[ shrug. a little reluctantly. ] I was just - well, I was kind of an ass for a while. At the beginning.
[ Oh, okay, hands now. He stills a little more, a little more visibly, but he keeps talking anyway, with a turn to look over at her, eyes bright but dark despite himself. ]
I'm pretty sure I'll be more useful to you not drunk out of my mind, unless you just really enjoy taking advantage of me in lesser states. [ Picking up his wineglass. ] I'll do it just for you, babe.
I'm pretty sure I'll be more useful to you not drunk out of my mind, unless you just really enjoy taking advantage of me in lesser states. [ Picking up his wineglass. ] I'll do it just for you, babe.
I'm with you there. Totally makes no sense. But. [ gesturing to her there. ] There you are.
I don't know, you just sort of - you started living here, one day, you were just living here, I don't know how it got started. [ He gets that she's suspicious, rightly so, honestly, so he carefully lowers every single shield he has, letting her peer around his mind if she feels the need to. ] I don't know what to tell you, okay. I'm not good with the whole... talking, part. Ask more questions.
I don't know, you just sort of - you started living here, one day, you were just living here, I don't know how it got started. [ He gets that she's suspicious, rightly so, honestly, so he carefully lowers every single shield he has, letting her peer around his mind if she feels the need to. ] I don't know what to tell you, okay. I'm not good with the whole... talking, part. Ask more questions.
[ He's sort of just ignoring her as some sort of nanny, maybe, one of his mother's cognoscenti friends, a 'friend' of his father's, tuning out, checking back into the things he was looking at.
And then she says his name, and that's not all that abnormal - most people he runs into know his name, but not the way she said it. He glances back over at her with somewhat new interest. ] What?
And then she says his name, and that's not all that abnormal - most people he runs into know his name, but not the way she said it. He glances back over at her with somewhat new interest. ] What?
[ Honestly, he appreciates them, because he would so not be able to just keep himself in place like that yet. That would... require a lot more training, and they haven't done this often enough for that sort of thing to sink in. Right now, all that would do is mean he'd move out of instinct, then be punished, replaced to the former position, get frustrated, move, replace - really, it would get repetitive very quickly.
The moment there before she gets up is kind of nice though. He's not sure why, but the contrast between them - fully in control, fully not; fully clothed, fully not; fully knowing, fully not - he liked that moment. The way she touches him like he's something to be revered - and on a normal day he'll totally agree with you, but literally stripped down, even figuratively stripped down, to his component aspects, he's not so sure.
That said, he does like it when she comes back with actual restraints. A trail of tensing muscle follows just under her fingers, a twitch at the end of her journey downwards, before she moves back up again, and he tilts his head to watch her work. ]
The moment there before she gets up is kind of nice though. He's not sure why, but the contrast between them - fully in control, fully not; fully clothed, fully not; fully knowing, fully not - he liked that moment. The way she touches him like he's something to be revered - and on a normal day he'll totally agree with you, but literally stripped down, even figuratively stripped down, to his component aspects, he's not so sure.
That said, he does like it when she comes back with actual restraints. A trail of tensing muscle follows just under her fingers, a twitch at the end of her journey downwards, before she moves back up again, and he tilts his head to watch her work. ]
[Fingers clasp gently against his thigh, gathering up the fabric of his tuxedo between them. She goes no higher nor lower; Angela is taking her own sweet time with whatever plan she hasn't fully decided on just yet.]
What a hero. [She rolls her eyes, clearly amused.] I really can take advantage of you anytime I feel like it. It's not like I have to booze you up to make you useful. [A pause to let the second meaning of what she just said sink in a little deeper.] For a speech. It's not rocket science, which I know you are capable of sober and intoxicated.
What a hero. [She rolls her eyes, clearly amused.] I really can take advantage of you anytime I feel like it. It's not like I have to booze you up to make you useful. [A pause to let the second meaning of what she just said sink in a little deeper.] For a speech. It's not rocket science, which I know you are capable of sober and intoxicated.
