(#10) That is the Stephen I know

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A loud crash coming from Stephen's room woke you up in the middle of the night. You groaned, turning to your side and seeing the alarm clock on your bedside table.

2:30 In the morning? What was Stephen doing awake at that hour? You sighed, closing your eyes once again in hopes that you can fall asleep since you had training in a few hours. Your eyes slowly started drooping, your breathing evening as you fell asle-

A louder crash startled you awake, making you sit up, kicking the covers off as you walked out of your room. That was definitely not normal, and you were sure there was something wrong going on.

You stopped right in front of Stephen's room, staring at the door for a moment as you peeked through the small opening on the door. You squinted your eyes, trying to adjust to the light quickly so you could see what was going on.

On the other side was Stephen, his face that of frustration and anger as he paced side to side on his room, gripping and pulling at his hair with anger as he mumbled something. You saw his anger increasing as he slammed a hand on the desk, being followed by a hiss of pain as he clutched his hand.

"Stupid hands!" He exclaimed loudly, stopping as he looked in the direction your room was in, continuing his pacing after a moment. "Ok, Stephen... calm down... you can do this ok? You can do this. There... there is no need to get angry again. You don't want to wake up (Y/N)." He said to himself as he sat down in front of his desk, taking a pencil in his hand as he stared at the paper.

You tilted your head in confusion as you watched him squint his eyes, his mouth a firm line as he concentrated. "I.... Am.... Stephen.... Strange." He started writing on the paper, his hand trembling and his fingers barely moving as he tried to form letters and words with difficulty. His eyes slowly started filling with tears, the trembling in his hands only increasing more as he eventually stopped. "I am Stephen Strange" He tried to read from the paper.

He looked down in shame, making the paper into a ball and throwing it back, it landing right in front of you. You silently reached for it, unwrapping the paper as you looked at his writing.

It wasn't definitely the best writing there was, but it was somewhat legible, at least for you. You then realized what was happening.

Stephen was trying to get better at his writing. But by the looks of it, it wasn't going good for him. You glanced back at Stephen, who was staring at his own scar littered hands, his firm expression only hardening as he tried to close his hands. Slowly but surely he was achieving it and soon enough he had them closed, not in a complete fist, but it was something.

You watched with sadness as the tears only started coming more, his straight posture slouching as he did too, his face looking away from the door. "I can't do this" He spoke softly in between sobs. "I just want to be able to use my hands fully... I can't even do such simple things like writing, type in a computer, be a surgeon..." He finished off with his voice almost a whisper, his tears travelling down his cheek and neck.

You stood up and silently opened the door, approaching Stephen with careful steps as you reached a hand out to him, setting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up startled, his expression changing to that of surprise as he quickly wiped away the tears, trying to compose himself as he arranged his desk. "Stephen... I... I never knew that is how you were really feeling about all this." You started off carefully, watching as he stopped his actions to look at you with sorrowful eyes, not caring anymore if you were seeing him cry.

You stood in front of him, wiping the continuous streams of tears with your hand as you took his face in yours, looking at his gray eyes. "You are strong Stephen..." You spoke calmly, watching as he tried to avoid your intense gaze. "You may not believe it, but you are. I know you are upset and miss the feeling of being able to move your hands normally, but think about it Stephen... You met a new world... A world you never thought existed, you met such great people... Ancient One, Mordo, even Wong..." You exclaimed softly, watching as the tears slowly stopped flowing, his red and puffy eyes now gazing into yours without avoidance.

"And I met you..." He finished off, his hands moving up and setting over your hands gently. You were slightly taken back by his response, but nonetheless you smiled genuinely and nodded. "Indeed you met me. And I met you Stephen Strange"

He smiled back, a small smile, but nonetheless it was a smile. "There we go, that is the Stephen I know." You replied, his smile only widening more as he pulled you so you were sitting on his lap, not in a sexual way, a loving way of affection. He leaned his forehead against yours, his gray eyes showing determination and another emotion unknown to you.

"I know you miss being a surgeon Stephen, but look on the bright side." You said, making him nod in a signal for you to continue. "You are now operating with magic" You finished off, making him laugh a wholeheartedly laugh.

"Oh (Y/N)" He said, his voice slightly deeper from crying. "You never fail to amaze me" He spoke with honesty. You could only smile, glancing at the paper he had in his desk. "Now Mister Doctor Strange, why don't you practice more of your beautiful and abstract writing?"

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