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“Do not—” Wong’s voice cut through the air, and Stephen’s head jerked up to see that the novice they’d brought with them, Ria, was curiously reaching out for a sphere that lay on the altar in the middle of the room. It was too late, her fingers brushed against the metallic surface of the orb. The ball glowed a warm violet, the color washing through the whole room—and he could feel it sinking warm into his skin—before it faded away.

”—Touch that,” Wong finished.

“Sorry,” Ria said, voice a little high, her face twisted up in resignation, clearly waiting for the lecture that every sorcerer in the room knew was coming.

Stephen hoped that wasn’t all she ended up with, because while there hadn’t been any immediate negative effects, there was still plenty of time for things to go wrong. Immense pain, nightmares, prolonged death…

One did not just touch unknown relics. Especially unknown relics that were on top of a rather menacing altar in the middle of a ritual room—one that looked not unlike what movies would use for a horror film: dark stone walls, torches the only light, the ground a rusty-red that could be some sort of stone but looked a lot like blood stains, Stephen really couldn’t be sure; though he was hoping it was just a poor interior design choice and not a sign of the type of magic that had been performed.

Wong’s face was a picture of disappointment, his worry only visible in the tightening around his eyes. Stephen winced with sympathy for Ria. Oh, she deserved it, that wasn’t in question. But this really wasn’t going to end well for her, even if the spell had done nothing serious.

“Stephen, examine the artifact, see if you can determine just what she set off.”

Stephen blinked at Wong in surprise. “Me?” he asked, a little surprised. He wasn’t unaware of his own talent, but Jer was far better with artifact classification than he was.

“Yes,” Wong said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “Unless you know of another Stephen here.” Given that it was a small group—Maya, Jer, Ria, Hamir, him, and Wong—examining the spell room that had been uncovered in the recent earthquake when the protections that had shielded it from their detection had fallen, Stephen was quite definitely the only Stephen.

Stephen rolled his eyes, but moved toward the artifact, coming at it in a wide arc so that he could get a sense for it. It was… muted, but there was clear magic drifting off of it. It didn’t feel malevolent, but that wasn’t always an accurate estimation. Ria cleared away, though Stephen stopped her before she could get too far. It was possible that he was going to have to examine her as well.

This close he could see inscriptions carved into the ball. He circled, trying to read them, but despite the many languages he’d learned since he’d joined Kamar Taj, this one was a mystery to him. “Do you think you could pick it up?” Stephen murmured to the cloak. Most artifacts maintained a sort of neutrality around other artifacts, making it one of the safer ways to interact with untested ones.

The Cloak curled around him, but one edge came up and wrapped around the sphere, lifting it so that Stephen could get a better look at it. 

In the Cloak’s grasp the feeling from the sphere was a little easier to read, but it’s purpose remained just out of his reach. He brought his hands up and pulled out a diagnostic spell. The orange flared around the sphere, and it pulsed a little, that violet glow reappearing, though it was contained within his magic this time.

He closed his eyes, examining the feel of the sphere in his magic.

Thoughts and memories drifted through his mind, all covered by a slight film of violet proving they were magically relevant and not just wandering thoughts. Christine teasing him in the hospital, Peter and Tony ‘forcing’ him to join them for pizza, Wong lecturing him about proper library etiquette that they both knew Stephen had no intention of adhering to, the Cloak carrying him to bed after a long day, Tony laughing at him with bright eyes. Warmth spread through him.

He frowned, and concentrated harder. Him driving Christine home when her car broke down, helping Peter with his bio-chemistry homework, working magic with Wong, giving a practically purring cloak a wash, making tea for a rambling Tony.

There was a soft nudge, pushing at the memories, pushing at him to… to…

Take Christine’s hand in his own, words forming on his lips.

Put an arm around Peter’s shoulders, a promise on his tongue.

Brush a hand against the fabric of the cloak, with thanks slipping from his mouth.

Study side by side with Wong, the silence speaking for him.

Pull Tony—

“Oh,” he said quietly. He opened his eyes. “It’s a decipher.” 

That earned him several sighs of relief—it could have been a far more dangerous relic after all—and a nervous little laugh from Ria. “What does that mean?” she asked. “That sounds bad.”

“Not bad.” Especially considering the possibilities. “Just annoying. They have a multitude of uses; this one, for instance is an affection booster,” he told her, though the name was something of a misnomer, it did nothing to boost a person’s emotion beyond their normal scope, just made it impossible to ignore. “Mixed with a truth compulsion.” That, unfortunately, was an entirely accurate descriptor. “From what I can tell, the compulsion will get stronger the longer you try to put it off.” He nudged at the magic. “And it’s a strong one, so you’ve got minutes to hours, not days.”

