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Chapter Text

Tony and Stephen cherished their newly blossomed engagement for as long as possible. They were cradled by the sweet honeysuckle warmth of their affirmed love for one another, infinite in its tenderness and scope.

The next few days were spent in an almost dream-like state, similar to the blissful peace brought on when they had first gotten together, as peace had descended upon the cabin in a way that cut them off from harsh reality for a meagre forty-eight hours. Their love was an absurdity, carved out by the very universe that had sought to destroy it. It was something precious and delicate to be hidden against one’s chest like a priceless gem, for the rare, brief moments before it might be tarnished by the hardships of the outside world. After a lifetime of dodging the press, Tony would have rather kept their engagement private from the public for the rest of their lives if possible, and Stephen was all too happy to comply, for as long as they were able to keep their newfound secret, anyway. They were by no means ashamed of their union, but simply wished to enjoy its purity which would be nothing but fleeting.

But they were content with the knowledge that their secret would be safe for now, even once they told their closest family and friends, with the unspoken plea of complete confidentiality. Rhodey was the first to know, of course, embracing them both with steadfast affirmations of love and teasing words that had been a long time coming, just like their engagement. Pure pride was evident in his eyes while Tony recited the amusing circumstances of their mutual proposal to one another, an ode to how much he and Stephen trusted their friend. Decades of love and worry were held within the lines on the colonel’s face, eased by the knowledge that Stephen’s devotion was lasting, strengthening new and old friendships both as Rhodey was no longer alone in his nearly lifelong resolve to keep Tony safe. There was no question about whether or not Rhodey would officiate for them, but they asked anyway, and were met by the colonel’s playful offence, as if there was any doubt that he would do any less than go to the ends of the earth in their honour.

They told Wong next, dropping by the Sanctum with sandwiches from the deli as they often did these days. Wong barely batted an eye at the news. “It was about time”, was his only comment, though he did give Stephen a hug as they were leaving that may have been misperceived as congratulatory.

May and Happy reacted similarly to Rhodey, pleased but not surprised in the least. May’s only humble request was that she would be allowed to help with wedding planning, and the newly engaged couple promised that they wouldn't have it any other way. Gently goaded on by his small audience, Stephen didn’t mind sharing the trials of his failed proposals now that it was in the near past, relieved to let the nightmarish memory of the alien battle fade away like a fever dream in the background. The human brain had a way of glossing over the details of traumatic events when it was too much to bear, and Stephen was all too happy to keep his thoughts in the present moment. He looked on with undying affection as Tony flaunted his ring proudly while May gushed over it, sharing the SparkNotes version of the story of their star and how the ring had come to be, and Happy may have shed a tear or two while no one was looking, though Stephen was too busy fawning over his fiancé to take much notice.

Sharing the news with Pepper and Christine was a trial all its own, and the two men deliberated over how best to tell them for several days before finally deciding to just bite the bullet. They breached the subject while the four of them were out for coffee one afternoon, hoping that the public setting would soften the blow marginally, but this precaution ended up being unnecessary. Both women reacted surprisingly well to the news of their respective exes engagement to one another, and maybe they had both (Pepper especially) moved on from their former relationships better than Tony and Stephen had initially thought. Pepper seemed genuinely happy that Tony was happy, even going so far as to offer him a tentative congratulatory hug. It was a welcome turn of events, and a big step from her nearly spiteful behaviour only a year ago. Though a lot of personal betterment had attributed to Pepper’s new outlook on their group dynamic, they could all attest that Christine had been a catalyst in her girlfriend’s more positive opinion of Stephen, and this sparked immense gratitude for her role in salvaging the cohesiveness of their family unit. Of course, Christine brushed off any semblance of thanks offered, sarcastically crediting the former neurosurgeon’s winning personality instead.

While Tony and Stephen had expected the most adverse reactions from some of the adults in their lives, nothing could compare to the importance of how they brought up their engagement with the kids, Morgan especially. Tony dreaded the thought that, in her heart of hearts, Morgan still expected her parents to get back together at some point, even though the finality of his and Pepper’s divorce had been explained to her thoroughly. As much as she loved the Doc, he was worried that Morgan might lash out or shut down in the face of such an overwhelming change.

Accordingly, they waited for that following weekend when both boys were home from college in order to tell them face to face, and sat all three kids around the kitchen table together. Though it took them a few seconds to process the news, Morgan and Peter expressed their congratulations and overjoyed disbelief while hugging their dads. Harley, meanwhile, was characteristically aloof about the whole situation. To Tony’s surprise, while Morgan took to the idea of her new step dad like a duck to water, the twenty-two-year-old seemed to be having the most trouble accepting their new family arrangement. Tony had been so focused on the possibility of Morgan acting out, that he had almost forgotten how reactive Harley could be, especially considering the delicate nature of his relationship with the sorcerer. Sharing his dad was still a new concept, and it took Harley several days to come to terms with the idea of welcoming the Doc into their family permanently.

“You know nothing is really going to change, right?”, Tony asked, speaking over the static of the workshop radio which had been filling silence in the background for the past hour. It was the first time they’d had a chance to talk alone, a few days after announcing his and Stephen’s engagement.

“I know”, Harley said shortly, writhing under the vulnerability of his dad’s question. Tony wasn’t convinced that he believed him.

“It’s just a ring, some papers, and a promise to always be there. Nothing will actually change.”

“Damn, you got your vows all written out, huh? Cheesy bastard”, Harley griped, yelping as Tony punched his upper arm with his good hand.

“Hey, I can be as cheesy as I want. I’m old and engaged.” Tony quickly changed tactics, knowing that the sentimental route would do nothing but make the twenty-two-year-old shut down even further. “So what’s got your knickers in a twist? We won’t make you wear a suit for the ceremony if that’s what you’re worried about.” Another light jab and a nudge against Harley’s arm to loosen the settling concrete at the base of his infamous walls, watching him slowly building them back up as the air of uncertainty crept in around him.

Harley finally let out a huge sigh, bitterness sticking between his molars. “Marriage is just a recipe for divorce. You of all people should know that.” Tony brushed off the sting of that blow, knowing that it came from a place of fear. Sterile silence enveloped them in the college robotics lab they were working in. It was nearly midnight and the only sound was that of Harley’s tattered converse beating a tempo on the metal leg of his stool.

“The Doc’s not going anywhere”, Tony said into the silence, tapping the handle of a screwdriver against his opposite palm. “I’ve given him plenty of reasons to want to leave, but he’s stuck around so far. I’m pretty annoying, so it’s gotta count for something, right?” He nudged the kid’s shoulder amiably, but Harley remained unresponsive, eyes glazed over as he stared into the middle distance. “Harley-.”

“He’ll stay for you, but he’s gonna get sick of me sooner than later”, Harley ground out dejectedly, on the verge of tears as he pretended to busy himself with a set of blueprints.

“No, he’s not”, Tony said quickly, tugging on the sleeve of Harley’s hoodie to try and get him to look at him, but watery blue eyes remained fixed on the cement floor. “He’s not, Harley. Fuck that. I know it’s hard for you to believe, but he loves you more than anything.” Harley just shook his head, forcing the engineer to bodily pry him out of the defensive position he had balled himself into. Tony gripped the boy’s forearms securely to keep him from tugging away, rubbing soothing circles with his thumbs. “Hey. Listen to me. Remember when I signed your adoption papers?”

There was a certain urgency to his voice that made Harley look up, voice wavering. “Yeah.”

“Okay. Well, I told you that the Doc wanted to adopt you too if you wanted and if we ever got married. That hasn’t changed”, Tony promised with conviction. Harley blinked furiously as a new wave of hot tears was brought forth by his words. The engineer felt prickling at the backs of his own eyes, disheartened by how easily his son forgot how loved he was. “You’re his kid, whether we make it official or not. Same with me and Pops getting married. It’s just a useless piece of paper, and it’s nothing compared to the promises he’s already made.”

Tears trickling down his cheeks, Harley considered his words for an eternity before mumbling past the tightness in his throat. “The paper is a nice reminder sometimes, though.”

“Yeah, of course, Har”, Tony assured as he understood his son’s sentiment. He slid off his own stool to gather Harley up in his arms, cradling him like a small child although the twenty-two-year-old was nearly eye-to eye with him while sitting down. Regardless of his height, Harley was a little boy again in that moment, protected and loved as he relaxed in his dad’s arms. “We can do up the adoption papers for your Pops too, if that’s what you want. I know he’ll be over the moon about it.” Harley didn’t need words to show how much he loved the idea, his arms wrapped tightly around Tony’s ribcage.

The truth was that Stephen had been practically begging to broach the subject with Harley again as of late, which left Tony to stall for time as he’d been planning to propose before they both became the kids’ legal guardians. Now that they were engaged, it would be easier to write up and get approval for the necessary documents, and more convenient when it came to updating their legal names. When all three of them were finally able to sit down and talk about the official adoption process, of sharing Tony’s guardianship of the twenty-two-year-old with his soon-to-be husband, Harley was ecstatic at the idea of changing his surname to match his parents’ new hyphenated version. It took a bit of playful bickering, but Stephen had eventually relented and agreed that Stark-Strange sounded better than vice versa, a small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things. He was just overjoyed to finally have his name together with Tony’s in any way, shape, or form.

Of course, the planned occasion of Harley’s adoption opened up the discussion of Stephen’s role as a legal guardian being extended to Morgan as well. Concerned about overstepping his bounds, Stephen assured that he was content to wait until they had been married for a few years, or at least until Morgan was old enough to have a bit of say in the matter, but Tony insisted that there was no time like the present. Ever since the events of his Snap, Tony lived each moment like it might be his last, sometimes nearly to the point of trauma-drive paranoia, and every second with his kids was cherished more than ever. The ache of his missing limb was a daily reminder to seize the day and hoard every opportunity of happiness, especially when it came to his family.

It was this sense of protective urgency that gave Tony the adrenaline spike needed to confront his ex-wife on such a touchy subject, and they scheduled to meet with Pepper at her Stark Industries office that very week. Inviting them to sit opposite her large desk chair, with the expanse of mahogany between them acting as a buffer, Pepper agreed to the name change and Stephen adopting Morgan with her usual business-like diplomacy. Her only conditions were that Potts would be tacked onto their daughter’s collection of surnames, and Christine would be granted guardianship as well if she and Pepper were to ever get married or progress in their relationship otherwise. Tony realized in that moment, based on her comments and the golden name plate on her desk, that his ex-wife had endeavoured to reclaim her maiden name.

“Aw, you don’t wanna be a Stark anymore? I’m hurt, Pep”, he teased wryly, toying with one of the intricate kinetic bobbles on Pepper’s desk until she retrieved it from his fiddling hands.

“No, I had my six year trial run, thank you.” Placing the moving sculpture out of Tony’s reach, she leaned back in her chair, raising a primly arched brow at Stephen. “Good luck with that, by the way. I’m sure you know by now that he’s a lot to handle.”

“I think I’ll take my chances”, Stephen said, his gaze brimming with affection as he reached over to squeeze Tony’s good hand in his.

Pepper seemed unaffected by the display of sentimentality, briskly moving on to explain the details of the forms they needed to have in place for the court to grant an adoption order and name change. They accepted her offer to have the forms drawn up once they had provided all of the necessary information, though Tony would have one of his trusted legal representatives sift through the fine print before their application was sent to the court. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Pepper, but it was hard to believe that she wouldn’t take the opportunity to screw over Stephen’s chances of adopting Morgan after some of the terrible things she had said to him in the past, especially considering his fatherhood.

Despite any lingering doubts Tony had, the fact that Pepper had even agreed to the adoption and legal name change to begin with was a show of her genuine change of heart. It was a testament to how willing she was to allow Stephen into their family, and their saving grace, as the sorcerer wouldn’t have been permitted by the court to adopt Morgan without her mother’s consent. Their case was unique in that Pepper wouldn’t be forfeiting any of her parental rights or responsibilities—as was common in the case of a step parent adopting their spouse’s child—and the fact that Stephen and Tony weren’t even married yet, but the combined forces of their lawyers would ensure that the entire legal process went smoothly. Besides, who was to say no to both Tony Stark, Saviour of the Universe, and Pepper Potts, the formidable CEO of Stark Industries?

With the most challenging situation out of the way, Tony and Stephen agreed that their third kid wouldn’t be excluded from the process of making their family legally bound to one another.

