what's this guys problem?
He was just sitting there, staring at them.
The bastard catapulted them back in time, and he had nothing to say for it? Annoyingly enough, Tony couldn’t seem to find the right thing to say either.
After he had yelled, he’d been expecting some answers, but instead, Strange had floated away and set himself down on a couch. He didn’t think he could hate the guy more.
He had just stared, incredulously, before Peter ducked out from under his arm, snapping his attention away.
“Am I hallucinating or are you are actually… here? as a kindergartener?” he had asked, although considering the amount they had hugged, it was purely rhetorical.
“I have no idea what’s happening Mr. Stark. I just woke up last month and was 7!” Peter explained back, hands wildly gesturing up and down his body, as if to say ‘look at this! can you believe it!’
And Tony could not believe it, to be frank. He had just stared back, eyebrows still raised, face incredulous.
“You know I was half convinced that this was a grand delusion until this very moment,” he muttered, tone still disbelieving.
Tony realized then that this also confirmed his ‘worst-case scenario’ theory in his head. He lifted his gaze back to the seemingly indifferent wizard watching on like a patron(izing) saint, eyebrows furrowing again. Tony could spot the violently forced facade he was putting up from a mile away, but decided to let him have it.
“You bastard, you really did sling us through time didn’t you?” he asked, voice pitched higher in hysteria. “I haven’t known you long—” and Tony noticed the slight flinch there, “but this seems like something distinctly not allowed.”
Stephen Strange, in all his pompous arrogant indifference, simply shrugged back in response.
Tony was genuinely going to throttle him and he began lunging at the man, before he was distracted.
"It isn't allowed, but the right thing to do often isn't," a very creepy looking lady said, from her post in the doorway, where she was looking extremely creepy.
Tony looked alarmed, and made a concerned grunt as she floated away.
'“Wait, you did this, Dr. Strange?” Peter asked, voice tinged with a bit of wonder.
At the tone, Strange’s mouth quirked up and nodded, a touch of pride shining through his glass facade. Tony rolled his eyes, barely holding back his scoff.
“It was totally uncool of you to do that without asking, Dr. Strange but still, that’s so awesome,” he gushed further, and then he bounded over and plopped down onto the couch across from Strange.
Tony just watched him before sighing deeply, extending it long enough to make a point, and then walked over to the couches. He perched himself on the arm of Peter’s couch, resting his arm on his head and ignoring the squawk he got in response. He threw a distinctly expectant expression at Strange and simply stared.
He knew that he could wait this guy out, so he continued to stare… right up until Peter pushed his arm off his head, making him tumble sideways onto the couch, shoved between Peter and the cushion.
He simply huffed, and when he got no apology, he wiggled a little to adjust his position. He settled with his legs hanging off one arm of the couch and his head propped up on his palm, elbow on the opposite arm of the couch.
Peter giggled at that before sipping his juice and settling back against Tony’s stomach.
“How are you here Pete?” he asked again, eyebrow raised.
“What? Um, Dr. Strange did the—, did you really forget Mr. Stark?”
Tony snorted at that, shoving his shoulder, “I meant that it’s 3:30pm on a Friday and you’re not even in the double digits, buddy.”
“Oh! I told May and Ben that I was at Ned’s!”
Tony hummed in acknowledgment, they don’t have a lot of time then.
Tony turned his head and met Strange’s eyes once again, eyebrow raised.
The look he got back was particularly indignant.
And so he continued to stare.
They were just sitting there, staring at him.
Stephen had not expected his day to go like this, and he did not appreciate this turn of events. He’d been in the library at Kamar-Taj, enjoying the solitude and ancient knowledge when the portal had opened and exposed him to a hyper and confused seven year-old.
As soon as he’d seen Peter, he’d been reminded of his—now useless—to-do list, and instantly felt guilty. Luckily, Peter wasn’t one to hold grudges and they were able to move forward.
The same could not be said for Tony Stark.
Who had been staring at him for the last 10 minutes.
A weaker man than Stephen would’ve folded already, but Stephen did not find himself (too) intimidated—Stephen had actually been enjoying the view. Not only was the visage of Stark lounging in the sanctum in his favourite room quite nice, but watching him interact with Peter was kind-of cu nice.
Stephen sighed again, he really needed to lock his emotions down, this was getting embarrassing.
“Look,” Stephen started, only to be immediately interrupted by Stark, “So he speaks!”
He shook his head, “Yes, anyways, I’m sure you have questions.”
