ironstrange headcanons

In life and in death.

TW: DEATH
"Stephen, you can't keep doing this. You can't keep hiding things from the people you love. What's going on with you?!" Tony said irritated and tired of the behavior Stephen's developed in the past few weeks. The man doesn't answer but silently lets the tears stream down his face. Even a blind person could see that something is wrong with him. "I'm fine" he finally says, letting out a few sobs. "Fine?! What are you on, Stephen?! You have fainted ten damned minutes ago. You were puking blood for god's sake! I am worried. I am scared for you!" The smaller man says calmly but loudly, making stephen cover his ears with his hands.
"P-please stop yelling I- I am sorry" stephen manages to say before legitimately starting to cry. That vision had broken tony's heart entirely, knowing he's gone way too far with it. "No, oh god Stephen I'm so sorry I shouldn't have done this. Look at me, I'm so sorry." Tony lifts Stephen's chin with his hands and cups his face, revealing the other man's face stained with tears. "I am worried, Steph. You are isolating yourself from everybody and I'm scared of losing you. Please talk to me. What was that thing that happened a few minutes ago? What's the cause?" Tony asks putting the gray strands of hair behind Stephen's ear to calm him.
"I.. Anthony i-" stephen starts breathing heavily as tony cuddles him in his arms, placing his head on his chest to comfort him "shh, it's okay. Let it all out. Take your time, okay? We have time.." stephen looks up to him with tears eyes and bites his lips, trying not to break down again and says "what if- we don't have time?" What if I don't.. have time?" Tony's worry grows even more when the man begins to cough up blood again, making him completely lose it.
"STEPHEN!" He says, holding up Stephen's weak and blood painted face "there is no way I'm letting you stay here any more second without knowing what you have, I'm getting you to-" "no. No" Stephen interrupts the man and holds onto him, burying his face in the crook of tony's neck "I.. there is nothing doctors can do" tony's heart loses a beat. Hearing those words is like something had just stabbed him in the heart. "Don't bullshit on me Stephen" he says with tears threatening to spill "don't hide it from me, what is the matter?! Don't I deserve to know?! Am I your boyfriend or NOT!?" Stephen's head hurts when the man yells right In his ear, making the situation even worse. "S-stop tony i can't take THIS ANYMORE!" Stephen frowns and holds onto his boyfriend, seeking for attention. "I have something that.. is going to kill me. I have more or less 3 months to live. I didn't plan on telling you this because.. I was scared. I am scared. Because I don't want you to leave me." Stephen sniffs wetly, still hiding his face into tony's chest. Tony can't process all of this and just stares at the blank wall, tears streaming down his face. "You- you... stephen I- n-no please not you too." Tony manages to say those words before bursting into tears while holding the man close to his chest. Both of them have no words at the moment, and tony's heart is shattered.  He checks out Stephen's body and notices how thin and skeletal he's gotten. Now he understands why he often skips meals, why he isolates himself from everybody, why he spends most of the time in the bathroom and why his mental health has been at the worst lately. "Am I that bad as boyfriend? Because I wasn't able to figure this out earlier..?" He says between the sobs, staring down at the man he loves dearly. "It's- my fault" stephen answers whispering. Tony shakes his head in disagreement and gently cups Stephen's face in his hands before speaking up "stephen, my love." He says shaking "beautiful man of mine, in no way this is your fault. No, damned, way." He adds while rubbing his thumb on his lover's cheek to wipe away the tears. Stephen looks directly in his eyes noticing the constellation of tears threatening to spill in them. "I'm making you cry, Tony..." stephen says weakly. "God Stephen, you're dying in my arms. What are you expecting me to do, to laugh and be an emotionless piece of shit?" Tony says now crying. "Knowing that you're going to die in less than three months and I can't do anything about it?!" He holds stephen with all the strength he has as he shakes for the all the emotions he's feeling. He cries in the crook of Stephen's neck rubbing his back to comfort him "stephen please don't go please, it's impossible there's nothing to do, I beg you, please" it's all he keeps repeating. Stephen's mind has gone numb, he is drifting off because of the exhaustion but can hear his lover cry and beg him not to leave. It doesn't take much before his body fails him once again and passes out in the man's arms.