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Steve Rogers was always a simple guy. He never liked anything too over the top or extravagant. So, when he started dating Tony Stark, he had to learn an entirely new ball game.
On their first date, Tony picked Steve up on a brand new Harley. The exact bike Steve had been pining over for months. It was a classic navy blue that glittered when the light hit it just right. It may have been the bare minimum when it came to motorcycles but, after an incident with the Avengers when his motorcycle had been wrecked, he had been missing having one. When he walked out of his apartment building and saw Tony leaning against the bike, wearing a dark pair of jeans and one of his vintage band shirts, he thought he was going to pass out.
Tony had insisted that Steve take the bike, no questions asked. So, after profusely thanking Tony for the bike, the two climbed on and off they went.
The morning after the first time they had made love, Stark had gone out and surprised Steve with an extravagant breakfast flown in from Tony’s favorite diner in Tennessee and full access to the tower. Steve still thought about that moment and thought it was the weirdest way for someone to ask him to move in.
He loved Tony. That much he knew, without a doubt. He also knew that he would need to accept Tony’s ridiculous gifts because they were his way of showing his love. But, when their second anniversary began to draw near, Steve knew what he needed to do.
“JARVIS, is Tony busy?” Steve asked the AI as he waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor.
“Mr. Stark is in the workshop? Would you like me to let him know you’re home, Captain?”
Steve’s eyes immediately rolled. He thought he’d be used to hearing the AI refer to him as Captain after living in the tower for over a year but, it continued to be the oddest thing. When he had first moved in, he was just Mr. Rogers but about three weeks into his stay, JARVIS began to refer to him as Captain. Every single time Tony heard it, he would break into small chuckles.
“Don’t worry about letting him know. Just make sure that the doors aren’t locked.” Steve stepped onto the elevator as it dinged to announce its arrival.
There was a moment of silence before JARVIS responded. “The workshop is unlocked now, Captain. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
As he pressed the button to take him down to Tony’s workshop, he knew he should ask, “Has Tony had anything to eat at all today?”
“No, Captain. He had a smoothie this morning and then four cups of coffee since then. He’s been in a mood today.” Steve could hear a hint of warning in the AI’s tone.
“Thank you, JARVIS. That’s all I needed to know.” The elevator dinged again, announcing his arrival at the workshop.
The glass walls around the workshop showed that Tony was standing at his computers, looking at something. Steve walked straight in and found his boyfriend in front of a hologram of who-knows-what. He stepped as silently as he could through the room.
Gently wrapping his arms around Stark, he felt the man jump. Chuckling, Steve placed a gentle kiss to Tony’s head.
“Jesus, Cap. You almost gave me a heart attack. I didn’t expect you home for a few more hours.” Tony looked up into Steve’s face, giving away how flustered he was.
“Sorry, Stark. Just thought I’d surprise you and take you out to brunch.”
Tony let a short laugh leave his lips as he rubbed his eyes. “That was another moment when you really showed your age, Steve. Brunch is for old people. I am not old.”
Sitting across each other in Steve’s favorite booth in his favorite diner, the two men ate their brunch. As soon as Tony took his first sip of his second cup of coffee, he knew he was ready.
“So, we have an important date coming up and I wanted to talk to you about it,” Steve said as he set his fork down on his plate.
“Oh god, what did I forget? What’s today?” Tony’s eyes were wide as he set his coffee down and struggled to pull his phone from his back pocket.
“It’s October ninth. Don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything yet. But, our second anniversary is coming up. Which means that you’re probably concocting some over the top date. I can see it in your eyes! Don’t you dare shake your head as though I’m not right.” There was a slight edge to Steve’s voice as Tony shook his head as he was zoned out thinking about something .
“I have some terms about this anniversary, Stark. I need you to listen.” Tony snapped out of his thoughts and picked up his coffee, full attention on Steve.
“That’s very kinky of you, Rogers. I’m listening,” he smirked over the lip of his coffee mug.