Tony and May had had the conversation about Peter’s parental guardianship nearly two years ago. It had been during one of Tony’s first months in the hospital following his Snap, loopy on pain medication as he reminisced about his darkest days during those five years, how the pain of losing of Peter had threatened to eat him from the inside out. As a result of that conversation, and as responsible co-parents, they discussed what would happen if something were to ever happen to May, by some terrible unforeseen circumstance that they stayed as vague about as possible, wont to even allude to the Decimation. On one of Tony’s less morphine-addled days, they had made the joint agreement that he would become Peter’s guardian in the case of an accident or illness, but the official paperwork had been brushed aside in the turmoil of Tony's recovery.

Seeing as Peter was already eighteen, and May was his primary legal guardian, the whole ‘adoption’ process was more symbolic than anything but, like Harley had pointed out, it was reassuring to have that piece of paper affirming their familial bond in a way that blood never could. Tony had metaphorically adopted Harley the same day they had met, and a full decade of their inexplicable bond had led to finally making their paternal relationship official, making up for all the years that the twenty-two-year-old had gone without a proper dad. And Tony’s role in Peter’s life, as a mentor and a father figure, was as seamless and natural as if he had known the boy since birth. On the other hand, Stephen saw it as the utmost privilege that he was able to be a part of these kids’ lives. In many ways, he needed them more than they needed him, as the man who had been a father in countless other realities despite never believing that he would have kids of his own one day. The fact that they weren’t blood made it all the more precious to Stephen, knowing that he chose the kids as his own and they had chosen him right back. It was a choice they had made together, the choice to be a family.

And it was because of their unique family, bound by choice alone, that Stephen and Tony decided that they didn’t want a conventional wedding. Much like their engagement, they preferred the whole affair to be kept private, safe from the prying eyes of the outside world. Though they never would have even considered a large wedding to begin with, even an intimate reception with family and friends seemed like more of an ordeal than it was worth. After all they had done for the world, it seemed only fair to have their wedding all to themselves, for their marriage to be just for the two of them and not a spectacle for anyone else to witness. At times, their love was brittle and tender, held between them like a kintsugi vase as the gold dried between the many cracks and fractures, and this fragility was something they preferred to keep buried deep inside themselves. Their kids would be a part of the process in some form, of course, but Stephen and Tony agreed to avoid the dilemma of whether or not to invite their ex’s to their wedding by eliminating the wedding entirely, a happy side effect of their personal need for seclusion. Pepper was one of his closest friends and the mother of his child, and therefore had a right to every aspect of Morgan’s life, but Tony refused to say his vows to Stephen in front of his ex-wife.

With the realization that a traditional wedding wouldn’t suit them, there was no need to wait for months on end for planning, booking caterers, and inviting guests, so their ceremony could take place sooner than originally planned. But, as odd as it was, they wanted some time to simply enjoy being engaged. So they set the date for July 17th—as certain stars would be perfectly aligned on that date for optimum good fortune, according to Stephen— when they would become legally married via a private ceremony. Four months seemed like an appropriate grace period to revel in this fleeting chapter of their lives, and was more than enough time for adoption orders to be granted and various name-change documents to be drawn up. Tony and Stephen’s marriage couldn’t be designated by a run-of-the-mill wedding; it was the union of their family as a whole, revolving around the official adoption of their kids, the eternal centre of their little universe.

The most difficult part of this revelation was explaining to their friends and family that they wouldn’t be sharing their nuptial joy on their actual wedding day. Rhodey would still be officiating their ceremony, the only other person on Earth who would witness Tony and Stephen’s vows, but the rest of their family would have to wait until after they returned from their honeymoon, to partake in a ‘marriage celebration’, which replaced their would-be reception in the form of a glorified party. Stephen bluntly pointed out that most marriages were little more than glorified parties, earning a smack on the arm from May. She was particularly disappointed to miss out on the creative challenge of the wedding planning process, but was empathetic to the fact that the two men wanted their ceremony to be a private affair. Despite her understanding, she did jokingly ask for a souvenir from their honeymoon in Italy as compensation. Unbeknownst to her, Tony took the request to heart and was already planning what kind of lavish gift he could bring back for her.

———

Four months came and went in the blink of an eye.

Tony and Stephen focused on work, their kids, and each other, simply happy to enjoy their time as a newly-engaged couple, partially still in disbelief that they had finally reached this moment in their lives together. Tony had finished his second semester of teaching at MIT by the end of April, and had politely declined to teach a summer course, as he refused to video call in to teach lectures while he and Stephen were on their two week honeymoon. He was determined to dedicate his full attention to his new husband. Instead, he used the months leading up to their wedding to focus on NOVA, utilizing the time to work on some of the prosthetic designs he had been drafting during the school year. And although he was now teaching at the sanctuary full time, Stephen’s book had been finished and submitted to his editor—a colleague at Kamar Taj—by the end of June, awaiting publication just in time for their wedding preparations to begin. They had agreed to take the first two weeks of July to focus on finalizing the plans for their private ceremony, allowing some down time from work for them to reconnect, enjoy lazy summer days with the kids now that they were off from school, and to prepare for the adoption celebration they had planned for the kids.

Two months before their wedding, Tony and Stephen showed up to an appointment at their favourite tattoo parlour in Greenwich. They were already connected by their shared soul and the intimate significance of the rings they had made for one another, yet they wished to be bound in another lasting way. They had been planning to get a marriage tattoo ever since Stephen first proposed, a simplified culmination of the ancient celestial coordinates for their star which matched the same coordinates on Tony’s ring. It was a simple yet profound expression of their devotion to each other, riddled with meaning that couldn’t be derived from an outsider’s simple glance. It was intimate and guarded, something that they both held against their chests, and there was something about the permanence of such a decision, even more final than the exchanging of their wedding bands, that appealed to them both. Tony got the tattoo below his left collarbone, held close to his heart and intermixed with scattered constellation of his arc reactor scars, while Stephen received the design on his left wrist just opposite his 14,000,606 tattoo, a tribute of recognition to how fortunate they were to be in this reality. The one good reality.

———

The small adoption celebration took place about a week before their actual marriage ceremony, as they gathered Peter, Morgan, and Harley in the cabin living room one sunny afternoon. Stephen and Tony guided the kids to sit down on the couch together so they could address all three of them at once, sitting just across from them on the sturdy chest coffee table. They had discussed their adoptions with all of the kids beforehand, earning their consent and understanding, but their excitement was still tangible in the air, Harley’s eyes bright with anticipation while Morgan and Peter could barely sit still.

“Well…”, Tony drawled, feigning disinterest as he pulled three manila envelopes out from behind his back. “We got some mail today…and it looks like you’re all officially adopted.”

“Wait, does that mean he’s actually my brother now?”, Harley blurted out, jerking a thumb in Peter’s direction with an impish grin. “Ew, gross!”

“Gross, yourself!”, Peter laughed, tossing a throw pillow at him. “I’m not the one who hasn’t showered in a week.”

“Stinky!”, Morgan agreed, pinching her nose for dramatic effect.

“Yes, he’s your brother now, and you’re already doing a fantastic job of acting like siblings. Now sit still for two seconds”, Tony berated gently with a raised brow. “And you’re all Stark-Strange’s now too, even before me and Pops. I’m kinda jealous actually.” He nudged Stephen playfully with a wink, gauging the kids’ reactions. His words were so casual as he handed over the envelopes for the kids to inspect themselves that they almost didn’t believe him, staring down at the stacks of papers in their hands in awe. After several moments of pensive silence, Peter seemed to registered the information first and tossed the envelope onto the couch before throwing himself at Tony, nearly knocking the engineer over with the force of his embrace.

“I know, bambino. I know”, Tony chuckled wetly as he wrestled his boy into a tight hug, both smiling through their tears as a gentle cybernetic hand carded through the teen’s curls. “I never thought I’d-.” They both knew what he was going to say, clinging to each other as tightly as they had that day on the battlefield. After the Decimation, Tony had never hoped to see his son again, never mind adopt him. Peter was holding back hiccuping sobs of joy, but he’d never smiled so much in his life as he clung to his dad for all he was worth.

“I love you, Dad”, he mumbled out, earning a tearful response in Italian that was barely decipherable.

“So…you’re my real pops now?”, Morgan asked Stephen seriously after an uncharacteristic bout of silence, her brow furrowed as she carefully inspected the papers she held.

“I was your real pops even before this, this is just so the government knows that I’m allowed to keep you safe. Does that make sense?”, Stephen asked, offering to carefully take the envelope out of her little hands and setting it on the coffee table. Morgan nodded seriously and the sorcerer pulled her onto his lap, something hitching in his chest as her little arms wrapped around his ribcage tightly. “I love you to the moon and back, my little star”, he mumbled against her dark hair, Levi wrapping around them both in a joyful hug. Stephen then noticed that a few powder blue butterflies had appeared as apparitions in the air around them, as the overwhelming joy he felt evolved in the form of untamed magical energy.

“I love you to the moon and back a million billion trillion times”, Morgan countered, still buried against his chest.

“Wow, that’s a lot of love. I’m honoured, Miss Morgan”, Stephen said in a hushed voice as he kissed her temple. The adoring gesture was enough for the gravity of the situation to catch up to Morgan, suddenly overwhelmed by emotion with a few tearful whimpers as she hid against her pop’s chest. Despite this, she seemed to self-soothed by playing with the sorcerer’s space bracelet, eventually calming down as Stephen comforted her silently by rubbing her back. Resting his cheek on top of Morgan’s head, Stephen realized that Harley was still sitting in silence as he regarded the envelope in his lap, though a small, content smile pulled at the corner of his lips. He wasn’t emotional, just…happy. The happiest that Stephen had ever seen him, and the thought was enough to bring tears to the sorcerer’s eyes.

“Love you, Mom”, Harley said as he stood from the couch and stooped to wrap his arms around his pop’s cloaked shoulders. He even bestowed a quick peck on his cheek, eliciting a warm surge of emotion that Stephen fought to contain.

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

Peter and Harley swapped places for a moment so they could hug their other parent, and Stephen was mildly embarrassed by the practical swarm of butterflies surrounding his family, the physical manifestation of his intense emotions. Morgan was delighted as always by the magical fluttering creatures, giggling as she reached for them from the safety of her pop’s arms. Stephen's shame at his lack of emotional control was a distant memory as he felt Tony’s warm smile, meeting his fiancee’s eyes as they exchanged a silent nod.

“Kids, I, uh- have something else for you”, Stephen announced almost uncertainly, gently directing them to sit back on the couch. Still transfixed by the butterflies, Morgan refused to leave his arms at first, but Peter offered to take her as he and Harley resumed their earlier seats. Nodding in thanks, Stephen kneeled carefully on the floor in front of them, Levi billowing out behind him. His heart was pounding in anticipation, betrayed by the new surge of butterflies joining their counterparts and swarming around the kids’ heads.

“Nervous, Steph?”, Tony teased with a knowing grin, his lovesick expression revealing how endeared he was by the sorcerer’s rare lack of control

“Just happy”, Stephen assured, his voice already catching in his throat as he turned to face the kids. “So…I just wanted to say…I know that you were all your dad’s kids first before I even came around…and I know that I’ll never be a perfect dad all the time, but I just want you to know that I’ll always be here.” Peter’s expression sobered immediately, and Stephen knew that he couldn’t bear to meet his eldest’s expression just yet. Morgan listened intently although she wasn’t exactly sure what was happening. “I’ll never give up on you, and I will love you no matter what.” He took one of Peter’s hands in his, squeezing gently, and was finally able to meet Harley’s eyes, ice blue and searing with intensity, squeezing his hand as well. “I’m marrying your dad, but I’m also making a promise to you three, okay? I will be your Pops, or your Doc, or your Mom, or whatever you want to call me for the rest of your lives.” He chuckled softly to himself, wondering how he had gained so many parental titles when, just over two years ago, he would never have even dreamed of having kids.

“That is my promise to you.” Trying to avoid tearing up, he turned around to retrieve the small wooden boxes Tony was handing to him. They shared another quiet smile before Stephen carefully placed one of the boxes into each of the kids’ hands, his own hands shaking worse than usual with nerves and excitement. “And these are just to signify that promise.”

“What are they?”, Peter asked as he swiped at his cheeks quickly with the back of his hand, cradling the small, ornately-carved box as though it were a birds’ egg.

“You can open them up and take a look”, Stephen prompted gently, moving closer to help Morgan undo the tiny metal latch on her box with shaking hands. The five-year-old gasped in excitement when she saw what lay within, pulling out a small silver ring with a delicate butterfly etched into the band. It was too large to fit on any of her fingers, but she would be able to wear it on her pendant chain until she grew into it.

“Daddy, look! It’s a butterfly!”, she squeaked in excitement, holding the ring up proudly for Tony to see.

“It’s beautiful, Moguna. Aren’t you a lucky girl?”, Tony asked, his eyes and voice simultaneously overflowing with affection.

Morgan nodded but then suddenly perked up, turning to the sorcerer again. “Is it like the ring you gave Daddy?”

“Uh, yes, I suppose they are similar in a way”, Stephen admitted with a chuckle, feeling Tony’s gaze on him like the warmest beam of sunlight. “I made these rings with magic as well, and they symbolize my promise to you three. My promise to Daddy is just a bit different.”

“This is really cool, Pops. Is that our constellation?”, Peter asked in a small voice, pointing out the small star configuration etched onto the band of his own silver ring. The teen’s eyes were still brimming with tears, though he did his best to contain them.

“Of course, spiderling. It’s not somebody else’s constellation”, Stephen teased, resting a reassuring hand on the boy’s forearm and wiping his tears away gently, regardless of how badly his hands were shaking.

Once again, Harley sat in complete silence as he regarded the ring in his hands, sharp eyes flickering over the Asiatic dragon engraved into the metal. While his siblings had bonded with their pops over space, Harley had felt safe enough to reluctantly admit his lifelong love for dragons, a special interest which he shared with Stephen, and they had spent many hours pouring over old tomes from Kamar Taj which held legends of such creatures. Stephen had feared that the twenty-two-year-old may find the gift childish, but the smile spreading over Harley’s face as he twisted the ring onto his finger was all the reassurance the sorcerer needed.

“The best part is, I made matching rings for myself”, Stephen demonstrated as he pulled said rings out of his jeans pocket, much to Morgan’s particular delight. The butterfly ring was dainty enough to fit on his pinky, while Peter and Harley’s matching rings sat side-by-side on his pointer and middle finger respectively, correlating with where the boys had chosen to put their rings on their own hands, while Stephen kept them all on his right hand to offset the ring from Tony on his left. The rings were also protected by two spells: One to keep them from falling off or getting caught on anything, and another to prevent them from irritating his hands.

“Yay! We match!”, Morgan squeaked, her ring gripped tightly in her hand as she bounced excitedly and convinced both of her dads to join them on the couch.

Powerless against their little girl’s puppy eyes, both men settled back against the cushions, and Morgan immediately wormed her way between them to snuggle against Stephen’s side. Advising Morgan against losing the ring, Tony leaned over to help her put it on her pendant chain, landing a peck on the sorcerer’s cheek as he did so. Stephen’s chest was warmed by the vibrant connection of their life force, contentment flowing through every inch of his veins as he was surrounded by his family. Gently convincing the teen that he wasn’t too heavy, he gathered Peter onto his lap with Levi’s help, cradling him sideways while the boy recharged on the paternal cuddles he had been missing so desperately. Despite his usual aversion to affection of any sort, Harley was reluctant to miss out as he settled on Stephen’s opposite side, his head resting comfortably on the sorcerer’s shoulder.

Glimmering with ethereal energy, butterflies fluttered around them lazily as Stephen was overcome by pure peace, revelling in his family’s shared happiness. Because they did deserve happiness in this universe, and he refused to believe otherwise as he held his kids in his arms, and Tony’s hand stole into his, the warmth of his golden wedding band proving that their best days were yet to come.

*****

July 17th, 2025 fell on a warm, sunny day, bestowed by a golden hue as the sun dipped low over the horizon, while Tony and Stephen walked hand in hand down the front porch steps. A gentle breeze coming in from off the lake stirred up the scent of apple blossoms from the orchard, ruffling their hair like a lover’s careless caress, while the willow limbs rustled together over the shore, whispering sweet nothings to whomever would listen.

“Are you nervous?”, Stephen asked, sea glass eyes clear yet full of unspoken worries as he looked at Tony.

“Nervous? No.” Tony answered without hesitation, squeezing his love’s hand, and that answer in of itself seemed to reassure Stephen. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

And it was true. Tony had never known peace until that moment, his thumb grazing over the rough-scarred back of Stephen’s hand as they walked together, his heart singing for the simple joy of beating in his chest. The sorcerer’s nerves bled through the wall held up between the opposite halves of their physical link, but was overshadowed by the excitement they both felt, the safety and relief of finally reaching this point in their lives.

They had abandoned all superstitious traditions which suggested that first looks before the ceremony were bad luck, and had helped one another get dressed, as was a normal part of their daily routine. They had picked up their marriage licence that very morning, and then spent the rest of the day together in pre-marital bliss, picnicking in the sun by the lakeshore, kissing like they had all the time in the world, and talking about their plans for the future. Many of their aspirations were whimsical, and laced with the trivialities of youth they had been too late to enjoy, but they enjoyed coming up with outlandish wants and desires just for the sake of making their fiancé smile.

Butterflies flitted around the wildflowers as they walked the path along the lakeside, and some of them weren’t even Stephen’s. Birds chirped and sang their songs of the pre-dusk, a melancholy tune that mourned the passing of another day. Their polished dress shoes looked terribly out of place in the lush green grass, where they squelched a little in the soft spots close to the shore, though the damp ground soon transitioned into a carpet of moss beneath their feet. The faint path they were on soon petered out entirely and gave way to a small clearing, little more than a patch of moss and tender young grass hidden by the surrounding stand of birches, the ivory trunks gilded by light from the setting sun. The trail leading through the forest had been simply dubbed ‘Birch Lane’ by Morgan, and the secret hideaway had become a place for their family to relax and recharge, along with becoming a favourite picnic spot.

Rhodey, newly ordained thanks to an online ministers website, greeted them with a warm smile as he waited for them in the clearing. He was decked out in navy blue in his full dress uniform, though excluding his hat and gloves in an attempt to seem less formal. It was just the three of them, so there was no need for formalities.

“Hey, lovebirds. You two clean up pretty well. Especially you, Tones. Pretty spiffy for a stay-at-home dad”, Rhodey teased, given that Tony hadn’t had much reason to wear a suit in the past nearly seven years. They had forgone the formality of tuxedos in favour of the simplest of black suits, a sprig of thyme and forget-me-nots adorning their lapels, while the black of Stephen’s dress shirt and the white of Tony’s personifying the ying and yang of their relationship. Tacky and unintentional, but it seemed to please Stephen.

“Hey, I spent most of my life rigged up in fancy suits everyday, I’d say I deserve a break”, Tony countered, fidgeting with his cufflinks until he glanced at Stephen to ground himself, then jabbed a thumb in his direction. “You should be giving this one more of a hard time. I think this is only the third time I’ve seen you in a suit, Steph.”

“Fourth”, Stephen corrected almost sheepishly.

“Don’t worry, Doc, he needs someone to humble him when I'm not around”, Rhodey assured with a laugh, squeezing the sorcerer’s arm reassuringly. He then made sure that FRIDAY had the camera drone set up to take pictures of the ceremony, in addition to the professional photoshoot they had done beforehand. “Shall we get this show on the road?” Tony and Stephen shared a glance, one which conveyed an indescribable type of exhilaration, and nodded together.

“Yeah, quit haggling me about my clothes, platypus. I wanna be married to this man already”, Tony chuckled, though his words caught in his throat as he took Stephen’s hands in his, and something inexplicable softened in his face. “You look absolutely breathtaking, my dear”, he whispered past the thickness in his throat. Stephen was practically radiant in the late day sun, his dark hair perfectly coiffed and glistening, while the sunlight’s warmth brought out the auburn hue in his beard especially, which was trimmed to chiselled perfection and framed his cupid’s bow lips. Subtle eyeliner brought out his angular blue eyes, nearly opaque in the bright light. Despite his nerves, the sorcerer’s body language emanated ease and confidence, the slope of his broad shoulders filling out the black jacket he wore to absolute perfection, and Tony could have spent hours gorging on the eye candy that was his fiancé. Distracting himself, Tony focused on straightening Stephen’s lively crimson pocket square for the umpteenth time, unique from the engineer’s square which matched both their ties in a familiar light blue teal.

“You look stunning as well, darlin’. My heart just near about skipped a beat seeing you in this light”, Stephen returned in breathless admiration, as the same light hit his eyes from the side just so as to turn his glass green irises into translucent opal. No matter how many times he looked into Stephen’s eyes, Tony was always shocked by the colour and the effervescent love which shone through them.

“You guys are killing me already”, Rhodey said with feigned dryness, although it was impossible for him to completely hide the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Alright, this is your show, you run it how you want to. I’m just here to make it official.” He then held his hands apart and raised his voice as if addressing a crowd jokingly. “We are gathered here today because these two old farts finally decided to stop messing around and make it official. It’s only been a year and a half, but it’s felt like an eternity since you two got together, and the rest of us have been forced to endure a year and a half of heart eyes and ridiculous pet names. Maybe it feels like you’ve been together forever because you were always meant to be.” Rhodey’s tone softened slightly, looking down at his own clasped hands as if considering his words with dwindling composure. “Look at what you’ve done to me, Tones, I’m getting all sappy in my old age.”

“As if you weren’t already a big softy even before my loving influence”, Tony grinned, already misty-eyed despite himself.

“You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?”, Rhodey asked, his voice coated several layers thick with endearment, shaking his head in bewilderment at his best friend of over forty years. “After everything that’s happened, handing you off for a second time shouldn’t be the weirdest part of it all, but I’m gonna trust your judgment on this one. You deserve this, Tony. You deserve to be happy.” For possibly the first time in his life, Tony believed those words, and felt happier than he could ever deserve. “All I have to say is I’m glad we both made it this far. I got us through college and everything else when we were kids, and you got us through, well…the world almost ending.” Tony's heart sunk with guilt at the haunted look on Rhodey’s face. His Snap had traumatized his loved ones almost as much as it had traumatized him. “But because of that you found Stephen, and I don’t think any of us would give that up for anything.”

“I second that”, Tony nearly whispered, squeezing Stephen’s hands gently as the sorcerer practically squirmed under the recognition. It was a sore subject, that Tony had even needed saving at all after the predetermined events of the 14,000,606th reality forced him to snap the gauntlet, and Stephen had a hard time believing that he was forgiven, but hearing such words of affirmation from someone other than Tony were bound to convince him. That he was a permanent part of their family now and they wanted him there.

Rhodey turned to the sorcerer then, his tone solemn but warm-hearted. “Stephen, you’re one of the few people on Earth that I trust with him.” Tony’s heart swelled suddenly, nearly bursting at the seams with overflowing emotion. He had watched Rhodey accept Stephen over the past year and half, and welcome him into the tight-knit bubble of trust they held between one another, but to hear those words said aloud was borderline euphoric. “He’s been through some of the worst shit imaginable, some of it his own doing, but you can understand why I’m as protective as I am of him.” Stephen nodded, clinging on to Rhodey’s every word. “He’s dealt with some shitty people too, as I’m sure you know. People that have come and gone, and have made it hard to trust again. That’s why when I saw him really opening up, and starting to let you into our lives, I knew you were special. You were different. And you are, Stephen. You’re kind, loyal, and just the perfect amount of arrogant that you can keep up with Tony’s brain and his nearly impenetrable armour of terrible jokes. Most importantly, I know you’d do anything for our family. I couldn’t ask for anyone better for my Tones.”

Tony found himself choking on tears, messily brushing the dampness from his cheeks with the back of his good hand. Through bleary eyes, he made out Stephen’s own stunned reaction, the sorcerer’s head bowed in a moment of overwhelming gratitude as he tried to hold back tears himself.

“It’s an honour to love him and be a part of his life”, Stephen told Rhodey genuinely, regarding him with the utmost respect. “And thank you for giving me a chance in the first place. I know I wouldn’t have made it this far without your approval.

“Stop it, you guys are making me cry already”, Tony cut in with a raspy chuckle, scrubbing his palm down his face in an attempt to regather his composure. “You’re lucky I’m wearing waterproof mascara, or I’d look like a ten dollar hooker right now.”

“Real classy, Tones”, Rhodey scoffed, though the ever present affectionate glimmer in his eye remained. “Alright, let’s get this officially started. I’ll hang on to your rings, if that’s okay. It seems a bit counterintuitive for you guys to wear them while saying your vows.”

