4 Dates in NYC
...or 3 times Tony was late to his dates with Stephen, and 1 time he wasn't.
The first time Stephen asked Tony out to dinner with him, Tony tried not to overthink it. Friends have dinner together all the time, and there was nothing in Stephen's eyes that suggested he had any other agenda.
"Meet at Per Se tomorrow at seven?" Tony threw the suggestion out there, knowing that it was one of the most expensive restaurants in New York City but willing to buy the whole menu for him if he wanted.
Stephen merely chuckled and agreed. Tony was trying to impress him, but that was his element, so Stephen let it slide without pointing it out. He would have been happy going to Burger King with him.
But when he arrived at the restaurant at precisely seven, Tony wasn't there, though he did remember to reserve the table and the six surrounding it so they wouldn't be crowded. He straightened his tie when he sat down, hardly surprised when a waiter was already in front of him showing him three bottles of wine that Mr. Stark had purchased for the night.
Meanwhile. Tony Stark himself was working in his lab with Ozzy's "Crazy Train" blasting to near capacity. He was making upgrades to one of his newest suits. He had been at it since early that morning as he wanted to make the day go by as quickly as possible in his anticipation for his dinner with the doctor.
It wasn't until one of the reactors went off on the suit and blew two of the speakers out that he decided to call it quits. But looking at the time, his stomach plummeted when he saw 7:23.
He showed up to his fancy dinner date in tennis shoes, worn jeans, and a suit jacket over a Led Zepplin t-shirt. But Stephen smiled in amusement at how flustered he was.
"I feel underdressed," Tony admitted the obvious out loud, "You want me to go home and change? I can be there and back in under ten-."
"No, not giving you the opportunity to ditch me now," Stephen joked but saw Tony did not catch his sarcasm and quickly poured him a glass of wine, "Drink with me and tell me about Engineering Tony."
Tony's shoulders slumped in relief and he clinked his wine glass with Stephen's.
The second time, Tony asked Stephen to go to the Aquarium with him and Peter. Peter had apparently become recently obsessed with electric eels thanks to some memes he found hilarious.
"Look at this one, Mr. Stark-and look at his face," Peter laughed before finally showing Tony his phone, "Did you hear about the unconcerned electric field that was perpendicular to the area? ...it gave no flux."
Tony had to admit that the eel did look like it told the joke and was waiting for a reaction. So he agreed to take Peter to see the eels, and became even more excited when Stephen accepted the invitation as well.
But when Stephen showed up at the New York Aquarium, only Peter was outside waiting for Tony to show up as well.
"My friend tried to explain electricity to me. I was like watt." Stephen patted Peter on the shoulder when the teen chuckled at the joke, "Ahhh, that's great."
Meanwhile, Tony Stark was the main guest of a honor at an early morning charity event to support young adults who were exploring multiple scientific fields. So many of the kids were already so intelligent that Tony couldn't help but get caught up in their passion and knowledge.
That is until one of them started talking about how sea mammals could assist with land evolution, that he thought to check the time. He was supposed to meet Stephen and Peter at eleven. His watch read 11:14.
He made his exit by announcing he would donate a million extra dollars to the charity.
"Is he here yet?" Peter asked.
"I don't see him…" Stephen answered for the third time already.
Peter was quiet for about seven seconds before asking again, "Is he here yet?"
"I'm here!" Tony yelled as he came to a screeching stop in his orange Veneno. "Sorry about the wait, kid."
"You'll match the penguins," Peter remarked at Tony's tux.
"You think they'll accept me as they're own?"
"I think so, penguins know what's up." And that was Peter telling them to hurry it up. Tony and Stephen followed him inside where Tony handed over the three tickets.
"So you dress down for dinner, but dress up for fish?" Stephen questioned with a smirk as he stood beside Tony and watched Peter look closely in the glass at all the large fish and turtles swimming around.
"Priorities," Tony answered with a smirk that quickly turned into a smile when he glanced up at Stephen and became mesmerized at how the blue reflection waves danced across his face. Stephen was dressed down in jeans and a simple light green tee shirt this time, and Tony wasn't sure if he preferred him this way or in his suit and tie from their dinner night. The night that lasted well after closing time.
It may have been for the best that Peter interrupted because the look in Stephen's eyes would have had Tony staring all day.
"Guys, look!" Peter pointed to a tank that housed electric eels. He changed his voice to a higher octave, "What does a mermaid wear to math class? An algae-bra!" And sure enough, the eel turned to the side to appear as though it told the bad joke and was waiting for laughter.
Tony and Stephen both ended up buying him two stuffed electric eels from the Aquarium store.
The third time, Stephen invited him over to his townhouse on 177A Bleecker Street. Tony was making too many quips about magic and Stephen thought it was about time Tony learned some of it for himself. Tony, at first, looked taken aback by the suggestion, but he couldn't back down from the challenge.
