Part one of the Teenage Love Triangle Trilogy.
August
Tony Stark watched as Steve Rogers' small frame grew smaller when he spotted his girlfriend dancing with Brock, smiles alight on their faces. After a moment, he stormed out of the gymnasium with a huff, carelessly brushing past his other classmates.
"Don't even think about it." Tony's head turned to face his best friend.
Rhodey's dark skin was damp with sweat as he took a heavy gulp from his drink. He had been dancing with Carol, and Tony spotted their blonde friend happily flirting with Thor as he dipped her comically. The steady thump of the base resonated in the gym as the song changed to some electronic number.
"What is there to think about, platypus?"
"I'm not blind, Tones. You've been harboring a not-so secret crush for golden boy Rogers since you first laid eyes on him."
"Yeah, and? So I flirt with him, that's not a crime. Besides, he doesn't seem to mind it, last I checked."
"Maybe not, but doing something about those flirtations while he's still Peggy's guy? That crosses a line."
They were interrupted as a brunette named Darcy stumbled into Rhodey, clearly tipsy. Rhodey helped her up, trying to hide that fact since the teachers were suddenly watching the three of them with sharp gazes. Miss Hill in particular watched them for several long moments as Rhodey awkwardly danced with Darcy. By the time Rhodey was able to lead her back to her friends' table, Tony was gone.
Tony walked to his car, deep in thought. His suit jacket was slightly ruffled from a make-out session with some random girl earlier in the evening, and his hand mindlessly went to his hair as he crossed the doorway out to the parking lot. He pulled the keys out of his pocket and clicked the button a few times, watching as his car lit up as it unlocked.
Once he got into the car and started it, AC/DC played from the stereo and he carefully began driving as he tried to figure out where Steve had gone. On instinct, he took a right out of the school lot towards Steve's house, and after a few minutes of driving, he spotted Steve's hunched frame as he kicked a rock against the broken cobblestone path. Tony snorted at the cliché before he slowed to a stop on the side of the deserted road and rolled down his window. Steve had heard the tires of his car and looked up.
"Get in, Rogers. Let's go for a drive." Tony flashed a smile at him. He saw the blonde hesitate for a few seconds as he looked around before he trotted to Tony's car. Once the door was closed, Tony signaled and merged back onto the road as another car passed them.
"Anywhere particular you want to go?" Tony asked, turning the music down slightly.
"As far away from here as possible," Steve muttered, glaring at the road as it passed.
"Oh, come on, buttercup. That pretty face of yours looks hot when you're mad, but I haven't done anything to warrant the Rogers glare."
Tony laughed when the glare actually was directed to him at that point, and Steve's face softened at the sound.
"Yeah, you're right. Sorry, Stark. I'm just having a bad night."
Tony hummed in response as he turned towards the beach. His fingers tapped along to the music, and Steve stared at him for a few moments, before he shook his head at looked out the window again.
"I don't mind if you look at me, Cap. I know I'm pretty."
"Yeah, pretty annoying. Though you're almost cute enough to make up for it."
Tony's fingers abruptly stopped tapping as he glanced at Steve in surprise. The other teen had never blatantly called him cute before, and the smirk on Steve's face told Tony that he knew he had thrown off the brunette.
"Well, I can always make up for it in other ways, if you're interested."
"Oh, I'm sure you could. Where are we going?"
"The beach. Figured we can walk barefoot on it or something, take your mind off of the shitty day."
Steve swallowed as his thoughts returned to the dance. He turned the stereo up as a new song began to play, signaling the end of their conversation. Tony found himself looking towards the blonde several more times, though Steve's face didn't change from the slightly blank look.
Once they reached the beach, Tony shrugged off his suit jacket and rolled up his pant legs a bit. Steve did the same and led the way down to the abandoned strip of sand. There was no one around, and night had fallen long ago. When Tony caught up with him, he was carrying a couple of towel rolls.
"I've never been to this section of the beach before. Why'd you pick here?" Steve began walking towards the water, with Tony trailing after him.
"It's usually less crowded than the other touristy parts. Plus, there's a cove down the way that's good for privacy, if you catch my drift."
"Did you seriously bring me here in hopes of getting laid?" Steve stopped with the water lapping around his ankles, watching Tony with an unimpressed gaze.
"Can't say I didn't think about it, sugarcube. But really, the stars are brilliant at this time of night, and I heard you like that sort of thing. Come on, there's a blank space of beach that's good for it down a bit farther."
