No-One But You (The Mystic Consultant) - Part 1
Chapter 82: Oxygen (Part 2)
...
"You said that you had it, but you just..."
His key. Victor Strange was talking about the key to the apartment. When they were out in the hallway, his friendly roommate told him that he had it, but...
It sounded like there was more to it. Victor was listening, even though he always seemed distracted. The baby sorcerer spent a minute or two looking around the apartment.
Barton's response came to his mind, and he kept watching the way he moved around. He didn't seem set where he stood at all, and the archer started leaning up against one of the walls.
His body was turned more toward the exit. Sayonara. Bye-bye. Gone.
"You just, what?"
Weird phrasing, but Victor spit out the question anyway. He wanted to know what was on Clint Barton's mind. The baby archer kept looking around the apartment as well.
Something seemed different about it in that moment. It had something to do with the lighting of it, or possibly the sharp turn toward the kitchen. It seemed like it turned at a shorter distance. It was off a bit. Not quite right.
"I have the key, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to go in."
That's the response that was weighing heavy on the archer's mind. Victor heard it. His baby heart frowned at first, but then he forced himself to look around at something else.
He started thinking about the conversation they had before Barton left the apartment. There were some elements about the conversation that confused Victor, and his heart felt better about bringing it up.
"I asked your boyfriend if he planned to continue doing his body-snatching shit.."
Clint's voice was calm, but he seemed bothered. He used a certain word again, and it immediately sent a sharp jolt down Victor's spine. BOYFRIEND? Come onnnnnnnn...
The way he said it even seemed extra icy. Icy dicy. Victor tried to recover. So, Ezekiel was being called out. Good for him. The baby sorcerer wondered how Ezekiel took that, so he didn't respond.
"I told him not to do that. I don't want him using my body for any reason."
Did Ezekiel care? He flat-out told the archer that he didn't. That's the part that upset him the most. He felt helpless against all that, psychic shit. The baby archer kept staring at Victor.
He wanted to hear his response, because his smug boyfriend got on his last nerve. Barton almost revealed that information in that moment, but Victor's response suddenly filled the room.
"He's not my boyfriend. He never has been, and he probably never will be."
Let's get the situation straight for once, ok? Victor sighed pretty loudly after he said what he did. Ezekiel Stane wasn't normal, and Victor accepted that. Who was? He knew that Ezekiel tried as hard as he could, and it took Victor some time to accept ...
...
...
... that.
His heart was very hurt over it. Beyond broken. The room became quiet again so the baby sorcerer cleared his throat. Victor noticed the confused look that his "friendly" roommate suddenly had on his face too.
Ezekiel NOT being his "boyfriend" obviously threw him off, and Victor felt a little bothered.
...
"Plus, that crime lord does whatever he wants. Good luck trying to stop him..."
Victor tried to turn away from the subject entirely, but he had to share how he felt about Ezekiel. He wasn't an evil person, or anything like that. Victor managed to get as close to him as he could, so he knew..
"Wull, that's fine. He's not.. You two aren't, that isn't really the point."
The baby archer's demeanor changed as he spoke. He seemed very surprised when Victor corrected him on the boyfriend thing, and his words seemed to jumble up a little bit.
Clint Barton kinda blurted out something odd. What he said caused Victor to arch an eyebrow up toward the moon. It mirrored the sharp eyebrow arch that belonged to his older brother. Say what now? That isn't really the point, what?
The baby sorcerer borderline freaked out. He wasn't sure what happened there, but the conversation just jerked in an odd direction.
"Agent" Clint Barton seemed weirdly nervous as well. The vibe between them started getting super weird. His face even seemed a little warmer. Victor's focus increased.
"When did that happen anyway? You two seemed very close..."
The baby archer was part of the team that monitored Ezekiel. Victor was by his side all the time.
They were always together, and that's why he gave him the label..
Barton wasn't sure why he said what he did. His thoughts about it were currently racing, and Victor was suddenly on overload. The archer's behavior was very different. The apartment started getting little warmer.
"When did what happen?"
Someone was lost in translation there. Victor wasn't really sure what they were discussing. When was he dumped by Ezekiel? Or, was it a comment about the body-snatching?
Victor could tell when Ezekiel used his roommate's body. He did it when they were standing close, just as they were in that moment. The baby Strange thought about it just as his friendly roommate spoke up again.
"I thought you were with him. I saw you, all the time."
Victor knew that too. He was very aware of the presence that S.H.I.E.L.D. had outside Ezekiel's safehouse. They were watching all along as the two of them tried to have some sort of a normal life...
Clint Barton was watching them interact, and then he decided to share an apartment with him when Ezekiel was gone? Everything felt confusing, or pretty fucked up, so Victor tried to dodge.
He looked back toward the kitchen, and then he thought about the conversation that they had before all the chaos.
His friendly roommate told him that the washer was broken. He also asked Victor to go with him to do some laundry. The baby archer asked to leave the apartment with him all the time, but Victor never acknowledged what he said.
"I was with him. I shouldn't have been, but I was."
Sad, but true. Admitting it was hard. Victor's attention began to center more toward what was standing in front of him. He felt a familiar energy in that moment as well, but he didn't say a word.
The baby archer heard Victor. He gave a simple nod as a response.
His focus started moving more toward what was standing in front of him as well, but the bird still wouldn't accept it.
Chapter: END
Thanks for reading.