delivery

[in_extremis]

WHO: Tony Stark, Cloud Strife, technically open if you want to hang
WHERE: The forge? I don't know the structure of this post eludes me, it might be just network, I might just be setting up a bunch of interactions for Cloud to have with everyone else like a benevolent god
WHAT: Tony's been making things and has packages for Reeve, Tommy, Sansa and Jon, and he's not doing all of that walking himself.
WARNINGS: It is genuinely not my fault that all of Tony's posts are horny and you should just expect it now.

a text to Cloud

hey

where are you?

you want a job, right?

Come to the forge.

Outside of the forge, sitting in front of the closed door very pointedly, were five lumpy bundles, the wrapping of these clearly not Tony's strong suit. One of them seemed to be just in a big leaf. They were all labled with thin tags of impressed aluminum tied or just placed on top for Cloud to figure out where they were supposed to go with just a name-- the rest, like who any of these people were and where to find them, was Cloud's job to figure out, apparently.

At least one of them should have been pretty easy.

C L O U D
It was...a chocobo? Or how Tony remembered a chocobo looking from the glance at it in Reeve's memory. Small, grey and surprisingly heavy, it wound up to go bouncing away on weirdly articulated legs. Did Tony think he was paying Cloud?

R E E V E
It's a head.
This might be what Tony thought a cat skull looked like. It wasn't much like the design he had left for Mini-C's skeletal structure in Reeve's sketchbook, he obviously had some time, and the obsessive insomnia turned to 11 after the sleep glut and nowhere to pour his creative energy, to take a more detailed turn, and he would have used the energy to make more of the structure but they were still tight on materials. What he did make was a few servos, dangling from the skull shape like a disembodied nerve system, and a prototype pair of hands tucked safely into the dome, too delicate to be very useful to Mini, but responding to their programming housed in the skull. The systems were done, was the point.

T O M M Y
Was this what he meant by hydroponics? It wasn't like Tony had managed to miss that bit of drama on the network. It wasn't assembled, a bunch of disparate pieces that didn't come with instructions, but a note that only read 'you need a tube'.

S A N S A
This bundle had a pair of brass combs in it, stamped, much like the labels on the packages, with roses. If Sansa hadn't figured out how to keep her hair from being a mess, maybe this would be a reminder.

J O N
A very tiny little knot of a rag, about as big as the label that sat under it, and felt light enough to be empty.
It seemed to only contain a gold chain.

Comments

[theladyofwinterfell]

Daenerys is a friend from home, Tony. I will make the introductions soon, I promise. She's someone I can trust with James and with her and my soldier at the house, I'm not alone.

( Sansa is glad for it, too, because she thinks she'd go mad in a house all by herself with no one to help her. )

[in_extremis]

...Steve?

[Tony has missed some things.]

[theladyofwinterfell]

No, the Winter Soldier, the one that I named James for. He arrived during the calibrations right after Tyrion disappeared. If the Atroma had to take Tyrion from me, I am endlessly grateful they returned my soldier to me.

( A lot of things have happened in a short time but someone from Westeros and the Winter Soldier are things to be terribly excited about. )

[in_extremis]

That's that Bucky?

[That was one weird appearance Tony hadn't missed, and now he knows why Sansa is smiling so much here. A friend from home and this strange connection she made with someone from an entirely different dimension, right after losing her husband-- that had to mean something, right? Tony is getting a little tired to finding these small puzzle pieces and nothing to match them to.]

Tell you what, I'll get you a boat and the two of you can go check out the resort. D..ahlia and I will hold down the fort.

[theladyofwinterfell]

Daenerys. And yes, I would like very much to go. There was another thing I wanted to ask about, though, and I hope you'll be able to make it. It's difficult to carry James everywhere and I didn't know if you could make me a small cart for him or something.

( Sansa certainly hopes so. It would be ever so much easier. )

[in_extremis]

Whatever. [How is he supposed to remember a name like that? She got his point.]

A cart? [Well, he's not going to do that, but...] I'll see what I can do. He'll be a little prince in no time. When do they start walking on their own, how big will he be? You know what, forget it, we'll pay for that when we get there.

[theladyofwinterfell]

I would think he would need to be closer to a year old before he's walking on his own. I love carrying him but sometimes it would be easier if I could just bring him along in a different way. Thank you for helping me, truly.

( Sansa feels so blessed to have a friend like Tony who helps her every way he can without reservation. )

[in_extremis]

A year? Geez, how exhausting, tell him to get it together. What's his colour palette, what are we working with here? Not that I don't have extremely good taste, but it has been questioned.

[theladyofwinterfell]

Stark colors are white and grey but I think blue suits him. Blue is my favorite color and reminds me of the sky and the water. Could you make something in blue, possibly?

[in_extremis]

Yeah, I wouldn't have gone in that direction, it's a good thing I asked. Very neutral, though, very Scandinavian minimalist, I'm not knocking it.

One baby-cart, one boat, coming right up. Anything else for the order list?

[theladyofwinterfell]

No, nothing else. I am terribly sorry for imposing on you, though. You're just the only person I know that's clever with these things.

( Sansa gives him her most brilliant smile. )

[in_extremis]

[He knows that smile means she's not that sorry, and isn't confident the flattery will work.

Luckily, it does. The smile doesn't hurt.]

No imposition at all. It's my favourite position.

[theladyofwinterfell]

You phrased it that way on purpose, didn't you?

( It's amusing, though, so Sansa giggles a little. )

[in_extremis]

I can't imagine what purpose that could be.

[Why doesn't she explain it to him, he is very innocent.]

[theladyofwinterfell]

( Sansa rolls her eyes. He knows good and well what she's talking about. )

You know I'm talking about bedding someone. You're no maiden.

[in_extremis]

Oh, that. Yeah, I always mean that.

[He's finally laughing, mostly at himself, but it is nice to see Sansa back to herself between her giggles and eye rolls.]

You're lighting up the room, sweetheart. They must be taking good care of you.

[theladyofwinterfell]

( Sansa colors a bit and nods; she's in much better spirits with James and Daenerys here and it had helped to pull her from her deep grief. She's glad for it. )

They've helped a lot. I don't feel quite so alone with them around and I missed my soldier a lot. I'm so glad he's here.

[in_extremis]

I bet.

He's not there now, is he?

[theladyofwinterfell]

Right now? No, he isn't. Why do you ask?

[in_extremis]

Nothing, just-- [Had she smiled at him like that whenever Tyrion was nearby?] Don't worry about it. Find yourself a picnic basket. Can you make something like that? That's-- weaving, right? You'll need it.

[theladyofwinterfell]

I can make a basket. Would you like me to make one for you as well? It would be no trouble and it can be payment for the carrier for little James.

( Sansa hates being in debt to someone, even if it's Tony. )

[in_extremis]

That would be....amazing?

[Genuinely not sure what this emotion is. Gratitude, is that an emotion?]

My place is a shithole, mama, I'm basically living in an engine room. It's my fault, I did do this, I'm just saying, a basket would be the nicest thing in here.

[theladyofwinterfell]

Honestly, Tony. You should be living better than that. Do I have to come over there?

( Because she will. )

[in_extremis]

You would certainly brighten the place up. No, it's--I didn't mean it like that, I don't need help or anything, I'm fine, this isn't somewhere you would want to be. But a basket would be very, um...domestic?

[This is weird. Sansa has a proper house-house, so it's hard to explain that this had not been Tony's focus so far.]

[theladyofwinterfell]

( Sansa just blinks at him for a long moment, wondering how Tony means it considering she thinks he needs more help than he knows. )

You need a real place to live, you know. Not just a basket.