[ Tony pauses his hammering for just long enough to look up and give Clint a nod. ] Hey.
[ He goes back to the homemade bullets he's fiddling with for a bit, occasionally looking up almost suspiciously at Barton. ] You... Good? You okay? [ Because Tony sure as fuck does not know how to do this not at all awkwardly. ]
I'm still as okay as I was the last time you asked. [Granted, Clint didn't really answer, but that's because he was worried what the fuck was happening with Tony. He spreads his hands.] Look. I wasn't gonna ask. [...Well-] I was going to, and then I got talked out of it. I figured we could talk some shop about making me some specialized arrows like I used to have back home.
[His hands drop.] But if you're gonna keep being weird about it, I can just start with the thing you're dancing around instead.
[ Nope he's good! ] Yyyeah I can totally make you some special arrows. [ Tony forces a chuckle. ] What'd you want? [ A beat. ] Have in mind? [ He corrects himself for no reason. ]
Gotta start with the basics. [Tony is still failing step one, but maybe if he distracts Tony with a project...] Grapple's right at the top of the list. But with this technology level, we can't go too tech-y, right? So...net, smoke bomb, cable, bola, suction cup. Basics. Flashbang feels like it could be doable even without gunpowder, but it might be good for me to dip my archer fingers in the world of magic to get some effects that normally need a little more oomph.
I can start cracking at a grapple for ya. Make the horrible death canyon a bit easier...
[ But at the mention of magic arrows, Tony pauses mid-jotting down a note of what he should work on building. ] Bet Strange'd be happy to help you out with the oomph. [ A beat. ] Ooooh...
[ He gets up from his bench holds up an index finger to tell Clint to give him a second. Then he takes a few breaths before he does a weird hand motion, one of Strange's shields appearing on each of Tony's hands. ...For about five seconds before fizzling out. ] Shield arrow would be pretty cool, you gotta admit. [ Or, fuck, portal arrow, if he could figure out how to get the sling ring's magic to integrate with something else... ]
[Well...hot damn, Strange wasn't exaggerating, Tony can do some magic. Maybe not much and maybe not for long, but honest to god magic from home. Clint nods, impressed.]
Pretty cool, just not sure what I'd do with it. Smack someone with a resounding gong? I can dabble with the experts about what kind of shit I could pull without having to clap my hands, turn around three times, and spit or whatever.
Yeah, bit of a pain in the ass to do mid-battle admittedly. [ He says with a laugh. ] But- I'll talk to some people about enchanted arrow ideas, how 'bout that? [ It feels like an absurdly normal conversation to Tony. In a way, that bothers him more.
He picks at a couple things in his workspace that he'll probably be able to turn into a grapple arrow, grabs some parchment and a pen and gets to work designing. ] C'mere. [ Considering it didn't seem like Clint was in any particular hurry to leave. ] What d'ya think? [ It was a bit more overly complicated and steampunk-y than normal, and the materials would definitely not be as high quality, but- It was a start. ]
And by some people, you mean your boyfriend. [Just saying! Just saying.]
I think we got the start of something we can work with here. [Just to ease back from the teasing to the actual meat and potatoes of work.] We don't need complicated. Honestly, if you just make a grappling hook that fits on an arrow, I can do the rest with some rope, but we can try and be a little more professional. I've got my very own blacksmith on call, right? [He shoulders Tony playfully.]
I- Mean Strange, yeah... [ A beat, he clears his throat. ] Look, it's tough out there for wizards. Market's completely oversaturated; so I'm helpin' him out with a referral or two. Sue me.
[ Tony playfully elbows him back. ] You've always had your own blacksmith on call, I just used to go by somethin' different. [ There's a smirk on his face when he follows it up with. ] But I'm the Metal Whisperer, now, don'tcha know.
Helping him out in plenty of other ways that I don't need to know about, too, I'm sure.
[He scrunches his face at the name. What. Tony.] No, you're definitely not. You might as well stay Iron Man if you're gonna have a blacksmith-y nickname. It's still so useful and evocative. Hey, you think the fairies have ever heard any Black Sabbath? [Someone get thee some bards and form a metal band. C'mon. Surely they can figure it out.
