Let's see. Characters in this are Tony, Steve, Stupid Bureaucrat/Shifty Guy, and Stupider SHIELD agent.
Chapter below, in which Steve does NOT lose his shit but gets scary calm instead.

Once again, written back in April. Obv. going to be different than my present style.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter!

Steve smiled indulgently as the phone rang immediately after he stepped back into the SHIELD building.

"Where's my nachos?" Tony demanded the instant Steve picked up the phone. With a sigh, the Captain placed him on speaker and put the phone on top of the Tupperware he had tucked under one arm.

"I don't remember promising you nachos," the captain chuckled as he pressed the 'up' button on the elevator with his elbow. "I was too busy doing menial tasks like retrieving Ebola-containing bioweapons."

"Ugh, fine," Stark grunted. "But next time you better bring me nachos. They won't let me eat anything decent up here and they don't accept bribes. Although, Clint was able to bring Natasha some pizza the other day so I was thinking-"

"She's just prettier than you," Steve replied absentminded as he tried to remain patient with the slow moving elevator. He paid no attention to the pair of whispering SHIELD agents in the corner, too busy trying to not tap his foot on the ground in annoyance.

"Scary hot, you mean. Both she and Barton have been grumpy lately – guy nearly took off my head when I asked what sort of 'just friends' they were," Stark continued to ramble. "I don't suppose you could bring me some pizza, could you?"

"You had kidney surgery," Steve replied scornfully. "You're lucky I'm bringing you chicken."

"Chicken?" Tony's voice instantly perked up and Steve chuckled. The elevator doors slid open and one of the elevator's occupants slipped out. The captain hurriedly pressed the close button with his knee and tapped his foot impatiently as he waited.

"Yes, chicken. Nice and bland, just the way you like it."

"I knew I'd trained you well," Tony said, sounding smug. Steve rolled his eyes as he picked up the hint of gratitude in the man's voice.

"A 'thank you' is never amiss," he replied with an indulgent smile.

"So, how far away are you? Did you manage to get away from the grouchy puss yet?" At Tony's words, Steve hesitated in confusion. Tony must have picked up on that, because he added, "You know – Clint. He's more of a killjoy than Banner, some days. Guy needs to get laid."

"Barton's fine. I told him that Fury gave him the weekend off," Steve replied, trying to avoid staring at the other passengers in the elevator. It would probably be a wise decision to recommend that they lower Tony's pain medication. "I'll be up in a few minutes."

Tony whistled appreciatively. "I bet they designed the Patriot Act for people like you. I thought you were supposed to be the open, honest type. Now, how long before you get here? Natasha looks like she's going to kill me if we don't find a distraction."

"Five minutes."

"Make it three," Tony demanded and Steve made a noise of agreement. "If you make it three, I'll promote you to chief minion."

"Whatever you say, Tony," Steve murmured. He was a few floors away, but it seemed as if every single time they hit a new floor someone needed to get on or off.

"That's Master Stark to you," there was a click as Tony disconnected. The Captain maneuvered the box under his arm so he could try to disconnect the phone. It didn't work, but one of the SHIELD agents reached forward to help him slip it into his pocket.

"Thanks," Steve muttered, trying for a friendly smile. The agent just shrugged and retreated back to the corner, and the murmuring resumed.

Now that he had nothing more to distract himself with, he found that he was unconsciously tuning into their discussion.

"I can't believe he lets Stark talk to him that way," the agent who had helped him muttered. Steve raised his head, staring at the pair. One of them was in the typical SHIELD uniform, but the other was dressed more professionally and he had a clipboard in one arm.

"Is this common?" the bureaucrat asked, sounding both wary and curious.

"Oh, yeah, it's really common. Stark likes to pretend that just because he has money, he's able to order the rest of them around. He's a basketcase, always has needle marks in his arms and he's always in and out of the infirmary. I've had to run a mission with him and he's terrible. The second Rogers walked away, he changed the plan. Got three good men killed because of it, too. And I heard-"

Steve cleared his throat loudly, shifting his weight as he waited for the doors to open. He'd heard this type of talk before, had tried to defend his team against the general population of SHIELD, but it seemed like it did more harm than good these days. It only aggravated the tension and made it harder on his team, as much as it grated him to remain quiet.

