#pls consider rbbing if you liked it

[tinytonysnark]

5 times Steve stood between vehicles and 1 time Tony did.

44. Standing between them and a busy road. 1.4k words, stevetony, fluff

*

Steve doesn’t even think about it.

They’re walking along with their friends ahead of them, Tony caught up in his rant about how Mr. Vanko is out to get him as they’re coming up to the crosswalk and Steve simply switches sides to put himself between the cars and Tony without a pause in this one-way conversation. 

He just watches and laughs at Tony antics as they enter the diner and wishes he could hold Tony’s hand as they walk. 

** 

MassArt is only 18 minutes away from MIT when he cycles, but Steve hasn’t seen Tony for nearly a week - both of them caught up with assignments and well, Tony’s been caught up with his new friend - Rhodey.

Steve hasn’t met him yet, but Tony hasn’t stopped singing praises about the man via text and Steve - he’s not jealous or anything, he just wants to make sure that this Rhodey has good intentions, that’s all. 

That’s the only reason he’s pedalling like his life depends on it to meet Tony and his roommate for brunch.

He gets to Luna in 15 minutes and chains his bicycle to the rack. He’s looking around for Tony when someone jumps on his back.

“Surprise!” Tony shouts in his ear. 

“Glad to see college life hasn’t changed you, Tony,” Steve says, as Tony gets down. 

Someone clears their throat behind Steve and he turns to see a man, looking at Steve suspiciously.

Ah, Rhodey. “So, you’re the infamous Steve that Tony hasn’t shut up about, huh,” he says and Steve watches Tony’s face turn pink.

“Rhodey,” he hisses and the other man grins, holding his hand out.

“Well, I’ve heard plenty of you too,” Steve says, shaking his hand. “You’re all Tony talks about these days besides his lab.”

“Oh, God, just kill me,” Tony mutters. “Let’s go eat, I’m starving.”

“Unsurprising, seeing as all you had to eat yesterday was a packet of blueberries and my entire pot of coffee.”

“Rhodey! Stop ratting me out,” Tony says as he shrugs at the glare Steve sends him. 

“Tony, you can’t just -”

“I know, I know, I just got distracted. Come on you two mother hens, watch me eat my weight in breakfast foods,” he says pressing the button at the crosswalk light.

“There better be a vegetable somewhere in there,” Steve says, not entirely jokingly as he moves to stand to Tony’s left and bumps into Rhodes. 

“Oh, sorry,” he says, moving to stand next to the other man, watching two cars roll to a stop as the light signals for them to cross.

Brunch itself goes well, and Steve finds he quite likes Rhodes and the man’s sense of humour but something in him untightens from it’s knot when he takes his leave to meet up for a date with someone named Carol, ruffling Tony’s hair when he wags his eyebrows at him and giving Steve a firm handshake, leaving the both of them to themselves.

Steve can’t help the warm feeling that takes root as he realises how much it feels like a date.

***

The moving truck is parked in front of the building so Steve parks his jeep on the other side of the street and Tony jumps right out the moment the car stills.

Steve sighs, getting out to get the boxes in the backseat and trying his hardest not to laugh as Tony grabs the heaviest one before Steve can reach it, clearly struggling under its weight. 

“Baby, stop okay- you’re right, you’re big and strong and I’m sorry if I ever insinuated otherwise, so why don’t you just give me -”

Tony glares at him from over the top of the box as he reaches for it. “You didn’t insinuate anything! You said I’m small and should leave carrying the big heavy boxes to you Mr. Macho Man!” 

He slams the door with his foot and Steve winces. “Well, I’ll carry this one and you can get the smaller one!”

Steve sighs, wondering just how long Tony is going to be mad at him for his slip of tongue, putting up his hand in thanks to the driver who waits for them to cross to their new apartment.

A place just for them. 

He grins when they get to the door, placing the boxes just outside before sweeping Tony up, carrying him over the threshold. 

“Hey!” Tony calls out, glaring up at Steve. “Alright, alright, you’re so big and strong. There’s no need to show off now,” he says, dropping the box to the floor.

It lands with a solid thunk and Steve frowns at him. “You’re so lucky that was just clothes and not something more fragile.”

Tony just winds his hands around Steve’s neck and kisses the frown of his face. 

****

“The wedding was gorgeous, don’t you think,” Tony says, swinging their arms by their intertwined pinkies. 

“It was,” Steve says, tugging Tony back onto the sidewalk as a car passes by, switching to stand to the right as they cross to the hotel for the reception.

“Thor’s dad is a real piece of work though,” Tony continues. “Bruce practically turned green when Nat came to tell us that he showed up.”

“Thor didn’t fare much better when he found out, - though he probably took it better than Loki did,” Steve tells him. 

“Unsurprising seeing as how his cold shoulder is practically frostbite,” Tony says. “If I ever got married and Howard showed up, I’d be less graceful than Thor was, that’s for sure.”

“If, huh?” Steve grins at him as they enter the reception hall. “What happened to Mr. I would rather die than have all my family gathered together?”

Tony looks to where they’re friends are all seated together - near the now married couple before looking up at Steve, “Guess family means something else to me know,” he says and Steve - Steve doesn’t say anything to that, just kisses the top of Tony’s head and thinks about the ring hidden in the back of his sock drawer.

***** 

Tony’s light radiates even brighter in Italy. 

There’s a giddiness in his voice, in every step he takes as he shows Steve around his favourite places he’d visit in the summers with his mother.

And well, being newlyweds probably adds another layer to it too.

The villa in Ostia that Tony’s mother had given them as a wedding present was gorgeous, the view of the moonlight on the water a perfect backdrop for their nights spent as husbands. 

They fly to Florence in the morning, but for tonight they’re wandering the streets after eating their filling of ravioli and having far too much wine, listing into each other as they dance along the cobblestones and all Steve is able to think is - I love you, I love you, I love you - so he says it aloud and Tony kisses the words back into his mouth.

“Take me to bed, mio marito,” Tony says and Steve bundles Tony to his side as they cross the roads back to the villa, watchful of the vespas zipping through the streets and kissing Tony under the moonlight anytime they pause on their way.

****** 

Tony’s always anxious walking the streets of New York with Peter in tow so Steve placing him atop his shoulders as they walk to get ice-cream eases him and Tony suspects Steve knows it. 

“Papa, I’m so tall now,” Peter says, clutching the top of Steve’s head and Tony nearly laughs at the way it causes his blonde hair sticks up in all directions. 

“Yeah, Petey give it just two more years and you’ll be taller than your papa is,” Steve says, laughing at the affronted look on Tony’s face.

“Dad, it’s not that hard to be taller than papa,” Peter says, and Steve laughs even harder at that.

“That’s it! The both of you aren’t getting any ice-cream, I’m going to eat it all,” Tony says and watches Peter’s eyes go wide.

“No, no, Papa - I’m sorry if I made you upset,” jostling Steve as he tries to reach his hand out to hold onto Tony’s.

Tony offers him his pinky, letting him know he’s not actually mad. “Maybe - Maybe dad can let you go on his shoulders! Then all of us can be tall!” 

Steve gives a huff of laughter as they cross the road, Tony resisting the urge to flip off the cab honking at them lest Peter look over. “I’ll let Dada climb onto my shoulders later if he wants,” Steve says, shooting Tony a grin as they enter the ice-cream shop and Tony rolls his eyes at him.

Peter climbs off Steve’s back and bounds his way over to the display. 

Steve kisses Tony’s fingertips and says, “I’ll get your usual,” before joining their son and Tony - Tony think the ice-cream is gonna instantly melt in his mouth from how warm he feels as he looks at his family.