No.
No. No. No.
This isn’t how it was supposed to happen. This isn’t what he saw. This isn’t what he set it up to be.
Or was it?
Stephen thinks to himself as the battle is playing out in front of him in slow motion. He thinks back to five years ago after he gave up the time stone to Thanos- yes, that was supposed to happen. They had to lose in order to win in the end. That was the only way.
But what was happening before him, it was different than when he looked into the possibilities, all fourteen-million six hundred and five.
Did he overlook something?
Did he trigger something by holding up his finger to Tony? He did it just as he saw when he looked at the possibilities, but what was happening now is not what followed.
Tony was going toe to toe with the past version of the mad Titan. He was doing everything he could to ensure Thanos could not snap his fingers once again.
It wasn’t supposed to be Tony doing this. That’s not how he remembered this going. Not the man he was so desperately in love with. The one that had been there for him before he was Master of the Mystic Arts, helped to rebuild his hands, helped him to be himself again.
No. He has to do something. He has to step in.
But what if stepping in changes everything? What if they lose? What if half the universe was brought back just for them to be snapped away again?
Stephen scans the situation one last time, and brings up his hands to make a protection spell for Tony, mere seconds too late.
Tony meets eyes with Stephen, eyes filled with sorrow, love, apologies, a million other things he wanted to say that Strange could understand through the look of his eyes. It was Tony’s turn to tell Stephen that there was no other way. He had all the stones, he made the gauntlet for his suit specifically if this had to happen.
Tony turns his head to lock eyes with the Titan,
“And I…” He takes a deep breath, he knew what he had to do. He’s spent the last sixteen years of his life trying to help others, trying to make up for his mistakes. Along the way he met someone that helped him through it. He knew Stephen looked to him as if he saved his life, but truly Tony felt that Stephen did the same for him. All the nights they stayed up together, Stephen wearing a small smile when Tony would show him his newest upgrades to the Iron Man suit, or how Tony would sit and listen for hours about what Stephen learned at Kamar-taj, and any new spells he learned.
Tony had only had Stephen back for less than an hour. Five years of mourning, crying, helplessly wishing he had him back- to only have him for less than hour- not even having the luxury of time to talk besides a hug upon first seeing him reappear through the portal. And yet, Tony knew what he had to do. He was finished being selfish, and putting his wants before others, as much as he loved Stephen, Peter, and the rest of the Avengers, he felt like he owed it to them to never let anything like this happen again. He had the power to ensure that it wouldn’t.
“...am Iron Man.” Tony finished with the snap of his fingers.
Stephen screamed.
He knew even with the suit, there was no way that Tony’s body could handle the power of five infinity stones.
Stephen ran to him as Thanos and his army began to dust away. What should have been a joyous moment of victory was earth shattering for Stephen. When he arrived at where Tony was leaning against a rock, his eyes filled with tears. Tony’s entire right side from his hand to his head, and surely down in the suit, which was also damaged, was terribly burned. The life in his eyes was fading away.
Stephen knelt down and cupped the side of Tony’s face that wasn’t injured. It can’t end like this. It can’t.
“Tony…” Stephen choked out, looking into Tony’s eyes.
“Steph-“ He croaked out weakly.
“Please..” He trailed off, gazing into his eyes. Both saying the words they didn’t have the time to say. Every second that dragged on Stephen wished he had the time stone, wished he could make all of this go away.
“Friday?” Stephen asked quietly.
“Life functions critical.”
“I love you, Tony.” Stephen choked through tears, “Look at me,”
Tony locked eyes with Stephen once again.
“You did it. We are all gonna be okay.” Stephen smiled sadly, knowing what was about to happen, his chest getting heavier every second that passed by.
Stephen put his hand over Tony’s arc reactor, “You can rest now.”
Tony managed enough strength to put his hand over Stephen’s as he took a deep breath, “I love you.”
Stephen’s chest caved in as the arc reactor went dark, Tony’s hand falling away to his side.
He screamed and starting sobbing so violently that his body shook, his heart shattering into a million pieces in his chest. With tears streaming down his face, he didn’t know what to do with himself. He sat there on the ground in front of Tony’s lifeless body as his world caved in- If the earth were to implode he wouldn’t even notice. He didn’t notice anything but the hollow pain inside his chest. He didn’t notice when Wong put his hand on his shoulder and gave him a squeeze, he didn’t notice the other Avengers go down to their knee in honor of Iron Man. Tony. His Tony. The only thing in his mind right now was that he was gone. Forever. He would never get the chance to hold him again, to see his smile- all of these thoughts were hitting the sorcerer at once and he thought he surely wouldn’t make it.
He imagined Tony’s hand on his shoulder, urging him to keep going, for him. Stephen mustered enough strength to wipe off his face and stand, looking over his dead lover.
He thinks about the other possibilities he saw, about how in the infinite multiverse that there’s another reality, another version of him, with Tony in his arms right now. He clenches his fist to his chest, his heart can’t even handle that though, can’t begin to process the envy he holds for his alternates.
Stephen wonders if that thought will ever grant him solace. If the though that somewhere across the multiverse he still has Tony.
The world didn’t matter to him right now. The world was saved, but his world ended right in front of him. As the other Avengers began to talk about God knows what, Stephen quietly opened a portal and slipped through.
He steps into the sanctum and breaks down once again, as his world caves in all over.