avengers: assemble universe

in which steve and tony just came back from a mission in hydra's headquarters, and realised that they have a lot to learn from each other.

❝ so... are you pals gonna
like hug or what? ❞
hawkeye

The Avenge-jet peacefully landed inside the Avengers tower, letting its occupants know that they had arrived with a small jolt. The tick coat of navy blue paint, dripping from the sky onto the rooftops, darkening the city, indicated that night time had come, and droplets of warm light were dimly shimmering from the buildings all around. As the team got inside their home, Jarvis lit up the path.

"First in the kitchen gets the food!" Hawkeye shouted, sprinting through the hallway.

"Mere mortal, do not think that you can get there first" Thor scoffed, making Mjölnir spin to get a fast propulsion.

Nonetheless the God's plan was cut short by a punch from the Hulk, who then ran after Clint, grunting that the food was his. Sam and Natasha could only sigh, wishing the others to have a good night before leaving for their compartiments.  

"Looks like it's us two again. Happy to be with me again, pal?" Steve smirked at Tony's exasperated expression.

"I need a shower. Let's, uh," the brunette looked away, scanning the room for a way out to the bathroom. His fingers found their way to his hair, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Let's meet afterwards. We gotta go through the battle again."

"Okay... But don't you wanna take some rest?" Steve asked, surprised that his teammate didn't want to spend the evening by himself to relax.

"No. Work first," Tony interrupted, already walking away. What the Captain couldn't see, however, were the rosy patches spreading along the man's cheeks and nose, which he battled to hide.

Steve's gaze followed his comrade's back out of the room, something telling him that his behaviour was rather unusual. Though the blonde shrugged it off, thinking he could shower as well in the meantime. And, actually, he was quite curious to look back at their fight against Red Skull and his allies, Tony and his "strategy" having paid off surprisingly well. What Steve told the team after they had come back was true; he had indeed learnt a lot from his partner, and especially that, sometimes, trusting your gut wasn't a bad option.

Relieved that the tough part of the day was over, the Captain headed to one of the many bathrooms of the Avengers tower. One of the pros of the building was surely that there was enough room for everybody, even with a Hulk around. A few minutes later, hot water running down his bruised skin, a deep sigh of contentment broke Steve's lips, the man enjoying the bubble of calm he was in. He was home.

After the shower, the Captain dressed up in proper clothes, positive that Hydra wouldn't attack them in the next hours, especially with all the bickering and discord running amongst its members; Tony and him were a bit responsable for that. Steve would usually always wear his uniform, just in case, but it was late and he was tired. Plus, he would be with the genius, so if anything were to happen, the Iron Man suit wouldn't be far away.

Therefore the blonde got out of the room with no trouble clouding his mind, going towards Tony's lab where he assumed he'd find his friend. Nevertheless, when Jarvis unlocked the door, Stark was nowhere to be seen inside so Steve simply waited for him, taking a seat in front of the huge electrical screen they watched battle tapes on. Although the soldier was still struggling with technology, he was eager to prove Tony that he had learnt, which led Steve to turn the computer on. At least, that he could manage.

"Making progress, grandpa," Tony's playful voice suddenly erupted in the lab, the man himself standing in the doorway. Two steaming cups were clenched in his hands. "Got us some coffee to make it through the evening."

"Thank you, Tony." Steve ignored the first remark, giving his friend a smile.

"Wait... You're not wearing your flag?" Tony raised his eyebrows, definitely not willing to give up sarcasm.

"And you're not wearing your tomato can."

"You mean my amazing invention that saved your ass countless times." Tony taunted, handing Steve his cup of coffee before settling next to him. "Okay, let's see what we got here."

The soldier sighed, nevertheless unable to stop smiling behind his beverage. Having spent the day, let alone the previous year, with Iron Man, he was used to his tendency to tease everyone. To be fair, he somehow even grew fond of it. Meanwhile, Tony searched for the footage his armour had registered.

"Do you think everyone's in their room yet?" Steve wondered, the silence of the tower agreeably reminding him that the danger they went through was over. 

"'Think so, otherwise we'd still be hearing Thor and Clint arguing over pickles or whatever. It's just us tonight, Cap."

"And me, sir," Jarvis quietly said.

"You, Jarvis, are the soul of this place anyway" Tony comforted his technological assistant.

"But you're its heart" Steve told Tony, casually running his hand trough his hair and smiling at him. The brunette hated it when he did that. It made him look very attractive and huggable, which was hard to deal with already.

"And you're its age" he fired back, squinting at Steve's pout.

For the next half hour, the two Avengers watched back tapes from their mission, talking strategy and picking out mistakes to avoid in the future. The Captain's spontaneous choices, Tony remarked, had really impressed him; the blonde confessed that Iron Man had obviously inspired him. Behind their occasional sarcasm, they really respected and trusted each other, which had been the clue to their win of the day.

"Okay Cap, that was great" Tony stretched as the last tape came to an end, showing the Avengers hurrying to rescue the duo after a typhoon had engulfed the Cabal and their submarine.

Steve took a sip of coffee, watching the brunette. He didn't want to go to bed. He wanted to stay there, with Tony; he wanted to talk, or just be in his presence. After the day they had, he didn't want to leave him.

"Thanks for the coffee," is all he managed to say, not knowing which were the right words to make his friend stay. "And... For today. I wouldn't have made it without you." He added sincerely.

"Same here, Steve." Tony switched the computer off, rotating his chair to face the Captain. "Do... Do you want a midnight snack?" The red patches rose again.

"Sure." Steve smiled, finishing his cup of coffee. "We deserved it."

"Great, 'cause I'm kinda starving!" Tony got up, leading the way out.

However, the last thing Steve heard, as they left the lab, was a mutter under the brunette's breath: "this is the weirdest date I've ever been on." The soldier could only mentally agree and grin behind Iron Man's back. It sure was a hell of a date — and he liked it.

—

i finished the first season of avengers: assemble today and loved it so much<3 this show is so well-written, witty, funny, and truthful to the characters we saw in the mcu. and it has the stony content we deserve (and clint ships it) (;