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“So, you’re jealous?”
Steve didn’t bother meeting Natasha’s gaze, knowing it would be nothing more than an expression of smug certainty.
“I’m not jealous,” he shot back, taking a long drink from his water bottle. They’d just finished one of their weekly sparring sessions, which, as always, ended with Steve’s back to the floor and eyes on the ceiling. This week he noticed a new burn mark, and he made a mental note to remind whoever was on cleaning duty that they did have teammates who could fight on the ceiling if they wanted to.
“Sure,” Natasha said after a moment, lip quirking briefly. She made a grab for Steve’s bottle, which he quickly raised out of her reach. She shot him a look, shaking her own, empty one, and Steve sighed before handing it her way. “Not jealous. Just bothered by the fact that Stark wants to spend time with everyone but you.”
“I just think he should be...more involved. He’s still part of the team, but we haven’t had a chance to even talk seriously about, well, anything.” And it was true. After Ultron, Tony has basically dumped Steve with the others at the compound and left without a word. Whenever he did visit, it was always to either talk to Rhodey or drop off a new invention.
Natasha was quiet as she slowed her steps, halting their walk in the hall. “Have you talked to him about it?”
Steve wanted to laugh. “And tell him what? ‘Hey, Tony, I know you’re busy and all, but is there any way you could stop all that and just sit down with me for five minutes to talk?’ That just sounds so....”
“Jealous?” Natasha guessed, and Steve stole back his bottle, narrowing his eyes.
“I’m not jealous,” Steve repeated, wondering how many times he’d need to say it before Natasha let it go. Natasha took a step closer to him, expression shifting from amused to concerned in his silence. “I’m just...I don’t know. Worried? I’m afraid I said something during Ultron and Tony’s, you know, taking it to heart.”
Natasha’s gaze became sympathetic, and she reached out a hand, tilting Steve’s lowered chin back up. “Hey, Tony might be emotionally complicated at times, but he’s not dumb. He knows you, and he knows better than to think anything you say isn’t coming from a place of care. We all do. Okay?”
Steve let himself smile, appreciating the reassurance. “Thanks, Tasha. I know. It’s just--” He stopped, gaze focusing over her shoulder, causing Natasha to turn and follow it. “Tony?”
Tony looked up from his phone, having just stepped out of one of the compound’s elevators. He was dressed casually, which meant he must have the day off. No company meetings, and whatnot. Which just made the gnawing in Steve’s chest grow, knowing he was there, on his day off, and had once again come to bother anyone who wasn’t Steve.
“Oh, hey,” Tony said, looking between Steve and Natasha quickly before returning to his phone. He waited until the two of them caught up to him before pocketing it. “What’s up? You look sweaty.”
Steve frowned. “Thanks.”
“We just got done with a sparring session,” Natasha jumped in, placing a hand on Steve’s arm. “Kicked this guy’s ass. Again.”
Steve threw her a look, but let it go. She wasn’t wrong.
Tony smiled, looking amused. His eyes met Steve’s briefly before looking away.
“What are you doing here?” Steve had to ask, even when he knew it came out more like an accusation than a genuine question.
Tony hesitated a moment, hands slipping into the pockets of his jacket. “Oh, you know, just checking in on Rhodes. I also wanted to ask him a favor. Although, at this point, I think I owe him more than he owes me.”
“You could have just called,” Steve pointed out. Why make the trip at all? They all had been gifted new Stark phones only a few months back. Seemed strange to not put them to use, especially given the drive form the tower to the compound.
Tony’s gaze narrowed, and his body language shifted to defensive. “Didn’t know I wasn’t welcome on base, but duly noted, Captain.”
“That’s not what I--” Steve started, realizing he’d been too defensive himself. But he was cut off by the sound of Tony’s phone ringing, some song from a show or movie Steve had probably never gotten around to watching even though half the team assured him it was worth it.
