Work Text:
Tony was flabbergasted, staggered, astonished, astouned, stunned, strike the useless mentions out. He was trying very hard to regain his composure, wishing that nobody saw him freezing and staring with wide eyes at what would give him very, very sweet dreams from tonight. Sure, it would help if he was able to pick his jaw from the floor, but his three remaining neurons which hadn’t explode from sheer delight were too busy doing their best to keep him from drooling to do anything else. He was pretty sure his chin, was wet though...
oOo
Tony Stark was a very fashionable man, thank you very much. So, the first time he had seen Stephen Strange standing before him, if the sparkling circle of fire around the man hadn’t had been there, Tony would certainly not have been impressed by the weird blue pyjamas the stranger was wearing.
“Tony Stark, I’m Doctor Stephen Strange. I need you to come with me.”
Ok, how could this clown have such a deep, beautiful voice? Quiet authority and confidence were oozing from the man, which was very unfair because of the whole disguise thing, no one should be allowed to not look ridiculous while wearing that. Tony knew very well he would somehow himself look stunning with even only a bag of potatoes on, but this was a whole new level of good-looking. Tony Stark was taken aback, and what does one Tony Stark in such a case?
“I’m sorry, are you giving out tickets to something?”
He tries to assert his dominance by throwing punchlines like this, yeah. Not his best, by the way, but, hey! Try to do better with a handsome, strong silent type stranger running into you through a fucking circle of fire! So, eh, sue him...
And then, this man, Doctor Strange, smiled at him, as if he was amused by Tony’s quip... Damn!
oOo
If the situation hadn’t been this... Appalling, Tony wouldn’t have had any excuse to deny he had a crush for Strange at the end of the day. Not only was he oozing confidence, he was also so... Calm. Peaceful. Listening to him talking about the Infinity Stones would have been soothing if not for the upcoming end of the world. And... No, that was ridiculous, Tony Stark couldn’t get intimidated and fascinated by a random stranger to the point of finding his deep, low voice speaking about the Apocalypse fucking soothing! Crap...
What does one Tony Stark when in awe but unwilling to let it show? Yeah, he acts like he doesn’t care at all by leaning on a vase and stretching his leg, for example. At this point, the hero was expecting almost everything: to be ignored, scolded, grasped by the collar, maybe even magically punished; everything. But the sorcerer slapped his ass.
The incredibly handsome and mysterious magic man slapped his ass. Well, technically, he slapped his feet, but his ass has been touched in the process. So, yes. Doctor freaking Strange just dared to slap Iron Man’s ass. The man is this brave.
Again, when Tony had turned to face him, he wasn’t expecting to find the bold man watching him with a smile and a slightly surprised face. If he had wanted to act affronted (he didn’t), this sight would have daunted Tony from it. Did the wizard want to flirt with him?
“I’m going to allow that.”
The hero hadn’t found something better to answer. Tony Stark was great at flirting, he was just too busy drowning into the blue? No, green. No... Grey. No... Well, he was just to busy drowning into the Doctor’s gorgeous eyes.
Ok. Focus, Stark. Mad titan, end of the world and all that shit.
And he did a hell of a job focusing on the situation! For ten whole minutes, before finding a way to have an argument with the sorcerer.
“What is your job exactly besides making balloon animals?”
As soon as the words had left his mouth, Tony had wanted to take them back. Say whatever you want, Tony Stark isn’t a bad man. He cares about the world, that’s why he’s this anxious, and anxiety makes him say things he doesn’t want to. Besides, he’s always been terrific at fucking things up and terrible at keeping his tongue quiet.
But the Doctor didn’t seem livid. He seemed amused, actually.
“Protecting your reality, douchebag.”
Tony should have felt insulted, of course; even if the insult itself was pretty cute compared with what the billionaire was used to be called, but Tony just found himself more in awe in front of the sorcerer’s sassiness. And also a little worried, because Iron Man was the one who protected people, not the other way; he didn’t have time to argue, though, because Bruce brought his mind back to the problem at hand: Thanos.
When they get into the action, Tony was focused, this time. He really was; he had told to FRIDAY to evacuate the perimeter when he saw Strange performing a spell to clear the area. Tony Stark didn’t like magic, but this... This was impressive. His wonderment must have shown without his permission because the sorcerer had the gall to wink at him.
The day had already been very improbable, but the most improbable things of all was that this little flirty wink had made Tony Stark - Tony Stark, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, freaking IRON MAN - blush.
Tony had always been great at multitasking, that’s why he had been able to make a recap in his head why fighting. Doctor Strange: handsome, beautiful voice, sassy, brave, genius, powerful and playful. In other words: the whole package.
