Chapter Text
Earth-200207: January 1992
The first time Stephen Strange met Toni Stark, they were at an aptly named ‘geniuses gala’ in New York, organised to sponsor the brightest - and youngest - minds in America.
It was not the first time he had heard of her, of course. Stephen would bet that there were very few individuals left in America who did not know who Toni Stark was, no matter their age. Daughter of the Howard Stark, child genius who made a circuit board at age 4 and who started MIT at 14?
She was probably the number one example parents used against their children when they did not study hard enough.
Not Stephen’s parents, of course. Stephen was just as smart as she was, if not more. The only thing he did not have was the money Stark was always surrounded by, money that probably convinced her teachers and lecturers to let her skip as many grades/classes as she had.
Stephen did not doubt that she was incredibly smart. But no one other than the daughter of Howard Stark could get away with bypassing so many grades: Stephen would know, he had tried very hard, and gotten rebuffed at every turn, even when he proved himself smarter than everyone in his classes (including the teachers, at times).
He had heard of her father passing away, so he had not expected her to attend such an event.
Then again, she was a socialite as well as a genius. Image was everything to those rich types.
She did look slightly upset, though. Not enough to tip off everyone, but there was an almost lost expression on her face as she stood near the food table, a chalice twirling between her fingers.
Stephen had not really planned on speaking to her - he found her interesting and she was famous, but he wasn’t going to go after her like all those other guys at the ball thirsting over a still underage girl - but then he had gone to get some food for himself, and she had called out to him.
“Hey.”
Stephen had been a little surprised. The girl had avoided every man at the event like the plague, and had only offered smiles that she did not mean to the women who approached her, so it was a little odd for her to be speaking to him.
“Miss Stark,” he said, offering her his hand, because he did have manners. “A pleasure to meet you. My name is Stephen Strange.”
“Mr Strange,” she answered, accepting it, and frowning slightly. “I have heard of you.”
This time Stephen was not that surprised, though he was very pleased. He might not have the fame and exposure Antoinette Stark had, but he had been making the rounds already. Youngest student to enrol at Hopkins. “All good things, I presume?”
Again she looked at him a little oddly, like she was debating whether or not to bring something up. “Apparently you are some sort of genius in your field,” she said after a second. “Something to do with medicine, right?”
Uh. Stephen hadn’t known his area of study had been leaked already. Though he was not surprised that someone like her kept up with the gossip. “Yes. All I heard about you is questions on who you will be taking home tonight...” he trailed off, a little condescendingly, and internally winced. He had been trying to sound polite and questioning, but he felt like he had missed the mark, considering how quickly Stark’s expression switched to irritation and then to blank again.
She was speaking before he could apologise. “Ah, yes. I already got two degrees in the bag, engineering and artificial intelligence. Thinking of going back for business, physics and maybe some doctorates.” She said it placidly, and Stephen couldn’t really hide that he was impressed.
“Ambitious,” he said, and Stark shook her head.
“Not for me,” she bragged, which now was starting to sound irritating. She was a little arrogant and smug bastard, wasn’t she? “Oh, I have been wondering. Have you by any chance heard of the name Thanos?”
The expression on her face when she asked this was very intense, and Stephen found himself slightly unnerved as he rocked his brain to find a face to attach to the name.
He came out empty. “Not that I know of. Describe him?”
She looked disappointed at that, though she valiantly tried to hide it. Perhaps a boyfriend that she figured he might know? “Trust me. If you knew Thanos, you wouldn’t need a description.” She put down the glass she had been nursing, avoiding his eyes completely. “See you around, Strange.”
And then she promptly walked away, leaving Stephen with a lot of curiosity and unanswered questions.
Earth-200207: October 1992
Stephen had not thought he’d ever run into Toni Stark again after that gala, so he was particularly surprised when he spotted her and Bruce Banner walking around NYU.
He knew the two were friends - had seen them interacting at that very same gala he had met her at - and he recalled her saying something about more degrees and doctorates, but hadn’t expected to run into them at NYU.
Banner did not notice him, the first time, but Stark did.
And when she did, her face twisted immediately with confusion, distaste and irritation. Stephen could only stare as she basically did a U-turn and promptly guided her friend away.
He was a little confused by the hostility, to be honest. Especially when it continued the next two times they ran into each other in the corridors of the University as well. It wasn’t as if he had been that mean to her at that party, had he? Frankly, her attitude was insulting.
So when, days later, he grabbed his lunch and turned to find a seat in the canteen just to catch the end of Stark glaring at him once more he decided enough was enough.
The girl was complaining to Banner now, and Stephen managed to hear the tail end of their conversation as he decidedly approached their table.
“I don’t have a problem with Strange,” she lied, pouting at her friend.
“Then what’s with the glare?”
“Yes, Stark,” he cut in, pleased when it made both geniuses startle. “What’s with the glare?”
Banner looked a little nervous, but she pursed her lips slightly before forcing her face in a bland mask of politeness that fooled no one and made Stephen smirk. “Sometimes some people just rub you the wrong way, I guess.”
Considering they had said like three sentences to each other and half of hers was her bragging about her achievements and future plans, Stephen felt he should be the one irritated by her.
He dropped his tray next to Banner’s and sat down, even more pleased when her irritation seemed to grow at that. “I guess. I could see how the woman who designed her first weapon at age 8 and the guy who realised he wanted to save lives at age 8 might not like each other.”
