╱ having the sudden realization that defender strange didn't have a cloak of levitation, and instead had the vaulting boots of valtorr as the relic that chose him instead

pinning salt-and-pepper locks back against his head in a bun, a staff spins in his hand as he takes a few slow steps toward a straw dummy in the courtyard —— giving it a hard 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒄𝒌 against the opposite wall.

you rang?

don't bring me into this.

i don't even like him. i shouldn't be involved in this argument.

stark ... you need to stop this. you need to 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 all this flirting with your stephen's variants, or you're going to ruin everything.

of course he cares, you moron. you've been with him all this time, and you still don't know your own husband ... i'm disappointed.

ages. but, that's how he is —— how we 𝘢𝘭𝘭 are. we've lost so much, and we've closed ourselves off. falling in love is hard for us, allowing someone to care for us even harder. do you know how much it's killing him inside to see you flirt with others, even if it's a joke?

if he didn't love you as much as he did, he wouldn't have agreed to spend the rest of your life with you, or had a child with you. ... he'd tear the multiverse apart to save you, but the whole feelings bit? he's far from stellar at expressing emotions.

that's far from the truth, stark. does he think that you'd be safer if he wasn't around? certainly. but, does he regret marrying you? 𝒏𝒐. although, he has so much more to lose, now. ... i have a story that i think you might like to hear, if you're willing to listen.

i don't really have anything better to do, i suppose ... although, i don't think it's specifically 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕. as i told you before, even though your flirtatiousness may not be truly genuine toward others ... he still feels hurt by it.

perhaps that might be a good idea, yes.

coax him. tell him that you don't know how to fix things unless he tells you what's broken, or ... perhaps you don't need to tell him anything at all. hold him. be a presence, let him know that you're there. that it's 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.