Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Well, I for one think it's a great idea," Steve Rogers says. Currently, the Avengers are gathered for a meeting. The public requested the Avengers to make an appearance at a school to say a few encouraging words.

"Of course you do. You're a goody two shoes," Tony Stark retaliates. Steve chuckles, not at all offended by the comment.

"I think it's a good chance for us to show kids that the Avengers aren't just fighting twenty four seven. We can be role models to them, not just superheroes."

The Avengers looked at eachother, some clearly more on board with the idea than others.

"I don't do well in crowded spaces," Bruce chimes in.
"I don't like kids," Natasha follows.
"I'm just not going," Clint shrugs. Steve sighs, looking back to Tony with a sheepish smile.

"You'll come at least, right, Tony?" Steve asks, a hopeful look on his face. Tony sighs, then nods reluctantly.

"Yes, I'll come. Drop the little act," Tony mumbles. Steve tries not to look as pleased as he is, but everyone caught the wide smile he tried to hide by looking down.

Steve and Tony arrived at the school they were invited to on Friday morning. It was a modest building, a high school with two floors and an outside area for students. When they entered the school, they were met by the very excited principal. The man was short but burly. He had shoulder-length hair and a big smile on his face.

"Captain America! Iron Man! So glad you could make it. Please, come inside!"
The man ushered them in quickly, his smile never leaving his face. He led them to the office.
"We'll have an assembly for the kids to meet you at the end of the day. Around 1 o'clock. How does that sound, Cap?"
Steve chuckled at how excited the man seemed, and extended his hand.

"How about I introduce myself first? Please, use Steve."
The man took his hand and shook eagerly.
"Oh, yes! I'm Mr. Love. I... I know who you both are already. Obviously. Hehe." Steve smiled in response, then nudged Tony.

"Ahem. Right. Well, you can call me Tony. Or whatever you want. I'm not picky."
Mr. Love nods, then gestures for them to sit. He clasps his hands together, taking a breath before speaking.
"Let's go over the assembly."

It was simple enough. Steve would walk on-stage after Mr. Love introduced him, then he would thank him and say a few words about responsibility and what not. After a bit, he would mention Tony, who would then fly in from the roof in true Tony Stark fashion.

Steve looked over the slides again and again, reading the vague script they had to follow. He sat down and sighed, looking up at Tony who was wiping off his glasses.

"You sure you're going to fly in? Seems a bit flashy, no?"

"Flashy is my middle name, Stevie."

"No it isn't. It's Edward. Is this really necessary? I thought the whole reason we were here was for the kids to see us as normal people?"

"You're so serious all the time, Cap. The kids will love it. Come on, what do you think they'll actually be here for? The Iron Man suit is awesome."

Steve drummed on this thigh before sighing.

"Fine. But you have to speak about how you built it. And be safe. I don't need any kids getting hurt. Or you, okay?"

Tony grins, looking over Steve’s concerned figure.

"Going soft on me, Rogers?" Tony loved how easy Steve was, he was watching the color rise up his face.

"I'm just... being careful. I can do without traumatized kids. It's not fun, trust me," Steve cleared his throat, calming himself down a bit. He stood up, wielding his shield.

"I'm gonna go get on stage. Good luck, okay?"

"Break a leg."

Steve waited to hear his cue from Mr. Love before walking onstage. He waved as applause rippled throughout the room. He had a big smile on his face, one that wasn't forced but from how happy he was to be here.

Steve waited for the noise to die down before he adjusted the microphone to talk into it.

‘’Good morning, everyone. I’m sure you know by now, but I’m Steve Rogers, Captain America. I’m so thankful to be here to speak to you all. You -
know, when I was in school…’’

Steve went on about how different schools are today, all the opportunities kids get that he didn’t get back when he was going to school. Tony listened the whole time, uninterested, just waiting for his time to fly in.

‘’...Speaking of which, I have my own friend I’d like for you all to meet,’’ Tony finally heard Steve say, that was his signal. Iron Man then flew in from a window in the school, and immediately there was cheers and gasps. He landed on the stage next to Steve, who was smiling at him. Iron Man smiled back, even though he couldn't see it under his helmet.

Iron Man doesn’t need to use the microphone, as he simply connected his suit to the speakers in the auditorium. He clears his throat before he speaks.

“Hello, all. I was going to introduce myself, but you already know who I am. And I know you wanted to see more of the cool stuff, but Cap here insists I give you a lesson in manners or whatever…’’

Steve chuckles at this, and he finds himself hanging onto Tony’s every word. He didn’t even feel the time pass just listening to Tony speak, but the next thing he knew he was being walked off stage to take pictures with kids.

Tony made Steve feel lots of things. Angry, annoyed, exasperated. Yet the only thing Steve can remember feeling today from him was joy. He remembers all the smiles Tony brought to his face, and the color… Yes, Tony often made Steve blush. He hated how easy he could do it, darn that man.

But it was all in good fun. Steve knew Tony only flirted with him because it was his personality. And plus, Steve didn’t like fellas. He hadn’t even thought about anyone romantically since before he woke up. So in short- no, Steve Rogers does not have a crush on Tony Stark.

Chapter Text

“Space? Really? Me?” Steve stares at Tony like he's grown two heads.

“I've said this a thousand times, Cap. We're both going to space. The Avengers don't just operate in your precious America, you know,” Tony sasses, looking up at him from where he was tinkering on his desk.

Should Steve be offended at that? It sure did sound like Tony was trying to ruffle his feathers. No matter.

“Yes, but space is no joke. It's space, Tony.”

But Tony simply laughed, and Steve won’t deny how much he liked the sound.

‘’Okay, I get it. You’re scared of space. But I’m going, too. Will you go for me?’’ Tony asks, even batting his eyelashes. Gosh darn it, Tony always knew how to make Steve cave.

