Work Text:
“And you know I love you Nurse Joy you’re so beautiful and you keep my Pokemons nice and healthy and I love them and I love you and you’re so beautiful and-” as if hit by a bag of bricks, Tony was out again. Stephen shook his head and apologized to the nurse, whose name was not, in fact, Joy.
“Oh, it’s alright. We get this sort of thing every time we use nitrous oxide. As a doctor yourself I’m sure you’re familiar with the side effects.” The nurse whose name was not Joy patted Stephen on the back as he signed some papers and gently prodded his boyfriend on the shoulder.
“Tony? You need to get up and walk; I’m not carrying you to the car.” Tony opened one eye in response.
“Pleeeeeeeeeease?” he whined, and Strange shook his head, exasperated. Tony’s lip quivered, but Stephen didn’t budge. There was no way he was carrying this 180 pound, high off his ass billionaire out to the elevator and across the parking garage just because he was whining. Absolutely not.
“I love you Dr. Sexy Baby Superhero Man. You’re the most beautiful facial hair bro on the planet and I love you so much and you’re tall and pretty like a tree and I’m like a monkey hanging from a the most beautiful tree in the world~” Stephen sighed deeply as Tony piggybacked all the way across the three-level parking garage, and when they finally got to the car, the smaller man jumped off his back and crawled into the passenger seat, only to scramble across the cupholders and gearshift into the driver’s seat. Stephen opened the driver’s side door and gently pulled him out again.
“Tony, love, I need to drive you home. I know you love your car, but you’re high as a kite right now. You’re going to lie in the back seat and sleep, okay?”
“Okay…” Tony pouted again, but climbed over the driver’s seat into the back, and Stephen rolled his eyes. He pulled out of the parking garage just as Tony began to snore.
“Tony, why are you rubbing my shoulders? Go back to sleep, we’re almost home.” Stephen glanced into the rearview mirror to catch a glimpse of his stoned masseuse, but Tony was absolutely focused.
“Your muscles are so strong but so tense so I gotta help I gotta make you relax and feel better. I don’t want you to feel stressed, is it my fault your stressed? Did I do something bad? I do bad things a lot that’s why Steve doesn’t like me anymore that’s why I’m scared you will stop liking me. Do you still like me?”
“Tony, I love you. There’s essentially nothing you could do that would make me stop loving you. I’m proud of you. Please, sit down.” Stephen looked into the mirror again and Tony was looking back at him this time, eyes shining with unshed tears.
They pulled into their driveway and Stephen immediately climbed out of the car and opened Tony’s door. The smaller man’s eyes look shy and uncertain, but he held out his arms in a child’s universal language of “Up!”.
Stephen swooped down and picked Tony up like a baby panda and shut the car door. He carried Tony to the porch, where FRIDAY opened up and let them in the tower. He carried Tony to the elevator, and rode up to the top penthouse whilst stroking his hair and murmuring that everything was okay and yes, I still love you.
Once they reached the top, Stephen carried Tony to the couch, where Tony proceeded to bury his face into Stephen’s sweater and started to cry. Stephen stroked his lover’s hair and rubbed circles into his back, whispering sweet things into his hair. When Tony calmed down, he looked up at Stephen.
“I’m sorry for crying. I just love you so much and I can’t seem to think about anything else because you’re the most important person to me and I want you to stay forever and I love you so much,” Tony was babbling, but he seemed to be the most coherent he had been since his surgery finished. Well, as coherent as one could sound with cotton stuffed in both cheeks. “My mouth hurts.”
“I know, love, I know. Don’t worry, I’m right here for you. And I’ve got your pain meds. And I won’t ever leave you, because you’re the most important person to me, too.” Stephen smiled gently at the man who held his heart, and he felt all his worries drift away when he saw the joy in the smaller man’s eyes at his words. Tony snuggled up tighter against Stephen’s chest and drifted to sleep once again, and Stephen drifted with him, content.