(Not so) Little Miracles

Summary: The Rouges return from Wakanda, expecting everything to go back to how it was before the Civil War. But Steve is surprised to see that Toni has moved on and has no regrets. How could she? Her whole future is right in front of her, after all, and it doesn't include any of her exes. Loved and happy, Toni is enjoying the one honor she had never expected to experience and it was all thanks to her new boyfriend. Magic makes little miracles, after all.

Stephen did not like the way that the Rouges were all staring at him, two weeks after they had returned and met him for the first time. This was his second run in with any of them since that day, seeing as he usually just pops in right into Toni's lab and goes up with her or they just portal somewhere else, depending on the mood or the situation. In short, he had had little reason or chance to run into any of his girlfriend's old team and he had been grateful for that. After all, he was a doctor. Doctor's swore the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm and he very much wanted to do harm to the people that had betrayed, harmed and nearly killed the love of his life. It was for the best that the Sorcerer Supreme avoided all contact with the people he'd so gladly send to the Dark Dimension and forget all about them.

He knew his cold manner put them off, as he had been strangely polite to them the first time they met - or at least they figured that out on their second meeting when he showed them he had enough snark, sarcasm and sharp retorts to match Toni perfectly - and they weren't used to being treated like the villains of a story, but he really couldn't care any less. Had Vision found Toni even a minute alter than he had, there would have been no saving her. The suit he had brought with him had kept her alive until they reached the nearest hospital and it had still been too close a call for Stephen's liking and he hadn't even known her back then! Not like he did now.

He and Toni officially met for the first time when they were too young and too brilliant, at a scientific conference almost thirty years ago. Thanks to his eidetic memory - not that it was hard to remember how splendid she had looked in that long, tight, bold cocktail dress, as red as blood, accepted by golden jewelry that was modest in comparison, stylishly so, though - he remembered perfectly well how most of the men in the room had treated her as either a brat or a piece of eye candy, mistaking her for a plus one. He remembered her sharp remarks and her scatching tone whenever someone tried to talk her up without taking into account that she was the smartest person in the room - not that the Stephen Strange of that time would have admitted as much, but Stephen had matured a great deal since then, especially after Kamar-Taj and the Ancient One.

He remembered how she had appreciated when he stole her away from some creepy old dude who had had a little too much to drink and was an old friend of Howard's, so he had believed he was entitled to have a little fun with his daughter and he remembered how perfectly she had fit into his arms when he had taken her out to the dance floor. Cocky, confident, arrogant, smart and with a photographic memory that she kept secret from the world, she was the mirror image of Stephen himself, if in a female body and more focused on engineering - and anything else that she came across, as he learned later; Toni was never limited by only one field - instead of medical science. They spent most of the evening together, Toni being the perfect barrier between Stephen and the women who had been eying him up since he had appeared in his elegant tux and Stephen himself being a repellent to anyone who might bother Howard Stark's precious only daughter - yes, Stephen had become one of the few people on this Earth who knew the truth about just how close father and daughter actually were, despite what the media tended to say about his alcoholism, long trips away from home and fictional neglect of his daughter.

They had parted ways when said father came to ask his daughter for a dance and have only seen each other occasionally across a ballroom over the years since then.

But then their lives had spiraled out of their control, setting them on a path the universe had meant for them from the beginning. Toni nearly died in Afghanistan and became Iron Maiden upon discovering what her weapons were being used for, becoming Earth's first official superhero and Stephen had his accident, found Kamar-Taj, trained his ass of and became the new Sorcerer Supreme and Master of the New York Sanctum, also a protector of Earth, if only from the shadows. One would think with Toni becoming the very beating heart of modern science and Stephen taking on the position as the center of all things magical, they would never meet. He was the shadow and she was light. He hid while she transparently showed off for the world, being frank and honest. He protected Earth from threats unseen while she protected it from the threats no one else can handle. They walked so closely together and yet their paths never seemed destined to intertwine.