Tony pulled out the phone, looking at the ID. “Sorry, that’s Pepper. We’ve got a lunch date, which.....” He checked his watch, frowning. “I am now fifteen minutes late for. Shit.”
“Thought you two broke up?” Steve asked, earning him a stern glare from Natasha.
Tony’s own expression never change, silencing the phone before pocketing it. “Friends can still eat lunch together, Rogers. Wild concept, I know. Anyway, I got to run. Let me know when visiting hours are, yeah?”
Steve only sighed, the thing in his chest tightening slowly. “Right.”
“Bye, Tony,” Natasha said as he walked away, waiting until the man was out of side before rounding on Steve, expression scolding. “What the hell was that, Rogers?”
Steve tried to answer, but even he wasn’t sure. It was like even looking at Tony just made him...“I don’t know. Sorry.”
Natasha searched Steve’s face a moment, before closing her eyes with a nod. “Right. Well, like the man said, you’re sweaty, and so am I. Hit the showers. Pizza for lunch?”
Steve made a face. “Again?”
Natasha shrugged. “It’s the only thing everyone can agree on. But I’ll ask around.”
Steve smiled. “Thanks.”
Natasha waved a hand. “Anytime. Oh, and while you’re washing up, make sure to get that green off your face. It’s not a good look on you.”
Steve reached up, fingers brushing across his cheek, before realizing what she meant. “Very funny.”
“Only because it’s true,” Natasha shot back before walking away. Steve only watched her a moment before pressing the button for the elevator.
Maybe Natasha was right. Maybe he was jealous.
“Okay, so, definitely jealous,” Natasha observed, walking over to Steve’s side.
Steve looked up from his holopad. He was sitting in one of the meeting rooms, going over the afternoon’s mission. There’d been an explosion in an apartment complex, and the fire was growing too fast for local firefighters to maintain. The team had been called in personally to secure both the building and the people inside.
“What are you talking about?”
Natasha eyed him, leaning against the table. “I’m talking about you giving Sam hell today for no reason.”
Steve put the holopad down, leaning back in his seat. He was still dressed in his uniform, cowl pushed off his face. It smelled like smoke. “He broke the perimeter. Strayed from formation.”
“To save someone from falling out a window,” Natasha countered, crossing her arms.
“Which caused Wanda to lose focus and almost let the eighth-floor collapse,” Steve countered. “She could have caught them. There was no need.” He looked back down at the holopad, noting the loop of footage he’d been reviewing. “He’s impulsive. It’s not the first time.”
“Right,” Natasha said, tone implying that Steve was one to talk about impulsivity. “And I’m sure this has nothing to do with the fact that you saw Tony dropping him off this morning?”
Steve tensed, still looking down. He hadn’t even realized Sam had left the compound until he’d caught a glimpse of the man stepping out of Tony’s car. The heavy thing in his chest reappeared, squeezing tight.
Natasha watched Steve a moment before sighing, arms dropping. “Get some rest, Rogers,” was all she said before leaving, tone final, and the sound of the metal door whooshing close behind her echoed in the room.
Steve just sighed, before sinking even lower in his chair.
Tony brought Bruce to the compound.
Steve hadn’t seen him since Sekovia. He’d been told the man had undergone some kind of physical distress the last time he’d Hulked out, so he’d been laying low and resting ever since. Although, apparently, he’d also been spending time with Tony, as the two regaled the team with their new designs for equipment, along with an updated schematic for the compound’s defense system.
Watching Tony and Bruce go back and forth which other, finishing each other’s sentences and smiling in that way that only people who’d been spending almost too much time together to solve a problem could, Steve felt that thing slowly unfurl in his chest, crawling up his throat, inching along his tongue, begging to be let out.
“What about the Hulkbuster armor?” Steve interrupted eventually, catching Bruce off guard as he was explaining the new wings they were planning to give Sam. Apparently that was what Sam had been testing when Tony had picked him up a few weeks back.
Bruce looked at Tony, before turning back to Steve. “What, ah, what about it?”
