"Shit!"

"IRONMAN!"

"Man of Iron!"

"Stark!"

"Anthony Edward Stark, report your status."

'Focus... focus!'

"Sir," JARVIS broke in neatly amid the haggared yells of his teammates. "The breach in the suit has been detained for the moment. We must act quickly before the water pressure becomes too much."

"How-" he croaked out. "How much time?"

"Approximately 31 minutes Sir."

"That's not enough. That's no where near enough! It took a little over an hour to get down here. I'd have to hold my breath for 37 minutes in order to make it back up. It's impossible."

The broken note his tone ended on may be why JARVIS said this next part softly.

"I'm calculating all other options available."

"The other suit?"

"Has sustained damage. It's filtration systems are offline. Only the Mark 41 was built to meet specific deep water specifications."

"Great," Tony spat out. "Just great."

"Stark! Are you alright?"

Hawkeye should not look so concerned over him. The archer had no right to look like such when he spent most of his time acting like an annoying ass.

"Lies Tony," Natasha sidled up, inspecting him. "JARVIS?"

"The suit has been breached. Sir cannot make it to the surface in time," the AI responded. "Another alternative must be sought out immediately."

Hawkeye cursed.

"It's always something with you isn't Stark?"

"My friends!" Thor arrived with a haggard-looking Banner tucked into his side. "Man of Iron are you not well?"

"Thor!" Hawkeye cried. "Quick! You have to perform the underwater spell for Stark."

The God of Thunder immediately put two and two together. "Man of Iron! Your suit has been compromised!"

"The sooner the better Thor," Natasha blatantly commented.

"I sincerely apologize my friends but I cannot do what I have asked. Not only will performing the spell negate the previous use but my magic has always been weak. I require a day to replenish its stores in order to perform another spell."

"Dammit!" Hawkeye rounded on the rest. "So, what do we do?!"

"Tony," Bruce called. "The other suit?"

"Will only yield the same result," IronMan answered absently.

"Fuck!"

Tony smiled although he knew they would not be able to see it through the faceplate. "I'd always known I'd go out by a liquid, although I always expected it'd be the kind found in a bottle."

Bruce grimaced. "Let's not jump to worst-case scenarios just yet."

"Tony?"

They all turned to Steve as the Merman approached, having watched them from afar in confusion.

The genius brunette felt his mouth go dry. Steve had removed his cowl, blonde tuffs of hair swaying in the water.

"Tony, hurt?"

Tony gave himself a shake inside the suit to focus. "Yeah, I've run into a bit of a snag here gorgeous."

"Steve," Bruce addressed. "Is there a place around here with access to air?"

"Air?" the blonde Merman swam closer and catch IronMan's arm. "Tony need air?"

"There's a hole in my suit. Yes, I need air."

Steve stared.

And stared.

His expression changed here and there but the genius couldn't decipher it.

The blonde Merman then leaned in and kissed his faceplate.

"Come," Steve ordered, taking the brunette by the hand and leading him away. Tony was sure he wouldn't have been able to say no to such intense blue eyes. Still, being who he is he couldn't help his need for knowledge.

"Where are we going?"

"To place with air."

"How far is is?"

"Not far. Very near."

"What is it? Some kind of room that vacuum's out water? What are we looking at here?"

Steve stopped answering. Instead, the Merman picked up the pace as they zoomed by colorful, ornate buildings.

Tony took in the sights. The small city was highly structured and the architecture had an ancient touch though he couldn't pin down the origin. He realized then that he knew next to nothing about Steve, Steve as a Merman, of his people or of his way of life.

The fact that he wanted to know was all-telling. He was Tony Fucking Stark dammit! He wasn't supposed to give a shit about these kind of things.

Except, he did, at least where Steve was concerned.

However, his barrage on inquiries would have to wait. They'd arrived before what looked like an enormous shell. He wondered what to do next as Steve wasn't budging. The blonde Merman stood still before it, staring at it most reverently.

