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There were a great number of things that simply weren’t common knowledge about vampires.
Specifically, the transformation itself.
No text could accurately describe the searing, fiery agony of the burning vampire venom in one’s veins, the way it seemed to burn down to the very mitochondria of one’s cells. No one could put into perspective the horror that gripped you, realizing the weeklong transformation had only begun five minutes ago, and already you were in more indescribable pain than you ever had been before. It was impossible to describe how, if you already had chronic pain you lived with daily, the venom would bring that pain to new heights, to where the benzene fire in the rest of your body felt like a relief from the torture you were forced to endure in the most pained parts of your body.
And no one had ever bothered to mention that the moment those razor sharp fangs pierced your skin and injected their horrifying venom, just how dry and parched your throat would become, and how desperately you would crave blood on your tongue to sate just a bit of the unbearable, unimaginable thirst.
Stephen Strange was no stranger to pain. It was an old friend. A familiar, if irritating, constant, always beside him now. It had been there before; a shadow, a fleeting memory. Occasionally his mind had wondered just what Donna would be doing now if he hadn’t failed her one long ago day at the lake.
His little sister was a memory that made his heart hurt. She had been so sweet, so thoughtful and kind, so full of love. Their mother had become so withdrawn and quiet when she never came home, and their father had become more irritable and uninterested in his sons.
Then the crash had happened, and of course a horrible, burning ache he could never escape had been added to the mental and emotional pain Donna’s loss had left him with.
It was something he had known she wouldn’t want but he couldn’t help feeling; he blamed himself for Donna’s death. He should have helped her. He should have saved her. He should have been a better brother.
But he hadn’t.
And Donna was long gone to a place he couldn’t follow.
Stephen was used to trying to at least push aside that pain, to ignore it and lock it away for another day, to deal with at another time.
But something about having a week of a painful and miserable transformation into a terrifying, bloodthirsty creature of the night, who prowled dark streets and murdered without thought or mercy, gave you a lot of time to think. Somehow, even that unendurable misery left room for boredom, (how could pain like this become boring?) and with boredom came thinking .
So Stephen thought about the day Donna died. About the last words she said to him. About what he should have done differently.
About how it should have been him.
Stephen thought.
Stephen changed.
Tony Stark had never been the most patient soul on the planet. He was known for being the complete opposite, actually. If things could be done more quickly, then they should be.
Boyfriend Calling You Back definitely fell under “ should be done more quickly ”.
He had tried to be patient at first. He didn’t want to be too bratty or overbearing, even if he desperately wanted Stephen to roll his eyes and call him irritating while he ran those long fingers through his hair. It was comforting and satisfying, being vulnerable and affectionate with Stephen. Addicting, even.
Which meant Tony was in Stephen Withdrawal, and he was finally at his “ I’ll Break Into the Sanctum to Get My Fix ” stage.
It had been ten days since Stephen had left the restaurant they had eaten dinner at, insisting on walking home despite the rain for some dumb reason- enjoying the smell, the sound, maybe even something to do with recharging his magic if that was a thing. Tony didn’t really know. He’d just known that Stephen had left by himself in the rain, which Tony, like a cat, was not interested in joining him for.
Getting wet on purpose when you were fully dressed? Madness.
He’d gotten a few texts from Stephen since then. Probably voice texts he hadn’t proofread, because that was the only time Stephen made typos or weird punctuation errors. The man was a maddening perfectionist. It made Tony wonder what had him so distracted
So he was currently heading up the Sanctum Sanctorum steps, wanting to see what had Stephen so busy he didn’t have time to text Tony back and maybe make out with him a little. The former surgeon usually had his priorities better situated.
He knocked, and heard the telltale, almost mournful howl of Stephen’s basset hound, Bats. Tony couldn’t help chuckling. He could just picture the dog laying in his bed by Stephen’s desk, seemingly dead to the world, maybe even drooling a little, shooting up with a ready howl the moment Tony’s knuckles connected with the Sanctum doors.