Steve kept his gaze forward, ignoring whatever look Natasha was throwing him. “If we’re all getting new equipment to better suit our abilities while also keeping us safe, it makes sense to improve on that suit as well. I mean, you have worked on it since Johannesburg, right?”
Bruce looked at Steve a moment, then to Tony, thinking, before shrugging a shoulder. “Well, I mean, we haven’t exactly made it a priority, but--”
“Not a priority?” Steve asked, leaning forward in his seat. “We’ve seen the damage the Hulk can do, and how easily he can be turned against us.” Wanda dipped her chin at that, eyes down, and Steve felt a moment of remorse for bringing up the reminder. “So, if you’re going to be a part of this team, which is why I assume you’re here, what’s the fail safe? Or did you just think everything would work out, like with Ultron?”
“Okay,” Tony interrupted, stepping in between Bruce and Steve, clapping his hands together. He caught Steve’s gaze, and Steve leaned back, knowing the look for what it was. “Enough chit-chat. Let’s just get straight to testing, yeah? That’s always been the more interesting part of these kinds of things anyway. Sam, Vision, do you mind lending a hand?”
Sam was out of his seat quickly, coming along to Bruce’s side to offer a pat on the shoulder and something spoken low enough Steve couldn’t hear. Vision hesitated a moment, looking to Wanda who was still curled in on herself. She looked up with a smile, noticing his gaze, before tilting her head after Sam, and Vision must have taken that as approval to do as Tony asked.
Steve stood to help as well, but Natasha stopped him with a firm grip around his forearm, holding tight.
“Can I talk to you a moment?” She asked, and Steve didn’t have to be a telepath to know the only answer to that question right now was yes. So, he followed her out of the room and down the hall to the main kitchen. It wasn’t very large, considering the size of the compound, but it also wasn’t the only one either.
When the door closed behind them, Natasha didn’t waste a moment.
“What the hell was that?”
“What do you mean?” Steve asked in return, and it was genuine. He’d thought he’d been asking pretty poignant questions, given the circumstances. His delivery might have come across as a bit accusatory, but that was only because he cared about his team’s well-being. And it most certainly had nothing to do with whatever weird weight still lingered in his chest, slowly closing back up, settling.
Natasha scoffed, one hand on the kitchen counter. “I’m talking about you making Bruce out to be the bad guy. Turning against Sam. I’d hate to see what you’d say to Pepper if she ever showed her face around here.”
Steve’s brow furrowed. “When have I ever said anything bad about Pepper?”
“Maybe not aloud,” Natasha admitted, and Steve couldn’t hold her gaze, giving her the fuel to keep going. “You’re compromised, Rogers. And now it’s bleeding into everything, including the team.”
“I’m compromised?” Steve asked, incredulous. Compromised by what? Wanting to protect his team? Make sure they were safe? “By who’s standards? Yours?”
Natasha took the hit in stride, stepping closer. “You’re letting your judgement get clouded because of your feelings. You can’t lead like this.”
“You think I’m not fit to lead?” Steve felt a low, simmering anger building in him at the words. He’d always put the team above everything else. Always. “Because of these feelings you think I’m having?”
“Because you won’t even admit what those feelings are, Rogers,” Natasha snapped, and the look in her eyes was deadly. Angry. That wasn’t ideal. “Whatever’s going on inside that head of yours, you need to stop taking it out on everyone else. Deal with your shit or I’ll deal with it for you.”
Steve’s eyes narrowed, shoulders tensing. “Is that a threat, Romanoff?”
Before Natasha could answer, the door opened, and Steve looked up to find Tony stepping into the room. He looked at the two of them in surprise, before raising his hands.
“Sorry, I was just,” He looked around a moment before spotting the fridge and pointed to it. “Looking for some water. Public speaking always dries me out faster than a sauna. Am I interrupting something?”
Natasha stared hard at Steve, before turning around. “No,” she said sweetly, no semblance of her previous anger to be found. It reminded Steve of just how terrifying the woman could be. “Water’s on the bottom shelf, if Sam remembered to restock it.”
