And the butterflies that burst from your fingertips

Nine: A King and a plane

The first thought that registered in Stephen's mind when he got out of Shuri's lab and onto the streets of Wakanda was pure, unbridled awe. He'd seen Wakanda briefly during the battle against Thanos, but he hadn't exactly had the chance to admire it, since he'd been pretty busy helping gather up troops.

It was a technological marvel, weird, wondrous and beautiful sights everywhere he looked. Buildings impossibly tall, and gleaming black and silver. Small homes inlaid with more technology than even the Avengers Compound had.

Locals wearing clothing that shifted at will, bracelets with communication devices far advanced beyond anything Stephen had ever seen. And, of course, the biggest, most impressive thing of all; the barrier that covered the whole of Wakanda.

It was barely visible to the naked eye, and Stephen knew it could disguise Wakanda at will, hide it from view completely. Stephen wasn't one to care much for technology, but this still took his breath away.

The medical side of it had impressed him, how easily they'd healed his stab wound, but now he saw how life-changing this technology truly could be. He also saw why Wakanda was so reluctant to share it, but he knew that if they did, the impact would be huge.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Stephen turned, and smiled as he spotted Shuri at his side. "I thought you wanted me out of your hair."

"And leave you without a tour?" Shuri gave him a look. "Besides, my brother wants to meet you."

"Your brother... as in the King?" Stephen's mouth and throat went dry, and Shuri laughed at his expression.

"Who else? Come on, he won't bite."

Stephen just nodded dumbly, and followed behind Shuri as she led him through Wakanda. She pointed out landmarks as they went, and even went into detail behind the technology on a few occasions. At one point she began to talk for a very long time on the technology of a certain tower, then caught herself and bashfully explained she'd worked on that building herself.

Wakanda was more impressive the more of it Stephen saw, and the moment the palace came into view, all the breath was driven from Stephen's chest. It was magnificent, gleaming, and full of technological advances and architectural designs that seemed impossible.

The King himself stood by the entrance, and he broke out smiling the moment he spotted Stephen and Shuri. He walked towards them, and Stephen felt incredibly self-conscious in that moment.

"Ah, little sister! And you must be our guest, Stephen Strange."

It took Stephen a moment to find his voice. "Yes. A pleasure to properly meet you."

The King laughed. "And on much nicer terms. Oh, and please call me T'Challa."

Shuri leaned over to whisper into Stephen's ear, "He's stopping you before you can call him 'Your Majesty' or something equally stupid."

Stephen nearly began to argue that addressing a King in such a way was not stupid, but stopped himself; he had a feeling if he did argue with her, he would have just proved her point. Instead, he just addressed T'Challa again.

"You wanted to meet me, I heard," Stephen said with a sideways glance at Shuri.

"I thought it would be nice, before you fly back." T'Challa gestures behind Stephen, who turned to spot a very fancy, very obviously Wakandan plane that he hadn't seen before.

"I thought I was returning tomorrow."

"That was the plan," T'Challa said. "Then Tony Stark called for a plane to pick him up so he could come collect you. Apparently Mordo's getting out of control. It's all over the news."

Stephen stared at him for a long moment. "...Shit."

"Yeah, it's not good," Shuri chimed in. "Anyway, say goodbye to Wakanda, get on the plane, never come back, bye."

"Shuri!" T'Challa hissed, but Stephen had already spotted the playful gleam in Shuri's eyes.

"Will do, Princess," Stephen said in reply, with a mock bow. Shuri burst out laughing, and T'Challa looked between the two of them, clearly confused.

"Alright then. I hope to see you again sometime, Stephen Strange."

"Likewise," Stephen said. "And hopefully I don't have to rush off like this again."

T'Challa smiled. "Go on. You've got people to save, according to Tony."

Stephen smiled back, then made his way over to the plane. The door of it opened for him, and he climbed inside to be met by Tony, who looked quite frantic.

"Mordo's worse than we thought. He's taken out Thor, Peter and Bruce. We're running out of time."

"He took all of their abilities?" Stephen's voice was steady, as was his gaze as it met Tony's own.

"All of them," Tony confirmed. Stephen quickly took a seat in the plane, and Tony sat down next to him. As the engine began to start up, Stephen realised what he had to do.

He didn't do it then, though. He waited until they were nearly back to New York before turning to the man next to him, and taking a deep breath.

"Tony," he began. "Remember the... disease I have?"

Tony frowned. "Yeah. Did you cure it or something?"

Stephen exhaled slowly. He couldn't back out now. "No. To cure it I... I need to tell you something."

Tony just looked at him. "It's that simple?"

It's not simple at all.

Stephen took another breath. "Tony. I'm in love with you."