-Unbetaed so please kindly point out any mistakes.
-Slight spoilers for The Defenders.
-Warning: Tony's language plus some innuendo.

Stephen woke up the third time in the Tower and felt much more refreshed. To his relief, he was not hooked on any IV anymore.

"Friday, how long have I been asleep this time?"

"Around seven hours, Dr. Strange. It's nearly midday now. Mr Stark asked me to ask you what you want to eat. I could order it for you."

"I'm not hungry yet. Is Mr Stark still asleep?"

"He woke up two hours ago. That was only around five hours sleep. It's not enough."

"It's plenty for Mr Stark." Stephen realized that both he and Tony didn't sleep that much. He wondered whether it was a common thing to be proud of. "Do you want anything else?"

"What did Dr. Cho say?"

"She took your blood sample around one hour ago. She said your platelet count has increased but still not at the desired level. However, she said you could go home given how stubborn you were but as long you promise you will take care of yourself."

"Can I talk to her then?"

"She is off the premise to take care of Mr. Barton who managed to get himself injured doing his laundry."

"Is he OK? How could anyone get injured doing laundry?"

"Dr. Cho said he would live but with some mild concussion. You haven't met Mr. Barton enough time to know he could get injured just by walking in his living room which I heard has a lot of trip hazard."

Stephen shook his head. He remembered his last conversation with Dr. Cho. She was not kidding about Clint Barton.

"In that case, I would like to meet Mr Stark to thank him before I go back to my Sanctum."

"Sir is busy at his workshop at the moment. I've informed him that you're awake and he said he would come here in less than one hour. He asked you to rest more first."

"I think I've rested enough. Where is the washroom?"

"It's on the left near the door.

He swung his left leg toward the floor, when he thought he wouldn't fall down, he swung his right leg. When he realized he wouldn't fall flat, he started to walk slowly toward the washroom.

Sophie chose that moment to fly from the door and settled on his shoulders. She tried to levitate him to the bathroom.

He swatted her. "Stop it. I'm not an invalid yet."

He could feel that she pouted but she didn't do anything. "I miss you, too." He felt silly saying that because he knew Friday watched everything but he was sure the AI had watched weirder things if half of what he heard about the Avengers were true.

After coming out of the washroom, he decided to meditate to recharge himself. Sophie flew out again doing whatever she chose to do.

Doing a 30-minute meditation did wonder to his mind. For the first time since his most recent near death, he felt much better. He regretted dismissing his patients who were into meditation.

Tony chose that moment to walk in. (Stephen suspected he timed it until he finished his meditation. Tony Stark was crude but he could be thoughtful when he wanted to.)

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty. It's good to see you being vertical".

"I thought I'm your awesome facial hair bro. How could I be Sleeping Beauty as well?"

Ignoring his question, Tony mimed crying then wiping his tears. "The Awesome Facial Hair Bros live. I'll patent it if you want."

Stephen sighed. "You said you wanted to discuss something important with me. Out with it."

"Do you want to do it over lunch? Since you can walk, I prefer to do it the Common Room. I usually avoid the Medical Bay like a plague."

Stephen understood Tony's implication. He only came to the Bay to visit friends. He considered Stephen as a friend. He didn't actually know how to deal with that because Stephen Strange didn't do friends. At least the old Stephen Strange was. Now he was trying to be a better person.

"Fine, I'll go to the Common Room with you."

Of course Sophie chose that moment to fly back to his shoulders. He wondered whether she actually just hid outside the door and chose some dramatic moments to make entrances, not unlike him—he was well-known for making dramatic entrances. Of course he didn't snoop.

After eating Thai Chicken Salad (Stephen had to stop Tony from ordering pizza, he told Tony it was not healthy and he got "magical killjoy" in his growing repertoire of nicknames), Stephen asked again, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"What? No foreplay. You're so boring."

He directed his most unimpressed look at Tony.

Tony relented. "OK, OK, one judging look from one Steve is enough, I don't need another. What do you think about setting up a clinic for superheroes? You could be a consultant there."

He sighed. "Sta…Tony, is this about getting me a proper job? I'm already a Master of the Mystic Arts and it's more than a full time job. Besides, you already have the Avengers Medical Bay with a super competent Dr. Cho."