Cheap shot? Perhaps. Maybe, if she had minded her business instead of trying to eliminate him with the power of her mind for imagined slights, he would have refrained.
She seemed to tense for a moment, before offering him a sickly sweet smile. “Oh, I don’t know, Strange. People say that opposites attract, which probably means that people who are too similar to each other repel, right?”
Stephen rolled his eyes, though he couldn’t help his annoyance at the way she had just tried to equate the two of them. “Are you suggesting that me and you are in any way similar to each other?” They were not alike.
She shrugged. “Or something. Draw your own conclusions, I am simply offering an hypothesis.”
“I don’t think you have all the necessary data to make such,” he pointed out, and she smirked as if she knew something that he didn’t.
“You’ll find that I have plenty of data, Strange.”
Did she realise how creepy that sounded, he wondered as he raised an eyebrow at the ‘dig’. “Should I feel concerned as to how you have acquired this data?”
Unfortunately, she did not blush. “Are you concerned about being so easily read?”
“I am concerned about you making assumptions based on your over inflated sense of self, Stark.”
“Nothing about me is over inflated, Stranger Danger.”
“This is weird,” loudly said Banner, just as Stephen got ready to deliver a very devastating line. He was looking at both of them with a confused expression on his face. “I don’t know if you’re dissing each other or flirting, at this point.”
Stark looked away from him and reached out for Banner's fruit cup, offering him a sunny smile. “Love you too, Brucie Bear.”
Stephen rolled his eyes and opened his own lunch, not even considering leaving the table.
+++
Earth-200207: May 1993
It became a routine of sorts.
Stephen would be walking/existing around the campus, and he’d catch Stark around the place, glaring at him. He’d go up to her and start a snarkfest that immediately exhausted Bruce, and then they’d go their separate ways.
It could have continued that way until their graduation if not for one small particular: he enjoyed arguing with the woman.
He knew she was a genius, of course. He just had not imagined her to be clever as well. Witty. Actually amusing.
And so quick on things that were not even her field.
It did not take very long for Stephen to realise he had started to crush hard on her. Which was counterproductive, because he was pretty sure that even if she found their conversations and arguments amusing, she still did not like him very much.
Or so he thought.
“Are you insane?” demanded Stark, looking at him like she could not believe the words coming out of his mouth. “Seriously, how did you get into this University? Are they offering scholarships and courses to people from mental institutions now?”
“You’re just mad cause I’m right,” he answered, trying very hard not to laugh at the frustration on her face. Stephen did not even remember why they were arguing, considering he didn’t really have a big stance on physics and string theory. “Admit it, it just grinds your gears to know that you could be wrong about something, doesn’t it? It just does not-”
“God, you’re making my brain hurt, shut up!” she moaned, face between her hands.
Stephen just wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Make me.”
Stephen really should have known better than to issue Toni Stark a challenge. She glared at him for half a second before she was surging forward, pressing their lips together in a fierce and angry kiss, which Stephen wasted no time in reciprocating.
“Finally,” complained Bruce somewhere, but Stephen was way too busy to pay attention to him.
Her hands found his hair as he pressed her against the nearest wall, and she let go of his lips long enough to inform him that, “You’re still an asshole, Strange.”
“And you’re kind of a bitch, Stark,” he answered, matching her grin and kissing her once more.
“Please find a room and stop defiling my lab!”
Earth-200207: June 1995
Stephen had intellectually known he cared about Toni for a while. However, it was not until her car crashed and she somehow managed to page him from across the country that he started to hope that she cared for him too.
He had been in class when his pager went off with a message claiming that Toni had been in an accident. Stephen had eidetic memory, but for the life of him, he could not recall how he made it from his classroom to Bruce’s lab, or how he informed the Doctor of what was going on.
He just knew that somehow he ended up finding himself on a private Jet with Bruce and a blonde girl who had introduced herself as ‘Sharon’, and who seemed to be already familiar with Bruce.
He did not really say much throughout the jet ride, too busy being worried. And also slightly confused.
From what he knew of Toni - which was not really a lot, now that he thought about it - Bruce Banner was her best friend. She was always around him and chatting with him, and if it wasn’t for the fact he saw them meeting for the first time, he’d believe that they had been friends for far longer than 3 to 4 years.
She at best seemed to tolerate him and enjoy making out/having sex with him.
But it wasn’t as if they were together or something.
So why had she chosen to get in contact with him? Why had she paged him?
He did not have a reply for that, and he was too nervous to pose the question out loud.
Bruce, Sharon and he met up with two others at the hospital where Sharon said Toni was currently being treated at (which again brought up the question, how did she know Toni?). One Stephen easily recognised as Hope Van Dyne, another future socialite and, according to the headlines he had seen so far, a dear friend to Toni.
Beside her was a man he had never seen but from the way he stood and the description he had been offered before by Toni herself, was most probably James “Rhodey” Rhodes.
“How’s she?” questioned Sharon, as the four of them exchanged hugs while Stephen awkwardly stood at the side.
“Maria said she is fine, but she is asleep right now. She woke up earlier and found out about Ana and Edwin,” explained Rhodes, rubbing his temple slightly.
