Love and Hate || Ironstrange

Maybe its you

Stephen was just drinking all of his pain away as he heard his phone ring. He ignored it, thinking that it would just be Wong or something but after a few minutes, it bothered him. He got up and grabbed the phone as he was ready to explode his anger on whoever is calling.

"Stop calling, you're wasting my time-" He furiously raised his voice as he was cut off by a woman's voice. It was too familiar, made him calm down and sober.

"Hey Steph, I really wanted to talk to you" The woman on the phone said with a gentle and sweet voice, but she had a straightforward tone. Stephen suddenly softened up, he was talking to his partner, the one who he had deep connections with, his everything before Tony happened.

His first love.

"Hi Christine...I'm sorry, I'm kind of drunk...is it okay?" Stephen asked in a sweet and gentle tone, opposite to the tone that he showed to Tony a while ago. He waited for a few minutes until he heard her reply.

"If its okay with you? I mean- you might need some rest-" She worriedly asked as Stephen cut her sentence off.

"I need you...I need someone to talk to, please" Stephen begged. He was desperate, he needed someone to burst his pain out to someone who doesn't have any relation with Tony. He needed to be honest to his most trusted partner, Christine.

"You're at the sanctum right? I'm coming-" Christine said as Stephen suddenly declined. He didn't want to stay at the sanctum, it reminds him of the painful memories, plus the place reeked of alcohol, which Christine doesn't like.

"No! I-I'll come to the hospital instead" Stephen stuttered as he decided that he'd go to the hospital. Christine was surprised, yet she was getting worried about him.

"Stephen, are you sure? this place will give you pain" Christine asked in a concerned tone. There was silence for a few minutes as Stephen glanced at the sanctum's walls. After a few minutes, Stephen finally spoke and said:

"I'd rather experience the pain from the hospital than this hellhole" Stephen said in a joking manner but Christine can notice that he was really in pain and that he had no other choice.

"I'm on my way" Stephen said as he grabbed his coat and gloves, and he headed through the streets of New York, leaving his magical stuff behind.

"I'll wait for you" Christine said as she hanged up on the phone.

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It was a long walk for Stephen. He suddenly saw the color of the city lights, as well as the workers who were called to 'never sleep' . He saw the beauty of the clear, night skies and the cold wind brushed against his skin. He was admiring everything, until he saw the tower.

The Avengers tower, almost home to all of earth's mightiest heroes, a tower that was built from the man himself, Tony Stark.

Stephen sighed as he moved his gaze to the building next to it, the place where he thought he thrived, the place where he thought he was destined to be. And now its only memory.

This is going to be harder than I thought.

Stephen thought as he entered the halls of the hospital where he previously worked. He could remember every single way in the hospital, the structure of it and his ex co-workers. He clearly missed being a neurosurgeon, and him being in this place, being reminded of his past tormented him.

"Steph" a familiar voice called. Stephen immediately turned his head to face the person who called him, making him smile lightly.

"Christine" Stephen said as he let out a sad smile. Christine could definitely tell that Stephen had been consuming lots of alcohol. She immediately grabbed Stephen's arm and let him outside the hospital.

"What- why?" Stephen, with a frustrated expression asked. Christine pointed at the hospital, noticing that Stephen gulped in fear just by looking at it.

"I knew you coming here would affect you" Christine worriedly said as she let out a sigh. Stephen looked at her with a stoical expression to show that he was somehow fine and unbothered.

"I'm alright Christine, I'm actually fine-" Stephen said as he was immediately cut out by Christine's sudden hug. Stephen immediately felt the warmth as no one has ever hugged him in months. He was in a emotional state and he was desperately needing warmth, love that could fill the broken gap in his heart. The hug lasted for minutes as Christine sadly spoke:

"You're not. I know you for a long time Stephen, you can be honest with me" Christine said as she hugged Stephen even tighter, causing him to be vulnerable, tears flowing down from his blue pools. He heard the words that he desperately needed, the actions that he so wanted to experience. And most of all, the warmth and comfort in his darkest time. Christine was the most important person for Stephen, she was the closest to Stephen. And maybe some people would see him in a emotional state, but they had never seen how broken and vulnerable Stephen was, except for Christine.

It was her all along, the woman who saw and experienced his ups and downs, the person who cared to comfort him in heart-wrenching moments, the woman who never failed to give him motivation to move on.

"Y-you're right, I'm far from fine. I-I'm a wreck" Stephen said in between sobs as his eyes were starting to turn red due to his crying. Christine tried to calm Stephen down with all her might, caressing his back as she tried to make him relax.

"Shh...relax, I'm always here for you" Christine said in a gentle and sweet manner, making Stephen calm down. When he was feeling better, he told Christine everything, and she gave some words that Stephen really needed.

Maybe she's the one, the one that was destined to have the heart of the dear Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange.