Meeting the Family (December 2011)

Serena smiled at Evan as they got out of the car. Evan was nervously adjusting his clothes. “There’s nothing to be anxious about Evan. They’re going to love you. Just don’t let my father get to you. He seems intimidating but he’s really a nice guy.”

Serena and Evan needed this night. They were both worried about Nyx and had been working hard on their project. They needed a good meal that wasn’t take out and Serena had missed her mother’s home cooking. Her mother was an excellent cook and just thinking about her lasagna made her mouth water.

They got into the elevator and Serena gave him a kiss. “I love you Evan.”

“I love you more?” Even said as he kissed her back and, for a moment forgot about his nervousness. When the door opened Tony, Steve, Natalya, Kate, Malcolm and Logan were at the kitchen table. Tony was adjusting one of this gauntlets, Steve was shining his shield, Kate, Natalya and Malcolm were cleaning weapons and Logan was sharpening his claws that consequently, didn’t need sharpening. Isabella was in the kitchen making the salad. The lasagna was in the oven and the bread was ready to go in once it came out.

Once Serena and Even stepped up to them Evan saw them and stopped short. Logan have him a dark look as did Tony.

Serena lovingly rubbed Evan’s back as the elevator doors opened. She looked up and sighed at the sight that greeted them. She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked back at Logan. She then cast a look around at everyone else.

“That’s not nice you guys,” she scolded.

Never before had Serena seen so many faces feign so much innocence in her life. Isabella took off her apron and moved over to greet Evan.

“Hello Evan,” she said and extended her hand to him. “Hello Mrs. Stark, Evan said. “I’ve always wanted to meet you,” Evan said. Tony has gotten up from the table. “Honey, we still have a daughter? She never calls so I wasn’t certain,” Tony said jokingly but then hugged Serena. “Glad your home kiddo,” he said.

“Mr. Stark,” Evan said and extended his hand to him. Tony shook it and gave him a scrutinizing look. “It’s good to meet you Evan...Serena hasn’t really said much about you,” Tony said. The others stood up and put their weapons away.

Serena gave her father a look before hugging him back. “Be nice,” she whispered in his ear before kissing his cheek. The others greeted Evan as well. Evan seemed rather star struck and she smiled as she watched him. Isabella got the lasagna out and put in the bread as everyone chatted a little. Serena told her parents a little about Evan.

“Evan has had a lot of great ideas for our project. He ultimately figured out the problem we were having,” she bragged with a smile.

Evan pointed at Serena. “No, Serena designed the entire program algorithms to run 3 lasers simultaneously that would manage the total power output so we could get our readings for our Thesis study,” Evan said.

Tony looked at his daughter and smiled with pride in his eyes. Isabella did to.

“Well damn, I don’t know what that is but it sounds really sweet,” Logan said. Kate and Natalya laughed at that.

“Well it’s no wonder, genius DNA,” Malcolm said. “And hello...I’m Malcolm,” he said to Serena and waved to her.

"I met your mother once, Evan," Isabella said. "It was a while ago, how is she doing...Mel...antha?" She said questioningly and Evan nodded. "Melantha," she said. "She's doing great, keeping my father on his toes.

Serena very nearly blushed at Evan’s compliment. Then seeing her father practically beam at her made her actually blush. She held her parent’s in high regard and thought highly of them both. Having their praise meant a lot to her. She could also see that her father would probably get along well with Evan. She could picture them together in the lab and that made her very happy.

Then, she noticed Malcolm. She realized he must be Natalya’s boyfriend. He was quite handsome and she could see why she might be attracted to him.

“So you’re the one who finally tamed The Black Widow?” she teased with a grin.

Malcolm smiled and looked at Isabella. “Oh I like her!” He said excitedly and that made Isabella smile. “I’d say ‘tame’ is a strong word. She’s not ready for the saddle yet,” Malcolm said and it was Natalya’s turn to blush. Logan about fell out of his seat he laughed so hard though. Evan smiled, now this was family he thought. And he looked at Serena with a very pleased look in his eyes.

“Well, the breads almost ready,” Isabella announced and Steve was the first to the table. Kate moved to give Serena a hug. “Glad to see your back Serena, The Tower just doesn’t feel the same without you here,” she said then moved to sit next to her husband. Tony brought over he salad and Isabella brought over the pan of lasagna then went back for the bread. Wine was poured. Wine or water, and every began to pass plates, bread and salad around the table.

“Your father gave a speech on Dark Matter a few years back, is he still working for SHIELD?” Tony asked. Evan took a moment to chew his food then swallowed politely before he answered. “Uh, yes sir, SHIELD has some of the most advanced equipment in the world and he has been working with a strand of Dark Matter that SHIELD got from….somewhere...I don’t know where,” Evan said. “I planned on working with him...someday,” Evan said. Tony, Steve and Logan all gave him a discerning look. SHIELD was not a popular organization at this table.

“So how long have you and Serena been dating?” Kate asked. “4 months...well, almost 4 months,” he said and he smiled at Serena again. “She’s amazing,” He said. “Meeting her was like...straying into a dream,” He said without blushing. Kate mouthed the word, ‘Whoa’ and waved her hand as if what he said was very romantic, and made her warm.

Serena had attended Kate and Steve's wedding, but she hadn't been seen them since. They had gone on their honeymoon to her parent's private island to get away from the press and it seemed as if the press' attention on them had finally died down. Steve was Serena's godfather and practically an uncle to her. She had known him her entire life and was glad that he found happiness with Kate. They complemented each other so well and the way Steve looked at Kate told you all you needed to know about how much he loved her. It was the same way her father looked at her mother. Serena hoped that she had found that level of happiness with Evan.

