Stephen's POV
I looked into Tony's eyes as he looked up at me. I tried to be as sympathetic as I could. I wiped his tears and looked at his wrists as his arc reactor flickered on. They were bleeding. I sighed, knowing there wasn't much I could do in my astral form.
"You're not here! You're dead-!" Tony whisper-yelled in a low, raspy voice. "I-i saw both you and Peter dissapear…. this is a stupid trick!"
"Anything but that, Stark. I'm in my astral form."
"You're dead!"
"Do I look dead to you?"
We sat there for a few moments, the same expressions on our faces. Tony sat up on the couch and I sat next to him, not sure what to say now. This was already awkward enough, I couldn't imagine what would happen if I said the wrong thing.
"So… what brings you back…?" Tony broke the silence. Thank god for this man's impatience. I cracked a small smile, before straightening myself out. He seemed different from when we last saw each other. Well, I mean I did just fake my death, so I should give him a break.
"I've been in my astral form for two years Tony-"
"Then why didn't you tell me?" He snapped. "Do you know the pain you put me through?" He stopped, as he realized what he said. He cleared his throat. "Sorry...continue."
"I swore that I would keep myself hidden from you because I didn't want to tell you the reason why I stayed. When you were hugging me that night, I used that as a distraction to punch my astral form out of my body." I explained.
"Ok then… why did you stay?"
"Because I couldn't tell you the truth in my mortal form, or else the future wouldn't become true. Tony…" I sighed, my shoulders heaving. "You only have three years left to live."
He fell silent, and things got a little… awkward. It wasn't like me to do things like this, and if I were to be honest, I don't know why I even thought of him in the first place.
When I was around Tony, I felt different. I felt like I could actually be myself without being abandoned. That's probably why I came back. I wasn't used to this feeling, and I wanted to feel it more. Period, and nothing more.
Maybe the reason I came back was because I knew he had to die, and I wanted to spend more time with him. This man pushed all my buttons at the same time, and it drives me bonkers.
"Well…" Tony crashed my train of thought, adjusting his t-shirt collar. "That's not something you hear every day." He chuckled, trying to laugh it off.
"I thought that would've been an issue, but… seeing what you were just attempting…" I cleared my throat. "That doesn't seem like a problem-!"
"Is Peter ok, too?" He asked suddenly. I perked up at the sound of the kid's name, but relaxed when I realized I didn't know the answer myself.
"I'm not sure. We are in two different dimensions right now."
Truth is, Peter is a great kid. Always ready for action, and always anticipating it, too. That's the kind of hero the avengers needs, and that's why I think Tony chose so well.
"Oh…" Tony sighed. "I guess I'm just lucky to have you back."
I nodded, knowing I was lucky to slip my soul out in time. I also knew I was lucky to hear about Kamar-Taj in the first place. I would've never found Tony, or the proper help I needed with my mental state.
"I'm lucky, too." I smiled slightly, resulting in Tony doing the same. My stomach flipped, but not in a bad way. It felt good. It was a rather strange feeling, but I liked the dopamine.
He gave a small chuckle at my response, swigging down the rest of the whiskey and putting the cup lightly on the table. His hands were shaking. I could tell he was ashamed about the state that I had found him in. But, I wasn't angry.
There was a time in my life where I had thought of scuicide too, and it scared me. Whenever I was alone in Kamar-Taj or even now, it always dragged me back to those dark thoughts. I normally wasn't this scared of myself, but after the car accident, it's like I was flipped inside out into a whole new person.
I looked over to Tony who was now twiddling with his fingers awkwardly, probably thinking of some sort of conversation to strike up. I could see all of the gears turning in his mind.
"So…" Tony spoke up. "Why didn't you give Peter an astral form?"
"Tony, I'm afraid that's not how that works." I laughed a bit. "There is a certain ritual you must perform to join the astral dimension. I never taught Peter about it, so I tried getting to him as he was fading. But, you beat me to him. I didn't want to bother you two."
"Ritual? So while my back was turned, you had a whole little colt thing going on?" Tony rose an eyebrow, leaning into the couch.
"God, there is so much you don't know." I pinched the skin between my eyes. Just as I was about to continue, we head dreary footsteps on the stairs. Soon we both saw Pepper on the bottom stair, gazing at Tony.
"Honey, What's taking you so long and… who are you talking to?" She raised an eyebrow, showing it was clear she couldn't see me. I shifted slightly in my seat, not really used to this reaction from other people.
"Eh… myself. Must be the whiskey kicking in." Tony motioned to the empty cup on the coffee table, but Pepper didn't look like she was buying it. I walked behind Tony, and he shared a glance with me. He must have found out that only he could see me. My shoulders heaved in relief.
"Tony, you know I love you…" Pepper shook her head in disbelief. Tony quickly stood up and made his way over to his wife, pulling her in for a sweet, passionate kiss.
My stomach flopped. This triggered me for some weird reason. Maybe it was because Pepper couldn't see me? No, it couldn't be that. I ran a shaky hand through my dark hair and let out a low growl.
"I love you, too. I'll be up, just give me five minutes." Tony pulled away as Pepper still held a hand on his chest, drawing her fingers close to his ark reactor. I stiffened and fought back the urge to pull them apart.
"I'll give you ten, for a kiss like that." She grinned slyly. Tony chuckled and watched as she walked back up the stairs and back to their room. He turned back to me, and I stood behind the only arm chair in the room.
"Sorry about that, Strange."
"Nothing to be sorry for. You're married, and I get that." I raise my hands in defeat. "I'll just leave. It seems you have everything under control. And if you do have three years, then you can spend them with your family."
"Wait! I-I also want to spend that time with you… I mean… you're… a great person, and I-I…" Tiny ran over to me, his eyes flaring with fear. Wait…
Fear?
Was he really scared that I would leave him?
"Fine. I won't leave your side."
Welp, this oughta get good. Stay tuned, peoples of the world!
