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cattles-bians · 3 years

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damie vibecca exes au part 8

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obsetress: now i just want fanart of damvibecca at the gym

em: well. pitch it to me comrade ghostfucker

obsetress: idk that's about as far as i got i just reread that bit about vibecca in their matching gym outfits and my brain got stuck

em: hypothetically do u have a colour palette in mind bc i associate gym outfits w like. bright loud colours and

em: idk if it works w our earth sign queens

[em note: emily is a liar and did NOT draw fanart of damvibecca at the gym]

[em note 2: we have the gym art now [x] [x]]

obsetress: i was imagining like charcoals tbh, or jewel tones

obsetress: i could see them in like jewel tone purples or that jewel tone blue green color

obsetress: yeah viola jewel tones or blacks n charcoals

obsetress: becs pastels and camels but jewel tones at the gym

em: it’s about Matching

em: And Destroying Ur Ex (platonically)

obsetress: yeah

obsetress: viola's feeling particularly smug about it but then

obsetress: dani's in an old school tshirt and shorts and jamie's in............ one of dani's old school tshirts and shorts

em: YES

obsetress: not intentionally, she just grabbed whatever was there

obsetress: dani chirps "oh you two look so cute! baby look, they have a matched set"

obsetress: viola arches an eyebrow "and so do you, it seems" and dani laughs "not on purpose, jamie just grabbed whatever was on top in the drawer"

viola: you two... share... a wardrobe?

dani: yeah?

em: god cute

obsetress: cute n dumb

em: they can share nearly everything except pants

em: well. pants as a treat

em: haha pants

em: trousers

obsetress: also rly nice rly clean smooth funny juxtaposition in my brain of vibecca being the ones who intentionally match and damie the ones for whom it just accidentally happens

obsetress: hahahah pants

obsetress: they can share pants but................ should they

em: idk miss chapter 12 danis thighs jamies pyjamas

em: should they

obsetress: PLEASE

obsetress: that's exactly what i was referring to THANKS

obsetress: anyway

obsetress: rebecca just laughs

obsetress: viola huffs and bex is like "sorry, babe, but it is kind of funny"

em: dani jamie wearing like

obsetress: YEAH

obsetress: MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY

em: poor viola

obsetress: thinking about dani's ass in those

em: yeah....

em: violas huffing until jamies exercise flush lasts a little Too Long

obsetress: big blush jamie taylor

em: she’s still like ‘oi dani close ur mouth’ but then she

obsetress: yeah

obsetress: just ogling each other

obsetress: (they briefly pause to ogle vi and rebecca passing a medicine ball back and forth as they do squats and have to acknowledge that, yeah, they've all done alright by themselves)

em: funny montage of the gang doing exercise while surreptitiously taking Peaks

obsetress: omg all i want

obsetress:sometimes having friends as a lesbian means they're all your exes except one, who's your gf, and you're all checking each other out always anyway

And That’s Beautiful

obsetress

obsetress: dani: checking out viola's biceps, rebecca's abs

viola: checking out dani's thighs n ass

rebecca: minding her business

jamie: scowling n scrawny

obsetress:(n also checking out dani's thighs n ass, viola's biceps, and begrudgingly peeking at rebecca's abs)

obsetress: every other woman at the gym: checking out jamie, trying to figure out the entire dynamic here

are they a polycule? what

em: jamie probably like

em: maybe she gets really into running bc she just checks out and listens to her audiobooks but like

em: slow twitch vs fast twitch fibers so stays scrawny

obsetress: i can see that

obsetress: just gets on the treadmill and zones tf out

em: jamie ‘why don’t i have biceps’ taylor vs jamie ‘no u gotta lift w ur hips’ taylor

obsetress: she hates it but her psych told her it'll be good for her routine so you know she was like yes ma'am every day ma'am

em: cant believe safe lifting procedures screwed her over

em: ‘yes ma’am every day ma’am’ ur just Going for it arent ya anshdjdh

obsetress: sorry but don't tell me you can't hear it

obsetress: jamie's the person who takes notes in therapy

obsetress: jamie, in the locker room after their workout: do my biceps look bigger?

