Chapter Text
Night terror.
Stephen had a night terror.
He knew it was common for toddlers to have night terrors. Didn't mean he was prepared for it, though. Nor did he expect it. Logically, he knew it didn't mean anything serious, and he could easily just fall back asleep, but some part of him, perhaps the part that had been affected by the spell, yearned to get comforted by someone. Preferably Tony. Definitely Tony.
He needed Tony. He needed Tony and now .
He wrapped himself with the sheet from the bed, which dragged over the floor as he walked through the hallway to reach Tony's room. He knocked at the engineer's door, waiting for a response. He heard a little grunt and some shuffling from the other side, some footsteps approaching the door, before it finally opened with a click. Tony's hair was already in a frenzied state when he appeared, and he was rubbing a hand over his eyes, but once he spotted Stephen's face, he looked momentarily confused. And then his brows raised in realisation, eyes widening as he seemed to wake up a little.
"Stephen?" he said, voice heavy with sleep, "What's wrong, honey?"
Tony kneeled down to Stephen's level. Stephen clutched at his sheet tighter.
"I had a night terror," Stephen admitted, "Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"
Tony's face softened.
"Yeah, sure you can. Of course," he said, gently, and beckoned Stephen in. Stephen walked inside and climbed up the bed. Tony followed after him, rubbing Stephen's hair and pushing a strand behind his ear, kissing him on the forehead.
"You're okay, love. You're okay," Tony assured, and his heart warmed a little as Stephen snuggled closer to wrap his arms around him in a hug. Pulling the blankets over them, Tony watched as Stephen fell back to sleep.
He stared.
He doesn't think he's ever seen Stephen as vulnerable like this before – so young and soft. He can't help but feel grateful for the spell that had turned Stephen like this. He just felt like this was the perfect opportunity for Stephen to re-experience a childhood he deserved, to feel what it was like to be a child again.
He'd turn back a day after Christmas. This was the perfect chance for Tony to throw the absolute best Christmas party for the sorcerer. He had remembered the first time he had invited Stephen over for an Avengers Christmas party. They weren't together yet, back then, but they had something between them that certainly involved feelings on Tony's part.
He could recall it clearly.
Tony sipped the cup of coffee Stephen had made (conjured? It had appeared out of thin air somehow) as he sat in front of his favourite wizard slash ex-doctor, whose tea was steaming as it sat over the table in front of them.
The season of giving was just around the corner, and holding an Avengers Christmas party wouldn't be complete without their dear sorcerer. He had volunteered to pay the man a visit to deliver their invitation in hopes of him accepting it. Well, at least that's what he had told the team. But really? He just wanted an excuse to see Stephen again.
The man had always seemed interesting to him. Despite their otherwise… bad first impressions of one another (hell, they were literally squabbling and bickering like children when they first met – it had slowly become less aggressive over time, though, and grew into something akin to casual banter), Tony had always seen Stephen as a potential friend and fighting partner.
He wondered if the man was interested in joining the Avengers. Maybe he would ask him during the party…
His thoughts were pulled back to the present as Stephen began to speak.
"So," Stephen started, "What do I owe the pleasure, Tony?"
Stephen placed his elbows on the table, hands steepled beneath his chin as he leaned forward to look up at him. Tony tried not to get distracted by the horrendous yellow gloves covering his hands.
Was it really necessary to wear those? Was it a mandatory part of his wizard uniform in whatever their community was called? Wong didn't seem to wear it, maybe Stephen just had bad fashion sense? Tony snorted a little at the thought.
Or maybe…
Tony's read his file. (Of course he did, he did the same to every potential Avenger's member – if Stephen was ever willing) He knew about what happened to the man's hands. 12 steel pins, horrible car crash. He hadn't noticed it till now, but Stephen's hands seemed to constantly tremble. He felt a pang of sympathy at the realisation.
Were those gloves meant to… cover it?
At the raise of Stephen's brow, he realised he hadn't answered the man's question.
"Oh, uh," he shifted in his seat, pulling his arm back to drape it over the chairback, trying to look casual as his heartbeat stuttered, "The team and I are celebrating Christmas back at the tower next week, and, well, it wouldn't be complete without you, doc. We've got Peter and his aunt over, even Clint's bringing the whole fam in."
