Work Text:
Steve watched Tony fiddle with one of his projects at the kitchen table. It glowed pink and beeped every now and then. Whatever it was, Tony was obviously fascinated by it. He'd barely looked up when Steve sat down across from him fifteen minutes before. That wasn't really new though. Steve was used to being overlooked for a new machine or a pretty girl.
It wasn't just that Tony was gorgeous when he worked, though there was some of that too. Some combination of blue eyes, tanned skin and dark hair that made him irresistible, and it knew it. He made jokes about it, and he dated a lot of really pretty women, and he used his looks like a siege weapon to get what he wanted. But he never noticed when it went deeper than his looks. It drove Steve a little mad, to watch Tony trade on uncaring physical affection and miss signal Steve gave him.
Tony finally looked up from tinkering, smiling tiredly. His eyes fixed on Steve with the same sort of intensity that he gave his inventions. Having Tony focus on him like that sent tingles down Steve's spine. It was a sort of magic. Or maybe science. "Oh, hey Steve. I didn't see you. Did you need the table?" He started to collect his things, wrenches and tiny mallets and things that went zaaaap! when he used them. "Just give me a second."
Steve blushed and jumped back a little. The chair legs squealed as they scraped over the tile floor. "No, I—" Tony's eyes on him scrambled his thoughts, reducing them to blue blue blue. Common sense waved a fond farewell as Steve blurted, "I need some help."
Metal clinked as Tony sat his tools down again. "What?"
What? Steve took a deep breath, blushing even more. "I, uh— need help. There's a— a girl!" Genius plans flashed in the back of his mind, waving signs and clamoring for attention. Steve licked his lips and plowed on. "A girl. Yeah. I really like her, you know? But I haven't kissed anyone since 1945. Do you still dip people? What about—"
"Steve. Steve. Breathe." Tony's reached across the table and patted Steve's hand. The smile lines around his eyes had faded. Actually, they looked more like frown lines suddenly. "You want my help? I'm not hiding in any bushes to feed you lines, but I'll do what I can."
"Nothing like that." Steve looked up and met Tony's eyes. "Would you show me how people kiss these days? So I don't get it wrong?"
For a minute, he thought Tony would say no. He glanced at his hand on Steve's, thumb moving in gentle circles. When Tony looked back up and smiled, Steve's heart rose. His hand wrapped around Steve's, tugging him up from his chair and around the table. "Just one. So you can compare."
Tony was only a few inches shorter than Steve, so it was strange when they stood chest to chest and Tony's mouth was already close. He smelled like aftershave, engine oil and, strangely, cookies. Tony's waist was padded with muscle, thicker than a girl's, enough that it felt good when Steve slipped his arms around him. Awkwardly, Steve tilted his head and leaned in, then laughed when Tony mirrored him and they bumped noses. "Hey, I'm the kisser here. Stay still."
"Girls are the kisser sometimes, you know. Modern times." Tony tilted his head back. "But since you insist, I'll be patient."
Like Tony was ever patient about anything.
Steve shook his head, then leaned down to kiss him before Tony could change his mind. It wasn't like what he'd expected. Tony's kiss made Steve's mouth tingle like an electric shock or, more probably, like medicated lip balm. His hands splayed along the small of Tony's back, holding him in place while he worked out the method to making Tony melt: a lick there, a slow sweep of touches here...
One kiss turned into two turned into ten. He lost track of when Tony stopped being the kissee and became a second kisser. Sometime during it, Steve's knees gave out, but that was alright because he managed to land in his chair. Then Tony sat on his lap and it was much, much more than "alright".
When the kisses finally stopped, Tony stayed close enough that his breath tickled Steve's neck. "A girl, huh?"
"Well..." Steve grinned shamelessly and kissed the stubble just under Tony's jaw. Signal sent and acknowledged. "Not exactly."