Captain Steve Rogers twitched at his shirt sleeves, his heart pounding in his head as he watched Bruce and Natasha dancing and laughing at each other under the golden glow of the lanterns; Thor and his Jane sitting at one of the many tables dotting the area surrounding the dancefloor; Clint and Coulson laughing together, Clint's arm protectively over Phil's shoulders as the flash bulb of an antique camera went off blindingly. The host of the event was nowhere to be seen, and it was making the guest of honour a jittery mess.
Steve didn't know how he felt about them celebrating his birthday. Nick Fury had sent Agent Hill down to wish him the customary birthday wishes, but Steve wasn't about to put it past Tony to put his actual age on the cake, and he really didn't want to think about being alone and cold and abandoned in that mound of snow for longer than he'd been alive.
And it wasn't just that: Steve Rogers didn't want to dance; he didn't want to get near that dancefloor, because there was exactly one person in the world he would've been willing to make a fool of himself for, and, as much as Tony actually reminded him of her, Steve couldn't take the mocking look in those black eyes right now, this was pushing him to the limit.
Some light guitar started up, tentative and acoustic and a soulful set of vocals brought a wordless note to the dim light of the room, calling Steve almost to his past, but not quite. Violins started stealthily as a hand touched his arm, Tony's eyes glittering with everything but a taunt. "You not dancing?"
"I-I don't know how…" Steve mumbled, ducking his head as if that were something to be ashamed of. He knew to Tony it wasn't, but still, he felt like he should be ashamed of existing some times. Tony took the drink from his hand-a useless thing for Steve, sure, but he was making the effort-and Tony's hand folded around his.
"Well, I don't know about anyone else here, but I think it's time you learned." Steve's other hand fell to Tony's bicep, and Tony smiled at him impishly, swaying out to the dancefloor with the slow rumblings of the violins and the soft sound of piano, punctuation for the statement the guitar made and the voice just soared around. Steve looked from where his hand was clasped over Tony's arm into Tony's eyes, getting completely lost for a few steps. "Relax, Steve. I don't think anyone would dare to tease you tonight." Steve's brows drew together, and Tony reached up with their clasped hands, running one long, too-clever finger over the line forming between them. "No, no one would dare breathe a word. Under threat of dismemberment or medical experimentation." Tony smiled, and Steve was shell-shocked to find himself being twirled out and brought back into Tony's embrace, "You're too precious to us...to me...and this night is about celebrating you and how far you've come, Cap."
"Pr-Precious?"
Tony sighed, shrugging slightly, "You tell anyone outside this room that I can be romantic, and I'll...find some way to make you pay for it...but, I care about you, Cap. I've had a crush on you since you were a story my dad used to tell me before I went to sleep at night...and seeing you; seeing you in action, seeing you haunting the halls when you can't sleep, seeing you smile every so often when no one else is looking...it's kind of brought you to the highest point there's ever been on the list of things important to Tony Stark. I won't say I'm in love, but that's only because you could hurt me with it-"
"Tony-"
"Look, I know that...this...this is frowned upon and disgusting in that old-fashioned little head of yours...but I've been hiding it for so long that, when you made me fall for you face-to-face, I wanted to kill you for it. So I'm telling you the bare-assed truth of it, and you can do whatever you want to do with this information, just so long as you know what I've needed you to know since you nearly died to save my life in that helicarrier engine."
Tony was done talking, but it would've been a cut off if he'd had anything more to say. Cap was kissing him. Captain Steve Rogers; Captain America...was kissing him…
Tony could hear Natasha murmur something snide to Clint, and he flipped them off behind Steve's back, kissing back softly and slowly, opening his eyes to star-spangled baby blues. "I take it...that you like me back."
Steve wouldn't and couldn't tell Tony the reasons for that. Wouldn't broach the fact that Tony was the only person that had any kind of a link to the time he'd come from. That Tony gave him the passion; the fire that he needed to herd these super-powered kittens into some semblance of a cohesive team. Tony's stunt with the nuke had almost killed Steve Rogers, even as Captain America had ordered the portal closed. He couldn't tell Tony these things because he knew that Tony wouldn't believe he was the best thing to happen to Captain America or Steve Rogers. He wouldn't tell Tony because, really, Tony didn't need to know; he made Steve a better man just by existing, and he didn't need to try to make Steve want to be everything Tony expected him to be. He didn't need to try to make Steve want Tony to actually, honestly smile at him.
