Who: Felicia & Kieran What: Siblings catching up When: After the mechanical bug thing, but before everything else. Where: The Burger Bar, Mandalay Bay Warnings: None!
The Burger Bar was easily Felicia’s favorite restaurant in Las Vegas. It was simple, good food cooked perfectly every time. After a bad day, she could usually be found tucked in one of the back booths, enjoying a Kobe beef burger with crispy bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, caramelized onions, ketchup and mustard. Not to mention the decadent chocolate shake and crisp fries that accompanied the burger. It was casual enough that they didn’t need to dress up all that much, but there was still that air of impressiveness about the place. She’d called ahead to reserve her usual booth and arrived about ten minutes early, dressed in a light grey pencil skirt, sapphire blue silk blouse, and a matching light grey jacket. Her black heels clacked along the tiled floor, barely registering among the steady flow of conversation as people waited for tables to open up.
Felicia was excited to see her brother. She’d been spending so much time through the Marvel door that it was a wonder she hadn’t been called out on it by anyone other than Silver. Even then, she didn’t exactly take him seriously because Pepper considered him an extension of Tony. Mr. Stark. Felicia had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the correction. At least now she didn’t have a clue what was going on, so she couldn’t get mad or end up chastised over getting mad. She’d been gone for five days this time, but nothing terribly major had happened, thankfully. For now, she’d simply catch up on her work emails while she waited for her younger brother.
Kieran had been equally busy with work. Long shifts at the hospital alternating with his time at the free clinic kept him occupied and it was only when Felicia had suggested that they meet up and catch up did he realize he needed a break. Even if it was a small and simple one, with a bonus it would be with one of his favorite siblings.
When he arrived, jeans and a shirt, scrubs left at home for once, he was half expecting to see her forehead deep in work. “Knew it,” he laughed as he approached the table, spying her going through her emails. “You know, I thought we agreed to check work at the door.” It was all teasing of course, such was his brotherly prerogative, so his mock glare didn’t quite hold up when he slid into the booth across from her. “I can go grab a bag of plasma and a stack of unintelligible hospital papers if we’re bringing work in here.”
Felicia looked up and had the grace to be embarrassed. She hadn’t heard Kieran approach and she quickly set her phone on the table, standing to give her brother a hug. “Sorry, sorry. I just needed to catch up on some stuff. I promise, that’ll be the last of it!” She’d always been a stickler for that rule when they were kids, about having their phones at the table. She slid back into the booth and waited for him to take a seat as well. Her phone went right into her purse, just like she promised.
“No plasma, please,” she requested, making a bit of a face. Hospitals weren’t exactly her favorite, but she was glad her brother was happy with what he was doing. “Have you ever eaten here? I’m such a regular, or I was. I’ve been kind of busy lately. How’s work been? You’re working at that clinic right? With Mr. Waterhouse?” It had taken a while to establish a network for herself in Vegas, but she’d managed after the first year and a half. It just grew from there and she was more than a little pleased that she could stay on top of things even when she wasn’t physically in Las Vegas.
“Not exactly a regular but sometimes someone makes a food run. First time I’ve set foot in here though.” His stomach rumbled, a little louder than necessary and he laughed as she scanned over the menu. “Hope we can get something soon. But work’s fine. Good. Busy. Adjective, adjective. But I’m not complaining so there’s that.” The quick scan of the menu and already he knew what he wanted. His burger couldn’t get there fast enough.
His attention no longer split he settled back in the booth and looked over at his sister. “How about you? How’s work? Still making connections anywhere and everywhere?” He knew the answer to his question; he had seen how intently she was looking at her phone before he arrived. “Or is the better question, are you getting any downtime?”
Felicia grinned when his stomach rumbled. She had a different relationship with each of her siblings, but Kieran seemed to be the most easy going of the lot of them. “It’s different, eating here versus take out,” she replied with a wink. She was already fairly certain that she knew what she was getting, but another glance through the menu never hurt anyone. “I’m sure they’ll be over in a few minutes.” There was a slight eye roll there, but it was partially hidden by the menu so she hoped he wouldn’t notice.
“I’m doing well. The garage pretty much runs itself these days but I’m looking to bring someone in at least part time to keep an eye on things. I’ve got a handful of PR clients too, but nothing too time consuming.” She gave him a look when he asked about her connections. “Please, you know me. I can’t seem to go anywhere without making a few connections,” Felicia replied good naturedly. She knew she was far too chatty sometimes, but everyone was useful in some way and she’d rather have a whole host of people to call on instead of being in a bind.
When he asked about downtime, she sighed. “Sleep is the only downtime I get, and even that’s usually at my desk.” Pepper was even more of a workaholic, but she was juggling a lot more than Felicia was. “Passages has taken up whatever free time I have left.” She’d seen Kieran posting on the journals and she was curious if he’d been through the door yet, or who he had, but she wouldn’t ask just yet. Some mystery was always worthwhile and, unfortunately, she knew that having Pepper in her head should be something of a secret. Maybe no one else had thought of using her to get to Tony, but Felicia had. She wasn’t about to lose her life for someone she didn’t particularly care for.