With that she left, maneuvering easily around Tony and disappearing out the door. When it closed, Steve just stood there, a wave of instant guilt crashing over him.
In the silence, Tony had stepped forward and opened the fridge. Behind the large, metal door, he spoke. “So, what was with that?”
Steve considered the question, before realizing there were too many answers to choose from. “What?”
Tony closed the door, bottle of water now in hand. He opened it, moving to the island to drop the cap on it. He took a small sip before placing it beside the cap. “Back there. With Bruce. You guys get into a fight I don’t know about? Not that it’s necessarily any of my business, but...”
Steve shook his head, eyes landing on the uncapped bottle. Unable to meet Tony’s gaze for some reason. “Hard to fight with someone when you never see them,” he joked, hoping to move past the question.
Tony smiled, hand fidgeting with the cap on the island. “Yeah. Guess I’d have noticed if you were making trips to his place, considering.”
Steve raised a brow. “You go there often?”
“Often enough,” Tony admitted, looking down at the cap, twisting it between his fingers. “He’s the only one who can wade through my rambling. Plus, his setup is nicer than mine. Cleaner.”
Steve wasn’t surprised by that. The lab at the tower was always a mess, whenever Steve had walked through it. “I bet.”
Tony said nothing for a while, before looking up at Steve, meeting his gaze and holding it for the few seconds Steve allowed.
“It is strange, though. Sam said something similar happened to him a few weeks ago,” Tony began, cap forgotten. He was only looking at Steve now, and Steve had a bad feeling about that. “It is quite an achievement, to earn the wraith of Captain America.
“Tony,” Steve said, both as an exasperation and a warning.
Tony’s phone rang then, and they both looked down towards the sound.
“One sec.” Tony pulled it from his pocket, smiling after a moment. He looked up at Steve, apologetic. “Sorry. Pep. Guess I missed another lunch date.”
Steve felt the dormant thing in his chest rumble, awakening. He needed to go. “I’ll go see if the other’s need help,” he said, hoping that was enough to excuse his quick exit. Instead, the ringing of the phone stopped, and a hand reached out and wrapped around his wrist, halting him.
When he turned, Tony was staring in awe, an even bigger smile growing on his face. “Holy shit. You are jealous.”
Steve could only stare in horror, realizing what Tony had just said and how it had rippled through him, his chest tightening more than it ever had.
“I’m not jealous,” was all Steve could get out before tearing his arm away and leaving the room. Tony said something as he did so, but he didn’t stop to listen. He was too busy quieting the pounding in his chest, and the roaring in his ears.
You’re so fucking jealous, Rogers, his mind supplied, helpfully. He waved it away as best he could, and instead of turning back to where the others were, he went the opposite way, needing a moment alone.
To get his shit together, as Natasha would say.
Steve considered heading to the nearest punching bag. That had always been one of his go to places, especially after the ice. The act of physically hitting something felt good, a way to direct his feelings in a way that didn’t cause harm to anyone else. He always needed to be careful with his super strength, so the ability to just let lose was therapeutic in a way. But this time, he didn’t want to hit anything. Didn’t think any physical force could make him feel better. Because it wasn’t anger or frustration that was simmering inside him. It wasn’t pain or sadness, either. Instead, it felt more like guilt, embarrassment for having acted as he did while still being called out on it. Being seen right through, when he hadn’t even been able to see himself.
God, he was pathetic, wasn’t he?
He sat on the edge of his own bed, feeling like a coward. But it was the only place he knew he could be alone. The compound had a no-barging rule (mostly for Vision) that meant respecting each other’s boundaries. If a door was closed, and a few knocks gained no answer, then one walked away. No intruding, no pestering, no poking or prodding. Which was why he was surprised when his own door opened at all, allowing someone to step inside with ease.
