Author's Note: Meant to post on Valentine's Day. Enjoy!
It felt strange sitting in the old Avengers common room again. This space hadn't been in real use for years now and while the memories of movie nights, communal post mission naps and ridiculous debates echoed in the empty space, hollow now as the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian had been so long ago.
Steve was shaking the memory of laughter and good natured cajoling over trying to lift Mjolnir when Tony came back into the room.
"Turns out that family run Thai place is still standing after the last few world ending attacks on the city and even remembers our old orders," the genius said almost conversationally as he found a seat on the other side of the sitting area, the coffee table between them, but Steve could hear the forced airiness.
Steve forced a weak smile in return and pulled his thumb from his still tingling lips, "I'm sure it's still standing for the same reason your favorite Shwarma place is."
Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Guilty, but their son's back from college for break, figured he wouldn't mind the cushy delivery trip for old times sake."
Of all the angry outbursts and odd lulls since Steve had arrived at the tower, this moment felt the most fragile.
It was a brief pause where neither of them wanted to go first. It was clear and Steve knew they'd had enough silence to last for decades so he sighed and leaned forward on the edge of the couch, elbows braced on his knees, flexing his fingers to get the stiffness out of them. Howard's super soldier serum might have slowed his aging to a crawl and given him elevated abilities, but it had been a long decade, even on Steve's enhanced body.
"I've been more compromised than I'd like to admit since S.H.E.I.L.D. fell," Steve admitted finally, firmly. Looking at Tony across from him, he saw the genius tense when one of their voices broke the quiet standoff. But Tony didn't interrupt, not even for a quip. He let Steve have the floor.
Steve felt comfort in that allowance and pressed on. "I thought I finally had a handle on the world around me, I thought I knew what happened in my past and then I was finding that not only was I working for an organization I changed myself to take down but…" Steve felt that knee jerk reaction not to mention Bucky's name. He didn't know if it was time to bring up his best friend.
"They kept your old beau on ice to kill everyone he knew or cared about?" Tony interjected into the silence, short but with less acid than Steve had expected.
He looked at the genius and Tony simply nodded for him to keep going, still looking tense but getting through it all the same.
Steve's brow furrowed. "Best friend, not beau," he corrected and saw something odd in Tony's gaze shift that he couldn't identify. So he pushed on. "But yeah. It threw off everything and my focus became... split. One half of me was trying to be what everyone needed as a leader and the other half...I just wanted to find Bucky." His throat felt thick then. "I didn't know then, Tony...I swear I didn't know that they sent Bucky after Howard. They closed pubs in Europe together whenever Howard met up with us in the day…" Stave dragged his fingers roughly through his hair. "He told me after The Accords had started rolling. It just felt too late then. So much had already happened."
Tony snorted, pulling Steve's attention in time to see the genius roll the building tension out of his shoulders. "Your 'best friend' trying to shoot me in the face point blank does feel like the wrong time," he said sarcastically. But the lines in Tony's face showed how torn the man was. "Jesus, Steve, why didn't you come to me when you found out? When we took Barnes in, you shut up like a drum. You treated me like the fucking enemy when I wanted to help him just as much as you did. For you. Do you have any idea how much easier things would have been if you'd just trusted me?"
"When would have been a good time, Tony?" Steve shot back, finally feeling some of the agitation from that point fill up inside him again. He saw Tony's jaw tighten in response, but it reminded Steve very much of that moment when he had a pen shoved in his face. "When you wanted to 'punch me in my perfect teeth'? After Bucky had been mind controlled and put a gun to your face? Maybe across the airport runway in front of everyone."
"How about the goddamn moment you found out, Steve?!" Tony bellowed back, jaw so tight Steve heard the painful grit of teeth it caused. As quickly as it came, Tony seemed to deflate in on himself, his hands visibly shaking. "Why wasn't I the first person that came to mind? Why wouldn't you…" Tony got up to pace, shaking his head. "I should have heard it from you, Rogers. Not that sick bastard."
Steve hated how lost Tony's voice sounded. Almost as much as he hated knowing Tony was absolutely right.
