Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

POV: Tony Stark

I look over the spreadsheets again, just double-checking the numbers for the various accounts for the month once more.

“Hey Tony.” Steve says, peeking his head through the door as he raps his knuckles against the wood. “I uh, have my rent statement.”

He walks across the floor of my office, setting the paper on my desk.
We have this weird encounter every six months, he brings me his statement, I write the check, he leaves, and we pretend it didn’t happen.

The apartment he rents doesn’t cost much, it’s small and not in the best part of town, he just likes to have his own space.

I take the paper, looking over the number and writing the check.
I slide the statement into my files before ripping the check from my book, handing it back to Steve.

“Thanks again.” He says, taking it awkwardly and meeting my gaze for a moment before he leaves the room.

I nod, looking back to the spreadsheet and marking off his rent expenses.
Everything should be accounted for now, the rent for Steve, Clint, Sam, Bucky, Wanda and Vision, and May’s various houses/apartments paid for the next six months. Banner, Nat, Rhodey, and I are here in the tower, which is obviously paid off.
Everyone’s prepaid cards are charged, and the government bills I have to pay for the various suits and licenses we have are done too.

I stretch, leaning back in my chair as another rap sounds at my door.

“Hey Tones, you got a minute?” Rhodey asks, peeking his head into my office.

I smile up at him, standing up and walking towards the door.
“Yep, what’s up?” I ask, hoping he’s wanting to go out for drinks or something, I could use a break.

“I need some help with fixing up the Iron Patriot.” He says, turning and heading towards the lab I redesigned to let everyone use when they need to do minor fixes to their gear. “I can’t seem to get the left arm back online.”

I sigh, smiling tightly as I follow him down the hallway while he talks about what he’s already tried.
He hands me the tools as I roll up my sleeves, walking over to his suit to look at it even though I already have a pretty good idea of what he did wrong.
It only takes a couple minutes for me to rewire the circuit board, sending the wires in the right direction to help the energy flow and getting the arm back online.

“Thanks Tony!” He says, clapping his hand on my shoulder. “Just in time too, a few of us are headed out for dinner. You’re a life saver.”

I mutter some sort of response to him as he leaves the lab.
I kick the trashcan on my way out, sending it flying across the empty room.

Whatever, I’m sure they just thought I’d be busy.

I pour a glass of brandy at the bar in the living room before flopping into the chair and picking up the remote.
I toss it in the air and catch it a few times, not necessarily wanting to turn the TV on.

“Hey Mr. Stark?” Peter says, walking into the room.

I turn to face him, smiling.
Maybe he’ll watch a movie with me or something.

“Hey kid, what’s up?” I ask downing the rest of my drink as I set the glass on the table.

He steps closer, putting his hands in the pocket of his hoodie.
“I uh, I was wondering if maybe you could let me borrow one of your cars?” He asks, looking down at his shoes. “I have a date with MJ and May’s at work so I thought… it doesn’t have to be one of your nicer cars.”

He smiles at me sheepishly.

I sigh again slightly, standing up and walking over to him.
“Sure kid.” I say as I sling an arm around his shoulders, walking with him towards the garage.

I pull a set of keys from a hook, handing them to him and showing him to the dark blue sports car at the end of the line.

“Are you sure?” He asks, looking up at me with wide eyes.

“Yep.” I answer, tousling his hair. “Be careful with it, please. You know how I love my cars.”

He smiles, looking between me and the car once.
“Yeah—yes I will!” He stammers. “Thank you Mr. Stark, you’re the best!”

He gets into the car, waving at me as he backs out of the garage.
I wave back, closing the door as he drives away.

Alright, back to the bar.

I pour another glass of brandy, downing it before I even walk all the way back into the living room.
This time I sit on the couch, looking around the empty room before closing my eyes and leaning my head back.
I drum my fingers against the glass in my hand, dangling my arm over the edge of the couch.

“Uh, Tony?” A deep voice asks.

I jump, dropping the glass as my eyes snap open.
I brace myself for hearing the glass shatter against the wood, but the crash never comes.

My eyes settle on a tall figure before me as a bright orange light appears near his hand, and my glass materializes in his palm.

Stephen Strange looks down at me with a confused expression.
“You okay?” He asks, looking at the glass in his hand.

I sit up straighter.
“Yeah, yep.” I answer, running my hands through my hair. “What do you need?” I ask, my voice coming out sharper than I intended.

He sets the glass on the table next to my other empty glass.
“The Sanctum was a bit… crowded.” He says ominously. “So I figured I would come here. If that’s okay..?”

I blink, looking up at him still, an odd feeling rising in my chest.
“Sure, yeah.” I answer. “It’s pretty dead here tonight, obviously.”

He laughs, a deep sound that fills the empty room.
“Want a drink?” I ask, standing up.

“Sure.” He replies, following me to the bar.

I pour brandy into two more glasses, wondering to myself if he thinks I’m an alcoholic at this point with how many glasses I have scattered across this room now.

“Where is everyone?” He asks as he swirls the drink in the glass.

I take a drink out of my own glass.
“Out.” I answer. “Somewhere or another.”

He nods, taking a drink.
“And why are you here?” He asks.

I take another drink.
“Well,” I answer, “I suppose no one needed me.”

He looks at me with a confused expression, but doesn’t ask anything else.

“So uh,” I say, stepping around the bar, “do you want to like… watch a movie or something?”

He smiles slightly, nodding as he follows behind me towards the couch.

“Your pick.” I say, tossing the remote to him.
He flips through a couple movies, settling on some sort of new action movie I haven’t seen yet.

We watch it in a comfortable silence, making remarks every once in a while as the movie plays on.
The screen turns to black, and I look over at Stephen, only now realizing how close we’re sitting.
I don’t move away, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

“Well, now what?” He asks, looking at me with striking light blue eyes.

I clear my throat.
“Whatever.” I answer, ignoring the quickening of my pulse. “You know you don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to, right?”

He laughs again.
“Duh.” He answers. “Should we order a pizza or?”

I smile now, telling FRIDAY to order from the place just up the street.
The pizza comes quickly, knowing I tip generously for their speed.
I slap slices onto plates, offering one plate to him.
He smiles as he takes it, sitting somehow even closer to me on the couch as he eats.

I’m acutely aware of every place our bodies touch, his knee against mine, his thigh against mine, his arm brushing mine every time he moves.

He finishes his pizza, setting the plate on the table.
I set mine beside his, turning slightly to look at him.
“What do you want to do now?” I ask, looking into his bright blue eyes.

He smiles crookedly.
“Whatever you want.” He says, shrugging. “I’m yours for the night.”

The words send fire through my veins.
“What is this?” I ask, suddenly defensive. “What do you want from me?”

He leans back now too, his eyebrows knitted together in question.
“What do you mean?” He asks.

I stand up, looking down at him.
“Why are you here? Doing all this? With me?” I ask, throwing my arms out by my sides. “What do you want from me?”

He stands too, leaving barely any space between us.
“I don’t want anything from you, Tony.” He says, his voice low. “I came here for a break, and I stayed for your company.”

I laugh, but the sound comes out choked.
“No one hangs around unless they want something from me, Strange.” I answer. “Just tell me now rather than later.”

He takes a fraction of a step closer, reaching his hand out and setting his trembling fingers against my cheek.
“I just want you.” He breathes.

He just wants me?
No favors? Not my money? My technology?

The fire in my veins turns to ice as I reach out, taking his face between my hands and pulling his lips down to mine.
His hands drop down to my waist, pulling me closer as he kisses me deeper.

“You’re enough.” He murmurs against my lips. “I just want you.”

I press him down onto the couch, straddling his body with my legs as my fingers run against his hair.
“Thank you.” I whisper back, breaking the kiss long enough to press my forehead and look into those bright blue eyes.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

I wake the next morning on the couch with Stephen’s head resting against my bare chest, his arms wrapped lazily around my sides, his fingertips at the edge of my unbuttoned shirt as he sleeps.
I smile to myself, not daring to move and wake him, not daring to disturb the moment.
The door behind us suddenly swings open, and Steve strides into the room.

“Tony?” He calls, too loud for this situation.

I twist my head to see him, holding my finger to my lips.
“Shh!” I hiss at him.

He steps around to the side of the couch, looking down at the situation with wide eyes.
“Um, yeah, well we were just going to have a meeting to discuss plans for the new training center.” He says after a minute, not making eye contact with me.

I look between him and the sleeping wizard on my chest once before brushing my fingers along his back.
“Go without me.” I tell Steve.

He looks at me with a puzzled expression.
“What?” He asks.

I slide my fingers along Stephen's back again.
“Go without me.” I tell him again. “You don’t need me to talk about it, you all already know what you want. Go without me.”

He looks at Stephen, still asleep on top of me, once before nodding and leaving the room.

“You’re going to get in trouble.” Stephen murmurs as the door shuts.

I chuckle lowly.
“So you weren’t asleep.” I answer, running my fingertips along his back again.

He shudders softly, a small smile pulling at his lips.
“Not quite.” He replies. “I can go though, you can go to your meeting.”

I wrap my arms back around him, holding him tightly to me.
“They can do it without me.” I answer. “At least this once. I’d rather stay here with you.”

He laughs this time.
“Good.” He mutters. “They need to realize how important you are.”

My eyebrows furrow.
“What do you mean?” I ask him.

He sighs, sitting up just enough to look at me.
“You said it yourself, they don’t stay unless they need something from you.” He says softly, one of his hands running a shaky path through my hair. “They have to realize how valuable you are.”

A small smile pulls at my lips.
“So you think I’m valuable?” I ask, cocking my head to the side as I look at him.

He pushes himself up until his face is mere inches from mine.
“Very.” He whispers, kissing me again.

Chapter Text

POV: Tony Stark

“Do you really have to go?” I ask, looking up at Stephen from where I lay on the bed.

He chuckles in that low tone as he fastens his cloak around his neck.
“Unfortunately, I do.” He answers. “But I’ll be back here as soon as I can, if that’s what you want.”
He shoots me a sideways glance.

“Obviously.” I answer, sitting up and swinging my legs over the side of the bed.

He smiles as he steps closer, putting his hands on the sides of my face and pressing a soft kiss against my lips.
“Hurry though.” I groan, and he laughs against my lips as he kisses me again. “I’m serious.”

He nods as he brushes his nose against mine.
“I will.” He answers softly.

He steps away from me, reaching into his pocket and sliding his ring onto his fingers.

“You text right, Wizard?” I ask, standing up and smirking at him.
He rolls his eyes as he reaches into his pocket again, pulling out his phone and waving it at me.

I step forward taking it from his hand and opening it, finding it to not be password protected.
“You’re a mystical magic man and you don’t have a password on your phone?” I ask, laughing as I click on his contacts, realizing he doesn’t have many numbers saved.

I see his smile out of the corner of my eye as I add my number into his phone.
I lock his phone again, reaching forward and sliding it back into his pocket for him.

“Text me, or whatever.” I mumble, resting my hands against his hips as I look up into his eyes.

“I will.” He answers, kissing my forehead.

I step back towards the bed, giving him room to open a portal in the center of my bedroom.
“I’ll see you soon, Tony.” He says with a soft smile as he steps through the bright orange circle.

I smile back as he fades into the portal, sighing and flopping back onto the bed as the circle disappears.

I decide to take a shower, procrastinating on having to face Steve or the rest of the group for as long as possible.

The warm water washes over me, rinsing the scent of Stephen Strange from my body.
My mind wanders to the night before; the lingering touches from his trembling, yet capable hands, the way his lips pressed softly against mine, against my neck—

I turn the water to cold, pressing the palms of my hands against the marble wall of the shower as it pours over my face and drips down my body.

What is it about him that makes me feel like this?
I’ve only talked to him once before last night, and suddenly I’m in this deep?

This has never happened to me before.
I’ve done hookups before without feeling anything, but this felt… different.

I turn the water off, stepping out and drying off with a towel.
“FRIDAY where is everyone?” I ask as I put new clothes on.

“Captain Rogers, Sargent Barnes, Agent Wilson, Agent Romanoff, and Agent Barton are in the training facility. Peter Parker is in his bedroom. Everyone else is away from the compound, would you like their locations?” She reports.

I shake my head as I slide my glasses onto my face.
“No that’s fine.” I answer. “Thanks.”

I walk to the kitchen first, practically dragging my feet as I get the biggest mug I can find, hold it below the coffee maker, and click the espresso button five times.
The dark brown liquid spills into the mug, and I bring it to my lips the second it’s done, not caring if it burns as I swallow it while I walk to the training facility.

I push the door open, hearing the hush fall over the room as I step in.
“Hey old man.” Natasha says with a small smile as she turns to look at me. “Feeling better?”

I look at her with a puzzled expression as I bring the mug to my lips again.
“Steve said you were sick yesterday during the meeting?” Clint says, looking at me through narrowed eyes.

I risk a glance at Steve, only to find his eyes trained on the floor.
“Yep.” I answer, swirling the coffee in my cup. “Feeling much better now though. What’re you guys doing?”

“Just discussing training plans.” Sam says, gesturing to a clipboard in his hand. “We talked about it at the meeting yesterday, we’re just taking inventory of what we have and what we need to replace.”
I nod at him.

Steve still doesn’t look up.

“Well let me know what we need, I’ll write the check.” I answer, my voice coming out flatter than I expected. “What else did you guys talk about yesterday?”

“Tighter surveillance.” Nat says as she tightens her glove. “Steve mentioned that we should check in on some of the people we haven’t heard from in a while.”

Steve shifts his weight out of the corner of my eye.

“Like who?” I ask.

Nat pulls out her tablet, tapping a couple times on the screen before reading off a list of names.
“Loki, though I’m sure we can ask Thor about him the next time he checks in, Stephen Strange—"

She continues talking, but I tune her out after she says Stephen’s name.
I stare over to Steve, but he finds himself suddenly fascinated with polishing a spot on the front of his shield.

“Yeah.” I answer, returning my gaze to Nat as she sets her tablet back down. “Sounds like a great idea.”
I down the rest of the coffee, setting the mug on a counter beside me.

“Rogers are you ready for our meeting?” I ask, and Steve’s head shoots up.

He walks over to me slowly.
“Yeah.” He answers. “I’ll find you when we’re done Buck and we’ll go for that run.”

Bucky nods, clapping a hand on Steve’s shoulder as he passes.

I turn on my heels, leaving the training room and walking out into the hall, listening to Steve’s quiet footsteps behind me.
I lead him into a side room, shutting the door behind us.

“What the hell is your problem?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

Steve does the same, leaning back against the wall.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He answers, finally meeting my gaze.

I choke out a laugh, rolling my eyes.

“Oh cut the shit.” I shoot back. “You and I both know what you saw yesterday, and now you’re running random security screenings on him? And why lie to everyone, why not just out me and get it over with?”

He flexes his arms against his chest.
“The surveillance has nothing to do with your—personal decisions.” Steve says in a quiet voice. “We have to keep better tabs on supernatural or powerful entities around us, and he’s been unsupervised for too long.”

“Bullshit.” I answer. “He wasn’t a concern until last night.”

He shrugs.
“Maybe it just jogged my memory.” He answers.

I step closer to him.
“Why lie to them?” I ask again.

He rolls his eyes.
“Because it’s none of my business.” He says. “I don’t care what you do.”

I rake my hands through my hair.
“Fine.” I answer. “Then keep it that way, leave him alone.”

I check my phone, no notifications.
“Just—stay out of it, okay?” I tell Steve, looking back at his face. “Please.”

He sighs, rolling his eyes again.
“Whatever.” He answers flatly, turning and swinging the door open.

I watch him walk out, flopping into a chair behind me as he lets the door shut behind him.
I exhale slowly, stretching my body as I do.

This is becoming more complicated than I anticipated.

I check my phone again, still nothing.
Jesus, I’ve gotten desperate.

I’ve never sat around waiting for someone to text me before.

“Come on Tony.” I mutter to the empty room, pushing myself up out of the chair.

I walk to the elevator, pushing the button that leads to my lab.
My fingers drum along the seams of my jeans as the elevator moves.

“FRIDAY, turn on my work playlist please.” I say as the doors open and I step into the lab.
The music clicks on a second later, and I turn the volume up as loud as I can stand it as I pull up the screens around the room.

My mind numbs as I work on the suit on the workbench, my hands going on autopilot as I work on a damaged blaster.

I almost jump out of my skin as my phone buzzes in my back pocket, sending the tool in my hand clattering to the floor.
A text from an unknown number flashes across the screen, and I unlock the phone quickly, clicking on the message.

I can’t seem to get you out of my mind.
I hope to see you again soon.
-S. Strange

I smile to myself as I read and reread the message, turning the music down.

Same here Wizard, my door is always open.

I reply, pressing send and sliding the phone back into my pocket, a sense of calm washing over me at the idea of him stepping back through his portal, back into my bedroom.

Stephen Strange seems to really have gotten into my head.

And for some reason, I don’t mind.

Chapter Text

POV: Tony Stark

I wake up in the lab to the sound of something vibrating, with my hands folded under my head on the table as I slowly sit up.
A groan escapes my lips as I stretch, my entire body is stiff from spending the night hunched over the lab table.

My phone vibrates again beside me as I run my fingers through my hair, the caller ID popping up on the lenses of my glasses.

Stephen Strange.

My heart stutters as I reach for the phone, sliding my finger across the screen to answer it.
“Hello?” I ask into the phone, clearing my throat try to hide the fact that I just woke up.

“Hey.” He says on the other end, his voice easy and calm. “Did I wake you up?”

“No.” I answer quickly, and he laughs lowly.

“Alright.” He says, laughing again. “Well I just wanted to know if maybe you wanted to spend the day with me.”

My heart beats even faster.
“Sure.” I answer.

“Cool.” He says back. “How about I pick you up at 11?”

I check the clock on the computer in front of me, it’s already 10.
“Perfect.” I answer, making my voice sound as calm as possible. “I’ll see you then.”

“I’ll see you then.” He replies before hanging up.

Shit.

I run to the elevator, pressing the button that’ll take me to my bedroom and pacing along the back wall as it takes me up.
“FRIDAY turn on the shower in my room and start the coffee maker please.” I say as I go up.

Finally I step out into my room, stripping my clothes and leaving a trail from the elevator to the bathroom as I get into the shower.

I shower quickly, stumbling through my routine as I rush to get ready.
I dress just as quickly, picking out clothes that could be for a variety of occasions as I’m unsure of what exactly this wizard is taking me to do.

I down the coffee as I dress, running my hands through my hair to style it as it dries.
“FRIDAY, I’m going out.” I tell her as I step into my shoes. “I want you to turn my tracker off.”

“Are you sure Mr. Stark?” She asks. “It would be a safety protocol violation.”

I sigh, remembering how adamant I was to make sure that everyone kept their trackers on for emergencies.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” I answer, standing up and checking my watch.

10:57.

I sit on the edge of my bed, drumming my fingers along my legs as I count the seconds down, my eyes flitting to the window again and again as I wait for a car to pull up.
Suddenly, an orange portal opens in the center of my bedroom, and my breath catches in my throat.

“Hey.” Stephen says as he steps through the portal, leaving it open behind him. “You ready?”

I stand up, throwing on an easy smile as I walk towards him.
“You know, when you said you’d ‘pick me up’, I was kind of expecting in a car.” I mutter, and he reaches a hand towards me.

