And the butterflies that burst from your fingertips

Two: Some sleep is in order

He was exhausted when he staggered into the Compound three days later, the portal he'd opened barely holding long enough for him to step through. Tony, Nat and Clint leaped to their feet immediately, but Tony was the only one who rushed forward to offer him some support. His tired, tired brain managed to register the affection he again felt towards the man before he wrestled it back onto task.

"Did you find it?" Natasha demanded urgently, and Clint leaned in slightly too.

"I've found some spells that may help, but Kamar Taj has an even vaster library than the New York Sanctum. I've barely even begun to get though the books that could hold such a spell." His voice betrayed his tiredness more than he would have liked, and Tony fixed him with a concerned gaze.

"You should get some rest. There's no point in you knowing the spell if you're too weak to cast it."

"I'm fine," Stephen said wearily, swatting at a butterfly that flew past. Wait- a butterfly?

As he watched, the butterfly, which was an unusual colour (bright blue), fluttered about the room as if in a panic. After a few moments, it seemed to calm, flying over to land on Tony's shoulder.

"You've got a new friend, Stark," he remarked dryly, gesturing to the butterfly. Tony glanced over at it without much surprise.

"It's been following me around since late last night. It won't leave me alone. I'm worried it's something to do with Mordo."

"You think he's put a tracking spell in that butterfly, or something?" Carol asked without looking up from the game of Mario Kart she and Peter were playing; probably because she was winning.

"Or something," Tony replied, glancing at the butterfly again. Stephen made the usual motions for casting a simple spell, one that revealed magical signatures. It was with a shock that he found the butterfly did have a magical signature, but not the one he, or Tony, would have expected.

"It does have a magical signature," Stephen said slowly. "But it isn't a tracking spell, or anything like that. It's... emitting the same signature that's given off by basic protection and shielding spells."

"Meaning?" Tony asked, looking confused for once.

"It's magical signature is love."

Tony looked like he was about to reply, but was cut off by a loud whoop from Carol, followed by an even louder "NOOOOOO" from Peter as the kid lost the race. Natasha shot them a glare, and Carol glared back while Peter sunk down lower on the couch, as if trying to hide.

"You were saying about the spells? To use against Mordo?" Clint prompted, trying to steer them back to the conversation.

"Ah, yes." Stephen was glad for the change in conversation, worried Tony would ask him questions about the butterfly that he could not answer. He wished he had the time to study it properly, but he needed to deal with Mordo first. "As I was saying, I've barely begun to even scratch the surface of the knowledge stored at Kamar Taj. I don't know how long it could take to find a truly effective spell to stop Mordo."

"Then why are you here, and not looking through those books?" Natasha snapped, and Tony sent her a warning glare.

"Look, I get that you're stressed about another bad guy to face," he said slowly, "But Stephen needs to rest."

Stephen gave Tony a grateful look. "I'll be searching those books again tomorrow," he promised and Nat looked somewhat calmed by this.

"So long as you're rested up by then," Tony said warningly, giving Natasha a look that seemed to dare her to argue with him.

"I will be," Stephen said, glaring at him pointedly. Tony waved him off.

"You know where the guest rooms are, Strange. Go make use of one."

Stephen gave him a small, crooked grin. "Sure thing, Stark."

He gave Tony a mock salute as he turned to leave the room, and Peter dropped his game controller onto the ground and leapt to his feet. He practically ran across the room, leaping into the air a couple of times.

"I won! I finally beat her!"

"Good for you, kid," Tony told him with a smile, and Stephen found himself smiling at the kid too.

"Guess Carol finally found her match," he commented, and Tony picked up the closest thing to him, which happened to be a pen, and threw it at Stephen's head.

"Go get some rest!"

"Alright! Alright!" Stephen raised his hands in surrender, a larger smile on his face now as he backed out of the room. Tony threw another object at him, this time a box of tissues, and Stephen ducked to avoid it smacking into his forehead.

He made his way down the hallway to where he knew Tony's forty or so guest rooms were, and picked one of them, not really caring which it was, knowing they were all just as extravagant as the others. Once inside, the cloak threw itself off of his shoulders to settle down on the end of the bed.

Stephen gave it a pointed look. "So that's how it is, is it?"

The cloak, of course, did not reply, but Stephen swore it shook a little, as if laughing at him. He just politely flipped it off, which the cloak chose to ignore. Then he magicked himself out his robes and into some more comfortable, casual clothes. He usually slept in a shirt and pants, finding it better than any pyjamas he'd ever tried.

He climbed into the bed, letting out a small groan at how soft it was compared to his usual bed at the Sanctum, and settled down with a sigh of happiness. He really was tired, and some sleep would help him if he wanted to find that spell.

His eyes were beginning to slip closed when he felt a tingle in his right hand. Confused, he sat up, lifting his hand up to eye level just in time to see a golden butterfly burst free, flutter around the room before it slipped through the crack under the door and disappeared.