𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐇 and the heart-gripping fear, there were thirty-six hours of bliss...

However, bliss may have been a strong word for some. For a Stark, Las Vegas was like dropping a kid off in a candy shop, which was exactly why the eldest of the Stark siblings hated the city with a burning passion. Unfortunately, that's exactly where her brother was meant to receive that year's Apogee award.

"Tony Stark. Visionary. Genius. American patriot."

Julie Stark rolled her eyes and scoffed to herself as the pre-recorded video played.

"Even from an early age, the son of legendary weapons developer Howard Stark quickly stole the spotlight with his brilliant and unique mind. At age four, he built his first circuit board. At age six, his first engine. And at seventeen, he graduated summa cum laude from MIT."

She silently drummed her fingers on the table, briefly showing a weakness of impatience; however, a hand gently placed itself over hers, stilling the action. She looked down at his hand before turning to face him: John Smith III. They'd met a few years back at one of Stark Industries other business meetings and she couldn't stand the sight of him. Of course, that was only because she'd instantly been attracted to him. She had more important things to take care of since the recent passing of her husband had left her with the responsibility of raising two kids on her own, not to mention her siblings. Well, she believed her hands were tied, too tied up to get tangled with another pair... he was quick to change her mind.

He gently flipped her hand over as he slid his fingers in between hers then lifted it toward his lips and tenderly placed a kiss. However, she was quickly reminded that they weren't alone at the table as Stark Industries head of security, Alexander Potts, audibly gagged. She rolled her eyes, annoyed by the interruption, but the soft smile that graced her lips refused to leave. The Stane siblings, some of Stark Industries best and brightest, nudged one another while silently mocking the tender moment between lovers. She was slowly regretting the extended invitation to the close family friends.

"Then, the passing of a titan."

Julie's head turned as the images on the screen shifted to photos of her deceased parents. She would at least remain respectful for this portion of the program.

"Howard Stark's lifelong friend and ally, Obadiah Stane, steps in to help fill the gap left by the legendary founder, until, at age twenty-one, the prodigal son returns and is anointed the new CEO of Stark Industries. With the keys to the kingdom, Tony ushers in a new era for his father's legacy, creating smarter weapons, advanced robotics, and satellite targeting. Today, Tony Stark has changed the face of the weapons industry by ensuring freedom and protecting America and her interests around the globe."

John sighed and leaned closer to whisper. "Doesn't it bother you that your name doesn't get mentioned?"

Julie chuckled. "I'm perfectly content in the shadows."

John skeptically raised an eyebrow as he jokingly asked, "Are you sure you weren't adopted?"

She rolled her eyes playfully. "I just happened to be the only one that took after my mother."

Alex hushed the two as James Rhodes stepped up onto the stage following the surplus of applause. Rhodey cleared his throat and leaned closer to the mic. "As liaison to Stark Industries, I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend and he is my great mentor. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present this year's Apogee Award to Mr. Tony Stark... Tony?"

Julie's head whipped around and her jaw tightened as her eyes settled on Obadiah Stane, sitting alone at his table where both Tony and Hollyn were meant to make an appearance. Just once, she'd like someone else to be responsible. Especially since she wasn't as heavily involved in the company as the other two. While Tony served as the overall brains of the operation, Hollyn attracted a lot of attention from the media... correction, she competed with Tony for the most media attention. She wasn't jealous though, Julie actually enjoyed taking a step back to handle more of the financial aspects that her brother wasn't responsible enough to be left with. She frequently worked alongside Pepper Potts to ensure that they were taking the company in the right direction, but her influence was limited and clearly not valued enough as neither of her siblings deemed their time worthy to be present.

Stane rose from his seat and accepted the award from Rhodey. "Thank you, Colonel."

Rhodey leaned closer, whispering something in Stane's ear before leaving the stage as quickly as he could. Stane placed a beaming smile on his face and held the award up into the light. "This is beautiful. Thank you. Thank you all very much. This is wonderful."

Alex huffed under his breath. "Could he be any more pretentious?"

"That's my father you're talking about," Lydia warned.

"And yes," Ephraim nodded his head, "He's only at press-conference pretension levels. You better hope he never gets to meet the president."

Lydia punched her brother in the arm, which he quickly whined about as he rubbed the sore spot that had already started bruising.

"Well, I'm not Tony Stark," Stane laughed, "But if I were Tony, I would tell you how honored I feel and what a joy it is to receive this very prestigious award. Tony, you know... The best thing about Tony is also the worst thing. He's always working."

"I think I'm actually going to kill him this time," Julie muttered under her breath.

Rhodey shook his head as he joined the group at their table, leaning down to whisper. "Not if I get to him first."

Julie shook her head, disagreeing. "I'm afraid it's my birthright, Rhodes."

Rhodey scoffed. "Remind me. Which one of us has military training?"

Julie rolled her eyes. "If I can cut a steak, I think I can handle murder."

Rhodey raised an eyebrow and looked over at John. "You better keep an eye on this one."

John chuckled. "I think you should be more concerned with controlling your own Stark."

Lydia picked up her phone as it vibrated against the table. She released a frustrated sigh before flipping the screen around to show the others. "I've got a pretty good idea where they're at."

════════ ⋆★⋆ ════════

"You can't be serious." Alex crossed his arms as he confronted Harold "Happy" Hogan. "You're meant to be keeping an eye on him."

"He insisted." Happy's nonchalant shrug only added fuel to the fire of Alex's poorly concealed anger. His face practically marched the red hue of his hair which faded only after Happy slung an arm over his shoulders. "Relax a bit. It's Tony, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Do you not recall the incident from just last week?" Alex raised an eyebrow, disbelief settling over his composition. "And I'll relax the second I drop dead. You'd be just as tense if you had this job."

