No-One But You (The Mystic Consultant) - Part 2

Chapter 23:Silver Poetry(Part 3)

Victor Strange was reflecting. He wasn't speaking, just thinking about the day he met Ezekiel.
Victor remembered, he was helping his older sister Donna move her belongings out of the apartment she used to share with Bucky Barnes. That felt like centuries ago, and Ezekiel happened to be at the same place at the exact same time.

He was trying to communicate with Steve Rogers, and Victor almost ran into him in the hallway.

The interaction was very brief, but Ezekiel's energy somehow stuck to Victor's soul. He remembered leaving the apartment complex feeling some sort of buzz in his soul. He was unable to get Ezekiel off his mind after that, and…

It felt like lightning. Lessons in love.

Somehow, they crossed paths again, but Ezekiel wouldn't remove his suit. Victor remembered that too. He wasn't focusing on energy patterns at all when he eventually met the concealed version of Ezekiel Stane.

That always evolving white armor was removed eventually, at the safe house. Victor blinked. He tried to focus on what was happening in the present moment.

Ezekiel actually ordered him a drink. Victor stared at the glass for a moment or two, then his eyes settled on a group of ballpoint pens that were beside the cash register.

The baby sorcerer snatched up one of the pens and he started writing something on one of the napkins that was toward his left. Ezekiel stared at Victor's hands as he wrote out a quick note.

The gesture brought Ezekiel back in time as well. He remembered passing handwritten notes to Victor Strange while they shared space in the safe house.

He read the message slowly, then he glanced over at Stephen's "baby" brother. The note gently asked the question, why are we here? Ezekiel smiled.
Why are we here?

"What a question."

Ezekiel vocalized his response. It seemed as though their random encounter put Victor in a silent state. The baby Strange didn't want to speak.

Where's Wade?

Victor wrote out another question on the napkin, then he glanced in Ezekiel's direction. He had built up several assumptions regarding Ezekiel and Wade. Victor didn't want to think about it, but the thoughts began to haunt his baby soul.

"I'm not sure where he is. Would you like to speak to him?"

Ezekiel seemed confident. Talkative. Different. Victor closed his eyes for a bit. He didn't want to speak to Wade Wilson. Fuck that. Victor took in a slow breath and he did his best to chill out.

"I can't legally drink this.."

Victor pointed at the glass of alcohol that was placed in front of him. Victor wasn't 21. Luckily, the bar they were in had a restaurant attached to it, so people that were underage were allowed to be in there.

Ezekiel held a soft smile. He wasn't new to the world of alcohol, but consuming it was becoming an interesting habit.

Being "legally" able to do something, or not, was a new concept for Ezekiel to consider as well. He simply picked up the glass and he downed Victor's drink. The "White Jackal" took a moment to really look at Victor Strange.

He seemed relaxed, but angry. Ezekiel was aware they had a lot to work out, so he considered a change of scenery.

"Would you like to leave?"

Victor heard Ezekiel's super smooth voice. Leave? Yeah right, and go where? Victor's anger toward Ezekiel had barely reached the surface of his baby soul. What he heard made Stephen's brother sit up a bit taller. Victor turned his body and he gave Ezekiel a sharp look.

"Leave and go where? You torched the house, or so I heard.."

Victor used to live with Ezekiel. He felt happy there, then…psycho Wade ruined everything. Victor hated him. His anger started building up, so the baby sorcerer started thinking about something his brother said.

He was supposed to be learning to live without attachment. Attachment is the enemy.

"What you heard is correct, but I torched my father's home. It wasn't mine."

"BUT, I had stuff there. I lived there too. You left me, and played your games. You left me with a bunch of vague shit."

TCH. Victor felt like he was looking into Ezekiel's soul after he responded. Obadiah's son kept looking at him. No suit. Just soul.

Ezekiel expected Victor's anger, but in that moment he felt a little misunderstood. He wasn't playing any games with Victor Strange. Ezekiel understood that he was trying to figure things out. He didn't think he was enough to make Victor happy.

He understood that he had to free himself from his old life, burn it, and hopefully start new.
"I had your things removed before I burned that house to the ground."

He didn't torch Victor's belongings, and the process of that was hard for Ezekiel. As Victor processed that information, the jackal glanced around the space they were in.

"I also had a new house built there. Would you like to see it?"

Ezekiel designed the house, and he eventually had Victor's belongings put back in. It took time to get there, but he understood how he felt at that point. Victor was always on his mind, even when he was with Wade.

So, there they were. Ezekiel inwardly hoped Victor took that time to grow as well, and possibly see the two of them in a different light.

Chapter: END

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