Forfeiture

The Storm

Tony was resting on the sandy bottom of the beach while he waited for a long time for Stephen to come back, and had accidentally fallen asleep. He estimated it had been a few days, and he had fended for himself by catching fish to eat, and he was getting more scaly by the day. His hair had some more golden highlights and seemed to be slightly longer and heavier than before, and his nails grew more into claws. He was suddenly awoken by a wave slamming him down roughly onto the sand, and he coughed up seaweed and looked around at the thundering ocean. "A storm!" The sky was black and the wind screamed through the cove as another mountain of water threw the mechanic further up along the shore, then the current yanked him back. "Agh-!"

"Anthony!" Stephen shouted from the beach house, having heard the ruckus and knew he needed to get Tony to safety. He dropped the bag he was currently holding and quickly formed a portal so he could get near the water faster. The sorcerer cursed underneath his breath for having left for too long

Tony tumbled around under the surface of the water, flailing desperately to resurface and get out. He was moving too fast to see what and where he was going, smacking into numerous rocks and tangling in seaweed and such. He could feel open wounds on his skin, and the salty water stung them badly as he finally broke the surface and gasped sharply. "Stephen!-" Another violent wall of wave slammed into him, sending him down into the depths of the water and throwing him across rough patches in the sand, but hopefully in the direction of his boyfriend.

Stephen ran as fast as he could, desperate to reach his boyfriend and tend to him. Oh how could he have let this happen! Strange felt terrible for not being there for his boyfriend on time. He soon reaches the mechanic, the Cloak wrapping itself around the brunette to protect from anything harmful while the sorcerer quickly makes a portal and carries Anthony inside. In record time too, the moment they left another wave had gone into the spot they were just in. Stephen panted as he hurried to get Tony some water and medical attention.

Tony spewed an impossible amount of seaweed and water onto the floor and shivered as his skin started to dry out rapidly. He panted and glanced down at himself, feeling all his fresh wounds stinging horribly, and there were giant scrapes and cuts from underwater boulders bleeding around his torso and his tail scales were mangled and bent at a terrible angle. "I-It's not your f-fault, Stephen... I-I fell asleep waiting f-for you- I should've been more careful..." he said quickly and hissed at the pain.

"No it is all my fault..." Stephen had to put Tony in the tub or else he'll dry off too much and they didn't want that. "I should've been there watching you and protecting you" he groaned feeling upset with himself. "I should've left the Cloak with you..." The sorcerer sighed deeply and took out a first aid kit so he could tend to the brunette's wounds

Tony sighed heavily and shook his head as Stephen sat him up gently and started dabbing at his wounds. "Don't think that it's always on you to protect me, Stephen... I know I've shown in the past that I'm weak, but I promise you that not every time I get hurt it's gonna be the end of the world..." He gazed at him with his bambi eyes. "You don't always have to be there to protect me, Stephen..."

"It's not that I think you're weak..." Stephen looked back at Tony and reached to caress his cheek. "I know you're a strong man but strength or no strength I have to do my best to keep you safe..." He leaned and kissed the brunette's forehead. "I love you and the last thing I want is for you to get hurt..." 

Tony huffed and looked away as Stephen continued to tend to his wounds."Keep me safe from what? It's not like there's anything out there that's coming to get me or anything. The only thing you should really be protecting me from is-... well... myself." He stretched out his tail with a painful groan. "Otherwise, nature is the only thing out to get me apparently..."

"Don't worry i-i know that I'm taking forever to get you back to normal b-but I'm really trying.." Stephen looked like he could break at this point, having hidden away his feelings so the brunette wouldn't have to worry. He's hardly slept, still searching for Loki, going through more books he has in the sanctum and doing whatever he can to keep his boyfriend healthy. Overall Strange has felt like he wasn't doing enough for Tony. "Soon I'll get you your legs back..." He smiled though seemed a small and a bit twitchy.

Tony frowned slightly and reached up to take the hand that was trying to mend his wounds. "Whoa whoa wait..." he squinted up at his boyfriend for a moment before exhaling lowly. "You really look awful, Stephen... I think you should take a break from this whole I'll get you your legs back thing and just relax..." He pushed himself up on the edge of the tub rather painfully, and their faces were closer so he could see him better. "Oh Stephen, I hate to see you doing this to yourself..." he whispered and cupped his cheek gently. "go and rest..."

"B-but I can't" Stephen looked at Tony with slightly widened eyes, rest? There's no time for rest! "I can't just stop Anthony...not even for a little while..." He looked at the expression the brunette was giving him and sighed. "I guess I could but the Cloak stays here with you. I'm not making the mistake of not leaving him here to protect you" the Cloak got off his shoulders and 'looked' at the sorcerer. "If anything happens and I mean ANYTHING do not hesitate to smack me up" Stephen said sternly as the magical fabric nodded. Strange didn't want to sleep but he hated knowing that he was making his boyfriend worry.

"What? But Stephen, I don't NEED a babysitter! What could possibly happen while I'm cramped up in here?" He gave him a frustrated, but pleading look. "I really don't think that leaving him here is necessary, Stephy... how can you relax when you're constantly worrying?" He reached up and caressed his cheek softly, trying to help him focus. "Look, I totally get that you want to keep me safe; I wanna keep you safe too, at all costs. But I'm starting to think that a lot is going to your stressed out head, so why don't you take the cloak with you and trust me?..." There was at least a 20% chance Stephen would agree to that.

Stephen really didn't want to leave Tony completely alone but if he still made the Cloak stay then the brunette would think he didn't trust him at all. He let out a deep sigh and hesitated but gestures for the Cloak to come back to his shoulders anyways. "O-okay....but if anything do shout.." Strange stood and placed his hand on the mechanic's cheek, leaning down to give him a kiss.

Tony smiled slightly and returned the soft kiss, feeling his heart flutter whenever their lips were together. He knew he could never get tired of it. "Thank you for trusting me, Stephy..." he murmured against his lips and placed a scaly hand on his shoulder. "I know it's hard for you to leave me; I've proven that it's best to be supervised at all times, but I promise I'll behave, and I'll still be here in one piece when you're all rested up..." He ran a hand through his hair to rest at the nape of his neck and gave him another soft kiss. "Although I don't understand how you can resist the smell of fish, I must stink," he giggled softly.

"You always smell wonderful to me" Stephen smiled softly. "N-Not that I smell you all the time or something" he laughed nervously. Strange leaned and kissed the brunette's forehead. "I love you so much my dear Anthony.."

Tony blinked but then smirked slightly, nuzzling his boyfriend's cheek. "You're so funny, Stephen, I don't mind if you smell me..." he chuckled and slowly slipped back down into the water as his shoulders dried out. "I love you just as much, possibly more..."

Stephen kissed the top of Tony's head. "My love for you goes as far beyond infinity..." He smiled softly at his boyfriend then started to walk to the door. "I'll see you soon Okay?" The two were under the same roof so the mechanic should be safe. It relieved Stephen a lot.

"Okay." Tony sank further into the warm water and blew bubbles as his boyfriend left him in peace, feeling comfortable. There happened to be a window right next to the tub and he opened the privacy curtains to watch the lightning over the ocean in the distance with wild waves and black skys. He felt peaceful and safe here, maybe even healthier than he had been previously when he swam out to sea. Maybe being a merman for now wasn't so bad…