The Avengers - Fic trade 3

There were few things that had changed for Steve after he was given the serum. The most noticeable one was his appearance - from a small shrimp he became a hunk, able to make every girl swoon. Then it was his strength, quicker healing. All of these were considered as perks. But he also saw some drawbacks. First - quicker metabolism. He just had to eat. And he ate a lot. He was kind of embarrassed of it, his appetite nearly as big as Thor's. But every time Tony saw Steve eating, he ate with him too, which was good, because Tony had his days when he didn't eat at all, just ran on a mix of caffeine and sugar. So, maybe after all it was a perk. The second one - his quicker metabolism made his skin like a furnace. He could walk on a snowy day shirtless, melting the falling snow even before it touched his skin. But it just reminded him that he was different from the others. But then again, Tony loved that, and always found comfort when after a long day, he could nuzzle into Steve, enjoying his warmth and sighing peacefully. So maybe it also was a perk. The third one - his hair grew very fast. He had to get a haircut every week. But what bothered him more was hair on his face. Before serum he didn't have much of body hair and it stayed that way, but he always had a stubble and now he had to shave at least twice a day to maintain a smooth skin. He hated his facial hair. Before serum, he always shaved clean, knowing well that with a stubble he would look like a kid who drew it with some coal, or now, with a sharpie. But he was getting tired of this. He decided to leave it for a while. But he would have to find out if Tony considered this as a perk too.

Tony moved in his sleep, moving higher on Steve. They slept in different positions, but one of their favorite ones, was the one when Steve was on his back and Tony was laying on him, pressed to his body, Steve's hands wrapped around his waist. Tony, still in sleep, moved his head higher from Steve's broad chest and nuzzled his neck, just to get even higher to press his cheek to Steve's. But something was odd when he did that and felt some irritating scratching on his cheek. Not sure what it was, he rubbed their cheeks together again, trying to figure it out.

"Um.. Tony, what.. Are you doing?" Steve half opened his eyes, feeling his boyfriend fidget.
"You've got.. Something on your face.." Tony replied sleepily, still rubbing their cheeks together. Steve chuckled slightly. He didn't shave just for a few hours and yet he already had a light stubble. He took Tony's hand and put it on his other cheek. Tony brushed his finger for a while on the, once smooth, skin and frowned more. Then he opened his eyes and smiled at him.

"You didn't shave."
"Yeah.. Sorry if it bothers you, I can shave later.."
"Nah, I think it's great," Tony rubbed their cheeks together with obvious pleasure. "I didn't even know that you are capable of growing facial hair. I always thought that you're like those hairless cats," he grinned. Steve rolled his eyes, knowing that Tony was playing now. He have seen him shave a million times before. He even tried to convince Steve to use an electric shaver that Tony used, but he would rather stick to traditional methods. Razor and soap worked for him in the army, why it wouldn't work now? With that thought he kissed Tony's forehead, placing his head back on his chest, feeling that they both still need some sleep. Tony moved again, placing his cheek back on Steve's, and rubbing gently, slowly drifted to sleep, leaving Steve with a small smile.

After a few more hours, Steve's stubble was even more visible. But it was until the evening when it was clear. Tony assumed that it will be light colored, just like the hair on top of Steve's head, but it was dark, like the shorter ones, closer to his skin. The whole team was stunned at first, but quickly they got used to it. People from SHIELD were also surprised, seeing Captain the next day, when his stubble became even darker. Tony noticed that more people were looking at his boyfriend with hungry eyes now. Steve had always a boyish charm, but now he looked rugged, like a soldier just coming from a war. And Tony was gloating, knowing that this rugged soldier is only his. He didn't know yet that Steve's growing facial hair will backfire awfully on him.

