A/N: So sorry this took so long to upload! This is the last chapter for this Christmas (that somehow extended itself to New Years) and I hope it ends on a satisfactory note.

Prompt: "Your OTP* trying to wrap Christmas presents and failing miserably"

*not quite OTP in this chapter, but I feel it works.

Stephen grumbled under his breath as he stared at the table in front of him. "It shouldn't be this hard to wrap a damn present," he muttered, surveying the mess of wrapping paper scraps, ribbon, and tape. He looked at the little box in front of him and sighed heavily before picking it up and sliding another square of paper underneath it.

Carefully folding one half of the paper over the other, he pinned it down with one hand and reached for the tape dispenser. Tearing a piece had been easy enough with two hands even before the – even before, he reflected sourly.

Finally managing to tear off a slightly too-long piece, he attached it to the paper and turned his attention to the ends of the box. Wishing for the days when he was able to make his Christmas gifts look professionally wrapped, he carefully forced his hands to work in sync with other and fold the corners of the wrapping paper in.

The sudden ringing of his phone interrupted him from wrestling with the tape yet again and he fumbled for it with one hand. "Hello?" he asked.

"Stephen?" Christine asked. "I'm here."

"Just a moment," he said quickly. "I'll be right out."

"All right," she said, a tinge of laughter in her voice. Stephen knew she could sense how flustered he was and was probably smiling about it on the other end of the line.

The thought didn't bring him as much annoyance as it once would have, and he managed to hang up the phone and finish wrapping the gift so none of it was showing through the paper. It was hideous in his opinion, the paper bunching at the corners and held in place with far too much tape but hopefully Christine wouldn't notice or care. He stood up, making sure his sling ring was on his hand, and headed for the door.

Sure enough, Christine was on the front step of the Sanctum Sanctorum, cheeks pink from the wind and small strands of hair escaping from the bun she'd put it in. "Hi," she said.

"Hello," Stephen nodded, feeling suddenly awkward. The words he'd shouted at her – we were barely even lovers – came back to him with a vengeance and he mentally shoved them away. "Where would you like to go?" he asked. "I can take us anywhere you'd like."

"What do you mean?" Christine narrowed her eyes. "Is this part of your weird cult?"

"It's not a cult," Stephen sighed, "but yes, in a way."

Christine shook her head. "All right," she said defiantly. "England."

Must we? Stephen thought, already summoning a portal. It opened onto a deserted street in London that was lit only by a few streetlamps. "After you," he invited.

Christine shook her head. "You go first," she insisted.

Stepping through the portal, Stephen kept it open long enough for Christine to follow him and then closed it neatly. "It's around one in the morning," he said, anticipating her next question.

Christine rolled her eyes, still smiling. "So, is there a reason you asked me out again after all this time?"

Stephen took a deep breath and produced the poorly-wrapped gift. "I wanted to apologize," he said, voice shaking almost as much as his hands.

"What?" Christine asked, making no move to take the present.

"I was wrong," he pushed on, the words coming easier now. "I acted like a complete asshole to you and that wasn't right. I'm, well, I suppose I'm asking for your forgiveness."

Christine shook her head with a smile. "You're apologizing," she echoed. "The great Stephen Strange, admitting he was wrong."

Stephen chuckled dryly. "Not so great anymore, I'm afraid," he said, holding out the gift again.

Christine took the package and looked it over. "It looks – "

" – terrible, I know."

"Just fine," Christine said, sliding her fingers under the tape and tearing open the paper to reveal a small box. Taking the top off the box, she was shocked to see a watch. It was in perfect condition and she picked it up almost reverently, turning it over to see the inscription she expected on the back. "You fixed it," she whispered.

"I know we can't go back to what we were, Christine, but I was hoping we could move forward," Stephen explained, hoping his face wasn't as red as it felt. "As friends, of course."

Christine nodded, returning the top to the box and slipping it back into her pocket. "I think that would work very nicely." She took a step closer to Stephen and threaded one of her arms through his. "Now, since we're already here, why don't we take a nice long walk through London."

"As long as we don't go too close to Baker Street," Stephen said. "I have a cousin who lives there – completely insufferable man."

"Like you?" Christine teased.

Stephen smiled crookedly. "Worse, if you can imagine it."

A/N: And so ends this story! I hope I didn't butcher anyone too badly and hopefully some of you caught the reference I snuck in there.