THE OLDEST MAXIMOFF | Stephen Strange

3.3

In the early morning, Nadia heard knocking at her bedroom door with urgency. She threw her covers off of herself to get up and answer the door. Stephen's hands were shaking as he held a pair of scissors in one hand and an electric shaver in the other. "Can you help me?" he asked, pleadingly. "My hands won't stop shaking."

Nadia sprang into action. "O-of course," she stuttered a little bit as she allowed Stephen to enter her bedroom. She walked him to her bathroom and grabbed ahold of the objects in his hands. She placed the electric razor and the pair of scissors on the countertop and then gently guided Stephen to a chair that was placed in the bathroom. She pressed her hands to his shoulders, leading him to sit down on the semi-comfy chair. She picked up the pair of metal scissors and nervously approached Stephen with caution.

She stepped closer to him and lifted the scissors to his headful of hair but before she cut any hair, she pulled away. "What possessed you to ask me for help? For all you know, I could cut your hair all uneven and make it look terrible."

Strange looked up at her and stared into her mesmerizing dark chocolate-colored eyes. In the light, he noticed little golden flecks in her eyes that he hadn't noticed before until now. "I find myself trusting you," was the only thing he said before Nadia resumed her job and cut his hair.

The Maximoff snipped pieces of hair off Stephen's head, the loose pieces falling to the floor of the bathroom by Nadia's feet. He closed his eyes, feeling her hands in his hair as she styled his hair after she had finished cutting it. The sides of his hair was slicked back with wisps of grey and then Nadia moved on to help Strange shave his beard.

She didn't realize until she brushed the electric razor across his jawline that she noticed how close their faces were from each other. Strange also noticed but he didn't comment on their close proximity as he watched her and noticed how focused she looked. Her hand trailed along his jawline as she guided the razor around his chin and his upper lip. The feeling of her cool fingers moving across his face gave him a sense of comfort and calmed down his nerves.

When she stepped back with the razor, she held a smile at her handiwork. "There. All done," Nadia commented as Strange stood up to look in the mirror.

The former surgeon panned his head down to look at the woman next to him. "Thank you, Nadia," he sincerely told her.

Nadia shrugged off his words, moving to lean against the counter and her arms crossing over her chest. "You can pay me with hot chocolate."

Strange chuckled lightly at her unusual request of payment but reassured the Maximoff that he would get her some hot chocolate. "I'll get you all the hot chocolate you want," he told her before leaving her to go back to bed.

Nadia had invaded the library once more, annoying Wong. Her attention of trying to get Wong to laugh halted when Stephen entered the library. "Nadia," he greeted her first which made a red hue appear on her cheeks.

"Stephen," she smiled back, trying to get her blushing under control as Wong spoke his greeting. "Strange."

"Wong,"

"What do you want, Strange?" The librarian questioned Stephen, who was wearing all burgundy-colored robes.

"Books on astral projection," Strange replied straight faced, hoping Wong would give him the books that he required.