Chapter 8
Tony knew something was different when he woke up. The way his spirit settled more firmly into his body. The way he automatically looked for the Doc and ignored the wary, respectful looks from the Sorcerers on duty. The way he felt patched together and suddenly fiercely protective of Doctor Strange. It was new but he was fairly sure only the healing was done to him rather than done by him even if the pieces were intertwined.
"So, magical bonding is a side effect?" Tony asked without prompting at breakfast with his daughter and the good doctor.
Strange paused briefly in taking a bite to look at him anxiously before slowly nodding and continuing to eat.
"It can be easily halted at this stage," Tao offered calmly. "You went through a fairly intense healing session through most of yesterday and overnight. The side effect is that your very spirits are getting to know each other directly rather than having to filter through the physical form and social norms. Rapid personal bonding is expected as is some separation anxiety even if things get spaced out. In your case, just from what was accidentally witnessed when we walked in on the healing session, waiting isn't wise. The standard procedure of forced separation after such a session isn't viable with how you will need additional if marginally weaker healing sessions for some time yet. Master Strange is concerned about consent and is trying not to influence you towards a permanent bond. Which is another reason why he isn't speaking."
"Huh, okay," Tony hummed agreeably. He pondered deeply over that through breakfast and on through the morning, occasionally sending considering looks towards Stephen as they worked on separate things while staying in the same room.
Tony waited until after lunch to corner the man alone in one room and push him, gently but firmly, against a wall. Stephen gave him a long look but didn't protest or give any sort of resistance, he didn't even say a single word. Tony considered that even as he lightly pinned the doctor. Stephen could get out of his grip and away easily but he waited, giving Tony the control that the man has been sorely lacking for literal years if only for the moment.
"You are ready to let me metaphorically gut you if I honestly believed that it would help," Tony said conversationally.
The way that Stephen reared back and almost bashed his head into the wall behind him told the tech genius the last of what he needed to know. So his next words came with some bite and a fierce possessiveness that he rarely let anyone see. A possessiveness and protectiveness that blew Stephen's eyes wide in shock and slowly dawning understanding.
"Sorry honey, you aren't getting out of this that easily. Collars are tacky but a nanobot shield layer along your skull that I can track anywhere? Now that's another matter entirely," Tony smirked. "I can tell that you aren't exactly adverse to being permanently connected to me and the phone tracking you brought up before? Well that's one of my less invasive ways of protecting the people I care about. I appreciate the earlier consideration for a typical microchip tracker but that's a bit too mundane for my tastes."
"Tony," Stephen said carefully, finally speaking. "If we don't pull back and allow for the forced separation between healing sessions this will become permanent very quickly. In the other timelines you don't usually show this sort of possessiveness until I half kill myself protecting you against something you barely manage to survive yourself. It develops in a slightly slower fashion when you force me to confront my feelings for you after someone else tries to lure me into being their significant other right in front of you... or the reverse."
"Your point?" Tony asked aggressively.
"I don't want you to decide that you moved too fast and regret it," Stephen said softly. "I was not joking about being able to slip into any kind of relationship you want. I can just as easily be your friend or brother as your lover. I can also adapt to you being more... open about the less than typical relationship aspects you just don't show people. In some universes that leads me to being a controlling bastard of a partner, jealously guarding you. In others its you who takes on that role. In the evil versions it wasn't uncommon for whichever of us was the captive to be a slave to the captor in bed and out. Things could... evolve rapidly."
"Still trying to give me an out?" Tony huffed in disbelief. "You haven't even noticed that I bought the building your penthouse is in. That I got you personal items since you moved into my guest room and started staying with me 24/7. You didn't notice that Levi allowed me to add a tracker to his fabric despite his random transforming into different forms so that he could stay with you even if its just as a pocket handkerchief. The rolled fabric bracelet design was my idea."
Stephen swallowed hard. He had known that Tony was making adjustments around him but he hadn't realized just how far it had already gotten.
"What are you getting at?" Stephen asked carefully.
"Even if I never take you to my bed you aren't getting away," Tony said with a toothy smile. "Not when I can see you wanting this connection as plain as day no matter how hard you try to hide it without actually attacking me in emotional self defense. You keep warning me that you've seen my darkside. Fine, that just means I don't have to hide it from you."
"I am capable of just walking away, disappearing into another dimension," Stephen pointed out.
"You won't," Tony said with the same assurance that he had to Yinsen about never being allowed to leave the Ten Rings alive.
"No, I won't," Stephen agreed with a gusty sigh. "If we were using conventional treatments starting any kind of relationship with you would be anathema."
"Good thing these treatments have the personal bonding as a recognized side effect then isn't it?" Tony said lightly, his smile fierce and satisfied.
The bond snapped into place with a jolt that left them both gasping for breath but the heated, possessive look that Tony gave him told Stephen that it was only a matter of time. A matter of time before they would share more intimacy and a matter of time before Tony gave in to his possessive side properly. A matter of time before Stephen was faced with the choice of trying to force Tony into friend territory or accepted that the two of them were going to go overboard protecting each other, possessiveness in overdrive.
In that moment Stephen made a conscious choice not to force any aspect of their bond. Tony must have seen part of his decision because he swooped in to steal a kiss. The way they were touching shifted and Stephen was suddenly holding up a deliberately limp Tony instead of being lightly pinned to the wall in his grip. Stephen scoffed but accepted Tony's playful surrender and just as playfully dragged him over to the nearby bed in the, now obvious, guest room. Dumping him on the bed and earning a surprised yelp from the inventor was satisfying.
"Oh, it's on wizard," Tony threatened playfully.
Stephen just laughed and walked out of the room. The framework for friendship and potentially something more settling in nicely with the newly formed bond. Tao later took one look at them and smiled in open relief.
Three days later, Stephen ruefully admitted to himself that starting what amounted to a prank war via pouncing on each other between him and Tony wasn't exactly the best idea. Yes, it was playful. Yes, it was fun to pretend to chase each other. Yes, it was childish. Unfortunately, it was also prone to accidents when they got less careful. The bruises they both sported from the last round of capturing each other and wrestling proved that point very well.