What he didn’t expected was the immediate scrabbling of Bats’s nails on the door or the slow, almost unsure way the door creaked open.
Uh. Okay. Not ominous or anything.
“Stephen?” Tony asked, peering into the Sanctum.
Silence.
Yeah, this totally wasn’t creepy. God, why were there any lights on in here? No wonder this felt like a goddamn horror film.
“Honey? Stephen?”
He stepped inside, and immediately was being attacked from all sides.
Well, if you counted the Cloak of Levitation, Bats, and Stephen’s old, half-blind cat Oracle all trying to tug him towards the staircase that led to Stephen’s room, almost making him trip and fall on his face.
“Shit- guys, chill out,” Tony said, picking up Oracle and gently shaking Bats off. “What the hell’s gotten into you guys?”
Oracle let out a yowl and wriggled in Tony’s arms before freeing himself. He leapt away from him, landing neatly and silently on all four paws and yowling again, this time like he was making a demand.
Maybe Tony was spending too much time with Stephen. Cats couldn't read maps, or signs, and they certainly couldn’t predict the future or make demands.
But then Bats started barking and the Cloak flipped around to start pushing, and Tony figured it was best to just give up and do what they wanted.
He let the trio force him up the stairs, and knocked tentatively on the door to Stephen’s room once they reached it, since the three finally seemed to settle down and act normally again.
“Stephen?”
“… Go away .”
Stephen’s voice was low, quiet and laced with misery.
“Stephen? Baby, you okay? You feeling sick?”
Tony frowned. He wasn’t much of a doctor or a nurse, but he could at least make a mean canned chicken noodle soup.
“…No.”
“Come on, baby, talk to me. I miss you. You know I need my daily dose of cuddles. You haven’t refilled my tank in almost ten days. I’m running on empty here. You know Rhodey and Happy don’t like them as much as you do, and besides, I want to see you. I miss your pretty face. Are the extra eyes back again? I promise I don’t mind.”
He continued rambling for a bit, becoming more and more confused as Stephen kept silent, not interrupting or opening the door to give in to his demands.
“Stephen…?”
Slowly, the bedroom door opened. Stephen stood there, holding the black cat Tiny in his arms like some kind of Evelin supervillain, looking more beautiful than before. His skin was almost perfectly free of blemishes except for his scars, his eyes were a bright and hypnotic purple color, his hair seemingly brighter and fluffier.
“Holy fuck… did you do some kind of hotness spell on yourself?” Tony croaked.
Stephen’s eyes narrowed. “…No.”
He bared his teeth in a snarl, showing them off, and Tony saw it, the piece completing the puzzle and making the whole thing clear.
“Vampire….” He breathed, staring at his boyfriend in alarm.
Stephen nodded silently, his gaze hardening.
“Oh, Stephen….”
The taller man looked away, his face a mask of bitterness and anger as he gently stroked Tiny’s back.
“Honey, it’s gonna be okay… we’ll figure this out.”
Stephen froze in shock, then turned to stare at Tony in disbelief. “What?”
“We’re going to figure this out, Stephen. We’ll get you blood supplements, maybe research any possible cures if you want one, make adjustments to things while you cope… oh, hon, you’re a mess.”
Tony gently grabbed his face, inspecting the dark shadows under his eyes, looking for signs of Stephen not taking care of himself and easily finding them. “Stephen,” he chided gently. “You’ve gotta eat, baby. Shit.”
“…I don’t want to.”
“Stephen! Supplements! Maybe buy some pig’s blood or something! I’m not suggesting you go out and kill a person or a deer yourself!”
Tony rolled his eyes and kissed his lips. “Stupid dramatic fucking vampire.”
Stephen made a noise of protest against Tony’s lips. “What did you call me?!”
Tony grinned. “Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me. It’s rude.”
Stephen snarled and pulled Tony into a kiss despite himself. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” he growled, closing his eyes as their lips met.