Tony looked around a moment, gaze lingering over the sparse furniture. “I’ve got to say, I’m surprised by the modernity. Always pegged you as an antique knick-knack kind of guy.”
He smiled, and Steve felt like doing anything but. “What are you doing? How’d you get in?” It was never used much, but all doors were able to be locked from the inside. Steve had taken the time to do so, only because of the need to feel secure in his isolation. He hadn’t expected anyone to be able to bypass it.
Tony seemed amused by the question, as if the answer was obvious. “You know I built this place, right? Be a bit weird not to give myself override access.”
“Don’t tell Natasha,” Steve warned, trying for some kind of joking tone.
Tony only raised a brow. “You really think she doesn’t already know? I’d honestly be surprised if she hasn’t already figured out a way to override my own override. But, well, spies. What are you going to do?”
Steve smiled politely at that, and watched as Tony didn’t leave. Instead, he made his way across the room and sat down on the bed beside Steve. He didn’t look at him, however. Instead, he just stared straight ahead, as if observing the wall in front of them.
“Tony?” Steve asked after a few more long moments, wondering if he was missing something. Was he supposed to say something? Perhaps he should apologize. That was always a good place to start.
Before he could, Tony started to apologize instead.
“I didn’t mean to ignore you,” he began, still not looking at Steve. His shoulders were sagged, and he leaned forward a bit, as if bracing himself. “I just got....busy, I guess? With, well, everything.” He paused, huffing a small laugh. “I was so focused on fixing things, I ended up breaking something else, huh?”
Steve wasn’t following. “What were you trying to fix?”
Tony sighed, as if expecting the question. “What aren’t I trying to fix? After Ultron, I needed to... make amends. Right my wrongs, and all that stuff. I fucked up, and I’m not too proud to admit it, even if it does hurt.” He threw Steve a cheeky grin, but when Steve didn’t react to it, it dropped, returning his expression to something more serious, grimmer. “I also realized that we’re vulnerable. All of us. You, me, the team. There’s so much out there we don’t know about or understand, and I just wanted to protect us from that. But I shut everyone else out while doing so, and that was on me. So, I’m trying. I really am.”
“I know,” Steve assured, seeing the vulnerability in Tony’s expression when he turned his way. God, the man had been trying to improve himself and Steve had gotten upset with him because he hadn’t made time amid all that to talk to him. And about what even? The weather? Christ.
“Actually, there’s....there’s something else I didn’t tell you. Didn’t tell anyone, actually. Other than Fury, which is even weirder to say out loud, but, well. Something happened before Ultron. At the base in Sokovia, when I found Loki’s scepter, I...I saw something. A vision, I guess,” Tony said, and allowed himself a moment to laugh at the unintended pun. Steve was more focused on the way he shifted where he sat, gaze going distant, as if remembering. “It felt like I was looking into some kind of future, our future. But everything was wrong, and the team was...So I rushed over to you, and you weren’t moving, and I reached out but you stopped me and you said--”
Tony stopped speaking, eyes closed, as if reliving the moment. Steve reached out a hand, placing it over the man’s arm. Tony opened his eyes at the touch, and turned, meeting Steve’s gaze.
“You told me I could have saved you,” Tony admitted finally, the words sounding as if they had to have been torn from his throat, raspy and raw. “And I just, I didn’t know what to do. I was so scared, and then it all just disappeared. And then Ultron happened, and I realized you were right. I could have saved you, all of you, but instead I just keep...”
“Tony, it wasn’t real,” Steve reminded, giving a quick, reassuring squeeze with his hand before lifting it, retreating back.
Tony grabbed him before he got too far, fingers curling around his wrist. “How do you know? How can you be sure it won’t happen? That it wasn’t some fucked up version of the future that I helped create? That I could have prevented?”
Steve was a bit taken aback by the intensity with which Tony spoke, practically watching as the man frayed apart before him at some hypothetical. So he let Tony hang on to him, and he placed his other hand over Tony’s, hoping to comfort. Ground him in the now.