It was not that Tony didn’t want to admit he had a crush: he had a fucking perfect wizard to save.
oOo
Thanos defeated, Tony had been sure he would enjoy the peace coming back on Earth and, in a way, he did. He was genuinely happy to know people were as safe as they could possibly be and that a lot of them were thinking about the last events to change their behaviour and became better. That wouldn’t be enough, though, that would never be, there always will be maniacs to fight, but it was a good start.
So, yes, Tony was enjoying the peace, what he wasn’t enjoying was that he hadn’t a lot of pretexts to visit one sorcerer supreme... Oh, they had met during the last couple of months, even only for “Fixing whatever can be fixed down here” reunions with the others Avengers, but it wasn’t enough.
How could it be enough when Strange was... Flirty while seeming to do not give a damn, but with this little wry smile and this playful light in his eyes which totally give him away? And the SASS, oh my God, the sass... Those meetings usually bored Tony to tears, but he was living for the ones when the wizard was there, so he could throw wisecracks at him and enjoy Strange’s delightfully sharp mind. After the last meeting, Tony had even managed to bring the sorcerer up with him to his lab, asking if Strange could perform some magic for Tony to analyse, if he was ok with this, of course. He had agreed. Best two hours in Tony whole life, for now.
So, to be honest, now that Tony had had the man all for himself once, he wanted more. So much more. After three whole weeks without any meeting involving the wizard and far too much time spent day dreaming, Tony decided he couldn’t handle it anymore and fly himself to the nearest Starbucks from Bleeker Street. He was a businessman, he could always say he was passing by and decided to take the opportunity to bring coffee to his favourite wizard. He flipped his pretext to no end in his head while waiting for his coffees to be done, it was ok, just friendly and hearty, not needy nor creepy; perfect.
Everything would have gone smoothly if not for... Everything that made this not-surprise-date a total mess in regard to Tony. First, before he even could lift his fist to knock, the door opened itself, which startled him, that’s why he got in the building backward, looking suspiciously at the door. Tony was walking backward, so he didn’t see the plush rug a few feet from the door and tripped over it. He would have ended flat on his ass if a strong pair of arms hadn’t caught him at the last second. From here, there were three solutions:
1) The strong arms which had caught him weren’t arms but piece of the flying carpet Strange brought with him everywhere and Tony would be content enough because that meant nobody saw him stumble and, ever if the cape was sentient, it couldn’t make fun of him in front of his owner.
2) Wong or any other wizard had caught him and it was very embarrassing, not only because they had seen Iron Man getting scared by a door and defeated by a plush rug, but because all of this would be told to Strange and more than likely not with kind words.
3) Strange himself had caught him, which wasn’t any less embarrassing even if Tony would very much like to be held in his arms. That would also likely lead to some awkward wet dreams, but Tony was doing his best to not think about it right now.
Make it the flying rug or Strange, make it the flying rug or Strange, make it the flying rug or Strange...
“Is everything ok?”
Opening his eyes he hadn’t even noticed he had closed, Tony was met with a surreal vision. Maybe Tony Stark hadn’t had any reason to be fashionly impressed by Strange’s robes the first time they met; the same man in casual clothes, though, even if they were really simple, was another thing. Strange was lean, but strong, with a large chest to be appreciated under his grey t-shirt, said t-shirt which was, by the way, a little stretched on his pectorals and his dark and tight jeans were complimenting his long legs while showing the strongness of his tights. The fact that the sorcerer was currently holding him in his arms? Hum, no, Tony was doing his best to not think about it. While also trying to kick-start his brain in the purpose of ordering to his mouth to answer to Strange’s question.
Something must have messed up somewhere in the process, because instead of answering something among the lines of “Yeah, but care to explain why I’ve been tricked by your door and then attacked by your carpet?”, Tony said “Damn... Those robes really don’t do anything for your look, do they?”. There was a pause during which they just stared at each other, getting lost in the marvellous Strange’s eyes colours in Tony’s case, before the wizard let out chuckle with a small smile.
Now that he didn’t have to search for an answer anymore, Tony, if he was still actively trying to not acknowledge in which position he was, was working on not furiously blushing because he has basically suggested to Strange he was handsome. And it was a remarkable failure.
Once Tony was on his feet again, it was a little less difficult to retrieve his composure; but a very little, because Strange was still smiling when he asked, in a kind voice:
“What can I do for you?”
“Uh?”
Great, Stark, so articulate, so smooth... How comes the man isn’t on his knees for you, already?
But that just drew another chuckle from the sorcerer.
