Work Text:
He wasn’t thinking. If he’d been thinking, Tony wouldn’t even have tried. But he wasn’t thinking, he was just moving things in the compound's common room aside so that he could set up new holoprojectors. A lamp, a dish full of miscellaneous junk, a speaker, Mjolnir. Tony was already reaching for the projector when he realized what he’d done.
He’d moved Mjolnir.
Slowly, Tony turned and looked at the hammer. After a moment, he reached out and carefully grasped the handle. It came up off the side table easily. It wasn’t even particularly heavy.
Tony stared at the hammer in his hand for a long, long moment before carefully setting it down again. Right where it had been before he moved it the first time.
The fact of what he’d done loomed large in his mind. He needed to tell someone or it was going to slip out at exactly the wrong moment, but the thought of mentioning it to any of the Avengers made him want to break out into a cold sweat. They’d think he’d used his tech, somehow. They’d never believe he’d been able to lift it. They wouldn’t mean it as an insult—none of them could, either—but the thought still made Tony cringe. So who could he tell?
After a moment, Tony got out his phone and texted Stephen. Got a minute? Need to talk. In person.
Portal? Stephen asked.
Yeah. I’m in the compound common room.
Tony usually avoided portals. Saying yes meant Stephen would know this was important. And he did, because the portal opened at once. Tony stepped through to join Stephen in the Sanctum library.
“What happened?” Stephen asked, brow creased in concern.
Tony took a deep breath. “I picked up Mjolnir.”
There was a long pause while Stephen looked at him expectantly. Eventually, he said, “And that’s a problem?”
Tony barked out a laugh. “Not so much a problem as an impossibility.”
Stephen’s expression softened. “Tony, there is no doubt in my mind that you are worthy, using any conceivable measure. I’d have been more surprised if you couldn’t.”
“None of the others can.”
“That doesn’t surprise me, either,” Stephen said dryly. Stepping forward, he clasped Tony’s shoulders. “Tony, you are a good man, whether you can lift Mjolnir or not. It doesn’t change anything about you. I’m glad for that; I count myself fortunate to know you.”
Tony swallowed uncomfortably. It wasn’t like either of them to be so explicit about it. At the same time… it was good to hear. “Thanks. And, you know. You too.”
Stephen smiled rather than chiding him for taking the easy way out. “Would you like to stay awhile? I was just doing some research.”
“Sure, but you know I’m going to start asking questions,” Tony said.
“Be my guest.”