When Steve returns, Tony lies exactly as he left him, boneless and appearing to be unconscious if not for the weak flexing of his toes to shake off the last of the numbed prickling. He blinks open his eyes long enough to softly meet Steve's and smirk. Then, soothed by the warm washcloth and care, finally comfortable enough now that Steve's back but more so just that exhausted, he quickly, readily falls asleep.
Once he's done and the washcloth is tossed aside, Steve curls up next to Tony on his side, pillowing his head on the other man's shoulder, sprawling an arm and a leg out over him. He couldn't tell you whether he's claiming Tony or protecting him - maybe an equal measure of both - but it feels good, whatever it is. Tony's heartbeat and the sound of his even breathing lull him to sleep, and he doesn't try to fight the urge, not as comfortable in mind and body as he is right now.
Come morning, Tony wakes with an incredible laziness. He woke up predawn once solely because he fell asleep so much earlier than normal, but darkness and a super soldier blanket enticed him back down. Now, though, he lacks both. "Steve?" he croaks. Steve probably left for his morning marathon, he thinks, so Tony lazes in the dusky light like a spoiled house cat. Eventually he picks himself up, noting a small twinge of soreness, and begins the day. He considers in the bathroom whether that is something retired people actually do or not -- spend minutes in bed doing nothing with no nightmarish interruptions or pressing concerns, or at least delaying them for a time. Still work to be done, but Tony has cleared the weekend relatively well for Steve's visit. Either way, Steve can't expect them to be joined at the hip (or dick in ass) the whole time. Right?
Dressed in a t-shirt and sleep pants, Tony shouts, "Marco!" into the hallway and waits for any answer. Was Marco Polo a thing yet in the 1940s? he wonders as he texts Steve, Come to the kitchen if you can find it. If you're not already there. Anyway, follow the smell of coffee and thoroughly sexed billionaire, you stallion you.
Steve slips out of the bedroom while Tony's still asleep for his morning run. On the weekend, in an area like this, it's quieter - never quiet, not in New York - and he manages to get through it without too many interruptions. (That's one of the benefits of the compound: nobody stops him for autographs while he's trying to exercise.) The air is thin and cold, but it could be worse, especially in January. By the time he gets back to the house, he's worked up enough of a sweat under his coat that he needs to shower again.
He goes in search of a gym first - isn't terribly impressed by what he finds, but he improvises a quick workout - then hunts down the bathroom he found earlier. His phone sits abandoned outside the shower, and he doesn't even think to check for messages. Tucking the entire bundle under his arm, he starts to head back in the direction of their bedroom, but stops when he scents coffee on the air. Following his nose, he ends up in the kitchen, and he abandons his dirty clothes on a chair to come up behind Tony and wrap his arms around his waist, kissing the back of his neck.
"Morning," he murmurs in Tony's ear, grazing the rim with his teeth. Steve apparently thinks nothing of wandering around the house with just a towel wrapped around his waist.
The whole of the kitchen exudes warmth: more close-quartered than any of Tony's later homes, an orange ceiling that tints the light fixtures golden, and an older, homey feel with an outdated steel stove and oven, the counter of which Tony stands in front of, his back to the entrance. To their left, on the counter beneath the windows, the coffee machine dings and fills a mug. As for Tony, Steve has caught him in the middle of cracking open an egg over a bowl of pancake mix. The bag nearby proudly claims itself gluten-free. In hindsight, Tony would have gotten the ingredients to whip up some breakfast from scratch, since he finds it meditative, similar to building trinkets for people in the workshop, but he didn't think beyond (a) invite Steve inside for a weekend, and (b) don't freak out.
"Mornin', stallion," Tony greets with a small smirk. Something about his stance has loosened overnight, his shoulders not quite as squared when Steve holds him as the days before, softer overall, his bedhead fresh, clothes plain, and baking with his own hands. "I've taken the liberty of making us some breakfast. What's your opinion on pancakes?"
The atmosphere of the kitchen is wholly unlike Tony - there are no sleek, modern appliances, none of the open areas that he's come to associate with him. It feels more like something Steve's used to, and even though he doesn't quite realize it, it makes him relax just a little more. He's content to rest his chin on Tony's shoulder and try to stay out of the way while he cooks.
"I love pancakes," Steve admits frankly - although in truth, you'd have to try pretty hard to find a breakfast food (or any food) he won't eat. But he is definitely partial to a good pancake in any of its variations. "You got bacon?" And he wouldn't mind some of those eggs, either. And fruit, and- yeah, okay, the guy has an appetite. "Is there juice in the fridge?" he adds, as reluctant as he is to leave Tony behind.
