Chapter 24
Stephen woke to an amorous boyfriend kissing all over the back and sides of his neck while keeping him lightly pinned on his stomach. He was warm and comfortable so didn't do much other than give a few quiet pleased noises at the the attention. Tony's low chuckle into his ear didn't exactly wake him up more but it definitely made him more aware that his boyfriend had him covered and cuddled up under him.
"I'm thinking of testing that promise of yours that I can tie you up and play with you," Tony chuckled into his ear. "I kind of like the idea that you'll stay even if I'm acting like a controlling bastard."
"You are a controlling bastard. You just hide it well," Stephen murmured back with a sleepy smirk.
"You have no idea how glad I am that you stuck around," Tony said thickly. "You could have run far away and you probably should have even with needing to help save the world. I know we have the weird spirits and pushy stones to contend with but I can't help but be glad that you stayed, that you let me in when you didn't have too. You're definitely mine now."
Stephen was more asleep than awake so he didn't take the declaration of being Tony's as anything more than what they already had. He should have remembered who he was dealing with.
Hours later, Tony watched his sorcerer struggle slightly in the improvised bonds made up out of sheets. He liked the way that Stephen struggled just enough and then gave in and settled. They were both producing webs still and didn't want to have an accident with them so sheets it was. Tony just liked having Stephen tied up or nearby and the man didn't seem to mind overly much how Tony was accomplishing it so long as he stayed nearby while Stephen was trapped.
Tony just liked how it seemed to calm them both. He had tied up Stephen as a joke soon after breakfast only to notice that after a brief instinctive struggle the doctor had relaxed. Tony had been surprised but Stephen had been slightly embarrassed when he explained that being wrapped up, usually in a blanket, had always been something he connected with safety and comfort.
Tony had smirked at Stephen and fetched a few more sheets to do a better job than the basic wrapping he'd done with Stephen's shirt around his wrists. It wasn't long before Tony had Stephen wrapped up like a mummy and curled up into his side with the doctor's head in his lap. Stephen was so peaceful that it took a moment for Tony to realize he had fallen asleep, clearly drawing comfort from Tony just being there and wrapped up in the sheets. It wasn't like Stephen couldn't escape even without Tony helping him get free but it would take a minute or two to actually get untangled.
"I'm sorry to interrupt but... the news and other media have started asking about your references to time travel and wondering why they didn't pounce on it originally,"Jarvis told his father.
"Have Friday drop a few lines in random places about maybe the adoption ritual did something extra because of the elaborate prep and everything had to be a non-standard adoption ritual. There is no way that our sparkly magical titles didn't play a part from the way Madam Web and Coyote reacted," Tony said softly, trying not to wake Stephen up. "You can start dropping the dossiers I know you've both been itching to use on Thanos and his minions. Drop the combined one with Loki and Thor in it too. Make sure that if you hand out the other timeline's outline that you specify that Loki invaded under duress and tried to keep his kill count down. Also, I want it highlighted that by this point Thanos has him and is torturing him. If he shows up on Earth via portal again or because of the Stones or the Tricksters I want people to make sure he gets directed my way. It may not stop any invasion he might get forced to lead but it could minimize the damage."
"Did you get a chance to look over our proposal?" Jarvis asked carefully.
"The one about making a training game? Yeah, I got it," Tony agreed. "I'll want you both to add a feature that scans the person for their first avatar so that they can run it with their real bodies represented. Once they clear level five they can opt to create a second avatar that's closer to standard blank slate baseline human if you don't just make it an option to pick at log in. So long as they scan and run their real forms through once every 3-6 months they get bonus stat points or something else that's hard to come by in game. The bonus stuff can be used on the second avatar or traded unless its supposed to be points like that. Gear, healing stuff, gold, or even unlocking new quests or bonus hints can all be traded. Those real life accurate avatars though need to pass through various parkour, escape and evasion, or other movement type drills and levels. Make them as accurate as possible for actually using it in real life but allow for some leeway to allow for health stuff. Level 6-12 should have basic combat oriented stuff for that sort of thing, adaptable to body type, general health, and stuff like that. At or after level 7 though general crafting type stuff should be an option using actual techniques. Just basics like hand sewing, weaving, pottery, wood work... things that can be leveraged in real life if we get hit hard enough that the grid goes down potentially permanently. Double or triple the bonuses on anyone clearing basic first aid stuff."
