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“What’s this?”
Steve turned at the sound of Tony’s voice and paled when he saw what Tony was holding. He’d almost forgotten he’d even bought it, but there it was in the cold light of day.
“Steve?”
Steve swallowed when Tony’s eyebrows lifted. When another moment passed in silence, Tony’s eyebrows lifted even higher. “Well?”
“It’s a ring.”
“Yes, I can tell that much,” Tony said witheringly. He held the piece of metal up and Steve swallowed when he noticed that it wasn’t even shiny enough to catch the light as it was thrust forward. “What I would like to know is why it is in your sock drawer and not on my finger?”
Steve coughed to clear his throat and tried to move the conversation away in a vain attempt to calm his burning cheeks and rapidly-beating heart. “Why were you even in my sock drawer?”
“That is so not the point, Steven,” Tony snapped back. Really, Steve hadn’t needed to ask. Ever since they’d first gotten together, Tony had had something of a penchant for Steve’s clothes, even ones as boring as socks. “Answer my question.”
He couldn’t. As much as he’d have wanted to, Steve couldn’t even open his mouth.
Instead, there was more silence. It was almost deafening and Steve shifted from foot to foot, wishing he was anywhere but there.
“Did you change your mind?” There was a moment of utter panic before Tony spoke again, words even louder with more force. “Was – was it for someone else?”
Steve’s gaze snapped up. “No,” he blurted out automatically. That was a frankly laughable thought; as if Steve had even registered any one since he’d met Tony over seven years ago. What a joke. “No. God, no. It’s, it was – just for… I was waiting.”
Tony’s eyebrows rose right to his hairline. “Waiting? Waiting for what? If we wait any longer, hell will quite literally freeze over.”
Steve lifted his eyes to the ceiling. Blowing out a long breath, he took in the chipped paint right in the corner of the room. They really needed to do something about that. It could be added to the list along with the leaky faucet in the kitchen, the creak on the landing, and the front door that needed to be kicked in just the right place to shut it properly.
“Steve?” Tony’s voice was full of his usual impatience. “Anyone in there?”
“It’s cheap,” Steve finally said, shoulders slumping a little. It was a poor excuse, but pride was one of his downfalls. Especially when it came to those he loved.
“Pardon?”
“You’re worth so much more than cheap tin, but it was all I could afford. I was waiting until I could get something more, well, something that wasn’t… that. So I know I should wait and save more money – and I will, I swear to you I will; I’ll get the money to buy a new one, a decent one, with real silver and maybe even a jewel, but,” Steve cut off and stared at Tony, right in those eyes that he loved so much. Once he’d started talking, the words just seemed to flow. “I just couldn’t wait, back then. It was after work one day when the heating had packed in and the rent was due and yet you were still there at home, just waiting for me. I had to buy something for you. I was desperate.”
Tony’s lips quirked up the slightest bit, just in one corner. “Desperate?”
Frowning, Steve dropped his gaze to the floor and then, when he saw the lift where the carpet didn’t quite fit the shape of the room, wished that he hadn’t. He hated being reminded of all the small parts of their apartment that weren’t quite right.
“Yes,” Steve muttered, not finding anything about the situation amusing. He was desperate then and he’d been desperate ever since. Completely and hopelessly full of yearning to stay with Tony for the rest of their lives. All he’d ever wanted was Tony by his side, to have Tony married to him and sharing one home forever. He had wanted to be able to provide for Tony and to give him the best of everything.
He just couldn’t afford it.
“Well,” Tony said after a pause and, when Steve looked up from the crappy, ill-fitted carpet, he’d taken a step right into Steve’s space. Holding up the ring, Tony tilted his head and his smile spread, “it just so happens that I’m desperate, too.”
Steve barely dared to hope, hands lifting automatically to curve over Tony’s hips. “You – what?”
“Yes,” Tony said, moving his hand so that the ring was right between them. “But only if you ask me. The full question, that is. I don’t want to say yes and then find out we’ve been talking at cross purposes.”
“What?”
Luckily, Tony only laughed at Steve’s shocked tone and shook the ring a little. “Yes,” Tony said again, “I’ll marry you, you stupid man.”
“No. Not with this ring.”
Tony’s eyebrow lifted again as his mouth twisted into a cocky half-smirk, one that Steve knew all too well. But, regardless of the face that meant Tony knew something he didn’t, Steve wouldn’t back down for once. He would stand in his corner and fight for what he wanted.
It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility for Steve to win one argument in his life.
//
The bed creaked as Tony rolled himself onto his stomach, holding his left hand up in front of his face.
“Okay, you’ve had your fun. You can take it off now.”
“Take it off?” Tony turned his head to look over at Steve as though he’d gone mad. “I’m not taking it off. Are you crazy?”
“I’m–,” Steve stopped as he looked at Tony and took in the emotions in his eyes. He looked scared, face a little guarded. Sighing, Steve reached out for Tony’s hand and shuffled over a bit on the lumpy mattress, causing the bed to squeak again.
“You idiot,” he said, ducking his head to press a lingering kiss to Tony’s ring – the cheap, shoddy ring that had been so cut-rate that there hadn’t even been a box for it. “I’m not changing my mind.”
Like he ever could.
Tony’s lips curved into a tiny smile and Steve matched it, feeling freer than he had for a long time.
“Well, then, leave me alone,” Tony said, poking his tongue out and looking back down at his hand. “You’re not having it back. It’s mine.”
“It’s huge.”
“Why, thank you, darling. You’re not badly-sized yourself.”
Steve rolled his eyes. “You’re an idiot.”
“You can’t call your fiancé an idiot, idiot.” Any malice that Tony might have wanted in his voice was lost to the beaming smile on his face and the sheer joy radiating off him as he twisted his hand to look at his ring again.
“I meant the ring is huge. It’s falling off your hand and – Tony! Take it off!” Steve sat up suddenly and grabbed Tony’s hand, trying to prise open Tony’s suddenly-bent fingers. “Tony, I mean it. Let me – stop moving. Your finger’s gone green.”
Tony laughed and managed to free his hand from Steve’s grasp, lifting it to cup his cheek instead. Leaning in, he pressed a long and lingering kiss to Steve’s mouth, letting his tongue run across Steve’s bottom lip before he pulled away.
“Leave me alone,” he murmured, tone nothing but fond. His ring was cool against Steve’s cheek; a beautiful reminder of the life they had waiting ahead that made Steve huff out a gentle laugh and finally relax. “It’s completely perfect.”