Chapter Text
The preparations for the bonding spell took nearly all day. None of the humans were allowed to escape the ritual cleansing or the special food or even each other for the most part. The only exception to that was that Tony and Stephen were split off from the rest of the humans during the second round of cleansing and special bath.
Tony grunted as another multi gallon bucket of mineral infused hot water was poured over his head. He was naked and sitting on a stone bench, held there by several of Dormammu's servants. He didn't particularly like being manhandled as they deliberately scrubbed him down with special plants and oils but it wasn't as unfamiliar as one might expect. Although, Turkish baths typically allowed you to have some sort of underwear or bathing suit on for their full body baths and they weren't as rough in the handling.
"You may have a rest and a snack while we prepare the next round of cleansing," one demon muttered, ushering the others back.
Tony carefully moved on the stone bench, no longer restrained in any way. He accepted a fluffy warm towel the size of a blanket and wrapped up in it, both drying himself and staying warm now that he was out of the heated water. They waited for him to get clear of the stone bathing area before they started bustling around to get his next treatment ready. The food that was quickly set out for him to eat was a rich well cooked lamb in shades of glowing purple on crackers in a mix of dark blues. A side of fairly normal looking cheese was next to it on the plate.
Tony wondered what Stephen was being put through considering he had been told that his lesser exposure to magic required different cleansing. His pithy response about being mentally attacked by magic before had required a second change in his cleansing. On the other hand he felt more clear headed and more determined to make this coming bond with Stephen work so it wasn't all bad.
Before the next round started Tony found himself visited by Dormammu. He felt completely naked in just the oversized towel as he stood before the Dark Lord in charge of what amounted to his marriage or at least the ceremony.
Tony was not happy when Dormammu silently indicated he wanted to see at least Tony's chest. The inventor obeyed with a scowl, fashioning the oversized towel into a wrap around his lower half. Dormammu hummed thoughtfully and walked around him, examining Tony for what the human had no idea. When he came full circle and stood in front of Tony the human found himself unaccountably nervous.
"I want you to understand something," Dormammu said firmly. "I choose this bond not to punish you but to ensure you and Stephen live. Stephen is my heir at this point and you are to be his consort. There will be times you can not be defiant without Stephen firmly controlling you afterwards. From how you both interact he won't do it for himself but to protect you is a different matter. So it will be part of the bonding. I am fond of you both but you are also both very young to my eyes. You indicated that you could submit to Stephen if you thought it would aid him. So you shall. With anyone else you may react as you see fit but Stephen will both be claiming you and in your care as a helpmate. Do not betray this trust from either of us. Stephen is... fond of you and this bonding will only strengthen that."
"I get it," Tony said neutrally. "Something you might not have known, I have been trying to offer him care and refuge since he left me after a particularly important battle we fought together. He ran from me afterwards. I had a hard time getting in contact with anyone near him much less talk to him directly. I had to settle for Wong being something of a go-between. According to Stephen he needed to leave so that he didn't assume what he saw during his trance to be true, that he had already gained the liberties from those things he saw. I pushed him here to try and get him to let go, to make sure he understood I wasn't against him taking those liberties. Stephen is just stubborn enough to say no anyway. So I am telling you now, as long as he doesn't abuse me he can have whatever liberties he wants with me specifically."
"Ahhhh, but not with others," Dormammu smirked in understanding. "You would have this binding in both directions or at least have Stephen obtain your agreement before going elsewhere. Understandable and acceptable."
"That is not what I said," Tony snapped. "I know we are only getting so much leeway and I probably deserve not to get the happy ending but I don't want Stephen restricted like that. What he's already paid protecting our world is so far above and beyond that if he wants it and it won't hurt someone else then I think he should get it. I don't understand why he keeps protecting me here and refusing to take what I have blatantly offered but that doesn't mean I'll let someone else take the choice away from him either. I told you what happened so that you know there might be other factors involved not to try and get him stuck with me without recourse. He deserves the choice. We both acknowledged that we would have a hard time watching someone else claim the other but I don't know if that will be enough for Stephen later. So make sure that he has that option."
