Captain Steve Royama Isn't Moving (stillamerican) wrote in angellogs, @ 2019-07-11 22:04:00 |
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Current mood: | loved |
Who: Tony Stark, Steve Royama
When: Current
Where: An Italian restaurant
What: A date
Rating/Warnings:
Status: Complete
Tony's got a suit that he's not sure if it's too fancy, but - he can dress up, right? They're going to eat on the porch or roof, outside, at a little Italian place. They've got a gas oven, but it's supposed to be more economical, and they're doing bread with the oven as it cools down from pumping out roasted veggies / stews / pizza at night.
Which - he's not really sure that's necessary, but it sounded like a cool soundbite, and it looked nice. Plus, the tables weren't super tiny, which should be better for Steve.
He's got a little boutonniere that the flower shop told him was perfect. He's hoping it'll be. At least he remembered to warn Steve that if he had a jacket, he'd have something for it.
Steve liked the idea of the place when they talked about the possibility, and he’s glad to be dressing up as well. He’s not sure about being too fancy himself, and he still doesn’t quite GET how to dress for this era, but, back home, Natasha and Pepper and Wanda had taken him out on more than a few occasions to help him with figuring out what looked good in terms of modern styles, and he’d remembered their advice when he picked things out here.
He’s got a pair of slate grey pressed trousers that are neatly pressed, a blazer in a shade of slate blue that looks good with those, and a light purple shirt, with the collar open a few buttons. He’s also added a handkerchief in the same shade of purple, just in case they might need it for whatever reason. He’d debated going with a hat, just because he likes them, but he’d decided that was getting carried away and contained himself to picking up that outfit and some dress shoes, wingtips in blue and purple because hey, why not. There’d been a sale and presumably he’s going to need to have a nice outfit sometimes, so, you know.
He’s just about set to go now, and waiting for Tony, humming a little, along with a song on his phone.
Tony's knocking on his door. He's got a grey shirt that looks like it might be silk, or at least a slightly sleek cotton, and a dark jacket over it. The waistcoat does match the jacket, and it honestly fits well enough that Tony didn't mind if he'd be a little warm out there. Besides, it hides the arc reactor glow and helps if it gets cold. The pants aren't a perfect match to the coat, but it's close enough. "Wow. I love the shoes." His are brown, and super comfortable if not amazing wingtips. "I uh -" He offers the flower. The one he picked was a tiny gardenia and some teeny other bits that he can't recognize that well. Still - he's glad he didn't go for a red carnation. "I can't pin it on easily with the cast. Unless - you want me to try?"
Steve smiles and steps around to get closer to Tony. “You look fantastic, Tony. And aww, I can get it. Thank you. It’s lovely.” He grins. “I’m looking forward to this, you know?”
"I am too?" Tony reaches to touch his hip lightly. "Kind of anxious about everything. but - uh - that's me for you. Apparently the special is salami and some spicy peppers, but they've got a bunch of options. There's one with a bunch of arugula."
“Ooh interesting.” Steve grins. “You did research. I’m impressed. What looks good to you so far from what you’ve seen?” He’s hoping he seems reassuring here.
Tony leans once Steve's got flowers on him. "I'm thinking we could order a couple to see what we like? And uh - they do some kind of Italian soda thing with flavored syrup, if that sounds good to you."
“Oh that DOES sound nice.” Steve smiles. “I like that sort of thing a lot. They used to do them at the bookstores in New York, some of the big chain ones that have coffee places in them. I like cherry and peach stuff.”
"Almond and coffee, as I remember. Or hazelnut stuff." Tony offers his hand. "I got sick once from having too much strawberry flavored stuff and never liked it the same since." He grins. "Ready to go? Reservation's in like 15 minutes, so we don't have to run."
“That would do it.” Steve nods and takes his hand, squeezing it. “All set. I’m really looking forward to this. Showing you off.”
Tony blinks and he - honestly does feel like he's blushing. "Showing me off, huh? I feel kind of like I'm all - drab in comparison. I was thinking we could get a couple of pizzas, and uh - anything else, and probably see the sun set?" And honestly if it's too crowded, they could get take out and go home. But Tony's not nervous. This will go well.
“Darling, you are not drab at ALL.” Steve says, giving Tony a once over. “Really far from that. And that sounds good. The sunset’s a nice idea. Romantic.” he leans into Tony a little now.
“It sounds intimate too. So that’s a good thing.”