“Because it won’t,” Steve said, holding Tony’s gaze as he spoke and making sure each word made its way to him. “Because I know you won’t let it. Because you care so much, and we all know that. We’re a team, Tony, and that means we’re all in this together, whatever happens. You can’t put all of that on your shoulders, alone. That’s why I get so angry at you sometimes. Because you try to take on these burdens alone. And that’s not what I want. That’s not what any of us want. Okay?”
Tony’s eyes flickered across Steve’s, and as the moments passed, a wetness seemed to come over them, and he used his free hand to wipe at them quickly, shaking his head.
“Goddammit,” Tony cursed quietly, but with the beginnings of a smile. “You know, I meant it when I said I wasn’t ignoring you. It was just, every time I saw you all I could think about was what I’d seen, and I thought...I was afraid that you’d--”
“Blame you,” Steve finished for him, sighing. Had he really caused Tony to think so little of him? “Tony, the only reason I get mad at you for these things is because I care about you. You understand that, right?”
“Well,” Tony said, looking down at his hand still curled around Steve’s wrist, held in place by Steve’s other hand. “Obviously not, but, well, I guess now I do, huh?”
Steve followed his gaze, realizing what he was looking at, and quickly lifted his top hand. “Sorry.”
Tony didn’t say anything, but took the lifted hand and placed it back down, placing his own hand on top of it, holding it in place. “Were you really jealous?”
Steve felt a jolt of panic pass through him, and he looked away pointedly, hating how his hands were currently, well, tied. “I wasn’t jealous.”
“Hmm,” Tony hummed, thumb running against Steve’s skin. Steve jumped, and Tony lifted his hands slowly as Steve pulled his own back.
“I was just....worried. About you,” Steve tried, thinking of some way to explain that whatever Tony was reading into wasn’t what he thought it was. Was it?
“Worried, huh? About mean ol’ Pepper calling me?” Tony said with the quirk of a brow, and Steve turned away, feeling called out.
He cleared his throat a moment, finding a steady tone. “What did she want anyway?” he asked, hoping to change the subject.
Tony only shrugged, leaning back on a hand. “I wouldn’t know. She never called me.”
Steve froze, turning on Tony slowly. “What?”
Tony grinned, leaning into Steve’s space. “I lied.”
Steve considered this. “Then who--”
“Your team is much more observant than you think,” Tony explained, moving that much closer. Steve didn’t try to move away. “Technically, it was Sam’s idea, but....”
“Wait, so you knew?” Steve felt suddenly unsteady in the sudden shift of conversation. How had Tony known? Even he hadn’t known, not really. Unless... “Did Natasha tell you?”
Tony shook his head. “Nah. She’s pretty tight-lipped when she wants to be. But Wanda seemed concerned about you when I called her awhile back, and then Sam had told me about the incident after our brainstorming session, so--”
“So you really keep in touch with everyone on the team?” Steve asked, both impressed yet hurt by the fact that Tony had never even attempted to reach out to him. But he supposed the man had just explained why that had happened, but it still didn’t mean it sat anything but heavy in his chest.
“When they let me,” Tony said with a shrug, as if it was unimportant.
Steve took the words to heart. “You really thought I wouldn’t let you?”
“I...wasn’t sure,” Tony admitted, before lighting up. “But now that I know you’ve been pining after me for months...”
Steve sighed. “I wasn’t...pining after you. I just wanted to--”
“Monopolize my time?” Tony interrupted, leaning even closer to Steve, one hand reaching out to rest along his arm, gentle. “Have my complete and undivided attention? Because I’ll let you in on a secret: you have it. You always do.”
Steve let those words sink in a moment, looking down at Tony’s hand and back up. “Oh,” he said aloud, stupidly, and Tony only smiled.
“Did I ever tell you,” he continued, the hand on Steve’s arm slowly moving upward, gliding over his shoulder. “That I’ve got a bit of a possessive kink?”
