Narrator's POV

Stephen and Tony made their way down the isle of the mortuary along with everyone else after the ceremony had finished. It was raining hard outside.

"Dr. Strange." Stephen heard his name being called when he was about to walk out of the mortuary.

He turned around to see Olive, walking with a tall handsome man by her side. "Olive." He said. "How are you?" He asked.

"Honestly..." Olive sighed. "Fucking furious." She said. It was shocking to Stephen to hear Olive use that type of language. She was more soft and gentle. "I am totally uninterested in living a life without my little girl."

"Hm." Stephen nodded. "I understand." He said. He looked over at the man by her side. "Timothy, hello."

"Hello, Stephen."

"I'm sorry." Tony said, shaking his head. "Did you just say Timothy?" He looked at the stranger standing beside Olive.

"Ah, Anthony." The stranger said.

"Green?" Tony asked.

Timothy smiled at him, his eyes soft.

"Timothy Green." He looked at Stephen. "The Timothy Green?"

Stephen looked at Tony. "It's a long story." He said, looking back at Olive and Timothy. "I'm sorry about your loss." Stephen said.

"Thank you." Olive said.

"Dr. Strange..." Timothy spoke.

"Stephen please." Stephen said.

Tony looked at Stephen, making a what the fuck? face.

"Stephen." Timothy said. "I really appreciate you caring for my daughter the way you did. Thank you for being there by her side when I wasn't able to."

"It really wasn't any trouble." Stephen said. "She was a wonderful little girl."

"I'm sorry, is anyone gonna mention the fact that he tried to kil-"

Stephen placed a hand over Tony's mouth.

Timothy smiled at him. "She always spoke about how good you were to her." He said. "Something about a Mr. Giggles as well."

"Oh, yes." Stephen nodded.

"I heard you...quit your job at Metro General Hospital." Timothy said.

"Yes." Stephen sighed. "I've handled enough death for a lifetime." Stephen said. "And I'm definitely not ready for the ones in the future." He said.

"I see." Timothy said. "Well, if you ever want to get back into the medical field-"

"Oh, no. Not at all." Stephen said, shaking his head. "I can't handle anym-"

"Like I said, if you ever want to get back into the medical field, just give me a call." Timothy handed Stephen a small business card.

Little Smiles Clinic
Children's Pediatrics

Stephen looked up at him.

Timothy gave him a wink. "Come on, Olive." He said, taking her by the hand and giving her a kiss on her forehead before they both turned around and walked away.

"What the fuck was that?" Tony asked.

"Hm? What?" Stephen looked back at him.

"That pothead tried to kill you once, not to mention his sister did too." Tony said.

"People change Tony." Stephen said. "Believe it or not, Tim has completely turned his life around. Most likely due to Olive. I wouldn't know for sure." Stephen said, beginning to walk toward Tony's car. "I don't know their story."

"Stephen, wait." Tony ran to his side. "How is he still alive?"

"He's a plant Tony." Stephen said. "Bullets can't kill plants, they can damage them yes, but not quite kill them. Parasites and viruses can."

"But-"

"I don't know if you saw the little scar he had on his left temple." Stephen said, opening the car door and getting in.

Tony joined him soon.

Stephen sighed as he buckled his seatbelt.

Tony looked at him. "Are you tired?" He asked.

"I don't know..." Stephen said.

"Are you..." Tony thought. "...hungry?"

Stephen looked at him. "Maybe a little."

Tony smiled at him.

///0///0

"Wait, so let me get this straight." Tony said. "Ha, sTrAiGhT." He said.

Stephen rolled his eyes.

They were sitting at the park still in their suits on a bench.

Tony sat up while Stephen laid his head on his lap and laid across the rest of the bench. Tony had a white to-go box of Chinese food, filled with chow mein.

People that walked by looked at them with faces of curiosity as the two men conversed on the bench, soaked from head to toe, eating Chinese food.

Stephen was holding a pair of chopsticks, while Tony held a fork.

They shared the food.

"So timothy didn't die, but he ran away, where he eventually met Olive, who isn't an evergreen." Tony said.

"Yes." Stephen said.

"Which made Madeline half human half evergreen." Tony said. "And that's why the cancer killed her."

"Yes. You know plants can't get diseases like cancer, but people can." Stephen said.

"Are you worried he might try to kill you again?" Tony asked.

"Tony." Stephen said. "He's fine. You know, children change people in many ways. He's not the same Timothy he was once. He's really kind actually, probably got that from Olive, also probably where Madeline got her kindness from."

"Ah." Tony nodded. "I didn't get to know Madeline, but from what I heard..." He slurped up some noodles. "...she sounded quite lovely."

"She was." Stephen said, putting a dumping in his mouth. "She was the sweetest little girl you would've had the privilege of knowing."

"Wait, can I ask you something?" Tony asked.

"What is it?" Stephen asked, looking up at the gray sky above them.

The rain had stopped for now.

"Why did she call you Dr. Pickles?" Tony asked.

Stephen smiled. "You wouldn't understand." He said.

///0///0

"Well, thank you for spending the day with me. I really needed that." Stephen said at the steps of the Sanctum.

"You're welcome." Tony said. "Just know I'm always a phone call away if you ever need anything." Tony said. "I'm right up the street, and right in here." He said, looking Stephen's chest.

Stephen smiled at him. "Thank you." He leaned forward and kissed Tony's cheek.

"Nope." Tony said, pulling Stephen in for a kiss on the lips. "You're not getting away that easily."

Stephen laughed, blushing. "Alright, alright." He said.

Tony let him go, walking over to his car. "See ya later." He bowed,getting into his car. He rolled down the window to the passenger seat.

Stephen waved at him from the steps of the Sanctum. He blew him a quick kiss.

Tony "caught" it in his hand and brought it up to his lips, having a quick make out session with his hand.

Stephen rolled his eyes playfully.

Tony laughed. "Love you." He said.

"Love you more." Stephen said.

"Love you most." Tony said, winking at Stephen before putting his shades on and rolling the window up.

Stephen watched him drive away before going into the Sanctum. He took everything out of his pockets and placed them on the small table by the door.

The card Timothy had given him earlier called his attention.

He picked it up, looking at the phone number behind it. He looked up, thinking about it, shaking the card in his hand. He sighed, taking his phone out and dialing the number.

After two beeps someone on the other side picked up.

"Yes, hello. This is Doctor Stephen Strange, and I was wondering about your hiring opportunities."