“That’s the polite way of putting it,” Stark muttered while rolling his eyes. “Could you tell me why you chose to send us back in time?” He seemed deceptively calm, giving Stephen the impression that he was on thin ice. ooooh soooo scary. Stephen held back an eye-roll.
“When I told you that I saw one winning future out of 14 million, I lied.” He could see Stark stiffen, and Peter’s eyes widen slightly. “There was no winning future. There was no outcome without immeasurable loss.”
“What kind of loss are we talking about?”
Stephen looked up, into Stark’s eyes, “the Earth never really recovered. It wasn’t worth it, and I realized this was was our only chance.”
“Hm,” Tony hummed, bringing his hand up and scratching his goatee. Peter frowned then, before righting his expression, “Alright. Well at least we have a chance now.”
“That’s it, kid? No other questions?” Stark asked incredulously.
"I'm Spider-Man, weird things happen to me all the time,” he replied sheepishly, “plus, this is a good surprise, most people are alive in 2008!”
Both adults were silent at his statement. Tony knew he was right, but he would be remiss to let Strange off the hook that easily.
“Before I forget, Peter give me your phone number,” Stark held his hand out, making a ‘gimme’ motion.
“Mr. Stark, I’m 7.”
“So?”
It was so baffling to Stephen how genuinely confused he looked.
“…I don’t have a phone,” Peter huffed.
“Oh. Well, I can fix that.” Tony started wiggling again, trying to reposition himself without disturbing Peter.
Stephen tried his best to keep the look off his face as he watched silently.
He had initially expected more screaming and anger, but they both seemed to be in the acceptance stage. It had been a month. Stephen decided that he was thankful to have forgotten his to-do list for so long.
Tony ended up sliding off the couch, having been shoved along by Peter. He finally stood up and dusted off his shoulders, “Alright Strange, beam me up.”
Stephen raised an eyebrow, looking confused, “Hmm?”
“Do your, y’know, thing,” he flapped his arms around, making a shoddy circle, with an apathetic expression.
“A portal?” Stephen asked, unimpressed with his eyebrow still raised, “I’m not a taxi, Stark.”
“Plus, I need to see the space before I can do that,” he added quietly.
Tony approached him swiftly, pulling out a phone that was more glass than anything he’d seen in this decade. “Here,” he said tapping the screen, causing a blue hologram to pop up and display a high-tech lab. "And it's Tony, please."
Stephen stared at the hologram, feeling his irritation settle, "Alright."
He stood up then, sighed, and created the portal. “Will that be all, Tony?” he said, eyebrow still raised.
“Good for now, Stephen. But stick around and I’ll let ya know.”
Tony then approached the portal slowly, looking cautious, “Hey JARVIS, don’t freak out buddy!” he called through it.
“Sir? What is the meaning of this, your GPS and itinerary has you in New York City right now.”
Tony then stepped through quickly, head snapping back and forth, “Yeahhh, it’s magic!” he said while doing jazz hands. “Clear that phone will ya, level 2 integration with Alpha level designation and access,” he said while digging a similar phone out of a drawer.
He tossed it onto the table before turning and leaning. “Hey Pete! Get in here and meet JARVIS. You too, Houdini,” he called through the portal.
Peter bounced up instantly, “JARVIS as in your first AI, Mr. Stark?” He ran through the portal without hesitation, stopping short of Stark before looking up.
“J, meet Peter Parker my spider-themed protégée from the future,” he said patting Peter on the head.
Peter, staring at a camera hidden in the corner of the room, introduced himself brightly, “Hi JARVIS, it’s an honour to meet you!”
“The pleasure’s all mine, Master Peter.”
“Alpha level access, JAR,” he re-iterated. “Same for David Blaine over there,” he added nodding his head towards Stephen who had silently slinked in and stayed near the portal.
“Hello, JARVIS, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Stephen Strange.”
Tony almost snorted at the formality, but held back, already sensing how uncomfortable the man seemed to be.
“Confirmed, Sir. Phone integration complete as well.”
“Perf. Thanks buddy, I’ll be back later,” he said, grabbing the phone and heading back through to the Sanctum.
Stephen followed slowly, waiting for Peter before closing the shimmering portal.
As soon as Peter sat back down, Tony tossed the phone at him, almost hitting his head.
“Thanks, Mr. Stark!” He responded, holding his tongue. He wished he could protest the gift, but realistically he couldn’t get by just using the family emergency phone. He needed the privacy.
