amor somnus Part 2 of 2
A/N: Completed for @softhairbarnes‘ “I love you 3000″ challenge! Warnings: This is some ridiculous fluffy stuff, no smut or egregious violence. Pairing: Dr. Stephen Strange x Reader Rating: T-ish (Maybe PG?) Word Count: 3,144 Summary: Reader is under a curse. Stephen freaks out. Feelings are felt.
“What did I say?” Stephen grumbled, pacing through his study while Wong settled your still form on a nearby table. “I said there was something off, and everyone decided to brush it off like it was nothing. I should have been more thorough…”
He stood over you, checking your vitals and letting out a low sigh of defeat. Everything was normal. No abnormal temperatures, markings, or physical signs of distress. It was as if you’d fallen into deep sleep and refused to wake up.
“She was fine, and then passed out in the hall…?” he recited back to Wong after hearing the explanation over and over. You hadn’t been out of Stephen’s sight for very long and even then, you’d been with Wong in the kitchen.
There wasn’t anything you could have gotten into in that time frame, and you’d collapsed just outside of his study, suggesting it’d been maybe a minute or two you’d been out of Wong’s sight.
His gut kept telling him it was something to do with the demon, but he didn’t have evidence to support it. In response, his head throbbed when his skin graced yours.
“How are you not feeling that?” Stephen looked toward Wong, taking a few steps away from you and heaving a long sigh. “It’s so… bothersome.”
“More so than a constant string of terrible movie quotes?” his friend joked, and Stephen made a face.
“Those aren’t even that bad,” he commented, his fingers going to his chin while he considered your condition. “Perhaps the curse was meant for me? That’s why it isn’t causing her harm, but I can still sense it?”
“That’s reasonable enough,” Wong agreed. “I’ve heard of this happening with certain spells that link the users. Blood pacts and the such.”
“But with a demon?” Stephen questioned softly, his gaze falling back to where you slept soundly, blissfully unaware of the tension that thickened over the room.
“It’s not my place to comment on your weird relationship, but strong emotions are as natural to the mystic arts as an exploding sun,” he stood up, muttering something about going to Kamar-Taj to speak with the demon and left the room.
Stephen stood in place, emotionally drained of all reason as he lifted one of your hands, clutching it between shaking fingers and running through anything he could have missed.
You were absolutely infuriating, but not in the ways you probably thought.
You were needlessly self sacrificing, this being a prime example, and often it landed you in dangerous situations. This was stressful for Stephen, as while he respected your abilities as a hero and a Master of the Mystic Arts, there was nothing more terrifying to him than the prospect of not seeing your smile at the end of the fight.
“You’re an idiot,” he muttered, giving your hand a frustrated squeeze. If you had allowed him to take the brunt of the spell, as intended, instead of jumping in the way...
He wondered if you would have reacted the same way. He mused over the thought, recalling the time he’d broken his leg during a fight with Mordo. Even after Wong had repaired the break, you refused to leave him alone for days.
By Vishnu were you stubborn…
Yet, he couldn’t imagine his life any other way. He couldn’t imagine the Sanctum without your presence. Already, it was unsettling to him. Stephen hadn’t realized how important the chime of your laugh was... until it was gone.
His stomach dropped when he tried another spell to awaken you, but to no avail.
Nothing. Not even a flinch.
How long could the curse last? Days? Months? Years?
He recalled a fairy tale he read where the princess remained frozen in time the entirety of the spells duration. Would he age and watch you remain unmoving in front of him? A reminder of his failure to protect someone he loved-?
The word caught him by surprise. His heart gave a leap but he swallowed the sensation down and released your hand, summoning the cloak and opening a portal to the Kamar-Taj library.
He needed to get out of his head, he needed to find answers.
(—)
It’s been two weeks since Stephen found you outside of the study.
Two weeks of nothingness.
The demon provided no direction, even when Stephen threatened its life, the creature simply laughed at the sorcerers desperation.
They consulted other masters who knew nothing of curses that bond the victims to eternal slumber. They tried spells and amulets, potions and blood magic, with no results.