Dormammu watched Tony glare at him in amusement for a little while until it slowly dawned on the Dark Lord that the inventor was serious. The little smile shifted to an all out frown as he considered Tony.
"You already offered yourself to me in his place," Dormammu pointed out neutrally.
"I did," Tony acknowledged. "That choice still stands if you want to call it in or any of the other pieces related to that like our later deals."
"You never bothered to find out the price on some of that," Dormammu mused thoughtfully.
Tony shrugged. He had figured it was worth it to protect Stephen especially since they both got the hero thing. There were people who could step forward if Tony was gone but he wasn't sure if the same was true for Stephen. He watched the Dark Lord stand there thinking as he waited for the hammer to fall.
"You don't understand how much he values you," Dormammu said carefully, obviously thinking it through. "This is my realm and I will be the one casting the bonding... During the remaining cleansing I want you to consider if you can bring yourself to bend to Stephen for the rest of your lives. If he chooses to follow my path will you support him? What will you be willing to surrender to him? Consider it and be prepared to potentially be bound to that very literally."
Tony slowly nodded as he calmed down, less defiance and more consideration in his stance. Dormammu nodded and left, allowing the attendants to come forward and usher Tony back to the wash area, ready for his next cleansing treatment. Tony had a lot to think about.
~~~
Dormammu checked on Stephen and found him arguing with his own bathing attendants. He stood there watching Stephen argue for a good twenty minutes before the Sorcerer noticed his presence. Stephen quickly turned to him as the higher authority.
"Please explain to them that I can wash myself!" Stephen demanded in complete aggravation.
"There are parts of the cleansing which you can not do. There must be outside intent and will to see you whole and cleansed with some of these treatments," Dormammu explained with a chuckle. "The very vulnerability contributes to the magic which will aid in the cleansing and help heal you further. Then there are the more specific pieces which require knowing what bond I will be placing which you can not know. This is not something I will be allowing you to evade. If you do not submit to this I will have to assume you reject your selected partner."
Stephen went tense as he realized at least part of his mistake. That was good to Dormammu's eyes as he watched his new heir re-evaluate his situation. The key was going to be threatening Tony or one of the others. Once Stephen caved things would move swiftly and irrevocably. He would have Stephen under his protection and control for a very long time after this.
"What have you done to Tony?" Stephen asked quietly, dangerously.
"Nothing... yet," Dormammu said with a smirk. "Unlike you he has submitted to being properly prepared for this bonding. I visited him before you. He was... defiant in a different way."
Stephen breathed deeply, straightening and forcing himself to back off. Good. His heir needed to remember that there was only so much leverage Dormammu would allow. The defiance was expected from both men considering they were protectors. It was only a matter of determining what or who they would protect over the rest. It would tell him how much power would be necessary to forge the stronger bond so that they protected each other.
"I submit to this under protest," Stephen said gruffly as he stiffly started to remove his clothes.
"You may wait until I have left," Dormammu told him, pausing Stephen's angry undressing. "For now I want to discuss what features you would seek in the bond. If I am to avoid harming either of you then there are pieces I would need to know."
Stephen took a deep breath and settled where he stood, tunic partly open.
"What do you need to know?" Stephen asked very carefully.
"How do you want this bond to go? Would you like to be in control of him completely? Or submit to his authority? Or something else altogether?" Dormammu asked. "Must it be Tony or would you prefer another? Even one who is not yet here."
"...I would prefer an equal bond for what the magics enforced so that the relationship itself can shift as we work things out and grow together. Yes, since I have the opportunity to have Tony I want him. He is a treasure and given the choice I would always have him, no matter how aggravating he can be at times. If friendship is all he will grant me then I will relish in it and hold to it to avoid losing even that small amount of his attention and care. No matter how we relate to each other we will argue and I don't want the magic interfering with that. Would I like to keep him loyally mine? Yes, but unless it is done by his own choice it could break him and it would definitely drive him to resent me and potentially see me as an enemy. I can handle that but it isn't my preference. I... would submit to him if it was the only way to keep him," Stephen admitted warily. "I know what could have happened in other timelines, not all but some. I don't know that I would survive letting him walk away. I would take the risk to preserve him if it came to it."
