Aryes: Hi guys, really tired today~, I brought you a long chapter of Dance With Me. We are halfway there guys, 8 chapters in all! :) I am excited and tired, mostly tired right now, but i hope you enjoy it :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers
WARNING: YAOI (BOY X BOY) STUFF HERE ! ALSO TALK OF SEXUALITY, IF YOU HAVE READ ALL THE OTHER CHAPTERS, I ASSUME THIS IS A GOOD CHAPTER.
ANYWAY~ HAVE FUN~
Step 3: Waking up and Falling Down
That night Steve found himself sleeping well and even dreaming peaceful. The night terrors that usually plagued his mind were nowhere to be found and the blonde was indeed thankful as his dreams consisted of dancing away on clouds, but strangely his partner whom he danced with was shadowed in darkness. His partner was shorter than him but had a strong grip around his hips that felt too firm for a female so Steve guessed it was a male. Everything pointed to the figure being Tony but the way they were dancing the waltz was wonderfully perfect and that made him doubt that it was Tony. Tony hadn't even danced the waltz properly yet, but Steve couldn't help feeling that it was indeed Tony Stark he was dancing with.
His partner was dancing with him upon the clouds, jumping gracefully from one to the other, the figure leading him in the dance like a professional. The blonde felt slightly embarrassed and flushed because he almost felt inadequate to dance with the figure. The sky around them was a mellowed yellow as though it was the afternoon, almost looking orange in the sky. It felt like hours they had dance, but Steve felt that the moment he let go that the dream would disappear and so would the figure that made him so happy. It was silent in the dream almost like a black and white movie, but their dance felt like no conversation was needed.
His excitement was smiling through as he laughed when the man jumped a farther jump to the cloud across and landed on the edge. This was the end of their dance it seemed when the figure separated himself from the blonde and Steve made a sad smile, knowing that when he woke up he would have a normal day again at the Stark tower, alone again. Steve's face dropped at the thought, but it was not his place to cause the shadowy figure any trouble. Though the shadow didn't move which puzzled Steve until the shadow disappeared, leaving only a Tony Stark in its place. Those brown eyes staring straight at his own.
Steve was only slightly shocked at the sight of the shadows flying away, he wasn't even phased at the fact the man underneath was Tony. He did feel a slight warmth in his heart at the sight though, perhaps he had already known it was him and had just denied it. He couldn't tell you either because in that moment the dream started to fade, the clouds disappearing and a smile on Tony's face was the one thing that he would wake up remembering. The sight was wonderful and as the dream dissipated he felt warmth.
The warmth was on his skin as his eyes fluttered open to be blinded by the light of the sun, everything in the room was bright enough to cause Steve to wince. Then, there was the feeling of soft air on his face that was startling, Steve tried to open his eyes again and this time it was easier to see as he shifted upward into a better sitting position. He tried to pinpoint what or who had breathed on him and was surprised to see the form of Tony Stark, the billionaire, sleeping on the couch. Instantly, Steve clamped a hand on his face to stop himself from laughing loudly from the scene. All that came out were a few shakes and a red face, because he could not completely erase the scene from his mind. He glanced again and was taken in by the sleeping form of Stark, never had he seen the man so relaxed in his life.
In truth, Steve was surprised at the way he had awaken, both of them had slept very closely and the blonde wondered what would have happened if Tony had woken up first. That thought made him frown, Tony would have pranked him in some way or done something else that was malicious, but the blonde would have found the situation more amusing if Tony had done something like that to him. Maybe he could do something like a prank to Tony? Steve smiled at the thought and his mind raced to ideas he could do. In his younger days, the only time he had ever pranked someone was when he had been in the army and it was moreover that he was the one everyone pranked before he got the super serum in him.
He walked over to the kitchen because he had heard that all good ideas come to one in a kitchen so he glanced around and marveled at the kitchen. Then there was something that caught his eyes, the ice maker, ice! Steve smiled cheekily and glanced across the room to the figure who was laying cluelessly asleep on the couch. Oh yes, revenge would be served cold. The blonde opened the cabinet underneath and got a huge bowl and filled it full of ice then proceeded to fill it with water too. Steve could hardly stop himself from laughing at the way Tony would wake up from a night of drinking. He walked over quietly behind the couch and slowly started to pour the watered down ice bowl onto Tony's exposed lap and he was surprised when the man hardly moved, he was only rewarded with a hitch in breath.
Steve made a face to show his disappointment so he decided to completely pour the whole thing, and the billionaire definitely reacted. "WOAH! WHAT THE HELL! WATER?!" Tony yelled, that did the trick. Steve couldn't help as a loud boisterous laughter erupted from his throat at the outburst by the other man. He could hardly breathe as the brunette seemed to be in disbelief at his actions, and that just made it more funny in Steve's opinion. "Cap! You are so dead!" the brunette yelled as the man ran around the couch and with a bubbly laughter the blonde ran as fast as he could to the hallway. He couldn't even talk at all as he ran for his life, the other man was directly behind him, despite being lethargic most of the time Tony could run! How on earth could he catch up to him! He was supposed to be the one that had super serum!
"Cap!" The sound came from behind him and Steve let out a high pitched scream he would later deny when the other man tackled him to the carpet. "How! How did you catch me?" Steve managed to say and the other man had already let go and had rolled over on the ground to catch his breath, he was more breathless than him. It took them both awhile to breathe properly, but when he did, Steve started laughing again in louder volume. "Your face! You should have seen it! You were so shocked!" Steve panted out through laughter and Tony made a very cross face that made him laugh even more!
"I will get you back for that soon," Tony foreboded and the blonde chuckled loudly in response and conceded that indeed it would only be fair, "Sure, sure!" The laughter died down and the taller male got up and brushed off his pant and realized he was wearing the same clothes as last night. "I can't believe it," Steve breathed out with a smile on his face and Tony faced him, "what?" The blonde stared out toward the windows, the morning light illuminating the room as he spoke, "I actually slept well for once."
"Hell, I am surprised that you don't have a hangover! You drank so much! Maybe the serum doesn't let hangovers happen? I am jealous of that healing factor for sure now," Tony grumbled and Steve smirked at that comment.
