It had gone on long enough and the rest of the team was sick of it. They could hear the yelling from the living room where they sat: Clint, Bucky and Bruce playing Mario Kart, Natasha watching, giving the occasional pointer and Thor relaxed on the sofa with a huge mug of coffee.
"Oh, you're so caught up in the lab that you can't spend some time with the team?" Steve yells at Tony, his voice laced with pure anger and disgust. The younger man was used to this though; after all, this isn't the first time he's been yelled at.
"My apologies, Captain, but some of our talents weren't created by a serum!" Tony returns the blonde's anger with his own.
"Low blow, Stark," Natasha shakes her head, sipping on a cup of tea.
"Okay, but seriously, is Steve mad that Tony won't hang out with us or him?" Bruce looks away from the video game for a split second, trying to gauge everyone else's feelings on the subject.
"Definitely him," Bucky confirms, smirking as he hits Clint with a blue shell to knock him out of first. "Though Steve would never admit that."
"I believe that Stark and the Captain have traces of unresolved... tension," Thor tries to find the right word, but the rest of the team furiously nod their heads in agreement.
Sure, Steve and Tony don't get along all of the time.. okay, most of the time. But when they aren't arguing, looks of longing are exchanged as well as suggestive comments (though those are mostly made by Tony). By now, they're the only ones who haven't picked up on their feelings towards one another.
"Big man in a suit of armor, take that off and what are you?" Steve spits out angrily and all heads turn towards the kitchen; Steve and Tony arguing is no surprise but this one seems to be worse than usual.
"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist," Tony responds calmly, slowly losing his patience. Contrary to popular belief, he hates fighting with Steve but sometimes he feels it's the only way the other man will talk to him.
"All of which your father gave to you," Steve responds, immediately wishing he could take it back when he sees the look on Tony's face. The calm facade falls away instantly, revealing all of the vulnerability he usually keeps hidden.
What's worse is that Steve knows, he knows how much Tony resents his father for how he treated him. No one ever brings up Tony's family because despite Stark's annoyingly arrogant personality, they all know how much Howard still impacts him to this day.
"Well you would know," Tony shakes his head, a bitter smile on his lips. He's hidden the pain again with a new, careless mask, but Steve knows it's there. "You were his favorite son, after all."
On that note, Tony walks away, retreating to the lab where he plans to lock himself for a few days. He knew Steve hated him, but he never realized how much until tonight. What hurts even more is that he knows Steve is right-- Tony isn't and won't ever be half the man he is.
Steve wants nothing more than to run after Tony, to apologize and do everything in his power to make sure he's never hurt again. He knows he screwed up big time, none of their fights compare to the betrayed look on Tony's face as he walked away. If only Steve could have just told him how he felt, but instead he went and picked a fight just to avoid it.
He leaves the kitchen with his head down, going straight to his bedroom and ignoring the eyes of the rest of the team.
"Okay, we need to do something," Natasha says when Steve is out of ear shot. She would never say it out loud, but she's worried about the both of them.
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Clint turns around with a grin. "I think I have an idea."
A few days later, Bruce manages to get Tony out of the lab to go to a "team dinner." Bruce had been the only one allowed in the lab and even then, Tony remained relatively silent. Needless to say, he wasn't too thrilled about being dragged away from his work, or forced to interact with Steve for that matter.
Steve on the other hand was a nervous wreck. Not only had Bucky confronted him about hurting Tony, but his own guilt was eating him alive. A team dinner is his best shot at getting Tony to hear him out.
So, that's how Steve and Tony find themselves walking into a casual bar and grill at the same time. Clint had made the dinner reservation for the team, and they all agreed to meet at 7. Of course, it would so happen that Steve is walking in at the same time.
The second Tony lays eyes on the older man, he wants to curse the thoughts that cross his mind. Somehow, Steve manages to make a simple white t-shirt and blue suede jacket look so damn good. The second Steve's eyes meet his, Tony turns his head away.
"Reservation for Barton."
Steve lets Tony do the talking, not fully trusting himself to speak. Leave it to Tony to still manage to bring class to a bar and grill; the younger man wears a navy blue button-down shirt complete with a black blazer and patterned tie. Steve almost finds himself telling Tony exactly what's on his mind until he sees where the waitress is leading them.
"Uhm, I'm sorry, miss. There must be a mistake," Steve rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, trying to be as polite as possible as Tony gapes open-mouthed at the small table for two in the back of the restaurant.
"No, I'm afraid not," the waitress smiles, placing two menus on the table quickly. "Table for two for Barton, someone will be with you shortly to take your order."
