SHERLOCK STRANGE IMAGINE

DON'T PUSH IT [D.S]

Wake up. Eat. Train. Eat. Sleep. Ever since you came to Kamar-Taj, this was what your normal schedule looked like. You were one of the few who practiced the art of magic. While you may not be the best of your class, you did have the best teacher. The legendary Doctor Strange took you under his wing after he saw you struggling to stay with the others during training. In a way, it reminded himself of his humble beginnings. You were his apprentice, in a way.

Over time, however, he was more than just a teacher. You two became good friends. He was funny, he was helpful, he was nice to you. If you were to be honest here, you’d say you have somewhat of a crush on him. But you’d never say that out loud, of course.

“Again,” Strange instructed. You were out in the courtyard, alone with him, for a private session. But waving your fingers through the air to make geometric shapes was tiring. You’ve been at this three hours straight. Your arms felt like jelly, but you’d never complain. You didn’t want to show weakness to disappoint him, so you simply sucked it up and continued.

“Is this better?” you asked. You were almost positive you had it right this time, but a shake of his head told you otherwise.

“Maybe if you wanted to turn the landscape clockwise, (y/n). But the assignment is to do it counter clockwise. Again.”

You sighed in irritation and dropped your spell. Immediately it felt like a sack of potatoes dropped onto your shoulders without warning. Nothing like that had ever happened before- something was wrong.

Strange saw you hesitate. “Well?” he said impatiently. “Again.”

You gritted your teeth, but didn’t complain. It took more concentration than usual to start a new spell. Your eyebrows furrowed, but as soon as the first spark of magic appeared it faltered.

You blinked, suddenly extremely exhausted. “I don’t-”

But you never finished your sentence. Whatever you just did made you feel like you got hit by a truck multiple times. Your knees buckled, and you collapsed. The last thing you remember seeing before blacking out was Stephen’s feet running towards you and the sound of him crying out your name.

When you woke up, you noticed you were laying down in a cot in the infirmary. You heard two voices in the middle of a conversation. “- just fell,” someone said. You recognised the voice as Stephen’s. “I couldn’t catch (y/n).”

“Pfft. Some teacher you are,” came another voice. It was Wong the librarian. “How did this happen?”

You opened your eyes part way, but neither of them noticed. They were facing each other and were absorbed in their conversation. Strange shook his head. “I think I pushed (y/n) too hard,” he said grimly. “I shouldn’t have said to do those last fifty reps.”

Wong just stared at him. “Fifty reps of spell conjuring? Are you insane? Normal students do twenty at most!”

“I just want (y/n) to be the best of their class,” Strange tried to explain. “So what happened to me doesn’t happen to them. But progress has been slow, so I tried to push (y/n) harder. I didn’t think it’d end up like this.”

Wong’s jaw tightened. “There’s a reason why you’re not an official teacher here,” he said curtly. “Because you don’t understand that using up too much magic takes a toll on the physical state. Have you ever considered maybe the reason why (y/n)’s been progressing slowly is because you’ve been depleting their magic this whole time by adding more repetitions? You’re pushing way too hard, Strange. You need to loosen up.”

Before he could retort, you spoke up. “Guys,” you voice came out hoarsely, “it’s no one’s fault.”

Both men turned their attention towards you. Strange’s face lit up when he saw you were awake. “(Y/n)!” he cried. “Thank Merlin you’re awake! How do you feel?”

“Like I just ran a marathon in ten minutes,” you groaned. You tried to sit up, but immediately winced. Did someone put a spell on the room? Was it supposed to be spinning? Stephen ran to your side and eased you back onto the pillow.

“Don’t try to get up,” he warned. “You’re physical state is very fragile now. I… I don’t want anything happening to you.”

Wong crossed his arms. “I’m going to get the herbs,” he announced. “They should speed up your recovery.” He turned around and left you and Stephen alone.

Stephen hung his head. “This is all my fault, (y/n). I’m sorry I was so harsh.”

You stretched out your hand and touched his cheek before pulling his chin up to look at you. His beard tickled your fingers. “Hey. It’s not your fault. Don’t go blaming yourself. You didn’t do anything.”

He raised his hand and placed it firmly on your wrist, inviting you to take it. You slipped your fingers in his, and he gave you a gentle squeeze. “Under normal circumstances, I’d agree with you, (y/n). But this time I’m afraid I’m at fault. Trust me when I say I never meant nor never will mean to harm you. You’re too valuable to me. I…” His voice caught. “Uh, nevermind.”

You had a feeling you knew what he was about to say. You didn’t need magic to read emotions. A warm fuzzy feeling rushed through your stomach, and you smiled. “ ‘I’ what? What were you going to say?”

Stephen dropped your hand, suddenly self-conscious. It was weird seeing him this way- usually he was so confident. “Nothing. Nevermind. It’d be… inappropriate to say, given your situation.”

“What?” you pressed. Your smile was growing even bigger now; you liked how flustered you made him.

“I…” He swallowed audibly. “Well, I’ve always been more of a doer than a talker.” With that, he suddenly bent down and kissed you.

You were surprised at his rashness, but it wasn’t long before you kissed him back. When you both broke apart, there was a sudden fear in his eyes, like he was afraid he just ruined your close friendship.

Before he could freak out, you laughed out loud. “I’ve been waiting for you to do that,” you said to calm his nerves. It worked. “I was wondering if you had the balls.”

Strange blushed. “Really, now? I could say the same about you. You were dropping hints all week.”

You laughed again, and this time the muscles in his face relaxed. You grabbed his hand once more. “When I’m recovered, we should go on a real date. One that doesn’t involve sparring, okay? And loosening up on me wouldn’t hurt, either.”

Doctor Strange gave you a toothy grin. “You’ve got a deal, (y/n).”