stardustly | YOU WERE A VISION IN THE MORNING LIGHT. ( amelioraate ).

One stipulation for freedom following the rather messy division from the Registration included taking black op gigs, something Steve really didn't mind one bit. His group of Secret Avengers worked for SHIELD now under the brand new direction of one Tony Stark. The deal undoubtedly from his negotiations in the first place, something Steve felt grateful for because trials or the Raft weren't exactly wonderful alternatives. The failure did sting, however, and Steve knew one day the others would regret it but for now he had to be apart of the team and make sure everyone remained safe.

The current gig should have only lasted two days tops but Steve ran into some complications, which Natasha looked none too pleased about when he arrived back to his apartment. He really needed to find a way to Widow proof his place to make it more difficult for her to break in. She reminded him twenty thousand times to not be late getting back because they were celebrating Tony becoming the Director and Commander Rogers needed to be there. He wanted to be there, of course, but could he help the rogue operatives nearly BLOWING HIM UP? How about no and thanks for all the concern.

With a roll of his eyes, he listened to her lecture, heading to the shower when she finished up. He rolled his eyes again when he saw an outfit already placed on the bed for him. Those jeans were not his and were far tighter than anything he would willingly wear. Why would Tony care what he wore anyway? The man didn't feel for him what he felt, sadly enough. He would just pine until Tony found someone else to be with and then he would sigh. It sounded like a good enough plan to him.

It took thirty or so minutes for him to get to the venue, Natasha promising to meet him there later. Seemed a little fishy to him but he let it go, a little too excited to congratulate Tony and offer him the gift he managed to nab on the way back to the States. When he arrived, the place looked cosy, almost intimate and he felt confusion working over him. Did he have the wrong place?

DID TONY PLAN A DATE INSTEAD?

Oh no.

He stood there awkwardly, taking in the candles (how many were there??) and the soft music playing, which sounded more like from his time than anything current.

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It is incredibly difficult for Tony to concentrate on the future, on anything really, when he has Steve right there in front of him; all smiles and flashes of blue that makes something in his stomach twist. He is so far gone that it is ridiculous, wrapped up in all the strings of history and the past when he should be focused on the future before him. Not that he would change it, not at all. Steve was-- well just because Steve was something of the past embodied, he was also something good; something that Tony could look to when he found himself wavering in his choices, in how he saw the world.

There has been more than one instance where he has chosen something simply because he thought of how Steve would look at the situation, how Steve would look at him for making that choice. Perhaps it wasn't the healthiest way to deal with things, but-- Tony was sure that it was a truth that Steve was, and always will be, the better man out of the two of them.

And when he is here, faced with Steve teasing him and smiling at him like he is worth something-- well you can't blame him for wanting to hold onto that for as long as possible.

"Oh? And what is making you change? I am sure you giving me trouble is part of the deal, isn't it?" There is a knowing look in his eyes as he watches, perhaps a little more poignant about eating than he might usually be. But he wants, and it is so easy to toe that line with Steve, to see how far he can push until one of them snaps.

When protocol is mentioned, the look on his face turns teasing, a wicked smirk barely hidden by his fork. "So I shouldn't as for private mission reports in my office? I am sure the desk is strong enough, but if protocol is a thing you are worried about..."

Giving a theatrical sigh, Tony puts his fork down and letting his arm move closer and into Steve's touch before dismissing table manners that would have Howard rolling in his grave, grabs a piece of lobster to pop in his mouth with his fingers. After dipping it in butter, of course. And then having to lick said putter off his fingers.

How terrible.

Tony doesn't break eye contact the whole time.

In a lot of ways, Tony opened up his eyes to see a bigger picture than just the more narrow focus he tended to have with a lot of objectives. Oftentimes, Steve set a mission for himself, figured out all the little details to reach it and then went for it. Usually, a few quick turnaround and he knew his impulsive nature could be dangerous but it also saved the day a lot of the times. Sure, he might end up more banged up than if he took the time to consider the bigger picture but he always healed eventually. The lack of concern for his own safety probably should have worried him more but again he never really dwelt on the bigger picture of it. Tony, however, made him see beyond his own focus to what rested beyond and what could stem from the actions. The man tended to look more to the future and what could be than existing in the present terms. It made them very balanced if they worked together and moved past the bickering of being 'more right' than the other.

