We love Tony no matter the year, but 2008 party animal Tony has a special place in my heart.
Heâs also the least traumatized, but we donât talk about that.
Looking around the area that had once been the backyard, I heaved a sigh and shook my head at the shenanigans of the rich., They gave party animals a whole new definition.
Picking my way through the passed out, drunk, and high bodies littering the deck and lawn chairs, I toed off my flip-flops, pulled out my guitar, and sat down beside the pool.
Tony and I had been friends for years, and seeing someone I loved throw himself away like this broke my heart. Yet, when he had invited me to play at a party he
was hosting, I had thought it would be a small, private event. Not... all of Hollywood.
Absently swishing my leg through the cold water, I swiftly tuned my trusty old guitar to play the song that had been looping through my mind for days.
Tossing back a finger of bourbon, Tony watched his closest friend begin to play their guitar.
The wild artist had managed to capture his attention in ways no one had ever managed before. They had never cared that he was the Tony Stark, all they wanted was to know Tony. The man behind the genius, billionare, playboy! philanthropist; and for that, he would never be able to repay them.
Just as he was about to call out to them from inside his home, they began to sing.
If he gives you his heart don't you break it.
Let your arms be a place he feels safe in.
Heâs the best thing that you'll ever have.â
Their voice resonated off the water, and the guitar added to the soft calm they emitted.
"He always has trouble falling asleep.
And he likes to cuddle under the sheets.
He loves rock songs and dancing, and bad trash TV.
There's still a few other things."
Ever since he had met her all the way back at MIT, the billionaire had struggled with his feelings for the wanderer. The fact that they could go when they chose, and could do anything with little to no repercussions made them all the more alluring.
"He loves love notes and inventions, and likes giving gifts,
Has a hard time accepting a good compliment.
He loves his whole family, and all of his friends,
So, if you're the one he lets inâŠâ
Wait. They couldn't possibly be...
If he gives you his heart don't you break it.
Let your arms be a place he feels safe in.
He's the best thing that you'll ever have-â
Oh, dear God. They were. They were singing about him.
Stepping out onto the patio, attracting their attention to move from the water to him. As their eyes met, everything somehow clicked into place as they continued the lyrics.
"Heâll love you if you love him
On days when it feels like the whole world might cave in.
Stand side by side way and you'll make it.
He's the best thing that you'll have.
He'll love you if you love him like that."
They smiled at him gently as they kept going, clearly intending to get their point across in song. Tony wasn't complaining. Messy hair shifting in the cool ocean breeze, the image before the inventor brought him to the only logical conclusion for the image before him. He had fallen in love with a fae creature of old; and they returned his feelings, and was using their magic to show him.
"Kiss him with passion as much as you can,
Run your hands through his hair whenever he's sad.
And when he doesn't notice how pretty he is,
Tell him over and over so he never forgets!
If he gives you his heart donât you break it.
Let your arms be a place he feels safe in.
Heâs the best thing that you'll ever have.
He'll love you if you love him
On days when it feels like the whole world might cave in.
Stand side by side, and you'll make it,
Heâs the best thing that you'll ever have.â
Tony didn't want to waste another second, Following the same path that Y/N had taken, he sat down next to them and didnât pull his gaze away from them for a moment.
âHe'll love you of you love him like that
He'll love you if love him like that.
He'll love you if you love him, he'll love you if you love him like that.
Just to love you, just to love you, just to love you
Heâll love you if you love him
On days when it feels like the whole world might cave in.
Stand side by side and you'll make it.
He's this best thing that you'll ever have.
He'll love you if you love him, like that."
They fell silent as the last notes echoed through the yard.
Holding out his hand, Tony wiggled his fingers in invitation, and Y/N accepted. Slotting their fingers together perfectly like they were designed to fit only each otherâs.
"How long?" Tony finally asked after a long moment of peaceful silence.
âAfter I graduated," they admitted softly.
Well now he was embarrassed. He'd loved them years before they felt the same. Of course, he had gone and fallen in love with some one who could read him like a large print book.
"You liked me way before that, didn't you?â they asked. No judgement, just curious if they were right.
Y/N just smiled and rested their head on his shoulder; and he knew, come what may, they would stay by his side.