Steve happily watches and listens to the groups banter. It's been...a while since the academy's grounds felt like anything but a ghost town. After Tony disappeared classes were dreadfully dull and quiet with no one there to make jokes and lighten the mood, Bruce started retreating to his lab again now that he didn't have the one person who would understands his passion, Natasha and Clint were away half the time going places just for damage control so the public believes the team is not in shambles, and Thor went back to Asgard.
Then there was Steve. If he wasn't at school thinking of Tony constantly, he was with Bucky and Sam. Still thinking about Tony.
And now there he was, in an empty classroom with the whole team, and things were almost the same as it was...before everything.
"Hear that birdbrain? I have a dragon now. So you might wanna think twice before putting worms in my bed again" Tony crossed his arms triumphantly.
"Aw come on, Thor. That's not fair, how come he gets gifted a dragon and we don't" Clint whined.
"Little Stark is a dear friend of mine has proven himself to be worthy" Thor put a hand on Tony's shoulder. Tony nodded with a smug look on his face. "Also he has 99 problems and I believe having a dragon will solve all of them"
At first Tony looked hurt at being told he has issues, but then he shrugged in agreement.
"Where did you even learn that line?" Natasha quietly chuckled at that.
"I overheard that young boy Peter speak it" Thor answered.
"Figures" Tony wasn't surprised.
At that moment Director Fury's secretary walked in and told them the plane was ready for them. So they all got up and headed out.
On the plane Natasha and Tony were in their own corner gossiping about HYDRA's team and how they would be there as well, Clint was trying to teach Thor how to play Cut The Rope on his phone, Bruce was taking a power nap, and Steve was sketching Tony on the low. Everything was all coming together again. Even if one or two pieces were missing.
At some point along the way Thor got so happy that he passed a level on the game that he threw Clint's phone and smashed a glass on the ground on autopilot. Which made everyone collectively groan "Thor" disappointedly. Thor gave them a clueless smile, Tony told Clint he'll get him a new phone if it means he'll shut up and stop bitching about it, Bruce went back to sleep, Tony joined him, and Steve talked with Natasha about the plan for the gala.
Tony was having a great dream about his dragon and the state of the art saddles and gear he'd build her. Though he was slowly beginning to wake up upon feeling that he was being watched. He was in a daze when he opened his eyes for a second and mumbled something.
"Archion? What's that?" Steve whispered.
"It's his dragon. Her name is Archion" Thor whispered back.
Though they sucked at whispering cause now Tony was awake. He opened his eyes and found Steve and Thor looming over him with these stupid smiles and he nearly shit himself. "Oh fuck!" he jumped, clutching his blanket to his chest.
"Awaken, little Stark, the arrow plane has landed! We can fly places on dragonback another time!" Thor pulled the blanket away from Tony and threw the smaller man over his shoulder.
"Air plane. It's airplane, big guy" Tony rubbed his eyes. Steve just chuckled watching Tony struggle to get out of Thors grip.
In fact Thor carried him all the way into the airport like that, and of course Clint didn't miss the chance to make a comment about how "precious little Stark needs to be carried" to which Tony flipped him off and Natasha reprimanded him because they were in public. Which also led to Tony complaining that Clint started it first like Natasha was his mom. Which, she is the mom of the group.
During the car ride to the Air BNB they'd be staying at for the next week, they were blasting music in the car and jamming out while Natasha drove. It was an hour of that before they arrived. Once they got there, they were met by their supervisor and told that they would be pairing up to share rooms.
Natasha with Clint. Bruce with Thor. And Steve with Tony.
Steve turned to Tony with a smile, and found Tony freeze up while on the phone with someone, probably Rhodey. "Ananı sikim...(motherfucker)" he said in disbelief.
"Huh?" Steve was confused. What language was that?
"It's Turkish, we've been watching a lot of their soap operas lately" Natasha told him. Steve just nodded.
They all got sent to their rooms to unpack and get ready for the gala.
Now Tony told himself he could deal with sharing the room with his ex. He's not happy about it, but he'll deal with it. However, he finds that their room has only one bed in it, and no couch. Both him and Steve just stand and stare at it, knowing damn well what it means just unsure regarding how to go about it.
So Tony goes to Natasha and asks to switch.
"We all have one bed in our rooms" Natasha tells him.
