[ Despite Steve's assertions that dinner wasn't necessary, Tony had decided to read between the lines. No, taking someone on a date before having sex with them wasn't a rule of nature, and plenty of happy and healthy individuals bypassed that step of courting and skipped straight to the main event. It was Tony's opinion that Steve could use a little courting, though, not because of his origins but because of his timeline. Tony knew more than enough about Steve's past—thin, frail, and single to tall, strong, and busy as hell fighting a war. There had been romance, but little time to act on it—then into the ice and, after thawing, back into the fight. So maybe Tony isn't the kind of man to wine and din everyone he falls into bed with, but he was damned if he wasn't going to give Steve that base courtesy.
Plus, it had been fun to test his skill with chopsticks.
Now, though, he's faced with the heavy tension post-dinner and pre-whatever it was they were going to get up to. Steve hadn't been entirely forthcoming about his desires, but he's stated them later rather than never. As Tony drives them away from the restaurant and towards Stark Tower, he contemplates his potential courses of action. ]
Since they didn't have many desserts to pick from, want to come up for a nightcap?
[He might not have come straight out and admitted it, but it was nice to have someone actually taking him out. Dating - apart from the double dates Bucky set him up with, and those were more like two girls vying for Bucky's attention - had never been in the cards for Steve. Nobody had wanted him before the serum, and after...well, they'd never had the time.
These days, there are more than enough people vying for attention, but they all view him as some kind of status symbol, or else they're more interested in the myth than the man. Steve thinks (hopes) that Tony might be the exception to that - and if it turns out he isn't, well, on one hand, he'll have wasted a lot of time nursing a stupid crush, but on the other, at least he'll have picked someone good for his first time. (Assuming the rumors are true, anyway.)
Dinner's bled some of his nerves away, but Steve's still hyper-aware of everything, still half-hard with anticipation. He hopes he isn't imagining the almost palpable tension between them, that it isn't all one-sided.]
Depends on what kinda nightcap it is. [He tries to sound suave and seductive, but that's apparently the kind of thing that works better if your last name is Stark; Steve just sounds like the awkward dumbass from Brooklyn who thought fondue was an innuendo. He coughs and shifts in his seat.] I mean, I'd like that. [And he means it; even if nothing else comes of this, it would be nice to at least get closer to Tony when they aren't on Avengers business. God knows he could use an actual friend or two.]
[ Tony can definitely relate to the feeling that people are interested for the wrong reasons. Since he was old enough to know what seduction was, women and men alike have been looking to snag time with the Stark heir for all sorts of perks—expensive dinners, private vacations, company stock, or in the worst-case scenario, a chance to sell their story to the tabloids. Tony hadn't always been smart enough to care about it, but as he ages and gains experience, he finds that such trysts aren't as thrilling anymore. Maybe he's going soft, but middle-aged Tony Stark wants something more meaningful than a good fuck and an early-morning NDA signed by a hungover PR nightmare.
So their situations aren't exactly the same, but they can relate to one another. It's the same phenomenon of actors dating within the industry to find someone who understands the pressures of fame and the stress of finding someone trustworthy to date. For superheroes, there was the added layer of trying to keep their identities hidden for the lucky few that manage to keep their real lives a secret. Tony had fucked himself over there, but he doesn't regret it for the most part. He wonders if Steve ever wishes he could bury his connection with Captain America in exchange for a normal life, though.
All of this is to say that the date is nice. They draw looks, of course, but by the point in his life, Tony's become practiced in the art of not acting out in public. He can't escape the playboy title he'd held for years, so now he just tries not to feed into it if possible. It's not entirely easy when he's in public with a hot young thing like Steve Rogers, but he manages to keep his hands to himself at least. ]
Whatever kind you want. [ If Steve wants to try his hand at cavalier seduction, Tony is more than happy to humor him. He doesn't do a bad job of it, either, but he's so earnest that he can't commit and instantly adds a more genuine reply to Tony's offer. It makes him smile because honestly, Tony doesn't want to date another version of himself when honest interest is much more appreciated. ] How about we start with the standard definition and go from there?
[Thankfully, he's had Chinese takeout often enough with Nat that he's skilled at using chopsticks, so Steve doesn't have to worry about fumbling his food in front of all the onlookers. And he's not surprised by the crowd, either; he might be a private person, but he's also learned that absolutely nobody will respect his wishes for privacy. He gracefully poses for selfies, signs napkins, the whole shebang. While part of him wonders about the headlines that are inevitably going to appear, he's learned that there's no point in worrying about it; whatever happens will happen, no matter what he does.
