Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
Challenges listed at the bottom.
Word Count - 1690
Fic Detail - TonySteve / Fluff
In My Clothes
"Is he okay? Are you okay?" Steve asked, looking around Pepper to try and get a glimpse of Tony.
"Oh, he's just being dramatic," Pepper replied airily, though the way she was stroking up and down Tony's back said otherwise.
"I'm dying," Tony complained, before he leant back over the white toilet basin, retching loudly.
Pepper rolled her eyes. "At first, I thought he had a hangover, but I think he's coming down with something. Most likely a cold, but they always wipe him out for days."
Apparently done throwing up, Tony pushed himself to his feet and flushed the toilet, grimacing at the taste in his mouth. Steve watched from the doorway, as he brushed his teeth, concerned for his friend.
The black jumper he was wearing swamped him, and it took a moment for Steve to realise that it wasn't actually Tony's jumper. In fact, when Tony turned to face him, pale faced and sweaty, Steve recognised the jumper as being one that Rhodes had worn on his last visit.
He forced himself to ignore the pang of jealousy and reached out to Tony, feeling his forehead with the back of his hand the same way he remembered his mum doing for him when he was young.
Tony swiped at him weakly, making him chuckle. Steve stepped out of the way and watched as Tony staggered to his bed and collapsed on it, face first.
"Keep an eye on him, please," Pepper said, looking at Tony fondly. "He's a shit when he's not feeling well."
Steve nodded. "Of course."
As Pepper left the room, Steve approached Tony and helped him turn over, tucking the blankets around him. Tony blinked blearily up at him.
"I hate being sick."
"I know," Steve said nodding as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He might be the 'peak of human perfection now' but it wasn't so long ago for him that he was one cold away from Death's door at any given moment. "Do you think you can manage some soup?"
…
Tony recovered slowly over the week, and by the fifth day, was back to his workshop with little need for Steve to take care of him.
Steve felt guilty for hating that so much.
Of course, it didn't help that after the first time Steve noticed Tony wearing Rhodes' jumper, he couldn't help but notice that Tony had a penchant for other people's clothing.
He'd seen him wearing a myriad of oversized jumpers that clearly belonged to Rhodes, a t-shirt that Steve was sure belonged to Clint, and Bruces' jumpers often seemed to end up in his possession.
On one occasion, Steve even saw Tony grabbing Sam's coat from the rack at the compound.
In fact, the only person—aside from Pepper and Natasha—Tony didn't seem to steal clothes from, was Steve himself.
He didn't know whether to be glad or offended.
Of course, it didn't help that every time Steve saw Tony in someone else's clothes, he was as green as the hulk in a rage.
…
Steve began leaving his hoodies in the communal areas. Natasha looked at him knowingly whenever she saw him leave one behind, and he always turned away, not wanting to see her amusement.
She knew about his crush—he was convinced she knew everything about everything—and she often watched him with a smirk when he couldn't tear his gaze away from the genius.
"You could just tell him, you know?" she said, as he slipped out of the room, her words echoing in his ears.
He could tell Tony, but he absolutely shouldn't. If Tony didn't feel the same, which was the likeliest scenario, it would make things awkward between them, wouldn't it? The last thing Steve wanted was to lose one of his best friends.
So his crush would just have to remain a secret.
He just… really wanted to see Tony in his clothes. Even if it was just once.
…
"Why is it so cold?" Tony complained, as the armour stripped away from him. He stepped off the landing deck into the tower, wrapping his arms around himself. He was only wearing the undersuit, and Steve couldn't imagine that it offered much protection from the crisp air.
"It's winter," Natasha said, tossing a pastel yellow blanket at him. "The cold is kind of inherent to that."
Tony huffed and wrapped the blanket around himself as he dropped onto the sofa. "I don't appreciate winter then."
"You love winter," Clint argued, slumping down beside him. "You're the biggest kid when it snows and Christmas is your favourite."
"Can you not just let me be offended by the cold for a minute?" Tony grumbled, a shiver running through his body. Steve grabbed the latest jumper he'd left in the living room and threw it to Tony.
"Here," he said, pulling off the cowl of his uniform. "Put that on if you're not going to go and get changed."
Tony stared at the jumper for a long moment, before he tugged it over his head. Clint and Natasha both chuckled at the way it dwarfed him, and Tony held his arms out in front of him, sniggering himself at the way the sleeves dropped over the end of his fingers, swinging in the air.
"Thanks, Steve," he said, snuggling into the hoodie. "It's perfect."
Steve, though he'd wanted this for weeks, hadn't quite been prepared for how perfect Tony looked wearing his jumper. A thrill of possessiveness shot through him, and he swallowed hard as he nodded.
"No problem," he forced out. "I'm just gonna, uh—"
He walked out of the room, almost crashing into the door on his way out. He needed a shower. Pronto.
