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It was a minor complication.
Honestly, the alternative side effect was actually coughing up flowers so him leaving a trail sprouting up wherever he walked was preferred. Stephen would rather not asphyxiate on flower petals, thank you very much.
Wong was rather amused despite the fact that the flowers wouldn’t die until they were picked and this led to a garden sprouting around the Sanctum the first few days. Stephen was stuck to moving around only using the cloak after he realized that it was the contact with anything he was standing, sitting, or laying on that was non-sentient that caused the foliage to bloom. He was even sleeping in the air after the first night had him trapped in his bed after waking up due to the vines that collected overnight.
Stephen had taken to investigating the flowers that sprouted in his midst. The spell was originally a communication spell meant to pull meaning from emotions that were hard to verbalize. It took many different forms however this backlash had latched onto the language of flowers for some god awful reason.
So far he had a few returning ‘favorites’. Crown of thorns, was a pink flower that represented sacrifice, martyrdom, and devotion (he tried to ignore that one). Amaryllis was a bright red flower that represented pride. Clearly he had to work on that. There were a few others but those were the standouts.
By far, the situation he was in had to be the worst.
He had been called for a battle that some of the Avengers were in. Tony, in particular, was someone Stephen worried for despite his attempt at a cool yet friendly facade. The billionaire took a strong last hit from the monster of the week and while the rest of the group finished it off, Stephen flew into action and caught the man as he was flung aside. The momentum, however, tossed both of them to the ground.
See, Stephen hadn’t touched the ground in seventy-two hours at that point and the spell had been collecting energy. That meant as soon as he hit the pavement, there were thousands of flowers to break their fall. As the two men sat up, Stephen looked around in horror as the stupid plants shamelessly broadcasted his feelings for the inventor.
Pink Camellia’s. Longing for you.
Red Carnations. My heart aches, and a deep love.
Clematis. Mental beauty.
Red Columbines. Anxiety.
Irises. Faith, wisdom, and trust.
And the easiest to discern: red roses. I love you.
Tony looked around in confusion before realization began to creep into his face. Stephen just wanted to lay face first in his flowers and suffocate himself.
“I’m guessing this wasn’t intentional?” Tony asked and Stephen closed his eyes, resigned.
“No. Got hit by a stray spell while training some apprentices. It wasn’t done correctly so this-“ he gestured outwards, “happens.”
There was a moment of silence before he heard some shuffling and then jumped slightly when he felt breath on his face. He opened his eyes to see Tony right there, smiling gently at him.
“Y’know, my mom was old school. She believed in a lot of that high etiquette stuff and thought I should learn it, just in case.”
Wait, what did that have to do with-
Oh.
Stephen could feel his face heat up as the realization hit and he didn’t know it was possible, but Tony’s expression went even gentler.
“Come here.” Tony reached forward and the world melted away around Stephen as Tony kissed him. It took a while before they came apart and Tony suddenly laughed as he looked around them. Stephen took a moment to get his bearings before he saw what amused Tony so much.
Red Salvias had bloomed all around them.
Forever mine.
Yeah, Stephen could get behind that.