"Do I look okay? You said casual, but did you really mean casual?"

Ariana turned around from where she had been browsing through books on a shelf in the library to find Stephen standing there, wearing dark blue jeans and a vintage Pink Floyd t-shirt.

"You look great. Why are you so worried about this? It's just Pepper and Morgan."

"They're you're family. I'm having dinner with your family, that's a big deal."

"Stephen," Ariana said with a smile as she came close and rested her hands on his chest. He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. "This isn't the first time you've been around Pepper and Morgan. It's not like you're meeting the parents or something.

Stephen sighed. "I just—This is our first dinner with them since we got engaged. I know how important they are to you."

"You are important to me, too."

"Exactly. I don't want you to have to worry about weird family dynamics."

Ariana frowned. "For a guy who is normally so confident—dare I say arrogant—you're awfully worried about this."

"Let's just say I remember some pretty stressful family get togethers from my childhood."

Ariana blinked. "That's the first you have ever mentioned your childhood before. I just—I didn't ask because I assumed it was a sensitive subject."

"You assumed correctly. I don't like to talk about it. Maybe one day. Not today."

She nodded. "Okay. But for now—don't worry about this, okay? It's just Pepper and Morgan."

"Okay. But—"

She ran her hands down his arms, over his bare arm muscles. "You look great. Should we get going?"

"I'm ready if you are."

A few minutes and one portal later, they were knocking on the door of the cabin. Pepper answered with a smile on her face. "Hi! You made it!" She opened the door wider for them to come in and they followed her towards the kitchen. "I was worried you might have some inter-dimensional mystic crisis come up."

Stephen smiled. "There are plenty of other Masters who can handle an inter-dimensional crisis now and then when an important occasion comes up."

"So, Wong has things under control?" Pepper glanced back with a smile.

"Precisely," he said with a nod.

"Morgan! Aunt Ari and Doctor Strange are here!"

"Please, Mrs. Potts—you can call me Stephen."

Pepper turned, hands on her hips, eyebrow raised. "Perhaps if you'll start calling me Pepper that would be a bit easier."

Stephen blushed. "Oh, right. I see your point—Pepper."

Pepper nodded, feeling victorious in that battle. "I just need to bring the dishes to the table and we'll be ready to eat. I hope you all like Italian. I made Ziti, Garlic Bread, Salad."

"Everything looks great, Pepp. Thanks so much for having us over," Ariana said as she picked up a huge bowl of salad.

"It smells amazing," Stephen added as he picked up the huge dish of baked ziti.

They had just set the dishes on the dining table when they heard the heavy beats of footfalls on the steps.

"Aunt Ari!" Morgan squealed out as she flew towards the woman's waist, hugging it tight.

"Morgan, my girl! How are you?"

"I'm good. I'm so happy you're here." The young girl then released her 'aunt' and looked nervously to Stephen. "Hello, Doctor Strange."

Stephen knelt down in front of the girl. "Morgan, I would love it if you would call me Stephen. Would you do that?"

Morgan grinned and nodded.

He opened his arms wide. "And, could I possibly get a hug, too?"

He'd barely gotten out the words before she'd leapt towards him, arms now around his neck. It took Stephen by surprise only a moment before he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, his eyes closing a moment as he let himself enjoy the young girls embrace. "Thank you, Morgan. That's nice."

"Alright, let's eat!" Pepper said as she brought in the last of the food.


After dinner, they all sat around in the living room, the adults with glasses of wine, Morgan with a glass of milk that had been discarded on the coffee table. She came bouncing back in with a book and plopped herself unexpectedly onto Stephen's lap. "Uncle Stephen, will you read me a book?"

Stephen was left speechless. He looked up at Ariana, tears threatening at the corner of his eyes. If that wasn't acceptance into the family, he wasn't quite sure what was. Ariana smiled wide and proud back at him, then looked to Pepper who was reflecting the same look.

Finally, Stephen relaxed and rested his hands around the girl, taking the book. "Sure thing, Morgan. I'd love to read you a book."

A few minutes later he'd finished the book and Morgan spoke up again. "Stephen, will you tell me about your hands?"

Pepper spoke up. "Morgan, that's not—"

"No, it's okay, Pepper," Stephen said with a nod, then turned his attention back to the girl. He set the book down beside them and then held his hands out in front of Morgan. They trembled, as they always did when he was attempting to hold them still. "I was in a very bad car accident. My hands were badly damaged. I'm lucky to have as much use of them as I do. There's lots of things I can't do now. Like I couldn't open the wine bottle for your mother earlier. I've just barely learned to tie my own tie again. Thankfully, I don't have to wear a lot of ties any more."

