Pairings/Characters: Stephen Strange x Stark!Reader, America Chavez, Wong
Warnings: Angst, talk of death, drinking, grief, stephen lying because he’s an idiot
Summary: After rescuing America, Stephen feels a mighty need to finally rescue you from yourself.
Previous: His Sacrifice
“How is she,” Wong inquired as he stood beside Stephen. The two were in Kamar-Taj, overlooking the rebuild and the training of their students after dealing with Wanda Maximoff. You were there as well, in the distance, on a balcony by yourself, overlooking the mountains that surrounded you.
“As well as you’d think,” Stephen said quietly. “She doesn’t speak very much, but she’s stopped wishing death upon me, that’s a welcomed change.”
Wong nodded his head once, hands clasped behind his back as he and Stephen watched America stop her ‘spark creations’ and head over to join you. Wong sighed deeply as he watched America sit down next to you, “Grief is the agony of the living, Stephen. She had barely gotten over you when you returned. Y/N never dealt with her father, and now she has potentially killed her best friend.”
“And now she knows what Tony did for her,” Stephen watched you as you stared at America and seemed to be listening intently to her. “I’m worried about her.”
“You’re always worried about her,” Wong replied. “Perhaps now she can start to heal. She’s been in pain long enough, don’t you think?”
~*~
As Stephen approached you, he walked by America, who quickly caught his eye. She made a gesture to show drinking, then pointed at you over her shoulder with her thumb. Stephen sighed, knowing that somehow you must have managed to convince one of these students to either make you or find you alcohol.
He stood behind you as you sat there humming, legs swinging freely back and forth over the ledge. He sat down next to you. In your hands was a large black water bottle. Stephen watched you take a long swig of it, the smell of wine hitting him immediately. He grimaced as he studied you and remembered all those times you talked about how much you hated your father’s alcoholism and dreaded ever following his footsteps in that direction, and yet, here you were.
Stephen took the bottle and gave it a shake, surprised to see how empty it was quickly becoming. He waved his hand over the bottle and handed it back to you. You grinned seeing it was full again, but when you took a sip, you scoffed. “You turned my wine into water. That’s, like, reverse biblical.”
“Y/N, you’re turning into your father. Do you think he wants this for you?”
You shrugged your shoulders, “I don’t know. Can’t ask him, can I?”
“He —“
“I probably just killed my best friend, Stephen, and I just found out my dad died for me. Give me a break here.”
Oh, how he was going to regret this.
Inhaling deeply, he shook his head. “No, you don’t get a break. No more breaks for you, Y/N. You’ve had enough.”
Giggling, you turned to face him. You shook the bottle in his face before using it to point at him, “You’ve had enough.”
“I’m not kidding,” He yanked the botlte out of your hand and set it down on the ground beside you. You pouted, muttering that you didn’t care because it wasn’t even what you wanted anymore. Stephen huffed in annoyance and took your chin in his hand, forcing you to face him as he leaned in close to speak to you. “I know you’re in pain, but you didn’t deal with it then, you have to deal with it now. You are not the Y/N I fell in love with, you are just an empty shell of the incredible woman she was. I miss her. I need her back.”
Hiccuping, you raised your hand to grab Stephen’s wrist and lower his hand, removing his hold on you. You shook your head, a pained smile on your face as you looked in every direction but Stephen’s, “She’s not coming back, Strange. That person mourned you for five years. She retired and moved in with her dad because she couldn’t be alone.” You laughed to yourself once more, a sad, weak, pitiful laugh that made Stephen frown, “And now she can’t stand to be anything but alone.”
