endgame open post

[dropsofjupiter]

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stark
aequitatis
pottspepper
starklegacy for au time hopping shenanigans because of course she would. and of course i would.

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steve has one more thing he wants to do post-shower, so don't end yet :D

[noble_sentiments]

[ Steve just hugs him tighter for a second after that, with a soft smile on his face. He's missed Tony and these quiet moments with him so much.

Sometime in the future, when he is ready, he knows there are ways to be back without separating himself from Tony. But those details don't interest Steve at the moment. He's just settled by the fact that he knows they exist. ]

I'm glad I was at the compound when you first got off that ship.

[ He gives him one more squeeze then before he looks down at Tony. ] I should get outta this uniform. But I won't be long, okay?

no problem!

[stark]

[ The way Steve hugs him makes a small smile tug at his lips, closing his eyes for a moment as he savors how it feels to be held like this again. ]

Yeah, me too.

[ He can admit that now, at least. It worked out for the best, too, because Tony doesn’t even know how he would have started that phone call if Steve wouldn’t have been there.

He turns to him when he feels Steve shift to look down at him, and he nods slightly. He had completely forgotten about the uniform for a moment. ]

Yeah, take your time. I’m not going anywhere.

[ He kisses his cheek before pulling back so that Steve can get up. ]

[noble_sentiments]

[ True to his word, Steve doesn't take long. He does need to leave Tony's room, since Steve's clothes and the shower is on another floor. But getting in and out of his uniform, and caring for it, is so routine that it goes quickly.

He showers too, just so he isn't covered in dried sweat and... space dust, or whatever it the residue is that seems to have coated him. But beneath the heat of the water and the white noise of the splatter against granite and glass, all of Steve's thoughts, for once, are completely with Tony.

In the end, only about fifteen minutes pass before he's back, because while he's been gone, he can think of nothing else, no one else. And coming back into the room, Steve meets Tony's eyes, and his own are filled with a nostalgic kind of yearning. There was something he wanted to do when he got off the ship today, and now that it's just the two of them, he closes the door behind him and walks toward Tony, whether he's still on Steve's bed or if he's moved himself to his own.

Then, as long as Tony doesn't give him any cues to back off, he only pauses twice. First, when he's right in front of him, before both his hands move up to cup Tony's face. And second, before he leans in to give Tony the kiss he wished he'd given him two years ago in that glass room with the Accords on the table. If that all goes to plan, then the rest, well, how Steve and the kiss feels is all details. Steve's hair is damp, and the feel of his lips and his hands is even warmer than normal, since he's absorbed more heat from his shower. He's wearing his old pajamas — worn out subtle Iron Man swag he bought at a store when they first got married and has slept in ever since. But with the kiss itself, Steve only has two things he's trying to say.

Tony, I've missed you. I love you. ]

[stark]

[ While Steve is gone, Bruce brings by a portion of the elixir that Carol had been talking about and has him drink it before removing the IV line from his wrist. The plan is to drink a portion of it tonight, and the rest in the morning, to ensure his body has enough time to process it properly. It's not a cure all, but it's meant to give his body a boost so that it won't have to work so hard to recuperate.

By the time Steve comes back, though, Tony is alone again and lounging on Steve's bed as he stares out the window. It's not the blank, empty stare he has been having on most days during the last week; there's more focus in his eyes than before, and when he hears footsteps, he's faster to react. Especially since he knows those footsteps damn well.

The sight of Steve in his old pajamas surprises him, though. For some reason he hadn't expected to see those pants again but, before he can say anything about them, Steve is closing the distance between them and his hands are cupping his face. Tony doesn't flinch, or pull back; instead, he leans slightly against his touch, and when Steve kisses him back he returns the kiss in kind. All this feels so familiar to how it used to be once upon a time, that he can't help but feel a sense of warmth filling him up from the inside. Things aren't the same, of course - they're both different, their lives are now so different than how they were the last time they had seen each other on good terms two years ago, but for the first time Tony actually believes that this can work out. That maybe they actually have a chance.

I love you, too, Tony's kiss answers. I'm so glad you're here. ]