Chapter Text
"I don't like being handed things."
"Alright."
And that was that. Tony recalled this one exchange with the strange (pun intended) doctor before moving on to whatever itinerary they had planned.
That was over nearly a year ago.
Most of the Avengers had never actually took his aversion to being handed things as a serious thing or a big deal. Generally, he was fine with it. Hell even Pepper and Rhodey would forget and slip up from time to time. Of course Tony understood that, hearing it for the first time sounded like a joke especially coming from someone like him.
He never expected for Strange to remember or to even take him seriously.
As the days go by though, he was expected to work closely with their new magical allies. Strange--no, Stephen--was surprisingly pleasant to work with. He is charming, witty, and can actually keep up with him. Not to mention that gorgeous eye-candy face and stunning smile, Tony isn't surprised to find out that a few months later, he was absolutely itching for a date with the charismatic sorcerer. However, all those attributes pale towards the one Tony appreciated the most:
Stephen never forgot.
It was a small thing that had originally slipped Tony's attention but once he caught on, it was hard not to notice. When they had their first meet up (or date but he was still hesitant to call it that at that time), the bill was sent to Stephen rather than Tony (which is rude, considering he's the billionaire of the two of them.) They already had an agreement that Tony would foot the bill so without making a scene, Stephen had simply placed the bill on top of Tony's side of the table. He didn't hand it over or made a fuss out of it, which confused the genius because normally, he had to suck it up and let others hand things to him directly.
Thinking back, Tony believes that's where he first started paying more attention (and maybe kinda obsessing over) to the sorcerer. He'd test things out and make Stephen grab all the items he'd needed and see if it was just a fluke. To his absolute delight, it wasn't a one time deal. It was never a big deal for the sorcerer. Even during the times he wasn’t able to physically help out (God, he was such an idiot! How could he forget about the man’s hands?!) he would still use his magic and let the item float to a table or area where Tony could pick it up himself.
Stephen never handed things to Tony directly.
That's when Tony decided that he is absolutely smitten with the doctor.
When they moved up their relationship to something more intimate, Tony fell even harder after realizing that Stephen would intercept anyone handing the billionaire things directly. He’d then set it down to somewhere else where Tony can pick up the item himself.
A few years later, when Stephen got down on one knee and proposed to him, Tony decided that it was one of the few times he'll allow someone to hand things to him as he nearly cries at the ring sliding onto his finger.