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[runs_on_batteries]

Who: Tony and varies
Where: Varies
When: Apple Day 20-23; plus 25
What: My log got too big?
Warnings: Language and I'll warn if there's EG spoilers

Apple 20
Tony and Sarai sitting in a tree.. oh wait no, they're just talking.

Tony and Peter after the bomb's dropped

Tony and Dread: And they thought he couldn't be taught


Apple 21

Tony and Buttercup confrontation, super early

[ooc- Tony's beat up again on this day. So feel free to come bug him.]

Apple 25

Tony, Manabu, and Peter: Post Train Event

Comments

Apple 20: Tony and Sarai

[runs_on_batteries]

"All her stuff is gone. I really screwed this thing up! I was only trying to be nice to the kid and look what happened?" Tony complains. It was after the lunch rush and there were dishes needing to be done, but somehow Sarai had convinced him (or he convinced her, he didn't remember or care) to tell her about something that was obviously bothering him. So he was laying on his back on one of the long benches with his head in her lap, whining about his doomed relationship with Buttercup. He'd been so touched that she'd given him a gift and had hugged her.. and apparently scared the hell out of her on accident.

"What do I do? I don't want to do anything that will further alienate her but she's clearly still upset with me and uncomfortable enough to move out of our room. What the hell? Damn kids.. why did I even think this was going to work in the first place?"

[sweetnessandfight]

For the moment, Sarai was simply letting Tony rant, though she was keeping a low hum going under her breath as she listened to him. She was also gently running her claws through his hair in a calming gesture. Hells, it helped Dread, wouldn't it help Tony, too?

She's not sure it's doomed, this relationship, but she does wonder if he's overwhelmed the girl. Sarai is positive he didn't intend it, but his is an ebullient and powerful personality and he definitely can be overwhelming to those unused to such things.

"She moved out likely because she wants some space, Tony. I understand you're upset, but you need to think." She tapped a claw delicately on his forehead. "Surely she wouldn't even have bothered to do anything for you, if she hadn't wanted to help you. If she didn't care. But she's not like your daughter, who has always known a loving family with you as her doting papa, and she's not Peter, who has a big heart and was desperate for your approval. She is herself, and we simply don't really know what her life was like before she came here. Which is also no one's fault. But it is a thing you need to consider. Buttercup is going to react like Buttercup, and no one else."

Probably not necessarily something Tony wanted to hear, but Sarai assumes he would also like her to straighten him out, and so she's trying.

[runs_on_batteries]

It did feel nice. It reminds him of how Pepper would soothe him whenever some big problem would arise, and god were there always problems. He closes his eyes and listens to her wisdom. If this wasn't a show of how far he and Sarai had bonded, nothing was. He was listening to her- and carefully at that.

"I'm trying to think. I think, I suck at this." Not an easy thing for him to admit either. "I'm trying to do better with Peter too. I know I've been hard on him in the past and.. well, whenever he annoys me. But I'm trying to make up for that." It was so different handing Buttercup than those other two.

He's quiet for a moment, mulling over her advice, taking it to heart. "I don't want her to be someone she isn't. I just.. I get that feeling too. She's not used to someone caring about her or treating her well. I know this is going to take time too. But.. do you think there's anything else I can do? Write her a note or leave her a present or.. well the present probably will be too much. I just.. ugh. This is why I like robots better. Machines don't have feelings I can hurt."

He missed Dum-E.

[sweetnessandfight]

"You're not being fair to yourself. You're the parent of a small child, yes? Teenagers and even proto-teenagers are different." Sarai isn't certain that's the proper term for Buttercup, but she figures it's close enough that Tony will know what she's trying to say. Not that she precisely knows from first hand experience, but...she tends to watch people, when she's not off being the Warrior of Light, so.

"Keeping that in mind is a good thing. Being conscious of how you're acting towards Peter and Buttercup. It certainly won't hurt." Sarai is trying to think fast and keep up with him; she's no genius, just fairly quick-witted.

And there, she nods. "Yes, I know you don't. And while we'd like to all be reassuring to her, let her know she can rely on us and all that--she's not used to it. It might even bother her, if she's more used to cuffs than caresses--what are our plans? She's clearly used to relying on herself, mostly--" The Au Ra trails off at that, going quiet and thoughtful.

