Chapter Text
-2025-
-J-
Standing in front of the chroma key, adjusting the collar of her orange blazer, she listened carefully for Mark to set her up. The lights bore down onto her, and she made a mental note to change her foundation routine now that it would be hotter in the studio. She'd melt before the end of her set at this rate, but she watched as Liz held up five pink-nailed fingers, counting her down. 5-4-3…
"And now, over to Chief Meteorologist Jordyn Wen for the weekly forecast," Mark pipped, his carefully orchestrated television smile in place.
Liz's last finger dropped, and Jordyn grinned as her teleprompter began to roll.
"Thanks, Mark. Let's hope that the subway pick-pocket is apprehended quickly. Today's forecast calls for, you guessed it, more rain. But we're going to see an uptick in temperature compared to yesterday. We will have a high of 78° and a low of 67°. I know you don't wanna hear it folks, but we have rain for the tri-state area," she said, quickly clicking to her next slide, "into the weekend."
She finished her set and immediately tore her blazer off once Liz cleared her, knowing she was at risk of sweating through it. Liz caught it expertly and handed Jordyn a deodorant stick in a coordinated exchange.
"Fuck, you'd think knowing the weather would tip me off to not wearing long sleeves," Jordyn said, pulling the deodorant lid off with a 'pop' and slathering it on.
"But it's so cute and," Liz stopped to look at the tag on the inside, "it's vintage."
Jordyn laughed, handing the stick back over to her faithful helper. They stepped in sync as they passed in front of the anchor desk, Mark looking up from his papers and giving the ladies a playful wink.
"You coming tonight, Wen?" He asked Jordyn, and she stopped mid-step.
Had she not told him? She could have sworn she had texted him back last night.
"Can't. Kamar-Taj stuff," she replied, shrugging.
Mark tapped his papers together on the desk to straighten them and tried his hardest to keep his smile up. He was disappointed, and Jordyn knew she had wounded him. Poor guy.
"Hmmm," he hummed. "You have fun with the wizards."
Liz stifled a chuckle, biting her bottom lip to keep it under control.
"I'll make it up to you guys, I promise," Jordyn said, looking at them both.
"No, it's fine. We know your Harry Potter friends are cooler than us," Mark replied, looking up and sighing.
"I will come next time. I'll be there. But, my Harry Potter friends and I help defend the Universe, so…" she shrugged and waved as she continued to walk out of the studio.
"Lame!" Mark called after her.
Liz handed the blazer back to Jordyn, who tossed it over her shoulder as they walked down the hallway to their offices. Jordyn knew that her coworkers were tired of her continually blowing them off, especially now that the world was experiencing a state of contentment and peace. The word fun had finally entered people's vocabulary again. But, she had so many more responsibilities than everyone else.
"He wants you so badly," Liz said, shaking her head, once they were out of earshot.
Jordyn grimaced and sucked in air between her teeth. "That's a no from me."
"I'd sleep with him," Liz said as she stood and waited for Jordyn to take her heels off, always the patient assistant.
"Then do that."
"He told me yesterday I reminded him of a raisin," Liz said, cringing.
"Because you're delicious?" Jordyn asked, both heels in one hand as she opened her office door.
"No," Liz whined, walking in behind her, "because I'm shriveled like an old maid."
Looking over her shoulder, Jordyn narrowed her eyes. "You're twenty-six and full of life."
Jordyn's office was substantially cooler than the newsroom had been, and she stood directly under the vent to take it all in as she hung her jacket up on her clothing rack. Liz shook her head vigorously at Jordyn's comment, strands of hair falling from her high bun, curly blonde ringlets bouncing.
"I'm twenty-six, and I crochet while watching Jeopardy," she said, leaning against Jordyn's desk with crossed arms.
"Ah, babe. Maybe get drunk tonight. Have some fun," Jordyn said, pulling her phone out of her purse as she heard it vibrate.
"He called me a raisin ."
She had missed a call from Stephen, and apparently, he had sent a text to follow up.
