El!
El has been with the site for nearly two years now and has continued to prove her value. Currently, she is heading up our site event, Battle for Liberterram, on top of keeping up with her own personal plots.
CHARACTER
SPOTLIGHT
Peggy Carter!
Lux's posts are all wonderful to read. She has done a wonderful job of grasping the new universe and incorporating Peggy into it.
CHARACTER
SPOTLIGHT
Peter Parker!
It's good to see Spidey back on the site. Watching him deal with the universe shift in his own snarky way has been nothing short of entertaining.
THREAD
SPOTLIGHT
Eight O'Clock on the Dot!
El and Lux are making magic in this thread. Straight up fireworks, and the way they've played with drawing out the reveal is top class.
Technically he and Tony only started the whole thing about a week ago. But it already felt like a life time. Seven days of fake press and image management and public appearances was enough to begin to blur the lines. And for some of it he had to be around Tony constantly. With the Expo coming up, SHIELD thought it would be a good idea if the two attended the thing. Which Steve wasn't so convinced of--some part of him was pretty sure Fury had a horse in this race and was making some side bets with a few of the boys at SHIELD, but that's the way it was. And he was the job.
And if he were honest with himself half the reason it felt like a lifetime ago was because it was. At first he didn't even really notice or think anything of it. During Benihana he thought it was a fluke, that he was temporarily immune or resistant or whatever. But after that, he began to notice. It was like he instantly built up a layer of resistance. Tony still acted like a real ass (and he probably always would), but it didn't bother him as much anymore. Instead of getting under his skin with almost every little comment, Steve shrugged most of it off. It was a lot harder for Tony to touch a nerve, and Tony noticed it, too.
So then he asked Steve to be a "booth babe" for him. Steve had no idea what that was, but just from the sounds of things and the way Tony waggled his eyebrows, he was pretty sure he wasn't going to be a fan. But everything was supposed to look on the up-and-up for the media, so the blonde went along with a sigh. Tony said that he needed and outfit and dragged him off to pick one. After a lot of consideration and some outrageous suggestions from Tony (including a French Maid uniform), Steve settled on one. Tony complained that he'd gone with something so conservative, but Steve put his foot down.
...Except it didn't amount to a whole lot of good. After he got up in the morning (he was still sleeping in the bath-tub since it was a lot bigger than the couch), he got dressed. Rather than being a comfortable fit with a good amount of breathing room, it was snug. The high-quality polo was like a second skin, and the pants were only marginally better. At first he thought maybe there was a mistake at the store--that the sizes got mixed up or maybe something shrank during the initial wash. But he was less sure the moment Tony woke up, took a glance his way and looked smug. Not pleasantly surprised, like the kid that found pleasure in the other kid's accident. Like he'd just watched a plan come to fruition.
Steve sighed but by the time Tony was up things were getting down to the wire. He had a booth to be at, so he just spent the majority of the walk there trying to not look as self-conscious as he felt, which was easier said than done. He felt like an overstuffed sausage, and from the way people were staring, he guessed most people felt the same way.
Sitting at the booth all day hadn't exactly been riveting stuff. Most of the people that tried to talk with him were on a much higher level intellectually or... academically or whatever than he was. So he was left staring, blinking, trying to figure out what they were saying and what some of the words they used even meant. Some of the other people at the booth were faster to snatch up on the conversation, and the blonde tried to piece things together from there, but it was a bust. None of them were speaking any kind of English her understood.
It was about then that he fully realized what a booth babe meant. Eye-candy. Not a personality to chat up, just someone to look pretty. He almost laughed at that, since he never really thought much of the way he looked (though he admitted that he was a lot taller and beefier now), but hey. At least being a booth babe wasn't demeaning or anything like that.
Halfway through the day he just started reading and drawing. Whenever Tony was actually around her took exception to that, but most of the time he was busy doing other things or talking to people, leaving Steve to his own devices. That was just the way he liked it. But it was getting near the end of the day, and Tony was slated to return in another fifteen minutes. Not wanting to hear the other man pout, whine or put on any other kind of annoying show, Steve worked to finish up the drawing he'd been working on with time to spare.
Ironman in that French maid outfit Tony tried to convince him to get instead.
Dating Captain America was a hassle. The press was all over them, and much as Tony normally didn't mind such things it was a little difficult to keep up a fake relationship so completely. He'd had to tone down much of his flirtatious nature for fear of bad rumors ruining the good press they were managing and he had to put up with Rogers far more often than he liked to. The only good thing about that was that he was pretty sure Rogers hated being around him more. Especially with as good as Tony was getting at annoying the man. Sure, he would be immunized eventually, but until that point Tony would enjoy what he could.
But taking Captain America to the Expo as his date? Sharing a hotel room? Yeah, that was turning out to be more than he'd bargained for. Tony took the opportunity to class up his Booth Babes for the event, however, dragging Steve costume shopping so that he'd have the best-looking one there. Rogers was a stick in the mud, of course, and refused to get anything fun, but Tony was not so easily deterred and wound up shrinking his order a size after all was said and done so that he would be showing off at least a little bit.
