Disturbing Equilibrium
Feb. 12th, 2017 11:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerMain Points:
Dr. Strange Genderbend
Summary: Chris goes to talk to Strange.
Word Count: 795
Rating: Gen
Dr. Strange Genderbend
Summary: Chris goes to talk to Strange.
Word Count: 795
Rating: Gen
He debates the correct approach for a while before deciding that just showing up on Strange’s doorstep is the best idea. He sends off a text asking if Steph is in, but she doesn’t answer—probably in the middle of studying or saving the world or something. Still, he can manage to entertain himself without getting himself killed until she gets back.
Probably.
He gets a little sidetracked, first by finding an appropriate flower shop and then by the hours-long explanation on what all the flowers mean, and eventually settles on the Amaryllis. He’s been assured that it meant magical strength, harmony, freedom, and unique beauty, and even if none of it is true it is a pretty flower.
Old Strange would have scoffed at the gift. New Strange is a little harder to predict.
He shows up at 177A Bleecker Street. He knocks, and the doors silently open to let him in, but there’s no one actually standing there, and the Sanctum feels deserted. Just to be sure, he calls out. “Steph?” He’s probably one of the few people in the world who can get away with not calling her Dr. Strange, and he wonders if it’s because he’s fully aware and respectful of her doctor status.
There’s no response, so he settles down with the flower on the stairs. There’s a room that she’d classified as ‘fairly harmless’ that they’d used for their little chat and subsequent visits, but he’s not sure he can find it on his own, and he’s not risking accidentally walking into the unsettling kitchen again (“Apparently there’s a safe kitchen,” Steph explains with a wry smile, “…but Wang refuses to tell me where it is.” The apparently she doesn’t trust me in one goes unsaid with equal parts humor and pain. Chris doesn’t comment).
He falls asleep. He doesn’t mean to, but there’s not really that much else to do besides browsing on his phone, and like most in the medical profession he’s perfected the art of catching a nap when and where he can. He isn’t aware of the fact until there’s a shaky touch on his shoulder and he startles awake.
Steph looks…well, she’s looked better. Much better. He’s slightly startled by the burns in the robes and the long, deep and slightly bloody scratch tracing down one of those sharp cheekbones. There’s definitely a worried look in those grey eyes, though. “Are you all right, Chris?” Her words are more gravelly than normal, rushed in a way that tells him she’s holding herself upright through sheer willpower alone.
He’d guess the Cloak was helping out if not for the fact that if she allowed that help, it’d be carrying her unconscious body.
He frowns. “Let me clean that gash.”
She smiles, but her eyes are still serious. “Chris.”
“Doctor,” he emphasizes, reminding her that as a doctor she should realize that head injuries can be far worse than they appear, and in response Strange sighs heavily.
He rolls his eyes at her childish behavior. “What I want can wait until you’re in a frame of mind to give me a real answer.”
She grumbles, but closes her eyes and gestures. It’s fascinating watching those hands perform miracles again, despite (yes, he noticed) the amount they tremble. Out of nowhere pops a glass container with something greenish brown in it. “It’s a healing compound,” she explains.
He opens the lid and makes a disgusted face. “It smells awful.”
She smirks even as she wrinkles her nose. “Be grateful you didn’t have to mix the stuff,” she responds and sits on the stairs and holds as still as he applies it.
She glares at him for a bit, apparently trying to stay awake long enough to ask him about what he’d mentioned before, but doesn’t manage it.
He strokes her other cheek gently.
A throat clears behind him. He startles and turns to see Wang standing behind him. She’s amused. She’s also bloodier, with more torn robes, but is also standing easily. “If you would follow me…”
He nods quietly. He’s still unsure as to how to react to the librarian, but likes her just fine, for a cultist. The Cloak carries her to a room, and he sits down into a chair, waiting.
Suddenly there’s a hand on his shoulder, again, only this time it’s steady. “Dr. Palmer. You should know. Dr. Stephanie Strange is being considered for the position of Sorceror Supreme.”
