Black Celebration (for usedtoberussian)

[nottheworsthing]

Generally, Tony's default reaction to anything he doesn't know how to deal with is to hole up in the workshop and bury himself in some new project. It works pretty well for him. True, it doesn't actually alter the fact that he has no idea how to deal with it, but it's soothing to spent a while immersed in a problem he can take apart and consider

Comments

[usedtoberussian]

After the quinjet takes off with Tony in it, Natasha's day gets busy. There's the raid of the warehouse; the interrogation of the Boss (Navy Blue has yet to wake up from the coma Natasha's blow apparently put him in, and she doesn't feel remotely guilty over that); the tracking of the signal; then down to medical for a check-up and treatment of her burns once Fury catches wind of her involvement and orders her down; finally she gets to write up a report and do a mission debrief. All in all, it's close to midnight when she gets back to the Tower.

It would have made more sense to stay at the helicarrier over night. But, she wants to see how Tony is doing. They're not friends, and possibly they never will be, because she simply doesn't trust him enough. But, they're team mates and they just went through something together. That means something. Besides, she got her official debrief with Fury, while Tony simply got sent home. He may need to talk

[nottheworsthing]

Tony doesn't quite start as the doors slide open, but the tension evident in the set of his shoulders and the restless wandering of his hands ratchets up a few notches. He turns to face her; a flicker of- something passes momentarily over his face at the sight of the cuts and bruises she's wearing. At a glance he appears uninjured aside from the neat white bandages wrapped around his wrists, but his unhealthy pallor and the tired lines of pain around his eyes tell a story of their own. The blue glow of the arc reactor shows bright and steady through the fabric of his sweatshirt

[usedtoberussian]

"They have their uses sometimes," Natasha agrees. Though the vodka thing genuinely bothers her. It's just so obvious. But, she grew up with the stuff, and it's better than anything else out there. So, she's just had to resign herself to this one cliché

[nottheworsthing]

She's showing every sign of settling in for a while. With a mental sigh he resigns himself to keeping the act up for the rest of the night. In fairness, he's pretty sure he gets what she's doing, and under other circumstances he might even appreciate it. But he's exhausted and he hurts and really he'd just like for the world at large - and Natasha in particular - to go away and leave him alone. He reaches out and takes the glass.

"That asshole!" Tony responds immediately, glaring into his glass as though it's personally responsible for the situation, "I knew I recognized the voice. He was at some conference..." The guy had been...forgettable, in a vaguely slimy sort of way. Like Justin Hammer without the personality. And boy was that a sentence he never imagined he'd ever have cause to think. He assumes a vaguely offended expression; "I nearly got killed because that dick wanted to relive Woodstock? Seriously?"