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“When the hell did we get a piano?”
Tony had extended his hours in the lab after the Loki fiasco in New York, and now SHIELD was yelling at him for it. At first he had ignored the lectures, pretending to listen, equations bouncing around his head while Coulson rambled on about sleep schedules and calorie intake, but Coulson had started threatening his coffee supply, so Tony reluctantly agreed to take better care of himself. Coulson recommended he start taking daily walks, something about improving brain function and reducing stress-none of which he particularly cared about, but hey, as long as his precious caffeine was safe. Respecting the agent’s request, he began wandering around the tower whenever he ran into a particularly tricky problem, typing fervently into his tablet as workers swerved out of his path because God help them if they interrupted his train of thought. He had run into a rather stubborn issue with one of Clint’s new toys. The guy was an asshole, but Tony had to admit that he did enjoy coming up with new arrow designs. While aimlessly wandering down the maze of hallways, something shined in his eye, nearly breaking the delicate balance between his tablet and his chow mein. Cursing to himself because the distraction disrupted his calculations, he glanced up to see the perpetrator.
“It was delivered approximately 4 months, 1 week, and 5 days ago, sir,” Jarvis replied.
“Does anybody even use it?”
“It has been played by three individuals.”
“Huh,” Tony said as he walked into the room, curiosity temporarily prioritizing itself over the arrow setback.
“It is the ‘Red Pops for (RED)’ Parlor Grand Model A Steinway Piano, auctioned at a value of 1.925 million dollars,” Jarvis stated as Tony ran his fingers across the surface.
“I bought a piano at an auction? Must have been drunk,” he mumbled to himself.
“I believe it was purchased by Ms. Potts at your request, sir.”
Tony cracked a small smile. His mother would have been proud.
“Well if it cost so much it better play well, or I’m asking for a refund,” he said as he sat down on the bench.
“That would most likely require another auction.” Jarvis knew how much Tony hated auctions. Made sense why he sent Pepper to get the piano.
“How did you get so sassy?”
“By watching you, sir.”
Tony scoffed. “I’m gonna have to take a look at you later, it seems you’re having performance issues.” He flexed his fingers. How long has it been since he’d last played? He didn’t have much free time these days, with a team of superhumans and a very high-maintenance archer living under his roof.
“Jarvis, give me a song. Let’s see how she sounds.”
“As long as you are comfortable with playing in front of an audience, sir.”
“What?”
“There you are, I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Phil needs you to sign some paperwork.” Steve Rogers said as he walked into the room wearing a t-shirt that was clearly two sizes too small. Tony didn’t mind, it made his shoulders look broader. Not that they needed to. Seriously, how does the guy fit through doorways? “What are you doing in here?” he asked.
“His name is Agent and he took my Keurig hostage. Did you know we had a piano?” Tony asked.
Steve cocked his head. “Didn’t you build this place?”
“That is correct, Captain Rogers,” Jarvis replied.
“Shut up Jarvis,” Tony hissed.
Steve chuckled. God, Tony loved it when he chuckled. It was rich and deep and pure and oh my god shut up brain there is no way you are blushing right now.
“You play?” He asked, nodding at the piano.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Private tutor. Rich kid stuff, you wouldn’t understand.” Tony looked down at the piano keys, trying to hide his flushed cheeks.
“I see,” Steve smiled as he dropped a stack of paperwork next to the takeout. “Try not to get noodles on that, Phil’s grumpy today.”
“He’s always grumpy and his name is Agent,” Tony retorted as Steve headed for the door. No, please don’t leave. What he wouldn’t do for Steve to stay in this room, just the two of them, together with the piano. The piano.
“Do you play?” Tony asked as Steve reached for the handle.
Steve turned around, thank the lord. He wasn’t ready to stop looking at those shoulders.
“Never got the chance.”
“Aw come on, you have to know at least a few dirty army songs from back in the day.”
“Dugan always played the piano,” Steve grinned, “We were in charge of the lyrics.”
Tony faked a gasp. “THE Captain America, participating in crude behavior? Say it ain’t so.”
This earned him a genuine laugh. Tony loved the laugh even more than the chuckle. It filled the room with a sort of warmth only Steve Rogers could provide. Tony had a new life goal: keep Steve laughing forever. Assuming his heart didn’t explode the second he smiled at him.
“Like you said, rich people stuff.”
“Alright, that’s it. Come here you peasant, I’m going to teach you how to play piano.”
“It’s fine, Tony. You really don’t have to-”
“That’s an order, Rogers,” Tony smirked as Steve sighed and hesitantly approached the table.
“That’s a lot of keys,” He remarked, lingering beside the piano.
“Oh, quit complaining. It’s not that bad once you get used to it. Here, let me show you.” Tony placed his fingers on the keys, closing his eyes as he let the muscle memory take over. The simple, sweet melody filled the room almost as quickly as Steve’s laugh. Tony hadn’t realized how tense he was, letting his muscles relax as the music soaked in. For a moment, he wasn’t the anxious, guilt-ridden Iron Man, just a snarky 15-year-old prodigy watching his mother sway to the music, humming along as he sat behind the piano and played until he could get back to whatever project he was working on. He never knew how much he enjoyed those moments until he realized he couldn’t have them anymore.
“Not bad, Stark.” Tony snapped out of his dream, slightly bitter that it had ended so abruptly, that is of course until he saw how Steve was looking at him. He was mostly amused, a smile dancing around his lips, with a hint of… oh my god is that pride?
“Really? I mastered thermonuclear physics overnight, built the most advanced suit on the planet then proceeded to advance it more, created the most advanced AI in history, I-”
“I request to not be included in this, sir,” Jarvis interjected.
