It had taken years of bribery, perseverance, formal recommendations, and persuasion. Ever since Flash was in elementary school, he had been trying to get an interview. God, even an email would have been a blessing. And today was the day. Today was the day that he would finally come face-to-face with Tony Stark. Well, no… but the interviewer has probably seen Tony Stark once or twice, which is further than he had ever gotten before.
He is seated in a bustling room that is somehow simultaneously identical to the waiting room in a doctor's office and yet the complete opposite. The clean steel chair in which he is sitting is both very comfortable but a bit too stiff to feel relaxed in - almost as if it's an interrogation tactic. Shut up, Flash, stop overthinking things…
Lost in his own thoughts, he almost misses his name being called above the chatter. Jumping up, he spots a very professional-looking woman in a pantsuit. She has her eyebrows raised at him, scanning him up and down, almost as if she's trying to see straight into his mind. Her red hair is pulled into a low bun, and glasses hang from a string around her neck. She's holding a metal clipboard, and it takes every ounce of willpower that he has to keep himself from peeking at it over her shoulder as he follows her to see what she has written down about him. As soon as they reach the interrogation- um, interview room, she closes the door behind them and sits directly opposite him. His eyes flicker down to her nametag, which reads Angelina, and then back up again. He gulps as he sees that her eyes are still boring straight into him.
"Alright, Eugene, let's see what you have for us today," she says.
"mynameisflash," he murmurs unintelligibly.
"Speak up, Mr. Thompson."
"Um- my, uh, my name is- is Flash." He cringes internally as she clicks her tongue (in disapproval?) and scribbles something on the paper.
"Alright, Flash, it's nice to meet you. We spoke on the phone earlier. My name is Angelina."
"I- um, it's nice to meet you too, ma'am."
"Please, call me Angie. Ma'am makes me sound old," she articulates, accompanied by a raised eyebrow and a slight scowl. Okay, he was going to be in for a tough interview.
The interview speeds by in a blur of sweat and stammers, and in his mind, he's intensely impressed her. In his mind, her clipboard is filled with exclamation marks and smiley faces. He can only hope that he's right.
"You seem to be a strong candidate, young man," Angie says, cracking a smile for the first time since she laid eyes on him. "I'd be happy to show you around the tower for a few minutes before the next interview starts. I have about fifteen or twenty minutes," she adds, checking her watch.
"I- I mean, yeah, that would be aweso- that would be great, um, thank you," he stammers, mentally cursing himself out for the trillionth time since his interview started.
"Alright, I'll just lead you to the R&D labs, which is where you'll be working if you get accepted." She leads him down an expensive-looking flight of stairs into an even more expensive-looking main lobby, which is bustling with more people than he thought possible. They push past the crowds of what seems to be a mix of engineers, investors, and scientists into an elevator that's bigger than Flash's own closet, which might not sound all that big, but most definitely is.
Without even pressing a button, the elevator takes them to a laboratory floor. Its sterile, modern design immediately instills a sense of cleanliness and professionalism into Flash, and he likes the lab floor already. After a quick walkthrough of the general lab structure, it's almost time for Angie to leave.
"Here, I'll take you back to one of the lobbies- you're not allowed to be here alone without a pass and I'm almost late," she says as she leads him to another elevator. They are smoothly transported to the ground floor, where she leaves him with a rushed goodbye. He's alone, standing in a huge, empty lobby, with free reign of Stark Industries. He's been waiting for an opportunity like this for as long as he can remember. He hesitates for half a second… is this really such a good idea? He decides that it definitely is.
Flash hurries over to another elevator, startling when it opens on its own. He marvels for a moment at the futuristic technology of the building. Hesitantly, he steps into the elevator.
"Hello, are you carrying the delivery for Mr. Stark?" a voice from the ceiling (from the ceiling?) asks. Flash lets out a screech and starts moving out of the elevator, screeching again as the doors close before he can exit. Then, it registers- if he says yes, he could meet Tony Stark!
"Um- yeah, I am."
"Fantastic. I will notify him and take you up to his compound."
"Like- the Avengers compound?"
"Yes."
"Uh- one question, who are you? And where are you?"
"That was two questions."
"Right- sorry-"
"I am Friday, Mr. Stark's personal artificial intelligence program. I am installed throughout the tower as a virtual assistant."
"Oh, sick!- I mean, um, that's really cool."
"We have arrived at the compound."
Flash hops out of the elevator, glancing around at the compound in fascination. It was just as sleek as the rest of the building, if not more so. The couches are set up in a friendly way, facing the TV. Blankets and pillows are rumpled around the sofas, almost as if The Literal Avengers had had a movie night of some sort and had yet to clean up. As far as he can tell, the entire compound is empty, including the kitchen area, which is mostly clean aside from a pile of breakfast plates.
"I apologize, Mr. Stark is not here. He must have traveled up to his lab while I was taking you up. Please re-enter the elevator so I can bring you to his lab."
Flash doesn't need to be told twice- he is back in the elevator in a second, and it begins moving upwards again, letting him out with a beep onto what he assumes is Mr. Stark's personal lab floor. His jaw drops as he takes in the sight in front of him. In a room whose walls are made entirely of glass, he sees Mr. Stark. (Which- OMG). And- Peter Parker? It can't be. But it is. Right there in front of him, clear as mud. He gapes as he watches Parker and Stark work back-to-back. A few times, Mr. Stark tosses a screwdriver or wrench over his head and Parker catches it, seemingly with ease, without even looking. He can hear their muffled conversation through the glass walls, and their banter sounds almost like… father and son? Or at the very least, mentor and mentee. He even catches Parker calling him Tony. Since when is Peter Parker on a first-name basis with Tony Stark?
He's pulled back to the moment (the very unreal moment that very well could be a product of his overactive imagination) by the AI - Friday - saying something to the two in the lab. It sounds like she's saying 'the pizza is here'... Oh shit! He's supposed to be the pizza, isn't he?
Both men look up as soon as Friday is done speaking, Parker's jaw-dropping in recognition.
"Flash? Oh, fuck- Flash?"
"This is Flash?" Stark asks with a note of contempt (Flash shudders to think what Parker must have told Tony Stark about him).
"Parker, what the fuck?"