Tony was his; and he'd be Tony's for as long as the playboy wanted him.
"Whatever would've given you that idea, Stark?" Steve teased breathlessly, a grin tugging up one corner of his mouth before it was pressed against Tony's again.
Someone wolf whistled, and Cap turned a sinful shade of pink, breaking the kiss gently, "You know, I don't know if I still quite believe it…"
"I should spend more time convincing you." Steve told him easily, snorting as Tony laughed.
Thor brought Jane a little trepidatiously out onto the floor, colour flooding her cheeks as he lifted her up, slipping his feet under hers and setting her weight down.
Steve pressed closer to Tony, relaxing into the graceful motions between them. "When they pulled you out of the ice...when they found you were still alive, after so long, I was the person they called. Did you know that?" Steve's eyes widened a little, his head shaking slowly, "You called me Howard when you first woke up...You went right back under, but...it confirmed it for me. That you were who they thought you might be. I would've been there the second time you came-to, but SHIELD called me out on something else. Apparently, Coulson took that opportunity to come in and watch you sleeping," Steve snorted his laughter, glancing over his shoulder at Clint and Phil in deep conversation, Hawkeye making the SHIELD agent handling him laugh to the point of tears, "which was probably an improvement, because you might've woken up to a strange man holding your hand had they let me stay."
Steve looked down as if appraising Tony, "I might not have minded, seeing you in the uniform or a lab coat."
"You would've tossed me through the side of SHIELD's set."
Steve chuckled, "Probably. But it might've taken me a moment longer. And something tells me that you wouldn't have let them build that little lie."
Tony looked over his shoulder, into the distance, his jaw working, "I nearly tore Fury a new one for that stunt when I found out, actually. You're a war hero, they shouldn't've treated you like you weren't."
Steve gave him an appreciative little squeeze, smiling at him warmly. "Thank you."
"Yeah, well, you're important to me, Cap."
Steve looked at him with a question in his eyes, and Tony had known this was coming, "You said...that I was your crush when you were little...did Howard really talk about me like that?"
Tony shook his head, "He never shut up about you. By the time I convinced myself that I didn't want you to be my best friend and the angel on my shoulder, you were someone to beat for the light in his eyes. He liked you more than me." Tony shrugged, but Steve was tense, his eyes blazing at that last.
"Tony-"
"Let's not talk about my dad, okay? I want to have this night with Steve Rogers, not Howard Stark. His ghost doesn't need to be here."
Steve's breath caught, "I feel like that sometimes, you know…Like a ghost-"
Tony pressed his lips to the corner of Steve's mouth, "Angel, I'd say. No one human is as innocent and perfect as you. You used to be my imaginary friend, Steve. It's weird to actually know the person who's been with you your whole life as a trick of the head for a little kid not to feel alone." Steve had never looked more like the world was on his shoulders, but he'd also never looked prouder of the weight that was his to bear.
"I'm not as innocent and perfect as you take me for, Tony, but you won't have to be alone anymore. I promise you that." Tony smiled at him, bringing him in for a soft kiss that felt almost like a reward, more than any medal Steve had ever gotten.
"Maybe you're not as innocent, but you're completely perfect, and it kills me." Tony shook his head, but kept holding Steve, so Steve was maybe okay with Tony Stark feeling less than he was, this time. "You're actually not bad at this, Rogers." Tony chuckled, signalling their sway.
"I have a good teacher."
Tony shook his head, his hand disengaging from Steve's to rest on that diamond-strong jaw, capturing his lips shortly. "I quite like that I'm allowed to do that." Tony whispered conspiratorially.
"I quite like that I'm allowed to let you do that." Steve told him in dead seriousness, and Tony's eyes filled with just a little sadness. "Don't get me wrong...I woulda married Peggy if she'd've had me, and I would've loved her for all our lives. I wasn't gay...I don't think I am now, either, really. Just...it's not the skin a person's wearing," Steve's eyes fell to the circle glowing dimly beneath Tony's tux, "it's the heart underneath."
DJC/wirewrappedlily here: just wanted to let anyone who knows me lurking out there know that I'm here now for the fics, and I'm not on my dA anymore.
Anywho, this has the potential to be multi-chapter (next, hopefully, I'll get into Tony's head), but I'm feeling flighty, so no promises.
Also, this could end up being M later on, I don't know. I'll change the rating if it needs changing.
Later, lovelies.