“Passages, that hotel right?” He still hadn’t quite wrapped his head around the idea. Sure there was the voice of a fictional king about who sometimes made his presence known. Even now Alistair was there, though he did little other than marvel at the invention of a burger with cheese and how easily one could attain such a glorious thing.
“You’ve been going there? Willingly going in?” He didn’t actually suspect that all trips to the decrepit hotel would be the same way, but considering his first visit had made him shed blood, he’d been putting off a second trip.
“Yes, that’s the hotel. I haven’t explored it much past the triage center and the way to my own door, so I’m not sure how many there might be,” she replied. She was stopped from saying anything further by the waitress, a woman of about 25 that Felicia greeted by name despite the woman not wearing a name tag. “I’ll have my usual please, though no onions today, if that’s alright,” she said pleasantly. The woman nodded and quickly wrote down the order before turning to Kieran. Once that was done, she promised that she’d be right back with their drinks.
“At first, yes. She...works a lot. More than I ever did, even when I was working with Dad. It’s been a bit of an adjustment, but she’s good about keeping tabs on my work as well.” Of course, that didn’t include bartering for days or cursing at Tony, but there wasn’t any need to worry Kieran too much about everything. “Have you been through then?”
“Yeah,” he replied, shaking off the distraction of ordering - kobe burger with cheese, bacon, and nearly too many extras to count. Such was the problem with ordering when hungry. After the waitress left he turned his attention back to her and gave a nod.
“Yeah. There was that party a few weeks ago. Couldn’t have stayed away if I tried.” It had been the oddest compulsion to attend. “Wild, inside. The whole Paris thing. Weird night.” Understatement, and he rubbed the side of his neck absentmindedly as he recalled the bite. “But haven’t been back since. No idea what to expect. Figured I woudn’t risk it. Not sure I really want to see the place this guy’s,” he gestured a finger to his temple with a quick wave, “ from. How’s your alternate universe? Do they have flying cars? You always did have the luck.”
“Oh, you went? What did you end up as? Pepper went, instead of me. She was a lady. Which, I can understand in that she’s usually not seen that way, but it was just so...dumb. At least she didn’t get mauled like some of the others,” Felicia replied, a little frustrated with the woman in her head. Of course, there went any chance of keeping her Alter a secret. Kieran was her brother though, and unless he was the guy responsible for the mechanical bugs or Loki, there wasn’t much he’d do with that information.
“No flying cars, but I’ve got a slew of superheroes,” she explained with a shrug. “It’s not the best case scenario personally but...she’s needed over there. Tony would be even more lost if she wasn’t there.” The waitress came back with their drinks and Felicia dove right into her chocolate shake, which was almost too thick for a straw to be effective.
“Pepper?” The name only vaguely rang a bell and he left it up to his sister to connect those dots. “I went in as me, came out as mauled. Well, maybe a little bit.” He shrugged, glad to pause in his retelling as the waitress brought them water. “Superheroes aren’t bad. Like capes and tights?”
“What do you mean, you got mauled? What happened?” It took her a minute to backtrack to the question of Pepper and superheroes, and she nodded. “And iron suits. I’ve got Pepper Potts in my head. Personal assistant extraordinaire to Tony Stark, a.k.a. ‘Iron Man’.” She even made the little quote signs around Iron Man. “A number of other Avengers have already shown up, plus a bad guy named Loki.” She shrugged that off as if it was nothing. Kieran’s experience was a tad more urgent.
“Okay mauled is a bad word. It makes me think of lions and I wasn’t bitten by a giant angry cat.” That would’ve been a lot more blood in that case, though probably the same amount of smugness on his attacker’s face. But talk of the Avengers and got his attention and the light bulbs immediately went off. “Oh, right. Like the movie? Well that sounds fun and a lot of city building, judging by the amount of explosions I’ve seen in the commercials.” Clearly Kieran didn’t think this was all so bad. That door had a supervillain, sure, but it had super powers! It all balanced out.
Felicia’s frown didn’t quite disappear, but she did relax. He didn’t seem to be any worse for wear and at least he knew how to patch himself up. “Well, hopefully the next forced gathering will be less violent,” she replied, though even as she said it, it was clear that she didn’t believe it all that much. “Yep, just like the movie. They’re all impossible and Fury isn’t around. It makes for some amusing conversations, let me tell you.” That was a little more lighthearted and despite the frustrations, she thought Pepper was helping. “It’s a little disconcerting though. She’s a lot better at blocking me out when we cross, though I can’t help but think that’s a good thing. I can’t get yelled at too badly for what she does.” Absently, she shifted her feet, which still bore marks from the mechanical beetle infestation. At least she wasn’t ruining her shoes anymore.
