Forbidden Love (IronStrange)

3.4

Early fall, The Year Of Our Lord 1628
Stark Castle, Stark Lordship, Isle Of Stone, a province of King Edward I
Tony

Stephen wakes me up with a gentle shake. He lifts me off of Azalea and kisses me. I smile at him as he sets me down, keeping his arm around me. It's almost dusk, and everyone looks exhausted. I lean on him, ready to crawl into bed and sleep. Thor takes Azalea's reins and pushes me toward the stairs. Stephen and I walk up slowly, relieved to be home. I go into the bathing room and start drawing the water. Stephen helps.

"You take the first bath, sweets," he says gently, patting my shoulder as he walks out of the room. I relax in the warm water, letting it soothe my aching muscles. I don't know how long I'm in the bath for, but when I come out in clean pants, it's completely dark outside. Stephen kisses my forehead and goes to take his turn as I fall onto the bed.

He comes out and sits next to me in the bed, petting my hair. I shift and put my head in his lap, dead tired. After a moment, he stops. "You need to sleep, sweetie," he says gently, pulling the blankets over me.

"Cuddle?" I ask with a little shrug. He laughs and gets under the blankets, rolling on his side to face me. I pull him close, giving him a quick kiss. He smiles, burying his head in my chest as I put my arms around him. I hide my face in his hair, ready to sleep.

The next morning, I wake up and smile at Stephen, who didn't move at all during the night. He's obviously fast asleep, and I'm not going to wake him. I pet his hair as he shifts in his sleep, a lock of hair falling into his face. It's peaceful right now, just him and I and our love.

I can't believe I got this lucky, got a man like him to love a man like me. He's pretty, smart, soft, kind, caring, and has freaky cool powers, whereas I'm a mess with a tiara and some land. And I have to hold onto him, keep him close. I need to give him all my love, because that's all I have.

Stephen wakes, yawning and smiling sleepily at me. His sleepy face is so pretty. I touch his cheek, feeling the cool skin. He leans into my hand, brushing my jawline with his own hand.

"What's up, sweetie?" He asks softly. I shrug, moving my hand to cradle his face.

"I really just wanna stay in bed with you, sugar."

"Well, we have to get up at some point."

"We do?"

"Victor checks on me when I sleep in, and by checks I mean throws open my door and screeches at me to get up. But today I'm sleeping." Stephen crawls further into my lap, resting his head on my chest. I chuckle, running my hand over his back, feeling the curve of his spine.

"I guess we should get up, if your brother is going to yell at us." He rolls off of me, yawning.

"I don't wanna. I don't care if Vicky yells at me. I wanna sleep," he whines, then touches my face, "And you need to."

"No, I'm fine. May as well get off on the right foot with my in-laws."

"You two were trying to stab each other three days ago."

"First impressions are lasting, but second impressions hold more insight."

"Mhmmmm—MPH!" Stephen rolls over again, falling off the bed. I giggle, leaning over to watch him. He glares at me and I stick out my tongue, making him laugh. I clamber off the bed, helping him up on my way to the wardrobe. I absently throw his clothes in the direction of his face, picking out some of my fancier robes.

I have a plan, but I need Victor to help. This could grow really wrong, but if I don't try, I'll never know.