Rough Path to Memory Square - Doctor Strange x Reader (Earth 838)

18. No 'Good' In Goodbyes

You wake up early, startled by Stephen trashing in bed.

"Hey, hey, Stephen!" you try to touch him softly in order not to scare him more, but nothing works. You grab his shoulders and shake him as strong as you can. Finally, he opens his eyes, breathing heavily, looking like a sailor lost in the sea.

"Stephen! You're okay?" you ask worriedly, touching his face and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm-" he doesn't get to finish as pain pierces through his head, and he grips the covers, letting out a low scream of pain. You try to touch him again, but an eye appearing on his forehead scares the shit out of you.

"What the fuck?!" you ask, grabbing your bandaged side as the pain intensifies. The eye looks right at you, and you feel so small, so exposed to the unknown. In a blink, it disappears and only Stephen's quick breathing fills the room.

The shy sun rays that try to somehow get into the room do nothing to make you see clearer, so you light up the lamp on the bed table. Maybe it was just a light trick, and you were delirious. But Stephen's groan proves everything to be true. You reach your hand and again touch his forehead, just to make sure that the eye is gone.

"What happened?" he asks, hands nervously brushing his hair back.

"You-your eye opened. Stephen, your Third Eye opened. What the hell? What were you dreaming?" you ask worriedly. This either means nothing or a ton of bad shit.

"It felt like someone was forcing me to look at something, and just pushed me and pushed me over the edge, demanded me to look for a deeper meaning in that thing, and then it felt like burning hands touched my forehead, forever giving me something I won't be able to get rid of." he puts his face in his hands, avoiding your worried glance.

You look through the window and notice that it's already morning. Soon you'll be leaving. You grab his phone from the table and check the time. 6 AM. Time flies.

"Stephen, I don't know what it could mean, but I just hope that it's nothing bad. I couldn't bare leaving you, knowing that you might get into huge trouble."

"Hey, it's okay, I'm feeling good now, don't worry about me." he says reassuringly, but you don't believe a single word he's saying. All Stephens had a tendency to lie about their well-being.

"What if you got that from using the Darkhold?" you ask, and the question hangs in the air. Neither of you wanted to admit that it might be true. "What if that's connected to the fact that you're also wearing Eye of Agamotto?"

"Y/n, don't worry yourself about it. We have to start getting ready soon." he says, turning his eyes away. No one likes goodbyes.

"I think we should go to Kamar-Taj for a little bit, I want to speak to Wong about something."

"About what?" he asks, now interested in what you got to say to Wong, of all people.

"And that's a thing you won't get to know." you force a smile, worry still not leaving you.

"Okay, okay. When you're leaving again?"

"At 9. America will come here, probably easier to get to New York from New York." you sigh, getting up from bed and taking your shirt off, putting on your bra and pants. Slowly tieing your robes and belt, obviously stalling. Stephen dresses up with a quick move of his hands and then sits on the edge of the bed, waiting for you.

"Never seen anyone who has learned how to dress up with magic, to put on their robes in a normal way." he mutters, and you smile. "How's your side? Didn't let me take a look at it."

"I think the accident shared me enough to forget about it." you lie. Of course, you were well aware of the returning pain but kept silent.

"Show me." he says.

"No, I'm okay."

"Show me. Please, y/n." he motions for you to come closer. You obey, undoing your shirt again and standing before him. His head at the level of your chest, bends down, hands take off the bandage and inspect the stitches. Half of them are torn, and the wound started bleeding again. "Needs redoing. Can you stand here a bit until I get the needle?" he asks, hands resting on your hips.

"Yeah. Okay." you say, savoring the feeling of his touch. He comes back in a minute, sits back in the previous spot and starts cleaning the wound. You let out a hiss as the alcohol makes contact with your skin. He just shoots you an apologetic look and starts stitching. Eyes focused, hands a bit trembling, but he's trying not to look at them, because if he does - then this mission can be considered as failed.
"You know," you admit, trying to talk yourself out of pain, "this was the best sleep I got in years. Until, you know, that happened."

"Hm, mine too." is all he says, and you get a feeling that he doesn't know exactly what to say to you now. Nothing matters as you leave in a couple of hours anyway.

Five minutes later, he cuts the thread and puts the needle aside, opening a new pack of bandages. Another moment passes between you in silence. He finishes but doesn't let you go, keeping his hands on your side and back. You take another step closer to him and he puts his head on your stomach, right under your chest. You slowly mess his hair, waiting till he says anything.

"You know what sucks?" he murmurs into your skin.

"Mm?"

"That when I thought that during all this crazy mess I have finally found the one who's not afraid to dive head deep into these crazy adventures with me, this person is leaving me again."

You feel tears collecting in your eyes, and you're glad he doesn't see your face now.
" I'm sorry, Stephen. But I have to. I -." You feel how words get stuck in your throat." I can't endanger your universe. Believe me, if I could, I'd stay here. For an eternity and even more." a single tear escapes your eye, and it rolls down your cheek, falling right on his head.

He pulls away and stands up, trapping your face in his hands, wiping away the wet trail the tear has left. "I know that it means nothing now, but I have found this connection with you. I don't know what it is yet, but I will forever treasure it in my heart, y/n." he kisses you, so softly, savoring every feeling in his mind.

You're trying to control your tears. It ain't the time to cry now.

"Oh, Stephen, I'm sure you'll find the one very soon, a man with such pure heart like yours doesn't walk around lonely." you smile sadly, touching his beard. "I have to admit, I was never fond of guys with beards, but you just broke my stereotype."

A laugh escapes his lips, he hugs you, hot breath tickling your neck. "I want you to keep my shirt." Stephen whispers.

"Your AC/DC shirt? What if your phase comes back again?" you laugh in his ear respectively.

"If it comes back, I'll think of you."

"I hope that bringing stuff from other universe doesn't cause bad shit to happen." you pull away and place a kiss on his cheek. "Well, I think the Sorcerer Supreme is already up and fresh, we gotta go."

You go to the window and look out, seeing all the early risers already surfing in the street. Perhaps New York truly never sleeps. Your Cloak lands on your shoulders, engulfing you into a warm embrace. Stephen's Cloak also lands on his shoulders, and a sizzling sound informs you that Stephen is already opening a portal.