"Let her come to you. Let her make the first move. I know it will be hard--and maybe if it takes too long, more than a week or so, then perhaps get her a little gift as an overture. Food's probably best. I know that's more ephemeral, but." Sarai made a face at Tony, then, as he made that comment about machines.

"They can't reciprocate, either, unless they're rather extraordinary. I'm not sure you'd actually prefer that for any great length of time." She knew she wouldn't!

[runs_on_batteries]

"Proto-teenagers?" He asks, his lips curling at the clever term. Was Buttercup considered a 'pre-teen' or 'proto-teenager'? She probably was at eleven.

He looks up at her and with a frown. "Peter didn't show up to our usual lunch time either. Think I upset him too?" Please just lie to him and say of course not. He wouldn't believe it, but he'd sure like to.

"A week? I have to wait a week?" He groans and closes his eyes. He wanted this done and over with today. He knew that wasn't logical, but it was what he wanted. "Don't you know with an ego my size, I don't need reciprocating?" It was a joke, and not at all true but again, he wants in this moment to believe that to be the case. His machines used to be his friends both when he was a young man and other points in his life that were lonely and hollow. It was only once his relationship with Pepper really began making strides did he stop relying on their friendship. Of course, then Steve happened and he wished he hadn't.

Apple 20 Evening: Tony and Peter

[runs_on_batteries]

He had been advised to give Buttercup some space, so when Peter hadn't shown up for their usual lunch he'd reluctantly done nothing. He tried to keep busy on his various projects and would be able to install the espresso machine by morning. However, when Peter also didn't show up for dinner, he got worried.

He checked the store carriage and then quickly worked his way back through the whole train if he had to. However, when he reaches the sleeper carriage, he's getting worried enough to simply call out for him. "Peter? Hey, Peter! Where are you?"

[hashtagparkerluck]

Peter hasn't really moved since the afternoon. He's not sure when, but at some point he'd crawled up into one of Charlotte's webs since it wasn't going to dissolve and has been there, in the dressing car, pretty much all day.

He's not asleep but he's not what anyone would really call awake. His eyes are a bit distant as he just stares up at the ceiling, hands tucked under his head. There's a lot of information to process but he's not doing that, he's actively trying not to process the new information and instead is thinking about a movie he saw with Ned about three weeks ago. It was a horror movie-he remembers that, that seems to be all he can really remember about it though. Too bad. He remembers he liked it okay even if it had a somewhat disappointing ending-the disappointments room. That's what it was.

He only vaguely hears Tony when he gets close enough-even with his super senses most everything is turned off at the moment. He can't feel anything and that's nice. He doesn't want to feel right now.

He should think about other movies.

"Hey Mr Stark, have you ever seen the disappointments room? It really lives up to its name." A weird thing to ask considering the dressing car is trashed-most noticeably, the mirror that was in here has been smashed to pieces, glass and bits of mirror everywhere.

[runs_on_batteries]

That.. was a very odd thing to say. Tony hurries the last few steps from the sleeper car, to the dressing one and stops short. His eyes widen as he takes in the look of the dressing car.

"Peter.. what.." His eyes trail from all the glass pieces to where Peter is on top of a big web. "Kid? Hey.. come down here. What's going on?" He felt something in the pit of his stomach telling him something was very wrong. He'd talked to Sarai earlier and it had calmed him down somewhat. All of that was gone now as he came closer to the web. He looks at it warily, unsure if he could climb it or if he'd just get stuck in it.

[hashtagparkerluck]

Peter shrugs and then sits up in the web, glancing down at Tony, his gaze still distant. Seeing Tony though, it's almost enough to remind him of what he's trying not to remember-what he doesn't want to focus on.

"Um... I could do that-but I don't really want to-there's a bunch of glass on the ground and I'm not wearing any shoes. You can come up here though. This web isn't sticky."

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony looks back at the glass with a frown when Peter points it out. He needed to do something about that but the way Peter was looking and talking made him the higher priority. He'd just have to speak fast if someone entered the room.

He tests the web and then crawls up to where Peter is. "Did you step on any of it? Peter, there's blood.. are you hurt?" He reaches for Peter's hand. "Kid, what's going on?"