“I don’t know what you're talking about, honeybear. I’d say it makes perfect sense”, Tony pouted, reluctantly pulling the band off his finger and handing it over to his friend’s outstretched palm. Stephen followed suit, quickly reclaiming Tony’s hands in his own with an affirming squeeze. It felt bizarre to have the rings off for even a second after already wearing them for four months, but they trusted Rhodey to hold onto them while they said their vows.

“Your wedding vows are a declaration of your love for each other, the foundation of your relationship as a married couple, and the life you want to build together”, Rhodey started, looking between them as there were no guests to address. Nothing but the small bursts of fizzling magic in the form of butterflies which Stephen failed to contain in his rapturous joy, while simmering notes of birdsong surrounded them in the place of music. “Please face each other as you declare these vows to one another. Stephen, you can start if you’d like.”

“Uh, yes, of course. I can start.” Stephen seemed almost startled as he was addressed, too caught up in lovingly gazing at Tony for a moment. “That’s alright with you, darlin’?” Tony nodded his consent, noting the way Stephen took half a step closer, gathering the engineer’s hands even more securely into his own. Those hands that Tony loved so much, big and gentle, adorned by scars and the silver rings which matched the kids’ on his right hand. He made no move for his pockets, no inclination that he would be procuring a piece of paper from which to recite his vows. It was then that Tony realized Stephen would be saying his vows from memory.

“You didn’t write yours down?”, Tony asked, suddenly nervous, and panic showed in his eyes past the crookedly confident smile he always had on. It wasn’t that Tony was afraid of being outdone, more so that he might be accused of not caring enough to memorize his vows. He could recite every mathematical formula on Earth in his sleep, but words? Not a chance. Chronic anxiety combined with ADHD didn’t make for the type of brain that came by certain types of memorization easily.

“Eidetic memory, love, remember?”, Stephen said warmly, fixing a stray stand of hair that had fallen forward on Tony’s forehead with the utmost tenderness. Tony’s buzzcut had since grown out in the past four months, though he had had it shaved into an undercut and the top had been left longer at Stephen’s request, given the sorcerer’s affinity for how Tony’s hair became curly at a certain length.

“Right. Ironically, I always forget about that.”

“I won’t hold it against you”, Stephen promised, a teasing twinkle in his eye as he gathered his thoughts. Tony was fairly certain that his heart skipped a beat several times before Stephen spoke again, meeting the engineer’s eyes with loving sincerity. “I only knew you for a day, Tony, back on that spaceship and then on Titan, but I would have given the rest of my life to you if given the chance. Well, now I have that chance. Against all odds, we made it together in this universe and, against all odds, you said yes when I proposed.” He chuckled at his own attempt at self-deprecating humour, but Tony could only smile, transfixed by his words.

“I didn’t believe in being someone’s everything, because that just creates the potential to lose everything. But you’ve taught me a thing or two about love, Anthony”, Stephen said, his voice softening so much that it made Tony’s heart ache. He would forever love how Stephen said his name in that beautiful baritone of his. “How it’s worth the pain of being vulnerable and giving all of yourself to someone. How much your heart is willing to give doesn’t have to be dependent on how much you’ve been hurt. If that were true, I doubt you would have ever even given me a chance.” Stephen’s voice broke slightly, and Tony heard Rhodey sniff beside them, but didn’t dare look at him for fear of triggering his own waterworks. “You’ve shown me that life is worth living because of love, because of the people we love. And I want so badly to be able to explain all the love I have for you. Not the love of butterflies and stomach knots—but more the blurring of self and the entanglement with another soul.”

“So these are my vows to you, Anthony.” Stephen took a shuddering breath, his voice cracking into a rough timbre that was warm and honeyed around the edges as he smiled. His hands were barely shaking for once, either by the help of a spell or the utter relief distilling his nerves into oblivion. “I vow to love you until the end of time. I vow to love you for all the rising suns we have left together. I will love you through your coffee addiction, your abnormal sleep habits, and when you make my tea perfectly...every single time. Especially then”, Stephen added to himself, making them all laugh softly. “I vow to love you when you forget to take your ADHD meds and you’re driving us both up the wall.” Tony let out another hiccupy laugh, letting go of Stephen’s hand for just a moment to wipe his eyes. Damn these tears, he needed to see his future husband properly.

“I vow to love you as a doctor, when you’re healthy and when you’re sick. I vow to love you when you accept my secrets, all those which I had to keep from you.” Tony brushed his thumb over the back of Stephen’s hand. A silent reminder. I forgive you. “I vow to love you when you’re in pain, and when I’m in pain, or when we’re both in pain and holding each other doesn’t make the pain go away but it somehow helps. I vow to love you for your genius, your rambling, and your unique mind. I vow to love you for your heart of gold, for your soul intertwined with mine, and your smile of pure sunshine.” Stephen smiled then, his own beautiful, bright smile warming Tony to his very core. He would snap that gauntlet a thousand times over just to see that smile every day for the rest of his life.

“I vow to love you as the morning grass loves dew, and the lake loves the fog, and how the rising sun loves the creak of the porch swing where we watch it rise”, Stephen muttered, his voice croaking a little as a melancholy air seeped into their bones. “I vow to love you as I love our children, to the ends of the multiverse and to keep you all safe at the cost of my own life if necessary.” Tony shook his head silently. Pained. No. Please. Never that. “I vow to love you when we’re old and grey. I vow to love you as you are to other people, as a friend, a brother, and a father, but most of all as my husband.” Tony broke then, a quiet sob escaping his chest as he gathered Stephen’s hands up in his, bringing them to his lips. Kissing those beautiful, scarred fingers even as his tears overflowed onto them. His husband.

“I vow to love you unconditionally. I vow to love you until the last star burns out, until the cosmic ache of it all means nothing compared to the ache in my chest when I can’t be with you”, Stephen whispered, his voice ragged and wet as he pressed his forehead gently against Tony’s. “I vow to give the rest of my life to you, my darlin’.” Tears were streaming down Tony’s cheeks now, barely holding back as he held Stephen’s hands. He held him close, breathing him in, breathing in the musky cedar of his aftershave and the poignant stardust scent of atmospheric magic on his skin. Tony closed his eyes, savouring the moment and memorizing every detail. It was one of those purely happy moments that he knew he would look back on, locked up like a sacred treasure in the deepest recesses of his mind.

“Oh, Steph.” He bumped their noses together, resisting the urge to kiss him just yet. “So, you’re a poet now, huh? Have you just taken up Shakespearian sonnet writing in your free time without telling me?”, Tony asked playfully even through his rivers of tears, doing his best not to blubber.

“I’m a man of many talents”, was Stephen’s simple answer, dutifully focused on wiping the dampness from Tony’s cheeks despite his own tear stained face. Levi couldn’t resist the chance to comfort their master, reaching up from their place in Stephen’s breast pocket and carefully dabbing at his face.

“That was really nice, Stephen”, Rhodey choked out, still valiantly attempting to hold back tears, and failing miserably. “Uh, whenever you’re ready, Tones, you can go ahead.”

“Okay, yeah”, Tony nodded, still blinking away tears as he wiped at his cheeks. Attempting to lessen a sudden wave of anxiety brewing in his chest, he puffed up his cheeks and let out a shaky breath. His life force pendant was buried beneath his shirt collar, so he resorted to fiddling with the piece of paper he pulled out of his pocket, already worn and crumpled from the amount of times he had held it in his fidgeting hands while practicing. Tony hated the irrational feeling of unease in his chest, wanting to pull loose the knot of his tie that was suddenly suffocating him. He wanted to marry Stephen more than anything, his mind just had a way of betraying him.

“No pressure, darlin’. It’s just us”, Stephen soothed, his voice steady and low as he noticed the signs of his fiancé's anxiety. He rested one hand on the centre of Tony’s chest, the grounding pressure on his sternum allowing him to steady his breaths, keeping eye contact with Stephen the whole time and matching his breathing.

“Sorry, I’m a wreck”, Tony chuckled nervously. “I’m not any good at this kind of thing, you both know that. I’m sorta shoddy at articulating my feelings well, so I wrote my vows down to get them out without talking your ears off, but no promises. I mean, you’re both used to it, and it’s just the three of us here, but-. Oh, perfect, I’m doing it already.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart”, Stephen reassured, letting his hand run down Tony’s chest and grazing the front of his suit jacket. “I always love to hear you talk. Especially now.” Confidence bolstered slightly, Tony held the paper in both hands and took a single grounding breath.

“Stephen, I could stand here and tell you how much I love you until I’m blue in the face, but those words are meaningless unless I can back them up with my actions. So, these are my promises to you, as your husband and your partner for life. I promise to trust you, because, like Rhodey said, I’ve got issues with that, so you’re pretty damn special.” Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Rhodey and Stephen share a knowing look which inadvertently urged him on. “I promise to never stop holding your hand. I promise to never take ourselves too seriously. I promise to never go to bed angry. I promise to stand by your side while you face the world. I promise to make you favourite foods for you when you’ve had a bad day or just because. I promise to laugh with you. I promise to help you look on the bright side, and I promise to sit with you in the dark when you can’t.”

Tony paused, meeting Stephen’s eyes for a moment and finding them to be doting and expectant all at once, and suddenly his words felt painfully inferior. They could never measure up to all that he would actually do for his soon-to-be husband. Because he would give Stephen the world if he could. He deserved better.

“I promise to never leave you alone. I promise to respect and protect you. I promise to give you the best of myself, because-. This doesn’t feel right”, Tony said suddenly as he gestured with the crumpled piece of paper in frustration, close to tears for the wrong reasons. “I meant all of those things, but they’re a given. They’re not what I want to say to you right now.”

“Then do what feels right. Say whatever you’d like to”, Stephen said gently, like it was the most simplistic thing in the world. “Our vows don’t have to be actual promises to one another.” Tony nodded, shoving the paper in his pocket as his mind ran a thousand miles a second. He had to get this right. He took Stephen’s hands in his again, running his thumbs gently over the scarred backs again as a grounding motion for them both. It felt right to have Stephen’s hands in his grasp, like they had been molded together as a statue in their creation, conjoined at the hands, and had been separated somewhere along the way. How delicate and perfect it was to finally be reunited.

“Stephen.” His voice was hushed, reverential, cradling his fiancé’s broken hands against his chest like an injured bird. Two injured birds that could level a dimension or save a life. “My glorious wizard, my Merlin, my babe, mio amore.” They shared a soft smile at the smattering of pet names he had endowed upon the sorcerer, one of the many endearing quirks he had with his loved ones. “I promise to try my best for you. I promise to get better, to keep trying even when I don’t want to”, Tony whispered, though there was nothing to hide from Stephen and Rhodey. They were his endless sources of light in the darkness. “I promise to always fight for us, even if it’s against the entire goddamn multiverse. I promise to treasure the soul you saved me with, and the second chance at life you have given me. I promise to always give you a kiss when I bring you a cup of tea.” Apparently this was the vow in particular that struck a chord, as a singular tear trickled down Stephen’s cheek, and Tony reached out to gently brush it from the angular plane of his love’s face. Once again resisting the urge to kiss his sweet man. “Oh, Steph, you big softy. I promise that from this day until my last I will love you, care for you, and cherish you. You are my closest friend, my other half, and the one that I will treasure forever.”

Rhodey didn’t seem to protest when Tony dubbed Stephen as his closest friend, only because they all knew that he saw his friend of forty years as a brother, so he continued on.

“I love the way you love our kids. That’s one of the very first things that made me fall in love with you”, Tony admitted, his smile softening at the look of gentle realization on Stephen’s face. “You treat them as if they were your own from the day they were born, like they’re the most precious thing in the world to you. You’re the best pops they could ever ask for and I couldn’t hope for a better dad for my babies.” Stephen nearly crumpled inwardly at Tony’s words, his usual doubts about fatherhood crushed by such an affirmation.

“You accept my change, Stephen”, Tony breathed, still in disbelief after all this time. He had gone through enormous change since the Snap, both physical and mental, and Stephen had been there to embrace all of it despite barely knowing each other in this reality. “You know all of my imperfections since you’ve known every version of me, even if it hasn’t been in this life. And you still love me. It’s ironic that you say I taught you a thing or two about love, because I never knew that a human being could love another so much until I met you.”

