𝐃𝐑. 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄.

doctor first, sorcerer second. a small scoff huffs from his lips. ❝ that needs stitches, ❞ he points out, matter-of-factly, nodding towards the cut on the other's cheek. he holds the door open a little wider, an invitation.

Stephen Strange            Wed 04/01 hey christine very busy fighting intergalactic threats but hope you are well

Seriously?

The years are all gone. Nothing she can do. Who’s smoking? She can’t spend another minute in that room his insult-spitting mouth opened in. She can’t sleep with old memories from so long ago she could have raised twins in.

She’d do the normal stuff like having her car serviced with the non-secretive secret anarchist mechanic acting very strangely. Now his email’s pulled her so close again her nose had better not be touching the screen.

Since she doesn’t usually check, and no one’s looking at her, this is crazy. She should ignore it, feed the slowed down version of Life. Even if he has taken the time off from his incredibly busy fighting schedule to say a few words of dedication. She should, for three weeks.

stephen  stares  numbly  at  his  laptop  screen  and  feels  horror  start  to  rapidly  seep  into  every  crevice  of  his  body.  

❝  oh,  no.  no,  no,  no,  no.  ❞  he  hits  the  back  button.  nothing  happens.  ❝  fuck.  ❞  you  can’t  unsend  an  email.  he  groans,  reaches  for  his  glass,  almost  sends  the  bottle  beside  it  flying  in  the  process.  the  ice  has  melted.  the  whisky  tastes  weak.  he  flexes  his  sore  fingers,  rubs  his  brow,  calls  himself  an  idiot.  a  notification  sounds  from  the  laptop.  his  eyes  scan  her  response.  fix  this,  stephen.

to:  christine  palmer subject:  sorry. christine.  i  apologise  for  my  last  email.  it  was  sent  prematurely,  and

no.  stephen  sighs,  deletes,  and  takes  another  swig  of  whisky  for  luck.

to:  christine  palmer subject:  sorry. christine.  i’m  an  asshole.  i’m  sorry.

better.  but  still  not  right.  he  deletes  again.

to:  christine  palmer subject:  sorry. i  miss  you.

that  about  sums  it  up.

to:  christine  palmer subject:  sorry. i  miss  you.  i’m  sorry.

𝐈𝐓'𝐒  𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄  𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍  𝐈𝐓  𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃  𝐁𝐄  𝐁𝐘  𝐍𝐎𝐖.    between  the  subtle  flirting  and  the  ease  with  which  she  finds  herself  able  to  be  vulnerable  with  him...    it  was  only  a  matter  of  time  before  they  wound  up  here.    perhaps  the  only    surprising    thing  about  it  is  how    suddenly    their  dynamic  had  shifted.    despite  it  all,    penny  her  heart  racing  with    joy    as  opposed  to    fear,    a  feeling  she's  done  running  from.    there's  no  wiping  the  grin  off  her  face  when  she  finally  breaks  a  heated  make-out  session  to    breathe    again,    nuzzling  a  few  pecks  along  stephen's  bearded  jaw.

❝  you  smell  like  watermelon,  ❞    penny  giggles,    pressing  her  nose  affectionately  into  his  cheek.    for  fifty-three  dollars,    she'd  damn  well    hope    the  new  face  mask  she  bought  for  their  spa  night  would  leave them smelling  good.    a  contented  sigh  follows  her  comment  as  she  relaxes  in  the  doctor's  embrace.    someday,    she  hopes,    they'll  get  to  spend    every    night  like  this.    ❝  did  i  tell  you  i  put  in  my  transfer  request  at  work?  ❞    she  speaks  up  suddenly,    fingers  tracing  idly  along  his  bicep  curled  around  her.