"Absolutely not- We are from SHIELD academy there is no way we couldn't afford a bigger place with enough rooms for everybody" Tony whisper shouted.
"I know, except SHIELD isn't paying for it. The gala is. So every other group that's attending got dealt the same hand. Also I'm with Bruce, I don't know what makes you think I'd switch that" Natasha pointed out.
"Okay then why don't we have birdbrain switch with me" Tony proposed.
"No. Suck it up." Natasha shut her door.
Tony deflated and trudged back to his room with a defeated sigh. He just grabbed a towel from nearby and went towards the bathroom intending to take a bath to relax a little, and ended up colliding into Steve.
"Oh, sorry!" Steve said.
"No it's fine, you can go" Tony told him.
"No no, you go ahead" Steve insisted.
"You sure?" Tony looked up at him.
And Steve's heart just about stopped. That was the first time Tony looked at him since he got back. Then he noticed he'd been holding Tony's arm, which made Tony notice too. He quickly let go. "Uh. Y-Yeah, go for it" he managed. He could swear Tony was blushing.
Tony nodded and went ahead before closing the door. He looked at himself in the mirror and told himself to get his shit together because his heart needed to pipe down. So what if he felt butterflies when he looked into Steve's eyes. That's only normal because who doesn't like Steve's eyes, ya know? And they're broken up so there's no way he felt butterflies in that kind of way. He just...knows how to...appreciate art?
He immediately stripped and got in the shower before he could entertain those thoughts any longer. He was quickly in and out. Steve went in after him and during that time he got dressed up and went downstairs to wait his turn to get his makeup done.
"Brucey bearrr, can I have some?" he went and hugged Bruce from behind, slotting his cheek right on Bruce's shoulder.
"Oh, uh...umm" he hesitated for a moment because this snack was his favourite and there's only one bag since he forgot to bring more. "Alright" he gave in and handed a couple to Tony.
"Leave the poor man's snacks alone those are his favourite" Clint piped up.
"Whatever, you're just super duper jealous because he loves me the most and not you" Tony sticks his tongue out.
"Is that so?" Natasha walked into the room.
Everyones heads whipped around. She looked absolutely stunning. She was wearing a gorgeous black Versace dress from the fall 2015 collection. Everyone showered her in compliments but of course Bruce was left speechless. Literally froze, midway into eating his snack. In fact the snack fell out of his hand.
She had a small smirk as she walked up to him. "It's not nice to litter, babe" her voice was like honey as she did his tie for him. Clint, Thor, and Tony kept nudging each other and wiggling their brows. They're all just waiting for the day these two become official.
Soon it was Tony's turn in the makeup chair. He was in and out of there pretty quickly since he did his hair himself. He decided with Clint and Thor that they would go to the gala ahead of the others since they were getting bored of waiting around.
After the red carpet and all the photos, they went inside to find out pretty much everyone was there and their team were the ones fashionably late. They quickly got situated at their table and began finding a girl for Thor to go for during the night. And next was a man for Tony. And in that instance the rest of the team arrived.
Thor stood up and waved them over. "Guys we're right here! We're playing matchmaker for little Stark and I!" he bellowed. Clint chuckled and Tony covered his face in embarrassment.
"That last line was literally so unnecessary. The whole venue did not need to know that" Tony told Thor. When he looked ahead his eyes landed on Steve. Who looked way too handsome for his own good. And there was the flutter again. "Aaand I need a drink. See ya" Tony immediately got up and walked over to the bar. He ordered a shot of vodka and leaned against the counter while waiting.
"Put on your break lights. We're in the city of wonder. Ain't gonna play nice. Watch out, you might just go under" Tony sang along to Disturbia since it was blasting on the speakers. "Better think twice.Your train of thought will be altered. So if you must falter be wise" he continued and accidentally locked eyes with Steve. Who was looking at him like he was the only one in the whole room, the only one worth looking at. That coupled with the lyrics he just sang made him turn around and down that shot immediately.
Problem is, it kept happening throughout the night. Him and Steve kept coming eye to eye. And every time that happened he got another shot. So he was pretty much drunk by the end of it.
He was about to down another one, when a hand caught his wrist and stopped him.
"That's enough of that" Ty said as he pried the shot out of Tonys hand and put it down before also leaning against the counter right in front of Tony.
