It was all Thor's fault.
Definitely his fault and his asgardian mead that Stephen had to take a sip just to prove that he could take it and then he took a few more because he was the sorcerer supreme and he could take it.
He really couldn't.
Before he would make a fool of himself, he left Thor and his drinking buddies to continue with the alcohol poisoning and with the help of his cloak managed to walk pretty steadily around the room. He was supposed to leave, but something didn't let him, or to be more precise someone.
The alcohol in his blood wasn't helping his situation, because his guard was completely down, he felt relaxed like he hadn't been for a long time, the atmosphere was pretty cozy for a party and he couldn't control his lips from pulling into a smile whenever he'd spot Tony.
And that was the problem, somehow in his current state he couldn't take his eyes off him and despite his inner voice that kept reminding him to try not to look like a lovesick fool, he was certain that almost everyone could notice that his attention was elsewhere. The most hilarious thing was that he didn't even give a damn about it, currently all that was on his mind was Tony.
Tony was wearing black dress pants, black vest that was accentuating his waist in a gorgeous manner and a white shirt. He was as handsome as always, the first few buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his hair was messy and soft looking that Stephen’s hands itched to touch it. It surprised him how much affected he was by the other man’s presence, but he had stayed away for so long, trying to distinguish between the Tony in the reality he was living in and all those he had seen through the time stone that he was ashamed to admit that he had started to miss the other man, so he simply couldn't walk away. He was weaker than he thought and he doubted that that was because of the alcohol.
The cloak wasn't helpful at all, instead of pulling him away, it seemed to pick up on his affection for Tony and was stubbornly pulling him into Tony’s direction all the time. Thankfully, he was able to prevent the cloak from embarrassing him, so he was free to stand in a corner and watch the party. It was heartwarming to see all of the avengers laughing and enjoying themselves together, that he didn't want to join into some of the discussions, he was content with simply being present.
Once again his gaze strayed back to Tony and his breath caught when he saw that the other man was looking at him with an amused smile on his face before he walked up to him. When Tony was close enough that Stephen if he wanted he could reach out and run his fingers through his hair, he suddenly found himself unable to speak.
“Enjoying the party, doctor wizard? “ he used the nickname Peter used for him and that thought was enough to make him smile.
“It's not bad Mr. Stark. Not as loud as I imagined it to be.”
“I thought a bit of a more relaxed party would be better for everyone, besides I'm getting too old for those kinds of parties.”
“You definitely don't look like it.” he mumbled only to realize that he had said that out loud.
Tony’s eyes lit up at those words and he smirked before he put his hands in his pockets and carefully and far too casually turned in a circle as if he was presenting his outfit.
“That's so not fair …” once again he said it out loud, he could feel himself blushing, but Tony wasn't walking away and instead of leaving in embarrassment Stephen was staring at how prettier he was from up close.
“Umm, I didn't catch that.”
“Nothing… you just look really good tonight.” he didn't mean to say all of that, but it seemed that his tongue couldn't be controlled.
“You don't look so bad yourself doc.”
“Thank you, it's been a while since I had to attend such an event.” and he was impressed by how steady his voice was and how he didn't start reciting poetry about the color of Tony’s eyes.
“Let me show you around, I didn't see you talking to a lot of people.” he offered as the great host he was.
“I had a few drinks with Thor and I thought a little bit of air would help.” at his reply Tony groaned, before he shook his head in worry.
“Don't tell me he convinced you to try one of his dreadfully strong meads?” instead of an answer Stephen gave him a shy smile.
“Oh, Stephen, are you feeling alright?” there was worry in his eyes that caused Stephen's heart to skip a beat.
“Don't worry Tony, I don't like seeing you worried, don't want to be the reason for your worry. “ he must have sounded sad because suddenly Tony was in his personal space and was holding his forearms and seemed to be trying to comfort him.
“Hey… Hey…you're not making me worry, quite the opposite.” his voice was so soothing that Stephen couldn't stop himself from reaching out and gently touching Tony’s cheek.
“You're so strong, so brave, you shine like a light in my darkness, my light…I love when you smile, you should always smile…” he whispered unaware that they were in a corner of the room away from the noise and that Tony heard everything.
“Happiness looks good on you, everything looks good on you.” he added.
“You should smile more often too and not because you're drunk, but because you mean it, because you're happy.” was Tony’s reply that warmed Stephen from the inside out.
“I'm always happy when I see you, seeing you happy warms my heart…” by now he was aware that his words were coming from his heart, he didn't have time to panic because Tony’s eyes were shining with affection and he was drowning in the depths of them.
“In that case…could you do something for me?”
“Anything you want.” he promised, in that moment he was ready to promise anything if Tony kept looking at him like that.
“If you remember this tomorrow after you sobered up, let me take you out, because Stephen…I really like you and I want to make you happy.” the moment his brain processed the words he heard, he grinned,
“Really? You like me too?”
“Yes.” at those words he rushed forward to press a kiss on Tony’s cheek and to cradle his face in his hands.
“I think I should go now… I don't want to go, but if I stay I'll embarrass myself…” he pulled back and took a few steps back blushing when Tony chuckled at his clumsiness and opened a portal.
“Have a good night and pleasant dreams Tony.” he turned around to step through the portal, but changed his mind and went back to give Tony a short and sweet kiss then he quickly stepped through the portal chuckling at how silly he was, but nothing mattered because he was happy.
He fell asleep with the sound of Tony’s voice in his head and the warmth of Tony’s lips on his own.