Bruce frowned. “Wait, what do you mean Edwin? I thought Ana was in the car with Toni?”
“Edwin went to get them,” explained Van Dyne. “And his car also crashed.”
“Poor Toni,” said the scientist, just as the door to what he assumed was Toni’s room opened and a older woman with dark blonde hair stepped out. She smiled slightly when she found their group, immediately enveloping Sharon in a hug.
“How’s she, Mrs Stark?” asked Bruce, accepting a quick hug once the woman let go of Sharon.
“She’s okay. She woke up earlier, and the doctors said she will be fine, just has some minor injuries. She got lucky,” she said, then her eyes darted towards Stephen. Stephen prepared himself to awkwardly tell her his name and justify his presence there, but she beat him to it. “You’re Stephen Strange, aren’t you?”
Oh. “Yes. Toni paged me, she said she was in an accident,” he awkwardly explained, earning two surprised looks from Van Dyne and Rhodes.
Maria Stark just nodded, like that made perfect sense to her. “Well, that’s her private room. I need to do... a bunch of things, for Toni. And for Ana and Edwin, may their souls rest in peace. James, you and everyone else can keep her company?”
“Of course, Mrs Stark,” said Rhodes.
The woman smiled at them all once more, before disappearing down the hall.
+++
Toni woke up again about five minutes after they entered the room.
She looked so small and fragile, laying almost motionless on the white bed. Stephen was aware that Toni was just average height at 5’5, but he had never seen her look so... small before. Her personality and energy were always louder than whatever room they were in, and to Stephen she had almost seemed bigger because of it.
In contrast, she was almost being swallowed by the white blankets of the hospital bed. Stephen did not like it one bit.
“Toni,” Rhodes was the first one to notice her waking, fitting at her side as she tried to sit up, his hand holding her not injured one in his. “I came as soon as I heard.”
She winced slightly, but still put her head over his shoulder. “Thanks.”
The blonde, Sharon, sat on her other side, carefully taking her other hand. “How you feeling, cuz?” Cuz. So she was Toni’s cousin.
“Like shit,” informed her Toni, giving her a sideway look.
“We’re sorry for your loss,” added Van Dyne, and they all noticed the way she looked away from the brunette at that.
“Thanks,” she still said, smiling at Bruce when he said nothing but put his hand on her ankle in silent support.
Stephen felt once more as if he shouldn’t be here, considering the obvious camaraderie between the five of them, and then Toni’s eyes met his. “Isn’t that like, illegal?”
What was she- Oh right. Stephen had taken her chart earlier while she was asleep. “Normally yes,” he admitted, “but considering you paged me from the opposite side of the country, I think we can skip the formalities.”
Instead of answering him, her eyes seemed to focus on his chest, all of a sudden, and her expression changed into one of confusion and apprehension. Her heart monitor immediately indicated the raise in her heartbeat.
Her chart did mention the possibility of a concussion, so Stephen felt he was entitled to the worry that rose in him at that. “Toni?”
She blinked back to attention. “I’m okay,” she promised, shaking her head a little. “Who did I even crash into?”
The deflection was obvious, but no one seemed inclined on calling her out on it.
“That’s the thing,” said Sharon, lips downturned, “it doesn’t look like you crashed into anything. Our aunt is looking into it, though. She fears it could have been someone at her workplace, but she doesn’t know what they could have been looking for.”
Stephen was grateful that he was not the only one who frowned in confusion at that statement. Who was Toni and Sharon’s aunt and why did she work for someone who could have crashed their car into Toni’s?
“Or someone at your company who doesn’t want you to be CEO,” pointed out Van Dyne, looking worried.
“Or someone who your company is competing against,” added Bruce.
“Or whoever caused Howard’s car crash,” said Rhodes.
Wow, thought Stephen, a little impressed, a little worried. “Damn, Toni. You really don’t have many friends around, do you?”
She immediately turned to glare. “Not everyone can have your winning personality, Stephen,” she told him.
Stephen.
She had called him Stephen.
He couldn’t have hid how pleased he was at that even if he had tried.
“Do I have a concussion?” she questioned, squinting slightly to try and read her chart.
“Yep,” answered Stephen, passing it to her. “Good thing you have us here to keep you company.”
Toni made a face at the statement, but her hold on Rhodes’ hand tightened slightly.
Earth-200207: July 1995
“They are just so good!” said Toni, taking a large sip of her mocha Frappuccino, eyes filled with ecstasy at the flavour.
“Wow,” said Stephen, amused despite himself. “You’re really loving these Frappuccino things, uh?”
She gave a decisive nod. “You have no idea. They are just... heaven.”
Stephen had certain reservations about how good the drink was, but it had been a few weeks since Toni had smiled this brightly. Between the accident, the funerals and her appointment as CEO of Stark Industries she had not been at her best, and Stephen would rather not ruin her mood by antagonizing her as usual.
“Wanna try mine?” he offered, handing her his drink.
Her eyes lit up immediately. “Thank you,” she said, not even bothering with changing the straw. Which of course, was valid, considering the way nastier things their mouths had done to each other.
Still, “You do realise we’re on a date?” he asked her, studying her reaction carefully, while trying to not look like he was.
She did not as much as flinch. “No, we aren’t.”
Play it cool, Stephen. “We aren’t?”