"Why not stop drinking Tony?" asked Steve and the brunette made a disapproving face at the other, "Yeah right, I'll do that the same day you stop saving kittens off the side of the road." Steve didn't retort but simply walked into the kitchen and sighed, "So you'll never stop drinking?" The brunette smirked and replied haughtily, "Nope." The blonde opened up the fridge and pulled out the eggs and other ingredients. Tony went to the coffee maker and turned it on with a flip of a switch and he walked over to a drawer and pulled out some aspirin and a water bottle downing the pills easily. No words were said, but Steve felt the other man watching him cook from behind and felt he had to remark. "Are you wanting some," asked Steve and he heard the other man reply, "You were already making me some anyway right?"
He sighed and didn't answer because it was true, he already was making food for the billionaire who was probably either leaning against the kitchen sink or sitting on the bar stool behind the counter on the other side, watching him nonetheless. "So, are you busy today," Steve asked in a probing manner, hoping that the man would stop staring at him so intensely. "No, Jarvis cancelled my appointments so I think today is a good day to catch up on yesterday's missed practice," Tony said, but Steve couldn't believe that the man said it so he turned to look at the other in disbelief. The other man gave him a frustrated look, "What? I already said I need to learn before the dance party so I need to catch up and I'm guessing you are free today too right?"
"Yes, I am," the reply was not a saddened tone but rather sounded excited which surprised himself. Was he too excited? He felt self-conscious about the way he responded to the point where he couldn't even look at Tony. The question was why was he so excited about Tony becoming serious with his dancing? It honestly didn't matter right now, because he needed to focus on cooking the breakfast that was now almost going to get too brown! Quickly, Steve turned to flip the over easy eggs he was making for the sandwich when he heard the fridge getting opened. The blonde turned to see Tony getting out a freezer pack, wrapping it in a wash rag then putting it on his forehead. "Are hangovers really bad for you Tony?" asked Steve curiously, he hadn't really had one except for one time and it hadn't been that bad.
The brunette gave him the dirtiest look in the world as he whispered out in a raspy voice, "Yeah, they are more terrible than getting kicked in the nuts." Steve gave a disapproving look at the comment, but sighed before replying logically, "then don't drink as much alcohol then." Tony sighed and walked over to the bar stool behind the counter, seating himself then lying his head down in with no reply, which was odd, but who was Steve to question the billionaire's weird quirks? The man obviously was not feeling good and the blonde couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty about the fact that he couldn't share the brunette's pain, so he made an egg sandwich for each of them. He set them gently where Tony was sitting and poured out coffee in a cup and put the cream and sugar next the cup while he poured out some orange juice and then a cup of water.
He set the cup of water by Tony, who hadn't moved since he had laid his head down, and he put the glass of orange juice to the right of Tony. He grabbed his plate and carried around to the chair next to the billionaire's seat and he sat down before realizing that Tony's head was now raised. The brown eyes staring evenly at the breakfast laid out in front of him, unmoving and pretty much unwilling to make any motion forward. Steve quietly reached over, watching as Tony's eyes flickered to the moving pale hand that moved the cup of coffee forward for consumption. The brown eyes whipped to look at Steve's, but the blonde refused to meet his gaze and instead opted to start eating his food.
"Aren't you supposed to be keeping me away from bad decisions like caffeine and alcohol Cap? You actually are becoming a bad influence on me," Tony snickered out with a shrewd smile, but the small movement seemed to pain the man, because he quickly took a sip of the coffee. The man grimaced as he put the cup down and reached for the cream and the sugar, Steve was already almost done with half his sandwich. The blonde was actually a little disappointed with himself at the present, the egg lacked some flavors he usually had in them, but it was better than nothing. "Oh no Tony, you were the one who started drinking and started the coffee maker. I am not at fault for that, your own decisions," his normal scolding lacking bite or volume, because it truth he did feel a little guilty about making the man wake up so suddenly in the morning.
"Where would I be without Captain Obvious?" asked Tony with little to no bite, but the blonde responded with a smile, "Lost in a sea of confusion and bad decisions Tony." The comment was obviously not been what Tony had been expecting and Steve couldn't help the smile that made its way to his face from the other's shocked face. The shocked face turning into one of pure exhilarating joy and Tony started to laugh even though it obviously hurt him. "Cap, you're killing me here!" Tony exclaimed in pain, but there was obvious mirth in the voice so the blonde wasn't really offended. In fact, Steve would say he was proud that he could make the other man laugh like that, it was infectious as well when Steve join in with a small chuckle and a smile.
"Mmm...thank god for egg sandwiches and coffee," the billionaire murmured to himself and the blonde silently agreed with him as he took another bite from his sandwich and drank a gulp of orange juice, because vitamin C is important. Well, he doesn't really need it, but he liked to think he was a healthy person in his eating habits, at least in the morning. Steve smiled when he glanced over at Tony who ate like he had an iron stomach and he chuckled when the shorter man hastily started to take off the crust from the sandwich. He received a glare, but the taller man couldn't help but laugh even more at the pouting look. Steve realized that this was probably the happiest he had been since being unfrozen, he felt warm, content, and best of all, he slept without having a nightmare. Steve quickly got a drink of orange juice and felt his cheeks with one of his hands and was genuinely surprised with their warmth, it was nice.
Tony felt like hell when he got hungover, he always knew what would happen when he picked up a drink of some kind. He always woke up with a killer headache, a hunger pang, and an extreme form of laziness, terrible combination if you asked him. Today was different, Tony woke up by the horrid sound of his own screams, he woke up soaking with ice water and ice cubes on his crotch. He had been so shocked by the fact that he was cold that he didn't notice the culprit laughing maniacally behind him. He didn't even register that he had a terrible headache when he saw Captain America smiling and laughing at his pain. There was only one option at the time, go and get his attacker and make him pay.
"Cap, you are so dead!" Tony had cried out at the other when he stood, the ice cubes had fell off and away from his pants as he started to run after Steve. The taller man ran so fast that Tony had to use all he had to catch the blonde, his own smile matching the Captain's when they both hit the floor with the sweet sound of Cap's bubbly laughter. Then, him getting a drink of coffee and a sandwich from the blonde, it almost felt like a dream. The blonde was so out of character this morning that it almost made Tony feel that way, well until Steve had made the comment about his drinking decisions. The billionaire knew that this was the real Steve, but this Steve was different, happy and fun. The small man decided he liked the other man's new attitude, maybe drinking for the first time in forever did that to people.