Rogers had taken to sleeping in the bathtub, as apparently taking the other side of a California King was just too much for the old man, so the first time Tony laid eyes on him the morning of his Booth Babe-dom was after he exited the bathroom. He couldn't help but smirk at the image. "Lookin' good," he greeted, "Make me coffee?" He was still rolled up in the blankets debating the merits of getting up himself to do so, but if he could convince the other man to do it that would be so much better.
Leading the man through the Expo was actually quite exciting; eyes were all on them and Rogers seemed to be fairly uncomfortable with the attention. It was like Christmas in June. Tony made sure to keep his arm linked with the other man's as a show of ownership while they made their way through the crowds; he needed everyone to know, after all. No hitting on the Captain 'cause he was taken. Not that Tony actually liked the man. He just had issues, and one of those was he didn't like people touching his things, of which Cap was one at this point.
After settling Steve in at the booth, Tony made his rounds at the Expo. He had a lot of people to talk to and things to see, so he was busy for most of the day, with only a little bit of time to stop by the booth on occasion and check on his supposed boyfriend. The man needed constant surveillance apparently, as when Tony wasn't around he seemed to delve into his quiet zone and draw instead of do his job, but Tony supposed that he could give the man the occasional break, seeing as he was already so out of his comfort zone. Look how nice he was. So nice that he should win an award.
The end of the day came slowly, and Tony dragged himself back to the Stark Industries booth to collect his Captain for the final press walk before they got back to the hotel, as they would likely be followed by the people from the Expo grounds. Deciding to sneak up on the man from behind, he managed to move quietly so that he could get a peek at the drawing in front of him, snorting in amusement when he finally managed to see what it was. "Nice. I'll hang it in my office," he grinned, leaning over the man's shoulder to kiss his cheek. "Ready to go, snookums?"
When Tony snuck up on him he started a bit. All the training in the world couldn't seem to prepare him for a situation like this. Hundreds, thousands of people all moving around constantly, some talking to him, most ignoring him. The coming and going eventually became like background noise, until it was hard to notice. His old training was still there, but with no one moving the way a trained combatant tended to move, it was impossible for him to separate Tony's footsteps from the constant roar. The voice made him jolt, especially since he was mid-doodle and focused on the flurry of his pencil movements.
A stray line jerked down from the otherwise immaculate pencil work, but rather than obsess over it, Steve turned from the sketchbook and tried to no be embarrassed. It wasn't something he'd actually intended Tony to see, but rather was a flight of fancy. Now it seemed like he was being a horse's ass and trying to get some kind of rise out of Tony. Which... after the whole everything, really, the older (younger) man kind of deserved. Shrinking his clothes? Asking him to get coffee? Yeah, that didn't happen.
Turning halfway in his chair, he looked between Tony and the sketchbook, only to get a kiss on the cheek. Blinking for a second, his eyes shifted to stare down the other man, a small smile pulling at the edge of his mouth like a fishing hook. Really? He seemed to silently asked, looking more amused than embarrassed or self-conscious... and before Tony could pull away completely, he returned the favor. It really had been a long week. A few days ago he would've sputtered and flustered and been unable to move without drawing his arms around himself, trying to avoid Tony's gaze. But Benihana had changed the man on an almost permanent level.
"One sec," Steve turned back to his sketchbook that he'd earlier contemplated closing. After the kiss, he counted his blessings that he hadn't. Putting eraser to paper, he smudged away the stray line before he put the soft edge of charcoal pencil to the page. Flourishing a signature, he put a small heart where the 'R' of Rogers was supposed to be. "Here you go." He grinned impishly as he tore the page from the sketchpad, offering out the drawing out to Tony without so much as a second thought.
"Alright, ready to go." The blonde man nodded as he came to a full stand, impressive form towering over that of Tony's. For a moment, he stretched his arms over his head and stood on his toes, loosening out his spine to give it a few audible cracks before he did the same with his neck, popping the bubbles that built up between the joints. Once he was done with that, he snapped up what few things he had, and being diligent as ever, took the few articles of trash he'd accumulated.
"So, how long 'til the big meeting?" He threw a glance over Tony's way out of the corner of his eye, but refused to actually look at the billionaire as they walked from the booth.
Tony was actually kinda impressed with himself for being able to sneak up on Cap, though he was pretty sure that it had more to do with the Expo being noisy and ridiculous than his own skill at sneaking up on super-soldiers. Either way, go Tony you're awesome! The sketch that Steve was working on was something that Tony could clearly tell he wasn't meant to enjoy, but he couldn't help but think that it was somewhat hilarious. Captain America passive-aggressively taking out his frustrations via art was really almost too good to be true.
He had actually forgotten how good Rogers was, though. He'd known, of course, seeing as he'd grown up with the ability to flip through the man's old sketchbooks, seeing as Captain America's personal things hadn't had a family to be sent to and therefore his father had simply taken them instead. Maybe Tony should do something nice for Rogers that had to do with his art. As an apology for his assholeishness.