He quickly glances at Steph, and Wang nods.
“Strange has not been told. I merely thought you might like to be informed.”
Chris blushes. It’s hard to tell, but that might be a smile, and then Wang bows and leaves the room.
And then he’s left alone, waiting for Dr. Stephanie Strange. Again.
Probably.
He gets a little sidetracked, first by finding an appropriate flower shop and then by the hours-long explanation on what all the flowers mean, and eventually settles on the Amaryllis. He’s been assured that it meant magical strength, harmony, freedom, and unique beauty, and even if none of it is true it is a pretty flower.
Old Strange would have scoffed at the gift. New Strange is a little harder to predict.
He shows up at 177A Bleecker Street. He knocks, and the doors silently open to let him in, but there’s no one actually standing there, and the Sanctum feels deserted. Just to be sure, he calls out. “Steph?” He’s probably one of the few people in the world who can get away with not calling her Dr. Strange, and he wonders if it’s because he’s fully aware and respectful of her doctor status.
There’s no response, so he settles down with the flower on the stairs. There’s a room that she’d classified as ‘fairly harmless’ that they’d used for their little chat and subsequent visits, but he’s not sure he can find it on his own, and he’s not risking accidentally walking into the unsettling kitchen again (“Apparently there’s a safe kitchen,” Steph explains with a wry smile, “…but Wang refuses to tell me where it is.” The apparently she doesn’t trust me in one goes unsaid with equal parts humor and pain. Chris doesn’t comment).
He falls asleep. He doesn’t mean to, but there’s not really that much else to do besides browsing on his phone, and like most in the medical profession he’s perfected the art of catching a nap when and where he can. He isn’t aware of the fact until there’s a shaky touch on his shoulder and he startles awake.
Steph looks…well, she’s looked better. Much better. He’s slightly startled by the burns in the robes and the long, deep and slightly bloody scratch tracing down one of those sharp cheekbones. There’s definitely a worried look in those grey eyes, though. “Are you all right, Chris?” Her words are more gravelly than normal, rushed in a way that tells him she’s holding herself upright through sheer willpower alone.
He’d guess the Cloak was helping out if not for the fact that if she allowed that help, it’d be carrying her unconscious body.
He frowns. “Let me clean that gash.”
She smiles, but her eyes are still serious. “Chris.”
“Doctor,” he emphasizes, reminding her that as a doctor she should realize that head injuries can be far worse than they appear, and in response Strange sighs heavily.
He rolls his eyes at her childish behavior. “What I want can wait until you’re in a frame of mind to give me a real answer.”
She grumbles, but closes her eyes and gestures. It’s fascinating watching those hands perform miracles again, despite (yes, he noticed) the amount they tremble. Out of nowhere pops a glass container with something greenish brown in it. “It’s a healing compound,” she explains.
He opens the lid and makes a disgusted face. “It smells awful.”
She smirks even as she wrinkles her nose. “Be grateful you didn’t have to mix the stuff,” she responds and sits on the stairs and holds as still as he applies it.
She glares at him for a bit, apparently trying to stay awake long enough to ask him about what he’d mentioned before, but doesn’t manage it.
He strokes her other cheek gently.
A throat clears behind him. He startles and turns to see Wang standing behind him. She’s amused. She’s also bloodier, with more torn robes, but is also standing easily. “If you would follow me…”
He nods quietly. He’s still unsure as to how to react to the librarian, but likes her just fine, for a cultist. The Cloak carries her to a room, and he sits down into a chair, waiting.
Suddenly there’s a hand on his shoulder, again, only this time it’s steady. “Dr. Palmer. You should know. Dr. Stephanie Strange is being considered for the position of Sorceror Supreme.”
He quickly glances at Steph, and Wang nods.
“Strange has not been told. I merely thought you might like to be informed.”
Chris blushes. It’s hard to tell, but that might be a smile, and then Wang bows and leaves the room.
And then he’s left alone, waiting for Dr. Stephanie Strange. Again.
