Lessons In Love: Chapter Sixty: Fire in Your New Shoes (Part 4)


The quiet conversation between the older Stephen and Tony continued. He wanted something done by the Wizard Supreme, but he was having a hard time getting him to comply with his request.

That's why everyone saw the eye roll. Strange was just as feisty as Tony, and he didn't think that what he wanted was important. Everyone in the room was watching them talk.

The younger Stephen looked up every now and then...

He thought the whole thing was odd and he glanced over at the younger Tony. Steve had moved closer to him at that point, so Stephen figured that he wouldn't get to ask him how he was.

Something obviously upset him. Stephen began to wonder if it was because he didn't comment on that super suit. What Tony created was pretty spectacular.

Stephen had a ton of things to say to him about it. But, he failed to say something. The younger Stephen started staring down at the floor. He took his final bite of the food and he tried to clear the thoughts about that out of his head.

His older self started talking, so that helped. He glanced back up at the older Stephen, then his eyes shifted over to the older Tony.

The two of them looked very comfortable with one another. Stephen hardly ever saw them interact.

"I'm sure you all got the memo that you graduated. Congratulations."

His icy older self started talking. The tone in his voice was warmer than usual, and Stephen suspected it was because of what the older Tony said. His brooding wasn't as bad after their chat.

"You all get one week to celebrate your accomplishment. After one week you will return here and complete what we are doing."

One week?

Baby Tony finally tuned in. He was watching the behavior of his older self until Steve moved closer to him. Steve wanted to share his food with Tony, because he noticed that he didn't grab anything to eat.

Tony thought that it was sweet. Tony quietly thanked him. He focused on the summer boy until the older Stephen mentioned the week off. Hallelujah.

"When you come back to the Kamar taj, you will train here for one more month. You've been here for four months."

The older Stephen held up four fingers. Four plus one is five. Get it? Five months of training...

Everyone was following along, and listening to him as he spoke. He could tell that he had their full attention, so the sorcerer continued talking.

"For your final month, you will train with me. I will be in charge of your training, so I'm giving you a week to get ready."

The Sorcerer Supreme gave them all a lovely smile. Only Victor and Stephen had "trained" with him. They both look mortified when he spoke. Stephen even dropped his spoon.

"Christ.."

Baby Steve and Tony heard the younger Stephen say something out loud. He spoke softly, and they saw him staring at the floor. Stephen was not happy at all to hear that he would be training with him again.

Uhmmaaa... Baby Tony wasn't sure what to expect. He kept looking at the two versions of Stephen, then he focused back on Steve. The two of them were sharing the bowl of food.

Steve was hungry enough to eat ten more servings, but he felt like getting something in Tony's stomach was more important.

He kept his blue eyes focused on the Sorcerer Supreme. They had not interacted at all. Steve did not know what to expect from him.

He took a moment to look at the young one. The Stephen that he was familiar with was very reactive and quick to anger.

He wondered if his older self was similar.

That little graduation meeting had ended. The older Stephen had nothing more to say, and nothing was up for debate. The older Stephen looked at the older Tony one more time, and he saw his playful grin.

That congratulatory speech was... lovely? Tony was glad that the damn wizard didn't freak them out too badly.

He clapped his hands together and told the small group that they were off the hook for a week. Huzzah.

The group was pretty quiet. Not much was said, and a ton of glances were being made amongst them all.

They all were thinking about how they were going to spend the week.

Steve knew where he wanted to go, but he was unsure how to go about it. Stephen knew what he had to do, but he was dreading it.

And as for Tony? Tony just thought it over as he chewed on one side of his lip.

His eyes went to his left and he looked over at Stephen. Thennnn, those wandering eyes headed toward Steve.

The brunette sat in between them and he sulked in his own self inflicted misery.


Chapter:END

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