Chapter Text
“I’m excited about Steve,” Tony says brightly. Now there’s a sentence he never thought he’d say. By the furrow that appears between Coulson’s brows, he wasn’t expecting it either. “We had a rough start, but he really impressed me last week.” He laughs. “Obviously or I wouldn’t have asked him on this date.”
Coulson opens his mouth, starts to close it again, and then visibly makes up his mind to say something. “Tony, are you sure about this? You were ready to send him home two weeks ago.”
Tony shrugs. The wind blows through his cream button-up, making it billow upwards despite being tucked into his slacks. “Like I said—rough start. But I think that Steve really showed that he gets me. I mean, no one else even thought of making the arc reactor. That feels pretty holding a boombox outside my window to me.”
He can see that Coulson is still confused, and he doesn’t blame him. Coulson doesn’t know that Steve snuck out to see him. Tony had already decided yesterday not to tell anyone about it in case Steve got in trouble for not bringing the cameras along. But since he hasn’t told anyone (and apparently neither Morita nor the bodyguards Steve had told have said anything either), that means that Coulson doesn’t know about Steve putting him first above the show or about him opening up about his own experiences or that kiss they shared. He doesn’t know why Tony’s mind has changed about Steve, seemingly with no reason. So Tony can’t blame him for being confused, but he does wish that he would just accept Tony’s feelings as valid without trying to dance around asking if he’s lost his mind. It makes him feel like a child.
Steve’s car pulls up only a few minutes later, Steve stumbling out of the car almost as soon as it pulls to a stop. Tony inhales sharply at the sight of him. Randi has outdone herself today. The alphas are usually dressed more casually than the omegas in this franchise, but that doesn’t mean that the rolled-up sleeves on Steve’s blue button-up or his dark wash jeans don’t look good. He looks damn good, and Tony can feel a blush rising to his cheeks as the wind pushes Steve’s collar around, baring just a few inches of his chest.
Steve looks up once the car has driven off, and—there’s no other way to describe it—his face just lights up. It’s a far cry from the nerves and standoffishness that Tony is used to seeing from him over the last two weeks, and he just knows that blush is deepening on his cheeks. There’s something about seeing Steve so excited to see him that makes his insides squirm pleasurably.
“Tony! Hey!” Steve calls, jogging over to him. He trips slightly on the uneven ground, but manages to catch himself and even looks adorable doing it.
“Hi,” Tony says, grinning, and steps into the hug that Steve offers. Steve’s arms are warm, his woodsy aftershave tickling his nose, and all in all, it’s one of the best hugs Tony has ever experienced.
Steve starts to step back but he doesn’t get far before Tony leans up and plants a quick kiss on him. For a moment, Steve stiffens but just before Tony starts to get nervous, he relaxes, snaking an arm around Tony’s waist to hold him there for another, more lingering kiss. Tony is the one to pull away this time, pleased by the red glow on the tips of Steve’s ears.
“That was—” Steve starts, voice cracking in the middle. Tony grins at him. He clears his throat and tries again. “That, uh, that was nice.”
Tony is delighted. Given that Steve had already admitted to being shy, he hadn’t really expected that he would turn into a debonair, suave rogue, but finding out that he’s still horribly awkward is an unexpected pleasure. There’s something so genuine about Steve’s awkwardness (now that he’s being open about it and isn’t trying to hide how nervous he is). It’s refreshing—and reassuring, knowing that Steve isn’t here to grab his fifteen minutes of fame.
Even so, he can’t stop himself from sliding his hands into Steve’s hair and tipping his head forward so his forehead meets Tony’s. “You don’t have to be so nervous,” he murmurs, so softly that it’s possible the mics don’t pick up on them. “It’s just you. It’s just me.”
“And half a dozen cameras,” Steve replies ruefully.
“Ignore them.”
“It’s a little hard to.”
“Then focus on me. Pretend that they’re here for someone else and focus just on me.”
The corner of Steve’s mouth quirks up. “I think I can do that,” he says and ducks his head to place a soft kiss on Tony’s cheek. He pulls back then, straightening up and looking around them. “So what are we doing today?”
Keenly feeling the loss of his warmth, Tony has to take a moment to steady himself. It’s insane, almost, how much Steve affects him. He’s not sure he’s felt like this kind of instant attraction with anyone other than maybe Ty. Natasha and Thor make him feel hot under the collar, Sam and Bucky make him feel safe, but Steve makes him feel both at the same time. Who would have expected it from one of his least favorite alphas just two weeks ago?
