A/N: Okay to this chapter happened a lot sooner than I thought it would considering what happened Thursday morning let me tell you guys. I did not expect to wake up to a giant ass crack in my fish tank and 10 gallons of water in my carpet. Thankfully all but one of my fish survived the ordeal but since I live in an apartment, I don't know if the landlady will let me have them back or not (they are currently with the breeder I acquired them from). This stresses the shit out of me because I need a pet to help me with my anxiety, so I'm hoping to be able to get them back or have another pet I can keep in an aquarium because that's all I'm allowed in apartment I live in. Anyway, the next day after most of the chaos had been sorted; I felt extremely depressed about it and happened to get a bunch of faves and follows on this story. I cannot stress how much they helped me. It was exactly what I needed at the time; it makes me so happy to see people enjoying this story. Writing it is the only thing that keeps the anxiety in check some days and to see so many people enjoying is just awesome. So please, please keep it up! As always thank you to Heaven IN A Rage for reviewing all things and to everyone else who has dropped a review!

Now on with the show!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

To Accept the Unacceptable

Irena

Sitting cross-legged on the table in the 'practice room', Irena let out a soft sigh. She came to the 'practice room' with the intention of seeing just how messed up her magic was. However, she found herself unable to actually summon anything for fear of what would happen if she did. She looked down at the relic hanging around her neck and saw that it still sort of tinged purple. She tried to keep her emotions from going haywire because she didn't want Stephen to know what was going on just yet. After a few more minutes of debating, she decided that she would just have to get all her lady balls in a row and just summon SOMETHING. She decided on something simple. She concentrated as hard as she could and tried to summon a butterfly. It took a hell of a lot of effort but she managed to summon a butterfly. It looked purple and distorted just like the portal did. She frowned and dismissed the butterfly. She suspected that this had something to do with the bite on her shoulder. She remembered Stephen telling her to not let the faceless ones into the sanctum for fear of what their evil might taint. She wondered if getting bitten by one caused her magic to become tainted. If this was the case, was there a way to reverse it? She loathed the thought of having her magic stuck this way forever.

Looking back down at the relic around her neck, a light bulb went off inside of her head. Her magic merged with that of the relic so because of that her tainted magic must have affected the magic of the relic too. Wasn't that just dandy. As she sat and debated just what in the hell she was going to tell Stephen, her mind drifted to the dream memory she had when she fell asleep on Darcy's couch. She felt bad just thinking of the incident. She ended up destroying damn near all of Darcy's apartment by accident. Any other sane person would have told her to get lost and never come back again. Darcy on other hand didn't even bat an eyelash at it. After she had calmed down some, Stephen had magicked everything back to the way it was. The whole time, Darcy was more concerned about her than the apartment. Honestly, some days she wondered what in the hell she would do without Darcy.

Letting out another soft sigh, her thoughts drifted to what the dream memory was about. 'Mr. Mordo' had cornered her in the training grounds and tried to use a spell on her. Which spell she did not know. But she had the feeling that it something to do with trying to steal her magic but not in the typical sense. She had a feeling that he knew that he wouldn't be able to wield the dragon's tear without her. So maybe he was trying to use mind control on her? That thought caused a frisson of fear to shoot through her. She was thankful that her 'mother' had gotten to her in time and saved her.

She could only imagine what would have happened if she didn't. She thought about the magical signature she felt during the battle with the faceless ones. She knew without a doubt that it belonged to him. She seriously began to wonder if he summoned the faceless ones in an ill thought out attempt to capture her. Clearly, he hadn't taken into account just how dumb and slow they actually were so instead she ended up getting bitten instead of captured. She didn't know whether she should be thankful for that or not.

Of course for the moment everything that she was thinking was all just speculation. Even though she was a hundred percent certain that she felt him there, she couldn't actually prove that he was after her. For all she knew, he summoned the faceless ones just to make Stephen's life a living hell. Regardless, it freaked her the hell out and it drove her to want to fix her magic before anything bad DID end up happening because with her luck it absolutely would. In order for her to figure out what the hell was going on with it in the first place, she knew that she would need Stephen and Wong's help.

