Lessons In Love: Chapter Fourty-Two: Sunrise - Eyes Of The Young (Part 1)

Steve carried two blankets around, and he reached the room that was occupied by Tony. He intended to check in with him and see where it took them.

He had just spent two evenings with Bucky. What Bucky said about not owing Tony an explanation resonated with him, but ultimately Steve was hoping to develop a relationship with someone.

In his mind, relationships required a bit more communication and transparency that Bucky didn't seem to care for. They were very different people, but Steve understood what he was saying.

Bucky's point was about individual freedom, and no one supported that more than Steve.

But, the blonde was looking for a strong partnership, and that was why he was helping Tony take his stuff to his room. There was just something about that unruly brunette.

Because of what happened with Bucky, Steve considered what he had with Tony all the way back to square one. They were just getting to know one another, after all, so he decided to see where their interactions went.

Tony opened the door to the room, and he tossed the pillow off toward the bed. Steve smiled, and he tossed the blankets across the room as well. One of them went straight to the floor.

Tony chuckled at the blanket toss, and he glanced back at Steve.

The brunette started gathering his change of clothing. They all were given an excessive amount of those dojo robes. Tony left any sort of conversation up to Steve. He was followed by him, so he assumed that he had something to say?

Tony placed the clothes over one of his arms, and he started staring at the blonde.

"Tony I'm sorry, if I've been distracted lately. That fire alarm became more of a revelation than I was prepared for."

Meaning, he learned more about his friend than he ever imagined. Steve was still processing it, and he decided to be honest with Tony.

Tony set the clothes on the bed, and he gave Steve's apology some thought.

Revelation? Tony thought that word was interesting. His head was turned slightly to one side, and a soft smirk formed on his face.

"I guess, Bucky and I were never really honest with each other. Or, we didn't even know what to be honest about. It's complicated? I guess.."

Steve wasn't really sure. He took in a nervous breath, and he saw that playful grin deepen on Tony's face. OH that sort of revelation. Got it. Tony just shrugged his shoulders upward.

"Oh, well I saw it all along. It was pretty obvious."

He could tell that those two best buddies were feeling one another. That was exactly why Tony was constantly feeling insecure. He wasn't sure if he had to be, since Steve was currently standing in the center of his room.

He could have been with Bucky Wonder at that moment. Tony decided that he was just going to take the situation in strides. Steve nervously scratched at the back of his head.

He didn't want to upset Tony, but it seemed like that wasn't going to be the case. The blonde didn't want to openly admit to what he did with Bucky, and it started to feel like he didn't have to.

Tony was aware of their unspoken connection. Steve started concluding that he wasn't that troubled by it. He had to make sure, of course, because Steve was just that way.

"Does that bother you? I'm not sure what to do about it. The last thing I want is to start a feud, or cause either of you any stress."

He also didn't want to cause himself any stress. Steve hated stress, and at that point, he noticed that Tony tried to be pretty inclusive with Bucky. He didn't seem too territorial, but Steve didn't know what went on when he wasn't looking.

All he could do was ask about it.

"At first, any attention from you felt like I wasn't really being seen. Now it seems that you basically like a certain type."

Tony could see that Steve had an attraction to feisty brunettes. That was all well and good, and Tony's insecurity about it was fading away.

Tony Stark was NOT a stupid person. He wasn't going to let someone like Steve Rogers go, just because of the arrogant best friend. No way.

"Steve, I can tell you like us both. Let Bucky know that I'm a team player, when I wanna be. He just needs to get over himself a little bit."

Tony smirked again, and Steve turned red. He felt very nervous and bashful about what Tony said to him.

He tried to only think about Tony's observation. Steve didn't realize that he had a "type". He also had no idea that what he felt was so transparent. He tried not to sexualize people, or have some sort of ideal person.

But, the would-be-soldier was attracted to the both of them. Steve couldn't deny that. He liked them both from head to toe. The blonde failed to argue that point, and he slowly looked away. He started feeling pretty warm about what Tony said, and it made that grin get even bigger.

"I'm gunna take a shower. You can join me if you want."

Tony stepped over to Steve and he quickly kissed the side of that blonde head. Tony was teasing him. He wanted to throw him off, and Tony accomplished his goal. Steve became flustered immediately, and he started moving his shirt around over his skin.

Part of it started feeling tight. He failed to respond to that specific point, as Tony picked his clothes back up. Steve had to quickly change the focus from that devious subject.

"Bucky is leaving soon. He wants to go back to the school for mutants."

Steve needed to say goodbye to him. The blonde took in a slow breath, as his body calmed down from Tony's approach. The brunette said nothing for a moment, and then he draped the clothes over his left shoulder.

"That's probably best, for now. No offense to Bucky, but I think Stephen wants to kill him. It's kinda preventing progress."

And on that note, Tony headed in the bathroom to take his shower. The quicker they got to progress, the sooner they could leave.

"See ya later Steve."

Tony didn't wanna stay in some dojo for centuries. He loved learning from his older self, but Tony had plans that he wanted to get to.

Taking a joyride with some hot blonde was part of those plans. Tony didn't forget about that. He gave Steve a final smile, and the two of them ended up going in separate directions.

Steve left the room, but he felt pretty encouraged. He was dreading the conversation with Tony at first, only to discover that it was very simple.

The blonde made it back to his own room, and he saw Bucky speaking to his older self. His best friend had a large bag packed, and he looked ready to go.

Steve had conflicting feelings about that. He walked up to his friend, but his older self started talking.

He mentioned that he was going to be escorting Bucky back to their dimension. The older Steve put some money in the front pocket of Bucky's jacket.

Bucky was happy for that. He hated being broke, and he wasn't going to deny money that was headed in his direction.

The younger Steve noticed something about the hand that put cash in that pocket. Steve saw a simple wedding ring on that hand, and his jaw slowly slipped open.

His older self was married? Baby Steve received the shock of his life as that hand returned to the side of its owner. THAT WAS HUGE FOR HIM. The older Steve briefly looked over at his younger self.

"Ready Bucky?"

Big Steve stopped staring, and he opened up a portal. Bucky gave the younger Steve a short wave. They already said their goodbyes, and Bucky was not the type to draw anything out.

He was more of a lone wolf, so the brunette entered the portal ahead of the older Steve.

Big Steve mentioned that he had transmitters for the two of them. He intended to explain more about that later, and then Baby Steve was left alone. The portal between dimensions was closed, and Steve stared at the vacant space.

He knew that he would be seeing Bucky again, so his mind was swamped about that ring.

Chapter: END

Thanks for reading.