"Darling. Are you into pet names? I don't mind." Tony didn't expect Captain America would be. Admittedly, he didn't expect to be dating Captain America either. "And hey, I'm trying for romantic? Back at home it'd be like - the fanciest place I could manage and the most private seating I could manage, but I never relaxed, usually?"
Well, he’s dating STEVE, so that’s a thing that’s a little different. “If you like them.” Steve says, eyedarting. “And romantic and relaxed seems like a good idea to me. More time and less focus on who we are and how much money’s being spent. Easier to relax. Are you gonna be okay?”
"At - a place like this? Trust me, I never really - you got some amazing food at places like that, but most of what I was paying for was not getting the press in my pocket." Tony shrugs. "I like this? I'm looking forward to this."
“Good.” Steve nods. “I am too.” He offers Tony an arm to link, if he wants.
Tony links his arm with his. "I like being anonymous out here, but - really, I think being with someone I care about matters a lot more? I was dating someone else, at home, off and on, and it worked, but I never really had time to - do stuff like this." Tony's grinning as they're getting toward the restaurant. "DId you? I mean, after the war?"
“I didn’t get through the war itself back then, but after I woke up?” Steve shakes his head. “Not really. I tried a few times, with people. Some who were really nice, some who friends thought would work really well with me, but…” He frowns a little. “There were always reasons it just didn’t work out in the long run. I think I was too lost in my past, and not a lot of people get that sort of thing.”
"I don't blame you for being lost in the past? I mean, when you are." Tony's quiet as they get through getting their table, and soon enough there's an assortment of pizzas on order. Tony's got a bubbly drink with sliced limes in it to start with.
“I think it was more of a I didn’t know how to balance it enough for dating, then.” Steve looks thoughtful. “And then, the Bucky thing happened, and...I have no idea where he IS right now, but the whole My Evil Best Friend thing...kind of makes for unstable dating situations. I think he was at a point where he was free of the programming but...it’s hard to tell. He did save me and left me at the Potomac banks, instead of letting me drown, but no idea what’s going on with that now.”
"Maybe that's - something he could do as resistance?" Tony reaches to touch Steve's hand over the little table. Well, it's big enough that Steve's not dwarfing it, but still. "Plausible deniability? I don't know what he was dealing with, but I could see sort of - don't know how you ended up not drowning arguments."
“Probably was.” Steve nods. “It’s one of those things that I think he was testing his limits and all. He’s out there somewhere probably working out who he is again. But back home, anyway, it made it kind of weird, knowing I’d probably have to take off at a moment’s notice someday to handle that sort of thing, and well. It’d put anyone I dated in a lot of danger too. Uh, Natasha and I kissed to throw off some HYDRA goons, which was mostly just...kind of weird to me.”
"And I think you mentioned the - Sharon? Something like that?" Tony shrugs. "Not jealous. Just - uh - I'm used to people having seen weird videos of me not knowing I'm recorded and flirting or all that. So this is new for me."
“Oh yeah. That was pretty brief but. We were neighbors when I was in DC. And it turns out she was also, conveniently, a SHIELD agent. Kind of annoying. She also uh...was Peggy’s niece. You can see how THAT got weird and uncomfortable. And oh ouch. Isn’t that sort of slightly illegal not to inform people?”
"I was drunk? Plausible - uh - I may've been informed? And yeah. It is kind of illegal. I just - thought it was how things were with stuff." Tony grimaces. "That's something I do not miss."
“That’s gross.” Steve frowns. “Really gross. And so not okay. It makes me want...I don’t like hitting people for no reason but that’s a reason to start hitting people all right. It’s never okay to take advantage of anyone who’s drunk or drugged, no matter who they are.”
He shakes his head. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
Tony squeezes his hand. "I think I'm a terrible date. Uh - want me to talk about something happier?" He's - really touched to be honest. Some people agreed on the gross thing, but Tony had gotten a bit of - you know - unsafe habits end up hurting you talks.
“I think you’re just fine,. But happier’s definitely a good thing.” Steve says, looking thoughtful. “We ARE supposed to be getting to know each other on some things after all, and there’s a lot of little things I don’t quite know about you that I should. I’ve got a soft spot for movie musicals. What sort of movies are you into?”
