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[arcreact]

// outbox;
→ 10/27; tali'zorah
→ 10/21; marian hawke
→ 09/21; adrien arbuckal
→ 09/21; nathan drake
→ 08/15; marian hawke
→ 08/01; bruce banner
→ 07/11; elena fisher
→ 07/07; trish walker
→ 06/21; adrien arbuckal
→ 06/20; bruce banner
→ 06/20; bucky barnes
→ 06/19; elena fisher
→ 06/15; steve rogers
→ 06/08; bruce banner

text | video | audio

You know what to do.

Comments

text.

[arcreact]

[ You tried. ]

y'know, i had a glib answer to this chambered and ready to go
but i'm gonna go ahead and spare you just this once

1/2 text.

[abide]

[ So they're... okay? He doesn't have a Stark Translator handy half the time. This is where they are. ]

I don't know if I should be grateful for that or not.

text.

[abide]

I wanted to talk to you about... us. About before.

text.

[arcreact]

[ OH GOOD.

Yeah, just kidding, he can't do this without cracking a joke. Everyone copes in their own ways, thanks very much. ]

wow, Cap
this sounds serious
are you breaking up with me?

text.

[abide]

[ Can you hear him sighing from across the ship?????? ]

You know what I mean. I just wanted you to know that it doesn't matter.

text.

[arcreact]

[ It's implied. ]

i wasn't about to hold anything that happened on 'drink the koolaid' planet over your head, if that's what you're worried about

text.

[abide]

I wasn't worried about that. I wanted to make sure you were okay. [ As difficult as that might be for him to believe. ]

text.

[arcreact]

[ It is difficult to believe. Tony could just deflect like he always does, and is halfway through doing just that, when he hesitates. Steve is obviously trying here, so he doesn't he owe the guy at least a little of the same? After all, they're teammates, right?

The response comes a few minutes slower than the others. ]

not gonna lie
i've been better

text.

[abide]

[ Is he surprised? Yes. Does that mean he's going to back down and take it easy? No. If anything, he's almost eager to bridge whatever gap is between them thanks to the years Tony's missing. ]

Is there anything I can do?

text.

[arcreact]

[ Loaded question. Realistically, practically? There's probably not much Steve can do. If the things that weigh heavily on Tony's mind were so easily solved, he would've solved them twice over by now and written extensive documentation on how to avoid them ever happening again.

But all the same, he knows that at least some of his stress aboard the Moira is worsened by the - chasm at best, tension or hostility at worst - that exists between him and everyone who's from home. It's not like he can't deal with it, but what if he didn't always have to? What if there didn't have to be constant tension and eggshells? ]

actually
yeah, probably

text.

[abide]

[ As risky as it is, Steve doesn't do anything by halves, and his response is immediate, sincere—however that translates over text. Maybe this could bring them together again, ease the soreness of things back home for Steve and fix whatever is troubling Tony. ]

What is it?

text.

[arcreact]

[ If he's gonna do this 'honest, vulnerable' shit, he's not doing it over text. Where there can be a record of it. Lord. ]

where are you?

text.

[abide]

The bow. [ Working, sort of. ] I can meet you somewhere else though.

text.> action

[arcreact]

nah
never been there, may as well
gimme ten minutes

[ Tony shows up on time - novel - and gives the room a tight, fleeting once-over as he steps through the doors. He hadn't realized it was essentially a smaller observation deck, but with access to space guns. That just figures, doesn't it? He mutters a quiet 'yikes' under his breath as he makes his way over to wherever Steve has stationed himself. ]

Yo.

action party forever

[arcreact]

[ It's not like Mettaton's dealing with somebody who gives a shit about manners, anyway. What even are those.

When Tony notices his arrival, he immediately sets aside what he'd been working on and pushes away from the workbench. Even from across the room, it's not hard to tell Mettaton's body is in terrible shape. He wanders over to circle him a few times, appraising and assessing, then offers a low whistle. ]

Damn.

[arcreact]

[ Did he just learn more about J's preferences than he wanted to or what. ]

regrettably, yes i did
you're really challenging me here

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[Oh, she's not serious at all. Not that Tony needs to know that.]

ah sorry
i guess i shouldve asked you first if its ok. i mean
if you also have your eyes on him.

[arcreact]

[ This is the funniest fuckin conversation he's ever had. ]

depends
are you willing to share?

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

depends
im a greedy woman.

[arcreact]

maybe we should leave it up to the good doctor to decide, in that case

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

we could do that
but itd be rather anticlimax dont you think?

[abide]

Sure. I'll be here.

[ It's the only thing he sends back, moving out of the chair as if he's suddenly motivated to do busywork. Honestly, there's not much to do in the bow except monitor the equipment, and he's sort of leaning over the screen when Tony announces himself, head tilting to the side to look at him. ]

You got here pretty fast. [ Pointing out the obvious, as always. Maybe he should be worried about whatever it is Tony wants him to do. ] Everything still good?

[mttbrandlegs]

Yes, I a-a-agree.

[Mettaton does look a mess, and he's well aware. So he's not entirely affronted by Tony's diagnosis. Instead, he's interested in the fix for it.

And now, Tony can add vocal glitching to the list, because now that the robot is talking, he sounds like a skipping CD.]

This k-kind of nonsense is why I would have preferred to st-stay on the half-submerged spaceship that feels l-like a constant punishment I am c-c-contractually obligated to s-suffer through.

[arcreact]

I'm slightly regretting the choice of scenery.

[ Which he contradicts with an airy shrug, depositing his hands in his pockets before they can fidget. He comes to a stop next to Steve, giving the screens a brief, vaguely curious glance. They don't hold his attention for long, though, because he's here to have an actual serious conversation for once. ]

But I can make a point to be late from now on, if you're more into that.

[ Well, sorta serious. ]

[abide]

[ He steps back away from the panel, crossing his arms a little. Might as well get whatever this is over with now rather than try to draw it out. ]

You know that's not what I meant. [ And then he follows up with: ] What did you want to talk about? [ Because straightforward is the only way he can be with Tony. It's either that or spend the next several weeks skirting around the topic, though he hopes he isn't there for more honesty. Steve isn't sure he can tell him much more without feeling even more guilt over it. ]