“You don’t have to grieve me anymore,” he said quietly as he took your hands in his. His cloak wandered off of his shoulders and floated to yours, wrapping around you in an embrace that made your heart skip a beat. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere --”
“No?” You countered quickly. “Because I seem to be losing a lot of people in a very short amount of time. I can’t keep doing this, I can’t. I just feel empty, Stephen. I feel so empty and nothing makes it go away and I don’t know what to do anymore. I can’t do this anymore. I’m not strong enough --”
Stephen released your hands and stood up on his feet quickly. He grabbed your sohulders and yanked you to your feet as well, spinning you around until you were left facing him and looking up, “Not strong enough? You put up with my pampered ass after my acident --
“Well, texting and driving is pretty stupid --”
“I wasn’t text and driving --”
“You can’t lie to me, I can feel your heartbeat,” you muttered, your hand rising to rest on his chest. “I don’t even have to do this anymore to know when you’re lying, I can just feel your heartbeat without touching and I know...try again.”
Caught in his lie, Stephen moved on, thought it was hard to do as he realized how his heart started racing just from your touch, “Regardless, you dealt with me. You did everything you could for me, even when I was lashing out and screaming at you. You never left my side, Y/N, not once, not even when I gave you more than enough reason to.”
You shrugged your shoulder as you looked at your feet, “And years later, I wished you were dead.”
Stephen nodded once, “That you did -- but I...I didn’t help you after your father --”
“I didn’t let you -- “
“I didn’t push,” he confessed. “I didn’t push to stay in your life like you did for me. I, regrettably, let you go. I thought it was for the better. I thought it would help you heal. I--I made that mistake.I don’t want to make it again,” Stephen’s hands came up to cup your face gingerly as he rasied your head to look into his eyes once more. “I’m not asking for you to love me again. I’m just asking for you to let me in.”
Your jaw quivered as your eyes welled with tears, “I can’t deal with another loss, Stephen, and not you, and not again. I can’t do it.”
“You won’t lose me,” Stephen replied. “There is not a thing in this universe, or any, that will keep me away from you, never again. Let me in, Y/N.”
~*~
Being alone had become a comfort to you since your father’s passing. You couldn’t stand to be near anyone, your powers, like you, were out of control, and living in isolation just seemed safer, easier. Being alone felt like the best possible way to protect your heart, but Stephen wouldn’t sit back anymore.
Kamar-Taj, he realized, was not exactly what you had needed. Perhaps looking at the destruction your best friend had done was not the constant reminder you needed of putting her through a portal, not knowing if she survived or not. Instead, you found yourself staying in the Sanctum. You were given plenty of space, so as not to overwhelm you, to not push too hard, but given just enough attention to show you that Stephen meant what he said, and that he, once again, was finally able to uphold a promise.
Years of diappointment from Stephen because of emergency surgeries, award ceremonies, the sheer arrogance that followed him everywhere he went, seemed to slowly melt away as a better man appeared in his place and seemed to be fulfilling the role you had always wanted from him.
Some mornings were horrible. Getting out of bed was a task you couldn’t undertake. Instead of yanking the covers off and kicking you out of bed, Stephen was there with a coffee and pastry from your favorite bakery. Sometimes, he was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against your bedframe as he drabbled on about something Wong had told him about ‘dark ancient mysteries’ and more things of the like that he, admittedly, was not paying attention to, but he knew youd’ be entertained by whatever he actually did manage to listen to.
On other days, Stephen was showing you the world. You had been sheltered in hiding for so long, that he felt you needed to really breathe and let loose. Sometimes, you were at the top of a mountain, and you let out a scream of grrief that let an avalanche cascade for miles. Other times, he was fulfilling his own fantasy of whisking you away to places he never had the chance to when he was a neurosurgeon. It was at those times that Stephen realized there was a part of you that he remembered still being there, the little fire inside you that had yet to completely be blown away by grief grew more and more each day.
Some nights you’d take a portal into a historical library in the middle of the night to wander around in silence while security tried to find out who was wandering their halls and giggling. Other times, you were devouring frites in Belgium before exploring the countryside.
Perhaps you and Stephen had yet to reignite the long relationship you two once had. Stephen was afraid of pushing you too far and too soon, no matter how much his heart ached for you. And you? You were still terrified of the thought of losing Stephen again, keeping you from doing anything more than patting him on his arm while thinking back on the kisses you two used to share.
Perhaps, one day, neither of you would allow your fear to overtake your love.