she'd  told  him  of  her  plans  for  the  rest  of  her  life,    to  settle  down  and  step  away  from  the  chaos  and  unpredictability  that  comes  with  being  a  field  agent---    she'd  brought  it  up    before    all  of    this,    however.    when  the  plan  didn't  involve  stephen  in  any  sort  of    romantic    capacity.    even  now,    though,    her  plan  hasn't  changed.    gaze  lifts  once  more  to  meet  his  eyes,    fingertips  coming  up  to  brush  gently  through  his  beard.    ❝  i'm  still  gonna  settle  down,    y'know...    figure  out  the  rest  of  my  life,    sell  the  house  in  louisville,    adopt  a  kid...    if  you  wanna  be  a  part  of  that,    then  i  want  you  to  be,    too...    what  do  you  think?  ❞

the smell of artificial watermelon is clinging to the inside of his nostrils. it makes him want to sneeze. but what comes out of him instead is a laugh; he curls his arm around penny's waist, pulls her in close to his side. he likes the way they fit together. this was inevitable, really. he knew this would happen from the second penny started to slink into his dreams, when he woke up with his heart beating a little harder, her face still lingering on the backs of his eyelids. he's still catching his breath, but he has enough oxygen in him to offer a soft, slightly surprised, ❝ oh? ❞, when she tells him about the transfer request.

stephen has also been tying things up at work. he's been learning how to delegate. just last week he dispatched a trio of masters to deal with something just two tentacles short of being cthulhu that had crawled into new york through a tear in the multiverse. he wasn't quite able to stay away. he followed them in secret to manhattan to keep an eye on them, floating cross-legged in his astral form alongside a skyrise, watching them beat the alien back to wherever the hell it came from. he was impressed. they were capable. they were more than capable. he had been so busy taking the full weight of the responsibility of protecting the world that he had forgotten to check in on his students' progress. they were more than ready. is stephen ready? is he ready to take a step back, to renounce some responsibility, to settle down? he touches two trembling fingers to penny's cheekbone, brushes a loose strand of hair away from her face. he looks down at her, just to look, and smiles.

𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 :

hide .   hide now .

shh !!  there’s somebody in the house .

i’m not gonna hurt you !  see ?  look ,  i’m putting down the  [ weapon ] .

[ name ] ,  what were you thinking ?!

you’re being followed ,  pretend you know me .

stop , stop !  just put the  [ weapon ]  down !

drive ,  just drive fast !

you seriously think i could’ve done this ?

can you walk ?  i need you to walk for me ,  okay ?

let me handle it ,  just go !

what was your plan ??  you could’ve gotten yourself killed !

you’re just going to leave me here ?!

[ name ] ,  can you hear me ?  get out of there !

you knew and you didn’t tell me ?!

don’t you know how dangerous this is ?

you’re not going to shoot me .

move and you die .

i’m gonna come back for you ,  do you hear me ?

we have to stop the bleeding .

can you see how many fingers i’m holding up ?

i just want to go home !

don’t move a fucking muscle .

if it weren’t for you ,  we wouldn’t be in this mess .

i almost DIED back there ,  and you’re laughing ?

you’re only making this worse for yourself .

you think this is a joke ?

if i go down ,  i want you to run .

we’re gonna die ,  so what’s the point ?

this was the ONE thing i told you not to do .

i can’t promise we’re going to make it out of here .

where’s your first - aid kit ?!

just calm down and find your phone ,  we need to call the police .

someone’s been stalking me .

just listen to me for once !

i didn’t think you had it in you .

put the gun down ,  and kick it over here .

we can’t stick around here ,  let’s go .

kiss me before we die .

do whatever you need to do ,  hurry .

i can’t breathe ,  i can’t -

please ,  please  -  let me in ,  there’s someone -

i’m gonna give you one last chance .

you have to believe me ,  i didn’t do this !

run ,  and don’t look back .

this is real ,  i’m real .  look at me .

take this .  it’ll keep you safe .

follow my instructions very closely .

put your hands where i can see them .

you can’t just let me die !

i think  …  i think i need a doctor .

we need to get out of here ,  come on .

no ,  this isn’t it .  we’re getting you out of this .

you panicking is not going to help us right now .

𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 :

[ GETAWAY ]  sender acts as a getaway driver for receiver .

[ MEDIC ]  sender arrives on receiver’s doorstep ,  badly bleeding .

[ HIDE ]  sender and receiver hide from a threat together .

[ HUSH ]  sender clasps a hand over receiver’s mouth to silence them .

[ DRAG ]  sender physically hauls receiver to safety .

[ RIGHTS ]  sender calls receiver from a police precinct .