Until the media dubbed Civil War happened and Toni changed direction, somehow barging right in on Stephen's path, into his life and becoming the center of it.

It had happened during a mission meant to capture Karl Mordo, one of Stephen's few friends in the world and one of his mentors while he had been studying under the Ancient One. He had walked away from Kamar-Taj in light of finding out about the Ancient One drawing energy from the Dark Dimension to extend her life and had since then started eliminating sorcerers, or at least the ones who had chosen to settle for their miracle instead of using their powers to protect the Earth from mystical threats. They had finally found him, after moths of searching, only to fall into a trap and nearly end up magicless, too, had none other than Iron Maiden picked up on their energy readings and came to investigate, ending up rescuing Stephen, Wong and two other Masters. She had managed to not only tie up Mordo, but had also knocked him out and restrained him in such a way that he can't access his powers. Stephen later learned that it was a method developed to restrain the Scarlet Witch, but she wasn't a part of this story so he wouldn't dwell on that.

After that, she had almost demanded answers and had offered her help when everything was explained to her. The other Masters of Kamar-Taj only allowed it because a memory erasing spell had failed - thanks to Extremis - and Toni had promised not to report of their existence to any of the world governments. Instead, she became a donor for the Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj and all three Sanctums, asking in exchange only that they let her do some experiments and readings on their magic - out of scientific curiosity - and a helping hand if a threat too great ever arrives to Earth for just the Avengers to handle. Stephen stepped up for both conditions and that was the start of a marvelous partnership, that turned into invaluable friendship by the end of the first month and love - at least on Stephen's part - a week later. Toni, due to her trust issues and what had happened with her last lover, had been hesitant and needed more time but Stephen never pushed, never said anything even though they both knew Toni had figured him out.

A near death experience was all they needed to hook up, much to the amusement and exasperation of Rhodey, Pepper, Happy and Vision.

They agreed to take things slow, both too old to mess around anymore and both sure that what they felt for each other was maybe a bit too fast, too serious, too soon, too real. So they went one a few dates before they caved in and kissed for the first time. It had been sweet and gentle, a mere press of lips after a date that might have been thought of as cheap since Stephen couldn't really afford movie tickets but Toni had a home theater so he had brought food and she had provided a movie. Some old, corny chick flick and a horror movies so bad they spent the entire time complaining about both, laughed at each other's remarks or teasing each other's aim when they threw popcorn at the screen. It had been a great date, all in all, and Stephen had been on cloud nine since they kissed. Wong could testify. He had a picture of Stephen's silly grin on his phone, the traitor.

Hand holding should have been a really awkward affair, what with Stephen's injuries, but his hands seemed to shake less when Toni gently wrapped her calloused fingers around his, the warmth of her hand chasing away the constant dull pain Stephen usually felt. She was fascinated by his scars and often reverently traced them with her inventor's fingers, committing them to memory. She had offered more than once to make him something for the shaking and maybe even the pain, had even offered to further improve Extremis - so he wouldn't have to carry an Arc Reactor in his chest like she had to - and was never offended when he refused. She understood. After all, she, too, bore her scars with pride, suing them as a reminder to be better.

It took him almost two whole months to even entertain the idea of sex. It was the slowest relationship either of them ever had and they were throughly enjoying themselves. They had been at Kamar- Taj, Stephen having to deal with some dimensional threat while Toni actually took a few days off. She had taken Peter and Harley with her, her two unofficially adopted sons who definitely looked at her as a mother - he had met them about a week into their relationship, getting some honestly terrifying shovel talk threats from the two teens that were actually far scarier than anything Rhodey or even Pepper might have come up with - and had simply been hanging around Kamar-Taj until Stephen had returned from his mission. He had then taken her around the market and they returned, laughing like children, to the sanctuary looking at each other with a special kind of wonder.

Stephen knew he was looking at his future right then and there and he didn't need the Eye of Agamotto to confirm it as he led Toni to his quarters in the temple.

