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[starkingenuity]

"Will someone please tell our resident Super Soldier that he's needed on 6th?  Like...yesterday?  Okay, yesterday the Chitauri weren't attacking and Banner and I were having freeze dried blueberries on the hellicarrier, but you know what I mean, stop being so critical and literal with everything I say.  You guys suck."  Stark burst across the sky over Thor's head and the blond turned towards the archer standing next to him.  A smash of the hammer into one foe did not even cause him to look away from Barton.

"I do not understand many of the words that he speaks," the Asgardian confessed.  "He has a conversation with no one but himself."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Clint said, shooting a flying mercenary through the eye while he watched Thor look even more confused.  He found a new pasttime, he decided.  But, like Tony, Clint wasn't exactly sure where Steve was.  He's seen him in one of the buildings but after that--  Clint touched the side of his collar.  "Cap?"

"Earth to Captain American, come in Captain America," Tony said, piping music into the background.  There was a reason Natasha had taken out her earpiece.  "Grandpa, you asleep?"

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[starkingenuity]

Great. Caught.

"So at least you don't sparkle," Tony said with a smirk, referencing Twilight. Bruce and Selvig had the Tesseract covered and maybe Tony should have been paying attention but Steve was just...too interesting. "How does that work, the sunlight thing?"

He was in a full suit, a little limp wristed as he gestured around with his hip jutting out. Tony sometimes stood the way a woman might but-- Hey, modern men these days.

[starspangledspandex]

He scoffed, he did pay attention to vampire literature and media, just in case they got close. They never seemed to and that was just ridiculous.

He glanced up toward it and back to Tony, "Limited exposure is usually fine but it's uncomfortable and makes my skin crawl. It hurts, but how much depends on the day and how covered I am," He shrugged, UV rays and such. "I tend to avoid staying out any longer than an hour. It starts to hurt my eyes too at that point. I imagine that after a few hours it would be unbearable. I haven't tested it. If I stick to the shade, it's better. My uniform is designed to repel it."

[starkingenuity]

"Well that, at least, is nice of them," Tony said, staring at Steve through his shades, not caring if they were light enough to see his eyes through. Steve had them on as well, raybans, probably UV protected. Tony couldn't see the blue.

So very blue they were. He remembered.

"I guess sometimes you just have to save the country in the daylight." What weird small talk this was turning out to be. "What are your plans after this?" He had seen Nat give Steve a bag.

[starspangledspandex]

"They need me," he shrugged slightly. SHIELD needed Captain America. He was still one of the best things that came out of their research and honestly, he wouldn't know what else to do with himself. "But it's appreciated."

His sunglasses were great. It was true. They were dark for just reason. It was annoying sometimes but he would deal with it.

"Sometimes," he agrees with a laugh. "Bad guys seem to prefer the daylight."

Steve shrugged, "I don't know. SHIELD might pull me to DC."

[starkingenuity]

"DC?" Well that was even further from LA. And that was just as well. Tony didn't need to be around any further temptation. And Steve, no matter if he was his type (minus the genitalia) was just too much of a temptation. "Good for you, protect and serve and all that."

Tony was going to the airstrip to drop Banner off to go on his humanitarian whatevers they were. Tony had stopped listening halfway through the other man's spiel. Probably rude. He enjoyed Banner's company entirely too much but he was never good at listening.

"I'll send you a carepackage from the other coast. How well does blood ship?" Yeah, mean. Tony was mean.

[starspangledspandex]

"It's why I enlisted," he confirmed even if he figured that Tony was mocking him a little. It wasn't the other man's thing. He understood that much. It was a little disappointing that the other man was leaving but maybe it was a good thing. Tony was way too much temptation and he didn't have the hang-ups that the other man did in regards to genitalia. It was personality and well, how good they smelled.

He pressed his lips together, "Not well, but thanks anyway."

[starkingenuity]

"Extra dry ice," he said, obviously lingering with Steve, perhaps just a little too long. He didn't even Loki and Thor leave which was half disappointing and even more aggravating. How was it that the blond was just so interesting to him?

It couldn't just be the whole vampires-are-cool thing... Could it?

He made a conscious effort to leave. He nudged Banner too and hopped into his bar before the other man half fell into him. He didn't care. It was just the right sort of amusement to get his mind off of Steve Rogers.

At least for a few days.

Malibu was the perfect retreat. Work work work. Work all the time. Tony seemed to forget when to sleep. Likely because every time he did, he screamed himself awake.

[starspangledspandex]

He shook his head, "It's not the same." It was almost annoying that blood didn't keep that well. Steve wouldn't have to worry about it so much if it was easier. He let Tony go despite wanting to drag him close and smell him again. It wasn't easy but he resisted.

Steve watched Tony go with a frown.

