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“So, is this night everything you dreamed of?” Tony asks with a smile as he finishes off the tiramisu he ordered.
And he couldn’t lie, it had been amazing. The two of them had gone out for dinner at a small Italian place that he knew, and it had gone perfectly. He had slowly been working up the nerve to tell the other man how he felt, which was the whole reason he had dragged him to dinner and felt like it was time.
“How could it not be? Good food, good drink, good company. Actually that reminds me, there’s something that I wanted to tell you.” He says as he breathes in deeply and tries to steady his nerves.
“Of course, but there’s something I need to tell you first. But first, let me ask you, is there anything that could make it better?” Tony asks, leaning in.
“Actually there is…” He says with a soft smile.
“That’s what I thought, because it’s not a real night out without the team!” Tony says dramatically as he gestures to the back of the room, where the rest of the Avengers quickly enter from.
He’s frozen for a second as he tries to comprehend how quickly this night has gotten off track.
“I thought it was just going to be us tonight Tony.” He mutters, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.
“Oh, well I just thought it’d be fun if everyone joined. It’s been a while since we’ve all gone out together.” Tony says with an easy shrug, taking a sip of his drink.
“We live together, it’s not like it’s been ages since we’ve all seen each other.” He says evenly, trying not to grit his teeth in frustration.
“Are you mad?” Tony asks, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
“No, of course not, sorry. I just need to run to the bathroom real quick.” He blurts out as he stands suddenly. He needs a minute to get his mind together before he says something stupid or cracks a glass by accident.
He quickly makes his way to the men’s room, nodding to his teammates as he does and is thankful nobody tries to stop him to talk. He has too many emotions whirling around in his head right now to chat with anyone and needed a minute alone.
He makes it to the bathroom and sighs in relief when he sees that it’s empty.
He feels so frustrated that he wants to hit something, but instead he tries to do the breathing exercises that Bruce taught him. He feels a million different emotions at once and wishes that he could just make them all go away and just enjoy the evening with his friends.
Because he loves the team, he really does. They were his family and meant more to him than he could explain.
So maybe it was better this way, keeping his confession to himself. The last thing he wanted was to mess up the team or ruin his friendship with Tony.
Maybe it was better not knowing.
“Well, someone doesn’t look happy to see us.” Natasha says with a smirk, leaning against the bathroom stall.
“Jesus Natasha, you gave me a heart attack! You know this is the men’s room, right?” He asks, wondering when she had slipped in. There were some downsides to being friends with a spy and having them sneak up on you all the time was one of them.
“Obviously. Trust me, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. So why the long face?” She asks with a smirk as she crosses her arm.
“I don’t have a long face.” He mutters, hating how she could see right through him. He tries to hide his pout and fails miserably.
“Are you upset we crashed your date?” She asks with a quirked eyebrow.
“I- What- No- It wasn’t-“ He stutters, wishing he could remember how to use the English language.
“Well it’s not now. Were you finally finding the nerve to tell Tony you like him?” Natasha asks with a small smile.
“What? I? No-“ He rambles, wondering if there’s an emergency exit to this bathroom. Honestly, where is an alien invasion when you needed one?
“Relax, Steve. Listen, I know you like him and have for a while, and I think you should just tell him. Because I think he likes you too.” She says gently, giving him a reassuring squeeze on the arm.
“I just-: He cuts off as the door swings open and Tony is standing there, staring at the two of them.
“Are you two having a secret meeting in the men’s room?” Tony asks with a puzzled look on his face.
“Just having a chat. Think about what I said Steve.” She says with a smirk as she walks out.
“I would tell her how weird that was, except I’m scared she might punch me.” Tony says with a laugh. He quickly stops laughing as he spots the expression on Steve’s face, “What’s wrong? Are you really pissed that everyone tagged along?”
“How come we never hang out just the two of us?” He blurts out before he can decide if it’s a good idea.
“I… What do you mean?” Tony asks, crossing his arms in front of him, “If you mean tonight-“
“I don’t mean just tonight, it seems like every time I try to hang out with you, you’re bringing someone along or inviting someone else.” He says, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice.
“What are you talking about? I feel like you’re exaggerating, it’s not every time.” Tony says casually.
“Well last week you dragged Clint along to the baseball game with us, and I know he didn’t want to be there because that was what he talked about the entire game. And remember when we decided to watch the alien movies a few weeks ago? You made Bruce come and he didn’t look up from his tablet from the entire time because he had so much work to get done.” He says as his mind begins to come up with more and more examples.
And as he does, he has to wonder, does Tony even want to be his friend? Because it feels like he constantly has to have a buffer around just to be around him. Maybe Tony was holding onto more resentment than he thought? Maybe he really didn’t like his company?
“Steve, you’re making a big deal out of nothing.” Tony says quickly, looking like he’s wishing for an eject button out of this conversation.
“Do you not like hanging out with me?” He asks suddenly, feeling his hands grow sweaty as he blurts out his fears to Tony.
“I.. I like hanging out with you. That’s the problem.” Tony says softly, looking down at the floor as he speaks.
“How is that a problem?” He asks, unsure what Tony is trying to say. How was them being friends a problem?
“I like it too much Steve.” Tony says gently.
“Are you saying… You like like me?” He asks, wishing he didn’t sound like a school girl.
“Yeah. And it’s easier ignoring that when everyone else is around.” Tony admits, fidgeting with his hands.
“Who says you have to ignore it?” He asks, walking towards Tony. Tony finally looks up at him and he brings his hand up to Tony’s face and cups it gently.
“Wait, you like… like me too?” Tony asks with a disbelieving tone.
“I do, Tony Stark. I like like you.” He says with a smile, before leaning down and kissing the other man on the lips. He means for it to be sweet and chaste, but it quickly deepens and before he knows it, he has Tony pinned against the men’s room door and they’re grinding against each other.
“Stop professing your undying love in there, I have to piss!” Clint yells as he bangs on the door, causing them both to break out into giggles.
“We should probably get out of here.” He says with a whisper, planting a soft kiss on Tony’s nose.
“We should. Otherwise I’m pretty sure Clint will just pee in the alley and get another ticket.” Tony says as he leans off the door and grabs Steve’s hand.
“Wait, what do you mean another-“