"I think Mark loves you," Jordyn said as she opened her messages. "I'm telling you, raisins are delicious."
Are you done playing at your day job yet, Wen?
She laughed and furiously texted Stephen back.
Hmm, you'd think for Mr. Sorcerer Superhero, you'd be able to tell time. Get off my ass. I'll be there in a second, thank you very much.
"No, they're not. Haven't you ever seen Benny and Joon? Raisins are sad grapes," Liz said.
"Benny and Joon? With Johnny Depp? Yeah, I think I've seen that," she answered, digging into her purse for her sling ring.
Liz sighed and set the deodorant stick on Jordyn's desk. "Have fun with your magic friends. I'll double-check those graphics for tomorrow before I leave."
"Thanks. I think the pictures from Central would be pretty to add. All this rain, you know?"
"You got it," Liz said as she stepped back.
Jordyn slipped her sling ring on, held her hands out in front of her, and drew up her portal with a grace that Liz knew she could never achieve. She watched as Liz crossed herself and said "Amen" praying in some fervent attempt to ward off danger. Liz was convinced one day Jordyn would step into a portal and disintegrate. She said she had seen too many episodes of Star Trek where crew members ran into transporter accidents. Jordyn told her it wasn't the same, it wasn't the same at all, and that she was a fucking weirdo. Lovingly, of course.
"Bye," Jordyn called as she grabbed her purse and stepped into the New York Sanctorum.
-S-
Hmm, you'd think for Mr. Sorcerer Superhero, you'd be able to tell time. Get off my ass. I'll be there in a second, thank you very much.
Stephen chuckled and slipped his phone into his pocket. He didn't have to bother her while she was at work, but he couldn't pass up a chance to make fun of her.
"It's raining," he said out loud, trying to nail Jordyn's TV voice, "and you definitely could not have looked that up on your phone or looked out the window!"
Seconds later, he watched as a portal formed at the foot of the stairs, the sound of sparks echoing against the walls of the foyer.
"Bye," he heard as Jordyn stepped into the Sanctorum, barefoot. Her purse hung off her shoulder, and her lithe figure plodded toward him as her portal closed with a snap. She reached up and pulled the claw clip from her hair, and there, at the foot of the stairs, she looked down and tossed her hair forward, running her hands through it. A rush, a waterfall, of light brown hair, spilled out in the foyer of his Sanctum Sanctorum.
"Wow, could you take any longer?" He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Without looking up, she raised her middle finger high up in the air and tossed her hair again.
"Uncalled for, ma'am."
Jordyn tossed her head back and looked up at him, her middle finger still on display as she gave him a toothy smile.
"Charming as ever. Can we go now, please? I have actual plans for later this evening," Stephen begged.
"Sure, bud. Everyone else here?"
He made a face, and it warned her to never call him 'bud' again as she rushed up the steps to him. But he knew it would happen again.
"Katie's been here for twenty minutes. Derrick should be here any minute, and where are your shoes?"
Stephen watched as she processed all the information he had given, her eyes narrowing.
"So Derrick isn't even here? Did you harass him, too?"
"No. Derrick has an important job. I wouldn't bother him. Where are your shoes?" He asked again, smirking.
It was the simple things, he thought. Pushing Jordyn's buttons was just the simplest thing. The simplest little joy.
"I left them at my office. They were Vera Wang, super cute, but I can't focus when my feet are trapped," she replied, walking past him.
"What the hell does that mean?" He had heard Jordyn say plenty of weird things, but this one was new.
Stephen followed behind her, watching the way her long hair swayed with her body in tandem. How did women do that? They could all do that. It was nearly mathematical, grounded in no physics he understood. Women functioned on an entirely different plane, one that he had yet to visit in all his travels.
"It means," Jordyn said, "That I can't focus when my feet are trapped."
"Well, alright then. Since when?"
She looked over her shoulder at him. "Since forever."
"I've never seen you take your shoes off to concentrate."
Jordyn shrugged her shoulders and continued on her way. They came to the towering, dark wooden library doors, and Stephen opened them before Jordyn had a chance to.