“Shut up Jarvis. I saved the world by launching a nuke through a space portal into an alien spaceship, and created A NEW GODDAMN ELEMENT. I did all of that, and this is what impresses you?”
Steve just stared at him and crossed his arms. “You done?”
“Whatever. Wipe that smug look off your face and get your ass over here,” Tony ordered as Steve moved to stand behind him. “Unbelievable.” He muttered. “Oh sure, save the world from an alien invasion. Great work Tony, really! Too bad you didn’t major in piano instead of physics and engineering,” Steve snickered, and just like that Tony was no longer mad.
“Quit giggling and put your hands on top of mine.”
Steve obeyed, gently laying his hands on top of Tony’s. Jesus, this dude’s hands were enormous. I wonder what those callused fingers could do...shut up brain now is not the time to- Jesus, they were close together. Steve’s massive arms practically enveloped his small frame, his chest barely rubbing against Tony’s back. He smelled like leather and freedom. Who the fuck smells like freedom? What does freedom even smell like? He felt his hot breath against the back of his neck and all he had to do was turn around-oh my god shut UP YOU IDIOT! Okay, breathe, you’re fine you’re just teaching Captain freaking America how to play the piano, no big deal. What song do you use to teach Captain freaking America piano, exactly? Hot Cross Buns is way too easy. Rogers may not know his way around the piano, but he’s a super soldier for crying out loud, and as much as Tony would love to fulfill his dream of hearing Steve play “Great Balls of Fire”, he would most likely end up getting frustrated, and Tony would rather go a week without coffee than seeing Steve’s disappointed face. He was about to ask Jarvis for recommendations when his tablet beeped. Annoyed, he reached to turn the damn thing off when he noticed his chow mein sitting on top of the piano. He smiled.
“Alright Steve, this song is called chopsticks. It’s like the first song my mom taught me, shouldn’t be too hard.”
“I thought you said you had private lessons.”
Tony froze. No way he had just talked about his childhood to somebody. And he thought the blushing was bad.
“Just follow my fingers, okay?”
Steve grunted in acknowledgment and Tony began to play, trying to stop his hands from shaking. It started out a little rough, Steve’s fingers were too slow to react when Tony moved to a different key, and Tony could tell by his increased breathing rate he was getting angry.
“You need to relax, you big oaf,” Tony told him-as if he wasn’t about to disintegrate into a pile of nerves himself-“This isn’t some military drill. Music is fluid, there’s not a list of rules you need to abide by. Just let the melody guide your fingers. Enjoy it.”
Steve took a deep breath. “Okay,” He said and placed his hands on Tony’s once more. It took everything in him not to lean back into those goddamn shoulders.
“Okay,” Tony replied. “From the top.”
Tony Stark was not one to believe in miracles, but there was simply no other way to describe what was happening. Steve didn’t miss a beat, moving his hands perfectly in time with Tonys, as if they were one person. Tony hit the final key and let the note carry as long as possible, wishing the song would never end. Fucking chopsticks. Nobody likes chopsticks. Tony likes chopsticks. Fucking chopsticks.
“Not bad, Rogers,” Tony said with a smirk.
No response. Tony felt his heart skip a beat. Had he done something wrong? Shit, he shouldn’t have called him an oaf. Coulson might as well take his coffee away for a year, just as punishment. Okay, maybe a year is a bit much.
“Steve?” Tony began to turn around, “Hey, I’m sorry if I-”
Tony couldn’t continue because his mouth was full of Steve Rogers. Tony choked out a shocked gasp. This was really happening. He was kissing Captain freaking America. Clearly, he needed to center his life around piano playing. He froze, trying to come to terms that this was, in fact, actually happening, and Steve quickly pulled away.
“I-I’m sorry,” He managed as his face reddened. “You don’t have to-“
Tony cut him off. “Shut up,” he breathed. “Just shut up and kiss me.”
Steve’s gigantic hands found their way around Tony’s waist, pulling them together. Tony placed his normal-sized hands around Steve’s neck and let himself fall into those beautiful, stupid shoulders that relaxed when STeve realized he had made the correct choice about kissing Tony. Tony opened his mouth, letting his lips slide into place with Steve’s. They fit perfectly together, like the plates of his armor. Figures. Steve let out a sigh, and Tony felt warmth overcome his entire body. This man leaked warmth everywhere, apparently. He should really get that checked out. Tony found his fingers reaching for Steve’s belt when the fucking tablet beeped again. Steve pulled away, cheeks flushed the most adorable shade of red, and Tony very nearly smashed the tech to bits.
“Steven Grant Rogers, where did you learn how to kiss?” He asked incredulously as he flopped back onto the bench before his knees buckled.
“It’s not like people didn’t kiss in the forties, Tony,” Steve said, trying to compose himself.
“And here I thought I was the one with all the surprises.”
“I apologize for the interruption,” Jarvis said, “But Agent Barton has-”
“No need to finish that sentence pal, I’m on my way,” Tony said as he gathered his things. He needed to invent permanent food preservation as quickly as possible, because he was going to keep that chow mein forever.
Steve chuckled as he attempted to smooth his hair. Too bad, messy-haired Steve Rogers was really cute.
“Same time next week?” Tony asked.
Steve smiled. “I’ve always wanted to learn ‘Great Balls of Fire,’” he mentioned offhandedly as he walked out the door, leaving a stuttering Tony in his wake.
“That’s it. I’m gonna marry him,” Tony said.
“How unfortunate for Captain Rogers,” Jarvis mused.
“I wish you had a face so I could smack it.” Tony paused, looking back at the piano. “Hey, Jarvis?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Who were the three individuals you said had played the piano?”
“Dr. Banner, Agent Romanoff, and Captain Rogers, sir.”