"Well, I guess I'll text you later." Steve smiled only a little awkwardly as he dropped Tony off at Stark Tower after their first date, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Tony smiled back, hesitating before heading for the doors, sure that Steve was going to kiss him, but then Steve swung his leg back over his motorcycle and kicked back the stand.

Tony felt disappointment swell in his chest as he headed toward the door before he heard Steve call out his name. He couldn't help the small smile as he turned back around, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I, uh…" Steve matched his smile, "I had a great time tonight."

"Me too." Tony breathed, a little confused as to why he was still sitting on his motorcycle five feet away.

"Would you want to grab coffee tomorrow?"

"What?" Tony blinked.

"I know this place," Steve smiled sheepishly, "It's kind of a hole-in-the-wall type of joint, but it has the best coffee in Brooklyn."

"I- Yeah, sure, of course." Tony breathed in. It wasn't a kiss goodbye, but it was better than nothing.

"Okay, good," He smiled at the way Steve's eyes lit up and the way he held himself became a little less tense, like he'd actually been worried Tony would say no, "So I'll see you tomorrow then. Is noon good for you?"

"Yep, just send me the address and I'll meet you there. It's a date." Tony winked, and then immediately regretted it. Why did he do that?

He thought he saw Steve's smile grow as he turned back to the handlebars, and Tony's stomach felt like he'd swallowed a jar full of butterflies as he watched Steve pull away from the curb, swerving easily through New York traffic. He was surprised about the way he felt already; this was only their first date, a blind one no less, and he was already giddy about their coffee date tomorrow.

He didn't have a lot of experience with dating dating. He'd been more of a drunken one night stand kinda guy until two years ago when the accident in Afghanistan happened. It was only now that he was getting back into the swing of things, but this time around he found himself wanting a real relationship instead of just meaningless sex.

He'd told all of this to his friend Natasha one day over takeout and Game of Thrones, and she'd given him a look that still makes him nervous to this day and said, "I know the perfect guy." The next thing he knew he was sitting at a table in a small Italian restaurant in Brooklyn across from possibly the hottest human being he'd ever met. It was like whiplash without the concussion.

Considering all of this, and the fact that Nat wasn't always the best at romantic advice, he was thrilled with the way tonight had gone. Nat had her moments, but he still vividly remembered the time she'd told him to trust his gut with his ex-girlfriend Sunset, and he'd ended up with company secrets stolen and a broken heart.

Surprisingly enough however, his date with Steve had gone impossibly well. It'd gotten off to a bit of a rocky start, but he'd soon realized that the way to get Steve to open up was to put away the Stark, and show more of the Tony. Lo and behold it worked.

They'd stayed long past the time they'd finished their food just simply talking. Tony couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed that hard, or been that engaged in a conversation about baseball, of all things... Which is why we was so concerned about the kiss.

He could see himself falling hard for this man, and while he did trust that Nat wouldn't send him on a date with a serial killer, he'd had a bad experience in the past where he'd been much more invested in the relationship than the other party.

Ty was one of the reasons he'd thrown himself so hard into the party life. Ty and Sunset were his only two long term relationships – long term being past the second date – and those had both ended poorly so sue him for being a little worried.

Steve seemed like a really sweet guy, but then again so had Sunset. He hated the fact that he was doubting Steve like this after one date, and he hated the way his mind just wouldn't allow itself to let resting things lay. He'd dealt with anxiety for a long time but sometimes it still got the better of him.

If he fell fast and hard for Steve, and Steve didn't feel the same, or if he used that against Tony, he wasn't sure if he'd ever trust a romantic partner again… Maybe he'd have to marry Rhodey like he'd threatened to so many times.

Tony mulled over all of this as he went to bed later, not really noticing he'd stayed up all night until his alarm went off and he had to get up for work.

The hours until his lunch break were torture, and his brain wasn't helping as it anxiously ran through all the thoughts he'd had that night. He felt his phone buzz around 9 a.m. with a text from Steve that just gave the address with a little smiley face at the end. Cute. His mind supplied.

When 11:30 came around he hurried over to the coffee shop, wanting to be early, even though that just meant he'd be sitting alone probably building things with coffee stirrers in an attempt to keep his mind off of things.

He was right. He'd managed to build a car and a helicopter by the time he allowed himself to check the clock. 12:15. That was okay, he told himself, maybe the traffic is bad. The little coffee shop was almost empty, only one other person besides himself – an old man with white hair slicked back and black glasses in the corner who seemed to be invested in his newspaper.

He couldn't help but glance over the one or two times the bell on the door chimed, but it was mostly pick-ups. No Steve. When it got to be 12:30 he resigned himself to the fact that Steve had stood him up. Maybe it was for the best.

Just as he thought this the bell on the door rang and his anxiety melted away as a very ruffled looking Steve burst through. He had dried paint all over his arms, a streak of blue on his face and a tiny bit of red in his hair. Tony was pretty sure his shirt was on inside out.

"Tony!" He exclaimed rushing over, "I'm so sorry," He eyed the coffee stirrer machines and winced, "How long have you been waiting?"

"Just twenty minutes," Tony lied smoothly and gestured to his creations, "It's uh… a hobby." Technically not untrue, just a different medium than he was used to.

He couldn't help his amusement as Steve let out a relieved breath, "I spilled paint all over my clothes in the studio and had to stop home to change before coming here."

"It's totally fine." Tony waved a hand, "You look cute with paint on your face."

Steve blinked and brought a hand up to rub at his cheek, "Whoops." They both paused for a moment, staring at each other, Tony with amusement, and Steve with… something else.

Before Tony could decode this look Steve walked to Tony's side of the table, leaning down and suddenly they were kissing. Tony's brain lagged hard, but luckily the cheering noise his heart was making managed to kick his mind into gear enough to kiss back.

Steve's fingers curled in his hair and Tony really wished they weren't in public as he grasped at Steve's inside out shirt. It took them a little while to remember themselves, and when Steve pulled back, his eyes shining like he'd won the lottery, Tony felt like he'd chugged half a bottle of champagne. Not that this comes from experience.

"Am I dreaming," Tony said, just a little dazed, "Or did you just kiss me?"

"Definitely dreaming." The old guy in the corner muttered.

"I'm sorry." Steve pulled back, "I meant to do this last night, but I chickened out. I'm rusty in the dating department and you were just so smooth and sure of yourself..." Tony tried not to laugh as Steve glanced down at his arms and grimaced, "I must seem like a total mess to you, I promise I'm not usually like this."

At that, Tony stood up, forcing Steve to take a step back, "It's fine Steve, really. You haven't even seen how much of a mess I am."

And with that he brought Steve's mouth down to his once again, and he could feel Steve smiling against his lips.

When they broke apart they glanced to the corner at the sound of a rustling newspaper, and the old man shook his head, "Kids these days and their PDA."

A/N

I hope you guys liked the first story, if you want to see me continue writing the prompts let me know in the reviews!

Also, for informational purposes: each chapter is named after the sentence prompt, they'll be an average of 1 - 1.5k words, and I'll try to alternate funny and angsty stories. Of course again, each chapter can be read as a standalone!

MDL