Tony looked at the shot that was taken out of his hand and then looked at Ty, and just glared. "I have a dragon" he slurred a little, but managed to get the warning across. It was probably not the most effective thing to say right now but he was drunk.
"Wow" Ty said in the same way adults do when kids say things that aren't true but they still want the kid to think they find it interesting. It's common knowledge on earth that there's no such thing as dragons, but Ty's forgetting that Thor is from Asgard. And they have pegasus there.
"My point is, I have a dragon" Tony reminded.
"You have a dragon" Ty repeated back to him, clearly distracted since he was looking at Tony's lips. "Oh, you know what? I love dragons" he finally focused up.
"Fuck off, Ty" Tony sighed, resting his head against his hand.
"C'mere. I've got a little surprise for ya" he took Tony's hand and led him to the hallway outside the main venue area. Little did they know, Steve saw it.
Ty brought them to a side of the hall that was empty. He placed Tony against the wall before reaching to a pocket inside his tux and pulling out a handkerchief. Not just any handkerchief. The handkerchief that Edwin Jarvis had given to Tony as a gift before he passed away. Tony had lost it years back which upset him since it was so important to him.
"Holy shit" Tony immediately grabbed it out of Ty's hand. "How do you have this?"
"Well, I missed you so I was looking through our old stuff and I found this. You must have dropped it at my place or something" Ty answered. "I gave you a present shouldn't you give me one too?" he pressed his hand on the wall next to Tony's head and hooked a finger under his chin.
"I'd rather die" Tony replied, venom behind his smile.
"Feisty. Always loved that about you" he began leaning in.
Now, obviously Tony was not going to let that freak kiss him. He just wanted to let the idiot think the kiss was gonna happen, and then knee him in the nuts before their lips can meet. And just as that was about to happen, something yanked Ty away.
"Hands off, Stone" it was Steve. He stepped in front of Tony.
Ty took one good glance at Tony, and then Steve, read the room, scoffed, and walked away. Once he was out of sight, Steve turned to Tony with his hands on his hips and a reprimanding look on his face. He didn't have to say "Really, Tony? Ty? " to say it. Tony just put his hands behind his back and peered up at Steve through his lashes all guilty. Man did those doe eyes do things to Steve.
The voice in Tony's head kept telling him to look away, don't fall again. But it kept getting drowned out by those baby blues and that stupid dreamy face. It was probably the alcohol talking but Tony wanted to reach up and just touch him just to see if he was real. If he was really there.
"C'mon, we're going home. You're too drunk right now" Steve stepped aside for Tony to walk towards the door.
"No, I'm staying" Tony walks past him and towards the main room.
Steve sighs and silently follows behind, resting his hand on the small of Tony's back to guide him. When they get back to the table Steve orders some snacks and water for Tony to munch on to help flush out the toxins from the alcohol quicker.
Bruce looks at him from across the table and mouths something at Steve asking if everything's okay and Steve nods and gestures that he has it under control. He internally gives himself a pat on the back for being able to get Tony to finish it all. He also knows Tony's habits and how he will begin to get sleepy pretty soon so he tells Natasha he's taking Tony home.
They stand up and Natasha stands up as well to hand them their coats since it was hung on her chair for whatever reason. It's then that a couple students from HYDRA academy approach their table.
"Well well well. What a pleasure to see you all back together again" Alice says in that fake voice of hers, knowing full well she was making a hit at how the group had been in pieces for a bit.
"I know it is" Natasha agrees. "Can't say the same for you guys though"
The smile dropped right off Alice's face. Though Brock swooped in and came right to her rescue. "You might think you have everyone fooled, but we see right through your pathetic act. You're no 'team'. You guys would betray each other in a heartbeat living in that black and white world of yours" he tells them in a low voice.
"At least my mom loves me" Tony deadpans. Everyone goes silent for a moment wondering if he really just went there.
"Excuse me?" Brock puts his two fists down on the table and leans forward a little as if to get in Tony's face.
So Tony looks at Natasha as if to ask for permission. And she knows exactly what he's about to do. Just for tonight she's allowing it. So she subtly nods. And Tony gets up and stands on his chair and repeats "I said, at least my mom loves me. Unlike your mom who changes the topic when someone asks about you" a little loudly, also leaning down a little to get back in Brock face.
Steve knew a fight was about to break down so he immediately got Tony down and threw him over his shoulder and took him away. All while the genius was still shouting out retorts at Brock. Thankfully Tony was asleep the whole ride back home.
