Las Vegas-
As Charles and the group exited the restaurant, Tsunade complimented, "Pepper, the food here is really good."
Tony chuckled, "If you like it so much, why not have Charles bring the chef back with us? That way, you can enjoy these dishes at home too."
Charles glanced at Tsunade, who simply shook her head.
"There's no need for that. We can arrange for the head chef to come over and learn the recipes."
"Delicious food isn't meant to be hoarded; it's something to be shared with others."
Hearing Tsunade's words, Tony laughed and said to Pepper, "That's a good suggestion. We could learn a few things too."
Pepper nodded in agreement, "We could just buy the recipe later."
Tony turned to Charles and said, "It's still early. How about we go somewhere for a drink?"
"I know a place where the owner has some rare, top-shelf spirits. It's worth checking out."
Intrigued by the prospect of tasting something Tony considered a treasure, Charles agreed. "Let's go try it out, then."
…
Meanwhile, aboard the Bus-
Skye knocked on Coulson's office door and entered, saying, "Just here to let you know, she's still at the hotel, so…"
"That's all the progress we've made so far."
Seeing that Coulson remained silent, Skye took a few steps forward and continued, "It's been a chaotic day, hasn't it?"
"We were like kids stuck in a candy jar."
Coulson looked at Skye, his tone somber as he replied, "That shouldn't have happened."
"It's okay."
"It wasn't as scary as seeing my parents arguing downstairs."
Hearing her metaphor, Coulson said, "That shouldn't have happened either."
He then leaned back in his chair and asked, "Do you regret joining us?"
Skye paused for a second before responding, "Even though it was a pretty impulsive decision for me."
"And I still don't really know you…"
Looking around Coulson's office filled with various items, she continued, "I do know you value old things."
Coulson followed her gaze to the objects in his office. Skye went on, "And you value me."
"For a long time, no one's treated me like that."
"So I think you're a pretty good judge of people."
"If you think this woman deserves another chance, then we should give her one."
"Even though she tried to kill me, and I kind of hate her for it."
With that, Skye left Coulson's office and closed the door behind her.
As he watched her leave, Coulson smiled slightly, saying nothing more.
…
In a booth at the bar, Tony was sharing drinks with Charles while reminiscing about the changes over the years.
"Charles, ever since that day you rescued me, the world hasn't been the same."
"The world is changing so fast."
"Sometimes it feels like if I don't keep up, I'll get left behind."
Charles chuckled, raising his glass to toast Tony.
After they both downed their drinks, Charles said, "With your level of intelligence, how could anything stop you?"
"You are, after all, a man cursed with knowledge."
Hearing Charles's comment, Tony burst out laughing.
"Haha!"
"You're right. Nothing can stop Tony Stark!"
"No matter how much the world changes, I'll always be part of that small group standing at the top."
Seeing Tony's confident expression, Charles nodded inwardly.
In some parallel universes, this man held the Mind Stone. Even in this uncertain universe, Tony Stark was at least a genius cursed with wisdom.
Tony continued drinking with Charles, while Pepper was playing a dice game with Tsunade.
As expected, Tsunade kept losing and drinking more, to the point that Pepper was astonished.
Tsunade's luck was so bad that even Pepper was getting frustrated just watching her lose. She ended up grabbing her own drink and joining in.
Fortunately, both Tony and Pepper had been injected with a physical enhancement serum, which had significantly increased their alcohol tolerance, so there wasn't much concern.
Tsunade and Charles, on the other hand, chose not to use chakra to dissipate the alcohol in their systems.
After consuming a substantial amount of whiskey, Tsunade's face flushed red, and she leaned against Charles's shoulder.
It was unclear whether Tony and Pepper did it intentionally, but they played enough dice to get Tsunade quite drunk.
Back at the Bellagio Hotel, Tony helped Pepper into their room and gave Charles a knowing smile before heading inside.
Charles, now supporting the heavily intoxicated Tsunade, made his way to the room Tony had arranged for him.
As soon as he entered, he realized it wasn't the presidential suite he had expected but rather a single-room accommodation.
Recalling the mischievous look Tony had when handing over the key, Charles shook his head with a smile.
He gently placed Tsunade on the bed and was about to head to the bathroom to freshen up when Tsunade grabbed him and pulled him down onto the bed.
Their eyes met, and under the influence of the alcohol, as Tsunade's flushed face moved closer, she closed her eyes. Charles leaned in and kissed her.
Feeling her respond to the kiss, Charles grew bolder...
·····
Elsewhere-
By morning-
Coulson walked out of his office, noticing Fitz asleep at the table. He tapped Fitz on the shoulder to wake him up.
"Fitz."
Fitz groggily stirred, rubbing his eyes as he looked at Coulson, "What's going on?"
Coulson asked, "What happened? Where's May?"
Fitz, still half-asleep, responded, "I don't know."
"She was monitoring the feed earlier. Amador must still be asleep."
Coulson quickly said, "Rewind it."
He moved to the large screen to watch the playback.
The video rewound, showing that at 6:00 AM, Amador had woken up and received new instructions.
"Todorov Building. Use the access card in Zone D5, at 9:00 AM."
Fitz, surprised, exclaimed, "Look, she received another message."
The footage then showed Amador having breakfast, with a glimpse of the bill in the video.
Coulson called out, "Stop. Pause it."
"Can you zoom in on the receipt?"
Fitz quickly zoomed in, and the receipt clearly showed the heading: "Capoa Pogitan King Niezheng Hotel."
Seeing the name on the receipt, Coulson immediately understood what was going on.
"Damn it, May."
After a brief moment of silence, Coulson quickly instructed, "Wake everyone up."
###
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