revivalproject | Coruscant Catch-All

That sounded like the way Tony would talk about having a drink, making him narrow his eyes critically, not sure if Reeve meant to reveal as much. "Sounds like a real problem," Tony muttered. Especially for someone who wanted to get any business done.

"But I can't help but wonder, what kind of lies you would be bringing back with you after earning a few coins in a place like this. The way I see it, as far as Coruscant is concerned, you did not exist before this moment," he said, tilting his head slightly, give or take a few hours, "and in a few days you'll stop existing all over again." Tossing the component he carried idly between his hands, Tony offered a nonchalant shrug, inviting Reeve to do what he would with that thought. As for Tony, "Might as well make the most of it."

Reeve never means to reveal as much as he does to Tony. But he's not wrong. So Reeve doesn't really know what to say to it all.

"No, I might not exist here before this moment. Nor will I exist here after. But the money I take from others does and will," Reeve counters.

And scamming someone out of money is dishonest. Something that Reeve could not live with. He would know what he had done. Was morality so wrong to hold on to when it was all he had in the world? His morality and his magic, they were what he had.

"I must always strive to be better than I was."

Morality was definitely a strength that Tony had a lot of respect for, but Reeve wouldn't be the first person that Tony chafed against for finding their particular morality a little too limiting. Most things were not as black and white as Mini-C, making Tony toss the metal again like he was juggling it (had he been practising?) as he watched Reeve closely, giving him a moment to consider if he really thought the issue began and ended with 'taking money from others'.

"You always will be, I have no doubt about that," Tony did allow, watching his hands work then. "Trust me, I can see the future. I've told you that before, right?" And a future where Reeve tried to earn the parts that he wanted honestly was a bummer.

"Thing is, the kind of people who are eager to drop a few million and pocket change on someone promising them weapons of mass destruction, I'm not so sure I feel that bad about taking their money to help feed Temba. Literally or philosophically. If I get a few pet projects out of it, well." He gave another shrug, this one more reminiscent of a cat who happened to get to the milk delivery first. It couldn't be his fault that he got all of the cream. It wasn't all that different from taking military contract work to fund community development and a new quinjet, and Tony didn't even have to deliver on the bombs.

Oh Tony, it was wrong to consider Mini-C and what he needed black and white. He was a living being, which meant there was no way to get around the inherent grayness of it.

"This isn't feeding Temba," Reeve counters, and his tone is... vaguely disappointed in Tony. What had he been doing? Damn Tony, can't you behave for even a minute?

That may have sounded contradictory, but it wasn't in any way an argument, making Tony respond with a slowly blooming grin as he watched Reeve expectantly, waiting just long enough for Reeve to figure out that Tony knew that. Reeve's disappointment was familiar noise, hardly enough to dissuade the teasing expression, or even the more genuine smile tangled in it. That was the kind of non-answer that Cap would have for him, too.

Tony's fidgeting with the little cube he carried had subdued to rolling it between his fingers again as he posited, "What would happen if you lied to me right now?" Very lightly, like this was a viable thought experiment and Tony didn't already know that the answer was 'nothing of consequence'. He wasn't about to pretend that Reeve was always completely honest, as much as Reeve wanted to convince himself as much. "We both know I don't deserve the respect, it should be easy. There's got to be plenty you wish you could say to me. Try me."

"Nothing at all. But I would feel guilty," Reeve answered. "And it would serve no purpose, not really."

So he doesn't see the point to trying. Instead he just focuses on what he could get. Which, in this moment, was the pieces that he's already looking at. So why does Tony have to play like this.

"I've learned to get by on what the situation presents me with.

That should have been an opportunity for Reeve to pretend he had plenty of plausible deniability in the 'lie' he told Tony when he said he'd be happy to have an introduction to Tony's new, wealthy patrons. Tony rolled his eyes, throwing the component up high to catch it again to expend some of that frustration. Reeve hadn't even gotten angry with him for it; how disappointing.

"If that were true, you'd be ranching Big Bird and those muscles would be from kneading your own bread dough," he pointed out. Tony had seen where Reeve came from. He took his first chance to extract himself from the situation.

Oh if only he was willing to meet those patrons. He could be talked into it, but he wasn't certain he wanted to cross that line with so little courtship.

