A/N: So my buddy, Kristyn, mentioned how she thought a Stony cheeseburger date would be cute and I decided to take the challenge yay!
Song Featured: "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke
Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or the song
Cheeseburger Date
Tony sighs for the umpteenth time and sets down his tools. He leans his elbows on his lab table and runs his hands through his tussled hair. Over the past few days, he's been lacking inspiration for inventions and it's frustrating him to no end. He closes his eyes and yawns. Maybe it's because he hasn't slept in two (read: four) days and his surroundings are starting to blend together.
"Sir, you have been awake for seventy-five consecutive hours. I would highly recommend you take a break and get some sleep."
The brunet shakes his head stubbornly. "No, JAR, I need to somehow finish these designs before the deadline next week. I just—" Another yawn. "Keep getting distracted by . . . thoughts."
"Of Captain Rogers, sir?"
"No," Tony answers quickly and winces, knowing that JARVIS can see through his bullshit. The Captain has been on the engineer's mind a lot ever since they defeated Loki and apologized for the words they exchanged on the Helicarrier—well, Steve apologized actually using the words "I'm sorry." Tony babbled about nothing before offering him a room in the tower, which is apparently Stark speak for "I'm an idiot, I know it, and I hope you don't hold it against me."
Long story short, Steve eventually moved into Stark Tower (along with the rest of the team, who followed him like leeches), Tony got to know the soldier more, and started feeling something heavy settle in his chest. He proceeded to tell his AI that something was wrong with the arc reactor, only for JARVIS to tell him that he's developed a crush (Tony doesn't like that word) on the Captain. The worst part: the fucker hasn't stopped teasing him about it since.
Alright, so maybe it's a crush. And maybe, Tony is going to reprogram JARVIS and donate him to an elementary school. He will admit, however, that it's getting harder to act normal (as normal as Tony Stark gets) around Steve. His stupid emotions or whatever keep getting in the way and it doesn't help that every time he sees the blond, he's spilt between the urge of jumping him and making all his dreams come true and dammit, if Tony isn't starting to sound like a cheesy romance movie now. . . .
One thing is certain: he's not going to tell Steve. These fickle . . . feelings will not ruin the semi-normal friendship the genius has with the soldier. He's one of the few friends Tony has left.
Tony sighs again, reaching for his coffee cup and bringing the mug to his lips. He frowns when he discovers it's empty. The engineer stands from his chair and stretches, feeling his bones pop and creek as he moves around. He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand and grabs the mug in the other. He slowly makes his way to the door and yawns, climbing the stairs and entering the kitchen, which is connected to the Avengers main common room.
The genius yawns again and heads straight for the coffee pot, setting his mug on the counter and making a fresh cup. He turns away from the pot and leans against the counter, waiting for his beverage to finish brewing before realizing he's not alone. His not crush is sitting at the kitchen island on a stool, reading the newspaper, and eating a typical breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast.
"Hey, soldier, didn't expect to see you up," Tony says, breaking the silence.
Steve flinches at the sudden noise and looks up to see Tony standing on the other side of the room, with a grin on his face. "Tony? What are you doing up? It's eight in the morning."
"Wait, really? Well, shit."
"Why do you sound so surprised? Have you been up all night again?"
"Well, technically according to JARVIS it's been like four days, but—"
"Four days!" Steve exclaims, cutting off Tony's chatter. "You need to stop doing this to yourself—it's not healthy!"
"But, Steve, I'm almost finished with these really important designs for the company, but I kept getting distracted—"
"It doesn't matter. Those designs will still be here the next day! You need to start taking care of yourself—"
"It's you, you know?" Tony suddenly blurts.
"Me?" Steve questions curiously.
"Yeah . . . you keep distracting me with your perfection . . . and your kindness, and you're . . . everything and I can't stop thinking about . . . you."
Steve gives Tony an astounded look.
The engineer bites down on his lower lip. He should have caught a few hours of sleep before coming up here— hell, he should have gotten some sleep three and a half days ago. He's exhausted and not in his right mind to talk to Steve right now, and he should just stop talking. "Cap, would you like to go out with me?"
Fuck.
The blond's eyebrows rise to his hairline. He's obviously been caught off guard. "What?"
Tony mentally chides himself for not being able to control his mouth-to-brain filter because words keep flying through of his lips. The damage is already done, so he may as well roll with it. "I said: would you like to go out with me? Like on a date?"
Steve furrows his brow, sets down his newspaper, and gives Tony his full attention. "Are you serious?"
"When am I not?"
