Leave rustled quietly and cold autumn air burned slightly at Max's heaving lungs. Her feet carried her as fast as they could through the seemingly endless forest. Ducking behind a large tree, she leaned against the trunk and took the moment to catch her breath and look around to see if she had been pursued. With no sign of being followed, she took off once more, making a wide circle back around from where she had started running some time ago. Slowing down to a silent creep when she got close enough, she peered through the trees toward the clearing where this had all started. In the clearing, the blanket was still laid out, with the books and remainder of the food from lunch still sitting patiently where it had all been left. That's when she spotted him. The deep red tunic stood out against the green of the forest. He hadn't yet spotted her, as he also watched the blanket and crouched in waiting.

"So, you're waiting for me to break and return first, huh?" she thought to herself, "Fat chance. I got you now."

Slowly creeping around the tree line, she planned her attack. She'd sneak up behind him and catch him off guard. As she approached, knees crouched and ready to spring, he vanished from the tree line.

"Shit!" she hissed to herself.

Looking around frantically to spot him again, she forgot to look in the most crucial direction: behind her. She let out a gasped shriek as arms suddenly grabbed her from behind, hoisting her into the air. Her legs kicked, but her arms were trapped at her sides. She was unable to escape. The chase was over. She'd lost. Her startled shriek faded into cackling laughter as she finally worked herself free and dropped to land back on her feet. Spinning around suddenly, she smacked him on the chest.

"You cheated, you jerk!"

"You never laid out the rules, only the game," Stephen laughed, clearly proud of himself, "And...what was it you bet again?"

He spent a moment pretending to think about it, before quoting her own words back to her.

"Ah, yes. It was something like "You'll have to catch me first," wasn't it? And the prize was…"

"If you caught me, I'd stay for dinner this time," she finished in defeat.

"And I caught you."

"It doesn't count!" she protested, "I should have won fair and square!"

"Since this is neither "fair" nor "square," I was thinking pasta."

Walking back into the clearing toward the blanket, she sat back down with a huff. He stood over her for a moment longer, still prepared to gloat about his small victory.

"I was thinking pasta."

"You know," she sighed overdramatically, "Sometimes I think you only keep me around to cook for you."

"Well…" he shrugged, "That's not the only reason."

"Jerkface."

She reached into the lunch cooler she'd brought out and threw the first object she grabbed at his chest. She wasn't altogether surprised when it stopped in midair before hitting him, and he easily grabbed it. The satisfaction of throwing it was enough.

"Did...did you just throw a sandwich at me?"

"Maybe."

He laughed at her pathetic declaration of frustration, causing her to laugh as well.

"Next time, you might try throwing the-"

His voice suddenly cut off as his expression dropped and he turned to look over his shoulder. His expression had hardened and he stared off intently. Max climbed back up onto her feet to step up beside him.

"Stephen? What's wrong?"

"There's someone in the house."

Her face lit up in hope that it was a good sign. Maybe, if they were lucky, there wasn't imminent danger.

"Is Wong back?" she asked, hope evident on her face.

"No."

Without another word, Stephen took off to the direction of the door. Max followed closely after him without a second thought. They reached the beginning of the forest, where the door seemed to hang in the air, surrounded by nothing. As they stepped through into the Sanctorum, Max quietly closed the glass doors, leaving the seemingly endless forest closed behind them. Stephen quietly stepped closer to the railing leading down to the first floor entry, gesturing for her to stay behind.

"Not a chance," she whispered, still keeping in step at his heels.

"Maggie, stay out of sight," he insisted again, signalling in another direction.

For a moment, the signal confused her, until she realized that it wasn't for her. In a flash of red, she was snuggly grabbed and pulled into the side hallway, safe from the intruder. She struggled against the cloth relic, but its hold didn't falter.

"C'mon," she hissed quietly, "It could be dangerous."

"Keep her safe," Strange told the cloak, before proceeding down the stairs.

Stephen raised his hands in front of him, watching as circular runes appeared around them in a defensive shielding. As the intruder stepped further into the entryway, Stephen drew one of his hands back, slinging it forward suddenly to launch the energy toward the feet of the uninvited guest. When it made contact with the floor, Strange jumped over the railing, landing on the stairs in the entry.

"WOAH!" the young hero shouted, jumping back from the sizzling energy that landed in front of him, "Doc, it's me!"

"Oh," Stephen realized, casually dropping the energy and losing his tense attack position, "Afternoon, Mr. Parker."

