#stephen strange ask
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ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛꜱ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ꜱᴍɪʟᴇꜱ, ᴘᴛ. 1 | ꜱ. ꜱᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ
GIF not mine!
Stephen Strange x Avenger!Reader
ask: Could you write a Stephen Strange x reader one shot (or longer if you feel it haha) where the reader is an avenger and she’s secretly dating Stephen? Like they’re sneaking around and staying at each other’s places (sanctum and tower/compound) and use portals in the mornings to get back where they’re supposed to be. Maybe a close call where Stephen literally kicks her off the bed and into a portal back to her own bed to avoid getting caught. Then later they’re found out somehow by tony/the team?
word count: 5.2k (and that's only part one, ooooooops)
warnings: fluff and more fluff, cursing, sneaking around the team, lying, one suggestive and kinda steamy (but short) scene
author’s note: I’m so excited about this ask! This will get a part 2 because I couldn’t contain myself, and I had to write this out with all the background stuff. I really hope you like how it went so far @clockblobber!
»pt. 2 is here«
Tiredness was settled deep within her bones, and every single muscle inside her body ached at the sheer thought of moving again. But YN felt the soft rumbling of the Quinjet’s engines increasing while the autopilot initiated the landing sequence to softly touch the ground again. The almost fifteen-hour flight in uncomfortable seats would be stuck to her for another few hours, if not days; she was sure of it. The mission may have been a success – taking down a cartel of experimental drug smugglers, with a side income through even more experimental weapons which were supposed to be destroyed alongside Hydra, had been easier than thought – but her body still was sore and covered in bruises, scratches, and beautifully blooming hematomas.
Guess a rib or two got a hit as well, the Widow thought while softly rubbing her right side.
Gladly, she wasn’t the only one beaten up, but unlike Steve and Bucky, she didn’t own the ability to self-heal within hours. Sometimes, she really envied them down to her very core. But now, she was too tired to even start feeling the jealousy about the super soldier serum running through their veins. Truth be told, she wasn’t entirely without an asset she had gained through otherworldly substances – not drugs – but those were hard to control sometimes, which was why the Widow often fully relied on her brutal training and skills in hand-to-hand combat.
One look in the direction of Nat, and she knew that her sister wasn’t very fond of her approach to the last situation. But hey, a woman gotta do what a woman gotta do. Easy as that.
As soon as the jet finally touched the ground, YN unbuckled the seatbelt and pushed herself up with a groan. The pain shot right through her body again and reminded her of the inevitable reality of upcoming days full of soreness. Assessing the level of pain and discomfort, she estimated two weeks tops. With a hot bath here and there, maybe less.
The thought of one of these alone made her almost moan in pure bliss. But, of course, the compound didn’t own such luxury known as a bathtub. God damn you, Tony.
With clenched teeth and jaw, the woman hobbled out of the Quinjet as soon as the ramp was lowered and granted a breeze of fresh air to invade the warm insides and cool her cheeks. Maybe a cold shower would suffice for now. But the woman didn’t come far before Steve’s voice dragged over the small tarmac in front of the newly built compound in Upstate New York.
“We need to debrief, and I need your report plus a medical evaluation of your status, YN,” the blonde soldier spoke up, always the authoritative fun brake (he wasn’t, but she was grumpy and needed a shower and some comfort in the form of her soft blankets and pillows). Without answering for now because she had her phone in hand to type a quick text, she raised the other hand and showed Steve the finger. Her body became used to the throbbing pain in every single limp again, and the Widow could walk a bit faster to get away from the now overbearing man she called one of her best friends.
“YN, I mean it. You’re not dismissed until you went to the medical wing and got checked out.” She could hear his heavy steps, and even though she still showed him the finger, she spoke. “Whatever, Steve. I need a shower and my soft bed, and I’m good to go, thank you very fucking much. See you tomorrow morning with that damn report in hand, bye.” Usually, she wasn’t this rude to him, and that pushed him to stop in his tracks.
Before scurrying inside the compound, she could hear the other’s talk.
“Did I do something wrong?” Steve.
“Nah, she is just grumpy because I stole her that one guy she loved to punch in the face.” Bucky.
“The one that laughed because she is a woman? Well, you fucked up good, Barnes. She really loves to take those down herself.” Nat.
An apology was necessary, she knew that, but… later. Her mind was too tired to do it now, so she just walked to her room, always close to one of the walls – just in case. With a heavy sigh leaving her lips, she pushed open the door to her cozy room and let the duffel bag fall straight to the floor before pushing herself to walk the last few steps, so she could fall face down first onto the soft mattress.
Which wasn’t the best idea she had had all day, and a strained groan escaped her lips at the same moment as the soft sounds of an opening portal filled her room. She barely realized it. She didn’t even move as steps started to come closer. She didn’t move a single muscle until the mattress dipped at the weight of another body settling upon it. Slowly, YN moved her head from the face-down position to the side to eye the man with the pepper and salt hair. He already looked down at her, forehead wrinkled and the all too familiar deep creases between his dark brows visible.
“Hey,” the woman spoke, barely above a whisper, and she closed her eyes soon again as one of his warm, big hands came close to her face to brush over her cheek and push a lock behind her ear. “Rough day?” She nodded but stopped suddenly at the ugly feeling of raw skin rubbing against the fabric of her comforter. Eyebrows furrowed, and a hiss escaped her. But Stephen was prepared – just as he always was. “Come on, love,” he mumbled in the softest of tones. “We’ll get you a nice hot bath ready, a cup of tea, and some snacks, while I stitch you up.”
With that, the previous portal opened again, illuminated the room in its soft golden light, and Stephen helped the tired woman up from her bed. He held both her hands and pulled her up onto her feet, steadying her with his arm around her slender waist. He could imagine what happened during that mission in Seoul, her state not an uncommon sight for his eyes but hard on him nevertheless. It was easy for him to get scratches and be beaten up – he didn’t mind that – but seeing her in that constitution was something entirely different. And this side was a side no one knew about – and no one would ever get an insight about.
Looking up to Stephen, she allowed him to scoop her into his arms and circled both her arms around his neck while pressing a soft kiss onto his cheek. “You are a godsend,” YN whispered against his skin, the tip of her nose caressing his skin in a feathery touch. The doctor smiled the one smile that was entirely reserved for her eyes and only hers. “Not an idiotic and presumptuous asshole anymore?” He had to tease her with the statement that the Widow had smacked him with the second time they had met. A forceless hit with the flat hand against his shoulder was the first reaction he got. “Thought we already had put that in our past. It was a miscalculation. An assumption made upon false input and intel.”
Stephen chuckled while stepping over the threshold of his portal, right into his bedroom in the Sanctum Sanctorum, the busy New Yorker streets underneath the big windows. He didn’t spare a glance at the golden streets out there, glowing in the light of the setting sun. Instead, he carried the woman in his arms straight into the adjacent bathroom with the bathtub she craved the most. “I just love teasing you, darling,” the sorcerer grinned while gently putting YN down on the bathtub’s edge, and with a flick of his hand, the two faucets opened and unleashed the water.
Soon the bathroom was not only filled with the soothing sound of splashing water but with the wafting steam and the smell of her most favorite bath bomb as well. In the meantime, Stephen had organized the promised tea and snacks – consisting of cheese, crackers, and strawberries – while preparing the first aid kit for the small surgery he would perform on the most severe cuts that needed some stitching. As she attempted to step into the waiting hot water to let her bones and muscles soak in the well-deserved break, the phone in the back pocket of her combat gear pants, that pooled in the center of the bathroom, started to ring. The sorcerer was quick to peel it out and hand it to his girlfriend, not daring to accept the call or send it straight to the voicemail like he would’ve preferred.
With a sigh, YN accepted the call; a fluffy towel wrapped around her naked body, and she could see the hits that had attacked her visibly on her skin through the full-length mirror opposite her. “What?” That was all she asked the unwanted caller – who needs a greeting, right?
Shuffling was heard on the other side of the call, and YN cocked an eyebrow as whispered voices pushed to her ear. She took a look at the caller ID and didn’t get it. “Whoever thought it would be the greatest freaking idea to call me can go and fuck themself. I just want some peace and quiet, for fucks sake. Is that too much to ask?” YN was pissed to an extent she hadn’t felt in a long time. Another round of shuffling until Thor’s voice spoke up. “Lady YN, this is Thor, God of Thunder.” Facepalming herself, the woman sent Stephen a helpless look. “You don’t need to introduce yourself, Thor. I know who you are. This is a call, not a formal application for a new job.” What, in the name of the universe, had she done in her past life to be graced with this group of insufferable people? She loved them dearly, but sometimes they were just too exhausting for her poor soul. “Yes, of course, Lady YN. Mr. Stark had specifically asked me to start this conversation in order to learn about the nature of your whereabouts.”
Groaning, she hit the edge of the full tub with her fist. “Stop being such a child and talk for yourself, Tony,” she demanded. “Can’t. Have to find your location.” Eye rolling, YN knew that he knew that she had never touched one of his phones and had made sure that her location wouldn’t be found by any of them. Not even the genius that was Tony Stark. “Yeah, whatever. Good luck with that. You lot could’ve just, I don’t know, asked if I’m alright wherever I am and put it aside because I’m a fucking grown woman. Gosh.” Stephen chuckled softly at her outburst while preparing the needle for the stitches. “Plus, it was never my idea to call. Ask our ancient ice sculpture who had the idea to check up on you and found your room empty and throwing a tantrum about it,” Tony added, and YN softly smiled as the sorcerer knelt in front of her on the plush bathroom matt to take a closer look on the gush near her left wrist. “For fucks sake, Steve. Remember when I told you that your overbearing nature isn’t cool? It wasn’t a joke; I meant it!” Her face twisted at the sudden burn under her skin, and saw the drenched cotton pad, Stephen softly dapped over the wound to clean the dried blood off. “I’m sorry, YNN. Really, I am. But you took some pretty hard hits, and I just wanted to make sure you’re alright. You are okay, are you?”
Sighing again, YN leaned her head against Stephen’s shoulder. “I am. And now I have to go.” – “Wait, YN, where are yo-…” – “Byyyyye!”
And with that, she hung up and threw the phone back on the dirty pile of combat gear. “They’re getting suspicious?” She shrugged at his question and let him take the fluffy towel away from her, so she could finally sink into the hot water. “I don’t know what’s going on in their brains. And I don’t want to think about it.” With closed eyes, YN leaned back in the tub, softly moaning as she felt how every single muscle relaxed. “I’m almost tempted to believe that you only agreed to date me because of my bathtub,” the man chuckled while sitting on the edge and starting to stitch her arm.
In moments like these, he used that bit of magic he needed to steady his hands, but it was the only exception he made. “You don’t have to do it, y’know? I can easily head to the med bay,” YN mumbled after Stephen had finished his task of taking care of her, and he bent down to press a lingering kiss on her forehead. “Don’t make a fool out of yourself, darling. It’s my pleasure.”
He wanted to leave to pack the first aid kit back at its usual spot, but her fingers intertwining with his made him pause. One look at her pleading eyes, and the man was lost, his mental to-do list burned to ashes at her feet. “Can you get in? I’d love some cuddles.” It was a shyly asked question, as usual, but just as usual, he started to undress even before he nodded. “Whatever you need, darling,” he whispered after settling behind the woman in the still hot water – her body between his long legs, her back pressed against his chest, arms entangled underwater, and her face nestled in the crook of his neck.
Her deep breaths and soft skin against his were all he ever needed after days of her presence gone due to missions or his own duties, and Stephen craved those few stolen moments in a world where nobody knew about them.
;
Morning came too soon, and YN dragged herself out of the comfort of the warm bed to gather her belongings in order to make a move as soon as Stephen was awake enough to conjure the portal into her bedroom. She just left the bathroom, the pile of combat gear now over her arms, as Stephen yawned and felt around on the other side of the bed where she had laid only minutes ago. The sorcerer wasn’t a deep sleeper, but she was a Widow, trained in the arts of stealth, so it was an easy task to sneak out without waking him up. But even after more than a year of dating, he seemed not to be used to it because at the feeling of nothingness next to him, Stephen sat up abruptly and frantically started looking through the room. His mouth opened to call her name, heart racing in his chest, until his gaze settled upon the woman, only clad in one of his shirts that reached her mid-thighs.
She smiled, combat gear already dropped to the floor, to walk over to him. YN stood next to his bedside, both hands cupping his jawline while her thumb soothingly caressed his cheek, while she pressed a kiss against the corner of his mouth, the feeling of his goatee present on her lips. She could practically feel how he relaxed at her touch and leaned into it, reminding her again that Stephen was as touch starved as she was. It wasn’t a real turn-on for folks if she talked about the abusive past she had to endure in order to become her strongest self. But hey, those foolish boys were nothing in comparison to the man in front of her.
“Bad dream?” She softly asked before pecking the tip of his nose with a soft, feathery kiss. The sorcerer shrugged nonchalantly, but he couldn’t fool her – and he knew that. Sighing, Stephen pulled her back into the bed, holding her close, and nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. “I just don’t want to let you go again. Didn’t see you in four days.” It was a mumble, but YN could hear every single word and felt his lips moving against her collarbone. Slowly, she started to play with his hair – just the way he liked it – and scratched his scalp. “Caution, my love, or I could be tempted to think you’re touch starved and crave my presence.”
Stephen scoffed and pushed himself up with one arm to look into her eyes. “You know how it is, darling.” It was only a mumble because even though they opened up to one another like they never did before, Stephen was still wary if it wouldn’t bite his ass. But so far, the amazing woman underneath him never let him feel any doubts. She smiled softly up at him and pulled him in for a soft kiss. “I’m not sure if they’re ready. You know how they are. You know what Tony will say, something about not fraternizing with colleagues and all that bullshit, and you know that Steve will give you a hard time – shit, he would even give me a hard time about it.” The prospect of trouble in paradise alone made her nauseous. They constantly bickered, true, but it was all fun and smiles. With something like that, on the other hand… Stephen knew how it went.
“At least stay for a few more minutes?” He almost begged, something he would never admit, not even under torture, but YN kissed him gently and shook her head. “Need to write that damn report and get a going to the med bay if I don’t wanna get benched.” With that, the sorcerer released the Widow out of his grasp and opened the portal into her own bedroom. He stood on his side while YN scurried over onto her side but turned around to kiss him goodbye properly. “See you for dinner?” Stephen smiled down at her, nodded, and kissed her forehead. “Chow House?” Moaning, YN pulled him in for another kiss. “I know why I love you,” she grinned, and then she waved with a smile as the portal closed again, and she was back in her cozy room, the duffel bag now lying on top of the cushioned bench in front of her bed – its usual spot. Shaking her head, she made a mental note to thank Steve for it later that day.
;
Sitting at the huge glass table in one of the conference rooms inside the compound, YN listened intently to what Fury said over the video call, scribbling away notes inside that little notebook she always carried around for such occasions. She could feel a lingering stare settled upon her, and barely noticeable, she raised her gaze to catch Stephen staring at her over the cup of coffee he held between his softly shaking hands. A smile tried to tuck at her lips, but instead, she rolled her eyes as if he was as irritating as the uncomfortable seat she had sat on ever since the briefing started.
“Do I bore you, Miss LN?” Fury’s tone sounded bored himself, and YN showed him a pair of raised eyebrows. “No, sir. I’m just writing down what you’re saying. For later purposes.” Sam coughed and mumbled “Boaster” between his acts, and YN threw her eraser against his head. “Hey!” She smiled the sweetest of smiles and flipped him off. “I’m not deaf, Wilson.” Bucky chuckled behind his mug while Steve and Nat rolled their eyes, and Fury sighed exaggeratedly. “Behave, children,” he grumbled before continuing with the briefing about a new mission in Switzerland.
A half an hour later, the briefed team scattered over the compound after they had left the conference room, and YN found her way into the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled ever since she woke up to an empty bed because Stephen had to leave to get ready for said briefing.
On some days, it was exhausting to sneak around everyone, but it had its purpose. So far, they never had a close call, for which YN was more than grateful.
Softly humming, she rummaged in the fridge before moving to the cupboards after she decided that tea was more to her taste than one of the smoothies Pepper hoarded in one of the many fridges.
Suddenly, big familiar hands grabbed her jeans-clad hips and turned her around in one swift motion. Looking up, her eyes met the bluest ones of them all, and a smile etched itself on her face before she took a measured look to the entrance. After she gave herself an all-clear, YN pulled Stephen down to her level while pushing herself on her tiptoes and kissed him – hard and hungrily because the couple couldn’t stop showing their deep lingering affection for one another as often as possible, which was not often enough.
Labored breaths and lips crashing against one another were the only sounds in the kitchen – or the entire compound wing – and Stephen wrapped the woman tighter in his arms, pulling her closer and closer until their bodies were pressed against each other. His hands moved more south to grab the Widow under her thighs, long fingers stretching up to her butt cheeks, and he lifted her with astonishing ease up on the countertop. Settling there, YN wrapped her legs around his waist, crossed her ankles at his deliciously shaped behind, and burrowed her fingers inside his dark hair. The kiss grew more heated with every passing second, and a soft gasp escaped her mouth as Stephen pressed her lower region harder against him.
“I really hope you’re not thinking about canceling our dinner plans for tonight,” YN whisper-moaned at the friction between her legs and bit his lower lip gently. Stephen groaned at the sensation pulsing through his body – he still wondered how this woman was able to pull every trigger there was with nothing more than just a whisper of a touch – and kissed her again. “Why should I? I can’t wait for dessert. Maybe we should do dessert first, like responsible citizens,” he rasped, the raspiness in his voice always a trigger for her own pleasure. Gladly, Stephen didn’t know just yet how hot it made her hear him like that. If this man would ever gain the knowledge about that – it would be her downfall. Grinning, YN pulled away from his searching lips, teasing him. “Sounds like a plan, Doctor Strange.”
But before they could dive right back into the next heated kiss and continue this make-out session, approaching steps alarmed the Widow. With ease, she slid off the counter within seconds and positioned herself at the counter closer to the door before raising her voice.
“Oh, please. Stop prancing around and try to prove that you’re the smartest one. I can’t keep up with the bullshit coming out of that entitled mouth of yours. I have better things to do.”
Tony and Steve entered the kitchen, followed by a tired Clint, who clung to a mug of steaming coffee. The Stark was fast to assess the situation, and an icy expression settled on his face. “Is he annoying you again, YNN? I can do something about that, you just need to use the words.” Steve had his blonde brows furrowed and stared Stephen into the ground, but the sorcerer only shrugged and stole the tea she had finished preparing. “A simple conversation, that’s all. Keep your panties on, Stark, and thanks for the tea, LN.”
With that, the tall man walked past the group, mug in hand, and YN stared after him, mouth agape. “Hey, that was my tea, you tea stealing, obnoxious imbecile!”
Which meant in their secret language, I love you, idiot.
Steve turned towards her and shrugged. “Tell us, and we end him,” he offered, but all she did was roll her eyes and start to prepare another cup of tea while suppressing her heart from beating out of line.
That was a close call.
;
The soft tunes of the Best of Beethoven vinyl she had found in Stephen’s office echoed through the foyer of the Sanctum Sanctorum on a summer evening. The windows on the upper floor were open widely to let in the soft breeze from outside without getting the chills, and YN worked mindlessly in the perfectly stocked kitchen.
It wasn’t like that shortly after she had sat foot in the room supposed to feed hungry human beings. Instead, barely filled shelves and a half-empty fridge had greeted her, which was why many New Yorkers had seen a true Avenger walking their streets in a pretty summer dress – a sight none of them would have expected on this beautiful day or any days at all. But she didn’t mind the round eyes of kids and teenagers. The ogling stares of the male part of the grownup fraction were what put her on edge. But even them she could handle with closed eyes.
After a shopping spree in the grocery store down the block, YN had started to prepare dinner. It wasn’t often that she found the time and muse to cook, but when she did, she went all out because she wasn’t bad at it. Actually, she was quite good at the stove, even though she preferred baking over everything else.
The tune changed to Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 – one of her favorites, even though the Red Room had forced her to start playing the violin – at the same time as the golden glow of a portal crept around the corner of the kitchen’s entrance. She just chopped the vegetables into the thinnest of slices as the soft but heavy feeling of fabric settled over her shoulders, and a red collar nudged her left cheek to get her attention.