A gentle blush colored Rogers’ cheeks as he played with the remains of his meal. “Not like that, Tony! I meant rules-”
Stark cut him off, holding up his finger. “You’re only making it sound kinkier, Cap.”
Now Steve’s cheeks were burning. “Oh, shut up. You know that isn’t what I meant! And, before you say anything else, just let me finish. What I was trying to say was, you went a little overboard on our last anniversary. Don’t get me wrong, I loved every moment of it. That night was one I will absolutely never forget. But, I was thinking that this year, we could go more my speed.” He knew that he may be asking too much of Tony but, he knew what he wanted.
Tony sat there for a few moments, letting it all sink in. “So, what I’m hearing you say is that you don’t want a fancy anniversary?”
Steve shook his head and continued. “Nothing fancy, no expensive gifts, no restaurants. Essentially, nothing more than twenty dollars.”
“Oooookayyy...let me get this right. For our second anniversary, an important occasion for us, you want to have dinner at home and a gift that costs less than twenty dollars?” Steve nodded and Tony smiled. “Alright. I think I can handle that. But, you’re going to have to give me some space and time to figure out what I’m going to do.”
“I have no idea what I’m going to do! I want to get Steve something meaningful but I’m lost.”
Clint Barton was spread out on the communal level couch, a cheesy TLC show paused on the screen. “Stark, it’s really not that hard. Just make Cap a t-shirt or something. Now, get out of here. I’m about to find out if Becky stays married to this dirtbag.”
Tony walked out of the room and took the elevator to his workshop, overthinking his gift.
*Four Days Later*
Steve spent most of October 14th getting his fellow Avengers out of the tower. He hadn’t seen Tony in twenty-four hours and he was beginning to worry. He’d been living with Tony for a little more than a year and it had only taken about four months to keep Tony in bed at night. He didn’t always sleep but at least he was resting. But, Tony hadn’t come to bed.
After convincing Thor, Clint and Bruce to leave the tower for the night, Steve found himself sitting at the end of his and Tony’s bed while Natasha dug through his side of the closet.
“No offense Steve, but you’re wardrobe is the worst. Do you have something against clothing that isn’t a t-shirt, jeans or khakis?” Natasha asked as she threw her arms up in frustration at the utter lack of style she had to work with.
“No, I just don’t typically need anything else. I mean, I have one suit that Tony helped me pick out for those date nights when he takes me to some fancy restaurant. I don’t want to dress up that much though. Tonight is going to be very lowkey. I just want to look good for Tony.” The butterflies in Steve’s stomach were having a fiesta as he began to feel a little more nervous about their date.
Sure, he had been with the man for two years and there was absolutely no reason that he should still get butterflies at the thought of a date but, they came every time. Anytime that Tony did or said something emotionally vulnerable, there they were. Those butterflies were relentless.
“Oh, don’t worry about that, Rogers. You’re going to look amazing. I was just hoping I’d have a little more to work with. Why do you look so nervous? You’ve been preparing yourself for this for at least a month now. I can’t imagine that anything could move you off course at this point.” Natasha walked out of the closet, a navy blue t-shirt and dark pair of jeans in hand. She threw them at him and nodded at him to get changed.
Steve stood and, as he was changing into the outfit that she had chosen, shook his head. “I know that I’ve been thinking about it for awhile but that doesn’t stop the insane flock of butterflies living in my stomach from causing me to freak out a little bit. I don’t think that it helps that Tony has been MIA for a little more than twenty-four hours now. He’s not in the workshop because I’ve checked. I’ve tried calling him and he continues to refuse them. If he doesn’t walk through the door at exactly eight o’clock, I’m going to go search for him.” Checking himself in the mirror, he immediately recognized that the outfit Natasha had chosen was Tony’s favorite. The t-shirt and jeans hugged his body just right, the way Tony loved it. His traitorous cheeks burned pink as he turned to Natasha.
