An Engineer's Quest
By Rey
2. An Interesting Proposal
Anthony Edward Stark used to be an eloquent babbler, if he says so himself, in addition to being a charming, dapper, handsome guy with indestructible poise in all situations, from the very dangerous – Pepper in a fine mood, for instance – to the very odd. He used to be all those, because, right now, he has hit the proverbial rock bottom, in tandem with hitting the glass bottom of his whiskey bottle; and that, done in front of the uninvited guest.
All because of one measly statement, delivered so carefully but earnestly, in an awesome begging tone that doesn't sound like begging, by a person that carries themself like a monarch, minus an uppity vibe but plus one of a doting parent.
"Half of my firstborn has been lost to me since a long time ago. I knew that the child was alive only when they briefly died, a year prior to this point in time. I have managed to maintain my connection to them from that moment until now, with much difficulty, and it seems that they are somewhere… not so far away in this realm. I lost them as a newborn babe, but they must have grown much by now. If you would please, Mister Stark, find me my child and I shall do you a favour, as long as it does not harm them, me, mine, and all the realms – known and unknown. I need to see my child and safeguard them, even if they have found a better life elsewhere. A child should have never experienced dying or near-death situations."
Tony would actually like to be that child, even if he must briefly die to attain that privilege, and this notion wallops his inner workings flat better than even the twin deaths of his own parents, or the mysterious, jack-in-the-box appearance of this alien stranger. How pathetic. And worse, he can't even decide who or what the pathetic one is: himself, his parents' parenting, this situation, his unknown hope, or the intensity in which he hopes for it.
And, on a side note, as if he didn't have enough problems yet to lay him flat – without any perks to it – for a long, long, long while, he must be wary of, as old-man Jarvis put it, "stranger danger;" because, this uninvited guest of his has belted out lots of nonsense while keeping even more things secret without bothering to make the fact unobvious. Who in this day and age are named Laufey, Loptr and Loki, anyway? And that was from the introduction alone, before that damned ludicrous, ridiculous, hilarious proposal was ever stated.
He knows he is completely done in when, before he can evade the intrusion, the stranger's fingers gently swipe at one cheek and come away wet.