Hello, my lovelies! 2021 has been an interesting year. There were up and down, but the highlight of it is that I get to meet amazing people and read their amazing works on here. I was reluctant to open Tumblr at first, but I think this is the best decision I made.
So I’ve never been in one of these sort of thing myself, I thought I should make someone’s day a bit better. Therefore, here is my compiled list of fics that I enjoyed and highly recommend. Reminder that these are in no particular order, and creators also have other amazing works that you should check out as well!!
Buns & Mistletoe(Shang-chi x reader) ; Tango with the Devil(Shang-chi x reader) by @buckybleu
I’ll Do Anything For You Series (Squid Game! Gong Yoo x Reader) @euphoniumpets
Burning with Desire (Thor x reader) by @inklore
A Sibling Ordeal ; A Terrible Return by @crazycookiecrumbles
Temporary Fix (TASM!Peter x reader) ; by @bizarrebarnes
Rolling Dice And Rocking Hips Series by @tom-whore-dleston
If you didn't put "current" I would have given you a whole list HAHAHA
Movie - I think Shazam is a strong contender! I really just love the vibes of the movie and Zach Levi was great when people doubted him and I really love underdogs ya know?
The Batman was amazing but if we talking about DCEU it would be The Suicide Squad (it may or may not have anything to do with Rick Flag in that horrendously tight shirt... *activate h button*)
Show - Peacemaker! (Adrian Chase is everything ok) and I thought the Young Justice series was pretty good considering, in the beginning, they were targeting it towards kids!
A/N: MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS SPOILERS **last part to this 3-part miniseries***
side note: yes, Daniel is a real restaurant. No, totes never gone. I’m just going by pictures and making shit up
Pairings/Characters: Stephen Strange x Stark!Reader, Christine, Charlie, America Chavez
Warnings: curses, swears, some fighting, angst I GUESS
Summary: Your life is definitely in better shape than it was before you had seen Stephen, but there’s still something missing.
Previous: His Sacrifice (2)
Staying in the Sanctum had grown to be a bit of a comfort for you. You had grown accustomed to Stephen’s greetings in the mornings, the way Wong was always in and out because of his travels, resulting in him walking in, stealing Stephen’s food, and taking a portal out before Stephen had a chance to steal it back. It amused you greatly, especially the fact that there was someone else out there who could somewhat humble Stephen.
America was in the Sanctum very often as well, usually, she was hiding around somewhere thinking that the sorcerers had no idea she was there. Between them and their magic, and your ability with vibrations, you all knew she was secretly staying here, you just decided to let her be. In fact, oftentimes you’d find America when you were alone, and you realized she was finding a reason to just suddenly ‘pop in’ and drag Stephen in with her and coax the two of you into talking to each other.
You caught America in the Sanctum once again. She was looking around your usual haunts for you, and you appeared behind her very suddenly and scared her half to death. She clutched her chest and leaned against the wall panting heavily, “Dios mio! Why did you do that?”
You smirked and crossed your arms over your chest as you leaned against the wall as well, “Why are you looking for me?”
She chewed on her bottom lip and shrugged both shoulders, “I don’t know…”
“America.”
She dragged her toes across the ground and tucked her foot behind her ankle as she stared at the ceiling for a moment before meeting your gaze, “I heard Stephen was coming back soon, and I was just looking for you to — “
“To be near him when he returns?” You inquired. “You’ve been doing that a lot lately. Why?”
“No reason in particular.”
“America, as someone raised by a liar, I’m quite good at sniffing out lies. What are you planning?”
America sighed heavily and threw her arms in the air, “Okay! I give up. Okay. You and Stephen have to be together, and I’m trying to get you guys together!”