The soldier raises an eyebrow. "Are you playing me, Stark?"
"Why would I do that?" Tony responds, confusion settling on his features. He moves away from the counter and plops down on a stool next to Steve, giving the soldier an expectant look.
"Because last time I checked, you don't like me like that."
"I never said that," the engineer insists sincerely, causing the soldier to give him a disbelieving look. "Come on Steve, one date, and if you don't like it, we can never talk about it again. Please."
The blond searches Tony's features. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"Completely," Tony confirms.
"Fine," Steve agrees. "But, I get to pick the place."
A wide grin crosses Tony's features. "You won't regret this, Rogers! Promise!" He stands quickly, causing his feet to slip against the rug and almost sending him crashing to the floor.
"Why do we have a rug in the kitchen? Whose idea was it? I'm firing them! JARVIS!"
"It was your idea, sir."
"Since when?"
Steve bites down on his lip to hide a smile of his own. "Just get some sleep, Stark. I wouldn't want you passing out on me."
"What?" Tony says with a confused look before recalling their conversation from a few seconds ago. "Oh, right. I will see you tonight at . . ."
"Eight?"
"Eight sounds good."
"Good."
"Good . . . Okay bye," Tony announces before turning on his heel and leaving the room, completely forgetting about his coffee.
Steve rolls his eyes fondly before turning back to his newspaper.
Hours later while Steve is getting dressed, his phone vibrates with a new text from Tony.'Hey what should I wear?'
'Something causal. You know how I feel about nice places and suits. It makes me feel like a dancing monkey.'
'Pssh. You haven't lived.'
'Tony . . .'
'I'm just saying. Hey! Where are we going exactly?'
'You'll see when we get there.'
'Steeeeeve.'
'Sometimes surprises are a good thing.'
The soldier doesn't get a text for another ten minutes and continues getting ready, pulling on a pair of light brown pants and fastening them at his waist. He goes to his sock draw and pulls on a pair of white socks. The blond goes to put his shirt when his phone vibrates again. He picks up the device and checks his messages, seeing another text from Tony that reads, 'Hey, open your bedroom door.'
'Why?'
'I'm standing outside.'
Steve sets down his phone and quickly walks to his door, opening it, and revealing Tony's form standing on the other side. The genius is dressed in a dark maroon button down shirt with the first three buttons undone showing a peak of the black tank top he has underneath. He's also wearing black slacks, black shoes, and a pair of aviator sunglasses hiding his brown eyes. The engineer looks breathtaking. Steve raises an eyebrow. "I could have sworn I said causal dress."
"This is Tony Stark causal," is the response. Tony grins and lowers his sunglasses slightly. "And might I say, Captain, you look ravishing. Please tell me you're leaving like that."
The soldier gives Tony a confused look before he realizes he's not wearing a shirt. He rolls his eyes and walks back into his room, picking his dark blue long sleeved shirt off the bed and pulls it on, ignoring Tony's protests of "boo!" Steve pulls on a pair of brown shoes before grabbing his phone and wallet and following Tony to the elevator, which will take them to the lobby of Stark Tower.
When the elevator arrives at the lobby, the pair exit and leave the building, with Tony chattering the whole away about anything and everything. They walk for around ten minutes, weaving through the packed New York City streets before Steve stops in front of a place called "Dina's Diner."
Tony pauses in his speech about how much of an asshole Clint is for attempting to take Dummy for a joyride when Steve stops. He looks between the blond and the diner, giving the building a thoughtful look. "Dina's Diner? Huh. I wonder if someone is in the kitchen with her?" he says before walking inside.
Steve follows at a slower pace, wondering if he just missed another reference.
The diner looks like something straight from the 1950s (except for their playlist. Tony's pretty sure that Katy Perry is playing over the radio)—the waitresses are even wearing roller-skates! The pair quickly finds an open booth with a pair of menus sitting on top by a window that overlooks the bustling traffic outside. They slide in across from each other, right as a server stops next to their table. She's wearing a light blue dress with a white apron tied around her waist. Her roller-skates are a light pink and she's wearing a small white hat on top of her bright red hair, which is tied into a messy bun. She gives the men a bright smile. "Hello, my name is Melinda and I'll be your server today. Can I start you guys off with something to drink?"
"May I have a coke?" Steve asks, polite as ever.
"Sure," Melinda responds, as she writes down his order. She turns to Tony. "And for you, sir?"
"Can I have what he's having?"
"Of course. Two cokes coming right up," Melinda says with a smile before skating away.