“Well, hello to you too, Cloaky,” she greeted the magical relic, which resembled more a dog or cat than an ancient thing, with a smile. Soon after the first greeting, a set of arms wrapped around her, and a chin was planted on her shoulder. “Do I want to know how you got in?” Stephen asked, the grin audible in his voice. YN shrugged while chopping the rest. “Wong didn’t see me if that’s what you tried to find out.” Sometimes, her burglar skills were pretty useful, plus the building liked her – or Stephen had altered the spells that protected the Sanctum, but she liked the idea of a feeling and thinking building more.
“So, you thought instead of enjoying your first time off missions in the last couple of weeks, you break into the Sanctum to cook me dinner?” At her exciting nod, Stephen laughed softly and pressed a kiss to her temple. Cloaky settled onto her shoulders definitively – Stephen knew that it would stay there for quite some time now, but he couldn’t object because it was what he would do too – and instead, tried to help her, but YN hit his fingers. “Nope. You’re gonna take a hot, long shower to destress from whatever threat it was today you had to deal with, and after that, you’ll settle on that bar stool over there, drink a glass of whiskey and just look pretty and handsome while I wrap up dinner.” He would never admit it, but he loved it when she tried to boss him around. It was so different from the life she had lived before joining the Avengers and escaping the grasp of the Red Room, so it was his pleasure to let her boss around to her heart's desire. “Yes, ma’am. Anything else, ma’am?” She grinned up at him. “A kiss would be absolutely lovely.”
Stephen complied and bent down to taste her sweet, perfect lips, but Cloaky suddenly had other plans and pulled her onto the wooden floor. “What the…?” Both started, but Wong’s voice let her suck in the last word and hold her breath. The red cloak pulled her further to the kitchen island to hide her body against the wood and wrapped itself around the woman it was so fond of.
“Something smells divine.” Wong stopped at the frame between the kitchen and one of the many living rooms to eye Stephen. “You are cooking? Since when is this a possibility?” Stephen looked from the stove to Wong, back to the chopped vegetables and the casserole where YN had started to place the thin slices in an intricate pattern. “Yeah…” The sorcerer began and shrugged. “I saw something on my way home and thought it looked quite delicious.” Wong squinted his eyes suspiciously at the other sorcerer. “Aha.” YN on the floor really wanted to facepalm herself. “Well, let me know when the food is ready. I want to try it. I’m in the library upstairs.” And Wong disappeared as suddenly as he arrived.
Sitting up, YN patted the proudly moving cloak and shook her head. “Next time, you won’t drag me down to the floor, understood? That hurt.” Stephen helped her up and took Cloaky from her shoulders, and sent him up into his bedroom. “Another close call,” the man objected, and YN sighed. “I know, but I don’t know why we’re running out of luck all of a sudden. We were so good.” It didn’t sit right with her, and the realization that maybe, sooner rather than later, they need to come clean with everyone.
Stephen softly kissed her head and pushed a lock out of her face, tracing her jawline from her ear back down to her chin. He took it between his fingers, pointer finger underneath it to softly nudge it up, so she would look at him. “Whatever will happen, nothing is worse than being stuck in a fake octopus, smelling like plastic and trash, darling.” Eye rolling, the woman shoved against his chest. “Never remind me of that ever again. I had to soak for hours on end in that bathtub to get the smell off my skin.” Stephen smiled but cocked an eyebrow to see her nodding. And she did. “Okay, yeah. It won’t be the end of days if they knew, but… I don’t know how to tell them. Could we take some more time? Just a little while longer?”
Stephen could never deny her a single request, so he approved with another nod and kissed her softly on the lips. “Of course, love. But now you have to move your sexy bottom because Wong demanded food. I’m gonna take a quick shower and be right back.” With that, Stephen kissed her one last time and stepped through the portal – lazy sock – and YN continued with the veggy pattern inside her prepared casserole until an all too familiar voice startled her.
“I knew it!”
With wide eyes, the former assassin turned around to look straight into the very pleased face of non-other than Wong, and a curse fell off her lips.
One for them, minus one for us, she thought while explaining to the sorcerer how she came up with her altered receipt for Ratatouille.
Thank you so much for reading! As usual, comments, reblogs, and likes are much appreciated! <3
Taglist:
@poor-unfortunate-soul-85 @seasonofthenerd @onecrazydirectioner @meeksmusic83
#stephen strange x reader#stephen strange x fem!reader#stephen strange imagine#stephen strange x you#stephen strange fluff#doctor strange blurb#doctor strange fluff#stephen strange blurb#stephen strange x y/n#stephen strange ask#doctor strange imagine#doctor strange x reader#doctor strange x fem!reader#stephen strange x avenger!reader#doctor strange x avenger!reader#doctor strange x widow!reader#doctor strange x you#doctor strange x y/n#doctor strange ask#stephen strange x widow!reader#widow!reader#avenger!reader
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sometimes, I’ll accidentally find a really cute fanart, or a incorrect quotes that makes me laugh, and I’m not in the fandom or I don't ship it, but I’ll save it or like it anyway, right? and then I forget about it for a couple months, find new stuff, whatever. then I see it again, and I’m like, oh yeah! and I look up the characters because I’m a curious asshole with no form of restraint to speak of, and then I look up something else, and something else, and something else- and now if you insult that fandom or character you die and no jan it doesn’t matter that I’ve never seen or read the actual thing but this is now my life support and I need them and I can’t live without them and-
#no because this is legit how I found my otp#don’t ask me how#peter x harley#peter parker#harley keener#parkner#parley#racetrack higgins#spot conlon#sprace#race x spot#merlin emrys#merlin x arthur#merthur#arthur pendragon#ironstrange#iron man x dr strange#tony x stephen#tony stark#stephen strange#heartstopper#nick x charlie#narlie#nick nelson#charlie spring#hangster#jake hangman seresin#rooster top gun#rooster x hangman#bradley rooster bradshaw
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I have this hc that at one of the parties Tony was part of the circle of men trading stories about their rich housewife and their parties and their gossips and Tony was just there agreeing and being part of the chitchat and one was like "Your wife really did well in throwing this party" and he will be smug and say "Oh yeah! He's really good at this thing!" And pointed at Stephen holding court with the wives 😂
This is happening right now, every day. Every beautiful day.
#ironstrange#stephen strange#tony stark#incorrect-ironstrange#asks#headcanons#ironstrange headcanons
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something i feel very strongly about is that the IT films do a bad job making the adults feel like friends. i don't know if it's a script issue, a directing issue, or an acting issue, but it's incredibly frustrating to me.
the movie does a great job showing close relationships between the losers in specific pairs (richie and eddie, ben and beverly, mike and bill), but otherwise they do not feel like friends to me (they almost get there in the jade scene, but nothing like in the miniseries, and the rest of the movie is awful in this regard). like you want me to believe eddie died and beverly and ben are just??? making out??? like richie is here sobbing on a rock and he loses his glasses and the other losers go looking and bev and ben are just???? kissing? like these are not beverly and ben these are imposters. like tell me why richie was the only one who showed any significant emotion over eddie dying. they were all friends, thats the whole goddamn point.
and idk what happens in the book, but the losers leaving eddie in the sewers is so stupid, like he is constantly noted to be tiny, and you're telling me none of the losers could carry him out? ben's whole thing (which i will be ranting about later because it pisses me off that ben had to get skinny and buff to be hot like shut the fuck up) is that he got buff and he couldn't pick up eddie? seriously? it makes no sense for the losers to leave him down there he hated the sewers the last place in the world that he would ever want to rest forever would be in a disgusting sewer. they love him and they know him they would never leave him down there
the relationships between the losers in the miniseries feel so much more substantial, yes richie and eddie are shown to be notably close, same with ben and bev, but that doesn't mean they don't all love each other. it's very notable to me that in the miniseries the losers are always touching each other, and not just in brief offhand ways, they lean into each other, they lay on each other, they caress each others faces. it isn't just that they love each other and are comfortable sitting close together on the couch or something, they are constantly actively touching each other, both because they love each other, and probably because they're so amazed to have each other back and want to commit their friends to memory. like literally any scene with more than one loser in it? they're touching each other or otherwise very close, whereas in the film you don't get that impression at all.
#honestly it 2019 makes bev and ben look like assholes who only care about people they want to fuck#which is really annoying because theyre supposed to ALL be friends#one of the only scenes i can think of that sells their connection to me is when eddie asks what he thinks stan would be like as an adult#and richie's like “probably how he was as a kid. the best” otherwise? these people do not care about each other i do not believe it#it stephen king#it 2019#it chapter two#it chapter 2#it miniseries#eddie kaspbrak#richie tozier#ben hanscom#beverly marsh#posts afflicted with a strange sickness#red's ramblings
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Why do you call your sling ring a "slingy"?
Because it's smol.
#sling ring#doctor strange#marvel#stephen strange#mcu#dr.strange#benedict cumberbatch#dr strange#ask doctor strange
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Stephen and Tony laying in bed. They have been together for 7 years now. Maybe they are having late night talks, serious, bare it all talks. And maybe on this night, they talk about "the one that got away" they are happy together, and things are great and wouldn't trade each other for the world.
But both their pasts are complicated. Most people are not still best friends with their ex's who got together. Who knew that Pepper and Christine would end up as the love story of the century.
But surprisingly, they don't say those names- the one the other was expecting.
" See... there was this intern. His name was Peter; I never clicked so well with someone. But he was young.... Pepper said it was bad PR so we kept it quite. We didn't go public... we were together about a year, but I still wasn't off the wagon.. just better at hiding it at that point... there was a party. I can't really remember the night, but the next day he was gone. ..."
" Funnily mine was named Peter too.... his aunt was a nurse at the hospital, and he volunteered there a lot for the scholarship for his college. We fit well together, I knew he had recently gotten out of a relationship, but we were moving fast. I had a long day with intense surgery... one of the few patients I lost. I was angry. I know he was trying to encourage me. But I wasn't having it. I said.... so many hurtful things... Came home a few days later to a package of my things from his place at the door."
Would they realize they were talking about the same Peter??
And just who is Peter with now....
- WinterSpiderPurrs
A year later, Stephen and Tony are at a charity event. They already made their donations, but they have to show some face as well. The couple is very much looking forward to leaving soon and going on a date, just the two of them. Tony found a new exciting looking restaurant they want to try.
Seeing familiar faces in the crowd is to be expected, but this one feels different. It stirs up something in Tony, even after just one glance. His curls are shorter, but the colour is the same.
The young man turns, and their eyes meet. Tony doesn’t make the first move, too embarrassed to do so. He knows he was in the wrong way back then. But, the man approaches. God, Peter is even more beautiful now.
“Mr Stark! It’s been a long time.”
“Yeah, it really has. Mr Parker.” Tony manages to breathe out shakily. Peter’s smile seems so genuine, but there is something in his eyes. It is hard to pinpoint with all the memories swirling in Tony’s mind.
“Hey, honey. Ready to get going?” Stephen swoops in from behind, putting a hand on the back of Tony’s neck.
“Oh, Doctor Strange, too. Wow!” Peter gasps.
Only now does Stephen notice Peter and his eyes go wide in surprise.
“Peter! I didn’t expect to see you here.” Stephen says, reaching a hand out in a greeting. Peter takes it, but lets go quickly.
“Wait, you know him?” Tony asks, making Stephen turn to him with a puzzled look.
“Yes, uhm- he volunteered at the hospital. Is- is that- intern Peter?”
The husbands start talking over each other, not really listening to one another, but neither wants to back down either. By the time they look around, Peter has disappeared.
Date night probably isn’t going to go as they hoped it would.
——
i would love love looove if you continued it a little bit if you can hehe☺️☺️ maybe stephen and tony meet peter on their way out and see him with someone?? @winterspiderpurrs 💗💗
#i loved it sm i just had to write!!!#starker#strangespider#spiderstrange#ironstrange#tony stark x stephen strange#tony stark x peter parker#peter parker x stephen strange#tony stark#peter parker#stephen strange#ask
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totally not wasting time waiting for training to start at this work thing but (chinhands) what do u think abt stephen’s Love Languages™️
(YEEEEEEES!! ha ha ha YEEEEEEEEEEES! *sicko*)
I personally think his first love language is always flattery. It's honestly my favorite because he's a wizard, and as such, he has a manner with words.
Only later that his love language translates to physical touch, usually soft kisses, holding hands, touching his SO's face etc, until it becomes more and more intimate.
Now, from a headcanon perspective, I think he also loves babbling endlessly about magic (Gale-coded), and this is when he feels the most comfortable around the ones he loves, because then he ignores the fear of being annoying or patronizing. He usually pauses or is interrupted when explaining magic in canon, so I have the feeling he'd develop such a fear because no one really wants to hear him talk.
I also have the feeling that he'd use magic to write romantic letters, like a true good old-fashioned lover boy™.
Last but not least, it's canon that he plays the piano occasionally. So yep, when he sits and starts playing, you're truly seeing him in a very vulnerable and true state of expressing his feelings and love.
Stephen is really romantic and clingy when he feels safe and loved 🥺
#how can the sorcerer supreme be of assistance?#ask#doctor strange#stephen strange#headcanons#marvel comics
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Alternative SpongeBob universe where the SpongeBob characters have their biologically accurate lifespans, but this doesn’t take away from the sweet and goofy nature of the show.
SpongeBob is like 400 years old and every 100 years he switches careers. I like to think he built every room in the pineapple and filled it with his inventions, and collected a metric ton of books for the library where he does research only a really long living creature could, and made that workout room but even after all these years he just doesn’t have the muscle - not that that’s gonna stop him from trying.
In fact he’s relatively good at karate despite his weakness, probably from years of training and he still calls it kah-rah-tay, cause he’s silly like that.
Same with boating school, like centuries in and he still can’t drive, it’s priceless. He still can’t tie his shoes without listening to that loop de loop and pull song. And it’s endearing too because he keeps giving it a go regardless. He keeps making friends and trying to be cool and working and jellyfishing, etc.
Working in the fast food industry sucks to everyone except SpongeBob, because living simply with his pet snail and neighbours and working behind the grill for the town is just as pleasant if not better than every other miscellaneous job he’s done up to this point.
None of his friends mind that he’s got a massive lifespan compared to them, cause aside from the time being the same, I feel like it would just be as notable as him having five fingers. Like living in the ocean amongst so many different species just makes the lifespan differences common knowledge.
You’d think that SpongeBob eventually outliving his friends is a pretty depressing idea, and I’d see what you mean, I grew up with all those sad theory and fact videos about cartoon characters haha. But, genuinely, in my mind this universe would go the same way, and SpongeBob would cherish his friends, rain or shine, 2 years later or 200 years later. He has the chance to be a god in Atlantis in Neptunes Spatula, but of course he’s not going without Patrick and all his other friends, no way.
I am very normal. 💚
#spongebob#spongebob squarepants#text post#SpongeBob au#death mention#technically#lifespan#one of those outliving friends theories#but nicer!#ask to tag#spunch bob#this idea was partially inspired from Stephen Hillenburg’s SpongeBob art bible#where he writes about spongebobs characterisation as always determined despite#in spite of#and because of his flaws#this idea is strangely meaningful to me yeah#autism posting
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Your art is absolutely lovely. Love your Stephen.
Aaa thanku sm!! 🥹💕💕 All of u r too nice here in the dr strange fandom 😭im not too good w words so have this humble doodle in thanks 🙏
#doctor strange#stephen strange#i finally answered an ask on time!!!!>:D#also guys im genetically predisposed to diabetes and yall r playing a dangerous game w all this sweetness ur giving me#tqsm to everyone who rbs n likes my stuff n even send notes like these it rly made my new yrs eve great
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platonic best friends ironstrange, both rich as fuck, sets their eye on Pepper's brother, Peter. They've both met Peter before, back when he was eleven when Pepper brought him to work, now the two men meet Peter again, only he's twenty three and Engineer, has an MD and three PhDs.
" And don't forget, Happy is dropping Peter off soon. He is going to wait in my office til my meeting is done then Christine and I are taking him out to dinner"
" Who?" Says Tony.
Stephen rolls his eyes and sets his tea down.
" Her brother, Peter. It's all Christine can talk about. Visiting from college?"
Pepper smiles and nods her head, picking up the stack of paper work she just gotten Tony to sign.
" Yes! He has been so busy with his work and schooling I was surprised his schedule freed up"
She goes to the elevator " And Tony don't take him to the lab to show off. We have reservations for dinner. No distractions."
Tony puts his hand on his chest with an expression on his face like 'who me' Pepper shakes her head before the doors close.
Stephen snickers a little " It has been years... 10? 12? Since Peter was last here and last time you both were in the lab for hours."
Tony laughs " Yeah Pepper was so pissed because we got busy and forgot dinner and Peter fell asleep"
Sipping his coffee, Tony leans back against the counter top in the lounge area of the private office floor.
" Can't believe it's been that long since we have since the little guy"
Stephen nods and was about to speak when the elevator door opened.
" Thanks for picking me up again Mr. Hogan!"
" Sure kid. "
Out walking in pale yellow, bouncy brown curls, bright smile. A ray of sunshine.
" Hey Mr. Stark! Hey, Dr. Strange! I'm just gonna wait in Pep's office til her and Tine come get me. " he gives a wave and a wink.
Stephen recalls how much Christine swooned at the fact that Pepper's little brother at the time had a lisp cause of a missing tooth. Instead of calling her Christine, he just said Tine since he had such a hard time with it.
" We are going to Del Frisco's once Pep is done, if it won't be to akward for ya you both are more then welcome to join us"
With that one Peter Parker walks into Pepper's office and closes the door.
Stephen and Tony stare at the door and then turn to look at each other. How could this handsome guy be the akward little kid they met over 12 years ago?
You see about 12 years ago Stephen and Tony were on a double date. What they didn't expect is for their dates to hit it off with the other instead of them. Hence how Pepper and Christine got to together.
But back to Peter. There was something about him that drew them in. Both men were intrigued. But they would have to play this delicately.
Peter was important to Pepper and Christine. Tony and Stephen stand and walk toward Pepper's office. They stop at the door and face each other. They shake hands and nod.
They were on the same page.
Now may the best man win.
They haven't competed for anything in a while.
This time, the prize seemed so much sweet.
#writing prompt#asks#prompt answered#answered asks#send me asks#hope you like it#tony stark/peter parker#tony stark x peter parker#starker#spiderstrange#strangespider#peter parker x stephen strange#starkerstrange#ironspiderstrange
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ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛꜱ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ꜱᴍɪʟᴇꜱ, ᴘᴛ. 2 | ꜱ. ꜱᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ
GIF not mine!
Stephen Strange x Avenger!Reader
ask: Could you write a Stephen Strange x reader one shot (or longer if you feel it haha) where the reader is an avenger and she’s secretly dating Stephen? Like they’re sneaking around and staying at each other’s places (sanctum and tower/compound) and use portals in the mornings to get back where they’re supposed to be. Maybe a close call where Stephen literally kicks her off the bed and into a portal back to her own bed to avoid getting caught. Then later they’re found out somehow by tony/the team?
word count: 9.8k (send some help, please)
warnings: even more fluff, a bit of angst, nightmare, some good ol’ nightmare aftercare proudly presented you by Stephen Strange, more sneaking around the team, the team gets suspicious, cursing, curse words, Stephen being… Stephen, injuries
author’s note: pt. 2 is here!!!! Gosh, I’m still so excited about this ask and have to pour my entire heart into it. Thanks again for the request @clockblobber <3 This one is proofread but ignore mistakes if you stumble upon them – my brain is mush today, and I’m gonna go over it again tomorrow
»pt. 1 is here«
Typing away on her phone – Stephen had been at Kamar-Taj for quite some time now to deal with the new students of the mystic arts, and she had insisted that he saved all his energy for teaching them instead of visiting her every night – YN entered the living area of the compound after arriving from an intel mission only minutes ago. Scott followed close behind because his adjustable size had been crucial for the success of the mission, and with a deep sigh, he dropped into one of the armchairs unoccupied by the other present Avengers who had gathered for movie night.
