Though we don't share the same blood

You're my brother

And I love you

That's the truth…

Brother – Kodaline

-o-

Chapter 21: Does This Mean You're a Witch?

"Does this mean you're a witch?" asked Tony as he watched Ana carefully move around the guest bedroom. "Or is it sorceress, now? Oh, I know! You're the witch and Erin is the sorceress. That would work."

A throaty chuckle escaped Ana as she glanced at Tony, a flash of a yellow glow in her brown eyes.

"Do you and Erin fly? Am I going to have to invest in modifying brooms for you?"

"Mon dieu, Tony," Ana began though her laughter was bubbling out of her. "Enough with the magic jests," she said as she turned around, gently pulling on a blouse. Her left side was healed but was still tender and raw with new skin. Light bandages had been placed over the area to protect it.

Tony gave a wide grin as he placed his hands in the pockets of his coat. "Cut me some slack little sisters. I just had my first out of body experience and discovered magic is a real thing. I need some semblance of normalcy after everything we've been through."

"So, picking on me is your normal?" she asked as she went over to grab a pair of shoes that Wong had left for her. She winced slightly as she leaned down to grab them, raising a hand and shaking her head when he went to help her. "It's ok, it's just tender." She smiled at him as she grabbed the shoes before moving carefully over to sit on the bed. "Merci."

He moved over to sit on the bed with her, sighing heavily as he reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "You and Erin gave us a real scare back there… Next time just tell me you're in a super-secret cult so we can avoid this emotional baggage. I'd understand."

"It is not a cult!" she managed to get out before the laughter bubbled out of her.

Tony smiled and hugged her tighter, enjoying the sound of his sister's laughter before reached out to pat her knee. "We're a mess, aren't we?"

Ana's laughter died down and she looked at her brother, a sweet smile on her face. "What family isn't? But that's what makes us strong, right? We have each other to help through the hard times… I'm sorry I kept you in the dark about what was going on."

"It's ok," he said as he let Ana go so she could put her shoes on. "Dr. Mysterio told you his super-secret cult had to be super-secret. Considering what he's doing for Erai, Betty and the twins I don't blame you."

"I swear to god Tony! His last name is Strange not Mysterio and if you call it a cult one more time," she said as she turned around from her bent over position and swiped a hand at his shin.

He chuckled as he moved his leg out of the way, his hazel eyes dancing with affection and amusement. He remained silent as he watched her tie her shoes before she slowly sat back up and ran a hand through her copper brown curls.

"You and Erin are going to keep training here?" he asked as he studied her.

Ana nodded as she glanced at him. "It's important we learn the Mystic Arts. Even more so now… Erin needs to be a part of what I'm doing so that way we, as Cin, can be stronger."

"For better mental control, yeah you mentioned that before."

"Erin and I are a part of one another, but we've never been truly in sync until we met Bruce," she frowned a little as she spoke of her missing husband, reaching out to her left ring finger out of habit. Her wedding band was not there, having forgotten to place it back on after the date, and instead she ran her fingers around her left ring finger. "After he disappeared, everything just went… dark between us. At least until everything that happened with rescuing the twins. Merging with Erai had cleared that wall between us but never dropped it. Even after this second merging, the wall is still there. We need to learn how to drop it completely. Training with Stephen and Wong will help with that. We need to be ready. We can't let another incident that happened with the twins happen ever again."

Tony's lips thinned as he studied Ana, noting the missing wedding band with a light frown. "Stephen, huh?" he said, raising a brow in question. Seeing the soft smile that had replaced the frown on her face at the mention of Strange, Tony's frown eased a little. Despite what he may personally think of the guy and the situation, Tony couldn't help but feel a little gratitude toward the wizard. There hadn't been a smile like that on his sister's face in a long time. Deciding not to harass her too much about the guy, Tony looked around the room they were in. "Are you going to be staying here then?"

She frowned lightly in thought, going over her options, as she bit down on her lower lip. After a heartbeat, she gave a soft nod. "I think I should… I've been spending more time and energy focusing on my studies so it would save the trip of going back and forth…" She sighed and shook her head. "But, I need to get back to the apartment to grab some things. Erin is also anxious to see if Peter is ok and frankly, I do as well. Poor thing, Peter is probably beside himself with worry after everything…" She trailed off when she saw that her brother had tensed up at the mention of Peter. She shifted in her position to face him, a look of suspicion falling across her features. "What did you say to him, Tony?"

