Days continued to pass, but Max didn't approach Stephen about giving her things to do again. He'd be lying to say that he wasn't disappointed. He really enjoyed working with her; however, he was busy and she seemed content when he saw her in the mornings and evenings, so he didn't press the matter. Meanwhile, Max had opened Pandora's proverbial box with her curiosity. Now, she didn't want to stop. She had already finished the first book she's borrowed, without Stephen's knowledge, and the second passed even faster. Now, she found herself sitting on the kitchen floor, back against the island, with a book on her lap and her iPad off to the side, helping her to read the language. Since Stephen rarely entered the kitchen, she knew it was a good enough spot. At least, it was.

Max's attention is drawn away from the pages by a pair of boots stepping up in front of her. Slowly and fearfully, she followed the sight up.

"H-hey, Wong," she greeted weakly, like a child who was about to get into trouble for something bad they did.

"What are you doing on the floor?" he asked, clearly knowing the answer.

He was really asking about the book and they both knew it.

"I was just curious," she explained, "I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I'll put it back. I swear."

Wong held out a hand and Max sadly handed the book to him. He looked at the spine of the book with a surprised expression.

"You're reading this?"

"Well...whatever I can translate, so...most of it."

"Come with me."

Max followed silently through the house, until they reached the main foyer.

"Am...am I in trouble?" she asked, worried that she was being kicked out or something.

"No."

"Then-"

"Just follow."

"You know, you're an ominously quiet guy, Wong."

They walked to a door off to the side at the bottom of the stairs. Max had never even noticed the door before, much less gone in it. When Wong opened the door, he walked through and the view through the door seemed to ripple slightly as it was passed. She cautiously followed after, looking around curiously at the small room. The room had three doors, each with a different symbol on it.

"Hong Kong and London?" she asked, pointing to the correct door for each.

"How do you know so much?"

"I learned a long time ago that money and power aren't any good if you don't know how to use them. Learning is what gets people places. Since then, I keep my ears open and learn what I can."

He looked at her for a second before seeming to nod to himself. Max just continued surveying the room, eyes stopping on the stone pedestal in the center, delicately supporting the Eye of Agamotto. Wong gave her an odd look as she looked at it, but she threw her hands up in defense.

"Don't worry! I know better than to touch anything."

"Smart girl."

She followed him out of the small room and into another. The next large room looked like a massive library, filled with ancient texts similar to that in the Sanctum. She looked at the chamber in awe as she slowly walked through.

"If you are going to read, start here," Wong insisted, "Here, I can keep you out of trouble."

"That's fair," she agreed, "So...I'm not in trouble?"

"Not from me."

"Are you going to tell Stephen? Will he be mad at me? I can't-"

"I haven't decided yet. Start with this," he cut her off, taking a book from one of the front shelves and handing it to her, "Try to read it. You can read it here and only here. It doesn't leave this library and none of these leave the Sanctum."

"Yes, sir," she agreed.

She was set up at a desk in the library and reminded to be quiet and respectful. As soon as Wong left her there, she eagerly dug into the new book that had been offered to her, still using Google Translate as her best friend. She couldn't tell how long that she'd been there reading, but it wasn't enough. Far too soon, Wong came back to get her.

"Aw, come on. Just a bit longer?" she asked, afraid that she might not be allowed this chance again.

"Go, eat dinner, and come back tomorrow," he told her.

She just nodded and respected his decision, walking back through the small round room and through the door to the New York Sanctum. As she walked up the stairs, Stephen called to her from the relic room. She hurried up to him and found him by the window again.

"Maggie? There you are," he greeted her as she walked up, "Where have you been?"

"Helping Wong."

"Oh, alright," he accepted, reaching out to take her hand, lead her closer, and kiss her forehead, "Are you hungry?"

"Yup."

For the next few days, the routine stayed the same. Max would wake up and have breakfast with Wong and Stephen. Stephen would go off and work or study, whichever the day needed. Meanwhile, Wong and Max would go work in the library, which Max was still convinced was inside the house.

"So, if there are two libraries in the house?" she asked, looking up from today's book, "Because there's another one upstairs."

"There is one library in the Sanctum," Wong corrected her, not looking up from his own book.

"Then what about this one? It doesn't count?"

"No, because it is not in the house."

"Well...then where are we?"

"You ask so many questions," he sighed, looking up at her finally.

He assumed that the space between the desks would provide a barrier of silence, but there was no such thing once Max started down a trail of questions.

"Are we still in New York though? Are we somewhere else? Why can't I ask more ques-"

He raised a hand and she immediately stopped speaking. When he gestured for her to follow him, she shrugged and went along with it. They stepped outside the library into a large courtyard.

"Oh!" she realized, "The Sanctums are all linked in the chamber of the Orb of Agamotto, so it makes sense to have that also connected to the sanctuary of Kamar Taj, which is how we get to the library so fast. This way, all knowledge is connected and available to all of the sorcerers, helping to cast a wider net of communication. That makes good sense."

"You know too much..." Wong grumbled, shaking his head at the fascinated girl.

"What? It's a logical move, isn't it? Why wouldn't that make sense?"

"This all makes sense to you? Even the doors?" he asked, testing her a bit.

"Yes and no," she answered with complete honestly, "This place makes sense to me just like how the sanctums do and just like how magic does. I know what the purpose is and I know why they exist. It doesn't much make a difference to me how they exist, because someone would go crazy trying to do that. I mean, you could learn the basic principles sure, but magic is magic because it is."

He looked at her for a moment with a thoughtful expression before a small grin spread across his face.

"What? Was that wrong?"

"No. In fact, I think I made the right choice. Go finish your book. I'll be back shortly."

Max nodded and returned to the library as she was asked. As Wong passed through, she looked up at him and made one final comment.