Several groans echoed through the room.

“We have to tell everyone we care about that we care about them?” Ria asked, sounding aghast.

Stephen considered that. The decipher had only shown him five people, and he knew that, while he was not overly affectionate a person, that he did care about other people. Several of his fellow sorcerers included. But, if he was forced to rank them, then, yes, he supposed that there were those he cared about, well… more. Maybe not more, just differently.

“Not everyone. I’m sure the number of people you care about will vary for each of us, but there’s some sort of threshold the decipher uses to decide who you need to express your care for.”

“Maya, I love you,” Jer said loudly, the words echoing off of the walls. He’d clearly decided to just get it over with.

Maya threw her head back and laughed, dark hair glinting in the light of the torch fire. “Love you too, Jer.”

Hamir let out a sigh and Stephen watched as he created a portal and stepped through it, the portal closing behind him a moment later.

“Well then,” Stephen said amused. “You’re all moving fast.”

“Can I be excused?” Ria asked.

“No,” Wong said, voice curt. “You will help Stephen and I examine and document the rest of this room.”

”But—“

Wong gave her a sharp look. “You set the compulsion on all of us, you will have to deal with the repercussions of it before you are allowed to alleviate the compulsion. Maya, Jer, the two of you can go and relieve any further compulsions you have.”

“What about me? What did I do?” Stephen asked. “I’m innocent.”

“I’m sure you’ve done something,” Wong said, no give in his voice. “You always have.” Now, that was just plain rude. “Now help Ria and I examine the room.”

Stephen sighed, but returned to where he’d been trying to decipher the writing on the west wall.

The first one, at least, was easy. He pretended to focus on the wall in case Wong or Ria was watching him, but focused on the internal connection that he’d developed with the cloak. “I suppose you know…” The cloak filled him with affection, patting his cheek softly with their lapels. “Thank you,” Stephen said. “And thank you, for always keeping me safe, I’d be dead a thousand times over—“ and permanently, not just temporarily, ”—without you.”

The cloak tightened their grip around him, warm and soft and gentle. 

Stephen wondered if that was merely in response to his own thanks or if the effects of the decipher had actually caught the cloak as well. Either way, it warmed him that the cloak considered him one of the people important enough to share their affection with.

He ran his hands over his own shoulder, brushing against the cloak with all his affection, both physically and mentally. “Thank you,” he repeated. “For choosing me. For… for everything.”

The sense of always that Stephen received at that made the decipher almost feel worth it.

He startled a little as fireworks seemed to go off in his mind, flickers of violet warmth scattering through his mind. 

He nudged at the magic, trying to make sense of it. 

A sense of affirmation filled him, that he had done something right. Ah, that made sense. The decipher would need a way to let him know he’d fulfilled the decipher’s intent.

Telling the cloak the truth about his affections helped with the immediate effects of the decipher, but it didn’t last long. He had only been working for thirty minutes—his work getting harder and harder the more his thoughts started pushing at him insistently to go and make sure that everyone else he loved knew—when Wong drew up beside him.

It helped immediately just as much as his thoughts became immediately more persistent. Damn decipher.

“You are—“ Wong hesitated.

“I know,” Stephen said. As hard as it was, sometimes, to comprehend, he knew that Wong cared for him. And not just in the way that the Sorcerer Supreme was meant to care for all of the students of Kamar Taj, but in a way unique to Stephen. Wong hadn’t just accepted Stephen into his life, somehow he’d welcomed Stephen into it. Wong relaxed immediately. “And you, you’re—“ he found his words failing him as well. Wong was his best friend, the person he trusted absolutely, the one he went to when he was out of his depth, someone that was as good as family. How was he supposed to tell Wong that?

“I know,” Wong said, and there was a note to his voice that said that Wong did know, despite the fact that Stephen was likely the worst at showing it. He knew he was… well, he was a hard person to put up with. But Wong understood him anyways. There was something almost embarrassing that he was so easily read, apparently, but at the same time… well he was grateful.

The way violet fireworks danced in his mind told him that Wong’s assertion that he knew wasn’t just lip service either. Wong really did know.

The effects of the decipher immediately calmed, accepting the message as passed and received.

They continued to work together for another thirty minutes before the violet started nudging at Stephen persistently again. He grit his teeth, forcing himself to concentrate.

Wong sighed, before stepping back. “Ria, Stephen, consider yourselves finished for the day.” He narrowed his eyes at Ria. “Consider yourself lucky that the artifact you touched had limited repercussions. You could have hurt, not just yourself, but everyone in this room.”