Apple 20: Tony and Dread, Late Evening

[runs_on_batteries]

Immediately following this Tony was fuming. His stomach was in knots and his knuckles were white his fists were curled so tight. He knew exactly who he needed to find, though. The door to their bedroom was cracked open, so he didn't even knock. Shoving the door open wide, his gaze sweeps the room and lands on the large man.

"Sparring. You and me. Let's go." He doesn't wait for a reaction or acknowledgement before he was back out the door and storming to the gym. He needed to be clear headed to deal with Buttercup and right now he wasn't. No amount of yoga or ale was going to help this either. He needed to hit something and obviously he wasn't going to turn his anger (even more than he already had) on his kid or Buttercup.

late with apple cider cookies

[thebiggestguy]

Oh boy. Tony was in a mood today, wasn't he? Well, who better to endure some abuse for the sake of train calm than Dread?

Shrugging to himself, he got to his feet, ducking to get into the hall as he did. "How hard are we going?"

Bring me cookies and you'll always be forgiven

[runs_on_batteries]

"I don't know," he grumbled. However, he turns around and puts up his fists. No armor, no weapons, he just had a bunch of angry energy that needed to be directed somewhere safe.

"Buttercup told Peter everything and he's having some kind of.. mental reaction to it. I don't know what's going on and I don't know how to help him." And he didn't know why Peter wouldn't automatically trust his word over another's. After everything he's done for the boy. How could the first thought not be 'ask Tony' about what was really going on if he heard something that terrible?

"Just don't hit the face."

[thebiggestguy]

So... incredibly light, that was what Dread heard.

Right. Okay.

He brought his arms around in a slow circle, bringing both fists down to center and ground himself. A ring of countless overlapping circles glowed yellow around him for a brief moment before it faded, and the fires around his fists went out as he lifted them again.

The symbols on his gloves began to glow as he drew back into a ready pose, rising up onto the balls of his feet to move back and forth in a rhythm. "What everything?"

[runs_on_batteries]

The light show had Tony drawing back a bit, watching and wondering if he was about to seriously get hurt. He was pretty sure Dread knew how to simply spar with someone, but he hadn't actually tested that theory before now.

"She told him that I will die in my time or if I fail then our world itself dies."

Apple 20 late night/ Apple 21 early morning: Tony and Buttercup

[runs_on_batteries]

He was a little banged up from taking out his frustration on Dread, but it had been a far better idea than trying to deal with his anger some other way. He was trying to follow Sarai's advice to stay away, but he couldn't sleep. Buttercup had attacked Peter and hurt him. She'd hit him where he was the weakest and it had led to a real ugliness between the two of them. He was still smarting over the fact Peter hadn't believed him. Never mind that they were twists of the truth and so he really shouldn't have believed him. After all he'd done for the boy, he just thought he'd earned more than that.

It was sometime between too damn late and too damn early that he finally throws his covers off and gets up. He makes a point to straighen his hair and clothes, before wrapping his robe around him and donning his slippers. He knew where Buttercup likely was given the mess in the dressing room. Besides, where else would she be hiding?

He heads to the luggage carriage and looks around. "Buttercup! I know you're in here. We need to talk."

[knifewithnoname]

She was actually asleep for once. It's slightly before she usually wakes up and so she is curled up in one of the trunks, a barrier of bags and suitcases around her. Even though she knows she will end up back in her room come morning she is relying on being fast to avoid Tony and escape again. She was asleep but she is awake the moment she hears his voice, hand under her pillow to grab her dagger.

She should have expected for him to come for her. She's avoided him all day but she hurt Peter. Peter belongs to Tony and so she had known Tony would be mad. It was half why she had done it, she doesn't know how to hurt Tony properly but Peter is easy to hurt, he's soft and open and goes leaky faced at the slightest thing. Tony cares for him in a way she doesn't understand.

Her first instinct is to hide, but he knows she is here. Or he's bluffing but the chances are he really does know because he seems to know everything. She stands up, dagger still in hand and takes a moment to find the emptiness. He is strong, fast, an adult and a powerful one. She needs every edge she can get.

"It do be being the middle of the night. What do you be wanting to be talking about?"

[runs_on_batteries]

It was kind of a bluff. He had guessed she was in here and he would've opened every one of the suitcases if he had to. He'd crossed a line and now she'd done so in return. She just picked the wrong line to cross, in his opinion.

His gaze isn't warm when she rises up from inside one of the suitcases. It's not quite a glare, but it's close. He can see that same strange coldness in her face that she had yesterday.