'Yippie, what a fun conversation this is going to be! NOT!' She thought to herself.

Forcing herself to get up off of the table, she exited the practice room and went to go find Stephen and Wong. Luckily, she didn't have to look very far because she heard them talking in the library. She entered the library and found them debating heatedly about something or another. She couldn't help but look at the scene in front of with affection. It was always hilarious to watch Stephen and Wong fighting like an old married couple. Gently, she cleared her throat to get their attention. Both men turned to look at her curiously.

"Um guys, I think we have a problem." She started.

As soon as the word 'problem' came out of her mouth, she felt Stephen's protectiveness flare to life though the bond and he was all over her. Before she could even blink, he was at her side checking her over.

"What kind of problem sweetheart?" He asked.

She could sense his worry mixed in with the protectiveness.

"Look at the Dragon's Tear." She said, lifting up the relic for him to examine.

He looked at its coloration and frowned. She watched him examine it more closely being careful not to accidently strangle her as it was still clasped around her neck. Wong also came closer to get a look at what the problem was. He frowned when he saw the relic too.

"Well this is certainly strange. Is the rest of your magic affected too?" He asked.

She bit at her lips and nodded.

"Everything I summon is purple and distorted. It takes so long to summon anything too. It feels like I am back to square one." She explained.

Hearing this caused Stephen's frown to deepen. She knew that he could also sense how much this whole thing was freaking her out.

"Sweetheart, I know this is scaring you but in order to try and solve the problem we need you to summon something so we can see what is going on." Stephen explained gently.

He moved his hand from the relic to the top of her head and started stroking it through her messy locks in order to sooth her. It worked wonders and she began to calm a little. She inwardly sighed. She really, really didn't want to summon crap all right now but knew she had little choice in the matter they needed to see what was happening in order to find some kind of solution to the problem. She forced herself to step back from Stephen (she really didn't want to) so she had ample room to summon in case everything went to hell in a handbasket. Again, she decided to summon something simple. She thought of the little blue kitten she summoned when she first got the hang of summoning things. It wasn't too big so if something went sideways, she could dismiss it quickly. She concentrated as hard as she could and tried to summon the tiny kitten, it took a few tried but she managed to do it.

Both Stephen and Wong were staring at it in shock, it look just as she described earlier. It was purple and all distorted. Its eyes even looked weird. As Stephen and Wong were examining it, she suddenly felt a stabbing pain in shoulder where the wound was and it caused her to lose the summon.

"Argh!" She yelled in pain.

She tried to grope at her shoulder, but Stephen shooed her hand away. He wasted no time in moving her tank top strap out of the way. She had decided to wear her work out clothes because she felt so crappy and they were comfortable. He peeled away the bandage to make sure the wound was okay. While Stephen did this, Wong disappeared to the back of the library to go look for…something. She could sense that Stephen still seemed satisfied with how the wound looked. So what the hell just happened to her? Sensing her fear, Stephen tried to sooth her. She saw that Wong quickly returned with a giant book in his hands. He dropped the book onto the table and started flipping through it. She and Stephen approached Wong to check out what kind of book he was flipping through. She stood next to Wong looking over his shoulder while Stephen sidled up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Because she was much shorter than he was, he was able to rest his chin on her head and read the book. She could sense his need to have her close to him and she was only too happy to oblige.

It turned out the book was a lexicon on magical monsters. She knew that Wong was searching for an entry on the faceless ones. It took Wong no time at all to find what he was looking for. She and Stephen read the entry with him.

Faceless Ones: The faceless ones are lackeys summoned by sorcerers that have lost their hearts to darkness. Some sorcerers consider them to be demons. They are not hard to summon but they notoriously hard to control. They can be considered a little dumb and slow but they have a nasty venomous bite. When bitten, a Sorcerer may experience hallucinations or extreme pain or a combination of the two. Sorcerers with extremely strong magic that have been bitten may encounter something called 'tainting of their magic'. In these rare cases, the sorcerer may experience extreme difficulty while summoning their magic. These symptoms include, extreme pain from the bite sight while summoning, and discoloration or distortion of summoned objects. In most cases, the symptoms will cease as the wound heals. In extremely rare cases the effects are permanent.