YN didn’t even notice, too enthralled by the device between her fingers, and ran straightly into a walking Peter, who almost lost his balance. “Woah, hey there, Peter.” She grabbed his arm to prevent him from meeting the floor on a more intimate level and pushed the phone into the back pocket of her jeans. “Sorry, didn’t see you,” YN apologized while patting his shoulder softly. She always had gotten a soft spot for the young man and always looked out for him during missions, even though he could handle himself pretty darn good.
The brunette shook his head in protest. “It was my–…” But YN didn’t let him finish. “Nah-uh, I don’t wanna hear a single word.” She turned her head to be greeted by seven pairs of staring eyes, curiosity filled their irises completely – and she didn’t like one second of it. “Nevermind. You people prepared some decent snacks, or do I have to do the work again?” Because that had been the case during the last couple of movie nights which ended in ordering pizza and bickering about the choice of film.
They never really managed to watch more than one before it’s gotten worse and worse until Tony demanded the remote control sovereignty because he had paid for everything they used, while Nat and herself booed loudly because the Widows never were a fan of another Star Wars-filled night. Peter was always on Tony’s side – naturally – while Bucky and Steve kept themselves out of the discussion, still not really used to the “new” pop culture they had to face nowadays. At least Wanda, Clint, and Scott counted themselves as a constant part of Team Widow, and Thor, as well as Bruce, loved to hop between camps, always depending on the movie in question. Only Vision was indifferent, but everyone had gotten used to it by now.
It was utter chaos, sometimes even on the brink of anarchy, but YN loved it. She never had something like that in her life – at least, she couldn’t remember having a family – because she was never as lucky as Nat and never had a pretending family. Even though she wasn’t sure if she would’ve liked it very much. She always had lived her life within the confinements of the Red Room, always under the watchful eye of high-ranking generals and officers, always under the influence of a drug she didn’t want to remember. She had killed not only for Dreykov but also Hydra. She had met the Winter Soldier long before he had escaped his cruel purpose. And then, Nat had found her during one of her missions, months after the attack on New York, and Bruce and Tony had managed to get the drug out of her system. They had saved her and given her a life with a purpose, with a moral compass. YN had gotten another chance. And with that chance, a certain master of the mystic arts came into the picture – and the rest was history.
Blinking rapidly, YN escaped her thoughts and turned her attention back to the group. “The food is on its way, but we could use some more snacks,” Wanda told her, an apologetic smile on her face, but YN only rolled her eyes with a grin. “Sure y’all do. I’m gonna get you covered – but don’t you dare start the movie without me!” She made eye contact with Tony, who already held the remote in hand, and cocked not only an eyebrow but her head as well. “Try me, Stark,” she warned, and the man raised both hands in surrender. “We will behave perfectly.” Nodding, YN turned around, phone already in hand again, and trotted through the corridor into the kitchen.
Arriving there, the device started to vibrate, but it wasn’t an incoming text. With a soft smile, she accepted the call and settled the phone between ear and shoulder. “To what do I owe the honor of your call?” A greeting wasn’t necessary between these two anymore. Calling one another was as simple as taking Wilson down in combat training, unlike during the beginning of their relationship. Calls had been an utter nightmare.
A chuckle echoed through the speaker. “Do I need a reason to call the woman to whom I’ve pledged my love and devotion?” Softly laughing, YN grabbed a stack of bowls out of one of the many cupboards and spread them over the counter. “I see, you’ve read a lot of Shakespearian-sounding literature. Anything interesting?” She could hear Stephen’s grin from the other end of the world. “A few works weren’t that bad. I found spells I have never heard of before, and I think they could be useful if mastered properly. What are you up to, darling?”
In the meantime, YN had grabbed an assortment of snacks, and after ripping every package open, she dumped them in the waiting bowls, one by one. “Oh, nothing. It’s Friday, so we have movie night at the compound, and it will be a nightmare after film one. Just the usual.” She almost felt his sympathy physically. “I suppose Stark won’t give up the remote?” Scoffing, the Widow rounded the kitchen island to take a closer look into the freezer. “You can bet your sexy ass on it, love. Oh, yes. Come to me, ice cream!” She hadn’t planned for the outburst to leave her lips, but well.
With an evil chuckle, YN grabbed the last package of ice cream from behind a mountain of frosted vegetables – Nice try, Tony – and opened the foil to start eating it before returning to the living room. “Remind me never to hide any ice cream from you, my evil darling,” he laughed, and YN grinned happily. “It’s his ice cream. I would never dare to steal your ice cream because I love you dearly, my dear.”
Softly humming while eating the sweet substance, the woman leaned against the counter, totally unaware of the young man who stood just around the corner and heard every single word. She and Stephen talked for a few minutes more before they ended the call with the promise of a cozy weekend after she came back from her scheduled mission in Prague.
Meanwhile, Peter stood almost frozen in the middle of the living room, eyes wide and unsure where to start – and if he should say a word about the discovery he just had made anyway. But his mouth was faster than his brain. “Uhm… You always complain that YN is… is vanishing so often?” Instantly, Peter had gathered the attention of every single soul within this room. Steve furrowed his forehead, and even Bucky looked a bit worried while Tony straightened up on his spot on the couch. “Yeah? Talk, kiddo.” Peter scratched the back of his head and shrugged. “I think she has a boyfriend – or girlfriend! I’m totally open for both if she likes women more than men and if her partner in crime is a woman, that’s super cool because rainbows and love and–…” Scott patted his shoulder to silence the young superhero. “Think, that’s enough, Peter.”
The team exchanged glances before a bubbling laugh escaped from Tony’s mouth and let them look in his direction. Tears gathered in his eyes while his body shook with every laughter erupted from him. “YN and… and a boyfriend! Best joke ever!” Still laughing, Tony wiped the tears off his cheeks and shook his head. “Keep believing that, kiddo, but we know her a bit longer than you do. She would never have something like that because love isn’t her thing.” Nat cocked a copper eyebrow. “Love is her thing, but only on paper within books because men exhaust her – and she is only interested in them.” Steve seemed not to be convinced fully, but the creases on his forehead slowly erased themselves and Bucky leaned back on the two-seater they shared. “Not everyone needs love in their lives. Some only need certain needs satisfied, and…–“ Wanda threw a pillow against the former Winter Soldier’s head. “Bucky! He is still a teenager!” He raised both hands before crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“But…” Peter tried, but now it was Clint who patted his other shoulder. “Drop it, kid. She disappears to have time to herself. It gets crowded here, and sometimes, her thoughts run in the wrong direction. Can’t blame her. Everyone needs some peace and quietness from time to time.”
Unconvinced, Peter plopped down onto one of the two beanbags, the other entirely reserved for YN herself, and just a second later, three bowls floated through the doorframe into the living room. Before they could settle down on the coffee table between the seating area and flatscreen, Vision and Wanda took them out of the air and placed them down themselves. YN entered right after that, the other three bowls in her arms and a thankful expression in her eyes. “Thanks, V, Wanda. Wasn’t sure if I could master the landing.”
The red-haired witch smiled at her while the Widow rounded the couch and dropped her body onto the dark blue beanbag. “I told you it would get better with some more practice.” She sounded more than a bit pleased. YN grinned up at her. “Yup, totally.” She didn’t need to know that a certain sorcerer had helped her with the powers she mostly could only use with blunt force because no one in the Red Room had bothered to tame her. Years might have been passed since her escape, but those powers were gone for a while after her mind had reached the surface of consciousness. Probably a self-protection mechanism if Stephen was right with his educated guess. At least she could control them to a certain extent now. It would get better over time.
Another text from Stephen shifted her mood for the better after it had tried to take a detour back to the dark place it loved to sit and sulk. The movie was secondary, and even after the food arrived – sushi and pizza – YN barely looked up from her phone and was awfully quiet as soon as the bickering started anew.
Steve watched her closely and shock settled in his chest at the sight of a smile he had never seen on the face of one of his best friends before. Happy. Full of contentment. Her eyes twinkling and sparkling. She never was unhappy, of course not, but the soldier from another time knew the feeling she had always felt – the feeling of not fitting in. And suddenly, a realization crept up on him: Maybe that feeling had vanished somewhere along the road.
;
It was quiet in the compound. The world’s mightiest heroes had ended the day a few hours prior, soon after the Quinjet with YN and Sam had landed on the tarmac. It had become a ritual to wait upon arriving team members and to drink a soothing cup of tea to unwind from the previous mission and catch up on the gossip inside the compound.
Now, YN slept in the warm and loving embrace of a pair of strong arms, her head laying on a softly rising and falling chest, the sounds of Stephen’s deep slumber always the best method to lull her into sleep. But she started to move, softly at first, barely palpable. She rolled off his chest, and naturally, the tight embrace loosened around her body. Nails dragged over the comforter, ripped loose threads off the fabric while YN’s face contorted in confusion and fear, in agony and horror. Her breathing quickened, the heart within her rib cage started to race, and sweat dampened her forehead and back.
The dreams always hunted the Widow, but oh boy. The horrors of other nights were nothing in comparison.
The first escaping moan didn’t wake Stephen, not even the second one, the man too tired from long hours inside the Sanctum’s library to find one specific spell he had needed.
It was the scream that woke him with a startle.
“NO!”
Stephen didn’t need to turn on the light to see exactly where she was after tearing open his eyes. He pushed the traitorous blankets off his legs to scoot over to the moving and trashing woman. His hands almost didn’t grasp her arms because it scared the man how cold and damp her skin was. She had those dreams not as often as they used to come, but they were never this bad.
The next scream, so full of agony and blank horror, ripped his already bleeding heart to shreds. Stephen grabbed her upper arms softly, stroked them, caressed her face while pleading with her barely conscious mind to let her escape her own personal hell.
“YN, please. Please, wake up. I am here, nothing is going to happen. Everything is alright. It’s just a dream, only a dream. I am here, love. God damn it, let her wake up!” His voice sounded helpless, angry about the universe and himself, and with horror in his own eyes, he could see the light of the corridor suddenly shining through the slit between door and floor. Shaking her gently but urgently, Stephen tried it again while multiple hurried steps came closer to her door. “YN. YN! Wake up, love!”
With a violent gasp, her eyes finally teared open, tears staining her reddened cheeks, beads of sweat tracing her temples and contracting throat. Her eyes immediately found his face, but Stephen couldn’t mutter a single word. Instead, he left the bed in a hurry and hid in the bathroom – not his best move, but he didn’t care at the moment – and just in time, he closed the door only for another door to be opened. Hurried voices echoed through the room, and the sorcerer pushed both hands into his hair, running them through it over and over to calm himself and his rapid heartbeat.
He hated how helpless he had felt and still felt while others comforted his girl. He hated every single second of it and counted the moments until they left and closed the door again.
“Stephen…?”
Her small, shaking, and questioning voice pulled the sorcerer out of his spiraling thoughts, and without wasting another second, he ripped open the door. With a few long strides, he was back at her side, settling into their bed and pulling her flush against his chest. Stephen could feel the tears wetting his shirt, but he didn’t care. She could ruin every single piece of clothing he owned, and he would hold her anyway.
“I am here,” he whispered between kisses on her head. “Nothing is going to happen to you.” He could feel her short but stiff nod, almost as if she was a robot and didn’t learn how to move like a human. Both his hands stroked over her back - up and down, in a never-ending motion. Her body still trembled, and YN dug her fingers into the fabric of his shirt, clung to the man like a drowning woman clinging to a piece of driftwood. “I love you. I love you more than anything in this universe. I will always love you. It’s okay. It’ll be okay. They can’t hurt you.” He didn’t make any sense, but it didn’t matter.
After what felt like a never-ending eternity, YN stopped shaking like a leaf, her breathing slowed down again, and her hold on him was not that crushing anymore. “Sorry,” she mumbled, but Stephen was quick to brush through her hair and soothe the rising anxiety within her tormented mind. “Stop apologizing. There is nothing to apologize for.” He needed her to understand that, but his girl was smarter than anyone else – maybe except him.
She tried to find a more comfortable position but gave up because every single piece of fabric clung to her still damp skin. “Where did you hide?” Her voice was only a whisper, but the silence had settled back over the compound, so Stephen heard every single word and every single breath. “The bathroom,” he mumbled and pressed a soft kiss to her neck. YN’s soft chuckle was a good sign, and it put the beginning of a smile on his face. “Not your best move, love. Imagine one of them would’ve gone in there to get a cool cloth or something. What a sight that would be…”
He may roll his eyes, but Stephen was glad that YN could already joke around. That had always been a good sign.
The sorcerer pressed another kiss to her neck before looking into her barely lit face. “Do you want to talk about it?” Slowly, she shook her head. He knew she would decline just now, but he had to ask nonetheless. “Can’t. Need the sun to be up.” Her illogical fear of getting dragged back into the hell that was the Red Room still present in her overworking mind, and she knew how stupid it was. But Stephen never had judged her, not one single second. “Of course,” he said, caressing her face. “How about a shower?” She nodded against his neck, where she buried her face now, and Stephen picked her up with ease to carry her into his former hiding spot.
And that’s where they spent almost an hour under the warm water jet, her eyes closed, while Stephen softly washed her hair and did her entire hair and skincare routine. It always amazed YN how much attention this man granted her alone and how much he seemed to adore her. It was mind-blowing, really, and she desperately wished that this would be something lasting an entire lifetime.
;
Holding hands like lovestruck teenagers, YN and Stephen walked through Greenwich Village to enjoy one of the loveliest golden fall days they had encountered in a long time. She loved seeing the man next to her in casual clothes – a long dark jeans, grey shirt, and a dark green cardigan – though she wasn’t sure what about it made him look so irresistible. Maybe it was the domesticity of it, the warm feeling of home, and the comforting knowledge that one was deeply loved and valued. Or perhaps it was just his good looks and the eyes full of envy thrown her way by nearly every woman they’d passed so far.
Stephen gingerly pulled her closer to his side and put her hand around his bicep, wanting her as close as possible. Everyone should know that this woman wasn’t just an acquaintance, a mere friend who just happened to walk with him in the same direction. He could see the looks full of longing and the visible drool on some male’s chins. It was only natural that he did something about it, so he bent down and pressed a lingering kiss on YN’s temple to show the world what they needed to know. He was glad that reporters didn’t try to bother them anymore.
At least one thing Tony’s existence is good for, Stephen thought cynical, but different from his thoughts, his mood shone as bright as the fall sun over their heads.
“What are you up for today?” YN beat him to this crucial question. “Lazy walks around the block? A trip to Belvedere Castle? Exploring the new exhibition at the Louvre?” Her eyes looked as bright as the sky above them, and if the world paid close attention to the sorcerer now, they would’ve bared witness to the softest of smiles they’d have ever seen. But the world was blind, so the smile full of adoration and utter wonder over how his life had turned only visible for the one woman in his life.
Humming deep in thought, Stephen pulled one of her hands, which were both settled around his arm and in the crook between bicep and elbow, up to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “I’ve heard there is a new patisserie only two blocks further which happens to sell chocolate strawberries,” the man suggested, and pride and satisfaction filled his chest and body at the sight of her round eyes and the radiant smile stretching across her lips.
His past self wouldn’t believe his eyes. During some days, even he had difficulties comprehending the change he went through in order to become as worthy as possible for the woman next to him. Still, he didn’t believe to be worthy enough and was convinced that better men were waiting for her, but he couldn’t let her go. He was, again, too selfish, but she seemingly didn’t mind.
Maybe the universe granted him the happy ending after all.
“Can we go there? Like… now? Immediately?” Grinning, Stephen nodded but didn’t think of using a portal. He needed to savor every single second he could get with her – just as she did with him. So they walked the two blocks, side by side, softly telling each other about their respective days and just basking in each other’s presence.
The idyll got suddenly destroyed as YN stopped dead in her tracks and stared over the busy street to her right. She needed to bent around Stephen because the stubborn man never let her walk next to the road if he was with her, but she was sure her peripheral vision hadn’t tricked her. And the Widow was right: on the other side were Clint and Nat, talking about something which made the archer laugh.
“Fuck,” was all she hissed for now, and even Stephen caught up to her observation. But he couldn’t form a single word because the woman had already grabbed his hand and pulled him to continue their route for now. Her eyes were trained on the opposite side of the road while she gracefully avoided collisions with every approaching passerby. The sorcerer didn’t know how exactly she did that, but maybe it was her own little magic trick. He only followed her, always alternating between looking to the other pair of Avengers and straight ahead to nudge YN in a different direction if necessary.
“We need to turn the next one,” YN decided at the sight of Nat and Clint waiting for the streetlight to turn green. “And we need to be faster.” As soon as the words had left her lips, Nat turned slightly and looked in their vague direction. “Stephen, now.” They dived behind a group of tourists and sneaked into an alleyway but didn’t stop. Instead, their steps increased in speed, and YN guided them through a labyrinth of hidden shortcuts, backyards, and a tremendous amount of turns and corners. “You definitely have Google Maps in that pretty head of yours,” the sorcerer decided after another complicated combination of turning and shortcutting, and YN chuckled cheerfully while he had lost track after the second corner. “The first premise is always to know your neighborhoods better than the content of your backpack. And since I’m spending almost more time here than at the compound, I believed it was time to know my way around – just in case.” Grinning, YN guided them through another alleyway, but now, they stepped onto one of the main streets of Greenwich Village, the Sanctum Sanctorum already in sight.
Stephen turned towards her and cocked an eyebrow. “But what’s with the chocolate strawberries?” YN softly shrugged and circled both arms around his neck; his hands almost immediately settled upon her jeans-clad hips, pushed underneath the long cardigan she had thrown over the old band shirt she wore and which was her pride and joy. She rubbed the tip of their noses against each other and kissed him quickly. “We can get them later. What about that trip to the Louvre? I’m tempted to bet that we won’t see any of their faces in Paris,” the Widow whispered temptingly against his lips, and if Stephen weren’t already sold, he would be now.
But before he released her out of his grasp, he bent his head lower to kiss her properly – one hand tangled in her soft hair while the other pulled her smaller body against his. Their lips moved in complete sync, eyes closed at the blissful feeling of warmth and butterflies, breathing labored, hearts beating rapidly against one another.
Smirking, Stephen ended the kiss with one last sweet peck. He wasn’t sure what had happened in the last two and a half years ever since that woman entered his life and turned everything upside down, but he never would want it any other way.
“Now, we can go,” he spoke with a raspy but tender voice, and the portal opened just behind him to lead the couple into the heart of the city of love. He held his hand open, so YN could take it what she did with a bright smile on her gorgeous face. “Madame.” She curtsied with a soft grin. “Merci beaucoup, monsieur.” The reply escaped her in flawless French as she stepped over the golden glittering threshold, and she pulled Stephen with her before the portal closed itself and released the couple into a carefree Parisian afternoon.
;
“Sometimes you have the greatest ideas,” YN sighed, stomach full and on an endorphin high with all the sugar and love in her system. Stephen stretched his long, toned body over the comforter laying atop his four-poster bed, head propped up on one hand, eyes locked on the woman on the other side of the mattress, the remnants of their small indoor picnic between them. “Only sometimes, hm?” He teased her, and YN laughed wholeheartedly while taking one of the napkins and throwing it in the vague direction of his smirking face. “Oh, stop it,” she grinned before stealing the last chocolate strawberry and plopping the sweet fruit between her lips. Moaning, she chewed with closed eyes and let herself fall back into the pillows. “Best thing there is on this planet.”
His hand moved softly through the air, from left to right, his scarred pointer and ring finger sticking out while the rest was balled to a half-fist, and suddenly, the picnic disappeared. The sorcerer knew it would find its way onto the kitchen counter left from the sink. But he didn’t concern himself with the whereabouts of the dishes because as soon as the magic was executed, Stephen rolled himself on top of YN, arms resting next to her face so he wouldn’t crush her under his weight.
“You’re really trying to insult me even more?” It was only a rumble against her lips, and now it was her to smirk up to the sorcerer. “Yes, because I know what those tiny hits do to you – and what it will bring me,” she whispered back before kissing him softly, the sound of heavy raindrops loud on the windows of the Sanctum.