He laughs, blue eyes sparkling in the orange light as I take his hand.
“What, is Tony Stark afraid of a little magic?” He asks, pulling me closer.

I slide one hand around his waist as he leads us back towards the portal.
“Oh you wish, Magic Man.” I answer, and he pulls us through, shutting my bedroom out behind us.

I look around, finding us to be in a quiet park.
Grass rolls over small hills until they reach a small dip in the center, where a clear blue pond glistens in the sunlight.

Stephen doesn’t let go of my hand as he guides me down one of the hills, closer to the water, until we reach a small picnic blanket.
In the center of the blanket, there is a bottle of champagne with two glasses and a basket.

“A picnic?” I ask, following his lead as he sits down on the blanket, letting go of my hand as he does.

He smiles softly, looking at me out of the corner of his eye as he pops the top of the champagne.
“Not up to your standards?” He asks, pouring the champagne into the glasses.

I shake my head, laughing softly.
“No, that isn’t what I meant.” I answer as he hands me a glass. “No one’s ever asked me on a picnic before.”

He smiles wider this time, setting the bottle down.
“Well, then if this one sucks you’ll have no reference point.” He says with a low laugh. “Works out pretty well for me.”

He extends his glass to me, and I clink my glass against his in a cheers before we drink.
“Where exactly are we?” I ask, looking around at the park again. “This can’t be near the city.”

Stephen opens the basket, pulling various items out.
“It’s not.” He answers, opening a bag of bread. “It’s a few hours out, I grew up around here.”

I smile at him as he sets out two paper plates.
“It seems nice.” I say quietly. “Peaceful.”

He looks at me for a moment, analyzing my answer before smiling softly.
“It is.” He replies, his voice just as quiet. “Now, do you want peanut butter and jelly, or ham and cheese?”

“Peanut butter and jelly, obviously.” I answer, taking a drink from my glass.

He grins, raising his eyebrows.
“Good choice.” He says, pulling out a plastic knife.

He raises his hands, using his magic to manipulate the knife into each jar, spreading the peanut butter and jelly onto the slices of bread.

“Sorcerer Supreme uses his magic to make sandwiches, huh?” I ask, watching with intensity as he meticulously levitates the objects.

“Surprisingly this is easier than using my hands.” He replies, forcing a tight smile.

I look at his hands as he subtly flicks his fingers, directing the magic through the air.
I remember reading about his car accident when I researched him months ago, shortly after I found out who he was.

Each finger has a scar from the base of his nail to the top of his knuckle, each of them trembling slightly as he moves them.

He drops his hands into his lap as he finishes using his magic, and I reach across to gently take both of his hands in mine.
His eyes lock onto mine, his entire body tensing as I slide my fingers along the scars.

I look between his eyes and his hands once before leaning my head down, pressing my lips against the long scars on each finger, not even sure why I’m doing it, just sure that it feels right.

He keeps his eyes on me, calculating silently.

As I kiss the last scar on his hand, I sit back up, looking back into his blue eyes.
“You’re so different than I thought.” He whispers, letting his hands stay rested in mine. “So different than I could’ve ever imagined.”

I smile at him, running my thumb along the back of his hand.
“A good different?” I ask, my voice low, unsure.

He smiles finally, his body relaxing.
“A very good different.” He replies, pulling one hand out of mine to cup my face. “You want everyone to see this cold, calculating billionaire, and for a while I did see that.”

His thumb trails along my cheekbone as he talks.
“But you’re not all that.” He continues. “You’re softer, warmer than anyone knows.”

I smile, rolling my eyes slightly.
“Okay, but don’t go around telling everyone.” I mutter.

He laughs, leaning forward and pressing a kiss against my forehead.
“It can be our little secret.” He replies, using the hand on my face to tilt my head up as he kisses my lips softly.

He leans back after a moment, pulling his hand away from my face and using his magic to pull the two plates forward, resting one in his lap and the other in mine.

I smile at him as I let go of his other hand, reaching for the sandwich.
He follows suit, and we eat with a comfortable conversation falling between us.

The sound of the water in the pond splashing slightly with the breeze, along with the trees rustling, creates a warm and comforting atmosphere, one I would be content to never leave.
Peaceful hours pass on his picnic blanket, and I find myself laying beside him with my head against his chest.
I listen to his heartbeat as he traces soft designs against my back with his fingertips.

Eventually the sun begins to set, and we watch it sink below the pond.
“Are you ready to go?” Stephen asks, sitting up and pulling me up beside him.

I nod, stretching as he stands up.
I stand too, helping him fold the blanket before he opens a portal and sends it through.

“Thank you for taking me here.” I say in a low tone, looking up at him.

He smiles as he reaches forward, resting his hands on my waist.
“Thank you for coming.” He answers.

He leans down, kissing me again, and I wrap my hands around his head, linking my fingers behind his neck.
“I’ll see you again soon.” He murmurs against my lips.
I nod, pulling him closer.

Moments later, he steps back, opening a portal in front of me.
My bedroom sits just inside of the brightly glowing circle.

“Have a good night, Tony.” He says, winking at me.

“You too, Stephen.” I answer, smiling back.

I step through the portal, blinking at the harsh light in my room.
“FRIDAY, any updates?” I ask, sitting on my bed and pulling my shoes off.

“Steve has asked for your location five times and the group has requested a meeting upon your arrival.” She reports.

I roll my eyes, sighing as I rake a hand through my hair.
“Great.” I mutter. “Turn my tracker back on and tell them to meet me in the conference room in five.”

I walk down the hall, taking the stairs to get to the second floor where the conference room is.
Unfortunately, most of them are already there when I walk in.

“Hey guys.” I say casually as I walk to the table, sitting in a chair and leaning back.

Steve glares at me as I scan the faces in the room.

“Where’ve you been?” Rhodey asks playfully, walking in and sitting in the chair beside me.

“I was with Stephen Strange.” I answer, savoring the look on Steve’s face as his eyes widen and his jaw tightens.

“Why?” Nat asks, her eyes narrowing. “And why did you turn your tracker off?”

I sigh, spinning slightly in my chair.
“Well, I’m sort of seeing him.” I answer, giving up on hiding from them anymore.

Rhodey grabs the armrest of my chair, spinning it slightly so I’m facing him.
“Seeing him how?” He asks, his eyebrows raised.

I lean my head to one side as I look at him.
“However you’re probably thinking.” I answer flatly.

He nods, letting go of my chair and leaning back in his own.

No one says anything, instead just looking at me or at their hands in their laps while they think.

“Well, good for you.” Rhodey says after an agonizingly long moment of silence.

I turn to face him again, narrowing my eyes at him.

“You found someone you like right?” He asks.

I nod, hesitantly.

“Then screw whatever these guys think.” He says, gesturing to the rest of the silent table. “I’m happy for you man.”

I give a small smile to him, nodding my thanks.

“Hey man, you do what makes you happy.” Sam says in a quiet voice from across the table. “We just didn’t know where you were, that’s all.”

I look at him, finding a genuine smile from him on his lips.
I give him a nod in thanks as well as I lean forward onto the table.

“Yeah Tony, you could’ve told us.” Nat says, reaching across the table and putting one hand on my arm. “Congrats.”
She smiles softly.

I smile back at her, patting her hand on my arm once before she pulls it away.

Steve says nothing, keeping his jaw tight as he stares at the table.

“I’m sorry about the tracker.” I say finally. “I just needed time to figure things out. Without any of you knowing why.”

A few people nod in agreement, others mutter words of understanding.
The group dissipates after a few minutes, everyone going back to their own activities.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter asks, stepping closer as he stands from his seat in the back of the room.

“Yeah kid, what’s up?” I ask, looking up at him from my chair.

“I was just wondering if you wanted to watch a movie or something.” He says, scratching the back of his neck. “You could pick one of your old people ones even.”

He tries to fight a smile as I fake a glare at him.
“Wow, I can even pick one of my old people ones?” I ask, standing up and putting an arm around his shoulders. “Are you sure you won’t be too bored?”

He laughs as we walk out of the room.
“As long as it’s not the stupid time travel ones again I think I can handle it.” He says, shooting me a sideways smile.

I gasp dramatically.
“Just for that we’re watching the whole Back to the Future trilogy.” I tell him, messing his hair up with my hand. “Someone has to educate you, and it looks like it’s gotta be me.”

He laughs again, and for the first time in a while, I feel happy.

Chapter Text

I wake up late the next morning, yawning as the sun creeps across my bed.
I don’t get up right away, laying in bed and thinking about the day before instead.

A smile creeps across my lips as I think about the time I spent with Stephen.
I reach for my phone, clicking on his name.

I had a great time with you. I type. I hope to see you again soon.

My heart beats a little faster as I press send.
Must be my cue to get up.

I shrug into new clothes, sliding my phone into my pocket as I get into the elevator.
I make coffee before asking FRIDAY where everyone is.

“Captain Rogers, Sargent Barnes, and Agent Wilson are in the training facility—”

My phone buzzes, and I tune her out as I click on the message.

Miss me already, huh? It reads.

My heart hammers harder, and a second later my phone buzzes again.

I also had a great time. His second message says.
And I guess I miss you already too. A third message reads just after.

I smile to myself as I text him back.

We’re having a party tomorrow night. I type. I want you to come.

“Mr. Stark?” FRIDAY says, and I snap my head up to answer her.

“Yeah?” I answer, scanning my glasses to see what she’s alerting me to.

“Did you need any other information?” She asks, flashing the list of where everyone is in the compound again.

“Right, no.” I answer. “Thanks."

My phone buzzes again as I drink from my coffee mug.

Like as your date? It reads.

My stomach drops slightly.
Yes. I type. If that’s okay with you.

I pace the floor as I wait for his reply.
I almost jump out of my skin as the phone finally buzzes again.

It’s perfect. It says.

I smile at the screen, not caring if it’s pathetic.

Good. I type. Come to the compound tomorrow at 7. Black tie attire.

I drink from the mug again as I wait for him to answer.

It’s a date. He says finally.

I slide the phone back into my pocket, drinking the rest of the coffee in one long drink before going to find Nat.
I walk to the study, finding her inside sitting by the windowsill as she reads a book.
She looks up as I walk in, smiling as she sets her book down in her lap.

“Hey, what’s up?” She asks as I walk over to her.

“I want to throw a party tomorrow night.” I tell her, throwing on a lazy smile.

She raises her eyebrows, nodding once.
“Okay, for what?” She asks.

I shrug, brushing my hands on my pants.
“Just for fun.” I answer.

Her eyes narrow.
“Is Stephen coming?” She asks.

I nod.
“Yes.” I answer plainly.

She smiles then, swinging her legs off of the windowsill.
“Then I’m in.” She answers. “Do we have a theme?”

I smile back at her.
“Black tie, formal, fancy?” I stammer. “I don’t know, is that lame?”

She shakes her head, setting the book down as she steps towards me.
“Nah, that’ll be nice.” She answers. “Leave it to me and Pepper, your party will be perfect.”

I put a hand on her shoulder.
“Thanks Nat.” I tell her. “Mind getting everyone else on board too? I think they like you better.”

She laughs shaking her head.
“Sure.” She says. “And they definitely like me better, who wouldn’t?”

She winks as she bumps her knuckles against my chin, passing me while she walks past me to leave the room.

I leave the room behind her, trying to think of a way to waste my time until the party.
I head down to my lab, deciding to spend my time as I usually do, fixing suits and completely ignoring everything else.
Luckily I have a lot to do, and I get to work repairing the various pieces as the music blares through the speakers.

After a few hours, something moves out of the corner of my eye.
I turn as Steve steps out of the elevator.

Great.

I tap the screen to turn the music down as he walks to the other side of my work bench.
“Hey.” I say, looking at him for a second before looking back down at the suit.

“Hi.” He answers flatly, and I feel his eyes on me.

I clear my throat as I tighten a bolt.
“What’s up?” I ask, still not looking up.

“I thought I’d come talk to you.” He answers. “What’s with the party?”

I shrug.
“Just wanted to do something nice for everyone.” I reply.

I weld two parts together.

“Why?” He asks.

I drag my eyes up to look at him.
“Why not?” I ask back.

His blue eyes ice over as he glares back at me.
“Don’t pretend that this is for them.” He answers, his voice low. “This is for you, your image, your boyfriend.”

“Get out.” I spit, pointing at the elevator. “You don’t know anything about me.”

He rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Whatever Tony.” He answers, stepping away. “You can fool everyone else, but you can’t fool me.”

He walks into the elevator, and the doors close behind him.

I exhale loudly as the elevator goes up.

What the hell is his problem?

My blood boils as I think about him having the audacity to walk into my lab, tell me about my life.

I brace my hands on the sides of the metal workbench before sending it flying against the wall, the suit I was working on breaking apart as it gets crushed between the bench and the wall.
My breathing is jagged as I open and close my hands into fists, staring at the mess before me.

I rake my hands through my hair before dropping to my knees, picking up the pieces of the suit and setting them aside before standing back up and pulling the workbench back into a standing position.
I get back to work, taking a deep breath as I pull my screwdriver back out.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

I wake up hunched over my workbench again, my head pounding from a bad night’s sleep.
I groan as I sit up, rubbing my eyes.

“FRIDAY, what time is it?” I ask, clearing my throat.

“10:37am, sir.” She answers.

I nod, standing up and walking over to the elevator, clicking the button that’ll take me to my room.
I run the water in the shower as I undress, sighing at my reflection in the bathroom mirror.

My hair and beard are scattered in grey, the skin between and around my eyes creases with age, and dark circles outline my eyes as well.

I turn the lights off in the bathroom as I step into the water, showering in the dark to avoid catching another glimpse of my reflection.
I let the warm water wash over me longer than usual, trying to waste the day again as I count down the minutes until the party begins.

Eventually I get out, drying off and throwing on sweatpants and a t-shirt before I check the clock again.

11:17am.

That’s late enough for alcohol I think.
I pour a glass of scotch, swirling the ice around with the amber liquid as I walk into my closet.

“FRIDAY show me my suits.” I say as I flip the lights on. “The dress suits, obviously.”
She complies, using the conveyor belt in the closet to shift my clothes, showing my best suits in the front.
I look through them, settling on a black suit with a white shirt underneath, and a thin black tie.

A knock at my door sends me out of the closet, and I find myself face to face with Peter as I swing the door open.
“Hey kid, what’s up?” I ask, taking a drink from my glass.

He looks at the glass and then up at me.
“I heard we’re having a party tonight.” He says with a small smile. “I don’t really have any dress clothes for something like that…”

“Do you need some money?” I ask, wondering why he doesn’t just ask.

He shrugs.
“I was going to ask if you’d take me actually, I don’t even know where I’d get a suit.” He says quietly.

I smile, ruffling his hair as I set the glass down on a side table.
“Sure kid, let’s go.” I answer, and he smiles up at me widely.

We leave the compound, heading to the city to find him a suit.
I help Peter as he tries on suits, and we finally find one that he likes, a dark blue fitted suit with a deep red bowtie.

“Are you bringing MJ?” I ask as we get back in the car, heading back towards the house a few hours after we left.

His face pales.
“I asked her.” He says quietly. “She said she’ll try to make it.”

I grin at him, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye.

Luckily, it’s nearly five by the time we get back to the compound, so I only have a little more time to kill.
I go up to my room as Peter goes to his, and I pour another glass of scotch as I get dressed in the closet.

Eventually I drag myself back into the bathroom, fixing my hair and tying my tie in the mirror.

At 6:55, the music starts to play from downstairs, and I smile to myself as I get into the elevator, heading down to the party.
Most of the team is there as I step out of the elevator, and they greet me warmly.

Everyone is dressed nicely, smiling as they sway to the music.
The doorbell rings, and everyone’s head turns towards the door.

I walk over to it, opening it slowly.

Stephen stands on the other side of the doorway, an easy smile on his face as he looks down at me with his stunning blue eyes.
He’s also wearing a black suit, but somehow it looks completely flawless on him, hugging his body perfectly as he steps closer.

“Hey.” I breathe. “Thanks for coming.”

“Hi.” He answers quietly. “Thanks for having me.”

I step aside, inviting him in.
He steps in, waving a hand at the group in greeting as I shut the door.

I walk to his side, easily looping an arm around his waist.
He looks at me with a soft smile, looping his own arm around mine.

I make introductions with some of the members he hasn’t met, ignoring the way that Steve glares from the opposite side of the room.
“Want a drink?” I ask, leading him further into the house.

He nods, following my lead.
I grab him a drink from a tray, handing it to him before taking one for myself.

“You look really nice.” He says in a low voice, looking me up and down.

I feel my cheeks burn as his eyes roam again.

“You’re the one who looks nice.” I answer, taking a step back to do the same to him.

He smirks at me.
“I disagree.” He says, pulling me closer again. “You really do look good.”

He presses a soft kiss against my lips, and I can’t help but smile up at him.

The room fills soon after, and people eat, drink, and dance as the night goes on.
I stay close to Stephen, swaying to the music as we talk to various people who dare to come up to us and make conversation.
As Sam and Rhodey walk away, I pull Stephen towards the elevator.

“Do you want to get out of here?” I ask, gesturing to the elevator doors.

He smiles, nodding.
I press the button, and we step inside.
The doors open to my lab, one of the furthest rooms in the house.

We can still hear the faint thump of the music as we step into the lab, but it’s mostly quiet here.

“Ah, so this is where your magic happens.” He says with a wink, walking over to one of the suits on the wall.

“Yep, I’m a regular magician.” I answer, following behind him.

He chuckles lowly, walking around and looking at the various suits and objects in the room.

“What’s this?” He asks, reaching out and taking the glass box that holds my old Arc Reactor. “Proof That Tony Stark Has a Heart?” He reads from the metal.

I shrug, my heart beating quicker.
“A friend made that for me years ago.” I answer. “It’s the proof that I’m not the big asshole that everyone knows.”

He turns towards me, his eyes still locked on the box in his hands.

“I suppose it’s what it says, proof that I have a heart.” I say quietly, my voice almost a whisper.

“That’s stupid.” He says, finally looking up at me.
He sets the box back on the shelf as he steps closer to me.
“Who would need proof of that?” He whispers, reaching out to cup my face in his hand.

“Evidently a lot of people.” I breathe, looking up at him.

He steps even closer, eliminating any space between us.
“Tony Stark, you have the most wonderful heart.” He whispers, trailing his thumb along my cheekbone.

He kisses me again, and my fingers trail up his chest, locking around the back of his neck.
He deepens the kiss, sliding his hands down to my hips as he pushes me back against the wall.

“I did miss you.” I murmur against his lips.

His lips twitch into a smile below mine.
“I missed you too.” He mutters back, kissing me again.

His hips press mine against the wall as his chest presses against mine.
Neither of us says anything for a while, letting our bodies do the talking as one explores the other.

Eventually we find ourselves sitting with our backs against the wall, ties undone, shirts unbuttoned, Stephen’s head resting on my shoulder as his hands rest in mine.

“You make me so happy.” I whisper, trailing soft designs with my fingertips along the palms of his hands.

He twists to look up at me.
“You make me happy too.” He whispers back.

“Will you stay the night?” I ask, looking into his eyes.
He smiles, nodding as he presses a kiss against my jawline.

Chapter Text

I slowly wake the next morning, stretching in the bed, and finding it to be empty.
My eyes snap open, and I sit up straight, looking at the empty sheets beside me.

