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[gotup]

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[gotup]

"I'll tell you ahead of time," Steve promises, knowing what Tony needs to hear right now. "Don't worry about it, the black shirt looks good on you." He kisses the lightly stubbled skin of Tony's throat, just above the Adam's apple. "Everything looks good on you, dumpling."

[myheartglows]

The slight, chastised hunch of his shoulders fades away. Said black shirt still hangs opened from them. "Thank you," he whispers sincerely, then pauses, then scoots forward and nestles up to Steve however he can. He's not as deep anymore, but subspace is so freeing that he often subconsciously delays his return.

[gotup]

Steve wraps an arm around Tony's shoulders, then pulls him back down to the bed, tangling their legs together. He runs the ball of one foot along the stockings, enjoying their silky smoothness, and smiles to himself. "You're welcome, buttercup," he coos, and feeds him another piece of chocolate. Now he's being over the top on purpose.

[myheartglows]

Tony accepts the chocolate easily, but right after, he ducks his head beneath Steve's chin, arms curled to his chest, hiding in him. He wants to savor this. Being like this, with Steve.

[gotup]

Taking the hint, Steve sets the box of chocolates aside and rests his head on the pillow. He doesn't mean to doze, but he eventually drifts a little with Tony warm and half-draped over him. When he comes back to himself, he blinks slowly and looks down at Tony, who hasn't moved.

"Hey, shortcake." His voice rumbles in his chest a little, still rough from sleep (or not-quite sleep, as the case may be.) "How you doin'?"

[myheartglows]

As Steve dozed, Tony dared not move a muscle. He waited patiently for Steve to wake. When he does, Tony presses his ear to Steve's chest so he can listen to the thump, thump, thump of his heart, which becomes the metronome for Tony's mind. "'M doing good," he slurs.

[gotup]

He'd expected Tony to protest being called shortcake; the fact that he doesn't, and his slurred speech, means that he's still under. Steve reaches up to stroke Tony's hair, frowning slightly, wondering if he should be concerned. It's been less than an hour, all told, so he's probably overreacting - on the other hand, if he spends this long in subspace, what will the subdrop be like? Logically, it seems like the two should be connected.

"Yeah?" Steve doesn't really know what to say, what to do. Waiting it out might not be the best option, but it's the only one he's got. "Just lemme know if anything doesn't feel right, okay?" Because obviously Tony is a completely reliable source right now.

[myheartglows]

Tony sighs dreamily at the hand stroking his hair. Vaguely he wonders how could anything not feel right, but he whispers back, "Okay," anyway, because Steve said to.

Time passes in silence with the both of them lying there. Tony has lost any sense of it. Thump, thump, beats Steve's heart beneath his ear, and Steve's hand strokes his hair. Eventually, with Steve staying awake, the drive to be good has Tony nuzzling the bridge of his nose up against the underside of Steve's chin.

[gotup]

"What is it?" Steve looks amused. He's still too sore to encourage Tony to go at it again, though he knows Tony doesn't realize that. Slipping two fingers under Tony's chin, he tips his head up. "Is there something you want?" He brings his own lips down to brush against Tony's, although he doesn't try to deepen the kiss yet.

[myheartglows]

Tony's toes curl in the stockings during the brush of their lips and something loosens up again in his frame. During the silence, he's returned enough that inaction for too long disturbs him. He needs Steve's attention and direction. "Jus' wanna be good for you," Tony says, lost to everything outside of this.

[gotup]

"Mm, you're already good for me," Steve hums against his lips, his hand skating down to cup his ass through the skirt. "You wanna rub my back, though?" He doesn't really want to move from the bed right now, and it seems like a good way to keep Tony occupied for a little bit.

[myheartglows]

At the praise Tony presses himself to Steve even closer and, eyes half-lidded, mouths at Steve's lips. Pleasure twines through his bones from being called good and makes him want to do more to keep it, so he nods eagerly and scoots away. Steve chooses to roll over rather than sit up. Tony straddles the small of his back, the skirt's form-fitting part pushed into the creases of his thighs. He trails his hands over Steve's back and shoulders, thumbs sometimes rubbing in, to check for tension and knots. Then, he begins by digging the heels of his palms into Steve's trapezius muscles, smoothing them up until they're softer, his fingertips clutched over the inside of Steve's shoulders to work them on the way downward.

[gotup]

Steve is surprisingly tense, especially for someone who's just had sex, but it's a tension that he holds all the time without even thinking about it. He groans as Tony works at his muscles. He wants to arch up into the strokes, like a cat. Sometimes, he feels like he can never get enough touch, that he wants the heat of Tony's hands soaking through his skin all the time, whether it's having their fingers entwined or his palms pressed flat against his back. It's the closest he can come to chasing away the chill that lingers in his bones.

