Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing related to Marvel, either the comics, movies, TV shows, etc. All of that belongs to the Disney Corporation (though I might try kidnapping Captain America and Hawkeye some day, just for fun).
AN: Here's chapter two. I hope that everyone had a great holiday and that the new year is a great one for you! Enjoy the chapter, and please review! See you all in the New Year!
Chapter 2: Lifestyles of the Rich:
Packing for any vacation can be a pain in the neck. Packing for not only yourself, but also for a man inexperienced with the whole thing, tended to be worse.
I, personally, was well-experienced when it came to packing for travel. Ever since I was five-years-old, my parents had flown me out to visit my grandmother for the entire summer -so, naturally, I knew how to pack a suitcase for a long flight, and a long stay.
Cap, however, was a different story. He knew how to pack, but mostly in the way army men did –namely packing food, supplies, clothes, ammunition, weapons, and anything else he might need for a one or three-month stint somewhere, carrying out an assignment.
While that was almost like packing for modern air travel, packing for a vacation in California was a bit beyond him. True, New York had its glamorous people and warm summer days, and there were beaches close by, but Cap had rarely visited those areas in his life. He wasn't ready for the sun, surf, and glamour that awaited us in California.
He also didn't have a travel bag, so that was the first thing we took care of.
Poor, inexperienced Cap had thought picking luggage was going to be the easy part. Choosing a suitcase is always a hassle, at least in my opinion -it has to fit your needs, and your personality, so finding the right one to go with you everywhere is very important. After all, you're stuck with it until the day it wears out, or is lost, so it's best to pick the best one the first time around.
Cap found out the hard way that choosing luggage is very difficult. He took one look at the immense selection available at the store, and almost seemed ready to give up right then and there. The only reason he perked up was because I took his hand and gave it a squeeze, encouraging him to go do what he had to, and do it right.
It took over an hour to look at everything, and another half hour to pick the top three that interested him. In the end, he chose a tough, sleek, silvery-black bag with four wheels, for easy transport everywhere. It was just the perfect size for carry-on, and he was immensely proud of his choice.
Next came the packing. Gathered in Cap's room, with his suitcase open and ready, I had to remind him that California was different from New York, and that it mostly had a relaxed, fun atmosphere. He needed to be ready for possible road trips, visits to the beach, and dining out at fancy restaurants. There was also a good chance of us going to visit Tony and Pepper, so I wanted him prepared for that. I also told him to pack a bag with stuff to do on the plane, and in case we decided to take a few days on this vacation to do absolutely nothing but relax.
Last but not least, I sent a message to Director Fury, telling him our travel plans, and that if he needed to reach Cap, it could be through me via JT. I immediately got an e-mail from the Director, saying that he approved of the trip. He told us to have fun and relax, though I had the feeling that he'd have agents keeping a careful, but distant, eye on us the whole time.
Then came the day of departure, and as the excitement inside me grew, I began to realize this trip was going to be another lesson in the modern world for poor Cap, whether he wanted it to be or not.
I'd only been in a private plane once in my life, and that had been when Natasha Romanoff had brought me to New York, on Director Fury's orders. This time, the experience would be very different.
Our drive to the airport was uneventful: we had taken our packed bags down to the waiting car, loaded them into the trunk, promptly got into the car, and headed off. Cap had looked a bit anxious the entire time, but that seemed to fade the closer we got to the airport.
Once we arrived, our driver pulled up to a large private plane with a tall walkway leading to the entry door. Pepper stood there, smiling and waving in welcome as Cap and I got out of the car and helped the driver unload the bags. I kept one carry-on bag with me, loaded with the laptop, my tablet, and a few books I'd been meaning to read but hadn't gotten the chance to yet. Cap's personal bag was a mystery to me, as I didn't know the contents, but I knew it had to be full of stuff to keep him busy on the flight.
"I'll take these to the handlers," the driver said as he wheeled the large bags to the belly of the plane.
Left alone with Cap, I felt his hand slip into mine. Glancing over at him, I had to smile a little. "It'll be fine," I assured him. "Don't worry."
He looked down at me and gave an awkward smile. "I'm not worried, exactly," he replied, though I could tell it was half a lie.
Laughing, I led him up the stairs. When we reached the top, Pepper greeted me with a hug and a grin. "I'm glad you're coming," she said, leading us inside. "It gets kind of boring when it's just me and Tony on a long flight. We're so used to each other's company that sometimes it's easy to ignore one another and focus on something else, like work that we need to get through before we arrive at where we're going."
"Well, I hope we won't bore you," Cap joked as we stepped into the main cabin and took a look around.
Unlike the plane used by SHIELD, Tony's aircraft had, of all things, a bar at the far left corner, complete with bolted down barstools with brown leather backs. Bottles of every kind of liquor lined up in secure clear plastic cases, crowded tightly together so that they didn't slide around during the flight.
