Friendship comes and goes alongside the passage of time, but sometimes, the bonds between certain people are stronger than normal. Stephen Strange and Rachael Barrow grew up together, their bond wavering, but never breaking. Together, they've pushed...
"Are you sure you don't want to come tonight, Rachael?" Stephen asked.
It had been a month since Rachael's opening night of Mary Poppins. Stephen never failed to be amazed at how she could transform herself from the rambunctious young woman he knew into a magic genie, a personal assistant to a millionaire from the 1930s, or a nanny who was quite like a Time Lord. For Stephen tonight, he had a speaking engagement at a neurological society dinner. He was going to come home quite late. Unfortunately, the dinner was the same time as one of Rachael's shows, so she'd had to decline Stephen's invitation to be his date.
"I have a show tonight," Rachael said. "I wish I could, but I can't."
"Your loss," Stephen shrugged.
Both friends were running around their apartment trying to get ready for their respective engagements for the evening. Stephen was getting was wearing a very nice suit, but he couldn't find the bow tie. He was beginning to panic about it, too.
"Where's my bow tie?" his voice boomed throughout the apartment. "RACHAEL, HAVE YOU SEEN MY BOW TIE?!"
"Look in your hand, Stephen," Rachael said calmly, brushing her hair thoroughly.
"It is not in my-" Stephen looked down and flushed red. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Rachael said. "Do you need help putting it on?"
"Yes," Stephen sighed.
Rachael got up and put the bow tie on Stephen with little difficulty. "There. You look very dashing."
"Thank you," Stephen said, giving her a quick smile before going to the window and looking out of it as if he was contemplating his life.
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"Are you happy with how our lives have turned out, Rachael?" he asked.
"I'd say so," Rachael said. "Why?"
"Oh, no reason. Just curious," Stephen said.
"Do you mind driving me to the theater?" Rachael asked.
"No," Stephen shook his head. "Come on, or I'll be late."
Rachael and Stephen took the elevator down to the parking garage and got into Stephen's expensive sports car. He was very, very proud of it. He treated it as if it was his child. Rachael joked that Stephen would kick her out of the apartment and let the car have her room.
Stephen let Rachael sing along to the Mary Poppins CD to warm up her vocal cords for the show to come later that night. She tried to get Stephen to sing too, but he wouldn't do it. His specialty was playing the piano while she sang.
Rachael hated it when Stephen drove. He went way too fast for her liking. She often found herself gripping the lever at the top of the door. Stephen hated it when she did it, but she managed to shut him up by telling him that she'd stop doing it when he stopped driving so fast. Finally, Stephen pulled up outside the theater.