Once he feels more steady on his feet, he gestures at the sign and says, “Today, we’re exploring Natural Bridge Caverns!”
Steve makes the appropriate awed and approving noises.
“This is the largest cavern in Texas,” Tony continues. “And we get the opportunity to have not only a tour of the main cavern but the second cavern as well with a private tour guide.”
On cue, their tour guide, who Tony has already met, approaches. “Hi!” she says cheerfully. “I’m Kamala, I’ll be your tour guide today.”
“Hi, Kamala,” Tony says, echoed by Steve just a second later.
She shakes first his hand, then Steve’s. “Alright, we’re not doing anything too strenuous today, but you both signed your release forms, right?” She waits for them to nod. “Great! In that case, let’s go ahead and get started. We’ll be exploring the Discovery Passages first before moving over to the Hidden Passages. I do want to remind you that both cave systems are active systems, so please refrain from touching any of the limestone formations. Any questions so far?”
“Not from me,” Tony says. He glances over at Steve and raises his eyebrows. “Steve?”
“I’m good.”
“Great!” she chirps again. “And can I just say? You two make such a cute couple.”
Tony laughs and presses his side alongside Steve’s, who grins down at him and slips his hand into Tony’s. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Coulson watching them thoughtfully. But if Coulson has figured anything out about his one-eighty on Steve—or thinks he’s figured something out—then he doesn’t say anything.
Walking backwards as she leads them down the trail to the cavern entrance, Kamala explains, “Natural Bridge Caverns was named for the sixty-foot limestone slab that sits just above the cavern’s entrance. You’ll be able to see it right as we come around this bend. Now, this formation was created millions of years ago when a sinkhole collapsed underneath it.”
“Oh, wow,” Steve murmurs as the bridge comes into view. “There’s something you don’t see everyday.”
Tony has to agree. He’s not a huge fan of caves—they can make him feel claustrophobic—but the formation that spans the amphitheater in front of the entrance is breathtaking. Kamala beams up at it, clearly pleased with their reactions to the cave system she clearly cares about. And the tour only gets better from there. Kamala tells them about the discovery of the cave by four university students and how it was excavated before leading them inside. She leads them past jaw-dropping formations given awe-inspiring names like the King’s Throne, Pluto’s Anteroom, and the Valley of the Fallen Lords and points out the roosting places of Mexican free-tailed bats that still call the back corners of the cavern home as well as a small fern, which she tells them is the only living plant in the cavern.
The only thing that could possibly beat it is the Hidden Passages cavern, which, as Kamala informs them, was once called the South Passage. The second tour includes getting to see the shaft where the explorers had first drilled down in the 1960s as well as where they’d entered into the passage, called the Jaremy Room. As in the first cavern, Kamala turns off the lights to let them sit in the same darkness the explorers would have experienced. Unlike in the first cavern though, this one lasts a full five-minutes—or it would have, if Steve hadn’t reached over to squeeze Tony’s arm about halfway through, discovered him trembling at the oppressive darkness, and told Kamala to turn the lights back on.
At the end of the tour, they exit into a cavernous (pun very much intended), echoing chamber, which has been smoothed out into a flat space, which Kamala says is only possible because this area is no longer actively growing. She guides them to a series of stone steps and says, “Watch and enjoy,” before stepping back as an abstract light show depicting the formation of the cave begins to play on the back wall. It takes Tony’s breath away, just as much as seeing the bridge at the beginning had, not just with how gorgeous the light show is, but with the reminder of incredibly ancient everything around him is. He’s standing in a cave that’s existed for millions of years. It’s almost impossible to comprehend.
“Really makes you think about how small we are in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t it,” Steve says beside him, unconsciously echoing his thoughts.
“Yeah,” Tony breathes.
There had been some rustling going on behind them while the light show was going on. Tony had just assumed that the camera crew was doing something, but when he turns around, it’s to discover that the show now continues behind them as Actual Luke Combs has set up at the back of the flat area. Tony isn’t much of a country music fan but even he enjoys listening to Combs’ cover of Fast Car from time to time, and his jaw drops as he realizes the strings Pierce must have pulled to get a major celebrity appearance on the show instead of the usual minor celebrity that everyone politely pretends to know.