In fact, Tony would say that it probably helped Steve get a good night's sleep for once, maybe this was how Steve was before he got stuck in the iceberg? If that was the case, Tony guessed that Cap was actually a popular guy with people back then, which as usual, made him curious. "Hey Cap," asked Tony as he finished uncrusting his bread slices, he hated the crust. The blonde had been drinking orange juice when he asked, the other setting down the glass to answer, "hmm?" Tony's lips hitched slightly at the very modern way Steve answered, he was getting used to the future. "Were you a popular guy before you froze over?" asked Tony curiously, watching with subtle amusement as Steve almost coughed up the bite he just from his sandwich, "huh?"
"Well, I am just a little curious about what you were like before you froze over," Tony stated, but he watched as Steve looked a little uncomfortably at him. "You want to know what I was like before? What brought up the subject?" the question seemed defensive so Tony teased the other slightly, "As I said before," Tony drawled before he finished, "I am just curious." The blonde looked at him dubiously in silence so Tony added, "Fine, how about I answer a question, then you do. Fair trade right?" The blonde's blue eyes glimmered a little and Tony could tell he had him hooked when Steve responded, "Any question?" Tony smirked and had to tease the man a little more, "Yes, any question and i'll answer it honestly, cross my heart." Steve made a face and said, "You don't have a heart though."
That initiated another bellow of laughter from Tony, another gold star for Cap's jokes today, he was on a roll! "You get the point Captain Obvious, I answer honestly and you do the same and the game continues till we run out of questions to ask," Tony said and he could see the other getting nervous. In truth, Tony had nothing to lie about, he was pretty open about things, and pretty much admitted the hardest things in their discussion last night. Steve on the other hand had to answer honestly and Tony was going to have fun with this. Steve started by answering his question from earlier though, after he agreed to play the game. "Before I was frozen, I wasn't popular at all other than the fact that I was famous in the army, no one really was my friend except for Bucky, Peggy, Howard and well...the man who helped me to become a hero." The end of the sentence made the other man paused and Tony assumed that meant the end of his answer.
There was an evil glint in Cap's eyes that alerted Tony when the other asked, "Out of all the Avengers, which is your least favorite person and why?" Tony held back a laugh, so Steve was a gossip type of person? Well, Tony would say that that was technically two questions, but the blonde looked really earnestly at him. He had to think for a moment based on some things, If you had asked him a few weeks ago he would've said Captain America, but currently, he could find more disturbing things about the others. He finally found his answer after a moment of deep soul searching.
"Ms. Romanov, because I can't tell what she's thinking at all. She has this very bored look all the time or it's serious, it bugs me." Tony answered and he could see that the taller man was holding off commenting on his opinions. Tony wanted to quickly distract him again, "Who's your least favorite Avenger then?" The other stopped cold for a second and took a moment to think, a little too long in Tony's opinion.
"Come on Cap, this shouldn't be that hard," the brunette groaned in boredom after 3 minutes and the other glared before finally answering, "Clint, because he laughs when I get confused about new stuff, like technology and references." Tony hummed slightly at the answer, he could understand that. Clint wasn't the nicest person especially when it came to being a superior in a subject. He liked to show off and brag, which is why Clint was #2 on his Least Favorable Avengers list. Tony took a sip of his coffee and enjoyed the fact that it now had sugar and cream in it. It really hit the spot when he was dealing with hangovers, today was going rather well though.
"Tony, would you get a dog or a cat?" asked Steve and Tony gave him a blank look, "Really Cap? Dog or cat? I would choose cat though because I don't trust myself to keep a dog alive." There was a guilty look from Steve as Tony said the last part, it was a good point, and then the brunette jumped joyously as it was his turn. "You see Steve, in this situation you ask embarrassing stuff like...hmm-AH! If you had a chance to kiss a random stranger who was disease free, would you do it?" Tony asked with a smirk and just as the billionaire predicted the other man looked shocked and embarrassed all at once, it was great. "Tony! That's not a fair question!" Steve tried to argue, but that was a weak argument, "Really Cap? You said any question, so you have to answer it truthfully! I don't judge so it's okay!"
That didn't stop the other man's embarrassment about the question at all, then there was silence because the blonde was thinking about it very seriously. "Yes, I would," Steve replied after a moment and the brunette's eyebrows arched in surprise, he had been guessing the opposite answer, but the bigger man had surprise him all day this morning. Steve's blue eyes stared at Tony with determination, but the blonde's face told a different story when it turned red from obvious embarrassment, "Do you like to bed with women or men more?" Tony smirked as he saw the Captain turn to take another bite of his sandwich to try and avoid his gaze.
"Well," Tony started but paused, because he had to think, this was actually seriously hard to answer, "I guess right now, I would say they serve different purposes. Well, more like, when I am angry or I am frustrated, I usually find a guy, but other times I get women. I have more fun with men though personally, things can get rougher and you can switch positions easier, plu-" The blonde's hands came upward to stop the brunette who stared grinning at the blonde, "-okay, I get it Tony. I just wanted the question answered I didn't want a whole explanation, plus the way you were wording it sounded wrong!" The billionaire looked over at Steve with a curious expression, "What do you mean?" The blonde took another drink of his orange juice till he finished it, "Do you just toss people aside like that? It seems just cruel, you even said that they 'served different purposes'. You're just using them and throwing them away when they don't work for you anymore."
Tony made a displeased face and then retorted, "They all understood the rules Cap. I didn't trick them into bed with me, I was frank from the beginning with them so they chose to come with me knowing that they very well would probably not see me again." The brunette sighed and ate another bite from his sandwich, his eyes whipping over to see how the Captain took his words, but the man had actually stood up to take the plates and put them in the sink. "I guess it is partially their own faults then, but…" Steve started and the brunette saw the sadness in the other's body language and felt a stab of guilt at his heart, his face grimacing slightly. "Alright," Tony said aloud, but mainly for himself, "What is your favorite thing about future so far?"
