Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.
Challenges Listed at the Bottom
Word Count: 2120
Missing Piece (I've Found Mine)
The first time Tony saw the colour blue, it was on Steve Roger's costume. It had always been grey to him before, until their first meeting in person. It was a shock to the system, and it had set him on edge.
Given their… less than pleasant first few interactions, Tony was surprised to find Steve looking around the destroyed Penthouse when JARVIS informed Tony he had a visitor and pointed him in the direction of the living room.
When Tony found him, he was staring at the hole in the floor left behind from the Hulk tossing Loki back and forth like a ragdoll. In Steve's hands, a bouquet of flowers—complete with red roses.
"I considered cordoning that off as a monument, but Bruce told me no," Tony said, announcing his presence.
Steve spun around, his cheeks blushing a pale pink. He held the flowers out to Tony, who took them gingerly with a raised eyebrow.
"Uh. Thanks?"
Steve nodded, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. He looked almost petrified, and Tony waved for him to follow to the kitchen, which was probably the least damaged part of the penthouse.
"So," Steve said, perching himself at the breakfast bar. "You're my soulmate."
Tony hadn't quite been expecting him to just… come out with it like that, but he nodded slowly.
"What colour did I give you?"
"Red," Steve replied softly with a small smile. "It was always a bit awkward before, since I couldn't see half of my uniform. I, uh, I'm not much a fan of blood red. Maroon is nice though."
Tony snorted.
"You gave me blue," he replied, realising he should probably return the information. "So far, pastel blue is my favourite."
Steve glanced down at the t-shirt he was wearing and blushed a little pinker. Tony immediately decided he liked the look on Steve.
"I, uh. I was hoping you'd let me take you on a date," Steve said, after a momentary pause. "You know, see if we're uh, compatible."
Tony twisted his lips but then nodded. "Sure. We can see if the thing has legs."
Steve blinked and then smiled, as if it had taken a moment to understand what Tony had said. In fairness to Steve, people who hadn't been frozen for seventy years often struggled to understand Tony, so it was probably more of a Tony thing.
"Tomorrow?" Steve asked.
"J? Anything tomorrow I can't cancel?"
"You have a meeting with Senator—"
"So no then," Tony interrupted. He grinned at Steve. "Tomorrow is good."
"Are you sure? If you have a meeting—"
"Bah, politics. A date with the shining paragon of heroic… things, sounds like much more fun than a meeting with Senator Stick-up-his-arse."
"Shining paragon of heroic… things?"
Tony chuckled. "Yeah, that got away from me a little."
Steve nodded. "Little bit. So, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"What time are you coming by?" Tony asked, leaning on the bar.
"Ten?"
"In the morning? What kind of date are you taking me on?"
Steve grinned. "Guess you'll have to wait and see. See you in the morning, Tony."
Tony watched him leave, unashamedly staring at the seriously peachy ass, framed wonderfully by dark jeans.
Thor above, but that was a good ass.
…
Tony checked his appearance in the mirror, smiling at himself because take away the grease and he still cleaned up well. Especially his hair. He really did have great hair.
"Captain Rogers has arrived, Sir," JARVIS said, and if Tony didn't know better, there was a smugness in his tone.
"I assume you know where he's taking me, J?" Tony asked, stepping into the elevator to go down to the garage.
"I do, Sir. I believe you'll have a good day."
"You're not going to tell me either, are you?" Tony huffed, shaking his head. "Betrayed by my own son. How very dare."
"I'm sure you'll survive the hurt, Sir," JARVIS replied, amusement colouring his tone as he opened the door to the garage.
Steve was inside already, sitting astride his motorbike. The man was clearly made to wear the leather jacket he had on. Tony surreptitiously checked to make sure he wasn't drooling.
"I, uh, wasn't sure if you'd be okay with riding with me, but JARVIS said he was sure it would be okay."
"It's fine," Tony assured him.
Grabbing a helmet from the handle of one of his own bikes, he shoved it on his head and climbed up on the back of the bike, wrapping his arms around Steve's waist.
"Let's go, Cap."
"Hold on tight," Steve murmured, pulling out of the garage.
Tony did exactly as he was told and enjoyed the ride.
…
Steve discarded his leather jacket and riding gloves into the seat box, much to Tony's disappointment. That disappointment lasted about three seconds, until Tony got a good look at his arms practically bursting out of the t-shirt Steve was sporting beneath the jacket.
