Forbidden Love (IronStrange)

3.8

Early fall, The Year Of Our Lord 1628
Moon City, Stark Lordship, The Isle Of Stone, A province of Emperor Julian I
Stephen

Tony leads me through the city with a smile, showing me all the brightly colored market stalls. People have been working on these crafts all year, it's wonderful to see. We pause in the Potter's Guild, I want to look at the vases and pots for sale. Some of this is extremely high quality work, finely painted and well made. I pick up a small vase shaped like a wolf, admiring the carefully carved details. Tony watches me look at it, then looks at the woman selling it.

"How much?"

"Five silver." Tony smiled and reaches for his purse. The woman gratefully accepts the money, telling us to have a good day. We continue to wander the city, finding a few more things to buy.

When we go back to the castle, Tony carries a hand carved wood statue, a few pieces of jewelry, a woven basket full of knick-knacks we found, and I have the wolf vase, a jar of scented oil, and a stained glass bird carefully packed in a satchel I bought.

Tony and I sit in our room, trying the jewelry on each other. Tony smiles as I help him put on a little jeweled earring set that have little bats on them. He helps me clip on a gold chain necklace with a positively glowing blue prism. We sit there and slide rings and clip necklaces and try hair combs on each other, laughing and smiling. Tony kisses my cheek as he pulls a small tin out that I hadn't noticed before.

"I got you some more makeup, sweetie." He opens it, showing me all the brushes and paints he got. I grin, touching a small kohl stick.

"You didn't have to do this! I was perfectly fine with the stuff you bought me, and even that wasn't all necessary." I smile bashfully, looking up at Tony. He reaches out and holds my face in his hands.

"But it was, because I love you. I'm willing to get you things, because I love you. I love you, Stephen." I smile, setting down the tin.

"Oh, my sweet cutie. You're too nice to me." Tony leans in, kissing my forehead. We rest in each other's arms for a moment. Then Tony pulls back and starts taking off my jewelry and setting it in a small chest on the side of the table.

"Let's get all this off and we can start cuddling again, sweetheart." He fiddles with the clip on my necklace. I smile and start unclipping his earrings. Soon we have all our jewelry and things set away and I'm laying down with Tony's head on my lap. I pet his hair and sing softly. He reaches up and touches my leg gently.

"I love you," I whisper, continuing to pet his hair.

"I know," he says softly. We lay like that for a while. Finally, he falls asleep in my lap and I shift so that he's on my chest, wrapping my arms around him.

The next day, we sit in the city again, occasionally joining in a dance or talking to a shopkeeper. Tony makes sure we're back to the castle by sunset, in time to wrap little bits of cloth around the wooden frame of the lanterns. Then we walk down to the room under the castle where the boats land and set the small lanterns onto little floating platforms. Tony pushes his off, smiling sadly as it joins the other small lights on the lake. He then shows me how to push the craft perfectly right, watching as I have the special moment of seeing that little light disappear into the dark lake.

"The lights are a memorial. They are a sign of all those lost this year and in the past. They don't belong to any specific religion, they just are. They're one of the deepest parts of the harvest festival." He looks out at all the lights floating on the water, tears beginning to stream down his face. He must be thinking of Natasha. I put my arm around him, holding him close.

We go back up to our room and he curls up against me. I kiss his forehead, hugging him close. He sits up and kisses me on the lips, both of us cradling the other's face. We kiss each other again. Finally Tony pulls back and smiles at me, brushing my hair with his hand. I smile back, pressing my hand against his warm cheek.

We wind up with me close to his chest, one of his arms thrown over me, both of us half asleep. I leave a sleepy kiss on his neck, knowing he likes physical touch. He kisses the top of my head, pulling me closer than I even knew was physically possible. I wrap my arms around his waist, hoping he will fall asleep. He yawns, shifting slightly. I kiss his neck again, feeling the warmth of his body against me. His heartbeat is steady against my head, listening to it is soothing. He's asleep now. I pet his hair, drifting off.