There are three things that Steve Rogers couldn't have imagined 70 years ago: that a typewriter would turn into a device that 'surfed' a thing called the 'internet'; that one could play games on this device called a 'wii'; and most shockingly that he was gay.
Back in Steve's day, it wasn't just frowned upon, but almost resented for a man to have affections for another man. They hid behind their closed doors, silent when asked of their family lives. Steve himself hadn't any real feelings towards the matter. Of course he was a little perturbed by the mention of it. What straight man in the 40's century not be, especially when said man tried for years to prove to the US Army that he was enough of a man to fight for his country.
So he'd never imagined he would date, let alone about to marry, Tony Stark.
Somehow, they'd managed to keep it all under wraps, the dating and engagement to the infamous Tony Stark. Steve and Tony realized that the press would get all over it, and not just in the celebrity media. Politicians would use him as the subject of gay marriage. The republicans were sure to have a ball with this one. Captain America represented all that was 'American' in the sense. At least he was supposed to. People tended to forget that there was a man underneath the suit. So when the wedding planning began, so did the paparazzi.
They were doing remarkably well, keeping even the best of the paparazzi far away from the botanical garden they were getting married in. They figured that Fury was doing his best in preventing any more negative PR than they were already getting. SHIELD could only function so long as their proprietors continued to support them. Steve didn't care the reasons behind it. He was grateful for what they were doing. She had enough to worry about.
Steve stared at the man in the mirror, taking in the sight of himself, dressed in the specially tailored gray suit, slowly realizing that the countdown had begun. The guests started arriving an hour ago, the wedding planner had started making last minute checks with the pastor, the garden was settling into that slowly building excitement. In only a few minutes he was about to become the husband to the world's infamous genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, Tony Stark.
He took a deep breath, threatening to be overcome by the emotions that welled up inside him. People just expected a lot out of Captain America, the super solider who defended not just his country but the world. So no one would suspect to find the famous Captain Rogers staring blankly at a mirror, recognizing that this fear was what they called 'cold feet'.
He loved Tony. Truly and honestly, he loved Tony more than anything. It wasn't as if the title bothered him any. They'd been dating long enough for Steve to learn that the 'playboy' part of his life had drawn to a close. He was ready for this. He wanted this. He wanted to be married to the man he loved more than life itself. So why was he so scared?
"Hey Steve?" a knock on the door interrupted him from his internal debate. In popped Pepper, her red hair styled so subtly it was almost unnoticed despite how it stood out from her black dress. "We're supposed to start in… Steve? Are you okay?"
"Yeah… I'm fine," he finally answered, shaking himself back to reality. Pepper smiled.
"Nervous, huh?" Steve chuckled, though it was as shaky as he felt, catching Pepper's immediate attention. "What's wrong?"
"I'm just… I don't even know."
Her heart visibly broke in front of him. "Steve…"
"I'm just, scared," he finally confessed. "I mean, I want this. I really, really do. But maybe this is all too fast." Pepper furrowed her eyes, as if not believing the excuse he was giving her. "I mean, I'm not good enough for him, Pepper. I'm really not. I mean, I know Tony's used the same excuse to me over and over again. Just as quickly as he says it, I've been there to dispel it, but you know, it works the other way around too.
"Pepper, he tries. He's tried so hard. He's done so much to change himself, to make himself believe he deserves enough to stand by my side." Steve ran a hand through his hair. "You know he's quit drinking. I haven't seen him take a drink since last Christmas and even then, it was only because Clint dared him and you know he can't stand Clint holding something over his head."
Pepper took a step forward, her brown eyes layered with sympathy. "Steve, you know that's not true."
"You know, this is Tony. Maybe he'd had decided to propose because I gave him some vibe I wanted him to." Steve had to look away, pacing to the window and look at the beautiful arrangements. "This is Tony, Pepper. I know him. Despite what I tell him, he'd do anything to make me happy—even if it was going to make him miserable."
"Steve, look at me." Steve hadn't noticed that Pepper was now directly behind him. Obediently, he turned to face her. She gave a sad sigh before looking him in the eye. "You know as well as I do that Tony Stark doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do. That's the way Tony works. Remember Berlin?" Steve couldn't help but chuckle.