They had planned for a picnic in Central Park, far away from the privacy-invading eyes of nosy New Yorkers and tourists as soon as they lay eyes on the two Avengers. The forecast had been perfect all week long, but then, just after they had gotten ready and opened the doors of the grand building in Greenwich Village, the sky opened its gates, and the heaviest fall downpour in the history of New York made its appearance. Other people would’ve been crushed – other people as in YN – but Stephen didn’t graduate with honors when he would own nothing but simple-mindedness. He had wrapped YN in his arm, brought her back inside, and with a few flicks of his hands, the master bedroom was prepared for a cozy day indoors. They had watched numerous episodes of Golden Girls – YN loved the sitcom ever since encountering it during her post-Red Room recovery under the watchful eye of SHIELD – and she had even etched Stephen to play one of his old interviews for the prestigious Medical Journal. He didn’t like to dive into his old life, but he loved to watch the evident fascination on his girl’s face at the sight of his accomplishments. Stephen was nothing but a sucker for praise coming from this woman.
The feeling of her soft hands on the nape of his neck and her fingernails gently carding through the short hair there was everything Stephen needed or wanted in his life. It reminded him of his childhood, which barely happens anymore, but with her, everything felt light and bright, just as it did back then. Her chuckle at the feeling of his goatee tickling her lips was the sound he almost loved the most. It ranked somewhere between the tiredly mumbled I love you, Stephen when she was on the brink of sleep and the nicknames she used to call him. Nobody had believed that Stephen was a softy, he at the very least. But he was, and he didn’t want to change a thing about it.
“Thank you,” YN whispered between pecks of his lips and rubbed their noses against each other. She loved doing that. It always gave her a heart attack, for sure, especially when Stephen looked at her like he did now – as if she was the most important and gorgeous being on this planet – but it reminded her that her life was a different one now, filled with soft touches and warmth. There was still violence in it, definitely, but it was the good kind of violence. A violence born in the attempts to make earth a safer place, which was the entire opposite of her upbringing and early adulthood. And the man atop of her was a crucial part of it, and she loved every second. “For what?” His question almost got lost in the kiss they shared, lips moving more heated against one another while the tip of YN's tongue teased his soft bottom lip. YN shrugged and let Stephen roll over the mattress and, simultaneously, pull her on top of him. She propped her arms on his broad, strong chest - one of her preferred places on earth - and peppered his chin with soft kisses while searching for the right words. “For showing me love and how it is to be loved, and for always reminding me that this is my life now and not a dream I will wake up from one day and find myself back at square one. You’re completing me, love.” Her last words were barely a whisper, still too shy and insecure about expressing the depths of her feelings for this man, even though they had enough reasons to already know about them.
She was always scared of pushing him away with the intensity of her emotions as if her soul tried to compensate her for all those years without them, and YN probably would be scared for the rest of her life, even though no one had left her so far. Quiet the contrary. She had gained friends and an unexpected family, lifelong companions, and a relationship meant to be until her last day on earth, whenever that might be.
Smiling up to her, Stephen kissed her a second and a third time right after that, his fingers pushing soft strands of her hair out of her face with the beautifully blushed cheeks and behind her ear. "No, darling," he said lovingly and tenderly caressed the side of her face. Instantly, YN leaned into his touch, and Stephen thought his heart might explode right in this instant. "Don't thank me for that. You deserve every ounce of love I, and everyone else, can give you. And don't try to deny it. I know it's true." He looked up to her with seriousness in his bright blue eyes, capturing YN instantly like they always did. The couple just laid there, gazing into each other's eyes, before the woman on top of him cracked a small, shy smile and gently caressed his cheekbone with the pad of her thumb. "You are a wonder, Stephen Vincent Strange," she whispered, blunt wonder and amazement evident in her soft voice. "I will thank the universe for the rest of my life for the path it had put me on." Now it was Stephen who felt the blood rushing swiftly into his cheeks, and clearing his throat, he chuckled awkwardly, not sure how to handle the emotions now rushing through his consciousness.
Whatever she is doing to us, don't let it stop, and don't you dare ruin it, a warning voice spoke somewhere in his head, and the sorcerer almost snorted audibly. As if he would ever destroy the safe haven these two had created together in a world where peace was sometimes hard to find and even harder to hold onto and preserve. He would be quite the idiot if he'd pushed or scared YN away. But to his very luck, this woman was as fearless as an amazon, born out of the stories of ancient times when gods walked the earth and granted individuals the power to conquer anything.
She owned that force of nature within her delicate body.
The fingertips of one hand had started to slowly stroke over the length of her spine, while his other hand had found its home on her right cheek, cupping the soft skin and smiling as YN turned her head to kiss his palm. "I'm not good with words, you know that, but the feeling is mutual, darling. I never had luck with relationships of any kind and nature, never knowing what to do and what was expected from me. But finding you was the greatest gift life could ever grant me because we're learning this together, experiencing everything together, without judgment and accusations if something goes wrong. This-," Stephen placed a gentle peck on the tip of her nose, "-us, is my safe haven. You are my safe haven. I don't need more." A grin formed on her face, and she cocked an eyebrow, doubtingly, and the sorcerer sighed and chuckled. "Well, plus some space for my books," he added, and YN laughed as well. "And for all of your suits and ties. Not to mention the space Cloaky demands in your closet over there."
Pulling her even closer to him - if that was even possible - Stephen growled lowly in his chest before pulling YN's face closer to his to steal another heated kiss. "I'm trying to express my feelings for you, woman, and all you do is continue to insult me. It's not the proper response." Now it was her to steal a kiss from him, and he felt the grin on his lips. "When did you ever care for properness and social expectations, Mr. Strange?" Stephen grinned a devilish smile before he moved his head to start nipping at the soft skin of her exposed neck. "No one had ever spoken truer words, but it still is Doctor Strange, my darling love, even for you."
YN couldn't fight the urgent need to let her eyes fall shut at the tingling feeling that Stephen's lips and teeth on her skin created in the pit of her stomach, and a deep sigh, suspiciously resembling an excited moan, escaped her.
But the mood was ruined faster than hurricane Katrina had reached the North American shore.
The sound of hurried steps, loud voices, and an overall hectic group of intruders let the couple look up and straight to the massive wooden door of the bedroom. YN didn't even have the time to roll off Stephen to find the perfect hiding spot - she already had a few spots in mind - because the familiar sound of voices let her freeze for a moment too long.
What is Tony doing here?! And is that... Steve's voice?
Her mind screamed question after question, and just as the steps reached the floor of their shared bedroom, Stephen did something she would never have expected to be on his mind, or he even dared to think of: He opened a portal right at the edge of the four poster bed and threw her an apologetic look. Her own eyes went wide, and YN shook her head - slowly at first until it became faster and harder with every passing heartbeat. "No. Don't you fucking da-...!" But it was too late because just as the Widow tried to finish the threat laying on the tip of her tongue, Stephen pushed her off his body, off the bed, and straight into the portal.
YN hated the feeling of falling - he knew that fucking well! - and a shriek fought its way out of her throat until she hit the edge of her own bed in her room at the compound. She felt and heard a crack as her back hit the edge of the mattress because this obnoxious, massive, and idiotic specimen of a moron had miscalculated everything, and she hung upside down on the furniture. Her arms were stretched over her head, hands resting on the carpet laying in front of her bed to prevent icy feet in the morning, and a groan escaped her as soon as her back started to protest vehemently.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!"
The portal was long closed, but YN felt the urge to scream her frustration out in the open before another groan left her.
"Fuck."
-
Stephen knew very well that he had a lot of making up to do after what he had just done, but they had never been this close to getting caught by the remaining team, who was still painfully unaware of the couple underneath them.
"Why do you barge into my home on a Saturday afternoon? Are you feeling lonely, Stark? Sorry to break it to you, but I'm neither your wife nor your boyfriend, which you brought here as well, what a surprise. Rogers." The two men, plus Wong and Wanda, almost stumbled over themselves as they pushed open the door and entered his bedroom, just as the portal had closed itself after one movement of his hand. Too close, reminded the voice in his head, and Stephen knew that YN and he had to discuss this very prominent issue in their lives.
The arriving Avengers composed themselves again before Tony spoke up. "If you would have been so kind and answered the thirty-six calls and messages, we wouldn't have to come all the way here, Gandalf. But as you obviously fucked up your phone, because I can't think of another reason for not answering, we had to come to pick you up like a damn lost kid at the information counter in a mall." His gaze didn't even flicker to the phone resting atop the bedside table. The sorcerer had put it in flight mode to have some uninterrupted hours with his girl, but that little habit of his bit them both in the ass. They really needed to talk about the whole ordeal. "So, swing your lazy ass out of this bed and do your job. Earth called to get rescued again."
And with that, Tony left, leaving a sighing Steve behind, while Wanda observed Stephen too closely for his liking. The sorcerer raised an eyebrow, challenging her with a glare to keep doing that, and the witch started to smile a small smile before following Tony down the grand staircase. After a "We should get going" from America's Golden Boy, he left as well, leaving only Wong and Stephen in his room. The other sorcerer shrugged with an expression almost describable as apologizing, and he shook his head before changing into his blue robes with a looping motion of his hand and a snap of his fingers.
Cloaky was right at his side and put itself on his shoulders but pushed the sorcerer to a sudden halt as it motioned into the direction where the portal to YN's bedroom had closed a few moments ago. "We'll check on her, I promise." The ancient artifact seemed pleased for the moment, but Stephen dreaded the future encounter with his girlfriend because he could already imagine her words and could vividly picture the scene unfolding in front of him a few hours later.
And he was right.
-
After a successful mission filled with otherworldly beings - the reason why 80% of the attending team had been able to handle magic - Stephen returned with the others to the compound and delivered his report before slipping away. He needed to find YN to evaluate the damage he had caused with his little stunt, and he obviously wasn't the only one with that thought because the red fabric around his shoulders parted from his master to fly a few steps ahead, even though it didn't know where they should head.
Looking up toward the corridor's ceiling, Stephen contemplated if it was a thoughtful idea to ask Tony's AI. The Stark was nothing but thorough, so it wouldn't surprise the sorcerer if the douchebag made notes after each and every day about what each team member had asked. But he had to take the risk if he didn't want to waste countless hours searching the vast compound by foot.
"FRIDAY? It's FRIDAY, isn't it?" He had never used the AI, not a single time, even though he had been part of this circus for longer than he liked to admit. "How can I be of assistance, Doctor Strange?" At least she doesn't sound like Tony himself, was all Stephen could think at that moment because it would be so typical for this self-loving prick. "Are you able to locate people inside the building?"
Meanwhile, he continued walking without a destination yet. "That is indeed part of my abilities. Who do you wish to locate?" He turned a corner and found himself in front of an elevator, Cloaky already levitating in front of it. "YN," it was almost a mumble, but the AI still understood him. Thinking about it in more detail, Stephen really didn't want to know what FRIDAY could hear inside the personal rooms of the Avengers.
Maybe Tony never took notes because if he would, there was not even the slight possibility that he didn't know about them - and Stephen would be long strangled in a random corner of the compound.
"Miss LN is currently on the second floor, gym 03." The elevator immediately opened its door and Cloaky floated inside, beckoning Stephen to follow it with an almost annoyingly raise of its fabric's edge. Sometimes the sorcerer wasn't sure if the Cloak of Levitation still saw him as its master or if he preferred YN over him. Sometimes it even felt like it was their child and had decided to be a mama's kid after hanging long enough at its father's heels.
Maybe he felt a bit betrayed, yes.
"Thank you, FRIDAY." Stephen could be polite if he wanted. "A pleasure, Doctor Strange."
And with that, the elevator closed and brought him to the second floor to face the mess he had made.
He only had sat one foot on the floor, and the distinct sound of metal rushing through the air reached his ears. Swallowing thickly, Stephen followed the artifact, now knowing where it had to rush in order to check on its favorite person, while the sorcerer dreaded to enter the gym, where YN clearly handled pointy and sharp objects.
Probably with a picture of your face pinned against the bull's eye.
A throwing knife hit the target with a dull sound at the moment Stephen entered the gym, and he could see that YN had already drawn the next one out of the holster at her thigh. She flipped it gracefully in her hand, without even sparing one glance at it. He couldn't tell if she looked particularly angry or just tired, but at the sight of her next throw, he knew that something was off - and he would bet the last bits of his former fortune that it had to do with him. But Cloaky cleared the field for now and saved him from being punctured as it wrapped itself around her shoulders and almost lovingly nuzzled itself against her cheeks.
YN turned to him, cocking an eyebrow and casually playing with the delicate knife between her skillful fingers. "Look who's man enough to show up," the Widow smirked while patting the red fabric around her shoulders. Stephen stepped in her direction but stopped abruptly as the former assassin swiftly spun around and threw the last knife. She was already turned back to face him as the weapon was still mid-air and Stephen stared in utmost wonder as it hit the bull's eye nonetheless.
"You wanted to say something, darling?"
Her sweet smile couldn't fool the sorcerer, and the blunt show of her skill was nothing that scared him because he was certain of one fact: They would both never hurt the other, not even in their furriest rage.
But this game could be played by two.
With a barely visual flick of his right hand, Stephen gained a hold of her body without touching her and pulled her the last couple of steps to him until their bodies stood pressed against each other in the room. He wrapped an arm around her waist and started to play with her braided hair with the other hand.
"I came to apologize."
YN lifted the other brow. Even though they were in a pretty healthy relationship, it didn't happen every week that Stephen Strange uttered those words or even the magical sentence I am sorry which automatically implied that he admitted he did something wrong. That's why she waited patiently, hands resting on his upper abdomen.
A sigh left him. “I only had your best intentions in mind, primarily because we never talked about how to approach the topic in front of the others, and I figured you would preferrer to crack it to them in a more… neutral environment than our bedroom.” She hummed in agreement but still waited. Stephen eyed her face and let go of her braid to cup her cheek softly. “I am sorry, darling,” he whispered now, and after a deep breath, YN nodded. “Okay. But don’t you dare do that ever again, especially if your mind isn’t fully focused because I don’t feel the need to hit the edge of my bed a second time. My back still hurts, you moron.” And with that, she raised one arm to hit the back of his head softly with an open palm, but it was enough to convey the message.
Instantly, a worried expression settled on his handsome face, and the hand resting on her lower back started to trace her spine underneath the red fabric of the cloak that now clumsily caressed her other cheek. Stephen put pressure on his touch, feeling every vertebra pressing unyieldingly against his fingertips, and Stephen observed her face almost painfully close. She didn’t move a muscle, but he witnessed the slight furrow of her forehead and brows as his fingertips reached the middle of her back, where her spine gently curved.
Right at the lumbar curve, between L2 and L3, he thought while his fingertips continued the pressure in various places. It’s probably the ligament between.
“Does it hurt when I release the pressure?” His question was softly spoken, and YN still looked up to him, eyeing his face attentively. She cocked her head from one side to the other. “Kind of? It’s probably just the bruise, nothing to worry about. But hey, now we know that the bed frame is exceptionally sturdy.” YN grinned up at him, but Stephen only shook his head before taking her hand in his. “We’re going to the med bay to check you out, right now,” he decided, and the sorcerer’s mind was made up.
When it came to her, he needed to be 100% sure that everything was okay.
But they didn’t come far. Instead, they stopped dead in their tracks as the couple faced Peter and Scott, both staring at them with wide eyes after they had processed the meaning of interlaced fingers. Peter started to grin while Scott’s expression didn’t resemble joy over the newly found love. YN knew that mischievous look in his eyes, the glimmer of a stupid idea developing in his mind. “Scott…,” the Widow spoke warningly, but this son of an ant chuckled before spinning around and starting to run. “I will revel in your embarrassment, YNN!” He shouted over his shoulder, but YN couldn’t let that happen. She stopped holding Stephen’s hand, and the sorcerer couldn’t utter a single word before his girlfriend bolted right after the other Avenger. “And I will revel in your screams filled with pain and agony after I broke your flat ass, Lang!” Her angry words traveled over the corridor, and now it was only Peter and Stephen facing each other.
The young man started to grin again after the confusion and surprise had vanished from his face. “I am really happy for-…” But Stephen only needed to shake his head to one side to let him fall silent again. “Don’t, Parker,” was all he said before following the path YN and Scott had taken, the young hero hot on his heels.
This was certainly not how he had thought everyone would find out about them, and he had already played with images of Scott dangling over a cliff or freezing his ass off at the foot of Mount Everest within his mind. It wasn’t himself who the sorcerer was concerned – he couldn’t give less shit on the other’s opinion about him. But he knew how much it meant to YN because this bunch of mostly idiots was her family. Not by blood but by choice, and Stephen had never intended to overshadow anything about that. Now he feared that everyone would give her a hard time and what that would mean for her mental health.
Stephen was nothing but an over-worryingly boyfriend.
With a sigh, he followed the sound of steps and canceled Peter’s voice out entirely because he couldn’t handle all these questions now or ever. He liked the kid, he was a decent human after all, but his rambling nature wasn’t something Stephen particularly enjoyed. Instead, he focused on the shouting and watched after rounding the last corner as the catastrophe unfolded in front of his eyes.
First-row seats for your own downfall, wonderful.
YN panted heavily while hanging on Scott’s back to try and hold his gossiping mouth shut, but he was too used to it with a daughter at home. So, the inevitable happened only seconds later.
“YNN and Harry Potter are a thing!”
Immediately, the entire living area was silent as a grave, every movement ceased, and every single pair of eyes turned to Scott and the other arriving parties.
YN slowly slid off his back and threw Ant-Man a death glare – she would definitely try and step on him during one of their next missions – but she swallowed thickly at the stares moving between her and a certain someone somewhere behind her. The Widow knew that Stephen was here because she could feel his body temperature in her back only a heartbeat later, before his hands settled on her shoulders, softly stroking them with his thumbs.
Nat was the first to speak. “Well, that’s a surprise.” Clint cocked an eyebrow and threw Peter an approving nod. “You were right. Good ears, kid.”
Stephen felt as if he could touch her boiling anxiety under his fingertips and bent down to press a tender kiss to her temple while Steve marched a few steps in their direction before stopping again. His eyes searched her face, tried to read her mind, and settled on the sorcerer to evaluate the situation. But he spoke to YN. “Is he treating you right?” The woman didn’t need to think for even a second. “Better than the Queen of England,” she answered without hesitation, and Steve could see the tender expression in her worrying eyes. So he gave one nod of approval and settled back into the armchair.
Tony, on the other hand, seemed not pleased at all. He marched to the couple and weaseled his way past YN to shove Stephen a few inches back. “First, you insult her at every given occasion, and then you have the audacity to fuck her and play happy family?! Is your ego this massive?!” The Widow had spun around the second he had reached Stephen and had touched him, but instead of relying on violence, she grasped his wrist in a soft hold. She urged him with a pull to turn to her, to look at her and not to Stephen, but her face wasn’t as sweet as her touch. The Stark could clearly see the burning fire behind those irises who once had looked up to him with a terrified expression, unsure of what to expect after being finally her own person and having her very own life.
“You know I love you like the brother I never had, Tons, but if you touch him again, I have to kick your ass, and not even your precious suits will safe you then.”
YN didn’t have to raise her voice to convey the meaning to everyone, but especially Tony, because the Stark swallowed dryly. He had never thought to once be on the other side of the situation – not standing next to her and listening with utmost joy and pride as she threatened others but being the target of said threat. It was an unpleasant feeling, and he didn’t want to imagine how unpleasant it must be to feel her full wrath.
Meanwhile, Stephen stood there, a tender expression settling on his face – an expression never seen before by the others which threw them almost off their feet – and a pleased smile on his lips. “That’s my girl,” he told no one in particular in a mumble. YN heard it, though, and started to smile before throwing Tony one last warning glare and leaving him to stand next to her sorcerer again. “To make it official,” she raised her voice and gestured to Stephen, who already had his arm wrapped around her waist again. “May I introduce you to my boyfriend of one and a half years, Stephen Strange?”
The team’s eyes almost popped out of their holes at the mention of how long this had been going on behind all their backs, and Sam chuckled. “Never accept missions again which require detective skills. We suck at it,” he stated the obvious, while Steve almost choked on his coffee. “And I once called her my best friend.” YN grinned at him and shrugged softly. “I know what a gossip you can be with the right people around you, so… sorry, sweets,” she apologized, and Steve looked at her with a tender expression nonetheless. “I’m just happy that you’re happy. It always was the one thing I wished for you to find.”