The talking faltered for a moment, and then the whispering picked up again, only marginally softer.

"He refused to go on a mission the other day, did you hear? Said he couldn't deal with it and stormed out of the room. Most of the time he just sits around on his ass and-"

Steve cleared his throat again, but the whispering didn't falter this time.

"Agent, do you believe that Tony Stark possesses a negative influence on the team?" he heard the bureaucrat ask and the man didn't even have the decency to keep his voice low.

"Oh, def-"

"That's enough, Agent," Steve said, voice calm as he turned his eyes to the men in the corner. "Mr. Stark has shown himself to be a great asset to the team. I am far more confident in Director Fury's judgement than yours."

"Captain Rogers, are you able to comment on some of the points Agent Hand has brought to my attention?"

Steve sighed, realizing exactly what was going on here. The man clearly had Tony Stark's personnel file open on his clipboard and was jotting down notes in the margins. It was likely he was supposed to review the team conduct or was initiating some private investigation of his own.

"What exactly are you referring to?" Steve asked carefully.

"Poor team working skills, lack of discipline, inefficiency, his tendency to insubordination, and below average judgement skills, to start."

Steve moved his eyes to the smug-looking agent. It was like the man anticipated being thanked for being a liar.

"Tony Stark is a civilian," Steve began, choosing his words carefully. "A civilian initially hired on as a consultant. He most certainly is not a soldier."

The agent's smug little smile grew.

"Which is why he is the bravest of us all," Steve continued. The man looked like he'd been slapped. "He hasn't been trained for warfare and nor is he indestructible. He's only involved because he was abducted in the middle of doing his duty. Almost all of us took this on as a duty after being trained to handle this, but he volunteered to risk his life. He only disobeys orders when there's reason for it. Yes, he's disobeyed orders in the past and no, he shouldn't be penalized for it. He had good reason - bad intelligence, reacting to changing variables, manipulation..." Steve ticked off each point on his fingers.

Steve leaned against the door and let a slow smile spread across his face. The other two men were beginning to look edgy and trapped.

"He could have continued selling weapons that get people – good people - killed. He could have sold his Iron Man suit for more money than you will make in your entire life. Probably half of what you see here was paid for with his money. But he didn't. He chose to take the longer road and fight. Without him, we wouldn't even be here. We'd be dead or scattered and we certainly wouldn't have stood a chance against Loki. Yes, he's childish and immature, but he's just as good as the rest of us." Steve paused and took a deep breath. His voice had begun to pitch at the end, and he shook his head. "He's just as an integral part of this team as Barton and Romanoff. He's just as important as myself and Agent Coulson."

The agent muttered something under his breath, and Steve narrowed his eyes before reaching across to tug at the man's nametag. "Pilot, right?" he asked casually. The man nodded in reply. "You realize Stark designed most of the equipment that gives you your job, don't you?"

Steve shrugged before continuing. "I guess it's simple to blame him for not always succeeding. He's saved hundreds of lives, why shouldn't he be able to save them all? Isn't what the press has been asking us these days?"

The bureaucrat winced and Steve gave him a smile that probably looked absolutely faked. "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. However, it takes more than just one good man to change things for the better," he added casually, before reaching across to tug the clipboard out from the bureaucrat's grasp. "I believe these belong to Agent Coulson. You're welcome to fill out a request if you like – I can give him a recommendation for you when I return them, if it's easier, Mr…"

There was no response so Steve simply shrugged. The elevator doors slid open and he slipped out, leaving the subdued pair behind.

The phone rang and Steve somehow managed to get a hand free to pick up. "Yeah, Stark?"

"It's been more than five minutes, so I was wondering if you stopped to pick up that pizza…"