"I see," Dormammu said carefully. "Your cleansings will have to be adjusted and they will take longer but you will have him."
As Dormammu turned to leave he paused at Stephen's final request.
"Make it so that he can choose another if he chooses. If allowing this to be in name only will benefit Tony then I want it to be possible to let him go elsewhere, please," Stephen said softly to Dormammu's back. "I would rather have some of him than lose him completely."
"You will have your inventor, my heir. That I promise you," Dormammu said without turning around, leaving Stephen to the not so tender mercies of the attendants.
Stephen, unseen by the Dark Lord, fell to his knees and tried not to weep. He honestly thought he had condemned Tony with his answers even though to refuse to answer would have put Tony in even greater immediate danger. The attendants gathered him up and started the process of cleansing him again.
~~~
The next time Dormammu saw both of his new sons they were dressed in the long dark purple robes adorned with glittering fire crystals in bright red. They were ushered across the large cavern to stand before him. Their own personal human attendants and servants who were dressed in deep forest greens with red and blue braided embroidery were forced to kneel in a row behind them.
Dormammu looked over them both carefully before nodding in approval, noting the subtle glow they had gained from the cleansing. The way Stephen stepped slightly forward of Tony was interesting. Equally interesting was the level way Tony looked at him conveying the same and the slight head bow towards Stephen that clearly indicated he was willing to submit to the Healer.
Good. It would make the bond stronger.
"Kneel," Dormammu ordered them both.
Stephen and Tony both obeyed with Tony maintaining his place just slightly behind Stephen. Dormammu flooded the immediate area with his presence and magic. The kneeling the humans were doing braced them against the weight of power. Yet, he still heard quickly muffled grunts as he spread himself over the group. He spread the necessary power quickly over the ritual area he would be affecting while his servants stayed respectfully outside of the designated zone.
Dormammu was pleased to note that neither Stephen nor Tony had done more than settle more firmly on their knees. Others had bowed under the effects in the past and shown their weakness. Not Stephen or Tony.
Quick as a flash the designated helpers bound the humans aside from Stephen and Tony. The two leaders and heroes were kept in place with a stern look as Dormammu placed a hand on each of their shoulders. When Tony tried to move anyway the hand kept him pinned on his knees and Stephen's own hand on him soothed him after a minute or so. Once the helpers were clear of the area again he started twisting and moving the power into specifically chosen designs for each human. Glowing green chain patterns appeared on the arms of each of them one by one as the binding as servants took hold on each bound human. Two, however, had purple chains glow on their skin, Wong and Rhodes. At Dormammu's nod Kaecilius and his followers stepped forwards into the ritual area of their own free will to stand in a second row behind the now bound humans. A black glow lit the corruption around their eyes only to spread in lava red cracks down their faces and necks to form a chain collar burrowing deep into their skin, leaving raised bump patterns that looked burned into place.
When Dormammu's attention moved to Tony and Stephen the two humans were visibly forcing themselves not to react further. He focused on them bringing in the released power and presence to bear only on the two humans under his hands. Both men quietly grunted as the weight increased but said nothing. Pleased with this Dormammu chose to speak for the first time since the start of the ritual, using it as an additional anchor and focus as he wove lines of power into his Heir and the Heir Consort.
"This bond will stand with you until the end of existence," Dormammu told them, his voice resonating with the multiple notes of overlaid voices. "Stephen, you are accepted as my son and heir. I gift to you the one you covet."
Tony was dragged forward slightly, just enough to be dragged in front of Stephen and shoved into his arms. Stephen automatically raised his arms to catch Tony and looked down into his eyes as Tony was released to him. Tony gave him a slight nod of acceptance as Stephen's grip tightened protectively around him. They all felt it when Stephen's and Tony's souls reached out to finish snapping the bond into place, flaring out briefly into the visual range as it vibrated in joy.
