Mystic

When he had been lost the Ancient One- Stephen didn’t envy the person who had that on their body- had taken him in and shown him magic. That hadn’t been something he thought possible at the time but Tony Stark already knew about magic, and maybe even more than Stephen when it came to gods. He’s only read about them- he didn’t count his very brief experience with Thor and Loki as anything teachable- Tony has actually fought them and fought with them. Trying to help the man wasn’t going to be an easy task but judging from the very irritated look on Wong’s face he didn’t care what Stephen thought of his new task, it was his job to complete it.

“You felt drawn here,” Stephen says, curious about that. He hadn’t felt drawn anywhere even when he was in the area and unlike Tony he had an actual history with Nepal. Before his grandparents immigrated to America they lived in the country- which was part of why he chose to come here to begin with. There were Sanctums all over the world- and at some point it was his goal to get back to New York- but for now he remained here because this was the one he chose to go to. He had for some reason thought maybe accessing his cultural roots would help but when he got here he had realized fast that he had no real connection to Nepal outside of his race and promptly got robbed. Needless to say he had hit rock bottom when Mordo found him and brought him to the Ancient One, but he wasn’t entirely sure Tony had hit his bottom.

Usually that’s what happened when people were lost- they had nowhere to turn but Tony had several options so why did he end up here? He would have preferred to deal with someone who was… well not his soul mate. It’s been almost two years since he’s given Tony any thought and Stephen certainly didn’t know what to do with him now. For a second he entertains the thought of Tony being drawn here because of him specifically but he dismisses it on account of him feeling no real draw to Tony. He’s heard all the stories, he’s even read on soul mate magic, but with Tony standing right in front of him he didn’t feel anything special at all and it was clear Tony didn’t either, or at least that his feelings weren’t directed at Stephen.

“Yeah, drawn here. Like… well if I believed in auras I’d say whatever it is that’s around this place drew me to it,” Tony says, looking back up at the architecture that surrounded them. It was beautiful, Stephen knew.

“Auras are real. Follow me,” he says and he turns on his heel, fully expecting Tony to follow him. Stephen gets the feeling Tony only keeps up because he wants to argue.

“They are not. Do you seriously believe in that mystical shit over science?” he asks, struggling to keep up with Stephen’s long legs. Their height difference was almost amusing. It would probably take a Tony and a half to make one Stephen. He glances down at Tony and realizes that wasn’t actually much of an exaggeration.

He smiles because he’s wanted to do this since it was done to him. He spins on his heel to face Tony, who almost runs into him. “I used to be a doctor- a scientist. I know the value of science and yes, I believe in magic- god knows why you don’t with the abundance of evidence around you,” he mumbles.

“I believe in magic, it’s auras and chakras I don’t believe in,” he says and Stephen smiles.

“You will,” he says and he hits Tony’s chest, sending his astral form out of his physical form. He imagines Tony acts much like he had- arms flailing around with a stupid look on his face. Stephen was impressed that he managed to retain his sunglasses in his astral form too.

Stephen gracefully projects himself out of his physical body to float beside Tony. He watches as his physical body reaches out and catches Tony before he falls on his ass but Tony, who can’t really feel the difference between the physical and the spiritual yet, mostly acts as a rag doll in Stephen’s arms. “What the fuck?” Tony asks, arms and legs still flailing around as he tried to find some kind of purchase in a world that allowed none.

“Welcome to the astral world- bet you hadn’t believed in that either. But if you’re wondering several of your chakras are out of balance and you’re feeling it. You have been for a long, long time,” he says, circling Tony. Tony looks annoyed with Stephen’s control. “You said you felt lost, and that you were drawn here in particular. I suggest you stop telling me what’s real and fake and learn.” He stops behind Tony and hits his back, right between the shoulder blades, to push him back into his body.

He gracefully slides back into his physical body and lets go of Tony, who begins to wiggle around immediately. “Don’t ever do that to me again,” he snarls.

“Be lucky I didn’t drop you through five hundred various dimensions as I gave that speech. That’s what I got,” he mumbles, “now lets go.”

