Loom

[in_extremis]

WHO: Tony and open
WHERE: The Temba greenhouse
WHAT: Taking care of the greenhouse
WHEN: End of February
WARNINGS: That's up to you


It was early enough that Tony's breath still came in a faint puff even inside the greenhouse. He didn't think much of it at first, of course it was cold, and inside was still an effective haven from the frost that had reddened his ears as he crossed the square. Not so much from the dark, which seemed to cling to the ground, pressing in from the density of eerily still plants with the deep blue of the sun not quite breaking the horizon yet wilting against them. Tony could feel his heart in his chest, trying to hear the scuttling legs he knew were in that darkness, squinting to try to find some source of light. There had to be lights in here. It was almost enough to send him back out, try again later, but his stomach grumbled and the street just outside the window was washed with that tepid grey already. It wasn't that dark. Bugs probably slept.

By the time he had made his way along the perimeter, closest to the windows and the too slowly climbing sun, he had a paltry few berries in the (evidently overconfident) bucket that he had brought along with him. They weren't going to be enough to feed him, let alone bring back to the kitchen like Tommy would have. Tony was going to have to venture deeper in, and, god forbid, investigate some of the plants closer to the ground and the crawling things within. How was he supposed to tell when a potato was ripe? Did potatoes ripen? It was while he was crouched down by a bed of completely mysterious tubers that he became so viscerally aware of the barrel that he was staring down, that he was going to have to figure this out if he really thought he was capable of staying here alone, and just how much he took from the extraordinary people who had been doing the work while he made their lives more difficult. He risked pulling a glove off with his teeth to test the tenderness of a hanging leaf, dainty pinky out in case he felt an antenna or fuzzy body hiding on the underside, and found only wilted crepe, dry and cold. Around his glove, his breath still fogged. From there, still knelt down, his eyes finally flicked up, searching along the windows, not for the light outside but the glass. The cold and the constant wet of the winter had not been kind to the most robust of the buildings. This one featured a hasty patch job.

Another breath, this time a sigh that swirled around Tony's head and dissipated into the darkness. There was more for him to do here than collect a few berries.

Comments

[buildingitsir]

Tony soon isn't alone in the greenhouse. It's not a place York usually lingers because it's not really his thing - but the repairs he and Tommy had worked on together was. He had left a message on Reeve's comm where he was going before heading out since he wanted to take advantage of the city being asleep to check over things.

The android stops after entering, hearing the sound of someone else already in there. There's a glow from York, mostly muffled by the hoodie, but it's evident in the dim lighting. And probably noticeable as it goes from teal to gold, then rotates back into that calm and cool teal again.

At least working with Tommy had familiarized him with the greenhouse enough for him to hunt down the light-switch. It sounds like it cracks loudly in the quiet darkness, flooding the greenery with light suddenly. He spots Tony easily and directs his gaze there.

"The fuck are you doing here in the dark?"

[in_extremis]

At least Tony was on his feet by then, listening with his breath held like he could tell who it was that had opened the door and gone padding down the path. The light still dazzled him, making him squint and start to raise a hand as a shield before he had adjusted. No mistaking who that was, he supposed. No slinking away, either. He had to let the glove drop from his mouth and into his hand to answer, "Didn't want to wake anyone up," which sounded reasonably plausible. Donnie and Tommy had alternately slept in here among the bugs, after all. "Why aren't you on the ship?" he redirected.

[buildingitsir]

Oops. Maybe York should've warned him. No going back now. He's silent as Tony adjusts to the sudden light and drops the glove his teeth were holding. A slight shrug. "Fair enough."

He closes a bit of the distance before turning to go over to the windows he and Tommy had worked on repairing.

"Am I grounded and supposed to be there? Reeve should know, he's my stand-in dad here along with Richie." He technically wasn't supposed to be out while it was dark without a buddy, but Reeve had just been sleeping so soundly. "I didn't want to stay around the Agrii any longer than I needed to. They get too huggy for my tastes."

A glance at the bucket filled with a pitiful amount of berries. "You could probably make something at the diner at least instead of scouring for berries in here."

[in_extremis]

It had been obvious enough that this was the position Reeve had accepted in York's life, but it was still a surprise to Tony to hear York admit it, without any apparent sarcastic acid. He raised his eyebrows, not quite a question so as to not dissuade York of the notion, letting York decide what to do with the bemusement. It didn't last long, anyway, dropping with some embarrassment at the same time that Tony dropped his glove among and over the paltry collection. "Tommy's been--busy," he explained. "Between that and hardly anyone here...Thought I would try to fill the pantry." Not exactly his area of expertise, and the reason for his question, though he couldn't argue that entertaining the Agrii was pleasant. He added, more inquisitively, "Not much down here in general. And space, you know, breathtaking."

