(no subject)

[irondick]

[ grinning slightly, kicking his feet out at Bruce. Pepper left him and Bruce at home, his wings are flickering and he's shoeless, bare toes and nudging him lightly. ]

Wakey wakey, eggs 'n' bakey. [ gestures around with a tall glass of milk and ice in his hand. he's bored, Bruce is passed out in front of him and man, this is nice. Tony might've made bacon. ...and actual eggs and bakey. ]

Comments

[aggravated]

[Tony might be used to having people around but Bruce? Not so much. Almost as soon as Tony talks Bruce is up and halfway across the room, heart racing and staring with wide eyes as his wings flare up like the scruff of a startled cat. In fact, for a good long moment, it not only looks like he's forgotten where he is... he actually has.]

[Then after a long moment he blinks and his wings drop down, instead curling around him almost defensively. He's in the Tower with the Fallen and the human who live together. Right.]

[irondick]

[ At the alarm, Tony's jerking back, his own wings fluttering, the mechanical part whrring and he's jolting himself. ]

Y... you okay? I made some food. [ maybe they don't need it, but the pleasure of eating is still something that Tony liked to indulge in. Makes him able to pretend he's not dead. That only a few people can see them and interact with him. It was also comforting. ] Also there's milk. I don't know what you like in that sort of thing, but Pepper likes skim and so do I.

[aggravated]

[Seeing the metal wing flex and flutter is strange in of itself, but then again a great many things about the Fallen are. Bruce watches him, brows coming together in a look of confusion.] ...You eat?

[Why? Well, the why maybe isn't the hard part. They can taste, smell, enjoy the food even if they don't need it to live. But still, Tony brought him breakfast, as if he really was human.]

[irondick]

Well, yeah. It's a comfort. [ He's tilting his head, he's only been dead about twenty-four years. Pepper's thirty-six. He's sipping his iced milk and offering the plate again. ]

If you don't want it... [ Stares down at it and yep, now his wings are fluttering nervously, before they settle and fold back into a rest. ] You look like you could use some food.

[aggravated]

Of course I don't, I'm already dead. [So he hasn't had much socializing since he died. At least he realizes it almost immediately and holds up his hands.] Sorry. Sorry. It.. [Thinking fast-] It actually smells really good. It's just been a long time.

[His wings finally relax back, though the feathers are tight, slick, and very still as he walks over.]

[irondick]

Please note, I didn't say need -- [ Then nods and shrugs. ] Eggs and bakey, something I used to make when I was alive. [ slowly, he's going to make the first move forwards, confident, but slow. Offers him the plate. ]

Really, it's good. [ grins. ] You'll like it, I think.

[aggravated]

...eggs and bakey. [Maybe a little dubious, but Bruce takes the plate and, not quite taking his eyes off Tony, walks over and sits down at the small table in the room.]

[He sits, finally looking away from the other to really look at the food at hand. It's... been a long time, to say the least. Long enough that he can't remember actually sitting down to eat except as vague memories somewhere in his past.]

[Nudges, then almost as if he's embarrassed.] Join me?

[irondick]

[ He's going to look surprised for a few seconds and then grin, nod a bit and move to sit across from him, stealing a slice of of bacon. ]

Sure, why not. So, should I be calling you Banner? Bruce? We've never really talked about this. You obviously know my preference, Tony or if you're really stingy, Stark will suffice. But Pep, well Pep thinks we need to talk about this. Because I cross boundaries by breathing and you're... [ Tony wants to use a lot of words here, enigma, interesting, silent, unreadable, handsome, skittish, there are a lot. He goes with the easiest one. ] not used to this sort of situation. One where you're welcome.

[aggravated]

[The bacon seems easiest, so he picks up a slice, studying it. There's a very strange disconnect where he can remember eating it before, but there's no cue in his mind to indicate what it tastes like. So he takes a small bite, testing, tasting all over again.]

...You two are the first people I've talked to in a long time that didn't just run from me. [Quiet but not so much ashamed as accepted reality as he takes another bite.] She can really see us?

[irondick]

Yeah, well, you're the first one who didn't ask me what happened to my wing. [ and shrugs. ] You saved her -- us, your other half saved us. We're not gonna run from a little different.

[ He's stopping and thinking about it, drumming his fingers suddenly against the table and shrugging, then nodding slowly. ] Yeah, she really can. She can see a lot of things like us too, it's. [ he pauses to think about it. ] Complicated. Really, really complicated.