He just couldn't stay away from the man. He didn't understand it. No one ever had this effect on him but the other side of the country was too far away. He barely slept for two days thinking about him and that was it. Steve told Fury he was taking a vacation and left.

Malibu, to him, actually wasn't as far away as Tony thought. Vampires did have their ways to travel and quickly. It was inhuman but it only took him the better part of a night. He didn't know if Tony knew he was there but he would soon. It took him another day of watching the house before he finally approached it, entering through the unlocked balcony door--who would lock something people couldn't normally reach?--and Steve eyed the space he walked into. Fancy.

"Sir, we have an intruder on the premises," Jarvis informed the engineer.

[starkingenuity]

"If it's a seagull again-- J, I don't know what you have against wildlife. Yes, they shit all over everything, but--"

"Sir," the AI insisted. "It is not a seagull. I am aware of the difference. I would like to remind that you did try to install a program to shoot seagulls on sight, however." Cheeky AIs were what Tony Stark actually appreciated, however, that didn't stop him from actually putting his rubber gloves off and frowning at the ceiling.

"Yeah, okay, fine, we'll talk about that later. On screen."

The balcony video feed was put up on the wall, but nothing looked too strange.

"So...disappearing intruder?"

"I am detecting a weight sensor trigger in the kitchen."

"A hungry intruder? Patch me in." The AI complied and Tony leaned back against his workbench. "To the intruder in my kitchen, you have five seconds to state your name or I'm going to flood the room with deadly neurotoxin."

Guess who had been playing Portal again with JARVIS?

[starspangledspandex]

His head tilted at the sound of Tony's voice coming from the ceiling. Inter-house comm system? Wasn't that just a little excessive? He was only in the kitchen because he was curious and it was the only place without a ridiculous amount of windows now that the sun was just starting to come up.

"If I didn't know better, I'd wonder if you were a vampire just based on the food in your kitchen," Steve remarked casually instead, as if he's supposed to be there, as he peered inside the refrigerator. The selection was minimal at best. The sort he kept around just in case someone popped by and for some reason decided to poke around. "Take-out isn't good for you, you know."

[starkingenuity]

Tony's heart was in his throat by the third word out of Steve's mouth and he mentally went through the number of doors between himself and the vampire just in case. In case of what, exactly, though?

"J, are you reading any purple in my vitals?" he asked the AI, who thankfully cut off Tony's end of the transmission for the moment.

"Negative, Sir. You are not having a waking dream. In fact, you are more lucid than usual."

"Gee, thanks," he muttered, and then turned back to the image of the kitchen where, surprise surprise, Steve Rogers was proving himself to be a refrigerator invader. "This is California. You pretty much have to go out of your way to get anything properly salted. Can I help you with something or are you just here for the Thai?"

[starspangledspandex]

"You know I can't eat real food, right?" he asked, straightening and shutting the door, before eyeing the rest of the room. "Seems like a shame for you to have this kind of a kitchen and let it go to waste."

He could smell Tony here but only faintly. Steve didn't know if the man could see him or not but he abandoned the kitchen to stand at the top of the stairs going down to the lab. Well, that's where he was anyway but Steve stayed upstairs and as in the shadows as he could. He wet his lips and tried to keep the subject of the conversation pointless. If Tony asked why he was here, he didn't have an appropriate answer.

"Your house could use some curtains," he added, assuming that the comm unit was basically everywhere.

[starkingenuity]

"Maybe if you emailed ahead, I could have had some installed," Tony said and tilted his head back. This was bad. "J, drop the security grating. I'm going up."

"Do you think that's wise, sir," the AI questioned and Tony just shrugged.

"It wouldn't be interesting if it was." He let the door close behind him when he left his suits behind, the Mk VII nearing the end of it's repairs and Tony was already in design for a Mk VIII, a print out he'd notated taped to the wall by the stairs.

He was wearing a black tank top and soft black jogging pants. His feet were bare and that left him even shorter than Steve than usual. That was annoying. He walked right passed the Captain as the last of the metal grates slipped into place.

"You can't eat? That sounds like a miserable existence," he said, continuing their conversation as he padded into that little used kitchen..even if it was just to pour himself a drink. "Same goes for liquor?"

[starspangledspandex]

He watched the metal plates slide into place and it was unnecessary technically, but he did appreciate it. Not nearly as much as Tony walking by him however. Steve inhaled and followed the man's trail through the room with just his eyes. The man did look at home here at least. He was there one that was out of place but that was more a time issue than anything. "Normal people have curtains," he pointed out. "So I didn't think it was necessary."

Steve shook his head at the question, "No, though if someone is drunk or on drugs that it affects the way their blood tastes and give us similar effects. I'm not too fond of it. Soldiers during the war would die with alcohol in their systems." He made a face, "Those were my main source then, avoided that type of soldier as often as I could. It's easy to smell."