And of course it's right in the middle of the cajoling that he has to hit Tony over the head with the whammy:] I don't forgive you, you know. [And don't worry, he's going to let that sink in for a beat or three. For what it's worth, Clint doesn't look mad or upset or anything other than still kind of having a smile about Iron Man, actually. He shrugs a shoulder.] Or guess it's really more that I can't, I s'pose. Can't forgive you for something if I don't know what I'm forgiving.
[ The brief smirk on Tony's face is positively wicked, but he says nothing about all those things Clint doesn't need to know about.
Aaaand then his face falls. And keeps falling. Until Clint gets done with his explanation that he can't decipher what Tony's weird behavior is about. Okay that's- Doable. Tony can do this. ] Just- Apologizing for busting your balls so much, man. [ His too loud laugh probably makes it clear that he doesn't know how much more detail he needs to give to make this clear. He takes a big breath, and decides to just- Go for it. ] About... The king, I mean.
[Look. It's a little bit fun. Consider it his own way of ball busting, just in a way that's perhaps slightly less damaging. Clint's face freezes in stone when the actual topic is dropped. Easy smile and searching eyes turned cold and stiff.]
That's a turnaround for you. Given how much you were enjoying bringing that up at real inconvenient moments. What, you do another trade with him and decide he rubbed you the wrong way?
[Is there a word for something slotting into place and shattering all at once? There's probably a German word for it, but in spite of knowing German, he can't think of one that's quite the vibe of the mental sensation this knowledge has on him.]
You fucking-- [misread the situation??? what- how the hell did-] This entire time, you really thought I-- [was boyfriends with king fuckface, king of the fuckfaces???
Clint runs a hand over his face, then back through his hair, turns and takes a few paces away, turns and comes right back. Opens his mouth like he's going to start shouting, closes it again. Looks around, grabs Tony by the arm, drags him to a quieter corner and keeps his voice low.]
Just so we're crystal clear, do you understand the situation now? Are you sure?
[ Okay, ow buddy; the heart thing means he bruises like a banana. ] Yes, Jesus, I understand. [ Don't make him say it, man. Just don't. ] The King's a fuckin' asshole, I get it.
[ Don't say Natasha. Don't say Natasha. ] 'M smarter than I look? [ A beat. He's gonna need a better excuse than that. ] Something about it didn't feel right, so- I put two and two together. [ Another beat. ] Well. Really it was more... Square root of the square of x-one minus x-two plus the square of y-one minus y-two. [ A third beat. To really sell it. ] Distance between two points, if you even care.
[Actually just stop saying words, genuinely shut the fuck up, Do Not Open Your Mouth Further, though whether Tony listens to that or not is entirely up to Tony. And Tony's unfortunate impulses.
Take a breath. Nice and deep through the nose.]
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, Tony. Because you're my friend. You have said and done some pretty horrible stuff to your friends before, but I'd like to think that if you hadn't misread the situation? That some of the things that came out of your mouth would not have come out. I'd like to think that you would have gotten really awkward and quiet and then said something else stupid and unfortunate to change the topic. So I guess this is kind of that, just really belatedly.
[ Tony seals his lips shut. He just awkwardly stands there, feeling terrible, and Not Opening His Mouth Further. ] Mhm. [ Is his response when he dares make a noise. He follows it up with a hard swallow.
After a long, pregnant pause, he tacks on: ] Do you want me to say something else stupid and unfortunate to change the topic...? [ Because Tony would really like to do that right about now. ]
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brandingproblem) wrote2025-03-24 12:12 pm
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[ He goes back to the homemade bullets he's fiddling with for a bit, occasionally looking up almost suspiciously at Barton. ] You... Good? You okay? [ Because Tony sure as fuck does not know how to do this not at all awkwardly. ]
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I'm still as okay as I was the last time you asked. [Granted, Clint didn't really answer, but that's because he was worried what the fuck was happening with Tony. He spreads his hands.] Look. I wasn't gonna ask. [...Well-] I was going to, and then I got talked out of it. I figured we could talk some shop about making me some specialized arrows like I used to have back home.
[His hands drop.] But if you're gonna keep being weird about it, I can just start with the thing you're dancing around instead.
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[ But at the mention of magic arrows, Tony pauses mid-jotting down a note of what he should work on building. ] Bet Strange'd be happy to help you out with the oomph. [ A beat. ] Ooooh...