Steve could only blink at the words, practically frozen as Tony’s hand moved along his neck to cup right under his face. They stared at each other a moment, Steve’s brain finally catching up to the moment, and, as if on cue, Tony asked, “Is it okay if I...”
“Please,” Steve said almost too quickly, but Tony only laughed before pulling himself close.
Steve hadn’t really thought about kissing Tony before, so he didn’t really have any expectations for when it happened. But he did realize two things. The first being that Tony’s lips were a lot smoother than he would have assumed. The second being that Tony was also way gentler than Steve ever thought he could be. All the things he’d read online about some playboy billionaire seemed to go right out the window in the face of the utmost care Tony took in kissing him. It was such a soft, gentle press of lips that Steve almost couldn’t connect the sensation to the Tony Stark. But once the surprise passed, Steve realized how utterly and true that was to the Tony he knew. The Tony right next to him, enjoying his jealousy, kissing him.
Tony pulled back what felt like too soon to Steve, and he only stared as Tony searched his face, looking for something.
“I’m going to need you to give me something here, Rogers,” he said after a moment, a slight nervous tilt to his words that made all the tension in Steve’s shoulders fall away.
He replied without speaking, moving himself forward to kiss Tony just as softly, and placed a hand against the man’s thigh, fingertips pushing into skin just so. Tony made a surprised sound, barely audible, but it made Steve laugh against Tony’s mouth, and Tony took the opening to commandeer the moment and slip his tongue inside Steve’s mouth.
It was Steve’s turn to be surprised, but after a moment, he took it in stride, meeting Tony’s advances with his own. It was a bit awkward at first, but eventually they found a rhythm, and Steve couldn’t stop himself from pushing closer to Tony, wanting more, hand moving from his thigh to up and over his hip, gripping as he maneuvered the man to a better angle. His other hand found its way to the side of Tony’s face before moving back into his hair, gripping tight.
Tony practically melted into the touch, free hand pressing against Steve’s chest and gripping the fabric tight, definitely wrinkling it. He eventually allowed Steve to do as he please, taking a back seat as Steve nipped at his lips, exploring slowly as he essentially poured all the things he’d been feeling the last few months into this thing between them. Admitting just how right everyone had been. That he had been jealous, practically boiling over with it, and it wasn’t until Tony had let him have him that he’d realized how possessive of the man he was. He wanted anything and everything he had to give, and hated the idea of sharing it with anyone else to an overwhelming point.
Steve pulled away slowly, pressing a few slow kisses to Tony’s mouth as the two of them began to breathe again, and Tony closed his eyes against it, hand uncurling from Steve’s shirt. When he opened them, he only smiled, leaning in close enough to press his forehead to Steve’s.
“Hey,” he said quietly, hand back on Steve’s face and thumb moving along his cheek.
“Hey,” Steve echoed back, smiling as his own fingers traveled through Tony’s hair, enjoying the sensation.
They sat like that a while, just touching each other, keeping close, before Tony broke the moment, hand dropping from Steve. Steve missed it instantly.
“We should, uh, get back,” Tony said, motioning behind him to the door. Steve looked at it, then back at Tony. “Supposed to be testing and all that.”
“Right,” Steve said after a moment, removing himself from the bed. He stood, straightening out his shirt, and Tony followed, running a hand through his rustled hair. The two looked at each other, grinning again before heading to the door.
Tony reached out a hand to open it, but stopped, and turned on his heels, practically slamming into Steve as he pulled him down for another kiss, open mouthed and slow. When he pulled away, Steve could only stare, tongue darting out over his own lips instinctively.
“Sorry,” Tony said, hands coming down to smooth over his shirt, as if inspecting him. “Just needed to make sure.”
Steve didn’t really understand, but he said, “Okay,” and Tony seemed pleased by that.
“Okay,” Tony repeated back before turning back to the door.
As he followed Tony out into the hall, Steve realized Natasha had been wrong.
Apparently, jealousy had been a good look on him, after all.