Fixed

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Thank you all for the feedback and patience so far!

As of March 22nd 2019, I'm picking this up again, so expect an update soon! I rewrote... again. I added and removed certain dialogue and actions, seriously changed the smut, Jesus it was awful. If you read this prior to the date listed above, rereading all of it is recommended.

All fixed chapters that say "Fixed" at the top are final product! I'd rather fix it for you all when I can than all at once because i don't know how long it will take!

Here are the differences in my AU.

-Pepper dies soon after Civil War by Hydra as revenge).

-Spiderman homecoming didn't happen because Tony is grieving Pepper. So Peter is off being a friendly neighborhood Spiderman with no special upgrades other than slightly better tech.

-Stephen is learning to better wield his magic, but it's harder than the Ancient One made it look. He doesn't want to use the Time Stone unless he has to, so looking into the future is taxing.

-Tony is slowly descending into madness and basically lives in the very sad and pitifully empty Avengers tower because he really doesn't want to go anywhere else and he has a garage, lab, and room.

-Happy oversees Stark Enterprises.

-Cap is off being Cap.

-End of Ragnarok, Dr. Banner passes out more or less and Thor returns him to earth still unconscious. The ship is not intercepted like the end of the movie and what's left of Asgard finds refuge on some planet.

-No appearance of Thanos yet.

-Vision is keeping contact, Wanda is under Vision's responsibility (although it's clearly willingly), Natasha, Steve, And Sam are off wherever they are until needed, Clint and Scott are irrelevant (I'm kidding) and James has recovered and back to work and occasionally checks in on Tony.

Rated M for what will eventually happen to the beautiful OTP.

If you don't like gay ships or smut, then this is not the place to be. You've been warned.

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December 4th, 2017

...

'Fuck'

Tony hit the wall with a reverberating clang. The explosion threw him ten feet back… his explosion. Tony flipped his mask up propping himself up with his elbows. He can't seem to get this to work, and at the rate it's going, he's not certain he'll be alive to see its success.

'I need a drink–no. Not a drink, I need to…' Tony swiped a dirty, gloved palm over the sweaty hair slick against his forehead, smearing grease across his face. He breathed in the scent of singed metal so strong he could taste it. 'I am getting too old for this.'

"FRIDAY."

A familiar voice with an Irish lilt answered, "Yes, Mister Stark."

"Turn on some music."

"What would you like me to play?"

"Anything, pick something, I don't care."

"Playing Workshop Playlist."

Soft music drifted into the silent room as Tony abandoned his suit entirely. It was a good idea for full body protection against the unstable work in progress, but damn it was too hot to wear for that long. Tony sprawled out on the floor and the vocals of the song slowly drifted to his attention.

'You're sailing softly through the sun, in a broken stone age dawn, you fly so high.'

Tony's eyelids felt heavy as he started to hum along. He hadn't slept in five–no, six days? Longer than that if you count the weeks of restlessness and declining sleep leading up to this. Well, technically he took some naps here and there but not long enough to constitute as actual sleep as his brain never reached the point of rest. Just pure exhaustion. He wiped his sweaty hands "clean" on his chest, noticing his AC/DC t-shirt is nearing the end of its days.

'I get a strange magic. Oh, what a strange magic. Oh, it's a strange magic.'

He sighed, piecing his suit back together for the umteenth time and he unconsciously voiced his thoughts. "Wouldn't it be pretty damn nice for Pepper to bring me something to drink?" A somber smile tugged at his lips. He couldn't help thinking about all the times she would walk right through that door. "God, how did she always know when I needed her?"

"Mister Stark, Miss Potts is not here. Would you like me to call her?"

"No! You know she's not h– Listen, don't go calling people, FRIDAY. I will tell you if I want to call somebody."

"Of course Mister Stark."

And great, now Tony was feeling lightheaded, more so than before. His tongue swept over his chapped lips in an unsuccessful attempt to wet them. Maybe he could use a drink, water of course, or maybe some food… a nap? Without Pepper, he was lost. Especially after the fight with Rogers. He felt the tears well up again, fighting against it. 'Pepper. It could've been Rhodey too, or Peter...' He just had to drag that poor kid into this mess too, he could have been killed and it would be his fault. His mind threatened to wander somewhere dark.

"FRIDAY, ready for test number 46B. Initiate 'Yes MA'AM Protocol'. Turn up the music."

