A Familiar Touch | (Doctor Strange x Female!Reader)

Chapter 8 - It Worked...

(Y/n) was now attacking her damp hair with her towel as best she could with her tightening muscles as Stephen turned back around.

"Ok..."

She noticed how awkward he seemed standing by her door. Instinctively, she moved to clear her books off her bed, and once it was clear, patted a spot for him to sit on. As he took a seat, he looked stiff. He may not have necessarily felt uncomfortable but he certainly looked it.

"I, uh..."

He was shifting around, trying to get comfortable, but instead started distracting himself with the way he was sitting.

Should he lean back?

Sit up?

Cross his legs?

Ultimately none of it mattered but (Y/n) could tell something was bothering him.

"Stephen," She said as she took a seat next to him and placed a hand on his jittering knee, "spit it out." She awkwardly smiled, having remembered a similar situation a few years ago.

Back then, it was Stephen's anxiousness about revealing his brand new sports car to her after she had mentioned something along the lines of 'why would someone waste their money on a fancy heap of metal?' But after a while, it became her regular ride to and from work.

"Last I recall, we met at the hospital, almost," he paused, counting on his fingers, "9 years ago. So, how did we meet for the first time yesterday?"

She sighed, knowing this was going to come up sooner or later, and eventually she would have to clear this up with the rest of the team seeing as their files clearly showed their past link.

"Honestly, I thought you'd want to start over."

Stephen's eyebrows knitted together, confused. But after a second for him to think, (Y/n) spoke up again.

"We didn't exactly end things on a high note. And if we're being honest, I didn't know how I'd feel seeing you again. So, instead of making things awkward, I thought we could start from scratch."

(Y/n) had stood up, opening a small gateway into her bathroom to replace her towel. Stephen watched closely, picking up every small detail as she moved. He had watched her similarly in the past, but this time felt different. It had felt like no time had passed while simultaneously feeling like everything had changed. And the more he thought about it, the more he agreed starting their friendship over would probably be the best idea, not just for the team, but for them. If he ever wanted a friendship with her again, and he did, he would have to work hard to get back there.

"Hmm, that does make sense. But how do we explain our history to the team after that little stunt you pulled?"

"Well, why do they need to know? Unless you want to tell them, it's not really any of their business, is it?"

"I guess you're right."

"I'm always right." She shot him a knowing smile.

"Ok then, (Y/l/n), that's that."

She had grabbed a couple of books before making her way to her door.

"Good. Oh, and it's still Dr. (Y/l/n). Even to you." She replied as she left her room, leaving Stephen stupidly smiling to himself on her bed.

-

(Y/n) & Bruce had been tinkering away in the lab for a few hours when the team meeting had approached.

"Big Green, Sparkles!" Tony said, announcing his arrival.

Usually, the three of them worked for hours at a time in the tower's lab, developing little pieces of tech to aid the team either on their missions, to improve their training or to help with any medical recovery. Bruce was stationed in front of a few screens, running diagnostics and tests on some simulations to see if their latest 'toy' would be successful or if it still needed work.