Work Text:
“Hi, Tony.”
Tony paused before responding, pulling the phone away from his ear for a moment to check that it was really who he thought it was. It was Stephen. The voice certainly sounded like Stephen.
It was the tone, however, that really didn’t.
For one, Stephen didn’t say ‘hi’. It was always ‘hello’, always. Never ‘hey’, never ‘hi’, never anything other than ‘hello’. For two, Stephen sounded… well, he sounded happy.
Which wasn’t to say that Stephen wasn’t happy normally. He was just… subtle in his happiness. Small crinkles around his eyes, warm smiles, subtle shifts in tones.
Tony had put in a lot of effort into looking for signs of Stephen’s happiness. Which was to say that this sudden, obvious happiness was weirding Tony out.
Finally he brought his phone back to his ear. “Hey, Stephen. What’s up?”
“You should come over.”
Tony blinked, then blinked again. Because that was… well, that was blunt. This was less weird than the other oddities he’d picked up so far, but only slightly. It wasn’t so much the bluntness; Stephen excelled at being blunt. It had to do with the fact that it was eleven in the morning on a Monday.
He paused, considering the question. “You okay, Stephen?”
Stephen laughed. And not his normal laugh, which could be earned with a little teasing and good humor. No it was bright and free and absolutely soul deep.
Tony startled. It was a beautiful sound, but Tony had always had to work hard to earn it every time he’d heard it. But this time it had come easy and unfettered and with Tony having done absolutely nothing to deserve it. And that, that was weird on every level. If he hadn’t thought something was off before, that cemented it.
“Wong, Tony wants to know if I’m okay,” he heard Stephen say, words no longer directed at the phone.
A moment later Wong had apparently grabbed the phone, because he heard Stephen, now distant, yelping, “my phone!”
Yelping, that was another thing to add to the list of things that did not add up right.
“You were very quick on the uptake,” Wong said into the phone. “What gave it away?”
Not an encouraging start to this conversation. “Everything. I just have no clue what it was giving away.”
Wong didn’t sound particularly worried, which meant that it was probably fine, whatever it was. But then, it was also Wong, who hadn’t sounded worried when the universe itself was in danger, so that actually didn’t mean anything.
He needed to stop that thought right there, because that was not reassuring.
“What it gave away was that Stephen is under a spell.”
“Is that why he sounds so… cheerful?” It was the best word he could find for it. Happy just didn’t seem to do it justice.
“Yes,” Wong said. Then he sighed. A long, drawn out sigh. And that… that was as much of a sign as Stephen’s ‘hi’ or his too-bright tone. Wong didn’t sigh, or rather he did—especially when Tony was being annoying—but not quite so noticeably. “Which is why you should come over and distract him, because he is driving me up a wall. He has already smothered the Cloak of Levitation into hiding.”
Well, that was impressive, the Cloak was an attention hog and rather hard to smother. “What happened?”
“A novice decided they were going to experiment and make their own spell.” Wong’s tone was aggravated. Tony almost felt bad for said novice, because no way were they getting out of this without one of Wong’s lectures. And that would just be the start. “It… went awry.”
Tony felt a twinge of unease. “Stephen’s going to be okay, isn’t he?”
“The spell should wear off sometime this afternoon,” Wong assured him. “We were able to dissect the spell enough to determine that it will have no permanent effects. Thankfully, since Stephen was not the only one hit. Kamar Taj is… very energetic, at the moment.”
Wong sounded genuinely aggrieved by this fact. Given that Stephen and Tony had one time spotted Wong dancing to All the Single Ladies in the library—and not just a little bop, Wong had been going all out—Tony thought that Wong was probably putting it on in the grievance department, just a little bit.
No one who danced to All the Single Ladies with that much energy could possibly be that unsettled by other people being ‘energetic’.
“That sounds… fun?”
“No,” Wong said adamantly. “It’s madness.”
Tony bit his lip to stop himself from laughing at Wong’s reaction. “So you want me to come distract Stephen?”