Steve gazed at Tony for a long moment as he passed, before he slowly followed. By the time he caught up with the brunette, Tony had laid out the towels close together and flopped down onto one. Tony could feel Steve's eyes on him as he stretched his arms above his head, intentionally drawing the stretch out to extend his back and legs. He tried to ignore the heat of pleasure that coiled in his gut when he spotted Steve's appreciative gaze as the blonde unconsciously licked his lips. Steve cleared his throat before he mirrored Tony's position on the towel next to him and looked up at the sky.
"Wow..." Steve breathed as he caught sight of the starry sky. He hadn't been focusing on the sky at all while they were driving, but the stars were much clearer than he could ever remember seeing.
"It's great, right? You can't see stars like this in town anywhere. Not even on the rooftops. Believe me, I've tried."
"I didn't take you as a stargazer, Stark."
"Call me Tony. Please. And I've always had a fascination for the universe out there. I can't be a worthy scientist if I don't invest at least a bit of time getting to know that field of study."
"Right, you're going to MIT after graduation. To study engineering?"
"Yup. Dad wanted me to go last year, but Mom insisted I do at least a couple years of normal school to 'get acclimated with people closer to my age'" Tony rolled his eyes as he put air quotes around his mother's words.
"Well, I can understand her thinking. My ma would say the same thing if I were a certified genius."
Tony nodded, and the two of them laid in silence for a bit. Steve sat up to better watch the waves, and Tony was unable to look away from Steve's relaxed face. As if sensing Tony's gaze on him, Steve looked back at the brunette. They stared at each other for a long moment before they both burst out laughing.
"What even is going on?" Steve choked out.
"You're the one who chose to stare at me without saying anything," Tony retorted, as the chuckles slowly dissipated. They both were smiling from it all, though, and Tony found himself suddenly full of the vision of an incredibly close Steve Rogers. Without another word, Steve leaned in and kissed Tony. It was sloppy, as first kisses tended to be, and Steve pulled away slightly as Tony hadn't responded. Before he got too far away, though, Tony closed the gap between the two of them once again. Tony felt like he was burning from the intensity of the kiss, and Steve shifted slightly to tangle his hands into Tony's hair. After a gentle tug, Tony moaned softly and he could feel Steve's smug smile as the kiss gentled slightly.
They broke for air, and Steve murmured in a low voice, "You said something about a hidden cove?"
Tony laughed breathlessly as he took Steve's hand and guided him to the nearby cove, where they preceded to make out until the flickering reddening of dawn.
"Hey, Tony. We're going to Shooters tomorrow. Do you want to come? It's been a couple weeks since school ended, and I haven't even seen you."
"Nah, not interested, honey-bear. Thanks anyways. Hey, I gotta go, Mom's calling for me."
Tony hung up before Rhodey could even respond, and flinched slightly when he called back immediately. However, Tony ignored the phone call and flopped onto his bed. He knew that Rhodey knew that his parents were vacationing in the Hamptons again, so didn't even bother trying to stifle his groan that his friend knew he was lying. Tony's eyes found the clock on his nightstand and noted it was just past eleven. Steve usually called around noon if he was going to make plans with Tony, and Tony couldn't help the excited butterflies that fluttered when Steve's name popped up.
"Hey, schnookums," Tony greeted with a smile.
Steve groaned on the other end before he replied.
"Don't call me that. You free today?"
"For you? Always. Meet behind the mall at one?"
"Sure, sounds good. Bring a bag, I have a surprise for you."
"Ooh, what kind of surprise?" Tony asked, balking slightly at the idea.
"The kind you need an overnight bag for. Better to pack a few days, just in case. And a swimsuit."
"Color me intrigued, Cap. I'll do as you say, though I'm not going to play fair, you know."
"I'm not asking you to. Just...you know the drill."
"Yeah, yeah, no PDA in public, and we coordinate our arrival times so people don't catch on to our little tryst. I got it, Steve. You don't need to remind me every time."
"All right, sorry. I just...people don't know I'm into guys, and I'm not ready for that to be out yet."
Tony stayed silent as he added and you're still seeing Peggy to Steve's sentence.
"I'm really looking forward to this. See you in a couple of hours, Tony."
"Yeah. See you, Cap."