"You know, I'd never been to Kathmandu."

"As far as everyone's concerned, you still haven't."

"Roger that."

Stephen groaned to himself as he poured over the passage in the book one more time. This text he had been working on was particularly challenging, especially when half of his thoughts kept abandoning him to go off and think about Max. Normally, focus and determination came easily to him. Now, he was half trying to think of excuses to go see Wong so he could see how Max was doing and if she needed anything. Once more, his whole mind became drawn away from his work in favor of thinking of her. He remembered what she looked like in the mornings when she stayed with him, with her peaceful face as she was fast asleep, curled up in a bundle of blankets and wrapped in his arms. She truly was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen and-

"GAH!" he startled as a heavy stack of books was dropped down on the desk in front of him, "Thank you! Wong! For stopping my heart!"

Wong stood by the desk, waiting patiently for Stephen to recover his composure a bit.

"Distracted?"

"Not anymore! What is all this, anyway?"

"Books."

"You're a real comedian," Stephen remarked, giving him a flat expression until he elaborated beyond the obvious.

"Max has read all of these books this week."

"What? Why is she-"

"I gave them to her to see if she could."

"So, she read all of these? Already?"

"It's the fastest I've ever seen anyone learn these since you."

"So, what, you think there's a reason."

"She's brilliant, Stephen, and determined."

"What made you think to give her these to begin with? It's dangerous."

"She read one of the ones from your desk first."

"But those-"

"Should be impossible for a normal person to understand without the proper knowledge? Yet, here we are."

"Why didn't she tell me about this? Why didn't you?" Stephen insisted to know, standing up at his desk and looking at the stack intently.

"She was afraid that you would be upset with her or worse: stop her. I kept it between us until I was sure."

"Sure of what?"

"Sure that she was born to it. She spends her time trying to find a scientific answer to humanity's problems...trying to use physical and material methods to change lives. Now, she sneaks into the library to take books, just for the chance that something she can learn will help her better know how to do just that. She reminds me of someone."

Stephen grew quiet for a moment, thinking about all of this.

"What are you saying?"

"You keep her from this, because you look at her and see the Stark in her. I just see you, Stephen. A much less arrogant and pig-headed you."

"So what? You think I should let her keep reading and studying? You think I should overlook how dangerous this is and let the woman I love go down a path that could get her hurt...or worse?!"

"I think," Wong replied calmly, "That she needs a better teacher."

Stephen sunk back into his seat as Wong collected the stack of books once more.

"And I think that we could use the help."

"You want her to go study at Kamar Taj? With the others?"

"No. I want her to stay and study here."

"Wait! You want me to train her?"

"Consider it, Stephen," Wong concluded, walking out, "All of the other "heroes" have friends. Now, she just has you."

Stephen wasn't sure how long he sat there. His mind raced with possibility, both good and bad. Training someone was just plain dangerous, wasn't it? It had gone wrong so many times in the past and he was no Ancient One. He was still new at all of this himself. On the other hand, Wong was rarely a poor judge of character, that he knew of. If Wong was so open to the idea, there had to be a strong chance it was a good idea. With all that had begun to unravel in the past few weeks, Stephen couldn't help but long for the days before this all started. Of course he was willing to figure things out for Max's sake, but he still missed the coffee shop mornings hidden in a corner, where no one knew they were there. It all made sense now, when he thought back to why Max wanted to keep it all a secret. Now he understood why she was so afraid. Her feelings for him cost her a job and damaged her relationship with her father. That he saw as his fault. Now, she suddenly has this untapped skill of knowledge that could either be good for her or dangerous. Would changing the world still be what she wanted to do if it meant she could get hurt? There were too many questions.

"Boo!" Max giggled, hugging him from behind.

When he didn't even flinch, she was a bit concerned. She wrapped her arms tighter over his shoulders and leaned over to press a kiss to the side of his face.

"Earth to Stephen…?"

"Hmm..."
"Stephen?"

Finally, she gathered enough of his attention that he turned his head to look at where she was hanging over him from behind his chair.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her smile fading quickly.

"Nothing," he replied quickly, "What time is it?"

"Dinner time," she answered sweetly, "Speaking of which, I've got a surprise."

"Dinner…" he noted, realizing that food would buy him more time to think, "Dinner is good."

He stood up and turned toward Max, who started smiling at him once more.

"What's the surprise?" he wondered.

"Not telling," she answered cheekily, "Then it wouldn't be one."

She eagerly took his hand and started to lead him toward the kitchen.

Waiting for them in the kitchen was a quiet, romantic dinner setup. The island had the stool-like chairs pulled up and was decorated with candles and nicely laid out place settings. The covered pot on the stovetop gave off a heavenly scent, which seemed to go along with the rooms slightly dimmed atmosphere.

"I know it's not a lot, but no one ever eats in the dining room and...I wasn't actually sure if you had one or not. Since Wong is working in the library, asking you would have spoiled the surprise."

"Not much?" he repeated, looking around, "Sweetheart, this is...amazing."

"You like it?" she lit up hopefully, "I made pasta. I know you like pasta, so…"

He turned toward her, gently cupping her face in his hands, and placed a slow, gentle kiss to her lips.

"I can't think of what I could have ever done to deserve you."

It was everything she could do not to melt at the combination of his kiss and sweet words, but she willed her legs to stay under her as she continued.

"You've always taken such good care of me," she reminded him, "It only seems fair that I get to do the same for you every once in a while. Have a seat. I got this."

With a small smile, he took his seat at the makeshift table. Max took the plates and filled them with steaming pasta.

"Ta da!" she chimed happily, taking her own seat after setting the plates down.

"This looks wonderful," he praised her efforts gratefully, before pausing, "Maggie...is there anything you want to talk about in particular?"

"Wong told on me, didn't he?"