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You literally fell into his life. Literally tumbled from the sky. That was how you came to reside in that universe with him. The one he had destroyed and torn asunder in a fit of jealousy and anger.
He thought he was doomed to live out his days alone in that cold wretched place. Eventually becoming numb to the loneliness. He had even found a way to anesthetize himself to dreaming. Perhaps that's why he didn't see you coming.
It had been just another day of stewing in his own misery until you fell through the roof of the Sanctum. He didn't know how you ended up there with him. Hell, he couldn't even tell you what day it actually was since there was no point in him keeping track anymore.
He quickly realized you weren't a threat, an annoyance perhaps, but not the least bit dangerous. You knew him, well you knew who he was in your universe. Your paths had crossed with the great Dr. Strange a few times. All somewhat flirtatious but seemingly inconsequential interactions. Nothing worthy of landing you in this purgatory of his own making.
Upon further questioning he learned that the portal you fell through had literally opened up on the floor of your apartment. A rip in a universal timeline. Perhaps from a spell gone wrong. Maybe an attempt to correct some ill fated mistake somewhere. Or it could simply be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
With no idea how exactly you got there he couldn't do much to figure out how to get you back. Short of some other crucial information or finding another missing puzzle piece he wouldn't even know where to send you.
So he grudgingly let you stay in the Sanctum with him. It's not like it was exactly safe for you to wander around outside in a world that was falling in on itself. At least if you were there and he protected you it was one less life he had to atone for.
He could never have expected you to take your marooning in a crumbling universe with such a laissez-faire attitude. Especially since you were stranded with the man who had caused it. No he had expected crying and desperate pleas to the fates. At the very least he expected you to hate him, because if he hadn't done everything he had done then you wouldn't have gotten stuck there.
All he got were some sniffles and a sad sweet smile trying to mask some panicked tears. When he asked you why exactly you weren't freaking out you brought up the TV show Gilligan's Island. Saying that if Gilligan hadn't been goofy and cheerful, if he had been upset and miserable it wouldn't have gotten them off the island any faster. It just would have made the time more miserable for everyone else. So you were choosing to be like Gilligan. To find the silver lining and make the best of a bad situation. Just maybe not as klutzy as Gilligan.
So you spent your time finding the little bits of cheer in an otherwise morose world. You brought sunlight into his world. You were a bright sunflower surrounded by darkness. A single delicate bloom in a thicket of dead weeds.
He had no idea he had become so attached to you until the day you woke up sick. You were coughing and sniffling, alternating between feverish and chilling. It was clearly just a cold, but that knowledge didn't keep him from losing his mind worrying and tending to your every need. You had turned his world on its head and he couldn't imagine losing you.
So he stuck to you like glue. Insisting it was just his instincts from being a Doctor, but you knew better. You knew he cared for you, even if he was scared to say it out loud.
You had grown rather fond of him too. In fact of all the people to be stuck at the end of the world with "Sinister Strange" as you had nicknamed him, much to his chagrin, was a surprisingly pleasant choice. You knew he had done a lot of terrible things, but you could see the good man behind the cold intimidating mask.
He insisted you sleep in his bed while you were sick, because it was probably warmer and more comfortable than yours. He slept on the couch on the other side of his room. His smell lingering on the sheets and the pillows only made you want to snuggle in more. It was gonna be hard to go back to your room after this.
On the 2nd or 3rd day of being sick you got a chill that just wouldn't go away. No matter how many blankets you burrowed under you just couldn't stop shivering. It was then he did something that you could never have seen coming.
He had been digging through his closest for several minutes. You heard the sound of drawers opening and closing, occasionally throwing pieces of clothing out of the way into the bedroom. It was quite entertaining to watch. Then suddenly you heard him exclaim an excited "ah ha!"
Your curiosity piqued when he reemerged with a little blue bundle in his hands. He approached you tentatively, almost like a boy asking a girl to a school dance. He looked down at the object in his hands and held it out to you.
"Here. It was my favorite before... all of this happened. Maybe it will help. Help keep you warm that is"
You took the clothing item from him and unfolded it as he stood there playing with his fingers and trying to not let you see him watching you. It was a sweatshirt. Light blue, a blue that actually matched his eyes, with Columbia University and the school emblem printed on it in white.
You couldn't hold back the large smile on your face that he had offered you this personal object from his past to wear. "I'm guessing it's your alma mater?"
A soft smile on his lips that you seemed to even bother to probe into his past, "yeah, for medical school. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to, I just figured..."
Quickly eschewing his doubts over his gesture you pulled the sweatshirt on and immediately you felt the chill start to leave your body.
"No no, it's perfect. Thank you Stephen. Really."
He tried to hide the slight blush that formed on his cheeks when he heard you actually call him Stephen. His heart even did a little flutter when he saw you bury your nose in the sleeve to smell his cologne on it. Then you asked him something he had secretly dreamed of hearing.
"Feel free to say no if this is too forward or if you just don't want to but, can you hold me for a bit Stephen? Between feeling so cold and just feeling yucky in general I think it might help me feel better."
You really didn't know what his answer would be. You were totally out on a limb here. There was a chance the question would anger him and he'd storm out of the room or scream at you. Or maybe, just maybe, he had grown as sweet on you as you had on him.
At first he was almost shell shocked. Did you really just ask him to hold you? To cuddle with you? He tried to keep his expression unchanged, but in his mind he was a cartoon character with little hearts floating around his head. He then decided to let his demeanor soften and his emotion show.
"Of course I will. As long as you want."
He slipped off his boots and pulled back the covers on the other side of the bed. Gingerly sliding himself in next to you. Giving you time to change your mind if you wanted. He let you reach over and lift up his arm. Putting it around the back of your neck so you could snuggle into his side. You placed your head on his chest and slid your arm across his abdomen so it laid around his waist.
You heard his breath hitch in his throat and worried maybe you had overstepped your bounds. So you asked just to make sure, "is this okay?"
What you couldn't see were his eyes tearing up a little. He had no idea how much he missed physical contact until now. He never wanted to move from this position, from your arms, ever again. He pressed a kiss into your hair and whispered, "It's perfect."
You let yourself melt into his warm embrace. As you started to drift off to sleep you told him, "You know, I could get awful used to this Stephen. You're really comfy. We should do this more often, even when I'm better."
A satisfied smile on his face he responded. Not even sure if you were awake enough to hear him.
"I think so too. Whenever you want."
He closed his eyes and with you in his arms, for the first time in a long time, he fell into a restful sleep.
You literally fell into his life. You fell from the sky and reminded him of the man he used to be. You thawed out his heart and brought the sparkle back to his eyes. He had done a lot of awful things in his life since he had found the Darkhold, but he would spend the rest of his life trying to make up for all of those terrible things to be worthy of having you by his side. To be worthy of your love.