A/N: I've decided to upload all my fics into a single account. eye of the beholder until let the walls break down were originally only uploaded to my AO3 account, callingthequits. Then I went back to my roots and thought, "Hey, why not post it on Fanfiction too?" so here I am.
It's something Steve does on a basis of being someone of artistic taste. Basically, he reasons that he likes to draw things when he's bored. Things involve people. People include Tony Stark. Tony Stark includes Tony in the workshop, Tony in the living room, Tony in the kitchen, Tony in the suit, Tony in a suit, Tony in pants, Tony without pants, Tony in extremely tight pants...the list goes on.
He reasons that, since Tony is a thing he draws, he's allowed to notice certain ass...ets as well.
So when Steve, in a case of artistic artist's block, decides to draw a table and finds Tony's handsome face grinning at him through paper about half an hour later, he flips his shield over and manages to interrupt Natasha sparring with Thor. He smiles bashfully at them, because Thor forgives everyone and Natasha has a slight Not Soft Spot for her team, and isn't even amazed anymore that he's let off with only a few remarks from the Asgardian Maybe-Alien-Maybe-God-Definitely-Dangerous and The Woman Who Kills People With Guns And Paper Clips And Stockings and a maybe fond reprimand from a sentient A.I. who speaks in a British accent.
He battles giant centipedes and, occasionally, flying toasters. Yeah, he's definitely not surprised anymore.
When he realizes that he somehow managed to give his heart to the man who almost lost his, however, he flips his shield again.
(The following events were not as favorable as the first time it happened. Steve resolved never to tell his kids. Or his grandkids. Or anyone. Or Tony, but that's really unavoidable because it's pretty damn obvious who pays for the damage the Avengers get into.
He also resolved not to tell Tony that he kind of maybe perhaps thought of having kids and grandkids with him, but since the team has slipped into the habit of calling them Mom and Dad, he figures he can satisfy that fantasy until it goes away,
Which is, okay, probably never, since he implied he wanted to start a family with Tony and that probably includes them getting married and Steve can just imagine two rings alight with the arc reactor's light and oh my god stop thinking about the honeymoon this is not helping his super hormones, shit—)
So Steve thinks and looks and stares and he draws Tony happy, sleeping, inventing, dirty, clean, laughing, suit, no suit, no clothes and blames it all on the fact that he's an artist with artist needs.
And he knows he's just being Steve Rogers, the hopelessly shy idiot who doesn't really know how to act around the people he loves, and hopefully maybe sometime he can tell Tony he's included in there too.
(Top of the list, actually. But he's probably never going to tell Tony about that either.)