There was a bright smile adorning her face as she took him all in. “I’m absolutely positive that Stark will be here on time for your date. If he isn’t though, let me know. I have a way of finding people.” She dropped her left eye into a wink and pretended not to notice what Steve had shoved into his pocket on his way out of the room.
Steve made dinner and the entire time he found himself checking the digital clock over the stove every few minutes. He could feel his anxiety start to bubble up in his chest but, he tried to distract himself with his task of cooking dinner.
He had just finished the final touches on their dinner when the elevator dinged and out walked Tony. He had really taken Steve’s terms to heart. This was the first time that Tony had arrived for a date dressed in something that wasn’t a suit. The beautiful man strolled into the kitchen wearing his most distressed Black Sabbath t-shirts and a pair of dark jeans to match.
“Damn, Cap. Your ass looks amazing in those jeans.” Tony smirked as he gave Steve’s butt a pinch.
Those traitorous cheeks of his burned red. “You look amazing as well, Stark. You really do have impeccable timing, by the way. I just finished dinner.”
“Well, Betty Crocker, it smells amazing. Let’s get this show on the road.” Tony helped Steve take everything to the table and they got themselves comfortable.
“So, where in the world have you been? I was a little worried about you when you wouldn’t answer my calls.” Steve questioned after finishing his dinner.
“I am so glad that you asked! After you laid out the terms of this anniversary, I was at a total loss for what to give you. I asked Barton and he told me to buy a t-shirt for you. That was an awful idea. So, I asked Banner and his suggestion wasn’t much better. Now, Thor, he had an amazing idea. But, before we get to that, I have your first gift.” Tony reached underneath the table and brought out a small gift bag. He handed it to Steve and a smile was beginning to play on his lips. What in the world did Stark have in stock for him?
Taking the bag, Steve looked skeptically into the bag. To his surprise, he only found a white sweatshirt. Looked safe enough. He pulled the shirt out and carefully unfolded it. Printed on the front, in bright blue letters it said, “My BF Calls Me Capsicle.” A bright red heart with an arc reactor in the middle printed underneath.
As simple as the sweatshirt was, Steve found himself smiling like a fool. Tony had managed to get him something that seemed silly at first but actually meant a lot to Steve. Without a word, he stripped off the t-shirt he had worn to dinner and pulled the sweatshirt over his head. It fit just right and the softness of the material against his arms was incredibly comforting.
“Tony, this is the best gift. I love it.” Steve leaned across the small table and quickly kissed his genius boyfriend.
Tony began to laugh. Really laugh. Steve had heard that laughter more and more recently but it still sounded like music to his ears. Steve knew he could never “fix” Tony, he loved him for exactly who he was every single moment of every single day. Just the sound of that laughter, even at his own expense, was a gift.
“You really like it? That one was kind of a gag gift. The real gift was Thor’s idea. That’s the reason I was MIA for the past twenty-four hours. I went to Asgard with Thor.” Tony took a bit of a dramatic pause to let his words sink in.
Steve had to let his mind wrap around the fact that, not only did Tony just up and leave the planet on a moment’s notice but he went into space. After the wormhole in New York, Tony had been dealing with some serious anxiety and panic attacks. His moments didn’t happen as often anymore but, Steve didn’t think that he was just over it.
“You left Earth? For an anniversary gift?” Steve tried to hide the astonishment in his voice but it didn’t work.
Tony nodded and took a deep breath. “Yeah. Thor’s passage into space wasn’t as traumatizing as I thought it would be. When we got to Asgard, they weren’t too happy to see a human there but, I was only there for a little bit. Thor told me that there was this secret spot that he had gone to a lot when he was growing up and there had been these really cool rocks. Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t risk having a mental breakdown for just any rocks. There’s a story behind them. He told me that Loki had told him this little tale about the rocks found in this pool of water. If you touched the rock and it glowed a certain color, it meant that you had found your person. Thor used the word ‘soulmate’ but, I think that’s a little too fairytale for me. Anyway, he said that the color is different for everyone, that the color would mean something special to the holder. So, I had to see these rocks for myself. We left pretty much immediately and, Steve, I can’t describe how amazing the little piece of forest was.” There was a dreamy quality to the way that Tony was gazing at Steve and he knew that Tony was mesmerized by his trip.
