48. high school reunion au (steve/tony)
“Woah. That was a big sigh.”
Tony kept his eyes on the bar-top as he sighed again. “Big problems.”
“Mm.” Tony sipped his drink and finally looked up. When he did, his drink went down the wrong way and he spluttered. “Wow. Hi.”
The man at his side grinned, blue eyes crinkling. “Hi. So, want to talk about those problems? I’m a pretty good listener.”
“I’d rather talk about you,” Tony said, a purr slipping into his tone as though he couldn’t help himself. “I don’t remember you.”
The man’s face soured a little, handsome features twisting for just a moment. “No, I don’t expect you would. I remember you, though.”
A lot of people remembered Tony. Not all for the reasons that Tony would have liked, he thought as he turned back to his drink. He lifted his glass in a mock salute. “Two shitty high school experiences, then. I hope your reunion will be better.”
“Not been great so far,” the man said and Tony couldn’t stop himself from turning to look at him again, taking a moment to study his features.
He was gorgeous, that much Tony could admit. But however attractive he was, Tony saw nothing overly familiar about him. It was only his eyes that made Tony pause. They were a beautiful blue and there was something about them that sparked a memory. Tony just couldn’t put his finger on what it was exactly.
“Nor mine,” he said finally. “I fooled myself into thinking that my high school crush would be here, but he’s not.”
And, wow. No hesitation in admitting that. High-School-Tony would have rather been tied to the flagpole in front of every student than say he fancied a boy out loud, but times changed. His dad couldn’t hurt him anymore, after all.
Tony nodded sadly, tongue flicking out to chase the straw in his drink. “Mm. Doubt you’d remember him. No one else seems to. I’m starting to think I made him up, actually.”
The man snorted. “Sounds familiar.”
“Looked nothing like you, though,” Tony said, giving the man a once-over. He quirked a grin and Tony matched it before he began to reminisce again. “He was tiny. Even compared to me, which is saying something given how big I was.”
“Wow. He really must have been small.”
“Hey!” Tony shouted even as he laughed. “But yes, he was. School punching bag, pretty much. Held his own, though. Or tried to, at the very least. Had a black eye more often than he didn’t and yet he was the fittest guy I knew.”
“Wait; who are you talking about?”
“Steve,” Tony said, sighing on the name. It still made his heart flutter, even if he hadn’t seen the guy since graduation. “Steve Rogers. Hung around with Barnes until he went off to college. I think they might have been brothers, even if the bullies used to say they were together.”
The man choked on air and Tony startled, reaching out to slap him on the back.
Tony withdrew the helpful hand he’d offered and glared darkly instead. “Yes. Yes, I did. Were you one of the jackasses that beat him up?”
The man spluttered again, long limbs flailing so much he nearly fell from his bar stool. For someone so large, he wasn’t very aware of his size, it seemed.
“Hm.” Tony narrowed his eyes as he settled back down. He let it go and turned back to his drink, taking another long pull. “I was going to ask him out at prom, but my dad wouldn’t let me go.”
“Maybe it was for the best,” the man said and Tony looked up at him curiously, intrigued by the careful tone, “I got beaten up at prom. Badly.”
Tony snorted and then held his hand up apologetically. “Sorry, sorry. I just bet that Steve did, too. A right knight in shining armour he was; always jumping into fights he should have stayed away from. Once, there was this girl from the chess club being harassed by the biggest guy in school and Steve–”
“What was I meant to do?” the man cut in hotly, “let her be groped?”
Realisation crashed over Tony and his mouth fell open. “Steve?” He floundered for a moment. “Steve Rogers? What happened to you? Were you a part of a government experiment; were you injected with something illegal and drug-related?”
Steve laughed, albeit a little stilted. “No. Nothing so exciting, I’m afraid. I joined the army. Me and Buck both did, right after my graduation.”
“Damn. God bless America.”
“You haven’t changed, have you?” Steve asked with a grin.
“Why would I want to?” Tony shot back, winking at Steve and ignoring the rapid pounding of his heart. He wasn’t a child anymore; he could handle a little embarrassment.
“No reason,” Steve said and his expression was so earnest that Tony felt a flicker of hope. “You should never change.”
Neither of them had looked away for a while, the air between them growing thick. When Tony hollowed his cheeks around his straw again, Steve’s gaze followed the movement.
“Well, tonight has been a disaster from start to finish,” Tony said, letting his tongue wet his bottom lip just to see Steve’s eyes fall there. “Maybe we can redeem it?”
“I’d like to think so,” Steve said, eyes darkening, “because I’m definitely not finished yet.”
(requested by @thequirkybookaholic from this list of short au prompts)
theartofmadeline
vaporwave
kianamaiart
romaincrisis