Adjustments were slow, but steady.
When he had been a newly changed vampire, Stephen had found light unbearable for the first few weeks, needing to adjust to the brightness more than he once had. It explained the darkness of the Sanctum when Tony had arrived, and also gave him a very convenient excuse to sit on the bed and run his fingers lovingly through Stephen’s white-streaked hair as he complained into Tony’s chest in a muffled voice about his migraines.
As December approached, the light sensitivity eased, and they managed to work out a diet that did not involve Stephen needing to hurt anyone, though Tony tried occasionally to persuade Stephen to let him donate a bit of blood to the cause. It was definitely a conversation they needed to have. Stephen’s lifespan was significantly longer than Tony’s now thanks to his vampirism, and the two definitely had a love and bond for the ages. However, there were two big things holding Stephen back.
1., He had not turned anyone into a vampire before, and he had only been one for a few months. He wasn’t sure how to perform the transformation, let alone how to do so without being overwhelmed by the taste of blood and accidentally killing Tony. He suspected this would be an issue for a few months to a few years.
2., The more significant problem for Stephen, was the pain . It had been horrific; the stuff of nightmares and misery. The idea of subjecting Tony to such horrors for a whole week was terrifying to him.
He had told Tony about the pain. It had been one of the first things he disclosed, explaining his voice messages as attempts to keep Tony from coming to visit (or investigate) sooner than he had in an effort to keep Tony from witnessing him in such agony. Tony didn’t fear or shy away from pain, but Stephen still didn’t want to inflict it on him.
As the days became cold and snowy, Stephen caught Tony staring at him with quiet speculation more often than usual. He could tell his boyfriend was up to something. The only problem was… he had no idea what it could be. Tony wasn’t the type to try and force an issue. Stephen knew Tony understood Stephen’s concerns about changing him, and he knew Tony was willing to give him plenty of space and time to decide what he was comfortable with.
He couldn’t imagine what, in that case, was on his mind. Something, obviously. But what, precisely?
He tried to ignore it, especially as he focused most of his attention on the new mama street cat he had found and rescued just a few weeks beforehand, a lovely lady he’d named Artemis, and her litter of kittens.
As Stephen gently pulled Rhiannon’s tiny claws from his clothes, Tony knocked on the door.
“Stephen,” he called. “I need help.”
“Mm. With what?” Stephen asked absentmindedly. “Here, baby. Let go now.”
“With the Christmas decorations!”
Stephen froze. “The… what?”
Tony gave him an innocent look as he turned around to look at him. “Well, how do you expect me to put the star on the tree without you to pull it down?”
Stephen stood up slowly. “Are… are you sure about that?” He heard how it sounded and tried to spin it into a joke. “I mean… I think vampires are only supposed to celebrate Halloween. Maybe Valentine’s Day depending on who you ask.”
Tony gave him a grin. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Then his face fell slightly, clouding with worry that he had gone too far. Neither of them had had the best Christmas experiences in the past, between Howard and Eugene, and of course Stephen’s Christmas season had only gotten worse after his sister was lost. “Unless… you don’t want to… after… I mean, I get it, if you’re not ready to celebrate the holiday with me yet….”
Stephen shook his head slowly. “No, I… I guess I want to… I just… I’m nervous.”
Tony nodded. “I know. It’s okay. Come on, let’s just worry about decorating for now. That’s easy enough, right?”
Stephen nodded slowly. “Yes… that’s easy enough.”
They spent a quiet afternoon decorating the Sanctum in garlands, ribbons, fancy ceramic Santas, metal and wooden reindeer, and snowman lamps. Tony eagerly hung intricate snowflake decorations he had made himself from every available place, occasionally squeezing in the odd icicle decoration as well to really sell the Winter Wonderland theme.
Stephen used magic to create more decorations. Great, glittering bubbles of gold alongside glimmering bubbles of silver, dancing along the ceiling and walls, and an array of stars and room temperature snowflakes that sparkled or drifted from the ceiling.
