Work Text:
“So we got our final project today.”
Tony twirls more noodles onto his fork and takes a bite. “Mm, yeah?” When he notices Jaime shifting a little in his seat he asks, “You okay?”
Jaime’s still not sure how to go about it, but it’s like Vic said earlier, the worst he can do is say no, right? So he just goes right out and says it. “Will you model for me?” It comes out rushed and he doesn’t even know why his face feels so hot. Maybe it’s because he feels like he’s asking for too much. He knows how Tony is about photos and the last thing he wants to do is make him uncomfortable.
Tony nearly chokes on his drink because the first thing that comes to mind is nude modeling which is quickly followed by snap out of it, Tony, I don’t think that’s what he meant! Jaime jumps to his feet in a panic, but Tony manages to get out a “Fine. I’m fine.” Jaime sits back down and continues to stare at him worriedly as he clears his throat. “I can…” Tony trails off. It’s just a couple of pictures for school, right? He can do that. “Y-yeah,” He finally says. “Sure.”
“Really?” Jaime is honestly surprised. He didn’t even need to coax him into it. Not that he would have. He’d never make Tony do something he didn’t want to. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.” Tony doesn’t even know exactly what he’s agreed to yet, but it can’t be that bad. It’s Jaime, after all.
“Great!” Jaime grins and launches right into it. “So, what we’re doing is…” Basically, Tony’s going to be modeling a bunch of different outfits for a fake clothing line. Jaime will take pictures at various angles for the website and Tony just has to stand in and look pretty, as Jaime put it. Sounds easy enough.
“What do I do? Do I smile? Or do I look serious? How do you want me to stand?” Tony’s been jittery all morning and Jaime thinks it’s the cutest thing ever. He laughs as he sets up the lights and repeatedly tells Tony to relax.
They haven’t even started shooting yet and Tony has never felt more flustered in his life. He tries to make himself forget about the camera. To pretend it’s just him and Jaime having fun like when they were kids and Jaime snuck into his mother’s closet…a secret he’s promised to take to the grave. But, of course, this isn’t Jaime attempting to strut around in his mom’s high heels and then falling flat on his face while Tony rolls around on the floor giggling. This is Tony willingly stepping in front of a camera, something he’d normally never do, for Jaime’s school project.
“Are you okay?” Jaime asks suddenly, when Tony’s nervousness is beginning to seem less cute and slightly more worrying. Jaime’s voice snaps Tony out of it and he’s brought back to reality. He glances around the room and sees that Jaime is ready to start shooting.
It’s just him and Jaime. It’s fine. He counts to ten, breathing in and out slowly. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Jaime smiles reassuringly and messes around with his camera for a few more minutes. “Tell me when you’re ready,” He says, not so much fixing the camera settings as he is actually giving Tony more time to get comfortable. Tony notices right away and is thankful, because he’s still kind of practicing his breathing.
“Okay,” Tony says finally. “I’m ready.”
Jaime keeps cracking jokes and Tony can’t stop laughing, so he slaps a hand over his mouth and apologizes to Jaime for not being able to stay serious. “No, no. You look perfect.” Jaime smiles as he takes another picture. This looks much more natural, anyway, and besides he wishes he could keep that smile on Tony’s face forever. A picture is probably the closest he’s going to get.