You smiled softly and shook your head, “That’s not going to happen, but that’s very sweet of you —“
“No, no, but it has to and it does happen! You two are meant to be together. I can’t tell you how many times, how many Stephen’s and Y/N’s I met that were together and in love, and, and — “
“And how many Y/N’s lost their Stephen?” You asked her quietly, watching as her shoulders sunk and her eyes were drawn down, “Or Stephen’s lost their Y/N’s? I—I won’t do that again. I lost Stephen twice now, when he died, and when I wished he was dead. If…if something happens between Stephen and I, and I lose him again? Well, this planet would never see it coming,” You explained as you took a deep breath and nodded to yourself, like you were reassuring yourself of your decision. “I can’t be with Stephen. It’s, it’s not safe for, uh, anyone.”
Through narrowed eyes, she pushed off the wall and walked towards you. Her fists were clenched tightly and rested on her hips as she glared at you, “Not safe for anyone, or not safe for that heart of yours that you’re too afraid to break?”
Before you could even form a response to counter this too-wise of a child, you could hear the familiar sounds and saw the golden sparks of a portal opening. Stephen stepped through, covered in a green goo that made the two of you look at him and take two large steps backwards. Stephen rolled his eyes as he stepped in and the portal closed behind him, “Don’t mind me, I’m fine. I’m not covered in Darghulakk slime at all.”
“Don’t know what that is, don’t want to know,” you replied.
“I know what it is. They’re gross. They have six eyes, very weird,” America said, watching the goo drip down Stephen’s body and smack against the hardwood floor. “Yeah, this is disgusting. I’m leaving.”
“Good, maybe all my food can stop disappearing,” Stephen quipped as he watched America make a very shaky portal back to Kamar-Taj and disappear through it.
You cleared your throat, “I was the one that actually ate all of your thick-cut bacon from the butcher, so —“
“Oh, I know. He still reminds me how quickly you went through four pounds of it.”
“We don’t need to talk about that — “
“Your cardiologist was baffled as to why you haven’t had a heart attack yet, and, quite frankly, I’ll still get calls from him asking if it’s as much of a medical marvel as I think it is. So —“
“Okay. You’re very funny,” You held your hand up to silence him while he grinned and nodded in agreement with you, goo flying off of his head. “Please go clean up. You look absolutely disgusting.”
Stephen looked down at the mess he made and waved his hand, a mop and bucket coming flying towards him to clean up the mess he made, a spell he usually did because it reminded you of Fantasmic. He looked to see if you were amused by this, and you had the same smile on your face as you did every single time he had done it in front of you. Stephen cleared his throat , prompting you to look away and up at him, “Before I clean up, I just, well…Christine invited us to dinner with her husband Charlie. Something about me running out of her wedding before we could meet, and you avoiding her for the last few years.”
You huffed, “You said yes already, didn’t you?”
“Yup.”
“You did that annoying thing that you do where you assured her I’ll be there?”
“Yup.”
“And she was annoyingly positive and happy about it, wasn’t she?”
“Yup.”
You pouted and opened your mouth to yell at him, say it wasn’t his place to speak for you, but you shut your mouth and exhaled slowly. “What’s the dress code?”
“Charlie made a reservation for Daniel.”
You whined and started to turn around and walk towards the bedroom you had been staying in since you arrived at the Sanctum. Stephen followed you, waiting to hear all about your desire to not go to that restaurant. He could see this coming from you a mile away. He practically had this speech memorized.
“I hate Daniel!” You said, arms flying into the air. “Their portion sizes are smaller than a clit, a clit, Stephen!”
Okay. That was a new one.
“Smaller than a clit, Y/N, really?”
“Yes! I mean, who doesn’t want a clit in their mouth, but, like, I need a full actual meal before that otherwise I’d cannibalize some poor woman’s clit and wow this really got away from me, didn’t it?”
“You went on a tangent that even your father would’ve been shocked at,” Stephen said very honestly, which, rather than making you burst into tears, caused you to reflect for a moment before slowly nodding in agreement with him. Stephen chuckled and reached out to grab your hands, that were still in the air, and lowered them as he turned you around. “Don’t worry. Christine knows you hate that place too, he’s just really excited to go there because he’s been trying to get a table for years.”
“He name-dropped you, didn’t he?”