“Why did you come here, Stark?”
Ah. Yes. He has a pretext for that, hasn’t he? Shit, he has it on the tip of his tongue!
“Eeeeh... Ah! Yeah, I was passing by and uh... I really needed some coffee, so... I went to Starbucks and then I both realised I was close to yours and I didn’t see you for a while. So... Coffee?”
How he had managed to fall without spilling his two cups everywhere was a miracle and a true enigma for Tony, but he was so thankful for having been able to remember his excuse and still having something to offer to the sorcerer that he let the topic drop very quick.
Strange seemed surprised, but pleased nonetheless. He thanked Tony and took his cup, which suspiciously didn’t smell like coffee anymore, before leading him to the library. Tony was, also, very pleased: his plan running flawlessly (or almost...) and he has a very, very nice view while climbing the stairs, following Stephen. So, of course, his mouth has to fuck it up.
“How comes you’re not wearing your blue pyjamas?”
The wizard turned around to face him, not even slightly offended by Tony’s poor choice of words.
“I was going to grocery shopping when you arrived and, believe it or not, it’s less showy to do it while wearing jeans. But I can come back to the robes, if it’s disturbing you...”
“No!”
Ok, it wasn’t even worth to try to hide his blush, now, Tony had answered far too fast and with too wildness to be guiltless. And the little knowing smirk Strange was giving him did nothing to fix things...
oOo
When Tony had thought there always will be nutcases to want to take control of the World or whatever shit, he was right. It seemed even half of the Universes disappearing and coming back to life wasn’t enough to teach a lesson to humankind... Anyway, the Avengers were there to stop the wannabe Villain of the month and give him a remedial course.
Everything was under control, Cap’s shield was cutting through air and Clint was showering the enemy with his arrows while Natasha was helping the authorities to clear the perimeter. Yeah, everything seemed under control until Thor and Tony both attacked the madman and revealed his magic shield. Neither power blast nor thunderbolt cut through his protection. They needed backup and they needed it NOW!
“Friday, call Strange immediately.”
“On it, Boss, calling Sexy Dumbledore.”
Damn, I should really rename him in my contact list as soon as all of this mess is over...
“Hello?”
It wasn’t Strange at the other end of the phone.
“Wong?!”
“Yes. Stark? What do you want?”
“I was calling Stephen, why are you the one picking up?”
“Because Strange is busy for the moment, he doesn’t have any time for smooching right now.”
Suddenly, Tony was very thankful for being the only one able to hear Wong.
“For smoo... What the... Well! Tell him to bring his magical ass here as fast as he can, we’re dealing with a magic-user villain!”
“Are you sure he is a magic user?”
The sorcerer sounded just like an employee of the administration on a Thursday afternoon asking to an elderly woman if she was sure she has seen a rat in her kitchen.
“He’s using an orange shield like Stephen’s and yours! You are the ones who told us to call you when magic was involved, don’t...”
“By the Vishanti, it must be Cornelius!”
“It must be who, now?!”
But Tony didn’t hear the answer - if Wong gave him one - his attention was focused on Strange dashing out of a portal opened a few meters away, yelling, his deep voice like a thunderclap:
“DON'T HURT HIM, HE'S POSSESSED, HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING!”
It wasn’t the dramatic entrance nor the authority oozing out of the wizard which had Iron Man agape inside of his armour, though. Instead of his usual robes, which he was expected to wear while fighting, the sorcerer was wearing a three pieces suit with his cloak on top. And, really, even in the middle of a battle, Stephen Strange in a tux was a sight to behold. Said tux was hugging him everywhere it should, showing his delightful curves and accentuating the length of the sorcerer’s legs even more. The demonstration of power and self-control he was currently making was just adding to the whole picture.
Even under the threat of death, Tony wouldn’t be able to explain what just happened; all he knew was that Strange had taken care of the problem, well, at least, it was safe to assume, because the calm was back and the sorcerer had landed just in front of Tony, who was still dumbstruck and who, out of habit, get rid of his helmet. It wasn’t a good idea, because Strange just threw a sly smile at him which had Tony’s stomach funny things.
“What the Hell just happened here?”
For once, Tony was happy about Cap’s interfering, if he hadn’t to ask the question himself, he was less risking to look stupid in front of his smart-assed crush. Well... That could have worked if Strange, after blinking several times, hadn’t decided to conjure a pair of glasses on top of his nose which made him looked like an all strict teacher.
God, please... I don’t know if it’s a reward for saving half the Universe or a punishment for the bad man I’ve been... Getting mixed signals, here...
