13/12 | IRONSTRANGE
Tony and Stephen were spending a little bit of time together at a restaurant. Between Stephen being on constant call at the hospital and Tony still being the owner of Stark Industries, despite naming Pepper CEO, it was almost impossible for the two of them to have any alone time. But today, Pepper promised she would have everything at SI handled by herself, and the hospital swore they’d only call Stephen in if it was a life-or-death situation. It was there three year anniversary after all.
So, they had made reservations at one of the fanciest restaurants in town, their high statuses letting them jump past quite a few of the other people on the list. Under normal circumstances, the two men would’ve felt incredibly guilty about it, but they were just happy to be able to spend time together, and this had been the restaurant where Tony had proposed to Stephen, so it was special to them. They always tried to spend their anniversary there, but the past year hadn’t worked out very well, and they hadn’t been able to make their reservations.
So, there they were at the restaurant, eating, and just having a good time finally getting to spend time together, when Tony recognized the two people being brought to sit at the table next to them.
When Steve Rogers noticed Tony, he smiled. “Hey, Tony,” he greeted.
That caused Stephen to look up. “Not you again,” he grumbled to himself, though loud enough for everyone to hear it.
Tony recognized the guy Steve was with as James “Bucky” Barnes, Steve’s best friend. He hadn’t realized they were together though. Maybe this would be better now, maybe now Steve would leave Tony and Stephen alone.
It was then that Tony realized Stephen was glaring at Steve yet. Tony nudged his husband with his foot under the table. “Relax,” he said, his voice steady. He turned back to Steve. “So, you and Bucky together?”
“Yeah,” Steve said, smiling. “He’s great, I’m lucky to have him.” There was a quick pause. “Sorry for all the troubles I caused you, Tony. I know I went a little crazy after our break-up-”
“A little?” Stephen asked, an eyebrow raised. “If I recall, you tried sabotaging mine and Tony’s relationship several times while we were dating, and you crashed our wedding, trying to break us up at the altar. And even after we got married you still tried-”
“I get it,” Steve said. “I messed up, alright? But after that incident with the fire escape, I started thinking. Yeah, I loved you at one point, and I still do, but that’s because you were my first boyfriend. There’s always going to be a part of me that loves you. But, you were happy with Stephen, and I realized I should let you be happy instead of ruining your happiness. I got a therapist, and I realized that I needed to back off, so I did. That’s why you haven’t seen me in a year, because I was working on myself. And along the way, I realized I loved Bucky.”
Tony watched as Stephen carefully watched Steve, knowing full well that the doctor was looking for some kind of tell that Steve was lying about anything. He must’ve passed though, because Stephen just nodded his head.
“Alright,” he said. “I’m happy that you’ve managed to find someone for you then.”
“And I’m happy you and Tony are still together,” Steve said, “despite all the times I tried breaking you up.”
“Just proved we were meant to be together,” Tony interjected, a small smirk on his face. “After all, we survived my crazy stalker ex. It just means we can survive anything.”