Grinning a bit at Rogers' incredulous glance, he lifted his eyebrows in a return question, or maybe challenge. The other man leaned in to kiss his cheek and Tony's grin actually widened. His little Captain was growing up! It was actually something he was quite proud of. Sure, it made him ridiculously happy to push the man's buttons and such, but it was also nice to know that all his antics were helping to get the man a little more used to things that used to make him blush like a virgin - which he probably still was. Tony was doing America a favor, really, by fixing such things.
He watched with bemusement as Rogers carefully signed the sketch he'd been working on, taking it from him with a giddy grin when it was handed over. "Awesome," he replied as he held it, carefully folding it in half and sticking it in his jacket. He would frame it later. Waiting for Rogers to gather up his things, Tony smiled briefly at the people around them who were mostly doing a decent job of pretending not to stare at the two.
Finally heading out, he shrugged in answer to Rogers' question. "Don't know. Don't care. That's what I have an assistant for," he replied, reaching out to catch the other man's hand and thread their fingers together as he felt cameras train on them as they made their way towards the exit.
There really were a lot of press near the exit of the Expo, and Tony pulled Steve to a stop, giving him a worried look. "We can go around one of the back ways and avoid them," he offered, as even though Tony Stark rarely avoided press, Steve Rogers was a completely different story.
Steve wasn't really sure what was going on between him and Tony on the interpersonal level. Obviously the papers were selling the angle they'd all agreed they wanted. And a few of their public sightings had been crafted to reflect that, even with the... uh... speedbumps along the way. Benihana had definitely given the press more than he wanted, and the lewd accusations and headlines that followed made even a more mature Steve balk. Nonetheless, he'd put on a mean game face, and after a while he'd become resistant to even some of the explicit articles some of the even less trustworthy rags were running.
But that didn't touch up on him and Tony. On the one hand, the blonde felt a lot more familiar with the man. He wasn't sure he liked the idea, but before this fiasco they'd always given each other a wide berth. And he had professed to wanting to bridge the distance that was between them to try and create a more functional team. But this wasn't exactly how he wanted it to happen, either. Were they becoming friends? He wasn't sure. Was being even more of a horse's ass what Tony's friendship looked like? He hadn't seen that with Bruce, but it seemed like Tony's relationships were almost unique from person to person. And it was that same fake, unpredictable nature that made him and Tony clash so often.
He figured for the mean time that it was best not to over think it, and just roll with the punches. If he could make Stark uncomfortable or speechless, he'd consider it a victory.
"I'm glad you like it... muffin." This was not the first time that Steve had attempted to find Tony a pet name since Tony liked to lavish him with one. Unfortunately, he clearly wasn't used to petnames and it sounded like a third-grader trying to swear for the first time to impress the older kids. It would probably take a lot more times before it sounded remotely convincing, but even so, Steve was amused. The twinkle in his eye and dimpled cheek said as much.
Steve gave a silent sigh at the older (younger) man's flippant behavior. He wasn't really surprised, but he frequently found Tony's lack of diligence, especially regarding prompt arrival, to be frustrating. Rather than say anything in response, Rogers held his tongue, and even managed to take Tony's hand into his without immediately jerking it away. He was still tempted to, since he still had a lot of reservation about extended physical contact with all but the closest friends, but he managed.
When they got towards the exit, the soldier could feel it. A thousand eyes and a thousands lenses trained on them. It wasn't entirely unfamiliar--he'd dodged the press since the thaw, and garnered plenty of attention back when he was touring with the USO. But he could safely say that this was the most amount of attention he'd received, and most of it was about his nonexistent love life with a guy he wasn't even sure he liked as a person most days.
To his extreme surprise, Tony turned toward him, looked concerned and told him that they didn't have to go out the front way. Up until he said as much, that was what Steve was inclined to do. But maybe it was his tendency to not respond well to consideration for his own well-being. Or maybe his ego was rising to the challenge. Or maybe he thought to get it out of the way, all at once, like tearing off a bandage loaded down with adhesive.
"Nah, we got this. Gonna have to do it sooner or later, right?" With that he steeled himself and stepped forward into the throng of the press just beyond the doors. As soon as they stepped out a hundred questions came their way as shutters clicked and bulbs flashed. Most of the questions were extremely personal, and Steve immediately went to Star Spangled Man with a Plan to smooth out his ruffled feathers as he tried to continue forward, muttering "no comment" from time to time as they slowly progressed.
If Tony were a better man, he would feel bad for everything Steve had been put through; after all the man had been a center of attention for the media for some time now and the rampant speculation the press had published had not exactly been...clean. Tony had actually attempted to hide some of those articles from him, but Rogers had found them anyway as that was just the way he was.
He wasn't really sure where he and Steve were, personally, at this point in time, but by the same note they at least weren't attempting to murder each other with their glares any longer? Eh, it was best not to dwell on things; that would just make him more confused. Tony wasn't a large fan of human relationships so pondering on them too long tended to only give him a headache and make him want a drink. He didn't completely hate the other man any longer though. He just didn't know how to define his current feelings.
Smirking a bit at Steve's attempt at a pet name, he squeezed the other man's shoulder lightly. "Come on, buttercup, let's get going," he replied, a teasing glint in his eyes. It was precious, really, his little Captain growing up.
