Work Text:
The coat the stranger had dropped was thick and soft in Tony’s hands. Tony inhaled sharply as something slid over him, magic he’d heard of but never felt. It called to him to take, take, take.
It was power, control. Tony finally understood the stories about those who couldn’t resist the need to have.
The coat almost fell from his fingers.
He looked up. The stranger stared at him, eyes piercing. There was nothing in his expression. Tony could almost imagine he was wrong about what he held in his hands.
Power stirred beneath his skin. No, Tony wasn’t wrong.
He held out the coat. “Here.”
The stranger tilted his head, eyes brimming with curiosity. “You don’t want it?”
Tony’s fingers flexed, the coat soft in his hold. “I don’t take things not freely given.” He shoved the coat at the stranger—he’d heard selkies were beautiful, now he knew it was true—willing him to take it.
After a moment, the stranger did. His fingers brushed against Tony’s. Tony shivered, electricity tingling through him.
“I’ll be seeing you again,” the stranger said, voice soft, magnetic. “Goodbye, Tony.”
He was gone before Tony could ask how he’d known Tony’s name.