Chapter Text
Dormammu watched his new sons be escorted into his presence thoughtfully. They had stopped fighting him which actually worried him more than he let on. They were following almost all of his instructions even if they had managed to avoid a second attempt at altering them to be more durable. The stones had interrupted the first attempt at the ritual.
Their words about being fragile and made of flesh and blood had taken root, echoing in his mind as he delt with other business. Watching his enemy be tortured and torn apart for trying to threaten his new sons had slammed it home. Neither Tony nor Stephen would have survived the absolute minimum it would have taken to kill the assassin in front of him. This had made him realize that he and the stones hadn't been making appropriate allowances for their physical fragility nor for appropriate emotional management.
Tony and Stephen had surrendered to protect their world and those they cared for, not because they had been brought to heel or sought further power or to grow stronger. In point of fact they wouldn't have been standing in front of Dormammu right then if they weren't still acting to protect. The ones they protected were still those they had protected before but now the staff the Dark Lord had gifted them was at more immediate risk. So they came and stood quietly in front of him, waiting for whatever he would do or say, guarded as they had not been before yet also far more vulnerable.
Dormammu knew, in that moment, they would let him punish them harshly if it protected those under their care. They hadn't given up, only switched to a quiet defiance and more subtle protection.
"I don't like how docile you have both been," Dormammu said bluntly. "I will grant that I had forgotten how fragile humans in particular are compared to those I normally interact with. Your Infinity Stones are obviously having a similar problem. I offer a compromise. Before each ritual or spell to be cast on you both you may review it in it's entirety, ask questions, and raise objections as you see fit. Should you give me an acceptable reason not to use it on you then it will be set aside and reviewed at a later time should it become relevant. In exchange I expect you to inform me whenever there is a problem and why it is a problem if possible. I can not be expected to think as you do and this is the best solution while taking your concerns into account. I also expect this passive resignation to end. If I wanted a doll that did nothing but what I commanded I would have crafted or fetched one for myself."
Dormammu practically hissed the rest of his words in barley contained fury. "I have all but claimed you both as my children, only a transfer of essence remains. This docility does not suit either of you but you will not escape by refusing to react or contribute. The next time your punishment will be... Memorable."
"You... No, it wasn't in rebellion. We were trying to be obedient as you seemed to include that in our deal," Tony explained with a sigh. "You haven't laid out anything that we were clearly supposed to use against you and we didn't intend to piss you off. Part of this is that we are honestly sad and don't have our normal activities, tools, or distractions. We aren't..."
"We aren't trying to cause problems," Stephen said quietly. "We are going out of our way not to despite, admittedly, hiding for the last few days. We are also adjusting. We don't know where the limits you placed on us are. Between that and your earlier lack of care during the aborted ritual set up we are trying to avoid causing problems or getting caught in something that we might not survive if only because you don't seem to notice when we are having problems in the first place. Would you even listen if we told you we were having problems? Then there is the fact that both of us are somewhat in the habit of hiding how badly we are hurt to avoid worrying our friends and co-workers."
"Yet you have caused me concern both in my own decisions in regards to the both of you as well as proven my own understanding of your status and health to be flawed. Flawed enough that I have unintentionally risked your lives for no profit," Dormammu scowled. "I do not believe I made a mistake claiming you and then gifting you both something to protect while acknowledging your existing protector duties. I also think you need enhancement to survive future events. I will not willingly lose the investment I am making in the pair of you. I am not stupid or incapable of learning or studying. I will correct my oversight but I refuse to lose either of you during the rectification."
"What do you want of us?" Tony demanded somewhat exasperated. "You told us that we are now yours and that we would accept our new place here, with you. We already explained why we got upset but you broke what little trust we extended to you. As it stands you haven't broken your word which is the only reason we haven't left, considering the deal broken. You made sure you have all the power so how are we supposed to react? We are cooperating as best as we can. No argument from us about the training or anything else even when you scare the shit out of us for that ritual thing. What else?!"
"Eventually? Your loyalty and service. I see you both eventually becoming my peers. However your current lack of ambition and lack of resources concerns me as to if you will survive that long. I have very few peers," Dormammu warned. "You were correct in why I want you when I first laid down my claim on you both. You are both young and have shown great promise. I want to see what you grow into. Eventually we will clash, that is inevitable. By claiming you I can at least give you some protection as you grow. If you never become my peer then you have already shown me how valuable you are without anything beyond what you already have."
"Then what do you want for the moment?" Stephen asked warily.
"What do you need to stop acting like timid sheep?" Dormammu asked sharply.
Tony and Stephen exchanged a look before answering.
"We need to feel safe," Tony said carefully. "Threats against us, our autonomy, our people, and our holdings implied or overt all need to stop. We need a place where we can feel safe and relax, where your people can't just walk in whenever and demand things from us like has been happening since we got here. Asking us about what you want to cast on us will help but... One of your conditions was that we submitted to any alterations you want. It doesn't really matter what we say about anything you want to cast on us and we can't say no."
"We agreed to your conditions but that doesn't mean we particularly want to follow them or that we are actually willing for at least some of what we are submitting to," Stephen warned. "Giving us something to protect, while in this case somewhat appreciated, isn't always going to go over well. You didn't even ask if we wanted to do something. You demanded. So we have been complying."
"The Stones backed off after they realized they had hurt us," Tony said bluntly. "You keep pushing."
Dormammu considered that and conceded at least to himself that his sons had a point. They hadn't settled in yet not only due to time spent but because he hadn't allowed them the safety to settle. The idiots who had been harassing them in their rooms were going to be the ones he was taking out his upset on.
"Your rooms shouldn't have anyone but the two of you and your human staff," Dormammu said shortly, eyes narrowed in anger on their behalf. "They were supposed to be your sanctuary here. I have not come to them for that reason. No one should be allowed in unless you want some of the cleaning staff doing their job or other servants acting as instructed. The next fool who demands entrance you have permission to kill. You may do with them what you wish if you don't feel like killing them. My orders alone you can not refuse. Anything from anyone else you are not obligated to comply and, should insult be given, you have every right to punish them."
"You didn't authorize the harassment or other demands," Tony concluded. Dormammu watched the dread settle in his sons forms.
"I did not," Dormammu agreed. "I want you comfortable and settled here. Preventing that not only extends how long you will stay before I allow you to return to your world and your holdings there but makes everything else more difficult. For your first task as my sons... hunt them down and drag them to me. You may repay them for every injury or mark they left on you and punish them for anything less tangible. If you can not bring them to me alive for punishment ensure they do not escape, lethally. You will be establishing your own power and authority among my forces with this action. My sons, I release you to deal with these traitors as you see fit."
"Well now, that changes a few things," Tony said, a vicious smirk curling his lips.