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Stephen looked peaceful like that, floating in the air, supported by the Cloak of Levitation. If one ignored his shallow breathing and how unnaturally still he was.
"What happened?" Tony asked in a whisper, not daring to shatter the almost tranquil silence of the sunlit room.
Wong's expression didn't seem to match the seriousness of the moment but Tony took his slight smile as confirmation that the situation wasn't too dire.
"He's not waking up anymore." Wong nodded to the serenely floating sorcerer before them. The Cloak waved a tired greeting at Tony.
"I can see that!" Tony's said, still trying to keep his voice down. "I wanna know why!"
A shrug. "I'm trying to find that out and didn't want him to be alone while I'm researching."
"And you called me to be his babysitter?" Tony didn't know if he should be affronted or charmed - fact was that some weird feeling of warmth and joy took over him at the implicit admission that Wong trusted him with Stephen's well-being.
"I don't want him to be alone," was Wong's answer. "There is some coffee for you on the table over there." A vague gesture followed the words and Tony looked at a rather artfully arranged tableau with a coffee pot and a water carafe.
"So you expect me to stay here for a while?" Tony had to admit that he was intrigued and not nearly as pissed off as he should be, all things considered.
Another almost smile. "You're not going to leave him alone here, vulnerable and helpless, are you?"
What the fuck? Was the room dangerous? Why was Stephen still here then? But Wong had vanished before Tony could find a suitable retort.
After a moment of staring into the direction Wong had vanished in surprise and shock he shrugged. He scanned the room for a second - large, brightly lit by sunlight, full of books and ancient furniture.
Plus one floating, sleeping sorcerer who was way too beautiful for his own good. His innate curiosity got the better of him and Tony stepped up to look at the sleeping beauty.
"Hey, Stephen," he whispered, not even trying to hide the fondness in his voice. "What happened to you?" He allowed his voice to go deeper, more intimate, just like he'd wanted to do for weeks if not months now. "I know that I told you that you look like shit and should try to sleep for once the last time we met but I didn't think you'd take me this literally." He swallowed. "Stephen? Wake up. This is not funny." Even if Wong didn't seem too disturbed by Stephen's stunt, Tony was. Calm and collected, at least at the surface? Yes. But this stillness was not like Stephen at all. Stephen was supposed to be vibrant, even when he was resting. Now he was just sleeping like a stone, no trace left of the energy Tony loved so much. Hell, he even felt differently. Tony didn't like that. At all.
No reaction, except for the Cloak perking up and raising a corner in greeting. Tony reached out to touch the opinionated fabric in greeting and smiled in surprised delight when it wound itself around his wrist. "Hello to you too." His eyes flickered up again but Stephen was still fast asleep, looking almost ethereal in the bright light. Peaceful.
Tony didn't want him to look like that; he wanted him awake and as his usual annoying asshole self. Which was still more than attractive enough for Tony's tastes.
"He's been out for two days now," Wong had told him after he'd set foot in the Sanctum. "Keep him company, okay? I can't look into what happened and watch him at the same time."
"What have you done to yourself?" Stephen had looked terrible the last few times Tony had seen him and rest was something the desperately needed but not like this.
Still no reaction, but the Cloak squeezed his wrist gently and drew him closer to Stephen until he bumped into him. "Aren't you getting tired of holding him up?" Tony asked, only half-teasing. "Do you want me to take the burden?" He would love to, actually. Holding Stephen had been on his wish list for a while now.
In answer the Cloak lowered them and more or less put Stephen into Tony's arms. He just managed to grab on to the man before the Cloak flew away, shaking and stretching itself like a cat after a long nap.
Suddenly he was standing in the middle of a magical palace with a sorcerer who did his best impression of sleeping beauty in a bridal carry. Great.
He was sure he could hear the Cloak laugh at him.
He shifted around a little so that Stephen's head came to rest on his shoulder before he brought him over to a conveniently close couch just a few steps away. He laid his - too light, as he'd noticed with growing worry - burden down as gently as he could. The thing was enormous and more than big enough for Stephen's tall form and wide enough to allow Tony to sit beside him.
He carefully brushed Stephen's hair back from his face, conscious how the Cloak hovered near them, anxiously watching his every move.