Actual Luke Combs winks at them and says, “This song is for all the lovers in the audience.” Given that Steve and Tony are the only members in the audience, it’s obvious that he means them, and Tony shifts closer to Steve to rest his head on his shoulder as Combs starts to strum on his guitar.
His day starts with a coffee and ends with a wine
Takes forever getting ready so he's never on time for anything
When he gets that "come get me" look in his eyes
Well, it kinda scares me, the way that he drives me wild
When he drives me wild
Suddenly feeling inspired, Tony looks up at Steve and says, “Dance with me.” To his surprise, Steve’s eyes widen in panic. “What’s wrong?
“I don’t know how,” Steve tells him. “I don’t—” He looks at the cameras.
Oh. He doesn’t want to look bad in front of the cameras. Tony can understand that, especially when Steve has made so many missteps already. It’s adorably endearing, and he slides his hand into Steve’s, squeezing it gently.
“I’ll show you,” he promises and tugs at Steve’s hand.
Steve, still looking apprehensive, follows him out into the wide space that’s obviously been left open for them to do exactly this. Tony steps in close to him, so close that they’re breathing the same air. He pulls Steve’s hand around to rest not on his waist but on his lower back and settles his own on top of Steve’s shoulder. Their other hands, still intertwined, he shifts in between them, the only things separating their bodies.
“Sway with me,” he whispers, and Steve does.
Beautiful, crazy, he can't help but amaze me
The way that he dances, ain't afraid to take chances
And wears his heart on his sleeve
Yeah, he's crazy but his crazy's beautiful to me
“Look at you,” Tony says delightedly as, now that Steve is growing bolder, he turns them in a slow circle. “And you thought you’d be bad at this.”
Steve blushes. “It’s just because you’re being so patient with me.”
“Or you’re a natural.” They’re not doing anything fancy, just spinning in place, but Steve hasn’t stepped on his toes even once, which puts him lightyears ahead of more than a few of the alphas Tony has met at galas. “What were you waiting for?”
“I don’t know.” Steve looks him straight in the eyes, sweetly earnest as he says, “The right partner, maybe.”
He's unpredictable, unforgettable
It's unusual, unbelievable
How I'm such a fool, yeah, I'm such a fool for him
And as Combs starts to sing the last chorus, Steve bends his head and sings along into Tony’s ear:
Beautiful, crazy, he can't help but amaze me
The way that he dances, ain't afraid to take chances
And wears his heart on his sleeve
Yeah, he's crazy, he's crazy, he's crazy
But his crazy's beautiful to me
Dinner is at the Palm downtown, just across from the Majestic Theatre and only a few blocks away from their hotels. While they’d been riding the conveyer belt up from the Hidden Passages tour to the parking lot, Darcy had taken their orders, so when Steve arrives, plates of calamari, linguine with white clam sauce, and black truffle filet mignon have already been set out. He spends a few minutes admiring the caricatures of famous patrons on the walls. Steve has never been much good at caricatures, and it’s an art style that he really admires. It takes talent to create something exaggerated but still authentically and recognizably the subject.
“Well, you clean up nice,” he hears and turns, smiling, to see Tony.
The sight of him absolutely just steals his breath away. Tony is dressed in a midnight blue woolen overcoat with silver leaf embroidery on the shoulders and sleeves and tiny black pearl buttons all the way down the front. The black leggings he wears under the coat gleam and shimmer under the low lights, confusing him until he catches the ever so faint metallic weave that’s been used in the fabric. His heeled boots give him just enough height that Steve realizes Tony won’t be able to fit under his chin the way he had during their private concert. He looks elegant, gorgeous, so stunning that Steve isn’t even surprised when a chef leans out from behind the kitchen door to get a better look at him.
“Wow,” he breathes, wondering how he could have ever missed really, truly seeing him for the last three weeks. “You look incredible.”
Tony beams at him. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
Steve scoffs, glancing down at his own suit, a dark maroon that reminds him of what he’d worn during the first week. “I feel underdressed next to you.”
“Now isn’t that a thought,” Tony hums, eyes darkening as he looks Steve up and down.
“Not to interrupt,” Coulson says dryly, “but we’d like to get confessionals out of the two of you before your date.”
Steve would like there to be less interruptions so he can actually have a date, but Tony gamely follows Coulson back towards the host’s stand, so he bites back a sigh and follows Wong towards the kitchen.