After hearing all that she couldn't decide if it made her feel better or worse. What would happen if her magic didn't get better? Would Stephen even want her then? Would she be of use to anybody? She knew that Stephen could sense that her emotions were spiraling out of control. He gently turned her to face him, his large hands cupped either side of her face and he forced her to look him eyes. He made sweeping motions on her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Sweet little kitten, please calm down. No matter what happens you'll always have me you know this. The problem will probably go away on its own anyway." He reassured.

She knew that he was right and she tried to calm herself down. The problem would probably end up disappearing on its own. She could sense that he knew that she was calming down some.

"That's my good girl." He murmured.

Wong made a noise of agreement.

"He's right you know. There is probably like a ninety nine percent chance you'll be fine. You just have to stick it out until then that's all." He agreed.

She knew that they were right but felt that she could use a little time to herself to deal with her emotions.

"Hey, I am going to go get a coffee, is that okay?" When she asked this, she was addressing Stephen more so than Wong.

Again, Stephen looked like he wanted to object however Wong gave him a look. Wong knew as much as she did that keeping her cooped up in the Sanctum wouldn't do her or anybody else any good for that matter. She sensed that Stephen was relenting.

"Alright sweetheart, you can go but please, please be careful." He ordered softly.

A part of her wanted to put up a huge stink about how protective he was being but she knew that considering what he had been through the last few days he had the right to be.

She nodded to him.

"I promise I'll be careful." She murmured.

He gave her a tender look and kissed her softly. Wong made gagging noises in the background causing her to giggle and Stephen to give him the stink eye. Reluctantly, she parted from him and left the library. She decided that she would just stay in her exercise clothes because they were comfy and she didn't feel like changing but she would like to grab something to throw over top. She went to Stephen's room and located her hoody. When she went to the tower to retrieve more tools, she ended up retrieving more clothes as well. She was certain that stupid Courtney had thrown all the stuff she left behind away when she used her room but instead she just shoved them in a box and just left it in the corner of the room thank crap. She just ended up taking the entire box with her back to Sanctum along with her tools.

After throwing her hood on, she left Stephen's room and made her way to the foyer of the Sanctum. As she was about to leave the building, she was bombarded by both the cloak and Sapphire. She could sense that they thought that she was leaving and never coming back. She wondered why they thought that when she remembered earlier when she was finding out what was going on with her magic that she did entertain the notion to leave briefly but dismissed it as soon as she thought of it. She knew that leaving permanently would solve nothing at all and more than likely wreck both her and Stephen. She wondered if they both managed to sense what she was thinking for that brief moment. She was shocked that she could hear them trying to talk to her inside of her head. She couldn't make out a lot because they were saying a lot and both trying to talk to her at the same time but she did catch one thing.

"Mistress cannot leave master." They said.

Her mismatched eyes softened at that.

"Hush you two, I'm not leaving forever I just want a coffee." She reassured.

Tell them that seemed to calm them down a bit, but it was a few more minutes before they let her leave the Sanctum. Before she left, she made sure that she had her phone and iPod. After she left the Sanctum, she pulled the hood of her hoodie up over her head and ambled down the street to Alex's little café. When she entered the café, she pouted when she saw that Alex was not working. Regardless of who made her drink, it usually always turned out decent but she had been looking forward to talking with Alex.

'Oh well, can't do a damn thing about it.' She thought to herself.

She ordered herself her usual iced coffee made with chocolate milk instead of white and waited patiently for it to be made. After waiting for a few minutes, the kind lady behind the counter handed her drink to her and she paid for it. She left the café and after debating with herself for a few minutes decided to take a walk to Central Park. She knew that it would help her to calm down and work through the rest of her emotions. Placing her ear buds in her ears, she picked a song and made her way to Central Park. Along the way, she would periodically take pulls from her iced coffee. Once she got to Central Park, she found a bench and plopped down into it and continued to enjoy her sweet drink.