And if the look Mr. Stark was sending him said anything, he was aware of Peter’s internal struggle.
“Consider it a loan, kid. I need a beta-tester anyway and at least you’re free labour,” he said, settling himself on the third, previously ignored, couch.
“We’ll figure out a good alibi soon, promise kid,” he added then, leaning back while kicking his legs up. “Ahhh, I guess someone had to be the responsible adult here. don’t everybody thank me at once, you’re welcome.”
“—and then I had the press conference,” Tony finished, finally.
“Woah, Mr. Stark, you did so much this last month. I feel like I wasted time, now.”
“You’re good, kid. I’m happy you got time with your uncle. You’re just a kid, you should enjoy your second chance.”
Peter harrumphed in response.
“There’s something else I needed to add,” Stephen said suddenly.
Tony snorted, “what? Another fascinating stone tablet?”
Stephen huffed, “you’re hilarious. Anyway, we are not the only ones back in the past.”
“Wait, what?” Tony sat up straighter, “How did you forget to mention that?”
“… Regardless, I have no way of getting in contact with them.”
"Them?"
"Thor and Loki," Stephen finally revealed.
This elicited very differing reactions. Peter brightened up and started bouncing again.
But instead, Tony groaned, starting low and extending into a deep and distinctly whiney tone.
“What is it, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, cutting off the tail end of the noise.
“I may know how to get in contact with them,” he answered, sounding hesitant.
Stephen perked up then, interested, “What? How?”
“Thor told me about something,” he started, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. “Basically the gist of it is that he can hear the prayers of all his followers, so he always told me that I would simply have to ‘pray for him and he shall come’” Tony explained, dropping his voice several octaves to do a terrible Thor impression.
“Wait, seriously?” Stephen asked incredulously, meeting Tony's exasperated expression.
“Well, I’ve never expressly tried it, but I have no reason to doubt the guy.”
They all went back to staring at each other again. Well, Tony and Stephen stared at each other while Peter’s head whipped back and forth.
“Well?” Stephen asked with a smirk, making Tony sigh again.
“Fine, one second,” he said, shifting himself into a more upright position, and then promptly closing his eyes.
Tony grimaced as he presumably prayed to the Thunder God. Stephen and Peter simply stared at him, waiting for something to happen.
And they continued to stare.
“Is Thor going to come here? now? Oh my god, Oh my god!” Peter practically squealed, drawing Stephen’s attention and causing Tony to harrumph in indignation.
Peter and Stephen stole a few glances at each other, soon becoming restless, and then Tony finally popped his eyes open again, “Well, I repeated it a bunch, so now we wait?”
“I've actually got to head out soon, I need to fly back to Malibu for an R&D meeting,” Tony added after about 30 seconds of silence.
“Mr. Stark! Maybe you could take a portal instead!” Peter suggested, head whipping towards Dr. Strange in question. Stephen looked thoroughly put out before blanking over his expression to appease Peter, “I would need to see the location first, but sure I guess.”
Before Tony could respond, a flash of green pulsed between their seats, quick dissipating to reveal Thor and Loki.
Stephen flinched, not at their appearance, but at the look Loki shot towards him when they met eyes, “I should have guessed your involvement, you wretched mortal half-wit.”
Though this was quickly ignored in favour of Thor’s booming voice, “Ho, Anthony! I was most overjoyed to hear your prayer for me!”
Stephen could feel his hackles rising as Thor approached Tony with a jubilant expression on his face.
Thor stepped forward, clasping Tony's shoulder, “And to have you join me on this journey through time.”
Tony blushed lightly under the attention, coughing before responding, “It’s nice to see those flowing locks again, Blondie.”
To Stephen’s eternal frustration, he sounded sort of flustered.
Thor then let go before stepping back and assessing the rest of the room.
“Greetings, Wizard! I must thank you for this most marvellous second chance,” Thor boomed again, voice much too large for the space they were in. Then he plopped down beside Tony on the couch.
“Don’t thank him, you oaf!” Loki hissed, “He violated the most basic rule of seidr, it should not be rewarded.” He met Loki’s glare head-on, and maintained his returning glare as Loki plopped down on the arm of Peter’s chair.
Tony flinched at that and jumped to his feet in caution.
Loki looked down at the practically-vibrating Peter and smiled, “And who may you be, child?”
“I’m Peter… Parker. Peter Parker,” Peter introduced himself, smiling.