Tony could practically feel Steve's disapproval radiating off of him as he cheerfully dismissed the idea of needing to know when his important meeting was, but that really wasn't anything new. Steve had never agreed with Tony's views on that kind of thing, and he likely never would. Of course, he hadn't grown up with an assistant to keep track of that kind of thing for him either, which explained the dissonance.
He could tell the other man was surprised that Tony would even think of offering such a thing, and he scowled slightly at that, though he quickly wiped the expression off in favor of a smile. "Your funeral," he quipped before tugging Steve forward toward the gaggle of press and paparazzi, all of whom began calling their names as soon as they caught sight of the approach.
Grinning and waving a bit at various people as they walked forward, Tony managed to wave off most questions by directing them to various press events and exhibits throughout the Expo. He stuck tightly to Steve's side, more to avoid the press of bodies around them than anything else.
"Hey, Tony! Steve! Give us a kiss!" Tony heard shouted from among the photographers. The shout had others joining in soon enough and Tony pulled up to a stop, looking at the people, then over at Steve.
The good Captain would probably hate him for it later, but Tony grinned, turning to the man at his side and pressing up against him before leaning up to kiss him full on the lips, one hand still clasped in Steve's while he used the other to brace against the man's shoulder. After a few moments to allow the man to adjust, and hearing the cameras go off, Tony decided that this was the perfect moment to push Steve's buttons even further by attempting to press the kiss further.
Part of Steve's pride prickled at how easily Tony was able to just lavish him with pet names like he was marinating a steak in sauce. It was easy, simple. He didn't even have to think twice. It was just pumpkin. Cupcake. Honey. Sugar. Anything and everything that came to mind. Granted, Steve was pretty sure that he used pet names to avoid offending his girlfriends. He was never that great about names to begin with, and even if your average relationship lasted two weeks or less, people kinda got miffed when you called them by someone else's name. Understandably so.
"Yeah, yeah. Cool it, pudding pop." That one sounded even more awkward, and for a moment Steve was left to judge himself. Pudding pop? Was that even a thing? Did that type of food exist? Maybe he should just stick to "muffin" for a while. And if he was feeling adventurous, go over to more simple confectionary items. Whatever. After a moment of embarrassment he turned to look at Tony, expression hard, as though yeah, he'd just heard what he said and how stupid it sounded. But he was going to stand by it. And wouldn't let Tony humiliate him over it.
He'd always been a bit stubborn, and was proud in his own right. Getting past flustering over virtually everything just meant that it was able to show in even more situations.
Getting near the press, Captain Rogers briefly considered their situation. But he was certain that, sooner or later they were going to be ambushed. They couldn't avoid all the media attention forever. And with the way things had been going, Steve was pretty confident in his ability to "deal" as it was said. "I think I can handle it." The blonde gave Tony a glance out of the corner of his eye. His tone of voice left no room for argument, either, and it seemed more like he was reassuring Tony than himself. He felt pretty capable.
Even with the barrage of questions that came their way. A lot of them were... more intimately detailed than he'd like. For a brief, flickering moment he deeply regretted his decision, but Star Spangled Man with a Plan spurred him forward. A lot of questions fell by the wayside when it came to the catchy chorus. Unfortunately, the fact that he'd mostly managed to tune everything out meant that he didn't hear what the press wanted. Or what Tony actually decided to respond to.
Just, suddenly Tony was turning him around. Snapped out of his reverie, the blonde blinked at the billionaire, confusion evident. Then they were close really close and Steve instinctively tried to move away, not liking the way Tony was looking at him. The brunette looked like the cat who swallowed the canary, but his grasp on Steve's shoulder meant there was nowhere to go. Steve's heart leapt into his throat as he leaned backwards as far as he could, and even tried to croon his neck away.
But there was no avoiding it. A kiss happened. His... fourth... kiss... ever. And it was with Tony. Tony Stark. A guy he wasn't even sure he liked, let alone was friends with. And there was the matter that, well, he... wasn't really into Tony. Or guys. At all. Most of the times he didn't even like girls unless he developed a connection with them and now he was babbling. Panicking because a hundred cameras were going off and capturing his kiss with Tony.
Some part of him told him that he needed to make this look good. But how did you make it look good when you knew nothing about kissing? And more importantly weren't attracted to the person you were kissing? Remembering something he'd seen in a movie, he'd reached up to slip his hand at the base of Tony's neck, near the back of his head.
But that was a bad idea. A really bad idea because suddenly the kiss wasn't just... some... awkward, uncomfortable, horrible thing. Suddenly it was a nightmare as tongue slipped into his mouth in his first ever French Kiss and Steve felt violated. Deeply, deeply violated. And then there was no instinct about making it look good, there was just the need to get the thing out of his mouth and his first instinct was to close his tightly... teeth and all.
It was only after that he realized he'd bitten Tony's tongue, after they had distance between them that he was overcome with both guilt and vindication simultaneously. But mostly, vindication.
Notes: Tony's got this Tagged: honeybunches of abs
Tony only grinned at Rogers' next attempt. It was actually kinda cute. God, he was going to tease Cap about this later. He kinda wished that other people were around to hear it. Namely Clint. Clint would find this hilarious. "Cooling it," he replied, wiping the grin off his face as Rogers turned a stubborn expression towards him. The corner of his lips twitched in a smirk, but he otherwise was doing a pretty good job of not looking amused by the whole thing.
