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Steve was late for movie night, which was a rare thing. He was the biggest advocate for team bonding, which made it almost mandatory for him to attend team bonding activities. Even if he spent that time joking around with Tony, whose eyes lit up when he laughed.
Tony would probably be the most upset that he was late too. He had gotten it into his head that Steve needed to see every single Star Wars movie to date, even the ones that were “an abomination to the entire franchise”. Tony was all up in arms about it, so he was too.
Painting had made him lose track of time, or more accurately painting Tony made him lose track of time. He was only about halfway done with painting he had been working on, leaving the Tony on his easel with only an upper body and a faint background. Steve thought it looked good anyway.
He had managed to capture Tony’s essence with his confident posture and pronounced smile lines. Steve had been recalling a moment from earlier in the day when he had made a dumb joke that had gotten a surprised but amused laugh out of Tony, who had thrown his head back and looked more carefree than he had in awhile.
Steve looked down at the paint smudges covering his shirt, and considered changing but then he would be even tardier than he already was.
Steve went straight to the communal floor and made a quick pit stop in the kitchen to grab coffee for Tony, which wasn’t exactly a time saver but a necessity. It was always the easiest way to win his forgiveness.
Once he had a steaming mug of fresh coffee in his hand he went over to the living area to find his teammates sprawled on the couches, intently watching the movie on the screen. Steve spotted Tony sitting on the couch furthest from the television, and when Steve realized why he felt warmth bloom in his chest. His boyfriend would never admit it but he was a softy.
“There you are!” Tony grinned, his bright teeth making an appearance, before gesturing him over. “You’re late.” Tony’s pointed out, his smile turning into a frown, but it wasn’t genuine and Steve leaned down to kiss it off his lips before sitting down beside him. He ignored Clint’s groan from the other couch.
“Some of us are trying to watch a movie.” Clint called, his usual dramatic self, and Steve saw Tony roll his eyes.
“Then watch the movie.” Tony quipped, his lips curving back into a smile. Clint was about to make another witty comment of his own when Natasha put a hand on his arm and pointed out something unfolding on the screen.
With Clint distracted, Tony turned his head to Steve. That smile was now aimed at him, which wasn’t unusual but made Steve’s heart skip a beat all the same. “Would you like me to catch you up? You missed some plot points.”
“I think I can piece it together on my own.” Steve assured him, handing Tony the coffee he he had forgotten he was still holding in his hands. Tony took it gratefully, taking a sip.
“God, I love you.” Tony murmured almost like it was just second nature, and Steve felt a smile fill his face and tug so hard at his cheeks that they ached from it. The way Tony said it, as if there wasn’t a doubt in the world, was doing things to Steve’s heart. Tony could say those three words everyday for the rest of their lives and it still wouldn’t grow old.
Tony’s eyes lifted from the cup, roaming over Steve’s face until they settled on a spot above his eyebrow.“Well that explains it, you were off painting murals of me.” Tony teased, but he wasn’t wrong, in fact he had it exactly right but Steve didn’t mention it.
Tony brought up his thumb to wipe at what Steve knew was a smudge of paint. Tony always told him he had a tendency to wipe his brow when he was in work-mode. “There, all better. Should I mention that there is paint all over your shirt?” His thumb lingered, stroking his skin and making it tingle pleasantly, before falling away.
Steve huffed a laugh. “No need.” He picked up a blanket sitting on the armrest and draped it over them before scooting closer to Tony and wrapping an arm around him. Tony set his cup of coffee aside and burrowed closer in response. His head fell against Steve’s chest.
“Hey, you remember when we were at the supermarket staring at the lobsters in the lobster tank? And I told you that they don’t feed the poor things and you were so upset that I offered to buy them all?” Tony asked seemingly out of the blue. He sounded rather amused.
Steve did remember all that, it had been a nice day, one of the few they got off to go do as they pleased without Avenger’s business on their plates. They’d even gone for ice cream afterwards.