"Nothing that wasn't unwarranted," said Tony in reply as he glanced at Ana. "He should've listened to us. Now, because of his stupid decisions to go behind my back, that whole thing with the ferry happened and the leader of that weapons ring is still out there. I took his suit back, dropped him off home, and that's that."

"Have you checked up on him since then?" asked Ana, her worry clear.

"No," said Tony as he shook his head. "I've been more concerned about you. The kid's fine, he's young, he'll bounce back from this. Like I said before you disappeared: You're not mentoring him anymore."

"And you think that will stop him from doing what he thinks is right? He doesn't have his suit and he doesn't have his mentor. You said so yourself that weapons dealer is still out there somewhere." Ana shook her head, a slight frown on her face. "You haven't spent any time with him at all so don't assume you know him as well as you think you do. This won't stop him. He's a kid but he's growing into a young man. He's going to make his own decisions regardless of what we advise him because that is what it means to grow up." She paused at this, her own words hitting to the heart of her.

Tony frowned lightly at this but didn't say anything in response. Ana was right. He didn't know Peter outside of the few times they had interacted and from all the times he had monitored him. She knew him a little better because of her role as his mentor. Erin and Ana saw the boy the way Tony saw her: A younger sibling that, despite choices and mistakes made, you cared for regardless.

She turned away from Tony as she closed her eyes and reached out to the clear wall between Erin and her. She sent off a questioning thought to her other self and Erin's response was in the affirmative. She wanted to go see their little brother – they didn't leave family behind.

Nodding to herself, she opened her eyes and looked at Tony. "I'm going to my apartment. I'm going to talk to May Parker and hope to god I didn't burn that bridge of our friendship." She stood up from the bed and carefully folded her arms across her chest, daring Tony to say something. "I'm then going to talk to Peter, with or without your blessing. Suit or no suit, he's one of ours."

Tony glanced at her for a few moments, his hazel eyes taking in the sight of her, before a slight smile appeared on his goateed lips. He stood up and went over to wrap her in a tight hug. "You ladies and your stubborn ways… Fine, I don't agree with it, but fine. Keep doing what you've been doing but, if you decide to tail him on your breaks from your magic studies, keep your cloaking device with you. I don't want him to think he's got a chance until he's proved himself capable."

"I can block my end of the link so he won't know I'm there," she said as she returned the hug. "Thanks, big brother… For always being there despite everything." She felt the tears brimming as she hugged him tighter and buried herself within the warmth of him. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here taking care of us. We love you."

Warmth touched his heart and his smile grew as he tightened his hold around her and leaned down to press a kiss against her hair. "Love you too…"

They held each other tightly for a little longer before Tony pulled away, clearing his throat in a suspicious way as he sniffed. "All right, enough of that mushy stuff." He smiled at her soft laugh and glanced around at the room. "So, is this going to be your room?"

"I don't know," she said with a smile before she took her brother by the hand and started heading to the door. "But, we can find out as soon as I ask Stephen. I just know he's been asking Jenn all sorts of questions about her cybernetic parts. He was a neurosurgeon so his medical mind must be going crazy over how everything works for her."

"Since we're back on the topic of Dr. Mysterio, Happy told me your date went rather well the other night," Tony said, a smirk appearing on his lips. "If the kid hadn't shown up when he did…"

"You were having us followed?" asked Ana, an incredulous tone in her voice as she frowned up at him. She paused in her step and closed her eyes, shaking her head with a muttered curse. Of course, Tony would have had them followed. "Never mind… That was a stupid question. I hope Happy wasn't too bored."

"He enjoyed the show," said Tony, his smirk turning into a wide grin. "The Broadway show that is… So, question: Was Dr. Mysterio the one you were with that day when you were breathing all heavy on the phone or was it that Wong guy?"

"Oh my god, do not Anthony Stark!"