"I'm not going to hurt him," he reassured the sentiment fabric while he tried to keep his worry about Stephen's weight at bay.
Stephen was almost as light as Pepper and even holding him just for a short amount of time had shown him that Stephen was too thin. Despite himself he reached out and traced the prominent collarbone that was showing now that Stephen's thin tunic had been pushed to the side. He'd never before seen him outside his sorcerer's robes and now realized just how much more imposing they made him look.
"Rest and food," he murmured absently, looking his fill now that Stephen couldn't hide behind thick robes and his Cloak. Just as expected he rather liked what he saw. "You had enough rest for now, it's time for food now. As soon as you're awake I'm going to take you out - breakfast, lunch, dinner, whatever." He swallowed. "Stephen? Please. Wake up. Scream at me for touching you. Tell me what an idiot I am to have fallen for you."
Nothing, of course.
"If you're determined to play sleeping beauty you can play the part for real," he said to himself and the Cloak which was still hovering near them. "I'm sorry." He leaned forwards and pressed a short, chaste kiss against Stephen's dry lips before his better nature could talk him out of it.
He had dreamed of this moment for so long but not like this. "Sorry," he whispered again after he'd withdrawn. He felt worse than before now that he had stolen a kiss from Stephen. He stood up and went to the other side towards the promised coffee, angrily wiping away the tears, hating himself for what he had just done.
He was still keeping his distance and trying to keep watch without actually looking at Stephen when the man opened his eyes, blinking in confusion, and carefully touching his lips. They were dry, almost cracked, and he was so thirsty. And how had he landed on the couch? His last memory was of levitating in the sunlight and sinking into a trance.
The Cloak appeared next to him and pointed to something to his right - Tony, he realized with surprise. Who was staring at the table in front of him as if it could tell him about the mysteries of the universe.
"Tony?" he asked, surprised at how rough his voice sounded. How long had his meditation lasted? Long enough for him to be dehydrated and for Tony to arrive. "What are you doing here?"
He could see Tony flinch before he visibly gathered himself and turned around. "Stephen! Hey! How are you?" His smile was fake and that was something Stephen wasn't used to. The difference was jarring and hurt him deeply. What had he done to deserve the PR smile?
When in doubt, be honest he'd learned the very hard way. "What happened?" He made sure to look and sound as confused as he actually was and tried to look as small and non-threatening as he could. He wanted to reach the real Tony, damn it, and was not too proud to use any dirty trick to get him.
It worked. He'd barely stopped speaking when Tony was on his knees in front of him, a hand on his thigh. "What do you remember?" His voice was gentle and he looked up at Stephen with undisguised affection and worry.
"Meditating," Stephen answered, no longer needing to fake his confusion. "Over there." He gestured to the spot he last remembered being. Where he… oh, fuck! Well, that explained things actually.
Tony began to stroke his thigh absently. Stephen shivered and parted his legs a little bit more by pure instinct. "You didn't wake up," he said so very quietly that Stephen almost didn't hear him.
Of course. "For how long?"
A shrug. "I don't know exactly. About two days, I think? Wong called me to babysit you while he searched for an answer. He said something about the time but I didn't really listen."
Wong how probably knew exactly what was going on and Stephen was going to curse him back into his dusty old library for this little stunt. But he played along, too afraid of the consequences of he came clear right now. "Why not?"
Tony bit his lip and took a deep breath, obviously coming to a decision. It looked oddly endearing. "Because I was too worried about you to ask a lot of questions."
"Oh." He coughed, once again reminded how dry his mouth was.
"You okay? You've been asleep for a long time. I think. Oh God, I'm an idiot, sorry. Back in a moment." Tony got up and went to the small table with the speed and grace of a man thirty years his junior. Stephen watched him with envy that morphed into gratefulness when he returned with a glass of water. "Here." Tony patiently held the glass until he had folded his weak and aching fingers around it.
"Thank you." Speaking was easier after drinking. Tony's hands were back on his body, he noticed. He liked the feeling and just wished that there wasn't a thin barrier of fabric between them. "How did you wake me up?"
Tony blushed and Stephen knew that his suspicion was correct.