“I thought I knew what happiness was, until I met you. Turns out I didn’t.” Tony chuckled almost bitterly, thinking for a fleeting second of his life before his Snap, seemingly surreal and far away despite being only two years ago. How he had thought that that was as good as it was going to get, with a dead son and a wife who wanted him to be someone he wasn’t. Words couldn’t even begin to explain how grateful he was to not be stuck in that old life anymore. “I thought happiness was something for other people, and I was okay with that. Then you came into my life. And you just…make me happier than I ever thought possible”, Tony breathed, tears catching in his throat raggedly, but he was determined to finish before he broke down. “The one thing I’ve wanted in my life is to just be happy and you give that to me every day. I choose you, Stephen.” Tony’s voice finally broke, his words like dry kindling to a flame of emotion as tears bubbled up in his chest. “I’ll choose you over and over and over again, and I’ll keep choosing you. I love you, baby.”

The last word was nearly cut off by a wet sob as Tony let the dam break, and he felt liberated to have the weight of such words off his chest. It was a relief to tell Stephen how much he meant to him, when actions alone would not suffice. He breathed in Stephen’s presence as hands like trembling butterflies, warm and roughened by magic, came up to cradle his scarred face. Tony covered Stephen’s hands with his own, the scars and lines upon them familiar to a fault as his gilded tears were brushed away with the utmost tenderness. The golden hour sunlight warmed his skin, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled up at his lover, feeling safe in his presence like nothing else could.

Stephen’s eyes glistened with his own tears as he spoke in a light rasp. “I alter my vows then. My most important vow is to make you happy for the rest of our lives.” He bowed his head so their foreheads were pressed together, eyes closed as their life force hummed softly and they were the only beings to exist for just a moment. That was until Rhodey spoke quietly beside them.

“Stephen, will you take Tony to be your partner for life?” Rhodey had clearly given up on holding back his own tears, his voice thick with emotion. “Do you vow to love him, protect him, and spend the rest of your days together in happiness?”

“I do”, Stephen vowed, his voice steady and sure as he looked into Tony’s eyes. Making a thousand promises with that look alone.

“Tony, will you take Stephen to be your partner for life? Do you vow to love him, protect him, and spend the rest of your days together in happiness?”

“I do”, Tony whispered, nodding tearfully as he turned his head to kiss Stephen’s palm. Finally.

Rhodey retrieved their rings from his pocket, first handing the golden band to Stephen. “These rings symbolize the love and commitment that you share. Please place the ring upon your beloved’s ring finger.” With the utmost concentration, Stephen shakily slid the ring onto Tony’s left hand, both admiring how the intricately etched markings glimmered in the light.

“I love you so much, Anthony”, Stephen muttered, a wide grin breaking out on his face as he was overtaken by the gravity of that moment.

“I love you too, Stephers”, Tony said with a tearful laugh, delightfully giddy as he took the ring from Rhodey with a whispered ‘Thank you’. He cradled Stephen’s left hand in his and slid the ring on ever so carefully, sealing every promise he had made with a kiss to the band of gold titanium alloy and the scars beneath it. 

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you married for life. You may kiss your husband.”

Rhodey barely had the words out before they met in a soul-binding kiss. One scarred hand still cradling his jaw, Tony looped his arms around Stephen’s shoulders as they kissed, attempting to bring the taller man down to his height. As always, he tasted like chai, safety, and home. Tears were brought to Tony’s eyes again in disbelief, all of the fears and doubts he had ever had eased by that one kiss, giving and infinite in its tenderness as he held his husband close. His husband. Finally. Tony stifled a quiet sob against the sorcerer’s lips before pulling back to look in his eyes, smiling like a fool all the while. He felt different. Like every cell in his body was truly alive for the first time.

“Congratulations, Mr. Stark-Strange”, Stephen muttered against his lips, joy radiating from his entire being. “You’re stuck with me forever now.”

“That’s all I could ever ask for, Doctor Stark-Strange”, Tony laughed, still pressing kisses against his husband’s mouth and the corner of his goatee. Drinking in every ounce of his glorious being and celebrating his very existence. His beautiful husband.

“Man, you two are perfect for each other”, Rhodey scoffed, rolling his eyes lovingly. Everyone ignored the handkerchief he shoved into his pocket discreetly. “Bunch of sappy old men making goo goo eyes at each other all the time.”

“Aw, don’t worry, Rhodey, we love you too”, Stephen assured, keeping one arm around Tony as he drew the colonel into a group hug. Rhodey only resisted for a second, not wanting to infringe on their moment of newly wedded bliss, before relaxing and melding against the warmth of his friends’ embrace.

“Of course, platypus, you’re not getting rid of us anytime soon. Hey, and if we’re old, what does that make you, huh?”, Tony asked, smothering Rhodey’s face with compulsory kisses of thanks, for the ceremony and everything he had done before in their lives. Rhodey didn’t answer, quietly burying his face against Tony’s shoulder and holding him tightly. He kept one arm wrapped around Stephen in reciprocation as he stayed wedged between them, and the couple shared a knowing glance before Tony spoke again. “We love you, honeybear. You know we can never thank you properly for everything you’ve done for us.”

“And I’ll take care of him. I promise”, Stephen whispered, pressing a kiss against Rhodey’s temple.

“I know you will”, Rhodey said as he pulled back, misty eyed all over again as he slung an arm around Tony, and Stephen took up his other side. “And you’re right, you’re never gonna thank me for all of that because that’s what family does for each other.”

With nothing to negate Rhodey’s claim, the three of them walked back to the cabin like that. They strolled arm in arm through the grove of birch trees while the setting sun disappeared into the lake, the radiant gold set to slumber in the peaceful depths of the lake as dusk crept in around them. Tony couldn’t imagine a more perfect moment as he rested his head against Stephen’s shoulder as they walked, linking arms with his husband and his best friend. And despite the parts of him that were missing after his Snap, Tony felt whole for the first time in his life.

*****

Stephen was in a state of effervescence after the ceremony.

He could barely string a coherent sentence together. He had forgotten how to speak properly, how to breathe, how to do anything besides dote upon his new husband. Walking back to the cabin in the gathering dusk, arm in arm with Tony, he was in dazed state, his heart threatening to burst with all the love it held. Stephen would never have believed that such bliss could be his.

He had but one thought on his mind: Tony. Tony. Tony. His Tony. He and Tony were finally married.

He was always attentive, but the fact that they were newly married worsened his habits tenfold. All he cared for was to offer his hand to Tony as they walked up the porch steps together, to help him with the glasses of sparkling cider in celebration, to watch Tony’s every little movement and hang onto every word he said. They had pre-prepared a dinner of steak, potatoes, and salad (and cheesecake for dessert) for the three of them, but Stephen struggled to eat when all he wanted was to savour the way Tony’s lashes brushed his cheeks, how one corner of his mouth was upturned a little more than the other when he smiled, to admire the sweet chocolate whiskey of his good eye, and the artful intricateness of his cybernetic hand. They were all details that Stephen wanted to devour whole, to have become a part of his being as he sat as close to Tony as possible, always touching him in some way.

He tried to stay present in the moment while they toasted their marriage with Rhodey, once again thanking him for his services as an officiant, but his soul kept calling him back to his husband. Stephen wanted to taste him, to feel him, to inhale his very essence as the engineer’s heady, warm scent infiltrated his senses in every way. Tony was just as bad, practically fawning over Stephen with those big doe eyes of his. It led to their conversation dwindling off more often than not as they gazed into one another’s eyes, high on dopamine just from being in one another’s presence.

They must have been nauseating to be around, but Rhodey held out fairly well. That was, until, Tony parked himself in Stephen’s lap and the colonel wisely decided that it was time for him to take his leave, but not before reminding them that they needed to head over to the Sanctum before they got too distracted. Stephen was jolted back to reality, his memory jogged about the hand fasting ceremony they had planned, as they had agreed to embellish their traditional ceremony with some more metaphysical means of being bound to one another. Reluctant to spend their wedding night in the living room, he gently escorted Tony off of his lap as they followed Rhodey out onto the front lawn, and they said their goodbyes before Stephen opened two gateways; one for the colonel to get home and the other for them to take into the Sanctum’s front foyer.

Stephen and Tony barely made it through the gateway while giggling like a bunch of teenagers, stupidly in love as they practically stumbled over each other. The gateway didn’t even have a chance to close shut behind them before they were making out, clinging to each other desperately like they hadn’t seen one another in years. One arm hooked around the sorcerer’s waist, Tony tugged him even closer by his tie, causing Stephen to nearly trip as he went weak in the knees. Luckily, Levi caught them before they went down on top of each other, breathless and fumbling as they struggled to remain standing. They were both perfectly sober, but Stephen was drunk on ecstasy and could barely contain himself.

“Congratulations, you two”, Wong said, suddenly from halfway down the main staircase. “Though I’m not sure you could have come in any louder than if you were a herd of wildebeest.” He would have usually yelled at them for snogging in the foyer, but he either took into account that it was their wedding night or he was simply too fed up to scold them anymore.

“Thank you”, Stephen managed to get out sheepishly, cheeks flushed as he hugged his arms around Tony to keep him upright. He quickly regretted it as Tony began to nuzzle and kiss at his neck, trying to embarrass him in front of Wong as much as possible. The librarian couldn’t have been any less perturbed, but Stephen was about to crawl out of his skin in mortification if Tony didn’t cut it out.

“Thanks, Wong. Sorry for the noise, hope we didn’t wake you”, Tony said rather impishly, pressing one last kiss against Stephen’s cheek for good measure.

“I was not asleep, I just said you were loud. It’s only eight o’clock. What do you think I am, Stark, an old grandmother?”

“Aht aht, it’s Stark-Strange now”, Tony corrected proudly. “You gotta use the whole last name if you’re still avoiding being on a first-name basis with me.”

Wong scoffed, almost affectionately. “Go get dressed, Tony. There’s a robe in the meditation room for you.” He turned to Stephen. “Everything’s prepared in there and ready for you two.”

“You got a robe for me, Steph?”, Tony asked, eyes alight at the prospect of a new addition to his wardrobe. Originally cautious of magic and everything to do with it, Tony had since gained an appreciation for his husband’s practices and considered it an honour to be allowed to partake in them in his own way. “And you’re a gem, Wong, I don’t know what we’d do without you.” He stood on tiptoe to kiss Wong’s cheek, which the librarian begrudgingly accepted, before traversing the staircase to the second floor with more energy than he’d had in months.

“Thank you for doing all that”, Stephen echoed to Wong after watching his husband disappear out of sight around the corner.

Wong just shook his head. “There’s no thanks necessary. I’m just glad to see the two of you happy.”

“We are. We’re very happy”, Stephen admitted, a smile creasing his face involuntarily. He found himself gazing dreamily after where Tony had retreated up the staircase, pulling himself back to reality with a twinge of embarrassment.

“Good”, Wong said, as monosyllabic as ever. With a certain warmth in his eyes, he offered his hand and Stephen took it, slightly surprised as the librarian pulled him into a brusque hug. Wong held him steadfastly with strong arms, like he was afraid he might disappear and never see him again. Like the Dusting. Once he’d gotten over his initial shock, Stephen didn’t hesitate to return his friend’s embrace, although the last time Wong had initiated a hug with him was when he’d been at death’s door thanks to the curse. Stephen drove away such thoughts by nestling his cheek against the librarian’s shoulder, surprised to find a silver ring in his palm as Wong pulled his hand back and released him from his embrace.

“What’s this?”, Stephen asked, inspecting the ring and its etched markings on the band, similar to the glyphs on the Eye of Agamotto.

“It’s a wedding gift”, Wong said simply, with something like smug fondness in his expression. “And protection. Not that you need it. Just in case. Now, go be with your husband, I’ve heard he’s not the most patient person in the world.”

“That would be the understatement of the century”, Stephen chuckled, holding the ring up as his expression sobered slightly. “Thank you. I assure you I’ll treasure this.” He considered himself dismissed at Wong’s nod, still toying with the ring as he turned and began climbing the stairs. “We’ll be out of your hair before your bedtime”, he called back, a smirk pulled across his face as Wong’s bark of laughter followed him to the second floor.

Stephen changed into his ceremonial robes with a snap of his fingers as he strode down the hall with Levi trailing after him dutifully, the sorcerer’s bare feet padding on the hardwood floor, while the candle-lit sconces on the wall flickered as he swept past. Sliding the ring on to his left thumb, he reached the doors of the ceremonial room and let them swing open with a flicker of magic. The room was technically a mediation chamber, the same quarters he and Tony had spliced off a piece of his life force and exchanged life force pendants in. That day seemed like a million years ago now. Back when Tony had been forced to sneak around behind Pepper’s back just to be with Stephen, telling themselves it was just to alleviate the ache of their life force separation. Oh, how blissfully things had changed.