Ria bowed her head in regret, but it was hard to tell if she meant it, she was jittery enough from prolonging the decipher’s effects. “I apologize, Sorcerer Supreme.”

“Go dispel the effects of the decipher,” Wong ordered. “Tomorrow you’ll report to the training master, he’ll put you to work for the day helping the newest trainees.”

Ria made a face, clearly displeased, but she nodded again. “Of course.”

Wong made a gesture at her. “Now go.” She immediately opened up a portal, and Stephen could see a very much non-Kamar Taj apartment beyond. Wong turned to Stephen. “And you, go find Tony and Peter and get this over with.”

Stephen smiled a little at the fact that Wong already knew who the decipher had recognized as the important people in Stephen’s life. “And Christine,” Stephen added automatically, his positive emotions fleeing to be replaced with an almost sickening sense. Christine was engaged right now, to a good man who treated her right. How was Stephen supposed to tell her that he was still in love with her? But he would have no choice, the decipher would force it or drive him… well, drive him mad with thoughts of her. Not optimal. He’d just have to explain the truth.

Wong tilted his head. “That would make sense.” He didn’t sound particularly worried about the emotional turmoil that Stephen was about to go through. “She is still one of your best friends.”

“She is,” Stephen said, noncommittally. He shook his head. He’d deal with her last. He pulled out his cellphone—a Stark phone that Tony had given him, complaining about how the sight of Stephen’s iPhone was genuinely painful to him—and sent a quick text to both Tony and Peter asking if either of them had a moment they could give him.

He almost immediately received two responses. Tony’s a simple. “Come on over, Merlin.” Peter’s on the other hand was a selfie of himself beaming with Tony in the background making a face at the camera and an additional, “At the compound with Mr. Stark!”

Excellent, two for one.

“I will see you this afternoon,” Stephen told Wong. “It shouldn’t take long.”

And with that he opened a portal to the compound labs.

Wong placed a hand on Stephen’s shoulder just as he was about to step through, a consternated look on his face. “Actually, if you’ll give me a moment.”

It took Stephen a second before he recognized what Wong was saying. “They’re on your list!” Tony was going to have a field day that Wong actually liked him, and not in the ‘I can put up with you’ sort of way.

Wong looked disappointed in himself. “They are particularly talented at worming their way past one’s guard,” he defended. “And you can’t talk.”

“What’s up, Merlin?” Tony asked, the minute. “Oh, and Wong! You didn’t say Wong was coming with.”

Stephen really wanted to know why he got nicknames and Wong got to keep his name. Wong sighed. “I feel compelled to tell you and Peter that I find you, the both of you, are… welcome in my life.” He paused, clearly trying to decide if that was enough to satisfy the decipher. He nodded, pleased, and then walked right back through the portal.

Stephen shut it behind him, amused.

Peter and Tony just stared at where the portal had been as though Wong had just done something wild, like break out into the Macarena, instead of having said something nice to them. “Did he?” Peter asked, voice hushed.

“I think so,” Tony said, sounding just as shocked.

For a moment neither of them moved and then Peter let out a cheer, lifting his hand for Tony to high-five. Tony rolled his eyes, but did just that. “Wong likes us!” Peter exclaimed, sounding like he’d just won the lottery.

“FRIDAY, mark this on the calendar,” Tony said. “We’re going to have to have a celebration next year of the anniversary of the day we cracked Wong’s impenetrable walls of friendship.”

“He does not have impenetrable walls of friendship,” Stephen said with a sigh. Wong was going to absolutely regret this. Ria might find herself helping the training master for a whole week, no month, after this.

The cloak flared off of Stephen’s shoulders, racing towards Peter and wrapping him up in a hug. It felt like a sign that Stephen had been right, the cloak had been caught by the decipher. Stephen was going to have to see if Wong would let him study the artifact later, affecting another relic was rare, though the cloak’s sentience would have played against it this time.

Stephen wandered over to Tony, taking a deep breath. The decipher had started getting persistent, but just approaching Tony and Peter had helped and for the moment the violet wasn’t nudging him, but it was better to get this over with before it decided that it needed to.

“I need to tell you something,” Stephen said awkwardly. “I, uh, got hit by a spell.”

Tony immediately straightened, eyes widening as his gaze ran over Stephen. “Are you okay? What do you need? Can I do something? Does Wong know? You better have told Wong or he’s going to—“

Stephen interrupted before Tony could really get going. “Wong knows, he got hit by the spell as well. It, well, it forces us to express our honest feelings to the people we care about.”

Tony froze for a moment, before a somewhat nervous laugh escaped him. “That would explain Wong, I guess.” He paused. “And you… came here?”