The other man could really almost give Tony a run for his money in stubbornness; or perhaps even surpass him. It was truly an accomplishment, and the kind of thing that Tony would probably joke about them being meant for each other because of either to the press or in private to their friends, if they got more comfortable with each other to the point where this was no longer so strange. It would always be somewhat strange, but he did hope that were they able to become more like friends, it wouldn't feel so off-kilter and out of place.
"The man can handle it," Tony grinned in reply, squeezing Steve's hand a bit as they moved forward. He was pretty sure that Steve was getting way better at the whole celebrity thing, and that this whole relationship had done Steve far more good than bad, despite the tabloids getting into his supposed sex life. It was hilarious thinking of Captain America, the All-American Virgin, having a sex life.
Despite this being a tech-heavy event, most of the questions lobbed at them seemed to be more for tabloid fodder. A lot about their sex life and, oddly enough, kinks. Who talked about that shit in public? To tabloids? What kind of people asked about that from Captain America. He didn't understand these people. A different species, they were.
If they were in a different situation, Tony would have commented on the adorableness of that confused look on his face. He didn't have time to tease the man at that moment though, and instead went forward with his plan. He could feel Steve go stiff under his hand and lips, which was pretty much what he was expecting. He was surprised when Rogers at least attempted to reciprocate the kiss by settling his hand on the back of Tony's head, but he could also tell the other man was beginning to freak out to an even more extreme degree.
That didn't stop Tony from pushing even more, though. Something which he almost immediately regretted when Steve's reaction was to bite his tongue. Tony pulled away quickly, shooting the crowd a close-lipped smile and a wave before dragging Steve off quickly, towards the car that Happy was waiting with for them.
"Fuck," he cursed, reaching up to prod at his tongue as he ushered Steve into the back of the car. "Did you have to bite my tongue," he complained, going for the ice and sticking a couple cubes in his mouth to help with the pain. Closing the door behind them, he directed Happy to take them to the hotel, giving Steve the biggest puppy dog eyes that he could manage.
Wait, what? That hadn't been the response that the blonde was expecting, from the way he'd practically snapped his neck turning his head to look at Tony. "Are you being agreeable?" His blue eyes narrowed into little slits on his cheekbones, knotted up brow overshadowing the exposed whites. After squinting for a solid moment, as if looking for an angle or ploy, his expression changed again to one of bafflement. "Oh my god, you are!"
And that was just too good. Steve grinned from ear to ear, so much that his jaw practically hurt. Tony, dropping something? He was going to have to enjoy this--he didn't think it'd happen again in his life time. Like one of those cosmic events where the stars lined up a certain way, and you couldn't help but marvel because you knew it'd be another three hundred years before it happened again.
His smile died down just a little bit before they hit the door, and then a lot when he saw how many people were out there, but he managed to look composed. Like the whole thing didn't bother him and like he was getting used to all of this constant scrutiny. And that was going good, at least until Tony decided to kiss him. Which wouldn't have been so terrible--no, that was a lie, it still would have been--if Tony hadn't have slipped him some tongue. And as unprepared as Steve was for a kiss. A public kiss. A public kiss with Tony. Tony made it a thousand times worse the moment he took Steve's first... well...
That was just. No. No. No. What was wrong with him?! The moment they started to maybe mend broken fences and get on civil terms with each other, they guy did... well, what he did! And maybe he didn't know that Rogers had never... uhh... gotten that type of kiss before. Steve was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But even if he had. Even if he had a hundred of them, it wouldn't make what Tony did okay.
So no, he didn't really regret biting the other man's tongue. At least not for the first solid few seconds until he started thinking. What if someone noticed that he did that? Would it blow their cover? Or would they claim that he was into some really weird stuff? You know what? No. He didn't care. He didn't care if this cost them everything. Some stubborn and spiteful little part of him felt vindicated.
But mostly he was still too stunned and uncomfortable to do much of anything besides stalk off when Tony prompted him, and think all kinds of nasty thoughts about how Tony needed a good swift kick in the rear.
Sitting in the car, Steve folded his arms across his chest and stared straight out the window towards the spectacle of traffic on the street. Without even really thinking about it he even drew his arms in so that he was as far away from Tony as possible while he leered through the glass at the cars as they passed them, slowly inching.
"Language." The blonde quipped without thinking, voice low. And then Tony actually had the audacity to ask him. Turning his head in a smooth swivel towards Stark, he glowered at the man. "Damn it, Tony! You put it in my mouth! Of course I had to bite it!" Thank god Clint wasn't around to hear that line. He was sure he'd get some kind of 'that's what she said' response.
"What possessed you to even think that was a good idea?! I don't even--Jesus, Tony! That was my third kiss, and you--" suddenly shutting his mouth, he clamped his lips shut and stared back out toward the street, suddenly getting silent. Stark didn't need to know that. And he didn't know to continue berating the man for it, either. It was over, and Tony had a bitten tongue for it.