Dormammu felt himself knocked backwards but held his ground and his grip on Stephen, pouring even more power into the rapidly forming and evolving bond. Both affected humans spasmed but stayed in place as their eyes flashed a blue-green color briefly. When he released Stephen's shoulder the Doctor instinctively curled over and around Tony while power pooled around them, coming from Stephen. A rumble and crash from further into the caverns matched the feeling of his containment spell around Stephen's artifact snapping. A blur of red fabric raced across the rest of the cavern to slam into place on Stephen's shoulders, covering both men as the bond fully settled permanently into place.
Dormammu used his still extended presence and power to check them both over. He didn't want any of it to harm them. To his surprise the artifact had accepted not only the bonding but Tony himself as under the artifact's protection. Withdrawing his power Dormammu caught his new sons as they started to collapse, wrapped in each other's arms. The other humans were released and quickly approached to check on their new Masters.
Pleased with the outcome Dormammu gave them over to their human servants and ordered the pair to be put to bed. They had done well and deserved the rest.
~~~
Stephen woke slowly to Tony under him and in his arms. He breathed in deep, feeling Tony in the back of his mind. His traitorous cock twitched as he realized they had been mostly stripped down to only their underwear and Levi, his artifact. The collar moved and rubbed comforting against his cheek of it's own choice.
"Tony is mine now," Stephen murmured to Levi, the Cloak of Levitation. Levi in turn nodded his collar despite being already against Stephen's neck.
"Keep him safe?" Stephen requested. Levi nodded vigorously against his neck. Stephen shuddered and slumped over Tony in relief.
Tony twitched in his slumber only to cause Stephen to shudder for a completely different reason. Stephen growled low but didn't dare get off of Tony. Equally, he refused to simply take what was technically his at this point. Tony hadn't discussed it with him yet despite the blatant teasing at times before the bond was declared by Dormammu.
"Gonna fuck me, husband mine?" Tony asked gruffly, proving he was awake and moving to rub against Stephen like a mischievous cat.
"Keep doing that and I will take you without worrying about your comfort," Stephen murmured only to get a shudder of want and an increase in rubbing from Tony.
"You like that?" Stephen murmured quietly into his ear. "You like me exerting control over you?
"Dominance, not puppet control," Tony corrected. "I'll make you work for it without regret."
"Cheeky," Stephen muttered into his hair with a smothered smile.
"You need me to kneel and I will," Tony said quietly, stopping his teasing for the moment. Stephen sucked in a breath and couldn't help but hold on tighter.
".... I thought I would be making that offer," Stephen said softly. He was rewarded with a kiss from Tony.
"I'm all yours, Doc," Tony said softly after the kiss. "I made sure to tell him he could make it open ended for you. I won't stop you if you decide I'm not enough. I get that sometimes I just come off the wrong way and..."
Stephen silenced him with a low growl and a possessive kiss of his own.
"If that's what you've been thinking then it's no wonder he asked me if I really wanted you," Stephen growled angrily. "You're mine now. My treasure. You better hope you ended things properly with Potts because I am not giving you back!"
"You can have all the liberties you want from me," Tony confessed.
"You may regret that," Stephen informed him with a smirk. "To start you don't sleep with anyone but me. You are far enough along in the Mystic Arts that I can trust you not to get immediately killed but I won't leave you defenseless in any case. If I have my way your body will learn to only respond to me in the bedroom."
"Damn, that's hot," Tony muttered, shivering in anticipation.
"Oh, Tony," Stephen purred in gleeful anticipation. "That isn't anywhere near all that I'm going to do with you. You, my husband, are going to be at my mercy on a regular basis and I am going to enjoy every minute of it."
They spent time just being together and learning each other before getting up for breakfast. The bond had settled before they left their room and they looked forward to private time later. They got dressed and finally headed for breakfast.