Stephen rolled his eyes, because Wong was definitely going to regret Peter and Tony knowing that he genuinely cared about them, and not in the ‘I care about everyone’ way, but in the ‘you have a special place in my life, above and beyond how I feel for most others’ way. But that was a worry for Wong, right now Stephen had to be honest. “You’re a good friend,” he said. “And I’m glad to have you in my life.”

Tony just stared at him for a moment, brow furrowing and Stephen thought he saw something… sad? Pass through Tony’s gaze, before he shook his head, the expression turning to an affectionate acceptance. “I’m glad you’re in my life, too,” Tony said. He stepped forward, and Stephen froze when Tony pulled him into a loose hug, before relaxing into it, wrapping his arms around Tony and holding him back. “You’re a good man, Stephen Strange. And I’m going to hold the fact that you needed a magical artifact to force you to acknowledge that we’re friends over your head for the rest of your life.”

“You are the worst,” Stephen complained, pulling away. “I need to go talk to Peter, now.”

Tony beamed. “You’re going to make his day!”

Stephen felt a rush of warmth over his cheeks. It felt ridiculous that simply telling Peter that he cared about him would make the kid’s day, but the thought that it would mean that much to Peter… well, he had to admit that it was heartwarming.

“I hope so,” he admitted. He was interrupted by the cloak flying over and wrapping around Tony.

Tony’s eyes widened. “Did the cloak—?”

Stephen nodded. “I think so.”

Tony’s smile was bright, and he immediately patted the cloak, murmuring something quietly. Stephen left them to it.

Coming over to Peter’s side of the lab was strangely nerve-wracking. Tony, for some reason, had been exceptionally easy. But then, Tony was, for all his complications, strangely uncomplicated. Peter, Peter was harder.

“Hey Doctor Strange,” Peter said cheerfully. “Did you know that the cloak gives the best hugs? Oh wait, of course you do, they probably give you hugs all the time. I guess that was kind of a silly question, wasn’t it? Oh, speaking of silly questions, I was wondering if maybe you could show me how to meditate again, I thought I had it, but I’ve been doing really bad at it lately, and so maybe you can help. It’s like the one thing Mr. Stark can’t help me with, because he’s even worse than me, even though I tried to show him what you showed me—“

“Peter,” Stephen interrupted. “That’s not a silly question. Of course I can help you with your meditation again.”

Peter let out a sigh of relief, beaming at Stephen easily. “Thanks, Doctor Strange.” 

Stephen fidgeted a little, feeling strangely nervous despite the fact that he was almost positive that Peter would take this well. “Peter,” he started. “I, you see, I was hit by a spell this afternoon.”

Peter’s eyes went wide and worried. “Oh my word! Are you okay? What do you need? Can I do something? Does Wong know? Does Mr. Stark know? You better have told them or they’re going to—“

“It’s fine, they both know,” Stephen interrupted, hiding his smile as Peter’s matched Tony’s almost word for word, the two really could pass for father and son with no effort whatsoever. Not that either of them were quite at the point where they would admit to that, both too afraid of the possibility of rejection and ruining what they did have.

Stephen understood that perfectly.

“Oh, good. What’s the spell? Are you going to grow antlers, or something?”

“Antlers?” Stephen asked, blinking in confused amusement. “Why antlers?”

Peter shrugged, scratching at the back of his neck in embarrassment. “It was the first thing that popped into my head,” he admitted.

Stephen shook his head. “No, no antlers or any other body modification. I just… It’s a spell to help me be honest about my feelings.”

Peter’s mouth opened into a silent oh. 

Stephen gave him a crooked smile, carefully stepping forward and wrapping his arm around Peter’s shoulders. It felt strange, but not uncomfortable. “Yes, which is why I wanted to let you know that I care for you a great deal. I consider you… family.” The words came out almost without his conscious thought.

Peter’s eyes somehow went even wider, a hint of tears appearing in his eyes. “You do?”

Stephen nodded. “Yes.”

Peter threw himself forward, wrapping his arms tight around Stephen, and Stephen grunted as Peter momentarily forgot his super strength. Peter immediately loosened his hold to a more manageable strength and Stephen hesitantly wrapped his own arms around Peter in turn. 

In the back of his mind, violet fireworks let him know that he had done this right, that he hadn’t messed this up.

“I consider you family too,” Peter whispered. “You’re… I don’t know what I’d do without you and Mr. Stark, you’re…”

Stephen flushed, his thoughts on how close Peter and Tony were coming back to him. It was… heartwarming, to be considered on level with Tony, given how he knew they viewed each other. “I imagine I feel for you similar to what Tony does,” he admitted. “You’re special, Peter. You, Peter, are special.” Not just Spiderman.