The silence was deafening as Tony sighed. After a moment, he shook off the persistent thoughts of being a dirty little secret and packed his bag as directed, ensuring to get a little bit of everything he might need, including condoms and lube. Although they hadn't gone that far yet, Tony remained optimistic every time they met up.
"Hold on, Tony, it's just a little bit farther."
"Honestly, why you chose to blindfold me when you're as elegant as an elephant despite your size is beyond me."
"Quit your whining, Tony, and take off the blindfold."
Tony complied, and he blinked rapidly at the sudden bright light as his eyes adjusted. In front of them was a small beach cottage. It was salt-worn but decently maintained, and Tony could see a bit of rust on the door. The paint was peeling in certain parts, and there were window planters of flowers lining the outside. Tony looked around in slight confusion before his gaze found Steve, who was fidgeting slightly.
"Why are you showing me a house? Cuz I'm making all sorts of scenarios in my head, here, Steve, and I need you to correct them before I think anything super crazy."
"My grandpa left this place to ma when he died, and she agreed to let me use it this summer. For practice of living on my own, I guess. Anyways, I was thinking this would be a good place for us...to be us. If you wanted? That way we would have someplace we wouldn't have to hide."
When Tony just looked between Steve and the house for a few moments, Steve spoke again.
"Sorry, it was a stupid idea, I wasn't thinking. If you want to-"
"I love it. Can we see the inside?"
Steve blinked in surprise, a smile gently curling his mouth.
"Yeah, of course. Let me just..."
He pulled the keys out of his pocket, where a starfish key chain glinted merrily at him. He unlocked the door and Tony pushed his way in, bag dropping to the floor of the entryway with a thud.
The first floor of the house was open, with the stairs immediately tucked into the left-hand side of the building. There was a large bed against the back wall, the kitchen was near the stairs, and a few doorways could be seen that presumably led to the bathrooms or closets. There was even a fireplace with a couch in front of it, though there was no evidence of a television. Tony took it all in before he toed his shoes off and began perusing the cabinets, rattling off the food they'd probably need. Steve placed his skateboard against the wall next to the door.
"I already ordered groceries. They should be here in about an hour, as well as our dinner."
"You had this already planned, huh? Now, what I wanna know is, if the bed's down here, then what's upstairs?" Tony propped his hip against the counter with a light smile on his face. Steve unexpectedly flushed.
"Well, uh...ma has a friend who owns an art studio, and she had him set up a space for me upstairs."
"You're an artist?"
Steve nodded, hands wringing together slightly as he waited for Tony's response.
"That's so hot."
Steve's laugh was forced out of him as his face relaxed.
"Have an artist kink, do you?"
"Not that I know of. I just like learning things about you, and imagining you drawing me in the nude is pretty erotic. We can talk about kinks and limits and stuff soon, if you're up for it. Things have been pretty tame between us, so I don't want to accidentally do something that you don't like, if we don't talk about it."
"Uh." Steve gaped for a long moment as he processed the rapid fire information Tony spewed at him. Tony, meanwhile, grabbed his bag and began putting his clothes away.
"I've never really thought about that sort of stuff, if I'm honest. With-" He broke off and cleared his throat. Tony felt the small wave of disappointment anytime Steve accidentally brought up Peggy, however inadvertently, though he politely ignored it as he waited for Steve to continue.
"I don't think I'm ready to explore that side of sex yet, anyways."
"We can work up to it. What we have is for fun and blowing off steam, right? I can be patient for you, Steve."
Steve seemed struck by the sincerity of Tony's confession, and his face softened while he stepped into Tony's space and put his hands on the other teen's hips. Their foreheads rested against each other, with Tony tilting his head downward a bit to meet Steve's shorter head. Steve pushed upwards to capture Tony's lips with his own, and Tony responded happily.
"How long til the food gets here?" Tony gasped as Steve's hands snaked their way under his shirt and he suckled on Tony's neck. Steve's phone pinged with a text message, and there was a bit of fumbling for him to get it out.
"Another hour. Apparently, there's some sort of delay."
"Good. We're going to have so much fun," Tony replied, before capturing Steve's lips again.
Tony chose to spend the rest of the summer at Steve's little beach getaway, where the two of them fell into a routine of sorts. Steve would come and go with supplies and murmurs of affection, and they'd spend one or two meals a day together. Except for weekends, which Tony knew was the time Steve spent with Peggy. Those were the days he drank pilfered wine and worked on building better things for the house, like a toaster that toasted more efficiently, or getting the newly bought television to get cable. Every week, he longed for Steve to be solely his, but knew that Peggy was Steve's desired end-game. He never doubted that Steve cared for him when they were together, for Steve's attention was always endearing and intense in equal measure. One day, on an early excursion to the beach, Tony noticed something as Steve stretched his arms above his head.