(Though if they'd had privacy - squeezed into a booth at a hole in the wall place, perhaps - he might have ventured a touch or two. So it's arguably better this way.)
Earnest and awkward he might be, but Steve isn't as much of a squeaky clean boy scout type as everyone thinks - as evidenced by his willingness (eventually, anyway) to ease into more risque texts to Tony. Part of that is a serum-enhanced sex drive that's been repressed for far too long, but part of that is that he simply isn't as naive as everyone wants to believe. Sure, all of his knowledge might be second-hand, but it exists. He's even done a little more digging in preparation for this, although delving too far into that particular corner of the internet gets scary fast.]
Gonna break open a bottle of the good stuff for me? [Steve's smile is a little wry.] 'Cause I'll warn you, I might not be very appreciative. Before the serum, I couldn't even manage a glass of beer. I had a few drinks during the war, but it wasn't anything to write home about. Cheap stuff, usually.
Now that I know that, maybe I'll just tell you it's the good stuff. [ He chuckles and shakes his head, already pulling into the underground garage beneath Stark Tower. Living in the middle of the city is convenient, and he wouldn't trade it for anything, but it does cut the time to build tension or sooth nerves down to a minimum. Maybe that's for the best tonight, considering Steve doesn't seem very practiced in this part of the dance. It's true that everyone gives him the pure, boy scout reputation that comes with being America's poster boy, but Tony knows better than that. Even before he'd been able to coax him into exchanging sexy text messages, Steve's romance with Peggy Carter had been in the back of Tony's mind. Consider him surprised to find that Steve was interested in men as well.
Parking the car, he cuts the engine and looks over at Steve with a much more genuine smile. Tony is a master of hiding his emotions for the sake of his outward image, but in the safety of his own car in his own building, he can let some of that melt away. He's also learning that he's safe to do so around Steve. ] We don't have to drink, though. I've got ice cream, or movies, or a California king bed.
[It's meant as a joke, but it's a little more cutting than he'd intended, coming from a guy who grew up practically penniless. Steve's always felt self-conscious about the class difference between them, no matter how easy and carefree Tony seems about his wealth. (Only the people who have money can afford to act like it doesn't matter, he knows that all too well.) Steve brushes it off and keeps moving, both metaphorically and literally.]
Ice cream's more my style. [And, yeah, he's just had a not insignificant amount of Chinese food, but his serum-affected metabolism means that Steve's pretty much always willing to put away something else. (Even that is affected by his mental outlook, that need to eat when he can because he's subconsciously worried about not getting more food.)]
Or the bed, [he adds, and it's a little shy, but when the low light in the garage catches his eyes, it reflects off wide, dark pupils.]
[ Tony hums, pushing open the driver side door but lingering inside to think about Steve's question, even if it's rhetorical. He doesn't take it as an insult, more than aware that he lives a vastly different life from the rest of the world. Even before becoming a superhero, he hadn't really had much in common with the rest of humanity—fighting to keep it safe has definitely been good for his relatability with other people. ] Guess that kind of thing is relative, huh?
[ Smirking, he gets out of the car and waits for Steve to follow. He hadn't meant to cut him off in the middle of flirting, so once they've rejoined and can walk to the elevator together, Tony stays close and picks up that topic again. He appreciates that Steve is doing his best to meet him half-way with the innuendos, and he's also trying to not come on too strong just in case it makes him clam back up. After all, it had taken him quite a bit of work to get him to exchange the sexy texts. ] We could always eat ice cream in bed. Or each other. I'm sure your metabolism means you stay pretty hungry.
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Plus, it had been fun to test his skill with chopsticks.
Now, though, he's faced with the heavy tension post-dinner and pre-whatever it was they were going to get up to. Steve hadn't been entirely forthcoming about his desires, but he's stated them later rather than never. As Tony drives them away from the restaurant and towards Stark Tower, he contemplates his potential courses of action. ]
Since they didn't have many desserts to pick from, want to come up for a nightcap?
no subject
These days, there are more than enough people vying for attention, but they all view him as some kind of status symbol, or else they're more interested in the myth than the man. Steve thinks (hopes) that Tony might be the exception to that - and if it turns out he isn't, well, on one hand, he'll have wasted a lot of time nursing a stupid crush, but on the other, at least he'll have picked someone good for his first time. (Assuming the rumors are true, anyway.)