“Tony?” A deep voice asks from across the room.
I look up, finding Stephen to be sitting in the chair by the window with a book in his lap.
“Are you alright?” He asks, folding the book and leaning forward on the chair.

I sigh, leaning back against the pillows.
“Yeah.” I breathe. “Sorry.”

I throw my hands over my face as I hear his footsteps near the bed.

He climbs onto the other side of the bed, sitting close beside me.
“What’s wrong?” He asks quietly.

I open my fingers slightly, just enough to see his face as he looks down at me.
“Just thought you left.” I answer, just as quietly. “I’m not exactly used to people staying ‘til morning.”

He smiles a small smile, his fingers pushing my hair back as I drop my hands from my face.
“I’m sorry.” He answers. “I didn’t want to startle you, so I went over there.”

I scoot closer to him, resting my head in his lap as I look up at him.
“That’s fine, but you didn’t have to put your clothes back on.” I mutter, looking up at him with a sly smile as he rolls his eyes.

He waves his hand, and his shirt disappears, leaving his bare torso exposed.
“Ah, that’s more like it.” I tell him, dragging one of my hands down his chest.

He laughs, laying back down on the pillow and pulling me towards him.
The feeling of his smooth skin against mine causes me to sigh, and I trail my fingers back up his body.

“Sleep okay?” I ask, smiling to myself as his breathing becomes more ragged from my touch.

His lips press against my hair softly.
“Yeah.” He answers. “Did you know you talk in your sleep?”

My fingers freeze in their trail down his stomach, and I sit up to look at him.
“What the hell did you hear?” I ask, my heart pounding in my ears.

He smiles, pulling me back down against his chest.
“Nothing crazy.” He murmurs reassuringly. “Just some stuff about fixing mark 17?”

I exhale in relief.

“And you said my name a few times.” He adds on, his fingers trailing up my spine.

I groan, burying my face in the crook of his neck, only making him laugh again.
“It was cute, Tony.” He says softly, his fingers trailing back down. “Every time you said it I’d pull you closer, and you’d nuzzle against me.”

My cheeks burn, and I’m glad he can’t see my face at this angle.

“I liked it.” He whispers, kissing my hair again.

I decide to risk looking up at him, finding his bright blue eyes looking down at me.
My hand slides up to cup his cheek, tilting his face down to mine to press a gentle kiss against his lips.

“I like you staying the night.” I murmur against his lips, and he smiles as I kiss him again.

His stomach growls, and I cock one eyebrow at him as I lean away.
“Breakfast?” I ask, smiling at him softly.

He smiles back as he nods.
“Sure.” He answers. “Where?”

I trail my fingers along his body again.
“We could eat here.” I answer. “The team might be downstairs, but they should get to know you if you’re going to be around more.”

My eyes flit to his face as he grins.
“You want me around more?” He asks.

I nod, my eyes holding his for a moment before I look away.
“I’m not sure that your friends like me very much.” He says quietly. “But I’ll talk to them if you want me to.”

I let my arm fall across his body as I hug him, twisting again to look up at him.
“What makes you say that?” I ask.

He shakes his head.
“A couple of them were fine, but some of them seemed incredibly uncomfortable.” He says, his arms wrapping around my body. “Especially Steve.”

I roll my eyes, sighing.
“Ignore them, they’re assholes.” I answer. “Especially Steve.”

He chuckles lowly.

“They can get over it or get out.” I add, meeting his gaze again. “You’re in my life now so they have to get used to that.”

He smiles as he brushes the back of his hand along the side of my face.
“I like the sound of that.” He answers.

I kiss his jaw before reluctantly rolling out of his grasp, getting out of bed, and pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.
Stephen materializes his shirt back onto his body as he gets out of the bed, and I slide my glasses onto my face before taking his hand and leading him to the elevator.

I hold his hand gently, not closing my fingers around his all the way to make sure that I don’t hurt him.
He takes a deep breath as the doors open and we walk into the kitchen.

Nat stands by Peter, and they both turn as the door opens, smiling widely as their eyes scan over me, my hand in Stephens, and then Stephen.

“Hey there Sleeping Beauty.” Rhodey says, closing the fridge and turning around with a similar smile.

“Hey.” I say as I pull Stephen towards the kitchen. “What’re you making Top Chef?”

Rhodey smiles as he cracks an egg into a pan.
“Eggs, bacon, pancakes.” He says as he cracks another egg.

I clap a hand on Peter’s shoulder as he talks.
“Sounds good to me.” I answer, and Peter smiles at me.

“Hi Mr. Doctor Strange.” Peter says to Stephen, giving him a small wave.

Stephen laughs softly.
“Hey Peter.” He answers. “You can just call me Stephen.”

Peter nods, starting up a conversation with him.
The doors open again, and the trio walks in.

Bucky, Sam, and Steve are all talking to each other as they walk in, but they fall silent as their eyes fall onto Stephen and his hand in mine.

“Morning guys.” Sam says to the room with a smile.
Bucky murmurs a hello to the group as well, and the room replies with greetings back to them.

Steve says nothing, walking through the room and leaving immediately through the other door.
Nat rolls her eyes, sliding off of the stool she was sitting on and walking around the island to help Rhodey in the kitchen.

“Ignore him.” I whisper to Stephen, pressing my lips against his cheek.

He smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

The food is ready soon, and everyone eats together comfortably, including Stephen in the conversation naturally.
Everyone stays behind to talk for a little while after, and you lean against Stephen as he puts an arm around me casually.

Eventually we head back up to my room, and Stephen whispers a sweet goodbye in my ear before opening a portal and disappearing from view.

The following days go by in a grey blur.
Stephen’s texts are few and far between as he works at the Sanctum, and after two days, he disappears entirely.

The compound goes back to normal too, everyone becoming busy in their own lives again.
I find myself reluctantly sleeping in my bed alone, hoping I’ll wake up to Stephen’s orange glow, but it never comes.

I set my phone on the counter in the lab as I go back to work on yet another suit, ready to spend the day alone again, when Steve walks in.
His eyes are unusually soft as he looks at me, a neutral expression on his face.

“Hey.” He says quietly as he walks towards me.

“Hi.” I answer, narrowing my eyes. “What do you need?”

He shakes his head.
“Just wanted to talk to you.” He says in a low tone.

I nod, setting my tools down as I turn to face him head on.
“Okay, so talk.” I answer.

He continues to step closer, until he’s only a couple steps ahead of me.
“I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting.” He says in that same even, low voice. “It hasn’t been fair.”

I nod again hesitantly, and he steps even closer.
“What is this, Rogers?” I ask, leaning back against the workbench behind me.

He looks down at his shoes, then back up at me.
“I’m just apologizing for my actions.” He continues.

I clear my throat.
“Okay.” I answer. “Thanks.”

He dares to take even another step closer, close enough to where I can smell his cologne on his skin.
“I think maybe, I may have been jealous.” He murmurs, his eyes scanning every inch of my face.

My heart stammers in my chest.
“Jealous?” I ask, my voice sounding more like a croak.

He nods this time, taking one final step to close the space between us.
“Jealous.” He whispers.

I lean away, but he grabs onto my waist with one hand, using the other to cup my cheek.
“What do you see in him?” He asks, leaning in slightly.

I reach out with one hand, letting my suit build around it before I use that hand to push him away.
“Fuck off Steve.” I say, twisting out of his grasp.

He laughs lowly before grabbing my wrists in his hands, pressing them against the workbench as he leans back in.
“You don’t understand.” He says, his eyes burning as he looks down at me. “I’m right for you. Not him. Haven’t you wondered where he is? Why isn't he here? I'm here. For you.”

My breathing hitches.
“FRIDAY restrain Captain Rogers.” I say calmly.

She uses pieces of my suits to pull Steve away from me, and he tries to resist as it locks him down into a chair across the room, but eventually he gives up and sags down under the metal.
“What the hell did you do?” I ask him, walking over to look at him.

He just shrugs.
“Maybe you should check the alerts.” He says quietly, his lips twitching with a sick grin.

I keep my eyes locked with his for a moment before I walk over to a screen, pulling up the alert screen.

A huge red alert blinks rapidly at the Sanctum.
A huge red alert that has been conveniently muted.

“You asshole!” I shout, slamming my hand against the call button and summoning the team to me. “How long has this been muted?”

I turn to Steve as he shrugs again.
“24 hours or so.” He answers plainly.

The doors swing open before I can think of a response, and the team pours in.
“What the hell is this?” Sam asks, looking at Steve locked in the chair under the iron suit.

I press my wristband, calling my suit to me as I look at the group.
“Steve muted the emergency alerts.” I answer as the metal builds around my body. “We need to get to the New York Sanctum. Now.”

Nat’s eyes widen as she looks between me and Steve, and then she walks to my side.
“Let’s go.” She answers.

The rest of the team follows her lead as we leave, those of us who fly taking to the skies as Nat and the rest of the team get into a couple of my fastest cars, following behind quickly.

My heart hammers faster and faster as I near Bleeker Street.
Most of the windows in the house are broken, and I fly in through a massive hole in the roof.

“Stephen?” I call as I land, looking around the wreckage inside the house. “Stephen are you here?”

The silence in the house only fills me with more dread.
I walk through the rubble, stepping over bodies of creatures that are definitely not from Earth as I search for Stephen or Wong or anyone else.

“Tony!” Sam calls, and I blast off the ground in his direction immediately.

He’s crunched over near the back of the stairs as I land beside him, and Stephen lays on the ground under him.

His blue eyes flit to me, and I feel a moment of relief.
But the moment passes quickly when I notice the pool of blood around him, and the grey-pale color of his face.

“Hey.” I breathe, falling on my knees beside him, pulling my mask away from my face.
Sam steps behind me, making room.

“Hi.” He rasps back, looking up at me.

I reach out, taking his hand carefully in mine.
“I’m so sorry.” I whisper. “I didn’t get the alert.”

He coughs, and blood splatters against his cheek.
“Hospital.” He chokes out.

I nod, pulling my mask back across my face as I stand.

“Deep breath Doc.” I whisper as I slide my arms under his body.
He breathes in, and groans with pain on his exhale as I lift his limp body up from the ground.

I don’t wait to explain, I simply take off back through the hole in the ceiling, flying him to the nearest hospital.

“Stay with me Stephen.” I tell him as we fly, pulling him closer to my chest.

He nods weakly, his eyelids fluttering.

I push the blasters harder, forcing them to go faster.
We land at the hospital, and I all but run into the emergency room.

“He’s injured we need help.” I tell the lady at the desk, and she looks at him for a split second before pushing the doors open and showing us to the nearest open room.

I lay him down on the bed, pulling back all of my armor and standing beside him.

“We’re here.” I whisper, pushing his hair back. “You’re going to be okay.”

He nods, wheezing a breath out as his eyes work to focus on me.
“Tony—” He breathes.

I brush my fingers along his cheek.
“I’m here.” I whisper. “I’m right here.”

He reaches for me, but his hand drops before it can make it to my face.
I lift it for him, pressing it against my face.
His eyes focus on me for a moment as his chest rises and falls unevenly.

“I love you.” He whispers.

Everything stops, my mind, my heart, my breath.
The room spins as I look back into his eyes.

I love you.

He loves me.

“I—” I begin as a team of medical staff floods into the room.

Stephen’s eyes flutter, and his hand goes limp in mine.

“No.” I breathe. “No—no Stephen wake up.”

I shake him, and he doesn’t move.

A nurse tries to pull me away, but I shake her off, holding his face between my hands.

“Please Stephen please wake up.” I shout hysterically, not even trying to hide the hot tears that burn down my cheeks.

“Mr. Stark please we have to take him now if you want to help him.” A doctor says now, pulling me softly by my shoulder.

I nod, heaving a sob as I rest my forehead on his.
“I love you too, Stephen.” I whisper. “Come back to me.”

I let a nurse pull me away as they push the bed out of the room, and my body collapses as I watch him go.
I sink to the floor, letting the sobs rack my body as he disappears from view.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

The day goes by slowly, the seconds ticking away as I wait for news.
Natasha and Rhodey come into the room, each of them sitting on a side of me as they try to comfort me.

More time passes, and Peter comes too, bringing Bruce and Sam with him.
Finally, the doctor comes back into the room, and I jump to my feet, looking at him with wide eyes.

“Doctor Strange is in recovery now.” He says with a small smile, and my knees buckle with relief. “He lost a lot of blood and went into shock, and has a few broken ribs, but he will be okay soon.”

Nat and Sam stand close beside me, holding me up slightly as I nod numbly.

“We’ll bring him in soon, but he won’t be waking up until sometime tomorrow most likely.” The doctor continues before nodding and leaving the room.

Nat and Sam sit me back down, and Nat moves to kneel in front of me on the floor, looking up at me with her hands on my knees.
“He’s okay Tony.” She says softly. “You got him here on time, and he’s okay.”

Bruce places a hand on my shoulder.
“We decided to take Steve’s clearance down a few levels.” He says quietly. “I’m sorry this happened.”

I nod, acknowledging both of them.

The doors open a few minutes later, and they roll Stephen in on a bed.
Nurses hook up his machines before writing a couple things down.

“I’m sorry, but we can only have two of you stay.” One of the nurses says nervously to the group.

“I’ll stay.” Nat says, standing up and putting her hand on my back. “You guys go.”

Everyone says goodbye, and I mutter something back as they leave.

My eyes fall onto Stephen as he sleeps, his face is spattered in bruises, but already less pale than before.

“What’re you thinking?” Nat asks quietly.

I don’t look away from Stephen.
“It’s hard to see him like this.” I answer, my voice weaker than I was expecting. “I thought he was going to die.”

The hot tears slip down my cheeks again, and I don’t try to wipe them away as they fall.

Nat rests her head on my shoulder.
“But he didn’t.” She whispers. “He’s here.”

I nod, resting a hand on her knee and squeezing it in response.

“You love him.” She whispers, and I turn to look at her.

“How’d you know?” I ask, whispering back to her.

She shoots me a small smile.
“I’ve known you a long time Tony Stark.” She answers, reaching up and wiping away a tear from my cheek. “And I’ve never seen you cry.”

I smile back at her tightly before looking back at Stephen.
I reach forward, taking his hand in mine gently.

“I do love him.” I whisper back to Nat. “And I will have to kill you if you tell anyone about this.”

She laughs, resting her head back on my shoulder.

Chapter Text

I wake up to a gentle hand brushing against my hair.
My eyes open slowly, looking up at the source of the soft touch.

Stephen turns his head, smiling down at me, his hand still brushing through my hair gently.

I sit up quickly, looking at him with wide eyes.
“Stephen are you—are you okay?” I breathe, scanning over him frantically, checking for any sign of anything being wrong.

The bruises on his face are darker, but the color has returned to his lips and cheeks as he looks up at me with that same soft smile.
“Yes, I’m okay.” He answers quietly, sliding his hand around to my face to cup my cheek.

I relax slightly, giving him a tentative smile back as I reach over to hold his other hand in mine.
“You had me worried.” I say softly, leaning my cheek against his hand.

He laughs, a tired sound, but one that sounds like him.
“The Tony Stark was worried about me?” He asks.

I roll my eyes.
“Don’t push it.” I mutter, unable to hide my smile as I look at him.

He smiles back, stroking his thumb along my cheekbone.
“Thank you for staying with me.” He says quietly. “I sent Nat home a few hours ago, I wanted you to sleep.”

I scoot closer to him.
“Of course.” I whisper. “I’ll always stay with you.”

He smiles wider.

“Do you remember anything?” I ask him, shifting my gaze from his eyes to our hands.

He pauses for a moment before answering.
“Some.” He answers. “I remember when you got to the Sanctum, I remember you carrying me here.”

I nod, running my thumb along the back of his hand.

“I remember telling you I love you.” He says in a lower voice.

My thumb freezes in its path.
“Do you remember me telling you that I love you back?” I murmur, not looking up.

“I don’t.” He says in that same low tone, his hand tilting my chin up to look at him. “Do you? Love me back I mean?”

I can’t help but smile as I look back at him.
“I do.” I tell him softly. “I love you.”

He smiles, running his fingers along my cheek.
“I love you too.” He whispers back.

I stand up, leaning over the edge of the hospital bed to press a soft kiss against his lips.
He rests one hand on the back of my head, the other falling on the small of my back as he kisses me gently.
I rest my forehead against his as I pull away.

My chest suddenly heaves with a sob, and I duck my face down into the fabric of his hospital gown.
His arms wrap around my torso as I frantically try to hide the fact that I’m crying against his body in the silent room.

“Talk to me.” He whispers, rubbing my back gently.

I shake my head, taking a deep breath to force the tears back down.

“Then come lay with me.” He says, letting go just long enough to scoot over in the bed.
I step out of my shoes, climbing into his bed beside him, letting him pull the thin blanket up around me as he wraps me tightly in his arms.

“I thought you were going to die Stephen.” I breathe, my tears soaking into the gown against his chest. “I thought I would be here without you.”

He nods, his hands rubbing up and down my back again.
“I know.” He murmurs. “I thought I might not make it either.”

I twist to look up at him.
“But all I could think about was how badly I didn’t want to leave you behind.” He says, looking down at me.

He wipes a tear from my cheek.

“I’m sorry I took so long to get there.” I whisper. “Steve muted the emergency alerts.”

His eyes narrow.
“He muted them?” He asks.

I sigh.
“Yeah.” I answer. “And he tried to come onto me.”

His eyebrows raise as his eyes burn blue.
“Did he hurt you?” He asks, his voice louder as his arms pull me closer to his body.

I shake my head, reaching up to run my fingers down the side of his face gently.
“No, no.” I murmur. “No, I’m okay.”

He nods after a moment.

“He won’t be though.” I add on, and the corner of Stephen’s mouth twitches. “Do you want to hold him down while I hit him, or would you rather hit him while I hold him down?”

He can’t help but chuckle, shaking his head at my proposition.
“You can hit him.” He mutters after a moment. “Though it would feel nice.”

I laugh now, nuzzling my face into the crook of his neck as I do.
The doctor comes in a few minutes later, and I climb out of the bed as he dresses Stephen’s wound on his abdomen.

He releases Stephen shortly after, giving me care instructions as Stephen signs himself out.

“You do know that you’re coming home with me, right?” I ask as I help Stephen dress into clothes that one of the guys brought last night.

He laughs.
“You do know that I’m a medical doctor, right?” He asks back.

I pull the shirt over his head, pulling it down over the bandages around his torso.
“I do, but you’re still coming home with me.” I answer, kissing his nose.

He rolls his eyes, but chuckles as he takes my hand.
I pull his arm around my shoulders, wrapping my arm around his waist to support him as I help him walk out to the car I called for.

“I could transport us there.” He whispers as I help him into the car.

I shake my head, reaching over and buckling his seatbelt carefully around him.
“You aren’t ready for that yet.” I answer. “You have to heal before you get all wizard-y again.”

He nods, fighting to hide a soft smile that pulls at his lips.
I sit beside him, resting my head on his shoulder as the driver takes us to the compound.

I help him back out of the car once we arrive, silently hoping Steve isn’t home as we slowly walk to the door.
Luckily, we don’t run into him on the way to the elevator.

The only person who stops us is Peter, asking about Stephen quickly before hurrying back to his room.
I get Stephen into the elevator and up to my room, trying to ignore how pale he is by the time I lay him down in my bed.