When morning came, despite the silencing spell he had put on his room to soundproof it last night, everyone seemed to know what had happened and they were both subjected to relentless teasing, many congratulations, the sight of bets lost and won, two grinning pseudo sons and relieved exclamations of "Finally!" Stephen made sure that training session was exceptionally rigorously hard until everyone was sweating buckets and their knees were giving out on them.

Toni's revenge on her friends was more elegant by playing matchmaker, much to their embarrassment.

Stephen decided he was going to marry her after she managed to one up Wong.

Of course, he didn't dare even truly entertain the idea for a couple of more months, mostly because some form of insecurity formed in his gut. What did he have to offer someone like Toni Stark? He would be homeless if he hadn't taken up being the Master of the Mystic Arts. He didn't have a job - well, not really; protecting the Earth didn't really count since it didn't have any hours or paychecks or vacations involved - and his hands were shot to shit almost completely. In his eyes, Toni deserved the universe and beyond and Stephen had always feared that he wouldn't be able to give it to her.

Thank god for Virginia Pepper Potts. That woman was definitely a godsend, an angel in disguise, a saint sent to Earth to watch over idiots. She and Christine Palmer both. They had managed to convince Stephen that he shouldn't think so little of himself, of his love for Toni and her love for him. They had even pulled up several websites (read over two hundred fifty nine and counting) to show him all the engagement rings in the world. It was an attack on Stephen's photographic memory, all those rings, some of them very nearly identical except in the female eye, but he was grateful for it because that was how he came across the perfect design.

But since he had wanted the ring itself to be special, to represent how much he loved his crazy genius and wanted it to protect her as well, he had simply taken several pictures of it, printed it out and then opened a portal to Nivadellir. Most of the most powerful artifacts in the multiverse came from this mystic, legendary forge, famous for it's terrible, horrifying weaponry made for Asgardians as it might be. Still, the dwarfs were more than excited to make something as simple but as meaningful and symbolic as an engagement ring. He dwarf king Eitri hit it off immediately as he explained what he wanted and described Toni - he had to promise to bring her around sometime, the dwarfs very much interested in this woman blacksmith of Midgard and her iron armor - and parted with them with a unique engagement ring in his pocket. It was elegant, gleaming but not flashy despite the lapis lazuli and the garnet in the ring, warded and charmed and embedded with runes to always protect his beloved.

Getting permission from all of Toni's important people had been hard. He knew what Pepper and Happy thought but he had still asked them and was encouraged to go for it. Harley Keener and Peter Parker were entitled to the second shovel talk they gave him, Iron Spider suit and potato gun Mark IV and all. He didn't even flinch when FRIDAY confronted him in an Iron Maiden suit to give him her own shovel talk. Vision was, thank god, mostly just supportive but he did let a little bit of JARVIS that was left in him take over for a second and remind Strange that his primary protocol will always be to protect Toni Stark.

Rhodey surprised him though, by refusing to give him permission. Not that Stephen could blame the man. Toni was like a little sister to him and he had had to watch her fall apart because of her last boyfriend, who had even almost killed her. But Stephen wasn't like Steve and he would rather kill himself or let Dormammu have a go at him another few million times than ever hurt Toni, so Rhodey was being maybe a little bit irrational.

Still, Stephen was still waiting for the ball to drop when Rhodes figures out that he had proposed to Toni anyway. His fiancée found too much amusement and humor in his fretting.

It had been the greatest day of his life when Toni had said yes. He had been a nervous wreck as he planned their date - they never really tried to go out to fancy places, neither of them finding it to be the right atmosphere for their relationship, which was so oddly sweet - getting everything they might need and preparing a speech in his head. In the end, he had proposed without the traditional kneeling on one knee, simply presenting Toni with a ring and asking her to marry him because he was an asshole that needed a douchebag to put up with him and no one else could keep up with his brain and snark other than her. He had not expected the waterworks, but the blinding smile on her face said that she understood what he was saying perfectly - after all, they weren't exactly a normal couple, now were they?