A cozy warmth has engulfed Tony's heart, an airiness his head -- the relief of not being alone, the (still tentative) hope that this can work, and the wonder at landing someone like Steve Rogers. Lightning can strike twice, that's scientifically proven, he muses. "Juice and bacon both. Hand 'em here. You can thank the chef with a kiss," Tony says while mixing the batter and then makes an exaggerated and playful kissy-face at Steve on his shoulder.
Steve wrinkles his nose at Tony's exaggerated expression, but his eyes and mouth make his amusement clear. Obediently, he leans in and meets Tony's lips, though he has to resist the urge to linger, to deepen the kiss and distract Tony from cooking. After last night, they both need the calories from breakfast.
When he pulls away, it's to cross over to the refrigerator. Steve hands the bacon over first, then takes the container of orange juice out. He takes a long swig, then remembers his manners and opens a couple of cabinets till he finds them. He pours himself a glass of juice and puts it back in the fridge, then carries both juice and the mug of coffee back to the stove.
"I'll thank you with more than that later." He winks as he slides the coffee onto the counter next to Tony.
The puckered mouth against Steve's smooths out, becomes pliable, and Tony's eyes crinkle at the corners with happiness. When Steve pulls away, Tony clears his throat and concentrates on buttering up the pan. The kiss banished all lingering thought on his tablet, opened to morning news articles, on the table behind him. (Sometimes he still needs to remind himself that the world doesn't fall apart if he's not watching it for a few minutes; that, honestly, it's probably better off without his brand of protection, considering what Ultron turned into.) Right now, he only needs to make sure the batter won't stick.
Cooking meals was something he did for Pepper. Self-taught after the disastrous "bee-tee-dubs I'm dying" omelette, partly to prove to her he could and partly out of necessity after he stopped hiring personal assistants, it ended up as a boon when he could wine, dine, sixty-nine her. He enjoyed it, waiting on her after she survived a long day in high heels at the office, returning the favor for all the years she took care of him. The cooking started with her, as most things, but he likes servicing his partner, Tony is discovering. It's not just with Pepper.
A second skillet onto the stove later, he twists the temperature knobs up and grins as he catches the coffee mug. "More than coffee?" he says, feigning ignorance.
Steve runs his fingers through Tony's hair. It's softer than normal, all the product rinsed out in the shower, and the bedhead is something he finds impossibly endearing. Leaning against the counter, he gives Tony some room to work on the stove.
"I'd bend you over the table if I didn't have to worry about the pancakes burning." Steve smirks over the rim of his glass. That's another reason for putting some physical distance between him and Tony: if he keeps touching him, they'll both end up distracted, and right now, Steve wants breakfast slightly more than he wants sex. "I didn't know you could cook," he adds. It's a hidden side of Tony, one he's never really considered. He's offered smoothies and snacks after missions before, but he hasn't cooked a real meal for any of them.
Tony resists leaning into the touch and purring, but just barely; if Steve ordered him down right then, Tony might very well shatter his kneecaps on the tile flooring. His guard briefly lowered, Steve's next comment blindsides him and Tony squeaks in the back of his throat. He chances a glance down Steve's bare torso, immediately regrets it, and then hides behind drinking his coffee. Note to self: Steve is morphing when sexually poked from a pill bug into a grizzly bear. Thankfully, Steve changes the subject so Tony can stop teetering between feelings of "oh, God, yes, please" and "oh, God, my body is not ready."
Eyes kept safely low, he spreads the melting butter with a spatula. "Uh, yeah. Not earning any Michelin stars, but my stuff generally turns out edible. Put the milk away? I'm done with it."
It's amazing what feeling wanted can do. For the first time, Steve knows absolutely that Tony welcomes his advances, no matter how ridiculous they might be, and it gives him confidence, or something like it. Besides, Tony'd encouraged him last night, telling him to bend him over any available surface all weekend. He's just following orders, as it were.
"Better than mine." Steve picks up the milk jug and takes it back over to the fridge. "I can just about manage a sandwich or a bowl of cereal. Gotta tell you, frozen dinners are a godsend." Or anything else that's been pre-prepared. He buys them in bulk and nukes one when he gets hungry. "You need anything else while I'm over here?"
Tony wrinkles his nose. Frozen dinners, ew. If he stops himself long enough to be in the kitchen, he wants something palatable. "Nah. Sit down. Look pretty," he says and pours in the first puddle of batter. He sizes it according to his preferences, but pauses to consider Steve's and fills the skillet up instead. "Three mega cakes enough for you, Shaggy?" The sense of control and peace that cooking earns him settles into the hollow of his bones, similar to tinkering with a car engine but with an added flood of warmth from doing it for someone else; from making someone else, Steve specifically, happy.
Good God, you really are a housewife, Tony thinks, a running joke he started with Pepper after she moved in. He stuffs down the clearly incorrect yet insistent voice telling him this is all too feminine.