She let out a long sigh as she tried to sift through her emotions. She felt as if her magic had been violated by being bitten by the faceless one and she hated it so much. It reminded her of what happened the day she broke up with Toby. That incident gave her the exact same feeling of being violated.

Memory

Irena tried to push Toby away as she felt his insistent hands roaming all over her body. He was trying to touch her in ways that she didn't want. His hands tried to find their way inside of her pants and she tried to push him away, hard but he was stronger. This was not how she pictured what this stuff would be like. Finally having enough, she forced his hands out of her pants and away from her.

"I said no Toby now get the HELL out!" She yelled.

An angry look on formed on Toby's face at being told to get out.

"If you really think that you can tell me what I can and cannot do you, you are fucking dreaming. You are mine end of story." Toby snarled back.

She felt her powers begin to activate at what he said. Perhaps it was it defense mechanism she did not know. She felt the blue energy from around her palm. She could feel it crackling with power. She lifted her arm and faced her palm toward the direction that Toby was standing with every intention of letting loose the energy gathered there. However, before she could, the bedroom door swung open and in stepped Darcy looking absolutely livid. The distraction was enough to cause the energy she had around her palm to dissipate.

"Just what in the fuck is going on in here?" Darcy snarled angrily.

Toby had decency to look a little fearful like he rightfully should.

"Toby, do as she says and get the fuck out before I tell Tony on your worthless piece of shit ass." She threatened.

She saw that Toby was about to protest until Darcy stomped up to him and sucker punched him right in the face. His hands immediately flew to his bloody and broken nose. She stood there completely shocked that Darcy had the gonads to do that. It was enough to finally make him leave. It was typical coward man behavior. It took no time at all for the gravity of the situation to sink in and she couldn't stop the tears when they started. She slid down onto the floor and Darcy sat down with her. Darcy hugged her until the tears slowed.

"Please don't tell Tony." She begged.

She watched Darcy let out a long sigh but she nodded and complied.

End Memory

To this day, only she and Darcy knew of that incident. But the feelings she had back then were the same she had now. She felt as if a part of her was violated. She knew that in time as her magic improved, the feeling would go away but right now it really sucked. Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by something snuffling at her feet. She saw that it was a big black lab now normally she didn't go around petting strange dogs but she could sense that this dog meant her no harm.

"Where did you come from?" She asked the dog.

The dog of course couldn't answer back but her question was answered quickly anyway. She could hear someone yelling a short distance away.

"Cinder what are you doing? Leave the poor girl alone!" Somebody yelled.

Looking at the dog, she immediately understood where the name Cinder came from. The dog's eyes reminded her of cinders burning slowly in a fire. As the owner got closer, she realized that she knew them. Dr. West came into view and she looked heavenward. Some deity up there was really having the time of their lives messing around with her.

'You have to got to be kidding me!.' She thought with exasperation.

He approached her with a look on his face told her that she was in for a whole bunch of trouble.

"Well hello there, pretty girl." He greeted.

Since Tony didn't raise her to be an asshole…most of the time, she did her best to remain friendly towards him even if she wanted to tell him to go suck a nut.

"Hello, Dr. West." She greeted back politely.

"Nice dog by the way." She added.

She was telling the truth when she said that. Cinder was a very nice dog. It was just a shame she had such a pompous asshole owner. Dr. West preened a little at the compliment and she fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Thank you, so do you mind me asking why you are out here all alone on a park bench, having trouble in paradise?" He assumed.

She could barely keep the frown off of her face at the question. She knew what he was referring to when he asked her that and it pissed her right the hell off. She was about to say it was none of his damn business why she was out here when she suddenly felt something shift in her magic. Her mismatched eyes got large. Stephen was coming and he was not happy. She could feel his anger and possessiveness.

'Oh holy crap balls almighty!' She thought in shock.

Sure enough, Stephen fell out of the sky a little ways away and he looked pissed right off. He wasted no time in approaching the scene and he placed her behind himself. He looked like he was ready to vaporize Dr. West on the spot. Crap, he must have felt her fluctuating emotions through the bond and thought that she was in some kind of trouble.

"What is the meaning of this?" Stephen asked angrily.