The night and morning and noon that followed were also something to never forget.

It wasn't the most of romantic approaches but it sure as hell worked for them. They had been glowing and floating for days after the engagement and had never been happier since. Not even the impending return of the Rouges could dampen Toni's mood, although Stephen did have the occasional sinister thought of how he was going to throw them all into the Dark Dimension or feed them to Dormammu himself, one by one. Those thoughts couldn't last, though, because he was so overwhelmingly happy. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this happy. Had he ever been this happy at all? That's an unfortunately sad question but even it couldn't chase away his cheer.

Wong found it amusing, endearing and incredibly annoying. Especially since his cheer was so infectious and whenever Toni went with him to Kamar-Taj, everyone was far more interested in the engagement ring, their engagement itself, them separately, them as a couple and when the wedding was going to take place, can it be in Kamar-Taj oh we'll plan it for you Master Strange! Toni had been nearly tempted to say yes to the last two. Only fear of what Pepper would do to her if she didn't have a hand in planning the wedding stopped her from doing it.

Their lives went on as they had been before, their relationship didn't change all that much, their workload remained the same and their dates were as dorky as ever. Being engaged didn't change them. They had never had a honeymoon period in their relationship to fall out of it, so the relationship itself was always perfectly steady and stable. It stunned people how easily they clicked, especially with their egos. They clashed over the smallest of things but he guessed that was why they never really argued. They bantered all the time, so there was no chance for bitterness to fester, for their problems to go unresolved.

And they did have problems. Lots of them. Neither had normal sleeping hours, although they did try for each other's sake. They were scared in ways no one else can understand, both suffering the loss of the person who had set them on this track of redemption, who had died for them to reach it, to have a chance to make a change. They both had insane responsibilities that more often than not rested squarely on their shoulders and their shoulders alone. They could be snappy and prickly as hell and had two of the sharpest tongues in the multiverse. They would know, some of their dates included going through dimensions if they weren't already for a mission. They were workaholics and perfectionists and very opinionated. They both got attached to artificially intelligent beings, such as Toni's robots and AIs and Stephen's ever present, loyal Cloak of Levitation. And their nightmares, yee gods, don't let him even start on their nightmares!

But, strangely enough, they both slept better when they were holding each other. It probably had something to do with Toni cursing Dormammu almost every day and threatening to make Stephen open up a portal to the Dark Dimension so she could show him what true hell was like - Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, they said. The Dark Dimension hath no terror like a woman Stark pissed off! God, Stephen loved her! - and Stephen always muttering about the thousands of different ways he could erase Rogers and the Rouges from existence without anyone ever finding the bodies. They simply chased away each other's nightmares, both during the day and in the night, which really spoke volumes seeing what they had both been through.

Stephen at times swears the Ancient One and his sister visit him in his dreams, smiling at him just as he was waking up with Toni in his arms, happy and approving.

(Toni once confessed to having a similar dream, featuring her parents, Yinsen and her beloved two, JARVIS and Jarvis, tears streaming down her eyes as she held on to him and he soothed her, whispering 'I love you's into her hair and kissing her temple.)

There were bad days, when they both wanted to hide from each other and crawl up inside of each other and never let go. Stephen's hands hurt on cold or rainy days, shaking more than usual, to the point only Toni's smaller hands holding his could lessen the shaking and only alleviate the pain a little. Toni's Arc Reactor, though, didn't have a schedule. It acted up whenever it wanted to. Extremis helped a little, but the skin around the Arc Reactor in Tony's chest would still get inflamed, itchy and unbearably sensitive. Stephen would spend a whole day either holding her to his chest or doting on her every whim. He had offered to use magic to ease the pain - even though it was unlikely to work, since the energy coming out of the reactor could stop an Infinity Stone, let alone these measly spells - but she always refused, saying this was her cross to bear and she will do it with pride.

They both bear their scars with a pride most people would find unhealthy.