“Yes,” Wong said, even more vehement this time. “He is feeling sociable. I have not been able to get anything done, because he is following me like a duckling. And he cannot help me, because the spell has him entirely too distracted to be working on any serious spell casting. I suggested that he invite you over and he started beaming.”
Tony couldn’t even picture that. Stephen smiled, yes. But he didn’t beam.
He glanced at his itinerary for the day. There wasn’t anything that couldn’t be pushed off to tomorrow. To be fair, even if there had been, he’d probably have found a way out of it regardless.
“Do you want me to come there or do you want Stephen to come here to get out from underneath your feet?”
Wong paused for a moment, considering. “It is better if you come here. Stephen has experienced several bouts of… well, accidental magic.” Tony hadn’t realized that was something that could happen. Especially not when so many of the spells that he’d seen Stephen and Wong perform were entirely too complex to happen ’on accident’. “While it has been nothing serious, it would be best if I were on hand should he manage something more serious than what he has.”
Today was looking to be very interesting, that was for sure.
“Wong,” he heard Stephen in the background. “Is Tony coming?”
Wong sighed again. “I am opening a portal for him, now.”
A moment later a portal was opening up at the back of his workshop. Tony had barely made it through the portal and into one of the sanctum’s studies, before Stephen was on him.
The kiss was bright and sharp. He could feel Stephen smiling into it as he pulled Tony close.
Tony was left blinking when Stephen finally pulled back. “I’m happy you’re here,” Stephen told him, sounding warm and sincere. “Wong’s been in a bad mood.”
“I think you’re just in a good mood,” Tony pointed out. He glanced at Wong. “Does he—?”
Wong nodded. “He just doesn’t care.”
“I’m right here,” Stephen pointed out, but there was nothing but amusement in his voice. “You can ask me, you know.”
“So you know you’re under a spell?” Tony asked, even if Wong had just answered the question.
Stephen shrugged. “Of course I do.”
“And you’re… fine with that?”
Stephen rolled his eyes. “I’m happy, Tony. Of course I’m fine with that.”
Tony observed him for a long moment. “You’re absolutely going to tear a new one into that novice when you’re back to normal,” he decided.
That earned him a laugh and another kiss. Magically cheerful Stephen was clearly very affectionate. Tony wasn’t exactly complaining, but it was just… different. That was probably the only word that he could use right now. Not right, not wrong, just different. “We’ll see,” Stephen said, which felt like an acknowledgment that Tony was right, even if Stephen was too happy to actually want to do so right now.
Tony hummed in acknowledgment. “Sounds like you’re officially banned from doing anything important right now.” Wong muttered something about ‘absolute disaster’ that only affirmed that Tony was right. “What do you want to do right now.”
Stephen shrugged, the motion smooth and unbothered. “Not the library.” Which made sense if Wong was right about Stephen being easily distracted at the moment. “Wong says I’m not allowed in there until I’m back to normal.”
There was a story there, Tony was sure. So, not the library. That still left them any number of things.
“Mostly I just want to be with you,” Stephen added.
Heat spread across his cheeks and Tony knew he was blushing.
“Just keep him away from any relics,” Wong ordered, sparing Tony from having to respond to Stephen’s words. Wong made a face, clearly remembering that it was normally Stephen’s job to keep Tony away from the relics. Which, really, that wasn’t fair. Tony knew how to keep his hands to himself. He even actually did it most of the time, too. “Please, just keep the sanctum standing by the end of the day.”
Tony eyed Stephen. “How about a movie,” he suggested. That seemed like something that would keep them both out of trouble and would keep Stephen distracted.
Stephen smiled, and now Tony understood what Wong meant by ‘beaming’. Stephen’s whole face lit up, like Tony had just suggested something brilliant. It made Tony feel… He wasn’t sure. Part of him was jealous. Jealous at how easy it was to make Stephen happy when he knew it wasn’t real. But also… he hoped that, even if it was just for the time, that Stephen there was something genuine about the happiness he was feeling right now.
