It had not exactly been met with any surprise that Tony was left. If anything, James would have been more surprised to see his friend walk in the door on time than anything else. Possibly even worried. Being punctual, James well knew, would have been completely out of character for Tony. Even if he was meeting a friend, which... just happened to be the case here.
Sure James knew all that, and though he considered not bothering showing up until after the given time himself, in the end he could not bring himself to be late. Even if he knew Tony would not be there right away. James, unlike Tony, had served in the military after all. Punctuality had been drilled into him so that in times such as now he could not help but be on time.
Of course, that did not mean he had to just sit around and wait for Tony like some sort of poor lost whelp. By the time Tony sauntered in he'd already won three games of darts and had just finished destroying a local man at pool just in time to take a seat to view the grand entrance of his friend. Shaking his head, James figured to himself that Tony could only really stick out more if he'd had an actual spot light on him.
Rising from the midst of a group of men he had blended in with perfectly, in Stark contrast to his friend, James made his way over to Tony with the hint of a smirk. Where Tony looked ready to walk into a grand ball, James was himself in blue jeans, combat boots, and a white t-shirt with a worn out eagle, globe, anchor, and the initials U.S.M.C.
"Always the sore thumb, aren't you?", James asked casually as he took up the extra glass Tony had poured. "You always did like the lime light."