"I'll do my best." Steve sits down at the table, strategically arranging his towel so that it covers what's necessary, but hints at what's underneath, then turns so that the sun illuminates his pecs. He might have a skewed perception of his own appearance, but he at least knows what Tony is likely to find appealing on an aesthetic principle.
"Perfect," he agrees, closing his eyes to bask in the sunlight, and then- "Shaggy?" Must be another reference he's missing.
Tony waves a hand, keeping watch over the stove with his back to Steve and spatula at the ready. "Old cartoon character. Routinely stuffed his face with literal towers of food, though that's where the likeness ends. You're the polar opposite of his scaredy-dog ways." Relaxed enough that his mental filter is lowered, Tony keeps running his mouth, following after his brain leaping between thoughts. "Maybe Jughead is the better comparison. Insatiable appetite, sexually unaware." He tosses a wide smirk over his shoulder. His eyes waver to Steve's chest. He remembers, Shit, and turns back.
Steve opens his eyes again and smirks lazily when Tony turns to look at him. "Only sometimes," he drawls. And that's thanks largely to Tony's tutelage; Steve is a frighteningly fast learner (it's the serum). Once he overcomes his other issues, Tony's really going to find himself in hot water.
"I'm getting you an apron," he decides idly. Mostly because he wants to watch Tony cook in nothing but an apron, but that's probably pretty easy to figure out. Maybe not the safest of moves, but Tony's devotion to safety in all areas is questionable, at best.
Tony snorts. He pours batter into a second skillet to save on time. "My only request is no frills. Would you like me in high heels, too, dear?" He mimics heels by lifting onto his toes.
Steve hums thoughtfully, his gaze lingering on Tony's calves. "Depends on how you feel about stockings and garters." He's never really considered Tony in women's clothing before, and while he might not want him in an entire outfit - well, he's always liked ladies' legs. "And shaving."
"Well," Tony says offhandedly, "I already manscape. What's one step further? Hey, uh, Friday. When's my next salon appointment?" The tablet near Steve pipes up with FRIDAY stating the future date and time. If Steve doesn't stop him, Tony, seemingly serious, will request she add to that appointment a full leg wax.
"I noticed," Steve replies dryly. It's hard not to, especially with the way he's been exploring Tony's body lately. He's unnaturally smooth almost everywhere. It's intriguing, he has to admit, and he's not totally opposed to trying new things. "Pick a nice skirt to go with it. No underwear." The towel twitches a little, and he takes a long sip of his orange juice to try and calm down. Tony really needs to hurry those pancakes up.
After FRIDAY adjusts his appointment, Tony stills with a slight tilt to his head and listens for Steve's reaction. Then he stills for an entirely different reason. Slowly he turns, face stunned, and says, "You're actually serious," feeling like the mad scientist who created something both truly awesome and terrifying.
The blush crawls up his cheeks again at being called out for something they both know is way out of his league, kink-wise. Honestly, Steve's just making everything up as he goes along; he's never had reason to imagine Tony in a skirt and stockings before (not that he hasn't had plenty of fantasies about that fetish, but they've all involved women), but if Tony's willing to try it, then why not? If it turns out it's something they're not interested in, then it's no big deal.
That's what Steve tells himself, anyway, as he tries to pretend he's not a little scared of what might happen.
"You got any requests?" he asks, trying to sound casual - and, more importantly, directing focus away from himself and what he wants.
The blush is actually a major comfort. It means Steve hasn't transformed into a domineering sex juggernaut overnight. (Well, he did physically in the 1940s, but Tony's talking mentally, here.) Tony settles down some, though apprehension still twines around his spine. "Uh, no. I should draw the line at a skirt, purely for masculinity reasons, but it's not the most out-there thing I've tried, so..." he trails off, facing away again. If it makes Steve happy, he tells himself. Unbidden, Pepper comes to mind. He vows to do everything better, this time around. "You got it. One me, dolled up," he whispers, barely above the bubbling pancakes. He becomes intensely occupied with flipping them.
Steve tips his head slightly, looking curious. "Do you think you aren't masculine enough?" he asks. Sure, he's making pancakes for him, but Steve doesn't think anything of it; despite traditional gender roles, it's not like unmarried men in his day starved because they couldn't cook. (Sure, he can't cook, but it has nothing to do with being a man.) "'Cause I don't think that." He might have a weird fixation with personal grooming, but Steve's always chalked that up to being rich.
Tony frowns at the stove. "Gosh, I'd hope not. There's nothing lady-like between these," he says as he motions down his legs. Then, he stands straighter, rolls his shoulders back, and speaks louder, more self-assured, adding a bit of swagger: the patented Stark bravado. It's a visceral transformation, one Tony doesn't even realize he just underwent. If Steve squints, he might well see Howard's ghost hovering over him. "But don't worry. My male ego isn't so fragile that a little dress-up will break me," Tony declares.
