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[gotup]

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[gotup]

It's sometime around now when Steve realizes that he's still sitting there with his dick out, and although it's awkward, he maneuvers around Tony to tuck it back into his underwear, at least. Which really only draws more attention to the whole problem that he's not talking about, so. Good job, Steve.

"No," he says quietly. "I thought you wanted me." In Steve's mind, he still bears a portion of the guilt for letting himself believe that much. He hunches his shoulders in again, the body language of a smaller man imposing itself on his frame.

[myheartglows]

Tony flicks his eyes down, but says nothing otherwise; he can still feel the soreness raised by Steve's dick scratching at his throat. His mouth waters and he swallows down the excess spit. Seeing Steve, his tone softens. "I wanted that space in my head. I trusted you to lead me there, and you did," he rasps. Then he huffs. "Helps that I'm physically attracted to you, I guess. If you, uh ... wanna kick me out and call me a rake, I'd get it. Just keep in mind that while, pro: not having to deal with me, there's the con: your lap might get cold." Tony smiles a tiny abashed smile, an olive branch.

[gotup]

Even after everything, that damn smile still makes Steve want to kiss him, and so he gives in to the urge to brush a kiss against the corner of Tony's lips, quickly and shyly. It's there and gone, and Steve pulls back again. Maybe he's a little heartbroken, but it's not like this is a new experience for him, and - Tony trusts him. That's something to focus on. It's not just his body or the prestige of being with Captain America. Even if he used him, it was because of the bond between them.

Maybe that can be enough.

"You aren't bad at being a lapwarmer," he agrees, smiling back. "If you, uh, ever wanted to try warming my bed..."

[myheartglows]

The smile fades just a little in surprise and for a moment Tony just considers Steve, searching his face as if seeing him for the first time. Eventually he ekes out a tiny "okay" before he continues normally, if choked, "Yeah. Happy to be of service." His thoughts reel. Steve still wants him like that?

[gotup]

Steve studies Tony's face thoughtfully, his gaze serious. "I want you to tell me about this thing, okay? If we- if we do anything else. I wanna be ready for it. I don't want to worry about breaking you again." He knows there's a lot of weird things about sex he's never even considered, and he doesn't want Tony to think he's some old-fashioned guy from the 1940s who's scandalized by the thought of anything remotely unusual.

[myheartglows]

Stunned and dumb, Tony nods. His eyes trail away as his mind races. He loves Pepper, and if she ever walks back in and motions him close he'd immediately fall to her feet, reverent and repentant. This feels like a betrayal, but didn't her leaving stab him the same? And he's enough of a piece of shit that Steve dangling the possibility has him wanting to bare his throat. Tony craves the escape.

"So," he says, "this is how you'd help me, huh? Take me out of my head for an hour or more." He smiles at Steve, sadly. "Ordering me around must be a dream come true."

[gotup]

"Is that what it is?" He raises his eyebrows with interest. "To be honest, I've always been more about breaking orders than giving them." And if he's ever imagined anyone giving him orders in a sexual setting, well, it's absolutely been Peggy. "Gotta say, I have trouble imagining you obeying them."

And then he hesitates for a second before he adds, "I'm open to, uh, platonic bedwarming, too." His cheeks flush with embarrassment, but, god, he craves more of this, just being with someone, soaking up the touch. "I mean. It doesn't all have to be-" Steve gestures vaguely, a sort of embarrassed hand flailing motion. "If you want. It might not be what you're looking for, I dunno."

[myheartglows]

Tony stares again. "It is pretty late," he comments slowly, not quite believing all this. "And the commute's a drag. But Steve, I ... I don't make for the best bed partner." How many times did his nightmares wake Pepper? How often did he leave his side of the bed cold after failing to sleep? "Remember Clint's?" he points out. At Clint's farmhouse, when they shared a room after Ultron and the twins knocked them on their asses. Tony snuck tense glances at Steve the whole while after their argument at the woodpile; and in bed he kept shifting, rolling over and sitting up, quiet as possible, eaten by insomnia.

[gotup]

"I'm not saying I do, either," Steve admits slowly, and even getting him to say that much is practically a minor miracle. Of course he doesn't sleep well; his only saving grace is that with the serum, he hardly needs any sleep. Here and back in New York - even back in DC - he's always had a tendency to get up and go do something physical to chase the lingering ghost from his mind, long before the sun ever makes its way over the horizon. "But-" But he desperately craves the illusion of intimacy, even if it's the most he can get from Tony. It's still more than he has now, more than anyone else is willing to give him.

He stops there, thinks better of trying to express any other sentiments, tries for a joke instead. "Just as long as you don't hog all the blankets."

[myheartglows]

Maybe Steve feels just as lonely as Tony does. Maybe that's what this is all about: two sad and desperate souls seeking comfort from someone safe. Fear skips through his heart, but he attempts another weak smile anyway, grateful for the levity. "No guarantees. Just use that Snuggie I got you." A reference to a better, happier time, before Tony messed it all up.

[gotup]

"Hey, I save that exclusively for Netflix binges." Which isn't wrong; if you come through the quarters at the right time, you can catch Steve in a ridiculous patriotic Snuggie and a big bowl of popcorn as he watches Game of Thrones.

