- Hiraeth -

... Ten ...

I literally almost cried when I saw 100+ reads... Thank you guys so much for your continued support, even if it is only a few reads per chapter. I'm super grateful! This chapter is a bit shorter, as I said they would be, and it's mostly just a fluff dump.

EARL GREY

Stephen was awoken by a horrifying shriek from very close by. He bolted upright, looking around frantically. The cloak of levitation flew to his shoulders as he conjured sparkling shields, carefully making his way out of his bedroom. A loud crash sounded next to the sorcerer, and he rushed to it. In a pile of rubble he found Wong, dazed and rubbing his head.

The shorter man pointed ahead in desperation, unable to communicate properly in that moment. Luckily, Strange was able to react fast enough to send a shield flying towards the creature attacking them.

Although best described as a demon, it resembled a wolf. It was slim, tall, and hairless. The monster screamed like a person, muscles and veins rippling underneath transparent flesh.

"What the hell is that thing?" Stephen asked, maybe a little too calm. He summoned a weapon, holding it at his side in a defensive position.

Wong finally stood, drawing his own shields next to his friend. It wasn't his job to protect the sanctum, but he'd be damned if he let anything happen to it. "I'm not sure. I came by this morning to check on things, and found it rummaging through your herbs."

"Bastard!" Calling upon the Winds of Watoomb, Stephen tried to push the creature outside. There, he could more effectively trap it in the mirror dimension and defeat it.

What a bad idea. The second it was outside, the demon proved to be much faster than Wong and Stephen originally thought. It tore off, headed anywhere but the fight in front of it. It might've gotten away if it weren't for a certain hero showing up to the party.

"Can I pet your dog?" Tony fired repulsors at the monster after it snapped its jaws at him, revealing rows upon rows of jagged teeth.

Stephen hurried over, sighing in exasperation as he was finally able to open the mirror dimension around them. "Be my guest."

"I think I'm gonna call him Rex." The engineer continued trying to subdue 'Rex,' nearly missing its wild attempts at clawing the iron suit's jugular.

"By the Demons of Denak!" Stephen called, making a diamond with his middle and index fingers, then bending them and pulling them apart. A shadowy claw came to rest on the creature, pinning it to the ground. It cried out, frantically trying to free itself.

Tony removed the mask from his suit, looking around. The threat seemed contained, and they could handle themselves just fine. "Where'd this thing come from? Seems like kind of a big deal." He ran a hand along Rex's back, drawing it away when he felt the metal of his gauntlet begin to heat up.

Holding his ring and middle fingers out towards the demon, Stephen chanted an ancient language under his breath. Rex seemed to calm down considerably. "You're lost, aren't you?" The creature only whined in response, sniffing the air of its unfamiliar surroundings. "I'll get you back home."

"Hello?" Stark waved his hands around, confusion written all over his features. "Is this something I should worry about?"

Blinking a few times before focusing on the man before him, Stephen smiled. "No, Tony. This isn't something you should worry about. I'll assign a researcher in Kamar-Taj to figuring out where this little guy belongs, then he'll go home."

Tony let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "Little guy? Steph, I'm a little guy. This is a really big guy. Like, top tier big guy."

While chuckling at his friend's antics, the sorcerer slowly approached Rex. He held his hand out, palm flat. The demon only watched Strange get closer, no hint of malice in its eyes. Stephen placed his hand on its snout, unable to contain his excitement when the creature pushed further into his touch.

"Isn't his skin hot?" The metal-clad man made his way towards the head of the beast, furrowing his eyebrows at Stephen.

Rex's pupils immediately dilated, his lips pulling over his teeth in a snarl directed at Tony.

Stephen pulled his hand away suddenly, his flesh feeling like it would sear off. "It must be a defence mechanism. And... Rex doesn't seem to like you."

"Ha! Feeling's mutual, buddy." Stark continued toward Strange, keeping a close eye on the confined demon.

Stephen held his hand out to Tony, a mischievous smile on his face. The skin under his eyes wrinkled, as did his nose. Had Tony noticed those cheekbones before?... They were quite something. "Give me your hand." The taller of the two said, taking hold of Stark's gauntlet without another word. There were always layers between them. Gloves, armour, sweaters... Had they ever touched each other's skin? No, Stephen would have remembered that.

Rex had begun to flail around again, which prompted Strange to shush the creature. "It's alright. I promise." The demon breathed heavily, but stopped struggling. Stephen put his hand back onto his snout, making sure that his skin was at least cooled off a bit. It was warm, but didn't feel as unbearably hot as it did before. He suddenly remembered that he'd been holding Tony's hand, and looked him in the eyes.

The engineer was speechless. He'd just seen his wizard friend tame a demon. "Whoa, what are you doing?" He questioned as the other pressed his hand onto the top of Rex's head. The not-quite-wolf stirred a bit, but settled back down after assessing Tony's intentions.

Releasing Stark's hand, Stephen took a step back. He smiled at the two, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Tony, you can touch him. I think he's warming up to you."

Nanobots retracted from Tony's hand as Rex sniffed him. His skin bare, he let slightly shaking fingers rest on the creature's transparent flesh. The warmth was pleasant, so he allowed his entire hand to stroke the beast's head. "I bet you take every guy to meet demon dogs." He joked, flashing Stephen a grin.

"You're a wreck, Tony Stark." With fondness in his gaze, the former doctor hummed, "An arrogant, stubborn, gorgeous wreck."

Stark froze on the spot, but tried to play it off like the words didn't mean anything to him. That's how he got through life - nothing got under his skin, not even the good stuff. The tension in that moment was so thick, the air so still, that they could hear the faint crackling of the fabric of the mirror dimension.

It made Stephen want to disappear. Why would he let his feelings present themselves so freely? Had he learned nothing in his entire life? Nothing at all? By the Vishanti, he must've been the biggest idiot in the nine realms.

This was not the situation where Tony thrived. In silence, thoughts were ruthless. He couldn't function in such a heavy atmosphere. Even so, he didn't know what to say. Play it cool, Stark. "I know, right?"

They both laughed, wiping away tears that they were able to pass off as being caused by said laughter. Stephen cried because he was embarrassed, but Tony cried because maybe - maybe he was slowly coming to terms with the idea of Stephen Strange, and that he meant more to the engineer than anyone else ever had.