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Dressed in a t-shirt and sleep pants, Tony shouts, "Marco!" into the hallway and waits for any answer. Was Marco Polo a thing yet in the 1940s? he wonders as he texts Steve, Come to the kitchen if you can find it. If you're not already there. Anyway, follow the smell of coffee and thoroughly sexed billionaire, you stallion you.
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He goes in search of a gym first - isn't terribly impressed by what he finds, but he improvises a quick workout - then hunts down the bathroom he found earlier. His phone sits abandoned outside the shower, and he doesn't even think to check for messages. Tucking the entire bundle under his arm, he starts to head back in the direction of their bedroom, but stops when he scents coffee on the air. Following his nose, he ends up in the kitchen, and he abandons his dirty clothes on a chair to come up behind Tony and wrap his arms around his waist, kissing the back of his neck.
"Morning," he murmurs in Tony's ear, grazing the rim with his teeth. Steve apparently thinks nothing of wandering around the house with just a towel wrapped around his waist.
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"Mornin', stallion," Tony greets with a small smirk. Something about his stance has loosened overnight, his shoulders not quite as squared when Steve holds him as the days before, softer overall, his bedhead fresh, clothes plain, and baking with his own hands. "I've taken the liberty of making us some breakfast. What's your opinion on pancakes?"
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"I love pancakes," Steve admits frankly - although in truth, you'd have to try pretty hard to find a breakfast food (or any food) he won't eat. But he is definitely partial to a good pancake in any of its variations. "You got bacon?" And he wouldn't mind some of those eggs, either. And fruit, and- yeah, okay, the guy has an appetite. "Is there juice in the fridge?" he adds, as reluctant as he is to leave Tony behind.
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When he pulls away, it's to cross over to the refrigerator. Steve hands the bacon over first, then takes the container of orange juice out. He takes a long swig, then remembers his manners and opens a couple of cabinets till he finds them. He pours himself a glass of juice and puts it back in the fridge, then carries both juice and the mug of coffee back to the stove.
"I'll thank you with more than that later." He winks as he slides the coffee onto the counter next to Tony.
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Cooking meals was something he did for Pepper. Self-taught after the disastrous "bee-tee-dubs I'm dying" omelette, partly to prove to her he could and partly out of necessity after he stopped hiring personal assistants, it ended up as a boon when he could wine, dine, sixty-nine her. He enjoyed it, waiting on her after she survived a long day in high heels at the office, returning the favor for all the years she took care of him. The cooking started with her, as most things, but he likes servicing his partner, Tony is discovering. It's not just with Pepper.
A second skillet onto the stove later, he twists the temperature knobs up and grins as he catches the coffee mug. "More than coffee?" he says, feigning ignorance.
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"I'd bend you over the table if I didn't have to worry about the pancakes burning." Steve smirks over the rim of his glass. That's another reason for putting some physical distance between him and Tony: if he keeps touching him, they'll both end up distracted, and right now, Steve wants breakfast slightly more than he wants sex. "I didn't know you could cook," he adds. It's a hidden side of Tony, one he's never really considered. He's offered smoothies and snacks after missions before, but he hasn't cooked a real meal for any of them.
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Eyes kept safely low, he spreads the melting butter with a spatula. "Uh, yeah. Not earning any Michelin stars, but my stuff generally turns out edible. Put the milk away? I'm done with it."
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"Better than mine." Steve picks up the milk jug and takes it back over to the fridge. "I can just about manage a sandwich or a bowl of cereal. Gotta tell you, frozen dinners are a godsend." Or anything else that's been pre-prepared. He buys them in bulk and nukes one when he gets hungry. "You need anything else while I'm over here?"
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Good God, you really are a housewife, Tony thinks, a running joke he started with Pepper after she moved in. He stuffs down the clearly incorrect yet insistent voice telling him this is all too feminine.
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"Perfect," he agrees, closing his eyes to bask in the sunlight, and then- "Shaggy?" Must be another reference he's missing.
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"I'm getting you an apron," he decides idly. Mostly because he wants to watch Tony cook in nothing but an apron, but that's probably pretty easy to figure out. Maybe not the safest of moves, but Tony's devotion to safety in all areas is questionable, at best.
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"Pick a nice skirt to go with it. No underwear." The towel twitches a little, and he takes a long sip of his orange juice to try and calm down. Tony really needs to hurry those pancakes up.
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That's what Steve tells himself, anyway, as he tries to pretend he's not a little scared of what might happen.
"You got any requests?" he asks, trying to sound casual - and, more importantly, directing focus away from himself and what he wants.
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