dani, patiently, already knowing where this is going: bigger than what, baby?

jamie: than yesterday

dani: mm, rome wasn't built in a day, you know

jamie: do they look bigger at all?

dani: well

em: i mean not to perceive her too much but mattresses scene indicates AE/jamie like. at least some muscle in the leg area

em: poor jamie

em: not playing to her strengths

obsetress: yeah she does

obsetress: i mean ae has toned af arms

obsetress: she's just wiry

em: how could i forget the benchpressing dog gif

obsetress: dani's like "jamie, baby, come do squats with me and vi" "m'good" "baby, c'mon, you'll like it" "don't wanna do squats" "it could be good for you" "don't wanna do squats with you two"

em: dani: you gotta like. eat more

jamie: i eat plenty

dani: no u graze all day and then u don’t eat dinner

obsetress: dani: five biscuits spread out across a day doesn't count as eating more

em: dani: protein jamie it’s abt protein

obsetress: dani: you need more protein, which is why i think some lentils would really––

em: jamie thinks protein shakes are Nasty

obsetress: jamie does think protein shakes are nasty but dani will make her a smoothie and sneak it in like she's a child

obsetress: viola and rebecca, with their matching monogrammed blender bottles, just staring

obsetress: becca's like "jamie, just drink it, really, it's fine"

obsetress: viola just does this haughty sniff at her and that's what finally gets jamie to start

em: jamie can deal w being a brat but the idea of viola having Anything over her drives her Insane

em: Drives Her Fuckign Nuts

obsetress: she hates it

obsetress: just the absolute fuckin worst

em: do u think dani ever like

em: like they REALLY need to clear out storage but it’s a boiling frog situation where it’s increased so gradually that

em: like jamie thinks it’s Fine storage is Clear Enough

em: it’s Not

em: danis like. should we invite rebecca and vi over

em: just be Idea of A Snide Viola Comment fills jamie w a burning rage

obsetress: oh my god

obsetress: i'm obsessed with this

obsetress: i would read a whole oneshot about this

em: eventually dani comes clean abt it n jamie thinks it’s v funny bc yknow; open and honest communication is a v important part of their dynamic

em: jamie: next time just tell me my storage looks like shite dani or i will be grumbling abt viola for a Week

obsetress: inevitably

obsetress: when they do have to come over to clean

obsetress: dani offers them takeout and wine ("step up from pizza and beer at least," jamie grumbles) and viola's like "jesus, dani, let's just go out to dinner. my treat"

obsetress: at dinner, viola's like "if you want more storage, i have some wonderful properties––"

obsetress: rebecca's mouthing "sorry" from next to her across the table

em: every time they go out rebecca takes vi aside n is like ok sweetheart so you promise you’re not gonna try convince them to sell the apartment again

em: and violas like (mock horror) of course i won’t. ye of little faith

em: and every time

em: every time she does

em: she’s tryna HELP

obsetress: she would too she'd be like

obsetress: "i'm just trying to HELP"

obsetress: "they're our FRIENDS"

em: i’m on a mission to figure out like

em: this is way way down the line

em: but i wanna believe eventually viola and jamie start to, at the v least, Tolerate each other

em: jamie might even be fond of the crazy bird but she’ll NEVER admit it

obsetress: god like vi's on business or some shit in like

obsetress: the UAE

obsetress: negotiating some Deal

obsetress: and so dani and jamie get dinner with just bex and they're driving home after and having a perfectly mundane conversation and then jamie's just blurting like

obsetress: "i think i miss vi"

em: she’s HORRIFIED

em: she tries to play it off as like um

em: she’s Too Comfortable

em: things are Too Boring

em: which is weird knowing everything we know abt jamie

em: but actually she just... maybe misses viola

em: danis like god i wish i was recording this

obsetress: jamie's passed out next to her at home later (it's ten pm) and dani's chattering happily away on the phone with vi (drinking a martini in her dubai hotel room at one am since, y'know, no bars) in bed right next to her

obsetress: "jamie, uh, said she misses you. i know. no, i KNOW. don't tell her i told you. yeah, yeah, you win, vi, we know. uh-huh. uh-huh. i'm gonna pretend you didn't just ask me that"