Tony shook his head and both his hands to emphasize his point. "No, no, nothing like that. I know you don't like being pitied. I just think the Avengers Medical Bay is only accessible for the Avengers. But I'm not that egocentric, despite what Pepper said, to know that the Avengers are not the only superheroes in town. I've heard of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, The Bullet Proof Man, Jessica Jones, and many others. You being injured and not being an Avenger had me thinking that perhaps we need a clinic for all superheroes. No questions asked. You don't need to work full time, you just need to lend your skills when needed."

"It's not a bad idea."

"Of course, it comes from me."

Stephen rolled his eyes. "I actually have talked about it with Daredevil. He knows Danny Rand quite well so Rand Enterprises would fund the clinic. I guess you could collaborate with him and work out the details."

"You've met Daredevil? How do you even know him?"

"I saved his life before then he saved mine."

"I knew it. You got injured very often. Is that your ploy to get to know more superheroes? You know you could just call them."

"No, no. You didn't hear me properly, I saved him first. He happened to be in my Sanctum when I happened to be ehm… injured."

"My points still stand. But sure, I could ask Pepper to contact Rand Enterprises. I wanted to meet Danny Rand anyway. I heard he also gets superpowers."

Stephen lifted his left eyebrow. "More recruitment for your Avengers?"

"Nah, I've learned my lesson that not everyone wants to be an Avenger." He was staring at Stephen when he said that.

"In that case, I'll tell Daredevil that you're interested in building the clinic. Besides Dr. Cho, I'd also recommend Claire Temple. She is a nurse but she has helped a lot of superheroes in New York. She has also saved mine."

"Ha, you just admitted that you were a superhero."

"I did not."

"You did."

The doctor sighed. "I'll ask Christine if she can help out as well. She works long hours so I guess she could only help out when she can."

"That hot girlfriend of yours."

"She is not my girlfriend."

"She was so worried about you when you were unconscious."

"It's complicated."

"Just like me and Pepper then but of course we are engaged now so she will punch me if she knows I said our status is complicated."

"She certainly will, sir." Friday chimed in.

"Thanks a lot, Friday."

"Anytime, sir."

"Tony, if that was the only thing you wanted to talk about, consider it done. Just let me know what I need to do to finalize it as long as I'm in this world of course."

"You know it sounds like you're on crack when you talk like that. But unfortunately it's the truth. Before you go, I want you to discuss one more delicate matter."

"Tony, if it's about STD. You can just talk to Dr. Cho."

Tony huffed. "Why do you always assume I have STD?"

Stephen smiled as he could still rile Tony up like Tony usually did to him. "Because you said it's delicate."

"I meant delicate as in sensitive and secretive. What do you think of a secret organization that helps to save the world but without public knowledge?"

"Do you mean like the Avengers but in secrecy? Why don't you ask your Avengers team member then?"

"The Avengers seem to exclude a lot of superheroes and also mutants. I want all superheroes, mutants, and even Inhumans to be represented. However, if the public knows about it, they will call for our blood so it needs to be in secret."

"Do you mean a secret organization like the Illuminati?"

Tony cringed. "Something like that but with less conspiracy theories."

"I'm listening."

"Really? I thought you would storm off with Sophie by now."

"Tony, I'm truly interested in this."

"That must be a first coming from you." Noticing Stephen's glare, he quickly continued, "I was thinking that we should form a secret organization consists of representative for each fraction of superheroes and also you as our resident magician."

"Sorcerer," Stephen corrected automatically.

"I was thinking about inviting Professor Xavier for representing the mutants, Reed Richards for the Fantastic Four, Black Bolt for the Inhumans, Black Panther for the Wakandans, and Prince Namor for the Atlantis. I'll represent the Avengers and you for the ma-… sorcerers. I'm sure each group has its own problems. It'll be nice to have an organization outside your group to discuss things that you can't solve yourself. Each member could give an outside perspective."

"That's actually not a bad idea, Tony." Seeing Tony was about to say something, he quickly added, "Yes, I know. Because it's your idea." He rolled his eyes again. "But I'm not comfortable if we hide this from our teammates, in my case will be my fellow sorcerers. I also doubt those people you mention will be interested to join."

"Leave the recruitment to me. After all, I'm such a people person. The public loves me."

"If you say so, sir."

"Shut up, Friday."