Blue eyes stared at him for a moment and a smile went across his face, "I think it's a lot different in hygiene and I really am happy about that for sure, but…I think the fact that I am still needed by people and have people now who are like me, people who want something better for this world and are becoming heroes. The Avengers are my favorite thing, the fact that we exist together and have a purpose together, helping people and saving the world." Tony felt his heart pound faster in his ears when those blue eyes looked at him with a genuine smile, "You especially for letting me live here and learn more about the world as it is now. Is it okay that I consider this place home now?" Tony let out a laugh, he didn't know exactly why, but it felt good. Good that Steve actually liked the Stark tower to call it his home, "Yeah. That's why I said you can stay here for as long as you wish. It's no skin off my nose!"
Steve looked a little shocked by the comment so Tony clarified, "It's an expression to say it's no problem." The blonde smirked a little embarrassingly and giggled as he said, "Oh, I really didn't know what that meant." The billionaire nodded understandingly as he finished off his sandwich and lifted his empty plate to Steve across from him, who took it and started to rinse it off without any words. Tony started to hum as he waited for Captain to ask him a question back, the wait was sorta killing him. "Your turn Cap," Tony reminded the man and the blonde looked up from the dishes and made a face that Tony perceived as deep in thought. "Okay, why did you tell Ms. Potts that you could dance the waltz when you can't?" Steve asked and Tony made a face at the words, 'Ms. Potts'. "Can't believe you call Pepper Ms. Potts, she would be so angry at that," said the brunette with a small laugh, but Steve smiled a little smugly when he spoke, "I've called her that and she tells me that it's the most respect she's ever gotten from one of the Avengers."
Tony's brown eyes widened to a comical size as he stared at Steve and said, "No way, she was just being nice. She tells me that she gets freaked out by it, because it makes her seem like an old widow." The blonde made a sad face at that, "I guess I'll quit calling her that, things in the future are very different." Steve sounded frustrated, but more like a lazy frustration, Tony laughed. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Blue eyes stared at him for a long period of time and then he remembered his question, "Oh yeah, the reason I said I could dance was because she thinks I can't do anything. I wanted to sound like I could do something for once, plus she has other things to worry about other than how well I can dance. Pepper likes to just cut me down when she can Cap! She likes to do that so much at every little thing that I swear she gets off on it!"
The captain looked at him strangely and then asked, "Get off on it? What do you mean?" Tony smiled and laughed into the counter hiding his face from the Captain with his hands. Steve seemed distressed at his response which made his laughter ten times harder to quell, he couldn't stop laughing. The blonde's innocence was too much sometimes, so Tony decided to have some fun with it. After his laughing finally ceased he looked up to see a peeved Steve staring at him with a pout, he almost laughed again at his face. "Well Cap," Tony started out then just went with it, "making fun of me just might be her fetish or something? Do you even know what fetish is?" The taller male was confused again and Tony explained it even plainer, "Okay, basically, she could probably masturb-"
"AHHH! NO, I GET IT! You can stop now, I understand now, just stop," Steve cut in with a reddening face as he turned away from the billionaire towards the cabinets and he heard the sound of Tony laughing hysterically behind him. His face got even redder and Tony could see the tops of his ears getting hot, it made Tony feel the urge to torture the man even further. "Do you really get it?" Tony asked and Steve snapped back with a glare from a reddened face, "Yes, yes, I get it now. No more explanations needed!" Tony smirked and continued on, "Jeez, Cap. No need to be so stiff about it, it's the 21st century now~! It's as common as talking about the weather-"
"-I don't care Tony. Just ask your question already," Steve tried persuading Tony but Tony wouldn't let up that easily, nope, he was much too nosy for his own good. Plus, the blonde was such an interesting topic, especially when it came to dirty things, his reactions were truly priceless. "Are you a virgin," asked the brunette and Steve seemed to give him a nasty glare and seemed to shout, "Yes. Question for you then, which would hurt worse, me kicking you in the face or punching you in the stomach, because I want to do both right now." Tony made a pained face and laughed, "Ouch, neither would be great, but I think the punch to the gut would be good after all you don't want to mar my perfect face right?"
Tony was being cheeky and Steve walked around to counter to where Tony sat still and said, "Actually I do want to hit it." Tony laughed knowing that Steve could threaten, but he wouldn't do it, "So you admit my face is perfect." Steve's face became flushed a little more, turning a pink, but Tony was curious. Well, curiosity killed the cat, but curiosity was gonna kill the Tony in a second if he didn't stop treading on Steve's bad side as the man made a fist and held it to shoulder height. That was a sure sign of aggression, but he couldn't stop himself from just pushing the man a little further. "When did I say that?" asked Steve and Tony replied back cheekily, "It's implied, because you didn't deny it."
Steve seemed to put his closed fist back down and breathed out slowly, yes, Steve was trying to quell his anger. It was a good sign that the man wouldn't get angry again too quickly, and that was good sign for the billionaire who really couldn't keep his mouth shut. "I think I'll allow you to hit me," said Tony with a smirk and that seemed to confuse the hell out of Steve. "What?" asked Steve with a suspicious look and the brunette gave a sly sneer as he continued, "as long as you hit your lips with mine softly." The blonde paused for a moment to actually understand what Tony had said, and he couldn't help a large smile that burst out laughing. "What in the world!" exclaimed the blonde through sporadic breaths and it made Tony laugh too.
As he had said before, Steve's laughter was indeed contagious because every time one of them stopped laughing, one of them would give the other a look that would prolong the laughter even longer. Steve was actually trying to hide the laughter by looking away from Tony which eventually worked when they both stopped laughing. "Is that what people call 'pickup lines' now?" asked the blonde with a still amused look and the billionaire smiled as well. "Look at that, I taught you firsthand what a pick up line of the present sounds like," Tony said with an accomplished look and Steve let out another small chuckle, "was that classified as a good one?" Tony made a huff of a laugh and said, "No, that was just a funny one." Steve nodded and replied, "Good, probably the first thing about the present that hasn't changed from the past."
"What? The pickup lines?" asked Tony with another chuckle, he pictured his father trying to woo some woman with a bad pickup line for some reason. "Yep, they really haven't changed, back then though, most of them were sweet rather than direct," Steve lamented and Tony was curious, "Like what? Let me hear one then." Steve looked a little pissed, but he seemed to be thinking hard and said, "If kisses were snowflakes, I'd send you a blizzard."
