"Do you want to hear why I trust you? Why I have no doubts about anything while I'm in your presence?" Tony asked, waiting until Steve looked back up at him with those watery blue eyes. "For one, you always put everyone else first. Sometimes you're kind of a self sacrificial idiot, but I always know you're going to do whatever it takes to save everyone. To save me." Tony punctuated his point by giving Steve's thumb a soft kiss.

"Tony-"

"Oh, I'm not done," Tony shushed, rubbing at Steve's palm. "You always think things through before you act. Even if there are only two seconds, you use every bit of it to make the best plan you can." He kissed the pad of Steve's index finger next.

"Tony," Steve sighed.

"I'm not going to be able to get through this if you keep saying my name like that," Tony chuckled, licking his lips. "How could I not trust someone with this body? You're so strong and sturdy and dependable. Thor is great and all, but I'd follow these broad shoulders into battle anyday." The kiss to the tip of the middle finger may have lingered a bit, but could you blame him? Tony was human after all.

"What else?"

"The part of you that's stronger than all the rest of your muscles combined is your heart," Tony said, transferring Steve's hand to his slinged one so Tony could place his now free hand over his heart. "You never give up, never quit. You keep going long after everyone else stops. You stay until the job is done and then even long after, because if you're going to do something, you do it right." The kiss to the ring finger was soft and Tony tried not to think of what this finger symbolized.

"Yeah?"

"You care about everyone. Not just during missions, but at home as well. You make sure everyone eats right and trains. When we're hurt, you take us to get checked out before accepting any help yourself. You're always there, for whatever we need you for, even when we don't know what we need," Tony said, letting the kiss on his pinky stay a bit longer than the rest. If this was all he could get, he was going to cherish it as much as he could. Let the feel of Steve's skin on his lips imprint into his memory.

"Is that it?" Steve asked, looking up at him through those lashes. Did Steve have any idea what that look did to him?

"Was it not enough? I could stand here for the rest of my life and never finish telling you all the reasons I trust you," Tony sighed, reluctantly dropping Steve's hand. He would do it too, but the idea of it taking that much for Steve to accept his words was a little heartbreaking. "How about this? The biggest reason, the one that surpasses all others and will never be topped is because I love you. I'm so in love with you that I would stand by your side through anything. I wake up excited to see you and go to bed wishing you were lying next to me. There is no one else in this world I'd rather spend time with, no matter what."

This time, Tony's speech didn't end with a kiss to one of Steve's fingers. It ended with a kiss to Steve's lips. Steve surged forward, pressing their lips together in a soft, somewhat awkward meeting. It maybe lasted three seconds, but it was the best three seconds of Tony's life.

They pulled apart, keeping their foreheads pressed together while they just breathed each other's air to get their bearings back. Even in Tony's wildest dreams, he didn't think Steve felt the same way about him. He was prepared to pine until the day he died, and that would've been good enough. Just seeing that smile was sufficient, even if it didn't hold the same meaning as Tony's did. But the idea of Steve returning those feelings was making cartoon birds sing in his ears. And if Tony didn't have such a solid grasp on science, he would've been convinced that he was floating right now.

"Say something," Tony said, needing to make sure that wasn't a thank you kiss between buddies before he really fell off the deep end.

"I love you too," Steve breathed out, staring down at Tony's lips. Tony felt his heart flutter and jump and his stomach clenched in the most satisfying way. The best man he'd ever known actually loved him back.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Tony whined, running through all the times they could've been doing this in his head. He didn't even know how he'd lived before without that kiss. Dorothy going to Oz wasn't as epic as this.

"I didn't know you felt the same," Steve chuckled, reaching down to grab Tony's free hand. He brought it to his lips, kissing Tony's palm with a tenderness that made his knees weak.

"Of course I did. How could I not love you?" Tony moaned, feeling that spot on his hand tingle at Steve's touch.

"Can you show me?" Steve asked, biting his lip suggestively. Tony ran his fingers through Steve's hair, resting his hand on the back of his head. He pulled Steve forward carefully, placing his lips right in front of his mouth.

"I'll never stop showing you."