[starkingenuity]

"And you like how I smell?" Because Tony liked to think of himself as two-thirds scotch. He poured himself four fingers instead of his usual two. He wasn't in the mood for a double but maybe it would keep whatever hormones kept getting triggered whenever Steve was around in check.

Or maybe it would stop the blond from eying him like he was a fine steak or a finer woman. Tony was use to being wanted, use to being pursued...just not so literally.

With the breakfast bar between them, Tony swallowed a yawn and then turned, drink in hand.

"What about me screams normal any way? Also, you could have knocked. Don't you need to be invited in?" Breaking in isn't cool, Steven.

[starspangledspandex]

Steve shrugged, "I didn't say it made sense. I don't smell it as much on you as I should."

Probably not, but he can try anyway. Steve is trying to be good.

He looked a bit sheepish, "I didn't think you would let me in and usually, but it was unlocked. The rules are all about exceptions. Unlocked doors are considered an open invitation."

[starkingenuity]

"Second floor balconies are not an invitation. Man. Everyone wants loopholes. Is nothing sacred?" Tony swished the scotch around in his mouth. Other than DUM-E and JARVIS, he was alone here. Alone with Steve. Yeah. This was going to end so well.

He held up a hand to signal that Steve didn't have to answer. Not that question at least.

"So what is it, Lassie? Did Timmy fall down the well again?" In other words, what do you want?

[starspangledspandex]

Tony was asking a vampire if nothing was sacred? It was almost funny. Steve didn't care how much if a stretch the loophole was just because he didn't regularly abuse it. Honestly, this was the first time he even tried it out.

Steve looked confused, he didn't understand that reference, vampire or my he was still frozen for seventy years. He sort of thought got the gist of the question though and he knew that the man was going to ask at some point.

"Fury wanted me to see the world," he replied and it wasn't untrue. This just probably wasn't what the Director had in mind. "Figured I'd start somewhere I knew someone."

[starkingenuity]

Tony didn't buy it. "Didn't you just get that job in DC?" Fury might have told Steve that, he doubted that the golden boy would outright lie, but he was lying just the same. And Tony could smell the bullshit.

So he oh so wisely called him on it. Yeah, perfect.

Tony gestured with his glass. "How about the real reason?"

[starspangledspandex]

"I was reassigned to DC," Steve confirmed. "But they're still putting the strike team together before I'll have missions."

Why couldn't Tony just leave it alone?

Steve pressed his lips together and shook his head, "You're not going to like the answer."

[starkingenuity]

Well that just made Tony's eyebrows tick upwards. There were a lot of things that he didn't like. Cat people, for instance. Hot dog stands without sauerkraut. These were things that Steve couldn't know so he was pretty sure Steve couldn't predict why, exactly, he wouldn't like the answer.

Tony put the glass down and leaned on the bar between them.

"Try me."

[starspangledspandex]

He still hesitated because it sounded ridculous and just a little obsessive. Okay, maybe more than a little. He still didn't know how to categorize it. It was almost like the man's smell was an addiction and he wasn't surprised by the nagging need for another taste either though he stamped down pretty hard on it.

"I couldn't..." He pressed his lips together and then sighed, "I needed to smell you again. I couldn't stand the thought of how far away you were. I know that sounds... Weird. I don't get it either. I've never had this before."

[starkingenuity]

As far as stalking went, he'd had worse. His temporary driver had taken a bribe once and let under age twins in his backseat. They left bubble gum in the cup holder, lied poorly about their age, and tried to get into his pants. That was bizarre.

This... This was sort of sweet. In a really creepy sort of way. Tony drew back, standing up straight with his shoulders back.

"Does SHIELD have vampire doctors? Because that sounds like some sort of disease." The joking tone was conspicuously gone from voice however. Fear and excitement had returned. "I'm not sure how I feel about being a snack."

[starspangledspandex]

Steve was trying not to be creepy about it but his urge to just smell Tony was outweighing some of his common sense.

"No, they don't," he shook his head. As far as he knew, they didn't know about any others. He was unique. "All they've learned or most of it at least, is all from me."

He nodded, making an abrupt frustrated gesture, "I'm not sure it's a good idea anyway. I'll just... want more." Vicious cycle but Steve knew it was true. Licking his wounds told him that much. Tony tasted too good to never have again.

[starkingenuity]

"And what about others..." How could Steve be alone? Tony knew nothing about his background. "Because a human being doesn't replenish blood all that quickly."

He might have looked into it. It took weeks for a body to replace a single pint of blood. How much did it take for Steve to live anyway? Tony wasn't exactly altruistic. Sure. He was a philanthropist. Yes. He gave to charities. But that was just money. Not his own blood.

He found himself swallowing.

"And what if I say no? Never again?"