Disclaimer: Fan Work, not affiliated with Marvel or Disney

A/N: OneShot- Strange/Quill relationship- Post Infinity War AU

Waves of You

...

To be honest, Peter Quill wasn't sure what to feel when his lover had asked him to stay on Terra.

It had only been three months since the sorcerer said "I love you" for the first time, and the man was already asking him to be by his side indefinitely? Quill had been pretty taken aback by the request when it happened to tumble from the other's mouth one night before he was set to leave. The guardian's ship was taking off the next morning and the two of them were enjoying each other's company. One minute they were fucking, the next Stephen was looking him in the eyes and begging him not to go,

"I know what I'm asking. Please don't think I'm taking this lightly."

Quill didn't give him a straight answer that night, he remembered. It wasn't until morning, when they'd both tried to say their goodbyes, that the ex-outlaw broke down and agreed. The blissful shock of his sudden change of heart made Strange catch flies for a good 30 seconds.

As happy as his boyfriend was to see him stay though, the space trotting hero found himself feeling sick over it.

He didn't regret his decision, never would. It wasn't like he'd lose his place among his friends. Star-Lord would always be one of the Guardians of the Galaxy whether he was traveling with them or not. But to give up life aboard his ship? Give up traveling the universe, and saving the galaxy with his friends just to stick to one place with one person? It frightened him! The sorcerer was asking a lot from someone who had literally been bouncing from place to place all his life. Of course, Peter was in love with the man and wanted to be with him... it was just that there were so many things that could go wrong when it was just two people. What if Stephen wasn't as in love with him as he thought? What if he gets sick of him and throws him out? What if he grows to hate him? What if Terra is just the worst?

"That would never happen." Stephen had smiled and held him around the waist as they watched the guardian's ship fly out of sight. "And Earth isn't the worst. You'll see. I have plenty of time to prove it to you."

He was right. Terra wasn't the worst. In fact, Quill was actually quite fond of it now.

Getting used to a new living situation hadn't been easy, it never is, but it hadn't been as hard as he anticipated it being. The New York Sanctum was a quiet place in a big city. There wasn't really a daily job that Quill was tasked with doing, so he had a surprising amount of downtime to get well adjusted. That included being able to explore the new and exciting things that came with living in a place eight-year-old Peter had only heard about in songs. Sometimes Stephen would come with him on these adventures, sometimes not, but he didn't mind. The sorcerer was a lot busier than Quill was, especially nowadays it seemed.

After Thanos, Stephen found himself regrouping and restructuring the Masters of the Mystic Arts (whatever that meant). Though he did take time away, the current disarray meant that he had to spend a lot of his time with the remaining masters and their students. Never a dull moment for a Sorcerer Supreme, Quill figured, but that was fine. He didn't need someone to entertain his every waking moment. He had a whole Terran city to explore, and beyond that a whole planet!

His favorite places in New York were the hidden bars he would stumble upon. They would have the most awesome cover bands blaring music out into the streets. Their drinks were a little bland compared to the stuff Quill had tasted on other planets, but it was a hell of a lot cheaper. He'd laugh it up with whoever he wanted, learn new games, get into a few fights, and stumble into some trouble on the way home. It was great!

Cheap drinks mixed with his natural craving for adventure was a dangerous combination that annoyed the crap out of his magic man, he learned. Twice a week, Doctor Strange would come home to find his half-celestial boyfriend passed out on their bed, covered with wristbands and glow paint, and lying in a pile of M&Ms.

"Where do you even get this many M&Ms?"

"My friend Veronica."

"Who's Veronica?"

"I don't know. She brought me home."

Stephen gifted him with a phone after that, specifically so he could call if he was in trouble or needed a ride home. The very first number in his contacts, you guessed it, was Doctor Stephen Strange. It was a move that his lover would eventually regret. The phone had opened up a whole NEW Terra when Quill learned that everyone carried one of these amped up walkie-talkies. He could make friends and KEEP friends now? No more "who's Veronica" he would get that prostitute's number next time!

