Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

FALL 2024

The sky slowly starts to crack open, as if it was made out of delicate glass. Colours of purple blooms in between the gaps as it threatens to slip through the cracks and engulf the entire world at any given chance. Peter could hear the sound of the sky slowly shattering, creating more sharp edges around the cracks as time ticked by.

As ridiculous as it sounds, the view is definitely breathtaking. If this is how the end of the world looks like, Peter will gladly die if his final view of the world is this beautiful.

But Peter knew better than that. He knew that if the purple energy managed to leak out into this universe, everything would be done for. Peter could only assume that the purple energy would suck everything that is left in this universe — or planet, whatever — like a black hole. And this world would be nothing but just a void.

Well, that is just Peter's little science theory behind the cracking sky with purple energy that is most probably gamma. He could be wrong, though. Even if it was something magic related, villains that know Peter is Spider-Man in the multiverse will come crashing into this universe and destroy everything in their way to get their revenge.

Peter knew that either way, they are fucked. A cracking sky is not something you can just shrug off as a normal occurrence. 

It was a terrifying sight.

“What’s happening?” Peter asks as he perches on top of the Statue of Liberty.

“They’re starting to come through,” Stephen grits his teeth as he struggles to hold everything under his control, “and I can’t stop them.”

Peter looks at Stephen with worry as he glances back at the sky that is at the brink of collapsing. His senses have been nagging at him from the back of his head. It had given him a dull ominous feeling. Something was definitely wrong but it could not pinpoint the exact place of danger so Peter watches everything unfold uneasily.

“There’s gotta be something that we can do. Can’t you just cast the spell again with the original way before I screwed up?” Peter asks, his voice starting to get frantic as he tries to come up with ideas to help Stephen. He doesn't know how magic works but it doesn't hurt to try, right?

“We’re too late for that. They’re here. They’re here because of you .” Stephen croaks out.

Peter felt a pang in his heart. A brief expression of guilt washes over Peter’s face. It was just for a brief moment but Stephen has caught the expression on his face. There is no doubt that Peter is blaming himself. He turns his focus back to the sky, shaky hands tries to close up the gap and mend back the universe to its original state.

Everything that happens so far is because of him. Because of Peter. If only he did not tamper with the spell in the first place and let Stephen handle everything, he would not have invited all these visitors to his universe and Aunt May would still be alive. If only he was not selfish.

Ignoring the guilt that is spreading over his chest, Peter decides to make a bold decision.

“What if everyone forgot who I was?” Peter asks.

Stephen snaps his attention back to Peter, looking at him as if Peter has gone crazy.

“What?”

Peter swallows the lump forming in his throat. “They’re coming here because of me, right? Because I’m Peter Parker. So cast a new spell. This time, make everyone forget who Peter Parker is. Make everyone forget… me.”

“No.”

There is no way Stephen is going to cast that spell. It will erase all of Peter’s existence in this world. As if he does not exist. A ghost. All records that include Peter Parker would be erased.

“It will work, right?” Peter prompts. Just a confirmation that the spell will work is enough for Peter. He could not continue dragging everyone into his problems. He started this mess so it’s right for him to fix it.

“Yeah, it will work.” Stephen said, giving Peter a meaningful gaze. “You gotta understand that it means everyone who knows and loves you, we… will have no memory of you. It will be as if you never existed.”

Peter winces. What more could he lose? After all, he has already lost everyone that he loves. Memory of Aunt May dying in his arms earlier flashes through his mind.

“I know. Do it.” Peter said with more conviction.

“Yeah.” Stephen mutters with a troubled and hesitant look on his face. “You better say your goodbyes.”

Peter’s eyes widened. He smiles thankfully as he stands up, ready to swing down to say his goodbyes.

“Thank you, sir!”

“Call me Stephen.”

“Thank you, Stephen.” Peter grins.

Stephen chuckles, his eyes watery. “Yeah… still feels weird.”

“I’ll see you around.” Peter bids his final goodbye to Stephen before swinging down towards the direction of where the other two Spider-Man are located.

Stephen watches Peter swing off with an unreadable expression on his face. “So long, kid.” He mutters under his breath.

Sucking in a breath, Stephen casts a rune spell around him before preparing a spell to make sure everyone returns back to their respective universe, sending the villains first. Glancing down and noting that Peter has said his goodbyes to the other two versions of himself from different universes, he sends them back to their rightful home.

While Peter says his final goodbyes to his friend and girlfriend, Stephen casts another spell — this time to make everyone forget who Peter Parker is. He hesitates for a moment, thinking back about Peter. 

He thinks about how Peter's face is full of exhaustion and grief. The way his eyebags are prominent in his facial features. The way Peter's back hunched over slightly as if he tries to make himself look small. Probably to hide from the public's scrutinized eyes. The way he carries himself now is full of insecurity and self-doubt.

He also thinks back of what had happened a few days ago. So much chaos in such little time. He thinks about the little time he has spent with Peter. The bond that they have for saving the world together. Stephen is too far lost in thoughts about the boy who struggles to keep everything from falling apart.

Stephen thinks, remembers, and reminisces.

It is obvious that Peter tries to carry the burdens and weight of responsibility for everything on his shoulder and not letting anyone to come close and help him shoulder some of the weight. Stephen understands how Peter is feeling right now. After all, he was once in Peter's spot when he had to carry the knowledge of what would need to happen to win against Thanos.

Stephen felt bad. Guilt was slowly eating him up alive. He needs to do something. There has to be another way where he can help Peter.

Peter is just a kid and yet, he has gone through so much. Stephen couldn't believe that this is the same kid that was once bright and full of energy back in space during their first meeting is also the same kid that is currently drained and exhausted from life and is willing to do anything to fix his mess — no matter what the outcome is.

There has to be another way. Stephen is a doctor — specifically a neurosurgeon. Well, he used to be one. He saved people then, and he continues to save people now even with a different speciality. And right now, he wants to save Peter. 

Once ready, he looks back down at Peter, waiting for his confirmation before he proceeds with the final step of his spell.

Peter looks up at Stephen, signaling him that he is ready. Stephen nods in response before casting the spell and watching a bright light explode out of him. He also spread the runes out, circling around this planet and universe so that it will constantly be protected from any multiversal cracks.

Stephen felt every last bit of energy leave his body along with the spell that spreads throughout the universe.

Before Stephen gives in to the exhaustion of his body, his lips quirked up into a small smile as his eyes began to water once again.

"Goodbye."

The last thing Stephen feels is the Cloak of Levitation fluttering around him and wrapping itself around his body tightly as if giving him a final hug. Oh, his future self is definitely going to hate him for this. For now, he has done what he needed to do.

At the same time, a strange sensation filled Peter’s whole body as he watched Stephen unleashed the spell where everyone will forget about Peter Parker's existence in this world. The next thing Peter knew, all his senses went haywire before he blacks out.

***

Peter remembers falling. He falls, and he falls, and he falls. No sound comes out of Peter's mouth as he tries to scream for help.

Everything was pitch-dark. Peter has been free-falling for quite some time now. It felt the same when Peter had fallen through Stephen's portal endlessly because he had stolen the magic box from Stephen earlier.

It also reminds Peter of him free-falling from the donut spaceship when he almost lost consciousness due to the lack of oxygen before Tony sent the Iron Spider suit after Peter.

Peter also remembers the very first time he fell — the Vulture had dropped him into the sea. He remembers getting tangled in his parachute as he struggles to escape and swim up for air. It was a terrifying moment.

And now, it felt as if Peter was underwater all over again. Everything around him sounds muffled. His breath is getting shallower as his chest tightens. Peter knew he was about to fall into a panic attack. He can't breathe.

He can't breathe, he can't breathe, he can't breathe.

"Peter!"

A sharp voice called Peter's name, breaking him out of his stupor. Peter woke up with a gasp.

Peter's breath was shallow. He inhales sharply, filling his lungs with as much air as he can take. It took him a moment to calm his heart and nerves down. 

Once Peter had calmed down significantly, he checked himself for any injuries. He realised that he was no longer in his Spider-Man suit and his limbs are no longer tensed and sore from all the intense fighting earlier. Peter shrugged it off, thinking that his enhanced healing factors had already taken care of it.

That was when Peter noticed something slightly off. Huh. Since when was he in bed? He noticed that he was on a bunk bed. Peter looks around the room before he jolted up immediately, accidentally hitting his head on top of the bunk bed which earned a loud groan. He is now wide awake, and also in pain.

Peter is back to his old room. He remembers the layout of this room very clearly. It holds one memorable memory where Ned found out that he was Spider-Man. No way… There is no way… Is this a dream?

"Peter! What happened? I heard loud noises." May said, pushing Peter’s door wide open.

Peter felt his heart jump to his throat. Aunt May… She looks so much younger now and beautiful as ever. There are no eyebags under her eyes and exhaustion from her features. It has gotten so bad ever since Peter's identity got exposed as she worries about her nephew. Her world has become so hectic from the moment of her break-up with Happy to trying to be there for Peter and being his emotional support to finding a good lawyer to help clear Peter's name.

Peter felt a tightness in his chest as his eyes started brimming with tears. Events from the past few days started flashing through his mind.

You have a gift. You have power. And with great power, there must also come great responsibility.

May's final words moments before her death kept ringing in his head. He could still vividly remember how May died in his arms, telling him that she was only catching her breath and that she was okay. She died because of Peter. Because Peter dragged her into this mess in the first place. He swallows the lump forming in his throat. His head is throbbing even more now. How is this possible?

Is this some kind of a sick trick that the universe has made? Or is this another of Mysterio’s doing? His sidekicks could be doing this to take their revenge since Beck died. But Peter’s senses are not signaling any danger right now so this has to be real, right?

"May…" Peter croaked out, unable to stop the sniffles.

May frowns at the sight of her nephew looking at her with such fragile expression. The very same expression Peter wore when Ben had passed away. The look of confusion, guilt, helplessness and grief mixed altogether.

"Oh, Peter." May softens slightly as she enters the room and pulls Peter into a bear hug.

And just like that, Peter sinks into the hug as tears start flowing non-stop as he sniffles and hiccups while grabbing onto May tightly. He inhales the familiar scent of May as he feels warm and safe in her arms again.

May strokes Peter's hair gingerly, pressing a soft kiss on top of his head. May's heart clenched at how small and vulnerable Peter looks in her arms. Her precious, little boy.

"What happened?" May murmurs quietly.

Peter just shook his head, burying his face into May's neck and holding her for his dear life as if the moment he lets go, May will no longer be there anymore. If Peter had tightened his grip around May to the point where May knew it would bruise, she said nothing about it. Maybe she should have a talk with Peter that it is unhealthy to bottle up his emotions one day.

Once Peter calms down, he lets go hesitantly.

"Sorry. Had a bad dream. It felt so real." Peter finally settles on a believable lie. He has always been a bad liar so blaming his shaken demeanor to a nightmare makes sense.

Peter wipes his snot and tears with the back of his hands, slightly embarrassed that he had cried like a baby in front of May. Despite that, his heart felt slightly lighter now but the guilt remains. The guilt will always remain. A constant reminder of his own failure to be unable to protect his loved ones even with the power to do so. Like what May said, with great power comes with great responsibility.

The guilt will always eat him up. Sometimes, Peter would lie awake at night and think of different possible scenarios where he could've saved Tony. He managed to live through the guilt until Mysterio decided to come into his life and ruin it.

Happy had placed him back in check with the small pep talk in the private jet. It has helped him temporarily until Mysterio exposes his identity which lands Peter into this chaos with all these villains from another universe.

And another death was caused by Peter's hands again during his fight with the Green Goblin. It doesn't matter if it was caused indirectly because at the end of the day, people that Peter cares for will always end up dying by his own actions. If it's not now, then it will be in the future.

Peter tries to ignore the bugging feeling at the back of his head that tries to remind him that MJ would die on that day too if it were not for Peter 3 to jump in and save her in his stead. It will always be his fault. He could not even save the people around him and is always needing someone’s help.

"Oh, it's alright. You're here now. It's just a dream. It won't be real." May consoles Peter, squeezing his arms lightly to ground him and reassure him.

Peter sniffles and nods. "Yeah. You're right. Sorry."

Peter hopes that is true. He will not let May die the same way again. He would rather have May die from old age and have a fulfilling life than dragging her into his dangerous Spider-Man activities again.

"You better hurry and get changed. I do not want to hear from the school that you are late again." May playfully glared at Peter as she closed the door behind her.

Peter lets out a shuddering breath. He has been given a second chance at life. He will not mess it up again. Whether the spell that Stephen did earlier got messed up or it was on purpose, Peter will not let it go to waste.

But first, Peter needs to know how far back to his past he was in. Peter grabs his phone from the charging port and turns the screen on.

26 August 2016

Shit. Peter lets out a disbelieving laughter. About two months since the airport battle. The confirmation that Peter truly went back in time got Peter speechless.

That means Tony Stark is still alive at this time. Peter suddenly felt nauseous all of the sudden. The realisation that two of the most important people in his life are still alive right now is too much for Peter. He has barely moved on over the fact that May is suddenly alive again.

Peter is 8 years into his past. Technically, it would be 3 years since he blipped so the 5 years did not count. Peter groans. He has a lot of things to figure out. That would be Future Peter’s problem to deal with as he is sporting a headache now. But first, he needs to go to school or he will get the nagging of his lifetime from May.

***

"Join me, and together… we'll build my new lego death star." A low, dramatic voice spoke from behind Peter.

Peter flinched slightly as he felt a small lego figurine land on his shoulder as he turned around wide-eyed.

"What? That's awesome!" Peter exclaims as he looks at Ned. "How many pieces?" Peter continues, pretending to be interested.

Peter knew that it had 3803 pieces. He and Ned have built the lego death star countless times in their previous life. It was a fond memory that Peter treasures the most. He enjoys listening to Ned's excited rambles about Star Wars and theories about the franchise. They would spend their summer breaks having another Star Wars movie marathon. It doesn't matter how many times they've seen the movies because they would still dramatically recite every iconic line which they've memorised by heart.

"Three thousand, eight hundred and three." Ned said smugly.

