Chapter 13
Stephen’s POV:
19 hours later, we wheel Tony’s unconscious body out of the operating room, and into a recovery wing.
I pull the blankets up around him, double checking the monitors before I walk back out into the hallway.
“Thank you.” I say, reaching out to shake Bruce’s hand.
He nods as he shakes my hand back.
“And thank you.” I say, reaching my hand out to Peter as well.
He smiles as he shakes my hand, yawning as I let go.
“If anything happens with the Reactor, give me a call.” Bruce says, handing me a scrap of paper with his number on it. “We reset the core and rewired it, but I’ve never worked with that kind of tech before so I can’t be entirely sure."
I nod, sighing slightly as I do.
“His pulse was stable.” I say, leaning my head back into the room to listen to it again. “His body is just exhausted.”
Peter nods, his eyebrows knitting together with concern.
“I’ll call you when he wakes up.” I tell them both, but looking mainly towards Peter. “It could be a couple days.”
They both nod, telling me goodbye as they leave the hospital.
I go back into the room, quietly pulling a chair up beside Tony’s bed.
I check his vitals once more before sitting beside him, gently taking his hand and resting my forehead against his shoulder.
My eyes close, and I relax against his arm.
Tony’s POV:
I wake to a steady beeping sound, wincing at the bright light coming through the window as I open my eyes.
Stephen’s face instantly comes into view above me, his hair is disheveled as his bright blue eyes stand out against dark circles of sleeplessness.
“Hey.” I choke out, my throat feeling unusually sore. “What happened?”
I turn my head, looking around the room, groaning as I realize that I’ve somehow ended up in a hospital.
“Your Arc Reactor failed.” Stephen says quietly, his voice low and tired sounding. “We had to keep you in surgery for 19 hours.”
My eyes widen as my head snaps back to his, my hand reaching up to touch the metal in my chest.
“How did you fix it?” I ask, trying to sit up. "Is everyone else okay?"
Stephen pushes me down gently, using the remote on the side of the bed to move me to a sitting position.
“Everyone is alight. We had to call Bruce and Peter in for help.” He says quietly. “I could help with the cardiac episodes, but we couldn’t figure out the mechanics alone.”
I nod, pulling the hospital gown away to look down at the metal.
“And the cardiac episodes stopped?” I ask, looking over at the machines.
Stephen’s hand takes mine gently, his fingers intertwining with mine.
“After a couple hours.” He says quietly. “You were out for three days after the surgery, your body needed time to rest.”
I look back at him, reaching up to cup his cheek gently.
“And you haven’t slept.” I say, brushing along the circles with my finger.
He shakes his head, laughing under his breath.
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to.” He says, turning to press his lips to my hand. “I was worried for a while there, I thought I might lose you.”
I scoot over, grunting with the surprising amount of effort it takes, and then pat the bed beside me.
Stephen rolls his eyes, but smiles as he climbs into the hospital bed beside me.
I wrap my arms around him, pressing my lips to his forehead.
“Unfortunately you’re suck with me, Strange.” I whisper, kissing his forehead again. “Remember what I said if we survived that?”
He laughs again, looking up at me with a soft smile.
“How could I forget?” He asks. “Tony Stark, making outlandish claims of marrying some wizard.”
I laugh now, reaching for my wrist and clicking my watch to pull the arm of my suit to me.
I control it remotely, having it bring me a small black box and drop it into my hand.
I flip the box open, revealing a platinum band with a single sapphire in the center.
“I’m nothing if not true to my word, Stephen.” I say, holding the ring out to him. “Will you marry me?”
His eyes widen as he sits up straighter.
“Tony—” He breathes, looking between the ring and my eyes. “Are you sure?”
I laugh softly, pulling the ring from the box.
“I’m sure.” I tell him. “Bought it a month after you stayed the night with me.”
He smiles, his eyes glossing over slightly with tears.
“So, what do you think?” I ask, holding out the ring again. “Will you let me marry you?”
He laughs now, nodding as he lifts his left hand, sliding his finger through the band.
His hands land on my cheeks, holding my face gently as he leans forward to kiss me.
“I love you.” He whispers against my lips.
I pull him back to my chest, running my fingers along his back.
“I love you.” I whisper back. “Now sleep, we have a wedding to plan.”