Once they were there, Steve leads them to their room and deposits Tony on the bed. He began taking Tony's shoes and clothes off. But he grimaced when his hand brushed against Tony's skin.
"Tony, you're burning up" he frowned as he pressed the back of his hand against Tony's cheek to check his temperature. Tony leaned into his touch.
Steve quickly got a shirt and sweatpants and helped Tony wear them. He managed to get his sweatpants on but before he could pull the shirt over his head Tony swatted his hand away.
"Stop it. You're not my boyfriend" He took the shirt out of Steve's hand and put it on himself, regaining a mere moment of consciousness.
"I just want to help, Tony" Steve said a little sadly.
"No- you're right, Steve. Professor Carter is the love of your life, and Barnes is your soulmate. There was never any room for me. So please, just stop acting like you give a crap" Tony's voice shook.
Steve knew it was the alcohol talking, but it was like a knife was being stabbed into his heart. "C'mon. You should sleep" He guided Tony to lay down on the bed. And Tony let him.
Steve also laid down on his side so they were facing each other. They just stayed there silently, looking at each other, grateful for one another's presence, letting the rain pattering against the window provide comfort by filling the silence.
"...did you know I loved you?" Tony asked, a tear streaming over the bridge of his nose and the other wetting the pillow.
And Steve's heart just about shattered. "Yeah" Steve gave him a sad smile. "I did..."
Tony just nodded before scooting closer. Steve automatically opened his arms and pulled Tony in. There was a sniffle from him here and there but eventually Tony's breathing evened out and he fell sound asleep in Steve's arms. And Steve wouldn't have it any other way.
He breathed Tony in and made sure to burn the feeling into the core of his memories so he never forgets.
It's hours later at 7am that Tony wakes up. Well, starts to. His eyes are still closed but all he knows is that he feels frozen in his spot with warm blankets wrapped around him. He finally brings himself to wearily blink his eyes open. There's sun shining through the window and the shadow of the rustling leaves from the tree outside is animated on the walls. Birds could be heard chirping too.
He began to contemplate whether he died and was in heaven right now because there really was no other explanation. He was also surprised because even though he didn't believe in heaven or hell, he was definitely sure he wasn't making it to heaven even if it were to be real.
He was just about to drift back into sleep when whatever he was latched onto moved beneath him. His half asleep mind was trying to make sense of it, running at 200mph. And then it hit him. Sharing the one bed room with Steve, going to the event, getting drunk, vaguely remembering getting mad at Steve for something while half naked.
He swallowed the lump in his throat and dared to look down. He was in fact laying on Steve's, thankfully clothed, chest. His eyes went wide.
He carefully got off Steve and then off the bed before immediately scurrying out of the room and making his way downstairs. He needed to find a coffee pot. Now.
"Someone's up early" Natasha said from where she was sitting on the couch sharpening her knives. Tony whipped around in surprise. "You know, you deserve a gold star right now for actually getting sleep. Though I'm not surprised, you two looked so cozy when I checked up on you"
"I don't wanna talk about it" Tony sighed, mentally cursing himself. He trudged over to the couch and dropped down right beside her. "Did anything happen after we left?" he asked.
"You tell me" she grinned, knowing that's not what Tony was asking.
"Nat " Tony nudged her, earning a small laugh.
"Well, that girl tried coming at me and saying I was trying too hard because my dress is apparently too fancy and 'extra' for the occasion, she asked who I was trying to impress, and said that the colour looked stupid," Natasha finally answered. She looked over at Tony for his reaction, but he looked like he was expecting a continuation. Because the Natasha he knew wouldn't just stand there and take that. When it comes to Natasha; if you take it there, she's gonna drag it. "I told her if stupidity was a colour she'd be a rainbow. And I also might have cause food to spill on her"
"Damn. Can't believe I missed that" Tony crossed his arms.
"I mean, it's not my usual way of getting back at someone. In fact the stuff I said was pretty soft and harmless compared to what I'd normally say. But sometimes you gotta speak the language they'll understand" Natasha shrugged.
Tony ended up falling asleep again. This time leaning against Natasha. An hour or two later everyone began to wake up, and the sight of the two was so bizarre Clint took out his phone and snapped a picture. Because falling asleep against Natasha is unprecedented. Attempting to do anything that involves being warm and fuzzy with her results in one look that'll send you running the other way.
