[dated to the 11th]

[notawastedlife]

Tony was late for his own party, or at least the part of it that involved other people. The drinking and the merrymaking, he'd made advances on on his own, although he was having to work hard at the first one to get the second one to take

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[getemtiger]

This wasn't exactly the party Mary Jane had been hoping for. With the way things had been since she'd returned from her honeymoon on this very yacht two weeks before, she had wanted something relaxing, something fun, a way to keep her mind off the recent disappearances and how they'd affected Peter. Instead, she got Tony landing on the deck clad in the Iron Man suit, the very one that she knew was killing him, as well as the mood. Not knowing if she was even supposed to know or not, there was nothing she could do except watch, and dutifully ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Up until then, the prospect of Tony, someone who had come to mean a great deal to her, dying was surreal. Now, suddenly, she felt the weight of it, and on top of everything else, it seemed that much worse for it

[daretodo]

"I need you to get out of here," I murmur, placing a hand on the small of Mary Jane's back as I lean in close, already protective in spite of nothing, so far, having spiraled wildly out of control. Even without my spider-sense to warn me of any impending danger, I know it's only a matter of time, Stark's casual disregard for his own life by using the Iron Man armor as clear a portent of what's to come as anyone could ask for, though apparently I'm the only person with the good sense to care. Denial has its limits. "Now."

[getemtiger]

"Wait, you want - what?" Mary Jane asked, brows furrowing in confusion, though she had the sense to keep her voice quiet. Already she didn't know what the hell was going on, a request like that more than she could wrap her head around, but one thing she could tell was that this was clearly a conversation to keep between the two of them. Somewhere between puzzled and concerned, she frowned, hand not holding a glass reaching out to rest lightly on his upper arm. "I can't just jump over the side of the boat and swim back to shore, this is Tony's party, it wouldn't be right. Peter, what's going on?"

[daretodo]

That it's Tony's party is the problem, but that much I keep to myself.

"There's gotta be a lifeboat on here somewhere, probably something inflatable," I say, half-distracted as I cast a glance around us, like I'd actually be able to spot something of that nature in the middle of this crowd. Hell, I don't know that I ever even saw one when we were here last, under much happier circumstances. "We're not that far from the beach, but if you didn't have to swim..."

[poison_lipstick]

Saffron always loved an opportunity to wear one of the gorgeous creations Prior had made for her. Tonight's finery was gorgeous, flowy, and showed off her cleavage quite nicely.

She was unsurprised by Tony showing up late to his own party, and smirked just a little at his grand entrance. He certainly knew how to make one. Saffron planned to talk to him at some point in the evening, but for now she sipped on a glass of something alcoholic and socialized pleasantly, keeping an eye out for folks she knew.

[notawastedlife]

"You," Tony informed her, having spotted her in the crowd and made his way over to her, stable on his feet only because a high-tech suit of armor was especially useful in that respect, "had the right idea the whole time. Running water? Pah. Medical centres? Stop being injured. Callboxes... also pah. Naked people, that's what the island needs more of."

[poison_lipstick]

And there was the man himself. Saffron rose up on the balls of her feet to greet him with a kiss, ignoring the fact that he smelled like an entire liquor cabinet. "You're already on the VIP list, Tony, there's no need to kiss up," she said, light and teasing. "Besides, you're the genius here. I'm sure if I hadn't done it first you would have sooner or later."

[notawastedlife]

"I would've just put the pole in my house," Tony said, "or the boat, say... there." He gestured with one gauntletted hand. "Less giving. No jazz. Just... less of an experience all around. Superhero theme night, that's what you should do."

[wildlyconflictd]

To suggest that Pepper wasn't having a good time would perhaps be the understatement of the millennium. When she'd agreed to organize a party for Tony, it had been both out of an irrepressible sense of helplessness and because she couldn't deny that he had earned a break. The trouble here was that the break he had earned was from working towards a solution to his condition. A condition that he now, on said break, was willfully exacerbating with the pointless use of the suit.