“This is gonna be perfect,” Tony said proudly as he and Stephen strung various strands of lights and tinsel around the tree Tony had found, a monster that could rival the beast of a tree in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (though thankfully this monstrosity was not packed full of sap).
“I mean, it’s not like we’re going to be doing much,” Stephen hummed a bit as he added a few bats to the pile of decorations he planned to start with. May as well get some jokes and amusement out of the vampire thing.
Tony didn’t answer, and Stephen looked up at him, holding his wolf and moon decorations. “Tony?”
“I… I was sort of thinking Harley… and Peter, you know… could come by,” he said awkwardly. “And maybe America… Riri… I mean, at least for a bit… if that’s okay… i-if you want to.”
The Cloak seemed bored by their distraction and seized the light strand Tony was holding. He didn’t seem to notice at all as they began swooping around the tree, hanging the lights in record time and seeming irritated that Tony wasn’t grateful or paying attention.
“Oh.” Stephen looked down, pawing a bit through his box of decorations. “Okay… I guess that’s okay.”
“Okay,” Tony said, sounding unsure but hopeful. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” Stephen hummed, picking up his boxes of Christmas wreath ornaments, fabric pine cones, and very tiny teddy bears so he could begin nestling all of them in the branches.
It was uncomfortable to be surrounded by Christmas on all sides. Stephen had not really had a Christmas since… since Donna….
He shook his head, shaking away the memory, and tried to focus his attention on Christmas treats. He wanted to make a real effort on Christmas with Tony. A real effort meant Christmas candy and Christmas cookies.
So here he was, with five or six of Beverly’s recipes that Donna and Victor had loved best scattered on the counter as he tried to make the filling for her homemade Oreo cookies, prepare the fudge, garnish toffee, peanut brittle, and peppermint bark, mix in the chocolate chips to his cookie batter, and on top of all that, working on the frosting of his Texas sheet cake.
Bats wagged his tail hopefully and barked, hoping for a morsel, while Stephen tried to gently shoo him away. “Not for puppies.”
Bats, being a basset hound, was perfectly equipped to pull off puppy dog eyes, whining in a very cute way in an effort to get Stephen to share something .
Rolling his eyes, Stephen opened the freezer and tossed Bats a slice of frozen gold pepper from a ziploc bag.
Good enough! Bats happily trotted off with his prize, leaving a generous pool of drool behind in his place.
He glanced up a moment later, seeing Oracle curled up on one of the chairs at the bar, eyes closed and tail flicking lazily from side to side. “Not for kittens.”
Oracle opened his good, blue-green eye and gave Stephen a judgemental look for just a moment before closing it again.
How was that somehow just as effective, if not more, than the puppy dog eyes Bats had just used on him moments ago?
Groaning, Stephen opened a bag of cat treats and tossed one to Oracle.
He ignored the treat. He wasn’t interested in them. Taking advantage, the silver tabby with white markings known as Stream tried to bat the treat off the chair, but too late- the gray and white Cloud had heard his beloved treat bag open and was jumping on Oracle to snap it up out of Stream’s paws.
“Menaces,” Stephen muttered as both Cloud and Stream began begging for more, and little Tiny padded into the room to see what all the fuss was about.
“They’re just getting into the Christmas spirit!” Tony insisted as he joined Stephen in the kitchen, carrying large boxes in paper grocery bags.
“You already stole one,” Stephen chided as Cloud tried to steal the treat he was offering Tiny, the only cat besides Oracle who seemed to have any manners. “Little glutton.”
“Luckily, I have a solution!” Tony declared.
Stephen glanced over at him, holding Stream’s treat safely in his hand so Cloud couldn’t snatch it while he was distracted. “What solution?”
“Simple!”
Tony proudly drew a few boxes out of the bags. “Advent calendars!”
Stephen snorted, looking down at the fancy calendars. Tony had already written the names of each of their pets on a personalized calendar- poultry and seafood treats for Artemis, beef for Stream, and a variety for Cloud who would eat anything someone offered to him.