Stephen wasn't amused.

"Mmm No. I'd rather you didn't." he'd grumbled, brushing an obscene amount of M&Ms off the bed and into a plastic waste bucket. The guardian frowned.

"What if you're in the middle of something? Who else can I call if I need help?"

The second number added into Quill's phone would be Peter Parker. The spider-kid was young, but he lived in the city and was a really good pal that both men trusted. He also had the best collection of old movies. And Yes, Footloose was still the best movie ever (though Spider-kid would disagree).

Not too soon after that, Tony Stark had texted him and then Steve Rogers. A week later Bruce Banner had his number and the rest was history:

Star-Lord was officially an Avenger of Terra.

BOOM! He'd found his job! Perfect. He'd protected much larger worlds before, protecting tiny little Terra would be a piece of cake.

His boyfriend didn't share his enthusiasm.

Come to find out, it actually REALLY annoyed Stephen that all of Terra's heroes could now reach him whenever they wanted. Quill suspected it was because Strange liked being the middle-man between him and the Avengers. He would see the team on TV all the time, fighting crime and saving the world, and he had always suspected that his lover was speaking for him when the Avengers requested help. Strange was picking and choosing what Quill would have a hand in. Even Stark had admitted that there was no getting a hold of Quill before his iphone. The sorcerer had shut down any requests for the guardian's assistance and then never told Quill about it.

"You've had the safety filter on, Flash." Stark texted. "Tell Sugar Daddy to lighten up."

He wouldn't call Stephen overbearing by any stretch of the imagination, but a bit unnecessarily overprotective?

Yeah.

The infinity stone debacle had left them all with some pretty heavy anxieties and Stephen was no exception to this. He was on edge about things, safety things, and it had the potential to become obsessive. The doctor seemed to focus all of his fear and worry of losing the things he loved most on his new lover Peter Quill. The poor guy just couldn't help it. "Mamma Bear" was a switch that was constantly left on in the sorcerer's brain, and it would sometimes cause tension between them. He could understand it and sympathize with him, but Stephen also had to learn that Peter could come and go and do as he pleased without permission. In a way, being in direct contact with the Avengers was a way for Quill to remind him of that.

With the Avengers, "You wanna grab a drink?" turned into "Let's go punch a supervillain in the face!" And Quill was on cloud nine! It was fun and hilarious and gave him the thrills he needed to fall back into the ssanctum's humdrum life without fuss. Thankfully, the sorcerer never voiced his irritation when Quill would come home banged up and bruised from a night fighting alongside the Cap, but he could see the man's thoughts written all over his face.

Meh. It was nothing a relaxing evening of cuddles couldn't fix. If Stephen wanted to feel more in control of the guardian, he would give it to him in other ways- healthier ways- that didn't put a strain on their relationship during the day.

Yup, he had it pretty dang good. He even learned to appreciate the downtime he had while Stephen was overseeing a class.

"-too many people making too many problems, and not much love to go 'round- OooOOh can't ya see!"

It was early afternoon and he was sprawled out in the lounge, eyes closed, headphones on, and playing air-drums to a Genesis song that he'd had on repeat for the last seventy-two hours. The lounge was usually his designated room whenever he was home while the sorcerer was teaching. The library was off limits, for some reason. If Wong was there, sometimes he'd go have a conversation, but Wong was in London this week and Stephen had asked him to stay away from it.

"That's cool." He'd said, even though his mind was whirling with curiosity. Why couldn't he visit the library alone? It was a library! There were books all over this place, what was so special about the those books? -All good questions that he had asked and received no answer to. Quill supposed it was just one of those stupid old rules that Stephen was so keen on upholding.

Fine, whatever. Books were boring anyway. He'd much rather be on this big comfy leather sofa, rocking out to his music and singing off key where no one would bother him.

Unfortunately, the "not bothering him" part wasn't exactly a guarantee. Such was the case today.

