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Steve wore a deep maroon suit. His shirt was a crisp white, contrasting against his dark brown tie and belt. His hair had grown longer than he’d ever worn it and his normally perfectly shaven face featured an overgrown beard. He didn’t expect to be recognized anymore, yet he still ducked his head past the security.
It was the 23rd floor of some big financial building in New York City. The room was packed with ugly old men, bored 20 something mistresses, and business women whose mere glances could kill. Steve leveled his gaze with the faces in the room, moving slowly against the wall. He scanned the scene over and over again, searching desperately. His chest got tighter the more scans of the room he took. Finally, he saw the back of a familiar Armani suit exit a large metal door across the room.
His heart raced while he slowly slipped past the people in the crowd, careful to not draw any attention with quick movements. When he reached the door he looked back to assure no one was watching, tugged at the heavy door and slipped inside. The room itself was still, cold. The back and right side of the room were lined in metal counters with two lanes of counters in the middle of a room. It was an industrial kitchen of sorts. The counters brightly reflected the moonlight streaming in through the wall of windows on the left. Just past the windows was a balcony, large and open. It ran the length of the windows and continued on around the corner of the building, blocking Steve from further view. He sighed defeated and slid the sliding glass door to step out on the balcony. It was covered in metal tables with tucked chairs and oversized plant pots. The railing was entirely glass, adding to the endless expanse of the view. New York was always bright, featuring the lights of windows filled with work and turmoil as well as those filled with laughter and warmth. The cool night air surrounded him with a chill.
He approached the railing, slowly closing his eyes. His body twitched to the sound of laughter to his right. Tony’s laughter. Steve instantly turned his head towards the source of the sound to find nothing. He quickly realized it was coming from around the corner. He closed the distance easily, but slowed as he heard the sound of another man’s voice. Steve crouched and leaned around the corner, senses on full alert.
There he is, Steve thought as he laid eyes on the man he loves. Tony was clad in a beautiful navy blue suit. His suit jacket stood unbuttoned, revealing a simple white shirt that had lost the faint blue glow it once had beneath. He stood nonchalantly, hands in his pockets resting on his heels. His hair was perfect, face plastered with a huge smile. It hurt Steve’s heart to know he was no longer the cause of that smile.
The other man spoke quietly. Steve’s eyes left Tony to take in the taller man next to him. He wore a dark emerald suit jacket, unbuttoned with no tie and a black shirt beneath. His wrist held what looked like a large and expensive watch. His hair had two small sections of gray at his temples, with facial hair similar to Tony’s. He was, admittedly, very handsome with a sharp bone structure. He leaned an arm comfortably on the railing and happily looked at Tony while they talked.
Who the hell is that? The body language between them seemed too comfortable to be business partners. A new friend? Tony didn’t make nor keep a lot of friends, no one can deal with him after a while. Steve bit down on his lip as he knew he was part of that group of people who couldn’t handle him. It’s not my fault, things were just different then, he reasoned. They’ll work this time, it’ll be better this time.
Steve prepared to stand up and confront the two men. He was going to talk to Tony, they were going to work things out. They had to this time. Steve had nothing left anymore apart from Tony. He slowly began standing from his crouch, but wasn’t prepared when he saw the taller man softly cup Tony’s face in his hand and kiss him.