"Hm - now that's a thing. I like a lot of the - you know - newest shiniest thing, but also older stuff? Usually the - like Star Wars now is a different thing to watch than it was when I was a kid. Star Trek too. Not big on historicals or tear jerkers." Tony's sipping his drink. "Musicals - I feel weird about the old ones where people tell stories about their feet aching doing the dancing? The gritty pre-code ones are neat to see, even if I doubt they were better condition wise?"
“Did you watch the new Star Treks yet?” Steve asks. “I saw the first two. Haven’t gotten around to the third but people tell me it’s really good. I was frustrated with the second one. They did a rehash of the Wrath of Khan plot but didn’t do it very well… I don’t mind seeing reboots, maybe because a lot of this stuff’s so new to me, but that one...you don’t remake Wrath of Khan and not make it STELLAR and expect it to work, you know? And that makes sense. Apparently Gene Kelly was a real jerk.”
"I think - huh. There was a tv show, and a - Nemesis movie? But that was older." Tony's perking up a bit. "Are the newer ones good? Different? New Star Wars looks a lot more diverse than what I was remembering." Tony has to lean back a bit to help the waitress with laying out their pizzas.
“They’re pretty good.” Steve makes some room on the table too. “They recast all the original series with modern people and the vibe’s pretty fresh and new and fun. They went for a split universe sort of explanation for that. There’s a lot of heart with the new group.”
"Huh - sounds pretty cool." Tony picks up a slice of pizza and has the wit to not burn his mouth even as he's trying a nibble. "These are really warm. This one's - basil and sausage, I think. I'd like seeing them? I bet you haven't gotten a chance to show someone a movie they've never seen that often."
“It’ll be the first time.” Steve grins. “It sounds like they happened after your timeline then. We’ll have to do that. And I haven’t seen the third so that’ll be fun to do together.” He’s grabbing a slice with some assorted mushrooms and the cheese is dripping as he pulls at it, so he laughs.
"I just realized this shirt will totally show grease if I get any on it." Tony's grinning back at him. "I uh - I should probably warn you that I kind of - talking about feelings and therapy speak stuff isn't easy with me. So that might come up. With the getting to know you thing. I'd tell people at home to point it out if I seem to be getting a raft up an Egyptian river? Because - it's not your job to deal with it, but it helps me pick up on it."
“I can let you know, definitely.” Steve says, nodding. “And that’s...wow, really mature to say that. How’s it gone with finding someone to talk to here, anyway?”
"It's not mature when it's - you know - your best friend pointing out you're literally saying you weren't tortured when he saw videos of it kind of denial." Tony blinks. "Uh - that went dark. Sorry. I mean - uh - I do that? I try to say everything's fine, and there's Rhodes all - uh - having nothing of it. And I've got two people? Priest that Sebastian Vael suggested that I'm supposed to talk to, and a trauma specialist that Dr. Combeferre recommended. We're still in the - start of school write your name please level of talking. Uh - the priest suggested we both could come in at one point."
“Well, that does sound like a problem.” Steve nods. “It sounds mature NOW, like you’ve accepted and are dealing with things and asking for help. Getting to that kind of place takes a lot. Uh, for me…” he considers. “I tend to get depressed and feel a little guilty about things I’ve missed and feel like I should have fixed. I go into this destructive self blame mode. It’s not quite the same thing but stop me if I seem bad to you?”
And he nods at that bit.
“That would be a good idea, sure. I think couples things are helpful when people have issues they know about. It’s good for there to be someone you can trust to help you like that. And the Catholic thing won’t be weird with us being a couple?”
"I think he gave therapy for Sebastian and Noah, so I suspect he's more - if we're not doing anything illegal or dangerous, love is love." Tony tries a bite of the cheesy one. "I can ask him though."
“That’s a good thing then. I’d trust Sebastian and Noah’s opinion.” Steve’s going for a bite of the pizza with a ton of mushrooms on. “Oh this is fantastic.” he says. “You’d think there wouldn’t be a lot of variety but apparently mushrooms do have some.”
"Huh - I bet we could get a variety pack and do like - mushrooms and pasta? If you want to see if it's good. Or pizza at home." Tony's trying a mushroom that escaped. "These are good."
“That would be nice sometime.” Steve smiles. “It’s pretty here.” He adds, “I like being able to just kind of look out at the sky for a change.”
"So big windows and eating out like this?" Tony nudges his hand a little. "I can remember that. I thought it'd be nice too with the - stars and sunset and all."
“Definitely.” Steve looks thoughtful. “I think I want to try painting this, if that makes sense. The view, that is. Remind me to get some pictures to get a better reference.”
