Chapter Text
Bleecker Street. Come at once. If convenient. SS
If inconvenient, come anyway. SS
Tony stared at his boyfriend's text message, feeling slightly worried at the implications. Was it an emergency? Was there something wrong? Did something happen to Stephen he didn't know of?
He hurried to the sorcerer's address, having memorised it by heart.
*.~ ◇ ~.*
The Sanctum door opened automatically upon his arrival, familiar to his presence after his frequent visits.
"Stephen?" he called out. "Steph? You here? I saw your text and I thought…"
A crash was heard upstairs.
Tony ran, panic flooding his veins as he hurried to where he heard the loud sound.
"Stephen! You okay? What–" Tony stopped in his tracks. "Holy. Shit."
Tony stared at where a short figure jumped up and down in oversized robes that dangled over his shoulders and draped down the floor, a mop of raven black hair popping on the top. Heavy books were knocked over in his haste, laying on the ground haphazardly.
A kid.
There was a kid in the Sanctum trying to jump up the bookcase, his chubby hand gripping the air as he tried desperately to grab a book from high up a shelf.
The kid turned around upon his presence, and Tony knew right then and there who he was the moment he looked into the boy's eyes.
It was Stephen's.
"...Stephen?" Tony asked, "Jesus Christ on a fucking unicycle, how did you–"
"Rogue sorcerers," Stephen replied, and Tony had to suppress a snort at how his deep, baritone voice was now replaced with a tiny, high pitched, childlike voice that made him sound so adorably small, "They stole my cloak. Hit me with an age regression spell. Didn't move fast enough."
Stephen went back to his previous task, a look of determination on his face as he pursed his lips (which came out looking more like a pouting puppy more than anything, really) and stared at his enemy; the high bookcase.
"Ya need help there, little guy?" Tony teased. He had a self satisfied smirk on his lips, glad he was finally the tallest person in the room.
Stephen shot him an angry look (those little cheeks!) and Tony couldn't help but let out a snort.
Stephen sighed in defeat.
"I need–" he hesitated, "I need upsies," he pointed to the book up on the high shelf.
Tony was smiling like an idiot, and whatever sound that came out of him was definitely not a squeal. He came over to Stephen, wrapped his hands over the fabric laden waist of the boy, lifting him up to the air. Stephen's hand grabbed at the book, and demanded that he wanted to be put back on the ground. Tony complied.
Stephen walked over to a desk, one hand holding on to the heavy book close to his chest, and the other hand gripping his oversized robes and trousers. He placed the book on the table with a thump, and pulled back the chair to sit on it. Tony stared.
He was so little.
Stephen flipped open the book, turning to page after page as his finger traced each sanskrit word.
"Age regression spell," he said, pointing at the page. His eyes scanned over the text, and his face turned more sour the further he went. Tony was finding it hard to stop smiling as he stared at the little furrow between the boy's eyebrows.
"I have to wait for a week for this spell to wear off," Stephen announced in frustration, hands buried in his hair as he leaned his elbows over the table. He turned to Tony with a pout.
Tony was distracted by his expression, before he shook off his smile and looked around.
"Oh uh," he said, "A week. Right. Have you told Wong?"
Stephen looked down.
"I texted him," Stephen grabbed his phone, which looked large in his hands, and opened his message history with the librarian.
"He's busy dealing with Sorcerer Supreme stuff," he stated. "He told me to contact you instead."
"Well…" Tony said, "You can live in the tower by then. Don't want to hurt yourself in a big, haunted house like this, don't you, little guy?"
Tony smiled.
Stephen grumbled.
"I'm not little. I just turned little, there's a difference."
Tony snorted.
"Yeah, yeah. Sure, little guy."
Tony giggled at the stare Stephen shot his way.
*.~ ◇ ~.*
The elevator dinged as Tony entered the tower, smiling as he took in his surroundings.
Peter was webbing decorations on the ceiling, humming a christmas song under his breath. Natasha was talking to Clint about something, the latter holding what seemed to be a mistletoe. Bruce was pointing directions for Steve, who held one end of a banner with Bucky holding the other end. Pepper was looking at a checklist she held in her hand, pointing a finger around every once in a while, supposedly checking if everything was in order (as per always). Rhodey and Sam had just walked over to Clint and Natasha, joining in their conversation. Thor was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, staring as people moved about with a goofy grin on his face. He would point things from time to time and ask in his loud, asgardian voice about what those objects were, or what they were for, or if they were edible. Apparently he was just glad to be part of their 'Midgardian traditions'.
It was all hands on deck for this year's Christmas party. They hadn't had a chance to decorate the tower much earlier due to the attacks that happened (to which Stephen came to aid more often than not), so that led to them having to rush things up practically at the last minute.
A christmas tree stood at one corner of the room, bright twinkling lights flashing different colours every second.
The place looked, in short, festive.
Tony clapped his hands together, which caught the attention of all the people in the room.
"Hey, Mr. Stark!" Peter greeted, flipping down from the ceiling.
"Hey, Underoos," Tony nodded, "Alright team! Change of plans."
"Shit," Clint cursed under his breath, and Natasha let out an exasperated sigh, as if she knew this was coming.
Tony smirked.
"What? What's wrong?" Peter asked, confused.
"It's never a good sign when Tony says that," Bruce explained from beside him.
"What now, Tones?" Rhodey asked, exasperation slipping in his tone.
"So, uh, where to start… let's see, oh yes," he stepped to the side, revealing the now-turned five year old boy, Stephen.
Peter gasped.
"Oh my god hi!" he scurried over to the boy, "What's your name, little guy?"
