Unbetaed, more questionable science, some sexual references but nothing explicit hence the increased rating, mention of sexual preferences but again nothing explicit, more "crack treated seriously"

Upon her fourth glasses of wine, Christine started to question her life choices, especially about the men she chose to date. Well, not really men, more like a man, singular. Her not-really-a-boyfriend-but-also-not-merely-a-casual-friend status with Stephen was quite confusing. He seemed to have changed a lot in some ways but not in others. He was still that idiotic guy who put a lot of faiths in his skills and liked to experiment. However, he seemed to be kinder and nicer.

It was better to think of something else such as what succubi were. She had some vague ideas about them. After some Google research (well, she had no luxury of Stark's AI), she regretted ever having researched them in the first place. She wondered whether it was wise to send Stephen to deal with creatures that got their energies from having intercourse with men. She was pretty certain that he might resist their seduction but did he have the skills to banish them? He was relatively new in this cult thing. Didn't they have someone else to take care of such things? Perhaps that Wong guy? She needed to ask Stephen how they assigned who got to deal with what. If he got back intact, he had been gone for 15 minutes. Well, he did have his cloak to help him. She wondered what happened to her that she put so much faith in a piece of garment to protect someone she lo-… cared for. Her brain added helpfully, "Well, Stephen Strange happened to you". She really needed to tell her brain who was boss.

It might be just easier to think about what to do with the diamond. She could ask a jeweler (not the dragon variety) to have it cut. She could make a pendant out of it but she could sell the rest. She could give the money to Stephen. She had a great income working in ER and she lived frugally. The same couldn't really be said for him. He couldn't just live on others' charity forever.

The now quite familiar golden circle reappeared and Stephen stepped into it and quickly collapsed into his chair. She looked at her watch, 19 minutes since he left. He just drank a glass of water, which she had the wisdom to pre-order for him, and took another deep long breath. His shirt was untucked and both his shirt and pants were in complete disarray and were torn in some places. Somehow, it still made him look much more attractive. In fact a lot more, she felt like jumping his bones right there and then.

He seemed to realize her predatory look. "I'll be right back. Their damn pheromones are all over me." He quickly retrieved a new shirt and pants from his bag and ran to the restroom.

She breathed a sigh of relief. OK, that explained her sudden urges. She hadn't gone hormonal— well, at least not her hormones.

He returned wearing a white tailored shirt and jeans. She raised her eyebrows. He understood her silent question. He sat down and drank more water. After a few long breaths, he finally said, "Yes, these clothes were also from the same shop I got my suits from. Where's my dinner?"

The waiter materialized and put Mango Pudding in front of Christine. He told Stephen, "I'll heat up your dinner right away, sir."

Stephen nodded. The waiter disappeared. "I really need to give him a good tip."

Well, Stephen had always been a good tipper. Christine was glad that at least he didn't change in this aspect. "How does it go with the succubus?"

"Succubi, there are three of them so it's plural." He realized that Christine rolled her eyes. "Oh, you knew and you were just testing whether I still like to correct people. It went as well as it could. I didn't try any experiment, just quickly banished them."

"Then why did it take 19 minutes?" It was his turn to raise his eyebrows. She turned bright red because that meant she was timing him. She tried to shrug nonchalantly. The keyword was try but she didn't know whether it had the desired effect. Perhaps not because Stephen gave her a smug look. "Well, I was bored. And why were your clothes in disarray?"

"Do you know what succubi do?"

"Yes, I just googled them. Wouldn't it be safer if a gay male sorcerer or a straight female sorceress deals with them? Or perhaps your friend Wong?"

Stephen chuckled. "Are you calling Wong gay? Not that there is anything wrong with it of course. I just happened to know that he has a lovely fiancée. And no, we don't assign tasks based on someone's sexual preferences. That'd be quite troublesome and sound homophobic. No, I'm not calling you that. It's just weird if new students were asked to fill in some forms in Kamar-Taj and one of the questions were 'What is your sexual preference?' Then that means we're truly a cult." He noticed Christine's glare so he quickly raised both shaky hands to shield himself. "No, I'm not delaying to answer. You know how I like to talk and explain stuff. I wasn't attracted to any of them. I used a disillusion spell so I could see their real forms." He shuddered. "If only others could see, then there'd be no victims. I guess that's the whole point of a succubus."

"Then why were your clothes in great disarray and why were you covered in pheromones?"

"I think the succubi don't care whether people are attracted to them. They just want to get what they want. Well, they didn't get any if that's what you were worried about." He shuddered again. "They use pheromones to attract their victims. I guess those pheromones somehow got splattered all over me when they clawed at my clothes. It was really hard to conjure spells to banish them with such proximity. I managed to do that when Sophie lifted me off the ground. So I apologize for the delay." Sophie seemed to perk up at the mention and lifted her collars much higher than usual.

Christine couldn't help but laugh. "Are you saying that you're regularly saved by Sophie? What kind of sorcerer are you?"

"Unfortunately, yes." He grinned. Sophie nodded by moving her collars up and down. "At least you call me a sorcerer this time. Well, I guess I'm a newbie. Give me a break. I'm supposed to be having a date with the woman that I lo-…like to spend time with. I also haven't got any dinner."

The waiter materialized and put the warm Pad Thai in front of him and poured some wine on her glass.

She was about to say she didn't need it anymore when Friday announced, "Doctor Strange, your assistance is required in Los Angeles because there are 10 sparkling vampires."

Christine just pushed a new empty glass for the waiter to fill in. She was impressed that his face remained impassive despite what he heard. He asked Stephen, "Do you want me to take back this plate, sir?"

The sorcerer shook his head. "That won't be necessary, Albert. I'll be back really soon. I hate sparkling vampires."

"So do I, sir. Good luck!" With that, he disappeared again.

She had to ask. "Sparkling vampires like in those Twilight series?"

He nodded grimly. "Where do you think Stephanie Meyer got the idea?"

Before Stephen disappeared through now a too familiar golden circle, Christine quickly said, "Be careful, Stephen. Come back quickly and don't lose any more clothing."

He nodded before stepping into the circle.

Christine would try not to drink any wine until he returned safely. Afterward, she'd have some stern words with Friday or whoever assigned these tasks to Stephen. Three times in a row was a bit too much and the poor guy hadn't had any food.

Notes:

-Yes, I know it's supposed to be one-shot that have grown each chapter. I promise the next chapter will be the last because poor Stephen and Christine really need a break. I also really need to answer the prompt anyway.
-I apologize to the Twilight fans. They were not against the books, they just thought vampires shouldn't sparkle.
-I know that's not how pheromones work. It's just "artistic license".

-Thanks to Unknownobody32 for a quick correction.
-Feedback and comments are welcome.