No-One But You (The Mystic Consultant) - Part 2
Chapter 18: Wide-Eyed, Wrapped in Love (Part 8)

Victor Strange and his older brother Stephen ditched the venue within the Stark Expo, and they walked for quite a while.

Stephen could see the mood shift in his brother as they walked away from Ezekiel Stane and Wade Wilson. Normally, Victor was a chipper and upbeat person, but things got very low, when he got low…

The older brother tried to lighten the mood. He brought up Tony Stark and the show that the two of them had witnessed. Victor took the bait, because he adored Tony.

The bait of a distracting conversation only lasted a short while. Stephen felt the precise moment when Victor's depression, shame and guilt returned to him.

The "baby" Strange put his hands in his front pockets, and his demeanor changed quite a bit. He felt his set of keys to the apartment that he shared with "field agent" Clint Barton, and then he felt the keys he was recently given.

His friendly roommate/boyfriend took off. He fucking ditched the scene entirely, barely saying a word. Victor honestly rolled his eyes when he thought about it. The hypocrisy of it all began to nag.

Let's all remember that Victor was ditched by some douchebag crime lord named Ezekiel months ago, and then a "friendly" roommate suddenly came into the picture. Clint Barton was literally TALKING SHIT about Ezekiel and what he did. Remember?

Victor remembered, so he scowled while he walked. His brother was saying something about Sofia. Victor suddenly realized he was failing to hear about a previous moment, so he quickly whipped his head more in his brother's direction.

"What, like a tree?"

Hold up. Victor needed a repeat. He repeated the only part of the conversation he heard, and he noticed his brother's small smile. Stephen was being very patient with Victor. He was also being super nice.

"I said, she's getting tall. Like a tree."

Stephen missed his family. The true Sorcerer Supreme was only there in that moment for Tony and Victor. His home was with Clea and Sofia in the Dark Dimension, and that felt more like a permanent thing.

Stephen stopped walking for a moment. He took the role of being the "Sorcerer Supreme" and he recently handed it over to his younger brother.

Victor was learning, but personal issues were hindering his progress. Stephen understood that, and he told himself he could relate.

Now, Wong on the other hand….
That was a different story. Stephen remained in place for a moment and he slowly glanced down at his hand. Victor eventually stopped walking. It took him a while to notice that his brother wasn't beside him.

Victor glanced back toward Stephen, and he immediately noticed something hovering around him. It was pretty weird to see snow falling down at that time of year, but there it was.

Stephen started watching the small flecks of snow as they touched his hand. The timing of snow seemed a bit odd to the sorcerer as well, but he ignored the thought.

He glanced up at his baby brother. He wanted to tell him something that he was told long ago. It had to do with letting people go, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen anytime soon.

You see, the snow was becoming a bit more symbolic. Stephen Strange studied the snow as it fell for just a moment longer. Victor said something about hoping it would stick. He said he wanted to make snow angels, and Stephen glanced toward his left.

The "snow" was actually a display of someone's mood, and possible emotion. Stephen looked directly at the person who was generating all of the delicate white..

Ezekiel was definitely an odd one. Stephen had been trying to figure him out for a long time. The "White Jackal" didn't appreciate the scene he witnessed, so he decided to follow the brothers and actually make a move.

Victor quickly swallowed when he finally saw him. He felt a bit stupid, I mean? Ezekiel just wooshed in, outta nowhere. The snow fall picked up a bit too, and Victor took note that he still wasn't wearing his armor.

His "armor" was technically surrounding them. Ezekiel's tech was hidden within all the snow.

"Can we help you with something?"

Stephen wanted to point out that Ezekiel was looking a little lost. The sorcerer spoke first and he studied the look on the Jackal's face. He seemed calm, but troubled.

Oh wait, another attribute that was clearly passed over from father to son was a strong sense of arrogance. Stephen witnessed it in that moment when Obadiah's offspring ignored him entirely and he directed his response toward Victor Strange.

Ezekiel did it on purpose.

"I want to talk to you."

His voice was always calm, but his words were clear and firm. Victor's demeanor went through a series of changes in a matter of seconds. First, he looked very confused, then pissed off, then everything about him softened up.

"Yeah? Where's the psycho?"

Victor responded to Ezekiel's statement and Stephen almost rolled his eyes. It was hard for the brother to keep his cool, but he didn't react. He only studied his brother, then he gave the two of them an exhaustive sigh.

Ezekiel managed to break off a little smirk as his response. The "psycho" for Victor obviously meant Wade Wilson.

"Can I talk to you?"

The Jackal tried a different approach. His tone remained the same, but the alteration to his words seemed to do the trick. Victor's face softened up for a moment, then he glanced over at his brother.

Stephen gently tossed up his hands. The older brother never felt any bad intentions within Ezekiel when it came down to him interacting with Victor.

Stephen knew the truth. He figured all of that out years ago…

Chapter: END

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