Looking up to Stephen, who battled Tony in a glaring contest, a small but loving smile tucked on her lips, she nodded before turning back to Steve, who seemed more than content at the view of his best friend. “I am, Stevie. I really am.” Those words almost got swallowed by Tony’s exaggerated scoff, but Steve had the advantage of super soldier hearing, so he only smiled and didn’t stop observing the new couple while Bucky settled next to him. “She still will be your best friend, punk. Don’t go all brotherly tears now because your baby sister is grown up and finds her own life,” he chuckled while patting his best friend’s shoulder.
Meanwhile, Tony stared YN dead in the eye. “If he ever hurts you, I will end him personally. He only has to raise his voice in front of you, and I’m on my way. If his ego tries some bullshit, give me a call.” And turned to Stephen, he told sternly: “She has my number saved in her favorites.”
YN rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and I can remove said number out of my favorites. Plus, he is on this list, too.” And with that, she pointed to Stephen right next to her. Tony scrunched up his face. “Urgh, then please, I beg you, put me off that list if he is on there.”
“You are an absolute ass without reason.”
“Born like that.”
“It’s a shitty character trait. Do I need to call Pepper?”
Now, Tony stared down at her challenging face and gulped. “No…?” He morphed the one syllable into a question before raising both hands in surrender. “Okay, fine. I approve of this relationship.” The sorcerer scoffed. “We don’t need your stamp of approval,” he clarified, and YN warningly rubbed over his back. “We only told you because YN considers all of you family and didn’t want to lose you. So, toughen up, Stark, and swallow the bitter pill so we can move on from here because this woman deserves a dinner in the comfort of our bed and some episodes of Golden Girls after this day.”
She couldn’t comprehend his words because suddenly, Nat stood in front of her and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. She wrapped both arms around the fellow Widow and felt the redhead’s lips pressing soft kisses over her head. They may be close in age, but YN had always been the little sister in this relationship. “Thank you for choosing us as your family, Солнышко 1,” (1: little sun) Nat spoke in the soft tone entirely reserved for her most favorite people. “Thank you for accepting me, сестра 2.” (2: sister)
Nat squeezed her shoulder before letting go of her, and the Widow turned back to Stephen, one brow raised. “You said something about Golden Girls?” The sorcerer showed his signature smirk, and while a portal started to open in his back, he grabbed YN around her hips and threw her over his shoulder. A squeal escaped the surprised woman, but a laugh followed close, and grinning, she waved the other Avengers while Stephen carried her over the threshold of the portal right into the foyer of the Sanctum.
“Don’t you dare call or text us in the next 48 hours, Stark!”
This was a wild ride, wow. pt. 2 is finally here! I hope you enjoyed reading it :3 I really loved writing those two parts. As usual: comments, reblogs, and likes are much appreciated!
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Hi how about expired medicine number 83 with doctor strange? pls 💛
☼ when the dead rise pt1 (Stephen Strange) ☼
warnings; swearing, a lot of mention of death, actual death, ehh gore, injuries, use of weapons.
wc; 14.8k
prompt; 83. "Did you really have to be that honest?"
notes; the entire imagine is an infinity war spoiler. all of it. with some stephen sprinkled in, some angst, and very little tony slander (blink and you'll miss it). sorry not sorry.
—
“Seriously, you don’t have any money?” Stephen asks Wong, beginning to go down the steps.
“Attachment to the material is detachment from the spiritual.” Wong replies, following behind the two of you.
“I’ll tell the guys at the deli. Maybe they’ll make you a metaphysical ham on rye.” Stephen muses, you let out a light laugh.
“Oh, wait, wait wait. I think I have two-hundred.”
“Dollars?” You ask, as you stop on the step to look at him.
“Rupees.” He smiles.
“Which is?” Stephen asks, not bothering to turn around.
“Uh, buck and a half.”
Stephen sighs, “What do you want?”
Wong claps his hands together, you let him pass you on the steps, before starting down them again. “I wouldn’t say no to a tuna melt.”
A blinding light comes from the sunroof, shaking the whole building, and slamming straight through the ceiling. A flurry of wooden splinters and marble go flying through the air, as you’re taken with the mass. The debris creates a hazy smog, which coats your throat in a few breaths.
“(Y/n)?” Stephen’s tone is alarmed.
“I’m alive.” You cough, wiping the dusty film from your face.
When you turn your head to see what came crashing through the ceiling, you’re met with a green leg. It makes you jump slightly, as you jerk away from the person. It isn’t until you’ve made it to his face, do you realize there’s nothing to worry about.
It’s Bruce.
His skin is returning back to its regular pigment. He pants beside you, hand reaching out to grab your forearm. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Stephen and Wong peeking over the hole in the stairs, both on high alert.
“Thanos is coming.” Bruce’s voice is still mixed with Hulks. On his next breath, it sounds more like him. “He’s coming.”
Stephen and Wong share a look, “Who?”
You pull your arm from Bruce, pushing to get to your feet. There’s a few aches that sprout, caused from you landing so aggressively. Wong creates an opening for you to walk through so they don’t have to pull you out of the hole in the staircase. On the other side, standing in the middle of the foyer, you begin to brush the dust off. It seems to be never ending.
“I need clothes.” Bruce says, “Or pants, at the very least.”
You rake your fingers through your hair, watching the dirt rain down around your head like a thin curtain. Wong walks away briefly, coming back with a change of clothes. He drops it into the hole, backing away to allow him to change in privacy.
“The whole planet is in danger.” Bruce says, “Thanos—he’s collecting these crystals that allow him to manipulate different things.” He pauses, you can barely see him pull the shirt over his head. “We’re next, he’s coming here to get more. And when he’s done, he’ll wipe out half of the population.”
Your eyes snap to Stephen, and find that his eyes are already on you, watching. A ticklish feeling crosses over your palms, as a different creeping feeling crawls up your spine and to the base of your neck, goosebumps covering your arms. As if your body is excited by the idea of it.
You aren’t. The thought of billions on your planet dying sends a pain through your heart. With a closed fist, you rub your chest, shaking your head at your boyfriend. This is not the time to be gauging your reaction. You can’t control it, as much as you wish you could.
“We need Tony.” Bruce says, “Tony Stark?”
Stephen raises his eyebrows. “Can we trust him?”
You tilt your head at him. “It’s Bruce, of course we can.”
While Wong begins the process of locating where Tony is at the moment, you and Stephen leave to change. Coincidentally, the suit you have was made for you by Tony, back when you had initially agreed to be an Avenger.
At the time, it was funny, because all these stipulations came with having it. To him, you were still a stranger, but he knew you were trustworthy. As much as he didn’t want to admit it at the time, it was hard for him not to think that. Especially since you were just a bystander the day Loki came to earth to wreak havoc.
You’d spent your entire life running away from problems that you couldn’t overcome or get away from, no matter how hard you tried. But as you watched those ships come through the portal, for the first time, your body had the opposite reaction of what it was used to doing.
In street clothes, with barely any practice with the ability you’d recently discovered—you helped the heroes that were risking their lives to save yours. You threw yourself into that fight, despite knowing full well there was a chance you’d get killed for it.
When Tony finally noticed what you were doing, and got over the initial panic of thinking you were Loki’s accomplice, he gave you an area to protect. Which doubled in size when he saw the impact you were causing. And when it was all said and done, he offered to help you.
You turned him down, out of fear of what the public would actually think when they saw you in action. Of course, you and your ability to bring people back from the dead was smeared across national television, painting you in a good light. That was in connection with the Avengers, though. You couldn’t stand the idea of what they’d say when you were on your own.
You got over it a few months later. You thought Tony would hold your first choice over your head, but he hasn’t mentioned it after all these years. Even though Tony can be an ass at times, you appreciate what he’s done for you.
The suit fits like a glove, despite not wearing it as frequently as you used to. You stopped right around the time Steve and Tony had their fight. The Avengers team crumbled after that, and you didn’t see a need to wear it anymore. Not with how peaceful it is.
Or rather, was.
You join the others back in the foyer, where you find Tony sitting on a couch with his hand over his mouth. At the sound of your approach, he looks over, eyes locking on the suit for a long moment, seemingly surprised that you’re wearing it, before giving you a half-smile.
“(Y/n).”
“Hey, Tony.” You cross your arms. “How’s Pepper?”
“She’s good.”
Stephen clears his throat, you turn to see him standing with Wong and Bruce a few feet away. You tilt your head, wandering to stand next to the staircase railing. “Go ahead.”
“At the dawn of the universe, there was nothing.” Wong begins. “Then…” An explosion of stars appears in the air, creating a galaxy that surrounds you. “Boom. The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence.”
“Space.” Stephen says, as the floating blue crystal begins to glow, moving off to the side. “Reality.” This stone is a bright red “Power.” A purple stone shines. “Soul.” The orange one sizzles. “Mind.” As the yellow one reflects the light. “And Time.” Stephen finishes, adjusting the necklace that rests against his chest.
He touches it, bending his fingers as he pulls his hands away from each other. This unlocks the restrictions briefly, letting the shimmering green stone breathe.
“Tell me his name again.” Tony says.
“Thanos.” Bruce begins to walk toward him. “He’s a plague, Tony. He invades planets. He takes what he wants.” Tony has gotten to his feet, meeting Bruce in the middle. “He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York, that’s him.”
The same creeping feeling comes back, something bubbling beneath your skin. Your face twists, “What?”
“This is it.” Tony takes a step back to walk around the room. “What’s our timeline?”
“No telling. He has the Power and Space Stones.” Bruce is following him. “That already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hands on all six stones, Tony…”
“He could destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of.” Stephen says.
You walk to join the circle that’s formed on the other side of the staircase.
“Did you seriously just say ‘hitherto undreamt of’?” Tony asks.
“Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?” Stephen shoots back.
“Is that what it is?” Tony asks, bending his leg back to stretch it, Stephen’s cloak slaps him. You cringe, because you know that wasn’t a move most people would make. “I’m going to allow that.” He stares at Stephen wordlessly, and then takes a breath. “If Thanos needs all six, why don’t we just stick this one down a garbage disposal?”
“No can do.” Stephen shakes his head.
“We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone with our lives.” Wong tells him.
“And I swore off dairy but then Ben & Jerry’s named a flavor after me, so—”
“Stark Raving Hazelnuts.” You laugh, playing with a piece of wood with your shoe.
“It’s not bad.” Tony looks in your direction.
“A bit chalky.” Stephen says.
“A Hunk of Hulk of Burning Fudge is our favorite.” Wong says.
“That’s a thing?” Bruce’s face is twisted, looking between you.
“Whatever.” Tony says. “Point is, things change.”
“Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change. And this stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos.” Stephen tells him.
“Yeah, so conversely, it may also be his best chance against us.”
“Well, if we don’t do our jobs.” Stephen doesn’t budge, and he’s not going to.
Tony turns to face him fully. “What is your job exactly? Besides making balloon animals.”
“Protecting your reality, douchebag.”
You press your lips together, rubbing your forehead. Bruce interjects. “Okay, guys. Could we table this discussion right now? The fact is we have this stone.” he holds his hand out in Stephen’s direction. “We know where it is. Vision is out there somewhere with the Mind Stone and we have to find him now.”
“Yeah, that’s the thing.” Tony mutters, looking away.
“What do you mean?”
“Two weeks ago, Vision turned off his transponder. He’s offline.” Tony shrugs.
“What?”
“Yeah.” He begins to walk away again, you share a look with Stephen.
“These used to be your people?” He asks, “You followed him?”
You wave him off. “We work better in the moment.”
“Tony, you lost another super-bot?” Bruce asks.
“I didn’t lose him. He’s more than that. He’s evolving.” Tony glances over his shoulder.
“Who could find Vision then?” Stephen asks.
Tony’s silent, you let out a sigh. “Probably Steve Rogers. Right, Tony?”
“Oh, great.” Stephen turns away.
“Maybe.” Tony agrees, sighing. “But…”
“Call him.” Bruce says.
“It’s not that easy.” Tony faces Bruce. “God, we haven’t caught up in a spell, have we? The Avengers broke up, we’re toast.”
“Broke up?” Bruce repeats. “Like a band. Like—like the Beatles?”
“Cap and I fell out hard.” Tony shakes his head. “We’re not on speaking terms.”
“Tony, listen to me.” Bruce says, stepping closer. “Thor’s gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn’t matter who you’re talking to or not.”
Tony looks away, sighing. He walks a few feet away, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. After he flips it open, he scrolls through to find Steve’s number, staring at it.
He then lifts his head, staring at the wall in front of him. At the same time, you can feel the ground rumbling through your shoes. You reach to grab Stephen, hand closing around the sleeve of his suit. The vases and lamps begin to shake, clinking against the surface they’re resting on.
The five of you stand quietly, listening to the distant noise, until Tony turns around. “Say, Doc, you wouldn’t happen to be moving your hair, would you?”
You look at Stephen to see what Tony means, finding one of the strands that refuses to stay put, wiggling against his forehead. As if a breeze is constantly moving through his hair.
“Not at the moment, no.”
The sound is getting louder, Tony looks up through the hole in the ceiling where Bruce had come from. Your attention is turned to the door, where one person runs by, then two. And they don’t look like they’re jogging.
A dreadful feeling washes over your body as you follow Tony to the door. The closer you get, the louder the screaming is. He swings it open, stepping out onto the sidewalk. You follow him with crossed arms, looking in the direction of where everyone is running away from.
There’s traffic down the street, people are getting out of cars to abandon their vehicles to run away from the danger. A strong gust of air blows through, pulling abandoned papers and leaves with them. You dodge several people to keep up with Tony’s speed.
The police sirens are getting louder, but they’re likely not coming in this direction. You watch as a silver car drives straight into a light pole. Tony points at it, “Help him!”
“Banner!” Wong calls.
“Wong, look alive!”
“Go, go! We got it!” Bruce waves you on.
Tony reaches into his shirt to pull out his tech glasses. “Friday, what am I looking at?”
You stop for a second, allowing Stephen to catch up. He reaches to touch your back, guiding you forward with him.
“I don’t want you to worry about me out here.” You tell him.
“I’ll keep you safe.” He says.
“No, I can do that myself.” You press your finger into his chest. “You worry about you.”
Tony turns around. “Hey! You might wanna put that Time Stone in your back pocket, Doc!”
“Might wanna use it.” He says, magic surrounding his forearm.
Tony peeks around the corner, pulling his head back when a red blanket whips through the air, being blown away. He begins to walk out into the open, and when it’s your turn to see what’s causing the chaos, you swallow.
A giant spaceship in the shape of a ring is down the street to the left. It’s hovering in the air, giving off an electrical buzz. From what you can see, there’s no alien life near it, meaning they must be inside, or they’ve left it behind.
“Friday, evac anyone south of 43rd Street. Notify first responders.”
Stephen moves his hands, working up the magic before he shoves his palms out, sending a blast of air back at the ship. In the silence that settles, you can hear the sirens in the distance. It’s much easier to walk through the street without the wind resistance.
As you grow closer to the ship, a beam of blue light shines down onto the street, two alien beings appearing at the bottom. The one on the left being about the same size as Hulk, dressed in armor with a giant scythe, you believe. While the creature on the right is half the others’ size, fingers pressed together.
Tony’s pace slows the closer you get, leaving four car distances between you and the aliens.
“Hear me and rejoice.” The one on the right begins. Tony crosses his arms. “You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos.”
The giant one says something, lifting his weapon to hold with both hands, revealing that it’s a pickaxe.
“Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now contributing—”
“I’m sorry, Earth is closed today.” Tony cuts him off. “You better pack it up and get outta here.”
“Stonekeeper.” The creature says, eyes on Stephen. “Does this chattering animal speak for you?”
“Certainly not. I speak for myself.” He says, walking forward, moving his hands to show off his magic. “You’re trespassing in this city and on this planet.” Wong does the same behind you.
“He means get lost, Squidward.” Tony says.
“He exhausts me.” The noseless creature says. The tall one responds in the same foreign language. “Bring me the stone.”
“Banner, you want a piece?” Tony asks.
Bruce hums, “No, not really. But when do I ever get what I want?” He claps his hands together, rubbing.
“That’s right.”
“Okay. Push!” He grunts, his skin turning green up until his neck.
“It’s been a while.” Tony says. “It’s gonna be good to have you, buddy.”
“Okay, shh.” He hushes him. “Let me just… I need to concentrate here for a second. Come on, come on, man.”
The tall alien slams its weapon into one of the cars that’re parked on the side of the street.
“Where’s your guy?” Tony asks.
Bruce sighs, “I don’t know. We’ve sorta been having a thing.”
“It’s no time for a thing.” Tony touches his shoulder.
“I know.”
Tony points to the creature. “That’s the thing right there. Let’s go.”
It’s drawing closer with each step. Bruce begins to grunt, his voice changing, green spreading up to his lips. Stephen turns to look between you and Tony, you close your eyes.
“Dude, you’re embarrassing me in front of the wizards.”
“Tony, I’m sorry.” Bruce whispers. “Either I can’t or he won’t.”
“It’s okay.” He pushes Bruce away to stand with Wong. “Hey, stand down.” He looks at Wong. “Keep an eye on him. Thank you.”
“I have him.”
“Damn it.” Bruce mutters.
The creature jogs toward you, letting out a deep roar. Tony pulls on the strings of his track jacket, tapping the arc reactor in his chest twice. Almost out of thin air, his suit begins to crawl over his body efficiently. By the time the creature and him are face to face, he’s in his suit completely.
Tony uses a shield, falling into a kneeling position when he takes the hit. He then stands, swinging at the creature’s face, landing the punch.
As the alien recovers, you watch as the nanotech springs out of his back when he holds his arms out straight, creating four extra blasters that aid him in sending the alien down the street. The shorter one waves his hand, directing his friend to slam into several cars, instead of hitting him.
The blasters merge back into the suit.
“Where’d that come from?” Bruce asks.
“It’s nanotech. You like it? It’s a little something I—”
Tony skyrockets, leaving a trail of dirt behind him as he flies into the air. The alien raises his other hand, uprooting two trees on either side of the street, flicking his hand forward. Wong jumps in front of you, Stephen and Bruce to create a shield.
“Doctor Banner, if the rest of your green friend won’t be joining us—” He creates a portal, Bruce falls through it. The alien throws half of a taxi in your direction, which makes it through the portal before it’s sealed.
Stephen and Wong move in sync, preparing another cast to stop the car that’s coming in your direction. Tony flies through the middle, forcing it back in the direction of the alien. He simply lifts his hand, unbothered, and it’s sliced in half, narrowly missing him, crashing onto the street behind.
“Gotta get that stone outta here, now.” Tony says.
“It stays with me.” Stephen emphasizes.
“Exactly. Bye.” Tony says, before turning to the alien and beginning to fly at him. At first, it’s slow, as he dodges several pillars that the alien knocks down to squish him.
He then picks up speed, but the large alien has recovered, throwing a new weapon, a hammer. The handle extends like a chain, plowing Tony down the street, through a building, and into the park where Stephen had gotten him from.
The alien retracts the chain, and begins to chase after where Tony had gone, running straight into the building without slowing down. You press your lips together, eyes landing on the shorter creature. He raises his hands, palms up, pulling out a dozen bricks that line the streets.
When he twists his hands, the bricks crumble into spikes, which he sends flying in your direction. Stephen creates another portal, allowing the brick to go in. While Wong creates another, sending it out, back in the alien’s direction. He lifts a car to block his own creation, but he’s still nicked.
He breaks a fire hydrant, knocking Wong away. Stephen uses a lasso, getting it around the alien, and pulling him in your guys’ direction. You twist out of the way, right as they slam into each other, flying into a building.
You stumble over to Wong, kneeling next to him. He’s breathing, there’s blood trickling from his temple, where he hit his head. When you look up at Stephen, you can see that the alien has him trapped against the wall using bricks to hold him still.
The alien reaches to grab the Time Stone, but jerks away suddenly. He then throws Stephen onto the street, several feet away from you. You jump to your feet to help him when you see rope sprout from the ground to restrict his hands.
“(Y/n), don’t—!” He shouts.
A car sideswipes you, hard. It slams into the left of your body, knocking you into the car on your right. You can feel the pain blossoming in your ribs from the impact, as you shakily press a hand over the area.
The rope is constricting around Stephen, growing tighter by the second as it wraps around his legs, his torso, and around his neck. The alien makes a fist, the rope stiffens, Stephen lets out a grunt.