“Thanks,” Peter whispered, he drew back, wiping at his eyes quickly to hide it.

“There are no thanks necessary in something like this,” Stephen told him. “I’m sorry I never told you before.”

Peter shook his head. “I knew. I mean, I didn’t know know, but I knew. You know?”

Stephen wasn’t sure he did know, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

“I have one more person to go see,” he said. “But perhaps, you, Tony, and I can have another movie night sometime soon.” They tried to do them at least once a month, had actually had one a week ago, but Stephen thought that after this, they could probably fit another one in this month. “We can probably even get Wong to join.” He did, on occasion, always with a long-suffering sigh that contrasted with the contentment in his eyes.

Perhaps it was not so much a surprise that Tony and Peter had been on his list.

“That’d be great!” Peter said. “Let’s do it! I’ll get you mine and Mr. Stark’s schedules!”

Stephen couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that. “Thanks, Peter.” 

Now… He turned, looking for the cloak. They were in the corner now, making gestures at the ceiling. Ah, the cloak must be talking to FRIDAY. He still wasn’t entirely sure how the two communicated, but FRIDAY could communicate with the cloak better than anyone other than Stephen, who shared a mental link with the cloak, and perhaps Tony, who had an almost magical ability to understand Artificial Intelligence, whether it be technological or magical. Stephen really wanted to ask Tony if he’d let Stephen check him for innate magical aptitude, because it truly was a remarkable skill.

The cloak finished up, floating over to Stephen and wrapping around his shoulders.

“I’ll see you both later,” Stephen told them before he opened up another portal. 

Tony glanced through it, clearly recognizing the hospital. “Christine?”

Stephen nodded. “Yes.” He hoped his nerves didn’t show. He still didn’t want to do this, didn’t want to insert himself into Christine’s life in such an unwelcome way, even if he knew the feelings were no longer reciprocated.

Tony glanced at his clothes. “Might want to change your clothes, draw less attention.”

Stephen blinked, he often forgot, these days, that his clothes were in any way not normal, but Tony had a good point. He waved his hands, switching into more casual, non-magical attire. The cloak shifted into a scarf, wrapping around his neck. “Thanks. Wish me luck.”

Tony glanced away for a moment, but then nodded, sending him a warm, genuine smile. “Good luck, Stephen.”

Stephen sent him a thankful smile before stepping through the portal and to outside the hospital.

He couldn’t do this, he realized, the moment the portal closed. He couldn’t… He just couldn’t do this.

He paced back and forth in front of the hospital door, trying to think of how he could get out of this. But deciphers were tricky magic and he doubted Wong would help him try to subvert it when the repercussions could be dangerous while the method to fix it was so simple.

No, Wong would tell him to just get it over with.

Easier said than done.

He moved toward the hospital door, then stopped at the last moment, turning away and back towards the parking lot. No, not doing this.

He glanced at his phone to figure out the time—not Christine’s watch, because Christine’s watch was broken, and that just made him think of Christine again—Christine would be off shift in the next hour. That left him an hour to get over himself and figure out how to do this in the least awful way he could.

He found her car where she always parked it and paced back and forth in front of it. It didn’t take long before the violet started nudging at him, pictures of Christine and their past together inserting themselves into his thoughts.

“I’m trying!” Stephen hissed at the magic. “This is harder than you’d think it is!”

The thoughts got more persistent as he continued to pace, the violet nudging more and more violently.

“Stephen?” Christine’s voice broke through the thoughts. “What are you doing here? Are you injured? Is everything okay?”

Stephen glanced at his watch again. Oh, he’d been pacing for almost an hour now. No wonder the thoughts were getting so persistent.

“I’m fine,” he said, distracted. The violet nudged at him. “I just… I got hit by a spell and now I have to tell you something.” Vishanti, he really didn’t want to do this. Christine’s face was etched in concern. Stephen reached out and took her hand into both of his, embarrassed to notice that his hands were shaking far more than normal; Christine’s brow furrowed in even deeper concern. He took a deep breath, opening his mouth. “I… I—“ here it came. “I consider you one of my best friends, family.” He froze, blinking. That… that was not what he’d expected to say.

He’d expected to be forced to confess that he loved her.

Except…

Oh. He didn’t. He loved her, but not romantically, not anymore.

When had that happened? When had he fallen out of love with Christine?

Christine’s face softened, unaware of the sudden, shocking revelation he was experiencing. “Oh, Stephen.” She reached out and pulled him into a hug. Stephen relaxed into the hug. “You’re family, too, you know,” she told him. “Even if you were a right bastard for a while there, you always have been.”

Stephen flushed. “I never deserved you,” he admitted. “But you’ve been there for me longer than anyone else has been.”

