Strange Use of Magic (Black Clover AU) Chapter 120: Strange Tears

[Third Person's PoV] 


“So… I was just wondering if what happened on the beach was a one-time thing between us?” Wanda asked shyly, avoiding Stephen’s gaze.


“Do you want it to be?” Stephen asked carefully. He genuinely wasn’t sure how to proceed—what happened between them had been impulsive, and he hadn’t figured out what to do moving forward.


‘Whatever. I’ll just go with the flow, and if something goes wrong, I can always use Time Magic to erase my mistakes. What a genius idea.’ Stephen inwardly nodded at his own reasoning.


“I don’t know…” Wanda murmured. “I mean, surely we can’t—you’re engaged to Noelle’s cousin, Mimosa. What happened between us was a mistake. You should be more loyal to the person you're going to marry. Not to mention…” Her voice trailed off.


‘I can’t do that to Noelle… She’s my friend. It would be betraying her—she’s in love with Stephen too.’ Wanda’s thoughts quickly turned self-deprecating. ‘But didn’t I already betray her by kissing him? What is wrong with me?!’


“Not to mention what?” Stephen asked, frowning as she left her sentence unfinished.


Wanda let out a sigh, shaking her head. “Forget it. I already got my answer,” she said, standing up. “Don’t worry—I won’t tell anyone. If you won’t, then we can just pretend this mistake never happened.”


She closed her eyes and turned to leave, but before she could take more than a few steps, Stephen caught her wrist, stopping her.


“W-What are you doing?” Wanda exclaimed, her cheeks turning a faint shade of red. She hated how inwardly relieved she felt that he hadn’t let her go.


Stephen tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. “Who said I think what we did was a mistake? And what if I don’t want to pretend it didn’t happen?”


Wanda stared at him in disbelief, her heart skipping a beat. Her blush deepened, spreading from her cheeks to her ears.


“Then… you’d be getting yourself into trouble, wouldn’t you?” she said with a resigned sigh. “The last thing I want is to cause problems for you—or to be labeled a homewrecker.”


Stephen’s expression turned slightly awkward. “Well… I’m not sure if you’ll believe me, but I really won’t be getting into any trouble.”


He still hadn’t let go of her wrist, but his grip had softened, his fingers sliding down to lace with hers. With his free hand, he scratched his cheek, looking almost embarrassed at the confused look she was giving him.


“What do you mean by that?” Wanda asked, her brows furrowing.


“This might sound hard to believe—I’m still wrapping my head around it—but… Mimosa actually wants me to form a harem,” Stephen admitted.


“…What?” Wanda’s voice dropped, her eyes turning slightly cold. She instinctively pulled her hand away from his grasp. “Do you seriously expect me to believe something that ridiculous?”


Stephen tightened his grip, preventing her from pulling away completely. “No, I’m not asking you to believe it. I’m just telling you the truth. Our cultures are different, and I get why this might seem strange to you, but in noble circles, having more than one spouse is… relatively normal.”


Wanda cringed slightly, remembering that they were more than 500 years apart in terms of culture. What they considered normal was bound to be different.


"I'm sorry, but that just seems weird to me," Wanda said, looking a bit uncomfortable.


"It seems weird to me as well… but I don’t want you thinking you did something wrong. You have nothing to feel guilty or ashamed about," Stephen reassured her.


"I wish I could believe it was that easy," Wanda said, shaking her head. "But it's not a simple matter."


Stephen frowned in confusion. "Isn't it? Aren't you overcomplicating things? After all, it was just a simple kiss."


"A simple kiss…" Wanda repeated softly, looking down. She bit her lip, trying to suppress her hurt expression. "It might have been just a simple kiss for you—one of many, I’m sure, by the sound of it—but it wasn’t for me. It was my first kiss."


She pulled her hand away from Stephen's and turned to leave. Her eyes welled with unshed tears, and she felt foolish for being so emotional over something that should have been trivial. But hearing how little the moment seemed to mean to him hurt far more than she expected.


She reached for the door, but just as she pulled it open, Stephen shut it again. His hand pressed against the wood, keeping it closed, his body now behind her. Wanda remained facing the door, her fingers gripping the handle tightly.


She bit her lip again and tried to open the door, but once more, Stephen shut it.


"What do you want? Why won’t you let me leave?" she demanded, her voice harsher than intended. Her emotions were all over the place.


Stephen sighed. "Because I know I’ll regret it if I let you walk away without saying anything."


"Then just say what you need to say so I can go," Wanda snapped, still facing the door, arms crossed over her chest.


"It would be better if you faced me so I could apologize properly," Stephen said, his tone laced with a hint of teasing to lighten the mood.


He saw the way her fingers tightened around her biceps, the way her grip on her own arms tensed. She was debating whether to turn around.


"Please?" he asked softly, his voice filled with genuine hope.


Wanda’s shoulders slumped as she finally turned, leaning back against the door. She kept her head turned to the side, unable to meet his gaze.


Her face burned as she realized just how close he was, his arm braced against the door above her, effectively caging her in. His forehead rested against his arm as he looked down at her.


"I'm sorry, alright?" he said sincerely. "I didn’t mean anything bad by it. I didn’t realize how important it was to you, and I didn’t mean to make light of it."


A single tear slipped down Wanda’s cheek. As she raised her hand to wipe it away, Stephen beat her to it, his fingers gently brushing the tear aside.


Before he could apologize again, Wanda spoke first. "It wasn’t just because it was my first kiss," she admitted softly. "It was because it was my first kiss with you… That’s why it was so important."


Stephen’s fingers lingered against her cheek as he processed her words. His lips curled slightly, almost regretfully. "I see… Then I really was insensitive. I didn’t realize I held such a place in your heart."


Wanda finally gathered the courage to look up at him. Her lip was caught between her teeth, and she met his gaze with intensity. "Of course you do, you idiot! Do you think I’d be here if it weren’t for you? That I would have what I have today—"


She was abruptly cut off as Stephen sealed her lips with his own.


Wanda’s eyes widened in disbelief. Instinctively, she pressed her fists against his shoulders, pushing against him—yet not fully resisting. Sensing this hesitation, Stephen gently grasped her wrists and guided them to the wall beside her.


Her resistance gradually melted, her hands relaxing in his grip as the kiss deepened.


When they finally parted, their faces mere inches apart, Wanda’s lips trembled as fresh tears slipped from her eyes. "You are a cruel person, Stephen Strange."


Stephen smirked slightly, his voice dropping into a sensual whisper. "Well, I never claimed to be a good person either."


Wanda broke free from his hold, her hands shooting up to grab his face. A look of regretful resignation flickered in her eyes. "Maybe I really do bring destruction to everything I touch."


With that, she pulled him down into another kiss, this one fiercer, more desperate.


A soft moan escaped her lips as Stephen pressed her firmly against the door. Her fingers tangled into his hair, holding him tightly as the sound of their lips meeting echoed through the room.


Stephen’s hands traced down from her waist to her thighs, gripping them firmly. Wanda instinctively lifted her leg, wrapping it around him as he lifted her off the ground, pressing her even closer against the door.


Their kiss grew more passionate, tongues tangling in a heated battle for dominance.


Stephen broke away from her lips, trailing kisses down her jawline to her neck. Wanda’s head fell back against the door as she moaned breathlessly. "Ahhh~ Stephen…"


He smirked against her skin as he sucked lightly at her neck, intent on leaving a mark. When he finally pulled away, Wanda took his face in her hands and brought him back into another deep, desperate kiss.


Neither of them had any intention of stopping.