Tony was already dressed in his robes when Stephen entered, sprawled out on the mounds of embroidered pillows in the most alluring position he could manage. The ceremonial robes that Stephen had chosen for him were a deep burgundy and crimson, intricately embroidered in gold and with a sash at the waist, perfectly tailored to the engineer’s body just for the occasion. Stephen couldn’t help but stare a little, appreciating the way the luscious fabric hugged his husband’s curves, and leaving little to the imagination.

“Hey, lover boy”, Tony winked, infuriatingly charming as he bit his lower lip, eyes travelling up and down Stephen’s lithe form without a speck of decency.

“By the Vishanti, you look incredible. What have I done?”, Stephen breathed, the candles wavering furiously in their alcoves as he swung the doors shut behind him. He moved across the cushioned floor with surprising ease, straddling Tony’s lap carefully as he leaned forward to kiss him. His hands quickly landed on Tony’s chest, fingers searching for and finding the gold life force pendant in the folds of his robes as if in remembrance. Stephen’s own robes were a deep cobalt as usual, but adorned in silk and silver thread, folded ornately across his torso in a way that helped his belts cinch his waist in more than usual, feeling his blood race as Tony’s hands found purchase there.

“What you’ve done is you’ve wrapped my wedding present up just beautifully”, Tony purred beside his ear, strong hands flipping them over suddenly. Stephen let out a surprised huff of air as his back hit the pillows, cheeks warming when he found himself looking up into his husband’s mischievously glinting eyes.

“No”, Stephen said gently but firmly, hands braced against Tony’s chest without actually applying any pressure. “No, we’re not doing it right now. And definitely not here. We’re doing this ceremony first and then we’re going to Italy for our proper honeymoon.” He giggled as Tony kissed all along his jaw, tickling the sensitive skin of his neck with his goatee. “Do you think you can wait that long, tiger?”

“I can try. Only because I know it will be worth the wait”, Tony sighed, growling playfully as he buried his face against Stephen’s neck, prickly and smelling like the smoked whiskey of his aftershave. Tony’s body was warm and deliciously heavy on top of him, and Stephen almost gave in just as the engineer pried himself off, whining softly at the loss of contact.

“You’re a menace”, Stephen huffed lovingly, arranging himself into a cross-legged position on the cushions, and watching Tony mirror him as they sat across from one another.

“You love me for it”, Tony grinned triumphantly.

“I do, very much. Here, now hold these for me”, Stephen directed, handing Tony three short strands of red cord as he gathered the wooden tray that Wong had prepared for them. On the tray was a stick of incense in its holder, already smoking as it had been used to cleanse the room of any influential energy. Tony watched attentively as Stephen cleansed their auras with the incense, looking endearingly boyish as he tracked his husband’s every movement.

“This ceremony shall represent how we are bound to one another, physically and spiritually, and that we are making the choice and the effort to maintain the bond we have for eternity, as our marriage may be built by our hands together. Now we’ll appoint a vow to each cord as we tie it”, Stephen said in steady tone, gratified to feel their life force relax with every passing moment. His explanation was more for ceremonial purposes, as he and Tony had already gone over the method for the hand fasting practice many times, crafting and practicing their vows together over the past months. This was the ceremony that wasn’t official in the eyes of the government, but it was the most personal and precious to them as a couple. They shifted closer until their legs were overlapping, practically sitting in one another’s lap as Stephen clasped his left hand in Tony’s right one: The hand that had saved the universe bound to the hand which constantly reminded them how lucky they were to exist in this particular universe.

“With this binding tie, I vow to always appreciate the different kinds of music you have brought into my life. Even Chuck Mangione”, Tony admitted as he held up the first cord, eliciting boisterous laughter from deep within the sorcerer’s chest.

“See? I told you, you’d warm up to him. The man’s a genius.”

“A genius”, Tony agreed dryly, though he couldn’t hide his amused smirk fully. They held on to each other’s wrists loosely as Tony draped the cord over their conjoined hands, tying it with Stephen’s help. The knots were simple for the sake of Stephen’s hands, and were made even easier together, weaving between and around their forearms until the first cord was fully bound. Stephen held up the second length of cord, holding Tony’s gaze resolutely as he spoke with the tiniest of smug smiles on his lips.

“With this binding tie, I vow to always drink your extra coffee when you put too much sugar in your Starbucks order. Even when you do it every single time we go.”

“Ha, joke’s on you, maybe I just…maybe I’m conditioning you on purpose. I’m finally going to get you to admit that coffee is superior to tea”, Tony declared playfully, leaning forward just enough to steal a chaste kiss. “Besides, I have your terrible sweet tooth on my side.”

“Hmm, I’m afraid that won’t work on me, darlin’. I’ve been in committed relationship with tea long before you even came around”, Stephen pointed out, and Tony admitted defeat as they tied the second piece of cord, intertwining it with the first so their vows could nestle snugly together. Finally, they each held an end of the third cord and recited their last vow together, Tony’s cybernetic thumb gently brushing against Stephen’s wrist tattoo as they looked in each other’s eyes.

“With this binding tie, I vow to love your soul and your heart as my own, as together we are one.”

They sealed their ultimate vow with another tender kiss before tying the cord, their life force pulsing in time with both their heart beats, a testament to their unifying bond. The last cord was tied snugly but comfortably around their wrists, interwoven with the other cords as the loose ends were braided together. Stephen completed the ritual by cleansing the cords with incense once again, the scent of sage and cinnamon filling the small room, and their almost trancelike state was exacerbated by the soothing aroma. Tony’s fingers trailed over the cords bound around their wrists all the while, appreciating every knot and loop in their symbolic bond, and letting Stephen know how much the ceremony had meant to him.

“Hmm, smells good. Smells like you”, Tony muttered once Stephen had snuffed out the stick of incense, hazy with euphoria as he shifted close enough for a proper kiss. Stephen didn’t hesitate to meet him this time, matching his husband’s passion. Searing in its intensity, Stephen tilted his head to deepen the kiss and a soft moan was pulled from Tony’s throat as he reciprocated, their tongues sliding together with heated fervour. They held each other tightly, desperately, as they were eventually forced to pull apart for air, strings of saliva connecting their panting mouths.

“Maybe I just smell like incense”, Stephen suggested breathlessly, whispering against his husband’s soft lips. He had haphazardly made his way onto Tony’s lap sometime during their kiss, heady with the scent of each other as Stephen nuzzled the engineer’s salt and pepper scruff. He needed him. God, he needed him. He’d underestimated how much it would turn him on to be connected to Tony in a completely new way, physically bound together as though they shared a body the same way they shared a soul.

“Smells incredible either way”, Tony grinned, his free hand anchored on the sorcerer’s waist as he held him close. “I love you so much, Steph.”

“I love you even more.”

“Impossible.”

Stephen conveyed his consent with a single glance, letting out a pleased groan as he was flipped over onto his stomach in one fluid movement. Tony’s weight was warm pressed against his back, pushing him down on the cushions as they positioned themselves comfortably. Their bound wrists complicated things, but Tony managed to wrap his cybernetic arm around Stephen while braced on his elbows, their intertwined hands trapped beneath the sorcerer’s chest. It took several moments of fumbling around, heated in their fiery need for each other, before Tony was able to sort out the many thick layers of their ceremonial robes, exposing them both. Tony slid in immediately as Stephen had already prepped himself, helped by conjured lube and the fact that the sorcerer went commando under his robes more often than not. It was quick and quietly explosive, Tony busying himself with kissing Stephen’s neck and muttering loving nonsense beside his ear to keep from being too loud. Usually quiet himself, Stephen had to press his face against the cushions to keep from shouting out, tears gathering in his eyes from the intense pleasure coursing through his body.

It was over as quickly as it had started, fired up as they were, and they took several minutes to recover, panting and kissing lazily as they lay sprawled together on the cushions in a boneless heap. Stephen spent several moments assuring Tony that he hadn’t been too rough, kissing the promised words against his husband’s lips. Levi guarded the door with their ‘back’ to the couple, exuding disapproval as Stephen and Tony got cleaned up and redressed in their suits with the help of a spell. They weren’t too keen on wearing their robes to Italy, and Stephen didn’t see any way to change clothes without some form of magic when their wrists were still bound.

They made a half-hearted attempt to tidy each other’s hair before opening the door, looking both ways down the hall to avoid running into Wong if possible. Their suits were still immaculate from the ceremony, but their flushed faces and disarrayed hair was more than telling, and Stephen would rather save himself the mortification. They made their down the main staircase, holding on to each other for the sake of physical touch and balance both. Tony was always ridiculously affectionate after sex, clinging to Stephen’s arm as best he could while they were still bound, though he was practically holding the sorcerer up at this point despite Levi’s assistance, helping him keep his balance until they reached the bottom step.

“Are you sure you’re okay, babe? Your legs are shaking”, Tony pointed out, his tone an equal mix of genuine concern and infuriating smugness.

“Of course my legs are shaking, you just fucked me into next Tuesday”, Stephen whispered, chuckling softly as Tony kissed his cheek. He was literally weak in the knees as Tony wrapped his good arm around the small of his back, holding the sorcerer securely against his front. Lost in each other’s eyes, Stephen felt safe and loved beyond comprehension, hooking his free arm around his husband’s shoulders. Leaning their foreheads together, Tony lead them in a tuneless dance while they wrapped each other up in a half-bound embrace, barely moving as they swayed together in the middle of the foyer. The Sanctum seemed to move with them, welcoming their presence and creaking softly as if to provide a tune to dance to. Anchored on Stephen’s shoulders, Levi held them while moving to and fro with their own soundless music.

“You know, I was just thinking”, Tony said suddenly, his voice hushed. “As cheesy as it sounds, the only part that I kind of missed with the whole small wedding thing was our first dance. I would have liked to have that with you.”

“We can still have that.” Moved by his husband’s sentimentality, Stephen snapped his fingers and a record started on what looked to be an antique vinyl record player, warping a few times before it started up. The upbeat intro to ‘Rock Me Gently’ slowly filled the foyer, and Tony’s eyes lit up accordingly. “This is the first song we ever danced to together, remember?”

“Of course I remember”, Tony nodded, tears welling in his eyes almost immediately. “Merlin, you big sap, you’re gonna make me cry again.”

“No more tears tonight. Let me see that beautiful smile”, Stephen urged, nuzzling against Tony’s cheek and kissing the corners of his mouth. Beginning to sing softly to him as Tony managed a tearful smile. “Touching you so warm and tender. Lord, I feel such a sweet surrender. Beautiful is the dream that makes you mine.”

Tony continued to sway, his voice catching slightly as he sang under his breath. “Rock me gently, rock me slowly. Take it easy, don’t you know, that I have never been loved like this before.” Stephen kissed the tears from his cheeks, reminded of just how fragile his husband’s heart was as he heard the vulnerability in the words he sang. He looked back in his mismatched eyes, conveying what a thousand words never could with a single glance. I will love you like this for the rest of our lives. I will take care of your heart.

Their favourite verse came next, a bright smile flitting over Tony’s face as he recognized the lines they sang together, and healing both their hearts in the process.

“Oh my darling. Oh my baby. You got the moves that drive me crazy, and on your face I see a trace of love, of love, of love, of love. Come hold me close, don’t let me go. I need you, honey. I love you so. You were made for me by the stars above.”

The last line always broke and repaired something in Stephen’s chest all at once, and he could feel Tony shudder as they held each other close again. They swayed throughout the rest of the song in silence, cheeks pressed together accompanied by stubble and the warm dampness of their tears. Stephen turned his head to kiss Tony’s cheek again as the song ended, tasting the salt of it and memorizing the way his tears tracked down the smile lines etched in his skin. Their wrists were beginning to ache by the last verse, thanks to the awkward angle the cords kept them bound at, but Tony assured that he was determined to keep it on a little while longer, for tradition’s sake. A flick of the sorcerer’s wrist removed the vinyl from the record player, and the Sanctum foyer descended into omniscient silence once again. Some forethought on his part left Stephen’s right hand unbound so he was able to open a gateway to their honeymoon house in Italy, and they walked hand in hand through the flickering bronze portal, symbolic of the start of their new lives together.

*****

Tony felt a subconscious weight slide off his shoulders as they stepped through the gateway into the front foyer of his vacation house in Genoa.

