The Seventh Avenger

Chapter 41: Unexpected and Unwelcoming News

So damn tired...

He forced his tired eyes to blink rapid momentarily as he felt them drooping down, not even the sensation of the warm water that was pelting against his hands in the basin below being enough to keep him awake. He had to clamp his teeth shut firmly together in an attempt to suppress a yawn that had crawled up from the back of his mouth and now threatened to spread his lips. It was something that he did out of habit now: yawning in front of other doctors or patients would show just how tired he was and he couldn't afford to be tired, not with his job anyway. But upon realizing that there was no one else in the small and pristine hospital bathroom with him, he opened his mouth to allow the yawn to escape, exhaling both sharply and loudly as he did so.

"Someone's clearly in need of some beauty sleep."

So much for being alone then.

He didn't have the energy to turn away from the sink and look up to see who it was that stood behind him: he knew exactly who it was just by the sound of the person's familiar voice. So he kept his eyes focused on his hands underneath the gleaming metal tap just above the basin, before calling out in response, "Don't all Doctor's need some sleep every now and again?"

"Not the good ones. They learn to adapt without sleep."

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at that, giving a small shake of his head as he does so even though he knew that his companion was only joking when he said this. Reaching up with his now drenched hands to turn the tap off, he glanced at the man who appeared in the mirror behind him, wearing the similar uniform that he himself wore. "And I guess that would include you, wouldn't it Strange?" He can't help but ask dryly before giving his hand a good wring in an attempt to flick off any droplets of water that remained on his skin.

The small smile that Dr. Stephen Strange had been wearing on his lips turned into an arrogant smirk at his words. "Well, I think that the large amount of trophies and awards in my display cabinet in my apartment answer that one for you," He remarks smugly, crossing his arms over his chest as he does so.

"You really are an arrogant ass, you know that right?"

Strange's jaw dropped open in mock hurt at his words, though his eyebrows also raised slightly in surprise at the words that had spilled past the plump lips of his friend just then. Not because of what he had just been accused of being-compared to what other people had said, being called an arrogant ass could be considered a compliment- but because in all the years that he had worked with Conner Barkley, he had never heard such harsh words flow from his fellow Doctor's mouth. While there was no bite to his tone either, he noticed that the way in which he spoke was almost dull. Flat. Off. "My, my, my...it seems that someone's a bit cranky today," He drags out slowly, wanting to see how far he could actually push Conner's buttons. Conner snapping was such a rare occurrence that Strange couldn't help but wonder if he had imagined the insult his fellow Doctor had hurled at him...

"Strange, I swear to God..."

...or not.

He holds his hands up in surrender at this while also closing his mouth at the same time. Any sense of humor that he had felt disappeared and was replaced with the smallest amount of concern for one of the few people that he could call a 'friend' in this world. Most of the rest of the staff here at Metro-General Hospital managed to get on his nerves in some way shape or form. Though he had to admit the that the new addition to the staff, Claire Temple was one of the few that he could tolerate, as well as Christine Palmer...though he could do more than just tolerate her. Regardless, Conner was his favourite out of his colleagues as well as one of the smartest. Second best to Stephen, if he was being honest...