At 5pm Tony felt his starkphone vibrate.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y.?"
"Text message from Dr. Strange sir."
"What does he say?"
"He's free and asks if the meeting is still going on?"
"Write this to him: ' Hello Stephen. You're welcome to teleport directly to my workshop in Stark Tower '.'"
"Good sir. It's sent sir."
"Thank you babygirl."
Tony had not finished talking when he heard behind him the typical sound of a portal opening and turning around he saw Stephen crossing through. He greeted him with a smile, embracing his appearance in his eyes. If he dressed like that every time they saw each other, Tony didn't know how long he would last before he literally jumped him. It was temptation itself.
"No Dumbledore outfit today?"
"No, I'd rather leave the sorcerer's hat and wand in the Sanctum for tonight." answered Stephen and winked.
"What about the Stone of Time?" Tony trusted the sorcerer, but he was curious.
Stephen made a few harmonious hand moves, and the stone revealed itself in his pendant to Tony's eyes.
"It's really magical..."
"Not so off-put by magic anymore then?"
Tony replied seriously looking him in the eye, "As I have been the victim of magic," he shuddered at the memories of Wanda Maximoff and what she had done to him and then continued, "I'll always be afraid of it, but you and your gang have shown me the good side of magic."
Tony motioned to Stephen to follow him to the screens on the wall. He noted how the sorcerer was attentive as he explained what he was doing. Stephen put his jacket on a desk chair and rolled up the sleeves of his sweater again before sitting halfway down on the desk. Tony could eventually become addicted to this. He admired how easily Stephen got comfortable. The discussion was lively, two great minds working in unison, they confronted each other, listened to each other without realizing how much time was going by.
"Wow, it's dark!" exclaimed Tony almost 3 hours later, "What time is it?"
The screens lit up the room so brightly like a Christmas tree that they hadn't realized the day was falling.
"8:30 p.m.," replied Stephen, "I might-"
"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Tony prompted impulsively.
"With pleasure," acquiesced Stephen without thinking.
Tony took him to the kitchen.
He quickly prepared pasta on the spot while continuing to chat passionately with Stephen. It had been so long since he had talked with someone like that. Tony was over the moon. He separated the pasta into two plates, poured the hot sauce over it, added a little parmesan cheese and nodded to Stephen on the couch.
"Unless you'd rather eat at the table?"
"No, no, that's fine."
They began to eat.
"It's delicious," said Stephen after enjoying the first bite.
Tony, now living alone, had replaced his enormous sofa with a much smaller one. As a result, the two men were sitting so close together that their thighs were almost touching. Tony didn't complain, not realizing that Stephen also appreciated their closeness. They enjoyed their meal for a few minutes in silence, once again comfortable in each other's presence.
"I really like what you've done with the place," Stephen said with admiration after a moment. Once all the Avengers were gone, most of them to the compound, Tony needed to reclaim the place. He had changed almost everything, had taken the time to decorate according to his taste and not according to what was expected of him, no glitz, no bright colors, after Thanos, the light and neutral colors were appealing to him, calming him down. He chooses each piece of furniture with care, himself without any intermediary, as if he was taking the time to find himself and explore who he was, his tastes, his desires. And this is what he told Stephen.
"I think that for the first time since I've lived in this tower, I feel at home here."
Stephen smiled in approval. "I'm glad, Tony."
"And you, is the Sanctum your home?" Tony inquired.
"Curiously and unexpectedly, yes it is. I feel at home there and I don't regret giving up my apartment and everything I owned. They are relics of an old life made of pretences, superficiality and where I had totally forgotten myself. So yes I can say that the Sanctum is my home."
Stephen took his glass and clinked it against Tony's, their eyes meeting, a deep understanding of each other. They had faced great tragedies, great changes in their lives, and instead of being defeated by them, they had decided to change for the better, each one embracing his destiny.
Stephen didn't even try to suppress the thrill he felt when their thighs brushed against each other again. He saw the slight smile that slid across Tony's face at the sorcerer's reaction. Tony made him feel like a teenager, butterflies in his belly and all. He let himself feel it all. It was so liberating. They were so close that their heads almost touched.
Suddenly, Stephen turned a little more towards him on the little couch. He looked into Tony's eyes. Tony found him so attractive at that moment that he couldn't help but lick his lips.
Stephen's beautiful gray eyes lit up with surprised pleasure. The smile suited him much more than his serious sorcerer face, Tony thought to himself. Stephen had been close all evening without letting anything show. To Tony's appreciation, Stephen seemed to be the kind of person who had learned to see beyond the gossip. Who didn't take anything at face value. Who had been kind enough to spend time with him.
