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[personal profile] tyler_gone
Tyler had no idea why this seemed like a good idea. Marla and Tony at one table? He might have caused the apocalypse when he agreed to the meal.

It would be fine, he tried to convince himself as he stood by the hostess stand, waiting for everyone to arrive. And if it wasn't, well, he could always change his name again and take off.



Marla
The door opened and air rushed in. The smell of cigarette smoke was followed by Marla, who looked thrilled to be there. But then, that was Marla. "I'm not paying," she said by way of greeting

Tyler
"Since when do you have money?" came Tyler's response as he involuntarily stiffened. Showtime. "Don't worry about it."

Marla
"Who said I was worrying?" She smiled for the briefest of moments, although it toed the line of being a smirk. "You can do that enough for both of us. This is a step up from where we used to go. Anyone would think you're moving up in the world."

Tyler
"I don't even have to specify clean food here," Tyler admitted, almost wistful. "Moving up, I don't know. Might just be getting soft."

Softer, anyhow.

Marla
"That'll be the day. Who else is coming anyway? Will I have to be on my best behavior?" Yeah, like that was going to happen.

Tyler
"Tony Stark's a friend," Tyler said, unintentionally putting a tiny, odd bit of stress on the word friend. No, he wasn't sleeping with him, move along. "He runs a repair shop in town. Apparently he's this famous billionaire arms dealer in his world, but we don't live in it."

That was weird, but he'd mentioned Fandom stuff to Marla enough over the years that he hoped she'd just accept it and move along. "He's bringing his assistant, Pepper, and this other guy he calls Rhodey."

He gave her an appraising look. "We'll be good if you don't convince them all I need to be committed."

Marla
Marla rolled her eyes. This was going to be interesting or a complete waste of time. She could always walk out, and there was a free meal out of it. "Then we'll be good. I won't reveal your deepest psychological problems to your sugar daddy."

Tyler
"He's not - " Tyler started to protest, then reconsidered. If there was a time or place to have that conversation, which Tyler doubted, this wasn't it. "Never mind. And thank you, Marla."

He was already hoping to just get this over with.

Tony
Tony had not been looking forward to this dinner either, really. Especially since he feared for his safety if Pepper got really upset with him.

He might never know his social security number!

So, he did the smart thing and didn't inform Pepper and Rhodey they were eating with Tyler and... well he couldn't remember her name now. "Our table is just over this way," He said, leading them toward Tyler.

Rhodey
It didn't take Rhodey long to figure out what was going on. He recognized the man and his goatee from the picture in the tabloid. Rhodey stopped mid-step long enough to give Tony a look. He wasn't surprised by this move. Slightly annoyed that he wasn't given fair warning, but not surprised.

Pepper
Pepper looked over Colonel Rhodes' shoulder, and there was the slightest stutter to her step.

"...his Google search didn't return any hits that looked like that," she said under her breath. "Damn paparazzi and their inability to get shots of anything useful."

Tony
Tony gave Rhodey an look of 'who, me?' right back, putting his hand on the small of Pepper's back. "Now, Miss Potts, that's not very nice. They work hard to get those pictures."

Rhodey
Rhodey had to cover his mouth for a second to hide the smirk that emerged after both Pepper and Tony's comments. The paparazzi photos had been pretty bad. Now that he was getting a better look at Tyler, Rhodey could see what Tony saw in him. The Colonel was sure he's seen Tyler's face somewhere before though...

Well. That could wait. Surviving dinner first, going through government files to figure out where he's seen Tyler's face before later. Rhodey took a few more steps toward the table, trying to look intimidating but not downright scary.

Tyler
Pepper was prettier than she sounded over the phone, and younger than Tyler had guessed. Hmmm. He shot Marla a last, warning glance and put on a professional smile.

"Hey," he greeted, mostly to Tony. "I'm Tyler and this is my - this is Marla."

Marla
Marla had rolled her eyes at Tyler's glance and bent her head to rifle through her purse for a cigarette, no smoking signs be damned. "Charmed, I'm sure," she said, tone absolutely flat.

Tony
Tony smiled, turning on the PR charm. "A pleasure to meet you, Martha. I think you already spoke to Pepper, Tyler. This is Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes."

See, he could do the polite thing.

Rhodey
Rhodey was already thinking this dinner was a bad idea. He gave Marla a polite nod, feeling bad that Tony messed up her name. "Nice to meet you, Marla."

He stuck out a hand towards Tyler. "Nice to finally meet you, Tyler. I've heard...a lot."

Pepper
"Pepper Potts," she said, her stomach sinking but the slight smile never leaving her face. She also offered her hand to Tyler as he shook Colonel Rhodes'. "I hope you've been well since we last talked, Mr. Durden. And it's very nice to meet you, Ms....Marla."

Marla
"Singer," Marla tossed off, search for a smoke abandoned for the moment. This promised to be even more interesting than her nic fit. "Tyler told me exactly nothing about any of you."

Tyler
"So we get to learn together," Tyler said with a slightly raised eyebrow, shaking the lieutenant colonel's hand and then Pepper's in turn. "So. Should we get our table?"