Peter had a fond smile at how excited Ned sounds right now.

"That's insane."

"I know! You want to build it tonight?" Ned asks as he twiddle with the lego Emperor Palpatine figure in his hands.

Peter was silent for a moment. He remembers his past-self rejecting Ned's offer to go for a patrol which ended up with Ned finding out that he is Spider-Man because he forgot about his promise to build the lego death star with Ned. He can't let that happen again. He can't let Ned know that he is Spider-Man in this life. Not after knowing that Ned and MJ had to suffer and being left out of amazing opportunities because they were Spider-Man's 'accomplice'.

"...Or not. Since you're always so busy with the Stark Internship lately." Ned's shoulders sagged slightly in disappointment.

Peter winces at the reminder. He forgot about that for a moment. He had used the internship as a cover name to go for patrol.

Peter focused back to what Ned had just said. Hearing it from Ned's mouth makes him realise how much of a jerk Peter is. He was too focused on chasing after Tony's approval and wanting to prove himself that he is capable enough so that Tony would invite him for the next mission that he has neglected Ned. How naive of him.

"Yeah, sure. I have to tell Aunt May about it first, though." Peter finally answers.

Ned's eyes brightened. "Cool! I can do the base first and drop by your house afterwards.”

"Sure," Peter said as they walked to class together.

Peter noticed Liz at the end of the hallway. He grimaced slightly at the reminder of his last encounter with Liz before she moved away. That reminds him that the Vulture is still doing his business with the alien tech right now.

Peter realised that he needs to make a list of things that he needs to do in this life. He has the knowledge of what will happen in the future. He will use this information to his advantage and change what is needed to prevent the catastrophe that will happen in two years time. That is not enough time to prepare.

***

Class went by really fast today. Maybe it's because Peter was barely paying attention in class as his mind was elsewhere.

Peter flips to a new page of his notebook and begins to scribble down his plan.

TO-DO LIST

1. convince mr stark to amend the accords until both parties are in agreement
2. catch the vulture b4 he steals stark tech again (sorry liz!)
3. THANOS!!! (make sure he don't snap the first time round)
4. keep a lookout for mysterio
5. do not include ned, mj and may into spiderman activities!

A thought suddenly strikes Peter. What if by making drastic changes in this life would come and bite him back in the ass in the future? Isn't that what most time travel movies warned everyone about? By changing a small detail, Peter could risk a butterfly effect in this world. What if he changed something so minor and suddenly Thanos arrived on Earth earlier than expected?

It is too risky. Even the time travel machine that Tony created was immediately destroyed after Steve returns all the stone back to its original timeline and all formulas and evidence related to the time travel machine was burned and erased. It was too dangerous and they can't risk it falling into the wrong hands. Peter shudders at the implication.

But technically, Peter did not time travel back to his past, right…? He did not use any machine or anything so technically this is still the same original timeline that he is in. So basically, even if he changed the past, or should Peter say the current year, the future he was previously in will still remain the same, right? Peter groans as he slides down in his seat in frustration.

Time travel is so confusing. He has only read theories of it on the internet and time travel was briefly mentioned when he attended Tony’s funeral and overheard about it. It was not talked about a lot as the Avengers that were present during the time Tony created one had swore to not mention it to any outsider. It was not even public knowledge. If scientists get a hold of this information, the world will go berserk.

Every question that he answered, another three questions popped up. Why is this so confusing and hard?

"Peter. You still with us?" Ms Warren called out.

Peter immediately straightened up in his seat. He felt a blush forming on his cheeks as all of his classmates turned their attention to Peter.

"Uh… Uh, yeah. Yeah." Peter nods.

There was an awkward silence in the class. Everyone was waiting for him to say something. Peter noticed that his physics teacher was still looking at him, as if prompting him to answer the question she had asked earlier when Peter was having an internal crisis.

Peter's eyes glanced to the board where there's a diagram of a simple gravity pendulum.

"Uh, mass cancels out so it's just gravity times sine." Peter finally answered.

He winced at how awkward he sounds. Everyone turns their attention back to the teacher shortly after, in which Peter lets out a sigh of relief. That was nerve-wracking. He will never get used to getting called out randomly to answer a question whenever he is not paying attention in class.

"Right. See, Flash, being the fastest isn't always the best even if you're wrong." Ms Warren said.

The class bursts out into laughter as Flash turns around in his seat, giving Peter a death glare.

"You're dead." Flash hissed quietly.

Huh. Talk about deja vu. Peter felt like he had definitely experienced the same thing as his past life right now. Is it really called a deja vu if Peter has already experienced this moment before? If Peter recalls correctly, he had created his web fluid in his next class.

It's better to stay prepared in advance and Peter already knows a better web fluid formula that would make a stronger and more stable web after spending some time in Tony's lab experimenting. Peter 3 had also shared some modifications he had made with his web shooters which was pretty valuable and informative for Peter. Peter took a mental note to book the chemistry lab after school to test it out.

Peter's eyes drifted back to the notebook in front of him. He rereads the entire to-do list before picking up his pen once again.

6. contact dr strange

Peter sighs. That's probably it for the list of things that he needs to do. He can amend and add on to the list in the future if he remembers something worth mentioning.

Peter stares at point number 4. Just by reading the name 'Mysterio' makes his blood boil. He is not making the same mistake of letting his guard down and letting Beck expose his identity and frame him for murder.

If Beck did not expose his identity to the world and frame him as a murderer, he would not have turned to Stephen for help.

At least, the only good part of the entire ordeal is finding out that there are other Peter Parker out there in the multiverse who are also Spider-Man.

Peter smiled softly at the memory of Peter 2 and Peter 3 helping him through his grief for Aunt May and also with his personal mission to cure the villains and give them a second chance in life.

They were like older brothers for Peter. Since they had more experience in the Spider-Man department, they guided and supported Peter and made sure that he did not stray off his path to chase after revenge for Aunt May's death. Though it will bring him temporary satisfaction, it will not bring Aunt May back from the dead.

Peter remembers falling into anguish and anger as he sets his mind to kill Green Goblin with the glider that has once killed Aunt May. He remembers how Peter 2 stopped him and gave him a firm yet gentle and understanding look on his face. As if to tell him that it was not worth it and to make a different choice. To warn Peter to not let vengeance consume him.

Peter softens slightly, swallowing back a sob that is threatening to escape his throat and instinctively catches the reverse-serum that was thrown to him by Peter 3 and injects it on Norman's neck.

He wonders if the two Peters have gone back home safely.

By the time the bell rings, Peter realised that he had been doodling a couple of spiders and webs at the corner of his notebook.

Peter quickly jots down the homework that was assigned on the board onto his notebook before packing his things and going to his next class. Peter can already tell that it is going to be a long day as he can't wait to leave school already.

***

Chapter Text

SEPTEMBER 2016

Don’t cast that spell. It’s too dangerous.

Do you realise what you’ve done, Strange?

You have to fix this. Now.

For the sake of the multiverse, you have to let go of your selfish desire. You have swore the oath to protect this universe.

Come back, Strange.

Stephen jolted awake in cold sweat. He was breathing heavily, eyes blown wide open as he stared at nothingness. His heart was beating wildly in his ribcage that Stephen feared it might actually burst out of his chest.

Stephen clasps his hands over his head and shuts his eyes closed tightly. He feels his trembling hands gripping his head tightly to the point where his fingers start to hurt. He runs his hands through his hair, tugging it slightly in distress before letting his hands drop to the table in front of him.

Stephen glares at his scarred hands, the constant pain that resides in his hands hurts a little more today. He has an unsettling feeling bubbling in his stomach that he just could not shake it off. Stephen noted that he is extra jittery and paranoid the moment he wakes up from his sleep. He wonders if it was related to the dream he had earlier.

What was the dream about, once again? Stephen frowns as he tries to wreck his brain trying to remember what he had just dreamt. Whatever he had dreamt earlier was immediately forgotten the moment he woke up.

He suppressed his sigh as he slowly took in his surroundings, ignoring his tensed neck and shoulders from sleeping at such an awkward position with his head on the desk. That was when he realised he was back at his old apartment — before he moved to Kamar-Taj and then to the New York Sanctum, or also known as Sanctum Sanctorum.

The apartment is empty and bare other than a couple of boxes placed by the door. His eyes trailed back to the papers and notebooks that were spread out all over the table.

Picking up the papers, he began skimming through. It was a bunch of paperworks to sell off his apartment. He paused at the small slip of paper in between the other documents. It was a one-way plane ticket to Kathmandu, Nepal. 

Stephen vividly remembers the time where he gave up every single thing in order to find a cure for his damaged hands even if there is a slim chance that it can repair his hands to the way it used to be before the tragic car accident.

It was not the best moment in his life. Stephen was pulled out of the comfort of his life doing something he is good at to not being able to do anything at all. He was confused, lost, angry and hurt.

The conflicting emotions clashing with his ego and his prideful attitude caused him to lash out at everyone who cares for him and isolate himself from others while obsessing to find new ways to cure his unfixable hands.

Thinking back at the way he handled things back then got Stephen to cringe at the memory.

Stephen pulled out his phone and turned it on.

10 September 2016

Stephen sighs. So he really is back to the past, huh? That means that his last minute spell has worked.

Talking about spells made Stephen remember the real purpose why he was sent back to the past. Peter.

Did Peter safely make it to the past? He assumed so since he is perfectly fine right now. Stephen bets that Peter is confused right now and he doesn't even blame him. After all, Stephen was the one who changed the spell without informing Peter about it.

Shit. He needs to find Peter and tell him that he also went back in time so that Peter would not be alone in the past.

Stephen finally realised that he does not have his sling ring on him anymore. Even the Cloak of Levitation is not here. Stephen suppressed the feeling of disappointment bubbling in his chest.

He has to say that without the Cloak, he feels pretty lonely. The Cloak has been by his side through thick and thin, and also saved him countless times during battles. It was a loyal piece of companion for Stephen even though the sentient could not talk.

Stephen stood up and grabbed the plane ticket, his wallet, his laptop and the wrist watch that Christine had gifted to him back when they were still dating. He stares at the watch longingly. It was still clean from the cracks and the clock is still ticking. He held it protectively in his hands as he swore to not break it again.

Stephen knew that their relationship would not work out. Yes, they still care for each other but they never had the time to date with their demanding profession. Thinking back at it, they might have mistaken their platonic affection for each other as something romantic since they don’t have much experience in the dating world. Now that Stephen has become a sorcerer, he knew better than to drag her back in his life. He still treasures the watch, as it reminds him that there is still someone out there that still cares for him and it is one of the main reasons why Stephen continues to live on. Stephen carefully wrapped the watch around his wrist.

He gave a final look around his old apartment and left. He could not afford to miss this flight.

And he still owes Peter an explanation. Ugh, Stephen can’t believe he is going through such lengths to help Peter. It’s the damn kicked puppy look on Peter’s face that made Stephen do this. Stephen grumbles under his breath. He swears that he will not fall for that look ever again in the future.

***

Stephen steps out of the airport and immediately gets hit by the hot and humid air around him.

The journey from the airport to Kamar-Taj only took a couple of hours. But it took Stephen a couple of hours longer due to going in the wrong direction and getting lost a couple of times.

Yes, he has been to Kamar-Taj countless times. No, he does not know the exact route to reach his destination. What was the point of exploring the place when he could’ve just teleported to the place that he wants to go with his sling ring.

Stephen regrets not exploring the town with Mordo when he first arrived. He had holed himself in his room reading a bunch of books to learn more about magic and spells.

“Kamar-Taj?” Stephen asks the passerby weakly.

None acknowledged him, they just gave him a confused look or a dismissive gesture as they rushed off to their destination. Stephen is getting tired and hungry. The hot weather is not even helping right now.

Stephen awkwardly manoeuvres around the crowd, squeezing his way through and glancing at the signs that are hung on top of the shophouses, hoping that there is at least a sign showing him the direction to Kamar-Taj.

Stephen knew better than hoping for such miracles. The sanctums are not commonly known to the public.

The next thing he knew, he was being cornered into an empty alleyway by three men. He sighed. Of course, he is about to get robbed once again.

"Guys, I.. I don't have any money." Stephen pleaded, hoping that they would just let him go.

"Your watch." One of the men demands, nodding his head to Stephen's wrist.

No. Not the watch. He will not let anyone break his watch again.

Instead of punching them and risking his hands to hurt even more, he decides to elbow one of the approaching guys and kneed the other's stomach. It gave him some space to quickly move out of the way from the third guy that starts to launch an attack from behind.

It only worked for a split second, though. The other two got up and joined the third guy to gang up on Stephen and started throwing their punches and kicks.

Stephen immediately cowers, bringing up his arms to at least protect his face. God, why is he so fucking weak? Stephen angrily scolded himself at how defenseless and weak he is in terms of combat skills without the help of magic.

Stephen had always relied on magic and spells when fighting with another opponent. He fares so much better in the fight if he was a good distance away. Even in close combat, he could easily conjure a shield or weapons. He didn't have to care about any openings that he had because the Cloak will always react and defend him if needed.

Stephen did not have to suffer much beatings as the three men were defeated easily. He looked up and saw a familiar hooded man standing in front of him. He sighs in relief.

Stephen glanced at the watch that was still strapped around his wrist. It was still in perfect condition with no cracks found and the clock is still ticking. That's good. He managed to save one thing so far.

“You’re looking for Kamar-Taj?” Mordo asks, removing the hood over his head to reveal his face.

Stephen simply nods his head. Mordo walks away which Stephen took as his cue to follow him. They walked to Kamar-Taj in complete silence. Stephen hasn’t bothered to strike a conversation with Mordo, simply looking around the area to memorise the way to their destination.

Soon, they stopped at the entrance of the door of Kamar-Taj. It still looks the same — plain and unassuming to passers-by.

Stephen remembers the first time he was led to this door. He thought that for a moment, he got scammed.

"You know, that place looks a little more Kamar-Taj-y." Stephen joked as he pointed at the temple opposite them.

Mordo gave Stephen a look which promptly shut him up.