Notes: tony has a cruuuuush Tagged: honeybunches of abs
Tony's eyes narrowed slightly at Steve's accusation. "Hey. I can be agreeable," he protested before glancing around them and lowering his voice. "Just...keep your voice down and don't let anyone else know. It'll ruin my reputation." He glared a bit as a grin stretched across Steve's face. Well, that just wouldn't do. "Don't look so smug," he huffed, a bit upset that the other man was taking so much joy from this moment. He'd have to get back at him. Somehow.
There were a lot of eyes on them as they locked lips and it was really almost enough to make Tony himself feel embarrassed. That was unusual for him, and it was a strange feeling to have. Of course, he didn't get much chance to dwell on things as there was an interruption in the form of a super soldier biting his tongue. He probably deserved it; at least, that's what Pepper would say. And likely what Steve would say as well once Tony got them out of the throng of people and more into private.
It was likely that pretty much everyone was right and Tony didn't really understand the concept of 'boundaries'. After all, he didn't really have any. To him, it was just a kiss. Just like any other kiss. It wasn't like you needed to be in love to make out with someone, and his tongue had been in a lot worse places than Captain America's mouth.
He was pretty sure that no one noticed the whole incident, however, which was a good thing. He really didn't need that kind of crap on top of everything else. Tony had been through this kind of thing enough that he was pretty certain they'd have gotten more of a reaction if anyone had noticed. Either way, he was relieved to get out of their line of vision and into the car.
Steve was very nearly curled in on himself in the car, and there was a twinge of something like...remorse?...in his chest. That was ridiculous. He pushed it aside easily as he got into the car, snorting a bit as Rogers criticized his choice of words. That was a thing that would likely always amuse him; after all, hadn't he been in the army? He should be immune to that kind of thing by now.
Rolling the ice cubes around in his mouth, he narrowed his eyes a bit as he studied the man in his anger. There was something about this whole thing that made Tony want to burst into laughter, but something else was making him feel a little...bad...about it. Was he growing a conscience? This was awful! Steve was clearly a terrible influence and needed to be gotten rid of.
"Well. I was just trying to sell it," he replied after a bit, although Rogers seemed to have a little more burst of anger left in him. Tony's eyes widened as Rogers cut himself off, blinking a little at the other man. "Wait. You mean. You didn't? I thought you and Aunt Peggy...?" Shaking his head a bit, he cut himself off this time and heaved a sigh, moving to sit next to Steve instead of as far away as possible.
"Look, I'm sorry. It was a spur of the moment thing, okay," he grumbled, "And I don't apologize, so consider yourself lucky, you asshole." He looked over at Rogers in thought, humming a bit. "You gonna be okay? Now that you've bitten my tongue and all."
"You can, huh?" The blonde's brows shot up in disbelief. "This is my first time seeing it. Do you stockpile it all for the holiday season?" Steve asked, sounding pleased as punch and more smug with every syllable. Some part of him was basking in the fact he managed to hit a nerve. He was so often the annoyed party that it was a miracle whenever he managed to get under Tony's skin. "Oh, like you have any room to call me smug." Reaching out, he swatted the brunette's upper arm with a shoving backhand that was only just hard enough to sting.
Of course, all of that casualness was hard to maintain once they were out in the crowd. And all of the ease of the rapport they had established was flushed down the drain after the kiss. Which made the walk back to the car tense and the first few seconds in the limo even more tense. But rather than things getting better now that they were away from public scrutiny, Steve just got more and more miffed. Normally he reminded himself to take a breath and put it out of his mind. Worrying over things just got you going more, is what his mom always used to say. Better to let it go. Forgive and forget and all that because otherwise you were giving the other person all the power.
Except Tony always had all the power, didn't he? He just took what he wanted and people forgave him for it. Laughed it off and said that was Tony. He was never able to laugh it off before. It was hard not to notice the special treatment Tony got, how he was practically rewarded for his bad behavior and praised five times as much as anyone else when he was actually responsible and did the damn right thing. But he was tolerant of it. Took his victories where he could get them. Let most of it go.
But that? What he'd done out there was a new kind of inconsiderate. He didn't think, just did. Did and embarrassed and humiliated and didn't stop to take whatever anyone else's preferences were into account. Did he honestly think Steve was happy to have his tongue in his mouth and pose for the press? Ugh! He had a hard time not just shaking the guy sometimes.
Breathe, Steve. Breathe. Keep looking out the window. Keep your cool. Except he didn't and he blabbed and instantly regretted that. Sigh. Maybe he needed to work on the whole 'keeping your cool' thing. Nat would be good for giving him a few pointers.
"You didn't need to put your tongue in my mouth to sell it!" Rogers snapped back. "Everyone knows how I am, I--" he cut himself off again. Everyone knew he was prudish. Everyone. He'd been called the 'Last Great Conquest' once before on one of those entertainment shows and it was enough to make him fluster for an hour solid. And a week and a half on and off after that. When the conversation turned to Peggy there was a noticeable drop in the ambient temperature. Still annoyed, but more distant, Steve sighed. "Only once," he replied. "Right before... ... right before. I waited too long." He'd wanted to kiss her a thousand times before that. Wanted to grab a flower he'd seen on the side of the road a few times and give it to her. But the timing never seemed right; in truth he could never work up the courage for it, and he paid the price.
