Disintegrated. Impaled. Crushed.
Over and over again.
But he chose this.
He chose to be killed endlessly so that others could survive. He said that pain was an old friend but that didn't mean he would enjoy it. He would endure it to protect millions. To protect his friends. His family. His lover.
His cub.
Wait...that wasn't right. He didn't know them then. Why were they coming to mind? This was a nightmare then. He knew that, yet he couldn't wake himself up. Not even after a new image presented itself before his eyes and had him crying out in despair.
A man crushed beneath a boulder sized rock, unmoving, eyes closed but frozen in agony.
A teenager impaled on spikes of unidentified elements, eyes staring up at the sky devoid of life, and blood dripping off of deathly white fingers.
An otherworldly being laughing darkly at the anguish flooding azure eyes.
"You're my prisoner now."
Stephen wakes with a strangled gasp, and he sits up, not even noticing the body he sent tumbling to the floor as he stares at his violently trembling hands. He knew it was a bad dream but part of him didn't quite register that as he struggled to get his breathing under control. He only managed to make it worse and begins to feel faint until one of his hands is grabbed and placed over someone's chest.
A heartbeat. Something to ground himself with.
Then he felt the breaths and consciously matches them with his own, only relaxing when the light-headedness fades with the last tendrils of the nightmare. Better. He could breathe again, and he was more aware. He was touching someone.
Tony. It was Tony.
Stephen grips the man's shirt desperately as he exhales shakily, and smaller arms carefully wrap around him while brown curls rest under his chin. The smell of web fluids and (to his somewhat coherent surprise) apples invades his senses and it was unmistakable.
"Peter."
Stephen uses his free hand to pull the teen's face impossibly closer and takes a few more moments to ground himself in the waking world. He had plenty of nightmares, but they were never that bad.
"You back with us now?" Stephen looks up at Tony and nods gently. "Good. You scared the shit out of me." When the sorcerer loosens his grip on the engineer's shirt, Tony gently takes it in one of his own. "What was it about?"
Stephen swallows the lump in his throat. "Dormammu."
"You've never reacted like that before. Was something different?"
He tightens his grip on Tony's hand. Yes. Very different. Stephen wouldn't mind if he never saw that version of his nightmares again. It was too real and too painful.
"You...and Peter. He killed you both instead of me." The doctor whispers. "He killed me thousands of different ways, and that was what I chose, but then it stopped. I looked up and it was you he was killing instead. I became his prisoner."
Peter tightens his hold around Stephen. "We're here. We're safe."
Tony momentarily takes his hand away from the sorcerer to situate a few pillows behind him, and he reclines comfortably against the arm of the couch. "Alright. Get comfortable."
Stephen looks at him warily but says nothing as he lays comfortably against the billionaire and Peter (if it were any other time it would have been comical) sprawls over the both of them with a large blanket. Tony turns on another movie, as they had fallen asleep in the middle of the previous one, and Stephen slowly relaxes into the family cuddle session. He was extremely lucky to have them. He had probably scared them awake but they noticed his panic and helped anchor him until he was calmer and ready to talk, and it made his heart soar.
"You're not going to throw me off again are you?" Peter asks carefully and Tony chuckles when the sorcerer looks at him quizically.
"I threw you off?"
"It's okay I mean. You weren't actually aware of anything and I'm not blaming you." The teen stutters out.
"I'll try not to." Stephen answers softly.
The answer seemed to satisfy him at least because he made himself comfortable on top of his parents and turned his attention to the new movie. The feeling of Peter's gentle breaths against his neck, and the sound of Tony's heartbeat slowly help the sorcerer drift back off to a dreamless sleep.
"Come on Sleeping Beauty. I conned Bucky into making breakfast and if you don't get up, Peter is going to eat it all."
Stephen slowly cracks his eyes open and finds himself facing the couch and looks over his shoulder to see Tony smiling at him. "Doesn't Sleeping Beauty get woken by a kiss?" He sasses.
The engineer lets out a bark of laughter. "In the Disney version, sure." Regardless, Tony leans down and gives him the required kiss. "No more nightmares I'm guessing?"
"No." Stephen confirms as he sits up and his blanket pools into his lap. "Thank you by the way."
Tony gently grabs the nape of his neck. "You don't need to thank me. I know I don't say it often, but I love you." He smirks when the other's ears turn red. "That's one if the reasons I don't say it often. Your reaction is priceless."
Stephen scoffs and pushes Tony's head into the couch before getting up and walking around the corner into the kitchen. He finds Peter sitting at the island practically drooling over the bacon sizzling in the pan, and Bucky turns to slip a couple pieces to him. The teen brightens and munches happily as he turns to regard Stephen with a grin.
"Morning!" Peter never failed to put a smile on anyone's face, let alone Stephen's, when he was in such a good mood. It was infectious.
"How many times did Barnes have to beat your hands away?" Stephen asks as he sits next to the boy. Bucky was the one who answered though.
"None. He behaves as long as I slip him something here and there."
"Like a puppy." The sorcerer elaborates.
Peter ignores them and finishes his bacon while Bucky finally finishes making breakfast and Tony comes in to sit on Stephen's other side. When the soldier slides their plates over to them, Scott walks in and over to the fridge to get his 'morning juice box', and leans on the counter beside Bucky.
"Feed Tic-tac before he opens his mouth Barnes." Tony says between bites of pancakes.
Bucky does so and the group eats their breakfast in satisfied quiet. Scott's flirting dialed back some after Peter stuck him to the ceiling (which took ten hours to dissolve; Tony and Peter scrapped that formula, though the engineer was pretty sure the teen put some aside in case Lang stepped out of line again.) but he still flirted with Stephen, and Tony was pretty sure the man was just attracted to the sorcerer's Mama Bear side. Which was really a shame because Stephen was really nice to look at. Stare at.
He probably shouldn't be thinking about that.
"How do you feel about becoming our personal chef?" Tony asks.
Bucky rolls his eyes. "Not a chance. Steve's appetite is bad enough, I'm not taking on Peter's too. No offense kid."
"None taken." The boy says around a mouthful of eggs and looks down sheepishly when Stephen gives him a look.
Tony looks up when he hears a collection of footsteps and finds the rest of the Avengers. "I really need to put a restriction on this floor."
Everyone takes a spot at the empty (large, because no matter how much Tony complained he always had space for them) table and Wanda uses her magic to float the excess amount of food Bucky made over to the table. Silverware and dishes follow and the team fluidly grabs what the need before filling their plates and eating, talking vibrantly amongst themselves.
Bucky smirks. "I figured this would happen. I made a lot."
"You're welcome! Ungrateful-"
Bruce points his fork at Tony. "No one said anything about being ungrateful."
"I did. I am. This was for Mama Bear because he had a bad night-"
"Tony." Stephen interrupts. "It's fine. Be quiet."
"Not even a thank you from them! They just make themselves at home and-"
Stephen smiles softly. "I love you too."
That shut him up and caused the genius to turn red before coughing and looking down at his breakfast. Peter sniggers from the sorcerer's other side as Natasha coos at the couple from the table. Clint on the other hand gags loudly and obnoxiously.
"They're so domestic and mushy."
Rhodey raises an eyebrow. "Aren't you married Barton?"
"Yes. That's why I can say that."