"I once stood in your place. And I, too, was… disrespectful. So might I offer you some advice. Forget everything you think you know." Mordo gave Stephen a piece of advice before leading him inside.

Stephen figured that he will be hearing that a lot today especially since he was technically 'new' to this place.

Mordo gave him a quick briefing of the place as they walked down the hallway. He paused in front of the door that leads them to the main hall.

"The sanctuary of our teacher, the Ancient One." Mordo introduces as he walks in.

Stephen almost felt his breath hitch in his throat at the sight of the Ancient One alive and well in front of him. Memories of his last moment with her starts to resurface in his mind.

Someone removed Stephen's jacket from his body and hung it on a coat rack, snapping him back to reality. “Oh! Thank you.” Stephen yelped. “Hello. And thank you.” He accepted a cup from one of the sorcerers. He notices Hamir looking up from his book and is watching him curiously.

The Ancient One steps in and helps to pour the tea into his cup.

“Uh, thank you, Ancient One.. for.. seeing me.” Stephen awkwardly said, looking straight at the Ancient One.

Mordo had a brief look of surprise on his face. Most newcomers would assume that the Ancient One would be one of the old-looking sorcerers or at least a man.

The Ancient One lifted her head and gave him a small smile. “You’re very welcome.”

She looks behind Stephen and nods in acknowledgment. “Thank you, Master Mordo. Thank you, Master Hamir.”

“Mr Strange!” She finally greets Stephen.

“Doctor, actually.” Stephen corrected her.

“Well, no. Not anymore, surely. Isn’t that why you’re here? You’ve undergone many procedures. Seven, right?” Ancient One said as she went back to her desk to put down the jug.

“Yeah…” Stephen confirmed, sipping his tea. “Good tea.”

“Yes.”

Stephen glanced back at Mordo who was standing by the door, watching their interaction with amusement. He turns his attention back to the Ancient One.

“Alright, look, I came here because Pangborn told me that this was the place that healed him. And I want to fix these.” Stephen explained while showing his shaky hands. “And I want you to teach me how.”

Stephen hoped that his reasoning was enough to convince the Ancient One to take him in as a student. He knows that his hands can’t be fixed but it was a good sob story to at least consider him in. She did tell him that he was meant to be the best of them in the past.

The Ancient One ignores him as she flipped through a book and showed it to Stephen. Stephen looked at the book blankly.

“Don’t like that map?” The Ancient One asks.

“Oh, no. It’s… it’s very good. It’s just… you know, I’ve seen it before. In gift shops.” Stephen said, unamused.

She flips to a different page. “And what about this one?”

“Acupuncture, great.” Stephen answered.

“What about… that one?” She points to a new picture.

Stephen had a ‘are you kidding me’ look on his face. “You’re showing me an MRI scan.”

Stephen’s patience is running thin. He doesn't have time for any of this. He would rather start his training now and get it done and over with.

“Each of those maps was drawn up by someone who could see in part, but not the whole.” The Ancient One continued, ignoring Stephen’s impatience.

“Okay, I understand.” Stephen nods. “So, will you teach me how?”

“I will, if you know exactly what you’ve signed up for. This is not something that you can learn from other temples.” The Ancient One warns.

“Yeah. I know. And I’m willing to learn, if you’d allow me.” Stephen insisted.

“Anyone can say that. What makes you different from others that should make me want to teach you?” The Ancient One questioned as she pushed her hand against Stephen’s chest, pushing his astral form out of his physical body.

Stephen stumbled out of his body, watching his physical body slowly start to fall before assessing his translucent hands. Mordo quickly held onto Stephen’s physical body to stop him from falling to the floor. The next second, he was being sucked back into his original body as he stumbled forward with a sharp gasp.

“Astral projection. Pretty common. Anyone can learn it by watching YouTube videos.” Stephen exhales.

The Ancient One smiles. “What about… this?”

She pressed her thumb on Stephen’s forehead, directly over the place where the third eye is located and sent Stephen’s body out to outer space.

Oh, hell no. Not this shit again.

“No! No… no! Shit! Please stop!” Stephen yelled out.

Stephen noticed a butterfly flying in space. He has learnt his lesson from his ‘previous life’ to not touch it. But what he had hoped for did not happen as the butterfly flew to his face and decided to perch on the tip of his nose anyway.

Stephen was immediately sent to the galaxy, speeding through the infinite void of space warping around him as vibrant colours started flashing through, making Stephen’s brain get overloaded with tons of information happening all at once.

The human brain could not handle the limitless information, thus forcing Stephen to see and feel everything while seeing and feeling nothing at the same time, making his mind and body paralysed from being presented to him by the universe at once. He could not do anything at this point — just letting everything happen and letting his body flow to wherever the Ancient One takes him.

“His heart rate is getting dangerously high.” Mordo commented.

The Ancient One pulls Stephen back into his physical body, sending him flying back into the chair.

“Please! No more!” Stephen begged as he struggled to catch his breath.

“He looks alright to me.” The Ancient One replied.

Stephen’s eyes widened. “No. No, please!”

She had wasted no time and sent him back to wherever she wanted him to see. Stephen had tuned out whatever the Ancient One was saying in the background, already hearing it once from his past.

Stephen had long surrendered his body, knowing he can’t do anything right now. He is now floating in front of the black hole as he watches the center of the black hole crack open, sucking him in and transporting him into the quantum realm.

Multiple hands started reaching out and grabbing his body. Stephen looks at his hand in bewilderment, watching more tiny hands growing out of each finger repeatedly.

“This universe is only one of an infinite number. Worlds without end.”

Stephen was sent crashing out of the glass crystals before re-entering on another crystal-like cube. The world around him immediately turned dark.

“Dark places, where powers older than time lie… ravenous… and waiting.”

Oh, fuck, is that Dormammu? He did not even catch that the first time he was sent to this acid trip. Stephen could only stare in horror as he sees Dormammu’s eyes open and staring back at him.

Suddenly, everything went muted around Stephen as he floated aimlessly in the universe.

“Who are you in this vast multiverse, Mr Strange?”

All at once, Stephen was thrusted into the limitless void before finally crashing back into his chair and stumbling down to the floor.

Stephen was now on his knees and out of breath. He can’t believe he got humbled by the Ancient One for the second time now. What did he do to deserve this? He bets the Ancient One does this to every different variable of himself repeatedly, knowing that she has used the time stone to see the possible futures and outcomes.

“Oh, god, please do not ever do that to me ever again.” Stephen huffed.

Ugh, the things Stephen has to go through right now. He bets Peter is having an easy time adjusting back to his old life. The thought of that got Stephen to grumble even more under his breath.

“Have you seen that before in a gift shop?” The Ancient One asks amusedly.

“Well, no. But I’d like to learn.” Stephen answered seriously.

The Ancient One was silent for a moment, assessing Stephen and calculating the risk — especially with the recent event of what had happened with Kaecilius. She turns to Mordo.

“What do you think, Master Mordo?”

“Perhaps Kamar-Taj could use a man like Strange. There's strength to him.” Mordo confessed.

Stephen watches the Ancient One and Mordo walking over to the side having a hushed discussion. Mordo had a determined look on his face, as if trying to convince her with his points.

Soon, they turned to him with Mordo trailing behind the Ancient One.

“I’ll meet you here in the morning for your first lesson.” The Ancient One said after a moment’s reflection.

A sigh of relief left Stephen’s lungs. At least it’s a win for Stephen in this life as he was not kicked out of Kamar-Taj.

“Thank you! Thank you, I will do my best.” Stephen grinned.

Mordo took this as his cue to lead Stephen to his room. It was the same room Stephen was assigned to previously. Stephen steps in the room, remembering all the times he crammed as many books he can read to learn as much as he can.

“Bathe, rest, meditate if you can. The Ancient One will send for you.” Mordo informed Stephen while passing him a small piece of paper.

‘Shamballa’

Mordo noticed Stephen looking at the piece of paper and suppressed a sigh. “It’s the Wi-Fi password.”

Before Stephen could retort back, Mordo had already shut the door. Stephen drops his bag on his bed and sighed. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.

***

Chapter Text

26 AUGUST 2016

Loud, excited chatters filled the air. The cafeteria was bustling with students; catching up with each other in the short free time that they have between classes. The food remained secondary to the conversation exchanged out here between friends.

Peter's eyes scanned through the crowd, trying to find Ned in the large masses of students.

"Peter! Over here!" Ned called out across the cafeteria, standing up and waving his hands.

Peter grins when his eyes meet Ned's. He avoided the students, holding his tray of food close to his chest. He would rather not cause any troubles by spilling food onto someone's clothes.

The only reason he does that is because dropping your tray to the floor in front of the whole cafeteria is embarrassing. He had tripped over someone's shoe lace once and fell on top of the spilled food on the floor. It was a humbling and humiliating experience that he does not want to go through ever again.

"Hey." Peter greets, placing the metal tray on the table before doing his secret handshake with Ned.

Ned nodded his head in a certain direction. Peter's eyes trailed to where Ned was looking. He noticed Liz — as pretty as the moment he last saw her. Liz was hanging up the homecoming banner.

‘Homecoming is almost here! Are you ready?’

Peter cringed at how messy homecoming was. He was a terrible date and he ditched homecoming to take down the Vulture which is also his date's dad. That sucks. Hopefully, this time, he gets to finally attend homecoming with Ned and ask MJ to be his homecoming date. But first, he needs to take down the Vulture as soon as possible and not on the day of homecoming.

"We should probably stop staring before it gets creepy, though." Peter pointed out, averting his gaze to the meal in front of him. Just by looking at the food on his plate made him lose all the appetite.

The food’s not bad. But it’s not that good either. It’s mediocre. It does not matter whether it tastes good or not when you’re starving. Also, Peter has a fast metabolism so he needs to eat as much as he can to at least fill his stomach. 

"Too late."

Peter's breath hitched in his throat at the familiar voice. He turns to see Michelle sitting at the other end of their table.

"You guys are losers." Michelle said in a dry tone.

Ned looks confused.

"But then why do you sit with us?" Ned wondered.

"Because I don't have any friends." Michelle admitted, returning her focus back to her book. Her hair was covering her face once again — hidden from any curious or judgemental eyes on her.

It was a shame that Peter could not see Michelle's face clearly from here. He loved watching Michelle's little frown whenever she was focused on something. It was cute.

Michelle puts down her book, her eyes trailing off to Peter as she grabs her drink. Peter was startled the moment their eyes connected, immediately looking away. Peter fumbled with the carton of milk on his tray and gulped it down, feeling his cheeks heating up at being caught staring. He hoped Michelle did not think that he was being weird or creepy.

Peter inwardly thanks Ned for being oblivious as he silently listens to Ned rambling about their after school plan to build the lego death star.

***

A poster for the Academic Decathlon national competition is hung on the auditorium wall. Their practice for the nationals commenced; with Ned, Charles and Abraham seated on stage while Liz was situated on the ground level holding a stack of flash cards.

Peter, however, was pulled aside for a private conversation with Mr Harrington, the teacher-in-charge of the Decathlon team.

“Peter, I know you have the Stark Internship,” Mr Harrington started, his eyebrows furrowing slightly in uncertainty but did not make any effort to voice out his doubts. “Do you think you are able to take one weekend off for the nationals?”

“Yeah, of course.” Peter nods quickly.

With the knowledge of what happened previously, Peter needs to go to Maryland — which is not too far from Washington, D.C..

“Pfft, just drop the act about you having a Stark Internship. You’ve never even been in the same room as Tony Stark.” Flash retorted amusedly while still flipping through his textbook leisurely with his feet propped up on a chair.

Peter had a deadpanned look on his face. He knew Flash would take back his words immediately if he sees actual proof like how he suddenly pretended to be Peter’s best friend for years and published a book about their ’friendship’ the moment he found out that Peter is Spider-Man.

It’s not like Flash is a bully or a bad person in general. Being neglected by his own parents made him like this — always finding ways to seek attention and validation. The need to tease others (mainly Peter) just to stir a reaction and to post exaggerated videos online for praises under his posts just proved the point even further.

Ever since the blip, Flash had started sticking closer to him and his friends (and other classmates that are also blipped). The name callings towards Peter have no bite behind it and it was mainly used to find some normalcy between them after the chaos of coming back to life after getting dusted. Thinking back about it, it’s probably the shared trauma that brings the people that have been blipped closer to each other.

Yeah, Flash could take things a little too far with the name callings and Peter would always ignore it. In the beginning, Peter would always get annoyed and irritated when Flash suddenly starts to pick on him. He gradually tuned out the mean comments after becoming Spider-Man as he was too focused on helping the neighbourhood after school.

If Peter was not distraught about his identity being exposed and none of the college accepting his application, he would’ve definitely tried to start a friendship with Flash. Okay, maybe just a mutual understanding and respect for each other if Peter was being honest. An acquaintance.

Mr Harrington ignores Flash’s comments. “Put your feet down, Flash. We don’t want you dirtying school property with your shoe print.”

Flash grumbles under his breath but does so anyway.

“Wait, what’s happening?” Cindy asks, looking over at Peter’s direction.

Sally props herself up with her elbow, raising slightly from lying on her stomach in the midst of studying her notes. “Just Flash being the usual and saying that the Stark Internship is fake.” Sally drawls lazily.

“He already quit marching band and robotics lab.” Michelle chimed in.

Everyone turns to look at Michelle, who is leaning against the wall with a book, with a suspicious look written on their faces.

Slightly flustered by all the attention on her, Michelle quickly clarified herself. “I’m not obsessed with him. Just very observant.”

Peter gazes longingly at Michelle. So she has been watching him from the start, huh? Maybe Michelle has liked him earlier than Peter has expected. They’ve not exactly told each other when they started liking each other as Michelle would stir the conversation away with an embarrassed look on her face.

Wait. If Michelle has liked Peter even earlier than expected, does that mean she has started to notice his weird behaviours after he got bit by the spider and becomes Spider-Man? Peter’s eyes widened in alarm. Well, shit. She’s definitely having a suspicion on him right now and has yet to come to a conclusion yet. Peter probably has to lay low and not act suspicious in front of Michelle.

Nobody in the Academic Decathlon team seems convinced but they decided to drop the case.

