fandomtownies | Stark Industries [all day]

It had occured to Topher mid-way through the week that he had left some things in the store during his last shift. Namely a space-print Snuggie. By the time he decided to go get it, it might have made more sense to just wait until his own shift, but no one ever said he was sensible.

"Hey, have you seen a -- oh, hey."

"Hey," Ben said, giving him a little grin in reply. "What are you looking for?"

"Oh, just this... blanket... thing," Topher answered vaguely, glancing around the store.

He hadn't been in the best state of mind last week. Because of... allergies. Yes.

"With sleeves?" Ben asked. "I think I saw that around."

Beat.

"Why does a blanket need sleeves?"

Darn you and your logic, Ben.

"'s comfortable," Topher said, shrugging as he looked around. "And your hands are free. So you can eat. Or whatever."

'Binge' might be more accurate, actually.

"Can't you just wear a robe?" Ben wondered.

"Yeah, but who wears a robe to work?"

Wearing a Snuggie was clearly much classier.

"Who brings a blanket?" Ben countered.

"People who... people who are..." Heartbroken? "People who are having a rough weekend!"

Yes. That was it. God, Ben. So insensitive.

Ben gave him a sympathetic little smile. "How are you doing, anyway?"

Welcome to knowing empaths, Topher. Wasn't it fun?

"...kay," Topher mumbled, not sure if Ben was referring to the specific cause of his rough weekend or just in general. "You?"

"Good," Ben replied with a grin. "I missed seeing you at the fraternity meeting."

"Oh, yeah, I was at Peter's," Topher said helpfully. "His house. It was weird."

Ben continued to lean casually against the counter, though he was now giving Topher all of his attention.

"Really? With his parents and Val and everything?"

"Yep," Topher reported. "We didn't see his dad, but his mom and Valentine were there. And he gave me one of his shiny holo-desk things!" This was the major news to report, yes. "It's really cool, there's all kinds of stuff you can do on it."

And he proceeded to list the many things you could do on it ~~even if his player had no clue what they were~~. Probably best to cut him off, Ben.

Ben let him rattle on for a little bit before cutting him off. "Yeah, they're pretty astral, if still a bit behind the tech I use at home."

Because Ben was a snob.

"Why'd Peter go home, anyway? Just because Tony punched him?"

"I think he was just pissed off," Topher replied, though in actuality Ben's guess was closer. "Kenzi said some stuff to him too, I think. And I guess he had work to do at home or something."

A beat.

"Were you there? When Tony... yeah."

Ben shook his head. "Tony told me about it the next morning while he was recovering from his workout. How are you doing with the whole thing?"

Since Ben knew a thing or two about crushes.

It was weird, how many people were actually interested in how he was doing. Topher was sure he wouldn't show the same concern for anyone in return, so a part of him was just baffled about why people bothered asking.

"Okay," he said after a minute, finally spotting the Snuggie and retrieving it. Ugh, it was all dirty now after six days of being on the floor. "I mean. It sucks. But... yeah."

A beat.

"So... you were lying when you said you didn't like Ender. Right? Or is that a new thing?"

"Totally lying," Ben said, looking a little sheepish, "so trust me, I get how it could suck. I was pretty sure he didn't feel the same way, so it was just better not to say anything, you know?"

"That would've been smarter," Topher mumbled, glancing down and brushing off the Snuggie to avoid having to look at Ben. In a rare moment of clarity, he said, "I completely fucked it up, didn't I?"

Ben wiggled his hand back and forth. "It happens," he said sympathetically. "It is totally weird to talk to Tony now?"

"Kinda," Topher admitted. "He was... I mean, he was nice. But... yeah. I'm guessing he probably won't wanna hang out anymore."

Stupid, stupid, stupid. He toed the ground, staring down.

"Give him some time," Ben advised. "He likes you just...not like that."

This was awkward.

"He didn't punch Peter just because he has a stupid face."

It really was awkward. That didn't stop Topher from being INSANELY CURIOUS about that last part, though.

"Why did he?" he asked, a faint trace of desperation underlying his words. "I asked if Peter said something about him, but he wouldn't say."

And he wanted to know! He didn't get this whole avenging-honor thing. It didn't make any sense.

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