their foreheads meet and warmth blooms through tony's body from that point. like a petal that unfurls, or maybe like a slowly rising tide, rather, tony feels that weird pride subside and his willingness to do the right thing for someone he cares about takes the lead.

the urge to kiss him is there, but tony resists for now. time and place, after all.

for a while, tony just sits in the space between them that strange has made. it's uncomfortable in some ways and he doesn't like it, but that's why he came to strange. he knew he'd be challenged, he knew he'd be faced with the right answer whether he wanted it or not. stephen has a way of taking tony by the face, showing him what he needs and not accepting failure. and maybe that's why they get along so well— for some, failure is growth. for men like tony and stephen, failure is not an option. they understand each other in that way, what outcome the other needs to move on and to grow, and accepting this injury is going to be a difficult one.

so he sighs, allowing a smile to pull at the corners of his lips.

"sounds like i'll be in desperate need of entertainment. don't suppose you know of any good tech science journals? or you can help me with that metal composite."

tony's head cocks again, as though waiting to be met with an equal force. if strange is confining him, he's trapping him there with him. maybe he has to lie with his choice of general practitioner, but if tony had it his way, they would lie together in this bed.

"or maybe you can just make sure i get some sleep tonight."