Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count: 1190

Words With Friends

Bucky had interviewed their new roommate by himself while Steve was at class, so when the little guy turned up, a ball of nervous energy with only three bags that were weighing him down, Steve wasn't sure what he thought.

Tony seemed like a nice enough guy though, and Steve trusted Bucky to have interviewed him properly—or at least make sure he wasn't a complete nutter.

So Tony moved in, and Steve thought he'd have to get used to having someone else around the house except… not so much?

Tony wasn't around much, and when he was, he was more often than not doing his best impression of a zombie, propping up the kitchen counter until the coffee maker pinged.

Steve didn't mind so much.

It wasn't like he didn't have enough to fill his time, with class and his art projects, Bucky and his… his online friend who always beat him on words with friends.

…

I'll beat you one of these days.

Steve didn't have to wait long for the smug reply.

Not likely… but keep on trying. You know I love it when you try.

…

"If you spend any more time staring at your phone, I'm going to think you've got a boyfriend that you haven't told me about," Bucky commented one evening, rolling his eyes at Steve.

Steve flushed brightly and ducked his chin, and Bucky laughed loudly, just as Tony stepped into the room.

"What's tickled you?" he asked, slumping down on the unoccupied sofa, his own phone in his hand. He typed a reply to someone without looking at the screen, arching his eye at Bucky.

"Stevie's got an online boyfriend," Bucky replied gleefully, making Steve's blush, if at all possible, intensify.

"Oh?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Steve protested weakly. "He's… he's someone I play Words With Friends with, that's all."

Tony blinked. "Huh? You play that too? It eats up entirely too much of my time, it's addictive."

Steve nodded eagerly. "It really is. You should add me on there."

"What's your username?"

"Captain America," Steve replied, and elbowed Bucky none too gently when he broke into a fresh set of giggles. He couldn't help but notice the way that Tony paled, and almost dropped his phone.

"Oh, my erm, my battery is going to die. I should… go put it on charge. I'll add you later, Steve."

He was out of the room before Steve could say anything, and he shook his head, bemused. Looking down at his screen, he saw that YouKnowWhoIAm had replied to his last message with, Just got home, finally done for the day. Ready for your daily ass-whopping?

But he was offline.

"Buck… Buck, I think… I think I've been online dating Tony. And, uh. I just told him that the guy was just someone I played a game with."

Bucky blinked, looking from Steve to the door Tony had just practically run through.

"Well, shit."

…

If Steve hadn't believed YouKnowWhoIAm was Tony before, the fact that his online friend hadn't been online since Tony had hightailed it would have sold him on it after almost a week passed by without him seeing a hair of either of them.

Now it was almost 1am, and Steve was sitting on the sofa, determined to catch Tony sneaking in. He wanted to talk to him; either to ask him on a date, or to just get the awkwardness out of the way.

A knock on the door a few minutes after 1 made him frown, and he opened it to find Rhodes—Tony's best friend—literally carrying a clearly intoxicated Tony in his arms.

"I'd have kept him with me, but I ship out at 5am, and I can't just leave him at mine."

Steve stood back so Rhodes could carry him inside. He almost protested when Rhodes placed him on the sofa instead of in his bedroom, but he didn't. At least in the living room, Steve could sit on the other sofa and keep an eye on him without seeming like too much of a creeper.

He stood by the door, watching as Rhodes fussed over Tony for a moment before he stood back.

"Keep an ear out for him, please?" Rhodes asked, as he made his way to the door. "I know he's a pain in the ass, but… just take it easy on him, okay? He's a good kid, just… really insecure about some things."

Steve nodded. "I'm not… I don't intend to be hard on him? I just don't want him to keep hiding from me."

Rhodes nodded. "Wake him up with coffee and eggs and he'll at least stick around long enough to inhale them."

Steve's lips tilted up. "Thanks."

…

Steve took Rhodes' advice and woke Tony with fried egg on toast and a large mug off coffee.

"Let me be," Tony complained, when Steve shook his shoulder gently, but the scent of the food and coffee roused him pretty quickly.

He blinked when he realised where he was and flushed bright red when he met Steve's eyes with his own.

"It doesn't have to be like this, you know?" Steve offered, sitting down beside Tony with his own eggs and coffee. "If you're not interested in me now you know who I am, I won't judge you for it, or be mad at you or anything."

Tony blinked at him, a bemused look on his face. "Erm."

Steve, feeling a little daring, reached out to cup Tony's chin in his hand. "But if you wanted to maybe see if what we had online could transfer into real life… I don't hate that idea either?"

"But… you said that I was just, uh, 'some guy'."

Steve nodded. "I was trying to make Buck back off. You know you were—are—more than that, Tony."

"I can't seem to dream of you anymore," Tony blurted, and then flushed, hiding his face behind his coffee mug.

"Um. What?"

"Well, before, I mean… when I didn't know you were… you? I dreamt about Captain America all the time. And now I can't. I think it's because it's you and I don't know if I'm allowed?"

"If you're… I don't think dreams work like that, sweetheart."

Tony blushed an even deeper red, and if it was possible, Steve found himself even more charmed.

They were silent for a few moments, each of them eating their eggs while glancing at the other continuously, and then Steve found another surge of courage.

"Let me take you out? On a proper date, I mean."

Tony stared at him. "You mean it?"

"Oh course I do."

"Oh. Uh. I'd, um, really like that?" Tony replied, stumbling over the words, his eyes a little wide. "But um, can we still play Words With Friends, because I've missed it and I miss Cap and I um…"

Steve nodded, grinning. "I still need the glory of beating you, don't i?"

Tony returned the grin, shaking his head. "Never gonna happen, handsome."

And it was so like something YouKnowWhoIAm would say, that Steve melted a little. He had a feeling things would turn out just fine."

Written For:

Amber's Attic: 16. Online Dating

Liza Loves: 6. We both play this stupid game online and you keep beating me every single goddamn time.

Lizzy's Loft: 5. "I can't seem to dream of you."

Scamander's Case: 25. "It doesn't have to be like this."

Film Festival: 20. Glory

Marvel Appreciation: 8. Daredevil 2: Daring

Lyric Alley: 23. Let me be

TV Spree: 6. Write about an online romance

EnTitled: 16. Write about getting a roommate

Treasure Hunting: Pick and Shovel: Eating