OTA Log: Sometimes People Hide

[plate_builder]

WHO: Reeve Tuesti and You
WHERE: He Row Soup Lies
WHAT: Avoiding the storm, tending to others
WHEN: November 6th-11th
WARNINGS: N/A

The Strangest Stuffed Animal

Not all of the stuffed toys lying around amid the blanket are just what they seem. One of them a bipedal, black and white tuxedo cat with a green cape, striding across the room toward the nearest person in a blanket. Somewhere in the background a man in a torn up suit, no doubt messed up by the crash, watches the stuffed animal approach, but doesn't say anything for now. Instead he watches with concern over how the doll moves, limping to whoever is there and reaching out to pat their arm with a pudgy paw.

There there, the doll seems to say. It just wished to provide comfort.

Hot Chocolate and Hiding

He hasn't been outside for days, not since he got here. It had been a burden, it had been a mess, it had been a whole thing. And Reeve, once he'd arrived, had found a place far from the door, sat down with a mug and Mini-C nearby, and watched the door.

It took a lot for him to even consider tearing his eyes from it. Outside was… too dangerous. He couldn't risk it. He had seen his own fears out there, and he didn't wish to face them again.

Reeve sips his cocoa and then jumps to his feet when he sees someone come in. The cocoa is passed off to Mini as Reeve grabs a blanket and heads for the door, ready to throw the blanket over the arrival.

"How is it getting out there? Come, let me get you a bowl of soup and some cider."

Comments

[in_extremis]

If the ever evolving list of things Tony wasn't supposed to try to say to Reeve now included sharing anything (which, granted, nobody wanted to hear unless they were being paid to deal with it, and even then Tony always managed to make it incomprehensibly disjointed), or solving the problem (less expected, Tony had a more difficult time processing that one), Tony felt he was quickly tapping out his excuses to indulge in Reeve's safe house. Automatically, he took the bowl back up, at least that was a reason, but he was looking around then, assessing the room and the strange toys he had largely ignored to kneel on. "Okay, yeah, okay," he muttered absently into the bowl before he finally was sipping without engaging on any particular level with what was actually in the bowl, starting to wander away from Reeve instead, still carrying his doll. What did anyone even need to fix a doll? Tony could make that, that was nothing.

[plate_builder]

Oh Tony, none of the conclusions being drawn are correct at all.

"When the storm passes, I won't mind if you would be willing to take the walk. But for now, please don't put yourself at risk for me. If something happened to you because you were helping me, I would be shattered."

And Jon would probably kill him. But Reeve follows, slowly, at a bit of a remove.

"Do you want hot chocolate? The Agrii have provided that for us as well."

[in_extremis]

If Reeve wanted to stay at a remove, following Tony was not going to keep him there. Abruptly, Tony turned again, stalking back into Reeve's space and pushing the soup aside once more to gesture impatiently, demanding, "Where's your phone?" Tony's was back on his ship, abandoned under the assumption that if Extremis wasn't working, the network wasn't working, and he wouldn't be needing to pull it apart any time soon. He could use some hardware now, though. He did, at least, realize that Reeve was trying to talk to him, and mumbled, "Uh, sure," wiggling expectant fingers.

[plate_builder]

Tony, please, just... Never mind. Reeve doesn't know what to say about all of this, and it leaves his heart aching. He doesn't know what to say or do about any of this.

"Yes, of course," he says, taking out his communicator and handing it over to Tony. He trusts the man with it.

"But you should eat. The soup is strengthening, in the weird way Agrii things tend to."

[in_extremis]

Testing that trust, Tony immediately cracked the case open in his one free hand, flipping it around as he started back toward the toys again to peer into the board and pick out a pin to use. It wasn't going to be the most efficient sewing process, but it would get done--wait, what? Tony finally set Mini back down in the soft bed of blankets and cuddle dolls to work the pin he needed out of the communicator, and looking back at Reeve, puzzled. "They tend to what?," he asked, not sure they had the same experiences with 'Agrii things'. So far, most 'Agrii things' left Tony exhausted.

[plate_builder]

Reeve bites his lip, trying not to freak out over Tony's behavior. He's just lost his communicator hasn't he? But... But Tony produces an answer and Reeve smiles at him that fondness he can't stop offering the man when he does something kind. He'll have to tease thread from a blanket here very carefully, and contrive a way to get the whole thing done.

"You remain amazing to me, Tony," he smiles as he hold shis hand out for the pin.

"I mean that it feels good to eat. It's not truly fortifying, and it's a bit salty for my taste, but it's comforting just to have a bowl of hot soup, don't you think?"

[in_extremis]

That smile could have made Tony cry (that was just the exhaustion, his eyes were tired, of course they felt like that, and Tony rubbed at one with the back of his hand until they didn't anymore), gratified that he seemed to have done something right, and had him quickly handing over the tiny, extracted metal pin, even though, wait, no, he was supposed to be the one doing this. At least working out another one to use gave Tony something to look at that wasn't Reeve's face.