Tony made a funny face at the line, wow that was cheesy, "Hmmm….Hey are your pants on sale, because at my place they are 100% off." Steve's face glowed a little pinker and a laugh erupted from the man.
"Yep, definitely a difference. Guess what I am wearing right now? The smile you gave me," the brunette smiled and said, "Ah, that's so cute that I might throw up. Here's one, do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?"
Steve laughed loudly, "That's pretty good, hey can I borrow a kiss I promise I will bring it back."
Tony's lips went upward trying to hold back a smile, "I'll treat you like my homework: slam you on a table and do you all night long'."
He watched with amusement as Steve's face lit up bright red and he put on a determined face and said, "'If I received a nickel for every time I saw a person as beautiful as you, I'd have 5 cents."
Tony pursed his lips at it and then smiled, "
That one got Steve pretty good that made Tony continue, "On a scale of one to America, how free are you tonight?"
Now Captain America was officially dying from laughter as he collapsed to the floor trembling and hitting the floor trying to quell it and Tony joined him in his laughter again. He really couldn't help it if the guy was charismatic, and to think that he thought Steve was cold hearted. Here was that so-called cold hearted man, on the floor, laughing so hard his face was red from pickup lines of all things. In fact, Tony would even say that Steve was freaking adorable laughing like a mess on the floor, also hilarious because he looked like he was about to start pounding the floor.
Eventually, he calmed himself down, the blonde finally regaining his breath and his composure as he stood up again. He dusted himself off even though there was no dust actually on the floor, and walked over to the window. The sunlight was there still, but the clouds were foreshadowing some darker storms yet to come. "Looks like it's going to storm today. It's good thing then that we will be inside. So when do you want to start?" Steve asked and the billionaire knew what he was referring to, it was the blonde's favorite topic. It was plain to see from the sparkle in his eyes when he said it, the way his smile seemed to get slightly wider and especially the eagerness that his voice could not hide.
The brunette could help but comply what he knew the blonde wanted, "Sure, why not start now, and if anything, a suit like this is perfect for dancing. Plus, the water has already dried on my pants." He saw the Captain duck his head slightly and snicker at Tony's last comment, so the brunette stood up with a big smile. He jumped upward, because he was short and hooked his arm around Steve's thick neck muscles and forcibly lowered the man to his level which was about 4-6 inches shorter at least. He grabbed his arm putting the man in a headlock that had him leaning downward as he smiled evilly, I am going to get you back for that you know." Blue eyes looked surprisingly at him and he laughed with that charming smile as he responded, "of course."
"Head back Tony! Go with the music, let it carry you away. This dance is a flow Tony, like a river, be a river Tony," the blonde said with chuckle as he watched Tony shadow dance, which was basically dancing alone. The billionaire glared at him looking pissed and Captain America smiled back at him and said, "Come on Tony, I know you can do it!" Tony wanted to make a sound against that remark, but he didn't, in truth, he was glad he was shadow dancing instead of dancing with Steve. He had noticed that when they were stretching his eyes would follow Steve, it was probably because he was more conscious of him or maybe a bit of shock was seeping in that Steve was actually more than he appeared.
Before last night, he would've said that Steve was a golden boy, he would've said that Steve was probably treated to sweet life and the American dream. He would've said he was a stickler to rules who was stuck up and only caring about others when it was convenient, but it was different now. Tony couldn't say anything like that now, not a single word would've been true about it. That conversation last night had turned everything Tony knew about Steve upside down and 90 degree turn again. That's why his eyes could not leave his form, last night he had seemed so sad, so lonely, so genuinely vulnerable, that Tony couldn't ignore him anymore. The brunette made a pout with his face and answered, "but Cap, it's hard to get the hang of it without a partner. Mind being my partner? I just get the hang of it more with you."
Tony was being truthful, he could memorize things more with Steve, but the blonde had pointed out in an earlier lesson that he needed to know how to lead with women because they were very different in physique compared to him. It was true, Steve didn't resemble any women that would be at the party with a body like that, but he needed the moves. Plus, Tony needed to stop running away from being near Steve, and of course, honest Steve had no clue about social cues. He probably hadn't noticed him getting jittery every time they got near each other today or the fact that Tony actually felt embarrassed about last night. He actually felt guiltier that he got Steve drunk and let the man spill his secrets without being able to stop himself.
That guilt and his knowledge was making him feel a little regretful but at the same time powerful, knowledge was power after all. Steve agreed to his request to dance with him, the man unfazed by the request as though he had guessed he would ask for that. Tony was thankful that Steve was taller than him for once, because it meant that when they danced their groins wouldn't be pushed against each other in an uncomfortable way. Tony reached for the lead role's hand positions, and the brunette would be lying if he said that the power he held over Steve was definitely motivating him to learn the dance faster. He practically controlled Steve's movements, maybe the blonde was just a perfect partner, but that was because Tony had never danced the waltz with anyone else. Maybe…, he didn't really know for sure, but all he needed to know was that dancing with Steve was something he liked.
When Tony started to get a hang of the rhythm more, the dance became more natural and he reveled in the praise Steve gave him for that. He felt himself swell with pride and smile as he swung another turn perfectly, but he tried not to spoil the moment with words as he felt their bodies in sync. Even when he had danced the salsa with people he never felt this connected to someone, he never enjoyed it as much as he did right now. Tony guessed the waltz was meant to conjoin people in a perfect sync, meant to feel like dancing on clouds. To soft a step and you will falter, too strong a step and you break the cloud, it was a balance of both strength and gentleness. It was challenging to get it down, but by the smile on the other man's face as they swung another turn without a hitch, he was sure he was doing pretty well though.
Tony felt his stomach flutter, he wanted to show Steve and Pepper that he could do this. The brunette wanted to impress Steve with all his heart, he wanted more chances to dance like this and for a few more turns he felt transported. Transported into a world where he was dancing on clouds perfectly, every step making his heart flutter slightly in panic. The salsa he had learned as a child with its strong moves and show of dominance and emotion couldn't even begin to be comparable to such a vastly different feeling of flying on clouds. He understood Steve even more now, his soft temperament and his long waiting patience for this feeling, they were instilled with this dance. The salsa had given the billionaire a sense of passion, fast to anger, but also a long waiting patience to get what he wanted.