*

Tony fucking hated Stephen. He was a pompous, arrogant prick who apparently knew how to disconnect what he guessed was his fucking soul or something from his body and he didn’t like it. And now they were standing in the middle of a goddamn library while Stephen’s stupid cape decided it was a good idea to investigate Tony.

He tries to wave the damn thing off but it smacks him back as it settles on his shoulders. Stephen looks so offended that Tony almost decides this is acceptable. “What is this thing doing? I am I being felt up by a cape?” he asks as he tries unsuccessfully to swat the thing off of him.

“Cloak,” Stephen corrects, “and no. To be honest I don’t know what it’s doing but that’s not new. No one ever knows what that cloak is up to.”

The cloak lifts for a moment and Tony squeaks as his feet lift from the ground. “Call it off!” he yells but Stephen just gives the stupid cape an irritated glance.

“Seriously?” he says to the cloak. Tony decides not to complain too much because it sets him back down. “Now wander. I want to see where you stop,” Stephen tells him, sounding like a fucking mystical fortune cookie. Or a bad fortune teller. Either way Tony keeps his words to himself because he’s certain that his face gives away his feelings. He’s never been good at hiding his emotions.

When Tony doesn’t move Stephen shoos him off and he rolls his eyes, heading down the massive halls of the library. Books- Tony loved them though he had recently developed a preference for eBooks. Most of the time they meant learning and even when he read for pleasure Tony has long since realized his favorite genre, science fiction, was ripe with ideas for inventions. He’s lifted ideas straight from books and made them reality more than once and it felt exhilarating every time.

These books, though, were all magic oriented. The section he steps into first is dedicated to gods and other beings from different dimensions and he skips those basically immediately. He had no interest in any of that stuff. The next section he ends up in is chakras, which makes him roll his eyes so he moves on. He passes through a section on runes, water, weapons, and life before he stops, unsure what he was looking at. The cape, cloak, whatever it was had taken off at some point and when Stephen appears by his side he finds the stupid thing back on it’s master’s shoulders.

“Time,” Stephen says and Tony is entirely unsurprised. “What is it about time that calls to you?” he asks.

Tony snorts, “how the fuck do I know?” he asks. “Isn’t that your job?”

Stephen’s lips quirk up. “No, only you know why time is the magic you’re drawn to. It drew me too, for a time,” he says in an almost sad tone as he glances up at the tombs.

“Time always seems to work against me,” he says after a few long, heavy moments.

“Time works against everyone,” Stephen says. “And time magic is dangerous. I’m not entirely surprised you were drawn to it.”

He isn’t sure why he’s offended by that but he is, “what’s that supposed to mean?” he asks.

“It means you like high risk, high payoff situations. That’s what you’ve done your whole life and time magic will be more of the same- I’d know, I was the same way. But you’re here because you want something different, because you’re looking for a change. Find something else that draws you,” Stephen says and Tony rolls his eyes.

“‘Find something that draws you Tony- oh, but not that thing’,” he says in a mocking tone, rolling his eyes and almost turning around before a book catches his eye. He thinks Stephen responds to him but he ignores him in favor of walking over to the shelf and pulling a book down.

“Defensive magic?” Stephen asks, frowning.

“There a problem with this too?” Tony asks, flipping through the pages. “Is it possible for me to learn this stuff?”

“Its possible for everyone, technically,” Stephen says. “Though I’m surprised you went to that. It’s largely considered a feminine magic.”

Tony glares at him for a moment before grabbing several more books and walking off with them. Feminine magic his ass, it was magic, how the hell could it be feminine? The cloak, Tony notes, flutters over to him and settles on his shoulders as he walks out of the library. He earns a very odd look from the guy who greeted him when he first got there as he leaves.

*

“The cloak-” Wong starts but Stephen waves him off.

“It’s a non issue,” he says because he was sure that it was.

Wong shakes his head, “you don’t understand, once an object has chosen a person they don’t just choose new people. That isn’t how it’s done.”

He’s gone into Teacher Mode but Stephen already new that. “The cloak didn’t…” he cuts himself off and sighs. “Would the presence of a soul mate change how the cloak behaves?” he asks.