“A designation I intend to keep,” Christine told him. “No matter what else is changing, you’ll always have me.”

Stephen smiled. “Thank you,” he said, unable to help his smile. Violet fireworks danced in his mind, beautiful and warm. He felt… lighter. As though realizing that Christine was his friend, one of his best friends, had freed him from a weight he hadn’t realized he was under. He loved Christine, would always love Christine. She was family. But he wasn’t in love with her anymore, and he was… grateful.

Damn that decipher, he couldn’t even be annoyed with Ria any longer.

He pulled away. “I should go,” he said. “I’ve got to make record of my experience under the spell for future records.” They’d all have to, and then later there would be an analysis of all of their experiences to see what commonalities and differences there were for potential future accidents.

“Stop by sometime,” Christine told him. “I’ve been trying to get you to have dinner with me and Charlie.”

Stephen paused, not sure if he was ready for that or not. But then… “How about you and Charlie join me, Tony, Peter, and Wong,” he suggested. He didn’t explicitly mention the cloak, aware that sentient cloaks was a little much for Christine still. “A little bigger than you were probably thinking, but… well, if you’re introducing me to Charlie, I should at least introduce you to my new family, too.”

Christine blinked in surprise, and then a warm, bright smile crossed her face. “Oh, Stephen, I’m so happy for you.”

He flushed. “Thank you.”

“That would be wonderful,” she told him. “I’d love to meet the people that you consider family.” She checked her phone. “We’ll have to put something together, but Charlie’s expecting me.”

“And I should be going,” Stephen agreed. “Have a good night, Christine.”

He opened a portal to the sanctum, breathing in relief. He’d done it. The last one, with Christine, had gone completely against his expectations, but that was for the best. 

He felt… free.

He moved to the study. He would need to make note of his experience, it would be compiled with the others with the rest of the information on deciphers they had.

The computer was easier to use than paper and pen, and with the benefit of being more legible, so he used that. He started with Ria’s mistake and his own diagnosis of what was the artifact did.

It was when he made note of the cloak and his suspicions that the cloak had been affected as well—which would spark debate on sentient relics for at least a few months, a debate that Stephen was going to be particularly invested in, both because it was the cloak, but also because he could never turn down a good debate—when he felt the nudge of violet at his thoughts again.

He froze as the image of Tony, only a few hours ago, smiling at him with that affectionate acceptance.

That… that wasn’t right. He’d already spoken to Tony, had already told him how grateful he was that Tony was in his life.

The violet nudged at him again, more images of Tony sliding in. Movie nights with Peter and occasionally Wong, dinners where they hypothesized about the intersection of magic and science, the afternoons where Stephen was trapped in the Sanctum with nothing to do and Tony showed up and they argued about books, movies, music, whatever they could think of.

Stephen frowned, pressing his hand to his head. It was like with Christine when he’d delayed telling her how he felt.

But he already had told Tony.

He frowned, opening a portal to the library and searching for the other information about deciphers. Had he missed something obvious? He grabbed two books, pulling them through with him, taking a moment to be grateful that Wong wasn’t around to get annoyed at him for opening portals into the library.

He skimmed through them, but didn’t find any sort of information that he didn’t already know.

A portal opened and Wong walked through, looking satisfied. “Have you finished talking to everyone?” Wong asked. “I came to check on you earlier, but you were taking your time.”

Stephen flushed. “I delayed talking to Christine.”

Wong raised an eyebrow. “And how did that go.”

Stephen rubbed at the back of his neck. “She’s family, but… I’m not in love with her.”

“You’re not—“ Wong paused, blinking. “You didn’t know that?”

Stephen stared at him. “What? What do you mean, I didn’t know that? You knew that?”

Wong stared at him for a long moment. “You really didn’t know that. You…” He shook his head. “Well, that makes things very interesting.”

Stephen narrowed his eyes. “What is that supposed to mean,” he asked, annoyed. He hated it when people knew things he didn’t. He really hated it, no he downright abhorred it, when people knew things about him, that he didn’t know.

Wong eyed the books on deciphers that Stephen had grabbed. “Deciding to study?”

“There’s something wrong,” Stephen admitted. “I’m still getting nudged.”

“Oh, there’s someone else on your list?”

Stephen shook his head. “No, Tony again. It’s saying that—“ He paused, now that he thought about it, the violet fireworks hadn’t gone off after Stephen had talked to Tony. Somehow he’d done it wrong. “I did it wrong with Tony.” 

How had he done it wrong? That didn’t make any sense.

He’d… He frowned, trying to remember exactly what he’d said to Tony. He hadn’t even said anything to Wong and it had counted, how had talking to Tony not?