"I made a mistake and hurt you and so you go and hurt Peter? What's the matter with you? Why would you do that to him? He didn't deserve that."

[knifewithnoname]

Steel met steel as she met his gaze. Fear can't exist within the emptiness. No matter that he was dangerous, that he could probably kill her easily. She could face this enemy as sure as she faced any enemy. As sure as Kant faced down enemies in the thousands.

"I did no be being the one who did be lying to him."

Once again she's cornered. He's between her and the door. But she doesn't plan on going down without a fight.

[runs_on_batteries]

"I didn't want to hurt him if it might not happen. Why did you want to hurt him?" He wants to take a step closer. It's what he would do if he were speaking to an adult. However, she was a child. He wasn't exactly scared of her, but he was trying to be conscious of the fact that he was bigger, stronger, and as an adult had more power here.

"I cared for you. I saved you. I didn't do it right, but I was trying to thank you for being nice to me. You and I were friends. Why would you want to hurt either him or me after that?"

Post-Train Incident: Tony, Peter, and Manabu

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony felt sick. As he opened his eyes, he didn't recognize where he was. It was hard to think past the pounding in his head and aching body. What the hell happened? He tried to force himself up but couldn't find the energy. Slowly, he scanned the room from where he was laying and he frowned a bit when he spotted Manabu nearby.

Why did he feel like he was having a bad hangover? There was a bad taste in his mouth and nothing was coming to mind to explain all of this. He didn't know what time it was, but his eyes finally fell upon some medical equipment and he realized he was in the sick room. How were they here instead of back in their bunk? That had been the one constant since getting on this train, but apparently even with that there were exceptions.

"Manabu!" he called, wincing at his own, scratchy but painfully loud voice.

[siriusly]

The rest of those powered-down hours were fairly uneventful, as far as..powered-down hours in the void with no sense of time or space went. And...aside from Manabu taking a break to head to the ICP outside the med bay to try and get something other than automated responses...yeah. Uneventful.

How nice of the train to turn the gravity back on steadily, rather than drop everyone on their asses, because it meant Manabu's dozing was barely disturbed, even when he wound up slumped on the floor in an uncomfortable position. So instead of that, or the hum of power returning, it's Tony's call that stirs him out of an uneasy sleep. He snorts, grunts, and then startles himself awake, shooting upright and regretting it immediately--

"Uh? Owh!" His neck! Yeesh! Crankily, he rubs at it, blinking and searching out the sight of Tony.

"Hey. Hey, what's wrong, Tony?" Man, he hopes the guy isn't like, trying to dig a hole into the ceiling or something.

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony winces at the noise and sudden, harsh movement. It wasn't even him moving but it looks painful and pleasant. Now that he thought about it, just about everything seemed like it would be painful and unpleasant.

He groans and tries to move again only to have his joints and stomach tell him- no, definitely NO moving. "W- why am I in here? What happened?" He was the one in the sick bed, but Manabu was here too. "Are you okay?" Why were they both in here? He couldn't remember anything besides something vaguely about yesterday and getting hit with a bunch of blonde hair in the face, which made no sense at all.

[siriusly]

"Huh?"

He doesn't remember? Boy, how convenient for him! But not Manabu...Manabu shifts on the floor, pausing with sudden realization.

"Hey--the artificial gravity's back! And the lights!" That's a huge relief, actually and puts a bit of pep in him as he creakily climbs to his feet and over to the table, leaning to offer Tony an arm to hoist himself up if he wanted.

"You don't remember the power-down?" he asks, trying to get some clues from Tony's disoriented expression.

[runs_on_batteries]

"The gravity is back?" He asks, frowning at that comment. The gravity had been gone? He tries to think back, find some shred of recollection to pair with that remark but none come to mind. "N- no. I.. oh god, Mana.. bucket- something!"

The attempt to move was backfiring. He hates that Manabu was seeing him like this, but he felt like he'd been hit by the train instead of just endured a power outage. He gags and dry heaves more than anything into whatever Manabu found him. He hadn't eaten or drank anything the day before so there wasn't anything in his stomach.

After a few moments, he lays back heavily and groans. "Sorry.. I.. am I hung over?" It sure felt like a really bad hangover, but he didn't remember the fun part- also not unlike a hangover.