“Very quickly, apparently,” Stephen chuckled. “Look, Christine knows you hate that restaurant, she’s trying to get him to change the reservation, but, if not, I will get you the biggest, juiciest, cheesiest burger with fries you’ve ever seen in your life after sitting through dinner with her very excitable little Labrador of a husband. Okay?”
Shutting your eyes, you nodded and squeezed his hands, “Yes, Stephen. This is why I love you. You get me.”
There it was. The very thing you had dreaded on saying since you had made peace with Stephen Strange. You had worked tirelessly from ever thinking those words again, and when you couldn’t stop your brain from screaming it, you worked to make sure it never left your lips. Now you stood before Stephen, eyes wide in terror as you realized what you had done, watching as Stephen’s breath hitched and he stood there frozen like a popsicle.
What could you say to this? You couldn’t correct yourself. He very obviously heard what you had said. You couldn’t figure out a way to walk this back, which was saying something, considering that you were an absolute genius and usually always had a solution for something. There was nothing you could say in this moment that could undo the fact that you had told Stephen that you love him. It wasn’t in the past tense, you never said ‘used to love you’ you said that you still love him, and you were dying inside.
Without saying a word, you spun around on your heels and ran to the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind you as though that could even keep him away if he really wanted to get in. Stephen stood there for a moment processing what you said, the tone, how quickly it came out, and the fear on your face. It was obvious that you were still in love with him, still had feelings for him like Stephen hoped you did.
But, really, what could Stephen Strange do?
He could see it in your eyes. The look on your face after you admitted you love him was a look of pure terror. He was certain it was just a feeling of regret, of past feelings rising to the surface just because it was something he used to do for you after those stuffy, fancy dinners either one of you had to attend where the food either wasn’t good or wasn’t enough. That’s what it was, that’s what it had to be, right?
However, he really, really wished that wasn’t what it was. Stephen yearned for you. Letting you think he killed Tony because he hated him, it absolutely killed him, but he thought you needed someone to blame, something to help you heal, and it didn’t. Now, this was the closest he’d been to you since Tony’s death. He was a different man from before, and, god, how he wanted to show you that every moment of every day. Stephen wanted to give you the world, and he could very well do that. Stephen just wanted you, but if admitting he was still in love with you, that all he wanted was you would put this much fear into you and risk you running away, then he was content in suffering in silence, so long as he at least had your friendship.
~*~
This was so much more difficult than either of you thought. You both surprised the other with your outfits of choice. You hadn’t seen Stephen in a suit in years and he somehow looked more divine than you could ever remember. Stephen hadn’t seen you dressed and dolled up in just as long, having only seen you in sweatpants and giant shirts, if there were even any pants involved, and this? This was truly a sight to behold.
“You are a vision, Y/N,” Stephen said quietly as he admired you from head to toe. “You clean up very well.”
You shrugged a shoulder, cheeks burning as you looked down at your shoes and did a little kick to show them off, “I still got it, I guess. You, um, wow, new suit?”
“Same tailor, yeah,” Stephen agreed, clearing his throat as he smoothed down his front. “I don’t, uh, I don’t think he could make anything as beautiful as you, though.”
Somehow the burn went from your cheeks, down your neck, your chest, and even under your arms as the temperature unbearably increased and you wanted to drown yourself somewhere, “Just open that portal, Stephen.”
He nodded once, “Yes, ma’am.”
With a casual flair that stunned everyone outside of the restaurant, you and Stephen stepped through the portal. He loved doing that. It was one of his favorite tricks, and having all eyes on him, having all eyes see you on his arm? He relished it. He savored it and how people stared at him in envy.
That is, until, he saw them start to lean over and whisper as eyes locked onto you.
“They’re talking about me,” you murmured as you stepped closer to Stephen. “I think camera phones are coming out.”
“No one has seen you unless from a distance at that tower, sweetheart,” Stephen murmured. With a wave of his hand, the phones turned into butterflies and flew from people’s hands as you both entered the restaurant. “They’re just in awe of you.”
“Sure, that’s what it is.”
“I know I would be,” Stephen said, eyes looking around as he ignored the front desk and spotted Christine and her husband. “I see them.”
