"Pepper was here." [Hoping he wouldn't bring it up was asking too much, wasn't it?]
"Yeah, I saw." In the hall their paths'd crossed. She'd shot him a glance and past walked wordless. He smirked uncertain why. So be it.
"Did you talk to her?" Happy asked as Tony made for a chair.
"Not really."
"Tony." He didn't need to look to know what face Happy was making, asked irritable:
"Hm, what?"
"So that's how it's gonna be between you?" Tony fell into the chair with a sigh and a nod, said impassive:
"For the time being."
"And then?"
"And then I don't know. Can we please talk about something else?"
{Does it bother you?}
[How often this is brought up? Yeah.]
{You know that's not what I meant.}
"Do you still care about her?" Happy asked him.
["Don't pretend that that time had meant nothing."]
["Don't feel like you have to."]
["Not with me."]
"…Of course I do," Tony sighed again, washed a weary hand down his face.
"…Then fix things." Paused thoughts he takes this 'fore his mind forth prompts: ["When have you ever tried to fix things?!"], now he scowls, asking sour:
"How exactly do I do that?" Happy for a beat thinks then shrugs.
"I don't know," like it wasn't his place to. Then he says perceiving: "Tell her you still care," but Tony shakes his head.
"That's not what she wants to hear."
"What does she want to-"
"I don't know, Happy." He could find out and it wouldn't be hard, he could sit and think and try, speak what words she wants to hear and he owes her now no action, but: "And I don't…"
"Care?"
"…Drop it."
XXX
[Think we should move out?]
{*grins* Yes.
But pulling a stunt like that now-}
[I know. *huffs*
It's a big building. We could literally go days without crossing paths with anyone.]
{Tsk. Why are we hiding?}
[I don't know; why are you and Thor being weird?]
{…}
[Everyone's being weird.]
{Define weird.}
[Different. Distant.]
{As are you.}
[…I wanna…]
{…You want to what?}
[Do things, with you, that if I do, when they're around-]
{They'll what?}
[Piss me off. And you.]
{…Probably.
But distancing ourselves right now will make team cooperation rather fickle when needed, don't you think?}
[…Yeah.]
{…What do you want to do, with me?}
[Lokes, we're watching Game of Thrones in your room so we can cuddle. Think we can do that upstairs?]
{…We can, it'll just-}
[Ruffle some feathers?]
{Yes.}
[And you just love doing that.]
{*smirks* You know I do.}
[*smiles, head shaking*
Mm, I don't wanna ruffle. I wanna cuddle.]
{…So let's never leave this bed.}
[I don't intend to.]