Chapter Text
A little later...
Tony blinked awake into the dark of night and stretched out on the bed to find himself alone. The sheets were too crisp, too clean, and too high thread count to be his own. He pushed up on his elbows and skated his eyes over the room until last night came into focus.
They'd spent the rest of the evening making up for lost time, and then some, most of it a blur of skin and tongues and teeth and sighs. But as much as Tony trusted that Steve hadn't fallen completely into the playboy lifestyle expected by his profession, waking up alone in the middle of the night never felt as good as waking up wrapped in warm, muscular arms, and he couldn't help wondering with a smidge of worry where Steve had gone and why.
But when Tony sat up and folded his arms around his knees, a soft strain of barely-there music wafted through the cracked door. He tilted his head to the side and listened, trying to catch the melody, but it was too quiet.
He slipped out of bed and grabbed the first piece of clothing he could get his hands on - a chunky, knitted sweater of Steve's. He pulled it on then opened the door and padded out into the hallway. Lining the halls were framed copies of each of their albums' liner notes, unfolded to various pages, with a copy of the CD they were for underneath. Tony slowed, his eyes passing over each one. He was walking down the hall in reverse chronological order and it was sweet to see the booklets get shorter, the graphic design get less confident, the quality of the paper go down, as he walked backwards in time.
At the end of the hall, the oldest album, their first, had its liner notes open to the acknowledgements page, and Tony froze, his heart crawling up into his throat. After each of the band members' thank yous to their parents and friends, there was a section at the bottom, set aside from the others.
And thank you to Tony. We wouldn't be here without you. You gave us a home.
Tony stood there, eyes hot, thinking about wasted time, when another strain of an unknown melody broke through the quiet and he remembered his original quest.
Opposite the dining room was a den with a sliding glass door. Tony had caught glimpses of instruments through the door last night, but his attention had been rapidly pulled in another direction.
Namely, Steve's tongue.
Now, when he pressed his face to the door, he could see the back of Steve's head and bare shoulders where he sat on the couch. There was an acoustic guitar in his lap and the music was louder now. Tony pushed against the edge of the door, and it slid open silently.
Steve paused in his playing and turned back to face Tony. He broke into the most beautiful smile Tony had ever seen in his life.
"That's gorgeous," Tony said.
Steve's cheeks heated. "Just a little something I couldn't get out of my head." He patted the guitar.
But Tony leaned over and ran his fingers through Steve's hair then tapped his lips. "I meant this. Waking up to you. But I'm sure if I could hear the song, I'd say the same about that."
Steve set the guitar aside and tugged on Tony's wrist until he settled in his lap, curled up against his chest. Strong arms wrapped around him, and Tony drifted back into the warmth and coziness of the night.
"I'm sorry," Steve whispered. "I'm sorry we lost so much time."
"I'm just glad to have you now."
"Every day for the first year and a half I thought about quitting the band," Steve said, eyes fixed over Tony's shoulder, caught on the past. "I thought about what it would be like to drop everything, pack my bags, and run back to you. I thought about telling you how I felt and that you might feel the same way too and we could somehow make it work. I thought about it every day for a year and a half."
Tony frowned. "Then what happened?"
"You stopped calling. I stopped having time to send long emails. You stopped texting me back. And I couldn't get the daydreams to stay the course. When I ran back to you then, you turned me away. Or you had someone else. Or you didn't remember who I was. They stopped being so fun at that point."
"My daydreams stopped being fun too," Tony admitted. "I wondered if maybe I'd call and some random groupie would pick up, or maybe you just never would, and I'd leave endless voicemails for no one. Sometimes it was even worse. You'd pick up and tell me all about your amazing life and I'd have nothing to say. It was hard enough not feeling like your kid brother when we were in college. I might have been your first groupie, but I don't think I could have handled being one of a thousand groupies, lost in the crowd."
"Oh, Tony…" Steve brushed his hair back from his face. "There was only one face in the audience last night. If you're in the room, there is no crowd. Only you. Everything else disappears. Always."
Hot tears threatened the back of Tony's eyes so he sniffed sharply and tapped the edge of the guitar. "What were you playing?"
"Just writing a song." He grinned and winked. "I was suddenly filled with inspiration."
Tony laughed then snuggled down as Steve brought the guitar into Tony's lap, managing to hold it awkwardly so Tony was still held against his chest. He started noodling out a few random chords.
"I figured that now that we've finally found each other, you'd be able to write about something else for once," Tony teased.
Steve's eyes met Tony's, bright and vibrant, humming with emotions: love, joy, hope, satisfaction. "Now, why would I want to do that?"
Steve started to play. And then he hummed along. And then he started to sing. And Tony curled up in his lap, the guitar vibrating gently against his chest, and let himself just listen.
I can't help feeling like we wasted time.
I can't help feeling like this could have all been mine,
Before.
I used to think I missed my chance,
But now you're here,
And it's clear,
I've got a shot at this romance.
And after years gone by and all the changes we've both been through,
All I keep coming back to,
Is how my sweater,
Looks so much better,
On you.
I can't help thinking what I should have done.
I can't wishing I'd told you you were the one,
Back then.
But now you're right here by my side,
The past falls away,
Your smile makes my day,
No more will I keep these feelings inside.
And after years gone by and all the changes that we've both been through,
All I keep on coming back to,
Is how much better,
My sweater,
Looks on you.