“So, we walk through this little oasis and he shows me the little pool where there were these beautiful rocks under the surface. They were all smoothed out and perfectly round but, they looked utterly normal aside from their smoothness. I looked at Thor like he was crazy and he just patted me on the shoulder and shoved me into the pool. He shouted that the first rock I touched would be mine. So, I literally just reached out and grabbed a rock from the middle of the pool. Steve, it glowed a bright blue. Eerily similar to the color of your eyes.
“Now, fast forward to last night. Thor dropped me off and I immediately went downtown to my favorite jeweler. That man is a genius when it comes to taking weird things and making them into a beautiful piece of jewelry. So, I asked him to make something. After I left his shop, I thought about coming home but, I knew you were probably asleep and I didn’t want to bother you by hopping into bed all excited about my adventure. I walked around Central Park and I just thought. I did a few other things but none of that is important. I went back to the jeweler about an hour before I got here and picked up your real gift.” Tony reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. Steve knew where he was going with this.
“Tony, wait. Before you say, or do, anything else. I want to give you my gift first. Since, you technically already gave me your first gift.” Steve struggled to reach his hand into his own jean pocket and grip the gift he’d slipped in there earlier.
Tony had an incredibly confused look on his face but he didn’t argue. Steve stood from his seat, his fist clenched around the small thing in his hand. “Tony, you went to space to get me a meaningful gift. That is honestly the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. You have been a shining light in my life and you have no idea how amazing that is. I was lost in the world for a long time, even after being recruited for the Avengers initiative. Sure, I was surrounded by people who may understand what I’ve been through but, we weren’t friends. But, by the end of that mission, I knew that I finally kind of belonged somewhere. But you, you worked your way into my life like the pain in the butt that you are. Then we were dating and that in itself was something I never thought I would ever have the opportunity to say. You may not be perfect but, I’m not either. We’re both pretty messed up but, you make those dark parts seem even a little more hopeful.” Steve was starting to get a little choked up. He cleared his throat, almost as though he were trying to shove the butterflies back down to his stomach. He dropped down onto one knee in front of his boyfriend, looking up into those beautiful chestnut eyes. “Anthony Edward Stark, I love you with all of my heart, will you marry me?”
Steve opened his hand to reveal his own small black velvet box, a gold band situated inside.
Tony was dead silent, no emotion registering on his face. Steve was beginning to worry that he had, in fact, given Stark a heart attack. But, before Steve could outwardly freak out, Tony let out a breathy chuckle. “Of course I’ll marry you, Rogers. Holy shit.”
Steve took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Tony’s left ring finger. No longer able to contain his happiness, Steve stood up and wrapped his arms around Tony, lifting him off of his seat. Setting him down, Steve placed his hands on the sides of Tony’s face and kissed him with a fervor.
Tony broke the kiss after a few moments, breathless and flustered. “Wow, Steve. I didn’t think you had passion like that built up.” He winked at Steve and smiled. “But, I think that you still have another gift from me to see.” Tony found the velvet box on the table and he also dropped to one knee.
“Captain Steven Rogers, you are the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time. We are perfectly imperfect, if you will. I can’t remember the last time that I ever felt this lighthearted. You’ve helped me see the good in the world and taught me to be a little more positive. I love you, Cap. Will you marry me ?” Tony opened the small box to reveal a smaller version of the rock that he had collected on Asgard set in a silver band. The rock did look utterly normal. Tony wasn’t wrong about that.
“I’d love to marry you, Tony.” Steve couldn’t stop the tears of happiness from leaking out of his eyes as Tony placed the ring on his finger. As soon as it was settled on his finger, the rock glowed hot rod red. Steve smiled brightly and looked up from his ring to Tony’s face. “It looks like we’re about to embark on the most dangerous mission of them all, Mr. Stark. But, I’m all in.”