"Besides, Tony loves you," she smiled weakly. "If he looked at me the way he looks at you, I don't think I could have left him."
With that, Pepper turned around to leave. Every bit of doubt he had slowly began to evaporate with her words. Tony was Tony. Despite what Steve believed, Tony was going to be selfish; and he wanted Steve by his side. He wouldn't have done this unless he wanted to prove to Steve, and the rest of the world, that he loved him.
And with that thought, Steve realized that there was nothing short of a conjoint attack of Hydra, Dr. Doom, and Loki that would stop this wedding.
There were a few things that the world would have never suspected of Tony Stark, although, he had to admit, this one was probably on the top of the list. He'd wondered how the press would take it: 'Tony Stark: Tying the Knot', 'Superhusbands?', 'The Stark-Spangled Banner?'. Needless to say, the tabloids were having a ball. Politicians on the other hand… well fuck the politicians. This wasn't a matter of national importance, this was a wedding—his wedding. And that was why he was freaking out.
In his defense, he had been freaking out for the past two days.
Maybe he was overthinking it. Actually, he was positive he was overthinking it. Steve loved him, he knew that. He didn't care that everyone hated him, he had sold weapons, drank constantly and all he had seemingly wanted from a relationship was sex. For some odd reason, Steve had just decided to love him. Hell, he had accidentally proposed and Steve had actually accepted it. But more importantly Tony loved Steve. That was just the bottom line. For once, Tony realized he was doing something completely right.
But that didn't mean he wasn't going to fuck things up.
Tony realized this. He was Tony fucking Stark, he was the king of fucking things up. Before Steve it was parties every night filled with meaningless sex and a lot of booze. A lot of booze. Steve had been the one to patch him up, make him stop drinking, and ultimately become what seemed like a decent human being. When Steve looked at him, he saw something amazing, something that made him love him.
…Which was why he was going to fuck this up. When Tony looked in the mirror he saw the real Tony Stark; the billionaire screw up that didn't deserve the nice things in his life, let alone Steve. He had grown up his whole life knowing he was a screw up; that he'd never live up to the image of his dad. Hell, his dad didn't even like him.
So why was he trying to marry Mr. Perfect, the golden boy of not just America and SHIELD but the entire fucking world? He didn't deserve him. Dear god, out of anything in this universe he didn't deserve the love that this man gave him. Which was why he couldn't let Steve go through with this; he couldn't let Steve marry him just for Tony to fuck it all up.
As if on cue Steve Rogers turned the corner, setting them face to face with each other.
He was perfect in every sense of the word. Steve looked absolutely perfect in that gray suit. Pepper was right to go with the blue tie; it brought out those bright blue eyes that made Tony melt on the spot. As Steve nervously smiled at him, Tony couldn't resist the smile of his own that tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Hey…" Steve started, a small blush slowly creeping on his face. "You ready?"
Tony let out a weak chuckle. What he was about to do was the last thing he ever wanted. "Look Steve, you don't have to do this," he suggested at last. "I understand that I'm—"
"Tony."
"—not everything you seem to think, so you can totally back out—"
"Tony, shut up."
"—of this wedding. I'd completely under—"
This time he was cut short as Steve placed his lips on his own. Tony realized that somewhere in his mind that they really shouldn't be having this kiss, especially if they were supposed to get married in about ten minutes, but every thought seemed to dissipate.
"You done?" When Steve pulled away Tony almost refused to let go. Steve knew better than to kiss Tony and not expect him to want more. That shy smile grew and Tony couldn't for the life of him remember why it was he was trying to get rid of the best thing that happened in his life.
Tony took a second to consider it. He knew himself to be a selfish bastard, why should he stop now. "Yeah. I'm done," he answered, a sly smirk now decorating his face, his eyes dancing with excitement. "You ready?"
Steve gently tightened his grip on Tony's waist before letting go. "I've been ready."
A/N: This was originally supposed to have the wedding in it too but... eeeeeeeh. What can I say? It's good enough on it's own. Next up is the ACTUAL wedding.