They separated when the dance was over and the feeling was gone and Tony felt longing to dance again like that. The feeling was addicting. "What did you see?" asked Steve with understanding eyes and a smile, and Tony muttered, "Clouds, like dancing on clouds." The blonde smiled and laughed saying, "I told you that you would love it." Tony felt his blood pounding in his ears, it was like a roar and he felt hotter. It was the adrenaline rush after dancing and he felt himself smile at Steve, "Holy shit, I get it now." The blonde made a disapproving face and replied, "Language Tony." That was when the brunette got a great idea, he grabbed the pale man by his upper arms and looked at him and asked, "Hey have you ever salsa danced Cap?"
There was a shocked and confused arch of the blonde man's brow as he replied, "No, I haven't. What is it?" Tony felt himself smirk darkly and he chuckled, wow, Steve didn't know anything about salsa dancing at all. Oh, this would be fun for sure. "Do you know anything about it at all?" asked Tony and Steve seemed to bristle up and try to get out of Tony's grip. He smiled nervously and laughed, "Tony I don't like the look you are giving me." The brunette noted that he was indeed giving a dark look the man's way so he smiled and laughed, "Oh lighten up Cap. It's a dance similar to the dance we saw at a club a few weeks ago that was quote on quote, bumping and grinding like animals." The blonde's face brightened and he sputtered, "I didn't say it quite like that. It's a more accurate statement though and you would know more about it than I would."
"Of course I would, it probably actually came from how salsa moves are like, well maybe," Tony said, he didn't know for sure, but he could guess that club dancing originated from some classical dance or something. "Anyways," he said brushing off the fact that he really didn't know, "Salsa is basically a dance where your hips shake to a beat, but your upper body stays unmoving." Steve looked confused by the explanation so Tony needed to show him what he meant, so he stepped away from him and closed his eyes. He was going to shadow dance, and he imagined a partner to dance with, the thought up woman was always different every time. This time was a raven haired woman with short hair wearing a hot red dress, her dark skin illuminated by the light, her hair and dress making the contrast look very appealing.
Tony hadn't done the salsa for a long time, but his heart and soul could remember the beat from anywhere. The beat was his soul, he had always been taught to imagine the music wrapping around his hips and legs. To feel the beat in his appendages and to move in time, he did spins with the made up woman, shimmies to rolls. At one point he even felt himself lifting the imaginary woman, his routine had no pattern but at the same time it was the will of the music. Tony had no control of that, it was ingrained in his heart as he danced, each sound of the beat making a song that told a story. A story of love pain and redemption, all of the dance moves were like fire on his body, fast, furious and in motion. It was nothing like dancing on clouds, this was like dancing upon rocks in a lava pit, a path, a bridge, a narrow line that was thrilling.
Finally, his dance routine was done, Tony's vision of the woman faded as he breathed in and out. He looked upward and turned his head to find Steve staring at him with a smile. "What? Were my moves that impressive Cap? Do you feel a sense of defeat perhaps?" asked Tony as he walked to where he was, a little pissed that his proud moment was ruined by the height difference as he stood in front of the Captain. "You really love the salsa," the words were simple and Tony just responded promptly, "and you love the waltz." There was a weird silence and Steve broke it, "That was a million times better than the 'club' dancing I saw earlier." Tony nodded with confidence, "I would hope so, kids nowadays don't understand the meaning of hard work even when it comes to dancing. You's think they would put more time into it, Footloose taught people that I thought."
"Footloose?" asked Steve and Tony felt his heart drop and his mind roar, "Okay Cap, grab your things and come downstairs." The blonde stared at him confused and blankly said, "What? Are we going out to eat again?" The billionaire brushed it off and said, "No, come in your pajamas or something and get downstairs to the home theatre. We are not going to let you go down this path Cap! Not seeing the movie Footloose is like not choosing Team Edward or Team Jacob...I'm not gonna clarify that statement because the movie it comes from is terrible! Point is, you need to see Footloose if your a dancer, just like every kid should see Mean Girls when they get to high school...Jarvis, add that to a new list called 'Movies Cap needs to see'. Oh, also add the Breakfast club!" Steve didn't know what was happening, but he picked up his stuff and put it in his room.
Tony said to bring comfy stuff via Jarvis, so against his better judgment he dressed as he did for bed and went downstairs only to have Tony start laughing. "What's wrong with this?" asked Steve which made Tony laugh even harder into the theatre chair's armrest. "He has fucking fluffy husky slippers," Tony rasped to himself through his laughs and Steve flushed as the laughing continued with, "and-and a freaking dalmatian stuffed animal!" The blonde sat down angrily in the comfy chair and said, "Well, you are half naked! You said bring comfy stuff!" The brunette finally stopped laughing and came out from hiding in the chair's arm rest and chuckled, "Cap, I am comfy being naked anywhere. Be lucky I put on shorts, unless you wanted to see more, because it seemed you were staring earlier when you came in anyway."
Steve felt his face burn red because it was true, he had stared at Tony a good while through the window before walking in. He couldn't help the fact that his eyes were drawn to the man's very open body, the very very tan muscular body with one very eye catching arc reactor glowing. That made him think about something, "how are we going to watch the movie when your arc reactor glows?" The question caught Tony off guard as he looked down at his reactor and said, "Not a problem. I have a custom made shirt for it." The blonde felt confused as Tony stood up and pulled out a black article of clothing and pulled it over his head, it had looked like a tanktop, but turned out to be like a half T-shirt. "What is that?" asked Steve as he stared unabashed at the clothing style, he had seen one or two before.
The brunette looked down at it and then back up again, "You've never seen a crop top? I know they are kinda an old clothing item, but geez I-" "I've seen them I just didn't know what they were called," Steve interrupted and the billionaire shrugged and smirked, "Now you have. Mine has extra fabric right over my reactor so it hides any light from it. Very useful for movie theatres among,..among other things." Steve flushed again at the innuendos and said in a warning tone, "Tony." The man put his hands up in surrender, "Oh look. You are picking up on my innuendos Cap. You are leveling up now to a semi-modern person." Steve gave him a look as he sat down with a sigh, "No, I think it would be leveling down Tony." The brunette chuckled at that and spoke, "or is it?" The captain rolled his eye as and said in a tired voice, "Just play the movie Tony."
