It was Wednesday morning. Tony had had breakfast and now he was working on improvements for his suit. He was in his lab, leaning over a workbench when, suddenly, he saw from the corner of his eye sparks coming out of nowhere. He didn’t look, though. Only one person would enter his lab that way.
“Hey, Stephanie. I didn’t expect you to come. Is everything alright?”, he asked, still concentrating on the holograms in front of him.
After a few seconds, he had not received a response, so he turned to face Stephen, who was shaking and containing tears.
“Tony, I-,” he began, his voice broken. “They haven’t stopped trembling.”
“Stephen, sweetheart, what- What are you talking about?”, Tony said softly as he walked towards Stephen. Once he was right in front of his boyfriend, he cupped his face and looked at his blue eyes, which were drown in sorrow.
“My hands,” Stephen answered, and he could not suppress the tears anymore. “I tried to shave, but I just- And then, I couldn’t even lift a fucking spoon at breakfast. And they hurt as hell. It’s like right after the accident. I can’t even look at them, they’re ugly and covered in scars, Tony. I can’t be through that again.” He shut his eyes as more tears streamed down his cheeks.
“Honey,” Tony said, cleaning the drops with his thumbs, “open your eyes, please. Look at me.”
Stephen did what he was told. The sight that welcomed him was that of brown eyes full of concern and love.
“That’s it, darling. I want you to do me a favor, okay?” Stephen nodded. “Alright. Could I hold your hands?”, at this, he hesitated a moment, but then nodded again.
Tony’s heart skipped a beat. He knew how sensible Stephen was about someone touching his hands. They had been dating for six months, and yet Tony had not had the guts to ask him something so personal. And now, Tony was just taking Stephen’s hands on his. He parted his gaze from Stephen’s and stared at the scars on his hands.
“Wanna know what I think of them?”
“Tony. I don’t want you to say it. I know they’re-“
“Beautiful. They’re so beautiful, Stephen. Can’t you see? They’re strong, they used to save lifes when they could hold an scalpel. But now, sweetheart, they can do magic. Magic! I can’t think of anything more awesome.”
“Let me continue, please.”
“Alright.” Tony took a breath. “Look at them, honey, they’re so powerful. They’re are the fucking Sorcerer Supreme’s hands. And yes, maybe they shake every now and then, but they’re perfect the way they are. They just need some love.” He lifted their joined hands and kissed Stephen’s knuckles one by one. “Look… They’re not trembling anymore.”
“It’s because you’re holding them,” said Stephen, whose eyes had stopped dropping tears.
“Well, I’m willing to hold them as long as you allow me.”