Dinner's bled some of his nerves away, but Steve's still hyper-aware of everything, still half-hard with anticipation. He hopes he isn't imagining the almost palpable tension between them, that it isn't all one-sided.]
Depends on what kinda nightcap it is. [He tries to sound suave and seductive, but that's apparently the kind of thing that works better if your last name is Stark; Steve just sounds like the awkward dumbass from Brooklyn who thought fondue was an innuendo. He coughs and shifts in his seat.] I mean, I'd like that. [And he means it; even if nothing else comes of this, it would be nice to at least get closer to Tony when they aren't on Avengers business. God knows he could use an actual friend or two.]
no subject
So their situations aren't exactly the same, but they can relate to one another. It's the same phenomenon of actors dating within the industry to find someone who understands the pressures of fame and the stress of finding someone trustworthy to date. For superheroes, there was the added layer of trying to keep their identities hidden for the lucky few that manage to keep their real lives a secret. Tony had fucked himself over there, but he doesn't regret it for the most part. He wonders if Steve ever wishes he could bury his connection with Captain America in exchange for a normal life, though.
All of this is to say that the date is nice. They draw looks, of course, but by the point in his life, Tony's become practiced in the art of not acting out in public. He can't escape the playboy title he'd held for years, so now he just tries not to feed into it if possible. It's not entirely easy when he's in public with a hot young thing like Steve Rogers, but he manages to keep his hands to himself at least. ]
Whatever kind you want. [ If Steve wants to try his hand at cavalier seduction, Tony is more than happy to humor him. He doesn't do a bad job of it, either, but he's so earnest that he can't commit and instantly adds a more genuine reply to Tony's offer. It makes him smile because honestly, Tony doesn't want to date another version of himself when honest interest is much more appreciated. ] How about we start with the standard definition and go from there?
no subject
(Though if they'd had privacy - squeezed into a booth at a hole in the wall place, perhaps - he might have ventured a touch or two. So it's arguably better this way.)
Earnest and awkward he might be, but Steve isn't as much of a squeaky clean boy scout type as everyone thinks - as evidenced by his willingness (eventually, anyway) to ease into more risque texts to Tony. Part of that is a serum-enhanced sex drive that's been repressed for far too long, but part of that is that he simply isn't as naive as everyone wants to believe. Sure, all of his knowledge might be second-hand, but it exists. He's even done a little more digging in preparation for this, although delving too far into that particular corner of the internet gets scary fast.]
Gonna break open a bottle of the good stuff for me? [Steve's smile is a little wry.] 'Cause I'll warn you, I might not be very appreciative. Before the serum, I couldn't even manage a glass of beer. I had a few drinks during the war, but it wasn't anything to write home about. Cheap stuff, usually.
no subject
Parking the car, he cuts the engine and looks over at Steve with a much more genuine smile. Tony is a master of hiding his emotions for the sake of his outward image, but in the safety of his own car in his own building, he can let some of that melt away. He's also learning that he's safe to do so around Steve. ] We don't have to drink, though. I've got ice cream, or movies, or a California king bed.
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[It's meant as a joke, but it's a little more cutting than he'd intended, coming from a guy who grew up practically penniless. Steve's always felt self-conscious about the class difference between them, no matter how easy and carefree Tony seems about his wealth. (Only the people who have money can afford to act like it doesn't matter, he knows that all too well.) Steve brushes it off and keeps moving, both metaphorically and literally.]
Ice cream's more my style. [And, yeah, he's just had a not insignificant amount of Chinese food, but his serum-affected metabolism means that Steve's pretty much always willing to put away something else. (Even that is affected by his mental outlook, that need to eat when he can because he's subconsciously worried about not getting more food.)]
Or the bed, [he adds, and it's a little shy, but when the low light in the garage catches his eyes, it reflects off wide, dark pupils.]
no subject
[ Smirking, he gets out of the car and waits for Steve to follow. He hadn't meant to cut him off in the middle of flirting, so once they've rejoined and can walk to the elevator together, Tony stays close and picks up that topic again. He appreciates that Steve is doing his best to meet him half-way with the innuendos, and he's also trying to not come on too strong just in case it makes him clam back up. After all, it had taken him quite a bit of work to get him to exchange the sexy texts. ] We could always eat ice cream in bed. Or each other. I'm sure your metabolism means you stay pretty hungry.