"The food the ships make is really...efficient," he said, not sure anymore if that meant he was agreeing with Reeve about the Agrii's talents. "I thought you were saying, with all of this other stuff getting in our heads, I just, I'm--" Paranoid, but that was edging too close to the insanity Tony was definitely in control of. Quickly, much safer, "Does he feel it?"

[plate_builder]

Crying would just break his heart, so it was good that Tony was able to stop himself. He settles and takes a less pleasing blanket, working at it to try and get a thread loose.

"Efficiency is not how food should work. Food should be more than that."

He considers the question, trying to reach more for Mini. And frankly, it pains Reeve just a touch to do it. The storm messes with his magic as well.

"The tear? Yes, but in a way that I don't think translates to our sort of experience."

[in_extremis]

Tony dropped back into the pile more carelessly and worked one of the toys out from under him with a frown to dig his fingers into a seam until it snapped and he could start piecing it into notions as well. The answer about Mini didn't quite assuage Tony's concerns, but he only followed it with an apologetic pout the doll's way for what they might have been about to do to him, however it translated. Stitches weren't Tony's favourite way to spend his time. He offered Mini a ball of stuffing, inquisitively, not sure if he needed refilling or if that was a step too intimate.

"I've never really thought about how food should work," Tony admitted as they each cannibalized their comfort items. "I don't cook or--anything, so it's not really my area."

[plate_builder]

With Tony back to an easy to access position, Mini toddles over and gets right back into his lap. And when Tony offers stuffing Mini considers it carefully before shifting to show his rip. Yes, clearly he could use a bit more material so his leg moves properly.

"He thanks you," Reeve says softly as he sits near Tony, but not quite at his side. He sheds his coat and starts teasing thread out again. "And I imagine you never needed to think about it as much as some do. I'm just glad the Agrii have managed to provide as much as they have."

[in_extremis]

That felt uncomfortably like helping a friend put their guts back in, making Tony frown and do his best not to look entirely put out as he gingerly tested the rip to conduct his stuffing transplant. They really had to finish Mini's metal framing so something like this would feel less like surgery to Tony.

"I feel like I'm always talking about food with you," he mumbled into his work, not sure what that really meant until it occurred to him that this might be a 'safe' topic for Reeve and he shouldn't be examining it to closely. Quickly, he continued, "I never asked, did you like the sundae bar? I know, you said, the in public thing, but I figured, if everyone was doing it, maybe it would, you know."

[plate_builder]

Well, in a way, it totally makes sense, right? Tony is giving Cait Sith more guts, as it were. But yeah, Mini would appreciate that metal framing.

"Is that a problem?" Reeve asks with a smile as he finally works a thread free enough to start trying to figure things out. "I like food. You like food. We're in this awkward place of trying to figure out what our friendship is going to look like. And yes, I adored the sundae bar. I had three of them."

So yes, he had enjoyed it. And he didn't mind their friendship like this. But he wished it could be easier for them both.

[in_extremis]

Tony didn't quite have a thread extracted himself, but he put the toy he was deconstructing aside to show them both what he had been intending with the pins, gesturing for Mini to make himself comfortable where he wouldn't be moving around too much, and for Reeve to hand over the thread for now. The pin was first used as an awl, to puncture a hole that Reeve would then be able to use to push the thread through, more like machining than sewing. Slower, but doable as long as Mini didn't get impatient and start wiggling around.

Meanwhile, Tony tried on his own weak smile at the incredible chance that they both liked food, but didn't love how it felt. He still responded, "I thought maybe you had a weird food thing, like this was a farm thing I would never get until I worked the earth, or whatever," which wasn't nearly funny enough to gloss over that awkward place Reeve put into words. Thankfully, Tony still had his hands to focus on.

"I had a chance to think about that, out there--what I would have done differently," he said, down into his work, not quite ready now to hand it over to Reeve. Why Tony had that chance was definitely not a detail Reeve needed to hear, and the answers Tony had come up with were not particularly applicable, though. He tried the smile again to say, "But if you really liked the ice cream that much, I don't know if I'd change anything."

[plate_builder]

Mini is happy to let Tony start the work. And once he does it, Reeve's attention so insanely focused on Tony's hands what beautiful, amazing, quick hands and smiles.

Once Tony has done the demonstration, Reeve takes the doll and thread and needle and starts to work. His hands are quick and smart at the task, clearly he's spent many years sewing, with the complexity of stitches he's managing with this, sealing the wound up.

"Hey, I literally left the life working the land, remember? It didn't work for me," Reeve laughs.

"Well, do you want to talk about what you would have done instead? Just as a theoretical?"

