Chapter 3
Tony woke up slowly for once, not startled awake by a dream, or the sound of the baby monitor, or an idea that he needed to work on and for a moment wondered where he was, until he felt Stephen's fingers still tangled with his and he remembered.
They were married, and on their honeymoon.
He finally opened his eyes to find Stephen smiling back at him. He didn't want to talk, or think, he just wanted to -
Stephen reached out and pulling him closer, brushed a kiss against his forehead, then sighed contentedly as Tony draped his arm over his hip. He didn't need to ask how he was, it was there in his eyes, in the way he held him, even how he breathed told him Stephen was exactly where he wanted to be. Before this moment, there were always issues, deadlines, and yes, even the needs of other people that would force him to overthink everything - to overthink him, them. Now, all he wanted to do was to just be there with him. Stephen kissed his forehead again and whispered, "Me too, doll-face."
He closed his eyes, then opened them again, and couldn't stop himself from grinning.
"What?" Stephen asked.
"I'm just still kinda waiting -"
"For the world to end?"
"Yeah. It feels -" Tony stopped and searched for the word that could tell him everything he wants to say, then realized that the word hadn't been invented yet, what he felt was bigger and stronger than peace and love, and - no - there was a word. "It feels like what I imagine bliss is supposed to be. Wasn't really sure I knew before."
Stephen nodded then said quietly, "I hope it's okay, then, if we just do this a bit longer? I just don't want to move from this spot for the next few hours. Does that sound weird to you?"
"No. Not weird at all," Tony answered, then sighed as Stephen's arms wrapped tightly around him, and he found himself drifting off to sleep again. "Love you, Sunshine."
"Love you, doll-face."