[ She blinks, chin raising, because there are very very few reasons someone would be willing to lower all their shields to convince her of their honesty and all of them carry implications for the future of her bond that aren't pleasant. But it's a gesture of good faith. ] How do you not know when someone moved in with you?
[ Okay, questions, more questions. What to ask, though, especially since most of her attention is focused on carefully exploring his mind, trying to figure out more from it. She can feel where an empath has gone before, and it's a weirdly familiar path but not quite, differences in method and feeling. ] Who are you? I mean, name, but - [ hesitation, and her eyes are a little hard ] Who are you to me?
[ Okay, questions, more questions. What to ask, though, especially since most of her attention is focused on carefully exploring his mind, trying to figure out more from it. She can feel where an empath has gone before, and it's a weirdly familiar path but not quite, differences in method and feeling. ] Who are you? I mean, name, but - [ hesitation, and her eyes are a little hard ] Who are you to me?
i have never seen that before but okay marshmallow that's good
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motherofnemesis
2013-02-03 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ So, yes. Tony. But not her Tony, and that's unsettling in a way she'd really prefer it wasn't. She tilts her head at him, wondering how precisely you phrase something like this.
Then again, he's smart, he's had JARVIS with him. He may already know. ] JARVIS has told you you're in you future?
Then again, he's smart, he's had JARVIS with him. He may already know. ] JARVIS has told you you're in you future?
[ She'll hold dreams of someday that being something that can work.
He is something to be revered, to her. Even tired and holding things she'd rather not under her skin, Tony is a constant that she always finds herself circling back towards. She looks at him and she sees the damage, of course. How can she not? But the measure of a person is never in the damage they've taken, but in the manner in which they've moved past it. He took everything he went through and he turned it into Iron Man. Turned himself into a symbol and a hero and saved the world, and she looks at him and she sees someone strong and brave and she doesn't think she ever did anything right enough to deserve him.
She sees that head tilt, brushes a thumb across his lips for a moment with a tiny secret smile and then finishes securing his wrists and ankles, checks to be certain there's no change of damage to him before sitting down on the bed beside him, hand on his chest. ] Don't come until I say you can. [ Watching him steadily to make sure the instructions are understood. ]
He is something to be revered, to her. Even tired and holding things she'd rather not under her skin, Tony is a constant that she always finds herself circling back towards. She looks at him and she sees the damage, of course. How can she not? But the measure of a person is never in the damage they've taken, but in the manner in which they've moved past it. He took everything he went through and he turned it into Iron Man. Turned himself into a symbol and a hero and saved the world, and she looks at him and she sees someone strong and brave and she doesn't think she ever did anything right enough to deserve him.
She sees that head tilt, brushes a thumb across his lips for a moment with a tiny secret smile and then finishes securing his wrists and ankles, checks to be certain there's no change of damage to him before sitting down on the bed beside him, hand on his chest. ] Don't come until I say you can. [ Watching him steadily to make sure the instructions are understood. ]
Well, that's nice. [ A little smile, wry. ] Doesn't matter now, I guess. Which is nice.
[ He thinks maybe that was too many down all at once and that he should slowly raise at least the ones that would prevent her from experiencing the world to the degree to which he does - harsh, at times, unbearably soft at others, and griding and grating in between. A little more... Welcoming, than in the harsh light of everything bared. But he lets her gently poke around in his mind, for whatever security she might need, because he's not going to make what looks sort of like a scared animal and more scared or... something. ]
Man, you don't ask hard questions at all. I don't actually know - we've never really.. Quantified it. I could start, older you, found me, when I needed an empath to ... t-to help, and didn't know how to ask and sh-ou did it and then after that it was just, if I needed help, she would help, and vice versa. We got friendly, then... very friendly [ Which he's not thinking about. not at all. nope. ] But like, really, it's a weird relationship.