He saw her frown linger and he added, “It’s fine. She didn’t get very far.” As if that would help ease the worry. But soon they were back on Avengers, and displeased Avengers at that. “Why would you get yelled at? Who’s yelling?” Some habits died harder than most but Kieran didn’t think the old protective-brother hat would ever fall off, even if it was more Pepper’s fault than Felicia’s. “She seemed pretty capable in the movie. I can’t see why anything would change and get you on the short straw of it all.”
Felicia nodded and let it go at that. There wasn’t any use pressing the matter now, with how long it had been. She’d toyed with the idea of reaching out to the gentleman that had danced with Pepper, but the other woman likely wouldn’t have gone for it. Felicia flashed him a smile at his tone. “You know, I’ve never gotten over how cute it is that you go out of your way to try and protect me, little brother,” she teased. “Someone let out mechanical beetles that ate their way through stuff. Pepper went to get samples for Tony and her feet ended up as beetle food. Plus a couple bites on my arm, because she was trying to get undamaged samples. She made the mistake of leaving her bloody shoes and jacket in her office. When Tony found them, he called her, but our phone is one and the same so I got that one. Pepper sort of...took over part-way through. It’s...an odd experience.” She used her spoon this time to get another mouthful of her milkshake. “I’m fine though. I just need to get new shoes. Thanks for showing me basic first aid,” she added with a grin.
“Someone has to,” he beamed. “If left unchecked you’d get pushed around or start eating your work emails instead of real meals. Can’t have that.” As if on cue the waitress finally returned, sliding their meals in front of them and earning Kieran’s undying affection. His stomach was a strong one so even Felicia’s talk of feet turned into robot dinner didn’t do much to change his appetite. “Well at least she got it then.” It being the full force of someone’s ire. “But it’s not like people don’t get it, right? That there are two people? Can’t blame one for the actions of the other.” He lifted up the bun and checked to make sure all the various cheeses he ordered was there. Alistair sighed with envy.
“Hey, those work emails can be pretty tasty. I’m amazed at the level of passive-aggressiveness of some people.” This was far better than political campaigning, and that was exactly why she’d left that in the first place. She took a bite of her burger and hummed in absolute pleasure. “Oh, god, this is good.” She should have thought of this sooner. “Eh. You’ve seen the Iron Man movies. Tony Stark tends to do, think, and say whatever he wants. He didn’t take well the the whole putting herself in harms way kind of thing, and then he didn’t really like it when she threw all the other dangerous situations in his face. They have a seriously messed up relationship. Speaking of, you talk to mom and dad recently? Well, more mom then dad. He’s probably off trying to put some clown in the White House.” Felicia loved her dad, sure, but after seeing what he did first hand and doing it herself, she had a different view of him.
“Somehow I doubt passive-agressive-bullshit tastes better than french fries.” He conceded her point about the Iron Man films; from what he could recall he could imagine the man’s reaction to his pretty redheaded right hand (wo)man going headlong into danger. As for their parents he shrugged. “Talked to mom a while back and sometimes get emails about things because she thinks I don’t know how to google or watch the news.” He grinned as he took a sizeable bite of his burger, sighing in bliss. “Dad’s...,” he trailed off, thankful that propriety dictated he finish his food before continuing to talk. Their father and he never did get along swimmingly so lack of idle talk wasn’t new or surprising. “Anyway,” he said, once in the free and clear, “not a whole lot going around that we can tell them about. ‘Guess what, Felicia and I are developing alternate personalities based on works of fiction. Send care package. Can’t wait to see what identity we’ll show up for Christmas as.’”
Felicia grinned. “Definitely not better than these fries,” she agreed, taking a moment to scoop some ketchup up with two thick-cut fries. Absolute heaven. “Good to know she doesn’t just do it for me. She means well though. I’m just glad she’s given up on weekly phone calls a long time ago. Has she been bugging you about finding a girlfriend just as much as she’s been bugging me about finding a husband?” Felicia knew her mother was glad that she’d chosen to leave the political arena, but that seemed to open up a whole other commentary on her lifestyle, particularly regarding the garage. At least she’d managed to keep Silver a secret. The less her mother knew, the better.
“All the time,” he laughed, munching happily away at his food. “Am I seeing anyone. Is it serious. When am I going to give her grandkids. She didn’t like me joking that one day I might just drop off a bastard from my travels in her lap but it stopped though questions a bit.” Another thought struck him and he chuckled. “Though that probably doesn’t help you any. I stonewall her so she bugs you for your romantic plans.”
Felicia glared at him for a moment, but she could only maintain it for so long before she cracked a smile. “I knew there was a reason there was a reason she’s gotten a bit worse. She actually signed me up for eHarmony for the new year. Who does that to their child?” She’d gone on the site once and promptly disregarded it after seeing that her mother had taken the liberty of filling out her profile for her. “Let’s just hope she doesn’t start calling me to dish about you. She know you’re back stateside?” She enjoyed another bite of her burger while he answered.
“Shh,” he said over the rim of his drink. “Some things are best left unsaid.” He flashed her a grin before digging into his burger once more and to topics that didn’t include parents, children, or work of any kind.