"You're walking meadows in my mind, making waves across my time. Oh no, oh no."

The suit hummed, focusing its energy to defense and the walls were quickly covered with a shimmering blue electricity from the activating shields. Pepper had the idea to program the 'Making Another Anthony Mess' protocol to minimize the damage and cleanup of Tony's… less safe experiments. At the time, Tony had simply smiled at her and said, "Yes ma'am!" with a solute.

Tony walked back to the pile of wires and metal that looked more like a college student's contemporary art than an energy amplifier. It's supposed to make the output of his blasts even stronger. Put to a more practical use, it could exponentially multiply the energy generated by natural resources. It works by taking all energy loss and redirecting it back through the generator. At least it's supposed to. 'If the stupid piece of garbage would stop blowing up!'

Tony walked back over to pile of junk and kneeled. He prepared to reconnect the hot, blackened wires, knowing fully well that he should replace them and look over the blueprints again but he wasn't thinking straight.

'It's magic, it's magic, it's magic, Strange magic'

He looked at the wires for a moment, his mind blanked, not sure of what he was going to do. He blinked hard, then plucked the charred green wire off the ground with his pliers. 'Just gotta hook this black wire to the connector then I'll go to bed. I'll wake up refreshed, get to work. Allmmoooosst ther–'

"STOP!"

Tony dropped the wires and tool, startled by the booming voice. There's a stillness as the song comes to an end.

'Strange magic'

He slowly turned his head to the right to see a floating figure in a dark blue tunic with a very… eccentric, billowing cape. "That's the wrong wire and you're going to get yourself killed."

Tony blinked hard, unprepared for any kind of human, or alien, interaction today. He felt a flutter in his chest, unsure if it was from being on edge, the drinks, or because of how… how striking the man looks... 'Definitely the drinks.'He carefully lowered and released the wire before he lifted up his mask cautiously. 'He didn't attack when my back was turned.' He regained his composure and moved his body around on the floor to face him.

"Mister Stark, there is an unauthorized intruder."

Tony rolled his eyes and shouted at the ceiling. "How nice of you to inform me right away FRIDAY! I'm sorry but who are you and how did you get in here?" It took some effort, but Tony steadied his voice to sound more serious as he returned his attention to said intruder.

"My name is Doctor Stephen Strange. I've been watching you. I'm here because you were about to make a mistake that would kill you, as well as affect the fate of humanity in the years to come." The 'Doctor' held a cool expression but offered no further explanation.

Tony assessed the man floating above him. He didn't see any obvious kinds of power components to the suit. It was possible that either the cloak that was keeping him aloft or some power of levitation. Perhaps the man was an alien, he could be Asgardian judging by his sense of fashion and dramatic entrance. He considered taking off his suit, a bit hesitant about his uninvited guest.

Tony reached the conclusion that the man posed no immediate threat, and he supposedly saved his life. More importantly, it was the fact that he was sweating too much to care at this point that Tony picked off pieces of his armor, removing all of it except for his blasters.

'Let's see what he has to say before I send him flying through the wall.' He lifts his arm and flicks his wrist. "C'mere. If a devilishly handsome man is going to break into my house, he can at least stand like a normal person." Tony blinked hard again, trying to focus his eyes. "And just who are you anyway?"

The man descended and stepped down onto the hard, concrete floor. He cleared his throat. "I already told you, Doctor Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme." Tony squinted his eyes and observed Stephen again. "Right... So what do you want?" His eyes were drawn to the still-billowing cloak again. "The moving cape is a bit much, buddy," he added.

Stephen walked briskly toward Tony and leaned down and extend his hand. Tony removed one armor glove and gripped it, hoisting himself up and regaining balance. His vision swam. Stephen wiped his now moist hand on his tunic before redirecting the conversation. "We need to discuss matters of importance regarding the Avengers and an approaching threat."

Tony closed his eyes and lifted a hand to the side of his head only to feel a burning pang of hunger. No, he was thirstier. He groaned, his throat felt too dry. "Not before a drink." In a blink, Stephen summoned a cup and offered it to Tony. "Tea?"

Tony smirked and nearly chuckled."I prefer scotch, but I'm not sure I should accept drinks from Aladdin and his flying carpet." He was met with an unreadable expression on Stephen's face but he could've sworn he saw the cloak twitch.

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Okay, let me know what you guys think!