Tony poked him.

"Steve? Hey Steve? Is this the thing that's supposed to help me? Steve?"

The Merman turned to him, and moved to catch his hands.

"Tony," Steve indicated to the shell. "Air inside. No water."

"Perfect! How do we get this sucker open?"

"Tony," Steve stressed, moving his hands up and down the sides of the IronMan suit.

That did not make him blush! He was in the suit for goodness sake's!

"Tony, inside, we become mates."

...what?

"You mean it's like a Church or City Hall in there?"

Confusion edged the blue eyes.

"Nevermind. Forget I said anything. Please explain."

"It is the way. Inside, we become mates."

"Okay then... is there anything else we can go or?"

Steve framed large hands around his faceplate. "Becoming mates is only way to save you."

"Sir, your heart-rate is increasing," JARVIS noted.

"Yeah, I kind of noticed that all on my own thanks."

Tony reached up and placed metal hands on those lovely, broad shoulders. Such muscular shoul-

"Steve, it would really help if you explained in detail. Pretend I'm hopelessly uninformed here, because I am."

The blonde Merman leaned forward to press another kiss against the faceplate. "Tony, trust me? Be my mate?"

The brunette tried not to pay attention to the fact that the only reaction he had was to lick his lips. "I-"

Steve cupped IronMan's chin. "I Merman. I mate forever. Tony, you are human. Choose to leave, anytime."

"Anytime?"

Steve's eyes gained an edge but he nodded.

"That's not really fair to you though is it?"

"My choice," Steve insisted.

Tony cursed. "Steve, look, I know you want to settle down or whatever. It's expected of you. And I know I seem great but believe me, I'm not who you want."

"Tony-"

"You deserve better Steve, much better."

"You are better!"

The blonde Merman's outburst startled him quiet. Steve gripped him.

"Tony, I'm a Merman. When I touch you, touch your skin I can feel you. I can feel who you are." Steve frowned as Tony jerked back.

"What do you mean you can feel who I am?"

"Touch," Steve waved his hands. "When I touch your skin I can feel who you are." Steve made a motion to reach for him then stopped when he realized Tony backed further. "Tony, I know you. I can feel you were hurt, a lot."

"So, you're a mind-reader now? A telepath of a sort? You went inside my head and-"

"Tony," Steve stressed, moving to catch only his fingers. "I cannot read your mind. Never. Only feel you." The blonde Merman moved closer. "Feel your hurt and your goodness. Tony, you're beautiful."

"Fucking-" he sucked in a breath inside the suit. "You can't just say things like that!"

"But you are! You were hurt, and hurt, and hurt. But you stood up, always. You try to hide but I know Tony. I know," Steve laid a gentle hold on the faceplate. "I know how good you are really. I know you Tony. I won't let anymore hurt come to you, only love."

"I'm selfish," Tony whispered. "Too selfish. This is your last chance to back out. I mean it."

Steve lifted his chin. "I want you."

The blonde Merman moved to squeeze his hand and then maneuvered them into the giant shell.

"JARVIS, how long we got?"

"8 minutes Sir."

Tony took a deep breath. "Okay, you still have to explain Steve. How is it that we will get air in here? Does this place have the ability to-"

He cut himself off as the enormous shell closed down around them. The inside was bright. Tony could guess it was lighted but didn't care at the moment to discern how. He whipped his head about at the sound of a loud whirring.

"What's going on?"

"Water is leaving," Steve answered.

Indeed it was. It rushed out through what he guessed was the tail area of the shell. By the time it was gone he'd only had minutes to spare. The place was more expansive than he'd believed. It was then he'd realized-

"This isn't natural," he poked at the cushioned material they laid on. "This, all of this is man-err- Merman made. I didn't realize you were a technologically-focused society, you seem far more artistic-"

"Tony, remove your armor."

"You first."

"Sir, oxygen levels are safe. The air in this shell will last for the majority of the day."