[ He gets up from his bench holds up an index finger to tell Clint to give him a second. Then he takes a few breaths before he does a weird hand motion, one of Strange's shields appearing on each of Tony's hands. ...For about five seconds before fizzling out. ] Shield arrow would be pretty cool, you gotta admit. [ Or, fuck, portal arrow, if he could figure out how to get the sling ring's magic to integrate with something else... ]
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Pretty cool, just not sure what I'd do with it. Smack someone with a resounding gong? I can dabble with the experts about what kind of shit I could pull without having to clap my hands, turn around three times, and spit or whatever.
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He picks at a couple things in his workspace that he'll probably be able to turn into a grapple arrow, grabs some parchment and a pen and gets to work designing. ] C'mere. [ Considering it didn't seem like Clint was in any particular hurry to leave. ] What d'ya think? [ It was a bit more overly complicated and steampunk-y than normal, and the materials would definitely not be as high quality, but- It was a start. ]
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I think we got the start of something we can work with here. [Just to ease back from the teasing to the actual meat and potatoes of work.] We don't need complicated. Honestly, if you just make a grappling hook that fits on an arrow, I can do the rest with some rope, but we can try and be a little more professional. I've got my very own blacksmith on call, right? [He shoulders Tony playfully.]
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[ Tony playfully elbows him back. ] You've always had your own blacksmith on call, I just used to go by somethin' different. [ There's a smirk on his face when he follows it up with. ] But I'm the Metal Whisperer, now, don'tcha know.
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[He scrunches his face at the name. What. Tony.] No, you're definitely not. You might as well stay Iron Man if you're gonna have a blacksmith-y nickname. It's still so useful and evocative. Hey, you think the fairies have ever heard any Black Sabbath? [Someone get thee some bards and form a metal band. C'mon. Surely they can figure it out.
And of course it's right in the middle of the cajoling that he has to hit Tony over the head with the whammy:] I don't forgive you, you know. [And don't worry, he's going to let that sink in for a beat or three. For what it's worth, Clint doesn't look mad or upset or anything other than still kind of having a smile about Iron Man, actually. He shrugs a shoulder.] Or guess it's really more that I can't, I s'pose. Can't forgive you for something if I don't know what I'm forgiving.
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Aaaand then his face falls. And keeps falling. Until Clint gets done with his explanation that he can't decipher what Tony's weird behavior is about. Okay that's- Doable. Tony can do this. ] Just- Apologizing for busting your balls so much, man. [ His too loud laugh probably makes it clear that he doesn't know how much more detail he needs to give to make this clear. He takes a big breath, and decides to just- Go for it. ] About... The king, I mean.
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That's a turnaround for you. Given how much you were enjoying bringing that up at real inconvenient moments. What, you do another trade with him and decide he rubbed you the wrong way?
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Assholeassholeassholeasshole. Dickheaddickheaddickheaddickhead. ]
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You fucking-- [misread the situation??? what- how the hell did-] This entire time, you really thought I-- [was boyfriends with king fuckface, king of the fuckfaces???
Clint runs a hand over his face, then back through his hair, turns and takes a few paces away, turns and comes right back. Opens his mouth like he's going to start shouting, closes it again. Looks around, grabs Tony by the arm, drags him to a quieter corner and keeps his voice low.]
Just so we're crystal clear, do you understand the situation now? Are you sure?
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You're damn right. [--he lets go. Shoves his hands in his pockets and looks somewhere between furious and panicky.] How'd you figure that one out?
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[Actually just stop saying words, genuinely shut the fuck up, Do Not Open Your Mouth Further, though whether Tony listens to that or not is entirely up to Tony. And Tony's unfortunate impulses.
Take a breath. Nice and deep through the nose.]
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, Tony. Because you're my friend. You have said and done some pretty horrible stuff to your friends before, but I'd like to think that if you hadn't misread the situation? That some of the things that came out of your mouth would not have come out. I'd like to think that you would have gotten really awkward and quiet and then said something else stupid and unfortunate to change the topic. So I guess this is kind of that, just really belatedly.
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After a long, pregnant pause, he tacks on: ] Do you want me to say something else stupid and unfortunate to change the topic...? [ Because Tony would really like to do that right about now. ]
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When he comes back to normal, he sighs heavily, shoulders doing a sag.] Yeah, actually, that'd be great.