Stephen snorted when he saw Oracle’s calendar. “Tony, you know that’s a horrible idea.”
“Why?”
“Because Oracle’s not going to eat whatever treats you’ve got in there. Cloud’s going to steal them and then he’ll be even fatter than he already is.” He shot the cat a look as he made biscuits on Stephen’s leg, begging for Stream’s treat. “I already know the vet’s going to tell me he needs a diet, but it’s not easy when he keeps stealing everyone else’s food.”
“That’s why Oracle’s calendar has little pictures of you instead of treats.”
“You better be joking.”
“Look at this!”
Tony ignored Stephen, pulling out a Star Wars Lego advent calendar for Peter. “Perfect, isn’t it? I’ve got another one for Harley in here somewhere. Plus I got a different calendar for Riri- oh! And America! Look how cute this is with the little animal figures- I hope she likes it.”
“And what did you get for yourself?” Stephen asked, amused despite himself.
“ Twilight .”
Stephen snorted. “Tony, be serious.”
“I am serious! Serious as a vampire attack.” He grinned at Stephen who rolled his eyes.
“And for you, I got the most perfect advent calendar of all!”
Stephen narrowed his eyes. “What have you done?”
Tony looked just a little too pleased with himself.
“Nothing.”
“Tony.”
“Well… I may have… gotten you a certain wizard advent calendar.”
Stephen groaned. “ Tony .”
“Hey! I’m not that dumb.”
“So what did you do?” Stephen asked, voice laced with disapproval.
“I looked online.”
“Mmhmm.”
“And I found one. On Etsy.”
“Okay….”
“From a certain transgender sorcerer seller.”
Stephen blinked a bit, then chuckled. “Okay, that’s pretty good.”
“Plus, their merch is way more creative than anything that old bat ever thought up.”
“You’re a terror.”
“I’m your favorite terror.”
Stephen rolled his eyes and grabbed Tony around the shoulders, kissing his cheek. “You’re my favorite terror.” He smiled a bit. “Besides, I think Whitney appreciates your business.”
Stephen was quite fond of his friend’s creative little online shop options, and he knew for a fact Tony had a favorite pastime of buying from small businesses and leaving exorbitant tips as a thank you and push to keep creating.
Just then, a wild flapping was heard and Stephen looked up. “What are you doing?! Get away from my cookie batter! You don’t even have a mouth!” He yelled, bolting to the counter and waving the Cloak of Levitation away as it apparently was trying to offer Cloud some chocolate chip cookie batter since Stephen wasn’t giving up the treat in his hand and the Cloak had never had much patience for Cloud’s gluttony related tantrums.
Stephen smiled a bit as he sat on the couch with Tony, opening gifts (though mostly watching the kids open their presents from them and each other).
He sipped his tea and smiled as they went around and opened packages, showing off the contents. Riri was currently fiddling with some new tech from Tony, while Peter and Harley examined their small pile of video games, debating which one to play first.
America munched on some of the fudge Stephen had made, gently pushing Cloud’s face away whenever he tried to get a nibble, her eyes focused intently on the book describing other dimensions from Stephen.
Artemis and her kittens were in one of their baskets, sleeping soundly, while Oracle was curled up near the fire and snoozing peacefully. Bats was sitting at Tony’s feet, snoring and drooling. Stream was happily batting at some of the felt pinecones decorating the lower branches of the Christmas tree.
Stephen had to admit, this was nice. It seemed somehow ironic that it took so much- so many fights, so much pain, hell, it had taken becoming a fucking vampire , for him to finally allow a little Christmas spirit back into his life… and it hadn’t gone badly.
He leaned back in his chair, smiling slightly as Tiny shifted sleepily in Tony’s lap, and sighing quietly as Tony rested his head on Stephen’s shoulder, seemingly dozing just like the small cat.
“Mr. Stark! Heads up!”
