But consider: what if Steve meets Tony BEFORE Iron Man 1?
At first he only sees Tony’s playboy facade
And they can’t stand each other and they have a knock-down drag-out fight throwing insults and punches in the middle of a party because of course they do
But then they meet again under better circumstances and Steve apologizes and he’s so fucking earnest when he asks if they could please be friends
And Tony wants to hate him, but then Steve smiles and holds out his hand and Tony stands there looking at him and something inside him just melts
And then they start hanging out and Tony discovers that he actually likes this guy. Steve may act all sweet and innocent, but he’s got a sharp sense of humor and he’s smart, the kind that sneaks and surprises you when you least expect it
And Steve quickly discovers that Tony’s playboy flamboyance is really just deflection, it’s all just an act to protect himself from getting hurt, to keep people from finding out that he really cares deeply, maybe even too deeply
So Steve starts seeing through Tony’s defenses, and then, so gradually that Tony doesn’t know when it happened, Steve has become the most important person in his life
But Steve is leaving to join the Army, and Tony realizes that he can’t let him leave without telling him how he feels
So he rushes to the airport and they have a dramatic confession on the tarmac, and Tony finally tells Steve how much he loves him and promises to write him, of course he will, if Steve will just come back to him
And then Iron Man 1 happens, and Steve is part of the team that rescues Tony
And he just cups Tony’s face and his eyes are so soft as he sees the arc reactor
And he says “I thought I was supposed to come back to you, not the other way around”
And Tony just laughs and settles against him and says “what do you say we pick up where we left off?”
And they live Happily Ever After