College AU

CW: Jealousy, unrequited love (at first), cursed!Stephen, witch!Tony, mention of being cheated on, long chapter

~~~

Stephen hadn't had to worry about his curse for the most part; it's not like it was impossible to live with. That being said, he tries not to get jealous too often.
But, ever since his best friend (and crush), Tony, started dating Pepper Potts, that's all Stephen can feel. And he hates it.

When Stephen starts feeling jealous, his skin will start literally turning green. It would subside if his feelings did, but if the feelings persisted, so would his curse.

Now, as far as how he got cursed? Generational. From what Stephen was told, his ancestors had wronged and betrayed a powerful witch, and in return, she had cursed his bloodline, but that's all he knew.

Stephen's jealousy of Pepper was causing his fingers to turn green, and, not wanting Tony (or anyone for that matter) to see, he started wearing gloves.

~~~

"Hey, Stephe, I was thinking about going to the movies with Pepper, did you wanna come? I'd love to hang out with you, too." Tony said one day.
"Uh.. N-no, that's okay, you two have fun. I... Uh, I think I'm busy anyway- y'know, homework and... Stuff.." Stephen lied, horribly. Tony noticed a patch of green poking out from under the glove, and tilted his head. "You.. okay?"

Stephen followed Tony's gaze, then quickly hid his hands behind his back. "I'm fine! Don't... Worry about it.."
As Stephen walked away, Tony squinted. He knows Stephen by now, ergo he knows when Stephen is hiding something.

Tony isn't exactly sure why, but all his life, no matter what he did, it seemed that his path would always cross with Stephen's.
Same class in elementary school. Same extracurriculars in middle school. Always running into each other, in some way, in highschool. Then, miraculously, roommates in college.

He didn't mind; he considers Stephen his best friend. But, being a witch, Tony knows it's not coincidence. Something about Stephen is... Different. No matter how many times Tony reads into it, the answer is always the same: Tony and Stephen are bound to each other by fate. Tony just doesn't know why.

~~~

Later that week, Tony decided to test his suspicions. He tried to do so discreetly, though.

"Heyyyyy Stephen." He purred playfully, making Stephen jump a little when he put his hands on his shoulders. Stephen smiled, though. "Hi, Tony. What's up?"
"I was wondering if you could do me a favor?" Tony asked. What he was trying to do is drop Stephens guard. "Yeah?" Stephen responded. "You wanna... I dunno, tell me about the green on your arms?"

Stephen's smile dropped almost immediately, and he looked away sheepishly. "How did you know about that..?" He asked. "It's not exactly like you're good at hiding things, Stephen."

Stephen sighs, giving in and taking his gloves and jacket off. His hands, up to just past his wrists, were green. "I don't... Talk about this, because I don't really... Understand it, but.."

Stephen stayed quiet for a moment before continuing.

"Mom.. mom says that, a long time ago, my family did something that.. I dunno, wronged someone, badly, but she wouldn't tell me what it was. And, apparently, that someone was uh... Heh, a witch. If I wasn't living with this curse, I'd think witches were just... Fantasy. Y'know? Halloween decorations and whatnot- but, ah.." Stephen trailed off, shrugging a little.

Tony had a realization. The witch Stephen was talking about was probably one of his ancestors. That's why their fates are intertwined.

"... O-okay, but.. what exactly is this curse of yours?" Tony asked, keeping his composure. Stephen flushed a little in embarrassment, putting the gloves back on. "It's... I-i don't like talking about it, it's... Stupid."
"C'mon, I won't judge." Tony insisted. Stephen huffs. ".... 'Green with envy', ever heard of that? For me, and my bloodline, it's literal. Don't know why, but this generational curse literally makes me green with envy."

Tony seemed intrigued, holding his hand out. "Can I see?" He asked. Stephen hesitated a long moment before pulling one of his gloves off again, holding his hand out for Tony to take, which he did.
Stephen was pink in the cheeks, avoiding eye contact. "I-i don't like to bring it up. Not exactly... Charming.." he mumbles. Tony heard him, and he was listening, but he didn't respond; he was more focused on Stephen's curse.

"That's.. some powerful magic- so, what exactly is making you jelly?" Tony asked, letting go of Stephen's hand. At that question, Stephen blushes brighter, and the green spread further up his arm.
"N-nothing! It's nothing-" he deflected. "You're ashamed of it." Tony realized, squinting a little. Stephen just swallowed, looking away. "Maybe I am, but I promise, I have every reason to be."