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, taking another sip of his drink. “To be on a date, you’d have to say the words ‘Toni, would you like to go on a date with me?’. I have not heard those words from you.”
Stephen’s lips twitched slightly. “You know, you could ask me as well.”
“And who said I want to go on a date with you?” she fired back, handing him back his severely depleted drink.
“Fine,” he said, rolling his eyes slightly. “Since you wanna act like a douchebag. Toni Stark, would you do me the honour of going on a date with me?”
“I have to check my agenda,” she sniffed, and then squawked when Stephen grabbed her by the waist and pulled her towards himself, pressing kisses all over her neck and nearly making her drink spill.
“You maniac! What if I spilled my Frappuccino?” she demanded, once he let go of her, cheeks flushed and eyes shining. She was ranting about something but all Stephen could think of was how beautiful she looked right then, in all her righteous anger.
“Go on a date with me,” he asked again, when she paused mid rant - something something coffee sacred something - to take a breath.
She rolled her eyes at him. “Fine. But back to my Frappuccino.”
Stephen just smiled.
Earth-200207: March 1998
It wasn’t until he was leaving the hospital, having completed his hours for the day that Stephen saw the message on his phone.
babe: Hey, Stephen, can’t come to our date today, sorry. Me, Hope and Bruce got kidnapped, but we’re all right now.
He nearly crashed against the wall of the hospital, heart immediately starting to race in his chest.
But honestly: what the fuck?
What the hell did Toni mean with ‘kidnapped’? And ‘we’re alright now’? Was this woman insane?
Before he could type an answer or figure out if he should call her right this minute or wait until he was home, a new message appeared on his phone.
Maria Stark: Toni is okay, but if you want to confirm, there is a jet flying over to Malibu in an hour with a bunch of SI stuff.
Stephen S.: Yes please, thank you. Where?
Maria wasted no seconds in sending him the address, and Stephen in getting a taxi to take him to the mentioned address. He tried to call Toni on the way back, but her line was busy which just helped in making him more nervous.
He knew Maria wouldn’t joke about her daughter’s safety - the two of them were thick as thieves - but that did not help him not worry that something had happened and either of them had forgotten to tell him.
Seriously, who the fuck send you notice of a kidnapping over text message?!
+++
The doors automatically opened - thanks to JARVIS - once Stephen arrived at the Malibu Stark Mansion. Maria was standing near the door of Toni’s office, and immediately lit up when she noticed him.
It was still a little surprising how quickly the woman had taken to Stephen. He had not had any serious meet the parents type of girlfriends before Toni, so he wasn’t sure if this was natural or if Maria Stark was just that cool (despite her very heavy handed suggestions that he make an honest gal out of her daughter).
His own parents had not met Toni yet, and the less was said about them, the better.
“Just in here,” said the older woman, side stepping him and letting him walk inside the room.
And there she was.
Just sitting on the desk of her office, frowning as she spoke about some deals... things, and looking perfectly at ease and fine. Only her hair seemed to be in disarray, and even that was slight.
And that just sort of pissed him off a little.
“Toni,” he called out, making her jump slightly in surprise.
“I’ll call you later, Aunt Peggy,” she said, staring at Stephen in confusion, as if she wasn’t quite sure what he was doing there. She ended the call and looked at him, tilting her head to the side. “Hey, Stephanie. What’s up?”
“What’s up?” He demanded, incredulous. Was she for real? He pulled out the prototype phone she had gifted him, opening their texting thread. “Hey, Stephen,” he started, in a perfect imitation of her voice. “Can’t come to our date today, sorry. Me, Hope and Bruce got kidnapped, but we’re all right, now.” He put down the phone and glared at her. “What the fuck?”
She stared at him, looking confused. “Are you mad I did not write ‘Hope, Bruce and I’, or...”
Dear god. “You got kidnapped, and you tell me that over text message?!” he shouted, one hand going into his hair. “Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
Like honestly? She thought he had flown all the way from New York to Malibu over a typo instead of the obvious reason that his girlfriend had been kidnapped?!
“I said I was fine,” she pointed out, looking a little uncomfortable.
He had noticed that sometimes, genuine shows of affection seemed to surprise and fluster her. He wasn’t quite sure why, considering how loving Maria and all of Toni’s friends appeared to be, but it was a thing with her.
“How can she be a genius about some things and so dumb about others?” he muttered under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut.
It was okay. She was fine, and she looked unhurt. He could let it go for now.
He took a deep breath and exhaled, before opening his arms. “Come here,” he said gruffly.
Toni took a couple of steps forward, looking a little wary. Stephen huffed at her hesitance, and met her halfway, wrapping his arms around her.
Warm. Safe and sound in his arms.
Stephen’s next breath came out far easier than before.
“You were worried?” she asked, after about a minute of him just hugging her and saying nothing, his face hidden in the crown of her hair.
Stephen’s hold on her tightened automatically. “I had no idea what had happened to you, why you were kidnapped, who took you and what they did to you. If your mother hadn’t texted me and offered one of your jets to bring me here, I don’t know what I would have done.”
“To be fair,” she said, “I get kidnapped a lot. Or at least, I used to get kidnapped a lot more when I was younger. I’m used to it.”
“That is so fucked up,” he told her, more than a little horrified when she just laughed.