[buildingitsir]

It was a lot of growth, admitting to someone that he actually accepted a human - pair of them, really - as family members. But unlike the people he knew back in Detroit, Reeve and Richie actually treated him like a person instead of a walking family experiment.

"I saw him racing around the other day. Barefoot." Which is significant enough to let York know something was wrong. But he had stayed out of it for the time being.

York closes the distance and squats down to survey the vegetation planted before them. "Space is pretty breathtaking, if I had any breath to take," he remarks with just a little smirk. Hands move over the plants, trying to see if his system can judge if stuff is ripe enough to pick or not.

"I can't really tell what's ripe and what's not. That'd be my brother's area of expertise but he's not here. We can give it a shot and take it all to the diner either way."

[in_extremis]

There was a tick of concern in Tony's expression as he glanced back toward the doors, smoothed away by the time he was crouching next to York to offer him the glove. No one needed to be touching any beetles. "Got to be edible," he agreed. "But--" and he pulled a leaf through his fingers again, drawing it out flat as gingerly as he could without tearing it, showing York what had drawn Tony's attention as he was arriving. "I think it's still too cold in here. Temperature changes outside, probably caused some drafts. You got something in there that can see where they're coming from?" York's brother's hands might have been designed for potato-sensing, but York's must have done something more useful.

[buildingitsir]

Speaking of beetles - one gets flicked away by York's fingers before the glove is taken. It's too big on his hand, but it's better than something getting to his skin mesh and causing damage. He leans in to see what's being brought to his attention and nods.

Then there's a brief stillness and a nod. "Yeah, it's a little colder in here than it should be I think."

Despite only having it on for maybe a minute, the glove gets taken off and handed back. He and Tommy had fixed it before the New Tick, but there hadn't been a return trip for the Stark android. "Hang on," he says, turning his gaze to the windowed walls of the greenhouse.

It takes a bit to find the source of the problem. A couple of loose spots they had run out of adhesive at and tried their best to make it work. "There," he finally points to one of the upper segments of the window, and then points down towards the ground, hidden behind the plants. "And there."

[in_extremis]

By then, Tony was happy to stretch up to his feet again, leaving the bucket behind and sidling through the plants before York had really had to point, already moving in the direction that was drawing the kid's focus. The top of the window was too high for much closer inspection yet, but with a glance back toward York for a second confirmation that he was looking in the right place, maneuvered into the garden beds to run his hand along the glass behind them, watching how quickly the fog of his skin's warmth was wicked away the closer he bent to the gap. From there, he glanced up and around for his next logical move, but all of the repairs he had done in here had been a subtle job, there and gone while Tommy and Shaw debated how worthless he was exactly, the materials back in the shop.

"That," he announced, as though York could have been following his logic, and pointed to another bed, this one loosely covered; a tent of draping, where water had pooled along the surface. "The tarp, you see it? Bring it here."

[buildingitsir]

When Tony joins him, York moves a couple of steps to the side to make room for the bigger human. He notes the upper area needing maintenance and then squats down to observe what Tony was doing with the bottom part.

It's when the point away from the bed they were occupying to a different one draws that focus from the window down the line of the arm to see the tarp. "Yeah, I got it," and he's up quick to do as asked. Nothing hesitant or questioning about it, not this time. The plastic tarp gets gathered up in a manner where the water fountains out in a trickle to the plants, then he brings it over as instructed.

"What do you need?"

[in_extremis]

"Just enough of it," Tony replied, voice dropping to a mumble as the communication seemed to go seamlessly, letting York pick up any more context for himself with a vague circle around the broken seal with one hand as he drew a box cutter from his belt to hand over. "And more, for that one," he added, glancing upward, so York would know what to do while Tony crouched again, producing for himself a small torch that he used to bend or seal wires. Plastic was something of a limited commodity in the abandoned city, so they didn't need to tear up the entire tarp. They were eventually going to have to find a ladder, though.

[buildingitsir]

Just enough. York could do that. Following the motion of Tony's hand, his system calculated what was needed and to cut out the segment that would work. It took some work to get the box cutter's blade through the material, but soon enough he's handing it over so he can move onto the next segment needed. "Here. I'll get the other section ready."

Ever since he deviated, it isn't often York lets himself do what he was originally programmed to do. A sort of rebellion. But feeling useful in fixing up a space that he didn't even have a use for, did feel... nice.

"I didn't realize we had done a shoddy job on those sections," he remarks, measuring with his system again and then replicating it to the tarp to cut with the tool.

