They walked into the restaurant still wearing their jeans and t-shirts, dress code had been lowered with all the workers in town, and Xander told the hostess three. No one seemed to recognize Rogers, and they were seated in minutes, as most of the tourist trade had left NYC for the duration of the clean-up.
"How, may I serve you today?"
"Three dinners, but charge those two double. I'm paying."
The server arched an eyebrow. "Double, sir?"
"Trust me, both of them eat twice what a linebacker does, and you're a business. Charge me twice."
The server still looked at him funny, but the customer was always right, besides who was he to refuse money? "Yes, sir. The salad bar is open. Green means bring more meat, red means stop. I'll bring you your drinks."
Rogers looked around. "They bring you meat?"
"Yep. Until you can't eat any more."
Roger's eyes lit up, then he frowned. "Salad bar?"
"Follow me." Xander stood up, headed to the bar, grabbed and plate and started piling on food. Cured meats, salads, vegetables, everything you could think of that might qualify as a side dish. "This is what they hope you fill up on before the meat. But they have a lot of stuff I really like, so I'm not arguing, and besides I doubt either you or Safira are going to fill up on anything."
Rogers grabbed a plate and started loading. When they got back to the table, it was silent for a bit as they all focused on, what was for them, the appetizer, until a rapid beep beep beep startled all of them. With a bit of a fumble Rogers dug in his pocket and pulled out a phone. Frowning at it he jabbed at it for a minute, then another, then with a growl shut it off.
"Problems?" Xander asked even as the server whisked away his dirty plate handing him a clean one and he flipped his card to green.
"Friends who think I need a nursemaid apparently. Because I might get hurt or something." He rolled his eyes and Xander couldn't help but laugh. The idea of Rogers getting hurt by the normal residents of New York was about as likely as Buffy passing up a shoe sale.
Xander grinned as he watched the look of amazement on Safira's face as the first round of meat showed up.
"Better watch it, you're drooling."
She shot him a frown. "I'm starving, and this is incredible. Why haven't you taken me to one of these before?"
He shrugged. "Because while I don't mind paying for you and guests," he nodded at Rogers who had an almost similar amount of awe on his face. "I can't afford to take out all the girls and treat them to this. And this does not qualify as justifiable expenses normally."
"The girls?" Rogers asked around a mouthful of meat and Xander shrugged mentally. Not like SHIELD didn't know about Slayers, he just wasn't sure they really believed yet.
"How high is your clearance level?"
Rogers looked at him with a surprised look. "I have no idea."
"One level below Fury."
The smooth cool voice came from his blind side again and he shot a glare at Safira. "You're supposed to warn me when someone is approaching."
She blinked at him, surprise and worry on her face. "I didn't notice her approaching. I always notice people approaching." Her hand had drifted to her own boots where the dagger he had given her rested.
He felt more than saw the Widow tense, and sighed. "Don't Saifra. She might be able to wipe the floor with Buffy."
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? A pirate and a Nubian goddess?"
The voice was familiar only because Xander had caught him on TV a few times. Tony Stark was many things, subtle was not one of them.
"Add a table here please, and two place settings. We will be joining them," Tony ordered the manager who had followed him trying to keep his calm at having Stark in his restaurant.
Before Xander or the others could respond, servers had added another table and the two had settled down looking at the three of them with an unholy amount of interest. Xander seriously considered digging out a crucifix just to be on the safe side.
"Tanzanian goddess actually." Safira's voice stayed mild as she put more meat in her mouth, the garlic steak this time. Xander tensed a bit, she didn't get mad, she went icy locking down all emotions to prevent them from stopping her from accomplishing her goals. And right now she was calm, too calm.
"Huh?" Tony looked at her in surprise, knocked off his stride and Rogers snorted a bit.
"Nubian refers to the people that occupied Sudan and Egypt. I'm from Tanzania." She smiled her brilliant smile that usually accompanied her swinging her sword, to remove a demon's head.
Rogers laughed out loud at the look on Tony's face. "Serves you right, Stark. What are you two doing here?"
Xander noted that he seemed more resigned than upset, and kept his attention on the parmesan pork on his plate at the moment.
"Well, Natasha here told me about your very interesting companion, and when you said you were going out to dinner with friends. I just had to come meet them."
Rogers glanced at his watch. "And you got from Stark Tower to here in the five minutes since you texted me?"
"I was following you. She has super powers and almost matches your strength." Natasha's voice was flat and cold even as she inspected the meat that had been placed before her.
"And I might have been in the car with her. I was curious." Tony shrugged, completely unapologetic. "I was also bored."
Xander felt an icy wave of fear travel down his spine at that, and noticed a wary look on Roger's face also.
Safira chewed on her lip and looked at Xander. "I never noticed her. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. She is their Willow. And while not quite as scary, she is still better than any of us." Xander kept his voice calm even as he shifted to make sure Safira was the only other person in his blind spot.
