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Stephen loves his siblings, he really does, but going shopping with both Donna and Victor is always a nightmare . It's especially unbearable when they’re shopping for clothes. Donna's a mechanic and just doesn’t give a shit about her clothes. One would assume this should make everything easier but he always has to fight the urge to burn his sister’s clothing because they were usually hideous. He's simply not letting his baby sister walk around a puke green overall or a very, very frilly shirt that would probably maybe belong in a 20s flapper movie. He always ends up putting everything she gets back and then replacing them with something better. Like a graphic tee of her favorite games or TV shows that doesn’t look quite as tacky.
Victor, on the other hand, is a whole other nightmare. He works as a fashion photographer and it takes him hours just to get a pair of jeans. What kind of creature would take more than half an hour for a pair of jeans? Especially when his size is within the confines of what’s commonly sold? Sometimes, he just lets them argue it out. Unfortunately, the chances of them actually leaving him out of it are pretty slim. He ignores them anyway and starts to wander around. The mall is new so he knows it’s going to be quite difficult for his siblings to find him.
Walking around absentmindedly, he takes note of the stores he might want to check at a different time, familiarizing the mall’s layout. So far, he’s seen a store that customizes watches, a suit tailor and a bookstore he’d definitely want to check out. Glancing at his watch, he knows he hasn’t given his siblings enough time to argue it out. He walks around more, buying some pastries as he passes by a BreadTalk stall. By the time he has bought more food for later and as an apology for abandoning Victor and Donna, a clothing store has caught his attention.
He's seen his fair share of colorful stores but there’s something truly attention grabbing with this one. The sign spells out “Quee(n)r” and he’s not really sure it’s supposed to be pronounced. He decides to check it out anyway, thinking maybe he’ll find some interesting clothes.
The first thing he notices is a good amount of neon. He would have walked back out if he hadn’t noticed the pastels immediately after. Walking around, he now sees a lot more variety than just neon and colorful. There are some blacks and whites and grays. There are some deeper colors as well and so he moves towards that section. Seeing a beautiful, deep red vest, he hastens his steps. The vest would look great with his cobalt blue coat.
Stephen has two vests in his arms and a button up. He's looking for jeans when he suddenly hears someone talk, making him flinch. “Okay.” Turning slightly, he realizes the section he’s perusing is right beside the dressing rooms. “I know you’d tell me this looks slutty ” he can’t help but smile at the obvious disdain at the last word, “but I think saying that how someone dresses makes them look like a slut is a fucking horrible thing to say.” He hears some rustling and he’s now oddly invested on what could’ve made clothes look slutty. “Okay, Honeybear. Do I look hot to do I look hot ?” Just then, a young man comes out of the dressing room wearing... a strip of bright red fabric crossing over his chest. Moving his gaze lower, it isn’t really any better. The skirt isn’t that short but the other man has such nice legs that it could look indecent. Stephen won’t lie and say he isn’t affected. He wonders how those legs would feel around his waist.
Just as he manages to drag his gaze back up, the other man seems to have just shaken his surprise. “You’re not Rhodey.” Stephen wants to say something sarcastic in response but he has just ogled the man in front of him.
“No, I’m not.” As he finally registers how young the other man actually looks, he just has to ask, “Are you even old enough to wear that?” He does his best to make sure his tone doesn’t sound condescending because it’s apparently his default tone. He wants to know the other man is not a jailbait so he doesn’t feel like a craddle-robber.
The other man scowls right at him and Stephen can’t help but think he’s adorable. “I’m twenty-six, asshole .” Six years isn’t that much of a difference , he thinks to himself. This is even better than he hoped.
Turning on the charm, Stephen puts the clothes in his arms away for now. He smirks and leans on the wall, arms crossing over his chest. He tilts his head slightly, pulling some attention to his neck. He has been quite reliably informed it’s one of his more alluring features. From the quick glance the other man gives it as he blushes, he knows now it’s true. He just hopes to god this ‘Honeybear’ isn’t a boyfriend or a girlfriend. “Great!” He says enthusiastically, letting his smirk widen. Raking his eyes once more over the other man’s body, he adds a little softly, feigning a mutter to himself, “Now I just need to find out if you have a partner I need to worry about.”
The other man blinks, leaning heavily on the dressing room’s doorframe. “Are you flirting with me?” His voice sounds incredulous, as if people don’t normally try to flirt with him.
“Not yet. But if you’re genuinely single, I’ll sweep you off your feet.” He ends with a wink. The other man blushes even more but still manages to roll his eyes. Stephen thinks that just makes him more adorable.
“Yes, I’m single. But I have an overprotective best friend who will kick your ass if you have ‘nefarious’ intentions.” The other man says with an eyeroll, sarcasm heavy on the last words. But Stephen can still here the fondness in his voice.
“Well, the worst I can do is take you somewhere you’ll hate on our first date.” He says in matter-of-fact tone. He knows it might come off as presumptuous but he hopes the other man would see it as a bout of confidence. Arrogance is also preferred over presumptuous.
“Are you always this cocky?” The younger man asks. There's nothing negative in his tone, just curious. Stephen sees this as a good sign.
“Depends; is it working for you?” They stare at each other for a while—the other man contemplative and him simply patient.
“Fine.” The younger man breaks their silent stare off. “Everyone calls me Tony.” He—Tony—continues. Giving Stephen his own appreciative look—with which he can’t help but preen—he adds, “But if you’re good, maybe we can promote you to Anthony.” He turns to grab his things from the dressing room and then pulls Stephen with him, barely giving the older (and taller) man to grab his own things, so they can pay for their purchases.
As Tony tears off the tag for the cashier to scan, Stephen can’t help but think they’ll have a wonderful life together.
(And Rhodey will be eternally smug saying if he hadn’t wandered off, Stephen wouldn’t have had the chance to even look at Tony that first time.)