In the middle of the far wall was a huge plasma television, and next to it an almost invisible door in the mahogany wood paneling, which likely led to the cockpit. To my right, and across from the bar, were several comfy-looking leather chairs and a long leather couch (all with safety belts, of course) spread out in front of it, for easy TV viewing. A glass coffee table sat at just the right distance from the couch and chairs for people to prop their feet up on, and scattered across the surface of it were numerous drink coasters. A rack of TV trays hung on the wall nearby, so that meals could be served.
To my immediate right was a table that jutted out from the wall, crafted of mahogany and just large enough for two or three people to sit around and eat at. Matching chairs stood on each side of the table, and a drink tray sat in the center, with three crystal glasses and a decanter of brown liquor standing in it.
A desk stood to my left, with a screen that could be pulled from a section of the wall for some semblance of privacy. A large, comfortable leather chair behind it seemed to beg for someone to sit in it and get their work done.
"Wow; swanky," I stated, smiling as a female flight attendant asked us to take a seat.
I took a chair facing the television, and Cap sat to my immediate right, his chair close enough for him to reach over and take my hand, if he wanted to (and I know he did). I quickly showed him how to buckle the safety belt, did my own, and looked over at Pepper, who had taken a seat on the couch.
"Where's Tony?" I asked, looking around while Cap and I set our carry-on bags near our feet.
She shrugged. "I think he's in the bedroom," she said, nodding towards the back of the plane.
That's when I noticed that the cabin we were in looked way smaller than the plane did from the outside. "There's a bedroom?" I asked, amazed. "What else is there?"
Pepper held up a hand and began counting off. "A master bedroom complete with its own bathroom and shower; a kitchen down below for the chef; and two bathrooms: one for travelers and one for the crew."
I shook my head. The rich seriously knew how to live!
As I sank into the comfort of my chair, Cap reached out and took my hand. "Ready for an adventure?" I asked.
He smirked and gave my hand a squeeze. "Of course. Are you?"
We both grinned broadly as the plane taxied down the runway and became airborne.
Once we were at cruising altitude, I did what I always did when I fly: whip out my music player. Of course, I completely forgot that I was on a private plane and could watch television if I wanted –I was so used to traveling commercial, it was sort of an automatic action.
On the other hand, I kind of wanted to use my MP3, because instead of having an ordinary player, I had JT. I hadn't known until yesterday that JT was able to hold my call numbers, my music, and my digital movies, just like any expensive smartphone on the market could. For that, I blame Tony, who had neglected to tell me those features when he'd given me JT in the first place.
It also made me wonder what else JT could do, though I had the feeling that Tony wouldn't tell me.
As expected, the flight attendant came out to take orders of what we wanted to drink, and gave me a printed list that had every kind of soda, wine, and champagne that I could imagine on it. Not only that, but since it was getting close to noon, she asked what we would care to have for lunch. The question was completely unexpected –it had been ages since I'd eaten a meal on a plane, and it took a minute to remember whose plane I was on.
Smiling up at the attendant, I asked what my options were. She told me that the chef had many ingredients onboard, and could make me almost anything I wanted, no problem. I must have looked really surprised, because she went and retrieved two menus for me and Cap to look at.
At first glance, I saw that the menu was printed on Stark Industries stationary, so it must have been a list of Tony's favorite foods to order while traveling. A lot of the items were high-quality, expensive stuff, and looked like they belonged in a restaurant. On the menu I found things like sushi and sashimi of the highest grade; prosciutto and salami from Italy; crepes with fresh fruit or savory fillings; and Japanese beef steaks that would cost the average person half of their monthly paycheck to purchase.
"Feel free to get anything you want," Pepper told us. "And you can watch whatever you want on the TV, or browse the Internet with the Wi-Fi."
I ended up ordering an appetizer of French onion soup, followed by a vast selection of sushi. Since Cap still wasn't fond of it, sushi was a rare treat for me, and I fully intended to take advantage of my current situation!
When my food arrived, I was almost dazzled by the rainbow array of items that was spread across the plate. Carefully using the chopsticks provided, I popped a roll into my mouth and felt my taste buds sing. It seriously tasted like heaven -the rice was warm and fresh, not dried out or undercooked, and the fish tasted like it had been caught just this morning.
Cap, meanwhile, had a large steak with roasted fingerling potatoes; very simple and uncomplicated. The steak, though, was the best that could be found, and Cap commented that it tasted better than anything we bought at the supermarket. I then had to explain the different grades of beef, and how the typical person could almost never get the best beef on the market, because that was reserved for rich people and restaurants.
"If you want, I'll ask Tony to ship you two some prime steak cuts from his private storage," Pepper offered. "It won't be too much trouble, and I think you'll enjoy it."
Before I could protest, Cap graciously accepted the offer. "It'd be nice to have some top-of-the-line beef, once in a while," he said, giving me a significant look. "Besides, we both love good beef."
I rolled my eyes, but didn't argue. And from the way he was eating his meal, I could tell he was happy I'd accepted Pepper's offer.
