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So the “Tony Stark Has A Heart” joke was a little overdone, as far as Tony was concerned. The last thing he wanted to do was play into it, especially this far post-Pepper, but he found himself doing just that.
“What’s this?” Steve asked him, suspiciously eyeing the little box Tony had chucked toward him just a moment before. Steve, being the pinnacle of human perfection, caught it, and was now holding it in the flat of his palm.
“Just a little something I thought you might like,” Tony said as casually as he could muster, though he tellingly couldn’t rip his eyes away from Steve’s. “Open it.”
Steve did. There, laying in white satin, was a miniature arc reactor the size of Tony’s thumb and strung on a chain. It was styled to look like a masculine piece of jewelry, but anyone who had seen his own reactor up close would recognize this for what it truly was.
“It’s an energy source, among other things,” Tony explained at Steve’s confused look. “It will mask your heat signature on infrared cameras, and it syncs up to your bluetooth-enabled devices and boosts the signal, so even in an underground cave in Moscow, your StarkPhone should work. Also, it charges your phone, so no more of that 'couldn’t call my ride' bullshit.”
Steve stared at the little reactor, then up at Tony, in awestruck wonder. Tony had the passing thought that maybe Steve realized he was literally holding Tony’s heart in his hands.
“I can’t accept this.”
Then the moment passed.
“Why the hell not?” Tony scowled. “I know it will be useful to you in the field.” Tony knew this, because Steve preferred useful gifts over extravagant ones. Tony was not too proud to admit that, beyond the symbolism, he was trying to find a middle ground between ‘practical’ and ‘Tony Stark normal’ here.
“Tony, this is—this is your arc reactor.”
“Not mine, you dork.” Tony tapped the metal casing of his own reactor through his shirt. “Mine’s right here. That one’s yours.”
Steve stared at the gift again. “But. The reactor is your tech. You always say—“
“No-one else is allowed to have my tech, I know,” Tony cut him off. “That’s why you’re technically borrowing this. Field testing, if you like. You can give it back when you’re done with it.” Tony tried not to wince visibly at that. After all, others had given him his heart back before. He had no reason to think Steve, of all people, would want him for keeps.
Tony didn’t know why it was important for Steve to have this. They weren’t really serious, Tony knew that. They were dating, sure, but he was pretty sure Steve wasn’t over losing Peggy (and Bucky?) and although he was perfectly fine being Steve’s twenty-first century rebound, he tried to stay reasonable. It would be foolish to expect any sort of commitment from Captain America, especially to a warmongering self-absorbed genius like him.
Steve was still looking at the mini reactor like it held the answers to all the world’s secrets. Tony shifted uncomfortably. “If you don’t like it, I can—“
“No,” Steve cut him off. “I love it.”
This sent a warm and fuzzy feeling up Tony’s spine. He tamped down on the urge to crush Steve into a hug, and instead shot him a cocky grin. “Of course you do. I know style.”
“Thank you, Tony,” Steve murmured, and suddenly he was stepping into Tony’s space, and oh, they were kissing now. Okay. Tony could get behind that.
But Steve kept the kiss sweet and close-mouthed. He pulled back before Tony would have, cupping his jaw carefully, and smiled his genuine Steve smile. None of that pasty fake “Captain” smile was to be seen.
“Help me put it on?” He asked softly. Tony nodded.
Steve held out the pendant chain, and Tony grasped the ends tightly, watching Steve turn his back so Tony could see to engage the clasp. Tony did so, making sure it was on securely. “All set,” he managed, voice cracking.
Steve turned around, and there was Tony’s heart, cradled in the space just under his collar bone, glowing bright and sure. Tony suddenly felt like crying.
Steve’s face was a brilliant smile. “Thank you, Tony,” he said again, tucking the pendant under his shirt, against his skin. “I’ll keep it safe.”
You already do, Tony thought helplessly, but he swallowed back the tears and said, “Sure thing.”
Tony waited until Steve strolled out of the workshop, whistling, before he let himself breathe freely again.