It all started after the first time Steve went out with his new look. Tabloids and the Internet were swarming with pictures of Steve "before" and "now", writing pros and cons of his new appearance. Tony read that all, snickering from time to time. It continued for a while, but one day the tabloids started to compare his goatee to Steve's stubble. And it became even worse as now the papers didn't only compare his and Steve's hair, but started to compare their appearance in general. And now people noticed that he was nearly a head shorter than Steve. And that he was less built. And suddenly he was described as cute in comparison to Steve, while Steve was described as a stud. And he hated that. He wasn't cute. Okay, maybe he was, but only one person on Earth was allowed to call him like that. And he knew that his physical appearance was not as impressive as Steve's, but he always had an advantage over him with his goatee. Now he lost this advantage. He just clenched his teeth, hoping that soon the media will find a new topic to write about.
But they didn't and soon it got a lot worse. Papers were writing that now the half of the Avengers team has facial hair and that Tony should shave to restore the balance. And then some photo manips of him without his goatee started to appear. And then people realized that he wasn't exactly born with facial hair and somehow they dug up his really old photos from his college years and from the time he took over the Stark Industries. That really made him mad. Now no one remembered but it was that time, when he became the head of the company, that he decided to grow his goatee. When he was a teenager he promised himself to never have facial hair, just because his dad had it and he didn't want to be like his dad in any aspect. But after his parent's death, he was practically forced to take his father's place and he noticed that nobody is treating him seriously. Of course, everyone knew that he was a genius, but still, at the age of 21, they mostly saw a brat. So he started wearing suits. And still nobody treated him seriously, people were even joking that he is pretending to be a grown-up. So he grew some facial hair. Even more jokes. But after his first successes it all ceased. It took a while before he found his own unique goatee style and maintained it for all those years. And now, nearly 20 years later, he was hearing that he should shave because his boyfriend looked better with his stubble than he with his impeccable goatee? No way. He had to get rid of Steve's beard. Fast.

Tony was in bed, close to Steve in the same position as it all started. But his time they were not sleeping. Steve was reading a book, holding it with one hand, his free hand idly brushing on Tony's back. Tony lifted his head up and stared intensely at his boyfriend, trying to urge him to look at him. After a while Steve sighed, feeling the other's gaze.

"What is it, Tony?"
"Nothing.. Or.. Maybe.." he started, not knowing exactly what to say. Steve smiled, seeing him like that.
"Come on, spill it," he encouraged him, smiling brighter. Tony just gulped. He had to admit that Steve looked really good like that. Rugged, mysterious, dangerous. Almost intimidating. And he liked him this way. And he seemed happier not having to shave every day. Dammit.
"Nothing.." Tony said weakly, nuzzling his face back into Steve's chest.

Steve looked softly at him. He wasn't stupid and he perfectly knew about what the papers were writing. He didn't care about, but he saw that all of this was getting into Tony. He closed his book and put it aside.

"I'm thinking of shaving, you know.." he said softly. Tony lifted his head immediately. He frowned after a while.
"Why?"
"It irritates me," he smiled.
"Oh. Okay, if you want, I will miss it though," Tony smirked.
"So maybe I will keep it for a bit more.." he teased him.
"No!" Tony raised his voice, showing his true feelings. "Umm.." he looked embarrassed to the side. Steve kissed his forehead, smiling at him, exactly knowing what the brunet was thinking. Tony opened his mouth to deny everything, but Steve kissed him quiet and rolled him off him, and went into the bathroom. After a while he came back - his chin shaved and smooth again. Tony was still lying on the bed, where the blonde left him, and raised his arms up with a smile, demanding a hug from Steve. Captain smiled at that, and lay down gently on top of him, letting Tony wrap his hands around his neck.

"You should tell me sooner you didn't like it.." he said softly, smiling, as Tony grazed lovingly his fingers at Steve's smooth skin on his chin and jawline.
"I liked it," Tony smiled back. "For a while.." he added. Steve smiled more.
"I think that one beard is enough in this relationship," he teased Tony more, kissing his rough chin. "Still, I would like to see you without it one day." Tony frowned more.
"No," he stated simply. Steve laughed a bit.

"You mean you wouldn't shave for me?"
"No, not for you not for anyone else," Tony grinned.
"That's cruel, Tony," he said, trying to sound hurt but grinned at the end, leaning his face closer, making their noses bump together. "I would give up my shield for you and you wouldn't even shave for me.." The brunet looked for a longer while at him after these words. He gave him a short kiss on the lips and grinned again.
"I would also give up your shield for you." Steve laughed more and pecked Tony's lips a few times, before kissing him properly. But he still looked at Tony in this way, expecting him to say something. Tony sighed, giving up.

"I would give up my suit for you," he said flatly. Steve smiled at his answer and leaned his head again to kiss him more. Before their lips met, Tony spoke again. "But I would just construct another one then. Better one," he grinned. Steve shook his head fondly, a smile hiding in the corners of his lips. He planned to get up from Tony, but the brunet wrapped his hands tighter around his neck, pulling him back.

"But I would pull out my arc for you.." he whispered softly, casting his eyes down, focusing on Captain's lips. Steve drew his eyebrows together at that and put his hand on the device inside his boyfriend's chest. He could feel under his fingers how it was working, keeping the shrapnel away.

"Don't you dare.." he whispered in a growl, kissing him roughly, biting his lower lip. Tony moaned at that, bucking his hips. Steve smiled.
"I think we need to celebrate you're coming back, Captain," Tony grinned. Steve slightly chuckled, kissing his neck. He had a feeling that they would "celebrate" today anyway.