Wong sighed, sitting down. “What did you tell Tony?”

“That he was one of my best friends and I was grateful that he was in my life,” Stephen answered quickly.

“And is that what you told everyone else?” Wong asked, as though he was leading Stephen to an obvious conclusion.

Stephen narrowed his eyes at Wong, annoyed. “Do you have a point? I didn’t tell you anything, and it counted you.”

“Because I already knew,” Wong said, voice almost gentle as though he knew that Stephen hated the thought of being so transparent. “Tony does not. And you did not express yourself in a way that made it clear to him.”

Which brought him to the fact that he’d clearly said something wrong. He tried to correlate his thoughts so that they made sense, cross-referencing each of his conversations.

Wong sighed. “Do you know what violet means?” he asked. Stephen paused, now that Wong mentioned it, there was likely a reason the decipher reacted in that specific color. He reached for one of the books he’d grabbed, but Wong waved him away. “Violet has many meanings, but relevant to this case is devotion and wisdom.”

The devotion was easy enough, it was the affection he felt, but wisdom… It only took a moment, almost easy to put that together, especially after talking to Christine. He hadn’t even realized himself how he felt, but the decipher had… well, it had deciphered.

That he saw her as a best friend, that he saw her as part of the family he was making for himself.

And, oh, oh that made sense. He flushed. He hadn’t been drawn to his friends, he’d been drawn to those that he considered family. And that wasn’t what he’d conveyed to Tony at all. Of course, he’d been proactive, had acted with Tony before the decipher could help him say what he was meant to say the way he had with Christine. And so he’d been honest, but not honest enough.

“I need to go talk to Tony,” Stephen blurted. He pulled out his phone, sending a quick text in Tony’s direction.

Tony didn’t respond immediately, which, given FRIDAY generally relayed text messages immediately, meant that Tony was likely busy with something. Stephen shifted, feeling the violet nudge at him insistently.

“There’s nothing I can do about it right now,” he hissed to the magic.

The look Wong sent him was far from sympathetic. Which, all right, fair enough, he’d had the opportunity to do this right the first time and he’d failed to. He just hadn’t fully realized what it was he was supposed to be doing.

The violet nudged another movie night memory at him, one that Wong had attended, and he latched onto that detail as a distraction.

“I’m surprised that Peter and Tony were on your list,” Stephen said, trying to distract himself from the violet nudging and thoughts of Tony. “I knew you liked them.” Had actually found Tony’s and Peter’s debates on whether Wong liked them to be hilarious and had been in no hurry to give them the answer they wanted. “But…”

Wong sighed. “Everyone sees the world differently. For you, you had specific classifications that people fell into, I assume it was… family, those that you saw that way.”

Stephen nodded.

“For me there are those in life who are not welcome, those who are a part of my life—either happily or unhappily accepted as such, which is where the majority of people fall for me—and those who I have… welcomed into my life. In part it’s your fault. You pulled them along with you.” He made a face. “And they are like an invasive species. It’s quite unbecoming.”

Stephen couldn’t help but laugh, because that described Tony and Peter to a T.

“They are an invasive species, aren’t they?” If invasive species could be beneficial. Because Peter and Tony were a fresh breath of air in his life, every time.

His phone dinged and Stephen glanced at it to see that Tony had responded telling him to hop over, and that Tony was in the kitchen.

“I have to go,” Stephen said, jumping to his feet. Wong waved at him to go and Stephen immediately opened up a portal into the compound kitchen.

Tony glanced back at him from where he was scavenging in the refrigerator. His hair was wet as though he’d just gotten out of the shower and he was wearing sweats and a t-shirt. He sent Stephen a wry grin. Another dozen memories seemed to slide in, pushing, pushing, pushing. “DUM-E got oil all over me,” he said in explanation. “I think U dared him.”

“Where did you threaten to send him this time?” Stephen asked, different words were nudging at his lips, demanding that he tell Tony the truth.

“Where else?” Tony asked rhetorically. “A tuna packaging plant.”

Stephen laughed, shaking his head. “Obviously, where else would he go?”

“Exactly. Now what can I help you with, Stephen? Two times in one day? I’m feeling special.”

“I messed up earlier,” Stephen admitted. “With the spell.”

Tony blinked at him in clear confusion. “What?” Immediately the confusion disappeared for concern. “Are you okay? Is everything all right.”

Stephen held up a hand. “Yes, I’m fine.” He flushed a little. “I just wasn’t honest enough with you the last time. I didn’t realize, since I told you the truth, I just didn’t tell you all of the truth. I said you’re a good friend. But you’re more than that. You’re… you’re family and I love you.”

