Author's Note: For those of you following this one-shot, here's an extra Doctor Strange interaction chapter (with Shuri this time) requested by a reviewer. A request I was very happy to fulfil.
Arms tired from carrying two shopping bags after a busy day of shopping, Shuri felt a rain drop fall on her forehead and looked up to the sky; cloudy with a chance that her newly purchased items would get wet.
"Not now!" She cursed under her breath. Regretting her decision of finding a bus stop to return to the Avengers Compound, with no shelter in sight.
When her brother had invited her to come to New York with him, while he trained with the Avengers, Shuri had expected it to be a fun addition to her routine. A chance to catch the latest movies, eat hot dogs and enjoy warm, but milder weather. This… was much milder and wetter than she had anticipated.
—
As he watched the rain gliding down the circular window of the Sanctum Sanctorum, Stephen Strange felt a sense a calm and thankfulness washing over him.
Up here, he could overlook the streets while staying dry. Savouring the time when the world was not in peril and in need of saving. Or so he thought.
Holding up a shopping bag to shield herself from the rain, Stephen noticed a young woman with long braided hair, wearing sophisticated clothes that made her look like the most fashionable girl in New York, or at least Bleecker Street. Somewhere in his mind, a familiar memory flickered. This was T'Challa's younger sister from the S.H.I.E.L.D personnel files and she looked like she could use a bit of saving.
Travelling down the staircase, Stephen opened the front door of the Sanctum and hollered. "Over here." Gesturing for Shuri to come inside.
Running across the street to the front steps of the mansion, Shuri thanked the well-meaning Doctor Strange.
"Thanks for that."
"You sure picked a bad day to not bring an umbrella." Stephen remarked and closed the door after Shuri had entered. Choosing a relevant quip on a rainy day, over a normal reply to break the ice.
"I wasn't thinking about the weather. I just came here to do some shopping, have a look around New York. That sort of thing." Shuri explained, dropping her shopping bags on the floor.
"We haven't formally been introduced, by the way. I'm Doctor Steven Strange. I know of your brother, but have never had the pleasure of meeting your acquaintance." Stephen introduced himself and held out his hand for her to shake. His charming demeanour, making Shuri smile.
"Shuri." She gave him her name and shook his hand. "And you can't blame me for not being prepared. We don't exactly get a lot of rain in Wakanda."
"No, of course not. May I offer you something to eat?" Stephen concurred and offered his guest some refreshments.
"I could go for some chips, right about now." Shuri revealed the junk food she was in the mood for, after she had burned so many calories walking through a shopping mall.
"I'm afraid I don't have any. Would ice-cream do?" Stephen asked. Sheepish that he could not provide what Shuri had asked for, but grateful that he still had an unfinished tub of Stark Raving Hazelnut in the freezer to offer.
After Shuri had enthusiastically said yes, Doctor Strange lead her to the staircase and they both sat down on one of the steps, until Stephen's Cloak of Levitation arrived on the scene carrying a tub of ice-cream.
"I didn't say to bring the whole tub!" Stephen scolded it and went to the kitchen with the cloak following behind him to get a bowl and spoon for Shuri.
After a few minutes, Stephen returned with the proper crockery and utensil and handed it to Shuri, to which she replied. "Does the rest of your wardrobe float like that?
"No, just the cloak."
—
As they sat silently while Shuri ate her ice-cream, Stephen looked to the side in the opposite direction. Taking this moment to observe Stephen while his gaze was elsewhere, Shuri noticed the pink scars running vertically across his fingers. His fingers slightly trembling as they pressed down on his thigh.
"You know, Wakanda has technology that would make those scars look practically non-existent." Shuri spoke, breaking the silence. The doctor had been gracious enough to invite her into his home and to share his food. It was only natural that she would offer what she could in return.
"It's kind of you to offer, but my scars are a reminder of how far I've come and I don't want to lose that."
"I get it." Shuri paused for a moment, before responding. Feeling admiration for the man who would turn a haunting reminder of his accident, into a sign of strength.