The pastas were followed by dessert and coffee, but the two men paid little attention to what they ate or drank because they were caught up in their conversation. As geniuses as they were, it was rare for them to find someone who was able to follow their line of thought, but there the chemistry was perfect. So perfect that they didn't see the time go by.
Stephen took out his phone and checked the time. Tony saw the time flashing on the screen. It was past 2.00 am.
Stephen sighed, "I should go, just to get a few hours sleep before the new recruits' training tomorrow morning."
"I'm not forcing you to leave," Tony says openly. "But I do understand that you need to sleep, and I don't want you to regret the time we had together."
Stephen stared at him. "Whatever I choose to do is my decision, so I won't have any regrets tomorrow. I'm going to stay a little longer because it's too comfortable here," Stephen said, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.
"But don't fall asleep," Tony teased him as he did the same thing. And they went back to talking about nothing, tasting the pleasure of a company who doesn't judge, who laughs at the same jokes. Both wondered that they had so many tastes in common. Almost an hour later Stephen looked at his phone and said again, sighing, "I really should be going."
Even Tony was very tired although he had no scheduled anymore. Given his responsibilities Stephen had probably been up for more than 8 hours, so it was understandable that the sorcerer was tired. Tony would have liked to make a move but he didn't dare. There was this fear of breaking something fragile, a friendship that had just been born and that seemed precious, this night was in its simplicity one of the best nights Tony had ever experienced. So Tony nodded his head and made a slight pout to make Stephen understand that he wasn't pushing him out. They got up and stretched. Stephen couldn't hold back a yawn.
"You're going to make it home, aren't you?" Tony asked a little worried, though.
"Yes, don't worry, I'm going to open a gate right into my room."
Stephen retrieved his jacket without bothering to put it on.
"It's really nice to meet like this. I had a great evening and I enjoyed spending this time with you Tony."
Tony blushed slightly, touched by the compliment: "Right back at you. I really felt the same way. I haven't had such a good time in a long time."
Stephen turned his back and began to make the complicated gestures to create the portal but stopped in the middle and turned towards Tony. He couldn't leave like that. He bent down and bowed his head for a kiss. He stopped the movement to see how the other man would react. Tony took a slight step forward and raised his chin. Stephen's lips formed a small smile. They met halfway. His lips were soft. Tony savored the smell of Stephen in his nose.
After enjoying the feeling of their lips together for a few moments, Stephen slipped his tongue into Tony's mouth. Stephen slowly caressed Tony's tongue with his own.
Tony let his hands slide down the back of Stephen's neck and passed his hands through the turtleneck of his sweater. He pressed Stephen closer and felt his growing erection against his hip. The kiss was so different from anything Tony had ever experienced. It was intense. Shy. Delicate. Caring. Hungry. They kissed like two people who had been through the worst and knew that the best was yet to come. There they were, in the middle of the room, making out for long minutes until Stephen stepped back. Tony opened his eyes, a little disappointed, wanting to prolong the kiss.
"Shhh" Stephen had a small laugh. "I just want you to be sure and know what you want. We have time."he said in a low voice.
"I've never been so sure of anything in my entire life," Tony whispered as he licked his lips. Stephen couldn't take his eyes off them. He swallowed and after a short pause nodded his head,"I believe you."
"Good," Tony grabbed him by the hand.
When they arrived in the room, Tony said a little louder, "F.R.I.D.A.Y., lights dimmed and phone off." He turned to Stephen and in front of the intense look, he felt for the first time hesitant about what was going to happen. Maybe it was going too fast. What if it ruined their new and fresh friendship?
"Are you all right? "Stephen asked him solicitously, seeing his hesitation. He put one hand on Tony's cheek and looked into his eyes, looking for answers.
"It's not that I don't want to, but...I don't want our friendship to be ruined because of it. I don't have many friends, and even if it is new, our friendship is already precious to me." Tony rubbed his hands together, he was so embarrassed to have second thoughts.
"Don't worry Tony, whether something happens or nothing happens, our friendship won't change, we'll adjust I promise you, I don't want our friendship to go away either."
Stephen added, "I have another question, just so that we're clear if something should happen tonight. Have you ever been with a man Tony?" He didn't remember reading anything about it in the newspapers.
"Hm... yes," Tony replied, "It's just... it's been a while. You know my reputation, I'm not proud of it, but the past is not something I can change. However I have changed. I've decided that in the future I'm going to act like who I am and not who people want to see, so if we could just... you know, slowly. I mean not slowly, just not... ", he kept stammering, feeling like a complete idiot.
"I've had a few relationships with men myself in my youth, and one serious relationship with a woman. But Tony, we've already recognized that we are new and changed men, so let's do the same with this relationship. Let's not put pressure on ourselves and be us, just us."
The recognition lit up Tony's eyes.
"So come on," said Tony, putting his arms around Stephen's neck for another kiss.