“This is probably your only chance to make me watch that awful movie you’ve been trying to convince me to give a shot,” Stephen admitted, eyes twinkling in amusement. “Since I’m in such a good mood, not even ‘Monty Python’ will bring me down.”
“It’s a brilliant movie.” In that it was so stupid it was perfect. Rhodey had introduced Tony to it in college—it was definitely not a movie that would have ever been allowed through the front door of the Stark mansion, to be fair, most movies weren’t. Tony normally only watched it when sleep deprived, but he thought that watching Stephen’s reactions while he was in this state was probably going to be just as good as sleep deprivation for the purposes of Tony’s enjoyment.
Wong actually looked thoughtful about joining. Tony suspected because he was also curious about Stephens’s reactions. “It is a very stupid movie,” he added in a way that felt like an agreement to Tony’s commentary about its brilliance.
“I’m sure it’ll be fantastic,” Stephen agreed; Tony was pleased to note that his sarcasm was still intact, because there was no missing that.
“Monty Python it is,” Tony decided, Stephen had suggested it after all, if he came to regret it later… well, people watched movies they regretted all the time. “You’re going to love to hate it.”
Stephen let out another one of those bright, carefree laughs as he grabbed Tony’s hand, pulling him along towards the room that held the tv. The sanctum was clearly more than ready to let Stephen get to the room, because Tony was pretty sure they skipped half of the normal route. The sanctum was clearly just as unsure what to do with a magically cheerful Stephen as the rest of them.
It didn’t take Tony long to set up the movie and he let himself be pulled down next to Stephen. This, at least, felt normal. Both he and Stephen were just slightly touch-starved in a way that meant that during movies they always cuddled.
Tony had been right, watching Stephen watch the movie was hilarious. Stephen seemed split between genuinely laughing and cheerful scorn at the more idiotic parts of the movie.
“I cannot believe I just watched that,” Stephen decided as the camera ‘broke’ and the movie ended. “You’ve taken advantage of me and my practically-inebriated state.”
Tony snorted. “You suggested it, Stephen. You only have yourself to blame.”
Stephen considered that for a moment, before shrugging. “I could probably also blame Thom.” Thom, Tony presumed, was the novice responsible for the spell. “But, if I had to watch it at least once, this was probably the best time for it.”
“Probably,” Tony agreed. “You did laugh.”
Stephen rolled his eyes. “That’s not particularly hard to achieve right now,” he admitted with what was almost a startling amount of self-awareness. It reminded Tony that Stephen knew he was currently under a spell, he just didn’t care. Tony wasn’t sure if that was part of the spell or just Stephen deciding to embrace the situation.
He figured he could ask Stephen once the whole thing was over and Tony would be more confident that Stephen was giving an honest, uninfluenced answer.
“True,” Tony agreed. “Lunch?”
“We could go out,” Stephen suggested.
Tony shook his head. “You would never forgive me for taking you out in this state, and Wong said you’ve had some incidents of accidental magic, which we should really avoid having happen in public.”
He hadn’t noticed any so far, but that was probably only for the best. Even if Tony was curious to see what sort of magic Stephen was doing on accident.
“I’d forgive you,” Stephen said. “I’d forgive you most things, really.”
Tony snorted. “Right now you might, later… not so much.”
Stephen rolled his eyes again. “I still know my own mind, Tony.”
“Lunch,” Tony repeated, deciding he wasn’t going to get into a disagreement with Stephen when he was like this.
Stephen followed Tony to the kitchen, the route once again cut short as the sanctum led them right there.
Tony searched Stephen and Wong’s refrigerator for ingredients. He avoided the creepy crawlies that they stored there—he didn’t need to know about what they ate when he wasn’t around, even if he was resigned to the fact that at some point Stephen would only be able to eat the more… interesting food, but for now Stephen was still on a mixed diet and Tony would take advantage—and grabbed the things they needed for pasta salad.
Stephen watched him with amusement. “It’s not that bad,” he said, clearly having noticed his reaction to the creepy crawlies. “Some of them even taste good.”