em: CUTE

em: u can’t lord it over her vi it’s a little secret

em: vi's like when have i EVER

em: she does

obsetress: once they're good again, dani and vi absolutely just. lose time (there's a metaphor in there) talking to each other still

em: this is wholesome tbh

em: i really like the damie stories where like

em: look it’s nice when damie have each other but it’s also nice when they have their own friends and stuff

em: dunno how to articulate that well

em: it’s a balance! it’s a balance

obsetress: yeah! exactly

obsetress: because that's part of the love n possession thing too yk

obsetress: not to say either of them would ever be like "no friends for you" but

obsetress: wanting to have a life outside of your partner yk

obsetress: they're meeting vi and rebecca for dinner after vi gets back and vi's just grinning and sweeping jamie into a hug "i heard you missed me"

em: she gets jamie a souvenir t-shirt

em: it’s too big

em: OR

em: child’s t-shirt

obsetress: (jamie sleeps in it that night)

obsetress: oh childs might be better

obsetress: she's like "you're a little scrawny, so..."

em: jamie sleeps in it.... soft bitch

em: she feels too much

obsetress: jamie taylor softest bitch

obsetress: dani watches her pull it on and raises an eyebrow and jamie's just like "wot"

em: jamies like (grumbles) i knew she was comin back i’m just

em: shouldn’t you be HAPPY about this development dani

em: ‘s’a gift... s’rude not t’....’

obsetress: YEAH

obsetress: dani just grins "mmhm"

em: it accidentally makes its way into jamies workout clothes pile

obsetress: oh my GOD oh my god

obsetress: viola's shit eating GRIN when jamie shows up at the gym in it

em: jamies like fok

em: mental maths tryna figure if she wants to just. work out in a sports bra

em: she Doesn’t

obsetress: she Doesn't!

obsetress: (she's shy)

em: god it’s one of those shirts that’s like

em: someone who loves me went to UAE and got me this t-shirt or something

obsetress: dani corners her in their empty row in the locker room "you could've just taken it off, you know" "dunno, not everyone needs to... see that, you know?" "i'd certainly like to see it" jamie rolls her eyes but she's grinning "you can see that any time" "well maybe i wanted to see it during my workout" "dani......."

em: jamies embarrassed bc of her gnarly farmers tan means her tummy is at least five shades lighter than the rest of her

em: crisp tan lines

obsetress: god jamie's farmers tan

em: once again i am bringing my tan lines jamie agenda

obsetress: dani loves jamies dumb farmers tan so much

obsetress: she giggles

obsetress: but it's the most loving giggle possible

em: and then when she gets into running...

em: god when i was rowing there were a couple ppl w like what i called a neapolitan icecream tan which is

em: gimme a second

obsetress: jamie gets all huffy when dani giggles at her tan but then dani's like "baby, no, i think it's cute" and jamie gives her a look and dani grins mischievously and ducks her head

obsetress: and then she's licking and kissing and nipping her way along jamie's dumb tan lines

em: there it is

obsetress: it was inevitable

em: so caught up in the joy of jamies dumb farmer tans i forgot abt her gnarly scar she keeps under wraps

em: baby

em: the most baby

obsetress: baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

em: jamie decides the only way to claim the stupid t-shirt as hers is to cut off the sleeves

em: it’s abt the ritual of the thing

obsetress: she shows up at the gym wearing it and

obsetress: that's viola's "oh no she's hot" moment

em: YEAH BABY

obsetress: literally just like

obsetress: world stops

obsetress: viola stares

em: jamie finally gets to do an exercise that shows off her sinewy manual labor grip forearms

em: viola’s probably just as horrified to find jamie hot as every time jamies like oh no

em: violas hot

em: and once again jamie CANNOT know she’s hot bc she will be insufferable

em: she will be the Worst

obsetress: viola's tugging rebecca aside "why didn't you tell me jamie was hot" "what?" viola waves a hand and rebecca just furrows her brow a little and is like "that's just... what she looks like, vi"

obsetress: viola corners dani next "why didn't you tell me jamie was hot" "i did" "oh. right" viola pauses, then "why didn't you make sure i was listening?" dani just gives her a look and walks away

obsetress: dflksdjfldaj god the way jamie and viola are. the same

obsetress: kind of incredibly, in the same ways dani and rebecca are the same

em: “hey baby, did viola seem different today? seemed off”

em: jamies like. is she mad at me. did i break another social taboo.