Nonetheless, Bruce and Steve began making breakfast for everyone. The smell ended up waking Tony as soon as it hit his nose. And soon everyone sat at the table and began discussing their schedule for the day. They were to head back home and attend class in a few hours.
All the while Tony was trying his best to keep to himself and avoid any kind of interaction with Steve who decided to sit right beside him.
Steve on the other hand, was too busy peeling the crust off the bread he'd give to Tony. Because he knows that's how Tony likes it. He also didn't forget to spread butter on it first before spreading the Nutella on top.
When he set it down on Tony's plate, the genius just blinked at it before looking at Steve as if to say "what are you doing".
"Just the way you like it, no?" Steve smiled, completely oblivious to why Tony found it to be weird. Then he started peeling a boiled egg for Tony and cutting it the way Tony liked. Not that Tony was picky and wouldn't eat it unless it was cut a certain way, he just liked it more if it was.
Tony was about to open his mouth and tell him that they are broken up so he can't do stuff like this anymore. But Steve just looked so content and...happy to do it for him, so he just let it go.
"T-Thanks..." he nodded as he picked up the bread and took a bite. He cleared his throat before glancing at Steve hesitantly and saying "Listen, about last night, I didn't mean to crowd your space like that. My bad"
He hated how awkward and regretful he sounded. If it was anyone else he'd be nonchalant and get over it like he always does.
"Oh. No, that's perfectly fine. I, uh..." Steve trailed off not knowing whether it'd be right to say he liked it. "It was nice to not be alone" he smiled softly.
Their eyes stayed locked for a moment. Steve's phone ringing ended the moment though.
The blond quickly fished his phone out of his pocket and took a second to check who was calling. And since Tony was sitting right beside him, he looked too without meaning to. It was his group chat with Bucky and Sam that was calling. This sorta made Tony grimace. He wasn't upset or jealous, it just...reminded him of everything he was already dwelling on enough.
And then Steve, almost as if they weren't just having a moment, got up and immediately excused himself to take the call. And it didn't seem like the call was super important or urgent, seeing as Steve wasn't rushing or walking fast to get to a more private place to talk.
This just reminded Tony of what he said last night when he was drunk. "Professor Carter is the love of your life, and Barnes is your soulmate. There was never any room for me". He was being all caring and warm with Tony the past two days and immediately abandoned that the second it gets about Bucky. And he doesn't resent Bucky or blame him for being Steve's...everything. It just sucked. At this point he didn't know what he was expecting. What he did know though, was that he lost his appetite.
"I'm gonna go pack my stuff," Tony stood up before taking his plate to to kitchen and cleaning it. He then went up to his room and pulled his bag out and began packing his stuff all while talking to himself as a form of distraction from his thoughts. And it worked for the good part.
Though Natasha and Steve were being the airport mom and dad the entire time. Saying the classics like "We're only five hours early, don't you think that's cutting it a little close? I don't know", "Take your sneakers off, Tony. Get it over with- your wearing sandals, Bruce? Really? These floors are disgusting", "$7 for a bag of chips? I brought pretzels. You'll have pretzels that's it. I'm not paying $7 for a bag of chips are ya kiddin me?", "You gotta go to the bathroom? Make it quick, Thor. We're boarding in 2 hours, you better hurry up. They're not gonna wait for you"
Soon enough they were back on a plane headed home. Now, Tony wasn't sleepy at all, but he also didn't want to be conscious, so he cuddled up to Bruce and laid his head on his lap til they landed. Though, oddly he felt a pair of eyes on him every now and then.
Then they landed, rode back to school in their own respective cars, and directly went to the office to sign in. As per usual there was a bit of commotion upon their arrival, but nothing they weren't already used to. The only difference was Tony and Thor were back. This also meant Thor was happily taking photos with everyone and saying whatever anyone wanted for a video.
Then, just as Tony was rounding the corner in a hall on the way to his next class, he came across Steve and Professor Carter, and he froze. They were having a conversation, Steve smiling and her ruffling his hair. And then she looked over and ended up seeing Tony.
"Tony!" She beamed, happy to see him again. This made Steve look over at him too.
Before he could get pulled into their conversation and experience his ex crushing on their professor, he blurted that DUM-E fell down the stairs and twisted his ankle so he needed to go, before whipping around and walking past.
