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[buildsomething]

You have not reached Tony Stark. Clearly. Leave a message and I'll get back to you if I feel like it.

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[buildsomething]

[Ominous.]

You want to talk?

[buildsomething]

One moment, Colonel Rogers.

[The voice that comes is polite, British, and seems to have no particular source. But apparently it isn't lying, because a moment or so later, Tony himself appears from what looks like a stairway tucked into the very back of the floor.]

Hey. Come to pick up your buddy?

[buildsomething]

Uh. I did not know that.

[Jesus, even Thor was down? Tony can only shake his head.]

I take it you're doing better now?

[physioneural]

... Thank you?

[ Are you supposed to respond back to a disembodied voice? Well, he's gonna because that's how a good man is raised. ]

I have. Hope he wasn't too difficult to fix without a power source.

text;

[wingedman]

Pizza and movies tonight, my place.

Unless you had other plans, that is.

1/2

[buildsomething]

I think I can make time for you. Something up?

2/2

[buildsomething]

Oh, huh. 29th already?

[wingedman]

Hey, you actually checked the calendar, good for you.

Steve's coming over for a bit, but I figure we can have a private sleepover after he leaves.


[famous last words]

[buildsomething]

I definitely did that, yep.

[Or poor long-suffering JARVIS told him. One of those.]

Does that mean you're going to be jumping out of a cake? I'm for it.

[wingedman]

Getting a cake that big is way too much effort. But there is definitely cake.

[He's going to leave the nature of the cake as a surprise.]

[buildsomething]

Nah. Power sources are kind of a specialty.

[Though the looks he'd gotten at thing have really made him wonder how Steve powers it, but that's something he can bring up later.

For now, he gestures for Steve to follow and leads him around a few workstations to where the large armor is sitting calmly. And looking extremely shiny, because apparently Tony decided to give it a nice buff while he was at it. Why not?]

I really wish you'd let me make some upgrades.

[buildsomething]

I do enjoy cake. Anyone else I should be expecting?

[physioneural]

[ Well Steve is very happy with the shine, yes. The red and gold coloring gleams, though not as vibrantly as Tony's own suit. Whatever coating he uses, it's definitely better.

And here comes the talk of upgrades again. It's rare to find someone so passionate about improving his partner like Steve is. Tony's practically salivating, so he may as well throw the poor man a bone. ]

I sure wouldn't mind zipping around like you...

[ The Mark II has repulsors, but they aren't powerful enough to get him airborne. It's more of a deterring blast than anything else. ]

[wingedman]

Depends on whether or not you want to be surprised by the strippers who aren't in the cake.

[worldsaway]

Much better, actually.

But enough about me- how are you?

[inebriety]

Usually hanging up means the conversation is over.

[But here he is replying anyway.]

[buildsomething]

Who would?

[Tony leans his hip against the worktable, looking just a bit pleased.]

I can probably manage that, but I'd need to mess with the power draw more. Takes a lot more energy to get airborne, especially for this monstrosity.

[As if he's not giving the armor an almost fond look.]

[buildsomething]

Please. As if we wouldn't take any opportunity to hear the sound of our own voice.

[Or text. Whatever.]

[buildsomething]

Uh, fine mostly. I never got as badly sick as everybody else. Been trying to work out how to fix it.

[buildsomething]

What's the fun of them if they're not in a cake? You could just walk around shirtless.

[livingsymbol]

Because it cost lives.

[Steve snaps back, but seems to regret it after the fact. He realizes that at this point the question should be over with. He should be moving on. Somehow, Tony always manages to get under his skin no matter what world he's actually from. He isn't entirely sure why that is, which makes it worse.]

It matters because allowing them to take advantage of us is just another step toward letting them take us all apart. Shut us down because we're inconvenient to them. People like that don't care about safety, Tony. They only care about power.

[But that last part hurts. Tony is right that Steve doesn't need to be told how much it ended up hurting everyone in the end. He holds back the rest of his frustration. It's not like he has clear words to say anyway.]

[physioneural]

Yeah... [ And that's the problem. ] I don't know if my heart could take it.

[ With a white undershirt and blue oxford shirt, neither can do much to keep the red glow from his chest hidden. He taps at the chest plate below. ]

[buildsomething]

Ah.

[Yeah, he hadn't been going to ask. But oh, does Tony understand that one. His eyes flick briefly down towards the glow before he nods once/]

Okay so, less power draw, more alternate power source.

[buildsomething]

[Tony twitches back a little despite himself, taken off guard by the vehemence of it. When he replies again, there's a hint of caution to it. He's not actually afraid of Steve, either of them. But given the current conversation, he can't help but remember how exactly this fight ended last time.]

Okay, I think deciding that about the entire UN might be overstating things slightly.

[livingsymbol]

[It's difficult to catch the pause in Steve's response. He tends to hold his ground even when he's holding back, so his hard-lined expression doesn't shift or waver. But instead of leaping to another accusatory statement, his focus changes slightly. The strategist in him finds a different detail to pick out of what Tony just said.]

I'm not talking about the United Nations.