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Stephen does up his tie, examining himself in the mirror before he shakes his head with a heavy sigh, loosening it before tossing it back onto his bed.
“Let’s try the suit jacket again,” Stephen tells the Cloak of Levitation, running his fingers across the silver sides of his hair, making sure every follicle is tucked in place, "Unbuttoned might look better.”
He pauses when he feels the suit jacket hit him in the back of the head and spins, “Really?” He asks, unimpressed at the attitude the cloak is giving him.
The Cloak of Levitation bristles wildly as it floats in the air, pointing an end to the several discarded pieces of clothing gathered on the bed.
“Is it so wrong to want to look my best for tonight?” Stephen folds his arms defensively, “This is a special occasion.”
“And what’s the occasion?” Wong asks as he wanders into the room.
“Learn to knock,” Stephen tells him before he bends down to grab the suit jacket, dusting it off, “And tonight I’m having dinner with Tony.”
“How is that a special occasion?” Wong asks with pinched brows, “You’ve been dating for 2 months now.”
Stephen shucks on the jacket as he turns his attention back to the mirror, “Not that it’s any of your business-”
“You sulking around the sanctum pathetically pining made it my business months ago,” Wong reminds him pointedly.
“-but tonight Tony has invited me to have dinner with his sons,” Stephen says, adjusting the jacket, “It’ll be the first time I’ll be spending time with them properly since Tony and I began dating.”
Wong stares at him with a judgemental glare, “And do you really think the kids will care that you dress up nicely for them?”
“I’m not going to show up looking like a slob, Wong,” Stephen huffs.
“Well you look like you’re going to show up for a wedding,” Wong points out as he walks out, “Ditch the jacket!” He calls from down the hall.
Stephen pauses and looks at the cloak, who moves rapidly. Silently, Stephen takes off the jacket and tosses it to the bed. The Cloak of Levitation floats closer to tap at his wristwatch.
“Right, time to go,” Stephen says and with a wave of his hand, the clothes lift themselves from the bed and return to his wardrobe, before he turns to the cloak, “How do I look?” He asks, stretching his arms slightly to show off the whole outfit.
The cloak spins quickly, which Stephen perceives as approval.
“Tony has brought Dum-E up to the penthouse,” Stephen tells the cloak as he slides his sling-ring on, “I know you’ve been looking forward to seeing him again.”
He smiles, watching the Cloak dance in the air in excitement before floating over to tap at the sling-ring on his hand rapidly.
“Alright, alright,” Stephen relents and raises his hands, “A little patience would do you some good, you know?”
The Cloak merely jabs an end towards the sling-ring, and Stephen opens a portal to the penthouse of the Avengers Tower. The Cloak immediately flies right in, Stephen following after it, the portal closing behind him. As the Cloak starts to explore the floor, no doubt searching for Dum-E, Stephen pauses, smiling as he watches Tony adjust a bouquet of flowers in a vase set at the centre of the dining table, the smell of food hitting his nose immediately. His stomach rumbles in appreciation.
“I see you’re enjoying the flowers I got you,” Stephen announces his presence.
Tony turns to him with a grin, waltzing over, “Adds a little life to the place,” He smiles, leaning up to peck him on the lips before he gives him a once over, “Wow, you clean up nice.”
Stephen preens at the compliment, “I try.”
Tony raises his brow, amusement dancing across his features, “You realise this is just dinner with Harley and Peter, right?”
Stephen blushes, “Can I not dress up for once?” He asks playfully, “Besides, this is a special event.”
Tony grins, “That’s adorable, you’re adorable.”
Stephen chuckles and takes a look around, “Where are Harley and Peter, anyway?”
“Harley’s wrapping up his MIT enrollment form,” Tony says as he wanders over to the kitchen, Stephen following after him, “Peter’s watching, getting a little experience of what it’s like to enroll for when he graduates.”
“That’s big,” Stephen smiles, leaning against the counter casually, “I thought Harley had already enrolled.”
