Stark Industries, Saturday afternoon

[heroic_jawline]

Steve came into the shop and let his shield drop to the ground with a muted clang. He wiped at the dust on his face, then squared his shoulders with visible effort and called out, "Tony? You around?"

Another lead, another fruitless Bucky search, this time in stupidly muggy Singapore. Steve needed a shower, a pizza or three, and a nap.

And a hug, but he was kind of hoping he wouldn't need to ask for one of those.

"I'm back!" he added a little needlessly.

Comments

[imafuturist]

"I'm trying to decide if I find being called that by you is a turn on or not," Tony said thoughtfully.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve laughed, cheeks going pink. "Well, let me know if you figure it out."

[imafuturist]

"I have decided that it depends on the situation," he replied, nodding. "Speaking of which... we should talk."

IN NO WAY WAS THAT A SMOOTH TRANSITION, TONY.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve immediately looked worried, biting his lower lip. "Okay."

His mind started spinning through all the ways he might have screwed something up in the last few weeks.

[imafuturist]

Which made Tony lean in to kiss him again. "Relax. It's about new-ish things in the bedroom."

[heroic_jawline]

That...didn't really relax Steve much, but he was trying? "Okay," he repeated, linking his fingers through Tony's and squeezing them.

[imafuturist]

He was trying his best here!

"Some things I've noticed," he tried again, squeezing back. Because he was just gonna dig that hole deeper.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve was now imagining scorecards and possibly Powerpoint breakdowns of his recent performances. "Okay," he said, broken-record-like.

[imafuturist]

Tony was assuming they were doing great with this conversation!

"Like how you enjoy me telling you you're going good," he continued on. Bravely. And without noticing poor, poor Steve's panic.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve's grip on Tony's hand was going to start getting painful soon. "Am I not supposed to be doing that?"

[imafuturist]

"What? No! It's great," he insisted, pulling Steve's hand up for a kiss. "I just want to make sure we're on the same... page about it."

[heroic_jawline]

"I...don't think I understand," Steve admitted quietly, meeting Tony's eyes.

[imafuturist]

"How do you feel when I tell you how good you're doing and how happy you make me when you do what I tell you?" Tony asked.

[heroic_jawline]

"Good," Steve said, frowning as he sat down and tried to distract himself with the food. He chewed on his lower lip. "I'm not really sure what you're looking for."

[imafuturist]

"Good in a way you feel a little... dazed?" His own experience didn't really lean toward the nicer thing causing that. So it was a small struggle to phrase it right.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve's forehead wrinkled as he thought about it. "Well, yeah," he said, glancing over at Tony. "Is that bad?"

[imafuturist]

"No, it's good," Tony replied quickly. "It's very good. But it can be pushed too far, too easily. And I really don't want to hurt you without us figuring out some rules."

[heroic_jawline]

Steve's hand snuck back close to Tony's, seeking a little reassurance. "That makes sense," he said softly.

[imafuturist]

Tony leaned over to kiss him for that, taking his hand. "I want you to know that you have control over the situation even if it seems like I'm in charge. And you can say no whenever you need to."

[heroic_jawline]

Steve smiled at him, resting his forehead against Tony's. "I trust you," he murmured, "and I'm not exactly helpless."

[imafuturist]

"I know that," Tony said with a little sigh, relieved to get some of this out there at least. "I know. But I would feel a lot better doing that if we weren't going in blind."

[heroic_jawline]

Steve squeezed Tony's hand again. "And I want you to be comfortable," he said earnestly. "So tell me what I don't know. I'm...guessing it's a lot."

[imafuturist]

"I did get some books." Of course he did. Because feelings were still hard. "That you should look through and see what appeals to you. And some of the basics of this. Think of it as advanced lessons in sex and relationships."

[heroic_jawline]

"Will there be a quiz after?" Steve asked, only half teasing.

[imafuturist]

Tony snorted, giving his hand another squeeze for that. "After you look things over, we can talk and see what questions we have for each other."