“I love you,” Tony told him. “But I do not need to know that.” Even if he was curious despite himself. Heavily, heavily despite himself. It was a problem with him, he was always curious.
“You’re curious,” Stephen countered, reading him easily. “I can always tell, even when you try to hide it.”
“It’s a flaw,” Tony said with exaggerated disappointment. “I can’t help but want to know.”
Stephen shook his head. “Not a flaw. I love that about you.”
Tony flushed. He knew Stephen loved him, but he wasn’t used to Stephen saying it, at least not so brazenly.
Stephen’s smile brightened, the skin around his eyes crinkling as he took in Tony’s reaction. “I do,” he continued. “I love your curiosity and your ridiculous sense of humor and how much you care about the bots and the Cloak—“ who was mysteriously missing, Tony remembered, but then Wong had mentioned something about Stephen having smothered it, ”—and how you treat me like I’m both the strongest person you know and simultaneously the most fragile.”
“You’re not fragile.”
“I know,” Stephen said. “But you treat me like I’m precious.”
That was not quite the same thing as fragile, Tony thought, but perhaps there was enough shared space for it to make sense.
“You are,” Tony said honestly. “Precious, that is.”
Stephen stood from where he sat, crowding Tony back against the counter to kiss him again. It was a longer kiss, though it didn’t quite pass into passionate. Stephen was laughing when he pulled back, eyes dancing with delight. “Vishanti, I love you.”
Tony flushed. “I love you, too.”
A glint of teal out of the corner of his eyes had him turning to look and he stared as he took in the dozen of butterflies now fluttering around the room. “So that’s what Wong meant about accidental magic.”
“This is probably my favorite accidental magic. I shattered a few lights earlier,” Stephen admitted. “And set the candles alight in the library and then made the flames dance.”
“Hence you being banned from the library for the time being.” Probably for the best when there were so many ancient books in there. He still didn’t understand why there were all of those candles. They had lights in there. Stephen had said something about ambience, which Tony took to mean that sorcerers were just dramatic for the sake of it. Which really? Wouldn’t surprise him.
“Yes. That would be why I’m banned,” Stephen agreed, amusement shining in his eyes again. “I’m also banned from spell casting after I tried to help Wong with the wards and got distracted by how beautiful magic is.”
Tony tilted his head. “Tell me about it.” He held up a hand. “No actual casting, just tell me about how it’s beautiful.”
Stephen did, his voice going almost beatific as he spoke about magic while Tony made them lunch. Tony listened intently. Stephen had never shied away from talking about magic when Tony asked. Admittedly, Tony didn’t ask often. He’d always felt like it was something he wasn’t allowed, even if Stephen told him that was just stupid. But there was something about hearing Stephen talk about it now that made Tony wish that he’d asked Stephen about it more in normal situations.
Stephen loved magic. Tony could hear it in every word he spoke, in how warm his voice was, in how he gestured widely as though trying to encompass all of his feelings for it and still failing.
Tony spotted a few more butterflies fluttering into existence, just like they had when they’d kissed.
Stephen kept talking even as Tony served them and Tony kept quiet as they ate as Stephen talked about how it felt to master a spell, that feeling of constrained power mixed with an almost helplessness at the magic that was so much more powerful than Stephen was, allowing itself to be brought under control.
Stephen finally paused when they had nearly finished with their lunch.
“Sorry,” Stephen said. “I don’t think that’s what you were aiming for when you asked.”
“I wasn’t aiming for anything,” Tony said. “I just wanted to hear you talk about something you love.” He paused, considering his next words. “I’ll probably ask again, when you’re back to normal.”
And there was that beaming again, though it was warmer and softer than the first time Tony had seen it. “Please do.” Stephen reached out, placing his hand over Tony’s. “I want to share it with you, as much as I can.”
There was a stark honesty in his words that Tony believed. At no point had the spell seemed to indicate an inclination to dishonesty.
Tony started clean up as Stephen finished eating. Stephen helped him once he was done, singing softly under his breath as they worked, some love song that Tony didn’t know but was going to have to look up later. Tony kept quiet, just listening.