The mental burden of his work (both teaching and NOVA), along with worrying about the perilous aspects of Stephen’s job, was all left behind, nearly half a word away as they drank in the peace that came with being perfectly alone for the first time since the cerermony. And they would come to know this bliss over the next two weeks, grateful to their friends for permitting them to spend time away at their own private retreat. They had little to worry about with Rhodey, Happy, and May looking after Morgan and caring for the animals in their steed, though Tony knew that he would end up fretting about the kids one way or another.

But, for now, he was content to spend this time celebrating their marriage.

Feeling almost careless and whimsical, Tony led Stephen out onto the street, watching the way his love’s eyes lit up in awe at their surroundings. Buildings stretched up around them on both sides of the narrow street, intricate in architecture and brilliant in colour even in the dark of night. The air was warm and inviting, carrying with it the scent of sun-dried fruit and the salt of the sea. The house was halfway between the outskirts and the city centre, right along the Polcevera River and within walking distance of the Liguarian Sea. They had opened the gateway in the front foyer for the sake of being discreet, but now Tony wanted to feel the night air, giddy with the knowledge that they had the next two weeks all to themselves, to spend however they may choose. It was the middle of the night thanks to the six hour time difference between Italy and New York, but Tony knew these streets like the back of his hand, even in the darkness of the wee hours of the morning. Their wrists still bound together, they strolled beside one another along the cobblestone street, ruminating in the stimulating scents and sights around them and allowing the cool sea breeze to ruffle their hair.

They had first been here together mere months after they had started dating, and many times since on several of their weekend vacations, but the atmosphere of peace and wonder never failed to take Stephen’s breath away. For Tony, it felt like coming home, reminiscing the quiet summer months he had spent as a young boy with his mother in her own childhood home. For him, Genoa meant white chrysanthemums, delicate hands playing the piano, a sweet voice singing him to sleep, and of his mother’s handmade cannolis, and he wanted to share such joy and feelings of home with Stephen.

They soon made their way back towards the house down the quiet street, hand in hand with a blanket of stars hung above them in the endless black. But even the distant expanse of space couldn’t dampen Tony’s mood, squeezing Stephen’s hand gently as a reminder to himself that they were both safe and well. He even managed to pick out their star, burning brighter and bluer than the others, but as he turned to let Stephen know, his words died in his throat and he let out a stunned exhale instead. His sharp features defined by the shadows, Stephen was practically ethereal in the pale moonlight and the glow from the few surrounding lamp posts, a vision of unearthly beauty as his eyes looked nearly silver in the low light. Dressed in all black, he was a shadow himself, languid obsidian draped over the chiselled perfection of a marble statue come to life. Tony would never have fathomed that someone could be so attractive to him simply by existing. He couldn’t help but pull Stephen down for an innocent kiss, savouring the feeling of his perfectly carved, dusky rose lips for the walk home, checking his pace to make sure it didn’t seem like he was in too much of a hurry to get there.

“Stephanie? Any chance we’d be able to take the cords off a bit early?”, Tony asked as the house’s front stoop came into view, his impatience and his cramped wrist getting the better of him.

“We’re supposed to keep it on until midnight”, Stephen pointed out levelly, the smallest hint of a smirk tugging at his lips as he seemed to figure out his husband’s intentions. Damn him for being able to read Tony like a book.

“It’s a lovely sentiment, dear, but it is technically after midnight. It’s almost…”,—Tony checked his watch—,“three in the morning here, and I want to make love to my husband properly.” He watched Stephen melt accordingly at the use of his new title, standing on tiptoe to whisper beside his ear and drive the point home. “As much as I usually enjoy a bit of bondage, I don’t think this will serve us very well in that sense.” Stephen paused, his brain taking a moment to catch up before Tony saw him break down completely, though he raised a skeptical brow.

“You sure you’re ready to go again?"

“Look who you’re asking. C’mon, Steph, I’m not that old. Twenty minutes to recover and I’m good.” Tony was bluffing, and they both knew it. He usually needed at least double that time, but he was hoping that Stephen would humour him on their wedding night of all occasions.

“You don't have to ask me twice”, Stephen chuckled, his eyes dragging over Tony’s suited form for a moment longer. The sorcerer’s libido was considerably lower than his own on a day-to-day basis, but their honeymoon was bound to be an exception to the rule, Tony’s cheeks flushing under his partner’s hungry gaze. He waited patiently as Stephen loosened the cords enough for them to pull their hands free without untying any of the knots, flexing his wrist to reduce the synthetic cramps as Stephen pocketed the bundle of cords for sentimentality sake.

It was all worth it when Stephen swept him up in his arms bridal style, carrying him over the threshold this time with as much flourish as possible.

“Don’t drop me. I've gained a couple pounds since we last did this”, Tony teased, happily wrapping his arms around Stephen’s shoulders as he was carried up the stairs to the second floor. He felt immeasurably safe in his husband’s strong arms, kissing whatever he could reach of his face and sculpted jaw.

“I would never drop you. And Levi would never let either of us fall”, Stephen promised, his words confirmed as the relic nodded their collar enthusiastically.

“I know you wouldn’t. You always keep me safe, bubba”, Tony cooed, laughing ecstatically as Stephen kissed his neck in retaliation, tickling him with his goatee. They reached the master bedroom—Levi closing the door behind them—and Tony yelped as he was dumped gracelessly on the bed, looking up at Stephen in bewilderment. “Okay, maybe I take back what I said.”

“Sorry, the spell gave out. I got excited”, Stephen said, a devilish smile on his face as he kicked his shoes off before climbing up on the bed. He crawled after Tony, said excitement apparent in the front of his dress slacks as he leaned over his husband, appraising him with a look of pure desire.

“Of course you did, big boy. I’m hard to resist.” Tony was cut off from any further bouts of self praise as Stephen met him in a heated kiss, gaining purchase of his mouth with a satisfied groan. “Oh, god, I want you to ravish me, Doc”, Tony moaned openly, skin prickling with longing at Stephen’s hum of acknowledgment. He tilted his head back as a spell unbuttoned his shirt collar, giving the sorcerer more room to work. Stephen pressed fevered kisses all over his throat, nipping along his collarbone as he worked his dress shirt open further, though he began to pace himself as he reached the centre of his lover’s chest. Tony watched in adoration as Stephen pressed a kiss to each of the rays on the starburst pattern of his arc reactor scar. He threaded the fingers of his good hand through that shock of dark midnight hair, soft and thick and etched with silver, giving a gentle tug at the roots and watching as opaline eyes flickered up to meet his.

“You’re so beautiful. I love you so much”, Stephen breathed, leaning up for another kiss as his spell-aided hands finished unbuttoning Tony’s shirt.

“I love you too, baby, so much”, Tony whispered back, suddenly choked by emotion as he cupped Stephen’s jaw with his good hand, lost in his sea glass eyes. “I’m so lucky to have you, so lucky to be married to you. I was almost scared it would never happen.”

“It was always meant to happen”, Stephen said, like it was the most certain thing in the world. His breath was pleasantly warm against Tony’s lips, breathing each other’s air for a moment. “I would have done anything to marry you in this reality. My sweet darlin’. My Tony.”

“I’m yours”, Tony assured quietly, blinking back the salt of his tears as he sat up, hands braced on his husband’s broad shoulders. “Come here. Let me help you undress.” Stephen kneeled obediently on the mattress while sitting on his feet, delicate hands resting in his lap. Tony helped him shrug off his jacket and then the coal black dress shirt, pressing kisses against every square inch of skin he exposed. He urged Stephen to kneel by rising up off of his heels, undoing his belt and zipper to find that the sorcerer had neglected to wear anything beneath his pants, ignoring his semi-erect dick in favour of kissing the soft pooch of his lower stomach. “Naughty boy, going commando on our wedding day like that.”

“You seem to like it”, Stephen countered, his voice wavering as he shuddered pleasantly at the contact.

“Hmm. Always.” Tony helped him shuck his pants off the rest of the way, adding them to the growing haphazard pile of clothes on the floor. Seeing his husband laid out on the bed before him, in all of his six foot glory of alabaster skin, toned yet supple, and pockmarked by scars like a marble statue abraded by time, was almost too much for Tony as he was overcome by want. It wasn’t even so much sexual need as it was the desire to hold Stephen, to protect and treasure every fibre of his being, every beautiful inch of him, like glass and coal under Tony’s fingertips, brittle and jagged and fused together under the pressure of endless hardship. But then his mouth was on Stephen’s, soft and forgiving, all of their hard edges and aching hearts eased by the river of warmth that flowed between them. The never-ending well of energy pouring from their lips and down each other’s gullets to the very core of their being. Stephen became someone else under his touch, pliant and yielding, receiving all the love he had to offer. It was enough to draw all the air from Tony’s lungs, leaving him parched and breathless and still gasping for more, wanting to drink his love’s very being into his own body.

They went slower this time than they had the first, savouring the moment and each other’s bodies. Tony’s fingers ran along the myriad of Stephen’s scars like a well known path, synthetic finger pads moving by touch and muscle memory alone as he traced the map of his lover’s body, every mark worn into his mind like a searing brand. Stephen’s hips were still sharp and narrow beneath him as Tony straddled them, reminding him of how brittle his partner had once been, laying beneath him as he was now on their first night together. He was stronger now, more solid and sure in his movements, big hands adorned by scars and rings of silver resting on Tony’s thighs with a loving squeeze.

“I’ll never get tired of this. You’re the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen, darlin’”, Stephen said huskily, his eyes afflicted by a lustful haze as he gazed up at Tony like he was worshiping a revered god. A flick of his fingers and Tony was relieved of his pants and undergarments, suddenly exposed to the bare air and the salty breeze coming in their window, though he felt nothing but safe and revered under his husband’s touch, a far cry from their first time together.

“You better enjoy it while it lasts, because I’m not gonna be up here for very long”, Tony teased, rolling his hips playfully as Stephen’s hands wandered up his sides, squeezing his love handles and grazing over the scars on his stomach. Not for his lack of effort in the bedroom, but Tony struggled to stay on top for very long ever since his Snap. The gamma radiation had severely affected the tendons and ligaments on the right side of his body, despite Stephen’s best attempts to repair them, and Tony could see himself needing a knee and hip replacement within the next decade. But he was determined to show his husband a good time on their wedding night, besides the fact that this position had always been a personal favourite of his.

Ignoring the ever-present but muted ache in his joints, Tony started to slowly grind his hips, leaning forward to meet Stephen in a slow, but deceivingly passionate kiss. The sorcerer groaned, a deep baritone rumbling in his chest that travelled to the very marrow of Tony’s bones. Arousal stoked gradually in his own gut, rutting against his lover’s length until he finally took them both in hand, stroking at a steady pace.

“T-Tony”, Stephen breathed, pleading as he spoke his name like a prayer. “Please, I need you.” Tony gave his nod of consent, enjoying the power rush of having the former Sorcerer Supreme at his mercy. Despite knowing it was coming, he was still caught off guard by the sudden stretch he felt as Stephen prepped him with a spell, enjoying the slight burn accompanied by magically procured lube dripping down his inner thighs.

“You know, I’ve come to not mind magic so much. It has its uses from time to time”, Tony huffed in amusement, giving his partner’s hardened dick a few firm strokes, nearly salivating at the sight. Confident that the sorcerer was at full mast, he moved forward, Stephen’s hot length nestled against his buttocks for a moment before he shifted again, lifting onto his knees as he reached back with one hand to guide the head inside of him. Feeling Stephen shift below him, he sunk halfway down the shaft without warning, letting his head drop back with a sharp moan.

“Tony!” Stephen cried out, panting as he visibly resisted the urge to buck his hips upward. “F-For the love of the Vishanti, you never have any patience.” He lost himself quickly as Tony gradually took the rest of his length, moaning softly together until he bottomed out at the hilt.

“Why be patient when I can have you inside of me instead?”, Tony grinned, seating himself deeply on Stephen’s cock. He let out happy little noises of pleasure as he shifted slightly, enjoying the full feeling as his husband’s girth stretched him out just a little more than the spell had.

“B-Because n-neither of us are t-twenty anymore”, Stephen pointed out weakly, though his resolve disappeared as Tony started to move, gripping his thighs more tightly than was probably good for his hands. Tony immediately grabbed his husband’s wrists, reminding him to loosen his grip.

“None of that, Doc, or I’ll have Levi tie your hands up.”

“Is that supposed to be a threat?”