Neither Steve nor Tony move to sit down, avoiding eye contact altogether. Of course this is something the team would do, especially Clint. Not only are they fed up with their fighting, but they love to pull a good prank especially at Steve and Tony's expense.
"I can't do this right now," Tony mutters under his breath with a shake of his head; the whole situation is giving him anxiety and looking at Steve is not helping him calm down. The last thing he needs is more confusion.
"Tony, wait," Steve pleads, surprising the both of them as he grabs the brunette's wrist. Tony's heart jumps as he finds himself looking into a pair of pain-filled blue eyes. "Please, just stay."
Steve doesn't know why, but the idea of Tony walking away from him again is the worst thing he can imagine. To the Captain's surprise, Tony sits down in one of the chairs, hands out gesturing for Steve to sit across from him.
"Excuse me, can we please get two scotches on the rocks," Steve flashes a white-toothed smile at a waitress walking by, making the girl's cheeks blush bright-pink as she manages a shaky nod.
"You're seriously going to drink with me, Rogers?" Tony raises his eyebrows in surprise, completely taken aback by Steve's request. He's not sure he's ever even seen the Captain touch alcohol, let alone drink it.
Steve finds Tony's surprise completely adorable, appreciating the way his eyebrows scrunch together and his nose crinkles.
"Well, I'm certainly old enough, aren't I?" Steve challenges, a smirk that makes Tony's heart flip forming on his face.
"A joke, too? I didn't know you had it in you."
"Just because you're a genius doesn't mean you know everything about me, Stark."
The blonde smiles triumphantly as Tony fights a smile on his own lips. Maybe this night won't be as bad as they both thought.
"You seriously started building things when you were six?" Steve asks Tony for confirmation, not because he doesn't believe it, but because he's in awe of the younger man's talent. The brunette simply nods sheepishly, a light blush forming on his cheeks at the subtle compliment.
The pair had lost track of time, both having finished their meal more than an hour ago. The night has only confirmed everything Tony had already thought about Steve: he's wonderfully moral, kind and protective. However, Tony never let himself see through the Captain America part; Steve is actually quite insecure which Tony finds absurd.
"Can I tell you something? Promise you won't take it the wrong way," Tony says suddenly to which Steve immediately nods. With a deep breath, Tony averts his eyes from Steve's and lets out a nervous chuckle. "I-I thought you hated me this whole time."
Steve doesn't know what upsets him more: the fact that the whole time he's been secretly falling for the genius, he's also been hurting him or the way Tony can't even look him in the eyes.
"Hey, look at me." The pain in Steve's voice makes Tony tilt his head up to meet those ocean blue eyes hesitantly, and Steve reaches across the table to grab one of Tony's hands. "The truth is... I've liked you this whole time. More than like, really..." Steve mumbles, his cheeks flushing as he looks at their clasped hands, running his fingers over Tony's absentmindedly. "You're brilliant and beautiful and I guess I was just scared that-"
Tony doesn't let Steve finish as he leans across the table, pressing their lips together to shut him up. The kiss is soft and gentle, as though both of them are pleasantly surprised by it. And after a few seconds when Tony pulls away, they're both blushing furiously.
"You're adorable, but you talk too much," Tony shrugs, trying to act cool despite being jittery with butterflies. "I like you, too."
A smile of relief crosses Steve's lips as they both sit in comfortable silence, relishing in the moment until the waitress interrupts.
"Is the check together or separate?" She asks innocently as she begins to collect empty plates.
"Together," Steve and Tony reply in unison and Tony smirks as she walks away.
"What?" Steve asks, completely aware of their still-intertwined hands.
"There's this theory..." Tony trails off as though he's waiting to see if Steve wants to hear it, and the blonde simply nods at him to continue. "That when two people of the same sex go out to eat and request one check, the waitress will set the check in front of whoever she thinks is the top." Tony says innocently, popping a left over french fry in his mouth with a shrug.
Steve simply raises his eyebrows in response, chuckling at the man in front of him quietly. "Is that so?"
Before Tony can respond, the waitress returns with the check and the pair wait expectantly as she sets the check in front of...
Steve.
"Thank you, doll," Steve smirks knowingly and Tony shakes his head with a grin as he slides cash over to Steve.
"Honestly, I'm not even mad."
There's a beat of silence between the two before Steve's eyes glow dark blue with mischief and he stands up, Tony instantly mirroring his actions.
"Where are we going?" Tony asks innocently which Steve knows to be fake as he rolls his eyes, snaking a perfectly toned arm around Tony's waist.
"We're testing that theory. Tonight."