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Stephen is reading in the library when someone hammers on the doors of the Sanctum. Tony, his connection to the Sanctum tells him as he stands. The hammering comes again, and Stephen asks the doors to open even as he steps into the entrance hall.
Tony storms into the Sanctum, expression thunderous. “Did you know?” he demands.
“Know what?” Stephen asks. He’s trying to keep calm, but he’s rarely seen Tony this angry.
“That Pepper was going to leave me,” Tony snaps. “Did you know?” He reaches out and gives Stephen a shove, sending him stumbling back a few steps.
The Cloak helps Stephen regain his balance and he plants himself in the face of Tony’s anger. “You said yourself that whatever I saw doesn’t matter in this life,” he says evenly.
Tony steps up close, glaring. He punctuates his words with a finger stabbing into Stephen’s chest. “You could have warned me.”
“You didn’t want to know.”
“I’d have wanted to know this!”
Stephen’s own anger is rising. “How was I supposed to know that?” he snapped. “Out of all the possibilities—some of which you actively rejected—how was I supposed to know which one you wanted to hear about?”
“Pepper—”
Stephen cuts him off. “Sometimes Pepper left you,” he says. “Sometimes you left her. Sometimes you died. Sometimes she did. Sometimes you both did. Sometimes the two of you lived happily ever after, at least until Thanos arrived. There are lives where she ended up with Mr. Hogan. Or Colonel Rhodes. Sometimes she walked away from this entire life and you never saw her again. Sometimes she put on a suit and took up your mantle after you.” Tony is staring at him now. Stephen takes a deep breath. “Fourteen million six hundred and five futures is a lot of options. Do you want to hear about every last one? Because we’ll be here awhile.”
Tony backs away from Stephen. He’s staring, but not really seeing. After a moment, he sits, crumpling onto the steps of the Sanctum’s main staircase like his strings have been cut.
Eventually, Stephen walks over and sits, too, though not too close. “For what it’s worth,” he says softly, “I’m sorry.”
“Pepper was my chance,” Tony says bleakly. “For a happy ending. For love.”
“Not your only chance,” Stephen offers.
Tony gives him a look. “I thought you weren’t going to tell me all the options.”
“I’m not,” Stephen says. “But I can tell you that you had other happy endings—pending Thanos—with other people than Pepper.” He’s not sure if he wants Tony to ask who. Or if he’d tell him if he did. Besides, Stephen isn’t the only option, either.
Tony blows out a long breath. “That feels hard to believe right now.”
“Someone fresh off a break up rarely appreciates being told there are more fish in the sea,” Stephen says dryly, and Tony snorts.
They sit in silence for a moment. Eventually, Tony sighs. “Sorry for barging in here and yelling at you.”
“It’s fine,” Stephen says, standing. He looks down at Tony. He looks small right now, still folded in on himself on the steps. “Come on. I’ll make you some tea.”
“I don’t like tea,” Tony says, but he gets up and follows Stephen anyway.