“Well, I am quite fucked up, I thought we established that.” He huffed a laugh at that, and she smiled too. “But yeah, I have been sending similar messages to Rhodey my entire adolescence, so I didn’t think about how this would have sounded like to you.”
Stephen did not want to think about the implications of her sending so many of these messages to Rhodey that she thought her text to him was normal. Instead he finally let go of her, critically eyeing her from top to bottom. “And you're okay? 100% okay?”
Toni gave him a sarcastic little twirl. “Peachy,” she said, and then sidled closer to him, putting a hand over his chest. “Of course, you can give me a more thorough examination, doctor.”
Oh Stephen was on board. “I suppose I could. Is there a sterile room we can conduct this examination in?”
She gave him a grin, interlocking their fingers together. “Follow me, Doctor Strange.”
“Not a doctor yet.”
“Stop ruining my fantasies, Stephen!”
Earth-200207: April 1998
Stephen thought for a very long time about how to give Toni a key to his apartment.
It had been now almost 3 years since they had ‘officially’ started dating, and to be honest, part of him was surprised it had lasted this long. The other part of him, the romantic part, just kept waxing romantic shit about her in his brain and about how disappointed in him she might be if he did not hurry and say those three words to her already.
Did he love Toni Stark?
Of course he did. It was impossible not to, in his opinion. She was funny, she was sarcastic, she was a bit of an asshole with genius and snark in spades. She could match him step for step, and had never once demanded he change anything about himself to fit in her life better.
She was both mature as hell and childish as fuck, and Stephen could easily say no one made him smile or piss him off as fast as she managed to.
The thought of not having her at his side? He did not even want to contemplate it.
And there was simply no other words for the care, fondness, and genuine affection in his heart whenever he saw or thought of her.
But he was equally as certain that she did not love him. Or perhaps, was not ready to admit to herself that she cared for him as much as he cared for her.
So he couldn’t just up and tell her that he loved her.
But he also couldn’t let her believe that he was not in this relationship for the long haul.
He had plans for how his life would go since he was a teenager about to enter Hopkins, and nothing about them had changed until Toni. She had managed to insinuate her way into his goal of a perfect and successful life, and while he was afraid of what telling her would react in, he had to make sure she was somehow aware that he did want her in his life forever for a long time.
“Are you leaving?” asked Toni, suddenly appearing from behind him half dressed and making Stephen jump in surprise. She smirked, trying to see the key necklace in his hands. “What’s that?”
“Here,” he said, throwing it at her with faux nonchalance, as if his heart was not beating in his heart at an unnatural pace. “I’ll see you later!”
“Wait, what?”
Stephen closed the door behind him before she could ask more questions or demand explanations.
Nailed it.
Earth-200207: July 1998
When Toni had sent him a text saying she was hanging out with royalty who was apparently a family friend, Stephen had not been quite sure what to think.
Toni and her family being rich and influential was not a surprise, after all. He was man enough to admit that sometimes, the wealth inequality between the two of them made him feel insecure and the ‘gold digging’ headlines that used to pop up whenever they were seen together (before Toni ‘took care’ of it) made him feel as if perhaps he wasn’t worthy of Toni.
But still, it was one thing to be rich because you were - or used to be - a military company, and your family friend being a Scandinavian royalty.
Mostly, though, he had been curious.
Stephen did not really do friends. He had had people who considered him their friend throughout his academic career, but never people he had sought out for himself.
Somehow, though, Toni’s friend group had swallowed him before he could even think of objecting. Bruce he had known since NYU, and they habitually hung out together, since they both lived on the East Coast. Sharon and him met almost every weekend for drinks - he wasn’t quite sure what her job was, but it seemed to be pretty draining. Rhodey and he had found a mutual love for everything to do with music, their taste being almost exactly the same. And Stephen was the only one who understood Hope’s love for football, because his Nebraskan father had indoctrinated him at a very young age.
But he had never heard of this ‘Loki’ before, and when he checked with them, no one else had either.
It was a little puzzling, to be quite honest, but nothing that Stephen thought he had to worry about.
And then he met Loki.
+++
Perhaps it had been a little stereotypical of Stephen, but when Toni had first mentioned Loki, he had imagined a tall buff blond man with a thick beard and jolly happy attitude.
Loki was... not that.
He was tall, sure. But he was clean shaven, with long jet black hair that looked a little unnatural and sharp green eyes that seemed to scream ‘sense of superiority’. He was not particularly buff, but he definitely had a couple inches on Stephen.
He and Toni were sitting at the dining table, talking about something when Stephen walked inside.
“Stephie!” called Toni, lighting up immediately when she spotted him and standing up. “I didn’t think you were coming after all.”
“Sent you a message afterwards but I don’t think you noticed it,” he answered, hugging her back and pressing a kiss on her cheek.
She made a face. “Yeah, I left my phone back in my room when we started... catching up,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “Anyway, Stephen, this is my... friend, Loki. Loki, this is Stephen, my boyfriend.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Loki, his clearly English accent taking Stephen a little by surprise.
“Pleasure’s all mine,” he answered, a little confused.
“Want to have lunch with us?” asked Toni, pulling out a chair for him since Loki was currently seated at the chair Stephen usually used.
“Nah. You guys going to be busy for long or do you want to have dinner together, later?”