"So… the zoo?" Tony asked, glancing up at the sign. "That's different. I don't think I've been to the zoo for about fifteen years."
Steve smiled at him. "Different is good though, right?"
Tony nodded. "Only if they have penguins. I like penguins. And elephants. And Giraffes. And—"
"So you like animals?" Steve interrupted gently, putting a careful hand on the small of Tony's back to guide him to the entrance.
Despite Tony's protests, Steve paid for the tickets—"I invited you, you can pay next time"—and then laughed at Tony's pout.
Tony, of course, quickly got over it. He got his first sight of a zebra in the first enclosure and squealed. "Lookit! It's a horse in pyjamas!"
Steve trailed behind him with a look of fond amusement. "Not a zebra then?"
"Horse in pyjamas, Steven!"
Laughing, Steve let Tony tug him around the zoo, their hands slotting together like two perfectly fitted jigsaw pieces.
They stopped at the penguin enclosure, Tony dropping down to sit cross legged in front of the glass. Steve joined him without hesitation, pointing at the swimming penguins as they passed the viewing window.
"Did you know that penguins mate for life?" Tony asked, smiling slightly as he glanced up at Steve. "When they find the one, they just know."
"That's sweet," Steve replied, almost absently running a hand through Tony's hair. "What else do you know about penguins?"
Tony was a minefield of animal facts, so he spewed a few more before they finally got up to continue their exploration of the zoo.
Steve pulled a camera out, and took some pictures of Tony with the elephants. When the zookeeper realised just who was visiting the enclosure, he allowed them in for a closer look, and Tony was like a child on Christmas morning he was so excited.
They entered the reptile house, full of gratitude for the momentary relief from the heat. For a spring day, it was particularly warm, and the perspiration was making Steve's already tight shirt stick even closer.
Not that Tony was complaining, because he really, really wasn't.
Steve was amused by a tiny green lizard trying to climb a rock that was practically a mountain to the little thing, and he and Tony both cheered in triumph when he made it to the top.
At the end of the reptile house, Tony almost jumped out of his skin when a frog jumped at the glass, and he shuddered, tugging Steve back out into the sun.
"What's your deal with frogs?" Steve asked, still chuckling as they made their way toward the aviary.
"They're evil," Tony replied promptly. "Seriously, have you ever made eye contact with a frog. They've got such a… a, uh, a malevolent air about them. Don't like."
"Iron Man, afraid of frogs," Steve said, nodding his head. "Makes so much sense."
"Yes. Yes it does," Tony said, nodding decisively. "Do you wanna pause for food?"
Of course Steve agreed.
…
"Are you coming up?" Tony asked, when they arrived back at the Tower later in the evening.
"Should I?" Steve asked. "I don't know dating protocols nowadays."
Tony shrugged. "I'm not really one for following the rules, and we don't have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Who cares about society's norms?"
Steve nodded, and followed Tony into the elevator. Despite Tony's words, the chemistry between them in the enclosed space seemed to crackle. Tony wanted to dazzle Steve though, and making out in an elevator probably wasn't the way to do that.
Thankfully, it wasn't a particularly long ride, and JARVIS was opening the doors into the penthouse.
"Can I get you a drink?" he asked, crossing to his—thankfully undamaged—drink cabinet. He opened the doors, only for Steve to press up behind him, his arms wrapping around Tony's waist.
"I can think of something I want more," he murmured, almost pressing the words into Tony's neck.
Tony straightened up, turning around in Steve's embrace to look up at him. "You're sure you want this?"
"I want you," Steve replied simply.
That was good enough for Tony.
…
"Ahchoo!"
Steve held out a tissue, rolling his eyes when Tony took it. His eyes were red and looked close to streaming, but he continued patting the cat in his lap regardless, uncaring for his clear allergies.
Even after five months together, Tony still exasperated him with ridiculous things.
"Tony—"
"I'll be responsible in a minute, Steve," Tony said, waving him off. "But the precious kitty is precious and deserves all the love, okay?"
He wiped at his nose, and sighed, patting the cat a few more times before he gestured for Steve to take him away. Steve took it, handing it back to Coulson, who took it sheepishly.
"I didn't know he was allergic," he muttered to Steve, accepting the cat. "I'll go put him in my office.
They'd gathered on the helicarrier for an Avengers meeting with Fury and Coulson, but one look at the cat, and Tony had been completely derailed from their purpose.
As Steve sat back down beside him, his arm resting on the back of Tony's chair, Tony leant into him, typing on his phone with one hand as he wiped at his face with the other.
