st_arkravinghazelnut | Perfectly Suited

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Perfectly Suited

Tony Stark was too old to play games. Every time he ran hot and cold with his partner was never a calculated power play so much as a deeply embedded habit built around mitigating whatever anxiety he’d built up. Even the old days full of ninja crawling out of bed just to avoid the morning after spiel were motivated by the intimidation (in part) of having them at all.

He’d gotten better at that part, though. Far better. Tony was curled up on the side of the long-suffering pink couch that wasn’t bearing a warped arm rest caused by some make-up rapporto sessuale from earlier in the evening, followed by a shower and the ceremonial poptart.

“You know—“ Tony brushed off some crumbs from his dark sweater, “You are terrible for my diet.”

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Thor follows afterward, lips curled up in a slight smile.

"I didn't realize you were so eager."

"Nine years, Odinson. Nine years." Tony's voice projected clear over the wind. "That's how long I've been waiting to tie the knot. That's an eighth of my lifespan--if I'm even that lucky!"

Nine years wasn't even one-eightieth of Thor's current lifespan. Nine years felt like nothing to Thor, though he knew it is a tremendously long time for humans.

"What were you waiting for before that?"

"Nothing. Thought I knew exactly where I was headed. Just floated from one thrill to the next. Nothing to work for, nothing to wait for." Tony Stark, in his previous life wanted for nothing and had nothing to lose. He really believed that, anyway. Slowing down, he aligned himself with Thor's body and soared parallel.

"Now? I've got no clue where I'm going."

There is something about flying that always manages to put him at ease. He wonders if it's the same for Tony.

"I don't think most people do," Thor says with a grin. "But that's what's so exciting about living, right?"

“Yeah.” Tony agreed—with sincerity to boot. “Because you’re coming with me.”

Thor grins at that.

"So, should we just decide that we're married, then?"

“I’m not objecting to a ceremony down the road. Something fun for the masses.” At the speeds they were traveling, the beaches were coming into view. There were sea caves visible from above, ones that Tony had explored with Liz once. He nodded at Thor and made a descent, his metallic soles hitting the sands as he righted himself to reconnect with Mother Earth.

“I want something for us. Not just the honeymoon.” Tony stayed within his shell as he struggled to find the words, waves crashing against rock nearby. There were so many words...ones only meant for Thor’s ears.

Thor lands beside Tony and sets Stormbreaker down on the sand. The cool ocean air doesn't bother Thor in the least, but he's grateful that Tony has his armor to keep him shielded from the cold.

Thor takes a few steps towards the ocean, his eyes set on the waves forming and crashing then forming again.

"You have something in mind?" Thor asks casually, utterly oblivious to Tony's struggle.

“At the moment?” Tony’s armor changed shape, leaving him in a comfortable waistcoast ensemble. The built in thermoregulation ensured he didn’t have to suffer for style, wrapping his arms around Thor from behind. He let his head fall against his firm back, greedily partaking of his endless warmth. “You, Odinson. My friend. My ride or die.”

When Tony presses his body against Thor's, he can feel that the man has traded in his armor for fabric. Thor folds his arms over Tony's smaller ones and gives them a squeeze.

"Tony Stark. My friend. The eternal human enigma."

The waves crashed into rock and sent fine mists spraying over the beach. When Tony peeked around Thor, he was hit square in the face, blurring his vision as the water clung to his glasses. "Take a chance on calling this riddle your husband?"

"No need for me to take a chance," Thor proclaims, struggling to make eye contact through Tony's misted eyeglasses. They're all fogged up. "I know what I want and I know that that's you."

Grinning, Tony gave a repulsor-aided hop into the air, clinging to Thor's shoulders as his legs wrapped around his waist. The words filled him with far more joy and whimsy than he'd experienced in years. Leave it to the Asgardian to make him feel like a boy going full koala, now and forever.

"Deal."

Tony's reaction was contagious. He was so infrequently moved to such extreme displays of joy that when it happened, Thor had a hard time not infecting him as well. He felt and expressed excitement easily, but now it was extreme enough that his face ached enough from smiling that he thought he might pull a muscle.

"I love you."

"I know." Tony buried his face in the crook of Thor's neck, getting his fill of absorbing the warmth from there before lowering himself back to the ground.

"Good."

Thor turns to wrap his arms around the smaller man's torso, then presses his lips against the side of Tony's head to give him a kiss.

"Just need to make sure now that you remember it."

Tony willed his glasses to disappear and reform, now free of the irritating smudges, wriggling slowly as Thor manhandled him while another wave sent sprays of water their way. His skin was damp but untouched by cold, and Tony ran his fingers along his arms. "I claim half your assets. Naturally. And you, mine."

"Not much for you to claim save a title," Thor says. Even if this weren't a just for here, just for now thing, he wouldn't have much to offer back home, either.

"I'm fine being the Sugar Daddy. Again." Tony pressed his palm to Thor's cheek, taking more of his warmth as if it were one of his assets to give. "Same for back home. You and your people. We'll find a way to get them to Earth. I'll give them a home."

Thor feels his heart swell at Tony's words, only to suddenly lurch with a stab of pain a moment later. Any talk or thought of his people brought forth a swath of mixed emotions nearly every time.

"Yeah," Thor says, smiling fondly. He sets his hand atop Tony's. "I know you will. You're a good man, Tony. A much better man than most."

Tony's thumb brushed a slow line under Thor's real eye. "If we're gonna exchange vows, figure they should count for something. Inside and outside."

Thor's good eye closes slightly as Tony runs his hand along the patch of skin beneath it.

"I'm still not sure what I have to offer when we get back out." Tony had said as much -- he was the sugar daddy in this particular relationship. "But if you figure something out, let me know."

Thor still subscribes to the theory that they've just created a number of alternative timelines, but he knows himself well enough to know that even if Tony survives Thanos and encounters a Thor who doesn't remember this place, he'd still say yes to almost anything he would ask for.

Tony shrugged one shoulder, trailing his hand down to his chest before letting it fall. "Then there's for in here." He stepped back over a rock wedged in the sand, facing the ocean as it lapped the beach. The air was as fresh as any Tony had ever known--free of smog and light pollution. Ah, what wonders the lack of civilization brought.

"A son with a good head on his shoulders. A room only a bat could love. A robot delivery service." Tony gestured out at the sight of the sky above and the waters below. The white stars dappled the sky and the vibrant arm of the Milky Way stretched into the infinite horizon. The ocean reflected it back, creating a vision of heaven on earth. "And this sight. That's everything--that's all I have to give."

"That's plenty." Thor places a hand on the side of one of Tony's arms and pulls him in, his eyes cast up at the night sky.

"When we go back home -- when all of this is over -- let me take you to Norway."

There was a real and distinct possibility that one or the other or both of them might be dead by the end of it all, but if there was anything that Tony had taught him, it was that he needed something there on the horizon to look forward to.

Here, he had plenty to look forward to. But back home, the only thing he really had was the promise of a chance that he might be able to kill Thanos -- and an even slimmer chance to reverse the damage Thanos had done when he used the stones.

Thor needed more to look forward to than just that.

He wanted to look up at the night sky and take in the sight of the aurora borealis with someone beside him.

He wanted that person to be Tony.

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