“Ah, game face,” you cleared your throat and turned to the host to specify you were there to meet some people, and they looked in awe to see two superheroes standing there. Stephen rolled his eyes and said they could find the table themselves as he took your hand in his and led you away. “You’re being rude, Stephen.”
“No, if he gawked at you any longer, he would’ve died of dehydration,” Stephen replied as you approached the table where Charlie and Christine stood up to greet you both. “Be nice.”
“I should say that to you,” you whispered quickly to Stephen just before Christine approached with a smile, “Hey, congratulations.”
Her arms came around you quickly in a warm embrace, a smile tugging at her lips as she squeezed you tightly, “It’s so good to see you again, Y/N. I’ve missed you! You look amazing.”
You bashfully hugged your friend, her hair tickling your nose as you returned the sentiment, “I missed you too, Christine.”
“And this is Charlie,” Stephen said a little urgently. You and Christine pulled away from each other to see an uncomfortable Stephen and an overly excited Charlie.
“Lovely to meet you too! Huge fan, huge!” Charlie beamed as he hugged you quickly.
“Oh,” You looked to Stephen and Christine who were too amused with your anguish at the moment, “Fun.”
“Sit, sit, join us, I’ve been dying to try this place!” Charlie cooed as he sat down, pulling Christine’s chair while Stephen pulled out yours. “I’m so excited to finally talk to you both! Christine has talked so much about you, and, of course, I’m a huge fan.”
You glanced to your right to Stephen, who offered you a reassuring smile, even though his eyes sparkled with mischief. You slowly shook your head at him and returned your attention to Charlie, who started to coo about how cool the Avengers were and the things he’d seen you guys do were unreal.
At one point, Charlie paused to offer his condolences about Tony, and thank you on his behalf. Christine and Stephen had watched you with bated breath to see how you’d react. Instead of breaking down like they had feared, you had thanked Charlie for his kind words and changed the subject.
Just before dessert, Charlie excused himself to the restroom, leaving the three of you alone. Christine sighed happily as she leaned forward and stared at the two of you, “I’m so glad you two are back together, nothing makes me happier. I’ve really been rooting for you guys.”
You choked on your wine while Stephen quickly caught Christine’s eye and shook his head ever so slightly. Christine looked confused by this reaction from the two of you. You set your glass down and coughed a little bit, “We um, we aren’t together.”
“Oh, oh, um, sorry,” she laughed nervously. “Sorry. I just….you two look amazing together, like, better than before. I thought you had worked things out —“
“No, um, we’re not, no,” You shook your head and stared down at your lap as Charlie returned.
Charlie clapped his hands together, “Onto dessert now, yeah? That, um, that pear tequila foam over the lavender sorbet sounds divine.”
You slowly turned to look at Stephen, your chest filling with air as you sucked in deeply and tried not to shout about the tiny clit-sized portions. Stephen sipped his wine, smirking behind the glass as he reached under the table and patted your thigh.
You missed that.
You missed the soft touches on your leg under the table, his hand resting over yours, how Stephen always pushed your hair back for you when it was in the way, the way he would pull you onto his lap or pull you into bed with him. You missed your intimacy with Stephen, but you were too scared of the ‘What If’s’ that waited.
While you were just about to dig into dessert, you decided to bring up another topic that had been bothering you since you heard about dinner that evening, and since, well, you couldn’t stop thinking about Stephen, you needed to force something different on your mind.
“Christine, I’m sorry I didn’t go to your wedding, and I’m….I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you the last couple of years.”
Christine lowered her spoon to look at you. With a soft smile on her face, she nodded, “It’s okay, Y/N. I’ll admit, I was sad you didn’t come to the wedding, but I understand. I’m just happy to see you out and about again. We’re good, Stark, don’t worry.”
The two of you smiled at each other, Charlie commenting this was a precious moment while Stephen said nothing. Charlie was right, this was a precious moment. You were doing so much better now than you had been the first time Stephen had seen you. You were dealing with your life and loss and you finally resembled the woman he had fallen in love with before.