em: rebecca ‘jamie looks like jamie’ jessel vs dani ‘my gf is so hot i can’t stand it’ clayton

obsetress: "i tell you how hot she is at least three times a week, vi"

em: danis tryna goad her into making the damn shirt a crop top

em: jamies like yeah but isn’t that a step too far. i feel like i am destroying this shirt too much

em: she does it anyway

em: so jamies workout clothes are danis endless grey baggy school t-shirts and this one ugly souvenir shirt that like

em: psychological warfare and she doesn’t even know it

obsetress: i would........ like to see it

obsetress: also crop top jamie is one of my favorite jamies

obsetress: she is severely underrated

em: crop top jamie is

obsetress: and we do not talk about her enough

em: jamie wear More crop tops

obsetress: viola and rebecca in bed, in matching facemasks, after going to the gym post-epiphany that Jamie Is Hot

obsetress: viola: are dani and jamie hotter than us?

rebecca: what?

obsetress: and like

obsetress: viola is NOT insecure

obsetress: she is constantly confident that she's the most attractive woman in the room at any given moment, but

obsetress: she's just so staggered by this realization

em: some neutral third party (ms grose and mr sharma probably) are like well. u guys definitely have a little more of a scary thing going on

em: i’m imagining rebecca and viola at brunch w hannah and owen v seriously discussing this

em: viola brings it up and rebecca GROANS but then she gets invested in the convo

obsetress: GOD yeah

obsetress: she's leaning forward and gesturing with her fork "when you say 'scary'..........."

em: owens like scary is a compliment

em: hannah grose sips her tea knowingly

obsetress: rebecca just narrows her eyes at hannah grose and hannah raises her eyebrows and shrugs

em: after a week or so viola bursts into a room w stupid big sunglasses and a tray of take out coffees and she’s like Don’t You Worry Jamie I Have Concluded You’re Hot But I’m Not Threatened By It

em: jamies like sorry WHAT

em: you’ve been thinking about WHAT

em: viola leaves without ever following it up

obsetress: dani is entirely unfazed

obsetress: doesn't even blink

em: danis like neat she remembered the oat milk

em: everyone in this au is insane

obsetress: any lesbian in 2021 is insane

obsetress: par for the course

em: was gonna protest but

em: Yeah

obsetress: this lesbian meme account i follow on insta is doing “stop asking who’s the top and who’s the bottom. start asking...” posts

obsetress: and one of them is “start asking who’s baby and who’s fuck around and find out” and it just makes me chuckle

obsetress: jamie taylor baby

obsetress: viola lloyd also baby

em: dani is baby passing and jamie is fuck around faking

obsetress: oh my god that’s why that’s why i think we cracked it

obsetress: dani (fuck around) dated jamie (baby) and vi (baby)

obsetress: rebecca (fuck around) dated jamie (baby) and vi (baby)

obsetress: the reason they could never cross further even tho per the transitive property dani (so similar to vi) should be able to date beccs and jamie (so similar to beccs) should be able to date vi is because

obsetress: you can’t have two babies and two fuck arounds in a relationship together

em: oh of course. i see. i see

em: however in the rare rare crack ship of the ‘jamie viola hatefuck’ a similar phenomenon to ‘social anxiety mum friend ordering food’ instinct takes over and someone fucks around and finds out

em: this is just my unhinged jamie viola hatefuck bulkshit which is. it’s ironic ok it’s ironic it’s ironic it’s

em: ok one last thought bc i know it’s super late for u but

obsetress: omg i also have a last thought let’s trade

em: what if mikey is about isabels age n jamie ends up looking after him for one reason or another for a bit

em: and viola absolutely Dotes on him

obsetress: omg

obsetress: that’s what does it. jamie seeing viola w mikey

em: grumble grumble i guess she’s not that bad

em: except then she’s like god what if mikey likes her MORE than me

obsetress: “dani what if mikey gets one of those weird first crushes on vi”

