Stephen walked into the foyer of the Sanctum to find a pallet full of cardboard boxes of varying sizes sitting in the middle of the walkway.

"Wong!" he shouted.

Wong came running out. "What? What is it?"

"What is all this?"

"It's the stuff Arianna had sent over for the upgrades at Kamar-Taj! What do you think it is?"

"How much 'stuff' does it take to upgrade at ancient magical compound to current day wifi?"

Wong rolled his eyes. "Well obviously this much."

"Obviously," Stephen said dryly as he looked skeptically over the pallet again.

Suddenly there was a banging at the door.

"More stuff?" Stephen said in an exasperated tone.

Wong shrugged and they both stepped towards the door, Wong opening it. Standing there on the other side was Arianna, hands full with two duffle bags, her backpack on her back, and somehow also managing to balance a large purple tumbler in one hand. "Sorry! My hands were full, had to use my foot to knock!" She said with a grin as she entered. Both men looked at her a bit strangely and she looked back at them. "What?"

"First all this stuff for the upgrade, and now all this? What is all this?" Stephen snapped.

Her shoulders slumped. "All this is my things for the week at Kamar-Taj. You said I should stay there—did you change your mind? I'm sorry, I'll see if I can catch the taxi before it leaves—"

"No, no!" Stephen should have realized—the duffel bags were purple. Of course they'd be her personal things. He sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, just a bit—tired. Of course you're staying there."

"Are you sure? I could—"

"Of course he's sure," Wong piped up.

Stephen sighed. "Can I take those for you?"

"It's okay, I've got it. Just show me where to put my things till we're ready to go." Arianna followed him closely as they entered the library. "Are you really sure you're okay with this?"

"I'm positive. Really. I'm sorry. I didn't sleep well last night and it seems to be affecting my mood today."

"Really?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I didn't sleep well either. It's why I'm already half way through my second 30 ounces of strong, hot, black tea today."

"Why couldn't you sleep?" he asked, curious.

"Why couldn't you?"

"I asked first."

"I was...thinking."

"About?"

"A lot of things."

"Like?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes as they slowed their approach to a closed doorway. "Like a certain Master of the Mystic Arts who resides at 177A Bleeker Street."

"Ah, Wong really will be so touched."

She scoffed and smacked him playfully on the shoulder, then smiled. "What about you?"

"I had an IT girl from Hoboken on my mind."

"Funny that, I've never met another IT girl from Hoboken."

"Yeah, funny... You can leave your bags here. We have a few hours before we head to Kamar-Taj."

"So, what's the plan till then?"

"A full tour of the New York Sanctum. Wong is insistent that we have you draw up plans for upgrading our own network."

She grinned. "I think he just likes my company."

"Yes well, I can't understand why," he said dryly, glancing down at her, trying his best not to let his lip twitch.

She scoffed and smacked him on the arm. "Says the man who came to visit at midnight last night?"

"Says the woman who let me in the door," he shot back, now smirking.

"I never could resist a man in a cloak."

"Wong doesn't have a cloak."

"No," she said, smirking and shaking her head. "No, he does not. Nor does he have an attractive streak of gray running through his hair," she said, reaching up and running a hand along the gray above his ear.

He inhaled a quick breath and his eyes grew stormy. Her eyebrow perked up at the reaction and she left her hand in his hair a moment longer before slowly withdrawing it.

"Come on," he said, his deep baritone voice a bit hoarse. "I owe you a full tour."

She nodded and stepped back, allowing him to lead her back out of the library.

**—**—**

"No. Way," Arianna gasped as they stood in the middle of the Rotunda of Gateways.

Strange turned the dial slowly, showing different locations.

"That is so cool."

"Yes, 'so cool' is exactly the words I'd use to describe it," Stephen said with a smirk.

"Hey, some of us are still relatively new to this magical mystical stuff."

"You promised no 'fangirling' or 'freaking out' in your interview, Mrs. Miller."

"Doesn't mean I can't be...impressed," she said, marveling at the doors before them.

"Very true. Come, time to see the living quarters."

As they walked, she paid close attention to the details, knowing they'd become important later when it was time to work on the tech upgrade. "Do you have a diagram of the Sanctum?"

"I do. Once again, not any technical drawings, but a bit more detailed than what you worked with for Kamar-Taj, so I'm sure it won't be too difficult for you to work your magic."

She giggled. "My magic."

"My dear, it may be a different set of skills, but what you do is surely magic."

"Coming from a Master of Mystic Arts, I'll take that as a compliment."

"Rightfully so. Here are the guest quarters."

He turned the knob and pushed the door open, allowing her to walk through first. As they entered, she let out a low whistle. "Wow, this is nice. Do the Masters at Kamar-Taj know you live in this sort of luxury? Because I'm pretty sure they're getting the short end of the stick."

Stephen chuckled. "Hold on, I can do one even better. He clapped and rubbed his hands together, then waved them about, orange circles forming and fizzling out, the curtains and bedding suddenly turning various dark shades of purple.

She gasped. "That was amazing!"

"More amazing than the portal thingy?"

"So much more amazing than the portal thingy. You made things purple!"

He grinned. Making her happy seemed to send a spike of the same feeling through him. "I did. What's the fun in having the powers of the mystical arts if one can't impress one's girl every once in a while?"

She slowly turned her head to look at him, her eyes wide. "Your girl."

He swallowed hard. "I—I just—I—" He was interrupted by her finger over his lips.

"Sshh, stop. Don't. Don't apologize. Don't explain. I'm not offended. Just—surprised. In a...a good way."

She slowly removed her finger and he took in a deep breath, still not quite sure he could look at her. Stephen couldn't begin to explain how this woman turned him from the confident former neurosurgeon into a bumbling idiot. "Yeah? A good way?"

"Yeah." She turned back to examine the room again, allowing herself to move forward and wander around, touching the ornately carved wood along the walls and the tall bedposts of the canopy bed. "It's gorgeous."

"I'll keep it this way...in case you ever come to visit...or stay."

"You mean when I come to work on the Sanctum upgrades? For as long as I need to stay for the job?" She said, turning back towards him.

He stared back at her. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut? "No, no I mean precisely what I said."

"Stephen, I—"

"You are at least staying for as long as needed for the job," he said, more as a hopeful question than a statement of fact.

She nodded. "I would. I'm staying at Kamar-Taj till the project is complete, correct?

"Correct."

"Alright then."

"We'll start there."

"So, speaking of starting, when can we get the boxes over to Kamar-Taj?"

"We can carry them over tonight—tonight here, morning for them. I've arranged for you to meet with the Masters first thing in the morning—tonight here—to go over the project so they'll know what to expect and where and when to expect to find you tinkering. I plan on announcing the closure of the library for browsing and studying. They can still check books out, but no hanging about. That way you can use the tables to layout your equipment and do any sit down work you might need to do."

"I—I'm going to meet with the Masters?"

"Yes, there's no way I can possibly explain this as well as you can."

"Um, okay..."

"Are you nervous? Why are you nervous? You are amazing at this. You're going to go in there and dazzle them with that 3D image you showed me and the rest will come naturally. You are a natural at this."