Stephen pursed his lips a little, humming in thought.
"I apologise, Tony, but I don't think I'll be able to come," he said eventually, "I have some… things to tend to," he reasoned.
"Oh," was Tony's response.
Damn, he didn't even think twice to reject him like that.
"Would that be all? I do have some research to do," Stephen said, a tight smile over his lips.
Tony's head followed Stephen's movements as the man stood up from his seat, and he nodded in answer.
"Uh yeah," he said, following as Stephen led him to the door. Just as he was about to step out, he turned around to give the man another look.
"Also," he said, and their eyes connected for a moment. Tony's lips were parted as he held eye contact, staring into the man's swirling blues. Or grey. Or green. Whatever. "Tell– tell me if you change your mind. Just give me a call or something."
Stephen nodded.
"I will," he said, a smile grazing his lips, before the door was closed in front of Tony's face.
Tony stood there for a moment, staring at the delicately carved wood of the Sanctum entrance.
He sighed.
He had tried asking again after that. Or maybe twice. Or three. Or more. Well, who can blame a man for trying?
Each time, Stephen had rejected politely, and Tony became exasperated.
So he decided to prepare the wizard a present instead.
And of course he knew who he needed to go to.
He went to Christine.
"Present?" Christine asked. "For Stephen?"
"Yeah," Tony nodded eagerly, "What do you think he'd like?"
Tony had known Christine for quite a while now. Stephen had said her name when he was gravely injured during battle, requesting specifically to go to Metro General Hospital where she worked. He had gotten to know her from there – ex girlfriend, had been close with Stephen since Med School, already has a new boyfriend now. Which was good news.
For her.
Obviously.
He had come to her in hopes of having an idea of what to give to Stephen as a Christmas present. He wanted it to be something special, something that would make that adorable smile appear on Stephen's face. The one where his teeth showed and happy crinkles would appear.
"Stephen, he…" Christine looked down, "he doesn't really celebrate Christmas."
Something about her voice seemed a little… sad, somehow. Tony's eyes flicked down to where the doctor was currently fidgeting with her fingers, before they flicked back up.
"Why?" Tony frowned. Who doesn't like celebrating Christmas? Stephen had always seemed similar to the Grinch, especially when his smile had a mischievous, cheshire cat-like look to it, but he hadn't expected him to be like the Grinch.
"Well… it's complicated?" she pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, "In his days back in the hospital, I'd usually find him fluttering about, accepting patients more than usual, driving himself to exhaustion by overworking… He was always extra snappy that day. Not that he isn't snappy every day." Christine chuckled fondly, more to herself than anything, "He's never accepted our invitations. Christmas parties, a night out with the team… He doesn't even accept presents," she then made a look akin to a grimace. "Please don't tell him I said this to you. He'd kill me."
Tony chuckled a little.
"I won't. Scout's honour," he assured, "Why, though? The reason he doesn't celebrate it, I mean," he asked.
Christine pursed her lips a little, eyes deep in thought for a moment.
"Don't you think… Don't you think it's best if you hear this from Stephen instead?" she stated.
Tony looked at her.
She looked back.
He sighed.
"Fair point."
Some time later Tony found himself asking for a date. And then another, and another, and that led to somewhat of a relationship he had always hoped for with the wizard.
That was when he mustered up the courage to ask why the sorcerer seemed to avoid Christmas celebrations. He was always gloomy and melancholic during the Christmas season. It was then that Stephen confessed he wasn't one for festivities, especially Christmas.
Christmas has never been special for him. He remembered how the sorcerer had confessed that his family wasn't wealthy, and how after Stephen's sister's death… Christmas felt more painful for him. During his neurosurgeon years, he's admitted to drowning himself in work during Christmas – accepting patients more frequently than common, refusing invitations to Christmas parties (if they even invited him in the first place) and overworking himself to the point of exhaustion.
