Lessons In Love: Chapter Thirty-Five: Magic (Part 4)
The older Steve, and the older Tony were sitting up in their bed. They did not reveal their relationship to the younger versions of themselves, because they wanted things to develop on its own.
Big Tony did ask his main man a serious question when they were alone at home. The question sparked an interesting discussion, and it didn't worry the older Tony.
He asked him, "Did you know about Bucky?"
Did he know about how easily the situation could have flipped. If Bucky Wonder returned that innocent kiss, how would the connection between them develop?
Steve said that he had no idea, and he intended to talk to the older Bucky at some point. They both lived very separate lives, and Big Steve was a little thrown off.
It was interesting, but nothing really changed in his mind. He loved Tony. All the crazy twists and trials of their relationship only added to it. Steve made Tony his for the hundred-millionth time, and they moved onto other topics.
The younger Stephen was an interesting bone to pick at. Tony mentioned that he was cute at least four times. Steve agreed, and the evening carried on. The cats did their own version of play, while the little mice gathered outside one of the rooms.
Baby Steve's room became a meeting spot. Stephen was leaning on the frame of his door, Bucky was sitting on his floor, and Tony was toward the edge of his bed.
They were sharing what had been going on. They all had a different perspective to tell. Bucky was sharing the least amount of information.
He was just listening to the three of them go on and on, and he'd occasionally glance over at Steve. Bucky was still working out what he said. That confession put him in a bad spot.
His distance with the group elevated whenever Tony started to talk. He brought up how funny his older self was, annnnnnddddd Bucky wanted to leave. They had showers there, and it was calling him.
"Wow. Gotta go."
Bucky got up from the floor, and he headed out. He breezed right on by Stephen, and he walked to the room that was beside Steve's.
That behavior made the blonde nervous. He wanted to do exactly as his older self advised, and keep them all at a distance.
Stephen was the second one to leave. The buzz had been killed, thanks to Bucky, so he said goodnight to Tony and Steve.
Stephen walked away, and he made sure that his room was further away from the others. Victor was his neighbor, but they were away from the pack. No offense was intended, but he didn't want to interact with them anymore than he had to.
He was like that with everyone, and Tony watched him walk away. The brunette stared blankly at the empty space where Stephen stood. He slowly looked over at Steve, and the blonde kept his focus on other things.
"Your older self seemed nice."
Steve finally commented on the older Tony. He only saw him in passing, but he could see how comfortable the younger brunette was with him. Baby Tony smiled, and he moved a little on that bed.
His older self was nice. He was really cool, and Tony was eager to learn more from him. He kept looking at that summer blonde for a moment, but then Tony felt a little awkward.
It felt a little odd in the room.
Steve wasn't sure what to say. What Bucky told him was a pretty big deal, and the would-be-soldier just wanted to follow the advice from his older self.
They needed to work it out... over there. Steve pictured the wave of his hand, and he held a small smile.
Tony felt pretty awkward. He kept quiet for a little while longer, and then he had to stand up. Steve seemed pretty distracted, so he started rubbing at the skin on one of his hands. Tony tried to accomplish some sort of conversation.
"My Vishanti thing is a tiger. Did you know that? My older self showed me a picture, on an invisible screen."
That was the stupid topic he chose to bring up. Tony tossed it out there, and waited to see if Steve would take the bait. The blonde looked over at Tony.
"Mine is a female entity, named Oshtur."
Steve answered with a smile. He was distracted, Tony was right with his unspoken assumption. He kept thinking about what Bucky said, and Tony started heading to the door.
"Pretty crazy huh? It keeps getting weirder and weirder.."
Tony just spoke out loud, and he stopped at the door. Steve held that same gentle smile, and he stood up to join Tony. The blonde didn't respond, and he looked outside the room.
Advice. Advice. Advice. He kept telling himself to take the older Steve's advice. Bucky and Tony needed to work out their issues, and he needed to focus.
"See you tomorrow Steve."
Tony gave up the conversation attempt. He picked up on something right away, and the brunette just headed out. His young heart was on red alert, so he ditched the response or any possible goodbye.
Tony tugged on his ear, and he headed out to his room. He was in the middle of everyone. He saw where Bucky and Steve decided to camp, and he saw how far away Stephen decided to go.
Tony chose the lonely rooms that were in the middle. He felt separated from the others, and in a weird place.
He stopped at his room for a total of ten seconds. Tony got bored with that almost immediately, and he headed to a room that was chosen by someone else.
Tony knocked on the door three times, and Stephen opened it up.
They looked at one another, and Tony forgot to say something. He felt pretty friggen stupid, and Stephen looked over in the direction of the other rooms.
"Steve is super focused on all this Vishanti stuff. He's out of it, and I got bored."
Tony cringed after his own explanation physically left his face. He spoke out what he thought, and Stephen just stared at him. In his mind, the explanation wasn't necessary.
Stephen knew exactly what was going on, and he felt bad for Tony.
"You can come in, if you want."
Stephen left the door open for him, and Tony started chewing on the side of his lip. He stepped into that small room, and he asked Stephen about all of the books that were set beside the bed.
How much did the guy read in a day? Tony needed to know. Stephen relaxed on his small bed. There really was only enough room for one person. He thought of that as he adjusted where he was.
The beds sucked.
He picked up one of the books, and started talking about what he was learning. Tony took a seat on the floor, and he grabbed a book as well.
Yes. Tony was there sitting on the floor. He was listening to Stephen, but his mind kept wondering what was going on over on the side with Steve and Bucky.
The lessons in love were barely beginning, because Bucky was done with his shower. He was dressed for sleep, and glad that the others left.
Steve tried really hard to follow that advice, he really did. But when Bucky knocked on his door, Steve opened right up. He let Bucky in, and they both sat on his bed.
They didn't really talk about anything, because the words Bucky said were already too big for them to digest. The explanation for the lie Bucky told never happened.
Steve just let his best friend kiss him instead. It started the moment Bucky sat down on his bed. It picked up quickly, and Steve let it happen.
He wanted it to happen, and his clothing started feeling way too big. Steve felt like he was back in 1937. He was drunk on a kiss, and nervously taking it to the next step.
Chapter: END
Thanks for reading.