"Where did those abs come from? Wouldn't I have noticed them by now?"
Steve turned his head towards Tony with an amused smile.
"I've been going to the gym a few times a week. Now that my asthma has leveled out, my doctor's been encouraging me to try to gain weight. Seems to be sticking a bit, though we'll see where it leads as the weeks progress."
Tony looked around for a moment for anyone before he wrapped his arms around Steve's back and buried his face into the blonde's neck.
"It's a good look on you."
Steve leaned into Tony's body for a moment before he gently pulled away, always aware that someone could see them when they were out in public, despite the early hour.
"Thanks. I'm going to go swim. Join me if you want." Steve walked down and into the water with a practiced ease that Tony learned was new this summer. Tony's breath caught as he watched Steve's back reflect some of the sunlight from the water that coated his skin, and he suddenly was struck by how he was in love with Steve. His thoughts whirled as he continued watching, trying to stave off his panic at feeling such a powerful emotion for a guy he'd only been involved with for a couple of months. After another moment, Steve popped his head up and waved towards Tony, encouraging him to come into the water and swim together. Tony peeled off his tank top and waded in towards Steve, shivering slightly as he adjusted to the cool water.
"You looked like you were thinking pretty hard on the beach, earlier," Steve commented as they lay together after sex. He was idly tracing patterns on Tony's back as their legs tangled together. That day had held several firsts, and Tony's brain stuttered at the memory of Steve's whispered "I've never done this before," to Tony's question of "are you sure?"
When Steve's hand stilled in its tracing, Tony rolled onto one arm and propped his head on it to look at Steve's face. He swallowed as the look of curiosity turned into concern.
"I'm all right. Just was thinking of how the summer is almost over and we'll have to go back to our lives. I've always known that this thing between us had a time limit, but I can't help but hope for more, you know?"
"Tony-" Steve's voice was gentle and so wrecked.
"No, Steve. I'm not as naive as you think I am. This summer has been awesome. But it's going nowhere beyond this last week. I've been meaning to tell you something, anyways."
Tony rolled off the bed with a groan as he walked to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. He poured one for Steve as well, and handed it to the blonde, who sat cross-legged on the bed, unashamed in his nakedness.
"Tell me what?" Steve asked.
"I got accepted into early admission at MIT. I'll be moving to Boston in a couple of weeks."
"What? But I thought...your mom said you had to do public school until graduation. What about your high school diploma?"
"I tested out of everything ages ago. That's why I never stayed in classes throughout the week- I didn't need to review the material."
Steve swirled his glass of water for a moment before he took a long drink of it and placed it onto the table next to them.
"So, what? That's it? You leave and we never see each other again?"
Tony swallowed at the tightening of Steve's jaw and had to force back his own tears at the sudden hardness of Steve's voice. The words got stuck in Tony's throat at the urge to say the words he had discovered he felt. But instead, he settled for the next best thing.
"We can still talk. It won't be the same, of course, but if you want to keep in touch we can. Boston isn't all that far, you know?"
"About a four hour drive, yeah, I know. Still, I have a life here."
Tony was rendered speechless for a second at the implication that Steve had looked up how far they were from MIT, and hope surged in his chest as he cautiously continued.
"I know you do. I'm not asking you to leave it."
"Then what are you asking me, Tony? I see no point in you telling me you're leaving, a week before school starts again. It's not like any of this means anything, does it?" Steve's voice was loud, and Tony flinched, at both the volume and the suddenly clear boundaries drawn.
Tony felt his own temper rising and snapped as he pulled on his underwear.
"I guess it doesn't. I'm just a dirty little secret that you keep from your perfect girlfriend. All I wanted was to give you some warning when I don't show up at school, but I guess that was too generous of a consideration for your whore. I'm going home, Steve."
Steve watched in silence for a couple minutes as Tony thrust clothes and toiletries back into his bag. It wasn't until Tony was at the threshold of the house that he spoke.
"Don't believe you're a whore, Tony. Take care of yourself."
Tony merely grunted in acknowledgment as he pushed the door closed, and Steve's head fell to his hands with the last click.