Man, you don't ask hard questions at all. I don't actually know - we've never really.. Quantified it. I could start, older you, found me, when I needed an empath to ... t-to help, and didn't know how to ask and sh-ou did it and then after that it was just, if I needed help, she would help, and vice versa. We got friendly, then... very friendly [ Which he's not thinking about. not at all. nope. ] But like, really, it's a weird relationship.
[ He'll hold off on his thoughts to that, for one because this isn't a conversation they're actually sharing, for two, because he's not allowed to talk, and for three, the idea of her getting him all tied down and then making him listen to compliments is... He has defenses for criticism, but he can be cut to the bone by a compliment on a slice of paper if wielded by the right person, and few are more right than she.
For a moment he considers taking that thumb into his mouth, showing her what he can do with it, anything to speed things up a little, but he doesn't, lets her return to her work and surreptitiously checks each one afterward. Usually it's just his arms tied down, so he's building anticipation as to what she has planned. The directive is easily given, but will likely be difficult to actually ... not follow through with? Follow through with? Obey. So he swallows once, nods once, and wonders just what she got out while he wasn't looking. ]
For a moment he considers taking that thumb into his mouth, showing her what he can do with it, anything to speed things up a little, but he doesn't, lets her return to her work and surreptitiously checks each one afterward. Usually it's just his arms tied down, so he's building anticipation as to what she has planned. The directive is easily given, but will likely be difficult to actually ... not follow through with? Follow through with? Obey. So he swallows once, nods once, and wonders just what she got out while he wasn't looking. ]
[ Heh. He pulls up something about the modern day version of himself on youtube - G-rated, because JARVIS looks out for Tony in all forms and phases. It's a fanvid of Tony being... Tony. Iron Man saving the day, Tony at the senate, Tony with ladies, Tony gambling, pre-Iron Man, all to the tune of AC/DC, which the kid is currently subtly air guitaring without noticing. He gestures again and they freeze, the air guitar stops. ] I know. That's really me? [ A little sly, glancing up at her without actually trying to.
[ She's really quite surprised at how well he's adhering to the no talking rule so far, but she has her ways of making that harder and eventually she plans on putting it more thoroughly to the test. Or just overall throughout the course of this.
He can probably do fantastic things with that thumb, but it might have slowed things down more than sped them up. She's contrary like that, particularly right now, and it's her professional opinion that the slower the build the sweeter the payoff. As for the difficulty of obeying that order, well, she'll help ensure that he does. For now, though, she just hums a little bit and runs fingers up and down his chest, across areas she knows are ticklish, before sliding herself to kneel inbetween his legs and trail her hands up them, still watching him steadily. ]
He can probably do fantastic things with that thumb, but it might have slowed things down more than sped them up. She's contrary like that, particularly right now, and it's her professional opinion that the slower the build the sweeter the payoff. As for the difficulty of obeying that order, well, she'll help ensure that he does. For now, though, she just hums a little bit and runs fingers up and down his chest, across areas she knows are ticklish, before sliding herself to kneel inbetween his legs and trail her hands up them, still watching him steadily. ]
All in or nothing? [ Shifting again, restless. ] It's a good policy.
[ She watches it, face softening from an unsure neutrality to that quiet real smile she gets around him, and when she glances down at him air guitaring it stays, fond even if the lack of her Tony is disturbing. When he looks up at her she's still watching him, still smiling just a little. ] Yeah, that's really you. I'm your - [ what is she? well isn't that a good question ] I live with you and we help each other. My name's Max.
