#ironsrange ficlet

[stxphxn-strange]

and now, the ironstrange college au I’ve written wherein Tony does Stephen’s makeup and it’s all cute and fluffy—

“Anthony, your alarm,” Stephen murmured. He opened his eyes slowly, smiling when he saw that his boyfriend was still asleep. Stephen leaned in to pepper kisses on his face.

Anthony groaned, his voice cracking like radio static.

Stephen laughed, leaning over to turn off the offending alarm. “Come on, sleepyhead.”

“Voglio dormire,” Anthony said, snuggling closer to Stephen.

“What time did you end up going to bed?” Stephen asked, softly stroking his boyfriend’s back.

“Close to three, probably. I wanted to get my sketches finished,” Anthony replied. “They’re done now, I’ll start the project sometime soon. I don’t think it’ll be too bad.”

“Genius,” Stephen said fondly.

Anthony laughed, leaning up to kiss Stephen’s cheek before sitting up.

The pair fell into their morning routine, soft domesticity combined with sleepy morning affections.

“Hey Ant?” Stephen asked.

“Hm?” Anthony replied from across the room. He was obscured by his closet doors at that point.

“Can I ask you a kinda silly question?” Stephen asked.

The closet door closed. Stephen could see Tony pulling on his sweater (and if he stared at his boyfriend a little bit, sue him) and smiled lovingly.

“What?” Tony asked.

“You. You’re perfect,” Stephen whispered, somewhat awestruck.

Anthony walked over and hugged him, leaning up to kiss his cheek. “What did you want to ask me?”

“Oh, if you have time would you do my makeup? I want to wear some but honestly I don’t know how to do it,” Stephen asked shyly.

“Of course,” Anthony replied. “How about a midnight blue on the eyes? It’ll match your shirt.”

“Sounds good, you’re the expert. I trust you,” Stephen said. He pulled a cardigan over his shirt. “How does this look, by the way?”

“You look beautiful. Now, sit down and close your eyes. I’ll be gentle, I promise,” Tony said.

++++

Stephen found the process somewhat relaxing. He felt his boyfriend’s hand gently holding and positioning him, brushing softly over his face.

“Open,” Anthony said, gently rubbing Stephen’s cheek. “Look up at me, like you’re rolling your eyes at one of my dumb jokes.”

Stephen couldn’t help but to laugh (maybe he giggled) in that moment. “I feel like a painting or an art project.”

“I’m gonna paint the starry night, baby. You’ll call me Van Gogh when I’m done,” Tony said.

A few moments passed before either of them spoke again.

“This is nice,” Stephen said. “Intimate, I think.”

Anthony responsed by humming softly and kissing Stephen’s hair. After a few minutes, he announced that he’d finished, and overall he was pretty proud of his work. Stephen’s eyes were done like a classic painting, complimenting the his irises. Even if Stephen’s eyes changed their color, which they sometimes did, the dark blue Anthony had painted would match. There was a two-tone scheme going on, Stephen’s eyeshadow just a bit darker than the blue eyeliner Tony had used. He didn’t need much mascara, but it made his eyes pop anyway.

“What do you think?” Anthony asked, draping himself over Stephen’s shoulders and resting his head on his hair. “I’m taller than you.”

“Only because I’m sitting down!” Stephen quipped. “And I love it. I feel pretty.”

“Well you are, with and/or without any of this,” Anthony replied. He whistled softly while walking to get his bag and coat, picking up Stephen’s as well.

“By the way, I left my laptop charger downstairs. Will you come with me to get it?” Stephen asked, taking his backpack.

Anthony mockingly rolled his eyes. “I suppose, since it’s on the way out.” He laughed lightly, extending a hand to the med student. “Of course I will.”

++++

Their elevator ride wouldn’t be too long, but Anthony rested his head on Stephen’s shoulder anyway. He felt Stephen’s adoring gaze on him while he applied his chapstick.

“What does that even taste like? Does it actually taste like green apples?” Stephen asked curiously.

“You tell me,” Anthony replied, turning around to kiss Stephen gently.

He was used to these sweet antics, but his face was still a rosy color when they exited the elevator. In affectionate retaliation, he opted to send a text to a groupchat that he knew Anthony was also in.

“Y’all ever just fall madly in love?” He’d said. All that was left to do was watch Anthony’s reaction to the text. At first he blushed and smiled, but the minute they walked into Stephen’s suite he leaned over and kissed him again.

“Happy for you guys!” Wong called out to them.