[in_extremis]

With the patch in hand, Tony could drop down onto his haunches again to smooth it along the leaking seam and hold it against the glass, apparently careless of the curling heat on his fingers as he began to melt it into place. He could even spare a glance up at York to assess where the comment had come from, then shrugged a dismissive shoulder. "Not shoddy, inevitable. Everything is always moving, that's good, that means change. Progress," Tony assured him. "If it had no room to move, it would break instead."

[buildingitsir]

York lets himself be distracted in watching Tony for a long moment, then back up to the other area waiting for its own patch. "Is that the truth or you trying to keep my feelings from being hurt?" There's a small smirk at that as he finishes what he's scanning, then moving away.

The android doesn't go far, only going as far to fetch one of the a-frame ladders to bring over to Tony. He sets it to the side once brought over and huddles down in case the human needs help.

"I won't say anything to Tommy about the inevitable patch job." A small smirk.

[work_wife]

Being alone is sort of a relative thing. Like right now. Sure Tony had arrived alone, but there was definitely a sound approaching. The sound of... a bicycle? Perhaps with a few pieces not working well at that. In Robin's defense, she hadn't bothered to protect the thing from Zombies, all things considered.

And really, she shouldn't be out late at night alone. She'd promised people she wouldn't. But when you're the owner of a dog it turns out you gotta do things for the dog sometimes. Which includes going out on your bike at night for 'walkies', with the dog trotting along on the leash.

It's actually Little Bear that registers someone else is around. That smells fresh and familiar smells heading to the entrance. When he peels off Robin curses and turns to follow. She won't be alone, and Little Bear was good at being intimidating so of course she follows. Ends up leaning her bike against the door and looking at Little Bear.

"Smell something good in there, boy?"

Well, she did have to feed him something. So she pushes in and takes out a flashlight to look for the lights she knows had to be here.

"Wuff," Little Bear announces just before she flips the light on. There, she feels safer now.

"Yeah yeah. Let's see if we can't find those potato things you like having roasted."

Except the dog is already taking off, following his nose. Robin curses and runs after the thing, soon coming upon...

Little Bear barks with delight as he comes upon Tony. He remembers the man, and almost immediately is jumping to try and get up to lick his face. Dogs, right?

[in_extremis]

By then, Tony had at least adjusted to the light, barely squinting anymore as Little Bear did his first bounce of delight. It was a very brief reprieve though, because Tony had to let out his own low wuff as the air was knocked out of him with the weight of the dog's paws on his shoulders, and he barely had the chance to twist his face to the side so he didn't get frenched by an animal. With one eye screwed shut against the slobbery assault and mouth twisted to the side, he mumbled, "Yeah, yeah, big man, I get it," hands on Little Bear's flanks thumping a greeting in return. He might have even been smiling when the dog deemed him damp enough to draw back for a pat to his nose instead, until he realized Little Bear hadn't come alone and noticed the movement behind him.

"Ms. Buckley," Tony tried to greet with dignity, easing Little Bear back so he could wipe some of his face clean on his shoulder. "You'll have to promise you're a better kisser if you want one, too."

[work_wife]

"Tony," she says, smiling a little before patting her hip. Little Bear jumps down and comes back to her side. He was pretty well trained before she acquired him.

"I'm really going to pass on kissing literally anyone on this planet, thanks. What are you doing out here so late, and in the dark?"

[in_extremis]

Tony opened his hands as though he took offense to that, inquisitive like he couldn't believe she would say something so dismissive to his exhausted, dog-slobbered face. Who could turn that down? Then he tossed a shoulder, and was quick to correct, "Early. I'm kind of a morning person." That one couldn't sit on the bench long before it got too obviously brittle, so Tony had to swiftly move them along, twisting to crouch back down to his work like he had any idea what he was doing with these leaves as he blurted, "Eddie's stuff is at the university, if that's what you're looking for. I didn't think anyone else would really--you know, it's just some dice and some books, but if that's why you're not on the ship..." The guitar was more likely, but Tony wasn't so eager to just offer that.

[work_wife]

Lesbians. Who see him as literally dad aged given she's only going on 18. Sure, he would have had to fathered her when he was her age, but in her defense: her parents had.

"Ew, morning person," Robin groans. That was so not her own vibe. She didn't like getting up early. "Guess the dog's sorta forcing that point for me."

She does approach closer, tilting her head in confusion.

"I don't have the right to his stuff. Maybe, in time, I'll see about it. Make sure I don't have to do certain... family duties."

She was, after all, from the generation of queers who tried to beat families to the home to destroy any evidence of things. The honorable thing to do. But people here wouldn't judge him for that.

