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tamingthemuseTitle: Room for Improvement (extra)
Fandom: the Avengers/ Exalted
Prompt: Leonardo Da Vinci
Warnings: none
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After coming home Exalted, Tony has plans and ideas all but pouring out of his ears. Back in Creation, there was magic everywhere, and a little hard work wasn’t going to stop him from finding those wells of magic in his own world.
Pepper stared at him in a way she hadn’t stared at him in a long while. Not since they had split well before his trip back in time. He both loved and dreaded that look, because he knew when she looked at him like that, she was seeing into the heart of him. She always had had that ability.
It sometimes scared him how well she knew him, inside and out. When he dared to open his mouth and tell her what was going on, that is. He bit his lips to keep the words at bay. He didn’t need to put this on her too.
That look on her face changed until she was giving him the stink eye for keeping her out of the loop, and he grinned, wide and false, to cover it up. “Iron Dust really knows how to get under my skin, you know? I think I’ve been too close to him for too long. Maybe White Song was right; he is dangerous. Paris, I’m telling you, we need to go.”
She shook her head. “No, Tony.” She turned away from him, giving up until he was willing to talk, as he knew she would. She didn’t leave, she had never left, he realized abruptly, but merely retreated until she could come back at a better time. His grin turned less harsh and more genuine. “I, unlike you, take this job seriously and can’t just up and leave it. How many times am I going to have to tell you that before you accept it?”
“As many times as it takes for it to stick.”
She sat at the desk and pulled the keyboard toward her, a smile on her lips. “Maybe you do have an idea, there, though. Get away from Iron Dust for some time.”
He nodded and started across the room. “Sounds like a plan to me. There are plenty of things I could be doing rather than hanging over Iron Dust’s shoulder.” He nodded to himself as he let himself out with a little wave to her as she accepted a call on the speaker phone.
He made his way through the tower, stopping only when he was alone in his lab. He flicked his eyes up, wondering if Iron Dust and Bruce were still above him, together, talking about what they had seen in his stars. Talking about him.
Shaking his head as if the motion would knock the thoughts out of his head altogether, he tossed himself into his chair and set to work. He hadn’t upgraded the armor since his return, and it was still in a sorry mess of red jade and metal.
JARVIS had helpfully assembled it so that it stood in its casing, behind glass and backlit so that the port for the reactor glowed. He had also scanned the jade and pulled up reports on the stone and its magical properties on the monitor before him. Seeing the base structure of the element suddenly made something click in Tony’s head, and ideas and information took hold of his mind. He began creating, fingers flying over the displays and through holographs and there was a reason he was called the Leonardo Da Vinci of his time. He could make the jade work for him in ways his predecessor never could. The Gifted One built a manse? Tony was going to make an armor out of an element that was never meant to hold the magic of the Solar castes.
It was hours later that he emerged from the rebuilding of the suit to the sound of a low rumbling purr vibrating the chair he was precariously seated on. He sat back against the warmth that had been a steady presence at the small of his back for longer than he cared to think about.
“Hiding from the future, love?”
The cat stretched behind him, her claws flashing in the hard light of the lab. Then she sat up, her small back lining up with his spine before it grew and changed into that of a human’s. She sat with her back to his, her legs spread to fold around the chair’s back. Her head rested against his.
“Iron Dust told me he scared you.”
Tony snorted. “I wasn’t scared.”
“You ran away like a babe confronting a dragon.”
“Do dragons exist?”
“Yes. What do you fear?”
“So you can make me confront my dragon and learn not to fear it?”
“Of course.”
“How do you face knowing that you never have a chance to meet your soul mate, and that the one you love will never be your soul mate?”
She turned around in an incredible showing of flexibility that he didn’t get to see, because he was resolutely not looking at her until she could prop her chin on his shoulder. “Your tone says that you think you’re the only one to have to face this situation.”
He blinked down at where his hands were resting on the home keys on the keyboard before he dropped them to his lap. He turned to catch her gaze.
“For every Solar there is a Lunar. Your soul mate-?”
“Is just as dead as yours.”
He shifted until he could wrap an arm around her waist, laying his head on her shoulder as her arms came around him. “I’m sorry. I should have known. Did you ever-?”
“Of course I met him. And I hated him upon sight.”
Tony jerked away, startled, and she laughed. “Surely you don’t think being soul mates fixes anything? I am blessed by Luna and thus am truly a creature of life. My soul mate was a Chosen of Oblivion, the exact opposite of life. I hated him upon sight. Also, he tried to kill me. Told me he was going to eat my flesh so that we would never be separated again.” She sniffed, offended.
Tony couldn’t hold back a smile and so bit his lips. “What did you do?”
“I ran to Iron Dust, and Iron Dust dealt with him. The thing about Lunars is that we’re cursed to obey our Solar soul mates. Well, cursed not to defend ourselves from them. So I had Iron Dust do it for me.”
Tony pulled away. “Did he kill him?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I never asked.”
“But, you would know if he was dead, wouldn’t you.” He pressed his fisted hand to his chest, just beside the hard edge of the reactor’s casing. “This feeling…”
She shook her head. “Iron Dust,” she sighed. “Iron Dust said that something happened between when we fell asleep and when we woke up. As you know, exalted essence moves from host to host, but for some reason, that process has stopped. Only once before has this happened. So, if Iron Dust had killed him or not, his essence would have reappeared in due order. I would never have noticed. But, now, the others? They’re all gone. It’s just us three.”
