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“Tony, I don’t understand. You said you wanted eggnog.”
“And?” Tony smirked as he looked over his shoulder at Steve. They’d been walking down the street, gloved hands brushing occasionally without being obvious, when Tony had suddenly expressed a desire for eggnog. Steve had been fine to go along with that whim, it sounded like a nice idea, but he had been expecting them to drop into a corner store.
“Tony, we’re in Starbucks. You’re telling me they sell eggnog? I thought it was just coffee.”
When Steve’s brow furrowed into a more confused expression he earned a laugh from Tony, who shook his head in that affectionate way that he did when Steve said something completely stupid. He looked around, feeling self-conscious for whatever mistake he’d just made.
“Oh, you are so sweet,” Tony teased, pushing Steve along when they reached the front of the line. Steve was surprised Tony didn’t try to jump the line, but he felt that probably had something to do with his presence.
“Two venti eggnog lattes, thanks.” Tony’s order was quick and Steve was not unaware of the ridiculous nature of simply ordering coffee in the city, but it still took him a moment to decipher it. He kept his mouth shut firmly, although did give the barista a friendly smile since Tony apparently wasn’t using his charm on the public today.
They stepped aside to wait for their drinks and Steve gave Tony a nudge with his elbow, wanting to get his attention without having to speak loudly.
“Why couldn’t we just get regular eggnog rather than some… consumer-driven concoction?”
Tony laughed easily and shook his head. He looped his arm through Steve’s at the elbow, presumably not paying attention to his actions. It was simple enough, but it made Steve startle internally. They didn’t do public affection, or even contact, really.
“This is better, I promise. You’ll love it.”
Steve shrugged at the promise and was content to stand quietly off to the side, the warmth of Tony’s arm pressed against his elbow. It took Tony a full minute to realise how they were standing and he pulled his arm free of Steve’s with the briefest flash of an apologetic smile. Ah well, it couldn’t last forever.
When their order was called (under ‘Stevie’, annoyingly enough), Steve stepped forward to collect the two drinks, giving one to Tony as they made a quick departure. Walking around had been nice as it had been, but maybe with a little warmth it would be better.
He watched Tony take the first sip before he tried his own, expecting eggnog, trying to imagine what it would taste like as a latte. Not knowing what a latte tasted like made it difficult. He always preferred his coffee with as little addition as possible.
When he got it on his tongue and swallowed he was surprised by how well the eggnog mixed with the espresso and he blinked, not saying anything as he tried to analyse the flavours.
“That’s… That’s quite good,” he admitted, knowing he’d been gawking at the idea mere minutes ago.
Tony grinned, licking his lips as they turned the corner. “I told you,” he said simply, nudging Steve in return for the earlier jab.
Steve chuckled, shrugging because he had definitely been told and he’d still be hesitant.
“Trusting you with any type of food seems dangerous, Tony. You know that.”
“And I know coffee. That’s just one of the holiday flavours. I’ll get you hooked on the rest too, no doubt about it. Then you’ll be pining when they go away next year.”
Steve frowned at the thought. Off course the eggnog was seasonal, he understood that, but even having just had his first taste, he didn’t like the idea of them going away.
They continued wandering through the city, both of them easily dodging other pedestrians, dogs, the odd rule-breaking bike, as the true New Yorkers they both were (although one might deny it). They both moved instinctively, side stepping sandwich boards and street lamps in opposite directions by always winding up elbow to elbow again once the obstacle had passed.
As they stopped at an intersection to cross the street, Steve downed the rest of his latte and only noticed then that Tony wasn’t even holding his cup anymore. Typical. He smiled warmly at Tony, knowing his coffee habit would follow him through the rest of his life.
Tony looked up a moment later, looking confused before relaxing into a smile.
“You look happy,” he said, as they began to cross the street and Steve just nodded.
“I am.”