But Tony didn't know what he'd done. He looked adorably confused and some part of Stephen wanted to draw this part out, make Tony blush even more and confess. But then he remembered how defeated Tony had looked right after he'd woken up and the idea died a quick, painless death.
"You kissed me, didn't you?" he asked quietly and made very sure to put all the warmth he was capable of into the words. For additional good measure he smiled and put a trembling hand above Tony's to keep him in place. It was a dirty trick but he knew that Tony would never risk hurting him by taking his hand away.
Tony's kiss wouldn't have worked if there was even the slightest intention to hurt Stephen in him.
As expected Tony coughed embarrassed and lowered his head. "I'm sorry," he whispered and Stephen's heart broke. This was not how this was supposed to be going.
"I'm not." He put one hand into Tony's hair and began to stroke through it. "Without you kissing me," he repeated the words slowly and carefully, "I would still be asleep. I would probably be asleep forever if Wong hadn't dragged you in here."
Devious, wonderful Wong who was truly the best friend he'd never asked for. He had to think about a nice gift for him in return.
Tony just looked at him with those enormous brown eyes that showed every emotion he felt, speechless for once in his life.
Stephen's smile became even gentler as he pulled Tony into an embrace. Tony followed willingly and with a lot of enthusiasm. Damn, he almost clung to Stephen like a drowning man to a lifeline. "I hate to say it out loud," he whispered into Tony's ear and felt him shiver as his breath hit a sensitive ear. "But you made me wake up." Please, don't make me more. This is embarrassing enough as it is. Before Wong got his thank you present Stephen was going to kill him for putting them both through this.
"I?" Tony sounded small and insecure, both things Stephen had never thought of him before. He could almost hear the penny drop and let Tony go when he leaned back. "You mean the kiss?"
Stephen nodded. "There's a curse I got hit with a couple of days ago with some pretty nasty aftereffects if not handled right. I haven't slept since then because I didn't want to risk to never wake up again. I hoped to negate them through meditation but it seems the were too strong."
"What kind of spell?" Tony asked quietly, terror in his eyes.
Stephen swallowed. "A barrier around my heart. Designed to keep me out of the way forever since sorcerers are by nature a solitary bunch who rarely form close relationships with non-magic users. You can imagine the rest." Tony was smart and would figure it out in no time, Stephen knew and resigned himself to the inevitable mockery.
Instead he got a hand on left side of his face, gently forcing his head up so that he had to look Tony into the eyes. Careful fingers stroked over his cheekbone, hitting the spot where it had been broken in his accident so long ago. Stephen shivered at the rare contact with another human being.
"Sleeping beauty, indeed," Tony murmured but there was no ridicule in his voice, only kindness and gentle teasing. "You fit the bill well," he continued, still stroking Stephen's face and looking at him with tenderness. "But you picked the wrong prince, I fear."
Stephen shook his head, feeling tears well up at the self-deprecating tone in Tony's voice. "No, I didn't. I got the only one who's broken in compatible ways."
"Stephen." Tony sighed but didn't draw back. Neither did he protest. "Are you sure?"
"I wouldn't have woken up otherwise." As cliché as it was, his true love's kiss had woken him up. Thank Wong for seeing the obvious truth and being a good enough friend to act accordingly. The Cloak swooped in and enfolded them both in a hug, pushing them together even more in the process. "I'm only sad that I wasn't awake to enjoy it."
Tony smiled, still a little bit insecure but full of delight. "A reenactment can be arranged. But I promised myself to take you out for food first." He bent forwards to press another kiss to Stephen's lips.
Stephen met him halfway, melting into the kiss and not protesting when he was carefully laid out on the couch to give Tony better access. "That can wait. Later. This is better than food."
Tony caressed his cheek once again. "You make a damn pretty princess I have to admit."
Stephen shivered, more aroused by the words than he cared to admit, grinned and batted his eyelashes in response. He was rewarded with a laugh and a sharp nip to his collarbone.
"Fucking tease," Tony murmured fondly as his clever fingers found his way under Stephen's tunic and began to stroke the skin beneath.
Wong was getting the best present ever, Stephen decided, and he needed to find something nice for the Cloak. Then Tony hit that special spot on his neck and all thoughts that weren't about his own personal prince Charming fled his mind.