"One reason you took the job huh?" Steve responded with a more lopsided smirk resting on his face. He didn't exactly have the best reputation with authority figures but he often disregarded rules and all sorts of protocols if he needed to in the pursuit of justice. At times, he behaved more like a vigilante than an agent but at least with the more secret ops it gave him freedom to handle things as he desired to.

Tony's words painted a very vivid picture and Steve needed to use every ounce of restraint he possessed to not moan out loud. Damn it, Tony. "Uh -" Nope, nothing else followed the word since Tony melted his brain into a goo all over the table.

Of course, Tony did not stop there and his eyes followed the movements closely. The heat evident on his face and at last he reached his own breaking point. "How did you get here?" Steve asked, knowing his own motorcycle would not work. The bathrooms maybe? Tony might not agree to public bathrooms, though. But maybe if he worked him up enough.

Lightly his nails dug into Tony's arm, letting his breath hitch audibly in his throat. Two could play the teasing game, Stark.

They worked well together, something that people have always said about them since they first came together as a team. They managed to balance each other out and push each other forward and-- well, in cases like this, they were just able to push each other. Because that was what they were doing, they were pushing and toing the line as best they could in public, and Steve gave as good as he got.

It was more than a little admirable because Tony was-- well he wasn't exactly going easy. Not that the thought of Steve pressing him against the desk in his new office, shoulders wrapped in the blue of his Commander uniform, was something that left him completely unaffected, but he had played that fantasy in his mind more than once, it didn't make him want quite as much as it might Steve.

And it did affect the Commander. Tony moans lightly around the salty burst of butter against his tongue, eyes still on Steve. He watches, just as entranced, as Steve's mouth opens and no real sound comes out and, fuck, the fact that he could make the other man look like that, look at a loss, was heady. The following noise, something hitched in his chest, is less for the show of things and more because he can't quite believe his luck.

"Mmm, it is delicious lobster, would you like some, Commander?" There is a flash of teasing there, a taunt, but it doesn't really hold out against the look Steve gives him, the way he grips his arm and fuckfuckfuck, Steve really could play just as well if not better than him. The nails against his skin, the sound of Steve's breath catching makes Tony consider public indecency charges, and not being let back into this place. Just for a moment.

Thankfully (or unfortunately) he reigns himself in, just a bit, though it is clear he is fraying at the edges. "Car. Why-- Why do you ask?"

Oh, there were plenty of things he wanted at the moment but he wouldn't include the lobster among the list. Eyes darkening considerably, Steve forgot all about his food (a feat considering how much he loved to eat), his fingers running circles over where his nails had just dug into Tony's arm. The sparks it caused only pooled the heat more in his stomach. It made him want more than he ever had before, a dizzying array of emotions considering he never actually thought Tony would want him in the first place. How far had they come to reach a point like the one they were currently in?

"I'd like to see your car," Steve murmured, licking slowly over his lip, more because his mouth felt dry than trying to be alluring. But if it worked for both objections then so be it. If it also made Tony want to leave then even better. "We can - get the food to go?" The suggestion nearly felt desperate but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment not when he had wanted Tony for so long. Since nearly their first encounter with meeting one another, which he'd never admit to. Not easily anyway.

Removing his grasp from Tony, he stood up to find the waiter (after a slight pause, thanks Tony), asking for some to go bags and the check. He also made a quick order for some dessert because he had a few ideas for it.

After he took care of all of it, he returned to the table, fingertips brushing over the back of Tony's neck. "You ready, Director? Or are you just all talk?"

YOU WERE A VISION IN THE MORNING LIGHT. ( amelioraate ).

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