Fandom: the Avengers/ Exalted
Prompt: Leonardo Da Vinci
Warnings: none
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After coming home Exalted, Tony has plans and ideas all but pouring out of his ears. Back in Creation, there was magic everywhere, and a little hard work wasn’t going to stop him from finding those wells of magic in his own world.
Pepper stared at him in a way she hadn’t stared at him in a long while. Not since they had split well before his trip back in time. He both loved and dreaded that look, because he knew when she looked at him like that, she was seeing into the heart of him. She always had had that ability.
It sometimes scared him how well she knew him, inside and out. When he dared to open his mouth and tell her what was going on, that is. He bit his lips to keep the words at bay. He didn’t need to put this on her too.
That look on her face changed until she was giving him the stink eye for keeping her out of the loop, and he grinned, wide and false, to cover it up. “Iron Dust really knows how to get under my skin, you know? I think I’ve been too close to him for too long. Maybe White Song was right; he is dangerous. Paris, I’m telling you, we need to go.”
She shook her head. “No, Tony.” She turned away from him, giving up until he was willing to talk, as he knew she would. She didn’t leave, she had never left, he realized abruptly, but merely retreated until she could come back at a better time. His grin turned less harsh and more genuine. “I, unlike you, take this job seriously and can’t just up and leave it. How many times am I going to have to tell you that before you accept it?”
“As many times as it takes for it to stick.”
She sat at the desk and pulled the keyboard toward her, a smile on her lips. “Maybe you do have an idea, there, though. Get away from Iron Dust for some time.”
He nodded and started across the room. “Sounds like a plan to me. There are plenty of things I could be doing rather than hanging over Iron Dust’s shoulder.” He nodded to himself as he let himself out with a little wave to her as she accepted a call on the speaker phone.
He made his way through the tower, stopping only when he was alone in his lab. He flicked his eyes up, wondering if Iron Dust and Bruce were still above him, together, talking about what they had seen in his stars. Talking about him.
Shaking his head as if the motion would knock the thoughts out of his head altogether, he tossed himself into his chair and set to work. He hadn’t upgraded the armor since his return, and it was still in a sorry mess of red jade and metal.
JARVIS had helpfully assembled it so that it stood in its casing, behind glass and backlit so that the port for the reactor glowed. He had also scanned the jade and pulled up reports on the stone and its magical properties on the monitor before him. Seeing the base structure of the element suddenly made something click in Tony’s head, and ideas and information took hold of his mind. He began creating, fingers flying over the displays and through holographs and there was a reason he was called the Leonardo Da Vinci of his time. He could make the jade work for him in ways his predecessor never could. The Gifted One built a manse? Tony was going to make an armor out of an element that was never meant to hold the magic of the Solar castes.
It was hours later that he emerged from the rebuilding of the suit to the sound of a low rumbling purr vibrating the chair he was precariously seated on. He sat back against the warmth that had been a steady presence at the small of his back for longer than he cared to think about.
“Hiding from the future, love?”
The cat stretched behind him, her claws flashing in the hard light of the lab. Then she sat up, her small back lining up with his spine before it grew and changed into that of a human’s. She sat with her back to his, her legs spread to fold around the chair’s back. Her head rested against his.
“Iron Dust told me he scared you.”
Tony snorted. “I wasn’t scared.”
“You ran away like a babe confronting a dragon.”
“Do dragons exist?”
“Yes. What do you fear?”
“So you can make me confront my dragon and learn not to fear it?”
“Of course.”
“How do you face knowing that you never have a chance to meet your soul mate, and that the one you love will never be your soul mate?”
She turned around in an incredible showing of flexibility that he didn’t get to see, because he was resolutely not looking at her until she could prop her chin on his shoulder. “Your tone says that you think you’re the only one to have to face this situation.”
He blinked down at where his hands were resting on the home keys on the keyboard before he dropped them to his lap. He turned to catch her gaze.
“For every Solar there is a Lunar. Your soul mate-?”
“Is just as dead as yours.”
He shifted until he could wrap an arm around her waist, laying his head on her shoulder as her arms came around him. “I’m sorry. I should have known. Did you ever-?”
“Of course I met him. And I hated him upon sight.”
Tony jerked away, startled, and she laughed. “Surely you don’t think being soul mates fixes anything? I am blessed by Luna and thus am truly a creature of life. My soul mate was a Chosen of Oblivion, the exact opposite of life. I hated him upon sight. Also, he tried to kill me. Told me he was going to eat my flesh so that we would never be separated again.” She sniffed, offended.
Tony couldn’t hold back a smile and so bit his lips. “What did you do?”
“I ran to Iron Dust, and Iron Dust dealt with him. The thing about Lunars is that we’re cursed to obey our Solar soul mates. Well, cursed not to defend ourselves from them. So I had Iron Dust do it for me.”
Tony pulled away. “Did he kill him?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I never asked.”
“But, you would know if he was dead, wouldn’t you.” He pressed his fisted hand to his chest, just beside the hard edge of the reactor’s casing. “This feeling…”
She shook her head. “Iron Dust,” she sighed. “Iron Dust said that something happened between when we fell asleep and when we woke up. As you know, exalted essence moves from host to host, but for some reason, that process has stopped. Only once before has this happened. So, if Iron Dust had killed him or not, his essence would have reappeared in due order. I would never have noticed. But, now, the others? They’re all gone. It’s just us three.”