Tony understood that. After his own parent's death, Christmas had always been something that felt more hurtful than anything. He had spent countless hours in the lab trying to distract his mind from it all, back then. It was a reminder that he had nobody left in the world, nobody to celebrate or cheer with, nobody to love and be loved by. He had told Stephen so. But that wasn't entirely true.
He had Pepper. He had Rhodey. He had the team. He had Peter, too.
He had Stephen.
And in turn, he needed Stephen to know that he had Tony. Wanted him to know he wasn't alone, that he didn't have to be alone anymore. That Tony was there for him.
Yes, this was the perfect opportunity to show that.
He stroked the boy's hair gently, feeling his heart swell in affection.
"FRI?" he called out softly, voice low enough as to not awake the sleeping sorcerer but loud enough for his A.I. to hear, "The next time Stephen has a night terror, alert me." he ordered.
"Yes, Boss."
"Good girl," he said, and sooner than later, the warmth of a body next to his and the exhaustion from the day brought him into dreamless sleep.
*.~ ◇ ~.*
It was early in the morning when Peter visited again the next day to check up on 'little Doctor Strange', bringing his friends with him, of all people.
And those friends in question are, of course, none other than the guy behind the chair (which Stephen reckoned was named Ned) and what Stephen assumed (from the excessive giggling when Peter texted her during one or two (or five or six) of their 'homework sessions' in the Sanctum) is the kid's girlfriend.
The moment Ned and MJ saw him, the latter had snorted and the former let out a high pitched 'Omg you're so small!!' while running towards him at full speed with open arms. Stephen had been too fresh out of bed to see it coming and was hit immediately with a big hug by a conventionally large teen almost multiple times his size, lifting him into the air and making him yelp.
Tony had chuckled at that, and then left him to Peter's care to deal with 'adult stuff' that 'kids' shouldn't be meddling with, and actually had the audacity to ruffle his hair before he left. Apparently he had called Peter to 'babysit' Stephen (which was completely unnecessary – he could take care of himself!) and brought his friends with him.
They had then taken up the space in the living room. MJ was sprawled across the couch as if she owned the place, and Ned and Peter sat on the floor with him, the latter holding a pillow on his lap. Something was playing on the telly that Stephen could make out was a morning cooking show.
They had spent the entirety of the day playing lego sets and talking about everything and nothing (which mostly involved Peter babbling about and Ned joining in with excited rambles, accompanied by MJ's usual poker face that somehow looked fond and amused). When later hours of the morning came around, the team came down from a sleep-in and others from a morning run, some particular people still missing.
Specifically Tony and Pepper.
Stephen hadn't really thought about it much – perhaps it was SI-related? He needed not to bother them just because he missed the engineer already.
Not much happened that day. At least that was what he expected, until the afternoon came around.
*.~ ◇ ~.*
When Tony came back that afternoon, it was to an unexpected shriek.
" Anthony! Help! Help m–" it turned into a rather squealish giggle.
"Tickle monster!" Peter said as his fingers tickled the boy's stomach. Stephen was gasping breathlessly under the assault, face red from laughter as his body writhed uncontrollably. Even worse, it wasn't only Peter who was tickling him, Ned was, too. And even worse than that, MJ was sitting on the sidelines with a recording camera.
Tony tried to hold back a laugh.
"Alright, alright. Stop it, Underoos." he said, "You, too, Ned."
Peter let go of Stephen with a pout, which mirrored on Ned's face as he also withdrew. Stephen sighed in relief.
"Thank you," he breathed out, but before he could catch his breath, Tony lunged at him.
"Because you're all doing it wrong!" Tony said, and tickled the underside of Stephen's feet instead.
"Tickle monster! This time in your actual tickle spot!"
Peter didn't even question where Tony knew that. He just giggled a little, and then joined in the assault, Ned following shortly after with a rather large grin.
High-pitched squeals and giggles echoed across the walls, the tickling fingers unrelenting, and at some point, Peter had even resorted to blowing raspberries to his stomach.
Stephen was nearly in tears by the end, face red as a tomato as he panted breathlessly.
When the sorcerer was distracted, Tony had, discreetly, requested MJ to send him the video.
*.~ ◇ ~.*