Dr. West snorted and shook his head. Clearly, he was not aware of the situation he found himself in.

"Take it easy Strange, she and I were just getting to know each other a little better that's all." Dr. West stated with a grin.

If the situation hadn't turned so serious, she would have faceplamed. She swore that Dr. West was trying to get himself killed on purpose. This was just like Toby all over again. She could sense that Stephen's magic was getting out of control and she needed to do something before he did something would regret. She could also sense the dog's fear too, this entire situation was getting out of hand and she needed to put a stop to it. Gently, she moved from behind him and placed herself in front of him. She turned to face him and started stroking his chest. It was enough to move his attention from Dr. West to her thankfully.

"Come on Stephen, calm yourself. He isn't even worth it." She soothed.

She could feel him calming down some but she could still feel his possessiveness and protectiveness pulsing through the bond. He was still looking at her with darkened eyes but not in a way that scared her. Suddenly, he literally swept her off of her feet and into his arms. She let out a shocked shriek at being displaced. Realizing that they were levitating away, her shriek increased in volume. Immediately, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his neck. Oh how she hated heights. She could feel his amusement through the bond bleeding through the possessiveness and protectiveness if she wasn't so petrified she would have given him a piece of her mind. It took them no time at all to reach the Sanctum. When they did, he let her down but refused to part from her. Instead, he lowered his head to hers and gave her a searing kiss. As he did this, he gave the cloak a magical command to disengage from him. Somehow, they managed to make to his bedroom without parting much. Stephen wasted no time in trying to lift her hoodie over her head; she lifted her arms to help him. She could sense just how much he wanted to show her to whom she belonged

She thought about the conversation she had with Darcy at her apartment. It made her want to channel her inner Darcy and turn the tables on him a little bit. She really wanted to try and get over her shyness with all of this stuff. Instead of letting him back her toward his bed, she shifted them so she could back him toward the bed instead. She could sense his curiosity and he was looking at her intently waiting eagerly to see what she was going to do. She wasted no time in straddling him. She could feel just how much he desired her in more ways than one. This time, while she could feel herself heating up at the thought of it she didn't let it deter her. Instead, she rolled her hips against his experimentally and was surprised at the intensity of the sparks of desire that shot through her that the friction that it caused as she did so. His hands automatically flew to her hips to keep her in place and she saw that his eyes were black with desire.

"So naughty, yet still so innocent. You are mine." He purred possessively, stroking her hips.

She giggled and lowered her lips to his right ear licking the shell as she did so.

"I'm not the only one who's naughty. I know what you do when I'm not around." She countered playfully.

His eyes widened when he realized what she was referring to. He let out a low, desire filled growl.

"Little minx, you will be the death of me yet." He growled lowly.

She knew that after he said that it was the end of playtime. He wasted no time showing her to whom she belonged to and just how much she was loved.

Neither she nor Stephen noticed the wound on her shoulder glowing blue through the bandage that covered it or the relic around her neck glowing a soft blue instead of the purple that it once was.

Spoiler

Irena sat in the 'practice room' with Clint looking at his quiver. It looked like it had been squished all to hell. How she would get it to dispense arrows again, she did not know. She couldn't for the life of her figure out just how he managed to destroy it THAT badly. She looked to him for answers and he merely gave her a sheepish look back. While Clint was mostly retired now, he did still go on a mission from time to time.

"Don't even ask." He muttered.

She rolled her mismatched eyes at him.

"Can you fix it, tootsie roll?" He asked hopefully.

She frowned but nodded. What her asshole brothers put their shit through was beyond her.

"I think so, do you mind hanging around here until I am done fixing it?" She asked curiously.

He nodded eagerly.

"I was hoping for that, I would love to catch up with you." He replied laughing.

She smiled happily.

"Good." She agreed.

She got to work and they talked about all kinds of things. Mostly, Clint wanted to make sure that Stephen was treating her well to which she couldn't help but inwardly roll her eyes at, big brother syndrome much? The conversation continued normally until her magic and magical spells came up and things got interesting.

A/N: Ooooh what's going to happen now?