He chuckled, a deep rumble from in his chest. “But then I decided that I couldn’t rip them away from their home, so we tried to feed them when the store attendants weren’t looking? Yeah, how could I forget?” Steve wasn’t exactly sure why Tony was bringing it up until he looked up at the screen. His expression clouded with bemusement. “Oh, is that-?”
“Not exactly, but Admiral Ackbar sure does look like a lobster.” Steve couldn’t exactly see Tony’s expression but he imagined he was close to laughing.
Steve shook his head adoringly, hand lowering marginally to settle on Tony’s head. His fingers absently stroked Tony’s hair, and Tony leaned into it, tilting his head back. Steve’s fingertips began to gently massage his scalp. Tony mumbled something under his breath about magic fingers that Steve only heard with the help of super hearing.
Steve could make out Tony’s face now, and his eyes were trained on the television with focus that would make anyone feel significant. Steve wasn’t exactly sure how he ever got that focus on himself, but he certainly hoped it would never go away because he was happier with Tony than he had ever been before.
They sat like that, enjoying each other’s company and sharing each other’s space. Tony was off in the world of the movie but Steve only looked over at the screen a couple of times. He was fine just sitting and watching Tony, wanting to sketch every shift in his expression. A look of surprise when a secret was unveiled, even though Steve was certain Tony had already seen the movie countless times. A frown when things took a turn for the worse. A smile when a character cracked a joke.
Tony must have noticed Steve’s staring because after a while he looked over with that soft, open expression Steve liked to think was reserved only for him. Steve blushed, his cheeks tinging pink even though he was definitely allowed to stare at his boyfriend all he wanted.
Tony had once said he found his blush endearing and adorable and that had only served to make Steve’s face grow hotter at the time.
Steve noted that he was beginning to look sleepy, and sleepy Tony was definitely one of his favorite things. Tony would fully let his guard down and it was all the more meaningful because he trusted Steve enough to not need it. Tony tilted his head up, tucking away his smile to pucker his lips. “Give me a smooch.”
“You’re insatiable.” Steve leaned down and caught Tony’s lips in a gentle but sweet kiss. He meant to make it chaste, not wanting to disrupt Tony’s drowsy state. He was readying to pull away when Tony began pressing back, eager for more, and Steve was more than willing to give.
Steve's fingers tightened around strands of Tony’s hair and Tony’s hand came up to cup his cheek, his thumb moving in a circular motion across his jaw. Tony’s tongue swiped across his lower lip with intent to deepen the kiss, and Steve obliged, his mouth opening wide enough for Tony to slip his tongue past his parted lips.
Their breaths mingled together, and Steve only moved away when Tony’s tongue had thoroughly explored every inch of his mouth and he need a full breath of air. Tony’s lips were still well within striking distance as he did so, and they were red and shiny from the kiss.
Tony’s eyes were darker now as they took him in, signs of sleepiness now faded but still present. Steve pulled him forward and gave a quick peck to his forehead, remembering the team gathered close around them as his arm curling around Tony’s back. He let Tony rest his head on the curve of his neck, his heart still beating loud enough that he was sure Tony could hear it.
“We should ditch this and go upstairs.” Tony murmured into his neck, pressing a warm kiss to the sensitive skin.
“Team bonding.” Steve whispered into Tony’s hair, ignoring his soft groan of annoyance. He thought it might take more to convince him but Tony was beginning to melt into Steve’s arms, the movie long forgotten. It took a few minutes but Tony’s breathing evened out completely.
“Might fall ‘sleep.” Tony mumbled, and Steve smiled fondly before pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He smelled faintly of grease, coffee, and lavender soap. It was so inherently Tony that it made Steve feel safe and warm when for years all he had known was the cold.
“That’s alright, I got you.” Steve whispered, hands tightening around Tony protectively. And he didn’t plan on letting go.
END