mysticaldoctor | Spoiler Friendly Open Post

New Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Trailer | Sci-Fi Jubilee

"Of course you would." It's like he knows her even though he accepts he doesn't. She already said before it didn't matter.

It is like they know one another, even down to the way they fell in step walking. It was like being back in the hospital all over again.

"The building is still a bit of a mess."

He thought about offering to make repairs using magic but that might drain him of resources entirely.

Maybe just her lab in general but it seemed well-ordered and had been cleaned up a bit to be functional.

"Should all be back in working order in a few days."

All of her important bits had been first priority and were up and running.

The bracelets are waiting on one of the lab tables, simple looking things with a little latch to keep them secure; one larger and one smaller. They are the test run and she made them with the two of them in mind.

"They don't look especially impressive, but that's the best tech, isn't it?"

'Experimental," and therefore dangerous but the best experimental surgeries have the same issue. Stephen was a bit thrilled over it because no lives other than Christine and his own were at risk.

He picked up the larger bracelet and held it out to be fastened.

Edited Date: 2022-05-09 04:00 pm (UTC)

"We're scientists still, we love a good experiment."

They are protecting their universes, that was the goal. If they want to be foolish and see one another, only they should suffer if things go wrong.

She fastens the bracelet on him.

"That and ... to prove it will work." He takes her bracelet and puts it around her wrist, waving his hand slightly so it clasps.

"You brought me here, first - instead of coming to my universe, so - is there something you want to show me?"

He knows he usually outdoes her or talks over her before she can or isn't as impressed as he should be. Not this time. This variant will be different.

"All of my equipment is here." She shrugs. Christine takes his hand to lead him to one of the computer screens.

There is an array of graphs and charts, and she watches them while she moves closer to him. She is making sure the lines barely fluctuate when they touch.

"We aren't registering as anomalous." She had done a lot of programing after Stephen and America came through, she finally had someone from a different universe to get data from.

"We can touch now."

Stephen moved closer, pulling her into his arms. "I really am sorry I didn't make you a priority. For myself and - for your Stephen, even if - it doesn't matter." He kissed her head, followed by her nose (meaning to make her smile) then her lips.

He missed Christine.

She leans into that kiss, there isn't even a seconds hesitation. No alarms start blaring, which means she can relax.

It's just a gentle little kiss, they are testing the water.

"It might matter."

"So you ... saying that whatever we were to each other not mattering - wasn't exactly true?" He wants to be clear about this part, he had thought at the time it was her way of trying to push him away. He kept her close, unless she seemed to want to move away. He kissed her head again, unable to help it. "We were both afraid. It's probably okay if we admit it."

"That is what I'm saying. You had just shown up in my universe, I couldn't go getting attached." She can imagine him doing something similar, pushing her away to be safe.

She cups his cheek with her hand, letting a bit of her affection spill out.

"I'm still a bit afraid. This is beyond the laws of the multiverse, it's worth a bit of fear."

"Probably a healthy dose of it keeps us alive." He's tempted to parrot back for Doctor Palmer to face her fears but that seems presumptuous.

"I try to avoid the whole colleague-dating thing, too - but with you it's difficult."
It definitely felt open and not - really a private place for a meeting, but he wasn't going to push too much.

She isn't scared for herself, she doesn't want to endanger her whole universe for a second chance with Stephen.

"We aren't colleagues anymore, so there's that." She chuckles. It's her turn to stand a little taller and press a kiss to his lips.

"Show me your universe?"

"Sure. We'll have to go back through the Waypoint. I'm trying to avoid using too much magic here and therefore leave ... traces of it. As we're not certain how that might go - as in your world, I'm technically dead."

He leaned in and pressed a kiss on her cheek. "Shall we?"

If he was younger he would have raced her down the hallway, but this was oddly nice.
"So, because we technically don't know each other what are your favorite foods? I'm sure my world has similar."

"Probably best to leave as little trace of you as possible." Same for her in his Universe, but she doesn't have magic to worry about.

It's nice to just walk with him, comfortable.

"I don't eat red meat, just some fish but mostly vegetarian." She wonders if his Christine had the same moral objections to meat overall.

"So, Avant Garden?" He has a few fond memories there, anyway. He remembers the East Village restaurant has vegetarian options and they cater to those with gluten intolerance, and all around try for a generous atmosphere.

He turns and smiles a little and continues walking toward the Waypoint. He liked being in her company, it was comfortable, and he probably felt awkward because it was comfortable.

"I'll trust your judgment." Resturant names are one thing that vary greatly across the multiverse.

"It's like falling back in step with you; like something I've done hundreds of times." She puts the familiarity to words.

"Vegetarian, allergy friendly. Bit upscale, but well worth it." He watched that as she fell into place.

"Like we've known each other a long time."
He kind of feels a bit odd about her Stephen, wondering if he agreed to die because he loved her. Sounds like something he'd do.

"Yeah, that sounds like something I'd like." While Christine had never been as ostentatious about money as Stephen had been; she does like a nice resturant.

"And like you never left." She had only ever gotten some of the story following her Stephen's death; and she never, for a moment, believed it was the only solution.

Stephen nodded. His Christine had liked that place, and he tagged along, not really minding what the food was.

"I'm sorry about your ... Stephen." He knows a bit. "I don't think they told you, everything. Which - I don't think is exactly fair."

He didn't know how to ask how much she knew, it must be a difficult subject.

"I don't think they took the right approach and I have resented them for it since it happened." She believes she could have helped him, or at least tried to.

"They told me the Darkholms power had consumed him beyond repair." She feels that familiar ache that she gets when she thinks of her Stephen.

"Having not met him, but seeing his apparent arrogance, I don't have an answer for that. He - and the Illuminati were at war when they fought Thanos. He sought his answers in the Darkhold, probably initially motivated by a desire for knowledge, rather than power, though - knowing us, power is difficult to resist."

He doesn't know what he ought to say to comfort her. Sometimes comfort is easy for him, other times not so much.

"They didn't just kill him, he - accepted it, I think. Probably because he still cared for you."

"You know the arrogance." Even if he no longer has it, he was once the same sort of arrogant surgeon.

She looks at him and nods, a bit sadly.

"If he didn't accept it, he could have killed them all. He must have also thought it was the only way."

He nodded, but he wasn't sure if it was true that he could have killed them all. He wouldn't have wanted to.

He knows the arrogance because he's still arrogant sometimes, even though he makes a more conscious effort to accept the fact he lacks some of the answers.