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Bucky was right, as usual. Steve’s an idiot. He took a big gulp of his drink, some disgusting concoction of Jungle Juice that burns on the way down. His eyes are on Tony - of course, they always are. He’s just chatting with some guy at a house party.
Some handsome guy, his mind supplies unhelpfully. The guy is taller than Tony and though not as bulky as Steve, he obviously has muscles. He takes another swig, hoping the alcohol will drown out his thoughts. They hadn’t agreed to anything serious, just occasional hook-ups. Bucky had warned him, and Steve hadn’t listened. He’d been in love with Tony since freshman year but didn’t get any courage to talk to him until a few months ago, when Tony had ended up in an art class for “gen-ed” credits.
When Tony kissed him after coffee one day, he thought he’d imagined it. But Tony had given him that beautiful smile and Steve was already so far gone… agreeing to sleep with him seemed to be as close as he could get to a relationship with the handsome, talented, genius Tony Stark.
And now here he was. At a party, watching Tony laugh at another man’s jokes and touching his arm so familiarly. Had Tony called him “honeybear”? His eyes stung. What was in this stupid drink? He looked at it accusingly then downed it. He looked around for something else to drink.
When he turned his head, Tony was headed upstairs with the guy. His heart started to pound. No. He couldn’t just stand by and suffer. His feet started to move on their own, stumbling through the people toward the stairs. He braced himself on the banister, following as fast as he could up the stairs.
Tony was his . Like hell he was going to sit by and let this happen.
He bust through the door, startling Tony and the other man. He reached for the other man, but Tony stepped between them. “Steve what the hell! What are you doing?” The man looked surprised but there was no aggression. He easily sidestepped Steve’s drunken attempts to grab him.
“Steve!” Steve looked down at Tony. His eyes welled up. “Please don’t sleep with him…” he muttered softly. Tony stared at him in shock… and then promptly burst into laughter. Steve immediately puffed up, trying to push past Tony to go after the man.
Tony pushed back. “Steve! Steve calm down,” he was trying to be reassuring but he was still grinning. “I’m not sleeping with Rhodey!” Steve paused. Then looked up to the other man, who looked incredibly nonplussed.
“Rhodey?”
“Yes, Rhodey,” Tony sighed. “Are you drunk?” Steve blinked. Rhodey was Tony’s best friend in the Air Force.
Tony touched Steve’s cheek. “Hey big guy. What’s going on?” Steve nuzzled into Tony’s hand.
“Aaaand that’s my cue to leave,” Rhodey said. “You two figure this out. I’ll be downstairs.” He walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.
Tony maneuvered Steve to the bed, sitting him down. Steve pulled Tony closer, his arms wrapping around Tony’s waist and then nuzzled into the crook of Tony’s neck. He could smell Tony’s cologne and sighed deeply at the scent.
Tony ran his fingers through Steve’s hair, hushing him softly. “Steve, what’s wrong?” Steve tried to avoid answering by hiding his face against Tony’s warm skin. “No, no. Seriously.” He pushed Steve back to look at his face.
Steve felt shame burn in his gut. He was jealous for nothing, and even if they had been hooking up, it was none of his business. “Why would I sleep with Rhodey?” Tony asked.
“I didn’t know it was him,” Steve murmured. Tony sighed. “Steve why would I sleep with anyone but you?”
Steve looked up wide-eyed. “What?” Tony stared at him. “We’re dating Steve. Don’t you trust me?” Tony frowned deeply.
“Dating?” Steve could only parrot Tony in shock.
“Um, yes?”
“I thought… I thought you were just hooking up with me?”
Tony’s brow furrowed. “What? What about our coffee dates? And the dinners? Late nights at my place playing games and ordering takeout?”
Steve’s mouth opened agape. They had been dating this whole time?!
“Steve if that’s not what you wanted-“
“I love you!” Steve blurt out.
“What?” Tony blurted reflexively.
“I love you. I’ve been in love with you for years. I thought when you kissed me you were just interested in being friends with benefits. Bucky’s right, I’m such an idiot. I-“
Tony’s lips were on his, silencing his drunken rant. Tony’s hands held Steve’s face on either side. Steve felt like he was melting, leaning in and pulling Tony even closer by the arms encircling his waist. Tony’s lips were so soft, he just wanted to keep kissing him forever. But then there was his neck, which was so sensitive…
As Steve moved his lips to Tony’s neck, Tony pulled back. “Hey, you’re a little too drunk for this right now. We need to talk again once you’ve sobered up.” Steve grunted in protest, but let himself be pushed away.
“Now you have to apologize to Rhodey.” Steve grimaced. “Yeah, I know, but he’s my best friend.” He’d just made the worst first impression. “And just to be clear, I’m going to introduce you as my boyfriend.”
Steve smiled. His boyfriend. Tony’s boyfriend, who had just accused his best friend of sleeping with Tony… Oh boy Bucky was 100% right. He was an idiot. But at least he could be Tony’s idiot.