Chapter Text
Clea had given Stephen Strange one final kiss, as she restored his memories of Peter Parker. It was almost too much for Stephen to bear. He remembered all at once who Peter was and how the soulbond was initiated.
Once Stephen had his memories of Peter back, he had been able to safely restore Wong’s. Stephen had later admitted to Wong that the original spell he’d been warned not to cast, acted as a catalyst, forming a soulbond between him and Peter.
Wong could be a good friend when he wanted to be. Instead of berating Stephen, which he more than deserved, he had patiently explained everything he knew about soulbonds and why it was important for Stephen to reach out to Peter. He had also told him the bond wouldn’t have formed, if it wasn’t meant to happen. Wong theorized that it may have been the reason Stephen was so quick to help Peter in the first place. That he had instinctually tried to protect his future mate, unable to give much thought to the rest, which had resulted in chaos. Stephen had scoffed at the other, telling Wong it had been a grave mistake to cast the original spell, but he didn’t believe he'd done it because he was destined for Peter Parker.
Stephen had worked with Spider-Man several times, since he had forgotten who the younger man was. Peter had never given any indication of the real events that had unfolded between them. He was only privy to some of those events, however, as Stephen had never divulged the connection that had formed between them after the initial spell had been cast. At the time, Stephen had pushed the bond to the back of his mind, trying to handle the more important crisis, which was sending the multiverse trespassers home.
After the events on the Statue of Liberty, Spider-Man was a constant professional when working together. He often referred to Stephen as ‘Dr. Strange,’ rather than call him ‘sir.’ It had felt more impersonal somehow.
The young hero was also in a new suit, no more nanotechnology at his disposal. Still, Peter seemed to handle himself well, regardless of the downgrade. The younger man’s keen intellect and superhuman abilities made him more than capable of handling any danger that came his way.
Peter seemed to be okay, which was why Stephen hesitated to reach out to him, however irresponsible. The older man would be lying to himself if he said he hadn’t felt a pull towards Spider-Man when they worked together, even when his memories of Peter had been erased. He wondered what the younger man had felt, if anything at all.
Still, he had to seek Peter out, not Spider-Man, so he could be certain of the younger man’s stability. He owed Peter that much, as it was his spells that had effectively destroyed his life. Both Clea and Wong had warned him of the negative impacts incomplete soulbonds could have on an ordinary person. While he knew Peter was far from ordinary, he could still be in unimaginable pain, because of him.
Stephen found Peter by chance, at a press event for the Avengers on the anniversary of Thanos’ defeat. It was a war that Peter had played a significant role in, yet he was dressed as a civilian in the crowd. Much to Stephen’s surprise, Peter was taking pictures for the Daily Bugle, a newspaper that actively sought to defame Spider-Man, making up outrageous stories to turn the people of New York City against him.
Stephen recognized Peter more from sensing him through their incomplete bond, rather than his appearance. Peter had grown out his hair into a messy mop of curls. He wore a partially unbuttoned shirt, denim jeans, thick rimmed glasses and a lanyard press pass around his neck. The younger man was looking through the lens of a professional camera taking pictures, when he paused, as if sensing something.
Peter turned to look directly at Stephen, their eyes meeting. Stephen felt electricity run down his spine and knew it was impossible for Peter not to have felt it too. Peter froze, then quickly turned away from him, frowning in deep thought. Stephen could not tear his eyes away from him. Had Peter always been this attractive? Perhaps, he’d never allowed himself to see Peter that way before, as he’d only been 18 years old at the time the bond had been initiated.
The younger man was looking around the crowd now, not snapping pictures any longer. He seemed to find what he was looking for, squinting to see something far in the distance. He pointed the camera in that direction to take a closer look. Not a moment longer, he was pushing his way passed the crowd that had gathered. Stephen realized that Peter was chasing someone, yelling at them to stop.
Soon after, Spider-Man was handing a person over to the authorities that had planted a bomb at the event. In the commotion and in making sure the threat had been neutralized, Stephen lost sight of wherever Spider-Man had swung off to. His only lead was that Peter worked for the Daily Bugle. Stephen shuddered at the thought of Peter working for that slimeball of a man, Jameson.
In the end, Peter had come back to him. He knocked on the doors to the Sanctum Sanctorum, shot and in need of help. As the doors swung open, Spider-Man had fallen straight into Dr. Strange’s arms.
“Oh, God, Peter,” Stephen said in alarm. “Wong!” Stephen yelled, as he hurriedly carried Peter into the study. The younger man had gone limp in his arms, as Stephen laid him down carefully on the settee.
Stephen quickly removed Peter’s mask, cupping his cheeks in shaky hands, as Wong rushed to their aid.
“Peter, look at me!” Stephen said urgently. Wong was already doing quick work with the bullet, placing healing hands on Peter’s injury. The younger man’s chocolate brown eyes fluttered open, locking onto Stephen’s blue ones. He smiled, despite the pain.
“You remember me,” he whispered.
“Yes,” Stephen said brokenly. Their unfinished bond burned brightly between them. It took everything Stephen had to restrain himself. The bond urged Stephen to never let Peter go again.