What drew him out of his thoughts was the genuine apology that made his head snap back around and look at Tony like he'd just started speaking in tongues. Brows jerking up, and eyes widening for half a second, he stared at the billionaire for a solid few seconds. Wait, what? Was that an apology? Did he hear right? Did the guy just get remotely possessed by Loki or something? But then the swearing came after, which, okay, yeah. It was definitely Tony. Just... weird... possibly ill Tony. Possibly ill Tony who realized he was being a complete horse's ass and had the courage to actually admit his fault and apologize for it.
Reaching over with his elbow, Steve prodded the older man in the ribs. "Thanks. That was a great apology." His voice dripped with sarcasm, but the very, very small smile on his lips hinted he wasn't quite as upset as he was a moment before. And then his smile grew a little bit more. "I wish I could've recorded that. I don't think the others will believe me."
Notes: aw look tony's a human being! Tagged: Sugarplum
Tony glowered as Rogers continued to be more and more smug, before calling him a hypocrite. Well, essentially. None of that nonsense even deserved a response. The nerve of some people. Hmph. To be perfectly honest, Tony liked the guy more in that moment than in all their previous moments combined, but he would never admit it out loud in present company. Maybe to Pepper later.
They were starting to get places, Tony knew. Both of them had a much easier time slipping into something friendly around each other now than they ever had before, but there were still parts of them that didn't really connect or get along in any way, shape, or form. It was partly Tony's complete inability to respect boundaries and partly Steve's 40s sensibilities not being able to work in the modern day and age.
When Tony'd been a kid, there had always been plenty of stories about Captain America and how amazing he had been, and Tony had always wanted to meet him when he was growing up. The man had been his hero; he couldn't help but think that maybe Captain America could be the adult in his life that actually liked him and all his quirks. He'd been sorely disappointed when that hadn't been the case, and he'd been lashing out at Steve because of it ever since. They always said to never meet your heroes, didn't they?
His jaw clenched a little when Rogers continued protesting that he wasn't like that or whatever because goddamn it was only a kiss. Tony wasn't even remotely attracted to dudes and he could still make out with them without feeling odd about it. He very nearly rolled his eyes, but no. Rogers wasn't from this time. To him, this was probably incredibly scandalous. All-American Virgin. Right.
Studying Rogers as the man got to thinking about Peggy, he wondered what the other man's life would have been like if his father had found him earlier. Tony would probably be awkwardly having this conversation with the man's kid instead. Or something. He didn't like that idea.
"You are the king of missed opportunities, Rogers," Tony sighed, though there was nothing joking or teasing about the statement. It was just that. A statement.
Tony himself was surprised that he managed to say anything close to an apology to the other man, but after everything Tony had put him through, didn't he deserve one? Tony'd been taking out his anger on Steve because the man wasn't exactly the person Tony had imagined him to be as a child. But there would be no way for Rogers to be that same person. After all, Tony hadn't known him. He'd known the stories of a man who had lived in a different time. That man could never have translated into this day and age well. Especially since he'd never been a whole picture. Just the war hero his father and Aunt Peggy had worked with.
Huffing a little at the look Rogers shot him for the apology, he wondered if he'd accidentally set a precedent for the future. He hoped Rogers didn't start expecting such things, 'cause it wasn't going to happen and he'd only wind up disappointed.
"Shuddup," Tony complained, although he grinned back at the other man. Well, at least it had pulled Rogers out of his funk. And right in time for them to pull up to the hotel. Happy was opening the door and Tony took a breath before climbing out of the seat, waving at the press that had gathered here instead of the Expo. Once Steve was out of the car too, he hurried them inside and to the elevator, heaving a sigh of relief as they were able to enter it almost immediately and leaning against the back of the box.
"I'm exhausted," he sighed a bit, "This whole thing is exhausting. And you." He paused to point at Rogers dramatically. "You've been sleeping in the damn bathtub. Are you even sleeping in there? That's gotta be all kinds of uncomfortable. How do you not look exhausted?"
"I know." He sighed in response, staring out the window at the cars that passed by as the traffic slowly eased up, allowing the limo to progress a few more car lengths before it finally broke away. "I've promised myself that next time I won't wait as long." There was another pause as the man seemed to think of something, brow of his reflection furrowing. "If there even is a next time." He'd had, well, he guessed the modern term for it was 'crushes' on girls before. But never anything like what he had with Peggy. And since the thaw, some part of him just didn't feel right. Like something that made him who he was was left in the ice. Could you even feel that same way again if some part of you was gone?
And then there was his duty. People relied on him to lead the team and make the right call. Could he even do that if he had a lady to come home to? Being who he was would put her at risk, and ask her to put her life on hold and wait around for him, worrying as to whether or not he was ever going to come back. That wasn't right to put anyone through. And this whole thing with Tony was just going to make it more difficult. It would be complicated being on a team with his supposed ex, that the tabloids would undoubtedly say he still had feelings for. She'd have to shoulder those doubts along with everything else.
No. There couldn't be a next time.