Wong frowns for a moment before a light goes off in his head and he realizes what Stephen has told him. “Its possible though not probable, does he know?” he asks.

Stephen shakes his head, “no and I’d like it to stay that way. I don’t think he’ll learn from me if he knows.” The excuse is flimsy and Wong knows it too but he leaves it for a moment.

“Secret keeping is never a good idea, Stephen,” Wong tells him, shaking his head.

“He is lost, the last thing he needs is another problem to solve. He should focus on the magic- on himself. It is painfully obvious he had done little of that for a long time,” Stephen says, shocked to find how much he genuinely believed that. Not to mention the levels of suspicion radiating off of Tony spoke about a whole new level of problems he had to work though.

At this Wong softens a little. “That isn’t your choice to make, Stephen, and you know it. We’ve both seen what happens when people make bad choices with good intentions- don’t go down the same path she did,” he says softly. They both know who he means.

He sighs, “its not something I intend to keep from him forever, Wong. It’s not even a secret really- I just don’t think he needs something else to deal with right now. He’ll find out when he’s ready- just like everything else that’s about to happen to him.” For a moment- only a moment- Stephen sees everything perfectly clear. The future is laid out for him in an obvious, linear path that he knows is subject to change at any moment but he sees himself with Tony laughing. The feeling is hard to describe, but he knows they’re both happy and in a stunning bout of clarity he knows he isn’t happy now. He shakes his head because soul mates don’t bring happiness and fulfillment- he has never bought that narrative and he never would. Soul mates were people just like everyone else, not magical cure-alls to life’s problems.

“What did you see?” Wong asks, clearly picking up on Stephen’s odd vision-like experience.

He shakes his head, “nothing I believe to be true,” he says. He goes to leave the room, walking past Wong but Wong grabs his arm.

“Soul mate magic is a powerful force and it isn’t easily tamed. Both you and Stark have combative, fierce personalities. You’re playing with fire and you know it,” Wong tells him.

Stephen can’t help the smile that comes to his face. “Playing with fire was always where I felt the most comfortable,” he says. And, he thinks to himself, its always where Tony felt the most comfortable too. At least until they inevitably got burned.

*

Tony hears footsteps echoing behind him but it’s the cloak’s removing itself from Tony’s shoulders that alerts him to who it was. The cloak showed no affiliation with anyone but Stephen, bothering Tony aside. “You’re reading,” Stephen notes, rounding the table Tony was sitting at.

He sits back in his seat, “yeah, so?”

Stephen smiles just a little, “it took me longer than this to accept magic,” he says.

“I already knew magic was real, I’ve seen it.” Been a victim to it too. Stephen asked why he had been attracted to time and he hadn’t known. He did know why he was attracted to defensive magic though. After his history with the subject who wouldn’t be attracted to it?

“But you’re reading on it. Believing it’s real is different than actively trying to educate yourself on the subject,” he says. “What are you reading?”

Tony nods at the cape that was, oddly, using the high collar to brush a strand of loose hair out of Stephen’s face. He notes that Stephen has a little grey on the sides but it doesn’t make him look older or even aged. It almost looked purposeful, like he dyed it that way but no professional could ever achieve something that looked that natural. He’s actually quite attractive with sharp features and an astute gaze that suggests he’s observant and intelligent. He’s Tony’s type was what he was but he ignores that in favor of watching the cape. Stephen is obviously used to the cape doing things like brushing his hair out of his face though because he doesn’t even flinch when it reaches out for the loose strands.

“That cloak. Not much on it though,” he says. Stephen notes the pile of books off to Tony’s left, considering them for a moment.

“Out of curiosity did you read all of those front to back?” he asks, leaning forward with interest.

“Yeah. I can read fast though I haven’t really done that much reading in one sitting for some time.” The last time he researched a subject this in depth was right before he met the Avengers and he had read all of Bruce’s research as well as several other experts in his field. The man was brilliant and Tony still wanted to pick his brain. Research that he’s done after that was sparse- he’s done some, but not as much as he’d like.

