Steve just chuckled.

"It's good that you're there to look out for her," he told the pokemon.

Altaria gave Julie a meaningful look, hovering next to Steve's shoulder, and Julie laughed.

"Alright, alright. I swear, Coulson must be giving you lessons on the side." She shook her head. "Why don't you and Typhlosion go make sure the two little ones are actually sleeping and not tussling?"

"It's good to see someone with such a close bond to their pokemon," Steve commented once Altaria went to tend to the little ones. "The, ah, first Braviary didn't like me much, at first."

Julie smiled a bit. "I didn't have any pokemon until after I moved," she said quietly. "There was one family Houndoom that had been my dad's from his Army days. But he..." She trailed off, a shiver rippling down her spine before she forced herself to smile. "Anyway, I've had a pretty strong bond with those two, at least. I'm still working on the other two. It just makes things easier, when I know I can trust them. Mostly, at least."

"You should be able to trust your pokemon," Steve said, nodding. "I trust Arcanine with my life. He..." He trailed off for a moment. "He wasn't with me, when I was caught in the ice. But he waited for me, the whole time."

"He's a rare one," Julie said with a little grin. "For waiting that long, for living that long, and for still helping you out to this day." She shook her head. "What you two have is admirable and very, very rare."

"All trainers should be able to have that," Steve said. "It shouldn't be so rare."

"It shouldn't be," Julie agreed quietly. "But it is." She shrugged. "But maybe it'll become more common, maybe."

"I hope so." Steve went quiet, not sure what else to say.

After a few minutes of peaceful quiet, Julie moved over and touched his arm. "Come on, let's head back up and get some rest. We can race again tomorrow."

Steve nodded.

"Sounds like a plan to me," he said. He gestured to the door. "After you."

Julie headed back up to the house and then inside, gathering up her group before heading back to the guest room she'd nabbed.

Tony had already retreated to his room with his own group to get some work done.

Which left Maeve in her own guest room with her own pair of pokemon, reading for a little while. There was nothing more for her to really do. After a little while, though, she got up and headed outside, down to the beach. The water was pretty at night, with all the water pokemon that came out at night that lit up. Gardevoir and Chandelure followed her, Chandelure casting a cool bluish light for her to see by.

Tony noted that and had Jarvis keep the cameras on her just in case, but he didn't stop working. He was getting close to finishing his project after all.

Maeve ended up perched on a rock overlooking the water. There were some Staryu and Starmie fairly close to the shore, blinking and glowing brightly, but she left them be in favor of enjoying the evening air and the sound of the water.

Tony went and joined her only after he'd finished working. Then he stayed on the shore, eyeing the water for a few moments before he looked at Maeve.

"Can't sleep?"

"Not tired yet," Maeve replied, turning a bit so she could see him. Chandelure's bluish light illuminated him a little, but she could still see the glow of the infamous Arc reactor under his shirt. "Besides, it's nice out."

"It is." Tony stretched a bit, glancing over when Ninetails joined him, his fingers tapping an absent rhythm on his Arc reactor. "Southern California is almost always nice out."

"I grew up in New England," Maeve said. "I'm not used to it being always nice out." She grinned. "I'm more used to things like snow and rain and weather."

Tony snorted. "I did grow up in New York," he pointed out. "Both places have advantages and disadvantages."

"I wasn't raised in the city," Maeve said. "Small-town deal, actually." She grinned. "There weren't even sidewalks, that's how small the town was."

Tony snorted. "Towns that small are pesky," he said. "Everyone wants to know everything."

"How do you think I turned out the way I did?" Maeve teased, grinning. "I always want to know everything."

Tony snorted and shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to know more," he said with a grin. "Especially in terms of science and technology."

"Oh, no, I'm just nosy," Maeve said, grinning. "Always have been. I thrive on it."