Most people wouldn't understand the meaning behind each and every one of them.

Thankfully, neither of them had had any bad days in the last two weeks. It would have been too much to bear with the Rouges around. These people didn't understand common decency or respect or manners. They'd been staring at Stephen every time he walked past them as though they were expecting him to sport a second head or several more arms - not that he couldn't, but that's not the point - and it was starting to get a bit annoying. While this may be only the second time he was around them unprofessionally, there had been, unfortunately, three Avengers meetings so far and each of those meetings the Rouges had spent staring at either Stephen or Toni. Spider-Man - Peter Parker - had even snapped at them to take a picture since it will last longer, much to the amusement of one half of the room and the annoyance of the other.

Today, though, it would seem that the Rouges wanted to talk. In particular, one Steve Rogers.

"So," said blond started, sitting across Stephen at the breakfast table in the kitchen, where Stephen had been drinking his afternoon tea after a long lesson back in Kamar-Taj. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with the Rouges since one of the students had managed to hurt herself when forcing herself for a stronger spell that she was not yet ready to preform, despite all the warning she got from the Masters. She was strong, though, and will recover soon enough but Stephen still hated seeing someone get hurt. It was the doctor in him. "You and Toni?"

"What about us?" The sorcerer replied without looking up from the newspaper he wasn't even really reading. He had already checked all the important stuff and was now contemplating whether Toni will get roped in by Pepper to go to tonight's charity gala and whether he should make a break for Kamar-Taj now and risk her ire or subject himself to the same fate. He wonders when he'd become so whipped.

"How did you guys meet?" Oh, was that irritation in America's (no longer) golden boy's voice? Strange felt real special now to have managed that. He didn't look up as he answered, well aware that Maximoff, Romanoff, Barton and Wilson were all listening. (Lang had had the good sense to grovel for forgiveness at Hope's feet. He swears Toni needs more friends that aren't so terrifying. She, pepper and Hope could run the world. It shouldn't be such a turn on that his girlfriend was so fiercely awesome.) Why couldn't they mind their own business instead of annoying him?

"How can one meet Toni Stark?"

Rogers looks confused and irritated that he had answered his question with another question but plays along. "At a party of some sort."

Stephen nods, finding an interesting article that speculated how much happier the genius, billionaire, playgirl, philanthropist in question seems to appear with Stephen instead of Steve and has to bite back a smile. It warms his heart to know he can cause her such happiness. "And?"

"And what?"

The ex neurosurgeon rolls his eyes, still reading the article and sipping on his delicious tea. He'll have to ask Toni where she got this one and just how much she had paid for it. He should probably stop her from spending so much money on his tea obsession. "Where else can one meet Toni Stark? We had a first meeting twice, so I don't know which one you're asking about." That, and he loved messing with him.

"I don't understand," Steve said, glaring now at the sorcerer and Stephen finally looked up, a smug smirk playing on his lips. He knew the New Avengers had arrived at this point, Peter and Harley glaring at the Rouges, Hope ignoring them as she walked Scott further through the new Accords, Carol giving them a halfhearted wave and Rhodey altering between planning all of their deaths and strangling Stephen - he still didn't approve of him proposing Toni behind his back but dared not try to interfere for fear of Pepper and Toni's wrath descending on him - and Vision had simply floated in through the walls, heading straight for the stove for his daily cooking binge. Usually Toni walked him through it - she was a surprisingly good cook for some dishes, usually Italian related but no one can blame her - but she was nowhere in sight. Stephen could feel her energy signature down in her lab but he had no idea what she was up to this time. She felt fine so he didn't bother her just yet. Probably just an inventing binge if even her two pseudo sons were locked out. And a dangerous one, at that. Oh dear.

"Where else can you meet Toni Stark? I was under the impression that was how you firstmet her." He took another sip of his tea, locking eyes with rogers over the cup. "When she saved your star-spangled ass from Loki, rocking it to the beat of AC/DC's Shoot to Thrill, 1980. She does that a lot."