Stephen hummed, sometimes, but Tony had never heard him sing before.
He hoped, when this was over, that Stephen didn’t feel too exposed by the things that Tony heard and saw while he was in this state.
Almost as though reading his thoughts, Stephen turned towards him, setting the knife he’d been washing in the sink.
“Dance with me,” Stephen demanded.
Tony felt his mouth fall open from pure surprise. “What?”
“I want to dance with you,” Stephen said.
“No you don’t,” Tony said automatically. ”You’re—“
Stephen rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know I’m under a spell right now, that doesn’t change the fact that I want to dance with you.”
Tony hesitated. “This might be something you regret later,” he pointed out. “You’ve never wanted to dance with me before.”
“I’ve never said anything about it,” Stephen countered. He held out his hands. “Dance with me,” he repeated. He paused. “Unless… Not if you don’t want to.”
Tony shook his head. “No, it’s not…” He sighed. “I just don’t want you doing things you don’t want to do.”
“Why would I suggest it if I don’t want to do it.” Stephen’s eyes were soft. “Humor me,” he asked. “Please.”
Tony really wasn’t very good at saying no to Stephen when he said please. “All right,” he agreed. “But when this is over, I want you to remember that this was both your idea and that you pulled out the ‘please’ card.”
Stephen just laughed.
Tony stepped into Stephen’s space, wrapping his arms around Stephen’s neck as Stephen wrapped his own around Tony’s waist.
Stephen started humming, a low, beautiful tone beneath his breath. After a moment he started singing, voice almost whisper soft in Tony’s ear.
“Just say the word, we’ll take on the world.
Just say you’re hurt, we’ll face the worst.
Nobody knows you the way that I know you.
Look in my eyes, I will never desert you.
Just say the word, we’ll take on the world,
We’ll take on the world.”
Tony closed his eyes, leaning into Stephen as he kept singing, a promise for just the two of them. Their soft sway didn’t quite match the beat, but Tony couldn’t bring himself to care. Stephen’s voice was beautiful, a low timbre that Tony found he loved. Not that that was really a surprise. He loved most things about Stephen.
“You should sing for me again,” Tony said, as Stephen finished singing. They didn’t pull away quite yet. “When you’re back to normal.”
“That depends,” Stephen said. “Are you going to sing for me?”
“If you want me to,” Tony said honestly. “You shouldn’t doubt that.”
Stephen considered that, then nodded. “I know.”
Stephen finally pulled back, smiling at Tony like he was the world. It was, Tony realized, not exactly a new smile, though it was a little more obvious than normal. Tony smiled back at him, knowing that his smile was likely saying the exact same thing.
Wong stepped into the kitchen, interrupting the moment, his face perfectly inscrutable in the way that meant that he was trying to pretend he’d seen nothing. Tony suspected that this was not the first time Wong had walked in. Tony couldn’t help but be grateful that Wong had managed a circumspect exit the first time.
Tony turned back to finish clean up as Stephen’s face brightened again. “Wong!”
“Hello, Stephen,” Wong said, voice a mix of tired and fond. “You seem to be slowly coming down from your magical high.”
“How can you tell?” Tony asked. He hadn’t noticed. But then, he’d had constant exposure to Stephen and it could be hard to note minute, constant changes.
“The first time he saw me he tried to hug me,” Wong said blandly. Tony tried to picture that but failed. “That cheerful greeting was downright close to normal in comparison. I’ve got five dollars on a bet that he’s going to hide away for at least a week after this.”
Tony glanced at Stephen, who scoffed. “I’m not going to hide away.”
Yeah, Tony wasn’t taking that bet.
Tony finished cleaning, Stephen sporadically helping him when he wasn’t chatting at Wong who merely listened as Stephen laughingly complained about Monty Python.
“He laughed,” Tony countered. “For like half of the movie. And he had a blast criticizing the other half. His complaints don’t count.”
“It is a ridiculous movie. He’s not wrong there.”
