- Hiraeth -

... Eight ...

Have I introduced myself yet? You can call me pp, they/them. This chapter is lazy, so you can hate it if you want. I won't be offended

LEMON BALM

"Christine!" hissed Stephen, holding onto his phone for dear life. It knocked against his ear repeatedly as his hand shook profusely.

"Yes, docto-" The woman on the other end of the phone stopped herself. Strange's tone of voice had brought her back to a much simpler time, and she found herself reaching to her right for surgical tools that definitely were not there. "I mean what's the matter, Stephen?"

"I have an emergency! Be here in ten minutes!"

Before Christine could question her friend, the line went quiet. He had hung up on her.

————

"What was so important that you had to interrupt my show?" Christine threw her hands up in exasperation. "You know that 12o'clock  is my me-time." She tapped her foot impatiently as she glared up at Stephen.

This woman was the only one who could make him feel so small. It's why they made such good friends, and terrible lovers.

Strange bit the inside of his cheek, refusing to make eye-contact. "You love me, right? And you'd do anything for me? I'd do anything for you, Chrissy." He smiled sheepishly, finally able to meet the doctor's eyes.

Palmer sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "Yes, Stephen, of course. What do you need?"

"Your lesbian powers."

Christine burst into laughter, clutching her sides. Once they began to ache, she wiped the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes, looking back at her friend. His face held no humor. It was pleading, and deadly serious. "Oh, that wasn't a joke." She realized aloud. "What's the situation?"

Stephen teleported them to the sanctum's upstairs seating area. It would be a long story. "Sorry, I know you hate that. I just... I'm kinda overwhelmed and I needed to sit down but-"

"Vin," Christine interjected, using a shortened version of Stephen's middle name to catch his attention. "It's alright, really. You can tell me."

The sorcerer nodded, taking a breath to prepare himself. "I think I have feelings for someone."

Doctor Palmer broke into a smile, tapping her finger on her chin and waiting for her friend to continue.

And so he did. "I need you to go on a recon mission. He's really close with this woman and... I need to know the nature of their relationship."

"You could just ask."

"Are you insane?" Stephen put his hand over his face, shaking his head like his companion had just said the most ridiculous thing ever. "No, no. This is a win-scenario for you. She's hot. Probably straight... but hot nonetheless."

Christine would've been lying if she'd said that she wasn't interested. "Okay, I'll do it. What's her name?"

————

"Pepper Potts." Tony mused. He laid on the floor of his living room, limbs splayed out in every direction.

Pepper's voice came over the speakers, sounding just as distinctly stern as usual. "Tony. I'm glad to hear from you, but why the call?"

Why the call? Because he'd been questioning his sexuality for days now. Because he wanted a distraction from a man who'd inserted himself into Stark's life. Because he loved Potts, but maybe it wasn't the kind of love he'd originally thought it to be. "Just checking in. Say, you wanna grab a cone at Coldstone?"

There was a pause, and then a tired giggle. "I don't know if Coldstone does cones, but yeah, sure."

Tony grinned happily. There it was, that comfy feeling. The easy back-and-forth of conversation with Pepper.

"I'll pick you up at 12:30, or whenever I feel like it." The engineer joked, bending his knees and kicking one leg over the other. "Then we can come back here, put on a movie, then not pay attention to it."

Pepper scoffed in mock offense, laughing shortly after. "See you then, Tony." She hung up.

Stark arrived at 12:25, honking his horn like a madman and blasting punk rock.

———

Coldstone Creamery wasn't as packed as it usually was when Tony and Pepper arrived. Even if it had been, celebrities get special treatment. Stark wouldn't've had to wait very long.

Stephen had used a spell to locate Pepper, which weighed on his conscience a bit. Even so, he sent Christine on her way to collect information. Neither the sorcerer nor the surgeon knew that Tony would be there as well.

Palmer entered the establishment, taking in the smell of ice cream. She remembered a date that her and Stephen had gone on, to a local custard stand. It was nice, spending time with him. Even then, they felt like less than they were. Their romantic interest in each other was clearly gone, but the two denied it in favor of keeping their pride. Christine found Potts quite quickly. The woman's bangs framed her face elegantly, as she scrunched her nose with laughter.

Stephen was right. This chick was hot.

Upon closer inspection, Palmer noticed who the woman in question had been talking to. Oh boy, Strange had some explaining to do. Immediately, the doctor whipped out her phone. She texted her friend.

•

Dumbass

Seriously?! Tony Stark?!

Oh whoops... I forgot to
tell you?

•

Christine shoved her phone back into her pocket. She took a moment to collect herself, remembering why she was even there in the first place - to help her absolutely dimwitted best friend. Steeling her nerves, she approached them.

"Hi, I'm so sorry to interrupt, but are you Virginia Potts?" Christine asked, twirling her hair with her index finger. She completely ignored Tony, who didn't seem used to that treatment in the slightest.

Potts, however, was flattered that someone had recognized her. "Pepper, please." She corrected, giving a polite smile. "And you are?"

Internally, Palmer was screaming. She'd never been the best actress, or flirter. How was she going to pull this off? "Palmer, Christine." She managed, matching Pepper's smile. "I was wondering-"

"Pleasure to meet you, Chrisler." Tony cut in, honestly offended that his date had been interrupted. He grabbed Pepper's hand, guiding her along past doctor Palmer. The former tripped over her own feet, causing Stark to let go accidentally.

Christine reacted quicker than she ever had in her life. She leaned forward, grabbing onto the nape of Pepper's neck and the small of her back to catch her. Without hesitation, she spoke a little louder than normal, "I think you just fell for me."

The establishment fell quiet. For once in his life, Tony found himself at a loss for words. Pepper's hair, starting from where Christine's hand rested on her neck, had exploded into streaks of various pinks and blues.* Palmer's entire forearm looked almost like the painting Starry Night, and it was beautiful.

Christine was the first to notice. She helped the other woman stand, eyes fixed on her left hand. She met Potts' gaze, which was equally astonished. The businesswoman held a fistfull of her own hair, examining it.

Stark ran a hand over his face, muttering, "Just my luck."

...........

* hair is dead skin, so I'm counting it <3