Jitterbugs
@ironstrangehaven Here's my entry for IronStrange Week 2023 Day 2: Nervous | Orange. Will post on AO3 when the DDOS attack is over. This was betaed by @darkkitty1208. Fic is under the readmore.
Summary:
âAhaha⌠Phew. Oh, itâs finally happened. Youâve got your first schoolboy crush, you big baby.â
âI donât have a crush. There is no crushing here. Iâm not nervous, and I didnât do any of that! As often as youâre saying.â
Tony lunges for his phone and punches in a number heâs long since known by heart. Thankfully, and likely motivated by some sort of conditioning, Rhodey picks up near instantly. âRhodey. Rhodey, somethingâs wrong with me.â
âTones, whatâs going on?â Rhodey asks, all cautious alertness.Â
âMy heartrateâs skyrocketing, Iâm sweating and I canât focus on anything - not even my projects. Rhodey, what good am I if I canât get into the zone? All I am is my mind Rhodey. I NEED my mind.â Tony paces and runs a hand through his hair. âSomethingâs seriously wrong if I canât make shit.â
A pause. âFRIDAY, is Tony dying again?âÂ
Offended, Tony says, âIâm right here.âÂ
âYeah, and you never tell us anything if it has to do with your health. Thus, the big baby monitor protocol.âÂ
âItâs called the Tony Monitor.â
âThatâs what I said.â
Tony scowls, but is cut off from arguing further by FRIDAY saying, âBoss, while exhibiting symptoms of an anxiety attack, is not currently experiencing an attack. After cursory research, it seems to be nervousness.â
Rhodey groans and Tony can practically hear the eyeroll. âTony, youâre killing me. What are you even nervous about?âÂ
âIâm not nervous.â Tony denies. âI donât get nervous. Iâve had nerves of iron my entire life.âÂ
Rhodey hums in thought. âYou know, you might have a point there. Iâve seen you get defensive from trust issues, but I donât think youâve ever been nervous-nervous.â
âSee!â Tony exclaims, vindicated.Â
âFRIDAY, whatâs making Tony spazz out?â Rhodey mercilessly kicks Tony back down to Earth. Tony makes a sound of indignation, but FRIDAY, the traitor, proceeds to answer Rhodeyâs question.Â
âDr. Strange is due to come by for a meeting regarding maintaining relations between Kamar Taj and the Avengers going forwards.â And then, because he doesnât get to keep anything to himself apparently, Friday says, âBoss has checked the schedule three times and has shifted things in his workshop twice. He periodically stops working to clean up after himself and has changed five times.âÂ
Tony doesnât get to do more than squawk in protest before Rhodey's raucous laughter pours over the phone. Insultingly, it goes on for several minutes. A couple of times, Rhodey pauses as if to say something, only to burst into suppressed giggles that Tony could still hear.Â
Tonyâs scowl grows deeper.Â
âAhaha⌠Phew. Oh, itâs finally happened. Youâve got your first schoolboy crush, you big baby.âÂ
âI donât have a crush. There is no crushing here. Iâm not nervous, and I didnât do any of that! As often as youâre saying.âÂ
âSorry boss.â FRIDAY apologizes, without a speck of actual regret in her tone. âYou did, in fact, do all of that.âÂ
Tony scoffs. He changes the subject. âAnd whatâs with you, Platypus? Even if I did have a crush on Strange, which I donât, youâve never approved of anyone I took interest in before.âÂ
The unimpressed silence stretches for just a fraction of a bit too long. Tony winces. âBecause the only people youâve ever had around were gold-diggers or mindless parrots.â Rhodey says flatly. âStrange is just you, but more on the opposite scale of things. You two balance each other out.âÂ
Tony only gets to feel touched for an instant. âBesides,â Rhodey continues, âStephen might be an asshole, but underneath that shell of his, heâs all gooey insides. Heâs a pretty fun guy.âÂ
Tony blinks. He tries to clean out his ears. âI think I have tinnitus. What did you just say?âÂ
Rhodey laughs mockingly. âWeâve talked every once in a while. He wanted to give me some options I didnât have before. Did you know the wizards can use magic to move paralyzed limbs?â
A lump instantly forms in his throat. No, Tony didnât know that. His mind races with the implications.Â
âI said no. And donât you try and talk me out of it.â Rhodey chides without missing a beat. Tony closes his mouth. âWhat happened, happened. Iâve made my peace with it. Sure, it would be nice to stand on my own two feet, but magicâs not for me.â And both of them know, no matter how much he trusts the ones who wield magic, Tony will never be fully comfortable with it being used around him.Â
âYouâll figure something out, Tones. Iâll just wait until you can science me up a solution instead.âÂ
Tony takes a minute to process that. He clears his throat. âWell. Of course I will.âÂ
He searches for a way to divert the conversation away from feelings, only to feel like heâs been hit by a clue-by-four. âWait. What do you mean youâve been meeting with Strange? And did you call him Stephen?âÂ
Rhodey chuckles. âWe meet once a month to chat. He translates some of the nonsense from my doctorâs appointments. Heâs a damn good doctor, too. Remember that crick in my hip? Three different docs could only tell me something was wrong, but Stephen managed to sort me out after I told him about it. It wasnât my spine, it was my skin - Iâm mildly allergic to the muscle relaxant. Itâs why the symptoms were only showing recently. Some exposure is fine, but overtime, the effects added up.â
Tonyâs face does something. Heâs not sure what heâs more conflicted about. That Strange went over his head to talk to Rhodey about using magic or that Rhodeyâs apparently been meeting Strange for months - enough to call him Stephen (seriously Tony canât get over that) - when the asshole knows that Tonyâs been trying to get Strange on the team for just as long.Â
(Unsuccessfully, but Tony prefers to think of it as a work in progress.)
