The Flames of Amarra - DR STRANGE x OC - COMPLETE

NEW PLANS

Nora blew out the smoke and looked at her father. “Thanks for not telling Mom.”

“Hm.”

“Come on, I only have 20 years. Can I at least enjoy a cigarette from time to time ?” Seeing that she was starting a conversation she didn’t want to have, she raised her hands in defense. Touchy subject. “Kelly said she was going back to therapy.”

“You used to take care of that,” he said, glancing in her direction. 

“But it’s not my job anymore,” Nora explained. “She has plenty of family who actually care.”

He scoffed and arched a brow at her. “I thought you’d be nice if I was.”

“Is it mean to say that I don’t care if she goes to therapy or not as long as she doesn’t stab me or go to the journalists to tell them my every move ?”

“Fine,” he sighed. “Let’s add Kelly to the taboo list.” Nora nodded and looked back at the ground. “How are things going at work ?”

“Cold war with the government,” Nora calmly explained. “They’re still mad that I loop-holed them into not working with them because of a deal they agreed to only so that I worked with them in the first place,” she added with a laugh. “Still looking for Wanda so she can double down on the loop-hole and we can become the most hated witches on the government’s list, and we put the whole ring destruction thing on hold.”

“Why ?”

“Wong is working on something, and he asked everyone to look into it. So I’m on my own with the ring.”

“You’re getting somewhere ?”

“Nope. For now, we think that destroying the ring could possibly release too much fire to be contained. Even if we protect everyone within a hundred miles radius, I wouldn’t be protected anymore.”

“And you could die,” he said, looking back at her. Nora quietly nodded. “I’m glad you don’t know how to destroy it, then.”

She laughed and threw her cigarette away. “I won’t let them take Emi after me.”

“If only someone told you she’d be coming back, you wouldn’t have made that deal with the government,” he said. 

“You can’t blame it on Stephen,” she argued. “I showed myself to the world before he saw the future.”

They walked back inside the house, and Nora enjoyed a whole afternoon with Emi. 

It was still weird having them back all of a sudden. They were so much the same. Nora, her father, and Kelly aged so much. The years, the stress, the fatigue, and the alcohol took the best of them. But Emi was still the little girl Nora remembered. And she was grateful that Kelly always refused to give away her toys. It would’ve been a nightmare playing with her if her wooden car disappeared. 

When Ethan and Kelly decided to have some time alone and didn’t come back after dinner, Nora volunteered to put Emi to bed. She read a nice story about a princess doing car chases that totally wasn’t stolen from Disney, and watched Emi sleep for a long time. 

“They won’t get you,” she whispered. “I’ll find a way.”

She’d have twenty more years to watch her grow. It was all worth it. That spell Stephen put on the ring was great for the time it lasted. It made Nora realize that she could still enjoy life. And when it disappeared, she realized that she didn’t need it to do so. She used to be convinced that 20 years were too little. But now that she went through the longest five years of her life, it all seemed more than enough.