“Are you okay?” I ask, arranging the pillow under his head as I tuck the blanket up around him.

He nods, his eyelids heavy as he looks up at me.

“You should sleep.” I whisper, pushing his hair away from his forehead as I press a kiss on the center.

He nods again, already falling asleep.
“Love you, Tony.” He murmurs.

I smile, though he doesn’t see it.
“Love you too.” I murmur back.

I stay in the room for a while, just sitting in the room to make sure he’s okay as he sleeps, but after thinking about the events of the day before, I decide that I can’t just sit in the room and do nothing.

I quietly get back in the elevator, asking FRIDAY for Steve’s location.
She tells me he’s in his room, so that’s where I go.

I knock on his door, rubbing my hands on my pants as I wait for him to open the door.
He opens the door slowly, stepping into view and looking at me with a surprised expression.

“Tony.” He says quietly. “I wasn’t expecting—”

My fist makes content with his nose with a sickening crunch.

“Don’t ever pull that shit with me or anyone else again.” I tell him, my voice low and dark.

A trickle of blood drips out of his nose as he grips the doorframe with white knuckles.

“I’m letting you off this time, we both know that’ll be healed in ten minutes, but if you ever do anything like this again, I swear to you, you will pay.” I spit, leaning closer and pressing a finger into his chest as I talk, not breaking eye contact with him.

He says nothing, so I turn on my heels to leave.

“I’m sorry Tony.” He says as I press the button on the elevator.

I turn back around, glaring at him.
“I don’t believe you.” I reply.

He shakes his head, wiping the back of his hand against the trickle of blood under his nose.
“I didn’t know he was hurt.” He answers. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

This time I’m the one who says nothing, stepping into the elevator and pressing the button to close the doors.
I cover my face with my hands as the elevator begins to move, ignoring the protest in my right hand as my knuckles begin to ache.

I stop in the kitchen, making coffee before heading back up to my room.
Stephen turns towards the door as I walk back into the bedroom, looking at me with a yawn.

“Sorry, I meant to be back when you woke up.” I say, taking a drink from my mug as I walk back over to the bed.
I climb into bed beside him, and he rests his head on my thigh.

“Sleep okay?” I ask, running my left hand down his arm as I carefully hold the mug with my right hand, ignoring the throbbing in my knuckles.

He nods.
“Where did you go?” He asks, looking up at me.

I shake my head, taking another drink from the mug.

“Are you going to let me see your hand, or are we going to pretend you didn’t hit someone or something?” He asks, raising his eyebrows as he looks at me.

I sigh, moving my mug to my left hand as I let him take my right in his hands.

“So I guess you didn’t want me to hold him down?” He asks, looking between my hand and my face with a smirk.

I smile down at him, shrugging.
“Didn’t want to wake you.” I answer. “You’re so pretty when you sleep.”

He rolls his eyes, but his smile grows.
“Nothing’s broken.” He says as he touches my knuckles. “But you’ll probably have a couple bruises.”

I groan.
“His head is hard as a damn rock.” I mutter, and Stephen laughs.

I lay back against the pillows, setting my mug on the side table as he wraps his body around mine, resting his head on my chest.
“I want to tell you something.” I whisper, running my fingers along his spine.

“Okay, go ahead.” He answers, whispering too.

I take a deep breath.
“You don’t have to stick around me if you don’t want to.” I say quietly.

He pushes away, twisting up to look at me with a sharp intake of breath.
I put my hand over his torso, looking at him with wide eyes as I think of the wound underneath splitting open.

He covers my hand with his, shaking his head as he looks into my eyes.
“Why would you say that?” He asks, his voice hardly audible.

I swallow hard.
“People who stay close to me typically get hurt.” I whisper, looking down at his hand over mine, picturing the bandages below. “You should have an out.”

He shakes his head again.
“I don’t want an out.” He whispers. “I told you weeks ago, and I’ll tell you forever, I just want you.”

He runs his fingers along my jawline gently, resting them on the tip of my chin.

“But Stephen, what if—” I start.

“I just want you, Tony Stark.” He says again, cutting me off.

I smile a small smile as he tilts my chin up to kiss me gently.

“I just want you, Stephen Strange.” I whisper against his lips, kissing him again.

He smiles and pulls me closer, and I finally feel at peace again.

Chapter Text

Stephen heals slowly over the next few days, his color returning to his skin as his light returns to his eyes.
We spend hours in my room, talking together peacefully as I nurse him back to health.

His lips find mine again and again, his fingers trailing up the sides of my body as I carefully straddle his waist, kissing him deeply.
A knock on the door sends us separating, breathing shakily as we do.

“Come in.” I breathe, buttoning my shirt as I lean against the pillows.

Nat swings the door open, her hand covering her eyes as she steps into the room.
“Everyone decent?” She asks, laughing. “I’m not going to see anything I shouldn’t?”

Rhodey walks in behind her, laughing too.
“They’re decent.” He says, looking over to our positions on the bed.

Stephen chuckles beside me, his cheeks reddening slightly.

“What’re you two jokers doing in here?” I ask, rolling my eyes as I shoot them a lazy smile.

Nat drops her hand, crossing her arms over her chest as she smiles at us.
“We’re here to invite you two hermits to movie night.” She says, looking at Rhodey.

He smiles too, stepping closer to us.
“Yep.” He answers. “We’re making Peter watch The Breakfast Club.”

I raise my eyebrows, genuinely surprised that they thought to invite us.
“Will a certain Star-Spangled asshole be there?” I ask, resting my hand on Stephen’s thigh.

Nat’s smile drops slightly, and Rhodey looks at the ground.
“No.” She says after a minute. “Bucky actually took care of that.”

I cock my head to the side.
“What do you mean ‘took care of it’?” I ask.

Rhodey sighs.
“Well, he didn’t like what he did to Stephen.” Rhodey says, his eyes flitting to the remaining bruises on Stephen’s face. “So they had a bit of an argument. Steve’s in the infirmary.”

I sit up a little bit, looking at them head on.
“The infirmary?” I ask.

Nat nods now.
“Yeah, he’s alright.” She says. “Movie’s in an hour, hope to see you guys there.”
She smiles before turning and leaving the room, Rhodey in tow.

I turn towards Stephen as the door shuts.
His eyes scan mine before his mouth pulls into a soft smile.
“You want to go talk to him.” He says softly.

I sigh.
“Unfortunately, yes.” I groan, resting my forehead on his shoulder.

He laughs quietly, wrapping his arms around me as his lips press gently on the top of my head.

“Are you mad?” I ask, looking up at him.

He shakes his head.
“Mad at you for having a good heart?” He murmurs, his fingers trailing along my cheek. “Never.”

I smile at him softly.
“Thank you.” I whisper, pressing a kiss against his lips. “I’ll be back soon.”

He smiles, leaning back against the bed as I get up.
“I’ll be here.” He says with a wink.

I leave the room, stepping into the elevator and going down to the infirmary.
My heart races as I step into the room, and Bucky looks up from his position beside Steve’s bed.

“Hey.” I say quietly.

He stands, walking over to me.
“Hey.” He answers. “What’re you doing here?”

I gesture towards the bed, Steve’s face and most of his body obscured by the curtain around him.
“Came to see him.” I answer, my eyes falling back to Bucky’s.

His face is slightly bruised on one side.
Looks like Steve tried to fight back, at least for some of it.

He nods solemnly.
“I’m sorry that happened.” He says quietly, the fingers on his metal arm twitching as he talks. “Wasn’t fair to you, or Stephen.”

I nod now.
“Me too.” I answer.

He nods once more before walking past me, getting into the elevator and shutting the door.
I slowly walk towards Steve’s bed, his face coming into view as I round the curtain.

He looks up at me with wide blue eyes, one slightly swollen and yellowed with a healing bruise.

“Hey.” I say, spinning the chair beside his bed around and straddling it as I look down at him.

His lip is slightly split, the edges of the cut are a light pink as it starts to heal, and he has an IV pumping who knows what into his massive arm.
He takes a deep breath, sitting up slightly.
“Hey.” He answers, looking me up and down, sizing me up. “What do you need?”

I sigh.
“I came to see if you were okay.” I say reluctantly, looking out the window beside his bed instead of at his face.

“Oh.” He says quietly. “Why?”

I shrug.
“Because you’re still my teammate.” I answer, looking down at my hands now. “No matter if you’re a dick or not.”

I risk a look up at him, finding the corner of my mouth to be turned up in a small smirk.

He notices it too, smirking back for a second before he looks down at the sheets.
“I have been a dick.” He mutters. “I am sorry.”

I look back out of the window.
“It’s alright.” I answer. “Barnes kicked your ass pretty good, so I guess we can be almost even.”

He chuckles lowly.
“Yeah he did.” He replies, shaking his head. “But thanks.”

I stand, spinning the chair back around.

“Wait, Tony.” Steve says as I turn to leave.

I turn back around to face him.

“Is Stephen okay?” He asks quietly.

I nod.
“Yeah, he’s okay.” I answer, just as quietly.

He nods, and I turn away again.
This time, he lets me leave.

I step back into the elevator, going back to my room.
The doors open, and I hear the sound of the shower running.

I smile to myself as I walk towards the bathroom, following the soft sound of Stephen humming a melody.
I unbutton my shirt silently, dropping it to the floor before removing the rest of my clothes.

I pull the shower curtain open, stepping into the shower beside Stephen, relishing in the look of surprise on his face as I run my fingers up his wet body.

His eyes trail down my own body, his mouth falling into a lazy smile as he bends down to kiss me deeply.
“How’d it go?” He asks, murmuring against my lips.

I groan.
“Don’t ask me about Steve while we’re naked.” I mutter back, eliciting a laugh from him.

He pushes me back gently, pressing my back against the wall of the shower as he kisses from my lips down to my chest and back.
“We’re going to be late for movie night.” He whispers, sending a shiver down my spine.

“They always start it late anyway.” I whisper back, pulling him closer.

He laughs, pressing his lips back against my skin.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

We step into the living room, hand in hand, hair still wet from the shower, only 15 minutes late.
And, as I anticipated, half of the group hasn’t even made it to the living room yet.

I pull Stephen to the couch, sitting down beside him and putting my legs over his lap as he sits too.
Peter comes to sit beside him on the other side, and the rest of the group trickles in soon after.

Nat presses play on the movie, winking at me before sitting by Wanda on the opposite couch.
We watch the movie as a group, laughing and talking as it plays.

Stephen’s head rests against my shoulder as he watches, and he falls asleep towards the end of the movie.
As the credits begin to roll, I look down the couch, realizing that Peter’s head rests on Stephen’s shoulder, and he’s asleep as well.

I smile, kissing Stephen’s forehead gently as he sleeps.

Nat turns the movie off as people quietly leave the room.
Wanda smiles at me softly as she brings a blanket over, covering the three of us with it.

“Thank you.” I whisper at her, giving her a smile back.

She and Nat leave the room, turning the remaining lights off as they go.

I wrap my arm around Stephen’s shoulders as I rest my head on his, my hand falling on Peter’s shoulder.
And for once in my life, I feel like my family is complete.

******************************************************************************************************************************************

(Sorry this is a bit of a shorter chapter y'all, I have COVID so I'm feeling rather uninspired, but I wanted to give you guys an update!!)

Chapter Text

Eventually, Stephen has to go back to the Sanctum, having to go back to fix the damages caused by the battle that ensued there.

“Do you want me to come with you?” I ask, standing as he slides his shirt over his head.

He looks at me with an easy smile, his blue eyes sparkling.
“You want to come help me clean?” He asks.

I nod, stepping closer and resting my hands on his chest.
“Yeah, I do.” I answer, looking up at him.

He rests his hands on my hips.
“Then yes.” He answers. “I do want you to come.”

He presses a gentle kiss against my cheek before pulling me to the side of his body, reaching one hand out to open his orange portal before us.
The inside of the Sanctum swirls into view in the center, coming into focus as the portal grows.

“Ready?” He asks, and I nod.
We step through the portal, and Stephen sighs as he looks around the big living room.
Splintered wood covers the floors, mixing with broken glass that crunches as we step into the room.

“Stephen.” Someone says from behind us, and we turn to look in the direction of the voice.
Wong steps through the entry way of one of the other rooms, walking up to Stephen and putting a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you okay?” He asks, looking up at Stephen before glancing over at me.

His face has a couple yellowing bruises, and his lip and eyebrow are slightly split still, but he looks okay other than that.
Stephen nods, keeping one of his hands on my waist while he puts the other on Wong’s shoulder.

“Yeah I’m okay.” He says with a smile. “Are you? I didn’t see you before everything happened.”

Wong nods, and both men drop their arms.
“Yes.” He answers. “I was transporting between the dimensions to deal with the situation, but when I came back you were gone.”

Dimensions?
They were fighting something interdimensional?
Alone?

My heart beats faster.

“Tony took me to the hospital.” He says, pulling me closer slightly. “And then I stayed with him for a few days to heal.”

Wong looks at Stephen’s hand around my hip, and mine looped around his waist before smiling softly.
“Thank you for your help Mr. Stark.” He says.

“Tony.” I answer, reaching my hand out to shake his.

He smiles again.
“Tony.” He answers, shaking my hand.

I clap my hands together as he drops my hand, swallowing down the sudden anxiety building in me as I think of how I found Stephen.
“Where do we start?” I ask, gesturing to the wreckage.

Wong leads the way, and Stephen takes my hand as he follows behind him.
He gestures to various parts of the destroyed house, explaining what has to be done.

We get to work soon after, I use my suit to lift heavier pieces of the broken beams as Stephen and Wong use their magic to seal them back together.
The glass and splintered wood are moved by magic as well, and soon enough a fine sheen of sweat is dancing along Stephen’s face.

“And I think it’s time for a break.” I say, landing beside him and pulling the mask of my suit away from my face.

He looks at me, raising one eyebrow.
“I’m fine.” He says, breathing heavily as he raises his hands to work his magic again.

I pull back more of my suit, resting my hands on his and pushing them down gently.
“You need to rest.” I say quietly. “You haven’t used this much magic in a few days.”

He sighs, putting his hands down.
“I guess.” He mutters, his face twisting into a grimace.

I force a smile at him, pushing the worry down again.
“Thank you.” I say, putting my arms around him.

He smiles down at me, leaning down to kiss me gently.
“I don’t know if much of my room is intact, but we can see.” He says quietly.

He leads us up the side of the stairs that isn’t still destroyed, and leads us to a room on the right side of the open loft on the second floor.
He opens the door, leading us into a small bedroom.

The inside is in good condition, somehow having missed the worst of the damage.
The room is fairly basic.

A large window covers one wall, dark blue curtains pulled to the sides to let the light pour in.
His bed sits in the center of the room, unmade, grey sheets exposed and twisted into the black comforter.
Two large bookshelves sit on either side of the bed, covering the remaining space along the walls as books fill the spaces, perfectly organized in their rows.

“It’s no Avenger’s Tower…” He says quietly, shutting the door behind us. “…but here we are.”

I shake my head, turning to face him.
“I like it.” I answer, sliding my hands up his chest, looping them around the back of his neck. “It’s nice.”

His hands fall on my hips as he presses his lips to my forehead.
He leads me towards the bed, laying down and pulling me to lay beside him.
I stay sitting up slightly, wrapping my arms around him as he rests his head against my chest.

“You don’t have to lay there if you don’t want to.” I mumble, shifting slightly. “It can’t be comfortable to have your face against the metal.”

He shakes his head, nuzzling closer as one of his hands slips under my shirt.
“It’s not on the metal.” He murmurs, his fingers tracing around the metal of my Arc Reactor. “My cheek is against your chest. I can feel your heart beating.”

His fingers slide around the scarring, sending a shiver through my body.
He looks up, searching my face.

“That feels nice.” I whisper, looking down at him.

He smiles, his fingers continuing their path as his cheek returns to it’s position on my chest.
I run my hand up and down his back as his fingers slow against my chest, his eyes closing as he falls asleep.
I stay with him for a while longer, letting him fall into a deeper sleep before carefully removing his limbs from my body and sliding away from him.

I stand, stretching as I tap the side of my glasses.
“FRIDAY?” I whisper, looking at Stephen to make sure he’s still asleep as the lenses flicker to life.

“Yes Mr. Stark?” She whispers back.

I pull out my phone, using it to silently navigate the screens before my eyes.
“I need you to order some parts.” I whisper. “Enough for a few prototypes I’m sure.”

She agrees, opening a screen that shows the amount of supplies I would need.

“I’ll need supplies for someone a little taller.” I murmur, glancing at Stephen asleep on the bed. “6’ 3”, 6’ 4” maybe.”
She updates the quantity of the supplies, and I confirm the order before turning my glasses off again.

I switch the screen on my phone to the app where I draw my blueprints, pulling out my stylus and sitting on the floor beside the bed as I start to sketch an outline of a body.
I draw the person in the shape of Stephen before drawing the outline of a suit on top of it.

Where I usually draw the blasters in the palms of my hands, I pause, picturing his shaking fingers as he slides his ring onto them and opens a portal before him.
I turn the drawing, adding armor to the backs of his arms and hands, but leaving his palms open.

He turns in the bed, and I lock my phone, sliding it back into my pocket with the stylus before I stand back up, climbing back onto his bed.
His eyes open as I do, and he smiles at me softly.

“Sorry.” He mumbles, reaching out to me. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

I wrap my arms back around him as his arms fall gently around me.
“No, it’s alright.” I answer, using one of my hands to push his hair away from his face. “You needed the rest.”

He yawns, tightening his grasp on my body.
“What were you doing?” He asks, looking up at me.

I smile lazily.
“Just a little work.” I answer. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

He rolls his eyes.
“Always working.” He mutters with a small smile.

I run my fingers along his shoulder blades.
“Always something to work for.” I murmur, looking down at him.

His eyebrows raise slightly.
“And what’re you working for today?” He asks.

I shake my head before leaning down to kiss his forehead.
“That,” I whisper, kissing his forehead again, “is classified.”

He rolls his eyes again before tilting his chin up to kiss me.
His lips are soft against mine as his hand reaches up to cup my cheek gently.

A quiet knock on the door sends us reluctantly pulling apart, our eyes staying locked as Stephen mumbles something to whoever knocked at the door.

“Um, should I come back?” Wong says, clearing his throat as he walks into the room.

Stephen smiles at me, winking before pulling away to face him.
“No.” He answers. “What’s up?”

Wong awkwardly steps towards the bed.
“I just wanted to see how you were feeling.” He says, shifting his weight. “And… I need your help.”

Stephen laughs, sitting up.
“I’m good, I can help.” He says before kicking his feet over the side of the bed.

He turns to face me, raising his eyebrows in question.

“I should probably head home.” I say, exhaling as I stand up. “Text me?”

He places a shaking hand against my cheek, smiling at me softly.
“Of course.” He says quietly. “Don’t work too hard.”

I turn my head, pressing a kiss against his palm before pulling my suit around my body, leaving my face exposed.
“You don’t work too hard.” I answer.

He rolls his eyes again, shaking his head before taking my hand in his and leading me out to the hall.
“I won’t.” He says quietly. “I love you, Tony.”

He taps my chin with his finger, kissing me again quickly.