The words slipped out, just like they had with Christine, and just like with Christine, Stephen found himself floored.

Because when he said he loved Tony, he meant…

He found his mouth was suddenly dry. He wondered if Tony could see what he’d meant by the words written all over his face. If he did, he didn’t react.

Tony smiled at him. “Hey, no need to look like the world’s ending. You’re important to me to, Stephen.” He paused, clearly considering it. “You’re family, too.”

“No,” Stephen said, words stumbling out. And this wasn’t the spell, he didn’t think at least. It had none of the grace the spell gave him, this was just him, but now that he knew, he couldn’t imagine not telling Tony the truth. He couldn’t imagine not making sure that Tony knew. Maybe it was the after effects of the spell, but there was no place for uncertainty right now. “You’re family. But when I said… I mean, I love you. As in in love.”

Tony froze, staring at him. “You… what?” he sounded uncertain and Stephen suddenly wished he could backtrack.

The violet fireworks went out and Stephen felt the spell leave him, like warmth slipping from his skin in a cool breeze. Tony understood this time, understood exactly what Stephen meant.

“I’m… I didn’t.” He closed his eyes, and oh, there was the uncertainty. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, no,” Tony said quickly, and there was a strange note in his voice. “You absolutely should have said that. Don’t go taking it back now.” 

Stephen opened his eyes, staring at Tony who was staring at Stephen intensely. “Tony?” Stephen asked, suddenly unsure.

Tony took a deep breath. Tony was nervous, Stephen realized. Tony was never nervous, and yet suddenly he was, right in front of Stephen. “You’re not alone,” Tony whispered. “In feeling that way.”

Stephen’s heart was suddenly pounding and he was warm again, the same way he’d been when the power of the decipher had washed over him. But he knew this wasn’t any sort of magic.

“You… love me?” Stephen asked, even though his ears had never failed him before and it was unlikely that they had started to fail him now.

Tony nodded mutely, taking a slow step closer.

“You love me,” Stephen repeated. And Tony was so certain about it, which meant it was highly unlikely that he had just realized this the way Stephen did. “Have you…”

“For a while,” Tony answered, reading Stephen’s question. “I didn’t think you felt the same.”

“I… I didn’t know?” Stephen admitted. “Not until the decipher made me—“

Tony blanched a little, stepping back several steps, looking as though he’d been burned. “Oh. I…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I won’t—“

“No, no,” Stephen said quickly, reading Tony’s thoughts easily. “It’s fine. It caught me by surprise, but… it’s fine. I… I’m not regretting it.”

Tony looked like he wasn’t sure he believed that. “I don’t want a confession you didn’t want to give,” Tony said. “That’s not fair to you. We can forget all about this. Nothing has to change.”

“It’s not that I didn’t want to give it,” Stephen said. “I just didn’t realize there was a confession to give.” Which was a very different thing all together. Tony didn’t look convinced and Stephen took one hesitant step closer, and then another, more certain this time. “I love you, and I don’t regret telling you that.”

He didn’t, yes the realization of it was new, but the feeling itself wasn’t. He meant it. “Stephen—“

“Can I kiss you?” Stephen asked. He could remember the visions that he had felt when he’d first examined the decipher, the ones that had helped him realize what the purpose behind it was.

Take Christine’s hand in his own, words forming on his lips.

Put an arm around Peter’s shoulders, a promise on his tongue.

Brush a hand against the fabric of the cloak, with thanks slipping from his mouth.

Study side by side with Wong, the silence speaking for him.

Pull Tony—

And he thought he knew exactly what it was he would have imagined if he’d finished looking the thoughts through. The desire to pull Tony in for a kiss. He wondered how differently their first conversation would have gone if Stephen had allowed himself to finish that thought the first time.

Tony looked tempted, but like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to accept. Stephen loved him just a little more for being so concerned that Stephen was being forced into this.

“Please? The spell has run its course, this is just me. Nothing but me.”

He could feel Tony’s hesitation, his consideration; finally, he nodded. “Please,” he murmured. “Please, kiss me.”

Stephen closed the difference between them, and did what he wanted to do. He wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist and pulled him in.

The kiss was soft, easy, and Stephen loved it. Loved the feel of Tony in his arms, the gentle brush of their lips together, the certainty that he felt.

Yes, the realization was new, but the feelings weren’t.

Tony pulled back, eyes soft and smile warm. “Just you?” he checked. “You want this?”

“Yes,” Stephen told him. “This is just me.” He kissed Tony again, short and soft. When he pulled back he repeated the words that the magic had forced him to say, but that he’d meant with all his heart, the words he wanted Tony to hear him say because he wanted to, not because he had to. “You’re family and I love you.”