obsetress: dani doesn’t even look up from the laundry “who hasn’t had a crush on vi”

obsetress: jamie’s like “mE” and dani just gives her the most withering look

em: danis like It’s Par For The Course Jamie

em: danis a teacher she’s like it happens don’t sweat it

em: anyway

em: what was. what was ur last little thought

obsetress: i was just thinking more about viola also baby and how also she’s been so privileged her whole life that sometimes there are just some things she can’t do for herself because she just doesn’t know how

obsetress: like she’s never had to learn

em: rebecca gets um

em: freeze dried coffee

em: nescafé

obsetress: but like

obsetress: rebecca genuinely loves taking care of vi for whatever reason (it’s because she loves her) when she really needs it but

obsetress: rebecca also takes no shit and is like “i’m not making the nescafé for you. you’re 36 years old, vi, you need to learn to do it for yourself”

obsetress: and she’ll stand there and watch her do it and then she makes vi do it at least three more times for posterity

obsetress: “i’ll make a plebeian of you yet, viola lloyd”

obsetress: (god only the two of them would think a line like that is funny)

#this one's fucken LONG!!!!!!!!#the dani jamie viola rebecca exes au

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klimtandbencbatch · 6 years

Note

Maybe a bit of a cliche one, but Tony trying to figure out why Stephen seems so much nicer to him post-Infinity War, really ever since he looked into the future. And then eventually Tony realizes/finds out/otherwise discovers that Stephen fell in love with him during those visions?

@grandraconteur thank you so much for the prompt!!! It’s late here so I did my best hope you don’t hate it lmao

In a snap, half the universe was gone. Left and right, people disintegrated, and the world dissolved into panic as their loved ones dissolved into nothingness.

No one knew this more sharply than Tony Stark.

He sat his ass on Titan, suit trashed, and with a nice new gash in his side, and he watched his friends - his only hopes, really, in terms of defeating the Great Purple Nutsack - die around him. He held Peter in his arms - Jesus, the kid, is he ever gonna be alright again? - and watched him cry out for help, beg for his life, cry real human tears before he went. He saw Starlord (or whatever) and his space buds eat it. And he saw Stephen Strange, the man who’d sworn that nothing would prevent him from protecting the time stone, give it all up for Tony.

For Tony fucking Stark.

In that last moment, he swore he saw something tender in Strange’s expression. Something time-worn, weary, and fond. But just like that, his eyes dusted out of his head, and Tony was alone.

Long story short, it was a long, painful, grueling ride to get things back to rights. A new Infinity gauntlet, hot rod red, another race to find the gems, another snap by Stark himself to get things back to the way they’d been. And God, when people started coming back, it was like the second coming of Christ. Mothers wept and held their children in the streets, lovers embraced, friends reunited. Tony himself cried when the kid showed back up somewhere in fuck-all Wakanda, grabbing Peter and holding him tight and just feeling him, smelling him, his heart nearly bursting with love and love and love for this stupid, reckless, innocent kid in his arms. A few days resting up and restoring on T’Challa’s bill, and they were back in New York. Back to being Iron Man, and Spider-Man. And back to being Doctor Strange.

It was a few weeks after their return to New York that Tony started to notice Strange hanging around a bit more.

The first few times scared the shit out of Tony. He’d be hard at work in his lab, and he’d hear the sudden sparking of a portal, and there the doctor would be. The first few times, Tony chased him out of his lab, hurling scrap metal and threats until the wizard was at least in the lobby. Tony would collect himself, slap on that signature Stark smile, and go greet his adoring public of one. But, eventually, the visits became routine. It became Stephen portaling to HQ, shaking hands full of Chinese or deli sandwiches, ready to sit and chat. Chat. From what Tony understood of Stephen Strange, he was not chatty. But it seemed that their shared death and near-death experiences brought them closer together. And Tony was never one to look a gift sandwich in the mouth. So he let it happen. He ate the sesame chicken, he shared the lurid story from college, and he got to see the Great and Mysterious Stephen Strange crack a smile. Not all bad, in the scheme of things.