“Stop!” You shout.
“You’ll find removing a dead man’s spell troublesome.” Stephen manages to get out.
“You’ll only wish you were dead.”
The coil around Stephen’s neck tightens for the final time, you watch as his eyes roll back. He falls, unconscious, bouncing off the cop car and landing on the asphalt. You jerk forward, but the alien flattens you against the car.
He takes a small chunk of the road out using one hand, turning his back to float away with your boyfriend. It doesn’t work longer for a second, the Cloak of Levitation wraps around Stephen’s body, rocketing off and down the street.
“No!” The alien shouts, and then his eyes land on you.
You adjust to sit on your knees, lacing your fingers, and then slamming your hands into the asphalt, refusing to break eye contact with the alien. A tremor goes through the ground, a blast of hot air following. Car alarms begin to go off in response.
“Rise!” You demand.
The ground begins to shake, rocking you back and forth. You have to place your palms on the ground to keep from getting knocked over. One by one, a collection of species of the dead begin to rise out of the ground, breaking the street into pieces. Usually, you try not to do this in cities because of the construction it takes to repair the damage you made.
Right now, you have no choice.
Humans and aliens alike get to their feet, in varying stages of decay. Some are missing limbs, others have jaws barely holding on, with skin sagging so bad that you can see the muscle underneath. It starts with a simple dozen, but the numbers multiply, until every last dead person in the area is out of the ground.
You get to your feet, leaning against the car. “Kill him.”
At once, they rush forward to attack. You turn around, running in the opposite direction, where the cloak is taking Stephen. You can hear the undead army roaring behind you, as they work together to reach the alien that’s hovering over the ground.
You take a shortcut through the thin, white building that Tony and the larger alien had gone through. From what you can see, Tony is still in the park, fighting him. There’s a blur of red and a hint of blue swinging away.
“You brought the kid into this?” You shout, crossing the street.
“I didn’t call him here!” Tony defends.
Already, you can feel your army growing weaker, meaning that the dead you’d conjured aren’t the strongest. You suck in a breath, and release, feeling the dark energy leave you to allow the bodies to fall. They were more of a distraction to allow you to leave without getting hurt.
You watch as Tony shoots at the alien haphazardly, flying away to dodge his attacks with the hammer. Tony disappears behind the statue in the park, causing the alien to swing at the concrete, destroying it. When Tony gets in too close, the alien secures an electric robotic hand around Tony, throwing him to the ground.
He leaves a path in the grass, trapped and unable to move.
“Are you going to help or not?” Tony’s voice is strained.
“I’m no help, here!” You tell him.
The alien charges in Tony’s direction, a large blade flinging out from his armor. As he jumps, going to stab Tony through the chest, a portal appears. The alien lands on the other side, you jog up behind Wong and Bruce to see that it’s the arctic, lots of snow. He turns around suddenly, jumping in your direction to come back through.
Only his hand makes it out, as Wong closes the portal. The severed hand rolls to a stop at Bruce’s feet, skin sizzling. Bruce kicks it, “Ugh.”
“Wong, you’re invited to my wedding.” Tony says, prying the bars off of his suit. “(Y/n), do you have your mask?”
You nod, reaching through the front of your suit, where the mask is tucked into a pocket on the inside. You pull it out, yanking it over your face. Tony bends his knees, allowing you to line up behind him, wrapping your arm around his neck. The stickiness of your gloves comes into contact with his suit, securing you there.
“Ready?” He asks.
“Let’s go.” You tell him.
He places his hands at his sides, and the two of you shoot off, up into the sky. You can feel the tough wind through your suit, but it’s not bad enough to complain about. You tilt your head back slightly to see the alien ship, presumably where Peter and Stephen had been sucked in to.
“I think it’s time for you to get a new suit.” Tony says, you can hear him in your ear.
“It’s a shame I didn’t keep in contact.”
“That doesn’t matter.” He says. “Friday, unlock 19-C. And give me a little juice.”
You press your face against the back of his neck, and you fly through the air faster to get to the spaceship. If it weren’t for your gloves, you’d be falling to the ground right now, thinking about how you’d be dead in a few seconds.
“Unlock 17-A.” Tony says.
The ship is flying out of the atmosphere, straight into space.
“Pete, you gotta let go. I’m gonna catch you.” Tony says, talking to Peter. You suck in short breaths through your nose, “We’re too high up. You’re running out of air.” He then turns his head slightly. “(Y/n), let go.”
“I want to get on that ship.” You gasp.
“You’ll be right behind me.” Tony says.
You pull your hand off of his chest, anxiety rising in your stomach. You have to tell yourself that Tony would never kill you. He wouldn’t send a suit up here if he knew there was a chance it’d malfunction and get you killed.
You take another breath, and let go, watching as Tony flies away. A scream rises in your throat as you begin to kick your legs and wave your arms, desperate for something to hold on to.
There’s a sudden impact in the middle of your back, as you feel a cool sensation begin to cover your body. The moment the nanotech covers your face, you take a breath, finally able to breathe real air.
“Are you with me?” Tony asks.
The new suit covers the last spot on your thigh. “I’m in.”
“Friday, keep Gloom with me!”
You fly forward, the suit following after Tony on its own. Just by looking around on the inside, there’s a lot of technology that was put into the suit. He must’ve really evolved his engineering, because this is impressive.
“Mr. Stark, it smells like a new car in here!” You can hear Peter.
“Happy trails, kid.” Tony says. “Friday, send him home.”
A parachute springs out of Peter’s back, pulling him back. A little bit of relief goes through you, because there’s no reason why he should be up here. Your suit whizzes past him, coming to idle by Tony as he cuts a hole through the metal of the ship. When he gets it open, he allows you to crawl in first before following.
You take a few steps in, the nanotech disappearing from your face, stopping at your neck. You watch as the ship's machines extend and flex, blue electricity moving off a giant disk above you.
Tony sighs. “Yeah.”
You glance over to see his head is turned away.
“Honey, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say.” He says, glancing at you. “Pep?” The connection must be lost, because he shakes his head.
“So, what’s the plan?” You ask, crossing your arms over your chest.
“Let’s find your boyfriend then we’ll work from there.” Tony says, walking away. “Speaking of which—an interesting choice. How did the two of you meet?”
You smile, and then laugh slightly. “He almost hit me with his car, twice in the same day.”
“And you thought dating him was a good idea?” Tony looks back at you.
You shrug. “He made it up to me. And since, all he ever does is protect me. I owe him my life.”
He stops briefly, “What happened to the kickass (Y/n)?”
You place a hand on his shoulder. “She’s been hibernating, but with all this talk about death…” You trail off. “Trust me, Tony, she’s still here.”
“You’re sick.”
“And so are you.” You tell him.
The two of you go through the long hallway and through a door. With the ship being shaped like a large donut, it’s a confusing walk that Tony has to lead. He manages to bring you to a platform, four stories above where the alien is holding Stephen captive.
You lean over the side, hands drawing into fists when you hear Stephen grunt in pain. The alien seems to be manipulating clear shards to press into his skin, to force him to give up the Time Stone.
The Cloak suddenly appears, tapping Tony’s arm. He jerks, hand ready to blast the fabric. “Wow, you’re a seriously loyal piece of outerwear, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, uh, speaking of loyalty…”
You jump at the sound of Peter’s voice, turning in time to see him land on the platform.
“What the—”
“I know what you’re gonna say.” He puts his hands out.
“You should not be here.” Tony says.
“I was gonna go home.” Peter tries.
“I don’t wanna hear it.”
“But it was such a long way down and I just thought about you on the way.”
“And now I gotta hear it.” Tony sighs, shaking his head.
Peter raises his shoulders, “And I kinda stuck to the side of the ship. And this suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way.”
Tony looks at you. “God damn it.”
You make a face at him. “You were the one that told him to chase after Stephen.”
“So, if anything, it’s kinda your fault that I’m here.” Peter says with a smile.
Tony glares at him. “What did you just say?”
Peter realizes his mistake, stuttering, “I-I take that back. And now, I’m here in space.”
Tony steps forward. “Yeah, right where I didn’t want you to be.” He stops in front of Peter. “This isn’t Coney Island. This isn’t a field trip. This is a one-way ticket. You hear me? Don’t pretend you thought this through.”
“No, I did think this through.”
“You could not have possibly thought this through.”
Peter motions, “You can’t be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there is no neighborhood.” Peter tells him, Tony stares blankly. “Okay, that didn’t really make sense, but you know what I’m trying to say.”
Tony takes in a breath, letting it out shakily. “Come on. We got a situation.”
Peter nods, glancing at you, “Hi, Miss (L/n).”
“Hey, Peter.” You smile, following Tony to stand on the edge of the platform.
“See him down there?” Tony asks, Peter peers over the side. “He’s trouble. What’s your plan? Go.”
Peter crouches, “Um…” there’s a brief pause. “Okay, okay, uh…” He stands up. “Okay. Did you ever see this really old movie, Aliens?”
You let out a snort, but when Tony looks at you, you cover your mouth. You try to swallow the laughter that wants to escape you, it doesn’t work. “So what does that make you, Tony, a dinosaur?”
He glares at you. “Not funny.”
“What’s the matter?” Peter asks, glancing between you two.
“Nothing, kid. Good work.” Tony tells him. “I’ll go down there and blast a hole in the ship. (Y/n), the suit will keep you from flying out, Peter I want you to grab the wizard. Assume position.”
You crouch on the platform, hand locking around the pillar to act as support. Peter crawls away to get on the ceiling, while the Cloak stays near you, waiting for Tony. It’s a shame you’re not able to do more, your abilities limit you in situations like these. Even if people have died on this spaceship, you wouldn’t be able to resurrect them the same way. And even if you could, there’s no dark pull. You have to have a connection, first.
Stephen lets out a scream, as the shards press further into his skin when the alien moves his hand. You grit your teeth.
Tony jumps down a second later, landing behind the alien on the strip, powering up his suit.
“Could end your friend’s life in an instant.” The alien says, loud enough for you to hear.
“I gotta tell you, he’s not really my friend. Saving his life is more of a professional courtesy.”
The alien lifts a hand, a chunk of metal sliding out of the spaceship, as he walks in Tony’s direction. “You’ve saved nothing.” He lifts his other hand, beckoning another piece of metal. “Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine.”
“Yeah, but the kid’s seen more movies.” Tony says.
You watch as Tony blasts a hole open on the far side of the ship. Immediately, the metal and the alien is sucked out into space, creating a blackhole for everything else that’s free-standing in the ship, including Stephen.
“No!” You shout.
The Cloak secures around one of his hands, but the pull is too strong. Stephen slips out, getting closer. Peter jumps from where he’s been sitting, a web shooting at Stephen to grab him. It secures, and when he tries to grab a metal pole inside of the ship, it snaps off.
You watch in horror as Stephen leaves the inside of the ship. Peter’s about to fly out behind him, when mechanical legs pop out from his back, stretching the length of the hole. The legs dip momentarily, before jumping back, pulling Peter and Stephen inside.
Tony works fast to block up the hole with metal, you jump from the top of the platform, landing harshly next to Stephen. He’s on his side, letting out a groan.
“Stephen,” You murmur, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Hey.”
He looks up at you, letting out a breath of relief. He grabs your hand, squeezing tightly. “You’re okay?”
Your eyebrows draw in, “I’m fine.”
He nods, twisting to sit up. You turn his head so that you can get a better look at his face, fingertips brushing against where the shards had touched his skin. You can’t even tell they were inside. The blood that is on his face is from being thrown away a few seconds ago.
“You have to be more careful, especially since they’re after you.”
Tony walks by, his suit disappearing.
“That’s why we gotta turn this ship around.” Stephen agrees, pushing to stand. You help him up.
“Yeah, now he wants to run. Great plan.” Tony says.
The Cloak of Levitation drapes itself over Stephen’s shoulders. You straighten it, walking behind him to follow after Tony. “No, I want to protect the stone.”
“And I want you to thank me.” Tony stops at the front of the ship, presumably. Except, there is no control panel, just a giant warped mess that allows you to see into the stars. And two giant mechanical arms with a singular place on both sides where you can stick your arm inside of to navigate it. “No, go ahead. I’m listening.”
“For what? Nearly blasting me into space?”
“Stephen.” You warn, “We can’t really fight in here.”
“Who just saved your magical ass? Me.” Tony turns around.
“I seriously don’t know how you fit your head into that helmet.”
“Admit it, you should’ve ducked out when I told you to. I tried to bench you. You refused.” Tony says.
Stephen’s face twists. “Unlike everyone else in your life, I don’t work for you.” He glances at you, you turn your head to look at him, eyebrows raised.
“And due to that fact, we’re now in a flying doughnut, billions of miles from Earth with no backup.”
“I’m backup.” Peter says from behind you, raising his hand.
“No, you’re a stowaway. The adults are talking.” He motions between the three of you.
“I’m sorry, I’m confused as to the relationship here.” He motions at Peter. “What is he, your ward?”
“No.” Peter says, offering his hand. “I’m Peter, by the way.”
“Doctor Strange.” Stephen says.
Peter drops his hand. “Oh, you’re using our made-up names. Um… I’m Spider-Man, then.”
Stephen looks at you, completely unamused. “(Y/n), we should go back to Earth.”
“I’m not arguing with you.” You tell him. “In fact, if Thanos is going to go to Earth to kill half of our population, I say our best bet is to be down there.”
Tony scoffs. “You mean your best bet?” Stephen’s head snaps in his direction, your eyes narrow. “So you’ll be able to use the dead for your own personal army? By then it’ll be too late.”
“I don’t want billions of people to die, Tony.” You hiss. “For you to suggest that is a little offensive, don’t you think? I gain nothing from that.”
Tony tilts his head.
That’s enough for you, jaw tightening, body feeling as if it’s been submerged in hot, bubbling oil. You start toward him, hands in fists at your sides. You could take deep breaths to calm down, but you think hitting him might make you feel better instead.
He doesn’t have to say anything, you know exactly what he’s thinking. While Tony has never questioned your sudden decision to switch from being a civilian to an Avenger, he has never let you forget that your abilities are far from heroic. He thinks they’re downright villainy.
In times like these, you wonder whether or not he thinks you’re actually trustworthy, or if he’s just keeping you close, waiting for the day you finally turn on them. He’ll be the first one in line to take you down.
“I really hate it when you suggest otherwise.” You tell him lowly.
“(Y/n).” Stephen says behind you, trying to call you back.
Tony doesn’t move from where he stands. “(Y/n), we both know that you get tingly when it’s mentioned that people are dying.” He says, not caring that Stephen and Peter are standing feet away. You press your lips together. “Half of the population could die by Thanos’s hands today. You’re telling me you’re not the least bit excited by that?”
The creeping feeling begins. You grit your teeth, hard, trying to resist it. “No, because I’m human.” You tell him, unsure if you’re trying to convince yourself or him. It’s tickling the back of your neck, goosebumps starting to form. You won’t let him be right. “And even if my body reacts, my mind knows better. I’ll never stand by when I know I can help.”
“That’s where I don’t believe you.”
You stop in front of him. “What’s your brilliant plan, then?”
Tony crosses his arms. “This ship is self-correcting its course. Thing’s on autopilot.”
Stephen comes to join you two at the front of the ship. He stops behind you, hand appearing on your lower back, rubbing slightly. You grind your teeth, tilting your head to the side to subtly let the shiver run through your body.
“Can we control it?” Stephen asks. “Fly us home?” There’s a pause where Tony doesn’t respond. “Stark.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you get us home?” He repeats.
“Yeah, I heard you. I’m thinking I’m not so sure we should.”
“Tony.” You snap.
“It has nothing to do with you.” He says.
Stephen’s hand falls, moving to get closer to Tony. “Under no circumstances can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos. I don’t think you quite understand what’s at stake here.”
“What? No. It’s you who doesn’t understand,” Tony moves to stop less than a foot away from Stephen. “That Thanos has been inside my head for six years. Since he sent an army to New York and now he’s back. And I don’t know what to do. So I’m not so sure if it’s a better plan to fight him on our turf or his, but you saw what they did, what they can do. At least on his turf he’s not expecting it. So I say we take the fight to him. Doctor
“Do you concur?” Tony finishes.
“All right, Stark. We go to him.” Stephen says. You throw your hands up, shaking your head. “But you have to understand if it comes to saving you or the kid or the Time Stone. I will not hesitate to let either of you die.” He pauses. “I can’t, because the universe depends on it.”
“Nice.” Tony pats Stephen’s arm. “Good, moral compass. We’re straight.” He turns to walk away, in Peter’s direction. He lets out a sigh. “All right, kid.” He knights Peter. “You’re an Avenger now.”
A smile slowly spreads over Peter’s face, he nods.
You lace your fingers together in front of you, walking closer to the warp to see the stars better. You’re not entirely sure if you’ll have the element of surprise on Thanos’s home planet, or if it’ll even matter. Either way, the team you have gathered on this spaceship is far from the one you’re used to.
You can’t believe that Tony pulled that argument on you again, especially in front of Stephen. He’s already suspicious that you’re not the only entity in your body, because the reactions you have at the mention of death are unnatural. You seem uncomfortable, but the involuntary shivers say otherwise—but they’re exactly that, involuntary.
The last thing you want is to confirm that you’re unstable, because you’re not.
“(Y/n).” Stephen murmurs, coming up beside you. You close your eyes, tilting your head back, taking in a breath. He wraps his arm around your body, hand pulling you into him. “You know I don’t mean to upset you.”
“You didn’t.” You tell him, opening your eyes. “I’m tired of having that conversation with Tony. And I do think it would be a better fight on Earth, where the rest of the Avengers are. Our crew doesn’t mean much.”
“Well, I would say we could hijack the system, but we don’t know how to steer it, or get back to our planet.” Stephen says, looking down at you.
You meet his eyes, before resting your head on his shoulder. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He presses a kiss against your temple.
—
“Hey, what’s going on?” Peter asks, coming up behind you three.
“I think we’re here.” Stephen says.
You watch through the warp as the alien planet gets closer. From what you can tell, it’s a desolate place, not a single living being seems to be inhabiting it. Your eyebrows draw in, thinking that this could make the fight against Thanos easier, if he’s got no other people to help him.
That’s assuming he’ll come alone.
“I don’t think this rig has a self-park function.” Tony says, walking away from the warp. He stops in front of one of the mechanical arms, pulling it open to stick his hand inside. “Get your hand inside the steering gimbal.” He pulls the clasp down. “Close those around it.”
Peter follows Tony’s directions. “Okay.”
“You understand?” Tony asks, glancing over.
“Yes, got it.”
“This was meant for one big guy, so we gotta move at the same time.”
“Okay, okay.” Peter says, readjusting his stance. “Ready.”
You watch as the planet gets closer, the spaceship beginning to rumble. You share an unsure look with Stephen, before moving to find a pillar to hang on to.
“We might wanna turn.” Peter says, and then his eyes widen. “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
Tony has to change into his suit to be able to properly steer. From the force of them turning, you’re thrown a step off to the side. The brand new suit begins to cover your body, possibly reacting to your heart rate when you realize this thing could explode on impact if they’re not careful.
The ship comes into contact with one of the structures on the planet, jerking you from side to side. The rest of the suit covers your body, allowing you to lock your hand in place. You watch as Peter goes from his street clothes to the Spider-Man outfit.
Stephen quickly casts a shield to encase the four of you, the spaceship breaking into pieces. A second later, it slams into the planet, throwing you forward. You shouldn’t have moved more than a foot because of your grip, but your fingers unlock. You slam into the metal flooring, landing on your knees next to Stephen.
He glances down at you. The ship proceeds to slide until it hits a dip, forcing it to stop. As soon as you’re no longer in motion, Stephen drops the cast, turning to help you to your feet. The mask falls away from your face as you shake your head.
“You all right?” Stephen touches your face, moving your hair back.
“Fine.” You breathe.
Tony pushes to his feet. “That was close.” Electricity from severed wires crackles above you. “I owe you one.”
Peter hangs upside down from the ceiling using his web. “Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something and I eat one of you, I’m sorry.”
Your face twists, “Peter—”
“I do not want another single pop culture reference out of you for the rest of the trip.” Tony says, pointing at him. “You understand?”
Peter holds his hand out. “I’m trying to say that something is coming.”