Stephen looks impressed and Tony wants to tell him not to be. He developed speed-reading skills as a child in an attempt to retain information faster to impress Howard whenever he applied that learning elsewhere. Obviously that never happened, but the skill hadn’t come easily and Tony worked harder to develop the skill while he was in school. Getting through his readings and assignments faster meant more time to do whatever it was he wanted to do. Usually something with Rhodey. In the end he retained the skill and by now it wasn’t really something to write home about.

“I can’t read that fast, though I technically don’t class as a genius either. A genius in my field, yes, but in general no,” he says.

Tony laughs, “that skill didn’t come from my genius. I taught myself how to read fast because it was a useful skill. I have seven PhDs so you can imagine the amount of reading I had to do. What field though- the one you’re considered a genius in,” he clarifies. “You mentioned something about being a doctor.”

“I was a neurosurgeon and I loved it. I miss it every day,” he says, looking surprisingly sad about this. Tony can almost feel Stephen’s desolate isolation and his longing to go back to surgery. He has to actually shake his head to rid himself of the feeling.

“Why not go back to it if you miss it that much? I don’t think you’re being held hostage here,” Tony says.

Stephen shakes his head, confirming Tony’s words. “I’m not, but I can’t go back to surgery,” he says and lifts his hands. The tremor was slight but even the slightest tremor in surgery was more than a little risky.

“That’s unfortunate,” Tony says. It comes out flippant and, to his surprise, Stephen doesn’t react with mild or even outright offense like most. Instead he nods.

“So it is. But you get dealt with what life hands you whether or not you like it.” Yeah, so Tony knew.

“How is it that you got here? And why magic?” Tony asks. This was all so… he had no word for it honestly. After everything that’s happened to him in the last decade this was probably the most normal and he was talking to a dude that basically believed in auras. If he told himself this was where he’d be in two decades at twenty-five he would have laughed in his own face and told himself to fuck off. But then there was very little he’d understand of his life now in his youth, and there wasn’t much of his youth that he understood now.

“I was looking for a cure for my hands. Surgery was my life, still would be if I were selfish, and I blew through every dollar I had trying to find some way to fix my perceived problem. This was my last option and it worked, just not the way I thought it would. How’d you end up here? People usually only end up here when they hit bottom,” Stephen says and Tony smiles without any kind of humor. Being rich, he thought, gave people an odd level of assumptions in regards to his happiness. Only Rhodey and Yinsen had ever understood his position though Rhodey had a point when he said most people had their assumptions because money really would solve their problems. It was easy, he said, to say money didn’t buy happiness when money wasn’t the source of your ills. Tony sort of wished money did buy happiness though because he had more than he needed of one thing and none of the other.

“I am at bottom,” Tony says, surprised at how sad he sounds. “I’ve always hated something about my life, or myself, and usually it was pretty much everything but I thought… After Afghanistan I thought I could do something, that that would make my life worth living. It did for a little while but eventually I screwed up my relationship with Pepper, I started to suck as a hero and then nearly ended the world, I ruined the team of superheroes that was tasked with trying to stop bad shit from happening mostly due to me in particular making bad shit happen, and I almost got my best friend killed. I knew a guy once, Yinsen- he once told me I was a man with everything and nothing. I don’t think that’s ever been more true than it is right now.”

To his surprise Stephen reaches out and squeezes Tony’s arm. “Its hard when you put all your sense of self into one thing only to lose the thing you define yourself though. I know that better than most. If magic has taught me anything though its that possibilities are everywhere and failure? Sometimes that’s the best way to save the world. Trust me on that one,” he says.

There’s a brief flash of something in Tony’s mind’s eye, mostly just a flash of color, but then it’s gone and he frowns. “Is failure really the best way to do anything?” he asks.

Stephen smiles, “failing is the easiest way to learn. If you do everything right all the time you have no room for growth. If you consistently fail you know where you need to improve and you’ve got several starting points. Find one you want to start with tomorrow,” Stephen tells him. He stands, giving Tony’s arm another gentle squeeze and he walks away, leaving Tony there alone for a brief second before Stephen’s cape appears in the doorway Stephen had just walked out of. It seems to stare at Tony for a moment before it darts away, presumably after Stephen.