It had been a few days since Max last spoke to Tony. She'd never looked back since she got on the elevator and she wasn't sure she ever could. Part of her hoped that Tony would call, but he never did. None of the others had noticed her disappearance yet, or, if they did, they hadn't done anything about it. Had it not been for Stephen and Wong letting her stay at the Sanctum, she would have felt completely alone.

Sitting in a large, plush armchair by the fireplace, she curled her legs in closer to her chest and buried her face in her knees. She couldn't stop thinking about the argument with her father. It played in her mind, over and over again. She was lost in her thoughts until a comforting weight settled around her shoulders. She lifted her head and watched curiously as the enchanted red fabric wrapped around her, almost enveloping her entirely in a cocoon of warmth.

"It knows you're upset, my dear," Stephen noted, as he walked into the room.

He sat on the arm of the chair and wrapped his arm around the bundle that was Max. The Cloak seemed to look up at him for approval. He gently stroked the material, offering both comfort for Max and praise to the Cloak for taking care of her.

"Here," he sighed, shifting to kneel down in front of the chair so she would look at him, "I brought hot cocoa."

He offered her the steaming mug of chocolate with a small, sad smile.

"I can actually do some things in the kitchen," he laughed lightly.

She freed her hands from the tangle and took the mug, but didn't speak.

"I know it's been a hard few days," he remarked, "And I know that I've been too busy to be there for you as much as I want. Business is...well, my job picks when I have to work. I don't get to choose that."

"Stephen," she sighed, her voice still sounding a bit weak and shaky, "I'm not upset with you for having work to do. I don't want you to drop everything for me. You do so much and-"

"Hey," he stopped her, cupping her face gently with a trembling hand, "I want to be here. I'll make time for you. Always."

"You're wondering if I think I made a mistake, aren't you?"

"You know me so well," he sighed, stroking her cheek gently.

"I don't regret it," she told him, certainty present even in her shaky voice, "I know what I want. I just...I wish I'd been able to fix things. My whole job is-…was fixing things for other people and working things out, but, when it came down to it, I failed."

"I...I love you, Maggie," he spoke gently, "But you know I can't let you give up your life for me."

"I know," she replied, looking him deep in the eyes, "But it's not your choice either. This is my life. I get to choose who I want to spend it with and...who I can't keep in it. Tony doesn't pick that and you can't either."

This brought a small, sympathetic smile to his face.

"So, you chose me?"

She nodded before taking a sip of cocoa.

"Then...I should probably tell you the truth as well."

She looked at him nervously. What hadn't he told her?

"I…" he sighed dramatically before a painfully long pause. "I can't make hot chocolate either. I didn't make it. Wong did."

"You jerk!" she breathed out in relief, "I thought you were gonna say you were dying or something!"

Her small laugh was worth the joke.

"Wait! Is...is that a smile?" he grinned back at her, as she tried to hide deeper behind the cloak, "Oh, no you don't."

He chuckled and peeled the fabric back to see her face more clearly.

"There it is. Now you look like my Maggie again."

"Will…" she started asking, before stopping herself.

"What is it, love?"

"Will you read to me?" she asked, turning a bit pink, "I don't want to keep you from anything important, but...I don't want to be alone. Hearing you always helps."

His smile grew a bit wider.

"Of course. I'll be right back."

When he returned, he did so with a selection of books tucked under his arm.

"Move over," he instructed the cloak more so than Max.

Rather than to move over entirely on the large chair, the cloak nudged Max gently to the far side and unwrapped enough to allow Stephen to sit in the cocoon. Rolling his eyes slightly at the fickle object, he accepted the spot and sat down. Almost immediately, Cloak re-wrapped itself around both Max and Stephen as best it could.

The rest of the evening was spent by the same firelight, reading and keeping Max's mind a million miles away from the recent hurts that were troubling her. Stephen had to admit to himself that, on a selfish note, he was happy she picked him. It was the only way he could really be sure that she was well taken care of and safe. That was all that mattered to him right now.

Max woke up quietly from a dreamless sleep, looking around to take in her surroundings. She was still at the Sanctum, which meant that she likely still didn't have a job or family to speak of. Swallowing the painful thought, she sat up and slowly stretched the sleep out of her tired limbs. Folding the blankets over and off of her, she slid out of the bed and stood up, looking down to notice that she was still dressed in a dark blue t-shirt of Stephen's and a pair of his pajama pants that she had to wear high on her waist and tied tightly, because they were so big on her. She smiled fondly at the outfit. Since Stephen wasn't in bed, she assumed that he was likely already started on his day. She'd been sleeping in very late the last few days, so she wasn't shocked.

Shuffling down the the kitchen, she peered her head in the door to look for him. He wasn't there, but there was a covered plate on the kitchen island with a note on it. She crept into the kitchen quietly to get a better look at it. She picked up the note to read it. It read:

Max,

You need to start eating again. No living on hot chocolate.

