SSARITF? Epilogue One

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It took a fair amount of finagling for the siblings to get together. It was John's idea (and since it was John’s idea, he got to be the one convincing Phil) to just gather everyone so they could talk and possibly reestablish connections now that they were all older. Somehow, Tony had gotten a hold of the information and basically pushed them into using Stark Tower. The security meant that they could hide their jobs away from their two remaining non secret organization siblings. It also meant Tony could show up at any moment, although both Bruce and Steve promised to try and keep him occupied.

John arrived first, holding his report on the Junditto and Loki in his hand while wearing casual clothing. Phil was waiting in a different conference room than before, also trying for casual. This room was more like that of a hotel version, with places for food and drinks. “An actual paper copy,” he said, amused before taking it and hiding it in his briefcase, which was stored away in the storage room. “I only did that to see if I could find out where you were working.”

“And the BPRD wouldn't have let you in. Manning's not a fan of SHIELD,” he stated, “And he's really not a fan now after trying to get Hellboy back and failing again. He blames your agency.”

“If he had treated them better, he wouldn't have lost them,” he said.

“I'm in agreement, but then I wasn't there when they left, so I don't know exactly what happened.”

Both stopped talking when they heard the door open and Abbi walked in with another woman. “Johnny!” she called, moving quickly over and hugging him tightly.

“Hi, Abbi,” he fake croaked, causing her to hit him lightly.

She hugged Phil before wrapping an arm around the woman. “This is my partner, Sharon Donovan,” she introduced.

“It's wonderful to meet some of Abbi's family,” she smiled, pointing at John, “Some of the stories she's told about you are interesting.”

“Interesting's not a good word in this family,” he said, remembering the last few revelations. “You know, I would like to know the story of how you two met. Please, tell me the embarrassing details; I have no ammunition against my family.”

“John!” Abbi shouted, scandalized, but her partner laughed and they walked a few steps away. She decided to round on Phil. “What the hell have you been doing?”

The exact nature of the question was noticeable, but he sidestepped. “Working. I take holidays and cover others shifts so they can go home.”

“No phone calls, no mail,” she accused, “You and Jake are terrible liars.”

“Jake?”

She sighed, “He came in during one of my shifts, half-dragging this guy behind him. Claimed that he got into a bar fight and wanted me to fix him up. Like I couldn't tell that he had dug a bullet out first.” Wonder if it was Hunt or Brandt. “Both of you are hiding something from me, and I want to know out what it is.”

He denied, “I work for the FBI, nothing exciting.”

“Right,” she nodded, completely not believing him.

“Wait, was this before or after puking on her?” John laughed.

“Oh, God, not that story,” she moaned, running over to slap a hand over her partner's mouth.

“I must say, it was a very entertaining story,” Frank whispered, finally talking from where he had been hiding behind Phil. “They met during one of her shifts, and she kept coming in with people or by herself to get a glimpse. Finally got noticed when she puked on Abbi.”

“Interesting,” he agreed, “Martha and Jake?”

Jake announced himself just as Phil asked. “All right, everyone, don't crowd in at once,” he joked. Abbi was the first to rush him, making him falter a couple of steps when she hugged him at full force. “Oh, I missed these.”

Neither of them noticed another figure walking into the room. John, however, was relieved when Ben showed up. He walked over and gave the older man a hug, which he confusedly returned for a few seconds. He pulled him over to a corner so he could ask him a few questions. Phil caught sight of them and wondered if John was asking about Maine.

“Martha might be a few minutes late; she's having problems getting a babysitter for the kids,” Frank reported. He decided to go and throw an arm around Jake, who looked up in confusion before using one of his arms to give a sideways hug.

Martha walked in on Jake and Ben whispering in a corner. Frank, Abbi and John were talking about a TV show she didn't know about. Phil noticed her over a woman's shoulder and nodded once. She pointed out each to the man beside her, naming them. Frank caught sight of her and motioned over the group. Abbi ran up and hugged her tightly when she saw her. Letting go, she introduced, “This is my husband, Nathan.”

Frank and Phil shook his hand, having met him before in their jobs. “Okay, I am noticing that none of the boys brought anyone,” Abbi joked, looking to Martha and Sharon.

“My job is my life,” John claimed, “I haven't gone out in years.”

“I travel a lot,” Jake insisted, “And when I am home, it's paperwork until the next time.”

“Those are not excuses,” Sharon declared, “You should have someone special in your lives.”

“What are your types?” Abbi led, focusing on John.

“Who were your last dates?” she added, getting out her phone to search, “Were they serious?”

“Preferences?” Frank and Phil were amused by their sister's antics. She turned when they snickered. “Don't think you're getting out of this.”

“Hey,” Frank protested, holding up a wedding band.

The girls focused on Phil. “It's complicated,” he informed, “But I have someone.” John looked over and raised an eyebrow to ask who.

They switched to Ben. “I uh... don't think it's a good idea right now,” he regretted. His answer changed the tone of the room, but they tried to go back to John and Jake.

Everyone decided to leave the topic alone, and lunch was served. Jobs came up and edited versions popped up frequently. John was able to edit most of his to be human in nature. Phil and Jake both toned down theirs. Frank was mostly just paperwork, although a lot would have been redacted after he saw it. Ben told them he was working on a novel, a fictional one. The subject was vampires and John stared at him for two seconds before Phil hit him for being obvious. “They're not going to sparkle, are they?” Jake joked.

Ben laughed for a second, “That's copyrighted. I'll stay with the types that live in the dark and kill people.” The smile on his face tightened at what he described, but no one really took notice. Abbi was close to being promoted to a more managerial position in the hospital, and Sharon talked about her shop.

It started getting later, and Frank commented that he had to go home. Nathan and Martha agreed, talking about their own kids. Ben mentioned he had to leave as well. “We should do this again,” Jake mentioned.

“Yeah,” John nodded, “I would like to possibly meet my nieces and nephews.”

“It would be a good idea to give Amy fresh meat,” Nathan joked. Martha slapped him. Everyone separated and exchanged emails before leaving.

Phil and John ended up as the last two there. “So, we didn't get here in time for embarrassing stories,” Tony announced himself. Thank godSteve and Bruce walked in behind him. “I did hear something about another family reunion.”

“I don't think you're going to be invited, Tony,” Bruce panned.

“What? I can't go along as his plus one,” he joked, pointing at Coulson. The stare he was given backed him off a tiny bit. He wrapped an arm around John. “All right, I'll go with your brother. He wouldn't mind me, right?”

“You're not my type,” he retaliated, an unamused stare thrown in his direction.

“Hmm... well I guess I'll crash wherever you end up for the reunion.”

“Crash being the possible action,” Bruce lamented.

“Just remember, if you come, do so at your own risk,” Coulson stated.

“That would be wise, sir,” JARVIS interjected, “The Evans daughter, Amelia, has been unofficially linked to three pranks within her school. The entire cheerleading squad was dyed green after reports they bullied a young woman. The quarterback had every single jersey covered in sequins and glitter after attempting to rape another young woman and the entire school board lost access to their personal, business related and all school accounts after trying to cover up these incidents and several others in the past.”

“Huh,” Tony commented, internally measuring up the young woman that did this. She might be interesting. “Maybe you should take Barton and Romanoff to meet her.”

“No!” the others yelled.

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