Toni turned to Loki, questioningly, and the other man shrugged. “It’s your choice. Though, I don’t know how long till I will be able to return, and I cannot leave the texts with you.”
What texts was he talking about? Toni turned to look at him, and her answer was clear in the downturn of her lips.
“It’s fine,” said Stephen, though he could not quite quell a slight feeling of disappointment and irritation. “I should have called ahead when you didn’t answer my text. I’ll just hang out, or hit up Hope.”
“Thank you,” said Toni, pressing a quick kiss on his cheek. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“You better,” he joked, spirits lifting immediately.
But the disappointment remained.
Earth-200207: March 1999
While their relationship continued more or less steadily, Stephen’s dislike and irritation when it came to Loki continued to grow.
Stephen had always known that he could be a little jealous and possessive when it came to people and things he cared about, had been since he was a child. He could admit that he had even been a little jealous of Rhodey, at the beginning, with how close he and Toni were. But he had reigned it in and worked it out of his system quickly enough, since it was clear the two were completely platonic in their affections, no matter how close they appeared.
But there was just something about Loki that rubbed him the wrong way.
Like something was not quite... natural, or normal about the man. Like he was keeping a secret of some sort.
He was arrogant and pompous. Pretentious as hell, talking about how ‘wondrous’ something was, or how he was ‘beguiled’ by something or other.
And then there were the secrets.
Even now, the second he walked inside the kitchen to pick up something to drink as he went through his neurobiology book, he noticed the way Loki had stopped talking the second he had walked inside.
And the way he just gave Stephen one of his irritating smirks when he caught his eye, like he somehow knew Stephen was annoyed and found great delight in that.
Stephen was not someone who demanded his girlfriend share everything she did with him. It would never work with Toni’s many obvious trust issues and how independent she was all the time.
But she had been pretty open with him, right until Loki showed up on the scene. And then it was suddenly whispered conversations that stopped when he walked into the room, mysterious books and notebooks that were carefully hidden from his sight, Loki just randomly hanging out in Toni’s room as if he belonged there, Toni dropping and rescheduling things because ‘Loki was in town’.
She claimed him a childhood friend, and yet this new routine had only started a year ago, so what gave?
And nowhere he looked on google (the new webpage that had been invented the year before) he could find any trace of ‘Loki Bursson’ or the ‘Bursson family’. The only link he found was to Norse myths, and it worried him a little.
Either Loki was lying to Toni about who he was, or Toni was for some reason lying to everyone else about who Loki was.
Neither option was a particularly good one.
Earth-200207: December 1999
Of course Loki was there on the last night of the Millennium.
Stephen tried to hide his feelings as he and Toni re-joined the grill with Hope and Rhodey - and Stephen had to say, that particular hook-up was a long time coming. The pining between the two of them had started to become embarrassing, at this point - but seeing the man’s little smirk as he handed Toni a plate of hot dogs was irritating.
It was like he knew how much his existence and relationship with Toni annoyed Stephen and just found immense pleasure in that.
“Also your lipstick is ruined,” he informed her.
Why was he looking and paying so close attention to her lips that he noticed that? Rhodey and Hope had been talking to them just moments ago, and neither had mentioned it. Because they did not pay attention to Toni’s lips.
“Oh, thanks,” she said, not at all bothered by him noticing.
“Hot dogs, Stephen?” offered him Loki, still with that smug little grin and god, how much Stephen hated him.
“Thank you, Loki,” he said, with a sarcastic smile, as he put an arm around Toni’s shoulders and accepted the plate offered with the other.
Sharon, who had heard him countless times rant about Loki, rolled her eyes at them.
He mostly ignored the ensuing conversations, keeping his attention mostly on Loki and butting in as requested. As usual, Toni seemed to be working overtime on the ‘defending Loki’s clearly fake identity’ but no one other than himself seemed to be noticing that.
The two of them were hiding something, and Stephen was starting to honestly get sick of it.
“How long are you staying, this time?” he asked him abruptly, cutting into his conversation with Toni.
Loki smiled, shrugging a little. “I don’t know. Toni has offered for me to stay as long as I need, as my brother dearest has been a pain in my arse lately.”
Seriously?
Stephen turned to the girl, who acted as if this was completely normal. “His brother is kind of a dick,” she simply said.
As if it was completely normal and not in the slightest odd of her to simply offer for him to stay with her. Stephen knew that sometimes his jealousy and possessiveness got the best of him, but wasn’t it concerning how Toni, type A, always busy, ‘have to book in advance or you won’t get a time slot with her’ was so willing to wave away all her responsibilities for Loki? Just because his brother was ‘kind of a dick’?
Either she was lying about the reason why Loki was staying longer, or...
Stephen did not have an or, he realised, as he let go of her shoulder, reaching for a beer as the conversation picked back up around them.
He joined in when everyone booed at yet another of Toni’s outlandish claims, but only half heartedly.
He trusted Toni, he did. But it was as if she did not trust him, not really. Or perhaps Loki was feeding her information and telling her not to trust him.
After all, things had been going well between them before Loki had shown up on the scene. Everything had been going uphill until the man’s arrival and Toni started keeping secrets and lying.
He started paying attention when Toni leaned back into him a few minutes later, seemingly embarrassed.
“... I don’t even remember the last time I had such a fancy vacation,” finished Bruce.
