blush (noun)

- develop a pink tinge in the face from embarrasment or shame

Tony has seen many people blush in his lifetime. He's seen the girls he winks at squeal as their whole faces turn a bright shade of pink. He's seen Pepper turn bright red when he missed another meeting. He's seen Thor turn an alarming shade of red when Bruce ate the last pop tart. However, no amount of blushing from anyone could have prepared him for the sight of a blushing Steve Rogers.

They had all been together, in Stark Tower, eating pizza and talking about anything that came to mind. One thing led to another and suddenly, they were talking about sex. Natasha had told them some very interesting details about past missions, Bruce had carried on about 'true love' and 'first times' and other sentimental things and then, Tony was in the middle of quite the detailed story when he glanced over at Steve, his voice halting when he saw the pink blush creeping up the blonde's cheeks.

The sight was nothing short of breathtaking, at least to Tony. The pink of his cheeks made Steve's blue eyes more vibrant than Tony had ever seen and the look of embarrassment mixed with something else – anticipation? For Tony's story? – made him look young and, fairly, quite cute as well.

"You okay there, Cap?" Tony had no idea how he had regained control over his tongue again, but his words seem to snap the blond out of his trance and he stood up hastily.

"Yeah, I-uh… I just…" Steve had seemed at a loss how to finish whatever he was saying. His face turned more and more red as the silence thickened, for every person in the room was staring at him.

"Steve?" Tony had extended a hand, trying to grab Steve's shoulder, but the taller man was on his feet and out of the room before Tony – or anyone else, for that matter – could say or do anything. The slam of a door told Tony that Steve had gone to his room, leaving behind an awkward silence until Bruce had asked "What was that all about?"

Tony didn't want to know and he didn't really care either. What he did care about, however, was that beautiful blush, which he knew he had to see again.

Steve avoids Tony for a while after the incident and it annoys the brunet to no end. It isn't even the avoiding-part that annoys him so much. It's that blush – that beautiful pink tinge on Steve's cheeks – that he can't get out of his head. He knows that Steve is from another era, another time and has – probably – only shared a kiss with Peggy – if he even kissed her at all back then – but the blonde has never actually been that embarrassed by anything the others talked about – at least, not after they had explained to him how much the views and morals had changed since the 40s. So why now? What had happened?

A tiny part of him – the part that might think of Steve's blush as adorable or even lovable – tells him that maybe, maybe Tony is the reason for Steve being so flustered and blushing virgin-like as he is right now.

He growls to himself. Of course that isn't the reason. Steve may have warmed up to Tony after a couple of missions – not to mention several months of living together – but that's it, really. He shouldn't kid himself or hope for anything that won't happen anyway.

But as Tony picks up his tools again and continues working on his newest robot, he finds his mind drifting off and thinking of the tall blond again. He fantasizes about those deep blue eyes, the big yet gentle hands, the muscles rippling under the skin of his back and his lips-.

Frustrated, he throws away the screwdriver and groans in frustration at the realization – or actually, at himself finally admitting – that he is completely smitten with Steve Rogers and that lovely blush of his.

When Tony walks into the living room early the next morning wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants – which, according to Pepper, cling perfectly to his arse – he is a bit surprised to see Steve already up and about, having breakfast on one of the couches in front of the TV. Steve, too, is still in his sleeping attire – or, what Tony assumes is his sleeping attire – a white sleeveless top and black boxer shorts, but he looks a lot more awake than Tony felt just a minute ago. Right now, he feels bright and wide-awake, drinking in the sight of Steve's uncovered arms and strong jaw and neck, as he stands still in the doorway, hoping the blonde won't see him just yet, just so he can stand there for a little bit longer, looking at something he'll ever have.

As if on cue, the blonde looks up and sees Tony. Their eyes meet and Tony suddenly finds it very difficult to breathe. He has no intention of letting Steve notice, however, so he gives him his trademark grin and saunters into the room, on his way to the coffee machine. "Good morning Cap," he says, managing to sound a lot more cheerful than he actually feel.

"Good morning Tony," Steve replies, turning back to the TV as Tony opens a cabinet and grabs one of the few cups remaining – somehow, even after spending weeks on Earth with the rest of them, Thor is still unable to refrain from shattering dishes when asking for seconds (or thirds, for that matter).

Tony pours himself a cup of strong black coffee, which he drinks while leaning against the counter. From where he's standing, he has a nice view of Steve's thick neck and broad shoulders and he allows himself to stare, still sipping his coffee.

Steve's blond hair shines like gold in the light of the rising sun and Tony finds himself wondering what it would be like to run his hands through it, to feel those thick blond locks under his fingers or grip them tightly as they… He swallows thickly and takes another sip.

Steve turns off the TV with a sigh and raises his arms above his head in a stretch. Then he gets up, picks up his empty plate and coffee mug and turns around. He freezes when he sees Tony, who's still leaning against the counter. The brunet flashes him a broad grin and lets his gaze travel across Steve's form, scanning him from head to toe. Steve must notice though, because he swallows and averts his gaze, putting down his plate and cup on the other end of the counter.

