Chapter 6
The cloak was moving frantically before the Sanctum's door, clearly nervous about Stephen. It flew near Wong, who was sitting on a chair reading a book, and started tugging at his hand.
"What is wrong with you?" Wong asked, annoyed.
The cloak pointed toward the door.
"Stephen's not a kid. He’ll come back," Wong said.
The cloak then pointed at the clock on the wall and tugged Wong's hand again.
"Yes, he's been gone for six hours. But that’s nothing new," Wong replied.
However, the cloak wasn’t satisfied and kept pulling at Wong’s hand.
"Okay, fine. I’ll go check. You’re such a pain," Wong growled.
He put on his sling ring and was about to find Stephen's location when Stephen entered through the door. The cloak flew to him, checking him by tugging at his lapels and touching Stephen's face.
"I'm fine, Levi," Stephen said with a chuckle.
"Where were you?" Wong asked sternly.
"I went for a walk," Stephen replied.
"For six hours? Your cloak has been bothering me this whole time. Next time, take it with you," Wong said.
"Sure, I'm sorry," Stephen said, trying to escape Wong’s interrogation.
But Wong noticed the red marks on both of Stephen’s wrists.
"What is this?" Wong asked, grabbing Stephen's wrist and making him stop.
"It's nothing," Stephen said.
"It’s not nothing. These weren’t here this morning," Wong pointed out.
"Promise me you won’t kill me if I tell you?" Stephen asked, looking tense.
"What did you do?" Wong asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I went to see Peter, and SHIELD tracked me down. They interrogated me for hours," Stephen said quietly.
"I told you it’s dangerous! Did they hurt you?" Wong was furious, but Stephen could see the concern in his eyes.
"No, they just asked about us. But I didn’t reveal anything," Stephen assured him.
"Stephen, this is why I told you not to go there. You’ll be on their watch list now," Wong said.
"Don’t worry, Wong. I won’t drag you into this," Stephen replied.
"It’s not about us being in the spotlight. I just don’t want you to be in trouble," Wong said.
A smile appeared on Stephen’s face. Wong never usually showed his emotions.
"Noted," Stephen said.
"Also, I'm going to Kamar-Taj to discuss keeping our existence a secret. I think we should at least reveal ourselves to SHIELD," Wong said.
"Why are you doing this?" Stephen asked, confused.
"I think it’s time," Wong said with a shrug before leaving.
Stephen was puzzled. Was Wong doing this for him? Would he really take such a risk for him?
The cloak hugged Stephen tightly to comfort him. Stephen chuckled at the gesture.
"Come on, don’t you want to hear what happened today?" Stephen asked.
The cloak moved its lapels in excitement, indicating a yes.
Stephen went with it to his bedroom.
Tony and Peter were watching a movie on the couch. The boy was leaning against Tony, and soon yawned.
"Come on, let me get you to bed," Tony said.
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"Will Papa come tomorrow?"
"I don’t know, Pete. He’s a very busy man," Tony replied.
"Then, we can go to his house," Peter suggested.
"Peter, I don’t know where he lives," Tony said.
"Why?"
"Because he didn’t tell me."
"Why didn’t you ask?"
"Peter, enough. It’s bedtime. Come," Tony said, frustrated.
The boy pouted and crossed his arms.
"Now what?" Tony asked, rolling his eyes at the boy's antics.
"I want to see Papa," Peter said firmly.
"You can see him when he comes. Now come with me and sleep," Tony said, trying to pick him up.
But the boy didn’t budge.
Peter was generally a well-behaved kid, not one to bother Tony like other children often do. But every now and then, he tested Tony's patience. This was one of those moments. Tony knew there was no point in arguing with a three-year-old, so he knelt in front of him.
"Pete, will you tell Daddy what’s bothering you?" Tony asked softly.
"Pete is scared," the boy whispered.
"Scared of what?"
"That Papa will leave me again," Peter said.
Tony didn’t know if Stephen would stay in Peter's life. But he couldn't upset his son.
"Papa’s not going to leave you. He might not come to see you every day, but he’ll always be there for you."
"Why can’t he stay here? All my friends’ parents live together," Peter said.
"We used to live together like that, but we had a disagreement, and now we can’t live together anymore," Tony explained.
Peter didn’t understand a word of what Tony said. Tony couldn’t tell his son the real reason—that he had cheated on Stephen with someone else, which made him leave.
"Pete, I promise you, Papa will come to see you tomorrow. Or I’ll find his house, and we’ll go visit him. Does that sound good?" Tony asked.
"Yes!" Peter said happily.
"Now, can we go to bed?" Tony asked.
"Will you read me a story?" Peter requested.
"Of course. Any story my Petey Pie wants," Tony said, scooping the boy up in his arms.
He tucked Peter into bed and asked, "Which story do you want?"
"The Little Prince," Peter said.
"Pete, we don’t have that one," Tony said.
"Yes, we do. Papa gave it to me," the boy said, pointing to the book on the table.
Peter was clearly excited about his papa, which made one part of Tony happy, but another part of him worried that Peter might get hurt. Still, Tony pushed that thought away and opened the book.
He began reading soothingly, and soon, Peter was asleep. Tony kissed his son on the forehead and left the room.
Later, Tony was lingering in his lab when his personal phone rang. It was unusual for him to get calls on that number, as it was only given to his closest friends—Pepper, Rhodey, Bruce, and Stephen. But this was an unknown number.
Tony picked up. "Hello?"
"Hi, it’s me," came a familiar voice.
Tony recognized it immediately. "Stephen?"
"Yeah, I was worried this number was useless," Stephen said.
"Nothing’s changed," Tony replied.
"Uh, yeah. Sorry for calling this late, but I couldn’t sleep. I had to leave Peter so quickly. Can I see him tomorrow? Only if you’re free, of course. If Peter doesn’t want to, I won’t bother—" Stephen rambled.
Stephen, confident and arrogant to the world, became this nervous talker when tense, cheeks blushing—something Peter also had inherited.
"He’d love to see you, and I’m free tomorrow. I could bring him, or you could come here. Whatever works for you," Tony said, chuckling.
"Okay, thanks. I’ll come to the tower around 10?" Stephen suggested.
"Sure, any time," Tony said.
"Alright. Is Peter asleep?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, good night."
"Good night," Tony replied, ending the call.
Tony went to bed, lying on his side. The left side of the bed was always Stephen’s. Since he left, that side remained untouched, cold, like a vacuum. No one had ever taken Stephen's place.
Tony lay facing that side, feeling the emptiness. Memories flooded back—cuddling with Stephen in that bed, talking about their day, kissing, fighting, making love. He remembered how Stephen would snuggle into his chest after a long day, how irresistible he looked under Tony's gaze, his soft moans echoing in his ears. After every petty argument, Stephen would face away but lean his back toward Tony, signaling he was ready to make up. Their fights never lasted more than a night. But the last fight was different.
Tony felt a chill thinking about that night. He tried to push the thoughts away and closed his eyes, seeking sleep.