“Alright, great. Then it’s settled. Flash, you’re on standby.” Mr Harrington announced to the team as he clasped his hands together.

Murmurs of acknowledgment echoes in the room.

Peter turns to look at the clock. It’s 1:18 p.m.. Just about an hour and forty minutes until school ends.

***

As usual, the moment the bell rings to signify that school has ended, it’s time for Peter’s daily patrol around the neighbourhood. Peter had stopped by Delmar’s to get his usual sandwich and began his patrol.

It’s a slow day; there’s not much crime to stop. He helped an elderly cross the road while carrying the heavy groceries, saved a cat that was stuck in a tree and stopped some petty thefts.

It was a nice change. The past few days were hectic ever since his identity was revealed. Everyone turned their back on him, not wanting his help anymore. Civilians would yell mean things towards him when he swung around the neighbourhood and poured paint over his suit. Peter is still annoyed by that if he was being honest. He had just created the new suit recently when he was about to fight Mysterio and now it's already destroyed beyond repair. Technically, the suit is still usable but the bright lime green paint will not be removed no matter how hard Peter tries to scrub it off and how many times he washed it.

As the sun starts to set, Peter decides to take a break. He sits on the edge of the roof while swinging his legs leisurely. Everyone looks so tiny from above.

Peter rolled his mask up, exposing the bottom half of his face before grabbing the sandwich he got from Delmar’s earlier and took a bite of it. Peter lets out a sigh of contentment, listening to the buzzing noises of chattering and traffic dazedly. It has been a while since he has had such a peaceful patrol.

Peter pulled out his phone and began typing a message to Ned.

I’m gonna be late. Don’t start building

the lego without me! >:(

5:17 p.m.

Despite going out on a patrol as Spider-Man, Peter took this as a well needed break. Ever since the battle with Thanos (in which he had to fight back to back immediately after he wakes up from his ‘death’), Peter has constantly found himself to be fighting against powerful opponents repeatedly.

He has yet to fully heal from the grief that he had after losing Tony and he was being dragged to fight against Mysterio on his school trip when all he wants is to take a break from the chaos of the post-blipped world. And to top it all off, Mysterio has exposed his identity and claimed that Peter is a murderer right after the trip, making Peter and his loved ones to go into hiding for days until things settled down.

Just when Peter thought that he had finally accepted Tony’s death, the traumatising illusion tech of Iron Man crawling out of Tony’s grave and Quentin’s little speech about him being the reason why Tony died felt pretty awful. As if Peter’s guilt and regret was not enough, the universe decided that it’s fun to also take away May’s life.

Peter sucked in a shuddering breath, memories of the previous days started to float back in his mind.

With all those events happening one after the other, Peter could barely sort out his emotions and even went all the way to try and take his revenge by killing Green Goblin, ignoring May’s advice for him to help people. He did not have a moment to catch his breath amidst all this chaos.

A stray tear drops to his lap. Huh. Since when has he started crying? Peter pushes his mask further up and wipes his tears.

God, he is such a mess. 

Peter’s enhanced hearing suddenly picks up a loud crash a couple of blocks away. He narrows his eyes towards the bank, seeing a couple of men breaking in. Great. Now there’s a bank robbery that he needs to deal with.

Peter puts his mask back on and begins swinging over to the bank. That was when he noticed the huge bulky weapons that they’re holding. Shit. It’s a high-tech alien weapon. He didn’t realise that he had to deal with these guys this early when he went back to his past.

Peter sneakily enters the bank and decides to pose by leaning against the wall dramatically before clearing his throat to catch the robbers’ attention.

“What’s up, guys? Forgot your PIN number?”

The robbers turn to face Peter, all of them wearing cheap plastic masks of the Avengers. Why would you wear that to a robbery? The classic black bandit mask looks way better.

“Whoa! You’re the Avengers! What are you guys doing here?” Peter gasps exaggeratedly as the eyes of his mask widen comically to further express his surprise.

One of the robbers loads his gun but Peter uses his webs to grab it and hits the other two robbers wearing the Iron Man and Thor mask. He quickly shot his webs at their hands, preventing them from moving their hands as it was glued to their body. While they struggled to get out of the webbing, Peter shifts his attention to the other two robbers.

Before the other robbers get over their initial shock, Peter webbed the two nearest weapons and pulled it out of their hands.

“Yoink!” Peter added a sound effect when he grabbed their weapons away from the robbers. “Do you know that stealing is bad?”

Peter avoids one of the robbers who tried to punch him by jumping up onto the ceiling and hanging upside down. He noticed ‘Hulk’ was loading his weapon and quickly aimed his wrist towards the guy.

“Sorry, I don’t think you need this.” Peter chirped, pulling the high-tech weapon towards him and throwing it to the pile near the entrance. “And also, stealing people’s identity is not cool!”

Peter’s senses started tingling as one of them tried to punch him in the face. He dodges it easily, grinning at how ‘Captain America’ is just throwing aimless punches at him. He grabs the man and throws him to the other guys, webbing them all up together.

Phew. That was easy. This time, he had finished the job quicker than he did before, managing to avoid getting lifted up by the force field device and Delmar’s shop is safe from getting cut and burned once again.

Peter grabs a pen that is attached to the cheque deposit box and begins writing on a random receipt that he found on the floor.

Dangerous high-tech alien weapon. Beware of the core as it can be an explosive. — Spider-Man

Ignoring the robbers’ grumbling, he pastes the note on the weapons that he has webbed together. Satisfied with his work, he left the bank and left the rest of the mess for the police to deal with.

Peter lingered on the rooftop around the bank to keep an eye in case the robbers decided to escape or a passerby decided to enter and steal the money that was out in the open while he waited for the police to arrive at the scene.

Peter took this time to call Happy and inform him about the weapons. He cringed when he saw the amount of texts he has sent to Happy within the past two months. Well, it’s not like Peter can judge his past self when he still continues to annoy Happy by spamming his inbox but at least Happy entertains all of his messages.

At first, Happy started checking up on him every now and then after the plane crash with tons of Stark Technology from his fight with the Vulture. Probably to express his gratitude as he does not want to get on Tony’s bad side for not being able to do his job properly. After Tony’s death, Happy started to text him more frequently even when Peter did not reply due to the immense grief he was experiencing.

When Peter found out that Happy was flirting with May, he was confused and weirded out at first. Imagine his surprise to see his own aunt flirting back right in front of his eyes. He did not want to see that. Despite the initial awkwardness at the revelation, the heart-to-heart talk with Happy in the plane just further made their relationship closer than ever.

Peter is glad to find out that Happy has a soft spot for him no matter how hard he tries to deny it and lies that the reason he cared for Peter is just an excuse to get closer to his aunt. It was amusing. He realised that when Happy starts to care for someone, he would do whatever in his favour to protect them even if it would mean to put his own life on the line. Who knew Happy could have this side of him when all these time he is so grumpy most of the time. Probably the stress of working under Tony Stark made him that way.

Peter pressed the call button, listening to the line ringing as he anxiously tapped his fingers on the brick wall of the building he is currently perched on. After a couple of long rings, the call finally got picked up.

“Yeah?” Happy answered after dealing with something in the background.

“Happy! The craziest thing just happened to me,” Peter immediately started rambling. “These guys were robbing an ATM with these high tech weapons—.”

“Hey, take a breath, okay? I don’t have time for ATM robberies…” Happy cuts in.

“No, they’re robbing with high tech weapons—.”

“…Or the thoughtful notes you leave behind. I have moving day to worry about. Everything’s gotta be out of here by next week.” Happy continues, ignoring Peter.

“Happy, listen! They have these crazy alien high tech weapons with them! You need to tell Mr Stark about this! Or at least let me talk to Mr Stark about it!” Peter cuts in, his voice firm.

“Yeah, right. Tony has important business to attend to so he will be busy.” Happy answer.

“Happy, please! You gotta tell Mr Stark about the high tech weapons! I’m pretty sure they’re using an alien core to power up their weapons! It’s really dangerous. Please.” Peter said, his voice getting louder and frantic, trying to get his point across.

“Look, just stay away from anything too dangerous. I’m responsible for making sure you’re responsible, okay?” Happy said, his voice getting slightly distracted by what Peter is assuming that he was packing for moving day.

“I am responsible. Can I please talk to Mr Stark?” Peter tries once again. “We can’t let the high tech weapon fall to the wrong hands.”

“He’s busy. Anyways, I have to go now. I have important things to attend to other than talking to a teenager.” Happy concluded tiredly and immediately cut the call, leaving Peter no room for explanation.

Peter groans. What’s up with adults not trusting that teenagers could be mature and responsible? Peter knows what he is doing. He lets out a sigh of irritation as he swings over to the rooftop near his school to grab his bag. He has learned his lesson to not web his bag on the side of the alleyway after losing his bag countless times. He grabs his bag and takes out his clothes from earlier and quickly changes out of his suit. He puts on his mask for safety measures when he climbs down the side wall of the building. Once he reaches the ground, he looks around if there are any civilians walking by the area and quickly removes his mask, shoving it inside his bag before making his way back home.

***

“I’m home!” Peter calls out as he enters his apartment, throwing his keys on the coffee table.

There’s no response. He frowns slightly.

“May?” Peter calls out, walking over to the kitchen.

He saw May fussing over the oven and back to the pot.

“Oh, hey honey. Ned is waiting for you in your room.” May said, glancing at Peter in acknowledgment before rushing to turn off the stove as the soup started to over boil, bubbles beginning to spill out of the pot.

Peter hums, watching his aunt trying her best to multitask and check on every dish she tries to cook. He pushed his room door open, seeing Ned halfway done with the lego death star.

Peter gasps exaggeratedly, expressing his shock and betrayal. “How dare you start without me!”

Ned chuckles, having no remorse on his face. He gives Peter a cheeky grin.

“Well, you’re late. And I bought the lego set so I have the rights on how much I should contribute to building the death star.” Ned answers casually.

Peter grumbles under his breath as he throws his bag to the corner of his room. “Yeah, whatever. Just know that I’m still mad at you.”

Ned rolls his eyes as he carries the lego death star and places it gently on the floor. Peter joins Ned and sits opposite him.

“Stop sulking, dude. You can do this part and put this figurine at the end.” Ned promised, pushing the instruction manual towards Peter and pointing to the final section for Peter to work on.

“Fine.”

They fell into comfortable silence as Peter began putting the legos together. Ned started rambling about anything and whatever came up to his mind, occasionally guiding Peter to place the lego piece on a certain area.

Peter enjoyed his time with Ned, being able to talk about normal teenager stuff. He missed this. Somehow, he also misses the fact that this Ned does not, and will ever not know about his alter ego.

Having Ned as his guy in the chair is pretty helpful at times as Ned could always cover for him and make any excuses to the teacher if they ever noticed that he went missing. Despite his excitement of knowing that his best friend was a superhero, there are unsaid words of his worries too. Peter never brings it up and would always downplay any injuries that he gets as Spider-Man to not further worry his best friend. It’s sweet that Ned always looks out for him even if he did not express it openly. Ned had once slipped out that Peter could've died when he first found out that Peter was Spider-Man. The conversation had turned sombre immediately. They never bring that point up anymore.

Sure, Ned knows that Peter also 'died' when he got dusted, but he never pressed on for more information which Peter was very grateful for.

Just as Peter puts the final piece to finish the lego death star, May has entered the room while waving a rag in front of her face to dissipate the smoke coming from the kitchen.

“The turkey meatloaf recipe is a disaster. Let’s go to dinner. Thai? Ned, you want Thai?” May asks.

This feels like a déjà vu. Okay, Peter needs to stop saying that. Obviously he will encounter lots of situations that felt like déjà vu because he is currently back to his past which he has already gone through before. Honestly, it felt like he is speed running a game that he has played before and knows all the cheats and tricks to finish a certain task easily.

“Oh! I would like that but…” Ned glances at the clock before continuing, “…I have a thing to do and I need to get back home. It’s getting pretty late too.”

“Okay.” May nods, leaving the two boys alone in the room to dispose of the burnt dinner and clean up the kitchen.

Ned gave an apologetic look to Peter. “Hey, sorry man. I promised my mum that I’d be home by dinner. And I’ve not started on my homeworks either.”

“It’s fine, dude. I had fun building this with you.” Peter grinned as he carefully passed the completed set of the lego death star to Ned’s arms.

Peter sends Ned out while saying his goodbyes and seeing him in school the next day. Peter shuts the door.

“Go get changed, Peter. We’re going out.” May advised.

***

Peter and May are sitting at a small table at Prachya Thai.

“…And he will get larb.” May finished off their order and gave the waiter a smile.

Peter had a small smile as he watched May fondly.

“I larb you.” Peter blurted out thoughtlessly.

Peter did not realize what he had just said until May was looking at him in pure confusion.

“What? Don’t you mean love? Or do you love larb so much that you’ve replaced love as larb?” May teased, her eyes glinting with amusement.

Peter blushed at the teasing. Right. He had unconsciously blurted out their little inside joke. It’s fine, Peter thinks. He can always start over and build their relationship even closer. Their relationship was strained early on after Ben’s death and the fact that Peter was distracted most of the time due to becoming Spider-Man.

“May!” Peter whined in embarrassment.

May grins, relishing on Peter’s embarrassment. It was cute and it felt like Peter was a little kid all over again.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop. I larb you too.” May answered fondly.

Peter smiles, his heart filled with love.

The waiter placed their orders on their table. The both of them thanked the waiter before digging in.

While they were catching up on each other’s life and enjoying each other’s company, Peter got distracted by the news report displayed on the television behind May.

May, noticing that Peter’s attention was elsewhere, she turns to listen to the news reporter. The news anchor was updating about Spider-Man stopping another heist as CCTV footage of the incident started playing.

“Thank goodness for Spider-Man to stop those crimes. Who knows what other people could do with those dangerous weapons that could cut through metals.” May said grimly, shivering slightly at the thought. “Just six blocks away from us.”

Peter nods absentmindedly.

The waiter came back and placed a new side dish to their table, his eyes glued to May.

“Sticky rice pudding.” The waiter informs them.