Steve paid attention to the meeting—for the most part, Tony always had at least twenty percent of Steve's attention—and when Fury mentioned Tony being used as bait, Steve nudged Tony's chair.
"Something tells me that I'm not going to like this plan," he said, when he knew Tony was actually concentrating on the meeting.
When Fury laid out his plan, Steve knew he was correct. Tony, on the other hand, stretched up and saluted Fury.
"Aye aye."
"That's all?" Steve asked, picking at a loose thread on Tony's maroon jumper. "You're not bothered about being bait?"
Tony shrugged and shook his head. "Not really. I'm the quickest, the flashiest. I can draw their attention away from you guys, make it easier to get the job done."
"What if you get hurt?"
Chuckling, Tony reached out to cup Steve's jaw. "It's part of the job description, hun. From the beginning, I've known being Iron Man wasn't the safest choice I could have made, but it's the right thing to do. Worth it, right?"
"Did you rehearse that because you knew I'd be worried?" Steve asked, a small smile tilting his lips up.
Tony rolled his eyes. "You're a worrywart, hun."
…
Steve put two mugs of honey tea on the table and grabbed a blanket before joining Tony on the sofa, tugging the smaller man on top of him before he covered them both with the blanket.
"You okay, babe?" Tony asked, leaning up a little to look at him.
"You weren't… mad at me earlier were you?" Steve asked.
Tony blinked, wondering if he'd misunderstood the question. "When?"
"When I said I wasn't happy about you being used as bait for the mission tomorrow."
"Oh." Tony snorted. "No, of course not. It shows you care. Thank you for caring."
Steve looked at him with wonder in his eyes. "How did I get so lucky to have a soulmate like you?"
Tony grinned. "Backatcha, Sunshine."
They settled down for a lengthy cuddle, JARVIS putting a movie on the tv from Steve's 21st century catch up list, and Tony realised that he was truly happy for the first time in…
Well. For the first time since he could remember, really.
What he'd thought was happiness in the past didn't come close to how he felt now, with Steve in his life and the Avengers at his back.
It might have taken him a while, but he'd finally found true happiness.
Now he just had to hold onto it.
Written for:
Written in the Stars: 17. Rose
Book Club: Colin Creevey: Camera / Excited / Petrified
Showtime: 27. Lament - (word) Dazzle
Film Festival: 15. Great Hair
Angel's Archive: 12. Tiger Shark - Write about a day at the zoo.
Amber's Anime Adventure: 16. Toru Hagakure- (object) gloves (bonus)
Hobby Hole: 2. Perspiration
Artist Appreciation: 24. Wonder
Archery: Target 4: Center Ring: Soulmates
Lap Race: Malevolent
Nothing But Net: Free Throw: 4. Triumph
I Wanna Be A Yogi Bear: 28. Upward Salute Pose: [Action] Saluting someone
Dodgeball: 15. (dialogue) "Something tells me that I'm not going to like this plan."
Tug of War: 13. Relationship: Slash
Pictionary: P - Animal: Elephant
Body Talks: Cabinet
Round Em Up: 5. Slytherin Common Room: (animal) lizard
They All Fall Down: 19. Happy
Never Have I Ever: Written a story in another fandom
Beauties and the Pests: 5. Bee: Honey Tea
Target Acquired: 13. Pastel Blue
Gone Fishin': 2. Misunderstood
Gold Mine: 2. Spring
Up, Up, Up: 8. Typing
Knife Throwing: 26. Motorbike
Burn Baby, Burn: Campfire: Crackle / Spring / Camera
Bullet Journaling: 12. Gratitude log: (word) Gratitude
Meditation: 4. Movement: Guide
Multicolour Maestro: White: 44. Clear / Black: 3. Penguin
Enchanting Karaoke: 4. If love was red, then (s)he was colourblind
First Aid: 12. Gauze bandage: (color) blood red
Origami: Butterfly: Meeting
Granny's Quilt: Patch 1: Maroon / Rehearse
Tye Dye Shirts: Red: 10. Beginning
Pressed To Perfection: Sweet Alyssum: Leather Jacket
Southern Cookout: Drink: 5. Dr Pepper: Sneezing
Pop Figures: Disney: 223. Rapunzel: (object) Mirror
Founder's Says: Salazar Says: 8. (object) tissue
365: 37. Heroic
Scavenger Hunt: (71). Set 4: 1. Write a soulmate AU about your OTP.