The soldier and the metal man

The date

Ch. 3

Tony had ended up arranging a dinner at the exclusive Per Se restaurant and a private tour of the MoMa afterward. Steve had been to the MoMa before, but the private tour would include a look at a brand new exhibit that wasn't open to the public yet.

He had been getting dressed for the evening when there was a knock at his door.

"Come in," he said, buttoning up his shirt.

It was Natasha.

"Hey, Tasha. What's up?"

Tasha looked him over and shook her head. "You're getting ready to go out with the Captain?"

"Indeed I am."

"Are you sure this is a wise idea?"

"Of course I am. How'd you know about it, anyway?"

"Steven is very excited. He asked me to help him with his tie earlier. I believe he is quite nervous too."

Tony couldn't help but smile. Steve was kind of adorable sometimes.

"I cannot tell you what to do," Natasha continued, "But please be careful. Do not hurt him. He is a good man and he does not deserve that. And we need our leader, too."

The smile dropped off Tony's face. "I won't hurt him."

"Alright. I hope not."

With that, Tasha left. Tony did his best to reassure himself that everything would be fine. As long as he was honest, as long as he told Steve that he wasn't ready for anything major, then everything should work out.

00

Steve looked amazing, dressed up in a tailored black suit with a white shirt underneath. His hair was perfect. The only thing that surprised Tony was that he didn't have a tie on.

"No tie?" Tony asked. Tasha had said that she'd helped him with that.

"I, um, thought it was too much."

"Ah. You look great, though."

Steve grinned. "Thanks! You do too." Tony was wearing a black suit as well, but with a red shirt underneath.

"Thanks. So, ready to head out?"

Steve nodded, "Definitely. Where are we going?"

"Somewhere nice." Tony led Steve over to his Benz. It was one of Tony's favorite cars. He opened the passenger side door for Steve. The Captain looked at it in awe before getting in.

"It's doors go up instead of out?"

"Yup. It's pretty classy."

"Wow." He got into the car. Tony closed the door and got in on the other side.

Once they were inside, Tony turned the key in the ignition, then pressed a button on the radio. Suddenly, music from the 30s and 40s came on. He could see Steve smile again when he heard the music.

"Hope you like it," Tony said, as he pulled out of the garage.

00

Dinner had been fantastic. Tony had paid to rent the restaurant so that they had it to themselves.

Steve didn't really understand what the items on the menu meant, since they were all written in French, so Tony had helped him translate a bit.

They spent a couple of hours just sitting there, eating and talking. They didn't head out until close to ten pm.

Their next stop was the museum. Steve had gotten excited when they had first pulled up.

"Tony! This is so sweet of you! I love the MoMa!"

"I know you do."

"But... it's too late for it to be open. They close at eight."

"Well, it's a good thing that I arranged for a private, after hours tour, then."

00

Steve and Tony had walked the museum up and down, examining all of the art. Steve took pleasure in explaining various pieces to Tony. He knew a lot and truly seemed to be passionate about it. For his part, Tony just watched quietly and listened to Steve talk. Though it should have been boring, Tony found himself enjoying it. Steve really did have a lot of good qualities. He was kind and caring and passionate and intelligent, at least when it came to things that he was very interested in.

When they finally returned to Stark Tower, it was well after midnight. Steve was still on a high from the evening, excited about it even though it was over.

Tony had debated trying to get him into bed, but decided against it. He wasn't sure why. He figured that Steve probably would've let him, but it just didn't feel right. Instead, he had kissed Steve goodnight and had walked him back to his room. Then he'd changed his clothes and gone down to the lab. He felt best thinking there, for some reason.

Then, as he stepped into the room, it hit him. He was starting to have feelings for Steve.