“Oh, we didn’t order that.” May furrows her eyebrows in confusion.

“It’s on the house.” The waiter winks before leaving their table.

“Oh! Thanks. That’s nice of him.” May claimed.

“I think he larbs you.” Peter joked.

May rolled her eyes but had an amused smile on her face.

***

That night, Peter is lost in his own thoughts. He had a great day but the looming threat of the future kept bugging him at the back of his mind.

Too distracted to complete his homework, he pulled his notebook from earlier to begin his planning once again.

For now, he decides to focus on catching the Vulture. But first, he needs to get KAREN back online.

***

Chapter Text

LATE AUGUST — EARLY SEPTEMBER 2016

It has been a busy week. Tony had to settle tons of paperwork regarding the Avengers Tower and dealing with the aftermath of the former members of the Avengers escaping from the Raft amongst other important things. He also dropped by the medical wing to check up on Rhodey with his weekly physical therapy session.

It has been months since the prison break and Tony honestly doesn't give a shit about it. Who cares if they managed to escape? Good for them. But because of this, Tony has to deal with Ross constantly bothering him to locate them. Sure, Tony could track the rest of the Avengers that are currently on the run easily with the technology and resources that he has but he has no interest in doing so.

The Avengers have already fallen apart so this is not his problem anymore. What’s the point of fixing things if they are not appreciative of the things he had done for them? Tony had upgraded and fixed their weapons, given them rooms in the Tower to live in, and provided anything that they required from the kindness of his heart. He also does not expect anything in return and a simple 'thank you' is enough. But all he gets back from doing all those things is getting stabbed in his back once again.

Tony compiled the stack of papers regarding the accords together and placed it neatly in a box. A folded paper falls to the floor, catching Tony’s attention. Curious, he picked the paper up and unfolds it to read the content.

He felt his breath caught in his throat. It was the letter that Steve wrote for him when he was about to break the rest out of prison. Tony glanced at the flip phone placed on his desk that Steve had mailed over to him and grabbed it. He stared at the one contact stored in the burner phone, contemplating. Tony had read the contact number countless times within the past two months that he already had the number memorised by heart. His finger was hovering above the call button.

He wants to reach out to Steve but he never knew what to say. Apologize? Acknowledge his apologies? Yell at him over the phone about how he betrayed his trust? Ask if he regrets any of this?

The events in Siberia were still fresh in his mind. It felt like Tony's heart was ripped out of his chest and being stomped on repeatedly. Tony could still remember the bitter feeling in his chest growing and how blinded by rage he was when he saw the footage of how his parents died.

All the pent up anger and grief for his parents (mostly his mother), was immediately targeted on Barnes. Throughout the years, he never knew where to place his grief. He drowned himself in alcohol and parties to distract himself. He never gave himself time to actually process his grief, always busying himself with work.

As fucked up as it sounds, Tony knew that from the bottom of his heart — even if it was a small bit — he loved his father too. He wouldn't admit it, though. He had chased his father's love and validation for years. It was pathetic. So he grew bitter and hateful towards Howard. Imagine his surprise when Fury revealed that Howard actually cared for him when he dropped off Howard's unfinished project over to him. Tony could still not wrap his head around that fact. It felt like a lie even when there was video evidence being presented to him. Tony wished that Howard said that to his face instead of the camera.

It's all the love that Tony wants to give, but he can't. So the unspent love became vengeful. And when he finally knows that Barnes was behind his parents' death, all he could think of is to do the exact same thing as he saw on the footage.

If Tony was in a clearer state of mind, he would know better that Barnes was a victim too. Especially when he had read up that Barnes was brainwashed and became Hydra's little puppet when he was on the way to Siberia.

Sure, he would be pissed. But just give him a couple of alone time and he would push it behind him and move on. But what made everything worse is the fact that Steve knew and he didn't tell him.

"Did you know?"

"I didn't know it was him."

"Don't bullshit me, Rogers! Did you know?"

"Yes."

Steve knew the whole time and didn't bother to tell him. It didn't matter if he didn't know who it was but it would've been so much better to hear the painful truth than finding it out yourself.

Betrayal. It's a common thing for Tony to experience. It's to be expected but it still hurts all the same. Obadiah, Natasha and now Steve.

Tony trusted Steve. He also learned to put aside their differences and to work together with Steve. They definitely have gotten closer throughout the years after fighting alongside each other for missions. Despite their rocky start, Tony dare say, he acknowledged Steve as a friend.

Their relationship starts to become strained when Tony accidentally creates Ultron. It further separated them apart when the accords were introduced. And now, Tony doesn't know what they are anymore.

Tony wouldn't consider Steve as a friend like he did before. Steve was definitely not an enemy. Whatever it was, Tony didn't want to be near him anytime soon. Scratch that; Tony doesn't want to be near any of the rogues anytime soon. Period.

Sure, there are instances where Tony wished that things played out differently; where the Avengers are still together as a team. Wished that he still had more chances to team up with them to go for missions together and celebrate afterwards.

But those days are over. In the end, he is back to square one and only three people remained constant in his life.

Tony heard the keypad to his lab was being keyed in and shoved the flip phone into his pocket. Tony watches Happy push the door wide open before pushing a trolley cart in.

"Hey, Hap. Working hard?" Tony teased, the corner of his lips quirked up into a smirk.

Happy grunts and gave Tony an unamused stare.

"Is this the box?" Happy asks, pointing at a couple of boxes stacked near his desks.

"Yeah."

Dum-E stirred to life, moving towards Happy as it clips its fingers as a greeting. Happy grabbed a box and loaded it into the cart. Dum-E's engine whirred in response as it moved to pick up a very expensive vase to help Happy with the packing.

"Hey! Put that down! That thing is more expensive than you and what I can afford." Happy scolded the robot as he grabbed the vase securely in his hands, not wanting to damage any goods in the process.

A whine-like sound came from Dum-E as it lowered its 'head' in shame. Tony watches the interaction in amusement.

"Hey, don't be rude to my child." Tony joked.

Dum-E had trailed off to U, as the two robots communicated with each other. Well, it was more like U trying to console the sulky Dum-E.

Happy rolled his eyes. "Speaking of a child, the kid called."

"What did he do this time?" Tony sighed.

If Tony recalled correctly, he had told Peter to stay away from danger and not do anything stupid.

"Something about dangerous weapons during some ATM robberies. He kept insisting that I inform you or to give your number to him so he can call you about it himself." Happy said, deep in thoughts.

"All weapons are dangerous." Tony rolled his eyes, suppressing another sigh that threatened to escape from his mouth.

"That's what I'm saying. You should deal with him, you know? Superhero stuff." Happy voiced out.

Tony hums, deep in thought. He was never good with kids. He does not know what or how he should act around kids. He is not a great role model too. Maybe it was his fear of becoming exactly like his father that made him stay away from kids. The thought of personally mentoring Peter with superhero stuff is terrifying, if he was being honest. Peter is still a kid and he should not be out there fighting crimes.

The responsibility of looking after a web-slinging teenager weighs heavy on his shoulders. If he could, he would force Peter to stop becoming Spider-Man and tell him to focus on his teenage life and school. But he knew that Peter would not stop being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man even if he tried to take his suit away. He saw the determined and stubborn look in his eyes when he first asked the reason why he became one. Who was Tony to deny that? So, he made him a better suit filled with tons of safety features and protocols to keep Peter safe.

***

Tony was doing his typical maintenance on his sports car, to see if he can upgrade it for the better. He is currently avoiding work, turning his attention to his hobby.

Tony knew that he should attend the meetings that Pepper had nagged at him to go to, or to review some important documents that needed to be signed, or even help Happy with the packing. They have less than a month to transport all the items over to the new Avengers Compound. But here he is, doing none of the things that are required to be dealt as soon as possible.

"Boss, Spider-Man has completed his Training Wheels Protocol." FRIDAY informs.

Tony almost had a whiplash from how hard he looked up, the screwdriver in his hand drops to the floor with a loud clunk.

“What?”

There’s no way that Peter knows the full capabilities that the suit has. Tony had restricted some access in the suit for safety reasons. Tony originally planned to assess Peter’s performance as Spider-Man and whether Peter is ready before lifting up the Training Wheels Protocol.

The Training Wheels Protocol was there for a reason. He did not want Peter to get overwhelmed with tons of features like the HUD inserted in his mask or an AI built in his suit. He had planned to unlock the subsystem one by one until Peter could grasp the full capabilities of what the suit could do. Since Tony did not lift up the restrictions, that means it was removed forcibly. Tony really hoped that Peter did not disable this protocol and jumped into battle afterwards because it would be really confusing and would get him in danger for being too distracted by what was going on in the suit. After all, these systems were meant to help him out and simplify his task on his regular patrol and not to overwhelm him.

Tony’s lips twitched in annoyance. Great. That means the kid somehow had figured out how to hack into his suit and disabled the protocols that Tony had set in place to keep Peter safe. Tony has yet to make Peter go through a refresher course or even tell him more information about his suit.

Tony pulled the hologram out, immediately bringing the system code for the Spider-Man suit up. He felt like he could pass out any second from seeing all the subsystems are active now since the Training Wheels Protocol was disabled.

“Jesus.” Tony mumbled as he covered his eyes with one hand before pinching the bridge of his nose from the overwhelming information.

He did not sign up for this. This is why he stays away from kids. Tony can already feel like he is growing gray hairs now.

“FRIDAY, patch me through.” Tony ordered.

“Yes, boss.”

The line connected.

“KAREN, no! Cancel! Don’t answer—!"

Tony could hear Peter’s frantic voice over the call.

“Who?”

“KAREN is the name of Spider-Man’s AI.” FRIDAY chimed in helpfully.

Tony looked unimpressed at the name. “Okay, that’s a terrible name choice. Unless it’s an acronym for something then that’s a different matter.” Tony mused to himself.

There was no answer on the other line. Tony frowned in confusion. Did Peter cut the call? The nerves that kid has… Oh, Tony would definitely have a talk with him about this.

“Boss, Peter’s heart rate is dangerously high. He seems to be having a panic attack.” FRIDAY interrupted, her voice expressing concern.

Tony immediately shot out of his chair, alarmed. What?

“What? Prepare the suit, FRI.” Tony instructs his AI, already making his way to where he stored his Iron Man suits. “Kid? Hey, can you hear me? I need you to breathe, alright? Just listen to my voice. I want you to follow my breathing. Can you do that for me?”

Honestly, Tony is panicking right now. He does not know how to calm someone else down when they are having an anxiety attack. He could barely take care of himself and now he needs to care for someone else. Not wanting Peter to be even more distressed, he forced himself to sound calm.

Tony could only hear a choked sob from the other line. He took it as a sign of acknowledgment from Peter. He guides Peter through a breathing exercise. He quickly suits up as the call is automatically transferred into the interface of his Iron Man mask. Tony made FRIDAY to find out Peter’s location through KAREN.

“I’m coming to you, kid. Stay where you are.” Tony instructs, immediately heading towards the location that FRIDAY has pulled up with a GPS. “Can you list down five things you can see around you?”

There was a short pause. “Mhm.” Peter sniffles.

Assuming that Peter has done what was instructed, Tony continues. “Okay. How about four things you can touch?”

“Ground… Suit. My face and web shooters.” Peter slowly answered with harsh and uneven breath.

“That’s good, kid. You’re doing well so far. Three things you can hear?”

Tony is almost halfway there. He speeds up, adding more power to his thruster. After this, he needs to fix his thruster to be able to withstand more power and speed. He felt like he was taking ages to reach Peter. And if Peter is in danger, he definitely could not reach in time. He grits his teeth at the thought of failing to keep people safe.

“Y- your voice. The city. Traffic.” Peter pants, his breath slowing down and he had stopped crying.

By the time Tony goes through the other two grounding techniques with Peter, he could see that Peter’s heart rate has calmed down significantly from the data that FRIDAY had put up on his screen. It’s definitely better than before.

Tony landed on the rooftop that Peter was situated at. The clank of metal against the cement floor made Peter jerked up from surprise. He retracts the suit and walks out. He noticed that Peter had already removed his mask. There were tear stains evident on his cheeks, to tell that Peter had been crying earlier.

“Hey, kid.” Tony greets, slowly approaching the boy, unsure what he should do now.

Peter’s eyes were fixed on him, his face pales and expression stretched into a mask of surprise and… grief? Tony frowns slightly, not knowing what the expression was supposed to mean. His heart felt uneasy.

Tony took a step forward, his hands reaching out to hold Peter’s shoulder as a comforting gesture. To his surprise, Peter flinched and recoiled back in horror. Tony’s hands stopped mid-air, staring at Peter in confusion. He was slightly hurt at the action. Did he do something wrong? Why is Peter acting like this?

“Peter…?” Tony breaks the tense silence. ‘ Are you okay? ’ was implied in his voice despite not saying it out loud.

“Real… He’s real. He’s real.” Tony heard Peter’s murmurs under his breath.

Okay, what the hell is happening?

“Of course, I’m real.” Tony acknowledged, his voice raising slightly in frustration.

Is Peter still not back to reality? Did the grounding technique not work? He heard that it does not work well on everyone as different people have their own way to cope.

“P- prove it. Tell me something that only you would know.” Peter croaked out, his voice sounded so small and broken.

The doubtful expression on Peter’s face broke his heart. He looked so much older like this. It was as if Peter had seen and experienced so much shit that kids his age should not go through. Jeez, what had happened to the kid within these few months?

Tony contemplated on what to say. He can’t even judge this kid, knowing damn well that he, too, has trust issues.

“Uh, remember the first time I came to recruit you to Germany? I complimented your aunt’s walnut date loaves even though it’s pretty bad. No offense. Pretty sure you saw me spitting it out in your room.” Tony started rambling about their first meeting.

“Okay, okay. That’s enough.” Peter chuckled wetly, his shoulders sagged in relief.

Tony felt himself smiling slightly at hearing a positive reaction from the boy in front of him.

“Are you okay now?” Tony asks, placing his hand on Peter's shoulder. This time, Peter did not flinch and moved away from him but instead, he melted into Tony’s arm.

