No-One But You (The Star Child's Eclipse)
Chapter 12: Soldier Boy (Part 2)
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Stephen and Clea Strange were keeping tabs on their daughter Sofia, and they were surprised to find her behaving like such a busy bee.
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She couldn't sit still, apparently, and all of that was… fine.
Stephen had Paradox following her movements while she was in the Dark Dimension, and he had his siblings keeping an eye on her while she was wandering around Earth.
They didn't want to smother her, suppress her curiosity, or keep her locked up with them in the Realm of Light… but her parents were contemplating ways to keep Sofia's busy mind preoccupied and safe.
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"May I?"
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Stephen was standing before his wife, and he quietly asked for permission to touch her.
Clea had her eyes closed in that moment, and she was hovering in the direct center of a room within Agamotto's temple.
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"You may, of course."
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It was silly for Stephen to ask, but he did it anyway. He was about to bring his hands up to Clea's abdomen, but he stopped and studied the look on her face.
Clea's beauty was just… striking. Stephen had to swallow down a nerve or two, and he gently cleared his throat.
Oh, his dream girl made him feel… stuff. Stephen felt nervous too, and she didn't have to do anything either. Clea always made him feel that way.
The former Sorcerer Supreme thought over how to proceed in that moment, because he was about to touch Clea's body and weed out what had been done to it.
Stephen didn't want to add any additional stress, but he also felt like teasing his wife a little bit before he started digging.
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"So… I'm not going to find any trace of some acquaintance.. in there, in your thoughts, when I start looking around.. right?"
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Had that inside joke about Thor Odinson run its course yet? Stephen was never really sure.
He studied the look on his wife's gorgeous face after he cracked his joke, and he quickly looked away after Clea opened her eyes.
Stephen wasn't even sure if what he said made sense, but Thor started scamming on his wife years ago, if you recall, and the sorcerer never really… dealt with it.
He didn't friggen let it slide, but the subject just fluttered away like the wind.
He never really snooped around in Clea's mind either, so Stephen felt like mentioning the acquaintance thing.
Clea never really commented on it, in fact, she always maintained an icy silent demeanor when it came down to Thor and the inside joke…
Stephen figured he had it coming if she happened to think about Thor as well. I mean, he dragged Clea through hell after they were married, because he couldn't let things go.
The Christine Palmer drama was a mess, and his feels for Tony Stark sometimes caused a rift… so, maybe he had it coming?
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"What do you think, Stephen? Do you think you're going to find any sort of acquaintance in my thoughts after you start looking around?"
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Clea absolutely had to flip the ridiculous question back in her husband's direction.
She wasn't going to answer that at all, and Stephen's adorable demeanor in that moment almost made her laugh.
Her soul was far too weak for her to muster up a laugh, so Clea quietly closed her eyes again, and she gently ran her hands over her own waist.
She was far along in what was supposed to be her third trimester of pregnancy, but her body looked like she was barely into the first.
Clea knew she was cursed. Well, she was born cursed already by being half-Faltine, but the ruler of the Dark Dimension could tell she'd been placed under some sort of spell.
Perhaps she was hexed, or jinxed… and she also knew that she wasn't going to accomplish her goal of becoming a mother.
Having Stephen's child wasn't going to be a reality for her, and her heart was breaking because of it.
So… the current ruler of the Dark did her best to stay strong. She kept her eyes closed as her husband's warm hands met her own.
Oh, and Stephen Strange eventually answered his own silly question.
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He touched Clea's hands first, then he quietly told her the word no…
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No. The former Sorcerer Supreme didn't think he'd find any sort of "acquaintance" looming around in Clea's thoughts.
He married her once because she was obviously in love with him.
Clea was beyond loyal, loving, beautiful, honest, sincere, and Stephen knew sometimes that he truly didn't deserve her…
Oh… and, he married her twice because he was obsessed with her, and the thought of her being with someone else was enough to make Stephen fix his own bullshit, and straighten up his act.
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Her reaction to that one-word response was gentle, delicate, and beautiful.
Stephen's heart broke in half when he saw it too, because several silent tears slipped over his wife's face.
Of course the answer was no, and Clea was happy to hear Stephen finally admit it.
Maybe now he could move on from all that? The former Sorceress Supreme inwardly hoped so.
She didn't say anything further, and she simply let her husband wipe the tears from her face and figure out what happened.
Which vile beast violated her now, and who was the one tormenting her soul from within?
It was almost too much for Clea to bear so she let Stephen take over her soul…
Chapter: END
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