
“You…”. Tony looks momentarily stunned before scoffing and rolling his eyes. “Of course you did. What else would a super soldier do with a perfectly good motorcycle? During that mess in DC, I’m assuming?”
Steve nodded and ran a hand through his hair. “Honestly, I think the shield is the only thing of mine that actually survived ‘that mess in DC’.”
And that only because Bucky had apparently pulled it out of the Potomac.
Steve’s apartment had been trashed, his locker at SHIELD actually had ended up in the river, his bike hadn’t survived the quinjet…. Even Sam’s wings and Nat’s widow bites had been total losses at the end of the day.
It was enough to make Steve glad that his currency wasn’t a sock full of coins and dollars anymore. The bank had been more than happy to re-issue his lost cards. It meant that while he had to depend on Tony’s charity for a place to live, he could still manage getting around on his own until he was able to afford a new bike. And really, the subway wasn’t that bad. It was almost comforting in a way. When he wasn’t causing a stir with his very appearance.
“Huh…”. Tony trailed off, eyes glazing for a moment before sharpening again. “Gimme a week, Kid Rock. We’ll get you some wheels back under you.”
“Tony, you don’t have to-“
But Tony was already walking away, waving a hand over this shoulder. “We can’t have Captain America stuck on the subway!”
Natasha just looked smug.
"Who is Kid Rock?"
~*~*~*~
The motorcycle that Tony unveiled with a flourish was a sleek chrome and black, clearly designed to fit his body and riding style perfectly. It was easily the most beautiful bike he’d ever seen. He was almost afraid to touch it.
“Tony, you didn’t have to do this…”
“Eh, it was nothing. Jarvis handled the fabrication and paint job. I just designed the prototype - refined the parameters, worked on the materials - it shouldn’t be completely destroyed if you throw it at another quinjet, although I’d really rather you didn’t do that again unless I’m there to see it - picked the artwork. I was waffling between an iron man motif and Stars and Stripes, but the last one was more classic, so-“
“Thank you, Tony.” It goes against every piece of proper etiquette that his mother and the nuns had taught him not to ask how much he owed, but he’s learnt the hard way that it won’t be taken in the spirit it’s offered. He’d made the mistake only once before, when he’d first moved into the Tower and asked about rent. After three days of Tony alternately giving him the cold shoulder and being even more blisteringly unpleasant than he’d been when they’d first met, Steve had gone to Bruce who had dragged him to Pepper and they’d explained Tony’s unique relationship with money and why he’d been so very offended by the idea that Steve thought he had to pay rent. There’d been graphs and flow charts involved.
It had also been suggested that Tony responded better to actions than verbal apologies. Steve had spent another couple of days of careful consideration and work before presenting Tony with a pair of drawings of Iron Man - one a serious study of the armor’s fluidity of movement and the other a more humor comic type thing of Iron Man reciting poetry at a confused Thor and Loki.
The first had been placed in the communal room, but the comic was in the work shop. Steve had seen Tony stop and grin at it when he didn’t realize anyone was watching.
Taking him in when he had no where else to go and Tony had plenty of empty space was one thing, but taking the time and effort to build him a customized motorcycle was something else entirely. An entire comic book wasn’t thank you enough, but Steve wasn’t sure what else Tony would accept.
“Eh.” Tony waved the thanks away, looking uncomfortable for a moment. It lent credence to Pepper’s comment that being sincerely thanked caused him to break out in hives because he didn’t know how to deal with it. Without further responding to Steve’s words, Tony waved the wrench in his hands at the bike. “You should definitely take her for a spin. Let me know if she needs any tweaks. I couldn’t exactly take her out myself and bike’s are more your thing anyways.”
Steve wanted to stay, to say more, to do something, but he was starting to understand that sometimes giving Tony space really was the better option.
And maybe it would give him a chance to figure out how to repay the gesture in a way that wouldn't backfire.