“I love you too.” I whisper. “See you soon.”
I pull the rest of my armor around my face before igniting the blasters of my suit, flying through the hole in the ceiling.

The anxiety starts to build again the further I get from the Sanctum, the further I get from Stephen.
The idea of not knowing if he’s okay, if he’s safe, makes my heart race.

I stumble as I touchdown on the landing pad of the Avengers Tower, pulling in my armor and all but running towards the elevator.
I step inside, slamming my hand against the button that leads to my lab.
The doors open again, and I step into my lab.

“FRIDAY, are my supplies in?” I ask, pouring a glass of brandy as the screens of the computers flicker to life.
She says yes, telling me where the boxes are.

I pull up my blueprint on one of the screens as I unpack the boxes, immediately starting on the prototype of the suit.
I fall into my work, cutting and welding the metal together as I eye the measurements carefully.

The elevator doors open, and Steve walks in.

He stands by the elevator doors, only stepping into the room enough for the elevator doors to close again.
“Hey.” He says quietly.

I set down my tools, turning to face him fully.
“Hey.” I answer, minimizing the screen of blueprints.

He takes a deep breath.
“Can I come in?” He asks, gesturing to the space between us.

I nod, crossing my arms over my chest.
He steps forward a few steps, still leaving a large gap between us.

“Making another suit?” He asks, nodding towards the metal scattered across the bench in front of me.
I shrug.
“Looks different.” He says, looking at the rough arm piece I have constructed, sitting up on the side of the table.

“Trying something new.” I answer. “Did you need something?”

He exhales.
“I just wanted to see where we are.” He says quietly.

I nod, taking a deep breath.
“We’re… well, I guess that’s a good question.” I answer, running my hands through my hair.

He nods this time.

“I guess we’re co-workers, Steve.” I say, looking up at him. “I can’t say much more than that.”

He nods again.
“That’s fair.” He replies after a minute.

We sit in silence for a minute, and then he turns to leave, but pauses in front of the elevator.
“Is that for him?” He asks, looking at me through the reflection in the metal.

I meet his gaze.
“Yeah.” I answer, feeling like I should tell him the truth for some reason.

He nods.
“Again, I’m sorry he got hurt like that.” He says. “I didn’t intend for that.”

I stand up now.
“You say that, but you turned off the alerts.” I answer. “What the hell did you think was going to happen?”

He turns around, facing me again.
“I wanted him to get hurt.” He answers, flatly. “I wanted you to hurt. I didn’t want him to almost die.”

He rubs his temple with his fingers.
“And I didn’t want to hurt you like this.” He says, gesturing to the metal in front of me.

My eyebrows furrow.
“What does that mean?” I ask.

He sighs.
“You’re panicking.” He says quietly. “Building a suit so he can’t get hurt, right?”

I don’t answer.

“I know you.” He continues. "Does he know you're doing this?"

I don't answer, picking my tools up again.
“I think you should go.” I tell him, not looking back up at him.

I start the welding machine, hearing the elevator doors open and close a minute later.
I turn the machine back off as I look up, making sure that he’s gone.

“Asshole.” I mutter, pulling the blueprints up again and downing the rest of my brandy.

It’s none of his business what I do.

And it’s not his responsibility to protect Stephen.

I start the welding machine again, turning my music on as loud as it goes as I work.

*********************************************************************************************************

(Thank you all for the well wishes on my last post, I'm feeling much better!! 🖤)

Chapter Text

I spend hours in the lab, working on the suit for Stephen alone.
I tune everything out except for the blaring music through the speakers as my fingers dance along the metal, executing the plan from my mind.

Eventually an alert comes over my screens, signaling that someone’s called for a meeting in the living room.
I sigh, turning the music off as I put my tools down, running my hands on my jeans to clear the majority of the oil from them.

I press the button on the elevator to take me to the living room, only realizing I’ve left my phone in the lab as the doors open on the main floor.
A few people are in the room already, Steve included.

I go the direct opposite direction of him, walking towards the bar and pouring myself a drink as Peter bounds over to me.
“Hey Mr. Stark, what’s this about?” He asks, looking across the bar at me.

I take a drink from the glass as I look back at him, shrugging.
“Beats me, I didn’t call it.” I answer.

The rest of the team slowly trickles in, and finally Nat calls the group to order.
“Alright, this’ll be short and sweet.” She says, gesturing behind her to Wanda and Vision. “These two have something to say.”

I raise one eyebrow as they walk to the front of the room, and Nat walks to the back to stand near Peter and me.

“We just wanted to let you all know that we’re expecting a baby.” Wanda says with a smile, her eyes never leaving Visions.

My face creases in confusion as I search the room, looking towards Bruce, just to find his face mirroring my expression as his eyes meet mine.
The rest of the room erupts in congratulations, everyone moving to circle the happy couple as Bruce makes his way to me.

“Tony is that even—?” He starts.

“I’m not really sure.” I answer, glancing back at Vision as he presses a kiss against Wanda’s forehead. “I guess he isn’t entirely robotic… he is a synthezoid.”

Bruce’s eyebrows only furrow deeper.
“I guess so.” He says after a minute, his fingers running through his hair. “I’m going to head back to my lab and look through some things, are you coming?”

I shake my head.
“No, I’ve got some stuff to finish up, let me know what you come up with though.” I answer, downing the rest of my drink.

He nods, and I can practically see the gears turning in his head as he walks back down the hall.

I meet Vision’s gaze as I step back into the elevator, nodding in congratulations to him as I press the button to my lab.
He smiles, ducking his head in thanks as the doors close.

I get back into my lab quickly, but as I step inside, Stephen is standing in the center of the room.
“Hey.” He says with a small smile, looking up at me.

I walk over to him, glad I turned the screens off before I left, silently hoping he doesn’t notice the proportions of the suit on my workbench.
“Hi.” I answer, forcing a dazzling smile, trying to look calm and happy. “What’re you doing here?”

He meets me halfway, resting his hands on my shoulders.
“You didn’t answer your phone.” He says quietly. “I just wanted to see what you were up to.”

I look over on the workbench where my phone lies between scraps of metal.
“I left it down here, I’m sorry.” I answer, resting my hands on his hips.

“For 12 hours?” He asks, ducking his head down to meet my gaze.

I sigh, dropping my hands and pulling away from him to get back to my work.
“I was just busy.” I answer, picking up a scrap of metal and fiddling with it.

I hear his footsteps behind me as I drop the metal back onto the counter, picking up a new piece.
“Do you want to tell me what’s really going on here?” He says quietly.

I sigh again, slamming the metal against the table as I do.
“No.” I answer, my words dripping in bitterness. “Because nothing is going on. I’m busy, Strange.”

I grip the sides of the table, exhaling shakily, feeling the anxiety boiling in my chest.

Stephen says nothing.

I spin on my heels to face him.
“What?” I ask, just wishing he would go so I can finish the damn suit. “I don’t have time for this.”

I try to push past him, but his hands rest softly on the sides of my face, stopping me in my tracks.
“Tony.” He whispers. “You’re having a panic attack aren’t you?”

My heart hammers against my chest, threatening to explode as my breathing hitches.
“No.” I breathe, but my voice breaks as I speak.

I risk a glance up to his face, and as my eyes meet his, everything falls apart.
I stumble forward, immediately gasping for air as the world begins to close in on me.

Stephen’s arms wrap around me tightly as he carefully pulls me to the floor, securing me against his chest.
“Tell me about it.” He whispers, his hand running along my arm as he begins to rock slightly.

I shake my head, and his hand brushes against my cheeks, smearing hot, wet tears along my skin.
“You can do it.” He whispers again, pulling me closer still.

I take a deep breath, looking up at him again.
“Stephen I almost lost you.” I whisper, my voice raspy and weak. “I can’t imagine that again. I won’t let that happen again.”

I reach into my pocket, tapping my screen with shaking fingers until my blueprints of him in the suit project onto the screens around the room.

Stephen looks up at the designs, his eyes wide as he looks between the metal pieces on my table and the screens.
“Tony…” He breathes, dragging his eyes back to mine. “You’re making me a suit?”

I nod, looking away from him now.
He cups my chin, tilting my face back to his.
“Thank you.” He whispers. “No one’s ever cared for me like that.”

I reach up, cupping his cheek in my hand.
“I can’t lose you.” I whisper. “I’ll do anything to keep you safe. I don’t have all of the logistics worked out yet but I’m sure once the first or maybe second prototype is finished—”

I trail off as he nods, twisting his face to kiss my palm.
“You won’t lose me, Tony.” He murmurs. “I’m here.”

He leans down, pressing a soft kiss against my lips now.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He murmurs, his lips brushing against mine. “You keep me safe, and I’ll keep you safe.”

I kiss him now, nodding as I do.
We stay in this position for a while longer, Stephen running his fingers along my face gently as he presses soft kisses along my cheeks, nose, and lips.

My fingers run through his hair, breaking apart his careful styling, leaving his black and silver hair falling messily around his eyes.
“Do you want to see what I have so far?” I ask, gesturing to the metal on the table.

He nods, offering his arm to me as I stand.
I turn around then, offering my hands down to him to help him up.

I walk over to the table, and Stephen wraps his arms around my waist, resting his head on my shoulder as I reach for a metal arm piece.
“Give me your hand.” I murmur, rubbing my cheek against his head gently as I talk.

He complies, keeping one hand around my waist as he extends the other.

I fit the metal around his arm, carefully pressing his fingers into position as I secure the piece of armor.
“Can you move your fingers?” I ask, keeping my eyes on his hand.

Slowly, he flips his palm up before curling his fingers towards the center.
He opens them again, wiggling them stiffly.
“Looks like it.” He says, looking up at me with a smile. “As much as usual anyway.”

I laugh softly.
“Can you make a portal?” I ask.

He shakes his head.
“I’d need my ring, I don’t think it’ll slide over the metal.” He says quietly.

I nod, reaching out to the screen in front of me, tapping to create a note.
“Space for ring.” I mutter to myself. “I’ll need the dimensions of that.”

He chuckles, nodding again.
“You’re a genius.” He whispers, pressing his lips to my neck.

I laugh now, closing my eyes as I cover his hand on my waist with mine.

“Hey Tony, I—oh, gosh I’m sorry.” Bruce stammers, stepping out of the elevator and looking over at me with wide eyes.

Stephen steps away, sliding his hands into his pockets and looking down at his shoes.

“No it’s okay.” I answer, clearing my throat. “What’s up?”

He tentatively steps closer, holding out a flash drive.
“I just pulled up some information and biometrics on Vision.” He says awkwardly. “I compiled anything that might be important onto this.”

I take the flash drive from his hand, nodding as I slide it into my pocket.
“Cool, I’ll check it out.” I tell him. “Thanks.”

He ducks his head, giving a small wave before he hurries back into the elevator, not looking back up as the doors close.

Stephen walks back over as the elevator leaves, returning to his position of his arms on my waist and his head on my shoulder as I carefully pull the metal off of his arm.
“What’s that all about?” He asks as I set the armor onto the table.

I shrug.
“Wanda’s pregnant.” I answer. “And we didn’t exactly think Vision could… do that.”

I laugh as I twist in his arms to face him.
“Oh.” He answers, raising his eyebrows. “Interesting.”

He laughs now, and I rest my hands flat against his chest.
“Do you ever want to have kids?” He asks after a minute, his eyes searching my face in the silence after the question.

I shrug again.
“I have a kid.” I answer. “Have you met Peter? He’s twice the work of a regular teenager.”

Stephen chuckles, looping his fingers through my beltloops and pulling me closer slightly.
“You know what I mean.” He says quietly, sitting back against the counter and pulling my body between his legs.

I take a deep breath in.
“I don’t know.” I answer, exhaling. “Honestly I swore the idea of kids off a long time ago. Saw how my parents raised me and decided I would never try to raise one of my own, too many things to mess up.”

Stephen nods, his eyes still searching my face.

“But after knowing Peter… after having him around here for a couple years, I don’t think it’d be too bad.” I answer, softer this time.

Stephen smiles at me.
“You’re good for him.” He says quietly. “He’s lucky to have you.”

I shake my head, smiling too.
“No.” I answer. “I’m lucky to have him.”

Stephen smiles wider.
“Proof that Tony Stark has a heart.” He murmurs, and I roll my eyes as he kisses me, my smile never leaving my lips.

Chapter Text

Stephen stays in the lab for hours as I work on the suit, watching me work at some points, answering my questions when I ask, and letting me try various pieces of armor on his body as I fit the pieces of metal.

Eventually, he moves to the side of the room, sitting on the floor and opening a small portal before him as he pulls a book through the orange glowing circle.
He flips through the pages, reading a page and closing his eyes as I weld two pieces together.

I watch him now, looking up from my work as his lips whisper something under his breath.
He slowly lifts off the ground, his cloak wrapping around his body as he levitates above the floor in time with his chants.
I find my hands dropping to the counter as I watch him, completely entranced with his magic as he breathes evenly, floating above the floor.

I quietly move around the table, walking over to the floor in front of him.
His eyes don’t open, his lips continuing their careful chant as I sit before him.

The room is quiet, the only sound being the soft whisper of his words as he floats in front of me, quiet enough to where I can’t even make out what he’s saying.
I look at the pages of his book on the ground, but unfortunately it’s in another language.

I just sit and watch, my eyes studying each crease of his face.
A while later, he slowly floats back to the ground, his cloak moving out of the way for him to be seated back on the ground.

His eyes flutter open, opening widely before settling on my face and causing him to smile softly.
“Hey.” He says quietly. “You okay?”

I nod, scooting closer.
“Yep.” I answer. “Are you?”

He nods as I take his hands in mine.
“What were you doing?” I ask, scanning his eyes.

They flit away from my face for a moment before meeting my gaze again.
“Astral projecting.” He says plainly. “It’s just a way to keep things… in check.”

I raise one eyebrow.
“And are things ‘in check’?” I ask.

He nods, hesitantly.
“More or less.” He answers, his eyes flitting away again.

I pull on his hand, drawing his gaze back to me.
“What does that mean?” I ask.

He sighs.
“The same people Wong and I were facing when—well, you know—they’re planning to come back.” He says quietly.

My heart beats faster, and I run my fingers along the insides of his wrists.
“So we’ll be prepared this time.” I answer, just as quietly.

He shakes his head.
“You don’t have to do this Tony.” He says, reaching one of his hands out of mine to cup my cheek.

I cover his hand with mine.
“I want to.” I answer, my voice louder now. “I couldn’t before, and I’ll be damned if I let you face that alone again.”

His thumb slides along my cheek.
“Okay.” He answers. “Then we’ll do it together.”

I nod before standing back up.
“I need to finish this then.” I tell him, walking back to the pieces of the suit on my table.

His arms wrap around my waist a moment later.
“Finish it later.” He whispers. “We have a few days still.”

I laugh under my breath, shaking my head again.
“Come to dinner with me.” He whispers. “I know a place in the city.”

I turn in his arms to face him, sliding my arms up his chest to wrap around the back of his neck.
“Dinner in the city, huh?” I ask, looking at his small smile and letting it dissolve the anxiety building in my chest. “Sold.”

His smile grows as he bends down to kiss me.
His hands slide around to my biceps before sliding one down to my hand and weaving his fingers through mine.

He leads me to the elevator, and I press the button that leads to the garage.
“You picked the place, I’ll pick the car.” I say, winking at him.

He laughs, but quickly goes quiet as my row of sparkling cars comes into view.
“I think you’d look pretty in the blue.” I tell him, pulling him to the side of a dark blue Corvette, opening the passenger door and closing it behind him as he sits down.

I walk around the front of the car, getting into the driver’s side and smiling at Stephen as I start the engine.

I rev it suddenly, and Stephen jumps slightly before laughing under his breath.
“You are something else.” He mutters as I rest my hand on his thigh before peeling out of the garage.

I laugh, squeezing his leg gently as I press the button to retract the top of the car, making it into a convertible as we get out into the sun.
The warm air washes over us, swirling into our hair and dancing along our skin as I drive towards the city.

“Where am I going?” I ask as I turn down a main road.

Stephen gestures vaguely with a hand.
“Turn right at the next light, then your second left.” He says, looking around as he talks.

I follow his directions, finding myself parking outside of a small Italian restaurant.
I get out, rushing to his side to swing the door open and offer him my hand.

He looks up at me with a smile, rolling his eyes as he takes it.
“Got change for the meter?” He asks as I shut the door.

I raise my eyebrows as I look at him.
“Unless the meter takes platinum, no.” I answer. “I don’t carry change.”

He laughs, shaking his head as he digs in his pocket, pulling out a few quarters and dropping them into the meter.
He leads me into the restaurant, telling the hostess his name before she leads us to a small booth in the back corner of the room.
A waiter with a thick Italian accent takes our drink orders before lighting a candle between us and hurrying away.

“This is nice.” I say, looking around the unfamiliar restaurant.

He studies my expressions closely.
“Are you sure?” He asks. “You don’t seem like a ‘mom and pop restaurant’ type of guy.”

I chuckle, taking his hand.
“I’m not.” I answer truthfully. “But it is nice.”

He smiles, bringing the back of my hand to his lips gently.
The waiter returns with the drinks and a basket of bread before asking us what we want to eat.
“I didn’t even look.” I say, looking at Stephen. “What do you like here?”

He orders in fluent Italian, and my jaw drops slightly.
“Do you particularly dislike anything?” He asks, a coy smile playing on his face.

I shake my head, smiling back at him as he speaks in Italian again.
The waiter scribbles the orders down before scurrying away again.
“I didn’t know you spoke Italian.” I say quietly, leaning closer to him.

He leans closer slightly too.
“I’m full of surprises.” He whispers back, his low voice echoing through me.

“Hmm.” I murmur. “Interesting.”
He laughs, leaning forward to brush his nose against mine.
“So how’d you find this place?” I ask, looking around the room again as I swirl the wine in my glass.

He looks around too, scratching his beard with one hand as he thinks.
“I came here with a friend from the hospital a long time ago.” He says after a minute. “We’d been in surgery for hours, and we walked down this street for some air afterward when we stumbled upon this little hole in the wall.”

He smiles as he looks towards the door.
“And then we came after every surgery after that.” He adds on, turning his gaze to me.

I smile back at him, squeezing his hand gently.
“Do you miss it?” I ask softly. “Being a surgeon?”

He exhales heavily.
“I do.” He answers. “I miss helping people, but I don’t miss the person it made me become.”

His eyebrows furrow.
“I was a real asshole most of the time.” He says quietly.

I slide my thumb along the back of his hand.
“Believe it or not, that wasn’t in your file.” I mutter, shooting him a small smile.

He smiles too.
“Huh.” He answers. “You should probably make a few edits then.”

I laugh, and he follows a second later, his baritone laugh warming the room.
The waiter returns shortly after, setting two steaming plates before us.

Stephen thanks him in Italian before he walks away again.

“What’re we having?” I ask, breathing in the sweet smell of tomato sauce as the steam comes up from the food.

“Manicotti.” He answers, unwrapping his silverware and reaching across the table to my plate.
He cuts a piece off, stabbing it onto his fork before looking at me with a soft smile and bringing the fork to my lips.
I open my mouth, leaning forward to take the food into my mouth.

The flavor is amazing, sweet and salty at the same time as I chew, better than any five-star restaurant.

“Well?” He asks, setting his fork on his plate.