When our empty plates had been cleared away, Cap turned on the television and let me give him a pop quiz on the people, shows, and events that flashed across the screen whenever he changed the channels. He got a quarter of them right, but that's because most of what was on were reality shows with "stars" that weren't worth remembering. I gave him a passing grade and praised his efforts before changing the TV to a history channel.
For a while, things were quiet. Pepper ate a light meal, did some paperwork, and plugged herself into a laptop at the desk in the corner. Cap watched some more television, then handed me the remote so that he could dive into a book he'd brought.
As for me, I propped my feet up on the coffee table and watched television just for the sake of watching it, instead of using it as a tool for teaching. It was another rare treat for me, and I was happy to relax into my chair and watch a few things on the two hundred-odd cable channels.
Just as I was beginning to wonder if Tony was even onboard the aircraft (or if he'd taken his Iron Man suit to California instead of flying on the plane), the man himself decided to make an appearance. Somehow, I wasn't really surprised at the scruffy, rumpled look he sported when he did show up.
"Sorry," he apologized, looking a bit drowsy and grungy in his tattered jeans and faded AC/DC t-shirt. "Had a late-night conference with Asia. They wouldn't let me off the video feed until I'd done a few celebratory shots with them."
"What were you celebrating?" I couldn't help asking as he flopped down on the couch.
He shrugged and stretched a bit. "I just made a huge business deal with a few countries over there. They wanted to toast to our future success, so how could I say 'no?'"
"Very easily," Pepper called out from her desk, causing Cap and me to laugh.
Tony gave another shrug and a small smile. "So, how was your lunch?" he asked, glancing at his watch. "I'm guessing you had lunch?"
"We did," I confirmed with a grin. "And I must say your chef deserves a raise, after the sushi platter I just had."
Just then, the flight attendant arrived with a tray of mimosas, the champagne still sending bubbles over the rims of the glasses as we each took one.
"Now that's service," I joked, sipping my drink while Cap examined the contents of his. Leaning towards him, I whispered, "It's just champagne and orange juice, Cap. I know alcohol is wasted on you, but please try it; you might like it."
Meanwhile, Tony took a glass and downed it while another flight attendant came out with a plate of fruit, cheese, small toasted bread slices lightly dusted with garlic powder, and an assortment of sliced meats. A third attendant carried small bread plates and silverware wrapped in clean white napkins, which she set on the coffee table beside the platter before disappearing with the second attendant. The first remained behind to refill Tony's glass before heading off with the others.
"Pepper, why don't you come join us?" I called to her. "I want to talk travel with you two."
She gave a smile and went to take a seat on the couch with Tony, who put his arm around her while the other handed her a drink. "Okay, let's talk travel. What do you and Steve plan to do while in San Francisco?"
Cap immediately looked interested as I mentioned the piers and Fisherman's Wharf, as well as Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. I also suggested the zoo and aquarium, as well as a ride on the infamous trolley system, which I knew from past experience could be a thrill.
"That sounds more educational and boring than fun," Tony commented, earning him a slap on the shoulder from Pepper and a glare from Cap. "Come on; you're going to California! Do what everybody else does: go to the beach, tan, and catch some waves! Or go shopping in L.A., then head towards Hollywood and see the sights."
He looked over at Cap. "Live it up a little, will you, Rogers? Learning's great, but all kids get a break from school, once in a while."
I immediately felt bad. Was Tony right? Maybe I was still in "teacher mode," and needed to let up a bit. Cap did deserve to have a good time, and to get a break from all of the learning I'd been giving him, so maybe I should take a page from Tony's book and let us both relax for a week or so. Besides, it might be fun to walk through Hollywood and see the glitz and glamour that everybody talks about.
'And I could use a tan,' I admitted. 'A visit to the beach sounds great, too.'
Cap, meanwhile, looked angry about my travel itinerary being shot down. "I'll go wherever Adena wants to visit," he said, reaching for my hand. "I have faith in her choices."
It was so sweet of him to say that, I had to reach out and pull him in for a kiss. "Thanks, Cap," I whispered, smiling at him.
He returned my smile with an affectionate one of his own, but before he could say anything, Tony cleared his throat. "So, since you're with us now, why don't you come with us to Malibu when we land? LA is only an hour away, so you can stay with us." He grinned. "Even if I'm too busy to play, my driver can take you anywhere you want, or you can borrow a car and drive."
It was tempting, and I had to admit, it would be nice to have Pepper close by. Even if it didn't work out, at least we had a backup plan of traveling to San Francisco.
Looking over at Cap, I saw him give a small, agreeing nod. "Okay, we're in," I said.
With a very pleased look on his face, Tony lifted his glass. "Cheers, then!" he said before taking a drink.
The rest of us did the same, with conversation turning towards ideas of what Cap and I might end up doing in the Sunshine State.
AN: A little boring, I know, but stuff will pick up soon, I promise. Review?