And Tony was ready to see Stephen work magic with his hands.
Not like that.
….okay, maybe a little like that.
And Tony didn't even have a real excuse this time for being late. He got nervous. The whirring hum inside his chest every time he thought about Stephen was getting louder and more...whirly. He couldn't find any good words to describe it.
One thing he was always consistently good at was messing up a good thing, and Tony felt sure he might mess up the good thing he had going with Stephen if he stepped foot in that house and watched him perform miracles.
He was supposed to be at his house at 7:30. It was 7:42 by the time Stephen portaled himself two blocks from the townhouse to where Tony was making his third round. And seeing Stephen appear out of thin air like he did in Tony's dreams still shook him to the core.
"I've watched you pass my door three times," Stephen cocked his head to his portal, "I get it. I don't like doors much either."
Tony never stood a chance. He watched Stephen perform a few simple spells, but Tony was distracted by the gloves that covered Stephen's hands. Of course Tony knew about his scars, and the reason Stephen was wearing them was probably because all the attention would be on his hands tonight.
So Tony took a chance and tugged at the tips of the fingers, tugging off the gloves slowly but with intention. Stephen's hands shook only in the slightest, but it was that miniscule movement that cost him his career.
Both of their breaths hitched when Tony placed his hands over Stephen's, wanting to feel the tremble through his own skin.
The fourth time, it was New Year's Eve and Tony wanted to watch the ball drop in the heart of New York City with Stephen. Peter and May were also joining them, and Tony couldn't think of three other people he'd rather bring in the new year with. And he swore he would not be late for this one. He'd be there when the countdown reached one.
He even rode with all of them to the event. Tony made sure to treat all of them to the New Year's merchandise to be truly festive. May went for the light-up earrings, the masquerade mask, and a wand. Peter went for the antennas (he said they reminded him of Mantis), and Stephen went for the top hat. Tony got the light-up pimp cane.
The news reporters got word that Tony Stark was at the event and surrounded him, trying to convince him to come up to the warm newsroom and wish the country a Happy New Year.
But instead, Tony grabbed one of their mics and looked into the nearest camera, "It's an honor to be here, but I want to be standing next to my family when that ball comes down. We suffer in the cold together."
When Tony turned back to the three of them, he tried to ignore the look of satisfaction on each of their faces, telling them they needed masks to contain themselves. May hugged Tony then and said, "Tradition for us is we say something we're thankful for that happened in this last year, and something we're looking forward to for the next. I'll go first," she announced before anyone else could claim the spot. She looked around at the three superheroes and grinned, "I'm thankful that you saved the world this year and brought my Peter back to me," she ruffled his hair, causing his antennas to become lopsided, "And I look forward to a year of weird superhero business...as long as it stays in New York," she eyed Peter with a warning.
"I second Aunt May," Peter said, "And I look forward to more suit upgrades."
"You're gonna have to start helping with designs," Tony pointed out, and he pictured his lab filled with not only IronMan suits, but SpiderMan suits as well.
They all turned to Stephen now to see what he would say. He raised his hand in the air, paused, then rested it on Tony's shoulder, "I'm thankful for meeting Tony, and all his wiseass remarks. And I look forward to another year...many more years...of it."
Tony caught a deeper meaning in his words, and he was sure Peter and May did too by the look they exchanged.
The countdown started. They all looked up to the ball, yelling out the numbers in excitement, ready to put the past year behind them. Stephen brushed his arm against Tony's.
"One! Happy New Year!"
Peter and May hugged tightly and she kissed him strongly on the cheek, her joyous laughter ringing around the rest of the noise. Tony smiled at them and glanced to Stephen where he caught his gaze. He felt something happening. He made sure to be there on time tonight, but the countdown was already done and he missed his window…
"Hey! You guys ever see that really old movie, When Harry Met Sally?" Peter asked, causing all of them to look at the kid and once again be reminded of how young he actually was.
"The first time they met, they hated each other," Peter quoted from the ending New Year's scene, "the second time they met, they couldn't agree with each other. The third time they met, they became friends. They were friends for a long time," he grinned and waved his arms at the two of them before crossing his arms over his chest when Tony gave him that look, "And then they fell in love."
May was grinning so hard by the end, that she couldn't contain herself when she said loudly in Peter's ear, "I ship it."
Tony swore he would do everything he could to get him grounded. But when he got the courage to look to Stephen, he was blown away by the intensity in his stare, his normally hazel eyes now a deep green.
"It's not at one, but if you showed me anything these past weeks...better late than never," Stephen confessed. He leaned down with no hesitation and kissed him, and the broken fool that Tony felt he was in all the years prior seemed to magically rise up from the cold earth and connect together.
When he pulled back, Stephen's smile lit up all of New York City.
Peter had to finish quoting the movie, "And three months later, they got married."