She took a seat next to Evan at the table and since she wasn't old enough to drink quite yet she stuck with water. The lasagna smelled amazing and made Serena's mouth water. Serena was trying to learn to cook herself, but she didn't have very much time to really practice it. Mostly she and Evan ordered takeout. It was nice to have a home cooked meal again.

While Evan didn't blush at what he said about meeting her, Serena did. She smiled at him though and then looked back at Kate and the others. "He was persistent in asking me out. I finally just gave in."

Isabella began to laugh at that and pointed at Tony. "He was the same way. Pursued me hard and I kept telling him no. One day I came in to work when I still worked for the CIA and he had filled my office with Roses. I told him to stop sending me Roses so the next day it was Orchids. Now, here we are 23 years later."

Everyone agreed that that definitely sounded like something Tony would do. As the evening wore on dessert was served with a hot, spiced cider. Evan had complimented Isabella several times during the meal though just about everyone did. They always did when Isabella was cooking. She knew what she was about with anything Italian.

After the meal Isabella and Serena were cleaning up. The dishwasher was full and they washed what was left by hand. Serena dried as Isabella washed and everyone else was in the sitting area talking. “So, do we need to make up Evan a room or is he staying with you in yours?” Isabella said softly so the others would not hear. They sort of had this conversation already but this was the tower and her father might not take that his daughter was sleeping with Evan lightly.

Everyone was relaxed and happy during the meal. For a while Serena forgot about her worries with Evan and Nyx. After dinner and dessert were over, Serena helped her mother in the kitchen with the dishes while Evan sat out in the sitting area with the others. Evan seemed very comfortable with them now and she smiled when she heard him laughing at a story Logan was telling.

She dried another dish that her mother handed to her and then put it in the stack she had going of dishes to be put away. She glanced at her mother when she asked her where Evan would be staying that night. "He'll...he'll be staying with me in my room."

Evan dried his hair with a towel as Serena sat on the edge of the bed and put cream on her arms and legs. “So no one knows how old Logan really is? He can’t even be dated right? Because of his mutation? Amazing, a mystery that can never be solved,” He said. “Your family, your extended family, are all ready cool Serena. You’re a very lucky woman,” Evan said as he removed his towel and climbed into bed with his book. “Tony and Isabella Stark, a romance for the ages,” Evan mused. “And look what their loved created. The most wonderful, beautiful woman I’ve ever met,” Evan said as he shifted to lean on his elbow and look at her. “Tonight was such a perfect evening Serena,” Evan said softly but Evan wasn’t really tired. Not yet anyway.

Serena smiled at Evan and her eyes met his. "I'm really glad you pestered me into going out with you," she said before kissing him gently. The gentle kiss slowly transformed into something much more passionate and Evan quickly forgot about his book. He then seemed to remember where he was and was rather concerned that they might be overheard but Serena reassured him that the walls were all soundproofed really well. That seemed to be all the encouragement he needed.

Afterward she lay in his arms and slowly began to drift off to sleep. "I love you Evan."

For New Years Evan and Serena went out on the town and Evan arranged it all with a little help from Steve Rogers, Kate and Isabella. Tony hooked him up with his clothier that cut his own suits and Evan chose a dark, gray pin-striped suit that would go well with anything that Serena wore. They started the night off at Danji’s, a Korean, French upscale restaurant then drinks and dancing at ‘Mansion’ where Nicki Minaj was hosting an all pink party that included Cotton Candy Machines, Pink drinks and pink Harajuku barbies. They ended the night in a private room that overlooked Times Square where they had a great view of the ball that was going to drop. Evan held her close as they danced to a slow song. Their room had a large bottle of champagne that was chilling on ice, strawberries and whipped cream incase they were hungry, a fireplace that roared and crackled in the background and a hot tub with colorful, fiber optic lights.

Evan did not want this to end. Meeting her family had been a wonderful experience. Everyone was so nice and inviting. He could tell that she was very important to them all as if they were all her aunts and uncles. Serena was so beautiful in her dress and the way she did her hair. It was like he was in love with a real princess and he felt very much her prince tonight. Using her families connections helped a great deal but one night just felt so...fleeting. And then it was back to the grind of college and their Thesis. He turned her around slowly then backed her up into him as they moved. His hands moved to her hips as she swayed against him and he leaned in and kissed her neck. “Hmmm, if we keep on like this, we won’t make it to midnight,” Evan said though his tone suggested that he wouldn’t really care about that right then. “You and me...it just feels...right,” Evan murmured as he kissed her neck softly.

Serena had been extremely excited about spending New Year's Eve with Evan. They had each spent Christmas with their families so this night would be just them together. Evan had been very secretive about what he had planned, but he seemed excited about it. He told her to wear something nice, but gave no more instruction than that. Serena ended up choosing a classic black dress. However, her dress had a shorter skirt to it (several inches above the knee) and had a deep V-cut in the front. It also had a bit of a shimmer to it to add to the festive feel of the evening. Her eyes were done in a smokey look, but weren't overdone and she wore the perfume that Evan had given her for Christmas. She left her hair down (since Evan liked it that way) but had used a curling iron to put undone waves throughout.

The evening was incredibly special. Serena couldn't believe all the effort Evan had put in to putting it all together. It was certainly a New Year's Eve she would never forget. He had told her to pack a small overnight bag and when they reached their private room she now knew why. The room looked right over Time's Square and the crowds of people. There was champagne, strawberries and whipped cream, a fireplace, and a hot tub. Evan turned on some music and offered her his hand to dance. They danced slowly and all of Serena's worries melted away in Evan's arms. She smiled when he turned her around and backed her up against him. She felt his hands on her hips as they swayed together. She smiled when Evan said that them together felt right and looked over her shoulder at him and into his eyes.

"Yes, it does."