Tony was surprised at the action, not expecting that. He may not show it on his face but he definitely felt good about it as a sense of protectiveness started to fill his chest. 

“Yeah.” Peter nods. “Thank you.”

Not wanting the situation to get tense and awkward after the whole vulnerable moment, Tony decides to change the topic.

“Don’t think you can escape from this, young man. Why did you disabled the Training Wheels Protocol?” Tony addressed, glaring at Peter playfully.

Peter tensed and tried to escape from Tony’s hold. Tony was quicker, though. He had slung his arm around Peter’s shoulders, pulling him in towards his chest.

Peter made a choked noise as Tony had playfully put him in a chokehold.

“Where do you think you’re going? How do you know that I put all these hidden systems in your suit?” Tony asks.

Peter, already given up from trying to escape Tony’s hold, lets his body slump in Tony’s embrace. He closed his eyes in content. He’ll take this as the nearest ‘hug’ he could get from this version of Tony.

Tony froze slightly when he felt Peter pressing his cheeks against his chest. In another situation, he would’ve jokingly told Peter that they’re not close enough to be hugging and would’ve pulled away immediately. It reminded Tony about the time Peter had hugged him for mistaking his gesture of opening the car door as a hug.

Not wanting to be rude and push the kid away after the whole ordeal that he had earlier, Tony moved his hand to awkwardly pat the sides of Peter’s arm. God, why is he so bad at dealing with teenagers? Emotions are not his strong suit.

“It's not hard to figure out that you made a high tech suit. Just gotta connect the suit to a laptop and figure the rest out from there.” Peter answers, hesitantly pulling away from their not-hug and steps back to give Tony the space that he needs.

Tony rolls his eyes and shoves his hands in his pocket, walking away from Peter to look over the city from a safe distance from the edge of the rooftop.

“So, like, what now? You’re good at hacking into my tech now, huh?” Tony questioned, full of curiosity now.

“Uh, no, sir. I’m not that good at coding. I mean I’m pretty decent at it but not as good as my best friend, Ned. I excel more in chemistry, physics and engineering.” Peter rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Don’t sell yourself short like that. If you can hack into my suit then you’re clearly good at it.” Tony turned around to face Peter.

Peter blushed at the compliment. “Thank you, Mr Stark.”

“It’s getting dark. Don’t you have to go home soon? Better not worry aunt hottie if you get home late.” Tony advised.

Peter gave Tony a look of disappointment and disgust. Tony laughed at Peter’s betrayed look.

“I’m just kidding, Peter. Now skedaddle out of here.” Tony rolled his eyes, waving his hands to shoo Peter away.

“Okay. Bye, Mr Stark. Thank you… for earlier.” Peter grins, pulling his mask over his face and begins to swing from building to building.

Tony watches Peter’s retreating figure getting smaller. The moment Peter turns to a corner, Tony decides to head back to the tower. After all, he still has a lot of work to settle.

When Peter finally reached home that day, he realised that he forgot to inform Tony about the high tech weapons he had encountered a few days ago. He was so preoccupied dealing with his feelings of seeing Tony Stark alive and well in front of him that he just broke down. He decides to settle the whole Vulture mess on his own.

***

Chapter Text

END OF SEPTEMBER — MID OCTOBER 2016

“The language of the mystic arts... is as old as civilization.” The Ancient One began her explanation, sitting across Stephen. “The sorcerers of antiquity... called the use of this language ‘spells’. But if that word offends your modern sensibilities... you can call it a ‘program’.”

“The source code that shapes reality. We harness energy…” The Ancient One draws a string of orange magic with her fingers before shaping it into a circle. “…drawn from other dimensions of the Multiverse... to cast spells... to conjure shields... and weapons... to make magic.”

The intricate magic spell that the Ancient One had just casted glows brightly in front of Stephen’s face. Stephen watches in awe. Even though he is already well experienced in the field of magic, the whole concept of magic still makes Stephen intrigued and fascinated. After all, he used to be a firm believer of science until the Ancient One has proved him wrong in the past. There is still a lot to learn and a lot more to find out about magic and spells.

“But even if my fingers could do that…” Stephen raised his trembling hands up. “My hands would just be waving in the air. How do I get from here to there?” Stephen finally asks, putting up a facade of a helpless and lost man who has just lost his will to live. He can’t let the Ancient One catch on and find out that he was from the future right now.

“How did you get to reattach severed nerves... and put a human spine back together bone by bone?” The Ancient One asks, a small amused smile settles on her face.

“Study and practice, years of it.”

The Ancient One simply smiles at Stephen as her answer.

***

Ever since Stephen came to Kamar-Taj, all he does is to meditate and do some reading from the books in the library. He used this time to form a friendship with Wong once again. Wong was a fierce and loyal friend; he has stuck by Stephen’s side through thick and thin. Even when Stephen was being difficult and acted like a spoiled brat, Wong was always there to scold him or to guide him to become a better sorcerer. He was like a mother hen in some ways. Sometimes it can be quite annoying to Stephen but he is grateful for Wong whenever he steps in to stop Stephen from doing a dangerous spell (not like that has ever stopped Stephen from doing it).

The sorcerers also made Stephen watch their training practice, explain the history of magic to him and showed him the basic forms he should master before he can proceed to the next step.

It is getting frustrating for Stephen as he already knew all of these things and he just wants to start participating in the training and earn his sling ring as soon as possible. His egotistical attitude and disrespect was frown upon amongst the sorcerers there. They proceed to ‘punish’ him by making him do cleaning duties to reflect on his actions and how he can improve his attitude. Well, that was fair and Stephen deserves it. But it’s not his fault that that's how he normally acts and it’s hard to break his habit overnight. It’s already good enough that he took people's feelings into consideration.

Stephen does not have the time to do some light beginner training. He would rather go through rough and intense training to better prepare him in the future. He also noticed a couple of things over a span of a few days.

Stephen noticed that he could not conjure any magic or weapons when he began his own training in his room. He suspected that it's because his current body is too weak since he is still recovering from the recent surgeries that he had on his hands. The other possible reason could be the fact that the chakras in his body are blocked. Since the chakras are still sealed, it restricts energy flowing in his body properly.

Let go of your ego, Strange.

Stephen takes a deep breath as he settles down into a burmese posture for meditation. He shuts his eyes, taking a moment to focus on his breathing.

Clocks ticked by as Stephen finally gets to immerse himself, to be more in zen. He has become one with his surroundings. His senses are now heightened with a peaceful state of mind.

Tick, tick, tick…

Stephen could hear the constant ticks of the clock in his room, random lulls of conversation outside his room, footsteps and birds chirping outside. He lets himself bask in the warmth of the sun shining brightly through his window.

Stephen lets any thoughts flow through his mind, no matter how random and insignificant it may be.

Just when Stephen was about to tap in to unlock one out of the seven chakras in his body, his stomach rumbled loudly, snapping his attention back to reality. Stephen opened his eyes slowly, a defeated sigh escaped his lips.

He decides to get food outside, already tired of the same few foods being prepared every single day. At the same time, he used this moment to explore the area around Kamar-Taj.

There are a lot of street vendors out in the open amongst the shops that are set up in the area. Stephen approached one of the street vendors, deciding to try some street food.

"Namaste," Stephen greeted as he pressed two hands together in front of his chest. "Uh, can I get…"

Stephen paused as he awkwardly pointed at the fried snacks stacked on a tray. He didn't know what the food was called but the freshly made snacks smelled delicious.

The seller smiled as they pointed at a ring-shaped dough and explained the name. "Sel roti."

Stephen watched, intrigued. It looks like a huge onion ring. The seller proceeds to point at the next item in the tray. "Gwaramari." It was round-shaped bread. It looks similar to donut holes.

"Oh! Okay. Can I get some?" Stephen asks, his back slightly hunched forward to talk to the seller.

"Yes."

Stephen watches one of the staff scoop both delicacies into a layered newspaper, to absorb any excess oils from the breads. Once done, they handed it over to Stephen. He quickly fished out crumpled cash notes from his pocket and paid for the food.

"Dhanyabaad." Stephen thanked them with a polite smile.

Stephen noticed another vendor next to them selling milk tea and decided to stop by and get one. He settled down on one of the mini stools next to the other patrons and began to eat his late breakfast.

By the time Stephen was done with his breakfast, he knew it was time to seek shelter from the noontime blazing heat and continue from where he left off earlier. 

***

As if the gods have heard Stephen’s prayers, he finally gets to start his real training. This time round, Stephen took his training seriously. It’s not like he did not take his training seriously before; he really did. Instead of giving his best with minimal effort in every training session in the past, he has started to put in over 100% effort now.

Stephen started to relearn basic self defense and sparring sessions taught by Mordo. Mordo was relentless. He does not hold back in his punches during training — no matter if they’re new or experienced in the field. Stephen is thankful for that. Training wise, it was definitely beneficial as it helps to improve their skills to be better. Otherwise, it made the trainees feel like they were being taken seriously even though they are still a beginner. After all, no one wants to be taken lightly just by an assumption of how strong or weak a person looks.

Stephen definitely has learnt his lesson after getting his ass beat by opponents who he assumed was weak due to their physique or just a general assumption that he is a lot better than others a couple of times. Like how he tried to trap Kaecilius and his gang or Peter Parker in a mirror dimension which backfired rather quickly. Stephen did not take into account their wits, reaction speed, battle sense or even knowledge of spells during a fight — which was definitely one of the reasons why he lost. If the Ancient One or even Wong knows about this, they would definitely say that the reason he lost is due to his massive ego and he would rather not admit it out loud to save his pride and dignity.

Hey, after all, Stephen is only human. It’s not his fault that his first instinct was to judge someone’s combat ability by the size of their muscles to assume that they’re strong. But he also could not assume that they are a better fighter than someone with lesser muscles. Especially his fight against Peter in the mirror dimension. He was defeated by Peter’s agility and his smartness despite having a smaller frame than Stephen. It was definitely not his proudest moment. Who knew that he could be defeated by a kid and by mathematics ? He would rather die than having other people to find out the reason he lost against Peter was due to geometry. That was embarrassing. If Wong hears about this, he will definitely bring it up every chance he gets to make fun of Stephen. He should find Peter as soon as possible and make him swear to keep that fight a secret before he could start babbling his mouth to someone else. Even worse, if Peter tells the story to the Avengers in the future. The thought sends a shiver down Stephen’s spine.

A high kick aimed towards Stephen’s face got him leaned back instinctively, narrowly avoiding the attack.

“Focus, Strange.” Mordo called out as he swung his arm forward, not stopping or slowing down his attack even after catching Stephen looking distracted mid-fight.

Stephen blocked the punch and began to advance towards Mordo, pressing his forearm on Mordo's chest and grabbing Mordo’s wrist to hold him in place.

Mordo had a brief look of surprise flashed on his face at the change of pace.

"Did not expect you to counter that quickly even when your mind is somewhere else. What are you thinking about that gets you so distracted?” Mordo asks, quickly redirecting Stephen’s hands and turning Stephen around and holding him in a chokehold, cutting off Stephen’s air supply.

Stephen claws his fingers at Mordo’s arms that are currently around his neck uselessly as small ragged gasps escape his throat. His movements have become restricted and his vision is starting to get blurry. Mordo’s grip was too strong to wriggle out of and Stephen could feel his lungs starting to ache and burn as he struggled to gasp for air.

What use does his useless hands do when fighting someone? He could not even ball his hands into a fist for so long without feeling the uncomfortable pain that follows after.

Stephen focused all his remaining strength into his arm and elbowed Mordo in the guts, freeing him from Mordo’s tight hold. Mordo lurches forward, clutching his stomach with a loud groan. Stephen stumbled forward, gasping for air desperately. He walks away while massaging his throat with his hands, looking back at Mordo who grinned at him.

“I see that you’re all ready to go, huh?” Mordo noted as he walked over to where they kept their relics.

Stephen scoffed in response as he eyed Mordo grabbing the Staff of the Living Tribunal.

“What’s that?” Stephen questioned.

Mordo turns to face Stephen, holding the relic in front of his face. “You mean this? This is a relic. The Staff of the Living Tribunal. Some magic is too powerful to sustain… so we imbue objects with it… allowing them to take the strain we cannot.” Mordo explains.

Mordo shows Stephen how the relic works as the staff in his hand expands and acts like a whip before returning back to its original state. The pure power could be heard clearly as it whips the ground with a loud crack as orange magic fizzled out.

“There are many relics. Like the Wands of Watoomb. The Vaulting Boots of Valtorr.” Mordo continues with his explanation as he walks towards Stephen.

“When do I get my relic?” Stephen wondered as he thought back to the Cloak of Levitation. He misses his cloak a lot. At this point, it felt like the Cloak of Levitation is his own personal emotional support system and a companion. It’s just a sentient being but Stephen has grown attached to it after being saved by it countless times during battle.

“When you’re ready.” Mordo grins.

“I think I’m ready.”

“You’re ready when the relic decides you’re ready. For now… conjure a weapon.” Mordo gets back into his stance, ready to fight.

Stephen stares at Mordo, dumbfounded. In the past and even now, Stephen really hates how quick Mordo could change the subject rather easily.

“This is unfair. You’re at an advantage here with a relic and all I have is, uh, magic. Or just my bare hands.” Stephen quickly interjects as they circle around each other in high guard.

Mordo smirks. “There is no such thing as a fair fight in an actual fight.” Mordo swings the Staff of the Living Tribunal and whips it into Stephen’s direction.

Stephen manages to jump out of the way, narrowly escapes from getting hit by the relic. If he was just a second late, he is definitely going to get whipped on his body. The attacks never slowed down and all Stephen did was to avoid getting hit and run away. Mordo doesn’t seem happy with it.

“Fight! Fight like your life depends on it!” Mordo roared, advancing and closing the distance between them.

Stephen managed to block the attack sharply with his forearms, ignoring the throbbing pain that came shortly after getting hit by the whip. Stephen didn’t waste a second to use his hands to pry the relic from Mordo’s hands. Mordo lets go of the relic, the sound of it clanging to the ground barely registering in their mind as Mordo grabs Stephen’s shoulders and drives his knee up.

