Chapter Text
“Space? Really? Me?” Steve stares at Tony like he's grown two heads.
“I've said this a thousand times, Cap. We're both going to space. The Avengers don't just operate in your precious America, you know,” Tony sasses, looking up at him from where he was tinkering on his desk.
Should Steve be offended at that? It sure did sound like Tony was trying to ruffle his feathers. No matter.
“Yes, but space is no joke. It's space, Tony.”
But Tony simply laughed, and Steve won’t deny how much he liked the sound.
‘’Okay, I get it. You’re scared of space. But I’m going, too. Will you go for me?’’ Tony asks, even batting his eyelashes. Gosh darn it, Tony always knew how to make Steve cave.
‘’Of course I’ll go for you, Tony…’’ Steve of course didn’t exactly want to go to space, but how could he say no to Tony when he was looking like that?
So Steve found himself in space. It was just him and Tony again. Weird how this keeps happening.
Tony had a space station apparently, in which he had a lab of sorts. Steve didn’t really know, Tony used a lot of big words.
What he did know, however, was that he was in space. Steve follows Tony out of the quinjet, because he personally didn't know his way around his space station. Tony leads them to the base- lab- whatever, and enters a pin so the doors slide open.
There's another set of doors in front of them when the ones behind them close, followed by a hiss. Tony takes off his helmet and Steve follows suit, breathing in the air.
“Here we are. Don't touch anything, yeah?” Tony says as the other set of doors open, revealing the inside of the lab.
Steve nods absent-mindedly, stepping inside and looking in awe at everything. Sure, Steve has already seen tons of Tony’s work, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t impressed every single time.
Everything about Tony impressed Steve, really. He really was a genius, even if Steve didn't always understand the things Tony was smart about. Steve watched as Tony went over to a computer and started typing away.
He walked up behind him and leaned down. “So, what are you doing up here, anyway?”
Tony didn't look up as he responded, his fingers still flying over the keys. “I got an alert yesterday. I'm just trying to figure out if it was aliens, or just an asteroid or something.”
Steve nods. “That makes sense… Do you need any help?”
Tony shakes his head, turning his chair around to face him. “Not unless it's alien. For now, you just keep standing there and looking pretty.”
“Of course. Anything. Wait, what?”
“What?” Tony had already turned back to his computer, though not typing this time. In fact, it seemed he was looking back in the reflection.
“It's nothing. That's what I'll do. Look out for aliens…”
Steve clears his throat awkwardly, shifting on his feet. Get it together, he thinks. He shouldn't be losing his composure over a joke from a friend.
And then Steve remembers his whole dilemma. Tony. It was so easy to just let time pass with the man. But when he finally gets a grip of himself, he's forced to confront his feelings again. Not that there are any.
No, there's no dilemma. It's just him and Tony, alone together on the moon. Steve is snapped out of his thoughts when he sees a bright light shine in from the window.
“Aliens?” Steve asks, already preparing for a fight.”
“Not quite,” Tony stands, walking towards the window. “It's just aurora borealis.”
“The Northern Lights,” Steve mutters in awe. He comes to stand next to Tony, marvelling at the colors on the Earth.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Tony nudges Steve’s shoulder.
“I was thinking beautiful.”
Steve sees Tony nod in the corner of his eye, and they fall into a silence watching the lights.
Steve looks over to see Tony's reaction, yet he gets entranced by how the light dances on Tony's face.
He watches him for a moment before Tony also looks over, then they're staring into each other's eyes.
This isn't gay. It's simply two pals starting into each other's eyes. But why was Tony staring back? This was going on too long to be a joke, right?
Steve blinks, pulling himself out of the trance.
“Tony.”
‘’Steve?’’
‘’...Are you done checking your things?’’
Tony nods slowly, glancing back at his computer momentarily.
‘’Yup. No aliens. The Avengers protect the earth another day.’’
‘’Then we have to head home…’’ Steve didn’t need to say how much he didn’t want to be in space anymore. But with Tony? That’s the only place he wants to be.
Tony seems to have caught the disappointment in Steve’s voice, or he didn’t want to leave himself.
‘’I was thinking we could stay for a while. Watch the lights for a bit longer. You were right, Steve. It’s beautiful.’’
Steve watched Tony gaze back out the window, but Steve couldn’t tear his eyes away from Tony. He had to have been imagining that look from earlier.
‘’It is.’’
Once Steve and Tony got back to their tower, they were greeted by an enthusiastic Thor.
‘’Friends! It has been so long! How was your trip to space, Captain?’’
‘’Better than I expected… Tony showed me the Northern Lights,’’ Steve looked over at Tony as he said this, and Tony looked back at him.
Thor looked between the two, his eyes squinted suspiciously.
‘’I see Hawkeye was right… Well! I am glad you have made it back safely. The Black Widow did a wonderful job leading in your absences.’’
Steve looks back to Thor and nods.
‘’I expected no less.’’
Steve and Tony return to their respective rooms, where Steve finds the newspaper at his doorstep. Thanks, Sam.
The first thing he notices is the headline, ‘’Captain America and Iron Man: More Than Avengers!’’
Steve smiles, reading the entry.
‘’Captain America and Iron Man gave inspirational quotes to the students of Oak Hill High School on Tuesday morning, showing the world that they are more than Avengers. They are role models to all, encouraging kids to follow their dreams and stand up for what they believe is right. Steve Rogers, Captain America, is the perfect example of what you want your kids to be like. From growing up in poverty to becoming Captain America, Steve Rogers demonstrates exactly what it means to be the perfect soldier. Be like Captain America…’’
Steve’s smile fades as he reads through it, and he puts it down before he finishes. The perfect soldier? Him? He thought back to Tony, to the feelings he was feeling for him. He was so sure what he was feeling—and maybe Tony felt it too— but now Steve wasn’t so sure. He knew things were more progressive than they were back in his time, but he knew it still wasn’t completely accepting. He’s seen it for himself.
No. Even if Steve was interested in Tony, he can’t be. Steve of course has nothing wrong with being queer, he just didn’t want people to know he was. Think he was. Because Steve isn’t anything like that. If the world saw him as the ‘’perfect soldier’’, he didn’t want to burst their bubble. So he wouldn’t. He would brush off these odd feelings for Tony, and keep on being the perfect soldier the world saw him as.