Tony felt all the weight of his responsibilities melt away when he parked his orange Saleen S7 next to Kendis’s huge black truck. He shook his head at the mental image of all five feet eight inches of his spouse driving around in a truck that looked like it could crush anything in its path.

“Welcome home, sir,” JARVIS greeted.

“Thanks, J.”

Tony smiled to himself and shook his head as he grabbed his briefcase and got out of his car. The bots came over to greet him, and Dum-E tried to give him a smoothie. This time, the smoothie was more of a rust color, and Tony did not trust it.

“Nope,” Tony said, shaking his head. “Absolutely not.”

Dum-E dropped their head and gave a sad whine.

Tony gave a put-upon sigh and took the glass, then put it on a nearby table. “Besides, I am pretty sure my spouse is cooking, and I am not going to spoil my appetite.”

Kendis had been getting on him about how he talked to the bots.

“They are not just things, Tony,” she had chastised him one night. “They have feelings.”

It made him really think about it and how Tony often talked to the bots the way Howard had talked to him as a child. Tony both loved and hated how Kendis made him think about feelings when he had been perfectly happy to pretend he was a cold, ruthless asshole.

Tony sighed and patted Dum-E, then U, and Butterfingers on top of their heads.

“JARVIS,” Tony called out. “Where’s Kendis?”

“She’s in the kitchen, sir,” JARVIS answered.

He walked through his workshop and upstairs to ground level. He could hear the soft, melodic sounds of Frank Ocean’s “Pink + White” coming from the direction of the kitchen. The smell hit him like a slap to the face: garlic, basil, parmesan cheese, and lemon. His stomach gurgled, and it reminded him that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

Tony had decided to power through lunch so he could make it home quicker.

There was a bark. The music wasn’t loud enough to hide the sound of nails on his expensive floors, and then Alke was slamming into him so hard he almost fell flat on his ass. Alke barked again, her big black body wiggling in excitement.

“Off of me, you menace,” Tony groaned.

Alke didn’t listen to him. She just licked him across his chin.

Tony huffed a laugh because he couldn’t stay annoyed with her for long. In the short time Tony and Kendis had been married, Alke had grown on him like a terribly affectionate fungus.

He sighed and scratched between her ears, then gave her back a pat. Alke finally released him. Tony dropped his briefcase on the coffee table, and Alke followed dutifully behind him as he climbed the steps to the kitchen area and the balcony that showed the dark waves of the ocean and the dark gray skies beyond.

Kendis sang along under her breath as she cooked what looked like chicken filets on the stove.

Alke trotted past Tony and lay down on the floor with a huff. But Tony stood for a moment as he took Kendis in. Her long box braids were wrapped up in a silk scarf, and her outfit from earlier had been exchanged for what looked like a Queen band T-shirt that looked suspiciously like the one that had gone missing last week, leggings, and slippers.

Tony had seen Kendis on the red carpet, in expensive restaurants, and at events dressed and looking like every inch of nobility that she was. But Tony had never seen Kendis as beautiful as she was now. Comfortable and content with herself, and Tony felt his heart squeeze in his chest.

Tony had thought the effect Kendis had on him would lessen in time. There was a time Tony would get bored with someone in minutes, as soon as the heat of their bodies cooled, but as he watched his spouse cook, the depth of his love for her humbled him in ways he was still learning to unpack.

He was just happy that she was okay. Tony had texted her often throughout the day, still worried and angry about her being outed on national television. Kendis had reassured him that she was okay, but now he could believe it as he watched his spouse lost happily in her own little world.

The music changed to “Thinkin Bout You” as Kendis finished frying up the chicken. She turned off the stove and turned to him.

“You like the show?” Kendis teased, not startled at all that he was there. JARVIS had probably alerted her to Tony’s arrival.

Tony quickly crossed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. He ducked his head down to bury his face in her shoulder. The feel of her so close and the scent of her—bergamot, motor oil, and that indescribable smell he simply labeled as Kendis in his mind—settled something inside of him.

The lingering stress of the day melted away as he got lost in her. Kendis giggled as he pressed a kiss to her neck.

“Better?”

“Yes,” Tony replied with a sigh. “You make everything better.”

“You sap,” Kendis laughed again, but she tightened her arms around him.