"I'm planetside because I don't trust Hargrove on his own right now. And I really don't like alien hugs. And... And I wanted to try and help in ways I can? Which of course means I need to think of what to do. Figured I could maybe try helping pick things. After I feed Little Bear. It's not hard to do farm stuff, right? I mean, serfs did it."

She's so not ready to be a farm worker.

[in_extremis]

Who had what rights to what remained of the people here hadn't really been the gas in Tony's engine, and he had to shoot Robin a sidelong glance to make sure that wasn't accusatory, because he didn't really have a defense against it, either. Ultimately, he was left with a puzzled frown, because he had no idea what 'family duties' meant in this context. "For Steve...?" was his best guess. What the three of them had meant to each other, and what parts of Eddie they were missing, were a second hand abstract to Tony. Maybe he should have thought a little more about those rights.

He looked down at the plants like he was baffled that anyone would be considering applying themselves to this job, even as he knelt over them with his bucket and gloves. "I'm kind of working that out for myself," he admitted. "Serfs had to wash dishes, too," he did point out. "And, you know, other things, that are--some people think dishes are difficult."

[work_wife]

"Steve's, like, part of me. But in a sibling way. And Eddie's... Well, Eddie and him have way different stuff going on than me and Eddie. So yeah, it's not my place. Friends are one thing. Loved ones are something else, you know?"

As for working it out, she considers. Then nods her head.

"Well, I've known people who could break dishes washing them. You stay here and be smart while watching the dog. I'm going to go get the datapoint. Just for now."

Better to get to know something, right? That way they can teach each other. Or themselves. Sure, Robin's avoided weird brain stuff for a while, but it hadn't seemed to hurt her friends, so yeah, she can do it for a night.

[in_extremis]

Robin's claim made enough sense as presented that Tony didn't immediately respond; it was only after a beat that his lips parted with a frown, and still he didn't know exactly what he meant to articulate until Robin was talking again, and he only could really mumble, "No..." He didn't really know. At least then she was giving him the time to consider it, which he encouraged with a small nod and expectant raise of his eyebrows at Little Bear. The dog didn't need much of a signal to come trotting back where Tony could pretend he was holding the animal in place with a hand on his neck. "She's not running a familiar operating system," he murmured, and Little Bear seemed happy enough to have any conversation. "Yeah, you probably got her figured out, you don't have to rub it in."

[work_wife]

Robin really wasn't. She was a unique, hand coded operating system. People wished they could run on her OS. Okay, that was probably a bad joke. But soon enough she's back. And look, she even found a basket.

"Alright. I've got the datapoint. I know what the weeds look like and what we can eat. I just need to start by getting one of those savory potato things for Little Bear. Any chance you've got some way to roast it on you? You're, like, the smart guy, right?"

[in_extremis]

Tony had been dissuaded of the delusion that he was the smart guy some time ago, so he replied, "Compared to him?" with a thumb toward Little Bear, "Sure." He was more than happy to divert from possible beetle interactions, though, to set something on fire. He didn't exactly have an oven on him, but fire did come naturally. All he needed was this sagging trellis from the garden, and some of the litter below it, and shortly his bucket, which had been a disappointing collection method, was becoming a respectable potato-roaster. As he worked, he asked, "You don't love your friends?," which did sound unfair, out loud like that.

[work_wife]

Little Bear, seeming to get the attention is for him, dances happily around the whole creation while Robin returns with one of the striped potatoes. She does pause, though, to consider Tony's question.

"Yeah, of course I do. But, like, if it was a friend that had a romantic partner and then a friend, wouldn't you think the romantic partner gets first dibs? After family of course. If it was Steve it'd be me all up in that stuff. But it's Eddie. So I have to let Steve handle it first. So I can be there for him."

She's learned something about prioritizing she thinks.

"Like, I wouldn't take Max's stuff without Billy getting to it first. I have to respect their pain too."

[in_extremis]

That hierarchy didn't feel nearly as solid as Robin presented it to Tony, and it didn't seem like she actually thought so, either, earning her an unconvinced tip of Tony's head and expectant purse of his lips as she went on to admit that Eddie wouldn't get those dibs in her hypothetical scenario. She managed to outrank the romantic partner in that structure.

"That doesn't mean yours doesn't matter," Tony could point out. "Everyone handles their grief differently. You don't have to assume what Steve is feeling takes precedence, it's just different." Maybe not with this situation exactly; Robin did seem more concerned about her friend than any loss on her part. With a toss of his shoulder, focused on stoking his fire to a roasting constant, Tony said, "Besides, the romantic partner, they're the most likely to have eventually left, anyway."