Smiling to himself at the Captain's bashfulness, Tony turns around to put his cup down as well. However, somehow he miscalculates the distance between the counter and his hand – the way Steve's biceps flexes when he bends his arm might have distracted him just a little -, resulting in the sound of china shattering on the floor. Tony swears and bends over, carefully picking up the larger shards while trying to avoid the smaller – and sharper – chips, which one of his droids will clean up in a minute. A soft gasp behind him makes him stop and turn around – still bent over – just in time to see Steve look away hastily, his cheeks now both bright pink.

Tony rises slowly, his throat suddenly very dry, and he turns back to the blond, who is now clearly refusing to meet his gaze. "Steve," he breathes, reaching out to cup that lovely red cheek and stare in those bright blue eyes that have been haunting him for weeks, when suddenly a door opens and Bruce walks in, dressed in simple slacks and a shirt and looking as awake as ever. He stops when he sees them. "Am I interrupting something?"

Steve jerks away immediately, practically bolting for the door to his room before Tony can react. The brunet calls out "Steve, wait!" but the only response he gets is the loud slam of Steve's door.

Tony does not know how long he stands there, watching the door through which Steve just disappeared. Then Bruce grabs his shoulder, jerking Tony out of his trance. The doctor asks or says nothing; he just offers Tony a knowing, reassuring smile. Then he pats the brunet's shoulder. "Go, talk to him."

And for the first time in a long while, Tony feels nervous.

When Tony knocks on Steve's door, there is no answer. So naturally, he enters anyway. Steve is standing at the window, with his back to the door. "Go away, Tony," he says without turning around.

Tony replies "No," not bothering to ask how Steve knew it's him without even turning around.

"Go. Away. Tony."

"Not until you tell me what the hell that was all about." Tony approaches the other man slowly, keeping his eyes on Steve's neck, which is now the same shade of pink as his cheeks. He extends his hand and carefully grabs the blond's shoulder again, but for some reason, Steve won't turn around and face him.

"This I can't tell you, Tony."

Tony frowns and tries again to get his – friend? colleague? crush? – to turn around and look at him, but Steve is just as stubborn and refuses to let himself be turned around. However, Tony does notice the way Steve clenches his jaw and – when he finally manages to turn Steve around – the way he presses his lips together and the way he furrows his brow, still refusing to meet the brunet's gaze. "Will you please look me in the eye, Capsicle?" Tony asks, a bit irritated now.

Steve flinches – visibly – at that and lowers his head even more. "Don't, Tony."

"Don't what? Seriously Cap, you're confusing me-"

"Oh, I confuse you?" A shove from Steve sends Tony sprawling on the floor. Steve towers over him, his fists clenched tightly. "One moment, you're the nicest man on Earth and the next day, you bring me down. Every. Fucking. Minute. You smile, then you laugh at me. You make me feel on top of the world one day, only to bring it all crashing down later. I wish I could hate you, but I know that tomorrow, you'll be great again and make me dare to hope, only to destroy that hope later on. You drive me crazy, Tony Stark, and I love every single minute of it. But don't you dare to say that I'm confusing you, because frankly, you're the one who's been confusing me."

Steve pants, as if he'd run a marathon. He keeps on staring at Tony, fists still clenched, and Tony finds himself unable to move until the actual meaning of Steve's confession fully dawns to him. He slowly manages to get to his feet, staring right back at the taller man as he tries to think of something to say, but finds his brain unresponsive.

The blond seems to realize, however, what he's done, judging by the look of absolute terror on his face. He starts to turn away again, but this time, Tony won't let him; he grabs Steve by the chin and forces the other man to look him in the eye. Steve does so, his lips again tightly pressed together, but in his eyes – those bright blue eyes – Tony also sees something, a tiny spark he might have seen before but never recognized. He licks his lips absentmindedly and Steve's eyes follow the movement; he inhales sharply and a bright pink blush colours his cheeks that beautiful hue Tony has fallen in love with.

It's unclear who makes the first move. Mouths find each other, hands bury into hair and behind Tony's eyelids – when did he close his eyes? – fireworks go off. He strokes Steve's cheek with his thumb, his fingers wrapping around the blond's head to keep him from pulling away and ending that beautiful moment.

When they finally do pull away, Tony realizes he's panting. So is Steve, for that matter, and his face is still that lovely shade of pink, but he's smiling now, a vibrant smile that Tony answers with a grin of his own. He bring his hand to Steve's cheek and strokes it gently, at which Steve makes a move as if to duck his head, but the brunet doesn't let him. "You know Steve, pink actually becomes you."

This earns him more blushing from Steve, but this time, it's accompanied by another smile, which Tony decides he likes just as much as the blushing. Actually, maybe even more than the blushing.

AUTHOR NOTES: This story was really difficult to write. The rough draft I had of it was okay and I like what I ended up with, but typing it all out and editing the bits I didn't like was killing me. On the other side, I think I did a decent job for a first Stony fic. It isn't 100% what I wanted it to be, but I'm on my way to writing more.
I would really appreciate any feedback you have, since I have lots of other ideas to write down and I would like to get better at expressing my love for this pairing. So, R&R?