Work Text:
Tony grimaced as he stared down at the mess of metal and screws and wires thrown haphazardly together in his latest project. It was quickly proving fruitless despite the weeks he spent slaving over the blueprints. He couldn’t seem to focus, his mind constantly jumping from place to place which meant his hands weren’t doing what they were supposed to. The design was flawless, he knew that, which meant the application of the design left the fault completely and utterly on him.
With a weary sigh Tony slipped off his gloves. He knew exactly why he couldn’t focus, the same reason why Pepper was working in her office upstairs instead of at the company headquarters for the fifth day in a row. Shaking his head, a bit, Tony began the trek up the stairs, the workshop lights flicking off behind him.
He found himself heading to Pepper’s office without much thought because somehow, he knew exactly what he would find waiting for him. Pausing at the entrance, heart aching in a familiar way, he took in the sight of Pepper, elbows on the desk, fingers in her hair, head down and posture arched into something decidedly defeated.
“Hey Pep,” he murmured.
She didn’t respond and Tony found himself coming closure, leaning down and wrapping his arms around her. Only then did she finally lift her head, body curling into him, face pressed into his shoulder. She wasn’t crying, it took a lot to make Pepper cry, but the fear and worry hung heavy around them. It was the absence that did it, the sensation of something vital and important being ripped from them and unable to get it back.
“He’s okay,” Tony murmured. “He’ll come back.”
It wasn’t the first time, hell it wasn’t even the fiftieth that Stephen had disappeared to faraway worlds and alternate realities with no time for anything but a hurried goodbye and a fleeting kiss to their lips. In the grand scheme of it all this was nothing new…except that it was, in every way that mattered, horrifically different.
They had been having such a lovely night, a freshly made dinner from a private chef, their nicest wine, the comfort of their shared home. Stephen had known something was going on, had been watching them with his signature smirk and all-knowing eyes. He and Pepper had pretended anyway, their own smiles soft and nervously excited, had wanted to play out the entire charade of the night, ring hidden in Pepper’s pocket the entire time.
Pepper had cancelled all important meetings that day and the next one. Had made it clear she wasn’t to be disturbed, not even for some ground-breaking deal or contract from another company. Tony had Friday put the workshop on lockdown so he wouldn’t accidentally lose track of time, had even gone so far as to inform the Avengers to only ask for his help if the death of their planet was imminent. They had both gone to Wong and begged the man to watch the Sanctum for a couple of days, to defer any emergencies to the sorcerers at Kamar-Taj.
The night was supposed to be perfect. A good meal, better wine, a heart-felt proposal, and some decidedly fantastic engagement sex. Everything was supposed to come together with the flawless efficiency that would decide the rest of their lives together, would finally make concrete so many unsettled things.
Of course, they would never be so lucky.
No sooner had Tony proposed and Pepper offered the ring to Stephen’s bright eyes, a portal had opened into their dining room and Wong stepped through, bloody and rushed. He had apologized before speaking swiftly. Stephen had changed before their eyes, like he so often did, no longer their lover but the Sorcerer Supreme. Goodbyes were exchanged and then he was gone.
Two days ago, a messenger from the temporary guardian of the New York Sanctum informed them they had lost contact with both Stephen and Wong but that the threat seemed to be neutralized, whatever it had been.
Tony knew and so did Pepper, that with the threat gone there was no reason for Stephen and Wong to still be missing. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to believe Stephen was gone, found himself wearing their engagement ring on a chain around his throat, Pepper’s hand curled around it at night because Stephen…Stephen always came back.
“I think its time for you to take some time off,” Tony murmured.
Pepper pulled back, trembling fingers pushing back her hair, “no, I like working. Keeps me distracted…I just don’t want to-”
She cut off, eyes glancing away, and Tony offered a weak smile, “I get it. We need to be here when he comes back.”
“How about I contact Kamar-Taj again? Maybe I can convince them to tell me what the threat was. They’ll have to tell us eventually…” Pepper started.
“That won’t be necessary.”
Both of them tensed, heads snapping toward the doorway of the office, hands hovering over where their suit lay hidden. But it wasn’t a threat, instead they both stared at the sight that stood before them.
Stephen leaned there against the doorframe, pale and thin, looking haggard and with no shortage of cuts and bruises marring his fair skin. Yet for all that, he was smiling, eyes bright and shiny like they had been the night he’d left, something decidedly triumphant about his entire being.
Pepper was up and out of her chair in a flash, moving across the room and throwing her arms around him and being swept up in Stephen’s with a hearty laugh. Tony stared incredulously, heart beating wildly in his chest. Familiar kaleidoscope eyes met his, that fucking smirk, and Tony was moving too, gripping both Pepper and Stephen and trying to tell himself over and over that it was real, that he was here, that they were alright.
“I’m okay, we’re good.”
“God, I hate you,” Pepper whispered vehemently, but she didn’t loosen her grip in the slightest.
Stephen laughed, “not enough to take back your proposal, right?”
“Idiot,” Tony replied fondly.
“Love you too.”