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"Do you mind if I - oh." Steve's everything screeched to a halt as the man he had approached twisted around and Steve caught sight of his face. "Wow."
The man's brow creased and then he offered Steve a soft, albeit confused, smile. "Sorry what was that?"
"I - uh." Steve couldn't remember what he'd come to ask. His eyes cut to the table. "Right! Napkins. The napkin holder was empty by the milk bar and I spilled my mocha. Do you mind?" Steve gestured towards the napkin holder on the man's table. Which he was sharing with a teenager who had several binders and sheets of paper spread out in front of him. "Sorry."
"That's alright." The man said. His smile grew into something more genuine, a quick flick of his eyes making Steve wonder if he was being checked out. "Peter you can keep working on question five, right?"
Peter smirked and rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. No problem Mr. Stark." The teenager went back to his papers.
"Can it be saved?" the man asked.
"Pardon?"
"Your mocha." He winked.
"Oh." Steve chuckled. "Don't think so. I was going to get another one. Can I - uh. Can I get you a refill?" It was rare for Steve to be this brave. Bucky was the one who usually flirted on their behalf, but the endless search for their third was starting to exhaust Steve a little. On top of that, it was rare for him to be so attracted to someone so suddenly. It felt a little like when he met Bucky, three years ago. This man, though…
The man hesitated, running his tongue along his teeth as his eyes flicked up and down Steve's body again. "I'm Tony," he said, instead of answering Steve's question.
"Steve."
Tony let his hand linger in Steve's. "Look… if you'd asked me on literally any other day, I'd say yes please, and we'd get a coffee and if you didn't ask me out, lord knows I'd ask you, but…"
"It's fine," Steve said quickly, heart sinking. "You don't need a reason."
"It's just… I met this guy this morning, and he asked me out and I said yes. And it doesn't really bother me on principle to have two first dates in the same week, but, well…"
"No, it's fine. I get it."
"I just want to give him and his partner my full attention for this one, but hey, give me your number? If it doesn't work out, I'll text you. If you don't mind."
Steve scrambled for a pen. "No, that's fine. That's good. I get it." He scribbled his number on a napkin from the holder Tony had given him and handed it over.
"Thanks." Tony smoothed the napkin with one hand, reading the number carefully as if he was memorizing it, then tucked it in his pocket. "It was really nice to meet you, Steve. Good luck with your mocha."
"Thanks." Steve started to half turn away then stopped. "Can I get you that refill anyway? No strings, just… you know."
Tony grinned, a hint of blush painting his cheeks. "Sure. Cappuccino. Almond milk."
"Okay." Steve was grinning too now. He ordered his new mocha, plus the cappuccino for Tony then cleaned off the counter where he'd spilled. When the drinks were ready, he brought Tony's to his table and waved as he stepped away again, not wanting the man to think he owed Steve more conversation. "Nice to meet you, Tony."
"You too!"
Steve left the café with a bounce in his step, still high on the flirting, but by the time he reached his office, the elation had worn off, replaced with disappointment. It didn't matter that he'd finally met a guy he liked enough to ask out, the guy was already as good as taken. The way his eyes had lighted up when he talked about his date… If Steve really liked Tony, he should hope that his date would go well, hope that Tony would find his perfect partners.
A little part hoped the date would be very, very bad.
To make matters worse, Bucky texted him halfway through the afternoon.
I have a date for us tonight. Meet us at Alchemy at 6. Wear that blue shirt that makes it look like you buy your shoulders from American Gladiator and your clothes at Toys R Us. He's super cute. You'll like him.
Steve pouted. On any other night, he'd be happy to go out with Bucky's latest chat-up, full of nothing but optimism and a willingness to be wooed, but it kinda sucked that Bucky could catch a date so easily and all Steve got was rebuffed.
Not sure I'm up for a date tonight… he sent back.
>> Not feeling well?
<< Just grumpy. Sorry.
>> I can reschedule? I really think this guy is worth a shot. Or I could go alone and livetweet it at you :D
Steve laughed. The truth of the matter was that no one could cheer him up better than Bucky, anyway.
<< You know what, nevermind. Caffeine just kicked in and I'm feeling better. I'll be there.
>> Okay, great. I'm sure he'd be fine with sticking to drinks and apps this first date, if you want to get home early.
I want to be wherever you are, gorgeous, Steve shot back, smiling at the face he knew Bucky would be making at his phone.
>> Sap.
The day dragged on, and by the time five o'clock hit, Steve had forgotten all about his date. He checked his phone for notifications and found Bucky's message still on his screen. "Oh shit!"
Steve called a cab to take him home, took a whirlwind shower, and changed into the shirt he was hoping Bucky was talking about. Buck would have showered at the gym and gone straight to the restaurant, so Steve didn't bother checking in with him, just hopped back in another cab and tapped his fingers against his knee as it meandered across town.
He pushed open the door at Alchemy and looked around, trying to find the familiar locks of dark hair. But instead, his eyes locked onto two more newly familiar brown eyes, slowly going wide with recognition.
"Tony-?" Steve took half a step forward, and Tony's date stood up from the other side of the booth, turning around so Steve could see his face. "Bucky," he said flatly. "What the fuck?"
"What?" Bucky looked between them in confusion. "Do you two know each other?"
Tony burst out laughing. "Really? Oh my god. This is the partner you were talking about?" he asked Bucky. "Steve?"
"Yeah."
Steve pointed at Bucky. "This is the date you rejected me for?"
Tony's laughter was bright and giddy now. "Sure was."
"Rejected…?" Bucky looked back and forth between them.
"I met Tony at the café on my lunch break. He was so… charming -" Steve blushed "- that I braved it and asked him out."
"And I told him I'd just made a date that morning and I wasn't interested in playing the field so I'd call him if it didn't work out."
Steve punched Bucky in the shoulder lightly. "Cause you'd already gotten there first!"
Bucky was laughing too now. "Oh my god, that's amazing. I met Tony at the café this morning and he was so… charming -" Bucky winked "- that I had to ask him out for tonight. Lucky for me, he said yes to mine."
Steve looked between Tony and Bucky shaking his head. Then something occurred to him. "Tony… were you at the café for seven hours? Bucky's morning is really early. How much coffee do you drink?"
"A truly unholy amount," Tony said solemnly. "As it happens, I was there first thing to get my own morning dose, but then, I help this kid of a friend of mine with his AP classes and college prep, and we met back at the same café. Total coincidence it was at the perfect moments to meet both of you."
"Well." Steve looked between them, his heart swelling with a new kind of feeling: a sense of rightness, of perfect comfort. "Seems like the universe wanted us to have this date so badly it gave us two kicks at the can so we'd better get to it, huh?"
And they did.