Lessons In Love: Chapter Fifty-Seven: Fire in Your New Shoes (Part 1)


Clea Strange was with her younger self. She felt it was best to get the younger version of herself up to speed in the Dark Dimension.

She gave her a tour of her own home, and intentionally did it without Stephen's involvement. Clea knew that her younger self would find her way to Stephen all on her own. Help with that was unnecessary.

That point became clear as soon as they returned to the Kamar taj. The women kept their distance, but they began to watch the sparring match between Steve and Stephen. Clea saw exactly where her younger self was focused.

Stephen had the ability to levitate. He did not have the cloak of levitation at that point, but he used Agamotto's energy to bring his body off the ground.

Steve kept knocking him around. It irritated Stephen, so he decided to head up higher. The would-be-soldier looked up at Stephen.

Steve acted like he was limited and he continued to just stare up at his opponent. He thought about throwing something. Steve glanced around, and he imagined himself launching something in Stephen's direction.

Those thoughts were cut short because Steve felt an energy heading his way. The blonde looked to his left, and Stephen started looking toward his right.

Something was flying toward them. It had a bright orange glow, and they both studied what approached.

Tony headed right for Stephen. He flew up and the voice within his suit started talking.

His suit was equipped with E.D.I.T.H. and the system told Baby Tony everything that he needed to know about Stephen Strange.

It was also directly tapped into his abilities with Hoggoth. The older Tony found all the spell casting and voodoo hand gestures to be a waste of time. Time was precious for a Stark.

So, he always figured out shortcuts and ways to do things a thousand times more efficiently. Big Tony gifted all of his discoveries to his younger self. Now he could invoke all the fiery powers of Hoggoth with hardly any effort.

That was exactly what the youngling did as he charged that wizard-in-training. Stephen backed up immediately and he noticed Tony's face and body. He was illuminated in a suit, and the younger Stephen became a bit overwhelmed.

He hadn't seen Tony in a long time. He brought his arms upward and he was surprised that he was being attacked.

Steve stared up at the scene. He saw that suit latch itself to Stephen's arms. Tony grabbed his wrists and they all heard two very loud sounds. It sounded robotic, and two orange rings burst out of that energetic suit.

Tony used a spell from the hands of Hoggoth. He bound Stephen's hands in place and then he whipped around toward his second target. Steve saw that orange missile heading straight for him.

Stephen tried to jerk his hands back toward his chest. What the? He was unable to move his arms back. It irritated him immediately, and the would-be-sorcerer started aggressively trying to free his arms.

Tony reached the blonde and he smirked when Steve started flying back. He was intentionally hiding what he had been taught, and waiting for the right time to fly up to Stephen. Tony forced him to reveal his little secret, and Steve locked his arms up to protect his chest.

That little fireball was quick. Steve was studying his speed, and he was surprised to see that Tony knew how to keep him from going forward. The blonde waited for a soft spot.

He kept retreating and floating back. Steve's arms were up, and Steve could only block Tony's advance and protect his body. For a split second, Tony over extended his left arm, and Steve grasped it tight.

He twisted the brunette around, and the would-be-soldier held him tightly against his chest.

Tony glanced backward. Steve held onto him, and the brunette tried to burst out of his grip with the suit. He decided to increase the energy. It lit up like it was Christmas, and Steve thought that it was going to explode.

He released the suit, and Tony quickly flew upward.

They both stared at each other until they heard the sound of those rings being overpowered. Stephen focused everything he had on his wrists, and Agamotto eliminated the spell.

Tony quickly streamed beside Stephen. He intended to lock him up again, but something colorful got in his way.

A petite lil' pixie had set herself directly between Tony and Stephen. She did not like the speed of the suit, and considered it to be dangerous. Tony kept looking at her as Stephen slowly turned in their direction.

He saw Clea's white hair and a million or so thoughts filled his head. Stephen glanced at Tony's suit, then he looked down at Steve.

"That is pretty nifty Tony. Is it finished?"

Steve was all smiles. He was happy to see Tony outside the armory. They had never trained together, and the blonde was eager to fight some more. The energized helmet flipped away from his face, and a playful grin emerged. Nifty whut?

Steve's old man talk made Tony laugh.

"Yes, it's finished. My older self said that I've graduated."

That meant that he got to play with the others in the sandbox now. Baby Tony was amused with that, until he glanced over in Stephen's direction.

The would-be-sorcerer was focused on Clea. She turned in his direction while Tony spoke ...and those two, looked all...

Lovey dovey?

They looked like they belonged together. It was the oddest thing. Tony swallowed for a sec, and the energy in his suit dwindled down. His feet were almost at the surface and the younger Tony stopped looking. He stared down at his shoes instead.

The glow from his suit was gone and Mr. Nifty stepped into his line of sight. Tony looked up at Steve. His shirt was very clean.

"My older self mentioned that I graduated as well. I think our time here is almost over."

Steve sorta had a hunch about it. He studied Tony, and then he glanced up at the two that were still floating around. Stephen and Clea had soft voices.

Tony couldn't hear a thing, and Steve wasn't particularly interested. Clea was telling him that she was going back to the Dark Dimension. She was technically saying goodbye, and Stephen was a little torn about that.

He hadn't gotten the opportunity to even speak to the younger Clea, and for some reason he wanted to prolong her exit.

He could not stop staring at her skin. Baby Stephen did his best and he forced his focus onto other stuff. Clea thanked him for finding her, and she told him that he could find her out there again when he was ready.

Stephen was pretty ready in that moment. He didn't understand what he needed to get so prepared for. He mentioned that to her, and his tone was very flirtatious.

She was immediately warmed by his words and she tried to think of a response.

"Well, you are not the Sorcerer Supreme yet, here. It would be dangerous for you to enter my dimension."

That was just a start. The older Clea warned her in several ways about Stephen. She was not allowed to touch him. Clea stared at one of his arms, and then she looked up at his face.

The young woman looked away quickly as he shrugged off what she said.

"I could, just visit? What's the harm in that?"

He didn't want his dream girl taking off. Stephen was enamored with everything that was in front of him. He started thinking that he could look at her until he dropped dead.

She had a small smile. Clea just shook her head and she told herself that she needed to head back to her older self. She quietly said goodbye to Stephen, and he let out a defeated sigh.

His dream girl fluttered away, and the sorcerer-in-training drifted back down to the earth's surface. He saw the person that he had been sparring with all day, then he looked over at the flashy one.

"I was just told that I've graduated too. In my head, my older self said we all need to wash up and head that way."

Stephen pointed toward the part of the Kamar taj that looked all ceremonial. Steve looked where he pointed, but Tony didn't.

He wasn't really in the mood to look, or wash up. The brunette gave the two his best smile, then he took off toward his room.

He felt all ... weird. On one hand, he had Bucky Wonder screwing everything up with Steve. That sucked, AND NOW... he had some damn TINKER BELL bewitching Stephen.

Tony was beyond bothered.


Chapter: END

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