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

Chapter 23 - Happy Birthday

The whole team rushed into the lab where they had monitors set up for the surveillance. Images of clubs, secret headquarters, even suspicious back alleys were lined with cameras; all places of interest thanks to Sterling. But one in particular was shown quite large on the screens; A picturesque castle surrounded by a winter forest.

Then the picture moved.

The team watched an aircraft land in front of the castle, open its hangar door and in ran Sterling. The aircraft picked him up and took off within an hour, but no sign of (Y/n). And a separate monitor showed a map with a little beeping red dot smack in the middle of Germany.

"She must still be there."

The room shared a look.

One of anger.

Sadness perhaps.

But definitely filled with determination.

-

The doors of the quinjet opened to reveal the December air that had fallen across Europe, and the team admired the large abandoned castle they had now arrived at.

The brickwork had roughened with age, moss scattered between the cracks and the crumbling stone, though now dull and dirty, was once filled with life; the light beige material still shining through small parts of the walls that stayed cleaner with rain.

"Remember the plan. Find (Y/n). Stay alert, she won't be alone."

The team turned to Steve and nodded, eager to find their lost teammate and return her home.

And so, the team split off, climbing towers, searching rooms and wandering the grounds. Apart from the stakes of their mission, the scenery was quite beautiful. A perfect contrast to the ideations of the organisation that now inhibited it. Hydra.

Stephen found himself searching through one of the castle wings alongside Steve and Natasha. They started by clearing the top and working their way down, but once he found a small window in the tallest spire looking over the estate, he let the imagery sink in.

Stunning...

He could hear her voice cut through his thoughts. Stephen was sure (Y/n) would have loved to see this place. He always enjoyed bringing her to breathless sights. The look on her face when she had seen something new, something incredible. It was his favourite feeling in the world.

-

"What are you doing?" (Y/n) giggled, trying to keep her balance as Stephen made her slowly walk forward with a blindfold covering her eyes.

"Almost... there..."

Stephen had kept her blindfolded all through the car ride. And though she was still fairly sure she knew where they were, having mentally navigated his turns, there was still a slightly unnerving feeling building up in her chest.

She felt him open a door, his hand still held on her lower back, gently guiding her forward as the chilled air hit her face.

"Stephen..."

"Yeah, I know you don't like surprises but this- this I think you'll love."

She felt him stop her a few feet from the door they just walked through. The light wind was whirling and she could feel her hair being swayed by it. She tightened her jacket across her chest ever so slightly before she felt him remove her blindfold.

"Happy Birthday."

Her eyes readjusted to her surroundings, and they widened when she registered the sight before her.