The two take some time looking over the menu before Melinda returns with their drinks, and to take their orders. Both men order a cheeseburger with a side of fries. The waitress smiles and skates off to fill their orders.
"I hope it won't take too long. I'm hungry," Tony says, taking a large gulp of his drink.
The blond shrugs. "They're usually pretty quick and it's not too busy tonight, which is weird for a Friday."
Tony grunts in agreement the pair fall silent, which is odd because he and Steve usually have a ton of different topics to discuss. Plus, they've gone out together plenty of times before. So, why is this instance so awkward? Maybe it's because they're officially on a date and Tony knows for a fact that he doesn't want to mess this up because he actually does have feelings for Steve—a "crush," if one wants to use that term.
Just a little one, though.
The brunet starts humming along to the radio. Some top forty song that has been playing on repeat for the past several months. He glances around the restaurant before bringing his gaze back to Steve and noticing the soldier's index finger tapping along to the beat of the song. Tony smirks.
"And that's why I'm gon' take a good girl," Tony sings along and immediately catches Steve's attention. "I know you want it, I know you want it, I know you want it." The brunet wiggles his eyebrows and Steve rolls his eyes. He doesn't miss the fond smile on Steve's face. "You're a good girl~ Can't let it get past me—you're far from plastic . . . talk about getting blasted—"
"I hate these blurred lines," Steve sings with a huge grin on his face.
The engineer returns the grin and the two harmonize the rest of the chorus. "I know you want, I know you want it, I know you want it. But you're a good girl~ the way you grab me . . . must wanna get nasty. Go ahead, get at me. Everybody get up!" The pair laughs and continues singing off key to the song and mumbling along to the parts they don't know.
Steve smiles and shakes his head when the song ends. "Music these days is pretty ridiculous."
Tony shrugs. "Yeah, but it's catchy as hell. I didn't think you would know about this song though."
"Well, Clint plays the top forty on repeat when we spar together, so I've heard a few "modern-day" songs," Steve responds before taking a sip of his coke.
"You know, I've been trying to develop a playlist of pre-1950s songs to listen to when I'm working in the lab," Tony says. "I've been having a little trouble at picking out some really good ones though. Maybe you could help me out?"
"Yeah of course," Steve says, enthusiastically. "If you're going to do this, you're going to have to include Sinatra."
"Duh," Tony says, leaning forward. "Sinatra is a given."
As the pair being throwing around different artist and genres, their food arrives. Melinda sets the food on the table and tells them to let her know if they need anything before skating away. The boys continue their conversation about music before switching to talk of Fury and the team and then to trading stories from their youth, most of which end in uncontrollable laughter and exclamations of "Call the police, because I am dead."
Eventually, the pair finishes their meals and Melinda brings them their check and tells them to come back anytime. They spend a few minutes arguing over who gets to pay before Steve ultimately wins. However, when the soldier has his back turned, Tony quickly reaches into his pocket and leaves a generous tip for their waitress (and Steve already tipped her a good amount).
The pair leave the restaurant and walk back to Stark Tower, continuing to exchange tales and having to stop several times to catch their breath from all their laughter. They arrive at the tower and Steve insists on walking Tony back to his floor, which amuses the genius to no end. The two hop into the elevator and ride to the brunet's floor, making lame puns the entire way. The doors open and they exit, walking the short distance to Tony's room and standing in front of the closed door.
Steve smiles as their current fit of laughter dies down. "I had a real nice time tonight."
The engineer returns his smile. "Same here."
"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Steve tries, sounding nervous for some reason. Come on, Rogers, it's just Tony.
"Yeah, tomorrow, of course," Tony says in a rush.
"Okay, yeah," the blond responds. He leans forward and places a gentle kiss on Tony's cheek. He pulls away and goes to bid the other man goodnight, but the genius fists his hands in Steve's shirt and hauls him down, smashing their mouths together. Steve freezes in shock at Tony's lips on his before slowly melting into the kiss. He brings one hand up to cup Tony's cheek and places the other on Tony's lower back, pulling the shorter man closer and earning a low groan for his efforts.
The two stay in that position for some time, lips locked together and hands roaming over each other before Tony pulls away, panting. The genius presses his forehead to Steve's and takes in gulping breaths, his eyes glassy and blown wide. He takes slower, deeper breath and sighs. "We should . . . we should totally do that again sometime."
"The date or the kissing?" Steve asks, slightly dazed from their kiss.
"Both." Tony responds immediately.
"Okay." Steve says without hesitation. Tony lets out a cheer and pulls him in for another kiss.
Yeah, Steve could get used to this.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed! Please review!