Life in Brooklyn

Chapter 5

Steve and Logan didn't last long though. Logan turned out being an ass, one who doesn't tell his boyfriend that he's moving across the country for his 'very important career'. He guessed Logan didn't want anything too serious either because he didn't even ask if steve wanted to come. He probably wouldn't. With Bucky, and well, Bucky. Even if he had someone else caring for him now, he couldn't leave his best friend behind. The only one he feels comfortable with when he talk about his nightmares and flashbacks.
So Logan left, steve broke it off before he did though.
He was alone in his own apartment again, without Bucky. He hated it too, so he went to the gay bar. Didn't do much. The bartender, Sam, steve found out, asked where Logan was. "Boarding a plane to go to the other side of the country." He took a sip of his beer and avoided eye contact. It hurt him that Logan left, but it hurt even more thinking he didn't want it to be serious. Steve really thought he really liked him. Oh well. A next one someday.
•••
Tony actualky decided to go to the bar. He was already embarrassed, and actually didn't want to be alone, meaning the only not-straight person in the room. Maybe it'll feel good, to go somewhere new, try something else.
But all he did was sit at the bar. Didn't talk to anyone, no one seemed to want to talk to him, not even Sam.
He listened to the music, some rock-metal something was playing, it sounded pretty cool. Then he listened to the people laughing, and shouting and singing. Until he heard "stop it!" He turned around and scanned the crowd, but it was hard to hear anything. He heard it again, a woman's voice. And again. And again. He stood up and started for the crowd but a tall, boffe, blonde man was already heading there.
He shoved his way through and that was enough for tiny to see what was going on. A man, grinding on a young woman trying to push him away. Then being pushed to the ground. "What the hell?!" The man yelled and steve lightly pushed the girl behind him. "You need to stop." He said with big eyes and a serious face.
The man stood up, tall, not as tall as steve, and had some muscle, but not that much. "And who are you?" He frowned and straightened his shirt.
"The guy who's gonna kick your ass out if you don't do it yourself." His tone was deep and serious. His stare, intensified by the second and the man turned then quickly turned back around, throwing his fist at him.
Steve being a soldier, literally caught his fist and held it in its spot, squeezing his fist until he heard and felt a pop.
The man yelled and tore his arm back. Then, immediately left.
The woman thanked him and went back to dancing with her girlfriend while steve grabbed his coat from the back of the chair by the bar and started to head out.
Tony wanted to stop him, but after what already happened today, he was afraid to.
So, he waited. Until the next week. When he went back, steve was there too. Tight white t-shirt and blue jeans, talking to some women and men with a beer in his hand.
Tony sat on the chair closest to him, maybe he'd sit next to him and he can start a conversation from there. But he didn't, one of the woman grabbed his hand and pulled him to the dance floor.
She was just a friend, her girlfriend was dancing with them too.
Tony glanced at them from time to time, until he didn't. When he started thinking steve wasn't going to come sit down next to him and he won't get a chance to talk because tony was too afraid to approach him.
He stared down at his drink and swirled it around a bit, he hadn't realized that his cup was empty until Sam asked if he wanted a re fill. He simply nodded and pushed his cup forward. Then someone sat next to him, almost panting and asking for "anything you got, just make sure it's cold"
Tony was only going to quickly glance at the person next to him, but it ended up a long look and turning away when steve shot his head around. It was the blonde man, and tony felt nervous, happy and excited.
Steve smiled. "Hi." Tony turned his head back around. "Hi." He blushed. "You're the one who stood up to that creep last week." Something easy, start a conversation.
"Yeah... Last week."
Shit shit shit shit, now he probably sounds like a stalker. Be cool, be cool, just go with it. "It was good, what you did. Honestly, I'd be on the ground in and instant."
Steve shrugged. "Well, I know a lot of people here, it's kinda my place. When I see my friends being harassed like that, I can't just sit around." Now steve felt weird. He felt like the guy in the movie that brags about how amazing he was all the time and all 'it was nothing' because it wasn't. One of his friends were being harassed.
Tony waited for steve to stick out his hand for him to shake it, since last time, he ended up making the poor guy leave the building asap.
"Steve Rogers."
"Tony stark."
"So what do you do?"
"Well, i am a human resources engineer working for my own company."
Steve raised his eyebrows, "wow."
"How about you?"
"I don't know yet. Since the war, it's been kind of hard finding a good job that'll last."
Since the war? He served? Well it explains all the muscles.
"War?" Tony decided to ask.
"Yeah, I served a few years in Iraq."
"A few years huh?"
"Well, it just started to be too much to handle, then- uh, I don't really wanna talk about it."
PTSD, for sure tony thought. But forced that to the back of his mind and changed the subject. "Ok." He thought for a few seconds butt couldn't think of anything else, except maybe dancing, which he's never done before really and he didn't know if steve even wanted to. "Dance?"
Steve looked at him, studied him. Stared into tonys dark brown eyes intensely with his baby blue ones.