"You're in a rush," Jordyn said as she slipped past him.
"Uh, correct," he quipped back, turning and closing them with a thud that echoed deep into the rows of books in the sparsely lit space.
"Where's Katie?" She asked, setting her purse down on the large table in the middle of the room.
Stephen pointed to the back of the library and as if on cue, Katie popped her head around a bookcase to greet them.
"Hey!" She called, and Stephen immediately shushed her.
"Library," he reminded her.
Katie fully came around the corner, smiling sheepishly.
"Sorry, Stephen. Hey!" She whispered, and he nodded, as if to a child. Someone had to keep Katie under control, and Jordyn had never been that person.
Jordyn blew her a theatrical kiss from the head of the table, and Katie pretended to catch it, placing it over her heart and sighing dramatically. Stephen looked between the women and desperately wished Derrick would show up so that he could balance the energy in the room. There was far too much estrogen in the library for his liking. Too much spastic, womanly energy. Of course, he knew what to expect with the Nutcase Brigaid of Kamar-Taj. Not that they weren't his friends, but sometimes he needed less nutcase and more focus.
"Oh, sorry Strange. Did you want an air kiss, too?" Jordyn asked as she sank into her chair.
Stephen stroked his goatee for a second and took in a deep breath.
"No thanks, weather girl," he replied, sliding his chair out and making himself comfortable.
He swore he saw her eye twitch, and he smiled. It was the little things.
-J-
Jordyn didn't bother correcting Stephen on his blatant mischaracterization of her job title. He knew she was a Meteorologist and a damn good one. She simply resolved to bite back at a later time.
Once Katie had found her place next to Jordyn, the library doors opened, and Derrick came running in, soaking wet.
"Sorry, sorry. I know I'm late," Derrick said, clumsily pulling his jacket off and holding it up, looking to Stephen for direction.
Stephen looked as if he wanted to care, but he sighed with resignation and waved his hand around.
"I don't care, toss it wherever," he said, adjusting the sleeves of his hoodie.
Derrick laid his jacket on the back of a chair before lacing his hands together, orange sparks bursting before him, as he cast a spell to dry himself and the jacket.
"Did you swim here?" Stephen asked.
"Don't you watch the news, Stephen? I told you all it's raining today and tomorrow and all weekend," Jordyn scoffed with false indignation.
Katie pulled at the edges of her short, pixie-cut hair, trying not to laugh. They all knew once she started to giggle, it was an ordeal getting her to stop.
"Sorry. Admin doesn't like me using my sling ring in the building. 'Gets the kids riled up' is their excuse. And to be fair, they're right," Derrick said. "So, I had to step outside."
"Alrighty. I have a feeling we're going to be here for hours, so let's just get settled, shall we?" Stephen asked. "Did we all read the text on the Winds of Watoomb?"
Katie finally laughed but quickly straightened up when Stephen gave her side-eye. Even as a student, Katie could never keep her cool with the spell names. Jordyn could see that Stephen's patience was wearing thin and knew it was time to pull her punches and help get everyone on track. After all, Stephen had requested to work with everyone in the room when Wong had announced his team plans. Every sorcerer had something to teach their peers.
Thanos was gone, and all those who had disappeared during the Snap had returned. Yet, there was no rest for those who had the power to defend the defenseless, and Wong said that this peaceful time only meant they had to work harder. They owed Stephen professionalism once they were in the Sanctum. He had saved them all by sacrificing himself and the Time Stone. He had given up five years of his life.
Many people weren't privy to the finer details of what had taken place on Titan, and frankly, they had all been too afraid to ask. He had seen millions of alternate futures, yet there had been only one future in which he saw victory. Rumors constantly flew across every Sanctum about it all, even years after, but Jordyn knew the truth, and she owed him more than she could ever repay.
"I know Katie studied them because she read them with me at my apartment," Jordyn interjected after her friend's giggle. "Derrick texted about it over the weekend."
Stephen's posture changed as he fully relaxed in his seat, his shoulders arched forward, and the lines that had been present around his lips from his grimace disappeared.