“And how did you become involved here, Peter?”
Tony advanced on the opposite side of the couch, and wrapped an arm around Peter’s shoulder. “Don’t interrogate the kid,” he huffed, subtly pulling him away from Loki, giving him a look.
“I’m Spider-man,” Peter explained, and then after receiving twin blank looks he added, “I fought Thanos on Titan.”
Peter then turned to face Thor, his face lighting up, “Mr. Thor, I’m a big fan, it’s nice to finally meet you!” he added, looking a little flushed.
The god smiled warmly at Peter, “Felicitations Peter Parker, I am honoured to make the acquaintance of such a fierce young warrior.”
“Yes, that's all very nice," Loki mocked. "Now, why don’t we discuss the abomination of natural law that this asinine would-be-Sorceror performed,” Loki snarled, launching upwards and stalking closer the Stephen.
“Hmm, you sound envious. Would you have this same reaction had you thought of the spell first?” Stephen hummed, unbothered at the obvious threat. He didn't care for being belittled and would take any opportunity to rile up the egotistical trickster.
The tension in the room was palpable as Stephen and Loki stared at each other and the rest of them watched on.
“I think we should consider the positive, it’s an awesome opportunity!” Peter piped up from behind Loki.
“You should stay away from this all, child. it’s about to get dangerous,” Loki responded, without turning to even look at Peter.
Tony furrowed his brow in response and settled back onto the couch, beside Peter.
“I must agree with my brother, this mission is not a matter for children.”
Peter scoffed at the dig, looking annoyed.
“Check your ego, hammer boy, I’m capable of taking care of myself.” Peter retorted, glaring at Thor.
“I mean no offence, but is this truly the path you wish to follow, young Peter? You have the chance to begin anew, you need not risk your life once more.”
“… Playing super hero isn't a game to me. A man can't change his destiny... and I was born to be Spider-Man. We can choose to do good or to do bad, but that’s the only choice we get.” Peter replied solemnly.
“Your spirit is admirable, Peter,” Thor said in concession, before turning back to Tony and Stephen, who both stared back looking equal parts smug and irritated.
“Loki, calm yourself,” Thor grumbled out. “What led you to casting this spell,” he then asked.
“Did you honestly expect a favourable outcome from that battle, Thor?” Stephen asked incredulously. They should be thankful.
Loki growled loudly before sitting down beside Thor, sulking and looking generally pretty put out.
“Look,” Stephen sighed. “Here we are in the past and we are alive. Our enemies? Not yet around. Life, victory, love... all the things we could want, the opportunities have been granted to us. But there is a price for all these things, one which I gladly paid. It’s time for us to return to work.”
“What are we to do next?”
“I’ve begun research into the Infinity stones, although Kamar-Taj’s knowledge on the subject is limited, there are a few texts I would love some consultation on.”
“Oh, and I suppose I’m supposed to simply volunteer my expertise? You do not deserve my knowledge,” Loki sneered, looking impassive as he checked the dirt beneath his nails.
“Loki, it’s safe to say we don’t like you and you don’t like us, but I’m sure you don’t want to lose to Thanos again, huh?” Tony offered. Stephen was surprised to note the mild flinch in his expression and the stiffening of his shoulders.
“Exactly,” Tony said dryly. “So drop the attitude, Mother Gothel.”
Tony clapped his hands, "Once again, I'm the responsible adult." He stood up swiftly, pulling Peter up by his shoulder.
"I've got to head out for a meeting, and Petey over here has to get home for supper," He explained. Tony looked at Thor then, "I'm gonna need your help on something, where can I find you?"
Thor smirked before standing, patting Tony on the shoulder, "I think the quickest way would be to pray to me once again, Anthony."
Peter's eyebrows raised slightly, eyes darting back and forth in incredulous confusion. And Stephen agreed, there was a weird vibe there.
Tony groaned before swatting Thor's hand, "I maintain that you're a huge troll, buddy," making Thor laugh heartily before stepping back.
Stephen rolled his eyes before standing up and stepping up to Tony and Peter, "I believe you both needed a ride?"
Tony sighed while Peter grew visibly excited. Tony's aversion to magic seemed obvious and Stephen was curious as to how he developed it.
"Let's go," Stephen said, striding out of the sitting room towards the Sanctum’s foyer without waiting for them to follow.
He moved a little faster as he heard Thor slump beside Loki on the couch and Loki whisper “what was that?”