The Prompt Fic of Mischief

Title: Man Out of Time
Genre: General
Rating: T (for Tony)
Timeline: Post-Avengers.
Characters: Tony and Steve, with mentions of Happy and a random waitress.
Warnings: Un-beta-ed. Could be Stony if you squint. Benefits from having seen Captain America.
Summary: Sometimes Steve gets this lost look, and Tony doesn't like it. So he decides to fix it.

What do you know, I'm still working on these things. :P

As a break from my other NaNo project (a Thor AU fic), I've come back to these unfinished prompts, and thus you may be seeing more in the near future. For now: here's a slightly Stony-ish oneshot to break up all the Loki.

Prompt: "Write about an old-fashioned diner. Describe the atmosphere. Does the place look retro, or more antique? Who works there? Eats there? Create a story revolving around it. Be creative!" (Tumblr writing prompt)

One day when Steve is looking particularly down, Tony drags him out to an old retro diner. They're surprisingly easy to find in New York city—and anyways, he can just ask JARVIS to look and save him ten minutes of searching, so it's not like it's a big deal—but Cap seems to appreciate it nonetheless. "Looks nice," he says when they pull up, with a wistful smile.

If there's one thing you can't find in New York city, though, it's a place where Tony Stark won't be recognized, and the paparazzi show up before they've even entered the restaurant.

Tony is stubborn enough that this doesn't dissuade him.

Cap has a slightly defeated look, and eyes the approaching cameras with resignation. "Maybe we should leave," he suggests—and Tony remembers that he had been superstar famous, too, back in the day. Still is. But Tony plasters on a fake smile and gestures to Happy.

"It'll be fine." He winks, confident. "They won't bother us."

He shoves open the door, and gestures for Steve to enter first. With a wry look, the soldier does, and Tony's grin when he follows verges on shit-eating.

Outside, Happy heads off the paparazzi with more firmness than you'd expect from looking at him. Meanwhile, inside, Steve has frozen in the act of looking around, and Tony eyes the place casually from behind him, pretending not to notice. It's surprisingly nice, actually. The floor is classic checkerboard, and the bar is shiny chrome with a bright red top, as he could have guessed; the jukebox is blasting some old Jazz Swing tune, and vintage ads line the walls. Tony is amused to note that some of them even feature Captain America. "Cap Salutes You!" and "Buy War Bonds Now!" and the like. Consumerism at its finest.

The girl who approaches has hair in a classic twist—all soft black curls and skimpy dress. She clearly recognizes them. Her smile seems genuine enough, though, and barely nervous. "Just two today?"

"Yeah, we left the other Avengers at home," Tony comments when Steve shows no signs of breaking out of his gawk. Peggy Sue laughs, nods and grabs two menus, and Tony follows her with his usual swagger, dragging Cap by the arm as he goes. She seats them away from the windows—good girl, Tony thinks—then smiles, promising to be with them shortly. Tony shoves Cap into a booth and flashes his best grin at her. "Thanks, hon. No need to rush."

When Tony thunks down opposite Steve, the man finally rouses enough to blink at him, watching the waitress leave and then turning to stare. Tony meets his look with a raised eyebrow.

"It's like being back in the '40s," he says.

Tony has to chuckle. "That's kind of the point, Cap."

And the smile Steve gives him then is incredible. Nothing at all like Tony's blinding, superstar grin—no, this is something warm and kind and honest that Tony knows he could never quite manage. He returns it ruefully, self-deprecating, and scratches his head. "Just tell me if the food matches up, yeah? I've always wondered."

Then Steve laughs. It's about that point that Tony thinks: "this is the best idea I've ever had."

As it turns out, the food is really good. Almost on par with Shawarma. Tony orders a malt and almost chokes on it, it's so damn thick; Steve orders a root beer float and laughs again when Tony mocks him for it, because it's so damn classic; they both have cheeseburgers, and Tony doesn't even complain when the waitress hands the check straight to him, because Steve just smiles. Best of all, it succeeds in getting that "lost soldier" look out of Steve's eyes, which totally justifies Tony's smugness for the rest of the night, because he called it.

Then Happy joins them after they've ordered coffee, which puts a cherry on it all—because that puts Tony at a booth with two of his favorite people in the world, and it also means the paparazzi are gone, which is nothing short of a miracle.

They make it a habit of going every week after that.

(It turns out the waitress's name is Leanne, and she really doesn't like paparazzi. Any camera-man who enters on her watch is promptly yelled out, which Steve says "reminds him of someone"; thus, she simultaneously makes the lists of Tony's most and least favorite people in the world, earning her a spot alongside Phil Coulson as the only two to ever manage.)