Steve was watching the movie Footloose, and it seemed to be really good honestly. He didn't want to admit that he liked it because of his pride, but Tony was really right, it was a great movie. Steve shivered in his silky t-shirt and shorts, he didn't want to say he was cold because if he said so then Tony would turn up the temperature which would make Tony hot in his um...crop top, yeah, crop top. He knew that the brunette would refuse to take it off and probably sweat to death and that is why Steve refused to say he was cold.
After the movie ended, they started up the one called "Mean Girls", Tony throughout the movie was explaining any words that completely flew over Steve's head which taught him a lot about modern girls even if Tony explained it wasn't real situations. To be honest, the blonde was glad he actually got one of the jokes in the movie, he felt proud. Well, he got more than one of them, and his favorite was the quote, "you don't even go to this school!" There was more to that quote, but its a secret unless you've seen the movie. Tony was laughing so hard he was crying and Steve knew he wasn't doing much better. After "Mean Girls" they had another round of ballistic laughter as they tried to explain their favorite parts to each other.
The blonde noticed that he had started doing something lately as his eyes always seemed to stare at Tony's chest where his arc reactor was. He was remembering the night before when Tony told him that the arc was his nightmare fuel, then he remembered something else. "Umm...Tony, do you remember last night?" Steve asked quietly and the billionaire stilled, "yeah, do you?" The blonde nodded and then pressed on, "You remember your promises to me at all, the first one that night on the elevator?" The brunette paused and said after a moment, "You know Cap, when I am drunk I tend to have some missing memories like most other mortal beings so please tell me what promise I am supposed to keep."
"You said that if I told you my nightmares that you would let me touch your arc reactor," Steve whispered as he sat up in his chair and looked at Tony who seemed to be blushing a little as he massaged the bridge of his nose. "I did, didn't I?" Tony said with a face palm to his head, and he sighed, "Alright Cap. I don't know why you want to see it so badly though." The billionaire lifted up his black crop top by his hands and held it upward and walked to the Captain with a face hidden by cloth. Steve's eyes were wholly on the sweet blue luminescent glow that was around the tan chest, the skin moved surgically to try and look smooth but failed and probably became more apparent because of it. The blonde's hands reached out to touch the small bright object, he wanted to trail his fingers on it, feel if there was any resemblance to heart that was unseen like a beating sound.
He almost had touched it before he stopped abruptly, getting a brief flashback of his painful revealing of memories and he pulled back his hand. He saw Tony pull the top down slightly so he could see, "You said you wanted to touch it. Are you scared of it now or something Cap?" There was some hurt laced in his voice, the blonde heard it and shook his head and spoke honestly, "No, I think it is wonderful, I just know that I have no right to touch it." The brunette's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What are you talking about? I promised you could touch it." The question was rightfully asked and Steve didn't know quite how to explain it, but he would try, "I know you promised me, but...I don't think you want me to at all. I think you are forcing yourself to...be true on your promise, but I think that it isn't right to force you to open up before you are ready. Besides, I think you and I both know who probably suffers more from their nightmares."
It was silent after that and Steve made an alarmed face as Tony made a dark one, Steve panicked, "Wai-wait a minute, it wasn't supposed to come out like that Tony! I can' explain exactly, but I just feel unworthy t-to touch you, or rather your heart. I would just.." Steve paused as he felt his heart beat silently, the rest of the words coming out in his mind, 'I would just taint it.I would ruin something else beautiful in this world again, like Peggy and Bucky's lives.' The blonde felt himself feel sick as he looked down at the red carpeted floor and shuddered, he felt pain in his sides. He felt the abuse of his body again and heard his mother's voice in his heard reinforcing it all, 'You ruined my relationships, you ruined my life, what else are going to ruin now that you talk to other people?' "Hey, you alright there Cap?" asked Tony, concern was in his voice, Steve had been quiet for too long.
The blonde looked upward and the billionaire swore he was paler than he was earlier, and he seemed to be breathing a bit faster. "Hey, are you alright?" asked Tony, but he saw Steve shaking his head no, and the man started to tremble and breathe spasmodically. Tony's eyes grew wide as he reached out to the blonde to try and bring him back to the chair, he looked like he was going to pass out. "Hey Cap, let's sit down and talk okay?" asked Tony, his voice soft and trying to be hypnotic, it was working but only for a second before the Captain shook his head, "No, no-no-no, I can't, not...not here! No." Tony felt puzzled, "Let's go somewhere else and talk then, is that good enough?" The Captain bit his bottom lip and shook his head again, then looked away, he looked like he was about to cry. There was something strange about a man taller than you on the verge of tears, especially when he was so kind hearted, it made him want to know why he was about to cry!
"No...I can't stay here...not with you...bad-BAD things will happen if I stay, I'll-I'll end up..," That's wen the Captain started to cry and his hands held his ears and and head as he crouched downward a little and the tears took the man's breath away. He was hiccuping at this point and was about to fall to his knees when Tony said, "Shit." There was the sound of metal grinding and Steve looked up to see Tony using a small remote in both hands to give him iron man gloves. Steve's crying stilled as Tony came towards him, and he started to back up, he didn't want to touch Tony at all. The billionaire didn't like that reaction non too well as he made an angry growling looking mouth, "Steve, stay still!" The Captain paused at the sound of his name, a word that rarely came out of Stark's mouth, it threw him off so much that his whole body paused.
Tony grabbed him by the upper arm that made Steve's breath hitch and look down at his arm in fear, and Tony made an angry face and shouted, "What are you afraid of me now Cap?" Stev shouted back "No! It's not you, it's.." he felt he couldn't answer, the blonde felt that Tony would laugh at him or something. "So it's my arc reactor then? Or maybe the fact-" "No, it IS NOT your reactor!" Steve protested and then felled back into the wall behind him when Tony got close again and shouted, "WHAT IS IT THEN!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU AFRAID OF!?" Steve's eyes saw hurt and anger reflecting in Tony's dark brown ones. The taller male felt trapped and could only be silent, he could speak the truth and he couldn't tell a lie to him, so he chose silence.