After dinner, the four of you said your goodbyes with a promise to see each other once again, Charlie commenting that he’d love to go to Stark tower one day. You said nothing but smiled and nodded to him as the two went in one direction. You looked up to Stephen who shook his head and said, “He’s endearing yet obnoxious.”
“Like the world’s most annoying dog,” you sighed. “I’m starving.”
“I figured you were,” Stephen extended his arm to you for you to grab on to. “Shall we?”
“Yes, please. I —“
Suddenly, interrupting your lovely night out, you heard a terrifying screeching noise. It looked like the world in front of you was tearing as a light blue crack appeared in front of you. It stretched open as a terrifying beast with six eyes, green goo dropping from its mouth and eyes came through. Seeing the amount of eyes, you realized it was what Stephen had been fighting earlier in the day, a Darghulakk. Three tentacles like knives stabbed into the earth as he exited the portal. Two short, stubby, claws for arms held the portal open as it finished coming through, all eyes locking on Stephen.
“Okay,” Stephen cleared his throat as he grabbed his cloak from his breast pocket and shook it out before placing it on his shoulders. “So I didn’t kill it.”
“Stephen — “
“Watch out!” Stephen threw his cloak to you, the cloak wrapping around you and flying away with you quickly while Stephen was running backwards, hurling spells left and right as the beast came at him.
Stephen was smacked by one of the tentacles and thrown into a building. He hit the ground hard but managed to jump back just as a tentacle would have pierced his abdomen. Instead, it hit the ground between his legs and broke through the concrete. Stephen stood up to run and make space, but the beast’s tongue shot out and wrapped around him tightly, lifting him into the air as it shrieked and prepared to eat him.
Was this it? Was life really so cruel that it would take Stephen away from you like this? Just when you were becoming comfortable with the losses you’d suffered, finally managing to deal, cope, even live a little, and life was here to quite literally rip Stephen from your grasp.
Before Stephen could free himself, he heard a clap. The monster suddenly stilled. No noise came from it. Stephen watched as the head slowly slithered off of its neck before hitting the ground. The rest of the body collapsed, Stephen did as well, and he quickly freed himself.
Standing behind the creature was you, a dark look on your face as you stared at the monster’s corpse. Your hands were outstretched in front of you, laying flat on top of one another showing that you were the one that had clapped. Stephen stood up and walked towards you quickly over the monster’s corpse.
“Y/N?”
“It was going to eat you,” you said quickly, eyes focused on the body. “It was going to eat you, Stephen, and I couldn’t lose you again.”
“Y/N —“
“I haven’t fought anything or anyone since Thanos,” you confessed. “Wanda was the first time I had intentionally used my powers. I didn’t even know I still could, but let’s be honest, that wasn’t really a fight. And then I saw this monster and I saw you and I didn’t think I just did it. I didn’t think I could do this. I clapped and sent a targeted vibration to its neck and cut its head off. Separate the head from the body and it’s dead. It’s dead. You’re not dead.”
“I’m not dead,” Stephen repeated slowly as he lowered your hands and stood in front of you. “I’m okay. I’m here. I’m not dead.”
“You’re not dead,” you repeated slowly as you focused on your breathing. “You’re not dead.”
“I told you, I’m not going anywhere, Y/N. Nothing will keep us apart. I promise you, not a witch, not some gross, ugly monster, nothing. I’m here with you for however long you’d have me,” Stephen confessed.
You looked Stephen over from head to toe. He was fine. There were scratches on him, some dirt, but he was fine.. He was standing there alive and well. He wasn’t a pile of dust. He was alive and well and you had forgiven him about Tony.
Stephen was here, in front of you, staring down at you and waiting to see what you’d do or say next. For someone he had known for so long being in control, and so sure of herself and headstrong, these last few years had shown such a vulnerable, unsure side of you and right now, Stephen didn’t know what to do.
