-Not a native speaker, unbetaed so please kindly point out any mistakes
-Warning: Some slight spoiler for "The Falcon and The Winter Soldier" but nothing that haven't been shown in the trailers
Having a shower in the Tower was much better than having one in a five-star hotel. He was impressed although he would never admit it especially in front of Stark. The selection of the hair products (who knew the Avengers were a bunch of vain superheroes) alone was worth the not-so-brief shower. There were all sorts of shower foams and gels—some were for relaxing, refreshing, rejuvenating, invigorating, and there were more functions that Stephen didn't bother to check. He was tempted to choose something relaxing after the week he had but he then remembered he needed to be alert in his own birthday party, so he opted for invigorating.
He didn't regret his choice.
The shower itself had different settings with different shower heads. He asked Friday (he still needed to get used to the idea of an AI system in bathrooms) which setting to use. She suggested the setting that could massage his whole back. After the first few seconds, Stephen admitted that perhaps having AI everywhere was not as bad as he initially thought. He still wouldn't admit it to Stark. There was enough ego between the two of them to fill the whole Avengers Tower, make it the whole New York.
When he returned to their common room, Wong was playing pool with Colonel James Rhodes. He didn't know his friend could play pool. Christine was deep in conversation with Ms Potts in a corner. The Cloak that pretended to be a scarf this time squeezed so as not to clash with his new dress shirt from Christine squeezed his shoulders to give him strength not to flee.
The rest of the Avengers looked suspicious as they looked everywhere else but him. The most noticeable was Thor reading the Journal of Medicine upside down (it could be the way Asgardians read Midgardian stuff— Stephen was not well versed enough in Asgardian to know) and Clint reading Cosmopolitan the right way up.
He really shouldn't judge. Perhaps some guys like to read those magazines for great tips. At one time Stephen caught Wong reading Elle. When he teased the librarian about it, he said he should not make fun of such magazines. They give great tips to have great hair. He was about to say the joke was on Wong because he had no hair but the joke died on his lips when he looked at Wong's icy stare that could freeze Hel.
Tony stopped eating his snack, stood up, and—being a good host he was—greeted him. "Welcome back, Dumbledore, took you long enough." He sniffed his hair (he should revoke his earlier compliment about being a good host). "Wow, you smell great." He wriggled his eyebrows and had the audacity to wink at him. "Enjoying our free shampoo, aren't we?"
Stephen was pretty sure his face pinkened with the heat he felt on his face. Before he could retort with something clever, Tony continued. "What do you want to drink? Beer, coffee, tea, soda, lemonade? I know wizards like to eat ice cream so I already ordered all flavors of Ben and Jerry including Stark Raving Hazelnut. Don't look at me like that. You could eat other flavors. Since I don't know what you like to eat. I've ordered a bit of everything: pizza, sushi, Low Mein, Pad Thai, Gado-gado, cheeseburgers, shawarmas, kebabs, fish and chips, and Briyani Chicken. I think I miss some of them. Friday, do you…"
Stephen stopped him before he continued rambling. "Low Mein would be nice. I read that it's customary for Chinese to eat noodles during birthdays for a long life and we, as the people like us who die a lot, totally need that. Thank you." He meant it because he just realized he was famished. He remembered the last proper meal he had was around three days ago when Wong dragged him from his research and forced him to eat a sandwich.
"You're welcome!" Tony winked at him "A walking encyclopedia."
They were about to get their food when Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes materialized right in front of them.
Wilson smiled and presented a plate of Low Mein to him. "I overheard your conversation. We haven't got a chance to properly talk since you opened portals for us. Thank you for listening to us and opening a portal to Steve's left."
He received the plate. "Thank you. Is there any specific reason for that unique request?" He felt really odd with his request but there was no time to argue so it was easier to just comply.
Wilson grinned. "It's an inside joke between me and Steve. When we first met, I was jogging and he was literally running laps around me and kept yelling on your left."
Barnes raised his eyebrows. "Is that the reason? Why didn't you tell me?"
"You never asked!"
Both of them started to bicker.
Tony pat Stephen's shoulder. "This is my cue to go. Enjoy your party, Houdini! You know where the drinks are." Looking at Stephen's confused face, he shrugged. "Or not. But I think you're smart enough to find them out by yourselves. There is literally a plate of cheeseburgers with my name on it." Before Stephen could say something about heart attack and cholesterol, his host was gone.
Stephen turned to look at Barnes and Wilson who seemed to be involved in some sort of intense stare-off. He was not dumb enough to be involved in whatever the deal was between the two of them. It would also be rude to leave when they brought him dinner.
Without turning his head or blinking his eyes, Wilson asked, "Doctor Strange, did Hagrid tell you that you're a wizard now? Did he give you a letter to go to Hogwarts?"
Barnes answered without turning his head, "Really? A Harry Potter reference? As far as I know Doctor Strange is a sorcerer."
"Actually, I prefer the term Master of the Mystic Arts."
They both ignored him as they continued to glare at each other.