Tony shrugged, ignoring Stephen’s victorious ‘ha’. Tony agreed it was ridiculous. It was still the best movie to watch when sleep deprived and he’d hear no opposition on the matter. “Honestly, I’m a little surprised you’ve seen it.”
Wong gave him an almost haughty look. “I have depths you’ll never discover.”
Which, fair enough.
Stephen pulled Tony out of the room as soon as Tony finished, Wong yelling after them not to touch any relics and to stay out of the library.
“Where are we going?” Tony asked, when Stephen took them up the stairs. Tony was well aware that the majority of the relics were up here, and he was not going to be the one to gain Wong’s ire. Because Wong would blame him.
“The roof,” Stephen told him.
Tony didn’t think he’d ever been on the roof before. Not that he’d ever thought there was a reason to be on the roof.
“Why the roof?” Tony asked when they finally got there. It was not the highest building in the area, but it was still decently placed. He looked around, surprised to see plants nearly everywhere.
“I like it up here,” Stephen said simply.
Tony accepted that, watching as Stephen went from plant to plant, brushing his fingers over the leaves gently. It was almost peaceful, and it was certainly the calmest—minus their dance—that he’d seen Stephen since his call this morning.
“Come on,” Stephen said, after he’d greeted perhaps every plant. He moved to a bench that Tony hadn’t spotted, between two potted trees, with a view out over New York’s skyline.
Tony sat next to him and Stephen immediately leaned against his side. “It’s beautiful,” Stephen said quietly.
“It is,” Tony agreed.
“I used to have a gorgeous view from my apartment; the one I had before all of this.” Stephen waved his hand to encompass the sanctum and everything it stood for. A whole new life and a changed Stephen. “But it was… it was so sterile. Not like this.”
Stephen rarely talked about his life before this. He would talk about being a doctor, about Christine, but not about his life. Tony had quietly come to the conclusion it was because Stephen hadn’t had much of one outside of his work.
Or at least not one that had been happy.
“I’m glad you’re happy, now,” Tony said honestly. “And not just the spell.”
Stephen hummed as though he’d never considered that. “I am happy, aren’t I?” He let out a yawn, leaning heavier against Tony.
Tony blinked, a little surprised by the sudden drop in energy. He wondered if it was the beginning of the spell fading. Stephen had been expending a different sort of energy than usual, it would make sense that it was taking a toll as the spell started to fade.
“Tired?” Tony asked quietly.
Stephen sighed. “I think the spell is fading.” So Tony had been right.
Tony leaned them back against the bench. “Do you want to go in?”
Stephen shook his head. “No.”
“All right.”
They sat there for a good ten minutes, Stephen humming again. Tony didn’t recognize the tune, but it seemed… soft, warm.
Tony found himself wishing that Stephen let himself fall into music this easily when he wasn’t spelled into it. There was something about Stephen and his music that just felt right.
The humming slowly faded and Stephen’s weight against his side grew heavier.
Tony pulled out his phone, checking his messages as Stephen slept.
He’d actually managed to get a little work in before Stephen woke with a start, looking around in confusion as though not sure where he was.
“You okay?” Tony asked.
Stephen looked at him for a moment and then groaned, burying his face in his hands. “We are never speaking of this again,” Stephen said.
So Stephen was back to normal. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“I tried to hug Wong,” Stephen said flatly.
Tony considered that. “Okay, so some of it was pretty bad. But you know Wong is secretly pleased that you inadvertently proved that he’s your favorite. You followed him like a duckling, apparently.”
“And you think it ‘wasn’t that bad’?” Stephen asked, giving him a narrowed eyed look. “Because that sounds pretty bad if you ask me. I almost burned down the library.”
“Oh, come on. It could have been worse. I could have taken you out in public while you created your little butterflies.”
Stephen looked momentarily horrified at the thought. “You wouldn’t.”
Tony gave him his best ‘no duh’ look. “Obviously, since I stopped that from happening.”
Stephen frowned. “That’s right, you did. Good job.”
“Memory spotty?” Tony checked.