"Hey!" The sound of the lounge's heavy double doors slamming shut had grabbed his attention. No one ever closed those doors. This was a lounge, not a bedroom. Peter popped an earphone from his head and opened his eyes, struggling to sit himself up enough to get rid of his multiple chins. He expected to see Stephen there, either angry or nervous or both (he couldn't think of another reason the sorcerer would have for slamming a door), but his lover was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a dark-haired boy, maybe fifteen or sixteen, standing with his back against the doors. The kid was lanky and shaky like a caricature of a greyhound. His large eyes were staring at Quill, looking at him like the older Terran was the scariest shit he'd seen since The Shining.

"Whao. uh... Hi?" He decided to take out the other earpiece to be polite. The kid was probably just lost. That happened to some of the Mystic Arts students from time to time. They would leave to find a toilet, or get distracted by the relics, and end up losing sight of the rest of the group. The New York Sanctum had so many twists and turns to it, it was often near impossible for them to find their own way back. And every time the guardian would step in to help, whoever he'd run into was as surprised to see him as this boy was.

Quill had grown used to the creepy stares by now. It seemed being the lover of Doctor Strange was an odd title to have within the walls of the Mystic Arts, because everyone he ran into treated him like he was a rare majestic bird that only emerged during times of prosper. It was awkward, straight up.

One time, while helping a very talkative girl find the restroom, Quill had learned that most of Stephen's students knew the Sorcerer Supreme had a boyfriend that lived with him. The stories that got passed around (out of Stephen's earshot) varied and had made Quill out to be more or less a myth. The overall idea was that most had heard of his existence, but only a few had actually seen him.

Quill thought it made him sound like Bigfoot.

Stupid, that's what it was, and ridiculously dramatic. Quill had never hid himself from anyone, he just preferred to stay out of the way. As far as he could tell, Stephen was content with that too. His existence wasn't their business. A teacher didn't need to tell his students who the random guy lying around his bedroom was. Why would they even want to know? It was weird! Even hearing about Yondu's escapades made Quill squeamish. Nobody ever wanted to think of their boss as a normal sex-having person... except for these guys apparently.

"This is the lounge." He said to the kid, not bothering to beat around the bush and ask what he was searching for. "If you're looking for Strange, he's probably on the second floor. Big open space with zero chairs and too many windows, you can't miss it."

The teen made no move to speak...or move. He just continued to stand there, breathing like his next intake of air might be his last. His thin chest was rising and falling in a dramatic rhythm under thick neutral colored robes. It made Quill think of a cornered cat. "Orrrr " He bit his lip, giving the kid an suspicious look. "-If you're looking for the bathrooms, they're down the hall."

Still, Stephen's petrified student said nothing.

"Oookay." This would normally be where he'd pop his earphones back in and leave the kid to it, but the shut doors were giving him a bit of an uneasy feeling. He definitely wasn't just gonna close his eyes and blast music in his ears while this guy was around. But what else could he say to get rid of him?

Hmm. Maybe he'd better try a new tactic? Like walking the kid back to the group himself? No, that would completely disrupt whatever Stephen was doing up there. Well, he could at least get up and reopen the doors. If that wasn't a hint to "get lost", he didn't know what was.

So, intending to do just that, Quill set his phone down on the coffee table and scooted to sit up.

"DON'T MOVE!" The boy shouted, startling the living hell out of the grown ass man on the sofa. The guardian reflexively threw up his hands in surrender and blinked, stalling any attempt to swing his feet off the cushions. Rushed whispers of "Okay, Okay," came out of his mouth before he could stop them. God, what the hell? Was this kid was having a meltdown or something? Quill didn't want to think he was a quick-to-spook type of guy, but jesus. He had not been expecting that.

"Hey, pffsh! I get it. Life is stressful." He tried, dropping his hands back down to grip the sofa's loose leather. "No problem. The room is all yours if you need a minute, man. I can just-"

"I knew you would be here." The student spoke over Quill's word vomit. He was looking the guardian in the eyes now, bloodshot irises boring into forest greet with a seething hatred that made the older Terran's jaw drop in confusion. "You're always here... in this room. I've seen you before. You're him."

