To Have and to Hold

The +1

+1

Tony looks up from his work as JARVIS lowers his music. He puts down his soldering iron and turns around in his chair to see who was visiting him. With the music lowered, he could hear the heavy footfalls he had become very familiar with. Steve.

Steve gives him a shy smile as he walks over to him. "Hey"

"Hey, Steve, what can I do for you?" Tony asks, pushing down the butterflies in his stomach.

"I, uhhh..." Steve says, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I know what you have been doing. With the... You know..."

Tony frowns. "I don't think I understand, Cap" he says, laughing awkwardly.

A flash of frustration crosses Steve face. Tony logically knows that Steve is likely frustrated with himself not being able to get his point across, not Tony. But Tony heart always holds that nagging worry that he and Steve were going to get into some big argument and then their relationship would take a serious hit. In his goal to find ways to hug Steve they had become close, very close, and Tony really doesn't want to lose that. And the bots would also get sad and mopey because Steve won't come around to the lab anymore, and he would have to deal with that... and the lab would feel much emptier without Steve's presence on the couch working away at his sketchbook.

"-with the hugging" Steve says.

"Oh, that" Tony doesn't have the strength to keep the hurt and disappointment out of his voice. Hugging Steve will have to end, wouldn't it? Steve would, understandably, want his space. And they would grow distant.

Tony looks over to the couch, not wanting to meet Steve's eyes. He realises just how far the couch is from his workbench. That is how far Steve will be from him from now on. So much further than arms reach.

It hits him then, like a kick to the stomach, that maybe he needed those hugs too.

He takes a breath and attempts to blink away the moister that was quickly gathering behind his eyes.

"Yeah, that." Steve says, shifting. Tony looks up to him to see that the man had folded his arms across his chest, something Tony had learnt the man did when he was feeling vulnerable and uncomfortable. He had made Steve feel uncomfortable.

All the butterflies that had flying around his stomach earlier were now long since dead, relaxed now with what felt like a led brick. "Okay" he whispers.

"I, uhh..." Steve clears his throat. "I just wanted to thank you, Tony."

"What, really?" Tony asks, confused.

"I appreciate you reaching out to me. I wasn't in a good place... and having you by my side? It helped. More than you could ever know." Steve says quietly.

Tony gives Steve a small, wobbly smile. "I glad, Steve" he says. "You actually mean a lot to me, you know?"

Steve's eyes light up at his words. "You do?" the man asks.

"Yeah, Steve, you do" he says.

"You mean a hell of a lot to me too, Tony" Steve says, taking a few steps forward. Tony watches as Steve steels himself for what he wants to say next, he has that look in his eyes, as if he was sizing up a challenge, that fire that Tony loves to see dance behind Steve's eyes. "As that is the case... would you like to get dinner with me sometime?" Steve's face is bright red with embarrassment but he pushes on "...as a date?"

"As in, a date date?" Tony asks, needing that clarification.

"A date date" Steve says, giving him a shy smile. "I'm fairly sweet on you, to be honest"

"If that is the case..." Tony says, getting up from his chair, closing the distance between them. He wraps his arms around Steve's trim waist, drawing him close, he lets his hands wonder across Steve's broad back and up under his shirt. Steve smiles, leaning into his embrace. "I'd love too" Tony says, bring his lips down on Steve's in a soft kiss.

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THE END

For the Cap-IronMan Like it's 2012 fest!
Anon's Prompt: hugs [any verse] - Steve and Tony find increasingly ludicrous reasons to hug

This is also for the Stony Bingo 2020 Round 1 prompt "Tower" [Y5] Most of this fic happens in Avengers Tower.