He was being just the tiniest bit abrupt, yes.

Tony
"That sounds like an excellent idea," Tony replied, looking around to catch the eye of the waiter to be lead to the table. "This'll be fun."

Not at all.

Rhodey
"Oh I'm sure it will be," Rhodey couldn't help but say. He could appreciate Tyler's abruptness and was looking to make this dinner as short as possible.

Rhodey managed to get the waiter's attention and he started to direct them to a table in the back of the restaurant. Rhodey moved aside to let Pepper and Marla pass ahead of him. "Ladies first."

Pepper
Well. There was one lady here, anyway. But she'd be nice and just not mention her thoughts on that aloud.

She smoothly passed by the men to follow the waiter with a small nod, and slipped her Blackberry out of her bag as she walked. This was probably the last chance she'd have to check her email before she'd get dirty looks for doing that during dinner.

Marla
Marla's eyes dared Tyler to say one single word, even as she bit back a private laugh at the word lady. She swished her skirt a little as she followed Pepper to the seats, pausing to grab a fistful of mints from the front desk.

"Decent place," she told Tyler, eyes running down the menu. "You guys come here a lot?"

For her, that was positively sociable.

Tyler
Tyler shook his head slightly. "I haven't been here in a long time. It's supposed to be good."

He was looking at Rhodey and Pepper, trying to figure out what they meant to Tony and wondering why he cared.

Tony
"First time for me as well." Tony ignored Pepper's e-mail checking. If it was important, she'd let him know. He did, however, do the polite thing and pull out a chair.

Rhodey
Rhodey rolled his eyes as he sat down in the offered chair. Freaking Tony...

"Thanks," he mumbled, scooting the chair into the table before Tony could embarrass him more and do it for him.

Pepper
Pepper gave Tony a brief 'What is wrong with you?' look before taking her own seat, slipping her Blackberry away as quickly as she'd pulled it out.

"Well, this is a lovely little place," she said, looking around at the restaurant. "The whole island is. Have you been here to visit Mr. Durden before, Ms. Singer?"

Marla
Marla's coughing fit wasn't hiding a laugh. Really. "You mean since we got divorced?" she asked, once she'd recovered. "No. We met up in Wilmington a couple months back but that was it. I've been hearing about it for years, though. Kind of thought he made it up."

Tyler
"I guess she's still my next of kin on their paperwork," Tyler said. "So, she got an invitation, and took them up on it." He clearly was not a fan of this idea.

Tony
"Charming," Tony replied. "Well, you already know Pepper is my personal assistant, and Rhodey... well I've known him since college. He also used to be the military handler for me."

Rhodey
The thought of how Stark Industries no longer needed a military handler annoyed Rhodey but he wasn't going to start something at the table. At least not consciously.

"Yeah, well, I'm Tony's handler in more ways than one, I'm afraid," he said, smirking. The poor man didn't realize the more perverse connotations of that sentence just yet.

Pepper
"Oh my god," Pepper breathed, barely refraining from covering her face with a hand.

"So," she said, more loudly. Perhaps a bit more loudly than necessary, actually. "...so you teach, Mr. Durden? How fascinating. What do you teach?"

...look, she just wanted to get the conversation away from...that.

Tyler
Tyler was still kind of stuck back on what Rhodes had said. "...handling," he echoed, then corrected himself. "I mean, applied chemistry. It's, ah, something."

Marla
"So they don't let you teach handing?" Marla asked sweetly. "Because that sounds fascinating."

Tony
Tony was busy giving them all a look in turn. "Right. I think this calls for drinks."

Rhodey
It had taken Rhodey a second but he eventually got what he said. He couldn't wait for this dinner to be over now.

"Just a water for me, thanks," Rhodey said, trying not to facepalm at himself. The last thing he needed was alcohol. Somehow he knew Tony wasn't going to let him get away with just water but he was going to try, dammit.

Pepper
"A vodka martini, please. Extra dry. Lots of olives. Really, just some vodka and like three olives would be wonderful," Pepper said, because there was absolutely no way she was getting through this without a really, really stiff drink.

Especially given how rambly that drink order had just been. And they hadn't even gotten their food. Stupid unnerving people. She was so changing Tony's passwords for this.

Marla
Marla had located the wine list and run her finger down it until she found the most expensive thing. "A bottle of this," she said. "One glass."

Tyler
"Just a beer for me," Tyler said. "Whatever's cheapest. I don't care."

He needed to get drunk. Yesterday.

Tony
Tony raised an eyebrow at Marla. "Two bottles of it. And five glasses," He said, giving the waitress his best smile and causing her to flush and run off to get the alcohol.

"So. This is more awkward than my last charity function."

Rhodey
"It'd be less awkward if you hadn't just said that," Rhodey said, rubbing his forehead.

Pepper
"You mean the one where you left me on the roof? Yes, that was awkward," Pepper said lightly, studying her menu. "And chilly."

Tyler
"Why'd you -- why'd she get left on the roof?" Tyler needed to know, menu momentarily forgotten.

