Hi Nisha love, Stevetony for #40 (Making a goofy face until they notice and laugh) in the 50 wordless ways to say I love you prompt list if you're so inspired? <3
40. Making a goofy face until they notice and laugh. 2.1K words, stevetony, fluff, tw: Howard Stark’s A+ Parenting
six
The first thought Steve ever has about Tony is, he looks sad.
He’s making his way into the school by himself, cause he’s grown now — his Ma’s car is still at the drop-off where he can see her still blowing kisses at him through the window, but who’s gonna know — when his eyes land on them.
There’s a man standing in front of a boy who looks smaller than Steve does, something he didn’t even know was possible — and the boy looks sad, shoulders hunched in and staring at the ground while the man seems to be scolding him, like his Ma does sometimes when he gets into a fight with the boys down the road.
But unlike Steve, the boy doesn’t stare back and let it be known that those boys had it coming for talking like that with his chest puffed up because he’s mad — and not at all because he’s pulling in big gulps of air.
Steve can’t see what the man’s face must be like since his back is to him but he imagines it must be angry and that just makes him angry cause the man seems like a big old bully and Steve hates bullies.
If the man wasn’t a grown up Steve might have just gone over there to tug the boy away and yell at the man about maybe picking on somebody his own size, but he promised his Ma he wouldn’t get into trouble — well, not on the first day at least.
So instead, he sticks his tongue out at the man, blowing a raspberry at him that he doesn’t hear.
But the boy does.
He looks, eyes darting up and around the man to stare at Steve who must have a silly look on his face because the boy looks a little shocked and his ears go red but there’s a smile, there and gone before he quickly looks back down at his feet.
Steve decides then and there that this boy is going to be his friend and he waits for him, the man leaving with a dismissive wave as he walks over to his very shiny car.
The boy watches him leave before making his way over to Steve, shoulders still hunched but not staring at the pavement anymore. “Hi. You - you didn’t have to wait for me.”
“Course I did,” Steve says with a shrug. “You and me are gonna be friends. I’m Steve Rogers,” he says, sticking his hand out for a shake.
The boy stares at his outstretched hand for a moment before taking it with sweaty hands, “I’m Tony Stark and I - I really want to be your friend.”
“Well good, cause we’re going to be best friends,” Steve says confidently, dragging Tony through the front doors. “Come on, we can’t be late on our first day.”
[continue on AO3] or
***
twelve
“I’m just sayin’ that if you don’t come over for blueberry pie after Ma specifically baked it with you in mind, she’s gonna throw a fit,” Steve tells him, feet swinging under him because these benches were so high.
Not because he’s short.
It’s not.
Tony’s hands are fidgeting, his fingernails plucking at the skin of his nail beds and Steve doesn’t even think about it when he reaches over to pry them apart.
Tony just moves on to biting at the skin on his bottom lip. “Howard will be really mad if I miss dinner. He says the people coming over could really make or break the the company and he wants to make a good impression.”
His laugh is derisive when he tells Steve, “We have to be the picture perfect family complete with the great businessman but who’s also a loving father, the doting wife and mother with me staring as the golden son. What could possibly go wrong?”
Steve’s face must have morphed into the strange expression he does whenever Tony mentions anything about his home life because when he looks up from the plate of fries he’s not eating he gives a snort of laughter which only makes him embarrassed, covering his mouth like that would force it back in.
“Shut up, you didn’t hear that,” Tony says, cheeks going pink.
“Hear what?” Steve grins, swiping a handful of fries.
“Hey!”
“What? You’re gonna come over to eat my food so now I’m stealing yours,” Steve tells him. “Listen, you’re coming over today. Ma can be scary when she wants to be and not even your dad can stop her.”
Tony goes back to chewing on his lip.
“Hey, trust me,” Steve says, grabbing at Tony’s hand. “It’s going to be okay.”
Tony looks down at their hands before looking right at Steve. “Okay.”
It doesn’t occur to him until much, much later that he and Tony held hands all through lunch and neither one had said anything.
***
fourteen
They’re sitting in Math class — and why Tony is even in this class confuses Steve considering how smart he is — when he realises Tony isn’t paying attention to a single thing Mr.Vanko is saying.
He’s staring at his phone, hidden behind his open textbook and he’s taking a selfie that Steve is just going to assume he’s sending to Rhodes because —
Because the other option is assuming he’s gonna send it to Stone who is a senior and all around jerk and Steve kinda wants to bash his head in whenever he sees the douche hanging around Tony and — well, Tony seems to enjoy Stone’s attention but there’s something not right about that guy and Steve —
Steve is not biased. He isn’t.
He makes a face at the camera when Tony angles the phone again and Tony doesn’t even notice until he looks at the picture.
He stifles a laugh into his hand but Mr. Vanko’s hearing is scary good and he always seems to have it out for Tony anyway so he turns away from the chalkboard to glare at where Tony sits.
“Something funny, Mr. Stark?’
“No, no, just that you wrote out the equation wrong,” Tony says, shutting his book, his phone wedged between the pages.
“I doubt it,” Mr. Vanko sneers before looking at the board then scowling when he realises Tony is right.
