dophne

Steve was tired. It had been a long and useless mission. The lead he got reached a dead-end and now he was back to square one. He had been at this case for months. It was starting to weigh on him. Now he sat in the back of the quinjet leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling wondering what Tony was doing alone in the tower. His fiancé was probably down in the lab or out with Rhodes since his friend was in town for the past week while Steve was out. All Steve wanted right now was to wrap himself around Tony and hide them away for a week and recharge. Realistically though, he knew that was not going to happen. Still a man could dream.



“Hey,” Nat shook his shoulder softly while giving him a soft smile, “we are at SHIELD. We just landed.”



Steve blinked at Nat a few times before her words finally sunk in making him smile back, “took us long enough.”



“Don’t look at me,” Clint grumbled, “If I went any faster Tony would have my head and I would like to keep it at least for one more day.”



Steve got up and punched Clint lightly in the arm teasingly. The archer smiled back before hopping off the plane. Steve looked at the exit of the plane feeling excitement. He was one step closer to his fiance. One step closer to having Tony in his arms. Damn. He needed this. Needed this so badly.



Steve took a deep breath and got off the plane.



The hanger was busy. Busier than usual, he noted. Men and women ran around him in a hurry to get to their destinations as if the world itself was under attack. Steve wondered for a moment if it was but he shrugged it off. The world could wait until he got home to his beloved.



“Come, Steve,” Nat came up to him looking extremely tired. If he did not know her so well he would not have been able to tell. Nat hid behind layers upon layers of walls and to most she seemed cold, unaffected by anything but to a trained eye such as him, Steve knew better.



“Leave the guy alone, he’s home sick,” Clint came back to them as well giving Steve a large smile. Nat just shoved Clint away teasingly before starting her journey again. This time, Steve followed and Clint was not far behind.



They got to the conference room they were to meet Fury in and it was surprise, surprise, empty. Steve hated being forced to wait. Especially after a long mission. Maybe he should unleash Tony on them again. It might be beneficial and it was fun to watch.



“Thank you for coming,” Coulson stepped through the door, the shock of his not death had long since faded but Steve still falters a bit when he sees him.



“Glad to be of service,” Clint replied briskly, out of all of them he and Tony were the least forgiving. Steve understood but still, he knew Clint was so angry and bitter because he cared too much about Coulson.

“We will get this meeting done quick shall we?” Coulson asked indicating with his free hand for everyone to sit. Only Clint did not take the offer. Instead he stood by the door gripping his bow tightly. A look passed Coulson’s face but it was too quick for Steve to decipher but he could take a good guess. Still, Coulson made this decision so he has to deal with its consequences.



“The mission ended nowhere. It was a dead end. Again. If Fury-” and that was all Steve heard. His mind wandered as he began to think of Tony wearing his favorite outfit sitting on their bed, legs crossed, holding a cup of cranberry juice as if it were fine wine. Or Tony wearing his greased stained tank, his loose jeans and his thick leather gloves welding something onto his or War Machine’s armor. Or To-



“-eve!” a voice broke through his thoughts making him, sadly, return to the dreary reality. Steve looked to his left and saw Nat looking at him questioningly before nodding in affirmation as if they had spoken. They had gotten to that point in their relationship where no words need to be spoken between them. It always freaked Sam and Tony out but it seemed to amuse Thor and the Hulk. As for Clint he and Nat are even worse. No one can get to their level of understanding. They have been through too much.



“Sorry,” Steve sighed giving his fickle attention back to the meeting. Time seemed to slow the more Steve listened, regurgitating any information that he could about the failed mission. He was doing this as a favor to Fury. He was not a SHIELD agent. None of them are. Not anymore.



A part of him wondered why they even were bothering with the debriefing. A voice laughed in the back of his mind that sounded so much like Bucky saying, spending too much time with your fiance Stevie. He’s starting to rub off on you. It’s a good look though so keep it up. Steve smiled at that causing him to get another shove from Nat. He, again, forced himself to listen.



By the end of it Fury left in a whirl of his coat and an angry look on his face, Coulson looked between amusement and indifference, Nat seemed about ready to murder someone and Clint...well Clint was playing with an arrow. That was never a good sign. It was time to take the kids home.



“If that is all, Coulson, we will be going,” Nat spoke with a harsh tone of finality that Steve was so thankful for. In these moments he was so drained he could not feel like he could lead anyone anywhere but home. Damn, he needed Tony badly.



Nat, once again thank the heavens, lead the way back to the quinjet. They all knew that Tony would kill them all slowly if they left one of his babies with SHIELD. It’s not that the organization did not have their own quinjets just that it had not had the Stark touch to it like theirs did and Steve would like to keep it that way. He had this weird sense of selfishness to keep some of Tony’s designs and handy work to themselves. Tony already gave so much. They did not need to have anymore.



The thought of Tony was what gave Steve the energy to get himself into the quinjet and buckle up. He had sat himself to the first seat he found. He wanted to be able to get off as fast as possible. And with that they were off again to the Tower and Steve fell asleep once more.



