Marvel one-shot

🌟The Locket - Dr. Strange

You dreaded your birthday.

Well, maybe "dread" was a strong word, you didn't hate your birthday, but you definitely didn't look forward to it. This year was no different, you woke up with a quiet groan and desperately tried to fall back asleep anything to make the day go by a little quicker. But the aura of drowsiness had already escaped you, and now you were stuck. Your so-called "special day", much to your annoyance, was only just beginning. As much as you wanted to, you knew you wouldn't be able to hide yourself away for the entire day, you had maybe a half an hour (at most) before your friends would come knocking at your door, bearing gifts and cake and all the other traditions that you just didn't care for. As you slowly rolled out of bed, you mentally chastised yourself for being so pessimistic.

Of course, you knew that you should be grateful, ever since you'd been living at the tower alongside your friends and fellow Avengers, they'd never missed your birthday, and always made an effort to celebrate with you. You never had the heart to tell them that their efforts were in vain because something always ruined your day. Always. Just like any other morning, you busied yourself with getting ready, by the time you were finished, an hour had passed, yet there was still no sign of anybody else. Relieved, you decided that it was safe to head downstairs for some breakfast and as soon as you entered the common area, you regretted it.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Y/N!"

You jolted in shock as several people jumped out from their respective hiding places, all grinning with an unbridled happiness that definitely didn't match what you were feeling in that moment. But still, you plastered a smile onto your face and thanked everyone politely, your smile only became more genuine when Stephen approached you, pulling you into a tight hug and practically lifting you off your feet. He was the only one that would make this somewhat bearable as much as you loved the others, you loved him so much more. In a friendly way, of course, that's what you kept telling yourself, anyway. But in reality, you knew that you didn't want to be just his best friend anymore and it was becoming increasingly clear that he felt the same about you. The two of you would flirt constantly, always leaving each other shy and blushing, especially when someone else tried to point out the obvious tension within your interactions. It was really only a matter of time before one of you would finally make a move not that you weren't enjoying the waiting game, though.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," Stephen mumbled, pressing a light kiss to the top of your head before pulling away.

"I'd give you your gift now, but it's better to wait until everyone else is gone. Don't want them to ruin the moment."

"So you're not into exhibitionism? Got it," you joked, giggling at his shocked expression.

Part of you was curious about what his gift could possibly be, but you decided to be patient and wait until he was ready. The conversation was cut short as you were dragged towards the table, which was piled high with gifts from everyone. Receiving gifts tended to make you awkward, especially when others were watching your reactions though truthfully, you couldn't really complain about feeling like the Avengers' sugar baby for a while. Get close and personal with Stephen Strange, for once, you were beginning to feel like maybe the rest of your day would be okay. After the gifts came the cake, candles and singing that was the part you hated most, but you still got through it with just a small amount of embarrassment. But of course, that hopefulness didn't last long; things began to go downhill pretty quickly after your optimism surfaced. The issue was Sharon Carter; yes, it sounded harsh, but in this case it was true.

She was just an acquaintance to you, but being... well, a "friend" of Steve's, she seemed to show up randomly whenever some kind of gathering or event was happening. So naturally, she waltzed through the door, quickly wished you a happy birthday, and proceeded to loudly, shamelessly, flirt with Stephen. She could've chosen literally anybody else in the room, but it just had to be him. In his usual anxiety-riddled-people-pleaser fashion, he didn't shut her down immediately, but rather chose to stand there uncomfortably, while several people glanced at you to see how you'd react. The fact that others knew how you felt about Stephen usually didn't bother you, but right now? You were almost humiliated. You tried to tell yourself not to hate Sharon after all, she was quite possibly the only person who didn't know damn well that Stephen was off limits, but even after she'd stopped talking to him, she forced her way into the middle of everything that was supposed to be about you; as much as you didn't want to be the centre of attention, that would be much better than literally having the focus stolen from you just as you were beginning to enjoy it. You just couldn't win. Typical. Fighting the tears that suddenly threatened to fall, you quietly slipped out of the door and headed back to your own room. After dramatically flopping onto the bed and switching on an episode of one of your favourite shows, you huffed and thanked your lucky stars that your exit had remained unnoticed. Or so you thought. A knock on the door made you frown angrily you were extremely close to yelling at whoever had followed you.