Forfeiture

The Invasion

Tony was very unaware of the events that were happening outside in the world. He had gotten better at walking but struggled sometimes. Currently he was wading into the water below the cliffside, searching for conches again, even though it made Stephen uncomfortable when he was in the water by himself. “Ah!” he reached into the water and pulled out a magnificent shell. “Stephen will love you... hmm let’s see, got any friends nearby perhaps?” he started to look through the water again.

Stephen was meditating in the living room of their home while being in the astral plane. His astral form was currently nearby the mechanic, making sure he was safe and sound. Strange would just check at some moments, wanting to give Tony trust that he'd be alright. 

Tony went back to the sand and shakily got on his knees, putting the shell with the others he had collected, then frowned. “Oh wait, how am I going to carry all these?...” He stuck out his lip and tried to pull them all into his arms, but it was all too heavy and too pokey so he dropped them. “Grr...”

Suddenly Stephen's cloak showed up in front of Tony's face, startling the mechanic. It was obvious now that Strange had sent the magical cloak. It flew around around him then pointed at the shells with it's corner. Gesturing if he needed help with them. 

Tony sighed and piled some on the cloak, then carried the rest. "You know, I didn't really need THAT much help..." he muttered and looked up as if he knew exactly where Stephen was. "You're always trying to make things easier, huh? Well, you're certainly a gentleman to me," he smiled and shook his head as he struggled up the steps.

Stephen's astral form was floating next to Tony, smiling at how wonderful his boyfriend was. Also impressed with the amount of shells that the mechanic managed to find in not such a long amount of time. The cloak was on the brunette's other side, if anything it won't hesitate to drop the shells and make sure the genius didn't get hurt.

Tony chuckled as he felt his boyfriend's presence close. He didn't mind that Stephen was constantly making sure that he was safe; in all honesty, it was probably the smartest thing to do. Tony could be fragile and if anything happened, he just might snap again! That thought scared him so much, he still had trouble sleeping at night, but it was getting a little better. He turned to look at the ocean when he stopped and frowned. "Is that the coast guard?..."

The cloak paused and turned in the direction Tony was looking at along with Stephen's astral form. This would be a good time for him to go back to his body, which he quickly did and portaled back to where the mechanic was. "Why is he here..?" Strange said out of the blue while behind the brunette.

Tony, being used to his boyfriend appearing out of thin air, didn't flinch or stop watching the boat that was plowing to shore. "Maybe there's like a wildfire somewhere close by? I don't have any explanations..." He carefully put down the shells and felt his legs already tired from all his walking struggles today, and he sighed heavily. "Can you take us down there? I don't think I'll make it..."

Stephen picked Tony up and carried him bridal down the steps. The cloak placed the shells it was carrying down with the others and went back on Strange's shoulders. Soon they finally reached down and made their way to the coast guard

Tony was nervous as he was set back down on his toes, but held onto his boyfriend for some support as the boat stopped a little ways off shore. Could it be that people were coming to take him away because of what happened in New York?... He saw a group of men jump out, armed, and looked very threatening as they started to make their way towards them. "W-What do we do, Stephen?..." he whispered shakily, holding him tighter.

Stephen held Tony protectively as his eyes narrowed while the cloak wrapped itself around them as much as it could. "I won't let them take or hurt you Anthony..." He did sense something off and obviously this can't be good for either of them. Best thing to do now is not stick around and find out but maybe portal out-