Stephen shrugged. “No, I don’t think so. I remember embarrassing myself in a multitude of ways. I also remember watching that awful movie with you, in great detail. You are a terrible person for allowing my nearly-inebriated self to watch that.”
“Movie regret,” Tony said easily. “It happens to the best of us. You were the one who suggested it, and you kept insisting you were in your right mind. Plus it kept you distracted.”
Stephen made a face at that.
“Were you?” Tony asked, suddenly hesitant. “In your right mind.”
Stephen didn’t answer immediately. “Yes,” he said finally. “For the most part. I was just so blazingly happy and couldn’t hide it. The most ‘out of my mind’ that I was, was being unable to censor my expressiveness and, well, calling myself inebriated wasn’t too far off. I just wanted to do things and be around people that made me happy so I could keep that feeling.”
“Hence following Wong around like a duckling,” Tony teased. “He’s going to be so smug.”
Stephen looked like he was considering hiding away for a week, just like Wong had bet he would.
“He’ll be even more smug if you hide away,” Tony pointed out.
That made Stephen sigh. “Good point. He can’t blackmail me with this if I decide I’m going to be shameless about it.” Tony was pretty sure that was something Stephen had learned from him. Because Tony had mastered the act of being shameless about things so they couldn’t be weaponized against him. Stephen’s eyes narrowed. “But Wong better have given Thom the lecture of his life for trying to create his own spell without proper supervision.”
“I have no doubt that if he hasn’t yet, that he will,” Tony said. Tony had been on the receiving end of Wong’s disappointed lectures a few times—sometimes for reasons that were absolutely not Tony’s fault—and he wouldn’t wish them on anyone, even if the novice, Thom, absolutely deserved one.
“Not going to spare him from my lecture,” Stephen muttered under his breath. No, Tony hadn’t thought it would. Like he’d said at the beginning, Stephen was going to rip a new one into the novice.
They fell quiet for a moment and Tony could tell that Stephen was agonizing over the past few hours.
“Hey,” Tony said quietly, trying to put a stop to the needless agonizing. No one was going to hold anything against Stephen beyond some light teasing, and even that would be sparse. “You should sing more.”
Stephen startled. “What?”
“You. Singing. It was beautiful.”
Stephen flushed. “I really shouldn’t.”
“You really should.” There had to be a part of Stephen that wanted to, or Stephen wouldn’t have engaged in it. Like Stephen had said, he’d wanted to do things that made him happy to keep the feeling going.
Stephen was quiet for a moment. “Thank you for dancing with me.”
“Whenever you want,” Tony said easily. “Though I’m pretty sure Wong caught us, he was just nice enough to pretend he didn’t.”
“You just had to ruin it,” Stephen muttered.
“Just making sure you knew,” Tony said, hiding a grin. “Wouldn’t want you caught unawares.”
“Speaking of being caught unawares. You figured out something was wrong ridiculously quickly.” Stephen gave him a quietly searching look, as though trying to figure out how Tony knew.
Tony shrugged. “I know you, Stephen.”
Stephen examined him for a long moment, then nodded. “I suppose you do.”
“It was nice, in some ways, to see you so ridiculously happy,” Tony admitted. “I’ll miss your laugh.”
“Things like that don’t last,” Stephen pointed out. “Happiness like that isn’t sustainable.”
No, probably not, especially not with the lives they led. “No, it’s not.” Tony leaned against Stephen. “But as much as I loved hearing you laugh, it didn’t feel earned. And I love earning your laugh. Love knowing that I did something right.”
Stephen huffed, and it was a laugh, not the laugh, but still a victory on its own. “You do make me happy, you know. Not magically cheerful like this, but… happy, content.”
Tony thought that, in most ways, that was the far better alternative. “I’m glad.” He paused, tilting just a little so that he could brush a kiss along Stephen’s cheek. “You make me happy, too.”
Stephen turned, making the kiss a brush of lips against lips. “Good.”
Tony turned back towards their view, feeling Stephen do the same.
It was not a magically happy moment.
But they were happy, and that was a magic of its own.