A small, metallic ball rolls into the middle of your group, and before any of you can react, it explodes. You’re thrown several feet into the air, slamming into the wall, and landing harshly on an uneven surface. You take quick breaths to keep from triggering the pain that’s taking over your ribs.
You close your eyes, feeling the nanotech spread from beneath your chin and over your face to conceal your identity from the intruders. When you prod your fingers into sensitive skin, you let out a hiss. You really hope nothing is broken.
“Thanos!” You can hear a man yell.
The sound of Stephen’s magic makes you turn your head to see where he is. He’s got a shield up, two knives sticking out of it. The man who’s just thrown the knives begins to yell, but he’s silenced when the Cloak wraps around his head.
Another man rockets into the air, Tony jumping to fight him. You push yourself into a sitting position, wincing at the smallest movements. You use the wall as support, watching Tony and the enemy send beams back and forth, until Tony launches a rocket that explodes at the perfect time, sending him back.
Tony grabs a hold of the man, throwing back onto the ground. He lets out a laugh though, pressing a button. Blue lightning appears out of a triangular disc, which magnetizes Tony to the steering gimbal that Peter had used.
Peter lets out a scream, backing away from a woman with antennas that glow at the sight of him. As he scoots back, he shoots his web at her, trapping her where she is. The man that Tony had been fighting comes over, kicking Peter across the room.
“Stay down, clown.” He says, trying to shoot Peter.
Peter’s fast, the spider legs shoot out from his back, carrying him into the scaffolding above. Every time the man fires, he misses, but when Peter comes down to attack him, the man throws a gadget that opens like a net, securing around Peter, electrocuting him.
“Die, blanket of death!” The first man shouts, trying to pull the Cloak from his face.
Tony finally pushes himself off of the steering gimbal, immediately flying over the man fighting with the Cloak. He hovers his hand over his head, powering it up. The Cloak of Levitation then disappears, going back to Stephen.
You take a step down from where you’re standing, making your way toward Stephen. The man that’d taken down Peter, pulls him into his arms, holding a futuristic gun against his head. “Everybody stay where you are. Chill the eff out.”
He reaches to touch a button on the metal mask he’s wearing, making it disappear. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he’s human. He’s got the complexion, nothing out of the ordinary. Unlike Tony, who’s got the man with grey skin and red accents.
“I’m gonna ask you this one time.” He points the gun out in Tony’s direction. “Where is Gamora?”
Tony holds his other hand out to the man in retaliation. “Yeah. I’ll do you one better. Who’s Gamora?” The helmet falls away from his face.
“I’ll do you one better.” The grey man on the floor says. “Why is Gamora?”
You stop next to Stephen, hand wrapped around your ribs. He notices this immediately, eyebrows drawing in.
“Tell me where the girl is or I swear to you I’m gonna french fry this little freak.” He presses the gun to Peter’s head.
Peter’s eyes narrow, and then return back to normal. Tony doesn’t like this. “Let’s do it. You shoot my guy and I’ll blast him. Let’s go!” His hand turns into a large blaster, mere inches away from the grey man’s face.
“Do it, Quill! I can take it.” He says, staring into the barrel.
“No, he can’t take it!” The alien girl says.
“She’s right. You can’t.” Stephen says.
“Oh, yeah? You don’t wanna tell me where she is? That’s fine. I’ll kill all three of you and I’ll beat it out of Thanos myself.” Quill says, pressing the gun further against Peter’s head. “Starting with you.”
Your face twists, Stephen squints. “Wait, what, Thanos? All right, let me ask you this one time. What master do you serve?”
“What master do I serve?” Quill repeats. “What am I supposed to say, ‘Jesus’?”
Tony deadpans, looking over at you and Stephen. He then looks at Quill again. “You’re from Earth.”
“I’m not from Earth, I’m from Missouri.” Quill says.
“Yeah, that’s on Earth, dipshit.” Tony shoots back. “What are you hassling us for?”
“So you’re not with Thanos?” Peter asks.
“With Thanos?” Quill’s face is twisted. “No, I’m here to kill Thanos. He took my girl. Wait, who are you?” He pulls the gun away from Peter’s head.
Peter’s mask falls away. “We’re the Avengers, man.”
“Oh.” Quill takes his arm off of Peter.
You allow the mask to fall from your face, too.
“You’re the ones Thor told us about.” The girl says.
Tony looks over. “You know Thor?”
“Yeah.” Quill says. “Tall guy, not that good-looking, needed saving.”
“Where is he now?” Stephen asks.
“He’s going to Nidavellir to get some weapon.” Quill says.
Tony removes his hand from the grey man’s face, allowing him to get up. “What kind of weapon?”
“He said it would be able to kill Thanos.” Quill shrugs, “That’s all.”
“Maybe another hammer.” You suggest, the suit begins to fade away, taking the original with it too. It leaves you in the clothes you’d been in before Bruce fell through the ceiling. “I’m (Y/n).”
“Star Lord, but my real name is Peter Quill.” Quill says.
“Oh, hey. I’m Peter too.” Peter backs away, “But I’m Peter Parker.”
“Enough, kid.” Tony points at him. “Tony Stark.”
“Doctor Strange.” Stephen says from beside you.
The alien girl wrapped in web hops forward. “I am Mantis.”
“That’s Drax.” Quill says, motioning to the grey man.
Tony nods, starting for the door, “We should step out, get a feel for the planet.”
“There’s not much out there.” Quill says, but he doesn’t argue.
Peter walks over to Mantis to free her from the webbing. Stephen goes to follow, but you place a hand on his chest to stop him, he looks down at you. You give him a pained smile, waiting for the others to leave the ship first.
“Are you coming?” Peter asks, stopping at the exit, looking back at you and Stephen.
“We’ll be out there in a minute.” You tell him.
He nods, going to join the group. Your hand falls from Stephen’s chest, going to take a deep breath, and wincing when a sharp pain stabs through your ribs. He doesn’t miss this, grabbing your elbow to keep it up.
“What happened?”
“It’s my ribs.” You tell him.
His fingers reach for the hem of your shirt, he meets your eyes. “Can I?”
“Yeah.”
“Put your hand on my shoulder.” He tells you. You follow his direction, looking down to watch what he does.
He pulls your shirt all the way up to your chest, where you bunch it up to make it easier to see. He tilts his head, face smoothing briefly, before his eyebrows draw in. Stephen’s fingers brush against the skin over your right side.
You press your lips together, letting out a noise.
“When did this happen?” He asks, applying more pressure.
You suck in a shaky breath. “When the alien had sideswiped me, I hit the car that was parked on the side of the street.” You tell him. “And when Quill threw that bomb—”
“You landed on the same side.” Stephen says. He pulls away, you let go of your shirt. It falls back into place, wrinkled. “I think they’re just bruised, but you’ve got to take it easy.”
“I figured as much.” You tell him, turning to start at the door.
He walks by your side. “I thought you said you could take care of yourself.”
“I can.” You say, “I know when to ask for help.”
“That’s not what I had in mind.”
“Well, that’s a shame.” You glance at him, going down the ramp.
He doesn’t look very amused. “(Y/n), if you think you’re unable to fight Thanos—”
“I’ll let you know.” You say, stepping onto the dirt.
A shock goes through your body, as you freeze where you stand.
Death. The word echoes in your mind loudly. You can’t help the way your body reacts, goosebumps covering every inch of your body, until you’re shivering as if you’re freezing.
“(Y/n)?” Stephen grabs your shoulder.
“I’m fine.” You chatter out, hugging yourself. “We’re just walking on a graveyard, is all.”
You force your legs to work, moving forward. The coldness leaves your body the further you travel, warmth returning. No matter where you step, the dark feeling clings on.
“The hell happened to this planet?” You hear Quill ask, he’s holding up a glowing yellow pod. “It’s eight degrees off its axis. Gravitational pull is all over the place.”
“Must’ve been a massacre.” You say, Tony turns to see you and Stephen joining. “I can feel it.”
He makes a face. “Feeling dark?”
“It’s hard not to.” You come to a stop, crossing your arms.
“We’ve got one advantage. He’s coming to us.” He says, moving around. “We’ll use it. All right, I have a plan. Or at least the beginnings of one.” You gather in with Quill. “It’s pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don’t wanna dance with this guy. We just want the gauntlet.”
Drax yawns loudly.
“Are you yawning?”
You glance away, eyes landing on Stephen, floating in the air in a sitting position. He must be using the Time Stone, because there’s a ring of green around his forearms.
“In the middle of this, while I’m breaking it down? Huh?” Tony says, Drax and Mantis look over. “Did you hear what I said?”
Drax briefly looks at Mantis before he looks back at Tony. “I stopped listening after you said, ‘We need a plan’.”
“Okay, Mr. Clean is on his own page.”
“See, ‘not winging it’ isn’t really what they do.” Quill says back.
Peter raises his hand. “Uh, what exactly is it that they do?”
“Kick names, take ass.” Mantis says proudly.
Drax nods. “Yeah, that’s right.”
Your face twists, you let out a loud sigh. “There goes my hope that we had a working team.”
Tony stares at them blankly. “All right, just get over here, please.” When they don’t move, he addresses Quill. “Mr. Lord, can you get your folks to circle up?”
Quill nods. “‘Mr. Lord’,” he lets out a laugh. “Star-Lord is fine.” He cocks his head to the side, Drax and Mantis come closer.
“We gotta coalesce. Cause if all we come at him with is a plucky attitude—”
“Dude, don’t call us plucky. We don’t know what that means. All right, we’re optimistic, yes. I like your plan.” Quill says, Tony and you make eye contact. “Except it sucks, so let me do the plan and that way it might be really good.”
Tony closes his eyes.
“Tell him about the dance-off to save the universe.” Drax says.
“What dance-off?” Tony asks.
Quill makes a face, stuttering, “It’s not a—it’s nothing.”
“Like in Footloose, the movie?” Peter asks.
“Exactly like Footloose.” Quill leans forward. “Is it still the greatest movie in history?”
“It never was.” Peter says.
Quill squints at him, smile dropping.
“Don’t encourage this, all right?” Tony says, placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “We’re getting no help from Flash Gordon here.”
“Flash Gordon?” Quill takes a step after him. “By the way, that’s a compliment. Don’t forget, I’m half human.”
Your attention has diverted back to Stephen, who’s snapping his neck from side to side, still floating. “Honey?”
“So that fifty-perfect of me that’s stupid,” He pauses, “That’s one hundred percent you.”
“Your math is blowing my mind.” Tony says back.
You step up to Stephen, “Hey, Tony!”
You glance over your shoulder to see Tony coming in your direction, seeing the problem. “Strange, we all right?”
You want to touch him, but you’re afraid of what’ll happen if you do. His head is still moving from side to side, eyes closed, as if he’s seeking something. “Stephen.” The Time Stone is glowing, a green haze is encircling his upper torso.
His head begins to move faster, letting out a grunt. A shout then leaves him, gasping as he falls to the rock below, eyes open and looking around. You crouch in front of Stephen, hands on his knees. He grabs one of them immediately, squeezing.
“You’re back.” You murmur.
“Hi.” he breathes.
“Hey, what was that?” Peter asks.
“I went forward in time to view alternate futures.” He says, looking between you and Tony, who stands behind you now. He’s breathing heavily as he talks. The Time Stone glows brightly against his chest. “To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict.”
“How many did you see?” Quill asks.
“Fourteen million, six hundred and five.”
“How many did we win?” Tony asks.
Stephen presses his lips together for a second. “One.”
You push to get to your feet, “How soon will he be here?”
He shakes his head, “Thirty minutes.”
You look at Tony, “We need to flesh that plan out.”
Tony nods, “Will my initial one work?”
Stephen takes in a breath. “Yes, actually.”
—
A storm cloud of grey and blue appears in the rubble, a boot being the first thing to come out of it. You adjust your footing, keeping your eyes on the giant, purple man that comes through it. The cloud is gone, and the air returns to normal.
Your eyes find the gauntlet, which takes up the entirety of Thanos’s forearm, stopping at the elbow. When he turns his wrist the right way, you can see the stones he has, glint in the setting sun. He stops to look at the spaceship you’d come out of.
“Oh, yeah.” Stephen says, he’s sitting at the top of the steps on a rock. He’d volunteered to be the distraction, so the rest of you could prepare to fight. Thanos looks over at him, not worried. “You’re much more of a Thanos.”
Thanos looks away. “I take it the Maw is dead.” Stephen leans forward on his knees, nodding. “This day extracts a heavy toll.” He begins to walk. “Still, he accomplished his mission.”
“You may regret that.” Stephen tells him. “He brought you face-to-face with the Master of the Mystic Arts.”
“And where do you think he brought you?”
“Let me guess. Your home?” Stephen asks.
Thanos stops, foot resting on top of a rock, gauntlet on his thigh. The Space, Reality and Power Stones displayed. You can’t tell if he has the Soul Stone or not.
“It was.” Thanos says. He lifts the gauntlet, and the Reality Stone begins to glow brightly when he closes his fist. “It was beautiful.”
The world around you begins to change, as he manipulates the area around you to make it look like it had before. A bright blue sky, green grass, a fountain in the middle of the plaza. There are people just like him, conversing around the park. And the giant building that’s falling apart, stands sturdy and clean.
“Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution.”
“Genocide.” Stephen says.
You duck behind the spacecraft, slapping a hand over your mouth, eyes squeezed shut as your body shakes.
“But random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike.” Thanos continues. “They called me a madman.” You sigh, not bothering to move from where you are. “And what I predicted came to pass.”
The scene fades away, bringing you back to reality. No wonder you can’t stay in control, here. You are literally on top of a graveyard, with so many undead beneath you that haven't risen since the day they died. They must be eager to get out, breathe the air above again.
What they don’t know is that it won’t taste the same as it did before.
“Congratulations, you’re a prophet.” Stephen says.
The good news is that if the dead haven’t been brought back before, there’ll be more power to it. They’re going to be decayed, sure. But they’re going to be stronger than the ones in New York, because these are new toys to play with. Besides, you can’t wait to see the look on Thanos’s face when he realizes that his own people are fighting against him.
“I’m a survivor.” Thanos says.
“Who wants to murder trillions.”
“With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers.” He says, the noise filling the air. “They would all cease to exist. I call that mercy.”
You lift your head to see Stephen, finding him on his feet. “And then what?” He takes a step down.
Thanos looks away. “I’d finally rest and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe. The hardest choices require the strongest wills.”
Your lip twitches.
“I think you’ll find our will equal to yours.” Stephen says, clapping his hands together, and pulling them apart to show his magic.
“Our?” Thanos asks, lifting his head, tilting it all the way back.
Tony’s coming down with a piece of the spaceship, aimed directly over Thanos. As the purple stone begins to glow, he’s crushed by the mass, sending out a cloud of dirt and dust on impact.
The mask crawls up your face, blocking it just in time to swarm you.
“Piece of cake, Quill.” Tony says, doing a lap through a structure.
Quill begins to run, pressing the button on his mask again, which covers his face. “Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off.” He jumps, flying to where Thanos is.
An explosion of purple sets off, chunks of metal flying out, revealing Thanos underneath. He lets out a war cry, the Reality Stone glowing as he swings his gauntlet arm, creating a mass of alien birds that swarm Tony, carrying him away.
Peter takes the opportunity to shoot his web, covering Thanos’s eyes, flying by to kick him in the face. Drax slices across the back of his knee. Stephen comes through a portal, Drax swings at Thanos, only to be blocked. Stephen pulls out his own weapon, a sword made from the orange magic.
They take turns, going back and forth swinging at Thanos. He’ll dodge, switch sides, taking another hit from the back. He then punches Drax’s chest, throwing him into a rock that crumbles.
Stephen swings, Thanos catches the sword. Quill jumps through the air, using the rocks as stepping stones. Thanos finally pulls the webbing from his face, Stephen makes the sword disappear, opting for a shield, which Thanos kicks in to.
Quill shoots at Thanos’s back, Stephen casts a spell to create more platforms for Quill to use, hopping from one to the next. He flips over Thanos, planting a bomb on his back, which beeps loudly. He backs away, middle finger raised. “Boom!” And then he falls through a portal.
The bomb explodes, Thanos stumbles forward, landing on his hands. Just as he’s straightening, the Cloak wraps itself around his hand tightly. Stephen casts another portal, one which Peter jumps out.
He slams his fist across Thanos’s face. “Magic.” Disappears through the portal on the other side, which spits him out a foot above. Peter swings down on Thanos’s head. “More magic.” And pops out on the other side, Thanos turns at the wrong moment, “Magic with a kick.” He says, foot right across his face. The next portal opens up, “Magic with a—!”
Thanos grabs Peter by the throat, slamming him down into the dirt, choking him. “Insect!” He shouts, before lifting the teenager and throwing him into Stephen.
The two of them disappear in the rubble, you rise from where you’re hiding, beginning to creep around to find a better place to be when you raise this army. Thanos rips off the Cloak, which flies away to get back to Stephen.
Another explosion is set off, a wave of heat hits you like a truck, warming you up on the inside and out. This is Tony’s doing, as he repeatedly sends his rockets down where Thanos is standing.
It doesn’t work. Thanos sucks the fire up through the Power Stone, shooting it back at Tony, which blasts him into one of the structures up in the air. He hits the floating middle piece, causing a different explosion.
“(Y/n), now's a good time!” Tony shouts through static.
You come out into the open, Thanos’s attention turning to you. You fall to your knees in front of him, intertwining your fingers, staring directly at him. “Ready to see your people?” You laugh coldly, raising your locked hands up in the air, before slamming them into the dirt. “Rise!”
The ground begins to tremble, a shiver runs through your body, feeling the cold, dark energy building in your body. The dirt breaks apart, purple hands sprouting out in claw positions. You watch in amazement as the bodies pull themselves out of the planet, in almost perfect condition.
You push to get on your feet, watching as Thanos takes several steps back, as his own people come to stand around you. All of them stand around the same height, taking away his advantage.
“You…” He trails off, voice accusatory.
With a finger pointed out in his direction, you tilt your head to the side. “Pin the survivor down.”
The undead move at him, coming in every direction. They’re strong, energy coursing through your body. You retreat the best you can while keeping your eyes on him. The confliction in his face is everything you were hoping for, as he looks between the people that he once knew.
When he realizes that they’re not going to stop for him, he lets out a scream, swinging at them. They take the hits, springing back to life mere seconds later. You watch from the top of the stairs in amazement. You’ve never had an army act like this before, with such violence.
Maybe it’s their will to come back. Or maybe, some of their spirits are still here, unable to move on. His face brings bad memories, from when they were starving and beginning to fall from the inside out. Maybe they know about his slaughtering activities on other planets, carrying out his ideas on poor, unsuspecting people that can’t defend themselves against his power.
Maybe this is their way of getting revenge for you.
You let out a laugh.
Thanos throws his hand out, a sharp and warm pain explodes across your left shoulder, twisting you to the ground. You land on your hands and knees, coming face to face with the chunk of flesh that Thanos has just taken from your body. The blood spurts out of the wound.
Your breaths pick up at the sight of the amount of blood leaving your body, stars coming to the corners of your vision. You let out a scream through gritted teeth as the feeling hits you full-force, tears appearing in your eyes.
“(Y/n)!” Stephen shouts.
When you look over your shoulder, you see that Peter has webbed Thanos’s hand with the gauntlet, pulling it away from him. Thanos still fights with his open hand, knocking away the dead effortlessly. He pulls Peter toward him when there’s an opening, punching him across the face, and ripping the webbing from the gauntlet.
Suddenly, a spaceship comes out of the brown haze, belonging to none of you. It hits the planet, as well as Thanos, and the entire army of the dead. You struggle to your feet, stumbling down the steps.
Stephen is floating through the air, toward Thanos, when he sees that you’re alive. You follow after him the best you can, a burning sensation spreading over your missing shoulder when you see the nanotech forms over it. At least then, it’ll be covered.
A girl springs out of the rock to fight Thanos, one that you don’t recognize. Stephen uses his magic to lasso Thanos’s gauntlet, trying to pull it off of him. Drax comes up behind him, kicking the back of his knee to force him down. Quill shoots a triangular disc—the same one he’d used against Tony—underneath Thanos’s free hand to keep him from pulling at the gauntlet.