~Wong

She smiled at the note and lifted the plate cover off. Waiting underneath was a hot breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast.

"Thanks, Wong."

She sat down and didn't hesitate to devour the meal. Wong had a point; she hadn't eaten much since she'd come to stay with them. If he was willing to put in the thought and time to make sure she ate well, the least she could do is eat and be thankful.

After breakfast, she finally found Stephen. The Cloak of levitation sat firmly on his shoulders as he faces the large oculus window. She walked closer to see that he wasn't actually standing in front of the window, but rather floating there. He was silently meditating, seated in midair with his legs crossed under him. He appeared so concentrated that she didn't think twice before deciding not to bother him. She crept backwards carefully, trying not to make a sound and bother him.

"Good morning. Did you have a good breakfast?" came the voice directly behind her, causing her to jump and let out a small shriek.

She whipped around to look behind her at a laughing Stephen, or at least an image of him.

"I oughta kick your astral butt, Strange!" she shouted, still shaken from the surprise.

"I'm sorry," he laughed, "I didn't mean to scare you. I forget that I don't make much noise on the astral plane."

"Breakfast was fine," she finally answered his question, "Where's Wong. I wanted to thank him."

"Hong Kong," Stephen answered casually.

"Already? I wanted to at least say hi."

"He comes and goes as he will. I'll make sure he stays long enough to receive praise for his cooking next time. He'll like that."

"Am I keeping you from important world-saving stuff?" she asked, hoping she hadn't interrupted something important.

"No," he answered simply, "It's been a slow morning. Just taking a walk to clear my head."

"Taking a walk outside of your head?"

"Precisely."

"Then, do you have a second to talk? I wanna ask you something."

"Of course. What's bothering you. Is something wrong?"

She rocked on her feet a bit before answering.

"I...I'm not used to not working or studying full time, so...I guess I'm just feeling kind of useless right about now. I don't have anything to do and I can't keep my mind off of...well, off of how scared I am about all of this."

"So, you're getting restless then?"

"Yeah. I was wondering...can I help?"

"Help with what?"

"Anything. I mean, it's a big house. I have to be able to help with something, right? I just...I need something to do. Maybe I could make it up to you for you letting me stay here."

"Maggie, you don't owe me anything. You're always welcome here."

"I know, but I want to help you somehow. I'm really handy. I can clean, organize, schedule, anything you need."

"I'm not going to ask you to-"

"Please. I need to be productive or i'll go insane."

"Alright. I suppose Wong and I could use all the help we can get. The study is a disaster. Why don't you come help me with it and, when Wong gets back, you can see where he needs help."

"Thank you! I won't let you down."

Stephen walked over toward his body and his astral form faded away out of sight. A moment later, his eyes opened and he stepped down from where he was levitating. The Cloak didn't need words to leave his shoulders and give him space. It contently resumed its spot in the window and spread out to sun itself.

"You think it likes being outside of a display case?" Max smiled.

"I think it does, yes."

She walked with Stephen to the study and was shocked to see what state the room was in. There were piles of books so large they seemed to make mountains in the room. The desk was littered with old texts and papers. Relics were scattered around the room.

"Wow…"

"I know. It's a lot of work. You don't have to help me if-"

"No! Let's get started!" she beamed eagerly, happy to have a distraction that she was well equipped to handle.

The day passed quickly as the two worked together. Max was contentedly distracted from the world around her when she had some small, tangible task in front of her. Admittedly, Stephen enjoyed working with her far more than working alone, even if it took extra time to explain the process and get Max ever more use to the house. He loved to watch how she buzzed around the room, overhauling the organization and finding a new system. When she was finished, the study had been more organized and in order than he had ever seen it, and, working quickly, Max was ready to move on to the next room. Stephen returned to his studying, assuring Max that they could work together again tomorrow.

Max asked if she could stay behind in the study while Stephen was busy, so he agreed. Now, she sat at his desk looking for a new thing to occupy her time. She shuffled the items around on the desk slightly, noting that neither the house or the large office like room didn't have anything personal in it. Suddenly, an idea sprang to mind. She hurried back to the bedroom, where she'd left her things, and returned with her messenger bag. When she sat back down, she pulled the photo that she had taken back from Tony out of the bag. After bringing the small photo to her lips briefly, she set it on the desk, leaned up against a small stack of organized texts. Looking fondly at the photo, her eyes trailed past it to the books. She knew she probably shouldn't meddle in any of Stephen's stuff, but sometimes she couldn't help but to be curious. She placed the ancient text in front of her and opened it, regardless of her better judgement warning her against it.

"What language even is this?" she mumbled to herself, looking over the sanskrit writing, "Oh, well. That's what the internet is for."

With one hand she gently traced a hand over the pages and with the other she pulled her iPad out of her bag.

"What's the worst a book could do?"