Before she knew it, they were at sea, in the rain, and Tony was in the sort of downward spiral that could only mean one thing.

He was killing himself and she didn't know what to do.

[daretodo]

Nothing's happened yet. Nothing's happened yet. It's the mantra I keep repeating to myself in my head as I scour the crowd for the one person who might be able to control Tony right now without resorting to blows -- Pepper Potts. Even though I've been spoiling for a fight for weeks, now, if not not months, my own issues of uselessness against whatever force controls this island pale in comparison to the safety of everyone on board. If there's any chance of this being resolved peacefully, however unlikely, I have to take it.

Still, when I finally find her, resting my hand on her upper back to usher her away from the crowd, there's a forceful urgency about me that I can't quite hide.

"You need to talk to him," I say, just loudly enough for her to hear over the music. "You need to talk to him, Pepper, or I swear to God, I will."

[wildlyconflictd]

"I don't know what to do," Pepper sighs with a glance back to Tony. "I had no idea he was going to do this. I probably should have." To suggest that she's too close to the situation to get an accurate read on it would certainly be true enough, but she hates herself a little now, for allowing this to happen.

"Just-" She holds up a hand Peter's way and sucks in a tremulous breath to steady herself. "Don't do anything yet. I'll talk to him, maybe he'll see sense." Unlikely, but there was always the slim possibility.

[daretodo]

I can't help but wonder how true that is, that she had no idea. A conversation we had back at New Year's comes to mind in proof of the contrary, but berating her right now isn't in the best interests of anyone on board, so instead I press my lips together in a thin line.

"Do it now. My wife's on this boat, Pepper. You don't want to see what happens if she gets hurt, mark my words."

[butterflyfactor]

Layla was alone at the party. Not technically- there were plenty of people there- but Jamie was off having some kind of bonding experience with the closest figure he had to a parent, and she hadn't had anything else to do, so she'd gone to Tony Stark's yacht party, which had all the subtlety of a minion frozen in a block of ice and mailed to their employer.

Maybe a little less.

She'd worn the short skirted but long sleeved blue dress she'd found after a few weeks on the island, which she liked for the way the fabric looked a little like the nighttime sky, and sneakers. Better for walking around on a boat with. She had found a place to lean against the railing and look out toward the second island, where the sky, already dark with the sun going down, seemed a little less purple-blue. A little more gray. It was interesting.

[notawastedlife]

"I want to say your name is Eric Clapton, but it isn't," Tony said, "and I'm not sure why I think that."

[butterflyfactor]

"No, that's right," Layla said, turning to face Iron Man. Her eyebrows hitched up a fraction. "My name isn't Eric Clapton."

This may have been too circuitous for the level of Stark's drunk, but she was sure he'd rebound somehow.

[notawastedlife]

"Ha! See?" he said. "I knew it. You don't look like an Eric. Maybe you play the guitar, I don't know, M is for music?"

[blondrussianspy]

Natalya had not spent a lot of time on boats. Boats were not her area of expertise. In fact, the only positive thing she could say for boats was at least they weren't goddamn trains. She'd found some tall, very tall, taupe boots and a short grey jersey dress that left a short but crucial span of leg bare.

She'd left the sniper rifle at home.

Tony's behavior was vexing. For as long as she'd been acquainted with the man, he'd been plenty drunk and perfectly feckless, but his behavior had never been colored with what she could only describe as desperation.

Also, the suit was impressive but seemed a bit unnecessary. She sipped her vodka and tried to angle herself away from the most crowded part of the boat's deck.

[notawastedlife]

"It's red for- well, like a hot rod," Tony informed her, "not for the motherland, but we could pretend."

[blondrussianspy]

Natalya wasn't exactly startled, but she straightened up when the crowd shifted and there was Tony Stark.

"Is very thought having gesture," she said, looking it over with more interest than wariness, gaze settling on and being illuminated by the arc reactor.

"How is it... works?"

[notawastedlife]

"The reactor?" Tony said, looking down at himself. "You've seen that before. Arcs. Palladium. Science. It's boring. Ever danced with a man wearing a tank?"