"I just...the door was open...I didn't mean to-" the red and blue clad guest stuttered, a bit taken back by the sudden flash that seared the ground about a half an inch from him.

"No, it's fine. Is there something I can help you with?"

Strange's now casual demeanor caused the situation to diffuse with ease.

"Oh, I'm definitely knocking next time!" Spiderman chuckled, "But I just wondered if you'd seen someone."

"Well that depends on who it is you're looking for. Perhaps I can help."

"See, I was looking for Max Stark," he explained, "Her dad...kinda has GPS on her phone, so I tapped into it when I couldn't find her. It got to about a block from here before freaking out and now there's no signal or sign of her. Since this place is a satellite dead zone, I thought maybe she came by here."

"And why exactly are you tracking her?" Stephen raised an eyebrow in question, humor evident on his face at Peter's odd situation.

"It's not like a weird thing! I swear! Mr. Stark and I couldn't reach her and she wasn't at her apartment, so he got kinda worried and sent me to look in the last place we knew where she was."

"To answer your question, yes. She came by just a short while ago. She was here asking something about potential energy and she wanted to know if I had any information or an opinion regarding the use of untapped energy source. Does that mean anything to you?"

"Oh, yeah," Peter nodded, "She's been working like crazy to help Mr. Stark with a new clean energy project for the company. Maybe she's doing some research."

"I'm afraid I couldn't help her. But...now that I think of it, her phone might have been thrown off by the house."

He hated lying to Peter, but as long as Max asked him to keep their personal relationship private, he didn't see any other option.

"I must've just missed her," Peter accepted, "She's probably back at her place working. I won't bother her then. Thanks, Doc!"

"Oh, Peter," Strange stopped him before he left, "I highly doubt Tony wants my opinions interfering with this project. Maybe it's best if we leave this here between us. I don't want him to worry about her coming by."

"Yeah, no problem."

"Let me know if there's anything else I can do."

"You're the best, Doc," the boy thanked him, heading back out the door.

As soon as the front door closed, Stephen took a deep breath and turned back around to head up the stairs. He watched as Max leaned around the corner to look, with the Cloak leaning out as well just above her.

"Thanks…"

"You know I don't like doing that," he sighed, "Peter's a good kid and he trusts me. Now, I lied to his face."

"I know. We knew this wouldn't be easy, but-"

"But is this worth it? I don't see why you're so determined to deceive people about this. He's your friend, Maggie!"

"I know, I know! I'm just not ready to deal with them getting involved in this!"

"Involved? This isn't about them. This is about us."

She crossed her arms and rubbed them nervously.

"Are you happy?"

"What?" she asked, confused.

"With this. Are you happy? Do you want this?"

"Of course I'm happy, Stephen. You know that I care about you."

"Then why does their matter so much? Why can't-"

"A little while longer. Please!" she stopped him, "I know it's hard, but I can figure this out. I just need more time. I'll make it work."

"More time?" he huffed quietly, "The last few months weren't enough time to say "Hey, I met someone"? What else do you need?"

"I'm scared, alright?" she admitted, "I'm scared that bringing everyone else into this is going to screw it up. My family's not exactly the most normal and stable. It's just...we have this perfect thing. I don't want it to change. It means too much to me."

"I understand, Sweetheart," he spoke gently, placing his hands on her arms to uncross them, "If this is what you really want, I'll do it. Just make sure it's what you want."

"It is...at least for now," she mumbled, a bit unsure of herself.

He stepped forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Please, consider telling them," he pleaded.

"They won't be happy about it," she reminded him.

"Maybe not, but we can change their minds."

She shook her head slightly.

"Clearly, you don't know Tony Stark then. He won't just drop this. I don't want him to be upset about this, but...I also don't want to give it up. Why does it make such a difference to you whether or not they all know?"

"Maggie, you know me. You know what my life is like and you know the people in it. You're a part of my life, whether anyone likes it or not. It doesn't bother you in the slightest that I have no part in yours? The only thing I've ever done in your life is lie to the people that care about you."

"That's not…" she couldn't think of a good excuse as she spoke, "It won't stay that way. I can figure this out. I promise. Please, I just need a little more time."

"Fine," he reluctantly agreed, "But sooner or later, they will find out. They deserve to hear it from us before finding out the hard way."

"How are you so sure?"

"The funny thing about secrets is that they don't stay that way."

She nodded weakly once more, leaning forward seeking some sort of support and comfort.

"You can't get rid of me that easily," he reassured her, pulling her into his arms, "For now, we don't have to think about it."

"Thank you, Stephen. For everything."