Work Text:
11:22 PM
Kamar-Taj. Recovery Rooms. Portal will be waiting.
Tony tried to ignore the pit in his stomach as he jogged up the steps of the Sanctum, his phone clutched tightly in his hand. The message Wong had left would be considered worrying, if it wasn’t the same one, he sent Tony dozens of times before. Still, the succinctness of the text, it’s refusal to give anything away was always disquieting.
All he knew, was Stephen had been drawn into yet another threat while attending Christine’s wedding of all things. Tony almost wished he’d decided to go, had been concerned about drawing too much attention on her day, but not seeing Stephen for the past week was almost enough to make him not care.
Stephen had only reached out to him once, had called him through a crackly line that told him he’d been at Kamar-Taj, said there was a threat they were facing and if things went wrong…Tony shook his head, preferring not to dwell.
The door to the Sanctum swung open as he reached the top step, and he wasn’t surprised to find one of the apprentices standing in the lobby. Her sling ring was already mounted, her expression focused as she worked to conjure a portal to Kamar-Taj. Tony tried not to think about the fact that Wong should have been able to do it for him.
Sparks erupted slowly, and he nodded his thanks to the apprentice struggling to keep it open. It closed when his foot was just a hairsbreadth away through it. Almost immediately, Tony froze in place, eyes widening as he took in the destruction of the buildings around him.
He’d always found Kamar-Taj to be a calming place, had spent countless hours watching Stephen train and instruct – but that feeling was long gone. Instead, he found himself in a place of organized chaos. Masters ran from place to place, debris littered the floor, and holes marked the ancient temples – even from this vantage point, Tony could make out a body just past the dust, in the courtyard.
Fear squeezed his heart, stealing his breath as he stumbled toward the recovery rooms. Stephen had warned him that the threat was dangerous, that the might of Kamar-Taj would be going against it, but he hadn’t elaborated. There were things Stephen didn’t tell him until afterwards, when it was all said and done, things that Tony didn’t tell him either – but this was starting to feel like something he should have told him about.
Tony tripped, a crack in the floor catching the toe of his shoe and sending him tumbling against one of the big pillars. A pair of hands steadied him and then disappeared, he tried not the think of the chaos and destruction of New York, tried to keep those haunted memories on lockdown until he found Stephen.
The way to the recover rooms was as familiar to him as his own heartbeat – a sad realization. Too often, Stephen could be found there, with Wong standing over him and shaking his head with a signature twist of his mouth. It rarely meant good news, but it also rarely meant terrible news.
Still, when Tony gripped the doorway of the first room in the recover hallway, the last thing he expected to see was the sight before him. Tony could admit that as hard as he tried, his mind had been running rampant with how badly Stephen might have been injured – imagined him unconscious and bleeding, imagined him barely clinging to life or losing a limb. He did not expect to find him sitting up on the bed, shoulders slouched, and looking no worse for wear.
“Stephen?”
He lifted his head, eyes brightening at the sight of him, “Tony.”
Stepping closer, he was absently aware that Wong stood with his hands on his hips, expression verging on angry, while a girl sat in a chair next to the bed. For the moment he paid them no mind, reaching out to cup Stephen’s cheek, “asshole,” he muttered, to Stephen’s soft smile. “You can’t keep doing this shit.”
To be fair, this wasn’t exactly his fault-”
Startled, Tony finally looked at the girl that’d been sitting next to Stephen. Her eyes were darting around the room anxiously, but her lips were pursed in a way that said she was trying to bite her tongue. He’d expected her to be an apprentice, something he was very wrong about given the clothing she was wearing.
“Oh, so now it’s not my fault?” Stephen’s tone was mild. “Pretty sure I remember you blaming me for-”
She flapped a hand at him, “I forgive you. Mostly.”
Tony glanced at Wong, confused by the exchange, only to find the Sorcerer Supreme watching her with an almost…soft expression?
“Tony,” Stephen took his hand. “This is America. She has a unique ability to jump dimensions.”
Blinking rapidly, Tony tried to get his head on straight. There was still a pit in his stomach, left over from the fear, but his confusion was quickly overriding that, “Tony Stark-”
“I know,” she interrupted. “I saw your billboard in New York. Kind of obnoxious.”
Wong laughed while Stephen stifled a smile. Tony felt his own lips twitch, something about her reminding him of Peter and Harley, “It has to be big so my rivals know they can’t compete.”
“Tony-” Stephen began to admonish him before he began coughing harshly, his entire frame bending over. Quite suddenly, Stephen’s body seemed to be wracked with shivers, his skin paling as he squeezed his eyes shut. Tony’s stomach dropped, his hands batted away by Wong who pressed his palm to Stephen’s forehead and began chanting something beneath his breath.
It was, as always, too good to be true, that Stephen would be alright.
“What happened?”
“That is what we’re trying to figure out,” Wong answered, before turning his attention back to Stephen. “You have overtaxed yourself. You’ll need meditation and sleep to recover-”
“Yeah, yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” Stephen’s voice was weak.
Tony moved forward to help lower Stephen into the bed, his own nausea making itself known. They got him beneath the sheets, and it was only then that Tony noticed America – her hands were fisted in her lap, lips pressed together in a hard line, expression one of obvious distress.
Oh.
Oh.
Stephen’s eyes were already fluttering closed, his jaw clenching and unclenching, Tony sunk into the only other chair in the room, knew that Wong would tell him everything once they had Stephen settled – would need to brace himself for bad news. Leaning in close, he brushed away some of Stephen’s hair and murmured into his ear, “guess I’m not the only one bringing home strays anymore.”
His laugh was feeble, but he still managed to blindly reach a hand out to America, which she took quickly, “I’ll be alright,” he offered. “Promise.”
Stephen’s gaze drifted back to him, “Promise.”