Strange Connection (Stephen Strange x OC)

Chapter 20

It had been three weeks since the final battle with Thanos at the Avengers Compound. Ariana had made it clear she wanted her space and had practically refused to speak to Stephen unless it was on matters regarding the protection of the Sanctum or other Mystical matters specifically related to their duties as they caught him up on all that had happened in the five year he'd been gone.

The previous night they'd argued over his concern for her practices of using her astral form to stay up late. He'd done the same thing when he was just beginning his training. But he also knew that if done too much, it could start to have negative effects on the mind and the body. The next morning he arose early to find her missing from the Sanctum and went to question Wong. "Where is Ariana?"

Wong sighed. "How long is this thing going to last between you two?"

"I wish I knew, however the answer lies in her hands, not mine."

"Stephen, when you were gone, she grew hard—she's not the same Ariana she was when you left."

"Somewhere buried inside is my Ariana, I just haven't figured out how to break through that wall she's built up."

"Perhaps today is the day, then."

"What do you mean?"

"Ariana has gone to Kamar Taj to fight in the last round of a sparring tournament."

"Oh?"

"You think you can break down the wall, maybe you need to meet her on her terms."

"You mean fight her? Beat her at a sparring tournament?"

Wong laughed heartily. "Sure, if that's what you think is going to happen."

Stephen's eyebrow raised. "You think it might go differently?"

"I think you haven't seen her fight."

"Then care to come and bear witness to the outcome?"

"It would be my pleasure," Wong said, standing from his desk and joining Stephen as he created a portal and stepped through.

**—**—**

Stephen stood in the shadows and watched the match. The sun had set in Kathmandu and torches lit the training grounds that lay in the middle of the Kamar Taj Temple of the Mystical Arts. He couldn't believe the woman who stood in the middle of the grounds was his Ariana. The woman whom he'd brought here years before to fix the wi-fi was now giving a proper beating to one of her fellow Masters.

Wong was right. She was good.

After a final tap out, she was left alone in the center of a ring of observers. "Who's next? Or shall we finally call an end to the tournament."

"One last challenger!" he called out. Everyone, including Ariana, looked around to see where the voice had come from. Finally, he stepped out of the shadows.

"Who would challenge me?" Ariana called out, though she was almost certain whose voice it was.

Stephen stepped through the crowd and into the middle of the ring. Cloak had stayed far behind, not wanting to watch his two favorite people fight. He'd seen enough of their drama the past few weeks. "What are the stakes of this tournament?" Stephen asked, glancing around at several Masters and trainees whom Ariana had already defeated that day. Surely she would be getting tired by now.

"No stakes, no trophies, no prizes, other than the knowledge of the win."

"Then I would propose higher stakes for this particular fight."

Ariana's eyebrow raised, her hands resting on her hips. "Oh? And that would be?"

He approached and felt her tense as he did so. When he finally stopped he was so close he could smell her sweaty body. Somehow it still didn't detract him. He spoke quietly, but didn't care if anyone else heard. Before the snap, all the occupants of Kamar Taj had come to know of his and Ariana's relationship. Surely they were aware of the tension between them since he had returned because of the blip. It would have been hard to miss it. "The stakes are, if I win, you have to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night. And at that dinner we will speak about things other than matters related to the Sanctum, the Temple, we will talk about anything other than matters related to the Mystical Arts. We will discuss us."