Stay (With You)
“I think I’m getting better at finding you,” commented Strange as he sat down next to the billionaire.
The sun was setting in Wakanda, probably one of the most beautiful views he had ever seen, and yet all he could focus on was the man beside him. The man for whom he had been willing to break his oath to protect the Time Stone in order to save his life. Of course, he could claim that it was because he foresaw how Iron Man was crucial to defeat Thanos, but he would be lying if he said there was nothing personal laying underneath. Hadn’t the kid disobeyed Tony’s orders and returned to help them, Thanos would have acquired his third Infinity Stone. And the terrifying part was that he wouldn’t regret it if that meant Tony was safe.
When did he move from finding the man and his antics unbearable to… somewhat endearing? He couldn’t tell. He did, however, remember how he used to find his arrogance annoying but worthy to match his own and how arguing with him was both infuriating and invigorating at the same time. He did also remember the first sparks of respect he felt towards him when he saw him fight. They weren’t result of his undeniable skill, but instead of how he put others first like a true leader, like the Ancient One used to do. And yet, there was also warmth inside him, like when he talked about his protégé, so contagious it left him feeling fondness towards the kid himself. Maybe that was the reason why he found himself admiring the man by the time the sun began to rise.
“Stalkerish, much?” managed to answer the billionaire.
“You wish,” he laughed dryly, if only Stark knew the mess he had turned him into.
However, the man remained quiet, apparently deciding he was done talking. Strange was used to silence, and even found it enjoyable more often than not, but he concluded that coming from Tony it was kind of disconcerting.
“I’m sorry,” he really didn’t know what else to say to make it better.
“Why?” Tony met his gaze, he looked tired and had a few bruises on his face. He still had to get checked by a doctor, but Strange could tell from plain sight that fortunately they were nothing serious… or he was very good at hiding it. It was difficult to read him.
“For the engagement,” was his blunt answer, “and your terrible taste in men in general,” he added, trying to lighten up the mood a bit.
Incredibly enough, Tony snorted.
“You think I care about that? I’m over Rogers. Actually, I think I’ve been over him for a long time,” he sighed, “what bothers me is that after all this time, he still does the same stupid thing. Am I really that untrustworthy? Was he fearing I would go crazy and try to kill his fiancé?”
“Nobody would have blamed you for that, you know?” of course that answer would gain a raised eyebrow, “and if you change your mind, I could always help you hide their bodies,” this time he got a full laugh.
“Their bodies?”
“If you are going to commit murder you might as well do it properly,” he answered with all the seriousness he could muster. It wasn’t very difficult.
“Well, I don’t think that will be necessary. For now, at least,” it was nice to see him smiling again. “He is not really your cup of tea, isn't he?”
“I have my reasons,” but he didn’t elaborate any further than that.
When the infamous Civil War happened, he concluded that both Tony Stark and Steve Rogers were childish and selfish men, who didn’t take their duty as Earth’s defenders seriously and fought against each other using brute force instead of sitting down and talking things over like two adults. However, just by spending a couple of hours with Tony, and especially after meeting Rogers, he was beginning to reconsider his original beliefs. The issue was to distinguish how much of his new judgment was based on the facts and how much was result of his blossoming friendship with Tony, if it could be called such…
“Of course you do, but don’t be so harsh on him,” he sighed, moving his eyes back to the sunset, “I mean, it’s not like I reacted very well when I first saw Cap… Guess it only makes sense he wanted to prepare the ground before throwing the bomb.”
“So you are telling me I worried about nothing? If I had known you were going to be that reasonable I wouldn’t have bothered coming all the way here,” he dramatized, deciding not to contradict him. As far as he knew, Tony was proud and didn’t like to be treated as a victim, no matter if that was indeed the case. At least for now, he would drop the subject.
Apparently, Tony noticed something was off, as he was once again looking at him, but in a way different from ever before, like if he was searching for something on his face.
“Don’t lie to yourself, we both know that’s not the reason you came,” Tony said, his eyes showing a hint of something, a hidden message he found himself wanting badly to decipher, “admit it, you just love to see my face,” the message was gone almost as soon as it appeared, being replaced by pure amusement.
But instead of asking, he just replied, “I seriously don't know how you fit your head into that helmet of yours,” gaining a short laugh.
“Guess you’ll have to stay around to find it out,” maybe he was reading too much into that wink, but whatever it was, it sure was a start.
“I wouldn’t want anything else.”