Tony straightened up to kiss her softly on the lips. But the kiss didn’t remain soft and affectionate for long. As was typical of the two of them, the flame sparked quickly into a bonfire. Kendis moaned as he took her lips with a ferocity that surprised even him, licking and nipping at those luscious lips. She rocked against him and ran her hand through his hair, and Tony couldn’t help but press his advantage as he ground his hard cock against hers.

Tony had been close to having her earlier in his office. He had been dreaming of bending her over his desk and bringing her to the height of pleasure in the same place he managed his empire.

There was something about it that made his blood run hot just at the thought of it.

Alke barked, making them jump apart, and Kendis giggled.

“Did we traumatize you, darling?” Kendis asked her dog.

Alke shot Tony a judgmental look, and he threw up his hands.

“Even the dog is trying to cockblock me.”

Kendis gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “I promise I’ll make up for it later.”

A zing of arousal shot through his spine at the thought of whatever she might have in mind.

“I’ll hold you to that, spouse.”

Kendis shot him a naughty smile, but then she started to plate up the food. Tony grabbed a bottle of wine from the hidden wine cabinet just off the kitchen, then he grabbed glasses and silverware.

“You made chicken Milanese,” Tony said softly.

“I know how much you like it, and I wanted to give you a little touch of home.” Kendis shrugged.

Tony’s mother was from Milan, and in the rare times Maria Carbonell Stark felt like cooking, she would make this for him. He had mentioned it offhandedly weeks ago, but he hadn’t expected Kendis to remember it and cook this for him.

“I’m sure it’s not as good as your mum’s, but—”

Tony kissed her again, touched more than he could say. Then he took the plates from her hands and placed them on a tray without a word.

Tony, Kendis, and Alke walked out of the kitchen and to the elevator that took them to the mezzanine balcony that looked over the kitchen and held his dining room. Tony set the table for her, and Kendis took a seat with a smile.

Dinner was fantastic, as Tony knew it would be. He was used to getting takeout or eating a granola bar here or there, but Kendis’s food just hit differently. It felt like he was getting a warm hug every time he ate something she cooked.

The two of them talked about everything but the press conference. The peace was too precious to break with the ugliness of the day. The way that a reporter had been willing to use Kendis being trans as a weapon. The rage inside of him rekindled at the thought, and Tony pushed it away. He would not allow Christine Everhart to ruin this.

Alke waited under the table and nudged his hand.

“Don’t give her anything,” Kendis said, pointing a fork at him. “She already ate her dinner.”

Tony shot Alke an apologetic look but did not feed her. Alke grumbled in disappointment, and then he turned back to see Kendis looking down at her plate with a frown.

“Something wrong?”

Kendis looked up to meet his eyes, and there was something in them that brought him up short. The green of her irises had retracted, her eyes so dark they reminded Tony of the way she had looked at him back at the theater when she stood above Chester’s broken body.

For a moment, the room was cold, but there were no telltale signs of Kendis’s magic. When Kendis hadn’t had control of her magic while she was staying here, there had been explosions, flickering lights, and broken devices.

But this was something different, and this hadn’t been the first time he had seen Kendis like this since she dealt with Chester.

“Kendis?” Tony softly called out.

She closed her eyes and shuddered.

“Tesoro, what’s wrong?” Tony reached out as if he was going to touch her, but he stopped before he made contact.

“Tony, I—” Kendis started and then stopped. Her fists clenched and then released, and Tony’s worry increased.

Kendis shook her head, and her eyes slowly reverted to the dark green ones he loved so much.

“Never mind.”

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Tony asked.

Kendis nodded. “I know.”

But as Kendis looked away, Tony couldn’t help but feel that Kendis didn’t understand that. It hurt; Tony wouldn’t lie to himself. They had been through so much together, but she still didn’t feel comfortable enough to tell him what was going on. But somehow, Tony had managed to mature enough along the way to know that it wasn’t about him. This was Kendis, stubbornly independent even in spite of herself.

Kendis always thought she had to do things herself, and Tony was self-aware enough to know that it was a character flaw they both shared.

Tony took her hand and pressed a kiss to her wedding set. The engagement ring sat on top of the gold band beneath it. He would give her space and trust that Kendis would tell him what was going on when she was ready.