"Great. I know we've all read these texts a hundred times over, but thanks for doing it again anyway," he said, his baritone voice echoing across the vast library. He turned to Jordyn and signed. "Thank you."
Jordyn smiled at him then. It was the kind of smile that Katie would later text her about as they packed up their things after the two-hour session. The kind of smile that could get her into trouble if she wasn't careful.
You're not hiding it well. You can't look at him like that if you're gonna get through this, love.
Jordyn quickly read the text before tossing her phone back into her bag. She shot a look to her friend, who raised her eyebrows in a warning; a very pointed, unBritish-like warning. Her smile at Stephen must have been unmistakable.
"Everything alright?" Stephen asked nonchalantly while executing a spell to return the texts to the bookshelf.
"Yeah. All good."
"Weather emergency?"
She scoffed and slung her purse over her shoulder as Katie quietly slipped out of the library to catch up with Derrick.
"Does it look like there's a weather emergency? Or does it just look like it's raining? Like I said it would?"
He waited to respond until the last book had been respectfully placed among the other texts, his fingers relaxing as he turned to her.
"Thank God for you, weather girl," he teased, his blue eyes narrowed, waiting for her retort.
"Yeah yeah. You'd be lost without me, bud. So what are your important plans for tonight?"
He groaned and messed with the pull strings on his hoodie.
"I don't have actual plans. I just want to get shit-faced in Ibiza or Vegas before the wedding tomorrow," he admitted.
Jordyn nodded. She had forgotten about that and not accidentally, either. She actively chose not to think about Christine at all times. Except to laugh when she realized it would rain on her wedding day.
"Maybe we don't show up to our exes' extravagant wedding hungover."
"Maybe we desperately want to," Stephen said, shrugging his shoulders. He started walking toward the exit, and Jordyn followed quickly behind.
"Stephen. That would not be very 'Earth's Mightiest Hero' of you."
Walking side by side down the long hallway, Stephen sighed, and Jordyn could feel him deflate next to her.
"I know. I couldn't do that to Christine anyway. Make an ass out of myself on her big day."
Jordyn smiled and lightly patted him on the back.
"You know what you should do?" She asked as they came to the top of the stairs.
"What's that?"
"You should grab some of that linguini from that place you love in Florence-"
"Oh, Il Palagio-"
"Yup. Grab some pasta, maybe a glass of wine. One glass. Then come back here and relax. And get a good, solid night of sleep, Stephen."
He smiled, albeit begrudgingly, and playfully elbowed her.
"I'd be lost without you, Wen," he said. "You've always had my back."
"Yeah. Well, someone has to, bud. You're a fucking mess," she teased, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Alright, put your slingy on and get out of here. And come with shoes on next time," Stephen said with a chuckle.
Jordyn saluted him and made her way down the steps, her bare feet cold on the wooden slats.
"I'll text you after the wedding," he called, and she gave him a thumbs-up as she continued her way down into the foyer.
Jordyn felt nothing but anxiety as she dug around for her sling ring. She had fought hard to keep everything at bay with Stephen, but Katie was right; she was slipping. Last week she had zoned out so thoroughly while watching Stephen as he had demonstrated a spell that Derrick had to give her a shove when Stephen had asked a question. The week before that, she had told Stephen that if he showed up to Christine's wedding in a crisp suit, he'd look hot and upstage the groom. It was stupid little shit like this that was going to ruin everything, and she knew it.
She was a professional with a graduate degree, a skilled sorcerer who had spent more than half her life studying at Kamar-Taj; Jordyn was a smart and determined woman. But that all went out the window when Stephen Strange was around. Working this closely with him was a blessing and a curse. On one hand, he was her beloved friend and a fantastic teacher. He had been on the fast track to Sorcerer Supreme; he had knowledge about magic many wished to attain. He was someone she could learn from and have a fun time doing it. On the other hand, he had been the object of her desire from the moment he entered Kamar-Taj, and she was embarrassingly, frantically, and outrageously in love with him.