~~~

<3 months later>

Tony was upset, and Stephen could tell. They were in their dorm room, and Tony was scrolling through his phone numbly.

Stephen decided to poke. "Are.. you okay..?" He asked. By this point, Stephen perpetually wore a jacket, as almost his entire arms had turned green. "No.." Tony mumbled in response.
Stephen got up, walking over to Tony's bed and leaning against it. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Tony thought for a moment, shutting off his phone. "Only if you tell me why you're still green. Don't think I haven't noticed that."
Stephen looked away. "... You really wanna know that bad, huh?"
"I do." Tony responded. "You." Stephen said, almost too quiet to be heard. "Me? What- what exactly do you mean, me?"

"I'm jealous, Tony, of you. Well, not of you, per se, rather that you're.. in a relationship.." Stephen mumbles. Tony didn't understand at first. "Why were you jealous about that? I'm sure you could find-" he cut off when Stephen glowered at the ground, and the green started vining up his neck.

Realization struck, and Tony sat up. "You... Like me." He said. "Well, it doesn't matter if I do!" Stephen snapped, then ran a hand through his hair, covering his mouth afterwards. He zipped up the jacket, pulling the hood up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to shout, it's just..." He trailed off, pulling the hood over his face as much as he could as he sank down against a wall. "Yeah, Tony, I like you. So, yeah, I'm jealous as hell about... I-it doesn't matter, I didn't wanna tell you because I... It felt wrong..."

Tony jumped down from the bed, sitting in front of Stephen. "... I don't know if this is any comfort to you, but.. we broke up today, Stephen. I caught her, uh... Getting frisky with another guy, so I ended things." He admits softly.
Stephen looked up, teary-eyed, and it didn't slip past Tony's attention that the green on Stephen's skin was subsiding a bit. "I wish you would have told me earlier. I'm not mad at you, Stephen." Tony continued, taking Stephen's hand.

"I can't say I'm ready to be in a relationship again yet, but, once I am... I dunno, maybe we can give this, us, a chance." Tony says, touching his forehead to Stephen's, and causing him to blush.
Stephen nodded a little in response, then looked away. "I'm sorry, then, that I wasn't honest, but Tony, I was terrified. I was scared of what you'd think of me, I was scared you'd hate me, I-"

"Come on, Stephe, don't you know me better than that?" Tony joked lightheartedly. Stephen smiled a little, shrugging a bit. "Though, I guess I can't be too picky about honesty.."

Stephen was about to ask for elaboration, but got flustered when Tony took both of his hands.

"The wrong has been righted;
Let the curse be lifted.
Furthermore and henceforth,
Let this blood be gifted."

As Tony spoke those words, both he and Stephen started to glow, and everything got slightly floaty. Ie, their hair was slightly flowing upwards, small objects around them were lifted off the ground- Stephen was in awe. So much so, that he hardly registered what Tony was saying.

"Y-... You know magic.." Stephen whispered with wonder in his eyes. After that, it processed in his brain exactly what words Tony spoke, and his eyes widened as he looked at him.
"You lifted the curse. Why? How? Mom said it couldn't be lifted.." He said. Tony smiled, shrugging a little as he crawled to sit next to Stephen. "If you want a spell or a curse removed, you need a witch who shares blood with the one that cast the spell. Plus, I figured, why not? I like you, and I think that's good enough of a reason to un-curse you."

Stephen blushed, looking over at Tony for a moment. He then smiled, leaning his head on Tony's shoulder. Tony looked down at him, and Stephen met his eyes.

"Thank you, Tony."

Tony blushed slightly, but played it off with a playfully scoff. "You're going soft on me, Stephen."