Tony Stark (in_extremis) wrote in oh_marvelous, @ 2011-05-02 16:18:00 |
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Systematic
Characters: Tony, Pepper, Danny and Cassie
Setting: Stark Tower, office hours.
Content: Bafflingly PG.
Summary: The to-do list is a mile long and Tony is in the bathroom.
He hadn't necessarily been avoiding anyone. There was a start-up in Nanjing that needed to be carefully observed and directed so it didn't immediately collapse under the weight of its own ambition, and Tony's presence supported limitless ambition. He looked good at a press conference, he kept a project under control, and saw all the possible outcomes. The result of his two weeks in China would see a radical change in the traffic flow of the entire country, streamlining workflow and optimizing a massive population's traveling time within the next ten years. Tony was just busy. When he had landed that morning, it wasn't outrageous that he just wanted to see his bed for a bit and a hot shower before he tolerated the welcome home fanfare. He didn't have so much of an excuse for sitting in his darkly tiled bathroom, the steam from the shower long since evaporated, slouched in a chair he pulled up to the counter where he rested his feet and a golden bird cage sat. He stared blankly at the animal with a frown, cigarette burning down between his fingers, considering what he was supposed to do now. Go to work, he supposed. Smile for the cameras and do his best to keep people safe. If he could do that without ever having to see people, it wouldn't be so bad.
The bird gave a whistle and a little flutter of its wings, restless with all this observation. Tony said, "I know," and dropped his feet off the counter with a slap on the floor, startling the bird into another shiver and indignant tilt of its head. He didn't have the luxury of not seeing anyone, not here or on the other side of the planet. Slowly, he dragged himself from his deep seat, the nap of the towel around his waist flattened and unnaturally shiny, and leaned his weight against the counter to consider the mirror where he could only stand to push his hair back away from his face then stare at the little bird again, the curl of smoke twisting naggingly in the corner of his eye. He needed to quit smoking.
About an hour and a short trip later, Tony was strolling through the groomed executive lounge of Stark Enterprises New York in jeans and a wide-necked sweater, chewing gum and carrying a briefcase and a birdcage and smiling flawlessly at the senior staff and their assistants trying to get his attention. "Fifteen minutes, my office," he promised as he strolled unhesitatingly by, with an echo of some curious chirping coming from under the sheet covering the cage in his hand.
He set it down on Pepper's desk, a little lopsided on a stack of folders and a pen but essentially forgotten when it was out of his hand. He started with, "Fuck," then, more courteously, "Ms. Potts," with one hand splayed like he could read his list of instructions from its naked back. "I forgot on my way up, could you send someone on a Starbucks run and get me an Americano, extra strong, extra big, extra...hot. Then I need you to sell the yacht, it's old, dark wood paneling is so passe, I need a new one and I need it yesterday, fully staffed and newly furnished, just sell the whole thing with the crew included, I don't care. Next I need you to send a 'thank you'--" here, with a single-handed air-quote he added a slight wince at the dishonesty of the gesture, which suggested it was more of an 'apology', "card to the Galaxy Nanjing for their understanding for the incident with their...business amenities staff. Don't make it sound too personal, we're going for professional distance here. When you're done with that, before you send me the final selection for the summer interns I want you to send the applications back and ask for headshots. Oh-- In the future," he didn't seem like he was stopping any time soon, but he dug around in his pocket to come up with his pack of gum to illustrate, "shopping list, in bulk, cut the cigarettes and maybe get my room a steam clean sometime in the next ten hours." He took a breath and pursed his lips, eyes going to the top of the birdcage that gave a little wobble as the animal hopped around inside, like it might tell him that last thing he knew he was forgetting. "And find a home for this," he concluded abruptly, pointing to the cage with the gum and looking almost satisfied.