But it was weird. It was weird that, all of a sudden, Stephen was beating down his door just to sit and drink coffee (or whatever weird tea that fucker was drinking that day - seriously, can you just boil weed and make tea? Weed tea?). And it wasn’t that Tony minded the company - he didn’t. He thought Strange was pretty great, all around. Funny, intelligent, somehow unknowable with all of his glowy orange magic and floating cloaks and books that wanted to chomp his hands off. And his face was something out of GQ. Those cheekbones had Tony weak in the knees more than once.

But back to being weird. It didn’t make any sense. And so Tony decided he was going to get to the bottom of it.

All of their little impromptu meetings had been on his turf, and so, for his first drop-in, he decided to mix it up. He dressed in a snazzy suit, got in his hottest of rods, and drove down to Greenwich Village, parking in front of a cute little lesbian bar and walking the few blocks over to get to the sanctum. He carefully adjusted the bag of gyros in his hand and knocked at the door, startling slightly as it swung open. He let himself in, whistling as he strolled into what looked like a kitchen, setting the food down and clearing his throat.

“Stranger Things? You in?”

His voice echoed off the dark wood floors, reverberating in the seemingly empty space. He sighed, heading back into the foyer and looking around. He figured his best bet was upstairs, and so took the stairs two at a time, heading towards the hallway of doors on his left.

“Stephen? I brought lunch. Greek food. I dunno, figured you’d be sick of - bodega subs. And, yknow, I don’t know where you go, exactly? But there’s gotta be a better place down here for sandwiches. That guy’s a bit too generous with the mustard.”

Still no answer. And he’d insulted what was clearly Stephen’s favorite sandwich joint. Maybe he was out. Just as he was about to head home - maybe he’d leave a cutesy note on the fridge - a door in his peripherals opened a hair.

“Fucking magic house,” he sighed, but he found his feet leading him in that direction regardless, and he pushed his way in.

There, floating four feet off the ground, was Stephen Strange, seemingly deep in a trance. Tony took a moment to admire his perfect posture, the calm expression on his face, the sharp eyebrows and perfect hair, the perfectly kissable cupid’s bow pout. Oh, yeah. He was pretty gone on Merlin, floaty though he may be.

He closed the door behind him, clearing his throat again. Still no answer. Must be in there pretty deep.

“Alright, Strange, you got me down here. Now wake up so we can have lunch and I can go home.”

Still, nothing. A twitch of the mouth, maybe. But no answer. Tony muttered to himself, marching over to Stephen and putting a hand on his knee, intending to wake him up. The ground fell out from beneath him, and he face-planted into red dirt, feeling it fill his mouth and nose.

He looked up, gasping. Titan, again.

“What the fuck?”

He pushed himself up a bit more, and he saw himself, and Strange, and Peter, and the space nerds - everyone was back. But why - ?

“All that for a drop of blood.”

Tony froze. He saw Thanos rise from the ground, and he felt his heart start to slam violently against his chest, his breath sawing in and out of his lungs at an alarming rate. What was happening? A brief moment passed, a moment of stillness. Then, he saw himself being stabbed again. But this time, Strange said nothing. He just sat and watched. He watched as Thanos took Tony’s head off with a second swipe of his blade, and Tony watched as Strange was beaten to death with a rock, the time stone appearing after the wizard drew his last breath. He looked away, not wanting to see anymore, hearing Peter begging for his life -

The ground was gone again. Back on Titan. No Thanos, it seemed. Not yet. He and Strange were talking softly, connecting, it looked like. He couldn’t hear over the wind, but his expression was gentle, open. And so was Stephen’s.

The ground fell. Titan. Stephen throwing himself in front of Tony, taking the blow, delaying the inevitable. They died in each others arms.

The ground fell. Tony and Stephen were away from the others, kissing, hands wandering, touching, squeezing.

The ground fell. Tony was dying for each of them, now. To save Peter. To save Starlord. To save the green guy, to save the bug girl, to save Strange.

To save Strange.

“Tony?”

Tony opened his eyes. Back in the sanctum, thank God. But why was he so dizzy?