And, of course, the little lecture about how the guy - Cornelius - had been possessed by a demon who had been locked into a magical artefact centuries ago and then freed because the student had been careless and touch said artefact (Yes, Stark, just touching has been enough.) didn’t fix the impression.
Before the whole Thanos thing, Tony hadn’t been a good sleeper. Nightmares and panic attacks had kept him from his bed more times than not and, after seeing half of what had existed disappearing, Tony had been sure he would never be able to sleep in relative peace again. For once he had been wrong. He just had forgotten how it was to drift to sleep while thinking about something else than his duties and failures. Tony had learned that going to sleep while thinking about his last or next meeting with Strange usually led to pleasant nights even to... slightly sticky nights, sometimes. Thinking about Professor Strange giving him a lesson for touching something he shouldn’t would probably lead to the second option.
“Stark?”
Oh, crap! Crap, crap, crap, Strange was looking at him, brows furrowed, obviously waiting for an answer while Tony was daydreaming about him. The idea of the sorcerer being able to guess what he had been fantasizing about made Tony blush like a madman and it deepened even more when Strange looked at him from above his glasses.
“... What?”
The wrecked tone of his voice had Strange softening and chuckling to him:
“Well, I didn’t think thanking you for warning me would have you this flustered, Iron Man.”
The... The little shit was literally teasing him! How was he not supposed to react to this? How was he expected to not throw himself at Strange and kiss the mischievous smirk off of his face? The last remnants of Tony’s self-control were inelegantly crumbling all over when Clint decided it was a good moment to enter the scene:
“Sorry Doc, how comes you’re dressed like this?”
That had Strange kittenish smile crumbling and, by the way, Tony’s heart breaking.
“I was on an undercover mission in London... Which is pretty jeopardized now I had to run away by a magic portal.”
The look of uneasiness on Stephen’s face after Wong had called him a show-off through Tony’s own iron suit just made him want to do or say something stupid, just to embarrass himself and make the sorcerer laugh.
oOo
The whole incident with Cornelius had taught one thing both to the Sorcerers and to the Avengers: the last needed to be prepared to fight against magic users, at least until a competent sorcerer could come and take charge of the problem without said sorcerer having to drop everything he was doing to fly to their rescue.
Tony had also learned that Strange in a tux was a heavenly sight, but it was a thought for another moment; right now, Tony was mentally getting prepared to spar with a bunch of wizards in their holy temple at the other end of the World. After stepping in the circle of fire which had been open right in front of him, Tony was expecting some magic assistant - Strange himself, if he was lucky - to lead him to a training room or something like that, not to be pounced at as soon as the portal was closed down.
Tony was a very good fighter and his Iron Man suits were astonishing, he could easily have gotten rid of his assailant and make his armour appear, but... He was flabbergasted, staggered, astonished, astounded, stunned, strike the useless mentions out. He was trying very hard to regain his composure, wishing that nobody saw him freezing and staring with wide eyes at what would give him very, very sweet dreams from tonight. Sure, it would help if he was able to pick his jaw from the floor, but his three remaining neurons which hadn’t explode from sheer delight were too busy doing their best to keep him from drooling to do anything else.
Tony not only has a lapful of the man he was head over heels for but Stephen was also wearing what should be his sorcerer’s sparring clothes: a sleeveless, crimson top and thin, oversized pants that let all his warmth gushing out to mix with Tony’s. While excellent at multitasking, Tony’s brain was getting a little overwhelmed, here: it couldn’t decide if it wanted to focus on Strange’s bulging biceps under his pale, creamy skin, on his galactic eyes or on his cupid, half-opened lips which were so, so close to Tony’s... It had been Wong, at last, who saved his poor brain:
“Stephen... Did you forget your line, or have you been kissed silly already?”
Startled by the librarian, Strange made a jerky move which briefly joined his groin to Tony’s. Oh God. Tony was hard and, now, Stephen knew Tony was hard, which was already a very good reason to die of embarrassment, but... Stephen was hard too. And he was the one blushing like a virgin, two teeth planted in his lower lip. That’s when Tony’s three last neurons decided enough was enough and stopped every try to save the situation already.
Steve, who was currently shield to magic shield with Wong and trying to understand what was happening in this madhouse had been the one to react to his opponent’s remark.
“Excuse me, what line are you taking about?”
“We were supposed to attack you as soon as you arrived here, to teach you the first lesson: never lower your guard. Stephen should have said it as a signal for us to stop our assault but...”
But Stephen was now busy to kiss a very pleased Tony Stark and absolutely not giving a damn about the rest of the World.
“... But I assume it will be for another time.”