It was Clint who woke him this time. He was not as gentle as Nat nor as caring. He gave Steve a sly look before hopping off the plane and entered the building surely to disappear into the vents. Steve had already noted that behavior after the third time they came back from a long mission that lasted for more than three days.



All thoughts of Clint exited his mind as Steve walked into the tower feeling the cool breeze that Tony always sets when he is alone. It was nice since they had been stuck in the tropics with humidity and heat for about two and a half weeks. Steve took a deep breath closed his eyes and let the smell and feel of home encompass him for a moment before he would go find Tony.



He hoped it would not be a long search...and it wasn’t.



Steve found Tony standing in the kitchen. Their kitchen. In the penthouse away from everyone else. He loved it here because this space. This floor was theirs and no one else’s. Steve stopped to take the sight he saw in as Tony swayed his hips to the loud AC/DC music, moved his head to the beat as he continued to roll what Steve figured to be the pie crust.



His fiance was shirtless and barefoot and had not touched his hair since he last woke up because it still had the messiness of being laid on a pillow. Tony turned to and stopped mid stride when he saw Steve. It was the first time Steve took notice of Tony’s pink ‘ kiss the cook’ apron Sam had bought Steve as a joke. This, Steve drank in, was what he needed. The swell of emotions began to seep into his bones and course through his veins. He never needed someone so much as he needed Tony in that moment.



Tony seemed to get the drift as he smiled widely and happily taking a few short steps into his arms whispering into his ear as he pressed them into a hug, “I wanted it to be a surprise. JARVIS calculated that you would arrive much later than you did. How did the mission go?”



Steve wanted to give a sassy remark but he stopped himself and instead said, “I don’t want to talk about it.”



“That bad, huh? I should really tell Fury to not take you on wild goose chases. He has men for that,” Tony kept on babbling on about how he was going to set it all right and Steve just smiled softly and pressed his face into Tony’s hair. Tony let Steve hold him and for that he was thankful. He needed this.



Tony instead twisted around and somehow wiggled them both to the counter so he could finish the last pie and put it in the oven to bake. It was no secret that Steve loved apple pie but ever since he tasted Tony’s cherry pie there was no going back. Steve was hooked and it made him so happy when Tony made them. He always made them in batches of four, two and a half for Steve, half for Tony and one for the team.



So now the smell of cherry pie and the feel of Tony in his arms was all Steve wanted. Was all Steve needed. He could feel himself relax. Feel himself unwind.

Tony guided them to their couch near the window that Tony set up the day after Steve moved in, so that they could have a spot to watch the city from their floor. And Steve let Tony climb into his lap and wrap himself around him so that they both could have a good view of the city below. Steve just let his left hand hold Tony close and had his right roam Tony’s body landing in his hair as he began to slowly pet his fiance’s soft hair.



Steve loved this. He was the happiest man in the world. He could watch the world burn and not move a muscle. He had decided that he was not moving from this spot for a long, long time.



Not even when the Avengers alarm went off. Not even when JARVIS insisted that it was urgent. Steve ignored it all. If it the rest of the team needed them they knew where to find them but Steve knew that Nat would and could handle it.



Instead Steve pulled Tony close and began to shower him in kisses telling him every time in between that he loved him.



Tony answered him later that night with a whisper, “I love you.” and it make Steve so happy to hear that from a man who found it hard to confess his feelings out loud even if softly and privately.



He was so happy to be home.

The first modern thing Steve bought himself was a T-shirt with a Captain America shield on it. It made him laugh at the irony of it and he needed some humor in his life. He wore it all the time, on runs, to sleep, even to SHIELD headquarters. Long story short wherever Steve went the shirt most surely followed. Several months after New York, Steve met up a lot with the other members of the Avengers deciding to wear his, newly deemed, lucky shirt. The first time Tony saw it he dropped his coffee and stared before breaking into a deep chestful laughter. This shirt really was lucky if he can get Tony to laugh like that. It was the same day Tony asked them all to move into the tower with him and Steve answered, “yes.” in an instant.

It took about a month of him moving into the tower to lose it. He speculated that it got lost in the laundry shoot and he was kind of sad to lose it. He asked Tony about it a few times but the man just shrugged and made snarky jokes that he needed to learn to live and let go. Steve pouted at the response but he took Tony’s advice and let it go. He truly thought he would never see that shirt again.

Three weeks later, Steve walked into the common area rubbing the back of his head with a towel after taking a long shower when he saw it. His jaw dropped and he froze in mid-step. He felt his heart began to beat faster and his face begin heat up. There Tony was standing in the common area slouching over the coffee machine wearing his long lost CA shield t-shirt and a pair of black boxer briefs. His eyes roamed the length of Tony’s body and even though the shirt was big on him it fit him well. A possessiveness seeped into his bones as he saw Tony wearing his mark, his shirt on his person and nothing else. Still, he had to wonder if Tony had purposely misplaced it for him to take it for himself.

Chucking to himself Steve stepped into the kitchen area making a bold move as a sleepy Tony turned to look at him. His hair was still messy and he looked ready to fall over and sleep right on the kitchen floor but he did not batt an eye at Steve. The Captain knew that his teammate had not realized that he what he was wearing. The older man was just too tired. Steve stepped into Tony’s space lifting his chin and smiled softly at Tony’s confused but hopeful expression staring back at him.