Standing in one fluid motion, Steve caught Tony on a pivot of the genius's heel and grasped the man's upper arms to stop his pacing. Steve didn't get punched for it, but Tony was absolutely tense as rebar beneath Steve's grip.
It took an extra few seconds before Tony looked at him. And Steve was patient when he had to be, he waited for that moment to look Tony in the eyes before he spoke. "You're right," he said quietly. "I didn't want to lose either of you, Tony. But if I'd wanted that, I should have told you."
Absently, his thumb slid under the hem of Tony's sleeve, brushing over the far too warm skin hiding there.
Steve saw the moment Tony remembered to breathe, the sharp rise of his chest as those slightly wide eyes searched his face fractically for something.
Tony moved and Steve felt it like there a magnet in his chest, for once it was not in opposition to Tony, but reeling Steve in. Heart thudding in his chest, nothing felt wrong about the way Tony took a fistful of Steve's jacket collar and pulled him down.
"Boss, dinner is at the door," Friday's voice sliced through the silence of the room.
Tony stopped pulling Steve in, his breath fluttering over the soldiers lips in a soft, short laugh. Steve felt every nerve ending screaming at the AI, at the poor kid waiting at the door for them.
Steve made to move back, give the genius room. But the grip on his collar tightened and the warmth of Tony's body was pressed against Steve's chest and hips.
"Don't even think about moving, Rogers," Tony growled a fraction from kissing distance. Steve didn't know when his hands ended up on Tony's hips, but they weren't moving and neither was Steve.
"What about the food?" It was a question Steve wasn't really looking for an answer to, purely a response on autopilot to give Tony an out.
Steve's world zeroed down to the feel of coiled muscles against his body and the smell of Tony's cologne. Tony had to make the first move here but it was still hell to hang in that limbo and wait for it.
"He'll get a massive tip for waiting," Tony rumbled before yanking Steve down the rest of the way and slamming their mouths together harshly.
As if for once they could synch up perfectly, they opened to each other. There was no awkward click of teeth, no turning this way or that to find the right fit. It was fluid. Lips locking into place with a hot, hungry slide of tongues that pulled a musical sound from Tony and keening purr from Steve.
It was perfect and the heat climbed fast. Tony's fingernails scratched against Steve's scalp, Steve pulled the man's hips closer which knocked a delicious groan from the genius's throat.
Friday had the audacity to clear her nonexistent throat impatiently.
Tony pulled away, eyes a little wild, mouth pink from the kiss. "Right, food...I should-"
"Not yet," it was Steve's turn to growl as he gathered Tony up and turned to press the shorter man against the nearest wall and take over the kiss, using his larger bulk and years of wet dreams to desperately learn Tony's mouth before common sense had the chance to intervene.
Tony whimpered into the initial intensity of his new position, caught between the wall and Steve's hunger. But Tony got a grip and would not be outdone by letting greedy hands find their way under Steve's shirt, sliding over the muscles of the soldier's back and then down, down, down to grasp and pull at Steve's ass.
Steve didn't need the encouragement, but he was willing to take direction as he moved to slide a thigh between Tony's legs and shifted just so to give the genius friction.
That seemed to be the line as Tony suddenly broke the kiss and moved both hands to Steve's chest and pushed. It wasn't enough to really dislodge Steve, but it got the point across and the soldier moved back, giving them both space to breath with his hands braced against the wall on either side of Tony's head.
The ruffled, panting mess of Tony Stark with kiss red lips staring back at him was a sight that made a new wave of need shoot through Steve. But as if sensing that new wave coming on, Tony suddenly ducked out from under the cage of Steve's arms and ran a hand quickly through his hair to make sure things were in place.
"Right…" Tony trailed off, distracted from whatever he'd planned on saying as his eyes traveled over Steve with an expression that was one part shock, one part want. "Don't go fugitive again while I grab food. Yeah?"
Steve had enough brain function to nod before the genius darted away for the door.
In allowed Steve to let his forehead rest against the wall he'd moments ago had Tony pressed against and worked on catching his breath.
What the fuck were they doing?