Work Text:
“Sir, Dr. Strange is requesting access.”
“Really?” Tony paused his movie and glanced over his shoulder at the balcony door, but it was empty. “Is he on the elevator?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, let him up.” Tony started feeling a little concerned that Stephen was taking the pedestrian entrance rather than just flying up to the balcony like usual, so he got up and headed for the elevator. As it dinged and opened, Tony’s eyebrows flew up because Stephen was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, omnipresent semi-sentient cloak nowhere to be seen.
“Holy crap, Stephen, what’s going on?” Tony said in surprise. “Have you been drinking?” Instead of answering, what looked like a greeting card appeared in Stephen’s hand and he gave it to Tony on his way to faceplant into Tony’s sofa. Tony flipped the card over and opened it; it was an invitation to a wedding. Tony didn’t recognize either name, but given the “Doctor” in front of both people they were probably old friends of Stephen’s.
“My ex is getting married,” Stephen groaned from the couch, voice muffled because his face was still pressed into the couch cushions.
“Which one is your ex?” Tony tossed the card onto the coffee table and sat down in the armchair across from the sofa. “You know, you don’t have to actually go, just pick out a nice gift and your regrets.”
“The bride and it’s the principle of the thing.”
Tony made a sympathetic noise. “You were hoping to get back together?”
“A while ago, there were hopes, but…” Stephen sighed and turned his head so it was easier to talk and probably breathe. “I didn’t even know she was dating, and that she was dating him. He’s the worst. God.”
“So you’re here to complain? That sounds like we need alcohol. More alcohol,” he said, eyeing Stephen’s sweatpants as he got up again and went to the bar.
“Yes, please,” Stephen said. “Where’s Loki?”
“At the exact moment, I’m not sure,” Tony answered, pouring out some whiskey into two glasses. “He’s been in and out trying to track down the soul gem.”
“Oh yeah. He did mention that.” Stephen heaved another sigh and turned his head back into the couch cushion. “Why couldn’t I have met you before Loki? Then I could have been your cool wizard boyfriend,” he mumbled.
“Sorcerer,” Tony said automatically. “Wait, what?” He put the glasses down on the coffee table before he dropped them and sat down heavily into the armchair. “You wanna run that by me again?”
“No.”
“Uh huh.” Tony let the silence get long. He'd learned from Loki that sometimes an expectant silence can break a person faster than a bunch of questions.
Sure enough, after a few minutes Stephen sat up and scrubbed his hands over his face and then through his hair. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” Stephen said miserably, staring at the floor.
Tony was still too surprised to say anything, so he took one of the glasses and took a big swallow, eyes watering a little at the burn. “Is that really how you feel?” he managed eventually. When Stephen just shrugged, still avoiding his eyes, Tony put the glass back down and said, “Then come over here and kiss me.”
That made Stephen’s head fly up in surprise. As he examined Tony’s face, his eyes narrowed. “You're trying to get me killed.”
“Let me worry about Loki,” Tony said. He gestured for Stephen to come closer. “Now pucker up.”
Stephen threw a pillow at Tony and fell back against the couch to stare at the ceiling. “Stop trying to lure me to my death, you bearded siren.”
"Hmm." Tony sat back in the armchair and studied Stephen critically, trying to think about what Pepper would say. “I think this is less that you want me and more that you are lonely and just want to be in a relationship," he said finally.
Stephen scowled at that. “Then why wouldn't I be this mopey over Loki? I have way more in common with him.”
“Well, not many people have the courage to tilt at that particular windmill, but I’m not known for my self-preservation instincts,” Tony said. “You know, the fact that you aren’t over here kissing me says a lot though.”
“Well now it’s starting to feel like a dare. Should we play spin the bottle? Seven minutes in Heaven?” Stephen sat forward enough to grab his untouched glass of whiskey and slouched further down the couch. “I’m trying to be respectful.”
“Respectful? It’s not like I’m married.”
“Aren’t you though?” Stephen turned his head and raised an eyebrow, and for some reason Tony felt his face get hot. He took another sip of whiskey to buy some time to figure out how to get this conversation back on track.
“So you’re not denying that you’re lonely?”
“I know I’m lonely. This is a really lonely job. At least as a surgeon I was in a hospital surrounded by people all the time, nowadays it’s usually just me and Wong. And sometimes assorted beings from other realms. So you can see how my dating prospects are slim.” Stephen rubbed his eyes. “Could you even imagine me dating? Everything would come to a screeching halt as soon as they ask what I do for a living.”
“Yeah,” Tony said. “That’s tough. But you know, pining over the nearest devastatingly handsome billionaire genius isn’t going to work either. Especially since your alleged passion isn’t strong enough for you to brave almost certain death for the chance to kiss me.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I actually hate you.”
Tony drained his glass and sat forward, catching Stephen’s eye. “I’m sorry you’re feeling low, Stephen. The life you’ve chosen is a hard one, and I can’t say that you’ll ever meet someone that is going to fit into it. But there’s gotta be some way for you to get out of your mansion and interact with people, right? Meet some new faces?”
Stephen just shrugged again and sighed mournfully into his whiskey. Tony suppressed a smile and plucked the glass from his hands, draining it and taking both glasses back to the bar. “Enough with the pity party,” Tony said over Stephen’s protests. “Time for coffee.”
“I don’t drink coffee.”
“Oh, yeah. Weirdo.” Tony dug around the cabinets for the stash of tea. “Why not?”
“Half because of the taste and half the aesthetic. The Sanctuary is more of a tea sort of place.”
Tony laughed at that and started heating some water. “So you're admitting to being a pretentious bastard?”
“Well, I don't have a skyscraper with my name on the side, but I do ok.” Stephen heaved himself off the couch and came across the living room to sit down at the bar, resting his head in his hands. “A mature adult would go to the wedding and feel happy for the couple, right?”
“Fuck that,” Tony said immediately. “There’s a limit. Just order something off their registry and go on with your life.”
“Is that your professional opinion?”
“You mean as a professional ex-lover-haver? Yes.” Tony leaned against the counter and crossed his arms as he waited for Stephen’s leaf water to be ready. “Don’t even write a long note, ‘congratulations’ is more than enough.”
“Done.” Stephen still looked glum, but the tension around his mouth had eased some and his back was a little straighter. “So are you going to tell Loki about this?”
“I doubt I’ll need to,” Tony pointed out. “You know how Loki is about secrets.”
“True. Well, if I die in a mysterious accident you’ll know why."
“A mysterious stabbing, you mean?”
That actually made Stephen smile, if only for a moment. "You know, if Loki hasn't stabbed me yet I don't think he's going to."