“Because one day, it may.” Mordo reasoned out, watching Stephen hunching over from the impact.

Stephen groaned as he stepped back, giving himself a moment to recollect himself. Mordo, however, did not have any plans to stop. He conjured a blade and thrust forward. Knowing that Stephen has no chance of evading from the attack, Stephen decides to conjure his own weapon for the first time in a while. He has not tried testing out if he could start using magic again after meditating for the past few days. Raising both of his hands up, he conjured a blade, a clear picture of how he wants the weapon to be popped up in his mind. It felt like second nature at this point of time as he has practiced and used this simple conjuring spell countless times.

To both of their surprise, their weapons are pressed against each other, arms and blades high as the two of them meet face to face. Stephen had managed to conjure a weapon within a split second, catching Mordo out of guard.

Stephen reacted first, using Mordo’s brief moment of surprise to slap Mordo’s blade aside and thrust forward, stopping the tip of the blade inches away from his throat. Mordo raised his chin up slightly before raising both his hands up in surrender.

“I yield.”

Just as the two words were uttered, Stephen let out a sigh of relief, letting the weapons he conjured to fade away.

“I see that you can finally conjure a weapon.” Mordo stated, a look of acknowledgment shown on his face.

Stephen shrugged it off as if it was not a big deal. “Well, yeah. It’s either try to conjure something or die.” Mordo chuckled, clearly amused. 

“Can I have a moment with Mr Strange, please?”

The both of them turn to the voice and see the Ancient One approaching them.

“Of course.” Mordo bows in respect and walks away to the other sorcerers that are currently training to guide them.

“So what do you need me for?” Stephen asks.

“Let’s head somewhere for a more private conversation, shall we?” The Ancient One smiles as she goes back indoors. Stephen quietly trails behind her.

They finally stopped at the main hall of the temple where they had their first meeting.

“Once, in this room, you begged me to let you learn.” The Ancient One breaks the silence between them. “Now, I’m told you question every lesson… preferring to teach yourself.”

Stephen shrugs casually. “Yeah, I… I learn and grasp concepts quickly by myself. How else do you think I got my M.D. and Ph.D. at the same time?”

“Sure, and your photographic memory also plays a huge part too.” The Ancient One chimes in. “You’re advancing quickly with your sorcery skills.”

The Ancient One paused for a moment. “I’m sure you can start to open portals in your next training session with how fast you’re advancing. For now, you need a safe space to practice your spells.”

She casts a mirror dimension and walks through the glass with Stephen following from behind. Stephen felt some sort of déjà vu for reliving the same situation in the past even though some events had been changed slightly by Stephen’s actions.

“You are now inside the mirror dimension… ever present but undetected.” The Ancient One turns to face Stephen as she explains. “The real world isn’t affected by what happens here.”

“We use the mirror dimension to train, surveil and sometimes to contain threats. You don’t wanna be stuck in here without your sling ring.”

Stephen shudders at the reminder. “Tell me about it.” Stephen muttered under his breath.

The Ancient One cracks a smile. “You’re not the Stephen Strange I know at all, are you?”

Stephen froze in his tracks. Did he hear that correctly or is his mind playing tricks on him? His eyes darted to the Ancient One warily. Stephen’s look of alarm at the statement further confirms her point.

“Uh, yes I am. What do you— What are you talking about?” Stephen chuckles awkwardly, walking away from the Ancient One and pretending to be intrigued by the mirror dimension even though it looks exactly like the hall they were in previously.

“You’re not very convincing when you lie.” The Ancient One commented, clearly amused.

Letting out a defeated sigh, Stephen admits that he is from the future. Of course, the Ancient One always knows. She always does. Why did Stephen even think he could try to hide that fact from her? 

“Look, I know I should not be doing this—.” Stephen started to defend his actions of going back in time when the Ancient One raised her hand up to stop him from talking.

Stephen quickly shuts his mouth, not daring to speak another word. He never knows what goes through the Ancient One’s mind and he also does not want to make her angry. He has never seen her angry before but he can only assume that it will be pretty scary. She’s patient and kind, but can be merciless and unpredictable. That’s how she usually is.

“I’m not going to ask why you did it but I’m pretty sure you have a good reason to turn back in time. You were meant to be the best of us.” The Ancient One assured as she pats Stephen’s shoulders comfortingly. “But I hope you know the dangers it might cause to that timeline, yes?”

Stephen bites his lips and nods his head. “Yeah. I, uh, removed my existence in that time to come back. Hopefully to fix the mess of what’s going to happen soon and prepare for it.” Stephen lets out a breathless chuckle before continuing, “Wong definitely has to clean up my mess there and possibly hate me for it.”

By now, Stephen has averted eye contact and stared downwards as if the floor is more interesting than the conversation they are having. The Ancient One gave Stephen a sad smile. “The future has not been kind, has it?”

Just by hearing that statement, Stephen felt his eyes grow hot as tears started to well so quickly that it’s impossible to blink them away. He quickly wipes his cheeks with the back of his palm, but new tears starts to roll down his cheeks before he could wipe the old ones away.

“Sorry. I’m fine. I don’t even know why I’m crying.” Stephen forces up a choked laugh. “I don’t usually cry.”

Stephen hates to cry. He finds tears as a sign of weakness. And he hates feeling weak and helpless. It has been so long since he has properly cried and now that he has started crying, the tears will not stop.

The Ancient One pulls Stephen into her arms, stroking his back in a calming manner. At that moment, Stephen felt like a kid all over again. It has been a while since he has been embraced like this. He can’t even remember what his mother’s hug felt like.

All the burdens and piled up pressures that Stephen carried on his shoulders slowly started to crumble down.

“I’m just so tired.” Stephen murmured.

“You don’t have to carry all the work by yourself. Learn to communicate and share your responsibility with others if you need help. I’m sure they will understand.” The Ancient One advises as she pulls away from the hug, a kind expression settles on her face.

Stephen nods his head absentmindedly. He knows he should heed her advice but knowing himself, he will be too stubborn to ask for help.

“Let’s leave this place before people start finding us. You should get some rest too.” The Ancient One suggested.

Stephen took that as a cue to make sure he looks presentable.

“Mr Strange.” Stephen raised his head up when he heard his name being called. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you.”

***

Chapter Text

EARLY SEPTEMBER 2016

Something’s wrong.

Peter couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong. His spidey senses did not notify any danger but the uneasiness and uncomfortable feeling in his chest grows as time ticks by.

He woke up to a dark room. Everything is quiet and eerie. He could not even hear the traffic and low murmurs of conversation outside his window. Yeah, something is definitely up.

He knows he should not be here. He does not feel safe.

Get out. Get out, now!

Cautiously, Peter gets up to unlock his bedroom door. He needs to check up on Aunt May and see if she’s okay.

“May?” Peter called out in the dark hallway. Only silence greeted him.

He gulps nervously, feeling his heart rate speed up at the unsettling feeling. He stops in front of May’s room, settling his hands on the door knob. The moment he opens the door, the whole room changes and transforms into a familiar warehouse.

Peter’s heart jumps to his throat. He tensed, not moving in his spot.

No. It can’t be…

“What’s wrong, Peter ? Looking for… your aunt?” A mocking voice echoes in the room, as if to taunt Peter.

Peter knows who the voice belongs to. He knows it well enough. After all, he was the man that ruined Peter’s life.

Swallowing harshly, Peter yelled to the empty space. “Leave me alone, Beck!”

Quentin Beck materialised in front of Peter, a manic look in his eyes as he smirks. “Good to see you, too.”

Peter took a step back unconsciously. He was frozen in fear, only being able to stare at the man in front of him who is supposed to be dead.

“Where is May?” Peter asks firmly, though his voice shakes at the end.

“ Where is May ? Are you joking?” Beck laughed out loud. “Have you forgotten? She’s dead!” 

Beck disappears as the room is transformed into a graveyard with May’s tombstone pushed in front of Peter. Peter gasped, his knees gave out as he dropped to the floor, blinking his tears away harshly.

“Should I bring you down a memory lane?” A maniac laughter could be heard echoing around Peter.

Peter is thrusted forward in frame before realising he is now cradling May in his arms. Moments before her death.

“No.. May…” Peter whimpered, lifting his trembling hand to caress May’s face before his position changed to him lying in Tony’s arm.

Peter’s eyes widened. Space. He was back in Titan. Peter noticed his hands turning to dust. No. No, no, no.

“Mr Stark—.” Peter managed to sob out, feeling himself panic.

Peter is sure he is hyperventilating right now. His vision is blurry. As he blinks his tears away, he is transported to a different scene. This time round, he was standing in front of Tony; scarred and burned from using the gauntlet. Peter remembers hearing Tony’s heartbeat slowing down and fading off as he passed away. 

“Get out. Get out of my head, Beck. Get out, get out, get out! ” Peter yelled, grabbing his hair in distress as he turned away from Tony’s corpse.

This is not real.

The scene changes back to May’s room with Beck sitting on her bed, an amused look on his face.

“You’re dead.” Peter lets out a shaky breath.

“Am I?” Beck grins.

“Yes. I- I watched you die. You’re dead. You have to be. You’re dead.” Peter repeats with less uncertainty. At this point, he is just trying to convince himself. It has to be another of Beck’s never ending illusions.

Beck chuckled. “Poor Peter Parker. You don’t sound too convinced right now. Am I really dead? Hm?” Beck is clearly taunting him. Peter should know better than to listen to him.

The illusions were down. Peter is certain of it when he confirms it with EDITH. Quentin Beck is definitely dead. Unless it is another elaborated illusion that even EDITH could not detect? That can’t be.

Peter shakes his head, stepping away from Beck as he murmurs to himself.

“This is not real. This is not real, he is dead.” Peter shuts his eyes tightly. “Wake up, I want to wake up. This is not real. This is just another nightmare.”

Flashes of all the memories came to flow through his mind.

Aunt May.

Peter shifts in his bed restlessly.

Tony.

Space.

Thanos.

Dust.

War.

Peter whimpered as he curled into a ball, clenching his blanket tight unconsciously.

Illusions.

Tony.

Aunt May.

Peter woke up with a staggered gasp, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. He is back. Back to reality. His heart is still racing.

Slapping his hand up to his face, Peter took a moment to collect himself; chest heaving heavily. He slowly pushed his hand up through his curls, messing with his hair a little before grabbing his phone to check the time. 4 in the morning.

Peter drops the phone carelessly on his lap, feeling it bounced off to the side of his legs while rubbing his slightly damp eyes. Another nightmare. That is like the fifth time in a row. Or probably more. Peter didn’t know; he has lost count of how many times he has the same nightmare. Except, this time, his nightmare has evolved and tied every single nightmare together into Beck’s illusions. 

Not wanting to sleep back and relive the same nightmares once again, Peter grabbed the notebook by his bedside and began to flip through the page. Might as well plan his course of actions for the next few days. Peter only has a few days or weeks to figure out when the exact date that the weapon shipments would be.

***

“Are you sure you’re okay? You look like death!” May fussed worriedly as she cupped Peter’s face in her hand to inspect her nephew’s appearance.

Peter gave his aunt a weak smile as he lightly pushed May’s hands away from his face. “I’m just tired, May. Didn’t get enough sleep lately.”

Peter walks away to the kitchen to grab an apple. May stood by the counter in the kitchen, watching Peter thoughtfully; as if she was assessing Peter’s behaviour.

Catching May’s eyes on him, Peter quickly explains himself, not wanting to worry his aunt even more.

“It’s just that… I’ve been busy with school. Tons of assignments, you know?” Peter clarified as he took a bite of the apple.

May lets out a sigh. “Don’t forget to eat your meals, okay?” May grabs her bag and keys before walking over to Peter to press a kiss on top of his head. “I’ll be home late since we’re understaffed. Don’t stay up late.”

Peter hummed in acknowledgment as he watched May leave for work. After seeing May out, Peter lets out a ragged sigh. Peter slumped against the front door as he rubs his face tiredly. Ever since he met Tony again in person, the nightmare continues to worsen as he dreams of his past failures of not being able to keep the people he loves safe. He thought that this issue would resolve after coming to terms with the fact that he is back in the past. Well, clearly it does not work that way. He also can’t even look straight into May’s eyes for more than 5 seconds without getting reminded of that incident.

Peter eventually stays up late and goes out as Spider-Man frequently as a distraction. Anything to keep his mind busy. Sometimes, Peter would hang around at Midtown High’s rooftop on a quiet night and just… think . He thinks about his life in the past, he thinks about the different scenarios that could happen if he had gone with a different approach to the problem; the never ending ‘ what-ifs ’ and how different his life would be if he did not ask Stephen Strange to cast the spell the first time round. Well, scratch that— imagine how different his life would be if he did not travel back to the past.

Peter cringed at the thought of living in a world where no one remembers him. But to be fair, he is not doing well right now either. There is no one he can relate to; no shared experience or trauma. Sure, life was so much simpler back then but none of these people know the impact of The Blip. The feeling of loss, the trauma of watching people turning to dust, the helplessness and confusion. And those that were blipped had lost so much time, so much things to catch up on and how to integrate back into the society. Life sucks but at least everyone could be there for each other when they needed support.

It sucks even more for Peter because he could no longer sleep in the dark. If it’s not the constant fear of being in space and turning into dust again, he would get nightmares of Tony dying and how he could not be faster to stop Tony from wielding the gauntlet or at least think of a different plan for a different outcome with Tony still alive. And now, he could hear Green Goblin’s laughter at the back of his mind as flashes of Aunt May dying in his arm played repeatedly in his mind. 

Peter laughs bitterly as he looks up at the night sky. Must his life be this miserable? He has concluded that whether he got sent back to the past or stayed, his life will still suck. Maybe it’s his fate to not have a happy life. Probably Parker's Luck. He bets even his variants from the multiverse probably have a shitty life too. From the bits and pieces that he has gathered from listening to Peter 2 and Peter 3’s story, they definitely have gone through some tough times.