He let out a barking laugh at his sister's deep and embarrassed blush as she dropped his hand in a huff and turned to leave the room. He followed her, his laughter still going. Oh, how he loved messing with her…

-o-

After passing Wong's scrutiny on her health, Ana had brought up the subject of her staying at the Sanctum for a little while. At least until her side was officially healed.

Wong, who had finished his examination of her, had given her a pleased smile. "I don't see why not. Stephen, that should be fine, right?" He looked at his friend and noticed the deep flush that had crept into Strange's neck, his gaze focused on Ana.

A soft giggle had broken the silence that followed, the sound coming from Ana's aunt Jenn. She had been having a discussion with Strange about her cybernetics when Tony and Ana had joined them in the entranceway. She had quickly caught on to the fact that the tall and handsome man had a soft spot for her niece and that it seemed Ana was opening up to his affection. Well, this was quite a change and Jenn found she liked the idea of them. She hadn't seen her niece this relaxed in such a long time.

"Hey Dr. Mysterio," said Tony, reaching out to snap his fingers toward Strange. "Answer the question. Can Ana stay or not? If not, I'm taking her home."

Strange blinked and frowned, his gaze flicking to Tony as the heat crept into his ears at being caught staring at Ana. "The name is Doctor Stephen Strange, get it right, and of course. Ana is more than welcome to stay here if she chooses."

"Thank you Stephen," said Ana, who was torn between laughing and scolding her brother for his usual antics. "Would the room I stayed in be all right for me to call my own?"

"Yes, that's fine," said Strange, giving a nod as he glanced at Ana, his frown easing into a soft smile.

Ana smiled at in him in turn and they had fallen into that brief moment of silence once more as they stared at one another…

"Ok, so Mysterio, I know you've been keeping my godson and goddaughter in a safe place. Thanks for that by the way," said Tony, breaking through the moment and causing both Ana and Strange to jump slightly into focus. "I've wanted to see them so Ray, when are you heading back? Jenn and I will tag along."

"Oh, soon actually. I know Luc and Beccie will be very happy to see you two," said Erai, who was smiling at his brother, trying not to openly encourage Tony's antics but not being discreet in the fact that he was enjoying it. This was their little sister after all.

Strange was going to have his hands full if he was going to pursue a relationship with this particular woman.

"Great," said Tony as he glanced at Ana. "Happy's waiting outside. Just have him take you to the apartment. If he asks where we are, just tell him we're visiting the kids here. That should keep him quiet for a little bit."

"I will," said Ana, deciding to ignore her brother's obvious overprotectiveness and turned her attention to Strange. "Stephen, I should be back in a couple of hours."

Strange gave a nod, "We'll be here, Ana."

With that done, Ana gave quick hugs and kisses to her family before Wong escorted her to the front door.

It was late in the afternoon by this time and Happy was still waiting in his black car on the curb. The moment he saw Ana coming down the steps of the townhome, he got out of the car and made his way around to her. His gaze traveled over, the worry quite clear, but at seeing her bright smile he seemed to relax and smiled back at her. With all the hubbub going on with the move from Avengers Tower to the compound upstate, Happy hadn't been aware of what was going on with Ana. It was not until Tony had called him letting him know of Ana's disappearance that he dropped everything to head back to the compound.

"Where's Tony and Jenn?" he asked, glancing behind him before he focused his gaze on Ana.

"They're staying, the twins are here so they wanted to spend time with them," said Ana. "I need to head to the apartment in Queens and grab some things; can I bug you for a ride? Tony and Jenn should be ready by the time we get back."

Happy studied Ana for a moment, his worry and concern still clear and his questions even more so, but finally gave her a soft smile and nodded. "Yeah, sure… C'mon…"

-o-

(A/n) No, no, no! Stay away! -=runs off screaming as the Cloak of Levitation chases after her. The sound of screams and cloth rustling could be heard before frustrated growl follows suit=- I have to get back to my main story! Please! I've been working so hard on the next chapter! -=slaps at the cloak as it drags her back into this one=- Tell Stephen to leave me alone, we'll get there eventually, I promise!

Lol, thanks for the beautiful feedback crimson blood witch, CLTex, Chitters and Hermeschild! I promise I am working on CTMV right now but Stephen won't leave me alone. So, bear with me!

Also fun fact: Mysterio is the name of a Spider-Man villain… just a fun reference.