A faceless object should not be able to make Stephen Strange feel like the worst caregiver in the world.
“I’m trying!” he hissed, rocking Tony slowly. Tony had been crying for what felt like hours. His business trip with Pepper had gone very poorly and Tony had returned a stressed-out bundle of nerves on the edge of a breakdown. Stephen had gotten Tony into his headspace okay, but all the usual tricks to help Tony settle were falling flat.
The Cloak continued to hover in front of them. Had it arms, they would’ve been crossed judgmentally.
“You think you can do better?” Stephen said.
The Cloak fluttered, as though in an invisible breeze, and then flew over to Tony’s crib. It splayed itself across the crib and then beckoned expectantly with the bottom right corner.
Stephen looked down at Tony. The poor baby was still sobbing and squirming restlessly. He’d tried everything: a warm bath, a massage, a bottle, rocking, a diaper change. Nothing worked. He could admit he was desperate.
And if nothing else, he wouldn’t have to put up with being judged.
“Fine,” he muttered, standing and stalking across the room. He gently laid Tony down, wincing when Tony’s wails immediately increased in volume.
But before he could scoop Tony back up, the Cloak sprang into action. It wrapped itself snugly around Tony from neck to toe, then lifted Tony into the air. The Cloak began to sway back and forth in time to the music playing from Tony’s mobile.
Gradually, Tony’s cries diminished. His eyelashes fluttered and then slid shut. In a matter of moments, he was asleep.
“Show-off,” Stephen said.
He was pretty sure the Cloak promptly flipped him off before snuggling even more tightly around Tony.