Once there was you, me, and us (Sinister Strange x fem!reader)

IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT

Void. Emptiness. Numbness.

The word lingered in her mind as (Y/N) laid in bed. The Sanctum was oddly quiet, not even the nocturnal chirping was there to keep her company while she nestled herself in the blossom of the bed sheets. She had long lost count of how many hours she laid there without getting one hour of sleep - mindlessly staring at the half closed window, the only source of light in the strangely cleaned and tidy bedroom. (Y/N) couldn't help but feel hypnotised by the moonlight - but that was not what was keeping her awake, no, it was the funny feeling growing in her chest, a pull from a realm beyond.

Perhaps it was the room, she thought, it had been her alternate self's bedroom and now she was laying in that (Y/N)'s sheets - while having no idea what fate befell her.

Seized by an unusual restlessness, the sorceress walked to the corner of the bedroom, where a covered mirror rested - she had the faint notion of deja vu, where she would pull the white sheets to the ground, and find a mirror without a reflection, like a body without a soul - and with that sensation, the woman found herself in a cycle. She'd get up from the bed, drag her cold feet to the mirror, and repeat - her fingers never reaching the sheets and never knowing how she went back to the bed.

Perhaps it wasn't the bedroom, after all. It certainly couldn't be haunted by her own self...right? No, of course not, maybe it was something else. Maybe the problem was just her and not some multiverse ghost.

"(Y/N)? Are you alright?" Stephen, her Stephen, had a way of soothing her with his voice alone. (Y/N) briefly turned around, sitting at the edge of the bed, and gave him a soft smile. "I got you something to eat. Hell knows how the food here hasn't rotten yet."

She scoffed playfully and took the cold plate of fruit from his hands - but just as the sorcerer was about to leave her be, Stephen felt a pull on his hand.

"Stay," (Y/N) pleaded gently, "Please."

The doctor hesitated, caught like a deer in a trap, he didn't know what to do - well, he did, his heart knew what to do, but his mind screamed otherwise. Stephen cursed at himself in silent, and before the logical part of him could scold him for the recklessness, he found himself gravitating towards his protégé and soon his place was sitting next to her.

(Y/N) smiled to herself and just like Stephen, she allowed herself to have a moment of weakness, and rested her head on his shoulders - within the Realm of possibility, there might still be some remains of love between them.

However, someone's happiness is someone else's demise - Sinister Strange stood by the doorway, lingering like the words in (Y/N)'s mind, with a mournful look on his face. It was like watching an athlete see a undeserving colleague take their place and steal their rightful trophy, but at the same conflicted time, it was a memory replaying itself in front of him.

The sun, or if you can even tell the difference between night and day there, was soon to come out of hiding. (Y/N), who was already up and about, was lazily rummaging through the black trunk in front of the bed in search for clothes - everything was quiet. So quiet you could hear a needle falling. What was that saying? Oh, yes, the quiet before the storm.

There was a breach of time for Sinister Strange to launch himself over (Y/N) and desperately flatten themselves against the ground. His body served as a shield, almost hugging her from his position on top of the sorceress. The clouds of debris had already swept over them before (Y/N) even heard the explosion, or had any time to process what was happening - after that, the first thing she saw was Sinister Strange looking at her with widen, glassy eyes. At first, neither of them said anything.

"Are-Ahem, are you hurt?" His hands carefully examined her head.

(Y/N) peaked from his shoulder to see the destruction the explosion caused. Pieces of dust and shards of glass were scattered around the bedroom, and the biggest one, that resembled a spear, was exactly in the same spot where she was a few seconds ago.