Steve was happy to have his thoughts pulled away from that depressing note on his love-life which was doomed before it even started. And an apology from Tony was about the most attention-catching thing he could think of. Except maybe Nick Fury dressing up in drag and putting on a burlesque show--something that Clint mused about and was enough to get Steve choking on the soda he'd been drinking at the time. Thankfully he wasn't drinking anything this time around, or he might've dropped the glass onto the floor of the limo.
"Yes'ir, shutting up." He gave a small little smile. As soon as the limo stopped he practically turned to stone at the idea of stepping out with the press outside. After what happened earlier his aversion to them returned almost in full, leaving him rigid and reluctant to move even a single damn inch. But after three seconds that felt like three years, he convinced himself to, put on as neutral an expression as he could managed, and walked at an incredibly brisk past to get past them, into the hotel, and into the confines of the elevator.
Heaving a sigh of relief, he leaned against the railing on the side of the elevator and closed his eyes for a moment until Stark spoke up. Cracking one eye open, he looked at the other man with a dubious, but amused expression. "Used to four hours. Tub's big and got more support than the floor." He shrugged.
There was something a little depressing about watching Rogers sink into thought. He clearly wasn't too convinced of the prospect of getting a 'next time' for himself and love. It was actually sad to think about, that they were both in the same boat there. Although for entirely different reasons, he was sure, seeing as his was that no one was ever really going to like him for him and not his money as he was an impossible asshole. Rogers would never have that problem. He was too disgustingly perfect for that.
The sarcasm and joking was a relatively new development with Rogers, though, and it was a nice change of pace for the man. Tony actually found himself liking smartass Steve a lot better than the one that he'd originally met; they had a little more in common and it felt a little more like speaking the same language than talking to Steve could sometimes feel like. The decades of difference tended to wind up creating communication issues a lot of the time due to the changes in meaning of slang over the years.
"That bed is big enough for four people, Rogers. Wouldn't it just be easier - and more comfortable - for you to sleep on the other side of it?" Tony asked as the elevator stopped on their floor. He led them off and opened the room, making his way over to the couch. Quickly collapsing on top of it, he sighed happily before looking at Steve again.
"Seriously. I'm not going to do anything to you while you sleep. Because I'll be sleeping too. Better than a bathtub," he offered with a small grin. "Wanna order room service and watch something stupid on tv?" He looked up at the other man hopefully, pretty much bored out of his mind at this point and wanting some sort of distraction. And also a drink. God, he needed a drink. He was pretty sure that would help with his still jittery nerves and general annoyance at the world.
Steve looked over at Tony with a hard stare for a moment. Was he being serious? He narrowed his baby blues a minute as he scrutinized the brunette. Share the bed with him? Besides the fact that Steve wasn't even sure how he felt about the billionaire (they were getting semi-friendly? okay with each other? civil?), there was another matter. He'd never really slept with anyone before. At his mom's house, he'd had his own bed. At the orphanage he'd always slept on the floor. At Bucky's house, he had his own bed. In the army, he had his own bunk. So really, other than when he was little enough to get nightmares and crawl into his mom's bed, he hadn't had another person in bed with him before.
And he wasn't sure he could sleep. Or even that it was a good idea. Just because his mom wasn't around didn't mean he didn't have nightmares. And some of them were intense. A lot of them about the war, bullets and lasers and the smell of death and smoke in the air so thick that he choked on it. A lot of them about standing on that train, watching Bucky fall away from him, helpless to do anything except watch his friend die. And a lot were about the plane, going down, the scream and spray of glass as it gave out, the clang of metal, and the water bursting in, chilling him to the bone. Desperately swimming despite knowing it was no use, drawing a last breath before his lungs filled with seawater. Didn't know if that actually happened--couldn't actually remember past the sound of the glass giving out and the spray of water hitting his face.
When they hit, he always woke up with a jolt and a cold sweat. And though they were less often than they had been since he started seeing Miss James and going to the Veterans Affairs office, they were still there.
Following after Tony, he kept himself wrapped in thought for a moment until the accusation come. Sputtering and snorting at once, he looked up at the other man, eyes bulging momentarily. "I never said--I never even thought." He pressed his lips into a tight line, chin jutting forward in a determined and offended pout. "Just... up until recently you were really getting my goat. And honestly, you must've done it fifteen times today," though maybe that was an exaggeration. "Which is better than yesterday, but still." He rolled his shoulders with a small shrug. "And I've never really shared a bunk with anyone, and I don't know if I'll thrash or snore," or worse. Much worse.
"Maybe if we did a blanket divider it'd be okay. Or a wall of pillows or something." As long as Stark stayed on his side, hopefully that'd be enough. Sitting down, he began to unlace his shoes and slid them off, tucking his socks into them before neatly setting them aside under the chair.
Tony's next offer confused him and caused him to look up. First offering--heck, practically insisting to share the bed, now this? "Why are you being so nice? Are you trying to butter me up for something? Like that French maid outfit?" His brow quirked. Oh, lord. Tony probably ordered one in his size and wanted him to wear it tomorrow, didn't he. "Or worse?" Was he going to have to do some kind of press thing about the kiss? "If there's no catch, sure. But if there is, be straight with me about it."