Forfeiture

Tragedy ends

Stephen noticed how everything was getting worse in the tower. He was happy to have given the couple their child back, hitting him for a split second that he may not have that with the one he loved...he shook the thought away and ran through inside. "Stark!" He yelled out. "I know you're still here!!" He kept running, now nearing Tony. 

Suddenly another blast, more violent than before, shot anything and everything backwards, including Tony, as the building was torn apart and the power levels critical now. He landed hard on top of an upturned car and crashed into another building facing the tower, then groaned in pain and stood up. He limped for a couple feet then slumped down onto the ground, feeling a sharp pain in his legs and knew it was game over for him, and the rest of the world. He deserved to die, knowing it was his fault...

"T-Tony..?" Stephen coughed, since not having much time to conjure anything he too felt the impact. Though having seen where the mechanic fell he knew he had to go to him. Tears fell from his eyes, wishing none of this had happened. But more importantly he wondered- "Why..? Really Tony, why...? You didn't have to do any of this..." If possible Strange felt more hurt inside than he looked outside.

Tony groaned and cursed as he felt too much pain to move now. How was he going to stop Hydra from using the reactor when he couldn't fly? He knew that the reactor powering this suit was powerful enough, if thrown into it, to destroy it, but he couldn't move or focus enough to remove it himself, and no one else knew the complicated way to do it either. "Nice..." he mumbled through his pain.

"Stark we have to do something..." Stephen got closer to Tony, leaning on the side of the flipped car. "This can't go on...so many lives..." Strange couldn't continue, feeling so shattered and helpless.

Tony opened his eyes from behind his helmet and turned his head slightly, hearing the one voice that he longed to hear in that moment. "I-I know... I'm trying to fix this, but... there's not more time- I can't even move!" He felt tears of shame and guilt leaking from his eyes. 

Stephen may have felt hurt in some places but had some energy in him, perhaps... "Then tell me, tell me what the way to stop all this. I'm not giving up on trying to help everyone" strange said, determined to do anything possible to end this nightmare.

Tony thought that Stephen was literally an angel at this moment, but he felt his heart fall when he realized that it didn't matter, because Stephen wasn't his fiance anymore, and they would never be married, or even be together again after this... "I need you to fly me right over the tower and hover there... I know that sounds random, but it's the only way to fix this mess I've made..." he didn't just mean New York.

Stephen looked at Tony, his helmet morley, for a little while. Seeing that his Anthony was returning. He sighed, of course still wishing none of this happened and that they were home just enjoying each other's company. The mechanic hurt him but Strange reached his hand on the cheek of the brunette's helmet. "Okay...I can do that... Anthony.." the sorcerer did as Tony said. He flew himself and the mechanic over the tower and hovered. 

Tony closed his eyes at his touch and knew that even though he wasn't making contact with his skin, he could still somehow feel it through the fiberglass of his helmet. He looked over his shoulder, down at hundreds of feet through the split apart tower, seeing the reactor gathering more and more energy, like a star about to supernova. He took a deep breath and looked back up at Stephen, his mask flipping open, feeling it was only fair that he see his face one last time. "Okay... now you've gotta drop me..."

Stephen frowned at that, dropping him? But... "But I can't....what if you...i-i-.."

"It's the only way..." Tony gazed at him with sad bambi eyes. "You know it's the right thing to do. It's either my life or millions of lives, Stephen... we-... I have to do this..."

Tears, heartache, and pain were what Stephen was feeling this moment. "O-Okay but To- Anthony..." Strange looked down at the man that he grew to love. Remembering all they've been through. "Despite all that's happened...I still love you...I'm hurting but as I've said before, always no matter what... I-I'll always love you..." some of Strange's tears fell on the mechanics suit. 

Tony tried to keep a calm face, but it was slowly failing as he watched all this tearing Stephen apart. How awesome that this was his last act, breaking the love of his life in two again. "O-Oh Stephen... I never stopped loving you... I-I think in some ways; some twisted, horrible ways, I did this for you... just.. trying to make things right and there's absolutely NO excuse-" The reactor rumbled and he knew it was time. He mustered up enough strength and caressed his cheek softly, pulling him into a soft kiss and hoped he'd accept it. "I love you..." he whispered shakily.

Stephen cried some more as he kissed Tony back, pouring all the love he still has for the mechanic in it. "I'll never stop loving you Anthony..." Strange whispered shakily as he took one last look at Tony before, almost hesitantly, letting him go. He didn't want to do this! But if more time was wasted then...

Tony's fallen many times before, from much greater heights and terror filled of course, but as he spiraled down towards his imminent death, he felt more at peace knowing that Stephen still loved him after all of this. He closed his helmet and accepted his end, closing his eyes as he was feet away now. "Jarvis, send Stephen's message please..."

RIght away sir...

Tony closed his eyes and even smiled slightly, filled with nothing but love for Stephen now. He finally made impact with the machine and the explosion was extreme, bright blue and kicked up dust everywhere. When it cleared, the only thing left was the helmet that poked out of the debris, glinting in the sunlight fighting through the lingering dust.

Stephen had his head down as he floated back to the ground. He sobbed in his scarred, shaking hands. Eventually his feet landed next to the helmet. Strange immediately fell to his knees and picked up the helmet, his whole body now shaking. The sorcerer placed his forehead on the helmets and cried more. "O-Oh Anthony... I-I'll never love again..." 

Suddenly, a sound from the helmet made his heart leap. Was that... Tony's voice? When he turned it over in his hands, he realized it was just a recording, spasming from the damage it got from the recent trauma it just went through. When he managed to get it made to the beginning, it turned out to be the recorded message he had stored inside it just in case it didn't make it to Stephen's phone.

 "Hey... I don't even know what to say, or frankly how to say it to you... but you were right, and don't ever think for a second that anyone else could've fixed me the way you did... because it's always been you... always been you... I'm sorry..." 

Stephen sniffled as the tears seemed to never stop falling. "I-i forgive you Anthony..."