You remained as unchanged as the day you’d collapsed.
Stephen wasn’t sleeping. At least, not willingly. He would stay up for days at a time and then drop into a brief nap before continuing the cycle again.
He even purchased a coffee maker and placed it in the study to fuel his late night research.
A little part of him had hoped the smell would have been enough to rouse you. Normally you would sense a Americano a block away.
Wong travelled out of the Sanctum most days to consult with anyone who might have an idea of what was occurring, leaving Stephen to his thoughts and silence.
That was the worst part in all of this. The loss of your floating laughter, the creaks on the hardwood as you moved around the building.
He hadn’t realized the little things he missed. He would have given anything to argue whether Indiana Jones or Jurassic Park was better.
You let out a heavy breath, catching his attention. No movement. Nothing.
He threw fist down on a nearby desk, fumbling through a nearby notebook and shaking his head, at a total loss. He’d probably dug through the entire sanctum library by now. Everything was a mess.
You were definitely going to kill him when you woke up for messing up your hard work.
What would you have suggested? He needed to look at this problem in a different manner. Logic wasn’t working, but he was too sleep deprived to think of alternative actions.
“My ally is the force, and a powerful ally it is...” he muttered, dropping to the chair he’d set up next to your head and sinking his face into his palms. “You wouldn’t be scared, would you? Fear leads to the dark side and all of that. At least that’s probably what you would have told me…”
Though you’d deny it, he’d seen you afraid before. You always fought it down for the task at hand. He respected your tenacity in the face of adversity. There wasn’t anything you wouldn’t do for the ones you cared for, even if you were scared to the core.
How many times had you made the sacrifice play to ensure he could complete a mission?
You hadn’t even hesitated with the demon to step in front of him. No fear. No thought. just pure instinct to protect him. Was it because he was the Sorcerer Supreme?
No, he knew better. The playful grins over the rims of tea mugs and your excitement when he would figure out a complex ritual.
Gods, he missed the hell out of you.
He pulled his head up, watching each slow breath in the rise and fall of your chest.
Were you dreaming? There really was no telling. Your eyes never moved, so perhaps you hadn’t gone into REM, but with magic there wasn’t a way to be completely sure.
He stood dumbly at your side longer than he would have liked to admit. He’d almost forgotten the color of your eyes. Almost. The only reason he hadn’t was that they stared back at him every time he allowed himself a moment of sleep.
Stephen huffed under his breath, reminding himself to get back to work and read over a text Wong had brought back a few hours previously. In his haste, a stray hair fluttered over your features. He froze.
With a shaky hand, he gently tucked it behind your ear, his fingers tracing the edge of your jaw line. You were surprisingly warm to the touch, even if your cheeks were flushed from the curse.
A small jolt shot up his hands with the passive touches and he found himself moving closer, a magnetic pull moving him outside of his control.
It happened without a conscious thought.
One moment he was gazing down at your face.
The next? He brushed a soft kiss across your lips.
Stunned by the action, he took a step back. He was frozen in place, unable to explain the phenomenon that had overcome him. Stephen Strange was not the type act on impulse.
He was just tired.
Turning to resume his research, only a few heartbeats passed before he heard a rustling over his shoulder. Assuming it was Wong returning from his travels, he paid no mind to it and continued to focus on the book in front of him.
“Stephen?” Your tone was meek and confused. He dropped his book and spun around, finding you sitting up on the table. Blankets he’d set over you, were gathered in your lap while you took in the scene. “What on Earth happened?”
The doctor had no words. He lifted your chin and pressed another kiss to you. Despite the dazed expression on your face, you reciprocated in turn, pulling him closer until you both pulled away breathing heavily.
Your eyes searched his face for explanation. It wasn’t like you hadn’t thought about the possibility of… this. You were just happy with a platonic relationship.
“I… I love you,” he finally spoke, his hands still cupped around your cheeks. Slowly a small smile spread across your face at the declaration. You couldn’t help yourself.
“I know.”
Instead of a sigh, he kissed you again, silencing your giggles with more pressing matters.
Part 1