Quill pursed his lips at the accusation, already shaking his head "no" even though he had no idea who Him was supposed to be. This was his usual hang-out spot, no lie there, but he wasn't always in the lounge. That was a bit presumptuous. For all this kid should know, he could've been on the roof.

"Him?" he asked.

"The Sorcerer Supreme's lover."

Warning bells were going off left and right inside hero's head. No one had ever called him that before, at least not to his face. It was such a creepy, insulting thing to say to someone. Even if you don't know a person's name, you don't refer to them as someone's lover like they're being paid money by the hour to do it.

Something wasn't right. This was not a normal "where's the bathroom" situation. Even the boy's physicality was giving Quill the impression that something was brewing; Eyes wild and wide, jaw clenched, teeth bared, hands balled into fists...

This kid was angry.

Like a bull gearing up to charge at a red flag, the Terran in front of him was sizing him up and preparing to attack. Quill wasn't an idiot. He knew what danger looked like. The way the boy spat "Him" was like a curse. He was hated, loathed by this skinny teenager and he didn't even know who the kid was! How could this teen be an enemy of his? He was sure he'd never met this Terran before. The only conceivable explanation was that this student was NOT an enemy of Peter Quill,

He was an enemy of Doctor Strange.

Shit. Of course. It all made sense now. Quill was swimming in the middle of a Mystic Arts student's rebellion! Crap. Crap. Crap. Definitely not good. He needed to get out of here and warn Stephen!

"There's no way out." The boy spat as if reading the other's mind. "I've sealed the room. No one's getting in or out until I will it."

Until he wills it? What is this Wizards of the Lost Kingdom?

"Jesus." Quill scooted his butt closer to the edge of the couch and gave the kid a good long stare. As confident as the words coming out of the young man's mouth were, the teen couldn't seem to stop his voice from quivering. That read as insecurity, clear as a pane of boy had no idea if he was actually in control of the room or not, he was just hoping the older man was intimidated. Well, Quill wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Nervous meant unsure and that left more than enough room for some chill persuasion.

"Locked us in here together, huh? That's cool." Quill shrugged and took the daring step of sliding off of the sofa. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy lurch forward. It was no more than protective instinct though, his hands didn't even rise from where they clung to the lounge doors. The teen was watching his every move with intense scrutiny, panting like an old fat man as his enemy stood and threw his earbuds onto the bookcase seven steps from the glass coffee table.

"Soooo What's your name?" the guardian asked. He was doing his best to look as calm and collected as possible. One hand raked through his hair, the other rested in his pants pocket. Nothing to see here! No threat! Just a dude going about his business, don't mind him!

"Collin." The kid answered, but then cursed like he was frustrated with himself. "No! Shut up! No talking. I'm not here to talk."

Ah. Well that begs the question "Then why are you here?" but just in case the answer was "To murder you" Quill wouldn't be asking that.

Instead, he went with "Oh okay." Classic. "That's fine. I just wanted to let you know that I'm a good listener. I mean, if you do wanna talk about... this."

Quill saunters away from the bookshelf and carefully picks up a small jar of M&Ms off the coffee table. They weren't his. Quill assumed they belonged to Stephen. Kinda funny, actually. The sorcerer never had candy around when Quill had first moved in. Maybe he didn't throw away all those drunk prostitute M&Ms after all?

Standing roughly ten feet from the doors, he started popping the small candies into his mouth. His body naturally leaned to one side, looking lazy like whatever was happening between him and the kid was nothing but a casual conversation.

"Sorry. My bad. Do you want some?"

Collin looked from the jar to Quill's face and shook his head. Huh. Maybe he's a Reece's guy.

"Why are you offering me candy?" Collin spat, anger suddenly reignited. "I just kidnapped you."

"Kidnapped me? This isn't kidnapping. I'm not a kid and you're not taking me anywhere. Now if you really want to put a label on it, I'd say you are holding me hostage."

