Peter: "Do I look fat?"
Stephen: "No."
Peter: "Ok, I accept that. When MJ asked me and I said no, she took that to mean that I was calling her a cow."
Tony: "Ok. Walk us through it, kid."
Stephen: "Walk us through it."
Peter: "Ok. Well, MJ said 'Hi, do I look fat today?' and I looked at her-"
Tony: "Woah, woah, woah! You looked at her? You never look. You just answer."
Stephen: "It's like a reflex. 'Do I look fat?' No. 'Is she prettier than I am?' No."
Tony: "'Does size matter?' No."
Stephen: "And it works both ways."
Peter: "Ok, so you both just know this stuff?"
Tony: "Well you know, after about 30 or 40 fights you kind of catch on."
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Deja Vu
"Are you okay?"
Stephen came back to himself with a small gasp and he looked up to find himself looking at Tony. Just...younger. There was less gray in his hair and they were still standing in the Sanctum and it took a few moments for reality to set in and for the sorcerer to realize what had just happened.
Specifically that nothing happened.
He and Tony weren't married, let alone dating. He still lived at the Sanctum with Wong, the Avengers were still broken up...and there were no kids. The realization that his children either weren't his own or didn't exist yet made Stephen feel empty. The vision had felt so real. He could still feel the warmth Tony gave off against his back when he fell asleep just last night (or did he?), and feeling Athena sleeping at the foot of the bed. He was even waiting for this to be some sick joke and his kids would come barrelling through the door arguing about who got to choose the next movie to watch.
But he knew it wouldn't happen. Not yet. Nothing had come to pass. Not even Peter's aunt dying in the accident. May Parker was still alive and well. Stephen was just...Stephen. Sorcerer Supreme. He wasn't anyone's mom, spouse, or matriarch. He was just one of the sorcerer's residing in Greenwich Village.
He felt his skin get clammy and he had to resist the urge to bring up his lunch because he wanted it back. He didn't want to go through all of it again. He wanted his kids now. He wanted the chaos and the noise that the Sanctum was almost completely devoid of.
But he had to, didn't he? Go through all the pain and suffering, the happy moments, the sad…and if that's what it took to get all of that back, Stephen would do it in an instant. He wanted that happiness back…he yearned for it, and he wasn't the only one who deserved it. So did Tony. The very man he fell in love with and was still looking at him in concern.
“I'm fine,” Stephen finally manages to answer while rubbing the bridge of his nose. At least physically. Mentally was an entirely different ballpark. He still felt a small urge to vomit…to lash out and beg for this to be a dream.
“Sure, Doc. I'll believe that when you're not paler than the moon. Better get you a chair.” Tony was already looking for one before he even finished his sentence, and then Stephen felt himself being led to the couch in the foyer. He sat down without argument and made himself breathe through the nausea as Tony sat next to him. “So what's going on?”
Stephen breathes out a pathetic laugh. “If I told you, you'd think I was insane.”
“Guess we won't know unless you tell me.”
If Stephen didn't have that vision, he would have told Tony off…but he knew better. He knew Tony hid his kindness behind smart remarks, but Stephen knew he wasn't ready to hear about what he just experienced. Then being together, having a family, and with the Avengers back together…it was a lot to chew on.
“Maybe later,” he answers quietly. If he could get that vision to be real again, maybe there would be a later.
“Fair enough. Something too intense to recover from immediately right?” Tony says as he gets back to his feet. “I've had nightmares like that. Anyway, glad to see you don't have any magical mishaps here.”
“You'll just cause them if you keep touching everything,” Stephen snorts and Tony barks out a laugh.
“Felt like touching. The engineer in me I guess.” Tony heads for the front door. “Get better soon, Doc. I don't want to be the one dealing with the magical end of things.”
Then he was gone. And Stephen felt empty again. The Sanctum was silent and he couldn't feel Tony's comforting heat…it all felt wrong. He couldn't live like this. Not after seeing what could be.
But then the doorbell rang about an hour later and when Stephen answered it, he found a bag by the door. It held hot soup and a note that made Stephen think that maybe it could happen after all.
Something told me that you'd be terrible about taking care of yourself since you're a doctor. Took the liberty of ordering you some soup. Get well soon, Doc. -T
As Stephen pocketed the receipt with the note and picked up the bag, he couldn't help but smile to himself. He'd have to send the older man a thank you. Something along the lines of calling the man an asshole.
_____________
It worked of course. Tony took it as a challenge of snark and it brought him to Stephen's door more and more. Then everything began to feel familiar to Stephen. The lunches at the Sanctum, the constant quips that he remembered hearing, and their first kiss in Tony's living room…
Everything was back to the way it was. Stephen had to go through all the pain and suffering again but it was worth it to have his family back. It was worth having Valerie glued to his leg since William was still at school, to have Lucy running around in her diaper because she refused to wear any other clothes, and to hear Diana arguing with Harley and Peter over the TV.
He didn't feel empty anymore.
“You alright, Duchess?” Tony asks from beside him as he cuts up some vegetables. “You look like you saw a ghost.”
Stephen shakes his head and focuses back on the task at hand. Namely cutting the last couple of strawberries for Valerie that would hold her over until dinner. “I'm fine.”
“That's just as believable as when you said it when we first met,” Tony huffs. “You looked the same then and you gave me the same answer. Which you never explained to me by the way.”
Stephen looks at him with surprise. “You remember that?”
“I'm old, not senile.” Tony says and Stephen chuckles.
“I really am fine. What happened then was the complete opposite of now.” He starts. “I…saw this back then.”
Tony blinks and stops cutting to look over at the sorcerer. “Wait…this?”
“The kids…us…I lived it. I looked like a ghost because I was torn away from it. It was all a vision and it made me feel sick.” Stephen tells him as he hands the bowl of strawberries down to Valerie and watches her walk over to the table with them. “It was the happiest I've ever been in my life and it was just a dream.”
“And now?” Tony asks carefully, gently taking Stephen's hand, making him smile.
“It's real. I made sure of it. Even if it wasn't, I would do it all again without hesitation.” Stephen reassures. “The vision was just so intense and realistic that it took a lot out of me at the time. I also don't think you would have believed me at the time.”
“I…maybe.” Tony admits. “I was still a little suspicious of it at the time. Are you sure you're okay now?”
Stephen nods. “I'm just relieved. That's all. If I knew this was possible and wasn't able to get it again…”
“But it was and you do,” Tony says firmly before lifting Stephen's hand to kiss the back of it. “I'd hate to imagine what it would be like without you.”
The doctor’s smile drops a bit. “I've seen that too. It's not good.”
“Guess I should thank those witch doctors of yours that they blessed you with visions,” Tony smirks and Stephen rolls his eyes.
“I can't believe you just referred to the Vishanti as witch doctors.”
“You still love me.”
Stephen’s smile returns and he sighs softly. “I always will.”
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