“Tony, you’re hyperventilating. Breathe with me,” Stephen instructed, his ice blue eyes concerned, his trembling hands on either side of Tony’s face. Tony tried his damnedest to breathe. In and out. In and out.

“What the hell just happened?” He asked, his voice hoarse.

Stephen swallowed, helping Tony sit up, pulling a glass of water out of the air and pressing it into his hand. Tony took a few long pulls. He couldn’t remember the last time he was this thirsty.

“Just - a vision. I was having. Of the past,” Stephen explained haltingly, clearly uncomfortable. Tony squinted at him, not understanding. “It’s - “

“The futures you saw,” Tony finished for him, setting the glass aside. “Back on Titan. The - quarter million or some-odd outcomes. You were watching them again?”

“Yes,” Stephen answered quietly, his hands trembling a bit more strongly than usual. Tony laughed, shaking his head.

“That’s why you’re being so - friendly all the time, now. You feel bad. For killing me as many times as you did. And for how many times I took shit for you.”

Stephen’s eyes flashed as they came back up to Tony’s, filled with something Tony couldn’t name. “It’s not guilt.”

“Then what is it? Why’re you going back over them? Do you get off on seeing yourself die? Is it some - wizard death fetish thing?”

“Are you serious?” Stephen asked, his voice drier than Titan’s surface. “No. I’ve seen enough of that to last for a lifetime. I was… Skimming. For the good parts. I just - can’t always remember where they are.”

“Good parts?” Tony asked, confused. “None of that looked very good to me, doc. At all. Just a lot of - rocks and crushing and stabbing. And bleeding. And screaming.”

Stephen pushed himself to standing, walking over to sit on the edge of his bed. He looked at Tony a bit sadly, his eyes filled with - was that longing?

“Strange. Please tell me you weren’t just watching us make out before we died.”

The wizard’s cheeks turned pink, and his eyes dropped down to the wiry scars on the backs of his hands. “What you said is true. I have been… More open with you, lately. Part of it - part of it is guilt, I suppose. For making you take the brunt of saving the universe. I’ll never be sorry enough, regardless of it being the only way to - bring us all back.”

Tony stood as well, coming over to sit beside Stephen, watching him closely. “But?”

“But it’s… Over fourteen million timelines. And in each one, I was with you. And in each one… I saw you for who you really are. Not just the Tony Stark on the covers of magazines, or in - TED Talks. The real Tony Stark. The brave, caring, kind man that lives under his suit of armor. And I… Developed feelings for you.”

Tony’s gut flipped at Stephen’s admission. “Feelings.”

“Yes.”

“So… The making out…?”

“We’d clearly advanced further along in this discussion, in that timeline, at least.”

“…Uh huh.”

“Look, Tony, I - “

“No, hey, it’s fine,” Tony said quickly, bringing his hands up in surrender. “I’m not here to judge. Just… It’s kinda cute, yknow? You liking me. And so you bring me lunch. And funny med school stories. Jesus, what are we, twelve?”

Stephen laughed a bit, hiding it behind his hand. “I… I’ll admit, I’m a bit rusty. Haven’t done this in a while.”

Tony smiled, patting Stephen’s shoulder. “Well, hey. Lunch isn’t a bad way to start. What say we do it again? Start. A lunch date. But, like, a real one. Not in this - occult shop, and not at my greasy worktable. A real restaurant. Where real people eat.”

Stephen looked over at Tony, a bit surprised, a bit hopeful, and a lot in love. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

“Great. Get dressed. And leave the cloak at home. The place I’m thinking of has a strict no-relic policy.”

“Don’t know how we’re gonna get you through the front door, then,” Stephen teased, nudging Tony with his elbow as he stood from the bed.

“You’re my age, Doctor Salt-and-Pepper. Watch it.”

Maybe this was it. A lunch date, and then nothing more. Or maybe they’d keep opening up, keep learning from each other, keep fighting the forces of evil and saving the universe together. Tony smiled to himself, standing and heading back downstairs to wait for Stephen.

Only one way to find out.

#grandraconteur #Ironstrange #fic fill #Stephen Strange #iron man #tony stark #doctor strange #marvel #mcu

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