[They say that time heals all wounds. Well, that's one hell of a lie. How is anything supposed to heal a wound the size of half the universe?
A month. Three. Six. A year. It doesn't matter how much time goes by when night after sleepless night it's the same thing as if Thanos himself were still in his head, making it all replay back over and over. Mr. Stark... Ashes. The cold, empty void of space. You can pretend, put on the mask and go on like everything is fine, but the ones who matter notice.
And so you lose them, too.
To say that he's totally lost Pepper would be overdramatizing things, but the fact that she's migrated to the couch over the last couple of weeks says all that it needs to.
It's a really comfortable couch, to be fair.
But he knows it's more than just an impeccably cozy couch, it's that he's falling back into old habits; tinkering, drinking, being aloof, he doesn't need FRIDAY to run analysis on his marriage. The thing is, now he just doesn't even have the energy to try.
What he does have the energy for is keeping up with the kardashians interns and their progress. Call it a relapse, but he's been feeling far less charitable these days and is ensuring that his interns really earn both their place and their grants for scientific research.
As such, when the morning comes it's Tony himself scanning them into the building when they arrive for the start of the day. Which is... almost cruelly early at 5 AM, tardiness being unacceptable; anyone arriving past 5:01 AM aren't allowed in the building.
As he scans each interns' badge he verbally tics off their names. Ending up at the last one-]
...Strider.
[There's vague condescension, but that's pretty standard across the board. It's only been a few days, but it's been a very strange few days. There's something in the way the kid speaks that feels... familiar. Which, from being painfully self-aware, Tony knows is textbook projection on his part from the very millisecond it happens.
So the logical thing to do would be to go "Something something sorry, but due to [redacted] your internship is over."
But he didn't and he's compartmentalized it and it's done, wrapped up in a bow where it can't hurt him. Easy.
Except behind the condescending tone there's a different sort of feeling to it. Like... a brother scolding their sibling for nearly being irresponsible. Or a dad wanting his son to do better. Something. It's as weird as you make it.]
[This is not where Dave imagined he'd be a few years ago. It feels like yesterday he was having a blowout argument with his Bro about what he was gonna study. His scores got him a pretty fucking prestigious internship at Stark Industries, but it's not what he wanted. He couldn't imagine anything worse than doing competitive math with a bunch of smug nerds vying for a billionaire's attention like dogs fighting over a treat.
He wanted to make movies. Study photography, filmography. He wanted to move out, live his own life and go to parties without Bro breathing down his neck.
But it turns out, life does get worse. Now, not only is he doing competitive math with a bunch of smug, desperate nerds but he's doing it because Bro got blown to ash along with half the world and now the sense of obligation is real.
But the weird part, the really fucking weird part? Is that he thinks, maybe, he has the billionaire's attention despite doing nothing to earn it. He does exactly the amount of work he needs to do to get by, he doesn't go out of his way to engage with Mr.Stark or impress him and he definitely does not visibly enjoy being here.
The worst part is, he feels that nasty fuckin' thrill knowing he's got him interested even if he's not sure how or why he managed it. And, of course, when you have someone's attention the best thing to do is.. act like you don't really give a shit about it. That's what Bro taught him, anyway.
So, he's completely stone-faced as Mr.Stark zeroes in on him even though he's shitting himself inside. He cocks his head to the side, just slightly, just enough to be irritating without giving him anything to call him out on.]
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A month. Three. Six. A year. It doesn't matter how much time goes by when night after sleepless night it's the same thing as if Thanos himself were still in his head, making it all replay back over and over. Mr. Stark... Ashes. The cold, empty void of space. You can pretend, put on the mask and go on like everything is fine, but the ones who matter notice.
And so you lose them, too.
To say that he's totally lost Pepper would be overdramatizing things, but the fact that she's migrated to the couch over the last couple of weeks says all that it needs to.
It's a really comfortable couch, to be fair.
But he knows it's more than just an impeccably cozy couch, it's that he's falling back into old habits; tinkering, drinking, being aloof, he doesn't need FRIDAY to run analysis on his marriage. The thing is, now he just doesn't even have the energy to try.
What he does have the energy for is keeping up with the
kardashiansinterns and their progress. Call it a relapse, but he's been feeling far less charitable these days and is ensuring that his interns really earn both their place and their grants for scientific research.As such, when the morning comes it's Tony himself scanning them into the building when they arrive for the start of the day. Which is... almost cruelly early at 5 AM, tardiness being unacceptable; anyone arriving past 5:01 AM aren't allowed in the building.
As he scans each interns' badge he verbally tics off their names. Ending up at the last one-]
...Strider.
[There's vague condescension, but that's pretty standard across the board. It's only been a few days, but it's been a very strange few days. There's something in the way the kid speaks that feels... familiar. Which, from being painfully self-aware, Tony knows is textbook projection on his part from the very millisecond it happens.
So the logical thing to do would be to go "Something something sorry, but due to [redacted] your internship is over."
But he didn't and he's compartmentalized it and it's done, wrapped up in a bow where it can't hurt him. Easy.
Except behind the condescending tone there's a different sort of feeling to it. Like... a brother scolding their sibling for nearly being irresponsible. Or a dad wanting his son to do better. Something. It's as weird as you make it.]
no subject
He wanted to make movies. Study photography, filmography. He wanted to move out, live his own life and go to parties without Bro breathing down his neck.
But it turns out, life does get worse. Now, not only is he doing competitive math with a bunch of smug, desperate nerds but he's doing it because Bro got blown to ash along with half the world and now the sense of obligation is real.
But the weird part, the really fucking weird part? Is that he thinks, maybe, he has the billionaire's attention despite doing nothing to earn it. He does exactly the amount of work he needs to do to get by, he doesn't go out of his way to engage with Mr.Stark or impress him and he definitely does not visibly enjoy being here.
The worst part is, he feels that nasty fuckin' thrill knowing he's got him interested even if he's not sure how or why he managed it. And, of course, when you have someone's attention the best thing to do is.. act like you don't really give a shit about it. That's what Bro taught him, anyway.
So, he's completely stone-faced as Mr.Stark zeroes in on him even though he's shitting himself inside. He cocks his head to the side, just slightly, just enough to be irritating without giving him anything to call him out on.]
Morning Mr. Stark. [Blandly.]
What's on the agenda for today?