Stark Industries, Tuesday

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

Whoever thought it had been a good idea to send all of his things in boxes was just the stupidest person Tony had ever met.

Really.

How was he supposed to find everything?

"Pepper, yeah hi, can you do me the smallest favour and tell me which box has my tools in it?" A beat. "I am aware of that--" Another beat as he opened one of the boxes, phone pinned between his ear and shoulder. "--oh please, I am not that helpless."


[[Shop is closed, but door isn't locked in case there are curious gawkers to demean]]

Comments

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

Stark Enterprises.

He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. Cable took one last look up at the sign, and then at the handle.

And then at the baby's pouch, which he shifted slightly to hide her from view.

Pressed the handle. Open.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"--That would be my clothing, Pepper." A small pause as he frowned and tried to give the phone a Look. "I'll relax when everything is unpacked."

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

Cable closed the door behind him. Quietly. Crossed his arms (not over the baby) and tilted his head. "Stark."

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

That got him to turn. "Listen, I'll call you back--" There was still some frantic talking on the other end as he closed the cell phone and looked at the very tall man and his... baby.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're not looking for an autograph. If you're with the D.O.D. or C.I.A. or that Strategic Homeland whatever was, you'll have to go through the proper channels."

He had Pepper's phone number... around here somewhere.

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

Okay, so he'd never actually been in Sparky's when it had been, well, Sparky's, but that's because once upon a time it'd been the competition (and logically, he ought to have at least checked it out for that very reason, but Bridge logic is not always Earth logic). But now there is someone new and he's curious okay, and the lights are on but the sign says closed and he stands there for a minute or two before he actually gets the courage to knock.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

There was a muffled thump and a few creative curses just out of hearing distance before: "Door."

Oh. Right.

Half smiling, half grimacing, Tony opened the door. "Hi--" Great. A kid. And also wearing gloves. What was with this town and gloves? "--can I help you?"

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Hi!" Bridge says, with a cheerful little wave. "I was just, you know, in the neighbourhood- which, okay, I guess pretty much everyone who lives on the island is in the neighbourhood so really that's not... I heard on the radio that the place had a new owner, and I was just, you know- curious as to whether it was just, like, a name change, or whether you're here to turn the place into something completely new like how Becky and Miho's, uh... place, is now an art gallery." He pauses for breath. "I guess I ought to introduce myself, because that was rude, wasn't it? Just talking to you without saying who I am. And who I am is Bridge Carson. Hi!"

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

Tony just stared at him for a moment. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought maybe you were going to keep going. You were on a roll there."

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

Kaylee had no classes today! She weren't really used to not having something to do, so she had taken the opportunity to explore the town. And this particular shop caught her interest, which was why she was curiously trying to peek inside.

And okay if that meant opening the door a crack to look, no one had said she couldn't. "'lo?"

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

He was on the phone. Again.

"No, Pepper, you don't seem to realize just how unhelpful all these boxes are." A beat. "Well, yes, yes I do in fact need that."

He turned, half noticing the new intruder of the day.

"Just find out about it, okay?" He shut the phone and took a deep breath, looking the girl over. "No gloves."

[weefeetbigboots.livejournal.com]

Well, at least he didn't seem to mind her peeking in. "...should I have gloves?" she wondered, tilting her head as she looked around. "I could get some! I don't think I got any with me, though, sir."

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

He shook his head, waving her off. "Nevermind."

And, okay, so the 'sir' kinda reminded him of Pepper a bit.

"Tony Stark, how can I help you?" He said, putting a hand out and smiling a slightly different PR smile. Less obnoxious for one.

[suit-of-sables.livejournal.com]

There was a knock on the door.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"Can people just not read?" Tony muttered, opening the door and doing the same half grimace thing.

"Yeah, hi, can I help you?"

[suit-of-sables.livejournal.com]

"Hi," he said, his grin just a little too cheerful. It almost was a grimace as well.

"And yes, I know you're not open. I'm not buying anything. What I am wondering is if you, as a member of a forward thinking community that appreciates the arts, would be willing to lend us some lighting equipment for our production of Titus Andronicus coming up in a few months?"

...he'd get to the 'for free' part soon enough.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

Tony just blinked and stared. "Why would I have equipment for a theater production?" He asked so dry he might as well been back in the desert.

[stocksgrrl.livejournal.com]

Far be it for Turtle to report on something like a new business in town and not check it out. With her best go-get-'em networking prowess attitude, she went drifting down to what used to be Sparky's. She didn't see an open sign or anything like that, so she knocked on the door a little, tried the handle, found it open, and poked her head in.

"Hello?"

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

"--how many yards?" Tony pulled open a box to finally find his tools. Some of them, at least. "Ha! Found them. I'll call you back."

He clicked the phone shut before she could respond, grinning at the tools like a kid on Christmas morning.

[stocksgrrl.livejournal.com]

Turtle's head tilted slightly. "Hi!" she tried again, giving the man a slight smile. "Am I interrupting anything? I can come back later; or maybe you'd like some help?"

[screwyoumarvel]

The door opened eeeeever so slightly and Steve peered into the building. It couldn't be Tony. Could it? It had to be some other Stark. "Hello?"

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

He now had some of his tools and just needed to find the coffee maker.

No way was he touching those coupons.

So Tony was once more digging through a box while on the phone. "No, Pepper. You're not listening to me. It's not here." A beat. "I am looking!"

[screwyoumarvel]

...Pepper. Right. So it was that Stark.

Steve started to close the door, preparatory to running back to his house to throw his belongings in a bag and flee. Because that was not a discussion he wanted to have, oh, ever.

[ktarian-wildman.livejournal.com]

Having heard about the change to Sparky's, Naomi made her way over after she had finished her class for the day. She knocked on the door.

[not-ironmaiden.livejournal.com]

There was a very long pause and a few thumps before Tony made his way to the door to look at yet another visitor. And her forehead.

"Can I help you?"

[ktarian-wildman.livejournal.com]

"Hello, I'm Naomi Wildman," Naomi introduced herself, "um...I worked at Sparky Repairs previously," she wasn't entirely sure if she would still have her job or not.