“I think you should pick date spots more often.” I answer, swallowing and using my napkin to wipe the corners of my mouth.

He chuckles, cutting into his own food as I pick up my fork.
We eat and talk together, laughing as we drink our wine.
I pay the check, and Stephen takes my hand as we walk out of the restaurant.

A camera flashes as the doors shut behind us, and we both turn to face the source.
Three paparazzi men with cameras look back at us, snapping another picture as they call my name.

Stephen drops my hand instantly, stepping away as he does.

“What’re you doing?” I ask, looking up at him.

His wide, blue eyes look back at me.
“I’m sorry Tony.” He says quietly. “I didn’t realize people would follow us here.”

I step back towards him, reaching a hand out to him.
“I don’t mind.” I whisper, keeping my eyes locked on his.

The cameras flash again as a small crowd begins to form, some people calling for Tony Stark while others call for Iron Man.
Stephen looks between them and me once, briefly.
“Are you sure?” He asks quietly.

I nod, smiling as I close the gap and take his hand in mine again.
The cameras go wild, the lights flashing wildly as they capture me holding another man’s hand.

I pull Stephen closer, standing on my toes to whisper in his ear.
“Kiss me.” I whisper.

He scans my face as I lean away, and I smile at him, nodding.
Suddenly, he grabs me by my waist, dipping me down and kissing me deeply.

I lock my arms around his neck as he deepens the kiss, dipping me even lower.

The sound of the cameras clicking goes wild as the small crowd around us gasps and a couple people cheer.

Stephen sets me back on my feet after a moment, taking my hand and pushing through the crowd as we get back to my car.

I open his door again before getting in on the drivers side, putting my hand on his thigh as I step on the gas, a wide smile on my face as we drive away.

Chapter Text

I wake early the next morning to my phone going off, over and over.
I groan as I roll over, reaching to the side table to grab my phone and squinting at the light on the screen as I click it to life.

“What’s wrong?” Stephen asks, his voice thick from sleep as he rolls over to face me.

The screen of my phone floods with pictures of Stephen kissing me outside of the restaurant, the paparazzi tags and headlines filling the news pages as my name trends.
Headlines read “Tony Stark’s Newest Plaything” or “Iron Man is Gay?” or “Avengers Dating Game, Iron Man and Doctor Strange Addition”.

I crack a smile at the screen, tilting it towards Stephen to show him.

He reads over the headlines briefly, looking at the pictures before exhaling loudly.
“I’m sorry, Tony.” He says quietly, averting his gaze.

I lock my phone, silencing it before setting it back on the table.
“I’m not.” I murmur, rolling over and pushing him down by his shoulders, climbing on top of him and hovering above him. “I’m glad it’s out.”

He lifts his eyes back to mine, a soft smile falling on his lips.
“Are you positive?” He asks, his hands coming up to rest against my waist.

I nod, leaning down to press a gentle kiss against his lips.
“Absolutely positive.” I whisper. “Are you?”

He laughs lowly, squeezing my waist gently.
“Obviously.” He answers playfully. “I’m Tony Stark’s newest plaything.”

I roll my eyes, laughing as I kiss him again.
“Newest, favorite, last.” I mutter against his lips.

He kisses me back before leaning away, looking up at me with raised eyebrows.
“Last, huh?” He asks, a smirk playing on his lips.

I roll off of him, laying flat on the bed as I sigh.
“Don’t push it.” I say, winking at him out of the corner of my eye.

He then rolls over to be on top of me, hovering closely above my body so that his bare chest is pressed against mine.
“Oh, but I do love to push your buttons.” He mutters, his lips pressing against my neck.

I laugh breathlessly, my fingers winding into his hair.
He continues his path down my neck, my breathing becoming erratic as his lips and teeth move along my skin.

A sudden knock at the door sends us both groaning as Stephen slowly climbs off of me.
I get out of the bed, running my hand through my hair as I walk to the door.

I swing it open, coming face to face with Wong and Natasha.
“Morning sunshine.” She says, winking at me before looking over my shoulder and giving a wave of her fingers to Stephen. “This one wants you guys.”

She pats Wong’s arm, pushing him forward slightly.
“Sorry Tony.” He says, eyeing Nat in a sideways glance. “I just need to speak with Stephen.”

I nod, swinging the door open the rest of the way and gesturing for him to come in.

Stephen is already standing as we walk in, adjusting his robes as he gives a tight smile to Wong.
“Did you see it?” He asks, all traces of his playful tone gone from his voice.

Wong looks at me briefly before nodding once, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Three days?” He asks, and Wong nods again.

Stephen sighs before crossing his own arms over his chest.
“I’ll meet you at the Sanctum soon.” He says, stepping closer to Wong and setting a hand on his shoulder.

Wong smiles at him tightly before turning to give me the same smile.
He steps to the center of the room bidding us goodbye before opening a portal and stepping through it.

“Three days until they come?” I ask, looking at Stephen.

He nods, his eyes staring into mine.
“Okay.” I mutter, beginning to pace. “Okay, I can finish the suit today, fit it to you and make adjustments, and get the rest of the team on board.”

I pace the length of the bed, running the palms of my hands along the fabric of my pajama pants as I walk.
“We should have time, I think there will be time.” I stammer, turning and pacing back up the length of the bed.

Stephen steps in front of me, interrupting my path with his body as his hands come to rest on my shoulders.
“Tony breathe.” He says quietly. “Everything will be alright.”

I shake my head, running my hand through my hair hard enough to pull strands out with it.
“You don’t know that.” I answer. “We have to get ready.”

He searches my face before nodding.
“Okay.” He says in a soft voice, his hand moving up to cup my face. “I’ll go work with Wong, you go talk to your team and work on the suit, okay?”

I nod, leaning my face against his hand.
“Right.” I answer, exhaling shakily. “I’ll text you when it’s done.”

He nods, leaning down to press a kiss against my forehead.
“I’ll come whenever you want me to.” He says quietly. “I love you.”

I lean forward, resting my forehead in the crook of his neck.
“I love you.” I whisper back.

He holds me close for a moment before stepping away, opening a portal and giving me a small smile over his shoulder before stepping through and disappearing from sight.
I immediately throw a shirt on, grabbing my phone before calling for FRIDAY to call a mandatory meeting.
I slam my hand on the elevator button, tapping my foot impatiently as it goes down to the conference room.

As I walk in, most of the team is already there, looking at me with confused or bored expressions as I walk to the front of the room.
“Hey guys, I don’t really have time to wait so if someone could just update whoever isn’t here.” They look at me with even more confusion as I run my hands through my hair again.
“The Sanctum is going to be under attack soon—like 3 days.” I say plainly, avoiding Steve’s gaze, looking at Nat and Peter as I talk. “I’m here to ask for your help. Entirely optional.”

I take a raspy breath as I look around the room at their faces.

“Tony, you know we’ll help you.” Sam says, standing up and walking across the room, extending a hand out to me.
I shake it, smiling at him tightly as I do.

“Buck?” He asks, looking over at the table.
Bucky nods, looking at me briefly before looking down at the table.

“We’re here for you, and for him.” Nat says, smiling at me softly. “Sam’s right, we’ll help.”
I give her the same tight smile.

“Thank you.” I say to everyone in the room, nodding once. “I have a few things to do, but I’ll let you guys know when I have more information.”
I turn on my heels hurrying out of the room as the room swells with conversation behind me.

I press the button on the elevator, trying to get to my lab when I hear fast footsteps behind me.
“Mr. Stark?” Peter asks, and I turn around to look at him. “Can I help with anything?”

His wide eyes look at me, the perfect picture of innocence as he asks.
I almost say no, but find myself holding the elevator door open for him as I nod.
“Yeah, I could use another set of hands.” I answer, and he smiles widely as he steps in beside me.

The side of his arm rests lightly against mine as we move down to the lab, and we get to my lab after a moment.
“What’re we working on?” He asks as I turn on the screens and call the pieces of Stephen’s suit to the work bench.

I lead him to the table, showing him the various pieces of metal.
“I’m making a suit for Stephen.” I tell him, gesturing to the blueprints on one of the screens.

He nods, reaching out and spinning the design slightly.
“This is cool.” He says after a minute, zooming into the hands. “These are interesting, for the portal thing right?”

I smile slightly, looking at him as he thinks about it.
“Yeah.” I answer, reaching in front of him to turn the plan slightly as I pick up a piece to compare it next to it. “He’s tried these on and they fit, I just have to finish putting everything together and get him to try it on again before—everything happens.”

Peter nods slowly.
“Is it really serious?” He asks quietly, turning to face me.

I swallow hard, looking him in the eyes.
“No.” I answer, unsure how truthful I’m being. “We’ll be fine. All of us.”

He nods slowly before cracking a smile, picking up a piece of the metal from my desk.
“Let’s get started then.” He says, looking down to fit two pieces together.

I smile at him, even though he can’t see it, as I start the music.
We work in a comfortable quiet, each of us humming along to the music as we work.
The job is done faster than I was anticipating, and we find ourselves putting the last pieces together and stepping back to admire the work in only a couple hours.

“What do you think?” He asks, turning his head to look at me.

I purse my lips, nodding as I look over the suit.
“I think it’ll work.” I answer. “Hopefully my calculations were correct.”

Peter puts his hand on my arm gently.
“They will be.” He says in a soft voice. “They always are.”

I give him a tight smile back, covering his hand with my opposite one and squeezing it gently.
“Thanks Peter.” I whisper before pulling out my phone.

I text Stephen, telling him the suit is complete before walking to the bar and pulling out two glasses.
I fill one to the normal level, and the other just a quarter of that.
I hand Peter the less full one, nodding at him as his eyebrows raise in question.

“Listen kid, if you’re old enough to save the world, you’re old enough to have a drink with me.” I tell him, clinking my glass to his.
He laughs before taking a sip, choking down the brandy as I swallow it smoothly.

I clap a hand onto his shoulder before ruffling his hair gently, laughing as he drinks the rest of it and slams the glass onto the counter.
“Thanks Mr. Stark.” He chokes out, looking up at me with pink cheeks.

I nod, tapping his chin with my finger as a bright orange light fills the room.
“Hi Mr. Doctor Strange!” Peter says, turning to smile and wave in Stephen’s direction.

Stephen smiles back, walking over and giving Peter a gentle hug as he greets him.
He then steps around him, wrapping his arm around my waist before pressing a kiss to my hair.
“You guys have been busy.” He says, looking over at the suit displayed on the counter.

I nod, stepping towards it and pulling him with me.
“Time for you to try it on.” I say, anxiety welling inside me again as I place him in front of it.

He agrees, handing me his sling ring as he gets into a relaxed stance before the suit.
I call for FRIDAY to put the suit on him, and she begins to move the pieces from the counter to place the metal parts against his body.
Peter and I watch as they fit into place, both of us holding out breath as we wait to see if it’ll work.

“What do you think?” I ask as the last piece clicks into position. “Can you move? Is it comfortable?”

He takes a few steps, reaches out his arms, and wiggles his fingers.
“I think so.” He answers. “Feels good.”

I exhale, but not quite all the way yet.
“And a portal?” I ask, pressing his ring into the palm of his hand.

He slides it onto his fingers, and it clicks into place.
He then lifts his hands, forming the positions before a large, orange portal appears in the center of the room.

“It’s perfect, Tony.” He says, releasing the portal as he smiles at me.

I finally release my breath, smiling back at him.
“Good.” I answer, walking over to him and resting my hands on his metal hips as I look up at him. “I’m glad it all works.”

He rests his hands on my hips as he looks down at me.
“We’ll be alright.” He says quietly, looking past me to look at Peter. “All of us will be.”

Peter steps closer, and I step away from Stephen just far enough to leave space for Peter to fit between us.
We each rest a hand on his shoulder, and he rests a hand on each of ours.

“As long as I’m around, I swear nothing bad will happen to either of you.” I whisper, looking between each of their eyes.

Peter nods solemnly, understanding the weight of the words.

“I believe you.” Stephen whispers, before kissing my temple gently.

Chapter Text

The team prepares in the following days, everyone coming together at the Sanctum on the day that Stephen and Wong set for the attack to occur.

I stand near Peter as the team is quickly briefed by Stephen, and I look over the team before me as he talks, finding myself surprised to see Steve standing near Bucky and Sam.

Stephen comes to stand beside me as he finishes talking, pressing the button on the watch I gave him to pull the metal suit around him.

“Wong and I will open the portals.” He says, sliding his sling ring into place as he talks. “Once we step through, there’s no telling how soon the action will commence.”

Everyone nods solemnly as I get into my own suit.

Orange portals open before us, and people begin to step through.

Sam, Bucky, Steve, and Nat go through with Wong, their portal disappearing as Wong steps through behind them.

Peter shoots us a smile over his shoulder as he steps through Stephen’s portal, Clint and Bruce following behind him closely.

As Bruce fades into the portal, already turning green from the Other Guy, I turn to Stephen.

“Don’t do anything stupid.” I tell him, looking into his eyes.

He smiles at me before his iron mask clicks shut over his face.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Stephen says with a chuckle.

I roll my eyes as I let my own mask cover my face, igniting my blasters as I fly through the portal.

Stephen comes behind me, and we find ourselves in a large field.

“Where are we?” I ask, looking around.

Stephen and I fly towards the sound of battle as I continue to look around.

“Tennessee.” He answers. “Not sure why they chose to come here, but they must be looking for something.”

We move over a hill, finding a fight already in progress at the bottom.

Creatures with horns and dark blue skin fight against my team with their weapons, a type of spear that shoots a plasma-like material.

Stephen and I slow just before we land, locking eyes through the tinted lenses of the suits.

“If we live,” I breathe through the communication speakers between us, “I’ll marry you.”

We move closer, and I hear him laugh lowly.

“If we live,” He answers as we meet the team, “I’ll let you.”

I laugh as my boots hit the field, my fist coming into contact with the face of one of the creatures as I land.

My eyes instantly search for Peter, my anxiety lessening slightly as I see him holding his own against a couple of the creatures as he fights between Nat and Clint.

I lift my hands, blasting another alien as my eyes search for Stephen again, exhaling with relief as I see him working his magic beside Wong.

The creatures fight hard, working to press past our line of defense, moving towards a barn in the distance, but they can’t seem to break through as we fight them back just as hard.

My eyes flash between Peter and Stephen as I fight, not willing to let either of them out of my sight for more than a minute as they fight their own battles.

Finally, the last creature falls to the ground, and an eerie calm falls across the field.

Everyone breathes heavily, looking to each other’s faces to see if any damage has been done.

“Nat, Clint, Steve, Wong, will you guys check that barn?” I ask, breathing heavily as I retract my helmet from my face. “They want something there. The rest of us will clean up here.”

They nod, everyone breathing just as heavily as I am as they move towards the small barn at the top of the hill.

“Alright, let’s search their packs for anything they might’ve brought with them.” I say to the remaining group members. “They might have—”

I hear something rustle behind me, and I trail off my sentence.

“Tony watch out!” I vaguely hear Stephen call, but a searing pain burns through my abdomen before I have the chance to move out of the way.

Not only does the pain burn through me, but a hotter, sharper pain follows soon after, and I feel an ache in my chest as I lose consciousness. 

Stephen’s POV:

“Alright, let’s search their packs for anything they might’ve brought with them.” Tony says, clapping his hands together as he looks around at us. “They might have—”

Something moves behind him, and my heart drops.

“Tony watch out!” I call, taking a step towards him.

One of the creatures behind him has stabbed a spear through his body, and before anyone has a chance to move, it sends a spray of electricity through him, causing him to collapse onto his knees.

Bucky sends a shot, landing it directly in the skull of the creature as it falls backwards, away from Tony.

I run towards him, picking him up as Peter goes to the other side, pulling the still-sparking spear out of his body.

I press the button on his wrist, retracting his iron suit to reveal his sweaty, blood-soaked t-shirt and pants below.

“Tony.” I whisper, tapping my hand against his cheek. “Tony please wake up, please.”

He doesn’t move, his jaw slackening as I tap his face.

His Arc Reactor sparks erratically in his chest, and I don’t hesitate as I lift him up into my arms, opening a portal before me.

I hear questions and protests behind me as I step through, but I don’t stop to reply as I shut the circle behind me.

The familiar, frantic hum of a hospital waiting room surrounds me as I look around the emergency room at Metro General Hospital.

I retract the mask to my own suit as I push through the double doors, ignoring the receptionist as she yells at me to stop.

“Christine!” I call as I walk down the hall. “Christine Palmer!”

Doctors and nurses alike look at me with nervous confusion as I walk past the rooms, and finally Christine steps into view.

“Stephen?” She asks, her eyes wide as she looks at Tony in my arms and the metal suit surrounding most of my body. “Stephen what the hell is this?”

I walk past her, going to an empty operating room and laying Tony down on the table.

“You have to help him.” I tell her, grabbing a pair of scissors and cutting his shirt away from his body.

Her eyes widen as she looks at the metal circle in the center of his chest, still sparking wildly.

“What is that?” She asks. “What happened to him?”

I give her the briefest recap of what went through his body to cause the gash and I tell her all I know about the Reactor before turning to her, facing her head on.

“Please help him.” I beg. “Please.”

Her eyes scan my face for a moment before flashing back to him.

She sighs, quickly running to intercom system and pressing the button.

“I need a full operation staff to OR-6.” She says. “Stat.”

I exhale, wrapping Tony’s hand in both of mine as I lean down to press my lips almost against his ear.

“You’re okay.” I whisper to him, hot tears slipping down my cheeks, onto his. “You’ll make it, and I’ll let you marry me. I love you, Anthony. Come back to me.”

I press a kiss against his temple before standing back up, wiping my cheeks with the back of my hand as I turn back to Christine.

“I know I can’t help you in a traditional sense.” I tell her, clearing my throat, holding my trembling hands up for her to see. “But I can help in other ways.”

Her eyes widen as I move my fingers into a position for the magic to work, casting an orange glow through the room.

“Just let me know what you need.” I add softly.

She nods, her face returning to normal as the surgery team floods into the room.

I look back at Tony, taking a deep breath as we start the process of saving his life.

Chapter Text

Stephen’s POV:

19 hours later, we wheel Tony’s unconscious body out of the operating room, and into a recovery wing.

I pull the blankets up around him, double checking the monitors before I walk back out into the hallway.

“Thank you.” I say, reaching out to shake Bruce’s hand.

He nods as he shakes my hand back.

“And thank you.” I say, reaching my hand out to Peter as well.

He smiles as he shakes my hand, yawning as I let go.

“If anything happens with the Reactor, give me a call.” Bruce says, handing me a scrap of paper with his number on it. “We reset the core and rewired it, but I’ve never worked with that kind of tech before so I can’t be entirely sure."

I nod, sighing slightly as I do.

“His pulse was stable.” I say, leaning my head back into the room to listen to it again. “His body is just exhausted.”

Peter nods, his eyebrows knitting together with concern.

“I’ll call you when he wakes up.” I tell them both, but looking mainly towards Peter. “It could be a couple days.”

They both nod, telling me goodbye as they leave the hospital.

I go back into the room, quietly pulling a chair up beside Tony’s bed.

I check his vitals once more before sitting beside him, gently taking his hand and resting my forehead against his shoulder.

My eyes close, and I relax against his arm.

Tony’s POV:

I wake to a steady beeping sound, wincing at the bright light coming through the window as I open my eyes.