“Yeah,” agreed Rhodey, punching her shoulder while she tried to further disappear inside Stephen’s side. “That was nice. You could have had a romantic getaway with Stephen only but you invited us all too.”
Ah. Compliments. Toni’s kryptonite.
Stephen jumped in to save her from them. “Wait, there was a chance of a romantic getaway with just the two of us?” he asked, looking down at her. “Why wasn’t I informed of this? I don’t like these people that much.”
“Asshole,” said Bruce fondly, and Toni moved on that train immediately much more comfortable.
Then Loki and her shared a look that had her lighting up once more. “Oh, thank you for this, by the way,” she said, waving a small charm bracelet Stephen had not noticed until now, sitting beside her usual green and orange butterfly one.
Loki shrugged. “Considering what we spoke about, it seemed apt.”
What they spoke- when had he even given her this?, wondered Stephen taking her arm and inspecting the bracelet. It was simple, if a little odd in design, but it made alarm bells ring in his head.
Just a few minutes ago he had been so happy that Toni always wore the key necklace he had given her a year ago. And now apparently she had a bracelet from Loki?
“What is it?” he questioned, forcing his voice to remain calm and steady.
“A protection bracelet,” said Loki, which uh?
Stephen couldn’t help make a face at Toni. Protection bracelet? From what? “Seriously? Like to protect you from the evil eye and stuff?”
Toni had never seemed like someone who believed in superstition. She smiled at him like she found his distaste amusing, which, knowing her, she probably did. “Kind of. It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
Maybe it wasn’t Toni who believed in it, but the man who gave it to her. He gave Loki a condescending look. “You believe in magic?”
Loki seemed as amused as Toni had been. “You don’t?”
“Of course I don’t,” scoffed the doctor. “Why would I believe in something that doesn’t exist?”
“There are more things in heaven and Earth/ Than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” quoted Loki.
“Hamlet, Shakespeare, 1609,” immediately recognised Stephen. As if an old quote from a dead man could somehow make up for believing in bullshit like that.
Toni punched his shoulder, getting his attention. “It’s not like you’re the one wearing it,” she pointed out.
Fair, but still. “I would just prefer if my girlfriend didn’t believe in hocus pocus and chakras and stuff. What’s next, horoscopes?”
“You know, my horoscope is always unerringly accurate,” said Sharon, because of course Sharon would say that.
Before Stephen could start to patiently explain to her why it was all nonsense, Toni pulled his face down to hers, pressing a kiss on his lips. “You love me anyway,” she said, smiling smugly. And then paled, seeming to panic at the realisation of what she had just said.
Well, that just wouldn’t do.
“Yeah,” said Stephen, and Toni went from frozen icicle to shock immediately. How was she surprised? Stephen had made his feelings for her abundantly clear, in his personal opinion. “I love you anyway.”
Toni stared at him for enough seconds that Stephen started to panic himself, and then she smiled. A truly happy, genuine and wide smile, one of those that were very rare coming from her.
If love was a smile, then it was Toni's.
She surged forward once more, throwing him off balance and making him fall back against the sandy beach, her body on his and her lips claiming his once more.
When she finally leaned back, Stephen was breathless, flushed, dazed and smiling like an lunatic. Toni sat back on his legs and smiled like a loon too, her cheeks flushed and a truly happy expression on her face.
“In case that wasn’t clear,” she said. “I love you too.”
Oh thank god.
Stephen had hoped, and had thought but to hear her say it...
His smile turned a little challenging. “Wasn’t very clear. Wanna try again?” he asked her.
And she did.
Much to everyone else's chagrin.
Earth-200207: November 2000
“Is Toni inside?” asked Stephen, as he stopped in front of Toni’s current secretary’s desk.
The woman looked up, and smiled when she realised it was him. “Oh, Mr Strange. Yes, she returned a few minutes ago from her meeting. Just go right ahead.”
Stephen shot her a smile, holding onto the bag of food he had prepared for her as he walked towards her door.
He had just seen her this morning but he was bored, did not have a shift at the hospital and had time. So what better thing to do than surprise his girlfriend at work for lunch?
He opened the door, smiling, and then his face immediately dropped at the picture he was faced with.
Toni, wrapped in Loki’s arms, looking a little unhappy. With Loki holding her against his chest, consoling her.
And neither of them having noticed his arrival.
“What’s going on here?”
Loki was the first to notice him, and turned to face him, his arms leaving her waist and his usual smarmy little smile on his face. “Hello, Stephen.”
Stephen wanted to clock him in the face.
“Hey, babe. What are you doing here?” questioned Toni, trying to immediately hide her emotions from him.
And that hurt.
Why would she need to hide her emotions from him? He had never been anything but supportive with her and yet, she continued to choose Loki for comfort over him.
Why was she doing this?
“Thought I’d surprise you with lunch,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. “I thought you said you were gonna be working all day?”
“I am?” she said, looking confused.
“Then why is he here?” he asked, pointing at Loki. “Your desk secretary seemed to be under the impression that you were alone in here.”
Toni shot Loki a look, at that, and Stephen was honestly sick and tired of these looks. Of these secrets, of whatever the hell was going on between these two.
“He just brought me lunch,” she explained, pointing at some wrappers on her desk.