[ She withdraws after not too long, pretty much as soon as she admits to herself that he's not trying to lie to her at all. It just feels too strange to be rummaging around someone's mind when they're so entirely aware that she is and it's not -
She's not thinking about that. Except that she has to, because now she has more questions, that explanation only sort of working enough to help her understand what's going on here. As for 'very friendly', even if she hadn't been in his mind still then she thinks she would have gotten the not very subtle meaning there, and there's a momentary pair of raised eyebrows at it, a move she apparently perfected when very young. ] Why did she need help? [ And that's sort of the million dollar question, for her. ]
She's not thinking about that. Except that she has to, because now she has more questions, that explanation only sort of working enough to help her understand what's going on here. As for 'very friendly', even if she hadn't been in his mind still then she thinks she would have gotten the not very subtle meaning there, and there's a momentary pair of raised eyebrows at it, a move she apparently perfected when very young. ] Why did she need help? [ And that's sort of the million dollar question, for her. ]
[ Yeah, don't worry about how well he's done with that part so far, because it just means he's wasting all his willpower on not saying anything before she's even gotten started.
She'll probably wind up going very slowly at some point. Tony's far more of the mind that instant gratification is the best kind of gratification, possibly even the only kind of gratification, because anything that takes longer than that belabors the point and takes away from the satisfaction. The kind of satisfaction she's totally apparently not intent on giving out anyway, based on the movement of her hands, and he narrows his eyes and tenses against the sensation, because he doesn't want to laugh right now, thanks, that's so the wrong thing. At least it gives him a good reason to check those restraints, carefully pulling against each one in turn, not too noticeably. Sort of. ]
She'll probably wind up going very slowly at some point. Tony's far more of the mind that instant gratification is the best kind of gratification, possibly even the only kind of gratification, because anything that takes longer than that belabors the point and takes away from the satisfaction. The kind of satisfaction she's totally apparently not intent on giving out anyway, based on the movement of her hands, and he narrows his eyes and tenses against the sensation, because he doesn't want to laugh right now, thanks, that's so the wrong thing. At least it gives him a good reason to check those restraints, carefully pulling against each one in turn, not too noticeably. Sort of. ]
[ This is why people don't trust him with anything younger than five and older than thirteen, if they trust him with anything in the first place. He doesn't do this kind of interpersonal relationship unless the other person is sort of pulling him into it, and he didn't think about the bond thing, didn't even consider it when he started talking to her, and she still looks really defensive and he's totally not sure what he's supposed to be doing.
So, okay, he'll opt for normal. He'll just keep acting, he'll grab a handful of cereal out of a box and leave it out on the counter and just sort of start heading back downstairs. Maybe normal will work. It helped later on, right? ]
Everybody needs help. You just get people like her who don't want to ask for it and think they don't need it, and assholes like me who both refuse it when it's there and later take more than is earthly possible. Come on, she's got projects you can look at. They're sort of yours anyway.
So, okay, he'll opt for normal. He'll just keep acting, he'll grab a handful of cereal out of a box and leave it out on the counter and just sort of start heading back downstairs. Maybe normal will work. It helped later on, right? ]
Everybody needs help. You just get people like her who don't want to ask for it and think they don't need it, and assholes like me who both refuse it when it's there and later take more than is earthly possible. Come on, she's got projects you can look at. They're sort of yours anyway.
[ He's not quite as used to people watching him yet. Still likes it, but he's not as good at shrugging it off as he will be later. But mostly he narrows his eyes. ] What do you mean? Why do I live here? We've never lived in Malibu. How do we help each other? You don't look like you work in a house.
[ Misappropriated those particular resources, Tony.
She almost definitely will, because the point is definitely not listening to what he wants, or says he wants, and instant gratification is definitely not on the list. One hand drifts down to his right ankle when he shifts against it, watching him as she stills until he's still again in turn and she can turn her attention and her hands back to his thighs, leaning down to follow the path of them with her mouth, carefully avoiding any direct contact with particularly nerve filled areas, just the sensitive skin around them. ]
She almost definitely will, because the point is definitely not listening to what he wants, or says he wants, and instant gratification is definitely not on the list. One hand drifts down to his right ankle when he shifts against it, watching him as she stills until he's still again in turn and she can turn her attention and her hands back to his thighs, leaning down to follow the path of them with her mouth, carefully avoiding any direct contact with particularly nerve filled areas, just the sensitive skin around them. ]
It's been half an hour, right? Can I get up now?
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