"Exactly. That's exactly what I'm doing."

"Okay." Now they were getting somewhere. "Mind telling me why?"

The boy fell silent then and lowered his head. Timid hands slid away from the heavy doors and met together in front of the thin teen's stomach. When it became clear that Collin wasn't going to speak, Quill threw some more M&Ms in his mouth and added "Well, whatever you wanna call this, you should stop it right now. Like right now, 'cause it's not worth it."

The boy lifted his head at that. He was glaring again. Quill fixed him with a serious look... as serious as one could look with both cheeks full of M&Ms.

"You know what I mean, Kor of Axeholme. The whole making Doctor Strange your enemy thing? Not worth it. It's much easier to be on his good side. Trust me, I've been on his bad side." God, that felt like a century ago. "I mean it, Collin. If I were you, I'd go right back up there now and apologize for taking so long on the toilet."

Collin had the gull to look offended. "He knows I haven't been to the toilet."

"Nah, it hasn't been that long. Just say it was a really bad one. Tell him you've been backed up for days and it all just hit you. Say you almost had to call 911"

"No, I mean I told him I was coming after you!" Collin yelled and pushed his body away the door. His hands were balled into fists again, golden sparks shooting from them like a shitty dollar store sparkler. "I told him how much I hated him. I told him what I planned to do."

Quill staggered back a few steps when the kid angrily stomped towards him. It was like something had snapped behind teen's eyes and, once again, the guardian felt like he was in danger. His hands absentmindedly felt for his blaster, but it wasn't there. Peter had left it in the bedroom. In his defense, there usually wasn't much use for it around this place. Serves him right for getting too comfortable.

"Do you want to know what I said to him, oh sweet lover?" Collin hissed. Quill cringed. He was almost tempted to tell the kid his name just so he'd stop calling him that. "I told him I would kill you! I said I would torture you and record your screams, that there would be nothing left of you but scattered bits of flesh by the time he broke down the doors!"

Shit.

Damn. Okay, so this was a little more serious than he thought.

Quill slowly nodded and swallowed his mouthful of M&Ms. "Wow, Collin. That's... That's heavy." Very heavy, but he had to keep pressing forward. This kid was still jittery and unsure of himself. If Quill kept using that against him, this whole thing might blow over before anyone got hurt.

"I completely get you, Collin. I've been there. You said a few nasty things while you were angry, we're all guilty of that," Some of us more than others "But words are just words, Collin. You haven't actually done anything to hurt anyone."

"Not yet." The boy reminds him.

Quill lets that hit him like a smack in the face. For a moment he frowns, lowering the M&M jar back onto the table.

If Stephen knows the two of them are sealed in this room, the sorcerer must be desperate to open the doors. Nothing out of the usual could be heard beyond the lounge's walls, true, but Quill had learned that meant nothing in the world of magic. He was sure Doctor Strange was doing everything in his power to end this, he was positive of that. For all Stephen knows, Collin could have made good on his promise already. It must be tearing him apart. He knew the man like the back of his hand. If Stephen had ever actually lost Quill to a rogue student, the sorcerer would be inconsolable. His struggles left over from the battle with Thanos would overtake him and he would blame himself.

No. Quill couldn't let that happen. He had to find a way to make Collin see reason, or at least buy Stephen some more time.

"Man, listen." Quill straightened his back and faced the boy square on. "I know whatever happened between the two of you must've been upsetting, but arguments happen. Captain Magic is a fair guy. He listens. Just open the doors and explain yourself. If you do something rash and hurt somebody, there will be no turning back."

"There's already no turning back, moron! You don't understand." Collin wiped a sleeve over his face. It was then that the guardian realized the boy was crying. "You don't... You could never understand what I'm feeling. He adores you. He hates me. We fight all the time. He thinks I'm an idiot! He treats me like I'm a waste of time!" The boy sobbed harder as every confession fell from his lips. Quill had to stop himself for walking forward to console him. That feeling of anger, helplessness, and hopelessness? Quill could relate. He felt it several times during his thirty-plus years of life.