…
Steve knew that Tony was intelligent. More than even. But he still hadn't expected the man to figure out what he was doing.
He supposed it was because Tony wasn't great at interpersonal relationships; he admitted as much himself.
And that made him suspicious.
Because Tony was avoiding Steve, had been doing ever since Steve had practically run from the room after seeing Tony finally wearing Steve's jumper. The avoidance could only mean that Tony knew how Steve felt and clearly didn't feel the same way.
"Did you tell him how I feel about him?" he asked Natasha, handing her a cup of tea. They were the only two out of bed, and Steve figured it was a good a time as any.
Natasha shook her head. "I didn't. Couldn't really miss it though, Steve. You might as well have shouted it from the rooftops the way you looked at him."
Steve sighed. "This was what I didn't want. He's avoiding me and it's going to be awkward. I knew he didn't feel the same."
"You should go and speak to him."
"He's probably asleep," Steve said, shrugging.
"Do you trust me?"
Steve frowned but nodded. "Of course I do."
"Then you should go and see him. JARVIS will let you into the penthouse."
She left the kitchen with the mug wrapped in her hand, leaving Steve to watch after her.
…
JARVIS did let Steve into the penthouse. Tony was asleep, like Steve had expected, but Steve froze at the door.
Burrowed under red sheets, was Tony. Where the sheets had slipped off him, Steve could see Tony's pyjama bottoms, and he couldn't quite believe his eyes. Tiny shields—Steve's shield—adorned the blue bottoms.
Tony shuffled and before Steve could move away from the door, he opened his eyes and looked right at Steve.
"Hmm? S'methin' wrong, Cap?"
Steve blinked as Tony sat up, the sheets falling away to reveal a mustard hoodie… one of Steve's.
"You, uh. You sleep in my jumper?"
Tony blushed red enough to almost blend with his sheets, and Steve took heart from it. Perhaps Tony wasn't avoiding him because he didn't feel the same. Maybe Tony was avoiding him because he did.
"I like to be warm," Tony tried to defend. "You and Rhodey are both bigger than me, so I, uh. Steal the occasional jumper. I can give it back, it's—"
Steve shook his head as he approached the bed, sitting down beside Tony. "I like the way you look in my clothes."
Tony tilted his head slightly. "Yeah?"
Steve nodded.
"I wondered… the way you looked at me the other day—"
"I really like you," Steve said firmly. "And I wasn't going to tell you, because I didn't want to ruin our friendship, you know? But, uh. I think maybe I wouldn't be ruining anything?"
"This is a really bad idea," Tony said, even as he leant closer, entwining his fingers with Steve's. "I'm not very good at being a boyfriend."
"You're great at being Tony," Steve replied, cupping Tony's cheek with his free hand. "That's all I need you to be."
…
"I will end you," Tony threatened, as Clint walked towards him with a grin on his face, a snowball in his hand. "I'm not dressed for a snowball fight, dammit!"
They'd just finished a battle in midtown, and Tony had been forced to strip himself of the armour after taking a blast from an EMP. Thor had loaded it onto the Quinjet for him, but it meant Tony was standing out in the snow in just his undersuit.
Clint took aim and threw the snowball anyway.
Steve got there just in time, raising his shield for the snowball to smash harmlessly against. Tony grinned at him, leaning into his side.
"My hero."
When they climbed onto the quinjet, Tony immediately grabbed a jumper from the pile of clothes they kept for emergencies. Steve grinned when he realised that Tony had ignored his own clothes and slipped into Steve's jumper instead.
Clint pretended to gag as Tony sat down beside Steve, and Steve automatically put a cushion behind him to make him comfier.
"You two are the worst," Clint muttered, shaking his head.
"You're only jealous, Legolas," Tony crowed, leaning once more against Steve's side. "You wish you were as lucky as I am."
Steve wrapped his arm around Tony's shoulders. "I'm the lucky one."
Written for:
Disney - C7. Write about a crush.
Basement - 15. "Is he okay? Are you okay?" / "Oh, he's just being dramatic."
Marvel - 9. Intelligent
North Funfair - Winter Petting Zoo - Petting Ambrose the Arctic Fox - White
East Funfair - Christmas Crackers: 22. Cushion / Black / Coat
South Funfair - Fill a Christmas Stocking - 12. Chocolate Reindeer: Cushion
Galleon - Pastel Yellow
Sticker - Potion Cabinet - 7. Pepperup Potion - Having a cold or flu.
Days of the Year - 1. National Comic Book Day - A comic book character
Autumn - 3. Crisp
Colour - 1. Mustard
Element - 8. Blast
Bake A Cake - Salt - Blue
Ravenclaw - Trait - 3. Intelligent
365. 301. Hangover