Well, as silent as a grown man sobbing could be really, but the billionaire seemed to soften his face and sigh. He was piecing it together in his mind, Tony was a genius, but even geniuses had a hard time deducting what causes emotions. The only time he know Steve cried was when...when he remembered his life or rather things that haunted him and his past. Come on Tony, think man, think! What could be bothering him! He decided to try and ask more, "Hey Cap, is it because of something in your past bothering you?" He saw an instant reaction, a small heave of breath almost like a flinch and the brunette knew he was on the right track. "Cap, just tell me what you think you'll end up doing if you touch my reactor?" asked Tony softly, he had to reason with him, a lot of his therapists in the past have said that when someone is in a panic over something, it is best to reason with them.
"I'll...I-I can't Tony, I just can't that's it! Now let me leave!" Steve sounded more distressed slightly as he looked fearfully at the iron limbs. The billionaire breathed in and thought of patience, he needed patience, "Cap what will happen to me if you touch me? Do you think I will break?" The blonde was shaking his head, and his breathing start to wane back, "No, you'll be...If I touch you anymore then I have then you'll...you'll...hate...me." Once again, Tony was puzzled, "why would I ever hate you? You have done nothing wrong." The blonde seemed to cry a little harder and Tony got a little more distressed and lifted his limbs to Steve's face but the man seemed wary of them, but the brunette noticed that the reaction was dulled and less confident. He slowly rested his palm on Steve's eye and tried to wipe the tears,"Hey, don't cry now Cap. I need to know why you are crying. If it's about anything from your past it's okay. It's not your fault."
Those last 4 words seemed to do something when the blonde looked at him with glistening baby blues that were so innocent looking, "But..b-but!" Tony cut him off, "but nothing, you are not at fault for anything, not for Peggy, Buck or your family." Steve tried to say but again, but the shorter male wouldn't let him so Steve said, "but I'll taint you." The voice that whispered the words were soft and heartbreaking, Tony paused trying to process what Steve was trying to say. Then, Tony started to laugh loudly which startled the teared face of the blonde also the red faced as well. The brunette couldn't believe the tall guy was worrying about something a small as that and full on bawling about it. Whoever made him think about stuff like that to the point where he'd start a full blown panic attack was just saddening.
Steve was still looking at him in anger slightly and finally Tony could talk again, "You are way late to the party then, because do you not see how much abuse I put this body through every night? If you think you can taint me more than this I would laugh my ass off and give you my company." The tension and fast breathing from Steve slowed as he tried again to rebuke him, "But..." He got to say no more when Tony did something rather odd for his usual self. He walked one step forward and initiated the thing normal people called a 'hug'. Now, Tony had only given hugs to few people in the world sparingly and now Steve has joined their ranks. The blonde seemed to still himself and Tony worried that he had made it worse, but was glad he was wrong when Steve seemed to completely give in to the hug.
The taller man's whole body wrapping around Tony's existence into the warm chest, his ear on the man's chest listening to the sound of Cap's crazy heart. He heard the blonde start to break down and soothingly Tony hugged the Captain, saying, "See, I am still me and nothing is wrong." Those words seemed to make the avenger break down even more, there was crying tears and the billionaire even felt them soak his shirt, but he endured because he knew how tough it was. He had had Pepper and Brody, but Steve, Steve had had no one. No friends or family in this new century, he was lost and couldn't even escape it so he held it all in. It needed to escape somehow and Tony sighed out a breath, now he understood the strength needed to deal with someone who was on the brink of destruction. He couldn't mentally thank his two friends and Jarvis enough for helping him and caring as he whispered soft nothings in the blonde's ear.
Eventually Steve started to calm down, his vital signs all going to normal status, and soon they seperated from the hug. There were red bags under Steve's eyes and the blonde chuckled red faced from embarrassment, "I really need to stop crying in front of you Tony. I can't even blame it on alcohol this time either." Tony laughed and retracted his iron man gloves, the taller male seemed to be fine and making coherent messages. "It's fine. I already said I understand it," Tony said, not moving from his place near Steve and he said, "Do you wanna try again?" The blonde was confused until Tony pulled off his crop top and threw it to the floor. The brunette watched as those blue eyes lit up again, taken by the majestic glow, and the billionaire reached for Steve's hand.
Internally, Tony was screaming to himself that this was such an awkward thing especially when Steve was staring at him like that and the fact that they were both redder than the color of blood. The blonde's wrist was grabbed and pulled quickly to the Arc reactor, Tony flooding red as he felt Steve's hand against his sensitive untouched scar tissue, the fingers light and probing. The blonde looked entranced and happy touching Tony's metaphorical heart, while the billionaire was trying to hold back the warm fluttery feeling in his gut and the fast vital beating. "Man, this is awkward," Tony groaned and that snapped Steve to attention, who reached out for Tony's wrist and pulled it to his heart.
The warm beating heart, it was in Steve and it felt so real. It was alive and pulsing with energy, thumping drastically, and it was so different from Tony's 'heart'. He understood the taller male's ponderous look at his strange glowing heart, it was certainly one of a kind. "Okay, you're good for today," Tony remarked and there was a slight sad look but it went away and Steve removed his hand and said thank you. Both went their separate ways awkwardly after that, the silence was comfortable though and Tony knew it would disappear by the light of morning. "Jarvis, keep tabs on Cap's sleep patterns tonight okay?" Tony remarked as he started to go to bed, then paused and added, "Wake me up early tomorrow. I need to get him back for this morning."
"Yes sir," Jarvis remarked, which allowed time for Tony to go to sleep peacefully. He was so tired, but a smile appeared on his face nonetheless, he couldn't wait to think of all the things he could do to Steve in the morning as punishment for that damned ice bucket.
"Because payback's a bitch!"
Okay guys, here's the deal.
A) sexy revenge
B) very evil revenge
C) petty revenge
Choose one and tell me what prank would work for Tony. I want to see what you guys think. Man, I am tired. Thank you everyone who reads this and I hope everyone is enjoying where it is going~! Any thoughts let me know~ :) Thank you, till the next update~
~Aryes