It kind of sounded like Cal was apologizing for that enthusiasm to put their skills to the test, so for that Tony shook his head slowly, then tipped it onto his shoulder to study the softness still in Cal's cheeks as he muttered, "You were a kid." Of course they looked forward to those battles. And it didn't sound like they had much of a choice, the battles were coming whether they wanted them or not. Someone was dropping the bombs.
Tony straightened with a sharp breath, where he could juggle the wrench again as he stared out toward the fire and admitted, "I still get excited after a good fight. When it all goes well, and--nobody drowns." With a brief smile, he glanced rapidly to Cal then back to the fire. Cal probably didn't really need to be told as much, they had seen enough action together by now. "When it's a bad one, though..." He gave an exaggerated shrug, and figured Cal didn't need to be told that either, because he'd had his fair share of his own bad fights. "It's really bad," he sighed. "The kids--you know, Billy and Tommy, and their friends back home--for me, they're, like, 15, and they've got these getups, and they've got these powers, and when we try to tell them to slow down--Listen, you've met them, you see how that works out. And its because they think that we're worried that they're not strong enough, that they're going to get hurt. And--we are, of course we are, but I'm not worried that Wiccan can't--" Tony snapped his fingers and waved a hand, magic, make a city out of nothing. Then his shoulders dropped again, and he frowned, contemplating the tool he still twisted around. It was hard to hear that no one was thinking of the kids like Cal the same way, but Tony gave a dry laugh and said, "You probably wouldn't have listened to me, either."
no subject
Tony straightened with a sharp breath, where he could juggle the wrench again as he stared out toward the fire and admitted, "I still get excited after a good fight. When it all goes well, and--nobody drowns." With a brief smile, he glanced rapidly to Cal then back to the fire. Cal probably didn't really need to be told as much, they had seen enough action together by now. "When it's a bad one, though..." He gave an exaggerated shrug, and figured Cal didn't need to be told that either, because he'd had his fair share of his own bad fights. "It's really bad," he sighed. "The kids--you know, Billy and Tommy, and their friends back home--for me, they're, like, 15, and they've got these getups, and they've got these powers, and when we try to tell them to slow down--Listen, you've met them, you see how that works out. And its because they think that we're worried that they're not strong enough, that they're going to get hurt. And--we are, of course we are, but I'm not worried that Wiccan can't--" Tony snapped his fingers and waved a hand, magic, make a city out of nothing. Then his shoulders dropped again, and he frowned, contemplating the tool he still twisted around. It was hard to hear that no one was thinking of the kids like Cal the same way, but Tony gave a dry laugh and said, "You probably wouldn't have listened to me, either."