“Not a very good one”, Tony admitted, hands braced on the sorcerer’s chest as he started to ride him. Starting off slow, he rolled his hips forward and around in a semicircle alternatively while watching Stephen’s reaction all the while, finding an angle he liked before building upon the pace he had set. Tony’s jaw dropped open of its own accord as he found his prostate, letting out a groan of satisfaction, cheeks flushed warmly, desire catching thickly in his throat as he kept eye contact with his husband all the while. He was rewarded for his efforts as Stephen moaned loudly every time he rose and fell on his cock, a welcome change from the sorcerer’s usual tendency to be quiet in bed.

“A-Anthony, please-. God, y-you feel divine, just amazing”, Stephen mumbled, rendered incoherent with pleasure. He was a sight to behold, sharp cheekbones dusted by a rosy pink which was slowly working its way down from his neck to his chest, mouth open, eyes rolling back slightly as he gripped Tony’s thighs.

“It’s good for me too, baby. So good. I l-love having you inside me”, Tony panted with a hazy smile, little sparks of electricity jolting all over his skin while heated pleasure built deep in his core. Wordlessly, he gently pried Stephen’s hands from his thighs, interlacing their fingers to save his husband from more aches and pains than necessary. It was almost jarringly intimate, to have their palms pressed together as Tony braced himself with their fingers interlocked. All too soon, his joints began to seize just as he built up a rolling rhythm, laced with needles of discomfort that tore sharply through the euphoria washing over his body in waves.

“Are you okay?”, Stephen asked, concern making its way past the arousal in his voice as he noticed his partner faltering.

“I’m tapping out”, Tony gasped, the pain in his right knee suddenly sharp enough to warrant stopping. The pressure was immediately relieved as Stephen carefully pulled out and helped Tony shift his weight off his right side. They rolled over together, and Tony laid nestled back against the plush duvet, taking a quick breather as the sorcerer lay pressed up against his side, trailing aimless patterns on his chest scar.

“As your biggest fan, I regret saying this, but as your doctor, I have to suggest that you stop doing that unless you don’t want to be able to walk pain-free in the next two years. Otherwise, you’ll be looking at a hip replacement before you’re even sixty.” Stephen’s words were truthful and came from a place of caring, but Tony couldn’t help but take them to heart.

“I’m already half robot anyway. What’s another couple of joints?“, Tony huffed in annoyance, though he had to admit his husband’s protective instincts were a bit of a turn on. “And as sexy as the whole doctor thing is, can we leave the role-playing for another night?”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a masochist. Old man”, Stephen added lovingly with a kiss to Tony’s cheek.

“Hey, I’m not that old. My hip’s only bad because I saved the universe, and don’t you forget it.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’re gonna let us forget anytime soon, darlin’”, Stephen chuckled, kissing the playful frown he was given. He positioned himself between Tony’s legs, propped up on his elbows as he rutted against his rear, his hard length suddenly slick with a new coating of lube and moving slowly enough to drive Tony up the wall. About to loudly express his distaste for being teased, Tony keened as the head pressed past his entrance before sliding in entirely, his own cock twitching from where it laid against his lower belly. Stephen always knew how to undo him like no other.

Once Stephen was inside him and on top of him, there was little chance for coherent speech. The sorcerer began to set a steady pace, and Tony knew well enough by now that his best chances were to simply hold on as he was reduced to a moaning mess. He took advantage of his last moments of clear-headedness by exploring Stephen’s body with his hands, appreciating the compact build of his husband’s torso while feeling the wiry muscle ripple and pull taut again beneath his fingers. Stephen changed the angle of his hips and Tony moaned loudly as his prostate was brushed against, feeling his rapid descent into a euphoric haze.

“You feel s-so good, so big, Steph”, Tony groaned, arms wrapped around his husband’s back to hold him as close as possible, fingers mapping out the endless scars on his back. He craned his neck to kiss the three jagged marks marring the sorcerer’s right shoulder, gnarled and silvery as they twisted from the back of his shoulder blade, over his trapezius, and down to the middle of his pectoral. Tony didn’t know what half of Stephen’s scars were from, reluctant to ask for fear of sending the sorcerer into a fit of trauma-triggered dissociation. It was enough just to hold him, to soothe his aches and shower his battered body with all the love Tony had to offer, knowing he would receive the same doting in turn.

They were both reduced to panting breaths, noises of pleasure, and jumbled utterances of devotion as Stephen thrusted with an increasing tempo. His movements were somehow frenzied and tender all at once, cradling Tony’s head with one big hand and burying his face against the crook of his neck. Their life force pulsed soundly between them, connecting them in a golden ebb and flow that was reassuring in its consistency, their soul singing with contentment at their closeness. Tony could only cling to him in turn, relaxed with pleasure even as the heat in his gut was spun ever tighter like a carefully wound clock.

“S-Steph…l-love you”, was all he could manage before he came, his back arching off the bed, molding their bodies together as one. Stephen reached his own climax in the same breath, one arm cradling his lover’s lower back as they clung to one another, breathing the same air. A small swarm of butterflies materialized in the air around them, born through sparks of shimmering blue magic and the release of Stephen’s excess euphoric energy. They collapsed together, all the tension unwound from their cores, and Tony let out a low contented groan as Stephen’s body laid on top of him with all of his weight, solid and warm, his skin damp with perspiration. Several long moments passed and it was all Tony could do to stay conscious, overwhelmed by electricity flooding his every nerve. The tired, achy warmth soon began to fill his muscles, regaining his breath as Stephen eventually pulled out and rolled off of him, though he didn’t go far, nestled against Tony’s side with one arm draped across his torso.

“Love you too”, Stephen mumbled groggily, as if he was just remembering his husband’s utterance and that he was supposed to respond. He managed to muster enough energy to clean them both up with a spell almost as an afterthought, and he seemed even more drowsy after the fact. Tony chuckled softly, delirious with bliss as he ran his fingers slowly through Stephen’s sweat damp hair, pressing kisses against his temple. A butterfly landed on the sorcerer’s shoulder, glimmering, gauzy wings almost transparent in the low light, a visual testament to his overwhelming happiness in that moment.

“You were magnificent, mio amore. You know me so well, like we were made to fit together”, Tony whispered, eyes closed as he felt Stephen kiss the tattoo on his chest before resting his cheek just over the engineer’s heart.

“We were”, Stephen said with conviction, his brow furrowing endearingly. “You were made for me by the stars above”, he sang in whisper, exhausted laughter leaving both their lips at his sleepy attempt of recreating their song.

Driven by exhaustion from a long and emotionally draining day, Tony soon felt himself drifting off while Stephen cuddled closer against his chest, eyes growing heavy as he soon succumbed to the tantalizing pull of slumber. They dropped off to sleep together, the warm breeze coming in from their open window drying the sweat on their bodies and ruffling their hair lightly, bringing with it the scent of jasmine from the planters on the balcony.

———

Tony woke up a few hours later, disorientated for a few moments until he remembered where he was, as the early hours of dawn lit their room in a honeyed warmth. The sun was just beginning to rise over the distant buildings, casting long shadows amidst the golden rays, though their bedroom window was low enough to have not yet been graced by the warm light. It was early enough that the birds hadn’t begun to sing yet, and a quick glance at the clock on the wall told Tony that it wasn’t quite six a.m. Soundly sleeping, Stephen’s head was still nestled against his chest, his soft, steady puffs of breath warm against his bare skin. Levi had draped over them in the night as well, a familiar presence more than anything as the summers in Genoa didn’t garner much need for blankets. Tony threaded his fingers through Stephen’s beautiful dark hair, brushing it back from his forehead fondly. The sorcerer maintained a look of almost boyish innocence as he slept, peaceful and untroubled in a way that made Tony’s heart ache, wanting to preserve his husband’s peace for as long as possible.

Content to stay in bed longer, Tony laid his head back against the pillows and breathed in the serenity of the moment, but his wakefulness must have been relayed through their life force as the sorcerer soon stirred. Stephen groaned against the impeding light as he woke, determined to block it out as he hid his face against his husband’s chest.

“Morning, sunshine”, Tony whispered with a chuckle, gently rubbing Stephen’s back to ease him into the world of the waking. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“’S fine. Too early though”, Stephen grumbled, finally looking up to meet Tony with eyes that were deep cerulean in the low light. His features creased into a smile as they made eye contact, letting out a soft exhale of air. “God, I love you so much…”, he breathed, practically letting out a dreamy sigh as he let his cheek rest against Tony’s chest again. Like he couldn’t believe that yesterday and last night hadn’t been a dream. Tony could sympathize with the feeling, resisting the urge to pinch himself just in case this was all some elaborate trick, a hoax put on by the universe to make them believe they had everything they wanted before ripping it all away again. Were they really allowed to be this happy? Tony wouldn’t jinx it by asking such questions.

“I love you even more”, he assured instead, stroking Stephen’s cheek with his cybernetic thumb. “To the stars and back.” The sorcerer melted against his touch, kissing the red vibranium of his hand and then pressing his lips to the scars on his chest. Forever thankful for the string of events that had inadvertently led to their first meeting all these years down the line.

“I’m kind of hungry”, Stephen muttered against his skin suddenly, deep voice still raspy with sleep in a way that made Tony shiver. “I didn’t eat much at dinner. Do you want me to go grab something for us?”

“I could eat.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” Stephen imparted a tender kiss on his forehead before clambering from the bed. Propping his head up in one hand, Tony watched Stephen stretch languidly as he walked away, arms extended above his head in a motion that was no doubt meant to be cheekily alluring. Tony just shook his head in endearment as he watched him go, Levi following after, and laid back against the pillows as he waited. Back in the day, he would have equipped the house with a full set of cleaning staff but, seeing as it was their honeymoon, it seemed more convenient to have the house to themselves for occasions such as this. And he certainly had no qualms about his new husband walking around in the nude. Upon hearing the sorcerer return, Tony sat up cross-legged on the bed, thrilled by the vision crossing the threshold before him.

Striding completely nude across the room, Stephen looked akin to a Greek god, broad-shouldered and skin all ivory imperfection as he carried a tray loaded with an assortment of grapes, cheeses, crackers, and olives. Levi trailed after him with two bottles of water, dumping both in the engineer’s lap before draping over his shoulders. Tony greeted the relic while petting their collar affectionately, watching Stephen resume his spot on the bed as he deposited the plate between them. There was something incredibly attractive about seeing the normally uptight sorcerer so relaxed, bare and comfortable in his own skin as he stretched out on his side across the silk sheets.

“Looks delicious”, Tony hummed, biting his lower lip as his eyes trailed over his husband’s body. He was more than sated for the time being, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the five course meal laid out in front of him.

Stephen nodded, already digging into the plate of food. “It’s your favourite brie. I’m guessing you had all of this ordered in and delivered yesterday?”

“Mmm, yes, I did. But I wasn’t talking about the cheese.”

“You’re insatiable”, Stephen scolded, though Tony could see a pleased flush work across his cheeks.

“I would have to disagree, Doc. I know one way I can be sated”, Tony teased, opening his mouth hopefully and pointing at the bundle of grapes the sorcerer held. Stephen rolled his eyes affectionately, but complied anyway, and they spent the next while hand feeding each other an assortment of goodies from the tray. It was sensual and playful all at once, as Stephen sucked on Tony’s fingers while he fed him an olive one moment, and Tony caught a grape in his mouth the next, kissing each other in some way or another between nearly every bite. They soon became more interested in each other than they were with the food, still tired from earlier as they moved the tray aside and laid beneath the covers, holding each other close and kissing slowly. Tony was drowning in contentment, heady with love as he cradled his new husband in his arms. Stephen tasted like olives when he kissed him, sweet and salty all at once, though any taste was divine on those cupid’s bow lips, and he knew he would never be able to get enough of him.

They settled down in bed again just as the sun was rising fully, and Levi thoughtfully drew the curtains closed. Even if a thousand suns had been outside their window, Tony was sure he wouldn’t have even noticed as he and Stephen laid on their sides together, their noses mere inches apart as they looked into each other’s eyes, just as they had on their very first morning together. Their soul beating as one.

“Steph?”, Tony asked in a whisper, almost too quiet to hear.

“Mhmm?”

“We’re married.”

“I know. Exciting, isn’t it?”, Stephen grinned softly, the boyish light returning to his eyes once more. He rested one of his hands gently on the right side of Tony’s face, scars on scars.

“We have the rest of our lives together”, Tony marvelled, brushing a few stray strands of hair back from Stephen’s forehead. The finality of such words weighed pleasantly in his chest as he grazed his thumb over Stephen’s wrist tattoo. “Do you think this universe will let us be happy?”, he asked, the hope in his voice met by the certainty in the endless galaxy of his husband’s eyes.

“I know it will.”