[ REALITY ]  sender helps receiver through an episode of derealization .

[ SHELTER ]  sender and receiver must find shelter from a storm  .

[ ARMED ]  sender brandishes a  [ gun / knife ]  at receiver .

[ CRASH ]  sender and receiver survive a  [ car / bike ]  crash together .

[ SEARCH ]  sender barges into the hospital demanding to see receiver .

[ BACKUP ]   sender calls receiver panicking after committing a crime .

[ CORNERED ]  sender menacingly backs receiver into a corner .

[ UNEXPECTED ]  receiver comes home to find sender already inside .

[ BREATHE ]  sender helps receiver get through a panic attack .

[ BADGE ]  sender and receiver flee from the cops together .

[ STRANDED ]  sender and receiver become stranded in the woods .

[ EMBRACE ]  sender kisses receiver thinking it’ll be the last time .

[ STRANGER ]  sender can’t remember who receiver is after an injury .

[ TOKEN ]  sender gives receiver a lucky charm before they go into battle .

are you kidding me ?

[ name ] ,  what just happened ?

hey !  what’d you do that for ?

did you plan on ever telling me ?

do you want to tell me the truth ,  this time ?

you seriously think i could’ve done this ?

did you know about this ?

[ name ] ,  what were you thinking ?!

can we talk ?  alone ?

why are you doing all of this ?

it can’t be that bad ,  right ?

haven’t you heard the stories ?

who did this to you ?

what are you insinuating ?

what did you think was gonna happen ?!

you think i could do something like that ?

who do you think you are ?

why won’t you let me help you ?

do you have any evidence of that ?

can we put away our differences for a second ?

where have you been ? 

is that  …  blood ?

what’s your problem ?

are you real ?

where’s your sense of adventure ?

would you kill for me ?

you’re  [ name ] ,  aren’t you ?

why can’t you just let it go ?

do you want me to stay ?

what if we left  …  ran away ?

what else was i supposed to do ?

how did you get this scar ?

could you give me a hand with this ?

do you ever stop talking ?

you’ve never done this before ,  have you ?

where do you think you’re going ?

how many fingers am i holding up ?

what can i say to make it better ?

why can’t we all just get along ?

can i stay the night ?

what’s that supposed to mean ?

where did your common sense go ?

you seriously don’t believe me ?

what aren’t you telling me ?

do you have a minute ?

why are you lying ?

you’re gonna walk away from this ?

where am i supposed to go ?

can we stop and think about this rationally ?

how long has it been since you’ve slept ?

why can’t we be civil about this ?

what makes you so special ?

where is all of this coming from ?

how are we gonna get out of here ?

you’ll never leave me ,  right ?

were you in on this ?

care to join me for a bit ?

shows what you know ,  doesn’t it ?

do you want to get out of here ?

what were you expecting to happen ?

what are you working on ?

i can tell you’re upset ,  what happened ?

when can i see you again ?

where do we go from here ?

can you sit up for me ?

how long have you been awake ?

what are you getting out of this ?

can we put this behind us ?

where are you ?  nobody’s heard from you .

how can i make this go away ?

were you following me ?

where does it hurt ?  show me .

[ name ] ,  what the hell ?

hey  …  can i ask you something ?

you’re not gonna tell me where we’re going ?

really ?  you’re gonna do that right here ?

are you even listening to me ?

we can help each other ,  right ?

hey  …  did you hear that ?

you have no idea who i am ,  do you ?

how long have you known ?

what exactly are you asking me to do ?

how was i supposed to know that ?

are you new around here ?

can you stop and listen to me for a second ?

do you think there’s something wrong with me ?

what ,  you think i’m not qualified ?

why did you help me ?

can you just look at me ,  please ?

what can i do to convince you ?

where did we go wrong ?

oh my god ,  are you bleeding ?

why the long face ?

are you trying to get yourself killed ?

what do you make of this ?

how much do you wanna bet ?

you’re sure this will work ?

why are you so concerned about me ?

what are you trying to prove ?

did you ever care about me ?

are you drunk ?

isn’t this amazing ?

how long have you been standing there ?

what are you suggesting ?

why are you such a pessimist ?

did you know them ?

can we call it a day ?