âAnd donât think youâre going to distract me.â Rhodey pauses and if he didnât have a smirk the size of the Sicilian, Tony would eat his suit. âThis isnât about me and Stephen, this is about Stephen and you.âÂ
âWhat, our working relationship as heroes?â Tony tries to deflect.Â
âAha- nice try. It kills me that I canât be there to watch you fall over yourself right now, but Iâll have to settle for prying your mouth open for the details. When are you going to ask him out?âÂ
Tony twitches and argues, âIâm not going to ask him out, because I donât like him. Heâs an asshole wizard who refuses to do the smart thing and become an Avenger.âÂ
Rhodey scoffs. âPull the other one, itâs got bells on. You havenât been this much of a mess since that time in Philly where-âÂ
âAlright, fuck- I thought we agreed to never speak of that again.â Tony cuts him off hastily.Â
âYou agreed. I hold veto rights.âÂ
He does, which Tony likes to pretend to forget about. He tongues his teeth in thought. âI dunno Rhodey, I still feel like this is all about something else.âÂ
Rhodey says something, but itâs covered up by interference. After a moment, his voice comes through loud and clear. âAlright Tones, Iâll let you believe that. But when you get your head out of the ground and take a hint, donât try and push him away. Stephen likes you a lot or he wouldnât have stood for having you hound his every step. Just man up and ask the guy out.â
Thereâs a lot for Tony to unpack in that (Stephen likes him?), but he doesnât get the chance to think it over. More noise can be heard over the call. âListen, Iâve got to go- keep me updated alright?â
Thereâs a tone to his voice that brooks no argument, and Tony knows heâs talking more than just about whatever crush Rhodey thinks Tony has. The soft warm feeling in his chest is more familiar than the way his guts nearly overturned just a few minutes back. âYeah, yeah. Go do whatever it is youâre needed for.âÂ
The call ends and Tonyâs left feeling better than he had before he talked to Rhodey. His Platypus really does know him best. Even if he HAS to be wrong about Tony liking Strange. Â
Just to prove it, Tony pictures the wizard. His lithe, graceful movements. The way he somehow makes robes from ancient history look like some sort of fashion statement. His smug smirk, cheekbones sharp enough to cut diamond, and the ever changing color of his eyes.Â
Tony flushes. Fuck. Maybe Rhodey has a point after all. He laughs uneasily, but Rhodeyâs words come back to mind.Â
Stephen likes him? Well, if Rhodeyâs right about Tony, Tony wonât bet on Rhodey being wrong about Stephen, too. Plans start building up in his head. Heâs going to charm the pants off the wizard- and hopefully a lot more too.Â
Still late posting this, but not as late as last time. Maybe I'll actually post on time at some point!
70 notes
¡
View notes
My Idiot Partner At Thorofare Tower
by thequotablequincy
After all the BS going on in his life, Stephen lands a new job as a park ranger - mainly because he just wants to get away from his life problems in the city. Fortunately for him, heâs stuck with a mentally unstable son of a gun whoâs ready to annoy the living crap out of him.
Words: 1393, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Firewatch (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories: M/M
Characters: Tony Stark, Stephen Strange
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Swearing, Wildly OOC, The Firewatch AU nobody asked for, because Iâm a sucker for, dead inside/bombastic sunshine relationship tropes, and IronStrange
source https://archiveofourown.org/works/48360424
14 notes
¡
View notes
Problematic Flirtations
by Anonymous
Tonyâs plan had been perfect. Fake his own death, infiltrate Hydra as his own killer, steal Hydraâs plans, and then magically resurrect himself.
He should have known better than to trust the plan.
Words: 3280, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, Steve Rogers
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Sorcerer Stephen Strange, Mage Tony Stark, Pirate Steve Rogers, Hostage Situations, Fake Character Death, Over the top reactions to fake character death, Crack
source https://archiveofourown.org/works/48044938
20 notes
¡
View notes