A/N: Written as a pinch hit for the stevetonyfest over on tumblr. Unbeta'd.
The debriefing was over, blood was running down Steve's side and Iron Man had puncture holes that were still smoking. But everyone was safe. Steve would heal quickly and Tony would have no compunction about using this as an excuse to build better, stronger. The current suit looked like an art student's macabre, abstract vision of the hero, Steve barely able to make out the red and gold of the armor. It was now covered in black soot stains, smatterings of mud from when he had run a divot through Central Park, and the strange purple, almost iridescent color that turned out to be the blood of a rather spectacularly sized lizard.
Tony had removed the helmet at the start of the meeting, complaining that some of the joints in the suit had been busted during the fight and he'd need to pry himself out of it later. His hair was a sweaty mop of thick black with strands that fell into his face like ink against his skin. He was smiling now at something Natasha had said, his bright white teeth flashing behind his pouty lips framed by a goatee that Steve had once termed ridiculous but now found strangely appealing. Eyes, wide and brown, flickered over to him like Tony knew exactly what Steve was thinking about. He'd heard someone call them Bambi eyes and for once Steve got the reference immediately. Tony winked at him and turned back to his conversation.
Tony was always winking, he was always quick with a smile and a one-liner, and Steve had grown used to it. You could no more take the flirt out of Tony Stark than you could take the soldier out of Steve Rogers.
Steve kept watching as a small smile played on Tony's lips, a smile so different from the ones Steve saw at press conferences that it almost looked like a different person entirely. He kept watching as Tony's tongue darted out and wet his bottom lip, Steve's eyes following the motion greedily before going back to the dark frame of facial hair.
Abruptly Steve wondered how that would feel against his own clean-shaven skin. Would it be coarse and rough, leaving a rash behind that showed the world what they had been up to? Would it tickle as Tony trailed kisses down Steve's jaw until he got to his neck and bit the sensitive fleshthere?
Steve wondered what Tony kissed like. Was it hard and fast like so much of Tony's life had been? Or would it be something slow and methodical like how Tony was in his workshop, always making sure to dot his i's and cross his t's?
Would it depend on the person? The one-night stands.. did Tony kiss them like he was at war, full of teeth and fighting for control? Did he kiss people he truly cared about any differently? Were those kisses more like a surrender, soft and languid, than a struggle?
The sound of the door clicking shut brought a flush to Steve's face as he realized what he was thinking. He glanced around the room, at the stragglers who were still exchanging pleasantries, irrationally afraid that one of them would be able to read his thoughts. He let out a sigh of relief when no one seemed to notice the sudden crisis in his mind. His eyes snuck a glance over at Tony, now talking to Coulson in the corner of the room, before he busied himself with organizing the already organized papers on the table in front of him.
Where had that come from, he thought. They had been teammates for over a year now, The Avengers finally going full-time shortly after the Mandarin situation, and Steve had never once thought of Tony that way. And he knew Tony better than most. Steve had seen every possible side to Tony Stark since they started living in the tower together.
He'd seen Tony's blinding smile when he was excited to show Steve some new thingamajig he had invented. Steve had heard Tony's gleeful, almost childlike laughter when Steve had deadpanned a joke that only Tony got. His eyes going wide for a moment before they crinkled nearly shut with the force of his hysterics.
Steve had been there After Pepper, dragging Tony out into the world when he knew the man just wanted to curl up in the dangerous familiarity of his lab. He'd been there the one night Tony had allowed himself to cry, soaking through Steve's shirt as he spoke of things he'd never said to anyone else. Steve had shed a few tears that night himself, lamenting his inability to do anything about the situation. There was no battle to fight, no villain to take down, and the feeling of inaction sat like lead in his belly. He wanted so much to fix things that couldn't be fixed for the man he called his friend and instead had to settle for just holding him as he fell apart, hoping he'd be able to help pick up the pieces after.
Steve stared down at his hands, remembering the silky feel of Tony's hair through his fingers as he held him that night. They had fallen asleep on Tony's couch, Steve waking up the next morning alone and covered in a blanket that hadn't been there before. When he tracked Tony down to the communal kitchen, Steve had been given a shaky smile and a tilt of the head that meant more to him coming from Tony than words of gratitude from anyone else.
Steve was suddenly breathless. He realized then that the smiles, the laughs, even the tears... Tony had given all of these and more to Steve. Tony was a good man, a brilliant man, but he was a private man about things that truly mattered to him. Yet Steve had been witness to things Tony didn't share with the others and the things he did, smiles and laughter were a surprisingly common occurrence among the team for all their combined histories might suggest otherwise, he shared with Steve in spades over the rest. Maybe this has been a long time coming, Steve thought. Maybe the whole time he had been careening towards this inevitable conclusion, heedless of the signs.
Steve's heart was hammering in his chest now and for all the good the serum did him it had never helped with his nerves. He glanced back up and watched as Coulson said some parting words and went out the door and Tony crossed the room to retrieve his helmet. Steve stood up, leaving the papers and his gloves on the table, and as Tony passed behind him to leave, Steve turned around and snagged the armored elbow.
Tony turned around to face him, a brief look of confusion before he settled a grin on his face. "What's up, Cap?"
Steve looked him over again. No trace of insult or mockery in his brown eyes, lashes so thick and prominent that Steve thought he could stand there and count them out individually. Up close Tony's lips looked even more sinful and Steve had to resist the urge to trace the line of his beard with his thumb. Silence settled between them while Steve stared, the grin slowly fading from Tony's face, replaced by a wrinkle between his brows.
"You alright, Steve?" Tony asked.
Steve smiled at the genuine concern in Tony's voice before he met his gaze evenly. "Just fine," Steve said and brought up a hand to brush back a stray piece of hair on Tony's forehead before he let his fingers drift down over his cheekbone, slowly and with purpose.
Tony's expression shifted and his lips pursed briefly in an effort to bite back a smile, he raised an eyebrow. "About damned time, Rogers. Now are you going to kiss me or what?"
Steve huffed out a laugh and shook his head with fond exasperation, smiling so hard his cheeks hurt. He wrapped his hand around the back of Tony's head and brought him down into a kiss.
Tony's kisses were everything and nothing like Steve thought they would be. They were gentle and demanding, there were nips with teeth and smooth, languid movements with tongue. They fought each other for dominance but without any malice. They kissed like they sparred, no holding back, violent and rough at times but always with a hint of laughter and gentle encouragement.
By the time they pulled away from each other, Steve was breathless and Tony was grinning. Steve wanted nothing more than to do his best to kiss that smirk right off Tony's lips, but Tony stopped him with a gentle hand to the chest.
"As much as I want to continue this, and believe me I do, I'm thinking this might not be the ideal spot for sudden revelations about love, romance, or whatever other gooey shit you've got going through that brain of yours right now. Plus, it's a swamp inside this suit and I'd really love to get out of it."
Steve's heart pounded heavily against his chest at Tony's mention of love but he was right, now was not the place for heartfelt declarations. Fortunately there was something else in that sentence for him to latch onto. "Need any help taking it off?" His voice was rough and low, almost alien to his own ears.
Tony's returning smile was just as dirty as Steve's thoughts. "Oh, you and I are going to have so much fun."