‘’Of course I’ll go for you, Tony…’’ Steve of course didn’t exactly want to go to space, but how could he say no to Tony when he was looking like that?

So Steve found himself in space. It was just him and Tony again. Weird how this keeps happening.

 Tony had a space station apparently, in which he had a lab of sorts. Steve didn’t really know, Tony used a lot of big words.

What he did know, however, was that he was in space. Steve follows Tony out of the quinjet, because he personally didn't know his way around his space station. Tony leads them to the base- lab- whatever, and enters a pin so the doors slide open. 

There's another set of doors in front of them when the ones behind them close, followed by a hiss. Tony takes off his helmet and Steve follows suit, breathing in the air.

“Here we are. Don't touch anything, yeah?” Tony says as the other set of doors open, revealing the inside of the lab. 

Steve nods absent-mindedly, stepping inside and looking in awe at everything. Sure, Steve has already seen tons of Tony’s work, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t impressed every single time.

Everything about Tony impressed Steve, really. He really was a genius, even if Steve didn't always understand the things Tony was smart about. Steve watched as Tony went over to a computer and started typing away.

He walked up behind him and leaned down. “So, what are you doing up here, anyway?”

Tony didn't look up as he responded, his fingers still flying over the keys. “I got an alert yesterday. I'm just trying to figure out if it was aliens, or just an asteroid or something.”

Steve nods. “That makes sense… Do you need any help?”

Tony shakes his head, turning his chair around to face him. “Not unless it's alien. For now, you just keep standing there and looking pretty.”

“Of course. Anything. Wait, what?”

“What?” Tony had already turned back to his computer, though not typing this time. In fact, it seemed he was looking back in the reflection.

“It's nothing. That's what I'll do. Look out for aliens…”

Steve clears his throat awkwardly, shifting on his feet. Get it together, he thinks. He shouldn't be losing his composure over a joke from a friend.

And then Steve remembers his whole dilemma. Tony. It was so easy to just let time pass with the man. But when he finally gets a grip of himself, he's forced to confront his feelings again. Not that there are any.

No, there's no dilemma. It's just him and Tony, alone together on the moon. Steve is snapped out of his thoughts when he sees a bright light shine in from the window.

“Aliens?” Steve asks, already preparing for a fight.”

“Not quite,” Tony stands, walking towards the window. “It's just aurora borealis.”

“The Northern Lights,” Steve mutters in awe. He comes to stand next to Tony, marvelling at the colors on the Earth.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Tony nudges Steve’s shoulder.

“I was thinking beautiful.”

Steve sees Tony nod in the corner of his eye, and they fall into a silence watching the lights.

Steve looks over to see Tony's reaction, yet he gets entranced by how the light dances on Tony's face.

He watches him for a moment before Tony also looks over, then they're staring into each other's eyes.

This isn't gay. It's simply two pals starting into each other's eyes. But why was Tony staring back? This was going on too long to be a joke, right?

Steve blinks, pulling himself out of the trance.

“Tony.”

‘’Steve?’’

‘’...Are you done checking your things?’’

Tony nods slowly, glancing back at his computer momentarily.

‘’Yup. No aliens. The Avengers protect the earth another day.’’

‘’Then we have to head home…’’ Steve didn’t need to say how much he didn’t want to be in space anymore. But with Tony? That’s the only place he wants to be.

Tony seems to have caught the disappointment in Steve’s voice, or he didn’t want to leave himself.

‘’I was thinking we could stay for a while. Watch the lights for a bit longer. You were right, Steve. It’s beautiful.’’

Steve watched Tony gaze back out the window, but Steve couldn’t tear his eyes away from Tony. He had to have been imagining that look from earlier.

‘’It is.’’

Once Steve and Tony got back to their tower, they were greeted by an enthusiastic Thor.

‘’Friends! It has been so long! How was your trip to space, Captain?’’

‘’Better than I expected… Tony showed me the Northern Lights,’’ Steve looked over at Tony as he said this, and Tony looked back at him.

Thor looked between the two, his eyes squinted suspiciously.

‘’I see Hawkeye was right… Well! I am glad you have made it back safely. The Black Widow did a wonderful job leading in your absences.’’

Steve looks back to Thor and nods.

‘’I expected no less.’’

Steve and Tony return to their respective rooms, where Steve finds the newspaper at his doorstep. Thanks, Sam.

The first thing he notices is the headline, ‘’Captain America and Iron Man: More Than Avengers!’’

Steve smiles, reading the entry.

‘’Captain America and Iron Man gave inspirational quotes to the students of Oak Hill High School on Tuesday morning, showing the world that they are more than Avengers. They are role models to all, encouraging kids to follow their dreams and stand up for what they believe is right. Steve Rogers, Captain America, is the perfect example of what you want your kids to be like. From growing up in poverty to becoming Captain America, Steve Rogers demonstrates exactly what it means to be the perfect soldier. Be like Captain America…’’

Steve’s smile fades as he reads through it, and he puts it down before he finishes. The perfect soldier? Him? He thought back to Tony, to the feelings he was feeling for him. He was so sure what he was feeling—and maybe Tony felt it too— but now Steve wasn’t so sure. He knew things were more progressive than they were back in his time, but he knew it still wasn’t completely accepting. He’s seen it for himself.

No. Even if Steve was interested in Tony, he can’t be. Steve of course has nothing wrong with being queer, he just didn’t want people to know he was. Think he was. Because Steve isn’t anything like that. If the world saw him as the ‘’perfect soldier’’, he didn’t want to burst their bubble. So he wouldn’t. He would brush off these odd feelings for Tony, and keep on being the perfect soldier the world saw him as.