Stephen’s face instantly comes into view above me, his hair is disheveled as his bright blue eyes stand out against dark circles of sleeplessness.

“Hey.” I choke out, my throat feeling unusually sore. “What happened?”

I turn my head, looking around the room, groaning as I realize that I’ve somehow ended up in a hospital.

“Your Arc Reactor failed.” Stephen says quietly, his voice low and tired sounding. “We had to keep you in surgery for 19 hours.”

My eyes widen as my head snaps back to his, my hand reaching up to touch the metal in my chest.

“How did you fix it?” I ask, trying to sit up. "Is everyone else okay?"

Stephen pushes me down gently, using the remote on the side of the bed to move me to a sitting position.

“Everyone is alight. We had to call Bruce and Peter in for help.” He says quietly. “I could help with the cardiac episodes, but we couldn’t figure out the mechanics alone.”

I nod, pulling the hospital gown away to look down at the metal.

“And the cardiac episodes stopped?” I ask, looking over at the machines.

Stephen’s hand takes mine gently, his fingers intertwining with mine.

“After a couple hours.” He says quietly. “You were out for three days after the surgery, your body needed time to rest.”

I look back at him, reaching up to cup his cheek gently.

“And you haven’t slept.” I say, brushing along the circles with my finger.

He shakes his head, laughing under his breath.

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to.” He says, turning to press his lips to my hand. “I was worried for a while there, I thought I might lose you.”

I scoot over, grunting with the surprising amount of effort it takes, and then pat the bed beside me.

Stephen rolls his eyes, but smiles as he climbs into the hospital bed beside me.

I wrap my arms around him, pressing my lips to his forehead.

“Unfortunately you’re suck with me, Strange.” I whisper, kissing his forehead again. “Remember what I said if we survived that?”

He laughs again, looking up at me with a soft smile.

“How could I forget?” He asks. “Tony Stark, making outlandish claims of marrying some wizard.”

I laugh now, reaching for my wrist and clicking my watch to pull the arm of my suit to me.

I control it remotely, having it bring me a small black box and drop it into my hand.

I flip the box open, revealing a platinum band with a single sapphire in the center.

“I’m nothing if not true to my word, Stephen.” I say, holding the ring out to him. “Will you marry me?”

His eyes widen as he sits up straighter.

“Tony—” He breathes, looking between the ring and my eyes. “Are you sure?”

I laugh softly, pulling the ring from the box.

“I’m sure.” I tell him. “Bought it a month after you stayed the night with me.”

He smiles, his eyes glossing over slightly with tears.

“So, what do you think?” I ask, holding out the ring again. “Will you let me marry you?”

He laughs now, nodding as he lifts his left hand, sliding his finger through the band.

His hands land on my cheeks, holding my face gently as he leans forward to kiss me.

“I love you.” He whispers against my lips.

I pull him back to my chest, running my fingers along his back.

“I love you.” I whisper back. “Now sleep, we have a wedding to plan.”

Chapter Text

We stay in the hospital for another day before I can finally convince the doctors to let me go back to the compound and rest there.
Stephen hovers over me as a nurse helps me into a wheelchair, his hands flitting around me looking for a way to help as his eyes stay locked onto mine.

“Relax.” I breathe as I settle into the chair, biting my cheek to stifle a groan at how sore my body is. “I’m good.”
He exhales, but only barely as we begin to walk down to the car.

I reach up, taking his hand as the nurse has us step into the elevator.
He smiles softly, his thumb swiping softly along the back of my hand, the band on his fourth finger glistening in the harsh fluorescent light of the elevator.

The nurse stops the wheelchair in front of the black car at the curb, and Happy opens the driver’s side door, rushing around to me and helping me up before the nurse has a chance.

“Hey Happy.” I say, grunting as he pulls me up. “Miss me?”

He laughs as he helps me into the backseat.
“Nope.” He says. “I was just super bored today, so I thought I’d come pick your sorry ass up.”

I laugh now as I settle against the leather, Stephen sliding in beside me on the other side.
Happy gets back in, and we drive away from the hospital.

I lean my head over, resting it on Stephen’s shoulder as we drive.
He kisses my hair, looping his arm around me and squeezing gently.

We ride in comfortable silence back to the compound, Stephen and Happy both rushing to help me out of the car as we park out front.

“Guys. I’m not made of glass.” I mutter, laughing as they half-carry me into the living room.
They set me on the couch, and I roll my eyes as I smile at them.

“Then stop getting broken.” Stephen mutters back, throwing a blanket across my lap.
I laugh lowly as the sound of quick footsteps enters the room.

“Mr. Stark!” Peter calls, running to the couch and throwing himself down beside me.
He wraps his arms around my shoulders, hugging me as his head rests against mine.

“Hey Pete.” I say softly, resting my hands on his arms.
Stephen smiles as he sits on the other side of me.

“I was worried about you.” He says quietly, not releasing his grasp on me at all.

I pat his arms gently.
“I’m sorry kid.” I answer. “But I’m alright now.”

He nods, sitting back slightly to look at me.
The door behind us opens, and more footsteps walk in.

“You always keep us safe.” Peter murmurs. “We have to be better about keeping you safe.”
Stephen nods, resting his head against mine.

“We do.” Nat says, walking around the front of the couch with Sam, Bucky, Bruce, and Steve. “I’m sorry we weren’t there. You always are.”

I shake my head.
“You’re all being ridiculous.” I say softly. “You were all busy, I should’ve been paying attention.”

I sit up slightly, looking at Nat.
“Did you guys find what they were looking for?” I ask her.

She nods, holding her hand out to Steve.
He reaches into the small bag on his shoulder, pulling out a large, yellow, glowing crystal.

“We aren’t sure what it is.” Nat says as she takes it from him, holding it out for me to see. “Bruce tried to get a reading on it, he’s getting new equipment and he’s going to try it again.”

I nod, trying to memorize it’s appearance before Nat slips it back into Steve’s bag.

She looks at Stephen for a moment, then back at me before cracking a small smile.
“Something you wanna tell us hot shot?” She asks.

I smile back at her.
“Ever the observer Romanoff.” I answer, reaching for Stephen’s left hand. “There’s an event coming up, and I suppose you’re all invited.”

I lift his hand, showing the ring to the small group in front of me.

“No way!” Peter exclaims, his eyes widening as he smiles between us.

Sam claps his hands together a few times, and Bucky even cracks a small smile.
Nat wishes us congratulations, and Steve nods in silent acknowledgment.

The group dissipates soon, leaving just Peter and Stephen on either side of me.
“They’re right you know.” Stephen says quietly. “They should care for you like you do for them.”

I shrug, pulling Peter closer, just barely.
“I’ll watch you two, you two watch me.” I murmur, leaning against Stephen’s chest.

My eyes get heavy as Peter leans against me.
“That’s what families do.” I whisper as my eyes get too heavy to reopen.

Peter nuzzles closer as Stephen kisses my forehead, and I fall asleep between my two favorite people.

Chapter Text

The days pass slowly as I continue to recover, everyone hovering over me as they worry about my Arc Reactor healing.
I wake before Stephen, looking at him out of the corner of my eye before slowly sneaking out of the bed and creeping down to Bruce’s lab.
He looks up from his table, pushing his glasses onto his forehead as he does.

“Well, well, well.” He says, standing up and smiling at me. “Look who finally decided to show up.”
He walks over, extending his hand to me.

I shake it as I smile back.
“Finally got the chance to sneak out.” I answer, letting go of his hand and stepping to the side. “What’s the damage on the weird glowy thing?”

Bruce shrugs, sighing as he walks me back to his work table.
The yellow crystal sits in the center of the table on a metal pedestal.
“I’m really not sure.” He answers. “It’s similar to the infinity stones, but not identical.”

I nod, looking at the screen as it scans over the object, my eyes freezing on a portion of it.
“Is it—?” I trail off.

“Alive?” Bruce finishes. “I think so.”

I nod, slower this time as I watch the strange pulse flash on the screen.
“Is it an egg?” I ask, my eyes flashing back to the object.

He shrugs again.
“It must be.” He says, tapping something on the screen. “I just don’t know what’s in it, or why they wanted it so bad.”

I nod again, running my hand through my hair.
“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens when it hatches.” I answer. “Any idea how to tell the incubation time on something like this?”

He taps another screen, pulling up a chart.
“I think the pulse correlates to time in incubation.” He says, gesturing to a graph. “The pulse has been slowing gradually, I think it’s nearing its hatch date.”

I scan over the graph, noting the slow decrease in the heartrate as the days go by.
“Guess we should start planning this little guy’s birthday party, huh?” I ask, bending down to get eyelevel with the egg.

Bruce laughs, bending down beside me to look at the egg too.
“I guess so.” He answers. “Do you think it’ll be before or after your wedding?”

I turn to look at him, standing back up.
He stands up too smiling at me and looking at me out of the corner of his eye.
“I’m happy for you Tony.” He says, clapping his hand on my back gently.

I smile at him softly.
“Thanks Bruce.” I answer, and he nods before dropping his hand.

A moment later, the door opens, and Peter strides in with Stephen close behind him.
“I figured I might find you down here.” Stephen says, ruffling through his hair with his hand as he walks over to me. “Putting his brilliant mind to use, Doctor Banner?”

Bruce chuckles as Stephen swings an arm over my shoulders, planting a kiss on my forehead as he does.
I bite back a smile, my cheeks filling with heat as I lean back against him.

“Whenever I can, Doctor Strange.” Bruce replies with a grin.

I groan dramatically.
“Alright, alright.” I say, stepping back towards the egg. “Enough comparing PhD sizes with the whole ‘Doctor, Doctor’ thing.”

Peter chokes back a laugh as he pushes past Stephen to look at the egg beside me.
“Did you tell him it has a heart?” He asks, looking at Bruce.

My mouth drops open as I twist to look at Bruce as well, glaring at him.
“You told the kid before me?” I ask, causing Peter to laugh again.

Bruce looks at me with a sheepish expression.
“You were hurt!” He says, putting his hands up. “Peter was here and wanted to help!”

I groan again, looking at Peter now.
“Fine.” I say with a wink. “Just this once.”

Peter nods, trying to look serious as he pushes down a smile.
“It’s an egg?” Stephen asks, coming beside me to look down at it.

Bruce and I both shrug.
“We think so.” Bruce answers. “It has a pulse. We just don’t know what’s in it or why they wanted it.”

Stephen nods, examining it again before pulling out his phone and snapping a picture of it.
“I’ll see if there’s anything at the Sanctum about it, or if Wong’s seen anything like it.” He says, sliding his phone back into his pocket.

He kisses my forehead again before taking a step back.

“Call me later?” I ask, turning to look at him.
He nods, smiling at me as he opens a portal.
Peter watches with wide eyes as he steps through, disappearing with the orange light.

“Alright nerds, back to work.” I say, turning around and looking at Bruce and Peter.

They both roll their eyes, smiling as they turn back to the work benches.
I roll up my sleeves as I step between them, glad to be back in my element.

Chapter Text

I work in the lab with Bruce and Peter for most of the day, not finding much more information on the strange egg.
Eventually we leave the lab, moving to the living room and flopping down on the couches.

“Has Mr. Doctor Strange texted you?” Peter asks, stretching as he pulls out his own phone.

I shake my head, checking my phone again.
“Not yet.” I answer. “He’s probably still in his astral realm or whatever.”

Bruce laughs under his breath as he runs his fingers through his hair.
“You’re marrying a man with advanced sorcery capabilities, and you just casually throw out ‘astral realm or whatever’ without questioning it.” He mutters, crossing his arms over his chest.

I laugh too, shrugging.
“Don’t mix magic and science Banner.” I answer. “Trust me, it gets way too complicated.”

He considers it for a moment before nodding, taking my answer as valid.
We all sit in the room in silence for a while, resting after a long day at work.

A bright orange light floods the room, and I stand up, walking towards the portal as Stephen steps through with Wong.
“Hey.” I say, smiling at him and nodding to Wong as well.

Wong smiles back, bowing slightly as Stephen steps closer, wrapping an arm around my waist as he kisses my forehead.
“How’d it go?” I ask, looking between the two of them.

Stephen takes a deep breath as Wong looks down, taking a step away from us.
“We found what it is.” Stephen says lowly, leading me back to the couch and sitting, keeping me tucked under his arm. “I think.”

I nod, looking at Wong as he awkwardly sits beside Bruce.
“But?” I say, trying to get him to break this tension he’s brought with him.

He takes another deep breath.
“But… I have to go to space to dispose of it.” He says, his voice dropping to a quiet mumble by the end.

I stand up, looking down at him.
“I’m sorry, I must have misheard you.” I say with a forced laugh. “I know you didn’t say you have to go to space.”

Stephen looks over at Wong before looking down at his hands.
“I do, Tony.” He says lowly. “I have to get rid of it, but it’s going to be big and there isn’t a place on this planet where I can do it safely.”

I look at him incredulously, and Peter shifts uncomfortably on the other end of the couch.
“Then I’m going too.” I tell him, crossing my arms over my chest.

Stephen stands then, resting his hands on my shoulders.
“There is no way in hell.” He says, looking down at me. “Not after what just happened, and not when I’m more than capable of doing it alone.”

I run one hand through my hair, sighing as I do.
“And what the hell do I do while you’re up there?” I ask, my voice edging on hysteria.

He squeezes my shoulders gently.
“Tony.” He says quietly. “My love, for once, you do nothing.”

My mouth drops open slightly as I look up into his bright blue eyes.
“You do everything for everyone.” He says quietly, his hand moving to cup my cheek. “Literally, for everyone in the world. Let me do this for you.”

I clench my jaw tightly as I look at him, considering it.
“I’ll take it up there, bring it to a dormant planet, and destroy the planet.” He says, his thumb running along my cheekbone. “I’ll be back before you can even find a way to track me.”

He winks then, and a laugh slips out of my throat.
“Fine.” I say after a minute. “Stephen Strange wants to save the world, fine.”

He rolls his eyes, pulling me into a hug as his head rests on my shoulder.
“Tony Stark.” He mumbles, just loud enough for me to hear. “How many times do I have to tell you? It’s never been about the world, just about you.”

I laugh again, pulling him closer.
“Alright.” I say, stepping back. “When do we do the damn thing?”

Wong stands up, walking over to stand beside Stephen.
“We should do it as soon as possible.” He says, looking between the two of us.

I look back to Stephen.
“Are you asking me to do it now?” I ask.

Stephen just nods once.
I take a deep breath before nodding back, taking Stephen’s hand and leading the group to the training center.
Bruce goes to his lab, getting the egg before meeting us there, handing it to Stephen.

Stephen stands in the center of the room, and everyone else stands on the edges of the room.

I walk to the center, holding his face between my hands.
“Stephen, I can build a tracker in about twenty minutes.” I murmur, my hands trembling against his skin. “So be back before then.”

He chuckles under his breath, turning to press a kiss against my palm.
“I will be.” He whispers. “I love you.”

I pull his face to mine, kissing his lips briefly.
“I love you.” I whisper back. “Be careful.”

He nods as I step away, joining everyone on the edges of the room.
Stephen opens a portal, and steps through, disappearing as the orange circle closes behind him.

Wong closes his eyes as he sits on the ground, his lips moving silently as he keeps track of Stephen through space.
Peter tips back and forth from his heels to his toes as we wait, the entire room filling with nervous energy.
My eyes stay trained on the clock, watching the minutes tick by as we wait for Stephen to return.

As the clock ticks to the seventeenth minute, the room fills with orange light.
I run to the center, catching Stephen in my arms as he falls out of the portal.
“Are you okay?” I breathe, pushing his hair back as we slowly collapse onto the ground.

He looks up at me, nodding as he breathes quickly, his face covered in dirt and superficial cuts.
Wong runs over beside me, laying his hands on Stephen’s chest as he closes his eyes.
“He is fine.” He says after a minute. “Magically depleted, but nothing an hour of regeneration won’t heal.”

I smile down at Stephen, smearing some of the dust around with my thumb.
“You did it.” I whisper. “You did it. Thank you.”

He grins up at me, covering my hand with his.
“Am I an Avenger now?” He asks, choking back his laughter.

I roll my eyes, groaning as I lean down, kissing him gently.

Chapter Text

I wake up downstairs on the couch, my head in Stephen’s lap as he runs his fingers through my hair softly.
“What time is it?” I ask, looking up at him in the dark room.

He smiles down at me as his fingers slide through my hair again.
“Like three in the morning.” He says quietly.

I sit up slightly, looking around the darkened living room.
“Shit.” I mutter, looking at him with a sideways glance. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

He laughs quietly, pulling me back to his chest.
“It’s alright.” He whispers. “I’m glad you slept, that movie sucked anyway.”

I laugh now, looking at the DVD case on the floor, some animated movie that Peter tried to make us watch.
“Well, now I’m not tired.” I murmur, turning to look at him.

His eyebrows raise as he looks down at me, his arm snaking around me to hold my hip softly.
“Yeah?” He says quietly. “What do you want to do then?”

I smirk as I climb onto his lap, straddling his legs with my own as my hands lock behind his neck.
“I’m sure we can think of something.” I whisper, my lips brushing against his as I speak.

His laugh is low and dark as he leans forward, closing the rest of the gap between us as he kisses me gently.
I sit down on his lap as his lips part mine, grinding my hips against his.

A quiet moan escapes his lips, and his fingers dig into my waist with one hand as the other twists into my hair.

My hands slide down the front of his body, my fingers slipping under the fabric of his t-shirt before slowly sliding up the smooth contours of his abs and chest, parting from the kiss only long enough to pull his shirt off him.

A light flips on suddenly, and we both freeze.
“Now what in the hell did I just walk in on?” Nick Fury says, crossing his arms and shooting me a glare as I look over Stephen’s shoulder.

I slowly get off his lap, standing up as I toss his shirt back to him.
“Well, can’t say I was expecting to see you here.” I say, smoothing my hair with one hand as I walk to the other side of the couch.

He laughs, walking to the bar and pouring himself a drink.
“Can’t say I was expecting to see all that either.” He says after a long swig of whiskey. “But here we are.”

I set my mouth to a grimace as I look at him.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest now.

Stephen walks over, coming to stand behind me.
“You send someone to destroy a planet and think I won’t be on your ass within 24-hours?” He asks, looking at Stephen. “I may be getting old but I ain’t that old Stark.”

I nod, understanding his logic.
“He didn’t send anyone anywhere.” Stephen says, moving to stand beside me. “I volunteered, and I don’t need permission to do what I do.”

Fury cocks an eyebrow at him, his eyes flitting to me for a moment before going back to Stephen.
“Doctor Sorcerer Supreme, huh?” He asks. “Big guy doesn’t need S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers?”

I put one hand out, pushing Stephen slightly behind me again.
“Look, he didn’t want to cause any problems.” I say, trying to keep the peace. “We had the damn alien egg, he knew how to destroy it, and now it’s done.”

Fury considers this for a moment before nodding slowly.
“Fine.” He says simply. “I guess it’s for the better, I looked over the stats in Banner’s server, I wouldn’t have known what to do with it.”

He smiles, finally cutting the tension in the room.
I laugh under my breath, relaxing my hold on Stephen.

“We’ve never officially met.” Fury says, stepping closer and holding a hand out to Stephen. “I’m Nick Fury.”
Stephen takes his hand, shaking it twice.
“Stephen Strange.” He says back, smiling politely.

