selfhelp | [IC] Appointments Post

[Tony doesn't exactly show up at Good Spirits with a kid in tow very often. But he was leaving tomorrow and needed to talk to Billy--needed to even the playing field. The meeting had only reinforced that.

So he'll be heading right up to the bar to order a Scotch, glancing over at the teen.]

What about you? Juice box? You look like a juice box type of kid.

[Really, Tony? Really? He gets a look for that, because that is a bit much.

Tony did manage to temporarily distract him from the seriousness of what's about to happen here, though, so there's that. Even if it only lasts a minute.]

I have two little brothers and even they're too old for juice boxes now. I'll have a Coke, thanks.

Coke it is. I just wanted to make sure you knew you had the option.

[He half-grins while taking a seat at the bar while waiting for their drinks to arrive. It's usually where he sits, but he'd get it if Billy wants to sit somewhere more private. This isn't exactly going to be the easiest conversation they've ever had.]

Your generosity is noted. [He makes note of Tony sitting down, hesitates, then takes up the bar stool beside him, leaning one arm on the table.] So can I ask why, for the sake of talking about something you probably don't want publicized, you decided to go to a very public place?

Billiam, I spent three months as a prisoner to terrorists and the whole world knew about it. I outted myself as Iron Man the day after my first real show down. You think privacy is really on my list of concerns?

[Still the dumbest nickname. Billy has no argument for that, though, so he remains silent, waiting for their orders to arrive. Tony's the one who wanted to talk, and as far as Billy knows, he's already been told about the important stuff, so he has no idea what this is even about.]

[Come on, it's got to be a step up from Fanboy.

And once the drinks come, he's going to open fire. Because what was the point in holding back?]

Pepper told me about the SRA.

[Well. That wasn't entirely unexpected, and he can't blame Tony for not wasting time, but the mention of it makes him stiffen a little, and his eyes narrow.]

That seems to be coming up a lot lately.

The Invisible Woman's pretty chatty. [And she'd told Pepper everything. All about the things he hadn't known, but wanted to avoid. Ignoring it had become too much.]

She told me about the prison, too.

[To his credit, he doesn't flinch this time, the way he did with Pepper. He does look away, though, hunching over a little to lean on the bar and take a sip of his drink. It's a welcome delay from the response he's not sure he wants to give.]

Is that why you asked to meet me like this?

[How much did she say about me?]

[He doesn't need to worry--Pepper skipped over the details. He didn't need those, too.]

Let me ask you this: why did you think I wanted to meet you?

[They're just going to run around in circles at this rate.]

If this is about you both wanting us to treat you differently because you're not him, I've already done that...

Obviously. [It comes out in his usual dry, sarcastic tone, but it just goes to show he hadn't been thinking that.] But that's not it. I asked you to come here because I--me, myself, to your face--wanted to promise you that that's a person I'm never going to become.

[There's a lot of weight in that--Tony Stark is not a man who makes promises easily.]

[...Ah. Billy's hand tightens on his glass, and he ducks his head again, shaking it silently for a moment.]

Don't... don't make promises. Promises are what created the SRA. It created a war. It created that prison.

[One hundred promises. That's what he'd heard. One hundred ideas for a better future after Stamford. He knows what they were trying to do, that they thought it was for the best.

Maybe it's just easier when you've got nothing to hide.]

Don't make promises. Just... don't do it.

I didn't say you had to accept it. Take it or leave it, it's been made. But I don't know about your Tony Stark--when I make promises? They're made to be kept.

[He pauses, reflecting over his glass, but doesn't take a sip.]

Look, we both know--I say a lot of things. Which may or may not be always sincere. But when it comes down to the things that matter? Those things that you just--[The things so close to your heart you can even say them. The things that make you want to be a hero.] I know myself, Billy--and better yet, Pepper knows me even better than I do. And if saying this--promising this--was enough for her? You might consider it. It's not your reality, and it doesn't change much--and, hell, maybe it's only important to me. But that's it. It's important to me that you know.