Happy scoffed, dismissing the comment. "I could easily fulfill your role as head of security."

"Uh huh." Alex rolled his eyes unconvinced. Not many people understood how much work his job actually required, especially when given the luxury of solely acting as Tony Stark's bodyguard. Meanwhile, Alex had his eyes on all exits and potential shady figures he deemed as threat-worthy while also glancing down at his phone connected to the monitors back at the factory and main industry center.

Tony continued his game without a concern to the argument of security ongoing behind him. He held out his hand to the woman beside him who blew on the dice with a sultry smile; however, that wasn't enough for the billionaire. He extended the dice to the Lieutenant Colonel who had already tried and failed to pull Tony away from the table.

Rhodey shoved the dice away from his face, disgusted by the idea. "I don't blow on a man's dice."

"Come on, honey bear," Tony insisted, but Rhodey shook his head and knocked Tony's hand away again, forcing him to roll the dice. "There it is. Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes rolls! And..."

"Two craps. Line away." The dealer called out the roll as the dice landed.

Rhodey shrugged. "That's what happens."

Tony remained unbothered, but finally noticed his head of security glaring holes into the back of his head. He waved his hand into the air both forgiving Rhodey and calling for the dealer's attention. "Worse things have happened. I think we're gonna be fine. Color me up, will ya?"

Seeing that Rhodey had things covered with Tony, Julie approached the bar where her sister had been spotted. It was impossible to miss her as she danced across the countertop. Julie frowned and quickly pushed her way through the growing crowd of male suitors that her younger sister had attracted.

"Hollyn!" Julie shouted to be heard over the music.

Her sister either didn't hear or blatantly ignored her, it was difficult to tell. However, Julie fumed as Hollyn accepted a maraschino cherry from the mouth of one of the men from the crowd. He'd braved his way onto the countertop beside her and her hands ran through his hair as her lips pressed against his.

Julie took her sister by the arm and pulled her down from the countertop. Hollyn's face was flushed and she giggled as she pulled her hair away from her face while breathing heavily. Julie didn't waste another second before pulling her sister away from the bar, where she was clearly wasted, and toward the exit of the casino. Hollyn threw her hand up in the air with a "call me" sign, even though she'd never given the man her number.

"You need to grow up," Julie chastised, but steadied her sister as she swayed.

"You," Hollyn clumsily pointed at her and slurred, "need to live a little."

Julie rolled her eyes, but wasn't given the opportunity to say anything as they met back up with Tony, Rhodey, and Happy. Rhodey looked between the three siblings and shook his head with a short chuckle. "This is where I exit."

"All right." Tony nodded his head and shook Rhodey's hand.

"Tomorrow," Rhodey reminded him, "don't be late."

"Yeah, you can count on it." Tony waved aside his concern.

"I'm serious!" Rhodey warned as he walked away.

"I know, I know." Tony nodded before giving his award away to a stranger dressed as a centurion. "Render unto Caesar, that which is Caesar's. There you go."

Julie shook her head, but didn't correct the action. She knew there wouldn't be much point. Her only goal at this point was to get her siblings home before anymore trouble could be caused. Alex brought the car around the corner and Julie helped Hollyn get in before turning her attention to Tony. "We'll see you tomorrow. Don't forget."

"Not possible when someone's reminding me every two seconds," Tony remarked.

"That's because you have the memory of a goldfish," Julie retorted, rolling her eyes, "Seriously, for once in your life, don't be 'fashionably' late."

Tony nodded his head. Satisfied, Julie entered the car where the others were waiting. The car pulled away and one followed up behind it to take Tony home. As Happy opened the door, a woman called for Tony's attention.

"Mr. Stark! Excuse me, Mr. Stark!" One of his security guards stepped between them, but she quickly tried to show she meant no harm. "Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair magazine. Can I ask you a couple of questions?"

Happy leaned closer to Tony and whispered, "She's cute."

"She's all right?" Tony asked, keeping his voice down before turning to face Christine. "Hi."

"Hi."

"Yeah. Okay, go."

"It's okay?" She asked, pulling out her recorder. "You've been called the da Vinci of our time. What do you say to that?"

"Absolutely ridiculous." Tony shook his head. "I don't paint."

"And what do you say to your other nickname?" Her smile faded. "'The Merchant of Death'?"

"That's not bad." Tony nodded. "Let me guess. Berkeley?"

"Brown, actually," she corrected.

"Well, Ms. Brown," Tony replied, "It's an imperfect world, but it's the only one we've got. I guarantee you, the day weapons are no longer needed to keep the peace, I'll start making bricks and beams for baby hospitals."

"You rehearse that much?"

"Every night in front of the mirror before bedtime." Tony smirked.

"I can see that."

"I'd like to show you first-hand."

Christine shook her head. "All I want is a serious answer."

"Okay, here's serious." Tony crossed his arms. "My old man had a philosophy, 'Peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy'."

"That's a great line coming from the guy selling the sticks."

"My father helped defeat the Nazis," Tony said as if trying to prove a point, "He worked on the Manhattan Project. A lot of people, including your professors at Brown, would call that being a hero."

"And a lot of people would also call that war profiteering."

"Tell me," Tony removed his sunglasses, "do you plan to report on the millions we've saved by advancing medical technology or kept from starvation with our intelli-crops? All those breakthroughs, military funding, honey."

Christine scoffed. "You ever lose an hour of sleep your whole life?"

"I'd be prepared to lose a few with you."

Her haughty expression fell, but she didn't decline the offer. Before the night ended, the two arrived at Stark's mansion and spent the rest of the evening in his bedroom.