A tap of his finger and Tony hears the calming sound of the Skype call tune, Bruce's name on the screen. He leans back in his chair with his legs crossed and waits patiently for the other boy to answer. When he does, Tony leans forward again with a beaming smile plastered to his face. "Hey, Bruce!" He taps his desktop excitedly, scanning his friend's face for any sign of physical damage. He usually has a black eye or a bruised jaw. The kids at school pick on him for being smarter than everyone else, he'd told Tony. Tony had believed him without a second thought. This time, however, Bruce's face appears to be free of any injuries. In fact, it's Tony with the injury. A broken arm. "How come you haven't been answering my calls?"
Bruce scratches the back of his neck, smiling almost nervously. "I, uh, got grounded for a week. Dad found me trying to sneak my Game Boy to school, so… no computer or Game Boy for a week."
Tony gives Bruce a sympathetic look. "Man, that sucks. But at least it was only a week, right? You got your Game Boy back and stuff?"
"Yeah," Bruce nods. "I'm glad about that. There's almost nothing to do around here."
"I don't like Ohio," Tony says. "It's too flat. I don't know how you can live there."
"I want to move to New York," Bruce says with a smile. Tony grins. "It seems a lot more fun. And I'd get to see you! Well, depending on what part we'd move to. Hopefully it would be close." Bruce laughs softly. "But we're not moving there."
Tony shrugs. "Maybe someday!" He sets his chin on his hand. "So you got your Game Boy back, the computer, and you don't look all beat up! Sounds like a good day for you."
"I guess so," Bruce says. "I can't say the same for you, though. What happened to your arm?"
"I broke it trying to climb the rock wall at school," Tony says. "I got higher than anyone else and then I fell. I was so close to the top, Bruce! I gotta get there. I'm gonna try again tomorrow."
Bruce casts Tony an apprehensive look. "I don't think it's such a good idea for you to climb it again with a broken arm."
"So what if I broke my arm? I'm still doing it." Tony grins and Bruce sighs, rolling his eyes. There's the tiniest hint of an amused smile on his face, though, so Tony knows he's in the clear.
"I hope one of the teachers takes you down before you can try," Bruce says. "I really don't want you to die."
"Pfft," Tony snorts, "I'm not gonna die. Maybe break a few bones, but definitely not gonna die. I'm invincible, and so are you."
Tony sees Bruce's face fall at that and he wonders what he said wrong. "I sure hope you're right about that."
The solemn tone to Bruce's voice makes Tony uncomfortable, so he quickly attempts to change the subject. "Hey, how long's it been since we played SciFiPlague together?"
Bruce brightens at the change of topic. "At least a month," he says. "Why? Do you wanna play again?"
"Heck yeah I do," Tony nods. "Remember when we met on there? I thought you were such a dick."
"Tony!" Bruce hisses. "Don't say that, my dad might hear!"
"Sorry, sorry," Tony chuckles. "But you were. You kept trying to mug me!"
"Yeah, and you chased me down to try and get your stuff back," Bruce laughs. "I thought you were crazy." The endeared smile on his face makes Tony smile even wider. Bruce can always make him smile no matter what.
"I almost killed you," Tony recalls. "And look how far we've come! We're best friends now. Sure, we're hundreds of miles away from each other, but we're best friends."
"We sure are," Bruce says, nodding. "Do you have it pulled up yet?"
"Yeah," Tony says. "Let's make sure not to die, okay?"
"Hey, we got nothing to worry about, remember?" Bruce grins. "We're invincible."