[in_extremis]

Watching Reeve as he took over made very clear to Tony that he need not have bothered with his demonstration, but was glad to slouch over on one hand with his head on his shoulder to admire the display of competence, donor toy forgotten to pet through the fur on Mini's head reassuringly instead. He would have been lulled by the practiced rhythm of Reeve's work, too, if Reeve didn't just ask him to glance up with a look of pained caution for Reeve, no, maybe they shouldn't do that, and offer, "Uh, more balloons," as though he had been talking only about the party in the first place. That could be a framework Tony could work with, though, and as dropped his gaze again, he tried, "Was a little rushed."

[plate_builder]

It was definitely comforting to Mini to have a friend support him in this. Not that he could communicate it.

As for Reeve, he didn't know that Tony meant anything more than the party. After all, they had been talking about the sundae bar.

"I do like balloons," Reeve agrees, smiling peacefully as he works at the sewing. This was Reeve plying one of his skills, finding contentment in it.

"A balloon artist maybe. Making animals out of those tube balloons."

[in_extremis]

Despite not knowing of a person who actively disliked balloons, Tony found this admission from Reeve warmly charming enough to breathe a laugh and settle back into his slouch. "Honestly, I would not be surprised if you told me that was something you could do and, listen, I know you've got a whole thing, you built a city, saved the world, whatever, but if someone asked me to describe you right now, I would say, top three things, likes balloons, likes ice cream, plays with dolls. Is that a fake beard?" It wasn't quite the speed Tony would typically deliver at, but the drawl came dangerously close to a comfortable normal.

[plate_builder]

Now what a summation of his life. Likes balloons, likes ice cream, plays with dolls. He continues working at the tear as Mini reaches for Tony. Sorry, kiddo, seems like Uncle Tony is done being comforting.

"The beard is absolutely real. Why would I bother having a fake one? Besides, I'm allergic to that adhesive they use to put on fake hair. Tried it for halloween when I was younger. Before I grew the beard. It was horrid."

[in_extremis]

The reaching did get Tony's attention, mostly to earn Mini a frown for the wiggling that he wasn't supposed to be doing as Tony took his hand to stop any more moving around. Cosmetic adhesives were something of a perfect storm if Tony's skillsets and he offered idly, "That stuff is just superglue," and it didn't terribly surprise Tony that this allergy hadn't come up before, watching Reeve work now. He was too exacting to be knitting himself back together with glue regularly like Tony would be in the garage. "That must have really cut the date short, that's a strong asset you lost, the whole face," he said with another weak laugh.

[plate_builder]

There was never a reason for Reeve to patch himself up with anything other than magic. Glue would be a waste of adhesives.

"Very short. I was in my apartment all day, my face broken out in hives. How horrid."

He laughs and shakes his head at the memory. "I looked like a cherry."

[in_extremis]

Shaking Mini's hand very pointedly then, Tony said to him, "We don't all have someone very patient to patch us up, some of us have to hide in our shame." Halloween wasn't the kind of holiday that Tony saw crossing over on many other planets, he had to observe, and chanced a long look at Reeve before deciding he did not have the energy to get Reeve riled up about how they were not from the same planet again. Instead, he observed, "Must not have soured you on the whole thing, you've got the beard now, bet you were back out there the next year handing out treats."

[plate_builder]

"I was," Reeve agreed. "And a few years later I worked for Shinra and corporate parties became mandatory. I miss it. Giving candy out to kids."

Was it silly to love doing that so much? Probably. But he missed the simplicity of it. Of people and the joys of their lives. For a moment he looks... sad. Which he pushes off as he ties off the string and then hands Mini out toward Tony.

"What do you think I should do about trimming the thread and keeping it out of the way?"

[in_extremis]

"Mandatory?" Tony echoed quietly, mostly baffled by the idea of a compulsory team Halloween party specifically, making him doubt now how much these holidays did actually cross over. They had spoken plenty about Reeve's strange relationship with his company, though, and Tony hadn't heard much about his private life in between, so as he forced himself to sit up to accept Mini automatically, he asked, "What's stopping you? Besides the police, I guess, they don't always take that kind of behaviour well." It was possible that an Avenger handing out candy to kids in the middle of a weekday enjoyed certain liberties that a civilian did not. The thread was not a problem, if Tony understood Reeve's question correctly, and he didn't wait to clarify before he was cleanly snapping it at the knot with his teeth.

[plate_builder]

That's not good for your teeth, Tony. But Reeve won't chide him.

"Well, for one, I'm here and there is no candy nor children. For another, I am too busy. Helping the world leaves one little time for it."

[in_extremis]

Tony was left feeling chided anyway, not for how he treated himself in his work but for lingering so long on what was ultimately a small problem, with a whole planet in crisis outside of this safehouse. He did know that, it wasn't that Tony was avoiding it, it was just-- really awful out there. Taking a deep breath, he let Mini slip down back to where he had climbed into Tony's lap before, where Tony could bow over him to offer a hug for handling his surgery well, and to say his goodbyes with only a few minutes left on his excuse.

"Making a kid happy can help the world," he suggested as he searched the soft pile for the pieces of Reeve's communicator to put back together, but it wasn't exactly a passionate argument, already moot as long as they were stuck in this desolate city.