Tony nods. "Sounds good to me. Maybe we could - do this again? See if there's a better sunset?" He's trying a pepperoni one. Enh - the mushrooms are better for his taste, but it's good pizza.
“I’d like that. A lot.” Steve grins and sips some of his drink too. “This was a fantastic idea. I like the atmosphere and everything else. You know how to pick a place.”
Tony laughs. "I just - uh - tried for Italian and looked good." He reaches to touch Steve's hand. "I'm glad you like it. The mushroom pizza is amazing."
“It really is.” Steve looks down at their hands like that and smiles. “You are too, you know?”
Tony grins back at him. "I'm trying to be. I'm pretty lucky." He brushes his thumb over Steve's hand a bit. "Want to order anything else? Or do you think this is good, love?" He's trying to be all casual here.
“I think this should be just fine. It’s perfect, actually.” He squeezes Tony’s hand a little. “I like this.”
Tony grins sheepishly. "I'm glad. It's - it's nice hearing that."
“It’s nice DOING this.” Steve laughs. “And I feel like we’re going to just end up being sappy all night so...what else is going on with you? Anything interesting I should know?”
"Hm - well, I got a slightly better air conditioner for my place. Not sure how it's going, but it should cool things down better. Got a big pile of spy dramas in, and they're actually really fun to read. Not - you know - fine literature, but -" Tony hms. "Would that interest you? Jacob's apparently doing dramatic readings of the Italian ones I sold to Ezio."
Steve laughs. “That’s amazing, the readings. I could see that being a LOT of fun. Kind of like on Star Trek when they go on the holodeck and do weird stories. I’d like to read with you, sure.”
"I suspect I'll promptly find the worst most dated stuff as soon as we try, but -" Tony shrugs. "Well, we can try? I'd like that too. Just being around you is really - anything's enjoyable, you know?"
“Who’s to say I don’t like hilariously outdated things sometimes?” Steve asks. “I mean, that stuff can be incredibly funny. They have webpages where they show off old library books that aren’t being used anymore and the librarians talk about why they had to get rid of them. Some of the reasons are pretty funny.”
"That sounds amazing. I'm picturing sort of - women must wear hose and out of date medical advice." Tony looks thoughtful. "Anti-divorce or racism in kid's books also sounds pretty bad."
“Yeah, those are definitely bad.” Steve nods. “Although sometimes things seem unintentionally funny. Like the awkward ways people will take to say a character is black in something older. It’s just weird how they’re TRYING to be inclusive and it ends up weird because of being heavyhanded.” Go figure, right?
"The ones I hate are the ones that seem okay, and then you get the disturbing 'primal instincts' or 'inscrutable' and - they usually get worse and worse." Tony grimaces. "Or the trying really hard, and you get the feeling that all the characters are suspiciously based off of that one person the author knows? Complete with weird little regional quirks? The 'she had her ice cream with coffee, like all good Italians' sort of weirdness."
“Oh god. Or speaking of coffee, all the characters with coffee colored skin. Or chocolate or some kind of food.” Steve shakes his head. “I’m PRETTY sure that no human should be equated with looking like a food, unless you’re describing that they’re embarrassed or turning green if they’re sick or something.”
"She looked like a pallid butter cookie really doesn't have the same sound, does it?" Tony looks thoughtful. "Admittedly, crime shows do that sometimes for like trying to talk about the body, and not wanting to say that they look exactly like a dead white guy would after being in a lake for a week. But it's still bad. I don't know. The thing I really love with you is your smiles. The way I catch you doing the artist thing of seeing something as artistic and interesting as well as just - something. You've got this way of just - putting fascinated focus on things, and it's - heady. Addictive."
Steve laughs. “Pallid butter cookie. That’s kind of amazing. If anyone wants to say I looked like... “ He considers. “Hmm I can’t think of a good analogy because all the racist descriptors don’t feel like they’d FIT for being scientific, but something describing the fact that I looked pale under all the ice, sure, that would be a different story.”
And that’s...he blinks a little. “I guess I do look at the details of stuff when I like them or they seem important, sure. Sort of like the lines of your cheekbones, or how Clint’s hair looks like a field of wheat right before they harvest it..” he’s doing it again, isn’t he? Hah.
"Clint's wonderful. It's like - I've met a bunch of people I want to like me, and they do. Just by me being here and breathing. I keep expecting to wake up." Tony grins. "And his hair is nice."