"As for the secrecy, it's for everyone's own good. I'm sure a lot of people are uncomfortable with a secret organization consisting of powerful people. The less people to know about it, the safer it is for them."

"I think we still need to discuss the finer details especially about the secrecy but I just agree with your general idea. I'm sure we can help each other out."

"That's my bro. High-five?" Tony raised his right arm.

"I'm not high-fiving you. What are we? Five?"

Tony pouted. "It's like everyone is against fun around here."

"So we have agreed on the clinic for superheroes and also the might-be-secret organization. Thank you for saving my life. I really should go back to my Sanctum. All those interdimensional rifts won't seal themselves."

Tony grinned so widely. "It's nothing. I'm happy that you agree about my ideas but let's not do it over you or anyone dying again. And you're going to work again after you nearly died less than three days ago?"

Stephen rubbed his eyes. "There are really not many sorcerers around so yes, I have to do it."

"Can you ask Wong or someone else to stand in for you? One third of your blood was out of your body. I'm not a medical doctor but even I know that is a sign you need to rest, Paladin."

"Please don't call me that. I'm not that altruistic. I just do everything I can to fix my past mistakes."

"I get that. I really do, given my history. But you don't need to be dying to do that. Seriously, why do I always have to be the responsible one between two of us?"

"Fine, I'll ask Wong to find someone to help me for three days. But not a minute more."

"Hey, do you want to stay in the Tower for those three days? I'm sure you can talk shops with Dr. Cho. I think some of the Avengers will also be back by then so you can go to fanboy Cap or hide from Natasha. It'll be fun."

"Fine. But let me choose the food, please. You couldn't just live by pizza, burger, soft drink, and beer. You need to take care of your diet."

"I'd like to see you try. Pepper, Happy, or even Cap has failed to get me to eat healthily."

"Well, you haven't had me, a Master of the Mystic Arts, as your dietician."

"Challenge accepted. No magic. I also love the fact that you already play doctor as soon as you get out of your death bed."

"Fine, no magic." Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand. Sophie massaged his neck and shoulders. This was going to be the longest three days in his life but he loved challenges.

Notes:

-This is not as funny as I was hoping when I wrote it but I hope it's OK.
-The secret organization Tony wanted to found indeed existed in the comic. I was intrigued by the The Illuminati in the New Avengers so that was the reason I wrote this fic. Despite what they did in the comics, they were founded by good people with good intentions. And we know what they said about good intention.
-There is a Night Nurse in the comic who helps superheroes in her clinic. In "The Oath", which is one of the most famous Doctor Strange comic series and the one Cumberbatch went to buy in a New York comic book store dressed as Doctor Strange, the Night Nurse saved Stephen's life. Later she, Stephen, and Wong went to investigate who shot Stephen. In the end, Stephen asked her to move her clinic in his Sanctum. They dated for a while. Spider-Man mentioned that they broke up in the New Avengers. They didn't specifically said why most likely when his Sanctum was under attack while he protected the rogue Avengers and he thought he didn't deserve the title of Sorcerer Supreme anymore due to accumulating events so he went off leaving everyone. The Night Nurse he dated in "The Oath" was Linda Carter although there seem to be other night nurses including Christine Palmer.
-The mention of Stephen saving Daredevil came from The Devil and The Sorcerer. Of course I haven't finished that story so some of the statements here are spoilers for that story :D
-As I explained before in the comic, Tony and Stephen were not as close as Tony and Steve but they have their own complex relationship. Both of them are in the Illuminati. As I said that in the previous chapter, Stephen was a fugitive so their interaction during New Avengers, World War Hulk, and Illuminati meetings when Civil War hadn't ended in the comic was a bit awkward but they still put their duties above their personal differences.
-Post Civil War, in the "Stark Disassembled", Tony deleted his memory so that Norman Osborn wouldn't get his hands into the secret identities of superheroes in the Superhero Registration database and also his Stark technology, leaving him on vegetative state. Stephen helped Tony to recover by astral projecting into his mind and talking to him . In the "Invisible Iron Man" Vol 2, he helped Tony dealing with Madame Masque. That was where the "awesome facial bros" thing coming up. Here is the screen cap from the comic: piratescoundrel dot tumblr dot com/post/151597592371/i-swear-if-the-infinity-war-doesnt-add-in-the