Not only do Peter 2 and Peter 3 have to deal with their own problems and grief— especially since Peter 3 looks absolutely devastated when talking about his MJ or Gwen—is that her name? , they also have to deal with Peter’s own problems too. An unsettling feeling sits in his chest, most likely full of guilt. All Peter did is to pull other people to deal with his own mess. Even when he tried to help others, he just messed things up even more.

It’s not your fault, kid.

Stephen’s voice rings in his head as Peter stares blankly into the empty space in front of him, zoning out. Maybe he should seek some help from a more experienced hero instead of carrying the burden all by himself. 

Maybe it’s time to visit Strange after school.

Time must’ve passed by quickly when Peter noticed that the sun had started to rise. Peter reluctantly stands up while checking the cartridge for his web shooters if he has enough web to swing back home. He should start heading back home now. He can’t risk having May finding out that he has sneaked out of the house and freak out.

***

Is this a good idea? Probably not. But Peter continues to walk towards the direction of the Sanctum Sanctorum. He has nothing to lose now especially when the future is relying on him.

Well, not really. But since Peter has the knowledge of what happens in the future, he should at least inform someone of the possible threats and to prepare for them. Someone that will listen and will not brush him off like he is crazy or delusional. Or also the fact that he is still a ‘kid’ to the adults’ eyes so they do not take him seriously. And who else would be willing to listen other than Stephen Strange? Sure, he will think you’re crazy but at least he will take it into consideration and will look out for any potential threats.

Besides that, Peter remembers hearing Stephen grumbling about being a protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats once so Stephen is definitely the right person to go to if Peter decides to tell someone that he ‘came from the future’. Out of all the Avengers, Stephen Strange will most likely hear him out whether he knows Peter or not.

By the time Peter reaches the front door of the Sanctum Sanctorum, he hesitates. Should he drop by in his Spider-Man suit so that this version of Doctor Strange will recognise him as a familiar vigilante instead of coming in with his civilian clothes? Peter shakes his head as he looks at the door with a firm determination. He needs to get this done and over with. No more delaying. He has already wasted a lot of time getting used to his old schedule and moping around with his pathetic feelings; it is time to actually put his plans into action.

Peter took a step forward and raised his hand up to knock on the door. But before his knuckles could hit the thick wooden door, it opened by itself; as if to welcome him in.

Peter blinks in surprise. He will never get used to this. Can they even sense who is in front of their door? Maybe they installed some kind of camera that is hidden from the outsider’s view.

Pushing unnecessary thoughts aside, Peter crossed the threshold cautiously.

“Um hello?” Peter calls out to the empty lobby area.

A man walks around a corner to make his presence known.

“Hi! I am Peter Parker.” Peter introduced himself awkwardly, not knowing where to start. 

“Master Drumm. Welcome to New York Sanctum. To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“I am wondering if Ste— Doctor Strange is around?” Peter asks as he clasps his hands together, forcing himself not to fidget out of nervousness.

Drumm gave Peter a calculating stare. The quietness of the place and the lack of response from the man made Peter slightly uncomfortable. It was unnerving.

Drumm furrows his eyebrow slightly. “I am afraid that the person you are looking for is not here.” He finally answered.

“Oh.”

Peter tries hard not to let his disappointment seep through his words but his whole demeanor shows otherwise. “Okay. Sorry for bothering you, sir.”

Peter gave Drumm a tight smile before turning around to leave. Before Peter could take another step, he hesitates and turns back around.

“Sorry, um, do you know when he will be back?” Peter asks timidly. 

Before Drumm could answer, someone cut in on their conversation.

“Mr Strange is currently at Kamar-Taj undergoing his training to become a sorcerer.” A woman in yellow robes walks down the stairs.

Upon her arrival, Drumm bows respectfully towards the woman before excusing himself, leaving Peter in her care.

Training? The realisation finally dawned on Peter. Peter forgot that Stephen Strange is not a sorcerer from the very beginning. He just remembered that Strange used to work in the hospital before learning magic. To be fair, even if Peter remembered about this during his planning, he does not know the exact date Stephen starts to become a sorcerer.

Furthermore, this version of Stephen is still a beginner at magic so Peter doubts he can help much as of now.

“Apologies for not introducing myself. I am the Ancient One. May I know how you know about Mr Strange? And what is your relation with him?” The Ancient One starts the conversation as she approaches Peter.

“Oh! Um, Peter Parker.” Peter introduced himself.

Peter took a moment to ponder about his relationship with Stephen. Are they friends? Probably not. But they were on a first name basis previously, though. Perhaps a mentor-mentee relationship? Not really. Acquaintance? Possibly. Even if he does know their exact relation to each other, how is he going to explain to the Ancient One that he knows Stephen from the future in a battle. That does not make any sense.

“It’s complicated.” Peter answered, giving the Ancient One a sheepish look.

The Ancient One hums in reply as she stares at Peter. She sighs while shaking her head in exasperation.

“So you’re in the same boat as Mr Strange, aren’t you?” The Ancient One deadpanned.

Peter tilts his head to the side in confusion. “Uh… what do you mean?”

“Oh, nothing to worry about.” The Ancient One had an amused smile as she walked over to the coffee table at the corner of the lobby area with Peter trailing behind her like a lost puppy.

“I’m afraid you can’t meet Mr Strange right now. He is still undergoing his training to prove that he is capable of being a sorcerer.” The Ancient One lifts an empty tea cup up towards Peter. “Tea?”

Peter shakes his head, declining the offer politely. “Oh, I’m fine. Thank you.”

“Until then, it is advisable for you to drop by a couple more weeks if you still wish to meet him. Or you can leave your contact information and I will relay it to him.” The Ancient One suggested.

“That would be great. I’ll just leave my contact number behind.” Peter offered, stepping forward towards the Ancient One.

The Ancient One passed a piece of paper torn from a notebook with a ballpoint pen. Peter murmured “thank you” as he accepted the note with both hands. He scribbled his contact details while making sure his phone number is written clearly, not wanting an event where Stephen contacted a wrong number.

“Here you go.” Peter said, passing the paper back to the owner.

“I’ll take my leave. Um, thank you for having me.” Peter smiles politely, momentarily pausing in his movement and does an awkward bow before leaving the place.

The Ancient One had an amused reaction. She did not have the time to utter goodbye when Peter had scurried off. She folds the note neatly and stores it in her pocket before opening a portal to Kamar-Taj.

The moment she steps out of the portal, she could already feel the difference in the air temperature. It’s a weird sensation and she will never get used to it no matter how many times she walks through a portal. It is not as drastic as opening a portal at a vast difference in climate such as the desert or Antarctica.

It is easy to locate Stephen. He adopted a really easy schedule the moment he joined a few days ago. He is either learning the basics of magic, in the library or in his room. Since the sun is about to set, she figures that Stephen is most likely to be at the library. She was right, of course but she was met with a rather interesting scene.

“C’mon, Beyoncé , just this once. I will return the book after I’m done. No one will know about this.” Stephen is practically hugging a book, not letting Wong take it from his arm.

Wong lets out an exasperated sigh as he simply pulls the book swiftly from Stephen’s arms and puts it back on the shelves and locks it up with the chains. “You are far from ready to read the books on this shelf. It is good enough that I let you borrow those books that are too advanced for a beginner like you.” Wong pointed at the stack of books Stephen had planned to borrow.

“Mr Strange.” The Ancient One calls out.

Both men turn to the source of the voice, not noticing a third party in the library.

“You called?” Stephen asks, walking towards her after making sure Wong did not put the stack of books he wants to borrow back to its respective shelves. Wong simply rolled his eyes and only stacked the books neatly.

The Ancient One nodded as she pulled a folded note out of her pocket. She passed the piece of paper towards Stephen with a smile. “Here you go.”

Stephen looks at the paper in confusion before accepting it reluctantly. “What is it?” Stephen mumbles under his breath as he opens it up. His eyes quickly scanned the note, reading the content.

He inhaled sharply, and his eyes widened when he read the name in the note. Peter Parker. Oh. Peter’s back. He made it back safely. There are many thoughts spiraling in Stephen’s mind as he rereads Peter’s contact information in the note. Peter came to find him.

“Is he…” Stephen swallows thickly, his eyes flicker up at the Ancient One. The question of whether Peter is still around quickly dies down in his throat, unable to speak. He tries his best to collect his composure and appear nonchalant at the whole situation.

“He dropped by earlier looking for you. You can reach out to him by contacting him.” The Ancient One gave him a knowing smile.

“I see.” Stephen breathes out, thumbing over the contact number. He didn’t pay attention to her knowing smile, though he is slightly creeped out over it. Hopefully the Ancient One does not suspect anything suspicious like him returning back to the past. “Thank you.”

The Ancient One simply nods before leaving him alone.

Stephen shoves the note into his pocket. He ignores the heavy heart in his chest. He can’t help but notice how uneasy he feels whenever it revolves around Peter Parker. A sense of worry. Or perhaps guilt. Well, who knows? Stephen is really good at ignoring his feelings and pretending that everything is fine.

Masking his facial expression with a cocky look, he approached Wong to collect his books. Before Stephen could open his mouth and make a teasing remark, Wong pushed his books forward.

“Take this and go. Don’t bother me to borrow more books especially when you look like you have a lot on your mind.” Wong pointed out. Stephen has a brief look of surprise.

“Aw, you do care for me!” Stephen smirks. He is secretly pleased to see that their relationship is progressing well despite just meeting each other for the first time a few days ago. Wong is his best friend and he is glad that he managed to forge friendship with him once again.

Wong scoffed before making a ‘shoo-ing’ motion with his hands to make Stephen leave him alone.

Stephen grins, knowing that this is how Wong shows his appreciation and affection. “Don’t miss me too much.”

“Dream on, Strange.” Wong deadpanned. That made Stephen chuckle. He waves as he leaves the library.

The moment Stephen enters his room, he drops all the books to his bed. He fishes the note from his pocket and grabs his phone. As he saved Peter’s contact number in his phone, he contemplates if he should just call Peter. It was getting late anyways. But knowing how Peter acts, he is probably too anxious to do anything else while he waits for his call.

Stephen exhales as he pressed the call button. He raised his phone to his ear, listening to the other line as he mindlessly tapped his fingers on the table. It did not take long before the call got picked up.

“Hello?” Peter answered.

“Peter?”

“Doctor Strange?”

“That’s me.” Stephen hums.

There was a short silence, both not saying anything. Stephen assumes that Peter is trying to form a sentence to explain himself.

“Er, look. I know you don’t know who I am and why I am looking for you but I can explain. I am Peter Parker. Um, you probably know that from the note that I wrote.” Peter started rambling before Stephen could even say something to break the silence.

“Kid. I know.” Stephen cuts him off gently, already hearing Peter’s nervous ramble through the phone call.

Stephen heard Peter sucked in a breath at that revelation.

“Really?” A beat of silence. Peter’s voice was small; with a tinge of hope. Just by hearing that broke Stephen’s heart. Damn it, what is this kid doing to him right now?

“Yeah. I was the one who casted the spell and made you travel back in time. But I’m here now.” Stephen consoled Peter.

“What—? I thought you didn’t have the time stone? How?” Peter questioned.

“It’s complicated. You see, I transferred both our consciousness to our past selves before casting the spell to wipe everyone’s memory of you.” Stephen explains. He was met with silence.

Uneasy feelings start to creep up on Stephen once again. He shifted in the chair uncomfortably as his fingers started to play with the hem of his clothes. Did he do something wrong? What if this is not what Peter wants? Maybe he should not have acted out on impulse. Shit. Now he has messed things up even more. What’s new?

“I know you didn’t ask for this and I acted out of impulse. I just do not like the idea of living in a world where everyone forgets about your existence. That just does not feel right. I know I shouldn’t have done this without consulting you first. And for that, I’m sorry.” Stephen was slightly taken aback that he had uttered an apology but he has to get his point across and explain why he did what he did. 

“No, no, no, sir, that’s not the reason why I was quiet. Um. I appreciate it. It’s just that no one has done something like that. It’s nice. I’m glad you’re here too, sir.” Peter quickly interrupts Stephen.

Stephen gapes, slightly touched at Peter’s words. He opens his mouth to reply but shuts his mouth back.

“Call me Stephen.”

A snort could be heard from the other side of the line. A small crack of a smile appears on Stephen’s face.

“Okay, Stephen.”

“Yeah, still feels weird but I’ll allow it.” Stephen jokes.

They both fall into a comfortable silence. It was nice.

“Stephen?”

Stephen hums in acknowledgment as he walks over to his bed to move the books over to his desk.

“When can we meet?” Peter wonders.

Stephen paused in his track. There are still a lot of things he needs to do first before he can meet up with Peter. He still has to deal with the zealots and Dormammu first.

“Maybe in a few months give or take? After my training and what I need to deal with is over, I will transfer over to the New York Sanctum.” Stephen ponders the basic timeline out loud.

“Okay. I have to go, though. School work and to patrol. Can I message you? Like for random stuff and not necessarily work related.” Peter asks.

Stephen raised his eyebrow at Peter mentioning about going for patrol on a school night but did not call him out on it. He does not want to sound annoying, especially on their first proper conversation. It’s not like they are that close for Stephen to comment on what Peter should or should not do. He is not his guardian after all.

“Yeah, sure. Don’t cry if I do not reply to your texts at all.” Stephen teased.

Peter lets out a dramatic huff, mumbling that he does not cry.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll hang up now. I’m busy. Talk to you soon, kid.” Stephen grumbled, though he said it with a soft smile.

“Okay, bye Stephen!” Peter chirped happily before the line went dead.

Stephen lets out a sigh as he drops his phone on his desk with a clatter. It was nice talking to Peter. The guilt he felt earlier has eased down significantly. He didn’t even know what he was guilty for. Probably the fact that he was rude towards Peter and didn’t try to help him out and be more understanding. Sure, he realised it a little too late as he was busy worrying about the multiverse breaking but it does not excuse his behaviour.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Stephen focused on the books in front of him. For now, he needs to get stronger. There are so many more spells and books he has not read. He is still lacking in so many areas and this is a perfect time to practice. He should also take his first training against Mordo more seriously too. After all, he doesn't have much time in the future to focus all his energy into training.

***