Stephen was fine. He was fine, and you were fine. Everyone was fine and alive, but you two didn’t seem to be living. You were forbidding yourselves from the pleasures of one another, forbidding yourselves from acting out your deepest desires out of fear, fear of moments just like this that could take away something you loved in an instant.
You know who was living? Christine. She was living her best life, an incredibly successful surgeon, a magical marriage to a man she was head over heels in love with, Christine was happy, living, not held back by fear of loss or what may come in the future. She was living in the present, letting herself be filled with unadulterated happiness.
“I don’t want to lose you, Stephen,” you said quietly as you finally looked up to meet his gaze. “I can’t lose you.”
“I know, sweetheart,” He said quietly as his hands came up to cradle your face. “You haven’t lost me. I’m right here. You saved me. I’m fine.”
“And I won’t lose you,” you told him. “I just won’t.”
He didn’t know where you were going with this, “Okay. That’s okay. You won’t. You have me.”
Unable to hold yourself back anymore, you reached out to grab Stephen’s robes. You yanked until he stumbled forward and nearly fell on top of you. You desperately mashed your lips against his, those familiar feelings of old romance washing over you as heat flooded your veins.
Stephen’s hands came around your back and pulled you close, partially to deepen the kiss, partially to stabilize himself after nearly falling and crushing you. His eyes crinkled as it felt like a shock hit his chest, a blooming feeling overtaking him from the middle as he wondered if this was really happening.
When Stephen opened his eyes, you were standing, lips parted, panting as you nodded to him, “I’m not losing you again, Stephen Strange.”
Relief washed over him as he smiled, “You’ll always have me, Y/N Stark.”
Because I have ST hangover, here’s a cute idea: Eddie takes reader to her first metal concert 🥲 Imagine how pure and sweet it’ll be because he’ll make sure that she’s having fun, but also that she’s safe from mosh pit or drunken people. I’m going to lie down now 🥺😭
Baby's First Concert
Masterlist
A/N: reblogs and comments appreciated. especially comments, like, i need feedback to live and to motivate lmao
Pairings/Characters: Eddie Munson x Reader
Warnings: crack, fluff
Summary: Eddie Munson taking you to your first ever metal concert headcanons?
Under the cut, babes!
Eddie was delighted to be taking you to your first metal concert. It was his baby's first concert, how could he not be excited?
First, you needed the proper attire.
Eddie would swing open his closet door and let you take your pick of his shirts so you could fit in. Plus, he had the added bonus of seeing you in his clothes, it drove him wild.
Next, he had to teach you how to headbang properly.
He appreciated your enthusiasm, even though you took a step forward and almost put your head through his bedroom mirror.
It was adorable to him.
At the time of the concert, Eddie is prepped for the best experience.
You two got ready together, ate a snack, then went to the concert.
Eddie very seriously considered clipping you to his belt so you wouldn't get lost in the sea of people.
However, when you and Eddie did get separated, he always found you.
For example, you were being squished in the crowd and finding it hard to break free of all the bodies pressing together. Finding an exit was difficult.
Ever the hero, Eddie's hand went through the group, grabbed yours, and pulled you free.
You had your own little corner at one point in the back just to grab some air and headbang freely.
When you guys squished your way to the front, he grabbed you by the shoulder to shake you and scream how amazing this was over your laughter.
When the mosh pits came, Eddie saw it coming before you did.
He scooped you up with both arms around your waist and ran away from the pit.
He claimed that, as it was your first concert, you were not ready for the pits just yet.
Eddie accompanied you to the restroom and waited in the hall for you. Before you two went back inside, he asked if you were having fun and wanted to stay.
As a matter of fact, he had a hard time dragging you out when it was done.
"That was fucking wicked!" You screamed when you guys finally reached the parking lot. "Oh my god, we have to go again!"
"Yes! We'll make a metal convert out of you yet, baby," Eddie slung his arm around your shoulders and pulled you in for a sloppy, passionate kiss.
You two went and got late-night burgers since all the screaming, dancing, and headbanging left you starving.
Afterward, you and Eddie passed out in the trailer on top of each other in bed, but not before doing some banging of your own.