Tony
"I had something in Gulmira to take care of," Tony said, looking over his own menu like there was nothing wrong at all.

Pepper and Rhodey would probably know what the hell he was talking about.

Rhodey
Rhodey did know what Tony was talking about. His feelings on the subject were expressed quite clearly when he put his menu up to his face and mumbled something that sounded like "crazy son of a bitch".

Marla
Marla leaned toward him and stage-whispered, "At least that makes two of them."

Pepper
"You know, I think I'm going to get lo mein," Pepper said, very loudly. "I've been having a craving lately. And it's been so long since I actually managed to sit down while eating. Isn't this nice?"

Tyler
"Yeah, it's really nice to have a break," Tyler said, deciding he would count this meal as a success if no one ended up wearing the lo mein. "I'm going for mongolion beef."

Tony
"Martha, what is it you do?" Tony asked, smiling and trying to get some sort of conversation going.

Marla
The wine arrived then, and Marla tossed back half her glass as she mulled over an answer. "I'm a specialty stockbroker," she said, for the hell of it. "Mostly health-care firms, some bio-tech."

Rhodey
Rhodey raised an eyebrow. She didn't look like any stockbroker he's seen. "Sounds like interesting work. Maybe you could help Tony out. His stock has been plummeting lately."

Pepper
"Oh, where's your front office? The market being what it is -- and yes, Colonel Rhodes is right, the Stark stock hasn't been doing too well -- I'd love to put you in touch with our brokers. Always good to have a friend take a closer look at things, right?" Pepper said with a frosty little smile.

Yeah. She still didn't like her.

Tyler
Marla might have said something, but she was interrupted by a firm hand on her arm.

"I'm always telling her not to mix business and pleasure," Tyler said flatly. "Anyhow, we're from the wrong universe and the wrong year. Not sure how much help she'd be."

Tony
Tony was too busy giving Rhodey a look to notice the exchange with Marla and Tyler. "Anything we want to share with the rest of the class?"

Rhodey
"Nothing that can't wait till later," Rhodey replied, giving Tony a look back.

Pepper
Pepper shot Tony a look that clearly said, 'If you leave me alone with these people to go fight with him, so help me, I will tell the paparazzi you take Valtrex.'

Marla
Marla watched the looks going around the table with keen eyes as she reclaimed her arm from under Tyler's.

"So do the four of you need to get a suite with a king-size bed? Because I can just order take-out."

She wasn't missing the free meal.

Tony
Tony almost perked up at that suggestion, calmly looking around the table to see how the others took that one.

What? It might help things along.

Tyler
The expression on Tyler's face was a little hard to read, as he had slumped double and was contemplating the possibility of crawling under the table.

"Marla..." he said, almost under his breath.

Rhodey
Rhodey was just staring at Marla with a shocked look on his face. He definitely wasn't looking anywhere in Tony and Pepper's direction.

Pepper
Pepper, in true redhead form, was now sporting a positively magenta blush. Because...no. And no. And no.

(And she didn't share.)

"...Marla, I love your shoes," she finally said, a bit robotically. "Where did you get them?"

No, Pepper hadn't even looked at her shoes.

Marla
It was possible Marla hadn't really looked at her shoes, either. She'd gotten the reaction she wanted, though, and was mollified enough to give an accurate answer. "Salvation Army in Phoenix," she said, inspecting them. "I think. This might be a pair I stole from my mom. How about yours?"

Pepper
"...Prada sample sale," she said faintly. "They're lovely, all the same."

Salvation Army.

Really.

Tony
"Who wants wine?" Tony asked, pouring himself a healthy glass. Oh, he was going to get such a yelling at after this dinner. By all three of them no doubt.

Tyler
Tyler stopped looking as if he wanted to crawl under the table long enough to raise a hand. "Me. Lots."

And he was going to glare at Marla on general principle.

Rhodey
Rhodey knew drinking was probably a bad idea, but considering the circumstances...

"I better have some too."

Pepper
"Please," Pepper said tersely, practically jumping at the idea of alcohol. Maybe that would make it easier.

Marla
"I got my bottle," Marla supplied, reaching out a hand to put on it so there'd be no mistake.

Tony
"Now, Martha. I think sharing is only the polite thing to do." Because of there was one person to lecture you on sharing, it was Tony Stark.

Rhodey
Rhodey shook his head and managed a smile. "Like you would hesitate to get another bottle if we run out."

Pepper
Pepper was just going to stay quiet and silently rehearse the lecture she'd be giving when they were away from these people and their Salvation Army shoes.

Tyler
Tyler was going to do his best to go into a Zen state for the rest of dinner.

Or he might just get drunk.

"Another bottle wouldn't hurt."

Tony
Tony grinned and waved for their server. "More wine!"


[OOC: Up early for the sake of availability. Preplayed with [livejournal.com profile] not_ironmaiden, [livejournal.com profile] lots_of_olives, [livejournal.com profile] notwarmachine, and [livejournal.com profile] sincegradeskool. NFI, OOC= love]

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Tyler Durden

April 2015

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