Without missing a beat, Wilson said, "A sorcerer is just a wizard without a hat!"
Stephen considered that (Part of him, the sensible part, was horrified that he even took his time to consider it in the first place but most parts of him just ignored the sensible part most of the time). To the "muggles", a sorcerer and a wizard might indeed be similar. He didn't know whether he needed to explain the differences to both of them.
Steve Rogers swooped in to save the day. "Doctor Strange, I see that you're better acquainted with both of my best friends. I assure you they mean no harm but they're an acquired taste. Why don't we sit down and have a chat?"
Wilson and Barnes still had their stare off and ignored them.
Rogers steered him toward a corner settee where Black Widow was already seated. "Do you want me to get you something else to eat?" There were some drinks on the coffee table.
"Thanks. I think I'll finish my plate first."
"I'll leave you to it then. Don't worry. I'm not going to make a small chat unless you want to. I'll just sit here so nobody else would bother you."
Stephen nodded.
Rogers sat next to Romanoff. "Where were we?"
She smirked "I thought you left to escape defeat." They proceeded to play some sort of rock, paper, and scissors.
Stephen was grateful for the temporary peace and quiet.
When he finished his plate, Peter Parker swung by literally. He carried a tray with two plates: one was full of a selection of cakes, the other one was full of smaller bowls of ice cream. He put it on the table. "Mr Doctor Strange, the cakes are from Mr Stark, he said you were too thin so you needed the cakes. The ice cream selection was from Mr Wong, he said you were so bad in taking care of yourself and too frugal in spending for ice cream so here are some free ice-creams." Having realized what he just said, Peter's eyes widened and he covered his mouth.
"Thank you, Peter. Don't worry, I believe you said what they said verbatim. Would you like some cake or ice cream?"
"I'd like to but I'm so full Mr Doctor Strange." He patted his stomach.
"Stephen is OK."
"Pardon?"
"You can call me Stephen. After all, you've saved my life and we've fought together." Stephen winked at him.
"Really? That's so cool. I'm on the first name basis with a wizard. I'm going to tell Mr. Stark. Bye, Mr Dr, I mean Stephen." The kid swung back to wherever he came from.
Rogers and Romanoff smiled at their exchange. She said, "And I thought you were not a people person."
"I'm not."
She smirked. "If you insist." She sauntered off.
Rogers said, "Please ignore her. Her bark was worse than her bite. It seems Tony and Peter really like you."
"We bonded over fighting a purple oversized grape who wanted to wipe off half of the universe."
He smiled. "Yes, that certainly will create a lasting bond. I'm glad you look out for them, especially Tony. Someone with a medical degree is good for workaholic Tony."
"I guess so." He wouldn't mention to him that he himself was as bad or might be worse than Tony in terms of workaholic at least according to Wong.
"Thank you. Let's not talk about work. It's your big day. I'm going to get Natasha before she gets into arguments with someone. I'm not worried for her but for the people she bothers. Or worse, she could team up with Sam and Bucky. I'd better go. And Doctor, don't leave after your food. We've something special for you. You might like it." He smiled and left after the last words.
He ate his dessert relatively quietly. He knew the Avenger kept throwing not-so-furtive glances toward him every few minutes. He finished all his ice creams slowly. He only took two of the cakes— who wouldn't be able to resist Tiramisu and Haselnussmakronen—definitely not him.
As soon as he finished his ice cream and drunk a cup of water, Tony came to fetch him. "You took your sweet time, Dumbledore. We don't have all days. Well, actually we do but that's not the point. As soon as you open your presents, then there will be dancing and free flow of alcohol. That's what I look forward the most."
Friday chimed in, "Sir, I don't think that mixing dancing and alcohol is a good idea. Ms Potts has programmed me to remind you that. We don't want a repeat of 2010."
"Hush, Friday, I know. I just don't want to grow old watching Houdini here eating ice cream."
Stephen put upon a sigh. "Let's get over it and be done then."
Tony led him to the opposite site away from the food. There was actually a stack of presents on the table. How could he miss that? He could feel all eyes in the room were on him.
The Cloak left his shoulders and flew to inspect the presents. She carried two and dropped them on Stephen's hands. They were actually quite heavy so he carried them to a nearby couch to open them. He looked at his shaking hands and considered using magic to still them. The Cloak tried to open one of the presents and realized she had no opposable thumbs. She flew away and returned with Christine in tow. The cloak rolled its corner and wrapped it around her right hand.
"Yes, yes, I know. I'm going to help him. You don't have to drag me."
She sat next to him. "Stephen, let me open it for you. If you do that, you'll just ruin the wrapping and that will be a waste. I could use the wrappings for kids' charity next week." She smiled.
He was glad that at least she let him have his dignity.
She opened the first present adeptly. It contained a sandwich toaster and a set of knives. There was a birthday card from IKEA with the writing "Happy Birthday Second Rate Sorcerer (these three words were being crossed out) Sorcerer Doctor Strange!" and the far bottom "The Odinsons". (As if Stephen couldn't guess who these presents were from. Now he would like to imagine Thor and Loki shopped in IKEA. The poor shopkeepers.) He gave a thumb up toward Thor's direction.