“How are you feeling about Tony this week?” Wong asks without any preamble.
Steve blinks, taken aback by the abruptness. “Uh, great? Fantastic,” he amends. “Tony is… he’s absolutely incredible, you know?” He’s always thought that from the moment he saw him on the screen, but now that he’s really gotten to know him, he feels it in a way he hadn’t before.
“The two of you had a surprising turnaround from the second week.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s true. I didn’t make the best impression back then, I know that. I got in my head about it—” More like he was more focused on doing his job, but he can’t say that. He’s learned his lesson. For as long as he’s on the show, he’s as good as a contestant, which means he has to keep his mouth shut about his actual job while he’s on a camera. “I’m really lucky that Tony was willing to give me a second chance.”
He really is. He’s lucky that Tony opened the door to him after the rose ceremony and agreed to go with him to Monster Entertainment and was willing to listen to him share his experiences with infertility. His feelings about this whole show have been so confusing for him, but he’s lucky that Tony gave him chance after chance to get through them.
“You two really hit it off today,” Wong observes.
“Yeah. Tony’s great, really. I had a lot of fun today getting to spend more time with him.” All true statements, but they’re also statements that he gave at the end of their tour earlier. He’s not sure why Wong is asking him about it again or why Wong looks so put out at him practically repeating his earlier statement. “Am I supposed to go into more detail?”
“No, don’t worry about it,” Wong says, which has never made anyone worry any less about anything in the history of the world.
“…Okay,” Steve says doubtfully.
Wong checks on Tony and Coulson, the former eagerly detailing… something. It requires a lot of hand gestures apparently. Steve smiles, charmed to see him so animated. He’d really been worried that he’d never get to see that look on Tony’s face again after the last rose ceremony, but here they are.
“He’s so resilient,” he says softly, almost without realizing it. Wong is silent. “I don’t know if I could’ve done what he did this week, coming back from something like the last rose ceremony. He’s incredible.”
Wong is quiet for a moment. Then he says, “You’ll have to be vulnerable with him tonight.”
Steve wrinkles his brow. “What?”
“It’s part of the show. Every contestant has something to share. You’ll need to share yours if you want to get the rose.”
“But I—” Wong waits questioningly, and Steve shuts his mouth again. He has no idea what he’ll share when he already shared something intensely personal with Tony when they were at the Dine-In, but he doesn’t want to admit that he’d done exactly what he’d insisted to Pierce would no longer be allowed. That way lies opening the door up to other contestants doing that. “Okay.”
He'll figure something out.
It’s at that point that Tony starts back towards the table, so Wong reluctantly lets him go. Steve hurries back, reaching their table just before Tony and pulling the chair out for him.
“Oh!” Tony exclaims, eyes widening. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did,” Steve says firmly. “My ma would’ve spanked me—well, actually, she didn’t believe in corporal punishment, but she would’ve had very strong words with me—if I didn’t pull out the chair for any omega I was dating.”
Tony stares at him, then lets out a tiny laugh. “You grow more intriguing every time you open your mouth.”
“Is… that a good thing?” he asks, half-wincing in preparation for Tony to tell him that it’s the worst thing and he should expect to be sent home any minute now.
“Yeah,” Tony says with a funny sort of smile. “I think so.”
Dinner proceeds much as Steve would have thought it would other than that he has to keep an eye out for opportunities to be vulnerable. Tony tells him about his plans for Stark Industries and then asks him about being a security guard, to which Steve answers as honestly as he can while not letting anything slip about his actual profession. It’s easy to talk to Tony, so easy that he has to catch himself from saying something damning several times. He’s relieved when Tony asks him about his art instead, clearly remembering what Steve had told him about the murals at Monster Entertainment.
Somewhere behind a camera, someone mutters confusedly, “When did they talk about art?”
Later, Steve will wonder if this had always been planned or if it had been hastily thrown together because he and Tony had started discussing art. Whatever the case, a few minutes after Tony asks him his thoughts on the caricatures on the wall, while Steve is coming up with stories about the subjects he doesn’t recognize just to make Tony laugh, they’re approached by a young man clutching a sketchbook who asks them if they’d be willing to sit for portraits to add to the walls.
“It’ll be quite the story,” the starry-eyed artist exclaims. “The day The Bachelorette filmed here.”
Steve lifts his eyebrows in Tony’s direction. Tony grins and enthuses, “I think that sounds like a great idea.”