"Collin-" He starts, but the room begins to quake. Every loose item littering shelves and tables trembled. Quill felt it through his whole body. Like a busted carnival ride, the floor vibrates and jumps. A priceless old vase resting on the fireplace mantel smashed to the ground, breaking to pieces as Collin screamed and ran towards him.

Quill lifted his arms to hopefully block the oncoming attack, but the pain never came. Collin had run passed him, stumbling over carpet and hardwood to cower in the back of the room.

The room gave one more horrible shudder and the double wooden doors of the lounge burst open, sending both swinging into the wall's already feeble plaster. A dark red shadow of fabric flew through the cracks of the broken seal before they had even opened all the way and smacked the poor teenager in the face. The cloak of levitation had wrapped itself around Collin, coiling like a snake and smacking the boy against the floor.

Thrown off by the commotion of it all, Quill stumbled back and smacked the back of his legs against the sofa. Gravity won, as it so often did on Terra, and the adult man fell with an "OOF" onto the leather cushions.

"Peter!" He heard Stephen call. To save what little dignity he had left, Quill scrambled off the sofa and re-situated himself on his own two legs. "Peter, are you alright?"

Standing tall between the lounge's double doors was Doctor Strange, looking positively furious. There was one other master poised and ready by his side. Behind them, at least seven nervous looking students stood trying to catch of peek of what was going on inside.

The guardian cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. Oddly enough, he was feeling little self-conscious under the army curious eyes. He supposed the tip over the arms of the sofa hadn't helped.

"Yeah- uhh Yes, I'm okay. I made a new friend named Collin. W-Were you guys looking for him?" Somewhere behind his back, Collin gasped and hollered like a beetle caught in a trap. The cloak had got him good, holding him steady and then bashing him against the floor a few times for good measure.

Poor kid.

Stephen said nothing. His hazel eyes flickered between the boy's floundering battle with the cloak and Quill's calm expression. The next sentence to leave the sorcerer's mouth was much more composed. "Release him." he said.

The cloak obeyed. Quill looked back and watched it unwrap itself and float to the side. Collin didn't bother getting to his feet, which surprised him a little. All of the anger he had seen on the young man's face had vanished. He was a puddle of regret now, sobbing on his knees where the cloak had dropped him, wiping dripping snot off his face with a shaking hand. Stephen rolled his eyes and proceeded forward, ignoring Collin and instead stopping to grab Quill's arm like he needed tangible proof that the guardian was alive and well.

"Seriously. I'm okay." He smiled when Stephen gave him another pointed look. He made sure to give a gracious nod in the accompanying master's direction. "You guys have really good timing, by the way."

"I'm sorry." Collin cried on the floor behind them. "I swear I didn't hurt him. I wouldn't. I was just mad. I'm so sorry. I don't want to fight with you. Please, forgive me."

"Enough."

It was an utter under the sorcerer's breath, a hiss from a mentally exhausted man. He was not being kind to poor Collin, but Quill figured it was the best the boy could hope for considering the circumstances. Quill had not been there for the initial fight. He hadn't been on the receiving end of the boy's threats. It would take a lot time for the boy to fully be welcomed back into the sanctum's circle of trust... if such a thing was possible.

Stephen took a deep breath in.

"Mythri, take Collin to the London Sanctum."

Quill blinked hard and dropped his gaze, not wanting to watch the fellow master take the boy away. The students parted down the middle to let the sniveling traitor and their master through.

"Class dismissed." Strange said to them, like it was obvious.

The students' reaction to their Supreme's dismissal is awkwardly delayed. Each one of them had to shake themselves back into motion. That part of the mess had been comical, he had to admit. As soon as Stephen had burst through the doors, the magic wielding pupils all gathered around, trying to catch a glimpse their leader and the man he was ready to destroy a building for. It would have been hilarious if Quill hadn't been so focused on shock of it all.