“That was just before the blip,” Tony says breezily as he stirs something within the pot on the stove, “And thankfully, the MIT administrator in charge of admissions - I spoke to her briefly, nice lady - is extending lenience towards those who had already enrolled before they got blipped.”
“That’s wonderful,” Stephen says, honest before he glances around the kitchen, “Is there anything I can do to help with dinner?”
Tony smiles and shakes his head, “Nah, I’m just about done wrapping things up here,” He then gestures down the hallway, “You can help by fetching the kids for me to tell them dinners ready.”
Stephen pauses, glancing down the hallway, uncertain, “I think it’d be more appropriate if you tell them,” He suggests calmly, “I can finish up dinner.”
Tony peers over his shoulder, eyeing him for a moment before his lips stretch into a grin as he laughs, “Are you scared, Strange?”
Stephen narrows his gaze at him, “I am not scared, Stark,” He huffs, “I just think they’ll respond better to you, you are their father, remember?”
“Well if you’re gonna be hanging around here all the time, they’ve gotta start getting used to you,” Tony states with a shrug, switching off the stove, “And you have gotta get used to them too - so chop chop.”
Stephen has an internal debate about whether it’d be inappropriate to just up and leave, before he sighs and pushes himself off the counter, heading down the hall, ignoring Tony chuckling to himself at the sorcerer dragging his feet.
“Third door on the right!” Tony calls after him.
Stephen walks down the hallway, internally counting the doors that he passes, passing what appears to be a gaming room filled with arcade machines where Dum-E and the Cloak of Levitation are entertaining themselves by playing a basketball game. He stops at the third door on the right, left open slightly ajar and hesitates before raising his fist to rack his knuckles against the hardwood, gently pushing the door open. Harley and Peter are sitting together at Harley’s desk, their attention drawing away from the computer and towards him.
“Hi, Doctor Strange,” Peter waves at him chipperly.
“Why are you dressed like that?” Harley gives him a weird look, eyeing Stephen’s clothes, “We’re not going out to eat, are we?”
Stephen flushes at the judgemental jab, peering down at his navy blue button up cuffed at the wrists, grey slacks and black leather shoes. It’s significantly fancier than what Harley and Peter are wearing. Harley’s wearing a faded red hoodie with some grey sweatpants, and Peter’s wearing a long sleeved hulk themed sweater, along with a pair of what looks to be hello kitty pyjama pants.
Stephen grimaces internally, “No, we’re not,” He says, tight lipped, “I just came to tell you that dinner is ready.”
“Sweet, I’m starving!” Peter hops to his feet and Stephen steps out of the way as Peter dashes past him down the hall, letting the smell of dinner guide him.
In contrast, Harley rises to his feet and stuffs his hands in his hoodie pocket as he walks past Stephen, Stephen trailing behind him as the pair walk in silence.
~
“This is delicious, Tony,” Stephen praises earnestly, “Your cooking is incredible.”
He’d never been too much of a fan when it came to plain spaghetti and meatballs, but this was truly a spectacular meal.
Tony winks with a grin, “Flatterer,” He chuckles and eyes both of his sons sitting on either side of him around the circular table, “If only I got this much praise every time I put my blood, sweat and tears into a meal.”
Harley says something, muffled by the pasta he’d been shovelling into his mouth, and Peter shoots Tony a thumbs up as he continues eating with as much grace as a starving teenager. Stephen chuckles as Tony rolls his eyes. Tony then makes eye contact with Stephen, eyes darting towards Peter and Harley, raising his brows expectantly.
Stephen’s eyes widen briefly before he clears his throat, sitting up straighter as he turns to Harley, “So, Harley,” He starts, “Your father says that you’re applying to MIT again, that’s exciting.”
Harley pauses, staring at him for a moment before he swallows and nods, reaching for his can of coke, “Uh, yeah,” He says indifferently, cracking the can open, “It’s a pain to apply all over again, but it’s actually kind of nostalgic.”
Stephen smiles thinly, “Are you excited to attend school again?”
Harley shrugs his shoulders, “I guess?” His brows pinch together, “I barely got to attend MIT before I… y’know.”
