Tony shuffled across the tiled kitchen floor towards the coffee pot, holding his tablet in one hand and a strip of black clothe in the other. As he poured himself a cup of black coffee, he could see Steve sitting at the table and drawing in his sketchbook out of the corner of his eye. The blond man's pencil paused in its actions as Steve chewed at his lip in thought. Tony's breathe hitched in his throat as he watched the way the super soldier sucked in his lip between his teeth. Tony quickly grabbed his tablet and the strip of clothe, moving over to the table and sitting in front of Steve.
"Finally out of the lab, I see," Steve piped up finally, not looking at the genius sitting across from him. Tony glanced at Steve before tapping at the screen of his tablet.
"Only for a few minutes. I still have some work to do down there," he replied. A deep sigh filled the empty air.
"Tony, it's not that I think you working hard is a bad thing, but you spend way too much time in the lab. You hardly ever eat and you're not getti g enough sleep," the blond man said. Tony shook his head.
"Don't worry about me, Cap. Where is everyone, bu the way?"
"Don't change the subject."
"I'm not. There's just nothing more to talk about on the matter," Tony retaliated. Steve sighed, his forehead creasing in a frown. He had learned that when Tony wanted to drop a topic, it was best to just drop it.
"Bruce is in his lab, Natasha and Clint are int he training room, and Thor is off doing whatever it is that Thor does." Tony seemed to accept the answer because he just nodded once and returned his attention back to his tablet. Steve let out another sigh before standing up. Tony looked up at the man as he stood.
"Where're you going?" he asked.
"Out. I think I'll go see a movie, it doesn't matter. I'll be back late." Something in Steve's voice made Tony cringe slightly. He never meant to upset the man, it was just that Tony never really liked talking about his well-being.
"Steve," Tony began.
"I'll see you later," Steve said before leaving the kitchen altogether. The other man just watched him go, mouth open as if to say something and an apologetic look on his face. Steve never saw it though. Tony quickly stood up when he heard the elevator doors closing, heat building up in his cheeks as he angrily stormed off with his things, leaving a cold cup of coffee on the table. Thor would probably drink it anyway. Right now, Tony had something important to do with Banner.
-X-
Steve stepped out from the dimly lit theater and onto the busy sidewalk. He took a moment to stretch, reaching his arms up and leaning back, his back govi g a grateful pop. The blond man straightened himself out and stuffed his hands into his pockets. The movie had been good and he would definitely recommend it, but it would be a while before he saw it again. Steve turned with the intention of making his way home to the tower, but just so happened to bump into someone. The woman fell back onto the sidewalk, her lage purple purse slipping from her arm and the contents spewing out of it. Steve immediately dripped to his knees before her.
"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" he asked, picking up her bag and beginning to collect her belongings. When he looked up at the woman, she was on her knees as well, picking up a wallet and her lipstick. Steve paused to take her in. He started with her head; her head was full of silky, black, wavy hair flowing just past her shoulders. She had slightly tan skin that surrounded her eyes: pools of light blue with hints of brown around her pupils. Her nose was straight -not too small or too big- and her lips were painted a strawberry red. She wore a dark blue dress with a short leather jacket on top. The flow of the dark blue skirt draped over a pair of lean yet sturdy, slightly tan legs. He had to admit, she was pretty.
"I'm fine. Thank you for helping me." Steve blushed at the sound of her light velvety voice and warm grin as he helped her to stand. The blond man opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out. The woman's chuckle even sounded smooth."They don't make men like you anymore," she said. Steve blinked.
"Like me?" She nodded.
"Men nowadays would just tell me to watch where I'm going and just keep walking. But you're not like that... How come?" she asked.
"Just the way I was raised, I suppose," Steve said with a shrug. The woman chuckled again.
"Well then, I suppose I'll have to thank you properly. How does coffee at 10 tomorrow sound? I'll pay."
"No, no. You don't have to-"
"But I insist," she said. Steve paused for a minute, then smiled.
"10 tomorrow it is then," he said. She smiled widely.
"Great."
-X-
The click-clack of heels bounced off the walls of the lab as Bruce moved from one area to another. Be pausdd quickly and looked towards the noise. "How did it go?" he asked.
"It worked out great. It actually worked," the woman replied, voice deeper than her velvety tone. She tossed the black strip of clothe carelessly onto a work bench before pulling off the silky black wig, revealing a head full of shorter hair.
"Not what i was asking, but that's good to know as well," the man said, leaning back against a table with his arms crossed over his chest. The woman sighed as she pinched at her neck, pulling off the realistic skin from her face, Tony's neatly trimmed goatee revealing itself. He stuck his fingers in his eyes and pulled out the blue contacts.
"That went great as well. We're getting coffee tomorrow at 10." Bruce sighed.
"Tony, as much as I support your feelings for Steve, this is wrong. You shouldn't have to pretend to be a woman just to get him to like you! He'll find out about it sooner or later. Why don't you just tell him?" Bruce asked. Tony looked down at the dark blue skirt framing his legs.
"We've been over this before, Bruce. Steve doesn't like men...," the genius replied. A glash of anger shot through his body and he knew that the "other guy" was just itching to let his opinion be known. But Tony was his friend, he had to stay calm.
"You don't know that for sure."
"It doesn't matter!" was the reply, Tony's voice raised slightly in agitation. Bruce blinked, and they stood there in uncomfortable silence. "It doesn't matter," Tony whispered this time. He kicked off his high heeled shoes and made his way over to the glass door. "See you tomorrow morning. 8 a.m.!" And then he was out of the lab. Bruce had just watched, not saying a word before he turned to the strip of black clothe laying on his work table.
"I'm sorry about this, Steve... I'll do my best to fix this..."
(A/N): Hello there everyone! I apologize greatly for not updating anything for so long since my Hobbit version of Do you want to build a snowman? Being busy is not really the greatest excusebut I guess that's the only one I have right now... ^~^; I hope that those of you who have read this so far enjoyed it and I promise that I will be updating soon!