[As opposed to promises meant to be broken? The retort is on his lips during Tony's pause, but the rest makes him stop to think about it. He talks big, sure. But what he'd said to Pepper is true- this Tony is very different from the one he'd known, the one who had changed so swiftly and drastically after Stamford. Maybe Hank Pym or Reed Richards had helped plant a seed that set them down this path. Maybe there were enough differences in his universe to save him.

And maybe it takes a disaster of that magnitude to trigger that change.

He considers all of these things carefully for one lengthy moment, then glances over at Tony with a weary expression, lips quirking into the smallest smile.]

The opinion of your housekeeping fanboy is suddenly so important?

Fanboys are few and far between around here. I figure I've got to keep the ones that I've got.

[Which means yes, he does. But it's clearly beyond just him being his housekeeping fanboy, even if he can't say it. Working up to saying things took time for him--and it was force of will that he was even being this open now. Because he felt like he needed to. He had a point to get across.]

[It's alright, he didn't really expect Tony to say anything more than that. The smile fades, and he drums his fingers lightly against his glass before closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, some of the stress draining out of his posture.]

Well... this fanboy's going to stick around and keep watching you, if you don't mind. And if I see any slip-ups, I'll be sure to point them out.

[He's pretty sure that Pepper will be the one to keep him in line, but hey, every little bit helps. Especially when it's for the good of all.]

[He wants to say something, about how he shouldn't be judged against someone he isn't, someone who had nothing to do with him, but he doesn't. Billy has clearly been through a lot--even he can understand that. So, hey. He'll take even this acceptance. He's always liked an opportunity to prove himself, anyway.]

And here you said you were thinking about quitting. Keep me on the straight and narrow, Billy.

[...Okay, yeah. He can do this. Billy manages a real smile this time, ducking his head in a nod.]

That's the plan, boss. Guess we're stuck with each other.

[And then he pauses, brows furrowing as the smile vanishes once more.]

About the SRA, though- Pepper and Sue mentioned not telling Cap. I can understand why, I just... wondered what you thought about that.

[That's tricky. Tony had been in Luceti a year and had time to warm up to the idea of multiple universes and alternate versions of himself being different. But Steve was still fresh off the boat.

So he'll go with his general answer for these sorts of things.]

If he needs or wants to know? Tell him. If it doesn't come up, then don't.

[If it didn't become important for him to know, then what was the point?]

...Mm. [Billy's response is noncommittal for a long moment; he's been taking so many pauses in such a short time, but only because it's such a huge subject. This sort of story is a life-changer, not just for the people involved, but for friends and family if they hear of it. And not everyone is able to look part the idea of alternate universes and altered futures; it's still a work-in-progress for him in only two or three months.]

I don't want to tell him. It's- ...there's no point. I'll leave it up to Susan to decide.

[He's pretty sure she doesn't plan to, so they're probably safe.]

Edited 2012-08-03 06:01 (UTC)

Seems fair to me.

[Except the whole thing isn't fair, not really, to any of them. But that's just one more inconvenience of Luceti and he's made the decision to not let it get to him anymore. He's his own man. He knows what he won't be. No alternate universe is going to dictate that for him.]

[He's not a mindreader, but he understands one thing: it isn't fair. It's why he's been trying so hard, keeping it a secret this long. Because he's learned what this version of Tony Stark is all about. Because he's had to discover for himself what the differences are.

Because the fact of the matter is this: once bitten, twice shy. And those first bites are still stinging, months later. The scars on his ears are testament enough of that.]

...I'm sorry for all of this. Really, I am. None of this is right, even if we can't help feeling the way we do. But for what it's worth... I wish he was more like you.

[It's sentimental, and he doesn't do sentimental--at least, not at the local bar with a kid who routinely cleans his house. He's not at that point of openness yet, and he's already taken enough risks here as it is. So he scoffs back the slight smile it gets from him when Billy says that.

He is a better man, and you know what? It's nice to have people point it out sometimes.]

Now, don't get sappy. The Coke's a little too strong?

[IC] Appointments Post

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