[aggravated]

[Bruce nearly chokes on 'a little different' and looks to other in shock. A little different. Well, that's one way of putting it!]

People who can see us are incredibly rare. I've only seen a handful in all my years. [Totally going to avoid that first part, yep.]

[irondick]

[ Tony likes 'a little different'. ]

Dating yourself pretty easily there, old man. [ clicking his tongue and settling back. ] She's the first and only for me. [ ...Complicated, it's very complicated to Tony. ]

[aggravated]

[Tony has no idea just how right he is.] You make it sound more like she's your bride than an unusual human, whelp. [Two can play that game.]

[irondick]

[ Grins. ] You always do remember your first, geezer. [ SMIRKSMIRKSMIRK. ]

[aggravated]

[Silence, a nudge at the eggs on his plate, then an expression that is hard to describe. Almost a smirk, but there is something infinitely sad contained in it.]

No, you don't.

1/2

[irondick]

[ ...Oh, he was trying to be playful. Crap. No. Stop. That's. Unfair. ]

2/3, i lied...

[irondick]

[ He's then going to look slightly alarmed, and then down at the food. Quick, Tony! Cover your ass! ]

[irondick]

You're right I don't.

[ he really, really doesn't.

He doesn't remember her name, he remembers she had blond hair? She was older, by like ten years? Definitely hooker red lipstick though. ...or was it a mauve. Fuck. No, he doesn't remember her.

...It was a her though. ]

I remember Pepper, though.

[ this counts. He thinks so, at least. He'd remember saving her freckled nose any day. ] I'd kinda be stupid not too.

[aggravated]

[A longer silence as he wonders if that is true or not, that Tony doesn't remember. In the end, he decides it doesn't matter very much.] She seems a memorable woman.

[Quiet, practice platitude this isn't - a woman who not only can see them but accepts them (or at least Tony) so easily? Very rare.]

[irondick]

She is. [ He's going to just cough, smile and tilt his head slightly at Bruce. ]

So which name would you prefer? Bruce? Or is there something else you want us to call you? I mean, you've been here a week-ish. Five days counts as a work week to me, so, yeah, a week sounds about right. [ Looking calm, fond, serious. ] I meant it, Pep's worrying if I'm offending you or something by calling you what you introduced yourself as. I don't even know what your preference is, Old Man.

[aggravated]

[A tiny thought about the relationship between Tony and Pepper, but it's hardly his place to put any names or ideals to whatever they have going on.]

...Just Bruce. Just Bruce. The... Other One is his own being. [Not a topic he wants to discuss. The fact they haven't run all together is still amazing to him, not once they saw Him.]

[irondick]

[ At this point? They're not sure themselves. Pepper wants to try, but Tony knows if he does enough good work, he'll be going back -- he doesn't want to leave her behind after starting something like that with her.

And now there's Bruce.

Tony. Tony doesn't know why there's this sudden chord of wow, he belongs with us resonating through him and that makes him feel a bit too greedy. Because he just met the guy and he's skittish and Tony's not sure if he'll even stick around.

It's complicating an already complicated thing. He's breathing in through his nose and nodding away. Bruce sounds good, he likes his voice. Tony thinks he could listen to that all day, he wonders if Bruce would talk all day. ]

Neato. Great, that's taken care of. You should eat that Eggs and Bakey. It's going to get cold. [ It's probably luke-warm at best now, Tony's thinking. That's not good, he's on a role, he's noticing things about Bruce.

His eyes are this really rich brown, Tony thinks they're like chocolate. The dark milk chocolate that's slightly bittersweet -- kinda tangy on his tongue. It's a good color, there's those wispy sweeps of hair, there's definitely some grey -- he must've had a hard life. Tony has his own little grey hairs, he's proud of them, he's earned them.

Really nice bone structure, it's definitely something Tony could study, he bets he could count the bones in his hand and leave Bruce confused, depending on how old he was. ]

I'll ask him myself sometime. [ Was that clear enough? Tony hopes it was. He hopes Bruce sticks around -- Pepper too. It was a nice balance. Something calm and reserved to Pepper's calm and outspoken and Tony's outspoken and loud. ]

[1/4]

[aggravated]

[Oh, definitely clear enough, but possibly not in the manner Tony expects. Bruce flinches, then looks down and away.]

[2/4]

[aggravated]

[3/4]

[aggravated]