Harley glances at Tony, who smiles sadly. Stephen internally grimaces at his question unintentionally resulting in a reminder. Quickly, to save the conversation, Stephen prompts;
“Anything in particular you’re looking forward to studying at MIT?”
“Well when I first applied, I only enrolled for Mechanical Engineering and Physics, but now I also enrolled for Chemical Engineering,” Harley explains.
Tony smiles, “Harley’s been spending a lot of time working with Bruce in his lab,” He tells Stephen, “I’m afraid I’m gonna lose him to chemistry any down now.”
Stephen chuckles as Harley rolls his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips.
“That’s wonderful,” Stephen says honestly before he turns to Peter, who is scooping his third serving of dinner onto his plate, “And Peter, I heard that you’ve got a field trip to Europe coming up.”
Peter nods rapidly, and Stephen can’t help but feel endeared at the doe eyes and the sauce coating the sides of his mouth.
“Oh yeah, it’s in June and my class and I are gonna travel all over Europe,” Peter grins excitedly, “We’re gonna go to Venice, Italy - I’ve already been a couple times, dad likes to take us there at least once a year - then we’re gonna go to Prague to check out this huge castle, it’s this huge castle that was a home for-”
“Where else, bud?” Tony interrupts with an amused smile.
Peter smiles bashfully before he lights up, “Oh! Then we’re going to Berlin, and our last stop is London - I’ve only been there once, but I was only a kid and I don’t remember any of it.”
Stephen smiles, “That sounds like a trip you’ll remember for years to come,” Stephen comments before he asks, “Have you been to Europe a lot?”
“A bunch of times,” Peter nods excitedly, “I’ve got a book of postcards from every country I’ve visited, and I get them signed by a scientist who originated from that country - so far I’ve only got 9 out of 32 signed, but dad said next year, we’ll travel all over Europe for my birthday so we can get the rest of them signed,” He smiles brightly.
Stephen’s eyebrows raise and he smiles, “Well, you’ll have to show me your collection one day.”
Tony makes eye contact with him from across the table, an appreciative smile resting on his lips, eyes soft. His gaze warms Stephen’s heart. Perhaps this dinner wasn’t going to be a disaster after all. The peace of the evening is disrupted when they all jolt when they hear a loud crash from down the hall, along with a few distressed beeps.
“God damn it,” Tony curses, dropping his fork to stand up, “What did you do now?” He shouts as he rushes down the hall and out of sight.
Which just leaves Stephen, Harley and Peter at the table. They sit in silence for a moment before Stephen clears his throat to prompt another conversation.
“So-”
“You know you don’t have to try so hard to get us to like you, Doctor Strange.”
Stephen stares at Peter, startled. Peter merely smiles.
Harley speaks up, “Dad’s been 10x happier than he’s ever been since Captain Dickface broke his heart and almost killed him,” He says bluntly, “I thought it was because Pepper started letting him eat donuts again, but clearly, dad likes you.”
Peter grins at Harley before he looks at Stephen, “So, if you’re trying to get our blessing or approval or whatever - you totally have it.”
Stephen stares at both of them, genuinely taken aback at how… mature this conversation was. He’d thought about this exact conversation several times, even before Stephen and Tony had made it official, but he expected there to be more push back, more so from Harley than Peter, but still.
Stephen swallows before he speaks hesitantly, “I… thank you, your father makes me happier than anything else in the world, and your blessing means a lot to me,” He then chuckles, “I thought this conversation would be more of a fight, honestly.”
“Eh,” Harley shrugs, unfazed at the honesty, “Honestly, anyone is an improvement compared to Captain Attempted-Murderer.”
Stephen nods slowly, “Ah, so I’ve reached the bare minimum because I’m not Rogers.”
“Pretty much.”
Peter giggles behind his hand and Stephen can’t help the laugh that escapes him. Tony chooses that moment to return, smiling when he sees them all laughing.
“What’s so funny?” He asks them as he sits back down.
Stephen laughs with a happy smile, “Nothing,” He says, warm eyes glancing between Harley and Peter, who merely smile, “Just talking about ancient history, that’s all.”