Peter uses his web, swinging around to pull Thanos with Quill. While Tony comes around, grabbing at the gauntlet. Thanos is strong, though, pulling at Peter’s web. The spider legs come out, digging into the rock to keep him from moving. Stephen retracts his spell, casting a new one for a portal, where Mantis falls onto Thanos’s shoulders.
She places her hands on both sides of his head, leaning over him. Stephen works with Quill and Peter to pull on the other hand. Thanos is screaming, eyes a milky white as he turns his head to the side.
You come to a stop a few feet away, the sound of dragging footsteps behind you. It’s a few of the dead that hadn’t died with the ship. “Get the gauntlet off of him.” You demand.
They move to help Tony, fingers digging underneath it to get better leverage. Thanos stops resisting so hard, as Mantis’s antennas begin to glow white.
“Is he under? Don’t let up.” Tony says, pulling.
“Be quick. He is very strong.” She says.
“Parker, help! Get over here.” Tony orders. “She can’t hold him much longer. Let’s go.”
They all pull at the gauntlet, seemingly making no progress. Quill flies over, landing a few feet away, tucking his gun back onto the hollister.
“We gotta open his fingers to get it off.” Peter says.
You move closer, “Do as he says.” The dead begin to work on his fingers, struggling against his strength.
“I thought you’d be hard to catch.” Quill taunts. “For the record, this was my plan.” Thanos doesn’t respond, mouth hanging open. “You’re not so strong now, huh?” He stops in front of him. “Where is Gamora?”
Thanos groans, “My Gamora.”
“No, bullshit!” Quill says, “Where is she?”
“He is in anguish.” Mantis says, Thanos’s face twists.
“Good.”
“He… he mourns.” Mantis pants, eyebrows drawn in, tears in her eyes.
You look over to see the same girl as earlier has now joined you. She doesn’t seem to be human, though. She’s robotic, and blue.
“What does this monster have to mourn?” Drax manages to get out.
“Gamora.” The girl says.
Quill turns to look at her. “What?”
“He took her to Vormir.” She says. “He came back with the Soul Stone. But she didn’t.”
The helmet disappears from Tony’s head. “Okay, Quill, you gotta cool it right now. You understand?” Quill is turning to look at Thanos. “Don’t, don’t—don’t engage. We almost got this off!” He shouts.
“Tell me she’s lying.” Quill begins to shout. “Asshole, tell me you didn’t do it!”
“I had to.” Thanos hisses out.
“No, you didn’t.” Quill shakes his head, Thanos groans. “No, you didn’t.”
Quill draws back, gun in hand. You reach with your good arm to catch him before he ruins this, but it’s too late. He hits Thanos with the side of the gun, Mantis loses her grip on him. She tries to regain her grip, but he hits Thanos again.
“No, you didn’t!”
“Quill!” Tony shouts, abandoning the gauntlet to grab Quill. “Hey, stop! Hey, stop! Stop!”
Peter pulls, it begins to slip. You jump over, grabbing the bottom. The suit explodes over your body, heels digging into the ground. “Pull!” You shout.
“Hey, stop! Stop!”
“It’s coming, it’s coming.” Peter adjusts to get a better grip on it. “We got it, we got it!”
Thanos comes back at this moment, headbutting Mantis. The gauntlet is just slipping off his last finger, when he throws you, Peter and the few undead you have left. You land harshly, rolling once or twice before forcing yourself to get back on your feet. He then reaches up, grabbing Mantis by her foot, and flinging her off.
“Oh, god.” Peter says, jumping in the air to grab her. The spider legs come out, creating a case for them to roll in without touching the ground.
Thanos kicks Drax off his leg, straight into Quill and the blue robot. He grabs the lasso that Stephen has been holding onto him, whipping it forward and letting go. You watch your boyfriend come closer to you, and continue to fly over your head.
Tony tries to blast Thanos, but he’s pissed now. All he does is swing his arm, batting Tony away. Drax, Quill and the robot get to their feet to run at him, then Thanos uses the Power Stone to stop them where they are, forcing them back on the cement.
Tony comes back, swinging at him with a nanotech blade. Thanos grabs his arm, headbutting him too. Thanos hits the staircase on the other side, doing backwards somersaults until he lands on his knees.
Thanos reaches up in the direction of a nearby planet that you can see. His gauntlet glowing purple as he presumably breaks off parts of the surface. With a closed fist, he throws it down, bringing the pieces to you. You duck against a rock, covering your head as brown fiery smoke leaves a path.
Tony tries to fly away, but he’s caught by one of the giant pieces of rock, crushing him beneath. The impact fucks up the gravity, as Drax, the robot and Quill take off into the air.
“Peter!” You shout, “Grab them!”
“Got it, Miss (L/n)!” He calls back, slinging to his feet.
The ground quakes each time a chunk lands on the surface. You throw your head back, searching to find Stephen, on a floating rock, not too far from Thanos. He moves his arms, bands of orange appearing, hitting his hands against the ground. The orange electricity jumps from each rock, until it reaches Thanos, exploding the surface.
Thanos jumps off, using the Power stone to send purple lightning back at Stephen. He’s prepared for this, it hits a shield, flying back at Thanos. Who shatters it into pieces with one punch from the gauntlet. He sucks it all up with the Space Stone, creating a vortex, spiraling in Stephen’s direction.
Stephen casts another shield, the vortex becoming a flurry of green butterflies, which is merely a distraction, as the next trick comes. Multiple arms come from him, spreading out, until they move in sync to become one, bursting apart as replicas of him take over the air, surrounding Thanos.
They move together, hundreds of lassos wrapping around Thanos’s arms, which he quickly breaks with the Power Stone. Static electricity takes over the air, until it’s just your boyfriend.
Thanos reaches forward, beckoning Stephen to him. His gauntlet hand secures around his throat. “You’re full of tricks, wizard.” He reaches to grab the necklace, Stephen struggles to pull away. “Yet you never once used your greatest weapon.” He crushes the necklace in his hand. “A fake.”
He throws Stephen, and he rolls a few feet before stopping. When he doesn’t get up, you begin to move through the rock to get to him.
Tony sends nanotech to the gauntlet, keeping it from closing. He lands, breathing hard. “You throw another moon at me, and I’m gonna lose it.”
“Stark.” Thanos says.
“You know me?”
“I do. Just like how I know that necromancer is (Y/n).” He says, you stop in your tracks, head snapping in his direction. “You’re not the only one cursed with knowledge.”
“My only curse is you.” Tony says, more explosives coming out of his back.
“Come on!” Thanos growls, letting the gauntlet take the hit.
You begin to move faster, making it to Stephen. You land on your knees, ignoring the blossoming pain from doing it so many times today. You reach for his face with your only hand, moving his hair back.
“Stephen, babe.” You murmur, wincing when you use your other arm to rest on his chest. The technology in your ear tells you that he’s still breathing. You let out a breath.
You brush some of the debris from his face, forcing him on his back.
Tony’s feet slam into Thanos, he does a backflip, landing on his feet, arms turning into giant hammers with blasters on the bottom. He hits Thanos into a rock, and when Thanos gets back on his feet, he tears the helmet right from Tony’s head.
Another one forms in an instant, as he tries to block Thanos’s punch. It doesn’t work, Tony flattens on the rock.
“Stephen.” You whisper, “Come on.”
Thanos breaks the nanotech off of the gauntlet, using the Power stone to hit Tony with a powerful force, which Tony blocks in time with a shield. It comes around, like flames licking at a closed door. It forces Tony back, despite the pressure he’s putting to stay in place.
He throws the shield back when Thanos stops, nanotech transferring from a small space on his back, to his foot, which locks down Thanos’s gauntlet hand. Tony throws a powerful punch, landing it right across his face.
Thanos reaches up, brushing a part on his upper cheek, looking at his fingertips. “All that for a drop of blood.”
“(Y/n).” Stephen mutters.
You look back down at him, finding his eyes open, on you. You nod, cupping his face with both hands. “I’m here. Are you okay?”
“Your shoulder…” He trails off, reaching to touch it, but he knows better than to make contact.
“I know.”
Thanos gets out of the trap, throwing Tony onto the ground, and laying in with the punches, slowly destroying the nanotech with each one landed. He picks him up, throwing him away.
Tony focuses the tech to his hands, taking away from a part on his thigh and hip, but Thanos blocks the rays with the purple glowing gauntlet. He swings at Tony’s face, taking the rest of the helmet off. Tony tries to throw a punch, it’s grabbed. With his only free arm, the nanotech forms a blade, Tony tries to stab, but Thanos breaks it off.
You watch in horror as he stabs it through the missing armor in Tony’s abdomen.
“No!” You let out, Stephen moves to sit up, you don’t stop him.
You clasp your hands together, raising them above your head, going to hit the ground, when a hand grabs them before they do. You make eye contact with Stephen, who shakes his head at you.
“It won’t help.”
“We should kill him.” You tell him. “We need to kill him.”
Tony lets out a grunt, Thanos walks him back until he sits on a rock.
Stephen’s grip tightens. “This is how we win. This is the plan.”
“You have my respect, Stark.” Thanos says. “When I’m done, half of humanity will still be alive.”
You grit your teeth, “This isn’t right.”
“I hope they remember you.” Thanos holds his hand out, each stone glowing on his knuckles.
Stephen lets go of you, eyes on Thanos, “Stop.” He pants. “Spare his life and I will give you the stone.”
“Stephen.” You snap, “No!”
“No tricks.” Thanos says.
Stephen shakes his head, Thanos points the gauntlet at you two, instead.
“Don’t.” Tony groans, blood dripping out the corner of his mouth.
Stephen slowly lifts his hand, a green haze showing before the Time Stone appears out of thin air, between his forefinger and thumb. Thanos hold out his other hand, palm up.
“Don’t do this.” You tell him, pressure behind your eyes. “Don’t, Stephen, I don’t want those people to die.”
He looks at you for a long second, before releasing the stone. It floats through the air, straight to Thanos. He lowers the gauntlet, taking the green gem in his hand. Your head falls, you let out a sob between gritted teeth.
When you look, Thanos is dropping the Time Stone into the slot on the knuckle of his thumb. “One to go.”
A beam hits the gauntlet, as Quill comes out of the rock and rubble, flying straight at Thanos, repeatedly firing. The same storm cloud that brought Thanos here has now materialized to take him back. He takes one step backwards, and it swallows him whole.
Quill flies right through where he should have made contact with Thanos. He gets to his feet, waving his gun. “Where is he?”
Tony uses the nanotech to heal where he’d been stabbed, letting out a sigh.
“Did we just lose?” Quill asks.
You let out a sob, hand covering your mouth. Stephen reaches to touch you, but you jerk away, “Don’t, don’t do that.”
“(Y/n)---”
You stumble down the rock, putting a few feet between you two.
Tony looks over at him. “Why would you do that?”
“We’re in the endgame now.” He says.
You lace your fingers, resting your hands on the top of your head, ignoring the pain that stabs through your shoulder and ribs. You take several deep breaths in through your nose, letting it out through your mouth. Your throat is tightening, making it harder to breathe.
“Miss (L/n), I’ve got them!” Peter shouts, you glance over to see Mantis, Drax and the robot coming your way. “Oh no, Mr. Stark?”
“(Y/n), come here, please.” Stephen says, “I don’t want you to regret this moment.” Your bottom lip juts out as you turn around to face him, finding him on his feet. He’s got a hand out in your direction. “I’m sorry, honey.”
The suit falls away from your body at the same time Tony dismisses his. You shake your head at him, refusing to go toward him. “All those people…” You lower your arms to wipe the tears. “I can’t.”
“We haven’t lost yet.” He tells you.
Peter pulls Tony to his feet. Mantis stops walking with Quill, looking up. “Something’s happening.”
Mantis’s feet begin to disintegrate, eating up the rest of her legs, turning into flakes of dust that get blown away in the wind. Your face drops. At once, the rest of her is gone.
Drax’s left half of his body begins to follow suit, he looks up, “Quill?”
He’s gone too, Tony starts forward, “Steady, Quill.”
It works faster this time, “Oh, man.”
You turn with an open mouth to look at Stephen, “No, no, no!”
His legs are turning into dust, you rush through the rocks to get to him in time. Maybe if you touch him, he’ll stay. Maybe your abilities will work in reverse.
“There was no other way, my love.” He whispers, breathing shallow.
“No!” You scream, arms swiping through the dust where he had been a second ago. “Stephen, no!”
“Mr. Stark?” Peter’s voice is trembling.
“God damn it!” You cry, face pressing into the rock. “Bring him back!”
“I don’t feel so good.” Peter says.
“You’re all right.” Tony says.
“I don’t—I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t know…” He falls into Tony’s arms. “I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go, sir. Please. Please, I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go.” Tony carefully lowers him to the ground. “I’m sorry.”
You bury your face in your hands, silently sobbing as you struggle to breathe. “Stephen…” You whisper. “Come back to me.”
It dawns on you.
You scoot away from the rock, sitting up on your knees. You blink through blurry eyes, fingers laced, hands above your head. “Please, work.” You whisper, and then slam your hands into concrete, pressing hard. “Stephen, rise!”
The ground is still, not reacting to your words.
“I said,” You raise your hands, bringing them down again. “Rise! Bring me Stephen Strange!”
Finally, the rock begins to shake violently, you sit impatiently, waiting for him to sprout out of the ground where he’d turned to dust over. Instead, the planet settles, and you’re left with nothing.
“He did it.” The robot says.
Your labored breaths quickly turn into deep breaths that begin to even out, the more you think about her. You push to your feet, attentioning turning to her. This wouldn’t have happened if she didn’t come here.
“You.” You snarl out, Tony looks up at you. “This is your fault.”
She looks at you, eyes widening slightly, “Me?”
“Did you really have to be that honest?” You snap, going down the dirt. “You had to tell Quill that she was dead?”
Her face twists. “He was going to beat it out of Thanos whether or not I—”
“You don’t know that!” You shout, “Now they’re dead, and it’s your fault!” You stop a foot away from her. “This wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t here. We had him pinned down, we were right there! Peter had just gotten the gauntlet off of his arm!”
“(Y/n), this was always going to happen.” Tony interjects, “Stephen said it himself, this was the only way.”
“I don’t believe that.” You look down at him. “Stephen would never leave me on purpose. He’d never do that.”
“He would if it meant you’d be safe.”
--
this was part of my 3k celebration!! i am no longer accepting requests.
once again, i'm sorry it's long. i got carried away hehe. and i was determined to write the entire movie so i did.
#ilguna#stephen strange#stephen strange imagine#stephen strange fanfic#stephen strange x reader#stephen strange oneshot#stephen strange x you#stephen strange x yn#stephen strange x y/n#doctor strange imagine#doctor strange fanfic#doctor strange x reader#doctor strange oneshot#doctor strange x you#doctor strange x yn#doctor strange x y/n#marvel#amonett#ask#mutuals#requested#angst#planet anon
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🍄?
fanfic drabble emoji game
Have a double drabble instead! 💖
"Stephen?"
Stephen looks up at Tony, noting his slightly dazed look. "What is it?"
"I'm gonna be honest with you," Tony starts, "So I saw this… whole bunch of glowing mushrooms back there in your garden room thing–"
"Don't tell me you ate them."
There's an almost comical pause.
"I ate them."
"Shit."
"Yep. They tasted like shit," Tony admitted, "I feel a little... weird. Strange, even."
Stephen glares at him.
"I'm starting to... Starting to think... Do you think I was a fish in another life? I'm pretty sure I'm a fish in another life."
Stephen blinks. That's the most out-of-pocket thing he's heard from someone who's high off of magical mushrooms.
"Do you think I'm more like a goldfish or like… a coelacanth?" Tony continues, completely derailing from the reason this conversation started. "I like coelacanths. They're really cool. Did you know that they thought coelacanths were extinct until one day some dude found it just chillin' around in like, South Africa, and it just went," he pitches his voice lower, "'Hey there, bitches! I'm a-fucking-live!'"
Stephen sighs. "Definitely a coelacanth."
"You think so?"
Stephen nods.
"They have tiny brains."
He stands up and walks over to Tony.
#only one more emoji drabble prompt in the inbox!! writing these off slowly whoop whoop#stephen strange#tony stark#ironstrange#double drabble#fanfic#my writing#fanfic drabble emoji game#ask#j-snapdragon
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Stephen! Hi!
Hi. *does dramatic entrance*
#doctor strange#marvel#stephen strange#mcu#dr.strange#benedict cumberbatch#dr strange#ask doctor strange#doctor strange 2
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Little!Peter has to get an EMG and is nervous about the shocks and the needles 🥺🥺
EMG is a medical test where a thin needle is inserted into different muscles (usually in the arms and legs) to test for nerve or muscle abnormalities. The needle sends a small electrical impulse to the muscle and the response is recorded on a machine.
Daddies have noticed in the past few weeks that Peter’s mobility has changed. He stumbles more and has a harder time moving and picking up things. So, Peter needs an EMG test to figure out what could be causing his mobility issues.
They both talk with Peter many times about the test to prepare him. Daddies were also told it would be okay to give Peter a painkiller before his appointment.
When the day finally comes, Peter is quiet and anxious. He buries his face in his big shark stuffie and wants one Daddy to sit in the back of the car with him. Stephen complies and holds Peter’s hand the whole time.
Once they are called into the appointment, Peter is told to take off his pants and lay down on the table. Daddies stand on each of his sides, pretty much hiding the scary stuff that is going to happen. All Peter can see are his Daddies leaning over him.
“I’m just gonna clean you a bit. It might feel cold, and then I’m gonna put these stickers on you. All right?” The doctor says.
Peter nods, but keeps his eyes firmly fixed on his Daddies. They are each holding his hands and kissing them.
“Okay. I’m gonna start now, Peter. Try to stay still and focus on your breathing. Let me know if you need to have a break.”
Daddies totally expected Peter to cry, maybe even scream, but all he does is blink and frown ever so slightly. The machine beeps softly, so Daddies know Peter has been stuck with the needle twice already.
“Good. You’re doing amazing, buddy.” The doctor says.
Peter blinks again. The machine keeps beeping as he is stuck with the needle.
“Daddies?”
“Hm?”
“You okay, baby? You need a break?”
“Anything, baby. Just say the word and we’ll pause.”
Daddies watch wide eyed, scanning Peter’s face for signs of distress.
“No, is okay. But, you’re squeezing too hard.” Peter says, wiggling his fingers.
Daddies almost startle out of their trance and let go of Peter’s hands. The poor boy’s fingers are a little white, so Stephen and Tony must have held on a bit too tightly.
“Sorry, sorry.” Tony chuckles and Stephen leans down to kiss Peter’s forehead.
Maybe Daddies are the ones who need a break, because Peter is pulling through like a champ.
#i love when you drop by babe!!💗💗💗💗#you also manage to find these new whump takes and i looove it🤩🤩#president grace#little!peter#daddy!tony#daddy!stephen#starkerstrange#starker#ironstrange#strangespider#tony stark#peter parker#stephen strange#ask
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hello, I hope you’re doing well! I was wondering if you can clarify something for me that I’m just a *tad* confused by.
I know Stephen and Clea separated on good terms a while ago because they had responsibilities to attend to (but obviously they still love each other). but did they ever get officially divorced?
thank you in advance. I hope it’s not a difficult question. I’d just love to make sure I’m not forgetting/misunderstanding anything. :)
Hello! I'm doing good, thanks for asking! How about you?
Answering your question... No, they never got an official divorce. Even in the cursed Fearless Defenders, when Clea requests one, they never touch the subject again.
They give "divorced" vibes in Cates' and Waid's respective runs, but truth be told, they are not your typical married couple since they are from different dimensions and their cerimony was more like a spell that binds their souls.
So, in short, no divorce. Their souls remained bound and they never had a chance to talk about it except for this issue (Doctor Strange v4 Annual #1).
This is so true that, in Jed's run, they treat each other as spouses as soon as they reunite, as if their status as a separated couple was never officialized. Or at least this is how the chronology for this specific issue works haha.
I hope I was able to answer your question. It's confusing but if you read all their interactions after Sorcerer Supreme, this is the best you'll get when it comes to canon.
Thank you for passing by!
#how can the sorcerer supreme be of assistance?#ask#spouses supreme#clea strange#stephen strange#doctor strange#marvel comics
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