Work Text:
Look away. Steve told himself when Tony glanced up from his lunch and laughed at something Bucky said, but he didn’t look away because Tony had the best laugh, all crinkled eyes and red cheeks as he reached over to clap Bucky on the shoulder. Even after being the Winter Soldier for so long, Bucky was just as charming as he’d ever been and seeing Tony laugh with him made Steve’s stomach do swoopy things.
Look away. Steve told himself when Tony called him down to the lab and was talking a hundred miles an hour, hands waving through excited motions as he jabbered about some tech Steve couldn’t hope to understand. Tony was so beautiful like this, lit up and passionate and completely in his element, accomplishing more for the world before breakfast than most people did in their entire lives. He was brilliant and amazing and oh look, there went Steve’s heart clenching in his chest.
Look away. Steve told himself when Pepper breezed into the common area, perfectly polished and perfectly put together and Tony smiled that smile he saved just for her as he jumped up to kiss her cheek. Steve’s stomach wasn’t twisting in jealousy, it wasn’t jealousy, but he could admit to himself he wouldn’t mind a kiss from Tony, a kiss or maybe even just a hint of that smile.
Look away. Steve told himself when Bruce sat down next to Tony, their knees knocking and thighs brushing as two curly heads bent over a tablet, talking in low tones about science and modern miracles. There was nothing quite like the feeling when Tony was focusing every bit of his attention on you, his eyes focused and gaze intense and you felt like the most important person in the entire world. Steve would know, it stole his breath every time.
Look away. Steve told himself when the nanotech peeled off of Tony in a shimmer leaving him in an under suit that left nothing to the imagination, highlighting every curve and dip of that gorgeous body, dark hair shot through with silver and damp with sweat, a tired but thrilled smile on Tony’s face as he turned around–
–and caught Steve staring.
Look away look away look away.
“No no no, don’t look away.” Tony whispered late late at night when they ran into each other in the kitchen and Steve stammered and stuttered at seeing Tony in a pair of Captain America boxers, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be embarrassed about his own Iron Man pajama pants when Tony put a hand on his arm and pulled him to a stop.
“Don’t look away.” Tony whispered, backing Steve into the table and slipping an arm around his neck and standing on his toes to almost brush their mouths together.
“You always look away right when I look at you, why do you do that?” he wanted to know but Steve was too busy kissing him, too busy tasting that incredible smile and melting under the softly delighted laugh, too busy getting his hands on that body he’d never ever been able to touch, too busy shivering under the intensity of every bit of Tony’s focus and attention.
“I was afraid you’d see me staring.” Steve finally admitted and Tony laughed again– god he loved that laugh– “I was afraid you wouldn’t want me staring.”
“If you hadn’t looked away you would have seen me staring too.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh hell yeah.”
Don’t look away. Steve held Tony’s gaze when they fell into bed, when clothes came off and bodies brushed together and words were lost beneath desperate greedy noises.
Don’t look away. He kept his eyes on Tony months later when he opened a ring box that was far too small and far too modest to hold the amount of love he had for this man.
Don’t look away. Steve couldn’t even breathe the first time Tony answered to the name “Mr. Rogers” and he couldn’t breathe when that brilliant smile and sparkling dark eyes turned his way to blow him a kiss, but he didn’t look away.
He was going to look and look and look every day for the rest of his life.