Of course he had. “Oh, great,” he said, as Toni started picking up the trash. “Guess I'll just throw this out, then.”
She stopped, turning towards him with a frown. “What.”
“I wanted to surprise you at work today and I made you your favourite,” he said, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice. “But you've already had lunch, because Loki just happened to show up and bring you lunch.” Loki bringing her lunch, Loki consoling her, Loki and her doing things they told no one about, always. Fucking. Loki. “Honestly, why do you even keep me around when he can take care of you so much better?"
“What on Earth are you even talking about?” she asked, playing dumb. “Of course Loki takes care of me. We’re friends. And we can just reheat the lunch you made and eat it for dinner, what’s the big deal?”
“Friends,” snorted Stephen. “Right.”
“What are you implying, Stephen,” she said, voice flat.
Her eyes had narrowed in that way they did when she felt Stephen was crossing the line, but once he opened his mouth, he couldn’t stop.
“You and Hope are friends. You and Rhodey are friends. You and Bruce are friends,” he said, counting on his fingers. “But you drop everything the second Loki calls. He shows up and you guys spend hours, if not days, all over each other. You talk about shit together that no one else understands. You cancel on everyone just to spend time with him.”
And it was not just once or twice. It was all the damn time. Stephen did not think she was cheating on him, but how else was he supposed to read the situation? The secrets? The way sometimes they acted as if they were so in sync with each other, and grew more and more attuned as time went on?
Toni looked as if she couldn’t believe his words. “First of all, Loki shows up here between 3 to 5 times a year and never stays longer than a week. Of course I’m gonna do my best to see him when he gets a break and comes to visit! But I did the same with Maria Rambeau when she came up to California on holiday, and I do the same to Rhodey all the time, even if he shows up more often than Loki, depending on the year. And I don’t cancel anything, I always reschedule. I always come up to see you if I miss a date or something, so how can you accuse me of-”
“Out of guilt, maybe-”
“Maybe I should go,” said Loki, standing up and looking generally uncomfortable.
Now he looked uncomfortable. Still, better late than never.
“Perfect, see you never.”
“No. Sit down, Loki,” said Toni, speaking over him.
Stephen couldn’t quite hide the hurt at her once more picking Loki over him. “This is between you and me, Toni.”
“And Loki is my friend, and I don’t care what you-”
“See? This is exactly it!” said Stephen, throwing up his hands in annoyance. “You never keep secrets from him regarding what you and someone else are doing, but you keep secrets from everyone regarding what you and him are doing. How can I not be suspicious of that?!”
For a moment, it was as if his words registered with the woman. But just as quickly, the look on her face was gone, and she was deflecting. “I am your girlfriend. Your girlfriend who you love and who’s in love with you,” she said, glaring at him. “Aren’t you supposed to trust me?”
As if it was a simple question of trust.
“I trust you just fine,” he scoffed. “It’s him I don’t trust. And the fact that you are keeping things from me. Like, why was he hugging you just now?”
There, that wasn’t a hard question was it? A simple, ‘I am sad about something’ would suffice.
“What’s important,” she said instead, deflecting once more, “is that there is nothing going on between Loki and I. He’s a friend and that’s it, Stephen. You have no reason to be jealous of him.”
Did she even hear what she sounded like?
“You ask me to not be jealous, you demand that I trust you, and you can’t even tell me what drove you in his arms just now?”
“What’s even the point of telling you?” she asked, sounding irritated, and what the hell did she have to be irritated about? “You wouldn’t trust me anyway.”
Like she was trusting him right now?
She demanded he trust her while she couldn’t even do the same thing.
“I would if you started talking to me,” he said, begging her to understand. “Or maybe if you started spending less time alone with him.” That would definitely go a long way as well.
It was obviously the wrong thing to say, considering how Toni’s eyes narrowed at that statement. “Do not presume that just because we are dating you have the right to dictate who I spend or don’t spend time with, Strange.”
Normally the 'Strange' would have made him backtrack but, “Is it really such a hardship to ask you to avoid someone who makes me uncomfortable? I don’t like him, and I don’t like him around you especially.”
Was that really such a hard request? He’d have done it for her.
Toni gave him a look at that that he couldn’t quite catalogue, before scowling once more. “Well, tough luck because I’ve known him for longer than I’ve known you.” Interesting how she made a lie sound like the truth, somehow. “And I’m not just gonna stop hanging out with him because you don’t like your girlfriend having friends.”
“I’ve never had a problem with Rhodes or Banner,” said Stephen, eyes narrowing dangerously. How dare she say such a thing? “Never cared about Van Dyne or Carter. Doesn’t it tell you something that the only person I have a problem with is Loki?”
“You know, I’m right here...”
They both ignored the man, glaring at each other. “No, it tells me absolutely nothing because I care as much about those other four as I do for Loki. Do not ask me to choose between you and Loki, Stephen.”
Stephen felt himself stiffening at those words. “Because I won’t like your answer?” he asked, heart rate raising.
“No, because I love you, but I care for him too. So don’t ask me to do that,” she answered, maintaining eye contact.
She was not bluffing.
And that was, in itself, answer enough.
Stephen turned around, lunch bag clutched tightly in his hands.
“Where are you going?” she demanded, and Stephen refused to turn around.
“Home,” he answered, opening the door of her office. “Do whatever you want.”
Then he walked out.