Noticing his students' odd delay, Stephen dismissed them again, a little louder this time, and they all dispersed. Ha! No one would deny his existence now. So much for the tale of bigfoot.

The second the two men were officially alone, Stephen threw his arms around him.

"Peter, I'm so sorry." He whispered against the guardian's neck, face pressing soft kisses with each repeat. Of course Stephen was blaming himself. He knew that would be the case.

"It's not your fault. I'm okay." He soothed and ran his hands up and down the thinner man's back. Quill smiled when he felt the other man lean in a little harder. "Everyone's okay." he laughed, and adjusted his grip. "It's over, Stephen. We're okay."

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Stephen unwilling to let him go and Quill all too happy to indulge the sorcerer's clingy mood. His mind wandered back to the afternoon's events. The boy had cried out that his leader didn't believe in him, that he hated him. Quill knew that one of the many unique attributes of Stephen Strange was the man's sometimes arrogant cold exterior, but he didn't want to believe that his lover would ever drive someone literally crazy because of it. He had assured the boy that the Sorcerer Supreme was an understanding guy, but that had been during a moment of desperation when Quill thought the boy might actually hurt him. Would Collin ever have the chance to seek redemption?

"Collin isn't a bad kid." he found himself saying out loud before he could censor it. The response he received was an instant tensing of muscles under his hand. If the guardian hadn't been listening for a spoken answer, he probably wouldn't have caught the irritated grumble that was coupled with a kiss against the shell of his ear.

"I'll consult Wong later."

Quill sighed. That was the end of it then. That was the excuse Stephen made whenever he wanted to change the subject. Obviously, he didn't agree that the kid deserved a second chance, but there was nothing else Quill could say. Collin wasn't his student, and Peter still didn't fully understand how the whole mystic arts stuff even worked. It was very possible that the guardian had been in a lot more danger than he'd realized. Still, he honestly hoped things would smooth over. He was sure Collin was a good kid under all that teen angst, he just had a reeeeally dumb moment... like really really dumb.

Meh. Whatever. If the conversation was over, then it was over. Besides, he didn't want this to completely ruin his day. The sun was still up. They could turn this day around!

"Don't be mad. I ate your M&Ms."

His boyfriend snorted and stepped out of his arms to snatch the almost empty jar of M&Ms off the table.

"I know, I saw." The smirk on his face was beautiful. "I'm not upset. There are worse things to be addicted to, like campy 80's movies."

"Ouch." That one stung. There was nothing like a good ol' adventure movie full of bad acting and hokey special effects. "I'll forget you said that. You hungry? Hop out of your work clothes and lets go out."

"Mm. Wish I could. I have to speak with the other masters about Collin's actions. It can't wait. "

"What? Now?" Crap. There goes his hopes of riding out the clingy-Stephen train as far as it would take him. The doctor sensed his disappointment and drew him back into an embrace.

"I'm sorry. It won't take long. For their own safety, they need to know."

Made sense. Whether he succeeded or not, Collin did threaten to kill and torture the mystic boss' boy-toy. There's gotta be something about that in the rule books.

"I won't be late." Stephen brushed his hands over Quill's arms as he stepped out of the embrace. His cloak took the opportunity to dive in and wrap itself around its master's shoulders. "Stay here, please. I'll bring dinner back with me."

Stay here?

Quill knew what that meant. There would be a protective shield placed around the New York Sanctum for the rest of the day. No one would be able to get in, but that also meant that no one would be able to get out. He'd be trapped like a bird in a cage...

No. He'd let that fight go for now. Stephen was upset. He felt flustered and betrayed by his own student. It was completely natural for his "mamma bear" complex to make an appearance. For a few days, Quill could suffer through a plague of extra fussing. Longer than a week though and he'd have to say something.

"Okay." It was resigned compliance that shown through his voice, but the sorcerer paid it no mind. With a couple quick waves of his hand the flurry of blue and red disappeared in a shower of golden sparks and Quill was left alone.

"Okay," He said again to the empty air.