Tony’s head snapped off of Stephen’s shoulder and his hand shot into the air, snagging the Switch Joy-Con in midair. “What?”
“Mario Kart 8! Hardest difficulty,” Harley told him, focused on the screen.
“And who’s picking the track?” Tony asked.
“Peter first. Then me. Then you.”
“And what are you pickin’, Underoos?” Tony asked as he shifted in his seat for a more comfortable position to drive in.
“Music Park,” Peter said. “Highest difficulty.”
“Weak. I’m picking Rainbow Road for mine,” Harley said.
“You’re both on,” Tony said, grinning as they began selecting their characters and customizing their karts.
Stephen rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help being amused. It was so very Tony, somehow.
“I’m going to get started on clam chowder for dinner,” he told them. “Try not to get too aggressive.”
“Never, babe!” Tony called. “Don’t worry!”
Stephen chuckled and rolled his eyes.
A few hours later, the kids had all left, and Christmas was winding down. Stephen had to admit, he had really enjoyed it. He had been happier today than he had been in a long time, and that was saying something, considering how happy he’d been ever since he’d started dating Tony. He kissed Helen’s tiny head and laid her in the bed beside Artemis, near her brother Sun Wukong who was sleepily kicking Artemis’s belly.
“Babe?” Tony called from the living room. “Can you come here?”
“Coming, darling,” Stephen called back. “One moment.” He gently stroked Artemis’s head. “Night night, Mama.”
Tony was standing happily in the middle of the room, beaming at Stephen. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Stephen said, amused. “What’s up with you?”
“I have a Christmas present for you.”
Stephen snorted. “Another one?”
Tony had already given him plenty of presents- lots of new Stark tech, piles of books, three funny mugs, six new watches, and a giant stuffed puppy.
“Yes. And it’s my favorite one.”
Tony grinned, and Stephen couldn’t help narrowing his eyes suspiciously despite his smile. “What are you up to?”
“Simple.”
“Oh?”
“Come here. Close your eyes.”
Stephen rolled his eyes. “You really are a menace,” he muttered, but did as Tony asked.
Tony chuckled. “Okay. You can open your eyes.”
Stephen did so. At first, he thought that nothing had changed. Then he looked up, and caught sight of the mistletoe encased in a clear but magical floating spell, safely out of the reach of any of their pets.
He couldn’t help snorting. “ Tony .”
“You love me.”
Stephen grinned. “I do. But done you think this is a little out of place? I think since I’m a vampire, you’re supposed to set out garlic, not mistletoe.”
“I don’t want to set out garlic,” Tony said, smiling sweetly at him. “But I do have something more on brand if you’d like….”
“Oh?”
Tony grinned wildly.
Suddenly, bats were fluttering around the mistletoe, and a new magical cape, this one black as raven feathers, was beside him.
The Cloak of Levitation began ducking from Tony to the intruder, seemingly bristling with fury at the intrusion.
“Bad idea,” Stephen snorted. “But fitting, I admit.
“They’ll get over it,” Tony said. “They could stand to make a few more friends.”
“I’m sure Wong had a lot of fun with this,” Stephen said, watching the bats in amusement.
“So much,” Tony laughed. “You should have seen his face light up.”
Stephen chuckled. “I’m sure.”
“You like it?” Tony asked, smiling.
“I love it,” Stephen corrected, wrapping his arms around Tony’s waist.
Tony blushed and smiled. “Merry Christmas, Stephen.”
“Merry Christmas, Tony.”
He bent down, pressing his lips to Tony’s.
Eventually, they would need to decide how to proceed. If Stephen would prepare himself to try and turn Tony into a vampire, or if they would attempt to find a cure for his own vampirism.
Tonight, though, it was Christmas. A scarlet blood moon was gleaming just outside the window. Their pets were sleeping or enjoying their new presents. Tony was in his arms. He was in love and had finally had a Christmas that didn’t make him miserable after he had lost Donna.
Everything was perfect.