“Well Sweetheart,” Steve whispered, “you only had to ask, I would have given it to you in a second if you wanted it.”

Tony blinked once. Twice. Three times before looking down at what he was wearing and began to screech in embarrassment. Tony tried pulling away but Steve anticipated the other man’s actions and grabbed firmly but not tightly onto Tony’s head so that the man stayed exactly where he wanted him.

“I-uh-I found it a few days ago. J-JARVIS, help me out!” Tony sounded panicked and all Steve wanted to do was kiss it away.

“He had found it nineteen days and fifteen hours ago to be precise. The same day the Avengers Laundry from the week before arrived back in the common area,” JARVIS supplied making Tony turn even more red at the AI’s response.

Tony resorted to looking away and fidgeting with the bottom of the shirt in nervousness not really looking Steve in the eyes. That would not do at all. Steve wanted Tony to look at him and only him. Finding out that his shirt was in Tony’s possession made him happy and content and he needed Tony to know it.

“I’m not mad,” Steve started wanting to make sure Tony understood from the beginning. Tony had a tendency to misunderstand overly complex situations and Steve had to make sure it did not happen here, “I am quite pleased to see you in it. The sight made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I have liked you for a long time Tony but I have loved you since the third hour of moving into this tower. So you can say that seeing you in my shirt made me the giddiest man alive.”

Steve watched Tony gulp and saw those wide doe eyes trained on him looking like the nervous pile of energy that Steve knew Tony to be. Contrary to popular belief Tony was a very nervous man if he was really trying to impress you. Steve stayed silent though allowing Tony to make the next move. He kept still keeping his hands on Tony’s cheeks as his thumbs massaged them softly.

“You’re not mad? Like at all? Odd,” Tony paused looking confused, “I thought for sure you would be angry. I saw it and it not only had your shield on it but it smelled like you so I stole it. This was your favorite shirt.”

Steve chuckled, “I got a lot of favorite shirts you can try on if you like. Really Sweetheart, I love you in anything that belongs to me. Lets me know who you belong to.”

“I’m not an object,” Tony pouted but pressed himself closer to Steve.

Steve smiled down at Tony and replied, “No but I would like you to be my fella.”

Tony’s response was a soft but desperate kiss with a softly whispered, “yes.” as he pulled away.

Later:

Six months, it took all of six months for Tony to weasel all of Steve’s clothes enough to forcibly move him from his floor into Tony’s penthouse. Steve half complained and in retaliation began to wear Tony’s shirts that were just big enough to fit tightly around his torso. Steve would watch Tony get lost in his own world just staring at Steve in want. The man loved it when Steve wore his stuff maybe even more so than Steve. Though he only wore it on days when it was uber inappropriate. He likes to torture Tony Stark into a constant arousal when the situation called for anything but.

Tony caught on two weeks later and began to buy the most outrageous outfits while hiding his own clothes from Steve’s reach forcing Steve to either wear his own clothes and give in or wear the ridiculous shirts in spite. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, for Tony Steve was a very stubborn man. So Steve picked out the most outrageous shirt from the new collection. It was a rainbow button down with collar frills that shaped his body in the most outrageous way. He paired it along with skinny black dress pants and his most pointed shoes and strutted down to the common area like he owned the damn building. Well he technically was dating the man who did so...he was entitled to some of it.

The team were in the living room along with Nick Fury and Coulson discussing some important details of some kind when Steve came in with his frilles. They all turned to look at him and Steve did not blink as he stared them all down landing his sights on Tony. The man just gawked in shock at him not knowing how to react. Steve sat across from him just far enough for their legs to meet. “Well buttercup,” Steve whispered just loud enough for Tony to hear, “two can very well play at that game.”

“Fuck,” Tony rubbed his face before laughing making Steve smile for the first time since he walked down the stairs.

Clint is my favorite Key so far. I think his is the most accurate out of them all. Since he loves bows and arrows I thought maybe because his key was an arrow and decided that he would give archery a try as a kid and discovered that he really loved it. So much so that he decided to be the resident expert of archery. He only ever used his hey as a weapon once and it since then he refuses to let it go. He may have fallen in love once but he has a phobia of giving his key ever again because the same time he used his key as a weapon was the same day he wanted to give it to someone the same person he had to end. His love died that day because of him but it was the only way to save them.

Natasha's is elegant and she almost lost it but due to the properties of key's mystical properties it can not be forcibly taken away. It was the one thing that was Natasha's and she swore never to give it to anyone. In the red room she used it as a way to keep herself from drowning and falling apart. She understand's Clint's fears and need to keep his key. It calms her and reconnects her to herself. Her key is hers cause she sees herself as her own soulmate...but that never stopped her from falling in love with someone else just don't expect her to give up her key to them.

I don't have a solid idea for them yet. Nor do I know if I am technically pairing them together but I made them in the same file so they are a pair set at the moment. I will add a smaller ficlet later when I can. Just thought I would share this set of keys!