"You can still do your magic."

Stephen gave a small smile. "Yes, in fact, I didn't learn all about the mystic arts until after my accident. I might never have found out about it if I hadn't had that accident. I'd never have met your Aunt Ari."

Morgan let out a yawn and rested her head on his shoulder. She took hold of his hands and traced the lines of his scars thoughtfully. "Then I'm glad your car crashed. Even if it was bad. I like you and your hands, Uncle Stephen. I'm glad you met Aunt Ari."

Stephen sighed and placed a gentle kiss on the girls head. "Yeah, me too, Morgan. Me too."

There was barely a dry eye in the house after that conversation. They sat quietly for a few moments to recover. Morgan seemed comfortably settled in to Stephen's lap and continued to trace the lines on his hands while the two women picked back up on conversation about the latest Stark Industries news.

After about twenty minutes, Stephen quietly cleared his throat to get the women's attention, then looked down at Morgan who was now sound asleep on him.

"I'm so sorry, Stephen. I'll carry her up to her room."

"I—I don't mind—that is, if it's okay with you."

Pepper smiled. "I don't mind."


A few minutes later, Stephen came back downstairs and found both women staring at him with teary eyes.

"Ladies, I swear, if you start crying, I'm going to. And I've had about as much of an emotional roller coaster as I can for the night. Pepper, your daughter is remarkable."

"That she is. She has good judgment, too. Not that I had doubts, because I trust Ari's judgment. But if Morgan likes you, you've made it through quite the gauntlet, Stephen."

"Good to know I pass the test."

He settled back in on the couch and Ariana leaned into his side as his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

Pepper smiled. "I'm so happy for you both. Have you decided where you're going to have the wedding?"

Ariana glanced at Stephen and smiled. "We're still working on that, but I think we've settled on it. There's still a few details to work out."

"Have you decided on a honeymoon?"

Ariana blushed and Stephen smiled before answering. "We've talked a little about it, but haven't decided."

Pepper looked between the two a moment before offering her idea. "I'd like to take care of the honeymoon, as a wedding gift."

"Pepp, I can't ask you to do that—"

"You're not asking. I'm offering. Like I said, a wedding gift. I know what your paycheck is. And I know of Stephen's financial situation after his accident. This isn't charity—this is family. This is my gift to you."

"That's very gracious of you, Pepper." Stephen added.

"Actually, there's something I've needed to talk to you about for a while, Ari. I just didn't want to overwhelm you after the gift that Tony left for you."

Ariana frowned a bit. "What is it?"

"Tony made your status as his sister a bit more official before his death."

"What—what do you mean?"

"Well, while he couldn't exactly adopt you as his sister—he could make sure you received a share in the family business." Ariana's eyes went wide. "He's made you a shareholder in Stark Industries, Ari. I know you fought with Tony when he insisted on continuing to pay you your salary after you left SI. But now, he's taken it a step further. Let's just say, you'll see a significant increase in your check every month. You'll be well taken care of. And we've also arranged for you to have full access to all the properties. Which is where the honeymoon comes in. You remember Tony bought that beach house on the North Carolina coast. I think it'd be the perfect spot for you two to honeymoon. And I'd like to take care of all your expenses while you're on you're there."

"Pepp, I—"

"The money is going to be deposited in your account every month, Ari. What you do with it is up to you. Donate it to charity. Use it however you want—but it's yours. It's what Tony wanted."


It was late when the two Masters of Mystic Arts returned to the Sanctum. Now, they stood in front of the large round window at the highest point in the Sanctum, looking out over the streets of New York. Stephen held Ariana in his arms, looking at her worriedly. "Are you alright? That was pretty big news you got tonight."

"I—I know that in your former life you had lots of money, Stephen—but I, I've never lived like that. Never had that."

"That was a different life, Ariana—you know that. I'm not like that anymore."

"Well—we're about to be—I mean, Pepper made it sound like it was going to be a lot of money."

"That doesn't mean we change the way we live, Ari."

Ariana smiled. "You just called me Ari."

"Sorry—I heard Pepper and Morgan call you that so much tonight."

"It's okay. It's not a bad thing. Just different."

"Anyway. It doesn't have to change anything. Okay?"

Ariana smiled and nodded, then leaned in and rested her head on Stephen's chest. After a few moments of them both looking out the window, she pulled back. "Let's do it here."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, I think I am. This is my favorite spot to stand with you. So let's stand together here on our wedding day."

"Alright, then."