Stephen scowled.
Tony snorted.
"Uh," Clint started, "Whose… kid is that, Tony?"
Tony's head whipped to him.
"Yeah, uh, 'bout that," he looked back at Stephen, who was still scowling as Peter fluttered about him, "That's the wizard."
Peter choked.
"Mister Doctor Stephen Strange Sir??" he asked, incredulous. "What– what happened? You're so– you're so small! Oh god, how did you– how did you shrink??"
Tony was really finding it hard not to laugh out loud right now.
Stephen steepled his hands behind his back. He may look like a five year old, but his body language screamed adult.
"Age regression spell. Long story," the boy said, and Tony had to stifle a laugh at how adorably small his voice sounded in such a serious tone. "And I am not little."
Natasha cooed and walked over to pick him up in her arms, "Oh yes you are, маленький паренек," she ruffled his hair.
"Found him like that on the floor of his haunted house," Tony stated. "Bright side is that he's staying in the tower till the spell wears off within a week."
Peter squealed.
"He's staying here? Did you hear that, Doctor Strange? Or should I– uh, should I just call you Stephen now that you're little?"
"I am not little!" Stephen stated for the hundredth time.
Everyone seemed to laugh at that.
*.~ ◇ ~.*
At some point during the day, Tony had ordered Stephen a whole closet worth of clothes in his size (which was completely unnecessary because he won't even be using it after a week, and Tony, the genius he was, had only realised that fact a little too late), and he was now wearing a pair of IronMan pajamas Tony had personally picked out for him. It had only taken a bit of fumbling and protesting from Stephen before he finally accepted his fate as the engineer made him wear it.
They were then sat at the dinner table, everyone exhausted from the excessive Christmas decorating they had that day. Pepper said she had to do some paperwork for SI (ever the workaholic), Thor had insisted that he needed to check up on his people in New Asgard, and Steve and Bucky had said they decided to retreat to their room for an 'early night' (to which Natasha gave a slight smirk at, Clint an amused huff, Sam a pat on Bucky's back and a suggestive rise of his brow, Stephen a roll of his eyes, Peter a slight reddening of his face at the implications, and Tony with a knowing glint in his eyes. Bruce had decided to just look away and try to hide the growing smile that threatened to break out on his face), which left only a couple of people left in the dining area.
"C'mon little Doctor Strange… Just one bite? You should at least give it a try?" Peter encouraged Stephen as he refused to eat his veggies.
Not only was he forced to wear such horrendous piece of clothing, they were also forcing him to eat vegetables.
"No!" Stephen refused. He may not admit it, but the spell had also affected his manners a little – making his brain think like a five year old.
Tony sighed.
"Well," he said, "Guess I have no choice."
Tony scooted over to the seat beside Stephen, changing places with Peter, and held up a spoonful of the awful green food.
"Open up! The plane is coming!" Tony said in an exaggeratedly high voice, imitating a plane sound as he moved the spoon up and down. Natasha snorted at that.
Stephen was still adamant not to eat it as he closed his mouth shut, even going so far as turning his head left and right to avoid the incoming food.
Natasha had to stifle a chuckle, but Sam was openly laughing at that.
"You're doing it wrong," Clint remarked.
"Really? You try it then," Tony challenged, switching places with him.
"Ohhh, a bit of competition," Sam piped in, "Let's see who the little wizard favours most."
"Sorcerer. Not a wizard," the boy corrected.
Sam placed his hands up in surrender.
"My bad," he said, but smiled.
Clint took the spoon up and held it to Stephen.
"Open up and I'll give you cookies if you finish the meal."
Tony feigned a gasp.
"He resorted to bribery!"
Sam was cackling now, and Natasha apparently couldn't hold back her own laughter.
Stephen stared at Clint. He seemed to really consider it.
"Three spoonfuls and then a cookie."
"Five."
"Deal," Stephen stated, and finally opened his mouth.
Tony cooed at that.
"Our little businessman."
"Gotta teach 'em young," Clint said with a little chuckle.
They finished the rest of the meal with easy conversation, Peter being the most talkative as he talked about his day and the robber he stopped at the street during his patrol, and Tony sometimes joined in with a witty remark, a proud smile never leaving his face. It wasn't until the kid received a call from Aunt May did he have to leave. Not before ruffling Stephen's hair and receiving a death glare from the boy, that is.
Stephen managed to get up to 7 spoons, which was more than he had agreed to have, before he very nearly pushed the plate off the table. But he did get his cookie after.
And then, after a quick trip to the bathroom, he was tucked to bed by Tony in a spare room he had been given in the tower (he suspected that Tony had prepared that for him before all of this, in case he decided to move in the tower – though he wondered why he wouldn't just make Stephen sleep with Tony in the engineer's room instead. He must've prepared this before they started their relationship then), insisting that he wasn't a kid and knew how to do things himself (though he secretly enjoyed being taken care of. He doesn't think anyone's done this for him before, and it felt nice.)
Tony walked back to gather with the team after their 'little one' had dozed off the moment his head hit the pillow.
Poor guy, must've been exhausted, Tony thought.
Turns out the team had decided to gather together on the couch, watching some crap telly he didn't have half the mind to make out. Natasha seemed invested, though, which was amusing to see as she pointed and trash-talked the characters and their bad decisions – Clint sometimes popping in to add up.
Wong called in somewhere during that time, stating that he had someone replace Stephen to guard the Sanctum, and are currently tracking down the rogue sorcerers. Tony took a mental note to inform Stephen.
When the night was over and the lights had died down, everyone retreated back to their respective rooms.
*.~ ◇ ~.*