WHO: Doug and Tony WHAT: Random Encounter WHEN: Recently WHERE: The local X-Mart store WARNINGS: G STATUS: Closed and Complete
Doug was out checking out the electronics section of the local giant X-Mart store, looking for some parts. He had just received a new dream gift, and while he was planning on telling his friend Kitty about it, he also wanted to see if he could set it up himself, first. But for that, he needed to make an adapter, since what he had gotten was hyper-advanced and not at all normal. It appeared to be some kind of supercomputer and as soon as he got the right connectors, he would check it out.
And while he was there, of course he was getting other things, like paper plates, kool-aid, every flavor of oreos they had in stock, and some actual food too.
Oh, and tea. He had found his favorite Japanese tea, one he had been introduced to when he was there doing a commercial for a video game. Nowhere else had it, which meant he would be coming here again, for sure! He would definitely have to stop by the cafe to thank Conner for the tip. That guy was cool!
He turned a corner and nearly ran into someone, and stopped, eyes wide. “I’m sorry! Apparently I’m not paying enough attention. Are you okay?”
***
See, this was why Tony Stark was hiring a personal assistant. He didn’t need to be at the super mega ultra mart buying things. Groceries. Food. He didn’t know anything about food. Or how to keep toilet paper stocked in his house. He needed a keeper, so he could focus all of his time and energy on work.
That was coming. This was going to be his last trip, so he thought. Soon he would have help providing all of his necessities, so he wouldn’t have to be wandering around, getting walked into by people.
He dusted off his blazer and gave a little shrug. “It’s fine, kid. No big deal.”
***
Doug grinned. “Thanks. Enjoying the strange days?” Orange County was fun, sometimes.
His cart was mostly computer stuff, like… so much so. With a layer of food things and such on top. But his attention now was taken by the man in front of him, who looked vaguely familiar.
His eyes were drawn to the cart, and he winced as he raised a hand. “Ah, not to interfere in your life, but… unless you have a high powered washer, that detergent won't work. “ He pointed to the one detergent in the man’s basket. “I made the same mistake last week.”
***
Tony shrugged softly. All the crazy around Orange County wasn’t exactly new to him. Interesting that some guy in the super mega ultra mart was bringing it up. Maybe it was a commonplace thing now? Then again, Tony was on Valarnet and the like, so maybe this kid knew who he was. Did he know the kid? Damn. Now he wished he had his visor on so he could ask Jarvis 2.0 to run the facial recognition software.
“How do you know I don’t have a high powered washer?” Tony asked, though it was almost playful as he reached for the bottle of soap in his cart. He turned it over in his hands and read the label again. Damn. The kid was right.
***
“You could, and then I would feel stupid, but a lot of people do that. And when I see it, I feel obligated to say something. It’s like putting DDR4 memory into slots fitted for DDR3 memory, it may look like it fits, but it doesn’t quite work right.” He nodded. He had no clue, really, who this guy was, though he looked familiar.
Had he seen him while on a shoot? Or in the news? Or on the network? Doug could not remember.
He offered a smile though. “I’m Doug. Nice to meet you.”
***
Okay, so the guy was talking about DDR 4 ram cards, that was a step in the right direction… Tony thought, anyway. He raised an eyebrow and listened but then nodded. He didn’t put the wrong memory into the wrong slots, but he could understand doing so. It was an innocent mistake to make.
“Doug!” That answered the question. Tony hadn’t met the kid before. But he reached forward a hand to shake. “Tony Stark.”
***
Doug shook his head as he got two memories slamming into one another. The first was reading about this guy in the newspaper and thinking him a cool, if nerdy, rich guy. The second was remembering a confrontation with someone who looked a lot like him, but with armor, telling him and the other New Mutants that kids shouldn’t be fighting crime. He rubbed his head as he smiled and shook the man’s head.
“Nice to meet you, Tony Stark. The inventor? “ He hesitated, then continued. “And Avenger?”
***
Tony's eyebrows raised at the word Avenger. He broke into a smirk, one corner of his mouth pulling upward. “That'd be me. You forgot billionaire, philanthropist, genius…” He could have gone on and on, but he decided not to. “And, apparently, man who almost purchases the wrong kind of detergent.” He set the bottle aside on whatever shelf was nearby.
***
Doug chuckles. “Some of the best minds do silly things, because this world is sometimes too complicated. After all, it’s not like you’re the genius of laundry.”
Doug shakes his head. “I dream of a world where there is a you there, but we’ve never met.”
***
“I see.” Tony nodded once. It was interesting to meet other people from the Dream world, even if he didn’t know them himself. He made a mental note to look up the kid on the internet, then motioned down the aisle. “Well, I have to get the right detergent. I suppose I’ll see you around?”
***
Doug grinned and nodded to him. “Of course. I’m sure the network will find a way to connect us again some day. Good luck on that.”