Chapter 34 – Consequences (Part 3) Stephen Strange Enters the Emotion Minefield
Stephen was already mid-thought when the elevator doors slid open.
Sanctum treaties.
Asgardian healer redistribution.
Magical asylum clauses.
Three continents worth of obligations humming in the back of his skull.
He stepped out into the penthouse expecting strategy.
Instead, he smelled coffee, stress… and regret.
The first thing he saw was Tony.
Not armored.
Not sharp.
Not sarcastic.
Just standing there.
Shoulders tight.
Eyes glassy.
A man who had survived political warfare and had just lost to something much smaller.
The first words out of Tony's mouth:
"Honey, I broke the kids."
Stephen blinked.
And then he saw them.
Peter.
Ned.
Red-eyed.
Sniffling.
Completely wrecked.
Stephen registered everything in one clinical sweep:
• Tony looks like he just dismantled a government and regrets nothing.
• The boys look like they just lost the world and don't know how.
And then.
They saw him.
The Emotional Detonation
All restraint evaporated.
Ned gasped like someone had cut a string holding him upright.
Peter made a sound, half sob, half plea.
They rushed him.
Stephen had exactly one second to think:
I have stopped invasions.
I have bargained with gods.
This is worse.
They hit him full force.
Clinging.
Talking over each other.
Words tangled and frantic
"We don't know what we - we did but we're sorry...."
"We're sorry!"
"Please don't be mad..."
"We broke everything..."
Tony just… watched.
Too stunned to interrupt.
Too exhausted to rescue.
Stephen closed his eyes briefly.
Centered.
Triage.
Stephen Makes the Call
He crouched slightly so he was eye level with them.
Voice calm.
Measured.
Not mystical.
Not magical.
"Okay. We're going to pause. All of you."
It didn't stop the crying.
But it slowed it.
He could feel it immediately:
Peter was spiraling with Ned.
Ned was spiraling for Peter.
Feedback loop. Emotional resonance. Escalating.
Stephen straightened.
"We need to separate you."
Instant protest.
"No!"
"Don't! please..."
He raised one hand. Not glowing. Not threatening.
"This is not punishment," he said firmly.
"This is care."
He looked directly at Ned.
"You. With me."
Ned clung harder to Peter's sleeve.
Stephen did not pull.
He waited.
Tony stepped in gently, unhooking Ned's fingers one at a time like diffusing a bomb.
"It's okay," Tony murmured. "Go. Just ten minutes."
Ned's shoulders shook as he followed Stephen toward the elevator.
Doors closed.
Tony and Peter were alone.
Tony and Peter – The Breaking Point
The silence hit Peter like vacuum pressure.
Without Ned beside him, he collapsed inward.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Just… imploded.
Tony tried logic first.
Bad idea.
"Hey, buddy, let's sit down..."
Peter didn't answer.
He lunged.
Wrapped both arms around Tony's middle.
Face buried in his chest.
Trembling like he was freezing.
That's when Tony understood.
This wasn't guilt.
This was fear.
Child-deep, world-shifting fear.
Tony froze.
Then reacted on instinct.
One hand to the back of Peter's head.
One steady on his spine.
He started to sway.
Slow. Rhythmic.
"Bambino," Tony murmured, voice low and wrecked.
"It's alright. I've got you. Everything's gonna be alright."
He repeated it.
Over and over.
Not to convince Peter.
To convince himself.
Peter sobbed until it hurt.
Until his body gave up fighting it.
Until the shaking slowed from violent tremors to exhausted trembles.
Tony didn't let go.
He adjusted his stance when his arms started to ache.
He kept swaying.
He kept whispering.
"You're safe. I've got you. I've got you."
Stephen and Ned – The Other Half
In Ned's room, Stephen didn't immediately sit beside him.
He gave him space first.
Ned cried.
Apologized.
Rambling, frantic words spilling out.
"It was my fault..."
Stephen waited.
Didn't interrupt.
Didn't correct.
Just let the storm exhaust itself.
When the worst of it passed, he sat on the edge of the bed.
"You are not in trouble for being intelligent," Stephen said evenly.
Ned hiccupped.
"You're in trouble for being human without brakes."
That earned the smallest, wet laugh.
Stephen continued, calm as stone.
"Tony is not angry because you are brilliant. He is terrified because you are young."
Ned looked up.
Red-eyed.
"Are we… in real trouble?"
Stephen considered.
"You are grounded," he said honestly. "But not abandoned."
Ned wiped at his face.
"Is Peter okay?"
Stephen stood.
"Let's check."
Ten minutes.
Exactly.
Reunion
They stepped back into the living room.
Tony was still holding Peter.
Peter was limp now.
Exhausted.
Safe.
Tony looked… older.
Softer.
Terrified in a new way.
Stephen nodded once.
Tony nodded back.
No words.
Just understanding.
Ned approached slowly.
Peter lifted his head.
Their eyes locked.
No running.
No clinging.
Just quiet relief.
They sat together.
Not touching this time.
Just breathing.
For the first time since the news broke—
The penthouse exhaled.
Stephen leaned lightly against the sofa, rubbing his temples.
He thought, privately:
I would rather operate on my own hands.
Tony caught his eye.
Mouth quirking just slightly.
Stephen exhaled.
Because this—
This was harder than magic.
Harder than war.
Harder than politics.
But he stayed.
And that was the point.