"Choccobos," Reeve corrects. "And you're neither right nor wrong. I have learned a lot about taking what advantages were offered out to me. And learning technology was an advantage I moved toward. I have done my best to do what I can."

But there was only so much he could do about all of it. With a sigh he looks to the parts.]

"Don't suppose you can, you know, spare me funding for some of Mini's parts?"

"Chocobos," Tony echoed quietly, as though he was dutifully learning and not that the corner of his mouth tugged up, entertained that Reeve thought this name for the animals sounded any more dignified. They were just going to have to figure out what 'advantages' Reeve thought had just as much dignity, and which challenged his moral code. That line was easy to move when it was so blurry.

At the request, Tony finally palmed his toy and moved closer, bracing a hand on the shelf behind Reeve to ask, "What's in it for me?," with a coquettish smirk. See, one little lie was easy.

It's far more dignified as they are, in fact, chocobos and not just big birds. Geez.

"The pleasure of having assisted Mini-C," Reeve offers, tilting his head as he considers Tony. Why would he need to lie? There is nothing in it for Tony. Well, he supposed one thing.

"Well, that and knowing that the part you made for me will not be met with an imcomplete system."

There had never been an expectation of compensation for Tony's gifts, including the structural system that he had started for the doll, so that was Tony's little lie. That Reeve didn't already know it was always going to be Tony's account charged by the time they walked out of this store, and thought Tony needed to be reminded, made Tony roll his eyes again for not getting an invention in return. "I don't need any encouragement to pleasure myself," he said, leaning back again with his arms folded over his chest where he could consider if this was just Reeve's attempt at turning the tables and making Tony angry.

"Listen, I'll close my eyes. Will that help?" he offered, lifting his chin and dutifully shutting his eyes against the dusty sunlight struggling through the windows. "It's not like you've never lied to me before, I don't know what the big deal is."

Well, he hadn't asked for an invention. Tony asked for nothing, so how was Reeve supposed to compenate him?

"Yes, you do seem the sort to enjoy pleasuring himself," Reeve agreed, resisting rolling his eyes.

But he supposed he had to ask a far more important question. Reeve took a step forward, wanting to reach out, refusing to do so. This was a game he needed to stop playing. But being the man's friend and being curious was something he wasn't about to give up.

"Why do you want me to lie to you?"

Tony peeled one eye open to watch, until it became clear that Reeve really was going to have his answer before indulging Tony, then the other with a sigh, dropping his chin again and his shoulders. "I just think," he said, twirling one hand where his arm was still trapped against his chest, searching for the right way to phrase this that didn't sound too much like he was intrigued by the boundaries of Reeve's potential corruption. That was just a signing bonus. "That you would have much more fun here if you took the opportunity we've been given to reinvent yourself."

Oh Tony, it’s not that simple.

“I like who I am, Tony. I like being thoughtful and doing what I can to help other people. Like being honest. I don’t want to reinvent me because I am who I have chosen to become.”

Why was it weird to not need to change himself? Why was it wrong to want to be like this?

That might have been the crux of the issue that Tony hadn't yet realized, because the idea of actually liking himself and having any pride in the choices he had made had him curling his lip slightly in horror. Who lived like that? Well, besides men like Reeve and Cap, whose morality could always be used to rationalize a poor outcome. If Tony ascribed to that kind of rigidity, he wouldn't be able to pretend that there was a chance he could eventually adapt into a better person. The future was bright.

Hand still spread on his chest, prim horror not quite set aside, Tony pointed out, "That guy can still be thoughtful and helpful, just also rolling in cash." It felt then a little like he was trying to reassure himself, though, even as he glanced pointedly around this drab, discarded parts store. This couldn't be the best that Reeve thought he could do, or was worth. "Honestly, I'm having a hard time imagining how you got any business done. On Earth, it's a big game, and the guys in this place definitely play it."

Oh Tony, why are you like this?

"I am back home. Here, cash isn't a concern. Except when it comes to wanting to help Mini."

AS for back home, he laughs. He ran the world's largest non-profit. And it worked. People wanted the change.

"I've told you of the ShinRa company, yes? The heir survived. And basically is emptying his pockets to fix what his family and he himself did. That helps. Selling my technology has helped too. Among other things."