A robot breaking an ankle was probably the dumbest thing he could've said, but it was too late. He just quickly went into class and settled in a seat in the corner at the very back before fishing his phone out of his pocket and texting Rhodey.
𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐘
𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐮𝐩? 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲
𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐑<𝟑
𝐍𝐨
𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐘
𝐆𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐡
𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐑<𝟑
𝐍𝐨
𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐘
𝐖𝐨𝐰, 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐞
He startled a little when Steve sat down next to him. Tony looked over and Steve just offered him a smile as he set his books and pencil case down on the desk.
"There's 30 other desks, you're gonna sit here?" Tony raised a brow. He realized that sounded a little mean when Steve's face fell. "I-I mean, cause you like to pay attention to lessons, so I figured you'd sit at the front"
"Oh," Steve's expression went back to normal when he realized Tony didn't mean it the way it sounded. "No, I wanna sit here. Unless you don't want me to" he glanced at Tony, subconsciously pulling out the puppy eyes.
For a moment Tony couldn't take his eyes off. But he quickly looked off to the side when he felt his cheeks heating up. "Whatever. Suit yourself," he shrugged.
That's when Rhodey came into class. Steve watched as Tony's eyes lit up as soon as he set his eyes on the other man. Tony immediately got up and bear hugged Rhodey like there was no tomorrow. Rhodey literally had to pry Tony off himself.
"Did you eat breakfast? You didn't, did you?" Tony asked concernedly as Rhodey sat in the seat in front of him. "God, you need to take better care of yourself. Heaven knows you don't get your daily vitamins in either"
Steve chuckled softly at Tony and his antics being a mother hen for Rhodey as per usual. "Says the person who refuses to sleep because he thinks his robots and ideas are too good for it" Rhodey told him.
"Don't bring the kids into this" Tony pointed his finger.
"Oh, please" Rhodey rolled his eyes.
That's when Professor Strange walked in and began class by welcoming Tony back before moving onto the material.
It was no surprise that Steve and Rhodey were taking notes and Tony wasn't. Or that Tony was answering all the hard questions no one had the answer to so that the kids who never answered didn't have to get picked.
Then for the rest of the class they watched a video about the current unit to pass time. During said video, Steve's concentration was pulled when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. It was Tony discreetly taking a photo of himself flipping off the camera, and sending it to Rhodey.
The second Rhodey's phone buzzed, he opened it and checked the message.
"Guess what, I'm gonna show this to Strange, and you're gonna fall from his good graces even more than you already have if that's even possible" Rhodey turned in his seat to face Tony and whispered.
"Well, jokes on you cause that's the whole point. Me and him, we're enemies to lovers" Tony whispered back. Now that made Steve's ears perk up. Enemies to lovers?
"Oh god, you and your crush on him" Rhodey rolled his eyes.
Crush? Tony has a crush on Professor Strange?
"Can't help it. His brain is se.xy." Tony told him. "So is he. Have you seen those eyes?"
"He literally doesn't like you"
"Everybody likes me. You like me. I can charm the pants offa him"
For the rest of the class Steve is out of it. All he can think about was that Tony had feelings for Professor Strange. And he liked the man's brain and his eyes. Which are both things Steve itself didn't have.
Not that he was dumb, but he wasn't a genius like Strange. And though they both have light eyes, Strange's eyes are a bit more on the green side and Steve's aren't.
The day literally went by on a blur. All he could put together was Bucky picking him up, Steve suggesting they go out for drinks, Bucky agreeing, them drinking, Bucky leaving early cause he had a test he needed to study for or something, and Natasha showing up instead.
Now, Natasha could tell that whatever was making Steve drink was about Tony. And Steve confirmed it when he mentioned how apparently Tony's "holdin a torch for Strange" in his Brooklyn accent-bordering a Long Island accent cause it gets thicker when he's really upset.
She wondered when the hell these two were gonna get their shit together and just makeup. Sure, they ended on bad terms, but the only person who doesn't know Steve loves Tony, is Tony. And the team didn't know how much more of it they can just standby and watch.
Then she remembered something. 400 years ago another well known English guy had an opinion about being alone. John Donne. He thought we were never alone. Of course it was fancier when he said it. "No man is an island entire unto himself".