[myheartglows]

Tony has mapped out the human muscular system in his mind's eye as a guide. Layered next to the spine here, corded around the neck there--he pushes and pulls at each group; has to practically throw his weight into his arms to manipulate Steve's tense, serum-enhanced muscles. Steve guides him, too, with every sigh and groan, even more than the mental map, because he'll know what he likes best. Either way, it's something for Tony to focus on that rewards effort. Ever-so slowly, Steve's upper back gives way to Tony's hands. He keeps working at it, digging in his palms and thumbs, rolling his knuckles. He must lose track of time again, because he comes around to his skin misty with sweat, his arms and wrists aching, a small chill in his bones from an adrenaline crash--and a clearer head, his racing thoughts more ordered and tame, or at least not as immediate and all-consuming as usual. The fact that he even acknowledges the differences tips him off: he's coming back to his senses.

He's seated atop Steve's thighs, his hands flat on either side of Steve's lower spine. Blearily, Tony looks up along the slopes and ridges of Steve's resting form. "Steve?" he tests his voice out.

[gotup]

Steve's never actually had a massage before, and the rhythmic movements lull him into something like a trance. When Tony stops, his muscles are pleasantly sore, but much more relaxed. Steve himself feels more relaxed, looser, almost lighter, like a weight's been lifted off his shoulders.

He turns his head to glance back over his shoulder, blinking slowly. "Hmm?" Tony is, he hopes, gradually coming out of it; he doesn't usually address him directly while he's under. "'s feels good."

[myheartglows]

Tony stares back at Steve, nodding dumbly but also with a wondrous awe, before it registers that he should speak. "Uh," he begins and shuts his eyes to try and rebuild his composure, but his usual walls are flimsy beneath his grip--then, he realizes that his grip on them is flimsy, too. "I think I'm comin' out of it?"

[gotup]

"Yeah, I think so." Steve laughs breathlessly. "You done with the massage?" He wonders if the subdrop will hit Tony soon, and if he needs to be prepared for that. Even though Tony claims that isn't an issue with him, Steve has his doubts. Neither of them have ever been awake for this part before. "Come back up here," he encourages him.

[myheartglows]

Nodding, Tony crawls up and flops onto his stomach beside Steve. He shivers a little, teeth chattering once. "Wow, you, uh," he slurs, partly into the pillow, only one glazed, chestnut eye peeking out from it at Steve, "really did a number on me, huh? Dunno if I've ever been that far gone before."

[gotup]

Steve can't help a bit of a smug grin at that, but he also wriggles under the blanket with a few grunts, then gestures for Tony to move so he can tug the blanket up over him. He could probably keep him warm enough with just his own body heat, but there's something cozy about being snuggled under the blankets.

"Now you're gonna expect it from me every time, aren't you?" He laughs quietly. "Maybe I need to aim lower." As if that's something Steve's even capable of doing.

[myheartglows]

Tony barely manages getting onto all fours for Steve to tug the covers out from under him. Immediately grateful for the warmth, he snuggles up to Steve with an arm slung over his waist and face shoved under his jaw. "Nah. You're still learnin'," he says, then adds, "Gonna expect even more."

[gotup]

Steve just huffs. "You could at least take it easy on me." He wraps an arm around Tony's shoulder and tilts his head slightly to accommodate his head. "I barely know what the hell I'm doing," he admits. "One of these days, I'm gonna do something wrong." That's what he worries about, going badly wrong and hurting Tony somehow, whether physically or mentally.

[myheartglows]

Guilt pangs in Tony's chest, a mood one-eighty. He dragged Steve into this sexual practice and he's still failing to really be any sort of guide. (He still feels responsible, even if he's finding his way through the dark, too, in more ways than one.) Greedy. Selfish, his crashing brain hisses at him. Tony hooks a leg around Steve's, nylon on skin, and shuffles closer for as much contact as he can find. "If--if you ever wanna quit playing, full-stop, um..." he trails off. He can't even finish that sentence. How cowardly is that?

This isn't you, some part of him realizes. It's the endorphin crash biting you in the ass, but he's cracked open and raw, nerves exposed to every word.

[gotup]

"Shhh," Steve shushes Tony, placing a finger over his lips, tucking his chin closer to him to enfold him. "Tony, if I didn't want to do it, I wouldn't do it. You know how I am, right?" God knows he would dig his heels in if something was contrary to his nature; he's done it often enough in the past. "Stop blaming yourself. It's all right, darling."

[myheartglows]

Tony puffs out a breath, but melts into Steve's warmth. With the arm curled between them, he rubs his fingertips against the collar's blue leather. "Right. Yeah. Sorry."

[gotup]

Steve lets his fingers fall to cover Tony's hand over the collar. "You oughta see what I got you." He feels a little gleeful thinking about it. At any other time, he might get up and get it out from the duffel bag he brought along, but not right now. "You'll love it."