Thor grinned, "I'm glad you like our presents. I was told by the merchant of the great IKEA that it could toast different kinds of breads, including Pop Tarts. Loki was very picky about the knives. Saying it doesn't match the quality of Nidavellir's steel. He wanted to use their cupboards for target practice. I just grabbed the closest set of knives and said it was sufficient. If you like them, I'll tell Loki. He said sorry he couldn't come." There was a sigh of relief around the room which Thor chose to ignore.
"I thank both of you. They're really good." Perhaps he could give the knives to Wong.
"You're most welcome, Sorcerer Doctor Strange."
Tony said, "You don't need to worry about transporting the presents. I've arranged a delivery truck to carry all of them to your place. Now please open mine. At least your Cloak has good taste to pick mine and Point Break's."
Christine opened the present. It contained a StarkPad, a StarkPhone (again!), a Stark-brand laptop, and a book of ice cream vouchers. There was no signature on the birthday card but everyone knew who this was from.
Wong came to get the vouchers. "I'm going to keep these. You can get them from me."
"But…"
Wong ignored him and disappeared to wherever he came from.
"Thank you, Tony. That's very kind of you."
"My pleasure. Sorry, I still can't get the internet connection to the Nine Realms working yet but you just wait. I'm going to crack it. I know I will." He flexed his fingers.
The Cloak kept fetching presents from the table and dropped them on Christine's lap. There was the book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle from Steve Rogers, the first five books of Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R. Martin from Natasha Romanoff along with Sam Wilson and James Barnes, five Subway coupons from Peter Parker, seven Baskin and Robbins coupons from Scott Lang and a few more presents from the rest of the team. He was touched. Some of the Avengers were not rich but they gave what they thought Stephen would like. Some of them might project what they like onto him. But it was the thought that counted. He thanked them one by one in turn every time a present was opened.
Nick Fury didn't attend the party and he apparently left a present of 1984 by George Orwell. This made Stephen feel uneasy. Did the SHIELD's ex agent tell him that he would always watch every move that Stephen made or was it just an innocent gift? It wouldn't be so innocent because he remembered Tony said that Fury's secrets have secrets.
Tony distracted him from his paranoia. "Dumbledore, this is the main show from all of us." He switched on a light.
There was a sort of 3D holographic slideshow in the middle of the room with some shinny banners.
"I am glad you are not dead!"
"Thank you for saving the world!"
"Happy Birthday! Take better care of yourself! For goodness's sake, you're a Doctor!"
"Go to sleep and remember to eat! No stealing books and astral-project reading!"
"Where is Strange? Who is Strange? Why is Strange? We forgot to ask the most important one. How is Doctor Stephen Strange? I hope he is well."
"Thank you for saving us from demons' attack. If a demon were to possess me, you would know, right? You would let me be possessed, right!? Unless you're also possessed by one. Argh! I know I should trust you. You're the best!"
"I'm glad you're part of this team."
There were a lot inaner comments which were kind of expected from the Avengers. He kept reminding himself that it was the thought that counted.
"Now was really the final final event before the free alcohol. Look at the window!" Tony clapped his hands.
Stephen turned to look at the window. There were fireworks going on. The first one formed the letters "Happy Birthday Doctor Stephen Strange!"
The latter were just fireworks but they were really pretty.
After ten minutes of fireworks, Tony grinned and approached him. "I hope you enjoy your party."
"I do. I really do. I'm surprised. I thought this party was going to suck."
"You haven't met me, the master for parties."
"Thank you for everything."
"No worries my favorite facial hair bro! Now before we start saying mushy things, let's start the party." He clicked his fingers and the music started.
He was about to go to a corner to sit when Christine approached him. "Do you care for a dance?"
He didn't hesitate. "I do and thank you Christine for letting me stay to enjoy the party."
She smiled. "You're most welcome. I'm always happy when you're happy. You need more breaks."
The Cloak left them to do her own kind of dancing which was a lot swooshing around and darting around others.
Surprisingly, that made him feel at home. Among these well-meaning idiots. His brain that sounded like Wong told him because he was one of those idiots. For the first time, he agreed.
Notes:
-Let's just pretend that it's still November and it's still Stephen's birthday :)
-Sorry for the late update, the usual excuse, busy, sick, and apparently I've fallen into Chinese drama holes since November last year. Some of their shows are really funny with a lot actions, friendship, family, and some serious bromances. Also somehow accidentally joined the Mystic Nine fandom (I totally blame it on this show for watching more C-dramas, initially I just found some shows for my mom to watch, but I was intrigued by the mysteries in this show that got me hooked) which now I know is part of the Grave Robbers' Chronicles which is quite popular online.
-I'm tempted to write a one-off (hopefully) for the meeting between Agatha Harkness and Helmut Zemo. Let's just see how it goes with my muse.
-As usual, please let me know what you think.