He lifts a hand up, brushes his fingertips against the curve of Tony's smile. "I'm a pretty warm guy, anyway." Which is an understatement, because being in bed with him is typically like having a miniature space heater.

[myheartglows]

"Literally and figuratively," Tony jokes, trying to smirk, but the constant little touches throw him for a loop so the corner of his mouth trembles with the effort.

[gotup]

"Ha, ha." Steve rolls his eyes at the terrible joke. "Got any other hot takes?" Emphasis on the hot, because he can be just as awful when it comes to jokes.

[myheartglows]

Tony ducks his head to hide a genuine smile. God, he's missed this camaraderie. Can he really let himself have this? "Nah. Just the one occupying your lap," he retorts.

[gotup]

Yeah, Tony, don't remind his libido of that fact. Now that the panic and fear are gone and they're starting to get back to what used to pass for normal for them, god only knows what could happen if his body realizes that he's got an attractive man cuddled up in his lap.

"Oh, so I'm just warm, but you're hot?" Steve pretends to be indignant. "Seems kinda unfair to me."

[myheartglows]

Tony spreads his hands. "I don't make the rules, Rogers. Take your complaints to People magazine and their Sexiest Man Alive." He sniffs and then scoffs, "Thor. Honestly."

[gotup]

"You're really gonna complain that you lost to an actual god?" Steve lifts his eyebrows. While the majority of his sexuality crisis has involved Tony, that doesn't mean that he isn't fully aware of how attractive some other men are. Thor might be the equivalent of a golden retriever when it comes to his personality, but he also has the body of a literal god.

[myheartglows]

"Exactly. He should've been disqualified," Tony points out. "Sexiest Man Alive, not god." They've already run this debate to the ground last year when People contacted Thor for the interview and photo shoot. Tony only cared because it was one of their own, which meant the editors purposefully picked one Avenger over the others. Never mind that Tony's already claimed the title before.

[gotup]

"Yeah, Tony, we all know the argument." He sighs dramatically. It's not like he hasn't heard this a hundred times before already, after all. "You're just jealous because he got to do a photoshoot shirtless and riding a horse on a beach - and let me tell you, you don't have enough hair for it to stream in the wind." He pats said hair affectionately, though.

[myheartglows]

Tony gasps, hand over heart, faking offense.

How dare you.

[gotup]

"Does the world really need another spread of sexy Tony Stark photos?" Steve teases him. "Would you want to pose buck naked on a bearskin rug next to a fireplace?"

[myheartglows]

Tony switches gears; he relaxes his eyes, lashes long and low, a smirk wicked on his face, and cocks his head in the same way as before: an invitation to kiss. With a sinuous arch of his back he rolls his hips into Steve's lap. "Why? Is that something you've dreamed of, Captain?" he purrs. The soreness only adds a husky rumble. "Spreading me out and sketching a portrait? Maybe keeping it in the pocket of your uniform?" He leans closer, just an inch. "A lil' something to warm you on those long missions, sneaking glances when you can? When you think no one else can see?"

[gotup]

He shudders at the sound of Tony's voice, at the way he rolls his hips against him - oh, god, is he in over his head - but then the words sink in and he flinches. As much as he wants to keep pushing and pushing and see how dangerously far it gets him, he knows that if he doesn't gently correct it now, Tony'll keep doing it.

"Just Steve," he says quietly, awkwardly, like he feels guilty for interrupting Tony's playful seduction (and he does, because nobody's bothered to do this with him before, and he likes it). "Please."

And before he can say anything else stupid, he kisses Tony again, rolls his hips up against him as he holds him down. Kissing is good, he decides, because it keeps his mouth occupied. And speaking of mouths-

"Wanna make you come," he mumbles against Tony's lips. He didn't get to earlier, and turnabout is fair play, right?

[myheartglows]

Micro shifts in his expression: smirk losing a level of intensity at Steve's plea, his lips parting before they kiss, which Tony melts into, a soft whistle of a whine in the back of his misused throat. But when Steve mumbles what he wants, fear spikes through Tony and he pulls back, eyes wide. His pleasure belongs with Pepper. He can kneel and he can suck Steve off, but the thought of someone else touching him, someone not the woman he loves, leaves Tony shriveled.

"Later," he says, choked, and jumps to his feet. He stands still for a moment, growing cold, then strides a few steps toward the windows, facing them instead of Steve. God, what is he gonna do? What has he started? He runs a nervous hand through his hair and then harshly clutches the strands at his nape.

[gotup]

Steve stands up and zips his fly, comes up behind Tony. His arousal has deflated, leaving just the awkwardness behind. "I'm sorry," he says softly. "I thought you'd want-"

He shakes his head and stares out at the rooftop garden, shoving his hands in his pockets. He wants to see Tony come undone, wants to feel the satisfaction of pleasing him. But he won't push it.

"I'm gonna take a shower. If you still wanna come by later..." Which is stupid, of course he doesn't, but Steve plunges ahead anyway. "I won't do anything you don't want. Platonic, just like I said."