They drop their arms, and Fury finishes his drink.
“So, when’s the wedding?” He asks, looking between us.

I shrug, reaching out for Stephen’s hand.
“Not really sure.” I answer, lacing my fingers between his. “We’ve been a little busy, not much time for planning.”

Fury nods, chuckling quietly.
“Well, I’ll be expecting my invitation in the mail.” He says. “We’ll debrief in a few hours, tell the team to be in the conference room at 10.”

I nod as he sets his glass down on the counter, walking down the hall towards his guest bedroom.

I exhale, turning and resting my forehead against Stephen’s chest.

His arms wrap around me, squeezing gently as he presses his lips to the top of my head.
“Guy is intense.” He mutters.

I laugh, nodding against his shirt.
“Loveable asshole.” I answer. “You’ll get used to it.”

Stephen laughs now, his hands sliding back to my hips.
“Where were we?” He mumbles.

I look up at him, smirking as I slide my fingers up his body, resting them on his chest.
“I think it was something like this.” I mutter, pressing onto my toes to kiss him.

One of his hands leave my waist, and I turn towards the familiar hum of a portal.
“Let’s take this somewhere else.” He whispers, nodding towards the orange circle.

I laugh, letting him guide me through the portal, and we step into his bedroom at the Sanctum.
“What about Wong?” I ask, letting him push me down onto his mattress.

He hovers over me, his lips pressing onto my neck gently.
“At his sister’s.” He mumbles against my skin.

I nod, twisting my fingers into his hair as I close my eyes, letting him take control.

Chapter Text

My fingers trace soft patterns along Stephen’s chest, circling over the purple blotches left behind from my mouth along his collarbone, chest, and neck as he breathes evenly.

His fingers run up and down along my spine, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind his touch.
“I hate to say this,” He breathes, his voice low in his chest, “but it is almost ten o’clock.”

I groan, rolling onto my back and pulling him by his hips so that he’s laying on top of me.
Stephen laughs, looking down at me and brushing his fingers through my hair.

“What if we ditch the meeting?” I ask, sliding my fingers up his side. “I doubt they’d even notice.”

He laughs again, leaning down to kiss me softly.
“I think Fury would notice.” He murmurs. “And I think he’s definitely expecting us to be there.”

I groan again, letting him roll off me and stand beside the bed.
I turn to lay on my side, watching as he gets dressed.

He turns to look at me as he pulls his shirt over his head, picking my shirt up from the floor and holding it out.
I roll my eyes as I sit on the edge of the bed, letting him pull the shirt over my head for me.

He holds my pants out to me then, and I step into them, wrapping my arms around his hips as he clasps the button.
“Fine, let’s go to the stupid meeting.” I say, looking up at him.

He laughs, his fingertips slipping underneath my shirt and brushing against my skin.
“And Nat wants to plan wedding ideas with us later.” He whispers, leaning down and pressing his lips against my neck once.

I exhale dramatically.
“You’re lucky I love you.” I mutter, and he chuckles as he takes a half step away from me, facing the open space in the room.

He reaches his hand out, opening a portal in the empty space.
We step towards it, going into the center and appearing in the hallway outside of the conference room.

I open the door, and most of the team sits around the table inside already.
My chair is open, and the chair beside it has been left empty as well.
I lead Stephen towards it, greeting everyone as we walk past them.

“Morning Sunshine.” Nat says as I sit down. “What’s this all about?”

I shrug, sliding my hand under the table to rest it on Stephen’s knee as I look back at her.
“Fury’s here.” I answer. “So we’re probably in for a lecture.”

She laughs, and a few people roll their eyes at the idea of it.
“And after the lecture, you’re coming with us right Wanda?” Nat asks, looking across the table at her.

Wanda nods, smiling at Nat before looking at Stephen and me.
“Yes!” She exclaims. “Wedding planning will be exciting.”

I exhale through my nose, and Stephen puts his hand over mine, squeezing it gently.
Steve looks at me out of the corner of his eye, quickly looking away as the door opens.

“Alright settle down.” Fury says as he walks into the room, standing at the head of the table. “Long time no see.”
He looks around the table, taking in the faces looking back at him.

“So, I bet you’re all wondering why I’m here.” He says, crossing his arms over his chest. “This is a debriefing of what happened with Doctor Banner’s research, and Doctor Strange’s disposal, of the subject.”

Stephen tenses slightly beside me, and I run my thumb along his knee.
Bruce stands up, going to the front as he explains his findings, gesturing to the screens as he shows the various charts.

“Doctor Banner, I hate to interrupt, but the egg was so highly coveted because it was crossbred.” Stephen says lowly. “It was some sort of Skrull and Krylorian.”

Bruce’s eyebrows furrow as he turns back to the screen, clicking on a chart and double-checking numbers.
“That makes sense.” He murmurs, clicking something else. “The numbers of chromosomes and the pulse rate didn’t match anything we’d charted before.”

Fury stands, looking back and forth between the screen and Stephen once.
“Why the hell didn’t you mention that before?” He asks. “Don’t you think that’s important, Doctor?”

Stephen shrugs.
“No one asked.” He says flatly. “And it’s gone. Clearly it was the last one of it’s kind if they were all willing to die for it.”

Fury glares at him before turning to me.
“Did you know about this, Stark?” He asks me.

I look at Stephen before looking back at Fury, nodding.
“Yep.” I lie. “But he’s right, if they had more of this breed why would they care so much about us getting to it first?”

Fury’s jaw tightens, and he sits down slowly.
“I have to agree.” Nat says after a minute. “If there are more in other parts of the galaxy, I’m sure Wong and Strange would know.”

Stephen nods, and no one else says anything.
Banner quickly finishes his presentation, sitting back down at the table and looking down at his hands.

“Alright, well.” Fury says, clapping his hands together. “I guess that’s all for now.”
Everyone awkwardly gets up, passing past him as they leave the room.

I put my head down, taking Stephen’s hand as I push past Fury behind Natasha, ignoring his glare to the side of my head.
We follow her and Wanda to one of the smaller living rooms, sitting on the floor around a table that has been covered in papers and pictures.

“Okay, so we have to think of a date, colors, a theme, a guest list—” Nat begins, rattling off a long list of tasks for us to accomplish.

The various pictures of churches and flowers all begin to blur as she and Wanda make various combinations of them, asking me and Stephen which we like and which we don’t.
I nod along to them as they plan over and over again, making extravagant plans and changing them just as quickly.

“Tony?” Wanda asks, and I blink, looking up at her as I realize I missed the question. “What did you think?”

I shake my head, running a hand through my hair.
“I don’t know.” I answer honestly. “I’m sorry, can we come back to this later?”

She smiles at me, nodding as she collects a pile of papers.
“Of course.” She answers. “Whenever you want.”

I nod, smiling back at her tightly as I stand up, pulling Stephen to his feet beside me.
We say goodbye to her and Nat before I pull him to an elevator, pressing the button that leads us to my room.

I close the door to the bedroom behind me, locking it as I press my back against the wood.
“Are you mad that I didn’t tell you about the half-breed?” Stephen asks, looking at me with concerned eyes.

I shake my head, crossing my arms over my chest.
“No, I don’t care about that.” I answer. “I trust your judgement.”

He nods, taking a slow step towards me.
“So what’s wrong?” He asks in a quiet voice.

I take a deep breath.
“I just—this whole wedding thing is a lot.” I tell him, my voice trailing off towards the end.

His face drops slightly as he moves closer slowly.
“Are you getting cold feet?” He asks after a moment, his voice just as uncertain as mine.

My head snaps up, and I close the gap between us instantly, wrapping him in my arms tightly.
“No, no.” I whisper, pressing my head against his chest. “I just mean… there’s so much to plan. The flowers and the colors and the venues?”

He nods, his hand resting on my back gently.
“I want to marry you, that’s all.” I whisper. “I don’t need lights and cameras and a show.”

Stephen reaches down to my chin, tilting my face up to look at him.
“Anything you want.” He whispers back. “Give me your hand.”

I nod, and he slides his hand down my shoulder, taking my left hand in his.
The warm buzz of magic spills across my knuckles, wrapping around my fourth finger in a brightly glowing band of orange.
As the magic disappears, a dark blue ring is left behind.

I look at it, smiling up at him.
Suddenly, I’m swept off of my feet by an orange glow of magic, and Stephen guides the force to the bed, laying me down gently.

“I’ll marry you any way you want.” He whispers, climbing onto the bed and hovering on top of me. “Say the word, and I’ll be there.”

I laugh, twisting my fingers into his hair as I pull him down to me, kissing him deeply.

Chapter Text

I wake before Stephen the next morning, looking over at him as he sleeps peacefully.

My thumb traces over the ring on my finger as I consider all he said the night before.
Suddenly, I have an idea.

I quietly get out of bed, creeping across the floor to the elevator and getting in.
I don’t talk until I step foot in the lab, calling on FRIDAY to wake up.

“Good morning, Mr. Stark.” She replies, the screens in the room flickering to life. “What can I do for you?”

I tell her my plan, and images and webpages flood the screens as we piece it together.
Together, we formulate a perfect plan, and I thank her as I step back into the elevator.

“You are welcome.” She replies. “I have cleared your calendar for the week.”

I smile to myself as the elevator takes me back to the room, and I’m relieved to find Stephen still asleep in the bed as I walk across the floor towards him.
“Wake up sleepy-head.” I whisper, climbing into the bed and wrapping my body around his.

He turns to face me, smiling sleepily as he rubs his face with his hand.
“Hi.” He murmurs, looking up at me. “Why’re you so chipper?”

I laugh, brushing his messy hair away from his forehead.
“We’re going somewhere.” I tell him. “Pack your bags, Strange.”

His eyes widen as he looks at me.
“Where exactly are we going?” He asks, sitting up slightly.

I laugh, hugging him closely.
“I can’t tell you.” I answer. “It’s a surprise, just go pack for a week, somewhere warm.”

He looks at me, somewhat bewildered as he processes all I’ve told him so early in the morning.
“Alright.” He answers finally, laughing. “I’ll pack and be back in a few minutes.”

I take his face between my hands, pulling him to me and kissing him deeply before we both get out of the bed.
He opens a portal, leaving the room with an orange glow.

I pack in a hurry as he disappears, throwing my clothes for the week into my suitcase and zipping it quickly.
I get dressed, fixing my hair in the mirror before taking my suitcase and walking back out into the room, waiting for Stephen to come back.

He finally does, reappearing through his portal with a bag of his own.
“Ready?” He asks, extending his arm to me as he walks beside me.

I grin, looping my arm through his as I nod.
I lead him down to the garage, opening his door for him before taking his bag and placing it beside mine in the trunk.

He studies me as I pull the car out of the driveway, driving to the main freeway.
I drive us to the airport, slipping my parking pass onto the rearview mirror as I park my car in my parking spot in the underground parking garage.

“We’re flying?” He asks as I turn the car off.

I nod, getting out and walking around to the back of the car to get the bags from the trunk.
“You do realize that I could just transport us there for free, right?” He asks, taking his bag as he smiles at me.

I nod again, taking his free hand in mine.
“That’s your way.” I tell him, looking up at him out of the corner of my eye. “We’re doing it my way.”

He squeezes my hand gently, smiling as we step into the airport.
We bypass all of the regular gates, walking to one in the very back.

“Mr. Stark.” A man in a suit says as we walk up to the gate. “Welcome, are you and your guest ready to board?”

I nod, and the man leads us down the hallway onto the plane.
“My commercial airliner is too big to store at the compound, so when I need it I have to get it flown into an airport.” I explain to Stephen as we sit in the luxury seats.

A flight attendant comes behind us, taking our bags and storing them above us in the compartments.
“Your flight will begin soon.” She says with a smile before walking away.

I look over at Stephen as he takes in the plane, taking his hand in mine.
“You’re a ridiculous person, do you know that?” He says after a minute, laughing under his breath.

I laugh too, shrugging as the light flashes on for us to buckle our seatbelts.
“Only a ridiculous person would marry a character from Harry Potter.” I mumble, and he rolls his eyes, laughing again.

He waves his hand, and our seatbelts buckle.
“I guess you’ve got me there.” He says lowly, running his thumb gently along the back of my hand.

The plane moves down the runway, taking off after a few moments.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going now?” Stephen asks, looking out of the window as we fly above New York.

I shake my head, looking at the clouds as they reflect in his clear, blue eyes.
“Nope.” I answer. “Not until we get there.”

He groans, leaning back against the chair.
The flight is relatively quick, and I find myself resting my head against Stephen’s chest, his fingers running through my hair gently as the seatbelt lights flash back on.

“We must be landing.” I say with a yawn, sitting up and refastening my seatbelt.

Stephen moves to look out of the window, and takes a sharp breath in.
“Tony—are you serious?” He breathes, looking back and forth between my face and the window. “Italy?”

I nod, reaching for his hand again.
He grabs my hand, laughing incredulously as he watches the city beneath us grow nearer.

The plane touches down, and slows to a stop on the runway.
A new flight attendant comes up and takes down our luggage setting it beside our seats as we stand up.

“Are you ready?” I ask him, looking up at him.
He nods, smiling down at me, and we walk down the hall, stepping out of the plane.

Chapter Text

We spend days in Italy, strolling along the streets and relaxing on the beach.
Stephen lets me spoil him to my hearts content, letting me buy him clothes and expensive meals before returning to our lavish hotel room every night.

We ride on the gondolas and take tours sightseeing, Stephen’s hand never leaving mine as he smiles in the sunlight.
Today, we find ourselves walking along the beach, the damp sand sticking to our feet before the gentle tide moves up to the shore and washes if off.

Stephen wears a white, button-down shirt with his shorts, but the shirt is entirely unbuttoned, revealing the smooth planes of his chest and stomach to the sun as we walk.

I steal glances at him out of the corner of my eye as we walk, squeezing his hand gently.
“I have a crazy idea.” I say as we continue our lazy stroll.

Stephen looks down at me, raising his eyebrows as he does.
“What if we got married here?” I ask, gesturing to the beach. “Just me and you, and whoever’s crazy enough to officiate.”

He looks at me for a moment longer before a small smile cracks across his features.
“I think that sounds perfect.” He says, coming to a stop before turning to face me entirely. “When?”

I look at him, and he looks like a scene straight out of a movie.
His pale complexion has tanned over the last couple of days in the sun, accentuating the toned muscles of his body under his shirt.
His bright blue eyes sparkle wildly as the blue water from the ocean rolls in gently behind him.

The breeze rustles his hair softly, and his soft smile melts me from the inside out.
“As soon as possible.” I answer, reaching out and taking his other hand in mine.

He laughs lowly, nodding in agreement.
“Then we should probably get into the city and figure something out.” He murmurs, pulling me close and pressing a gentle kiss against my lips.

I laugh, leaning back and pulling him as we walk down the beach again.
“I have a plan.” I tell him, and he laughs again.

I reach for my phone, tapping on the screen a few times.
“Why am I not surprised?” He asks as I press send. “Always so well prepared.”

I laugh too, leading us to a nearby café as we wait for the rest of my plan to come together.
We sip coffee together, breathing in the salty sea air as we sit under the umbrella at the outdoor tables.

“I don’t want to tell anyone.” I tell Stephen, stirring the coffee with my spoon. “Nat and Wanda are too excited to plan a whole thing.”

He smirks, taking a sip from his cup.
“What?” I ask, leaning back and crossing my arms.

He shakes his head, chuckling lowly.
“Nothing.” He replies. “It’s just cute how much you care about them.”

I shrug, biting back a smile of my own.
“I just don’t want to rain on their parade is all.” I mumble. “Are you okay with letting them do a whole thing, even if we’re already married?”

He laughs again, quietly as he reaches across the table for my hand.
“Of course.” He answers. “I’ll marry you a hundred times and in a hundred ways if you want.”

My cheeks fill with heat, and I look down at the table as I smile.
“There you are.” Someone says from beside me, and I look up, looking right into Happy’s face.

I grin at him, standing up and giving him a hug.
“You really are the best assistant anyone could ask for.” I tell him with a cheesy grin, patting his back as he hugs me back.

He laughs, leaning away and looking at me.
“I know that.” He answers. “Obviously. I just flew to Italy to marry you two.”

I look at Stephen, and he smiles between us, shaking his head as he laughs softly.
“You made him become an officiant and fly here for us?” He asks, still smiling widely.

I shrug, taking another drink of my coffee.
“I didn’t make him.” I answer smugly. “I strongly encouraged it for a good Christmas bonus.”

Happy laughs, shaking his head.
“And luckily I was in Germany for work, so my flight was quick.” He says, looking between Stephen and me.

I raise my eyebrows, grinning between them.
“See?” I say. “Not a major inconvenience. And he gets a bonus.”

They both laugh again as I take a tip out of my wallet, leaving it on the table as Stephen finishes his drink and stands up.
“Are you ready to do this?” I ask him, reaching a hand out to him.

He nods, taking my hand in his.
Happy smiles, stepping aside to allow us to lead the way back to the beach.

We take off our shoes as we step onto the sand, moving towards the water as the sun starts to set.
We find a spot with no one around, standing with our feet in the gentle pull of the tide as Happy looks at us.

“Take each other’s hands.” He says, looking at us with gentle eyes.
We do, turning to face each other as we look into each other’s eyes now.
“We are gathered here today to join together the two of you in matrimony.” Happy continues. “This ceremony is an outward symbol of your love, and a promise of forever.”

Stephen nods, looking down at me with those piercing blue eyes.
“Do you, Tony Stark, take Stephen Strange to be your lawfully wedded husband?” He asks me. “To have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?”

I nod, running my thumb along the back of his hand.
“I do.” I say, looking up into his eyes.

He smiles at me, his eyes glossing over with tears as he does.
“And do you, Stephen Strange, take Tony Stark to be your lawfully wedded husband?” Happy asks Stephen. “To have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?”

Stephen nods too, squeezing my hands.
“I do.” He answers, and my own eyes fill with tears.

Happy clears his throat, taking a deep breath in.
“Well, then I am proud to pronounce you as married.” He says. “You may kiss your husband.”

Stephen laughs, pulling me close as he presses a passionate kiss against my lips, dipping me down like he did that night in front of the paparazzi.
My fingers twist into his hair, kissing him back as he straightens me back up.

“I love you.” He whispers, resting his forehead against mine as he looks into my eyes.
I smile back at him, laughing softly.
“I love you too, so much.” I whisper back.

I take a step back, turning to look at Happy.
“Thank you for doing this.” I tell him, reaching a hand out to shake his. “I owe you.”

He shakes his head as he takes my hand, shaking it once before pulling me into a hug.
“Thanks for trusting me to do it, Tony.” He says quietly. “But you still owe me.”

I laugh, nodding as he steps back.
“Dinner?” I ask, looking between the two of them.

Happy and Stephen both nod, and I hold Stephen’s hand as we walk off of the beach.
I look over at him as the last of the sunlight dips below the horizon.

My husband.

The only person I’ve ever loved like this before.
I pull him a little bit closer, and he smiles at me, letting go of my hand to drape his arm around my shoulders, holding me against his body.

“You’re more than enough, Tony Stark.” He whispers, just loud enough for me to hear.
I smile up at him, wrapping my arm around his waist.
“You’re more than enough too.” I whisper back.