"So you're saying you met her when she saved you?" The way Rogers said it almost sounded like a taunt, which was rich coming from him, but Stephen saw no shame in admitting his girlfriend can be terrifying when she puts her mind to it. It was hot. And she knew it.

"I said I had two first meetings with her, one at a gala and one when she saved my ass, so yes, I did meet her when I needed assistance out in the field. She's a valuable ally."

"It should be you who's protecting and saving her. It's only gentlemanly." Stephen put his cup down, looking at Rogers as though the man had lost his mind. He probably had, because Stephen knew he had met Peggy Carter, Toni's godmother and honorary aunt. And Agent Peggy Carter was no damsel in distress. Was this idiot a feminist or just that, an idiot?

"You know, I think I can see where the problems stemmed from." He made sure his disgust was clear in his voice because, damn, Rogers was dumber than Stephen had thought. Toni Stark was no princess in a tower. She was no damsel in distress. She was a force of nature that quite honestly terrified the shit out of the Masters back at Kamar-Taj and those guys had seen it all.

"Now, listen here-" The now pissed off man said in his best Captain America voice, fists clenched on the counter top as he all but jumped out of his seat but Stephen looked as unimpressed as ever. Though, the Cloak of Levitation looked a bit too eager to strangle Rogers and bang his head against the tile floors for Stephen's comfort. Not that he blamed his constant companion. It was rather fond of Toni, after all. And protective. God help him if he and Toni ever et into a serious disagreement, it was going to go with her. He wouldn't even blame it. He'd go with her, too.

He casually put down his newspapers and leveled Rogers with the best resting bitch face that he had picked up from spending so much time with Wong. "No, you listen." He drawled, drawing his magic to him. If he let his fingers spark, it was mostly for show. He wouldn't use anything short of a portal to send Rogers some place real unpleasant, but he didn't know that and it served as an intimidating factor after they Rouges had caught a few glimpses of just what he can do. "Toni's done with you. Stop intruding on her life any more than you already are. She doesn't get a say in whether you get pardons or if you live here, despite it being her property, but she's willing to deal with you because she's thinking of the greater good of the planet instead of her problems with you. I'm not so willing to let you bother her so cut it out before I make you."

"Is that a threat?" The supersoldier growls and the Sorcerer Supreme glares at him.

"When I threaten you, you will know it." The other Avengers, New and Rouge, were now tense, waiting for the two men to start throwing punches and and jump in to help, but before the tension can get any more unbearable, a bubbly Toni waltzes into the room, completely disregarding the thick atmosphere. She glides right up to Stephen, takes hold of his face and draws him into a passionate kiss that steals his breath away. He blinks blearily when she pulls back and notices her thousand Walt smile, sending his heart beating a staccato rhythm. She looks breathtaking. "Toni, wha-?"

"You beautiful, magical man!" She crows, drawing him into another kiss that may or may not have shut down his brain. He stares after her dazedly as she maneuvers through the room until she pulls Vision away from his latest abandoned cooking adventure. She holds up a handbag for him to see, open only enough for the two of them to see inside and leaving everyone else in the dark, but Vision's eyes widened and he stares at her as though he was looking at a miracle in the flesh. Toni just grins wider. "Yep!"

"But I though-"

"So did I, Viz. So did I." She says with an incredulous look in her eyes when the red android doesn't finish his thought, but happiness shines through the brightest. "But it seems miracles can happen." At that, the barer of the Mind Stone finally smiles, the brightest and widest smile any of them have seen on Vision so far and hugs the woman tightly. She returns the hug enthusiastically before she grabs his wrist and drags him out. "Come on, I need someone with me to tell me I'm not dreaming." She smiles at Stephen against just before she and Vision get out of sight. "I'll talk to you later, babe!"

Stephen just stares after her while the others are talking amongst themselves speculating about Toni's strange behavior.

The only thing he makes out is "What the hell was all that about?"