Back to Reality
***
NEW YORK SANCTUM
No sooner had Stephen sealed the portal than he found himself engulfed in an exuberant embrace, as Molly literally threw herself into his arms.
“You survived,” she cried with obvious relief.
“Still in one piece then,” was Wong’s dour comment.
“Pretty much,” Strange acknowledged both with a wry smile, before taking Molly’s face in his large hands as he lent down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “How are you feeling?” he asked as his gaze scanned her upturned face for any signs of the terrible ordeal she’d been forced to endure.
“I’m fine,” Molly assured him. “Once the spell was broken my body reverted back to normal.”
Stephen knew that having one’s body snapped back so suddenly could cause side effects. But he also knew that Wong would’ve immediately dealt with them. Giving her another quick once over, he was satisfied that she would not suffer any permanent damage from the spell.
His thoughts now turned back to what they had been doing before they had been so rudely interrupted.
“So, where were we,” he said as he bent down with the intention of kissing her on the lips, before sweeping her up into his arms.
But Molly had other ideas as she placed a restraining hand against his chest. “I’m sorry Stephen,” she said with a slight tremble in her voice. “I can’t simply act as though nothing has happened.”
Patience had never been one of Stephen’s strong points, especially when he was going after something or someone he wanted. But even he recognised trying to push Molly now would likely ruin his chances of a relationship with her.
After all, in the short time she had known him she had been kidnapped by first Nightmare, and now Mordo.
“I understand,” he said as he took her small, capable hands in his. “You need time.”
“I do,” Molly agreed as she reached up and pressed a lingering kiss to his lips. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to continue what we began,” she assured him. “But not right now.”
With obvious reluctance Strange let her leave.
As she stepped through the portal to her flat he had created, Molly added, “Until we next meet again.”
***