Steve tries not to roll his eyes because of course Tony is right.
When he checks his messages later he sees that Tony had sent him the picture, with Tony front and centre but the perspective makes it look like Steve is popping right up from his head with a goofy look on his face.
He makes it his screensaver because really — who’s even going to know?
***
seventeen
Steve says the only reason Tony tries out for cheerleading is to be a rebel and to effectively drive Steve insane.
Tony tells him that he does it so he can stay in shape since now he has to keep with Steve’s insane growth spurth over the past year and so he can be flexible and Steve — well, Steve tries not to go completely red at the implication in Tony’s tone.
For all the years they’ve been friends, for all the dancing around they did about how they felt for each other — this, this is still new and real and Steve is completely terrified of messing this up.
Losing Tony - that’s not even something his brain can comprehend.
But when he shows up to practice, already making his way over to where the cheerleaders are to say hello and maybe steal a kiss, he thinks that Tony is trying to put him in an early grave because he’s standing there wearing the cheer uniform just —
The crop top and the skirt are fitted so well.
For some reason, Steve’s brain latches onto the fact that Tony’s belly button is out.
He’s an innie.
Steve must look an absolute fool right now because the cheerleaders burst into giggles around him, Tony included, who walks up to him and sweet jesus -
He shaved his legs and Steve thinks maybe there’s glittery body oil on them because there’s no way —
“Hi, handsome,” Tony smiles up at him. “You’ve got a real dumb look on your face so I’m assuming you like the uniform.”
Steve tries to say something back but his mouth just feels bone dry at the moment and he has to clear his throat to choke out a simple, “Yeah, baby. I really, really do.”
Tony kisses him, hard and fast -they’re lucky their teeth didn’t clack together - before pushing him off to the field. “Go on number 29! I can’t cheer for you if you’re terrible.”
“Thanks for that,” he says before hauling Tony in to kiss him once more, deeper and leaving him dazed before he runs back to his team.
He gets a pom-pom thrown at him.
***
twenty-two
There’s a Taylor Swift song blasting from the speakers to commemorate Tony’s birthday but Steve — Steve can’t find Tony anywhere in this strange house he got off-campus that Steve is nearly certain is haunted because why else would it be so cheap it practically a robbery.
Rhodes had mentioned to check the workshop but that had been the first place he looked anyway and he’s gone through the whole house at this point.
He’s standing by the kitchen before it comes to him and he’s off like a shot up the stairs, nearly bowling people over in his haste.
He gets to Tony’s room, places the bag on the table and climbs through the windowsill when he spots him, sitting cross-legged on the roof. “Tony?”
The surprise on Tony’s face honestly makes the 4 hour long journey entirely worth it.
“S-Steve? Ohmygod, Steve!” He yells, jumping up to crash into him and they nearly go skidding off the roof.
“Why don’t we head back in -”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Tony interrupts, “Let’s just sit out here.”
Steve isn’t really one to deny Tony anything, let alone on his birthday and definitely not when he’s beaming like that.
He tugs Steve down, his back to Steve’s chest. “I - I got worried when you didn’t call. Thought maybe you forgot.”
Steve frowns, “Forgot? Baby, in these last 16 years I have never not once forgotten the most important date on my calendar and I ain’t gonna start now.”
He brings Tony’s hands up to him and places a kiss on the palm, “There was a slight hold up. Just, wait here.”
“There’s only one exit.”
“You say that like you haven’t rolled off a roof to prove a point before,” Steve tells him, reaching through the window to snatch the bag before coming back to sit in front of Tony.
“Courtesy of the best bakery in New York,” Steve tells him, holding out the cupcake. “Bucky’s kitchen.”
He lights the candle he brought with him and sticks it in the middle. “Make a wish, Tones.”
Tony stares at him with a look so full of love with the flickering of the flame reflecting in his eyes that all the air rushes out of Steve’s lungs.
He blows out the candle before then promptly taking it out and smears the cupcake into Steve’s face that frosting goes up his nose.
Tony laughs so hard when Steve just stares at him that he nearly does roll off the roof.
Tony makes it up to him by licking up all the frosting though.
***
twenty-seven
Steve’s hands can’t stop shaking.
He can’t believe that after months and months of planning, they’re finally here.
That in just a few short minutes, he’s gonna get to call Tony his husband.
The doors open and Steve thinks his heart might have just stopped as he watches Tony walk towards him, resplendent in his tux and he just knows that the camera is recording his slack jawed expression because Tony is grinning at him as he makes his way down the aisle.
When they’re declared husbands, Steve kisses that grin right off his face and the camera catches their stupefied expressions.
***
thirty
Tony drops the blanket, yelling out, “Peek-A-Boo!”
Peter, completely amused, claps his tiny little hands from inside the crib.
“The betrayal I feel right now is overwhelming,” Steve calls from the door of the nursery. “This is my favourite game.”
He crouches down next to Tony, both hiding behind the blanket before dropping it again, making silly faces.
“Peek-A-Boo!”
Peter’s shriek of laughter can be heard all through the house.