So they sit for a caricature. The artist had told them at the start that they could keep talking if they wanted, but Steve felt awkward continuing his made-up stories in front of an artist who may have painted the pictures. He isn’t making fun of anyone, just theorizing about the possibilities that may have led to their immortalization on the wall of the restaurant, but it still feels off-putting. And anyway, Tony has turned thoughtful, gazing out at the theatre just across the street.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Steve asks, following his gaze to the marquee. Apparently the San Antonio Philharmonic is playing a concert called Rock Goes Classical in a few days.
“Oh, I just—” Tony gestures at the theatre. “Wanted to go. But I can’t.”
Steve frowns, looking back at the sign. He does some mental math and comes up with, “Isn’t that on a day when we’re not filming? Why can’t you go?”
Tony glances up behind him at some signal that Steve must have missed. His lips purse, and for a moment, Steve thinks that he isn’t going to tell him what’s stopping him from attending a concert that he clearly wants to. But then he straightens his shoulders, eyes blazing with some steely resolve—hadn’t Steve just remarked how brave he thought Tony was?
“I’ve been told to stay in my hotel,” he says coolly, keeping his eyes locked on whoever is behind Steve. “So that I don’t run into any of you while you’re out doing things.”
Steve lets that sink in, picking up on the implications that Tony didn’t say out loud. “You mean that we’re allowed to go out and explore the city but because it might—I don’t know—make you biased in the biased-towards-one-contestant show, you don’t get to do the same thing?”
“Find another topic, gentlemen,” Coulson warns.
“No,” Steve says promptly, twisting in his seat to glare at him. “I’m sorry but that’s bullshit. This entire show is supposed to be about Tony and what he wants. If anyone should have to stay in their hotel, it should be the alphas.” He wants to explore the city, it seems fascinating, but not if it means Tony is trapped inside instead.
“This is what Pierce has ordered,” Coulson says in that infuriatingly calm way that makes it impossible to deduce what he’s actually thinking. “It’s not up to us to decide to do our own thing. Discuss something else that we can show on cable television.”
It is when whatever Pierce has decided is fucking ridiculous, but Steve can accept that he’s not going to win this one right now. But he’ll see to it that Tony gets to spend some time outside and isn’t just confined to his hotel room if he has to sneak Tony out himself.
He looks back at Tony, surprised to see him holding up the rose in offering. He’d forgotten that this was something that was supposed to happen. He’d just been going about his day on this date, completely forgetting that this is technically a competition that he’s competing in.
“What?” he asks dumbly.
Tony snickers. “Will you accept this rose?” he asks, holding the rose out to him.
“I—what?”
“Tony, you need to explain why you’re giving it to him,” Coulson interjects, sounding for the first time like he’s exasperated with the two of them.
Tony shrugs. “Alright. I’m giving you this rose because I like you. You held my hand when I got scared and asked Kamala to turn back on the lights for me. You danced with me even though you were nervous. You’ve been an excellent conversationalist all night. Is it really that much of a surprise that I want to offer it to you?”
“I guess not,” Steve says faintly, still somehow surprised despite himself. It has been an excellent date, but he supposes that it still amazes him that Tony was willing to forgive him for his abysmal showing during Week 2. “Wait!”
Tony pauses, giving him a quizzical look.
“I need to say something,” he says, remembering what Wong had told him about being vulnerable. “And I don’t know if it will change your mind about offering me this rose.”
Slowly, Tony withdraws the rose, looking confused and even a little hurt. “Okay.”
Honesty, he reminds himself. As honest as he can be. “I didn’t come on this show to fall in love. In fact, I thought it was pretty much impossible. Falling in love in only ten weeks? That’s the kind of thing rom-coms are made out of, not real life.”
“And now?” Tony asks guardedly.
“I don’t know,” he says truthfully. “I still don’t know if it’s possible. But I look at you and…” He smiles helplessly. “I think it’s a lot more possible than I used to.” Tony is special, he’s come to realize. If anyone could convince him that it’s possible, if anyone could make him fall in love in ten weeks, he thinks it would be Tony Stark.
“Oh,” Tony says softly. “Yeah, I—okay.”
“So if you don’t want to give me this rose because—”
“No, I want to.”
Steve’s mouth shuts abruptly. Tony laughs and holds up the rose again. “Steve Rogers, will you accept this rose?”
And all he can say is, “Yes.”