"Oh." Safira gave the red head another long look, then shrugged and went back to her food. Life in Africa had taught her to be very pragmatic, and you never knew when you were eating next, especially not like this.
Natasha stiffened in her chair narrowing her eyes at Xander. He held up his hands, one holding a fork with a piece of meat on it.
"You're still scary, just not as…," he trailed off and looked at his now empty fork and glared at his ward. "You stole my food."
"You waved it in front of my face." She shrugged. "What was I supposed to do, ignore it?"
"Yes! Bloody meat stealing women."
Rogers by this point had given up and was just laughing at both of them while Tony watched with an expression somewhere between delight and interest.
"Okay, Capiscle, you must introduce me to your friends. They're fascinating."
"Do I have to?"
"Yes. I don't meet any people that don't fawn." Tony paused and looked thoughtful. "Or try to kill me. So this is a refreshing change."
"Xander Harris, Safira, please meet Tony Stark and Natasha Romanov." Rogers waved his left hand as he introduced everyone, the right busy stabbing another piece of meat.
"Just Safira? This your daughter?" Tony had a lascivious grin on his face, and Xander laughed.
"My ward. And you are free to try all of your moves on her. Though I'll be nice and give you fair warning, she's almost as strong as Steve, and she uses bladed weapons – for fun." Xander smiled as the leer dropped off Tony's face and he looked at the girl with a bit more respect. He also caught the sharpened interest on the Widow's face and sighed.
"She's an adult and take care of herself. You cut her, she was sloppy and will heal." His eye sharpened as he lanced both interlopers. "You mess with her emotionally or her files and I'll make you regret your life."
Natasha paused in her delicate dissection of the bottom sirloin on her plate looking at him, her eyes serious. Tony laughed looking at Xander.
"Really? What could you do?"
"I don't know. But I know people who owe me, a lot of people owe me, and a lot of people who love me, very scary powerful people, and you wouldn't like the consequences." His voice stayed flat as he met Tony's eyes without flinching, and Tony blinked first. With that Xander grinned. "But other than that talk to her, she isn't my property. Besides, I've got a question for you, well two questions."
Tony sighed. "Here it comes, you want my autograph don't you. Or money? You running a charitable mission for young impressionable girls?" He had a put upon look on his face, even as he poked at the bacon wrapped fillet a server had put on his plate.
Safira looked at him and burst out in laughter, setting down her fork to cover her face as she laughed. Natasha and Rogers just looked at her confused even as Xander snickered.
"Um, no. I already have the funds for my rescue of girls." He choked again. "Though the impressionable part is questionable."
"Oh I don't know about that," Safira said in between hiccups of laughter. "A lot of them are very impressed with you. And they'd all be begging to be here right now with Cap, Widow, and Ironman. And I'm pretty sure Andrew would have sex with you to be here right now."
Xander couldn't repress the shudder at that idea, which just made Safira laugh more.
"I'm missing something aren't I?" Tony asked a bit of a whine in his voice.
"You have no idea." Xander sighed. "While I'm not gay per se, I'd have sex with anyone at this table before I'd ever have sex with Andrew. He's worse than a Teletubbie crossed with Barney when it comes to geek stuff."
Tony went pale and Rogers and Natasha just looked confused. At the questioning looks Tony just shook his head. "Youtube it. Even I won't be responsible for that."
Xander shook his head trying to get that image out of his mind. "But no, that was not the questions I was going to ask. Question one, you want to have your watcher come join us? Have him sitting in my blind spot watching us is really getting on my nerves."
Rogers sighed, but he didn't say anything.
Natasha's mouth quirked up in a smile, and she muttered something so soft he couldn't hear. Xander glanced at Safira.
"Prisoyedinyaytes' k nam. Don't ask me what it means. That isn't a language I speak." Safira said causally causing all of them to glance at her even as a man got up and bringing his own plate joined them.
"Xander, meet Clint Barton. Clint, Xander Harris." Rogers said as his eyes tracked down the next cut of meat he wanted ignoring his teammates.
"Hiya. Nice shooting." Xander's comment was off hand as he helped himself to the polenta on the table. "I figured you might prefer to be part of the conversation instead of having to listen through her ear piece."
"How did you know he was here?" Natasha asked even as she held the knife in her hand like a weapon.
Xander shrugged. "Basic spycraft, not really anything impressive on my part. You'd have one other person here to provide backup if you thought I had compromised him," he nodded at Captain America, "somehow. Just in case you needed to incapacitate him. But, I haven't and really have him watching me while I couldn't see him, was giving me the heebies."
The two assassins glanced at each other and Clint shrugged.
"Valid. Hiya." Clint half smiled and slouched as he used his knife to transfer pieces of top sirloin to his mouth.
Xander flashed him a smile and turned back to Tony. "Now for my second question, I was wondering if the Hulk needed to get some excess energy out of his system?"
Authors Note: Glad everyone is enjoying. Come like my page on facebook or my website and get in on the fun! More fun stuff coming.