"So, it's a concern," Tony interpreted helpfully, dropping his arms finally to use one finger to peek into the bag then give the doll a scratch. There were, undoubtedly, other ways to come into possession of expensive goods that a little cat burglar would be more than capable of, but while Tony was a willing advocate for cheating and lying, he doubted there would be much argument for stealing between the three of them. Was that Tony's blurry line? He knew full well that an argument could be made that all he was doing was stealing from his rich benefactor.

This wasn't the first time Reeve had told Tony about the ShinRa heir, nor the first time he was left wondering if there was anything else that he had in common with Tony. After all, Tony was definitely the one emptying his pockets on Earth to dig up land mines and fund recovery programs. "That's the limit of your concern," Tony said, free hand up to form that barrier, a flat line between them. "One degree of separation. It doesn't matter as much where his money is coming from." Because if ShinRa really was that much like Tony, those resources wouldn't pass Reeve's morality test. He really would just like Tony to do what he had to do to pay for Reeve's needs.

Well, stealing definitely wasn't going to happen. Reeve could never agree to something so base.

"He owes the planet," Reeve counters. "Him and his family. Putting the money back into the hands of the world they ravaged is important, Tony."

Don't even suggest that it isn't a good thing he was doing. Come on, man, it wasn't like Rufus was making new money. The man had just been the wealthiest person in the world!

What someone who had done the ravaging owed their victims was not something Tony needed to be told, either, and effectively put Tony off of needling that particular boundary. His own were a little too close for comfort. Instead, he slowly worried his lip between his teeth, watching Mini absently, then gave a tug where his finger was still hooked into the bag along with a toss of his head toward the front of the shop. "Let's find out what the damage is," he suggested. There were plenty of places like this left for Tony to explore later.

What?

"ARe you suggesting you're going to assist me in buying this?" Reeve asks. Really, he shouldn't be so shocked.

"Mini offers his thanks, and insists I accept."

Reeve's shock was returned as it gave Tony pause, making him blink in bewilderment at the response that seemed quite unaware that it was Reeve himself that had just asked Tony two minutes ago to fund his pet project. What did he think Tony was going to do with that request? What had made him think to ask in the first place, after all. Tony hadn't made a very good impression on him at all.

"Of course you do," Tony eventually muttered with a wry smile, abandoning his fidgeting toy on a shelf to lead their way through the narrow aisle.

Well, he thought Tony was going to deny him given the fact that he had yelled at Tony. But he gathers up his chosen parts and follows Tony.

"You give gifts to show approval and affection. I presumed you would deny such things as a reprimand."

The naked evaluation of Tony's behaviour, as though it was transparent enough that Reeve could just say things like that to him (always with honesty, of course) sent a shiver up Tony's spine, enough to make him regret leaving the security of his isolation. He slunk away to get some distance between them at least, the moment he could escape the aisle, giving Reeve plenty of room to start the transaction with Tony lingering like he was bored and impatient by the door. That Reeve's flare of anger should effect his decision making hadn't occurred to Tony; hadn't even stopped him from approaching.

"I thought we weren't talking about it," he said, hands tucked away then under his cape, making him a looming, hooded shadow disrupting the sunlight pooling already meagerly through the front window. And that was all he meant to say, only he heard himself abruptly asking, "'Show approval', what does that mean?," lip raised again in irritation. Who else did Reeve think Tony was giving gifts to?

Come on, Tony had plied him with enough things that Reeve was pretty sure he could say it without any issue. Guy couldn't come intentionally looking for Reeve without a gift. Tony clearly has some serious complex going on.

He puts his purchases on the counter, a good many of them, and even accepts a box for transport. Many parts and pieces and clearly Reeve will be able to do things at last. Progress for real. It's exciting.

"People you like. People you want you want around more. Or perhaps I'm wrong and you just give them to be approved."

Tony tilted his head as though he was considering the options and the evidence, but sucked his teeth, unconvinced, settling on, "Let's just leave it at, you're wrong." Mostly, Tony didn't want to think about it any more, especially not in the middle of committing whatever this yet another character flaw of his was. He had to brave coming closer again to pay for the box of Reeve's toys, which he did because he was able and Reeve wasn't, and it wasn't that serious, obviously. "That's new, huh? Had to happen eventually," he continued brightly as he hauled the box up in both arms.

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