“I’ll remind you I did ask for the long version, after all,” Strange grants him, echoing the smile back.

After Vanya leaves, it takes the Head Healer a while to sort through his thoughts, judging what’s worth putting into the official record: dictating notes into his sending crystal for private storage and then later transcription by a trusted hand. Mostly it’s the first part of the conversation: symptoms, the withdrawal process, the jumbled memories and suspected memory loss, a couple timeline milestones.

Still. It felt good, hearing the actual story from the actual man, and not a creature masquerading as him.

Fixing a mistake.