"Right. Right." And with that Tony gave the command to disengage the suit and took care as the pieces fell off. Soon he was standing clad only in his black under-suit amid his pieces of armor. "Alright, so now wha-"

He gasped. He'd been too busy removing his armor he hadn't realized Steve had legs once more. Steve was naked once more.

When the blonde immediately plastered himself to it he went with it. Shamelessly went at each other in a hot mess of sucking and kissing. They continued in that vein, roaming every inch of each other's skin until they were ready for more. Tony forced himself not to blush as Steve peppered his face with loving kisses as the blonde lined himself up.

He'd almost wished he knew ahead of time what was to come.

A shudder gave way to bliss gave way to pants and delved right into obscenities. It was good, mind-blowing good.

In the after-glow he failed to notice the unnatural tingle of his entire body. It was only when he felt the curious sensation of having his lower body curled unnaturally around Steve that he began to realize something was off.

"Tony," Steve took his face in his hands and captured him in a passionate kiss. "Water will never hurt you again."

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Epilogue:

The thought of slapping Barton's face with the golden tinge of his fin was extraordinarily appealing. Unfortunately, the archer was out of his reach for that so instead he lifted his tail up above the water and slammed it back down.

"Dammit Stark!" Clint spluttered from the wave that drenched him. He should have known better than to get too close.

Tony positively grinned and splashed his tail again.

That's right. His tail.

He'd freaked out about it at first. He was far used to achieving the impossible but becoming a Merman was much even for him. Who could have predicted that becoming a Merman's mate would make him one as well?

Well, a semi-Merman that is. While he lacked their inherent strength and (freaky) touch-telepathy, he did gain the ability to form a tail and breathe underwater.

The process was rather pleasurable and he indulged in it far more often than he would have guessed he'd come to like. Steve joining in was a big factor to this. The tail was like the arc reactor, something he'd gained that saved his from death, albeit much easier to manage.

"So, that's your real name then? Kap-N-ame-Ika?"

"Yes," Steve smiled. "Better sounding under water."

"Huh," Bruce said. "Kind of sounds like... Captain America."

"Captain America," Tony repeated. "Sounds rather catchy actually. We should totally market that. From now on it could be your codename!"

"Steve has yet to be cleared to be an Avenger," Coulson put in.

"He's not even American!" Clint remarked.

Tony huffed and let himself be pulled into Steve's side as they lounged in the Jacuzzi. "We're married. He officially has American Citizenship."

"It was one of the most glorious ceremonies my friends!" Thor enchanted as he gestured with his arms. "Such a peculiar location both in and out of the sea."

Tony smiled lecherously, remembering Steve's particularly fine ass covered by the sleek suit.

"The Merman in the water, the humans on the land," Bucky remarked.

"Not all of us," Natasha reminded. Bucky smiled at her which she returned. They'd all learned better by now than to comment on their show of 'like' for each other.

"You'll need a good angle if we want to make Captain America work," Bruce continued.

"He's super-powered and a warrior. A soldier," Tony addressed. "A super soldier."

"Where does America play into it?" Clint pointed out.

"Steve loves his people. He also loves me, therefore he'll love my people ie. he'll love America and will fight for her and whatnot."

Clint grinned. "So, America is your people?"

"Shut up."

"Stark, I didn't know you were so sentimental."

"Those arrows guided to your ass are finished. Don't make me use them."

"Charming the two of you," Coulson cut in. "But, you're forgetting Stark, Steve is the official Ambassador between the Mer-people and us. He should focus on that duty."

"You're forgetting Bucky was assigned to be his assistant in such matters. I'm sure between the two of them they'll have things running smoothly."

Coulson merely shook his head.

As Tony went on to loudly boast about his ideas for the suit Steve should wear, Bruce took the moment to gaze at Steve.

The scientist sent him a shrug that said, 'this is what you married you realize.'

The blonde Merman's smile was grand as he turned to tip Tony's head into a kiss.

The gesture was simple and the message clear.

Steve loved his mate.