Avenger Ships

Old School (Stony)

WARNING: References to Historical Homophobia

"It's good, right?" Tony gleefully questions his boyfriend. Steve hums in contentment to validate Tony's choice of drink. For their third date, Steve had suggested a relaxing picnic in Central Park. Of course, storm clouds had to release a downpour to rain on their parade. Tony salvaged the afternoon by suggesting a fancy coffee shop he visited often due to its location near the Stark Industries building.

So, the boys had gotten in the car and driven to the shop. The inside of the shop was warm and surprisingly homey. The lights were dimmed and there was a wide selection of seating choices ranging from wooden chairs for focusing to squishy booths near the window. After Tony ordered 'the usual' and suggested a drink for Steve to try, they sat down on the soft seats next to the largest window. It was comforting to watch the raindrops stick and then drizzle down the glass. The sound of water on the roof was relaxing white noise, just loud enough to be heard, but not enough to be obnoxious.

Once their drinks were served, Tony took a large sip and gave an exaggerated moan. He made sure Steve liked his as well. They slowly dipped their drinks while they conversed about different light topics. Tony recalled how he had made DUM-E and recounted some of the silly mistakes he'd made in the lab. Although Steve made a concerned face when Tony admitted to drinking a bit of motor oil from the machine's "coffee", the rest of the stories had him smiling and laughing.

Tony looked at his face fondly. God, he would do anything in the world to keep that smile on Steve's face. The way his skin crinkled around his piercing blue eyes and his perfect teeth shone made the genius feel a warmth throughout his body. It was like the all the brightness in the room was focused on Steve. Everything else was blurred to the background.

Before he knew it, he was leaning forward and kissing Steve. It was romantic. He could taste the coffee on his date's tongue and hear the rain continue to drop. That is, it was romantic until Tony realized Steve was frozen. He had gone completely stiff and he was definitely not kissing back.

At that realization, Tony immediately pulled back to see what was wrong. It wasn't like that was their first kiss together. Tony saw fear flash across Steve's eyes and before he could even ask about what had happened, Steve was exiting the coffee shop.

What the hell?

Finally, Tony came to his senses, left a tip, and rushed out the door, but Steve was nowhere to be seen. He ran to the car to see if Steve was waiting there, but felt his stomach fall when he didn't see another person anywhere nearby the parking lot. He decided to get in a drive back to the tower in the hopes that Steve would be there.

In the meantime, Steve was walking back in the rain. He had brought a jacket and the tower was only about a twenty minute walk at his pace. He brushed a finger along his own lips and blushed. He hadn't meant to run away, but as soon as Tony's lips hit his, all he could think was "Danger. I need to leave right now."

Steve hadn't exactly been in a relationship since he was thawed out. Even before he was thawed, he didn't get around much. There had been the few blind dates Natasha set him up on in the beginning and a couple dates with a male SHIELD agent who eventually admitted he was only attracted to his body, but nothing serious. In the thirties, PDA hadn't been much of a thing and PDA between a gay couple was unheard of. Those who tried to show their love in open spaces were jailed, killed, or chemically castrated. They became outcasts of society. They were deviants in the eyes of their peers. Everything had to be done in privacy to ensure that the relationship was safe.

Those memories were what flashed through Steve's head when Tony kissed him. He remembered asking his teacher a hypothetical question about boys liking boys and getting a condescending answer about how young boys should not choose to be so fruity. He remembers seeing a boy covered in bruises after his admitting, the day before, of his feelings to his male crush were overheard. He remembered his friend being kicked out of the house and an acquaintance losing his job. Those events might have been nearly nine decades old, but they were very fresh in Steve's mind.

What was playful and affectionate in Tony's mind was a death wish to Steve. He didn't want to be ostracized, but most of all, he didn't want Tony to face even more criticism than he already did because of him.

He took a few calming breaths before entering the tower. "Times have changed. Being gay is socially acceptable," repeated in his mind, but it was still a little difficult to internalize. He really needed to apologize to Tony.

"JARVIS, where is Tony?" Steve stared up at the ceiling expectantly. "He is in the workshop," the robot responded, but surprisingly it sounded slightly colder than usual.

Steve approached the door and sighed. He knocked a couple of times before Tony ordered JARVIS to unlock the door. "Hey, Tony." Steve waited for the man to turn around and face him.

As soon as he saw Steve, Tony immediately asked "Did I do something wrong? I can't think of anything specific, but I'm sure there's something. Please just let me know and I'll fix it. I'm so sorry."

"There's nothing wrong. It's just well...Um, in my day two fellas couldn't just kiss in a public place." Steve ran a hand through his damp hair to relax a bit. "I'm really sorry I pulled away. I still want to date you. That was just a little scary."

Tony's eyes widened in realization. He'd read about how gay men were treated during Steve's era. He knew the risks of being discovered and he'd heard about the multitude of slurs and other demeaning reactions from society. How did he not remember that?

"Oh, Stevie. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Ever since I came out as bisexual to the public, I've never tried to hide any relationships. I didn't really think about how you'd feel. Sometimes I forget you've only been here for less than a decade."

Steve's shoulder sagged in relief and he beamed at Tony. "Maybe someday I'll build up the nerve to do something in public, but for now, can we continue where we left off?"

And how could Tony refuse anything Steve said with that beautiful smile across his face?