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Having Tony Stark bang on his door in the middle of the night with almost all of the Avengers and a frantic looking woman trailing behind him was not what he was expecting after he had settled down with a book for the evening. Having them frantically ask for help was not what he was expecting either.
“Peter is missing!” “Another dimension.” “The thing just came from nowhere.” “Disappeared.” It was a lot to process.
“Please,” the woman, May Parker as it turned out, pleaded, “please, bring him home. He’s all I have left. Please.” Tony wrapped an arm around her.
“Please, Strange.” Tony’s voice was barely above a whisper. Strange simply nodded before stepping through a portal to start his quest.
He passed through dimensions as quickly as he could, looking for any sign of the missing teen. Thankfully he wasn’t in the Realm of Beast, or Madness.
Stephen stepped through a portal into the Purple Dimension, grimacing at the sight of the mines. Hopefully Peter was not here. He couldn’t bear to think of the bubbly teen being forced to work in the deep, dark mines. Briefly looking around, the man saw no obvious signs of the boy’s presence. Only one way to find out.
“Aggamon!” Stephen called out.
“Doctor Strange!” A large green creature appeared before the sorcerer. “What can I do for you?”
“I am looking for someone.”
“The last time you came here looking for someone, I lost two... workers, not to mention that little spell you cast before you left.” Aggamon sneered.
“And I won’t hesitate to do worse if you don’t tell me what I need to know.” Strange growled. The other seemed to ponder his options for a moment before nodding.
“Of course. Ask away.”
“A boy, human boy. Would have been recently brought to you. Answers to the name Peter.”
“Ah. The new recruit.” The green being chuckled. “Plucky little fellow. Managed to take on a few of my guards before he gave up. I think he would make a great worker. Needs to be disciplined, but who doesn’t.”
“He needs to go home. Release him. Now.” Strange snarled, raising his hands to use his magic. Aggamon shifted slightly before motioning for a nearby guard to go fetch Peter.
“Why is he so important to you?”
“He’s a colleague. A friend.”
After a moment the guard came back dragging along a very distraught teenager.
“Let me go! Please! I want to go home!” Peter shouted, trying to pull his hand free from the guard’s grasp. The boy release a cry as he was tossed to the ground between the Stephen and Aggamon before turning to the green man. “I want to go home.” Peter repeated, voice shaking ever so slightly, not noticing the sorcerer in his panic.
“Peter.” Stephen called, the edge in his voice softening as he addressed the teen. Brown eyes locked with blue as the spider spun to face his savior.
“Doctor Strange!” The man examined the kid for a moment, noting the various bruises, his suit was slightly torn and dirty, much like the rest of him, and he seemed tired and pale. Nothing a little rest and care couldn’t fix. Peter clambered to his feet, hurrying to Strange’s side.
“Are you hurt?” Stephen noticed the boy’s slight limp. The teen simply shook his head, earning a raised eyebrow.
“It can wait.” The brunette muttered as he ducked under the man’s arm, clinging to his robes. Levi fluttered, moving as if to hide Peter underneath, causing him to look even younger, childlike. Strange turned back to the other dimensional being.
“We will be leaving now.” The sorcerer stated, blue eyes daring anyone to object. “Without problems.”
“So you’re just going to come here, uninvited and tak-“
“I was lenient last time, Aggamon, I will not hesitate to kill you this time around.” Aggamon clenched his jaw before nodding his head. “Good.” Stephen swiftly turned, wrapping an arm around Peter, leading him away from the green man. Or tried. The boy nearly fell on his face, stumbling over a rock. Thankfully Levi and Stephen caught him. Trusting to cloak to balance the kid for a moment, Stephen quickly opened a portal to the New York Sanctum.
“Up you get.” The sorcerer muttered as he scooped the (surprisingly light) vigilante into his arms with the help of Levi before stepping through the portal into his living room. “I found-“
“Shh!” Stephen’s mouth snapped shut, turning to glare at Wong, who stood in the doorway with a tray of empty teacups. The other man nodded towards the center of the room, prompting Strange to face their visitors.
“They’re asleep?” Sure enough, everyone was sprawled around the room.
“They were really worked up so... Tea.” Wong smiled as he left the room.
“Huh.” The sorcerer moved to place a very sleepy Peter on a surprisingly empty couch. Leaning to lay the teen down, he expected the boy to immediately release his hold on Stephen’s robes and fall asleep. What he discovered was quite the opposite. Peter’s grasp on the sorcerer wouldn’t budge. “You can let go now, spiderling. You’re safe.” His voice soft and gentle, a tone he very rarely uses. The boy simply pushed his face into the man’s shoulder, a slight whine escaping his throat.
Stephen could understand why Peter was reluctant to be let go. He just went through a number of dimensions for the first time, alone, only to land in a realm that almost had him enslaved for life working in a mine. He was a kid and was probably a bit scared still.
Sighing, Strange stood, still holding the boy. He sat down, placing Peter across his lap, the teen’s head resting on his shoulder. Levi laid itself over Peter like a blanket. Thankfully he had left his book on the side table.
”I’m only allowing this once, Peter,” Stephen muttered as he opened his book. “Never again.” But as Peter fully relaxed against him, the doctor realized that he just joined that rest of the Avengers in being wrapped around the boy’s finger.
“Thank you.” A soft voice drifted from below him as he started reading again. Stephen smiled, his arm tightening around Peter’s shoulders.
“Of course.”
—
Stephen didn’t recall falling asleep on the couch, and certainly didn’t remember this much whispering filling the room.
“Didn’t know the wizard was such a softie...”
“Yeah, Peter does that to people.”
“You should know Tony.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about Romanoff.”
“She’s right, Tony. Peter definitely has you wrapped around his finger.”
“Mrs. Parker, I’m pretty sure your nephew has managed to wrap everyone around his finger, not just me.”
“I think Dr. Strange is a testament to that.” Came a soft voice from beside him. Banner. “Anyway, Peter will be fine. Just let him sleep.”
“Great, let’s go bug Wong about breakfast.” Footsteps disappeared out if the room as Strange cracked open his eyes. He glanced down at Peter, finding the boy’s face buried in his shoulder.
Yeah, Stephen thought, wrapped around his finger.