“Bullets out and he’s already healing. Truly amazing,” Wong said standing up. Stephen took Peter’s hand into his own, as Peter continued to gaze at him tiredly.
"Promise me you’ll be more careful next time,” Stephen said, voice catching.
“I promise,” Peter said softly, as his eyes started to close. Wong regarded him quietly for a moment. Peter had lost consciousness, but he was no longer in danger.
Stephen watched Peter worriedly, still holding his hand in his. He moved his free hand up to brush the younger man’s mop of hair away from his face.
“Strange. The bond is unstable. Telling him when he wakes, would be wise,” Wong advised. Stephen nodded in response, never taking his eyes off of Peter.
“I’ll leave you to get reacquainted then,” Wong said, taking his leave.
Peter healed amazingly fast, due to his healing factor. Several weeks later, Peter was still visiting Stephen regularly. At first, it was because Stephen would ask him to check-in, while he was healing. Peter had tried to assure Stephen that it wasn’t necessary, but the other man had insisted.
Stephen took advantage of Peter’s visits, asking him questions about his life, what he was up to and how he was coping with the ramifications of the spell. He was proud to learn that Peter had landed on his feet, getting his GED, attending community college, and eventually earning a science scholarship to Empire State University in pursuant of a degree in biophysics. Stephen knew that Peter was highly intelligent, but it was still an impressive feat, considering the obstacles that were in his way.
Peter was also working for the Daily Bugle, which Stephen already knew, taking pictures of himself as Spider-Man. He had grinned at Stephen, when he told him. Stephen had shaken his head at Peter, telling him he was selling his soul to that slime bucket of a man, Jameson. Peter had shrugged unapologetically and then laughed as he told Stephen about all the wild things that went on at the newspaper, while working there.
Stephen was captivated by Peter, finding him incredibly entertaining as he told story after story. The best one was Peter catching Jameson trying on a toupee in his office. Jameson had turned beat red and screamed at Peter, but he wouldn’t fire him, because he got the best pictures of Spider-Man. Peter had started crying tears of laughter, as he shared the story with Stephen. Stephen couldn’t help but also laugh.
“Oh, if the bastard only knew,” Stephen said ironically, which only made Peter laugh harder.
“I’m glad he doesn’t anymore,” Peter said a little more seriously, thinking back to how Jameson had helped ruin his life, when his identity was revealed to the world, fueling outrageous conspiracy theories. In turn, Stephen shared what life had been like for him since then. Peter cringed at every word.
“I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t mean for any of this,” Peter said desperately. His face had dropped, looking like a kicked puppy. It awakened things in Stephen that he didn’t even know existed.
Quickly reaching out, as if to protect him, Stephen said, “Peter, there’s enough blame to go around. It wasn’t just the ramifications of one person’s actions.” Peter nodded slowly as he listened, looking like he didn’t believe him.
“Yeah, I guess,” Peter responded quietly.
“And don’t call me, sir,” Stephen said, smiling at him. Peter gave him a small strained smile in return, looking like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. It hurt Stephen deeply that Peter felt such immense responsibility for everyone. He placed the blame solely on himself, as if Stephen hadn’t also made grave mistakes.
The topic was quickly changed to lighter things. They talked about Peter’s favorite sports team making the playoffs or Stephen being quite the chef. Peter asked if Stephen could show him sometime, as his only skills included boiling water, burning toast and microwaving ramen noodles in a cup.
Stephen invited Peter to stay for dinner that night…and the next…and the next. Peter eventually started bringing his schoolwork with him, while Stephen was working on something or another. Other times, Peter made Stephen watch hockey with him, trying to explain what was going on.
At first, Stephen thought the soulbond controlled how he felt about Peter, but the more time they spent together enjoying each other’s company, he realized that this wasn’t the case. Stephen found Peter so endearing at times that he could barely stand it. While the soulbond connected them together, he knew it wasn’t the whole reason he was falling in love with Peter Benjamin Parker.
After a few short months in Peter’s company, he knew there could never be anyone else for him. Stephen was convinced that Peter was too young to want the same. He deserved to live out his youth and then perhaps one day, Stephen could explain all of this to him, if the younger man wanted him back. He’d have to wait for Peter to pursue him. He would not dare influence or seduce him. It had to be on Peter’s terms when he was ready, Stephen reasoned. Until then, Stephen would take what he could get. Being in Peter’s presence had to be enough.
The soulbond made it difficult at times, yearning to be completed. There were quite a few moments, Stephen had to reel himself in when he would get a bit too close to Peter. He worried one day, he wouldn’t be able to hold back.
Their relationship expanded and grew over that first year. Their affection for one another also became more physical. Peter would hug him, fall asleep on his shoulder and often seek comfort from him when something upset him at work or school. For all intents and purposes, they were a couple without labels, or the benefits that usually came with those labels.
Stephen stopped being so careful, letting himself accept Peter’s affection for him and returning it with his own. Wong would frown at them like a chaperone. Though, Stephen knew it was because Wong disapproved of his actions. He thought Peter should have been told about the soulbond, when he first stumbled back into Stephen’s life.