Boil down that island talk and he just meant that all anyone needs is someone to step in. And let us know we're not alone. And who's to say that someone can't have 4 legs. Someone to play with or run around with. Or just hang out. So she decided.
"Wait right here, I'm gonna go make a call" She told Steve. "And stop drinking" she took the shot glass out of Steve's hands.
She made her way over to the bathroom hallway where it was easier to hear yourself talk. She got her phone out and made a call. It took a bit of convincing but she managed to get what she wanted in the end. So she tucked her phone back in her pocket and made her way to where she left had Steve.
Thankfully he was still there and he'd stopped drinking like Natasha told him to. But he still had that ever so melancholy look on his face.
"I screwed everything up. I don't think I'll ever get him back," Steve hid his face in his hands.
"What makes you say that?" Natasha ate some cashews the bartender gave to Steve.
"He thinks I'm in love with professor Carter and that I don't give a shit about anyone but Bucky" Steve told her.
She paused for a moment. "Well..." she shrugged.
Steve took his face out of his hands and gave her a bewildered look. "You're supposed to console me, Tasha" he sounded hurt.
"If you didn't pull out that ridiculous pendant with her picture in it every time something happens, this wouldn't be a problem" She threw another cashew in her mouth, ignoring the Steve's glaring. "No, honestly, it's hilarious. Every time you sigh about something, we make bets on if you're gonna whip out the picture or not" she couldn't hold her giggle.
"Oh, brother" Steve pinched between his eyes in irritation. They already made fun of him enough for 'Language' now they're never gonna let him live the pendant down.
"And when it comes to Bucky," Natasha started, making Steve look to her now that she was about to give advice. "Tony understands. What you and Bucky have is what him and Rhodey have. So he understands. Only difference is, Tones doesn't make you feel unimportant and left out in the whole process of that"
That's when the door chime caught their attention and they looked to it. Tony had just walked in. Steve immediately knew he's the call Natasha made earlier.
"I guess the only real question is, do you love him? Now that he's back and you spent the past couple days with him, do you see a future with him?"
That question made Steve glance at Tony, who just spotted them and was making his way towards them. He thought of smiling, genius, kind, extraordinary Tony, his Tony, and what it felt like without him. Without him he felt...like some part of him was missing, he felt like he was constantly looking for signs of him anywhere and everywhere. But with him...with Tony, Steve felt inspired, whole, safe, understood.
"I don't want a couple days with him...I want a lifetime." Steve decided.
"Then act like it," Natasha told him before grabbing her jacket and standing up. "Hey, hon. I was just leaving. You two have some figuring out to do" She shucked her jacket on and pressed a fond kiss to Tony's temple. She didn't leave without giving Steve a knowing glance.
"Why come to a bar if you can't get drunk?" Tony asked, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his leather jacket.
"I, uh...I'll be right back, I'm just gonna splash some water on my face" Steve got up and went to the washroom which was thankfully empty. He quickly turned the water to the sink on and washed his face with the cool water.
"Everything ok, Cap?" Tony asked as he also stepped into the washroom.
"Yeah, I just..." Steve trailed off. He turned to face Tony who was looking at him expectantly, arms crossed. Steve decided beating around the bush and waiting for the right time wasn't going to do it, so being straight forward would be best. "I'm not in love with Professor Carter"
"...what?"
"I'm not in love with her. Well, anymore at least. I had a crush on her as a kid and said she was the love of my life but she's not. You are"
Tony was visibly frozen and taken aback. That was most definitely the last thing he was expecting to ever hear and Steve could tell.
"I think we're extraordinary together rather than ordinary apart and I'm hoping you still love me too..." Steve said in earnest.
A small smile started to grow on Tony's face. "I do" Tony nodded.
"You do?" Steve had a big smile as he cupped Tony's face.
"Mhm" Tony wrapped his arms around Steve's neck and kissed him.
Steve's hands quickly went to Tony's waist as he began pushing forward til Tony's back hit the door. He quickly locked it before hoisting Tony up from his thighs, Tony's legs instantly wrapping around him.
The kiss was desperate but also not rushed. Tony's hands slid up Steve's neck and into his hair, tangled in the sun kissed softness.
"God, I missed you" Steve mumbled against Tony's lips.
"Maybe we should take this home, sugarplum" Tony sited his head to deepen the kiss.
"Do you think we could wait that long?"
"Probably not. Drop your pants"