"Physical real world rewards?" Jarvis asked politely.
"Link it to whatever they accomplished like beginner weaving kits or knitting kits or something and offer a second reward for a video of them actually doing it IRL. They can be two separate tiers of accomplishments but I want it more heavily weighted towards competency with the real world version of the skills if possible. Offer to purchase real world things made in connection with accounts like that but only after a certain point. Anything made like that is going into a store and we'll act as brokers between buyers and sellers with a flat 5% fee of the total end purchase price in the first 5 years for facilitating things and it can drop to 2% after that," Tony instructed. "If nothing else they can try things out in game and we can do an add real life features to it later for those who want to use it to simulate their powers and how to use them safely. I think something like that would have really helped Spiderling the first time around."
"Then we can start designing it?" Friday asked excitedly.
"I kind of assumed that you both already had considering the brief you gave me but yeah, sure," Tony pointed out. "I can pitch it to the board or just flat out produce it myself as a free open source game once you've got at least 50 levels sorted out and a basic storyline to run with. Of course the moment people start playing it I will want a solid main storyline and at least another 25 levels before you can abandon it as a completed project but its got potential to grow into a fun little monster project."
"Coyote's suggestion when they were here last gave us the idea," Jarvis admitted. "That's why it was ready for you when you woke up while Dr. Strange continued to sleep."
"It can add on nicely to the free first aid courses Pepper and I discussed when I first woke up back in time. They got quite popular and so did the Alien Invasion and Zombie Apocalypse emergency kits that we introduced at the same time," Tony mused. "Warn SI that with the time travel talk that there is going to be an uptick in demand for cheap kits like that and we want to be the ones to deliver."
"What are you plotting now?" Stephen asked, his face still pressing into Tony's pajama clad thigh.
"Just expanding our early training attempts for the public. The AI kids want a video game to go out and I'm pointing out ways to add to the training aspect without ruining the game aspect. Mostly it shows up as extras and bonuses but as long as they have a good idea on how to get around when the invasions start trying to happen I figure its a win," Tony shrugged. "You want free of the sheets?"
"Not yet. God, I must have been worn out to just cave like that," Stephen muttered, humor easily heard in his voice.
"I like trapping you and cuddling you," Tony said, a bit defensively.
"And I don't mind if its you doing it. Anyone else and I would have freaked out being that vulnerable," Stephen said seriously as he sat up and deliberately freed his arms and torso from the bedding wrapped around him. "Even other lovers and spouses in different timelines never made me feel so safe. I don't think we can afford to do that all the time but it was comforting, knowing that you wouldn't let anything near me."
"I get it," Tony said, clearing his suddenly tight throat. He was suddenly very glad for the special collar around Stephen's neck and the way that Stephen kept letting Tony keep him close. He was very aware that Stephen could have fought him on all of this or run away and Tony didn't want to lose him.
Stephen just wrapped his arms around Tony and dragged him across the bed into his arms. Holding his tech genius close he was already plotting how to make something that Tony could wear as a counterpart to his arc reactor choker. They were barely a year out from the New York invasion now. Time had flown by and it wouldn't be more than another month before both of them had to buckle down and start seriously sparing in preparation for the battle. Peter would be stashed safely at Kamar-Taj before the battle and Tao would be given instructions on what to do if they fell in battle.
Tony and Stephen both had agreed that if they captured Loki they weren't returning him to Asgard. They would keep the trickster and see if they could heal him. If nothing else they could keep someone else from hurting him.
Things were moving and this stolen time together was going to become sparse. For now though they had each other and that's what counted.
The future would just have to take care of itself.