-What Stephen read is the summary of the whole story and only the content of A-Z. The notes for each chapter are not part of the scroll he read.
-Apology in advance for people who love the sparkling vampire in Twilight and Justin Bieber. Stephen meant no harm when he said it. Besides he swore the Hippocratic Oath.

Stephen looked up from his book to find Wong standing nearby.

He quirked his eyebrows. "Don't you have any books to reindex or restack? Or any new Beyonce's songs to listen to?"

The librarian rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Are you aware that the joke doesn't get funnier the more times you say it? Besides, I've moved on to singers with two names. I heard Taylor Swift is all the rage."

The doctor smiled in return. "So you did listen to my list of singers with one name although Napoleon was not a singer of course. As long as you don't go to Justin Bieber then we can remain friends."

"I don't come here to listen to your recommendation about singers. Christine and the folks at Kamar-Taj have compiled this for you." He gave a scroll to Stephen.

It was an honest-to-goodness scroll. For the eighty-six times, Stephen wondered whether Kamar-Taj had its own secret Room of Requirement. He set himself a challenge to pry the secret out of Wong in the near future.

He picked the scroll up excitedly. "Is this about the new spell to vanquish sparkling vampires to a new dimension that I've requested? Those things are abhorrent. But in that case, where did Christine come in?"

"No, it's not about the spell. Although I agree we need to do something soon about those sparkling vampires. Just read it."

He read the first line. A-Z of what word other people and Stephen use to describe himself. Can be good, bad, funny, sad, or anything in between. "If you must know, I'm such a complex person, I wonder if you could capture the essence of the awesome of Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange."

Wong's face remained stoic. "I guess the first entry describes you to the T then."

He continued reading. Stephen Strange is arrogant. There is no sidestepping around it. "Oh wow, you just stab me in my non-existent heart with those sentences. If you try to make me feel better with whatever this is, you've failed miserably."

"We don't want to make your already big head bigger. Please continue."

"I presume the first entry might be from you although Christine might write it as well. I think the rest of Kamar-Taj might, too." Looking at Wong's unimpressed expression, he sobered up. "OK, I guess it's sort of right but I try my best to reduce my arrogance."

He continued read out loud. He felt his eyes started to feel damp when he read the entry for brother. He blamed it on reading without resting for the last three hours. He needed to cover up any emotional display. "B could have been bargain though. After all, I have made a bargain more than one thousand times. I thought I'd have trademarked that sentence." He joked lightly about that but both of them knew how grave the bargain situation was. "But I really appreciate the brother part and thank you for not forgetting Victor."

Wong remained quiet as he knew that Stephen always struggled to express his feelings.

When he got into C, he felt Sophie shook in excitement. Someone knew his relationship with Sophie well, perhaps too well. He wasn't sure whether he should be worried about his dependent on Sophie or the fact that it was well-known to some people. He felt Sophie started to massage his shoulders to reduce his tension.

He gulped when he read the last sentence in E. Sometime he wished he didn't have an eidetic memory.

When he read the Flexible entry, he started to protest, "Really, Wong. I'm quite flexible." He performed a half-split successfully in front of the librarian.

"It wasn't me who wrote that entry so you don't need to impress me. "

Stephen felt his cheeks warm. "OK, then." He continued reading. When he got into J, he looked at Wong. "Are you going to deny that you wrote that Joker entry?"

Wong bowed. "Guilty as charged."

Stephen could 've sworn he saw Wong smiled but he couldn't be sure because when Wong straightened his back and stared at him, he looked his impassive self. "Well, at least you listen to my singer recommendation even though you don't like my jokes."

He continued reading. "Who wrote this Mystical entry? Just to be sure, you don't have any silly pamphlets for new recruits, do you? Of course, you don't. I need to search for weeks before I found The Ancient One"

Wong remained quiet and put on his most unimpressed expression.

He continued. He choked on tears when he read Selfless. "I.. I didn't even realize the magnitude of what I've done. I just felt that's the right and truthfully the only thing to do that time."

Surprisingly Wong moved forward and squeezed his shoulders. "You did really well, Stephen. We might be really hard on you but we know what you've been through and we appreciate what you've done for the world."

After a few deep breaths, the American managed to compose himself. Wong stepped back and returned to his stoic self again.

"I love these Time and Unconventional entries. It's about time people recognize how badass I am. Who clean up after themselves after a big show down? That's right, Doctor Stephen Strange." Looking at Wong's face, he quickly added. "Yes, yes, I think we've established that I'm arrogant."

He swallowed thickly when he read the Wise entry. Being wise and noble was the last thing he thought of himself.

After reading the last entry, he rolled up the scroll and commented. "Zen is tricky, isn't it? If I admit I know Zen, that would be un-Zen of me. But even by saying that, that implied I understand what Zen means which is already un-Zen. Perhaps I should stop this chain of reasoning."

Wong replied, "Yes, that'd be the Zen thing to do."

Stephen laughed. "I think we should stop mentioning Zen now as it creates headache."

Despite his constant jibes and comments, Stephen considered the gift very thoughtful. People took the time to try to understand him. He took a few deep breaths to control his emotion. "Well, I need to live up to this list to show my gratitude. Some of them are nouns though so I can't live up to those."

"I'll tell Christine that you like this list then."

"Is this her idea? I should've known."

"Of course it's her idea. I'd just tell you in your face what I think of you."

"And you never disappoint me in that sense."

Wong merely nodded.

"So what made her compile such a list?"

"She felt that you've been a bit down lately with the Thanos business. She thinks you need some cheering up."

"She is too good for me."

"I agree about that."

"You really like to put a guy in his place. Perhaps I should make a list about you."

"You're welcome to do so. Do you even know my other name?"

Stephen groaned. "You're just not playing fair."

"You should know by now that the world is not fair. If there is nothing else, I'll take my leave to find the spell you requested." To his surprise, Stephen got up and hugged him.

"I know I can be a jerk most of the time. Thanks for putting up with me and also putting me in my place." He released his hug and resumed sitting. "I'll take compiling your list as a challenge."

"Well, at least you live up to your persistent and inquisitive part. I'm looking forward to that list." The librarian smiled and opened a portal to step into.

Stephen smiled. He was grateful for the respite from the Thanos worry to make that list. Before that, he needed to thank Christine by setting up a date she would remember.

Notes:

-I hope they are in characters. Wong might too impassive in this fic and Stephen too emotional.
-I also hope you like the "meta" in epilogue.
-The result of Stephen's date with Christine and the spell for vanquishing sparkling vampires can be read at "A Date to Remember". When I wrote this, I didn't realize that in the comic, Stephen actually fought vampires and even Dracula. So this vanishing "sparkling vampires" is just a coincidence.
-Stephen's interactions with the Avengers as he tried not to be a loner could be read at "Doctor Doctor" and "You Don't Need to be a Loner (To Save the World)". The last story is WIP.
-I'll try to touch on Stephen's PTSD with dying so often in "The Devil and The Sorcerer". This is also WIP.

-If you have any idea for one shot, please let me know. I prefer writing humorous stuff although I don't mind heavy subjects if it's one shot.
-Feedback and comments are appreciated.